The Benefits of Exercising NOW, before Winter begins

"Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." - Benjamin Franklin.

Every winter I create a weightlifting exercise program for me to do indoors during the winter months. This year I have decided to start early. What is nice is that even though I started on Wednesday, I am already seeing results by Monday.

I make this exercise program for me to do every Winter because I know I won't be outside as much exercising during the Winter. Thus I have to compensate for my lack of outdoor exercise by doing more indoor exercises.

When choosing which exercises to do weightlifting makes good logical sense because it requires less space to do properly when compared to jogging, running, swimming, tennis, golf, archery, boxing, etc. In some cases even less equipment, because I don't have an indoor pool handy. :p

So what exercises do I do?

#1. Chinups using a chinup bar installed in a doorway near the washroom. This guarantees I am building biceps in a hurry.

#2. Dumbbell exercises designed to target the shoulders, triceps, and pectorals.

#3. Old School Exercises like Sit-Ups and Push-Ups. The sit-ups target the abdominal muscles and the push-ups target pectorals, various back muscles, triceps and shoulders.

#4. Jumping Jacks - I love jumping jacks while listening to music. This is a quick indoor cardio that burns a lot of calories in a relatively short time. The more you do the more you burn. It also builds strong calves and ankles.

#5. Squats with Light Weights - This is for targeting my thighs and calves. Stronger leg muscles builds better balance and makes you faster when you need to run in a hurry.

The other thing I want to get back to is the concept that there are benefits to be reaped NOW by getting into exercising right away instead of postponing it for later. As a personal trainer Winter is the slow time of the year for me, which means I would normally be exercising less. But because I like to maintain my physique and improve upon it I complement my workout in the Winter with the weightlifting and old school exercises. Last year I didn't start my weightlifting routine until December - when there was already snow on the ground. Partially because I moved in November last year and was still sorting through boxes.

But this year I am all settled in and I felt a sense of urgency to get back into it early this year so I started my new weightlifting regimen on Wednesday October 1st. I didn't set out to pick that day, it just happened to be that day. So I did weightlifting on Wednesday, Thursday, took a break on Friday and Saturday to let my muscles relax, then again on Sunday, and now it is Monday... and I am seeing some fast results.

I am not just talking extra muscles either although I am definitely feeling more buff. I am sleeping better too. I am going to bed earlier, getting up at 6:15 before my alarm goes off at 7 AM, I feel well rested and alert, my appetite is up, and I am feeling super positive about myself.

And according to my bathroom scale I have put on 4 lbs very recently - which will be mostly muscle and increased bone density. (For record keeping I have gone from 190 to 194.)

I should point out that normally people don't put on a lot of muscle in a hurry unless they have the right combination of metabolic rate, exercise, protein/nutrient intake, etc. If you are interested in this topic of how fast muscles can grow I suggest reading the following two articles:

How Fast can you Grow Muscle

Two Alternative Models for Predicting Muscle Growth

If you read the 2nd article I have posted my own model for predicting muscle growth which takes in factors like Height, Shoulder Width, Metabolic Rate, Dietary Sufficiency, Gender, Exercise Rate, and Training Category - which makes it the most comprehensive method of predicting muscle growth.

There is also the Muscle Memory factor - which is difficult to calculate. Basically what that is is when a weightlifter gets sick for a long period of time they lose a bunch of muscle mass, but when they get back into weightlifting again - even after years - they are faster at putting on the muscle because the old muscles retain the memory. This is likely the biggest factor for me right now, allowing me to build up muscle a lot faster than I normally would.

My goal this Winter is to put on at least 20 lbs of muscle and weigh 210 lbs by mid-March.

And if sleeping better and feeling healthier is a side benefit, so be it. Those are benefits I like having.


Note - This Winter I also going to be doing Archery Biathlon (combo of cross country skiing and archery) once there is snow on the ground, which combines a high intensity cardio exercise with a resistance training exercise.

New Archery Biathlon Logo

Sculpture as Exercise

Rock Art made at Ashbridges Bay in Toronto

Want to learn a new exercise that employs both creativity and your muscles?

Try Rock Art / Rock Balancing.

I got introduced to rock balancing years ago (2011) and I have a few tips to pass on to would-be rock art sculptors.

#1. Learn to balance smaller rocks first.

#2. Wear gloves on your hands and steel toed boots on your feet. Protect yourself first because hurting your toes and fingers will REALLY HURT!

#3. When lifting larger rocks or even medium sized rocks, lift with your legs, not your back. If you have back problems you should probably be wearing a back brace.

#4. If you can barely lift a rock, you probably have no business trying to balance it. See Tip #1 over again.

#5. Try to find good quality rocks that balance easier. The best rocks have lots of crevices in them that allow you to balance them on a corner or bottom using 3 points (approximatly 120 degrees away from each other) so that rock won't roll in any direction.

#6. If it is windy outside don't bother. Any wind gusts of 30 kmph or more will knock your rocks over.

#7. When attempting to balance a larger rock get someone else to help you. Make sure they are following Tip #2 as well.

#8. Remember to hydrate. It gets hot outside in the sun! Best times of year to do rock balancing is May- April and September-October. June, July and August will be too hot and will wear you down physically faster so bring LOTS of drinking water with you.

#9. Bring snacks. All that exercise makes you hungry. Protein bars, sandwiches, chicken salads, anything nutritious.

#10. Have fun and bring a camera!

Rock Art Balancing, 2011

Weightlifting Accessories - Useful or Useless?

There are lots of accessories out there for weight lifters, but do you actually need them or are they useless?

Here is my List of Weightlifting Accessories, separated into four categories: Useful, Sometimes Useful, Mostly Useless and Utterly Useless.

#1. Weight Lifting Gloves = Useful

Very useful at protecting your hands from blisters. Some people might consider them unnecessary, but if you've ever had blisters on your hands from weight lifting you will agree they are a must have. They are also useful for gripping barbells easier.

The company I use is Atlas, but I also found a pair of bicycle gloves "Copper Canyon" that are practically identical to the Atlas weight lifting gloves.

#2. Dumbbells = Useful

You are weight lifting. You are going to need lots of different dumbbells in different weight sizes. This is an useful must have - unless you are trying to take the frugal exercising approach, in which case you will need to build your own dumbbells out of scrap.

#3. Wrist Wraps = Sometimes Useful

Wrist wraps provide extra support for your wrists, but not everyone needs them.

#4. Lifting Wraps = Mostly Useless

These are designed so you don't have to worry about your grip so much. You attach them to your wrists and then wrap them around the barbell you are lifting, making it easier to maintain your grip. However if you already use weight lifting gloves, then these things are pointless. I toss these in the Mostly Useless pile.

#5. Deadlift Bar Jack = Utterly Useless

Are you deadlifting and feeling pain as you are lifting the weight off the ground? Then you probably should not be lifting that much weight in the first place. A deadlift bar jack holds the barbell slightly off the ground so you don't have to bend over as much (and strain your back). But if you look at the photo on the right you see it only raises it off the ground by 1 or 2 inches, so does it really make difference? No. Not by much. If your back is hurting you that much, then stop lifting so much at once.

#6. Dip Belt = Mostly Useless

Are you planning on holding weights between your legs while doing pull ups or similar exercises like the guy in the photo? Probably not. So this would only be useful if you actually plan on doing this. I was very tempted to put this in the Utterly Useless pile, but it does have 1 use.

#7. Gym Chalk = Useful

Lets pretend for a moment you don't like using gloves and you want more grip. Well gym chalk is the old fashioned solution. Gives you plenty of grip. Also available as 'chalk balls'.

#8. Lifting Belt = Sometimes Useful

Similar to the wrist wraps, lifting belts are designed so you don't throw your back out lifting something you should probably not be lifting in the first place. But sometimes people don't know their limits so it is wise to be wearing one of these if you are going to be lifting anything which will be using your back muscles a lot.

#9. Knee Supports = Sometimes Useful

Same deal as the wrist wraps and the lifting belt. If you are lifting heavy weights with your knees you may want to be wearing knee supports.

#10. Lifting Hooks = Sometimes Useful

If your grip is really that bad, then you should get a set of lifting hooks. They work waaaaaaaaaaaay better than lifting wraps and you are guaranteed not to be dropping whatever you are lifting.

#11. Liquid Grip = Sometimes Useful

Conceptually, these work the same as gym chalk, but honestly I don't see this being a necessity for anyone who is not a full time bodybuilder. If you're just doing weightlifting for exercise, use gym chalk. If you are doing it 4 hours almost every day then okay, get the liquid grip.

#12. Head/Neck Harness = Utterly Useless

Seriously??? Are you going to be lifting things with your head/neck like the guy in the photo below? Unless you are then this is going in the Utterly Useless pile.

Fast Vs Slow Twitch Muscle Fibers

Fast twitch and slow twitch muscle fibers are used for different things.

A martial artist who wants to be superfast, a sprinter who wants to be able to run 100 meters in under 10 seconds, or even a professional boxer would want to utilize their fast twitch muscle fibres.

Likewise people doing a sustained activity that needs endurance - like a gymnast who needs to be able to hold a pose while suspended upside down, or an archer holding their bow steady without moving while they adjust their aim, or a weight lifter who needs to be able to lift a specified weight and then hold it for so many seconds in order for it to count as a new world record.

A little background info:

Muscle is made up of bundles of individual muscle fibers called myocytes. Each myocyte contains many myofibrils, which are strands of proteins (actin and myosin) that can grab on to each other and pull. This shortens the muscle and causes muscle contraction - and it is the contraction of muscle fibres that allow us to do any number of physical activities.

A normal person has roughly 50% of each type of muscle fiber, but athletes of various kinds can train their bodies to have a radically different percentage of each muscle fiber (eg. Bruce Lee, martial artist and movie star, had a significantly higher ratio of fast twitch muscle fibers).

Muscle fiber types can be broken down into two main types:

Type I, Slow twitch muscle fibers.

The slow muscle fibers are more efficient at using oxygen to generate more fuel (known as ATP) for continuous, extended muscle contractions over a long time. They fire more slowly than fast twitch fibers and can go for a long time before they fatigue. Therefore, slow twitch fibers are great at helping athletes run marathons or bicycle for hours - and even more for activities that require just holding the same position, like gymnasts.

Type II, Fast twitch muscle fibers, which itself can be further categorized into Type IIa and Type IIb fibers.

Fast twitch fibers are much better at generating short bursts of strength or speed than slow muscles. However, they fatigue more quickly and use energy at a faster rate. Fast twitch fibers generally produce the same amount of force per contraction as slow muscle fibers, but they get their name because they are able to fire more rapidly. Having more fast twitch fibers can be an asset to anyone who primarily wants speed and isn`t worried about endurance.

Type IIa Fibers

Type IIa fast twitch muscle fibers are also known as intermediate fast-twitch fibers. They can use both aerobic and anaerobic metabolism almost equally to create energy. In this way, they are a combination of Type I and Type II muscle fibers. They are still faster than slow twitch, but not as fast as Type IIb.

Type IIb Fibers

Type IIb fast twitch fibers only use anaerobic metabolism to create energy and are the "classic fast twitch muscle fibers" that excel at producing quick, powerful bursts of speed. These muscle fibers have the highest rate of contraction (rapid firing) of all the muscle fiber types, but it also has a much faster rate of fatigue and can't last as long before it needs rest.

Fiber Type and Speed Vs Endurance Performance

We all have different amounts of fast vs slow twitch muscle fibers, and these in turn effect our athletic ability in different activities. Some of us might make really good gymnasts, but would be horribly slow when sprinting (and vice versa). Athletes typically get into sports that match their muscle makeup, but it is not genetics that is the biggest deciding factor, it is the types of previous exercises that determine which kind of muscles a person grows.

For example a person could be born to family of several generations of gymnasts, but if they practiced sprinting instead for many years the type of muscle fibers they build would be different. Your body adjusts the ratio over the longer term based on what types of muscle fibers you are using most.

How much is the ratio you might ask? Well, studies have shown that Olympic sprinters typically have approx. 80% fast twitch fibers - while people who do sports that require lots of endurance have about 80% slow twitch fibers. So the ratio of muscle fibers can vary quite wildly by up to 30% plus or minus.

Our bodies still need a ratio in order to perform every day activities. So even though 100% fast twitch would be great for sprinting, by the time the race is over the person would probably be too exhausted to even walk for a period of time. We still need both types of muscle fibers just to perform our daily routine.

Studies also have shown that different types of muscle fibers can also simply change into other types over the course of training. In theory (no evidence of this yet) Type IIa fibers might be an intermediary stage of muscle fibers that are transforming from one type into the other. Not a lot of research has been done into whether muscle fibers morph back and forth over the longer term.

What is known however is that people who train for endurance or speed gain what they are looking for over the longer term. It really is simply a matter of regular training, good diet, and taking good care of themselves to prevent injuries (because an injury can result in a loss of muscle tone if they cannot exercise during a long period of time).

There are many factors that make a great athlete (mental preparedness, proper nutrition and hydration, getting enough rest, and having appropriate equipment and conditioning). Different types of muscle fibers is just one factor. Some sports require a combination of both fast and slow twitch fibers, so having more of one is not necessarily beneficial.

eg. A football player would want both speed and endurance. Speed for when they need to be running in a hurry, but also endurance because they will be playing for longer periods of time - so they need muscle fibers that can do both.

The Myths of Spot Reduction

Everyone stores fat differently.

And when it comes to losing weight, many people find a stubborn pocket of fat that they cannot get rid of.

So what do you do?

Most exercisers are familiar with the concept of "spot reduction", but what many people don't know is that spot reduction is a myth and doesn't work.

The idea behind spot reduction is the concept of exercising a specific part of your body in an effort to make that body part lose fat. In reality what happens is the spot gets bigger as you grow more muscle tissue in that area, and the fat doesn't go away.

So for example this means someone doing only crunches in an attempt to slim their waist, or for example performing just squats because, "All I want is a smaller butt!"

And then what happens is their ab muscles get bigger from doing crunches, and their glutes (butt muscles) get bigger when doing squats.

So regardless of what exercise you are doing, if you are trying to reduce fat you need to be thinking cardio instead. Cardio cuts fat all over your body - which means wherever your body is storing fat (belly, thighs, sides, etc) then your body will take the fat, use it as energy during the cardio exercises, and your special problem area will be reduced noticeably over time.

So why does Spot Reduction not work???

When exercising your body uses sugar in your blood to fuel your activities. When your blood sugar levels start to get low (like during jogging, cycling, etc) then your body absorbs fat into your blood to provide extra energy, and it absorbs it from ALL OVER your body. Wherever your body is storing fat, that is where the fat will be drained from.

When doing weight lifting / body weight exercises like squats and crunches you are actually doing muscle building exercises - which uses very little energy in comparison to a cardio activity like jogging. That means you aren't using very much blood sugar. So you are not going to lose much fat because the exercise simply isn't using that much energy.

Your muscles will feel tired, because your muscles are not used to being used that way during crunches and squats, but that is primarily due to muscle fatigue.

A better way of determining whether you are actually burning fat is seeing whether you can maintain a conversation. If you are gasping for breath and unable to talk - like someone who is jogging - then you are likely burning fat. If you can talk easily, you really are not exercising that much.

What about Spot Creation???

Weight lifters often want bigger biceps, bigger pecs, bigger abs. Yes, they can achieve some results by focusing only on specific body parts - like the guy who got into professional arm wrestling and only exercised his one arm.

However most people don't want freakishly big Popeye arms.

The thing is muscle building and toning, similar to cardio, doesn't actually happen one muscle at a time - it is a whole set of muscles that are co-dependent.

It is the fact that muscle groups are co-dependent that often causes confusion, because people don't realize that an "all over approach" often builds muscles faster because it targets muscles groups as a whole instead of just one specific part.

For swimmers, cyclists, gymnasts, etc these results will be more obvious to them as they are often targeting muscle groups - cyclists for example tend to get really strong legs. Like the photo below of a man with freakishly big legs.

So what have we learned here?

#1. Spot reduction doesn't work. If you want to reduce fat from a specific spot, go jogging and do cardio exercises to reduce fat all over your body.

#2. Spot creation does work, but if you want better results you are better off doing large muscle groups exercises because they are co-dependent on each other.

HAPPY MYTH BUSTING!

What type of bow is best for weight training?

Q

"Hello!

I want to get into archery because I heard it is good for building strength. What type of bow would you recommend for building muscle?

- Kyle J."

A

Hello Kyle!

I recommend longbows if you want to get into the really high poundages and build lots of muscle. Longbows can go up to really high poundages - whereas recurve bows only go up to a maximum of roughly 60 lbs. Compounds bows can go pretty high, but they have a let off and are not that good for weightlifting because the letoff reduces the poundage once it is at full draw. eg. A 60 lb compound bow with 75% letoff will feel like only 15 lbs at full draw.

Longbows and recurves don't have a letoff and thus are better for weightlifting, and if you want to get into the heavier poundages then longbows is definitely the way to go.

If you are looking to buy a longbow in Toronto you have many options.

Option 1. Buy a bow from Basically Bows Archery on Queen Street East. Tell Gary I said hello! Gary has the best selection of longbows in the GTA.

Option 2. Commission a longbow from Mike Meusel, a local bowyer in Toronto. He made my 36lb pyramid bow "Ramses" for me.

Option 3. Shop for a longbow online. eg. howardhillarchery.com sells a variety of longbows. Expect to pay about $600, but they can also make really powerful (expensive) longbows too. For longbows over 75 lbs they charge an extra $2 per lb, and longbows over 100 lbs they charge an extra $5 - up to a maximum of 200 lbs. So if you are doing the math that is about $1150 for a super powerful longbow.

However I don't recommend you get yourself a super powerful longbow. You won't even be able to string it. You need to work your way up to that. If you are a big guy start with a bow that is between 30 and 40 lbs - make sure in the store you can draw it properly before purchasing - and practice with that bow 3 times (several hours each time) per week for 6 months.

Then get yourself another longbow that is 5 lbs heavier and practice with that one for 6 months.

If you start with a 35 lb bow and go up by 5 lb increments every 6 months (shooting even in the winter) then after 3 years you should be up to a 65 lb bow - or better, depending on your body type, adrenaline/testosterone levels (hormones that make you build muscles faster), the quality of your diet, and whether you are supplementing your exercise routine with a full body workout.

I strongly recommend archers adopt a full body workout that includes weightlifting, yoga, body weight exercises, balance exercises and even yogic breathing exercises. Such exercises will make you stronger, give you better balance, allow you to control your breathing during each shot - and better breathing gets more oxygen to your muscles.

Don't forget to stay hydrated. Water is best. Just plain old fashioned water. (I have determined energy drinks are a complete waste unless it is exceptionally hot outside and you are exercising a lot.)

Lastly I recommend drinking a whey protein shake after you return home from the archery range / after any weight lifting session.

How to do 400 Pushups - The 400 Pushups Challenge

Anyone who can do 400 pushups will obviously have really nice pecs - simply due to the combination of strength and endurance that is required to do that many pushups.

But the good news is that you don't need to have a body like Bruce Wayne (aka Batman) to be able to do large numbers of pushups. (Although doing large numbers of pushups will certainly help you to become more like Batman...)

So how do you become a pushups machine? Start by taking Cardio Trek's 400 Pushups Challenge.

The 400 Pushups Challenge - Step One

What you need to do is first be able to do a pushup. If you cannot - due to being overweight or lack of physical strength - then you will need to do lots of cardio (to lose weight) and after you've lost a healthy amount of fat start weightlifting and focusing on upper body strength building. Once you reach the point where you can do at least 10 pushups then you are ready to begin training.

Your pushups don't need to be fancy. They could even be an easier version of standard pushups - like the bench pushups demonstrated below.

The 400 Pushups Challenge - Step Two

Next determine how many pushups you can actually do before collapsing in a heat of sweat and craving release. If you can do 15 then your start point for the next stage will be 10. If you can do 30 then your start point will be 20. Basically whatever amount it is you can do, multiple it by 66% and that is your starting goal.

The 400 Pushups Challenge - Step Three

Do 66% of your maximum pushups. Then take a 2 to 3 minute break and do 66% again. Keep doing this until you have done 400 pushups.

So for example lets say you determined you could do 30 pushups at once before collapsing, thus you do 20 pushups during each set - and you do 20 sets of 20, for a total of 400 pushups. That is your goal.

Note - It will take you a significant amount of time to total 400 pushups. Think hours due to all of the breaks you are doing. So for example if you watch TV a lot in the evening you can do your pushups during the commercial breaks. Every commercial break until you get all 400 done. If you have difficulty finding time to do that many pushups then set yourself a lower goal like 200 or 100 pushups.

The 400 Pushups Challenge - Step Four

The next day you do one extra pushup. Thus in our example you do 21 pushups, for 19 sets. A total of 399 pushups.

Every day after that you add 1 extra push up. Some days you might do slightly more or less than 400.

20 x 20 (400)
21 x 19 (399)
22 x 18 (396)
23 x 17 (391)
24 x 17 (408)
25 x 16 (400)
26 x 15 (390)
27 x 15 (405)
28 x 14 (392)
29 x 14 (406)
30 x 13 (390)
31 x 13 (403)
Etc

The 400 Pushups Challenge - Step Five

When you start getting to the bigger numbers (like 40 or more) you can starting adding a half set or a portion of a set just so you keep the total number of pushups to roughly 400.

Assuming a starting point of 20 it should only take you 380 days of training to eventually do 400 pushups. Doing 400 pushups all at once will be exhausting work. It takes about 40 minutes to actually do it because closer to the end you will be pausing for breath between pushups.

The good news is that in a period of roughly 1 year you will go from having tiny pecs and being able to do 30 pushups to being able to do hundreds.

You will also find that your arms, legs, back muscles are also stronger and have greater endurance.

If you take up The 400 Pushups Challenge please let us know by leaving a comment below. Happy exercising!

Building your Dumbbell Collection

If you are looking to put on muscle then having a dumbbell collection at home is a good must-have.

Below is a photo of my personal collection of dumbbells which I use for weightlifting at home.

Also in the photo is my weightlifting gloves. They are my "Atlas" weightlifting gloves, which I sometimes also use for cycling outdoors, and also my "Copper Canyon Cycling" gloves, which are basically identical to the Atlas weightlifting gloves. It doesn't really matter what brand you buy, the gloves are there to protect your hands so you don't hurt yourself / develop painful callouses. The gloves cost about $10 to $15 and are totally worth it.

All the dumbbells shown here were purchased at Canadian Tire - they cost about $1 per pound. Thus if you are doing the math I have spent $105 + tax on my dumbbell collection. Plus an extra $30 on gloves.

Once you have your dumbbell collection, what do you do with them?

#1. Bicep Curls

This is easy. Just do 8 to 10 repetitions. Rest. Repeat 8 to 10 repetitions. Rest. Keep doing that 5 to 10 times. Doing between 40 to 100 reps of bicep curls every 2nd day (combined with a healthy balanced diet) will help you build bicep strength pretty quickly.


#2. Tricep Raises

Using one or two dumbbells lift your arms above your head and lower your the dumbbell(s) behind your head. Lift it back above your head slowly. Lower. Repeat 8 to 10 times. Rest. Repeat 5 to 10 times. Doing this exercise every 2 days will build up your tricep muscles quickly.

#3. Shoulder Raises

Using a lighter dumbbell - something you can handle more easily - hold the dumbbells at your sides and lift sideways until they are at 90 degrees. Lower slower back to your side. Repeat 10 times. Rest. Repeat the exercise 5 to 10 times. This exercise will build shoulder strength quite rapidly.

Taken together these 3 exercises will help you build strength in your arms and shoulders quite rapidly - but they should not be the only exercises you are doing. Push ups, chin ups, and sit ups are nice additions to the above 3 weightlifting exercises. The push ups will build your arms, shoulders and pecs. The chin ups will build your arms, shoulders, back and pecs. The sit ups will build your abdominal muscles.

Weightlifting Tips

Pay attention to your form. Good form avoids injury and builds muscle faster.

Stick to dumbbells you can use. If they are too heavy for you to complete all the exercises then you need to be using a lighter poundage.

Explore other exercises too, including other ways to utilize your dumbbells. Examples include the Zottman Curl, Y Press (lifting the dumbbells to make your body into a Y shape),

If you experience any severe pain stop immediately. Wait two days before weightlifting again. Excessive weightlifting can cause severe muscle fatigue - which can lead to injury and chronic pain.

Eat a protein bar or protein shake after finishing your weightlifting routine.

Eat healthy - including veggies and protein! Weightlifting without eating healthy is like buying a muscle car, but forgetting to buy gasoline. Your body needs fuel to grow muscle.

Challenge yourself. If your dumbbells feel too light, it is time to get a dumbbell that is 5 lbs heavier. Don't overdo it, but aim to challenge yourself physically.

Free Hand Exercises - No Equipment Necessary

First a bit of myth busting. Free hand exercises and free weight exercises are NOT one and the same thing.

Free weight exercises involve dumbbells and barbells, and free hand exercises involves nothing but the weight of your body.

Thus if you want some frugal exercises that don't cost you anything, free hand exercises are a great way to tone up and lose weight. Plus performing free hand exercises recruit as much muscle as possible while simultaneously increasing your heart rate - meaning you get a better workout because you are pushing your limits with your body weight instead of tiny hand held weights.

Squats, Squat Thrusts or Star Squats

Any kind of squats is a very good exercise for your legs. The squat thrust is demonstrated in the image on the right.

The star squat is a progression and more intense variation of a squat thrust. This exercise works the upper and lower body and core, while burning calories. To do it, stand with your feet together and arms at your sides. Lower yourself into a squat, place your hands on the floor and kick your legs behind you. When your feet touch, maintain a straight line from your shoulders to heels. Quickly kick your feet back to the starting point and explosively jump in the air. While doing this, extend your arms and legs out at angles to form a star shape, land with your feet together and repeat.

To increase the challenge and place more emphasis on your chest, lower yourself into a push-up every time you kick your legs behind your body.

Cross Body or Angled Knee Mountain Climbers

The Cross Body Mountain Climber is demonstrated in the image on the right.

Angled knee mountain climbers work your chest, shoulders, abs, thighs, glutes and cardiovascular system. To do mountain climbers, place your hands on the floor and legs in staggered stance with your right leg forward and knee up by your chest. After lifting your right foot off the floor, shift your leg position so your left leg moves forward and your right leg moves backward. As you do this, keep your left foot off the floor and move your left knee toward your right elbow. Carefully switch your foot position again and bring your right knee toward your left elbow. Alternate back and forth in a fast and steady motion.

Alternating Butt Kick Knee Tucks

Alternating butt kick knee tucks work your legs and abs while increasing your heart rate. To do these knee tucks, stand with your feet hip-width apart and your arms at your sides. Lower yourself into a partial squat and then jump as high in the air as possible. While doing this, tuck your knees into your chest. As soon as you land, jump in the air again. This time, lift your heels in the air behind you and try to get them to touch your butt. Alternate between the two movements every time you land.

Running + Jumping

Running and jumping is one of the cheapest exercises you can do. All you need is running shoes.

Running strengthens the lungs and heart, while simultaneously burning calories and toning leg muscles. To increase the effect with running, perform intervals, add jumps into your running routine, incorporate hills into your workouts or do wind sprints. With intervals, alternate back and forth between high and low intensity. With wind sprints, run as fast as you can and do long jumps when possible to test your limits. Then rest completely before your next sprint + jump. Rest twice as long as you run.

If you are already very fit then for fun you can also get into parkour - which combines running, jumping and tumbling.

Exercise Vs Bullies and Depression

Exercise is an amazing thing for the human body.

It builds self-confidence. It keeps away depression. It burns calories. It builds muscles. It promotes better sleep.

And it deters bullies in school.

If the photo of the kid on the right looks familiar that is because it is a young Arnold Schwarzenegger when he was 14 years old.

He didn't start weight lifting and weight training until he was 15 years old. Before then his favourite sport was soccer.

And it certainly did not stunt his growth either. Weight lifting took a skinny teenager who had confidence issues and turned him into a weight training champion and later a Hollywood success story.

Parents these days worry about their kids a lot. They worry because their kids are being bullied in school, because their kids are moody and depressed, and they think they can solve these problems by taking the poor kid to a psychiatrist.

A psychiatrist who will often prescribe anti-depressants designed for adults for children.

I would argue however that teenagers are already going through enough hormonal problems that throwing anti-depressant medications into the mix causes a lot more harm than good. If anything anti-depressants are probably stunting their growth, contributing to childhood and teenage obesity rates - and worse - creating a culture of drug addiction within the child's mind.

In contrast exercise (not just weight lifting, any kind of exercise) is a natural remedy for depression. Exercise boosts a person's sense of well-being, their metabolism speeds up, they burn more fat, build more muscle, sleep better, and feel more positive about themselves.

That increased self confidence also means they can stand up to bullies / ignore bullies more easily, without feeling like a loser because they know they are better than the bully. (Bullies are inherently filled with their own feelings of inadequacy and usually take to bullying because they have troubles at home, have weight issues, feel they are less intelligent compared to other students, any number of causes.)

In other words thanks to boosted self-confidence and an increased lack of bullying the child becomes ever more confident in their own abilities - and yet often has a degree of humility because they remember where they once were in life.

Many parents often get their kids martial arts lessons when they discover their kids are being bullied, but honestly any kind of aggressive exercise would help dramatically. I say aggressive with respect to exercises that utilize weightlifting and resistance training, including many kinds of sports. So for example jogging simply isn't aggressive enough because it would only build leg muscles and endurance and would not build the same amount of self confidence that came with learning a sport like caber tossing.

Now admittedly your kids probably won't get into caber tossing. But this is just an example of many of the sports that kids can get into that are more physical and require a bit more brute strength and effort compared to other exercises that are comparatively not that difficult. Parents need to encourage their kids to try these more difficult sports so the kids have a chance to try something they might like, and the boosted confidence from doing it (even if they didn't like it) will stay with them for years.

Some parents even hire personal trainers for their kids in an effort to encourage their kid to enter a life of healthy exercise which will keep their child on a healthy track all their way through life. It probably won't lead to the Olympics or professional sports, but the child which grows into an adult will have many years of happiness and health ahead of them thanks to the parent who planned ahead and put some thought into their child's exercise regimen.

Speaking for myself my parents put me through numerous years of ice skating, swimming, boy scouts, and as I got older and started making my own decisions I got into cycling, archery, boxing, tae kwon do, freehand mountain climbing, and many other physical activities long before I became a personal trainer.

I am very thankful my parents took an active interest in my physical and mental well-being.

In our day and age, with the USA and Canada's cutbacks on physical education, the lowered interest of children with sports (and increased use of computers / electronic gadgets), it has become ever more important for parents to encourage children to engage in sports and physical activities.

Find something that your kids enjoy and encourage them to keep doing it. It doesn't matter whether it is ballet or parkour (although I recommend wearing a helmet for parkour) and find ways to add such activities to your child's weekly schedule so they are guaranteed to keep doing them for years to come.

And if it is an activity that both parents and child can take part in, so much the better!

Variants on Classic Weight Lifting

Chin Ups, Dips, Bicep Curls, Push Ups and Squats are five commonly used classic exercises that you can do at home and you won't need much in terms of equipment to do them. However if you are looking for more of a challenge you can also ramp up your workout a bit by trying new things.

Chin Ups

What do you need? A chin up bar.

Try lifting your legs up and pulling your knees in closer to your chest while in the middle of a chin up. Alternatively, try doing your chin ups really slowly - up slowly and down slowly. Or try doing chin ups with your legs at a 90 degree angle. Experiment with it and see what you can do! You can also do reverse grip chin ups, pulling behind your head chin ups, moving your legs backwards at the knees, holding your hands closer together or further apart...

Or even one handed chin ups!!!

Dips

What do you need? A chair or bench or table.

Dips are very easy to do, but if you want an extra challenge try raising one of your legs up and pulling your knee in towards your chest using your ab muscles.

Other variations include putting your feet on a stability ball or basketball, so you need to concentrate on your balance at the same time. (To make it easier in the beginning try wedging the stability ball into a corner so it doesn't shift around so easily.)

Bicep Curls

What do you need? Dumbbells.

Try the classic bicep curl with one foot raised or down on the floor balancing on both knees. By weight training and balancing simultaneously the entire core is worked, in addition to improving balance.

Push Ups

What do you need? Nothing really, just some empty space.

There are literally hundreds of ways to modify the classic push up. From speeding up or slowing down your usual pace, holding the "down" position for five seconds on every rep, touching your nose to the ground each time, to fingertip pushups, or simply elevating your feet. Changing up your push up is easy, and important. Other variations include: Using a stability ball under your hands or feet (or both), doing one push up and then alternating with one stability ball leg tuck. Also, push ups with alternating dumbbell rows for the back, or alternated with mountain climbers for an intense cardio and upper body workout. 

Squats

What do you need? Standing room.

Squats are safe, easy and work your core muscles plus most of your lower body. Squats can be combined with other exercises such as: overhead extension, bicep curls, and front raises. Squats can be made into cardio and co-ordination training by moving with your squats. To do this simply take a side-step, the squat, and repeat taking a step and squatting all in one direction, and then coming back again. You could also try plyometric squats. This power training exercise should only be attempted by intermediate exercisers with no lower body injuries. Go into a squat and when in a seated position, spring up by focusing the force in your quads and glutes. Your feet should come off the floor in a small but powerful jump.

Weighted Bar Exercises

Many exercisers like using a weighted bar because of its versatility. It can be used for strength, cardio and high intensity routines - and all it is really is a big heavy stick.

The brand name version of this is the Body Bar, which is a basically heavy weighted metal stick that has been on the market since 1987, but material wise it is no different from a metal bar you could purchase at Home Depot, Home Hardware or Canadian Tire. In fitness terms the brand name Body Bar has managed to stay popular because it is versatile, despite the fact that you could easily buy any metal bar and do the same job with it.

For extra comfort you can also attach a foam insulation tube around the metal bar, or you could just wear weight lifting gloves on your hands. Either way you don't need to buy an official Body Bar - because quite frankly I don't want to promote a product that is a complete ripoff when people can purchase the equivalent for a lot less.

The beauty of a weighted bar is it can be used like a barbell or like free weights. Being weighted throughout the bar, oppose to loading plates, makes it an ideal tool for beginner barbell squats. It makes balance easier and the exerciser can practice on their own, without need for a weight lifting spotter.

You can also use the weighted bar for cardio and abs. Holding on to one for resistance when doing step ups, or placing it over the shoulders and twisting for core training, makes the exercises more challenging, but is still comfortable.

A huge issue with barbell training is that even if the bar is placed correctly across the shoulder blades, as opposed to across the neck which is improper, many people find it uncomfortable and unsettling to be resting the weight on their shoulders thusly. If you opt for the brand name version Body Bar or get the foam insulation then it is not only slightly padded, but the even weight distribution makes such exercises more comfortable and less intimidating.

The other advantage is that metal bars can be purchased in a range of weight increments from lower weights to 50 lbs or more, which means that unlike the Body Bar which has a lesser range of weights you can purchase, you can match the bar to your individual needs. Thus regardless of whether you only want a little weight or a lot of weight you can challenge yourself with heavier bars as you see fit.

It also means you don't even have to PURCHASE such things. You could easily use a big heavy wooden stick that you find while out for a walk and use that for your purposes. Or alternatively sometimes people even throw out metal bars they don't need any more.

I myself use the metal bar that came with my home gym and then wrapped it with leftover faux leather (for comfort) I had lying around from when I made a quiver for archery. So no worries there.

DIFFERENT WEIGHTED BAR EXERCISES

#1. Bench Press

#2. One Arm Row

#3. Shoulder Press

#4. Bicep Curl

#5. Skull Crushers

#6 Make up your own exercises! eg. I enjoy swinging the bar around like it is a kendo shinai sword.

#7. Chest or overhead for weighted crunches.

#8. Across the shoulders and twist from the core, while trying to touch the elbow to opposite knee.

#9. Across the shoulders for lunges

#10. Squats

#11. Yoga poses with 8 to 10 reps, such as warrior 1, 2 and 3.

#12. Deadlifts

#13. Bicep Curls + Raises

#14. Shoulder Lifts while doing Stairs Step Ups

Basically you can do a huge variety of exercises with a big heavy stick. This is but a small sample of the exercises that are possible with a weighted bar. They're perfect for your frugal home gym, so if you're looking for a new fitness toy to motivate your workouts, try it out.

I would definitely recommend making your own rather than spending the $49 to buy an official Body Bar off Amazon / etc. You can buy a metal bar + insulation / faux leather for a lot less than that.

Build a Beach Perfect Body - In The Winter!!!

It is November and it is starting to snow in Toronto maybe once per week. By December it will be snowing more regularly. By January there will be a foot of snow on the ground.

But if you count the months until mid June (the start of swimsuit season) then there is November, December, January, February, March, April and May - 7 months to get prepared if your goal is to lose weight and look fit for swimsuit season.

Now pay attention... most people only start trying to get fit a month or two before swimsuit season - and most of them FAIL to meet their exercise / weight loss goal.

The reason why is because they are focusing all of their exercise goals into a month or two month period and then wonder why they failed. When asked why they will point to reasons like not enough time, the workouts were too difficult, they fell off the wagon diet wise, lack of motivation and so forth.

I argue that they need to change their approach.

#1. Stop trying to do everything a month or two before swimsuit season. Start exercising NOW, many months before swimsuit season is even close. Thus their excuse that they didn't have enough time will be null and void.

#2. By doing the first it also means the workouts don't need to be quite so intense. People burn out and lose motivation if their workouts are too intense. In contrast if they start exercising over a 6 month period their workouts will be about one third the intensity of a 2 month workout regimen designed to accomplish the same goal. Thus the second excuse about workouts being too difficult will likewise be null and void.

#3. If you are going to make lifestyle / dietary changes you need to make permanent changes that you can stick with it. Now I admit that means making changes during the Christmas holiday season - a season during which many people are prone to binge eating on chocolate treats, xmas dinners, etc. But it can be done and you can do it if you give it an honest try. Start by making the switch to dark chocolate only (70% or better) - no more sugary chocolate or "white chocolate". Eat more veggies during xmas dinners and make fruits and vegetables part of every meal you eat, and every snack. Find the fruits and veggies you love and stock up on healthy foods you love.

#4. Find ways to motivate yourself. Music I find is a great motivator. Another way to motivate is to use fun activities that you enjoy doing. eg. Ice skating, downhill skiing, or just plain going for an afternoon walk and taking your camera with you.

Wait, its cold outside! I hate going outside in the cold!

Then invest in some thermal underwear. Learn how to layer clothing so you don't feel the cold. Get tight fitting clothes that fits really well and keeps you warm. Wear 3 or 4 layers under your jacket, get good thermal gloves, a neck warmer, hat, thermal longjohns for wearing under your pants/jeans, warm boots, thick socks - and voila! You will probably be so warm you will be unzipping layers!

Dressed like that and you can go jogging / winter walks / ice skating / tobogganing like when you were a kid and you won't really be bothered by the cold at all.

Next you need to avoid the temptation to just relax all winter indoors watching cable television, mucking around on Facebook and nonsensical videos on YouTube. Cancel the cable (33% of it is advertising anyway), take a vacation from Facebook, and go outside and make your own winter oriented videos and then post them on YouTube instead of watching other people's junk.

Things To Do This Winter!

#1. Cross Country Skiing - burns a tonne of calories! Burns 500 to 700 calories per hour depending on your weight.

#2. Take Up the Biathlon - cross country skiing with a rifle on your back! Yeehaw! Who says cross country skiing isn't a manly sport???

#3. Archery Biathlon - don't like guns? Take up the archery biathlon. Basically the same idea, but using a bow and arrow.

#4. Snow Shoeing - also burns lots of calories. Good for balance training too, plus it doubles as weightlifting for your legs. Try it and you will see how hard it is.

#5. Snowboarding - Good for cardio and balance. Works your abs too!

#6. Downhill Skiing - Same as snowboarding, makes for fun cardio.

#7. Ice Skating - Great cardio and balance training.

#8. Hockey - On skates or as Road Hockey, this sport will get you outside and having fun while also providing great cardio. Just don't forget to shout CAR!!!

#9. Shoveling Snow - Okay so technically it is not a sport... but it is very good cardio and weightlifting exercise. Shoveling snow is very hard so if you have a poor heart be certain to take it easy while shoveling snow because it is so difficult people are known to have heart attacks.

#10. Taking the dog for a walk - Seriously. Pets need to get outside and exercise too. So take the dog for a walk as often as you can. Or better yet, try competitive dog jogging.

The Lowly Chin Up Bar

If you have a chin up bar, or a place in your home where you can place a chin up bar, you should absolutely be using it.

The chin up bar is a great body-weight device for weightlifting. The concept is simple - lift your own bodyweight using your biceps.

This is something some people have simply never done. They don't have adequate strength in their biceps to physically lift their body - and their body is sometimes in ample proportions. Which is basically a polite way of saying a person is too fat to do a chin up.

But that doesn't mean a person will NEVER be able to do a chin up. With some weightlifting exercises over a period of two months a person who is overweight (but not obese) should be able to do a chin up after the two month period.

To achieve this they would need to do the following...

1. Bicep Curls with 20 lb Dumbbells - 12 sets of 8 reps, every 2 days for 60 days.

Rationale: Doing bicep curls will build up your biceps, the primary muscle used during chin ups. Doing 12 sets of 8 reps means your focus is on muscle gain, not on endurance. You can build endurance later...

2. Pushups (or Knee Pushups) - 12 sets of 8 reps, every 2 days for 60 days.

Rationale: Doing pushups will build your triceps and deltoids. The deltoids (shoulder muscles) are a secondary muscle used during chin ups. Even though they are secondary you will still need those muscles during a chin up.

3. Jumping Jacks - 10 sets of 100 jumping jacks, every day for 60 days.

Rationale: Lowering your body weight via cardio exercises will increase your chances of doing a chin up by reducing the amount of fat in your body. Jumping Jacks and Jogging are both good for this.

4. Jogging (or Jogging on the Spot) - 15 minutes, every day for 60 days.

In the morning of every day you should attempt to do a pushup. After 60 days of doing the above workout they should have lost some fat weight and gained some muscle weight - enough muscle that they can lift their body during a chin up.

You will also need to be eating a balanced diet. That means no binge eating on unhealthy foods, eat smaller portions, learn to snack healthily, cutting out sugary drinks and all those things you know are bad for you.

If you are more overweight (ie. obese) you will need to do a lot more jogging, jumping jacks, and other cardio activities to reach the point where you can do a chin up. So this process may take longer than you were hoping if you are severely overweight.

AFTER YOU ACHIEVE YOUR FIRST CHIN UP

Congratulations!

Now keep doing them! Now is the time to start building endurance and strength at the same time. Work your way up so you can do a set of 5 chin ups at a time.

Once you reach that point you can basically swap out the #1 exercise above (Bicep Curls with 20 lb Dumbbells) and replace it with the following:

1. Chin Ups - 20 sets of 5 chin ups, every day. Or 12 sets of 8 chin ups.  Or 10 sets of 10 chin ups. Or 8 sets of 12. Or 7 sets of 15. Or 5 sets of 20.

Rationale: Now that you can do chin ups you can keep doing them, and if you increase the number of chin ups you do per set then you will be building both your strength and your endurance simultaneously. So pick whichever set combination from above that you want to do and keep doing them. Upgrade to the next set combination when you feel you are ready for a challenge.

Note! Keep doing the pushups, the jumping jacks and the jogging.

Add other exercises to your routine. Yoga for example is great for core muscle strength. But you might also try swimming, ice skating, archery, marathon running, competitive sports...

Basically if you make doing that First Chin Up your exercise goal, and then once you achieve that chin up goal you need to start setting new exercise goals so you can keep progressing. Making recognizable progress will help you keep motivated and keep exercising.

 

Three Great Compound Exercises

A compound exercise is a multi-joint movement which utilizes multiple muscles at the same time so you get all the physical benefits of weightlifting / cardio for those muscles.

Unlike a bicep curl, which is an isolating exercise, and only works one muscle at a time, a compound exercise works two or more muscle groups. The classic example of a compound exercise is a bench press which utilizes triceps, deltoids and pectorals.

However, not all compound exercises are geared towards weightlifting. There are compound exercises that seriously raise your heart rate, burn fat, and still strengthen and tone the body. Example: Bicycling uses multiple leg muscles, raises your heart rate dramatically, while building muscles in your legs and burns calories like crazy.

Another example is boxing, which although it is a sport, it utilizes muscle groups in the whole body and makes for a great cardio exercise - and requires great balance and agility.

As such compound exercises are great for people who want more time efficient workouts and want a workout that is more geared towards weight loss, while simultaneously building muscle. Being able to work more than one muscle at a time cuts down on the overall time requirement for your fitness regimen. Such exercises also tend to work the core from having to balance, change levels, and twist / turn.

Here are three great compound exercises for you to try at home!

1. For your lower body, back, and core try Side Lunges + Rowing

In a wide stance holding a dumbbell in each hand, turn the toes out, with your body facing forward. Lunge over to one side, keeping the knee over the ankle and behind the toe. As you lunge row the weight back like a one arm row with your opposite arm. Then place that weight on the floor. Repeat on the other side so that both weights are now on the floor. When you lunge back to the first side pick the weight up and row. Go to the other side and do the same. Alternate between pick up, drop off and rows. This one will really make you sweat!

2. For your lower body, biceps, shoulders, core try Squats, Curls and Raises

With one heavy weight held with both hands go into a squat. Remember to keep all of the weight on your heels, and push your bum far back. On the way back up to starting position curl the weight like a bicep curl and as you stand, raise it over your head. Get the weight back down hanging in front of your body before starting the next squat, curl and raise rep.

3. For your lower body, chest, triceps, shoulders, core try Lunges + Push Ups

Stand in a wide stance. Point one toe away from your body and go down into a lunge, placing your hands onto the floor. Sweep your forward leg back into a plank position and do a push up. Bring the same working leg back in between your hands and lunge back up to staring position. Change sides.

Note

The above three exercises also go well with cardio intervals (like jumping jacks or skip rope), alternated between isolating exercises, or on their own. If you grow bored with them try making up your own compound exercises that focuses on the muscle groups you want to work with the most.