Fat Man UnleashedA Healthy Weight Loss and Fitness Blog

Two Ways You Can Make Squats Fun and Memorable28 lbs LOSTso farMay 26, 2008 by Israel Lagares | 33 comments

Editor’s note: This is a guest post/workout routine from Josh Morrow who can be found at Muscle Bits, a strength training and nutrition blog.

Squats can be fun? Yeah, right, who am I kidding? Now that I’ve got your attention, let’s cut to the chase. Deep within the archives of fitness history, I’ve come across two lost but not forgotten ways you can make squats a little more interesting. Not to mention, both will absolutely kill your legs, and if you are stuck in a plateau, you’ll blast through it with these techniques. On to the good stuff, shall we?

1. One and a Half Squats. Just as the name reads, you’ll perform one and a half squats per rep. To put it simply, squat down as you normally would, but when you are on your way back up, stop midway, hold for three or four seconds, and return back to the bottom. Ascend back to the top position and congratulate yourself, you have ten more of these. Try to remember care bears and cookie monsters or you will shout every four letter curse word in the book.

Now, for safety purposes, you will need to choose a lighter weight that you can handle because this will completely cook you. Too much weight and you’ll find yourself flattened across the gym floor. Also, I highly recommend you recruit a spotter from the water fountain if you haven’t got one. You may find that this exercise is best suited as a finishing move in your leg workout. The premise behind One and a Half Squats is greater fiber recruitment. By keeping the leg muscles under constant tension, you will recruit both Fast Twitch A and Fast Twitch B fibers for greater muscle development and strength. Expect soaring testosterone levels following this exercise (for men, obviously).

2. The Twenty Repper. The Twenty Repper technique is simple. Normal, full-range squats performed at twenty reps. Twenty reps of love. The only twist you will add to this: you choose a weight that you can lift for ten reps. You will want to make sure you have a spotter though, in case you lose control of the weight. The idea here is that you (or your partner’s shouting in your ear will) push yourself beyond the limits of fatigue to put additional stress on the muscles. Similar to the phenomenon experienced with One and a Half Squats, you will recruit more fibers and surge your testosterone through the roof.

As sadistic as these two methods may seem, I can assure that you’ll leave the gym knowing you are primed for growth. You may want to plan on sitting around or at least stretching for the next few days because you are going to have one sore butt. Have fun and remember to lift responsibly!

Like this? Share it:
These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

Pound the Pavement to Keep Vacation Pounds Away28 lbs LOSTso farMay 8, 2008 by Israel Lagares | 15 comments

Photo Courtesy of #BennehBoy

Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Sarah Scrafford, an industry critic, as well as a regular contributor on the subject of RN.

I hate vacations, not because I’m a workaholic, but because I’m one of the unlucky millions who gains two pounds for every one that I sweat and toil to shed, simply by looking at a cheese burger. Working hard to keep my weight in check all through the year and then gaining back a considerable number during two weeks of vacation, well, that’s not something I would wish on even my worst enemy.

But my vacations being what they are - long lazy hours lying in the sun, elaborate five-course dinners, ice-cream sundaes to beat the midday heat - the scales tip upward rather rapidly even before I’ve unpacked the last bag. Being the hedonist that I am for those two weeks, my taste buds would never forgive me if I put them through the crackers and water test.

And once back to the daily grind of mundane work, there’s just not enough time to dedicate to more hours of working out at the gym, and working more than 9 to 5 hours makes me cranky when I’m forced to go on a diet. All I can do is stick to what I’ve been doing before I left for the vacation (which turns out to be a weight-watcher’s nightmare in hindsight) and rue the fact that the buttons on those snug jeans are repelling each other like similar poles of a magnet.

Caught between the devil and the deep sea, I took a firm decision – to have my cake and eat it too and still stay slim and shapely. I would eat all I wanted while on vacation, but I would make sure those delicious bites were never converted to even an ounce of fat on my body. And if you’re wondering how on earth I managed to pull that off, keep reading.

• I replaced my stilettos with sensible walking shoes, and I walked. I walked up and down the stairs at my hotel, I chose the table furthest from the door at the restaurant, I left my computer and cell phone behind and walked to the furthest Internet café and public phone each time I needed to communicate with people back home and at the office. Since I’m addicted to both my phone and the Internet, this strategy worked wonders for it ensured that I would have to walk at least a mile a day.
• I found a bicycle and explored the town - it beat taking public transportation or driving a car.
• Instead of just lazing in the pool, I actually swam a few laps everyday (and then allowed myself to laze).
• I filled myself with fluids, water in particular, just before I kept my date with the sagging buffet table. Window shopping was all I could do, as my stomach could only hold so much with all that water sloshing inside. Of course, my mouth watered long after the tables were cleared, but by then it was too late to let go of my self control.
• And when I did let go and stuff myself, I made sure it was before my long walks or bicycle rides. Instant energy for those activities equates to no extra pounds on my hips and waist.

The scales told the whole story on my return home. Not only did I manage to keep the excess pounds at bay, I also returned refreshed and ready for work, not hung over and lethargic as I usually do.

Sarah invites your questions, comments and freelancing job inquiries at her email address: sarah.scrafford25@gmail.com

Like this? Share it:
These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

Former Fat Guy Rob Cooper On Fitness28 lbs LOSTso farApril 23, 2008 by Israel Lagares | 7 comments

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Rob Cooper, the Former Fat Guy, about his natural weight loss experience. We covered his fitness, nutrition, and mental health. He is an inspiration to all, he once weighed nearly 500 lbs. 500 POUNDS! It took him only two and half years to drop 300 lbs.

Residing in Canada, Rob is now healthy, muscular, and follows a healthy eating plan and exercise routine. FormerFatGuy.com has been online since 1995 and is full of tons of information on weight loss, diet, and physical fitness. Rob clearly knows what he’s talking about when it comes to getting and STAYING in shape.

The first of a three part interview, the following covers Rob’s current fitness regimen. I love learning and reading about health and fitness and hope you do too. I was surprised to see that Rob and I have a few things in common.

So, Rob, let’s get this started. What is your current fitness or exercise goal?



My current goal is to get to 240 pounds at 10% body fat. Then take a few weeks break, then push on to 6%, do a photo shoot that sort of says “been there, done that” and then relax back up to 8%.

What methods are you using to achieve your goal?



I do cardio every morning, 7 days a week and do weight training every other day, allowing for a full 48 hours of rest between strength training sessions.


Describe the exercise program you’re following to achieve your goal.



I do morning cardio for about 45 minutes, mostly HIIT, followed with about 15 minutes of interval training or one single body part training. Then in the afternoon, I’ll go back and do my normal training session. I do supersets with all my exercises and focus on upper body one day, lower body the next. I train for no more than 45 minutes at any one time because I believe that any more than that is counter productive. If you can train more than 45 minutes, you’re not training hard enough!

Supersets allow me to get more work done in a 45 minute session. I mix it up a lot, never doing the same thing one workout to the next. They’re mostly the same, but I mix up combinations of exercises, do them in different orders, compound pushing with pulling one day, then two exercises pulling, two exercises pushing the next session. I might do the same thing for a week at most, then switch it up again.

My goal is keep my heart rate up, and stimulate as much muscle fiber per session as possible for maximum after burn

I’m also a very big believer in core training and most of my training sessions are core based. What does that mean? Glad you asked. I use the stability ball for flyes and DB press. I use the ball for seated db curls and I kneel on it for doing shoulder laterals for instance. I use the bosu trainer as well for doing squats, lunges, pushups and one arm chest press.

By having to keep my core engaged each training session, I work more muscle fiber than if I was laying on a bench or sitting on a seat of some sort. Besides, a stronger core allows for much heavier traditional lifts.

I’m also an avid backpacker / mountain climber, so having a stronger core allows me to carry heavier packs and be a little nimbler on the rocks. I’m all about real world fitness. When I’m outside the gym, I want functional muscle, not just good looking muscle.

Is this a year round exercise program?



Partially I guess. I don’t do daily HIIT for more than 6 weeks at a time. Too much of anything is bad and excessive HIIT without decent recovery time (2 weeks to a month or more) can lead to severe overtraining, depression, stunted growth, muscle wasting and erectile dysfunction. After a 6 week “blast”, as I call it, I take a full 2 weeks off from cardio and only do light weight training – just to keep my muscle. Then I do 2 weeks at every other day cardio while upping my strength training again, slowly working my way back to heavier weights.

As soon as I feel any sort of low energy coming on, or the slight sign of a sniffle, I stop all training and allow for proper recovery. Overtraining sucks.

To answer your question, no, this is not year round training schedule. This has purpose, to get to 10% body fat at 240 pounds. Then it’s about maintenance – which is a completely different program.

I’m going to modify my 6 week blast to a 4 week blast. I’m feeling that my energy peaks at about 3 weeks and begins to taper off at the end of 4, so I’m going to listen to that and take my recovery weeks earlier.

What was your exercise program like prior to setting this current goal?



I had taken almost two years off from the gym. I was traveling with a personal development company called Peak Potentials, facilitating courses and camps all over North America. I worked from 6 am till midnight or 2 am five days a week. It was very intense and when the weekends came, I just wanted down time.

After loosing the 300 pounds initially, and keeping it off for 16 years, I gained more than 50 pounds of fat and I’m currently on a 6 month program to get rid of it.

Prior to that however, my training program was like most – 3 days a week doing cardio and 5 or 6 days a week doing strength training. I’m 40 years old and have been training since 1992, so I’ve gone through all sorts of training “systems”. Hard to narrow it down to just one. Maybe I’ll do a post describing all the different types of training systems I’ve followed here soon.

What results are you expecting from this exercise program?



I expect to drop 3 pounds of fat a week, keep my muscle and or gain some muscle. I expect to drop body fat, but not too much weight – exchanging fat for muscle and dropping inches.

When do you expect to reach your goal?



July 1st, 2008 – Canada Day!



Do you have a reward for reaching your goal? What is it?



Lol, I can’t really say – kinda personal. My girlfriend has agreed to doing something special when I get to 10%.


Which is more important - Weight training or cardiovascular training in a weight loss / fat loss program?


Both. Primarily weight training as its muscle that makes cardio more effective. Cardio makes muscle more effective at burning fat, so we need the muscle to burn fat. Cardio is just the catalyst.

How often do you change your exercise program?



Every 6 weeks at the outside, 4 weeks normally, and right now I’m changing it almost day to day. I go by intuition – what feels right. I know what I want to work when I’m in the gym, I go in with a plan and then choose the exercises to fit that plan – then improvise within those exercises (from experience). Might be a superset, might be a triple set, might be a 20 minute interval training set. Depends on my energy and day’s goal.

Do you allow for down time at all? Recovery time?



HOLY SHIT YES! I listen to my body, if I’m not up for training, or not fully recovered from the last one, I wait another day and re-fuel my body. I’m also very aware of doing heavy HIIT training for lower body and then training legs again the same day. As I said before, I only do “6 week blasts” before taking 2 weeks off to fully recover. During the recovery time, my focus is on nutrition and rest. I will get a couple of massages, do some far-infrared sauna, and yoga to detox, refuel and repair.

What do you do if you simply do not want to go to the gym on a given day?

I talk myself into it.

Just as I can talk myself out of it, I can just as easily talk myself into it. I KNOW that I feel better once I’m warmed up, so as long as I can get to the gym, get changed and get onto the floor, I’m good. Then 2 sets in, I’m warm enough to go heavier and from there it’s a piece of cake. Of my top 10 all time workouts, I’d say 4 of them were ones I had to talk myself into.

On the days I don’t want to be there, I commit to just 30 minutes. Once I’m warm, I just go heavier, knowing I have to do as much work in 30 minutes as possible. After 30 minutes, I’m usually quite interested in doing 15 minutes more.

Well, thanks for the opportunity to learn more about what fuels your fitness. I look forward to reading more about your success.

Next week we will cover Rob’s nutrition. For the latest on Rob make sure to visit his site, FormerFatGuy.com and read more on his weight loss blog.

Like this? Share it:
These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

Bodyweight Workouts: No excuses28 lbs LOSTso farMarch 2, 2008 by Israel Lagares | 9 comments

Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Zac Tunstall of Hood Workout, a site with videos on how to perform bodyweight exercises in the comfort of your own surroundings.

All of us have body weight (many of us have more body weight than we want). This body weight is a perfect tool you can use to aid you in your workouts. I have heard more excuses than I would like to share from various people about why they do not exercise. There is no excuse. There are hundreds of exercises that you can do right now while reading this blog.

Pushups are a great place to start. If you cannot do a normal pushup begin by doing pushups from your knees. If you cannot do many reps of pushups, practice by doing them on your knees to improve endurance. Go ahead try to do a few now. Once you feel comfortable with pushups try doing advanced routine, triangle pushups, wide stance, clapping during the pushup, double clapping, one arm, handstand pushups, etc… There is a never ending supply of upper body workouts built into you.

Squats are a great lower body workout. Starting out, you can just do reps of your own body weight. Why not stand up and try to knock out 10-20 squats now? While you are standing go ahead and do a few calf raises to make yourself feel better and look better. If you generally squat 500 #’s try doing one legged squats with just your body weight, concentrate on your balance.

Why not combine the two exercises and do some burpees? To do a burpee, start in a pushup position, do the pushup, then quickly jump feet forward to a squatting position. From that position jump up (bring your knees into your chest and stretch your arms into the air). Drop back down into a squat, than jump your feet back and fall into the pushup position to start again.

Here are a few other suggestions of things you can do “right now” from your office or home. Tricep presses from your chair, arm circles, crunches, air bikes, situps, jack knifes, isometrics, aerobics, run, walk, jumping jacks, and many more… You can walk to a local park and do some pull-ups, dips, and other various bodyweight exercises.

You can do bodyweight workouts anywhere anytime. They take up very little space and can give a solid workout. They are used in the hood, street, prisons, and even in the corporate world. Gyms are great, the one thing they are not, is an excuse. After you have your doctors’ approval to begin working out or are deemed fit enough to start, there really is no reason why you are not working out. There really is no excuse to not begin working out and to continue your routine at all times.

Like this? Share it:
These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

Exercising Sucks28 lbs LOSTso farFebruary 12, 2008 by Israel Lagares | 8 comments

Actually, exercising doesn’t suck. What sucks is when you’ve worked months and months on your dieting and have lost a lot of weight and then you add exercise to your program and start gaining it back.

However, no matter how much it sucks, don’t be discouraged. With the exercise your body has to make modifications because you’re burning more calories than you were before but haven’t eaten more food. The body gets worried that you’re trying to starve it. A couple of modifications that could help would be to add a few more calories to your diet or ignore the weight for a while as your body adjusts.

I’ve recently started an exercise program based on information that Israel here at Fat Man Unleashed provided me. I’m feeling the effects of it. My waist feels a little smaller. I’ve had more energy. My muscles are getting bigger. Every time I exercise it’s easier than the last time. However, I’ve gained weight. Not much, but a couple of pounds.

I’ve been told to ignore the scale for a while and although I have to weigh myself every day because my doctor wants me too, I’m going to start only paying attention to the weight about once a week. The other thing I do is if I’m between meals (I eat 5 a day) and I’m feeling hungry, I grab something very small with a few calories and munch on it. A good example would be a mini dark chocolate. Since dark chocolate is good for you in small doses, I’ll eat one or two of the mini ones which handles my sweet tooth, gives my body a few extra calories so it doesn’t get upset with me, and gives me the health
benefits of chocolate but without the bad stuff from eating too much of it.

There is nothing wrong with adding exercise to your diet program. Both are required for a healthy body. If you gain weight after you start exercising just take it as muscle gain and keep on going.

This article was guest written by Michael White of Saphrym.com.

Like this? Share it:
These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

Morning Routines28 lbs LOSTso farFebruary 9, 2008 by Israel Lagares | 7 comments

Blogging is definitely not the perfect ‘job’ when you are trying to watch your weight. My weight has gotten up to about a steady 215, but ideally 180 is my target. I’ve tried fasting, with the Master Cleanse Diet, however since then I’ve gained the weight back. I’ve also cut down drastically on soda and began drinking tons of water. However, it hasn’t been enough.

Morning Walks

The past few days I have started morning walks with my girlfriend and son (2 yrs old). Our method has been to get moving early (wake up earlier) and exercise.

We walk several blocks to the store and buy fruit each day. On the way home we all share it (or give little Matthew). It’s a way to get moving and to eat a healthy light breakfast. It doesn’t hurt to get the little guy up and moving as well.

Make it Work for You

Routine and consistency is the key for a workout like this. I have been trying to do everything else to be healthier, but walking and exercise was missing. I believe that it is my last key to begin losing weight again.

You have to make it work for you. We enjoy taking our son out for a walk. The healthy snack for breakfast is plus as well. Since I enjoy it, I am definitely more likely to continue this routine. It’s more an enjoying trip rather than a “workout”.

Not everyone has the luxury of doing this every morning. Be creative with physical activity. Maybe for lunch grab a quick filler and take a walk.

Most importantly, do what works best for you.

This post was guest blogged by Matthew Henrickson of Blog About your Blog.

Like this? Share it:
These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

Wake Up to the Treadmill!28 lbs LOSTso farJanuary 28, 2008 by IronGuru | 10 comments

Ever feel tired and sluggish through the day? I do, a lot. I’m a very unmotivated and lazy person, I’ll admit it. But, I force myself (or my workout partner forces me to do it), and the best way I’ve found to keep my energy up through the day, was to do something unorthodox … creative … original.

OK, so it may not be any of those things but it does keep my metabolism high through the day. I feel a lot more energetic, and less likely to procrastinate. By now you’re probably tired of hearing me talk about my day, and want to know what I do! Well, it’s pretty simple. When I wake up, I try my best to hop on the treadmill right after I wake up. I roll over, through my cell phone against the wall for waking me up, then smack my alarm clock which goes off about 30 seconds later … and by now, I’m out of bed good and mad.

I grab my water from the fridge, throw back some green tea caps, ALRI Venom, and some cayenne pepper extract and hit the treadmill. I’m a firm believer in low-impact, high-intensity cardio. I crank the incline all the way up (15% grade on mine), and walk at a brisk pace. I worked up .1 mph every day until I was at a comfortable pace (which is 4.5mph for me, any faster and I feel like I’m jogging), and do this for at least 45 minutes.

I’ll be writing more on the topic, but the basic theory behind this is that the body takes about 20 minutes to burn it’s first-supply of glycogen (sugar). This comes from the liver, after that has been used, the body starts converting fat into energy. This is what sheds the pounds, and takes the waistline down. When you do this right after waking up, on an empty stomach, the body will skip right past the liver (as it used that energy to sustain life while sleeping) and start converting fat stores.

If I happened to lose you through that, I’m sorry. Basically … your body starts burning fat FASTER when you do cardio after waking up and on an empty stomach, then it would if you hopped on the treadmill after having even a simple meal! Aim for more than 30 minutes to really make your cardio session effective, and work at a brisk comfortable pace.

Like this? Share it:
These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

Pushing Around a 5500 lb. Car28 lbs LOSTso farJanuary 27, 2008 by Israel Lagares | 16 comments

Car pushing can help build muscle and strength in ways you never would have imagined. I first came across car pushing and pulling while watching The World’s Strongest Man competition on ESPN as a kid. It can help train your body in ways that conventional weights, exercises, and machines can’t. It’s also a great total body cardio workout.

I have been wanting to test my strength by pushing a car for quite some time. So I finally decided to bite the bullet and head to the park. I managed to convince a nice guy at the park to let me push his 2004 Ford Expedition around the lot for a few minutes. The total curb weight for that size truck is 5499 lbs. Add to that the 173 lbs. that the guy weighed and the extra stuff I saw in the trunk of the SUV and we are looking at well over 5600 lbs. Oh, and I have it all on camera.

I wasn’t at all intimidated by the size of the truck, I knew I could push it. I just didn’t want to look like a fool pushing around a car. My car pushing skills are limited to the many times I have had to get out and push a stalled car from the middle of the road or a car stuck in the snow during the winter in NYC. That hasn’t happened for a few years, so I am rusty. I didn’t bother stretching, instead I mentally prepared myself for the task. Small words of encouragement and picturing myself push the car around helped to psyche me up.

As you will see in the video, it wasn’t that hard to start off. I found it rather easy pushing the truck from the back, but pushing from the front was really difficult. The engine weight maybe? I estimate that I pushed for anywhere from 50 to 80 yards. Either way, it was a great experience. After that last push I ended up with that burning sensation in my throat. You know, the feeling you get when you train real hard and your heart and chest start pumping. I usually get that feeling when I run fast, but 2 or 3 minutes of car pushing and I was feeling it bad! My technique may be off, but then again I was just doing this to say I could do it. Next time, I will look into car pushing techniques. I tried pushing with my legs and upper body, then just my legs, then just my upper body. It all felt the same.

Here’s the video:

Like this? Share it:
These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

Exercise Your Way to Better Blogging28 lbs LOSTso farJanuary 25, 2008 by Israel Lagares | 4 comments

It seems to me that you can hardly go one day without hearing health related news. There are new miracle pills developed on a seemingly daily basis, medical reports are published frequently debunking some previous health myth, and it seems as though half of all TV commercials deal with some aspect of health. There’s no way around it; health is important and it’s everywhere!

I lead a pretty busy life – there’s grad school, there’s my wife, then there’s my job. Oh yeah, and don’t forget about my side businesses online like my blog and other e-business websites. My days are packed tight and my schedule is full from the time I wake up until the time I go to bed. After examining my lifestyle and my schedule, I’ve often tried to streamline my life so that I’m not doing anything that is not productive. I’ve tried to replace the junk with the more fruitful things in life but no matter how I tried and no matter how I rearranged my schedule I always managed to leave in time for exercise. Be it going to the gym in the winter or going for a run/jog/walk when it’s nice outside, exercise is the key to help me keep a good mental attitude and physical condition. If the saying “you are what you eat” is true, I find that “you are what you do” is just as relevant.

Regardless of how my day is going, I always feel a little better after exercising. After working out, I feel better about myself, my situations, and know that I’ve made progress with whatever is on my mind because I have just spent time passively and actively thinking about whatever that may be. Exercise is a great stress reliever, self-esteem builder, and motivator. Whenever I work out, I always work better and write better afterwards. I work more efficiently, my blog posts are better and more articulate, and my school work gets done more efficiently.

The list below represents my top 5 reasons to work out and exercise regularly. Not only do these reasons motivate me, but they give me a much needed break from life and provide me with some “alone” time to think about and organize the rest of my tasks.

1. Exercise improves my mood. After a busy day of work and classes, when I go to the gym for a workout I feel my mood change for the better. By the time I’m done, I have more energy and motivation to do whatever else needs to be done that day.
2. Exercise helps me to organize the rest of my tasks. Regardless of where I exercise, I’m able to think about the tasks that I need to get done the rest of the day. A hectic schedule sometimes doesn’t afford me time to think, so exercise is my thought outlet.
3. Exercise relieves stress. After a particularly challenging day, I look forward to going to the gym for a nice work out. Lifting weights and jogging on the treadmill help me to relieve the stresses of the day and I leave the gym feeling like a new person.
4. Exercise helps me sleep better. This cannot be understated or under rated. Sleeping well is key to feeling good the next day. Waking up after a good night’s sleep is a great feeling and exercising can help you achieve that kind of sleep regularly!
5. Exercise is fun! I know this is cliché, but exercise IS fun!I like exercising. It’s fun and I enjoy it quite a bit. I think you can find enjoyment out of exercise too, especially after looking at how much your habits and productivity has changed after working out for a while. Group exercise classes and other social aspects of a gym can be quite entertaining. You can have fun while working out!

Balance is the key to life. No matter if you work 3 jobs or are retired, there must be balance in your life. I find that exercise is a great equalizer in my life and helps me to balance out my thoughts, stresses, and plans. If you already exercise, keep it up! If you don’t exercise regularly, I dare you to find a gym and start going. You’ll thank me for it later.

Nick is a 20-something full time grad student and full time IT guy. Specializing in Information Architecture, he often dabbles in online projects. His latest project, a blog at http://www.learnhow2earn.com, is a blog that details his online money making experiences. Like what he has to say? Check him out and drop a comment!

Like this? Share it:
These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

How Many Sets Should You Do Per Exercise?28 lbs LOSTso farJanuary 23, 2008 by Israel Lagares | 4 comments

This article was submitted by Mehdi, author of the strength training blog StrongLifts.com

Israel invited me to make a post about how many sets you should do per exercise. For a lot of people going to the gym, the amount of sets you should remains unclear. This post will help you out.

Benefits of Sets. What is the purpose of a set anyway? What is it good for?

• Improved Technique. The more sets you do, the more you can practice your technique. If you’re new to weight lifting, 5 sets leads to technical proficiency faster than 3 sets.
• Increased Stress. If you Squat 60kg for 3 sets of 5 reps, you have lifted 900kg. 5 sets of 5 reps with 60kg amounts for 1500kg volume. Volume stresses your body: it forces it to build muscle & strength.

The Problem with Sets. Your body needs to recover from all that stress. You can’t do high amounts of sets for a long time without overtraining. Some symptoms you might experience:

• Lack of motivation
• Strength loss
• Problems sleeping
• Injuries

How Many Sets Should You Do? Best is to shoot for 15 to 25 reps per exercise depending on how many reps you do. Your warm-up sets don’t count. Examples:

• 3 sets of 5 reps. Build strength, power & myofibrillar hypertrophy.
• 5 sets of 5 reps. Same as 3 x 5, but more stress & technical work.
• 3 sets of 8 reps. Less strength, more sarcoplasmic hypertrophy.
• 2 sets of 12 reps. More endurance & sarcoplasmic hypertrophy.

All rep ranges build muscle, strength & endurance. But some do it better than others. Start light, learn to do your exercises correctly & add weight each workout.

Unless you understand how sets & reps affect your body and thus the results you’re getting, stick to a routine proven to work. If you don’t know which one, check out StrongLifts 5×5. It takes 3×30mins per week.

This article was submitted by Mehdi, author of StrongLifts.com. Check out his blog for more tips on how to Deadlift, Bench Press, Overhead Press, gain weight & lose fat.

Like this? Share it:
These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

The Ultimate Laptop Workout28 lbs LOSTso farJanuary 20, 2008 by Israel Lagares | 2 comments

So you make money with your laptop, right? Cool, the handy slim, rectangular circuit box puts bread on the table. It also keeps you in contact with love ones, that’s an enriching component to its repertoire. It may even get you laid, thank God for Craig’s List…you know what I’m talking about horn dogs. But does your prissy laptop make you sweat and improve your heart’s health? Does it give your muscles a burn? If not it’s because you’re not utilizing it right.

The average laptop weighs about 7 pounds, some of the larger HP entertainment versions can tip the scales at around 12 pounds. This weight combined with the normal tension you will feel from not wanting to drop your holy money maker, doohickey will create an awesome workout apparatus.

So first and foremost unplug your laptops geniuses, we don’t want any accidents.

1. Stand with your laptop in your hands perpendicular to the floor. Extend your arms out and twist to the right hold it, bring it back to the center pause and then hit the left and hold it, get a good stretch. Concentrate and take these slow. Do 20 reps. Next keep the laptop in the same position but now press it against your belly. Perform the same twist but now add a squat when you arrive at center, perform 20 reps. Following that resume the extended position with the laptop and perform 15 more twisting squats.
2. Next hit the floor, do not let the laptop hit floor! Lay down on the floor and hold the laptop in your hands with your palms facing each other. Press your laptop for 55 reps. Feel the burn your laptop can inflict!
3. Now get a pillow. No you’re not going to take your laptop- human relationship to the “next level” you freak. Set the pillow on the floor above your head, it will serve as a cushion so you don’t bang up the precious laptop. Your starting position is at your belly button and simply stretch with the laptop with your arms extended and reach backwards tapping the pillow. Perform this movement for 30 reps and then immediately do 15 reps but when you reach your chest perform 5 rapid presses.
4. The next move requires you to sit, so get comfy. Simply take your laptop above your head with arms fully extended and then lower the laptop behind your neck and bring back up to the start position. Perform 100 reps. After that press the laptop off your chest for 35 reps.
5. Now that you have bonded with the laptop and have earned the trust of the television, keyboard thingy take it to the next level. Perform lunges with the laptop pressed against your chest. Do these lunges slowly and carefully with focus to create optimal tension. Perform 20 laptop lunges for each leg.

Hope you enjoyed the workout, take care to all, and get active no matter what!

If you liked this workout, then you will love the Blogger Proof Workout!

Like this? Share it:
These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.