Circuit Training Exercises

If you are growing tired of doing the same old cardio exercises
like stair stepper machines, treadmills, etc., then why not try
something different but that is just as effective at fat
burning?

Try Circuit Training Exercise
Circuit training can be done with either weight training
exercises and bodyweight exercises. The idea is to use
three to five different exercises with no rest between sets.
Choose compound exercises that work more than one body part
and alternate between upper and lower body exercises.

Here is an example of an effective circuit training exercise
routine:

Barbell Bench Press: 1 set of 15 reps

Barbell Squats: 1 set of 15 reps

Lat Machine Pull downs: 1 set of 15 reps

Lunges: 1 set of 15 reps

Press Over Head: 1 set of 15 reps

Go through all 5 exercises without resting between sets.
After you complete all 5 exercises, rest long enough to
catch your breath, then repeat the circuit. Do this 3 to
5 times. If you are not used to this type of training,
you can start off with 3 exercises instead of 5.

Do this routine 3 days a week for 6 to 8 weeks. If you
are really trying to burn fat, also use a fat burner
supplement such as the Lipofit Fat Burner by Stacklabs.

Have A Great Leg Workout

To get the best results from your leg workout, train your legs on their
own day of the week. When training your legs, you're basically
working half your body in one session.

Training your leg muscles doesn't only work your lower half; it
actually works your entire body, increases your heartbeat and gets
your blood flowing to help burn fat and work your cardiovascular
system. If you're working out hard enough, you won't have any
energy left to train any other body parts anyway.

The squat is the mother of all leg exercises. If you were to do
only one leg exercise, it should be the squat, since it works
your entire body. The regular squat is a great exercise in order
to build your legs and your overall fitness level.

Thigh Exercises
Squats or Leg Press - 4 sets x 12,10,8,6 reps
Leg Extension - 3 sets x 10,8,6 reps

Hamstring Exercises
Lying Leg Curls - 3 sets x 12,10,8 reps
Stiff Leg Deadlifts - 3 sets x 12,10,8 reps

Calf Exercises
Standing Calf Raise - 3 sets x 12,12,12 reps
Seated Calf Raise - 3 sets x 12,12,12 reps

Carbohydrates and Bodybuilding

Football star David Garrard recently lost 20 pounds in a short
period of time. In an article for Sporting News, he said he
basically cut out all carbs for three weeks to achieve the
weight loss.

Are these types of extreme diets a good way to go?
Yes and no.

Yes, you can achieve some weight loss in the short term. However,
extreme diets typically don't work in the long run. Traci Mann,
UCLA Associate Professor and lead author of a 2007 study on weight
loss, notes "You can initially lose 5 to 10 percent of your weight
on any number of diets, but then the weight comes back. We found
that the majority of people regained all the weight, plus more.
Extreme diets do not lead to sustained weight loss or health
benefits for the majority of people."

The long term success rate of these questionable approaches is
poor. In addition to a poor track record over the long term,
there is another issue that bodybuilders must be aware of when
considering the extreme low carb diet or other similar
approaches to eating. The chief consideration is obtaining
enough fuel to for the workout. Get too low on fuel and your
workout is impaired. An impaired workout in turn translates
into no muscle gain. Do this a few times in a row and you
may actually lose ground on your muscles.

For working out, your prime fuel comes from carbs and if you
are cutting your carbs to extremely low levels, don’t expect
to have much of a workout. The same is true for the post
workout recovery. If you are inhibiting carb intake, then
your post workout recovery won’t be as beneficial as it
could be with some carbs.

If you do choose to use a low-carb dietary approach, do so
on a mixed basis. That is, go with a low carb diet part
of the week, and boost the carb intake on the days that
you work out hard. By insuring that you have enough carbs
to fuel your training (both before and after the workout)
you will insure that your muscles don’t feel the downside
of your diet.

Notes:

The editor feels it is best to get your carbohydrates
from natural fruits and vegetables rather than from wheat
and grains.

Beyond Failure Training

Beyond Failure Training

Beyond failure training, was made popular by Trevor Smith. His beliefs
were that the body is capable of a lot more stress than we give it
credit for and that when the body fails, the set just begins. Beyond
failure training is very simple in concept, but very hard to do and
few people will ever do it because it hurts so much.

Training past failure demands that when you are doing a set, as you
begin to go to failure, where you cannot complete a full range of
motion on your own and you are at momentary failure, your training
partner assists you in completing a few more repetitions with the
same weight before you are allowed to stop. At this point you are
pumped beyond belief, but it is not over yet! Your partner
immediately drops the weight down around 40% and you continue with
the set until you cannot get any more reps. Your partner again
assists you to get and additional number of reps until you are fried.
Then once again your partner drops the weight so you can continue
your journey into no-mans land and once you begin to fail he again
assists you in getting additional reps. Then and only then is your
set complete. You do only 1 or 2 "sets" as above for each exercise.

Here is the Beyond Failure Training suggest workout routine:

Day 1: Chest and Calves
Pec Deck
Incline Barbell Press on Smith Machine
Donkey Calf Machine
Seated Calf Raises

Day 2: Shoulders and Triceps
Single Arm Cable or Machine Laterals
Front Presses on Smith Machine
Tricep Pushdowns

Day 3: Off

Day 4: Back and Biceps
Pullover Machine
Machine Rows
Lat Pulldown
Machine Curls

Day 5: Legs
Leg Extensions
Leg Press
Leg Curls

Day 6: Off

Day 7: Off


Here are some important rules to remember when following Beyond
Failure Training:

You will tend to need an hour or so to recover from the workout
so that you can perform daily functions.

You will find that after 6 (8 weeks max) that you will start to
get burned out training this way, reduce the intensity for a
few weeks until you feel ready again to give it your all.

You can only train once a day for a maximum of 4 times a week.

You can only spend a maximum of 45 minutes in the gym per
session.

It is very painful and you will tend to have anxiety before
your workouts.

You must keep all other physical activities to a bare minimum
during your 6-week training cycle to insure maximum recovery
and energy available for the workouts

It is imperative that you have adequate nutrients in the
system at all times. You need to make sure you are getting
2-2.5 grams of protein / pound each day along with 2 - 3
grams of carbs depending on your metabolism (if you are
carb sensitive cut it back to 1.5-2 grams and compensate
the calories with extra protein.

Make sure you are getting at least 7 hours of straight sleep
a night along with a good hour nap at some point in the day
or evening. If this is not feasible, Try and get 8-9 hours
of sleep per night.

Train harder then the next guy, and one day nobody will
touch you!

The KISS Approach to Bodybuilding

"Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler."
- Albert Einstein

What was the father of Relativity saying? Be it math, science,
nutrition, or life, Keep It Simple Stupid wherever possible, but
don't simplify it to the point where it's no longer effective or
true. In my own writings, be it articles or books/e-books, I make
every attempt to keep the information and message as simple as
possible. However, I often see popular books and diets that are in
fact too simple. They don't want to confuse people, so they
simplify things to the point that their advice is no longer correct
and has little value to the reader - thus, Einstein's warning.
Oversimplified statements like "carbs are bad" or "fat is bad" or
"do weight lifting for big muscles and aerobics to burn fat" are
among the gems we all see. Problem is, those statements are dead
wrong! A line between simple and too simple must be drawn.

OK, back to the KISS approach...

It's not possible for me to go through every example of how to take
a KISS approach to your training, nutrition, or supplement intake,
but I will attempt a general discussion of each.

KISS and training:

One of the most common mistakes I see in this area is what I like
to call the "I have tried everything and nothing works" syndrome.
My response is always "have you tried sticking to one program long
enough for it to actually have any effect?" The answer is usually a
guilty sheepish facial expression. Let me be honest with you: even
an average uncomplicated program you are consistent with is far
more effective then any high-tech, super-advanced program you fail
to be consistent with.

One simple program you follow consistently
for a year is always better then the five high tech programs you
tried in 6 months where none of them were followed long enough to
have a positive outcome. Simple programs such as: weight training
Monday, Wed, Fri, and aerobics, Tue, Thurs, and Sat, with Sunday
off, whilst varying your exercises tend to work well for the
majority of people.

Are there better programs out there? Of course, but the vast
majority of people follow routines that are overly complicated,
take too bloody long, and are simply unneeded.

I also see a dependence on less productive movements in the gym
over more productive choices. I see people doing reverse Romanian
lunges while the squat rack gathers dust in the corner. Was that
you I saw the other day?

KISS and bodybuilding supplements:

You don't need them. Bet you never thought you would read that
coming from me did you?! Let me qualify that statement: does a
person need any bodybuilding supplements to achieve the basic goal of either
adding muscle or losing fat? No, no they don't. Can muscle supplements
help the process? Can supplements potentially speed up the process?
Can supplements potentially offset some of the negatives? Can
supplements help optimize the effects of exercise and diet?

The answer is yes in all cases. The problem, however, is that I see far
too many people under the impression that the next wiz bang
"cutting edge" supplement is going to make some huge difference to
their appearance while their diet and workout are put on the back
burner or set low on the priority list. They are constantly looking
for that one bodybuilding supplement that's going to make all the difference
while they ignore their nutrition and training! I see it all the
time and frankly, it's frustrating.

Remember, KISS. Focus on your training and your nutrition - then
worry about muscle supplements. Start off with the basics, like a good
multi vitamin, a source of essentially fatty acids (EFA's) and a
good protein powder post workout, then add additional supplements
over time depending on your goals, such as creatine when trying to
add muscle, or ephedrine and caffeine when focusing on fat loss,
and so on. The shotgun approach many people take rarely works,
wastes money, and adds complexity (remember our conversation on
variables above) where it serves no useful purpose.

I love bodybuilding supplements. I take a dozen or more supplements every day of
my life. I have designed them for supplement companies, spoken
about them at various conferences, been involved in the published
research of supplements, and built my career on them, so I am not
some anti-supplement zealot by any means. However, I do speak with
people all the time who outline a long list of supplements they are
taking (many of which have been shown to be totally worthless)
while their diets stink and their training programs are a joke.
Don't be one of these people! Don't think for a second there is any
one supplement out there that will make or break your success.
Realize that bodybuilding supplements are exactly that; supplemental to a good
diet and intelligent exercise program.

KISS and nutrition:

Finally, we make it to nutrition. Nutrition is a potentially
complex topic, and just as importantly, it's a highly emotional
topic for many. No place do I find such clear examples of people
adding complexity where it's not required. Again, there is a small
segment of people that will benefit from - and require - advanced
nutritional approaches, such as pre-contest bodybuilders, pre-race
marathon runners, or even the average person seeking to get to very
low bodyfat levels.

Does the average person who needs to get into
better shape and lose perhaps 20 - 30 lbs. (or more) need to follow
advanced nutrition concepts? Of course not! Can the average person
benefit from techniques more advanced dieters (e.g., bodybuilders,
fitness competitors, etc.) might employ, such as cyclic ketogenic
diets, refeed days, carb cycling, and other approaches? Of course!
Do they require such strategies to drop some fat and get into
shape? No, no they don't. That's why I tend to offer well thought
out, healthy, and easy to follow approaches to nutrition in my
e-books and offer more advanced approaches to people who want to
take it to another level.

Simplicity + consistency = success

The above is what I consider the basics of the KISS approach to
nutrition, supplements, and training. You will have to fill in some
of the blanks as it applies to you specifically. If you are making
steady predictable progress, great, stick to it. If however you are
not making progress in your goals to add muscle and or lose fat, or
some other goal, then you may need to sit down and seriously
rethink your approach to the problem. Is there added complexity
where you know it's not needed?

Are you relying too heavily on bodybuilding supplements to achieve your goals? Do you find yourself doing exercises that are less effective then the good old fashioned
basics, like squats, deadlifts, and bench press? I can't answer
those questions for you, but hopefully I've made you think - which
is half of the battle. You know what they say, you can lead a horse
to water but you can't make him think!

To Your Success...