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Exercise Overview

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The Basics

Getting Prepared

- See the need

- Visualize the desired results

- Make the decision to start

- Set goals

- Take measurements and body fat

- It's crucial to document your losses of fat and gains of muscle so you can track your success.

- GREAT LASTING results are more accurately tracked this way, instead of by weight, because muscle weighs more than fat (one pound of muscle is smaller in size than one pound of fat).

Be Efficient

- Know how to get the best out of your workouts

- The type of workout you do

- Don't over-train

- Know how to read your body

Persistency and Consistency

- Don't settle for less than your best

- Push yourself and your training partner

- Consistency pays BIG dividends

Cardiovascular - The most important part of your overall health & fitness, next to nutrition - It involves the conditioning and strengthening of the heart, lungs and all the blood vessels. - It facilitates all fluid transport and exchange in the body.

Weight Training - The most important part of having a tone body. It involves the conditioning and strengthening of the muscular and structural systems.

Breathing

* Extremely important - frequently overlooked *

- exhale on the contraction (positive) phase of the exercise; which is also when you exert the most energy

- inhale during the relaxation (negative) phase of the exercise pay attention and practice - you WILL get better results

For example: a biceps curl with a bar

positive phase = curling the bar up

negative phase = when bar goes back down

The positive phase is not the same for each muscle group. Usually it follows :

Back and biceps is when you pull to you

Chest and triceps is when you push away from you

Quadriceps (front of the leg) is when you extend out or up

Hamstrings (back of the leg) is when you curl in

(In person I can really show you how to master this!)

Rate of Speed During Exercise

- for most people - especially the beginner - a two count during the positive phase and a four count during the negative phase - after you've mastered this you can try a variation of a 1 count on the positive phase and a two count on negative phase

- there are variations for the advanced and training specific individuals, but it is good advice not to change your rate until you are positive that you KNOW how to contract and control your muscles effectively

Concentration

- probably the most important factor in getting the most from your workouts

- you must learn how to isolate the muscles you are training by squeezing or flexing only the muscles you are training and blocking out the rest of the "secondary" muscles

- move throughout the full range of motion contracting the muscle group you are training and the negative phase should be controlled by the same muscles - do not just relax them control the weight

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Samantha Taylor...Health & Nutrition Expert, Certified Personal Trainer, Life Coach & Professional Speaker