5 Tips for gym rookies

If you are starting out down the gym it can be a pretty daunting place.  Here are 5 top tips to help you on your way… 

1. Start off by working out in advance which days you want to go to the gym for the next month and make sure that you stick to them.  Arrange nights out, work and your general social life around it and vice versa.  Good planning means you shouldn’t miss a session.  Aim for 3 days a week for the first month as you don’t want to put yourself off too early on.  Build up to 4 days a week when you feel ready to do so.
2. For the first month or two do full body workouts each session.  Don’t try and split it into muscle groups or anything more complicated.  Get the building blocks in place and work from there.
3. Try and do as many body weight exercises as possible.  That means LOTS of push-ups, dips, pull ups, sit ups and the plank.  Why?  Because you need to work up the basic muscle groups to ensure that when you start using free-weights you can manage it without injuring yourself.  Also most body weight exercises will actually help work out several muscle groups at the same time.
4. Build up some of the basic movements on weight machines and the cables.  Cables are really good for all level of gym goers.  Machines, however, are the bane of the gym.  I hate them – but for beginners it’s a good way to build up some basic strength so that you can start on the free weights.
5. Move on to free-weights as soon as possible!  Anything that you can do with a machine you can do with free weights.  Machines will only focus on a very limited range of motion and a very limited section of your muscles therefore you will never get a proper work out using just machines.

If I can give you one piece of advice – other than to wear sunscreen – it would be to get off machines whenever possible and get onto free weights.  It’s the only real way to work out!  It’s an oldie, but a goodie…

Get shoulders like David Haye

David Haye stunned sports fans by beating the Beast from the East on points despite being about 7 stone lighter and almost a foot shorter.

How did he do it?  Well you don’t last the distance if you don’t have shoulders like boulders to pack that punch. 

Here are some of the best shoulder exercises…

Lateral raises:   Using dumbbells or kettle bells raise the weight up to your side.  Palm facing down at all times.  If you pick a heavy enough weight the last sets should be really hard so you may need to use your legs to bounce up.  Use this exercise to stretch out your shoulders fully.  4 sets of 10 reps.

If you feel you are swinging the weights too much or using your legs in excess try do it seated.

Clean and Press:  This will also work out your legs, back, abs and forearms.  A true classic.  Bend your knees, keep your back straight – like a dead lift.  Use an overhand grip on the barbell – don’t overload the bar so you can focus more on form.  Burst up with the weight and bring it up to your chin.  From there press the weight over the head and bring it back down again.  Aim for 5 sets of 8 reps.

Vertical rows:  This will focus more on the traps.  Close overhand grip on the barbell and raise it up to the chin.  Aim for as heavy as possible, but don’t swing your back.  4 sets of 8 reps.

Bicep curl to Arnold Press:  Bicep curl the weight up to the shoulder, palm facing backwards, then press the weight up turning the weight around until the palm faces forwards.  Return the weight slowly.  This can be done with both arms in unison or unilaterally.  Do 10 reps on each side for 4 sets.

This can be done either seated or from standing. 

Shrugs:  Taking the heaviest weight you can roll your shoulders forward 10 times and then backward 10 times.  This is 1 set.  Repeat for 4 sets.

Sledge-hammer swing:  Using a sledge-hammer to smash a tyre is a great way to work out your shoulders, back, forearms and get a cardio work out.  Use alternative grips (left hand high, right low, then swap).  Aim to do 20 swings per side for 4 or 5 stets.  Aim for as little rest as possible to keep the heart rate up.

If you haven’t got a sledge-hammer or a tyre then try using an olympic bar bell.  Instead of a fast swing aim to do it as slowly as possible and don’t let the bar bell hit the floor though.  Have a few training mats on the floor just in case it does hit the floor.  This exercise will use your back a fair bit more than the sledge-hammer.

Next week – how to grow back-hair like Valuev…

10 of the Best – Tracks to Run to

There is always a song that gets you going when your on the run.  You need a good track or two especially when you are wanning half way through your session…

Here are my current 5 top tracks to keep you in your stride:

1. Fireman – Drag-On
2. Usual Suspect – Rick Ross & Nas
3. Money – N.A.S.A.
4. Tha Mob – Lil Wayne
5. Sambuca – Wideboys

Here are my current 5 top tracks to get your sprint on:

1. Window Licker – Aphex Twin
2. Rollin’ Urban Assault Vehicle Remix – Limp Bizkit feat. DMX, RedMan & Method Man
3. Go! – Common feat. John Mayer
4. From Tha Chuuurch 2 Da Palace – Snoop Dogg
5. I’m Really Hot – Missy Elliot

Shake it up

Diet plays a crucial role in any training regime.  I’d say the majority of people I know who gym it up will chug down a protein shake or two when they are training.

A current favourite shake combo is as follows:

• Promax (MaxiMuscle) Strawberry – 1.5 scoops
• 80 gs of porridge oats.
• Small hand full of frozen summer berries.
• Skimmed milk (2/3rds of a pint)
• Blend…
• Enjoy!!!

Total cost to your pocket:

• £1.68 – Promax
• £0.16 – Porridge
• £0.42 – Frozen berries
• £0.28 – Skimmed milk

Total cost of: £2.54

Total cost to your body:

• Promax = 180 calories + 3g fat + 34.5g protein
• Porridge = 300 calories + 20% daily fibre + 6g of fat + 7.8g of protein
• Berries = 35 calories + 16% daily fibre + 0.4g fat+ 0.7g of protein
• Milk = 179 calories + 4.14g fat + 14.4g protein

Total = 694 calories + 36% daily fibre + 13.54g fat+ 57.4g of protein

So not too bad all in all.  I’ve named this shake “Fruity Fibre Shake”.  One of these after a gym session always helps.

Train like Achilles

In 2004 Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, and Orlando Bloom stepped back into Ancient Greek mythology to re-enact the famous Trojan War.  Those cheeky Trojans and their crazy wooden horse antics captured the interest of global audiences.  Following the buzz of the films release everyone wanted to know how Achilles got into such great shape.

If you haven’t got an ancient Greek war to train for or a giant WWF heavy weight beast to spar with a . . .

Then here are some key pointers to focus on:

1. Back
2. Triceps
3. Low body fat

The classic warriors’ V look came from doing extensive back work, most notably pull ups.  Triceps is all about arm size and slaying power – for this hit the dips.  Shedding of body fat to get that cut look – intensive cardio is the only answer.  If you want to look like a warrior from back in the day you have to train like one.  They didn’t have techno gyms like Ivan Drago they had body weight, rocks and fight training.  If you haven’t got a large rock or massive sword then try this down the gym…

Break down your weeks routine like this:

Monday Chest + Squats

• Push ups.  15 reps x 4 sets
• Incline flys.  Bench at 30 degrees incline, fly weight.  10 reps x 4 sets
• Decline cable fly/press.  High cables crossed in-front.  10 reps x 4 sets
• Squat. 8 reps x 4 sets
• Finish with … Push ups to exhaustion.

Tuesday Back

• Pull ups – wide grip.  12 reps x 4 sets
• Bent over single arm row.  Weight between your feet, straight legs.  Look up at all times to keep back straight.  One arm row, then swap to the other arm.  10 reps each arm x 4 sets
• Lat pull downs – in front and behind alternating.  15 reps x 4 sets
• Seated row. 10 reps x 4 sets
• Pull ups until exhaustion

Wednesday Shoulders

• Lateral raises.  10 reps x 4 sets
• Front raises.  10 reps x 4 sets
• Clean and press bar bell.  15 reps x 4 sets
• Shrugs. 8 reps x 4 sets
• Single arm kettle bell clean and press.  Weight from floor to full arm over head extension.  10 reps per arm x 4 sets

Thursday Biceps +  Triceps

• Dips.  10 reps x 4 sets
• Narrow grip pull ups.  10 reps x 4 sets
• Tricep over head extensions – two-handed.  15 reps x 4 sets
• Hammer curls. 10 reps each arm x 4 sets
• Dips till exhaustion.
• Narrow grip pull ups till exhaustion.

Friday Cardio

• Run for an hour.

And that is how it’s done.  Aim to increase the weights lifted week on week and try to get the work out done quicker and quicker.  Once the time spent lifting weights has decrease use the extra time to get the cardio up and start working on ab work outs.

Work out like an insect

Check out these three bad ass insects and how you can be more like them.

The Ant.

These little suckas can lift betwen 4 and 20 times their own body weight.  That is like the average guy lifting a car.  Not an easy feat by any means.

How can you be more like an ant?  Improve your 1 Rep Max (1RM) on the bench press …

Form: Put your hands on the bar shoulder width apart.  As you lower the bar your hands should come down over your chest – not too high as it engages your shoulders and not lower than where your pecs end.  Breath in whilst you lower the weight and push out your breath as you push up the bar.

Method: To improve your 1RM first you need to find out what your 1RM is.  Remember to have a spotter with you!!!  The last thing you want to do is get trapped under the bar!

Once you know your 1 Rep Max you need to start working  backwards – this is called Drop Sets.  Do the one rep max, (minimal rest) strip the bar by 5%, work to exhaustion, (minimal rest) strip the bar 5%, work to exhaustion and work your way down until you are only benching half your 1 Rep Max.  Rest for a few minutes stretching out your chest and arms.  Once you are ready to get back on the bench start working your way back up.  Do 15 reps on half your 1RM, then 10 reps on three-quarters of your 1RM then get as close to your 1RM as possible doing 5 reps.

The Spittle Bug.

Forget kangaroos and frogs – these guys are the real jumpers.

How can you be more like an spittle bug?  Improve your leap…

Jumping Squat: Instead of doing a squat with the bar this is a squat using dumbbells.  Get a weight in each hand palms in.  Bend the knees and lower yourself until the weights are touching the floor.  With a real burst of energy shoot up jumping as high as you can.  When you land go right the way back down to the ground and jump straight up again.  Do 4 sets of 10 reps.

Box Jumps: Standing a few inches behind the box or bench (24inches approx) bend your knees and jump up onto the box.  Make sure you jump off with both feet leaving the ground at the same time and land with both feet at the same time.  Avoid swinging your arms if possible – if it’s hard then it’s working.  Do 4 sets of 20 reps.

The Cockroach.

Cockroaches are the fastest of all insects reaching a maximum of roughly 3 m/ph.  Not bad for little guys.  For this it is important to look at 3 key elements:  Fitness, Strength and Technique.

To improve strength the above two leg exercise are ideal.  Also look to include weighted lunges.

For fitness two cliches say it all: No pain, no gain.  Practice makes perfect.  Sprint training, interval training and hill intervals are all highly recommended to increase stamina and running fitness.  Put the hours in and you’ll get the rewards.

Technique is the hardest one to nail.  Again practice does make perfect, but you need to be practicing the right sort of moves.  Each individual has their own physic and therefore has their own running style.  People always comment on the way that Usain Bolt runs.  He doesn’t have the “traditional” sprinters technique, but he eats world records for breakfast.  Find a stride that works for you.  Look at other runners and see what they are doing, adapt it and see if it works for you.

If your lucky – you’ll get bitten by a spider and never have to worry about going to the gym again…

Sleep your way to the top of your game

The snooze button on your alarm clock looks tempting doesn’t it?  If you ever struggle waking up or spend your afternoon trying to catch 40 winks on your keyboard well this is probably affecting your training.

The average person needs between 7-9 hours according to various medical journals and athletes in full training need up to 2 hours more.  Why do you need all this sleep if you are a sport’s person?  The answer is fourfold:

1. Restoration.  Your body and nervous system repairs its self during sleep.  Memory, and brain activity is also put in order during deep sleep.
2. Rebuilding.  Muscle fibre repairs and grows fastest and strongest whilst inactive.
3. Immunity.  A good amount of sleep reduces the likelihood of illness.
4. Growth hormone.  Growth hormone is released whilst you are catching some Zzzs.  Two hours after you drift off your body is creating the most growth hormone.  More sleep = more size.

“Well that’s great,” you might say, “but how do I make sure that I make the most of what ever sleep I get?”

Three top tips to increase sleep impact:

1. The darker the room the sweeter the sleep.
2. Forget the snooze – it tricks your body into thinking its going back to the land of nod and messes up your body clock.
3. Get a sleep routine – same time to sleep and same time to get up.

So if you put in the hours in the gym, make sure you put in the hours in the sack.

Get that gym ball rolling

I suppose its about time that I get this thing off the ground.

This blog is going to be about the gym, fitness, and all the cool stuff that is missing from your average fitness magazines.

Most people will buy a fitness magazine once or twice and quickly realise that every week they seem to be pumping out the same old thing. How many “5 Tips to Flatter Abs” and “10 Ways to Bicep Curl Your Way into Bed with a Super Model” can you read?

Enough is enough.

This is where the idea for Action Man’s Gym blog came. Its all about learning, developing, and sharing fun and interesting stuff.

This is the first post. The real stuff starts soon…