Advanced Exercise

Are you looking for The Best Exercise Routine?

This guide will spell out specific ways to exercise, give you some routines to follow and help you reach your strength, cardiovascular and flexibility goals.

Table of Contents

• Strength Training and Weight Loss
  • When most people think about exercise and losing weight, they automatically picture running, biking or swimming - a high intensity workout that burns a large amount of calories. They focus all their effort on cardio and completely ignore any of the benefits a strength training routine has to offer.

• Getting into Shape for Beginners
  • So you have a sedentary lifestyle but want to become more active in order to look better, feel great and be healthy. Unfortunately, becoming fit isn't an easy task to complete after being inactive for a number of years. Soon after starting you'll get sore, tired and may even want to quit.
• Overtraining
  • Becoming active is a positive step that will improve your health and the way you look. Even exercising as little as two days per week will yield results but pushing yourself too hard too fast will cause you to get muscle pain, weakness and even more serious injuries.
• Exercise for Turning Fat into Muscle
  • Infomercials can lead us to believe that turning fat into muscle is as easy as taking a pill. Unfortunately turning fat into muscle is a myth and doesn't actually work like that in real life.
• Abs Exercise Routine
  • The hardest part to starting an exercise routine is actually committing yourself to doing so. Once you're sure that you want to add exercise into your daily life, you have to ask yourself a few questions.
• Exercise Plateaus
  • When you first start an exercise routine, you'll find that you improve rather quickly. Your mile time decreases and you start lifting more weights. Sooner or later this levels off and you reach a plateau.
• Reduce Body Fat Through Exercise
  • Not all exercising will reduce your body fat equally. The type, duration and intensity of your routine will determine how effectively you lower your body fat percentage.
• Speed Up Your Metabolism
• You can speed up your metabolism but you'll have to do more than sitting in the living room and watching TV.
• Three Parts to a Successful Workout
• There is more to exercise than jumping on a treadmill, lifting weights or playing basketball. To avoid injury and maximize gains, a warm up, stimulus (or conditioning) and cool down must be included in your routine.
• Guidelines for Cardiovascular Exercise
• Cardiovascular (or aerobic) exercise might seem like an easy thing to pick up and do. For many it is, but others have questions: what kind of exercise should I do, how far should I run? For those, the ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) provides a few guidelines.
• Guidelines for Flexibility Training
• Flexibility is not the most important part of a workout for most people. Cardio and weights are the first two things that come to your mind when thinking of fitness but flexibility should also be in there.
• Guidelines for Resistance Training
  • Many people are afraid to start training with weights. Some think they'll injure themselves and others don't know where to start.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Is exercising everyday bad?
  • Exercise has many positive health effects. Going from a sedentary lifestyle to an active one will lower your blood pressure, decrease your risk for certain diseases and make you feel better about yourself. Some people might take this a step further and justify over exercising.
• How much exercise is too much?
  • Every single person is different. Some can tolerate more exercise than others so making one rule for everyone is close to impossible. Most guidelines recommend at least 3 days of exercise per week and not more than 5 or six.
• What's more important: strength training or cardio?
  • Both strength training and cardiovascular exercise have their own specific advantages. Cardio is usually linked to weight loss and improving muscular endurance while strength training is thought of as a workout only for those wanting to get buff.
• Should I lose weight or build muscle first?
  • When you're trying to lose weight and build muscle, the question is often, 'Which one should I do first: lose weight or build muscle?' This question is looking at the problem from the wrong angle.
• Is it OK to exercise before breakfast?
  • There are a lot of early birds who like to wake up before the sun comes up and exercise first thing in the morning, before eating breakfast. While this can be tempting to save time, it might not be the best idea.
• How often should I change my workout?
  • To get stronger and bigger, you need to stimulate your muscles through exercise. It's not so much the exercise that makes your muscles grow (although exercise is needed), it's the change from doing nothing to forcing your muscles to work that causes them to respond.
• Should I use a sports drink (Gatorade, Powerade) while I workout?
  • The claim made by sport drink manufacturers is that their product is superior to water. It contains electrolytes and sugar to replenish what is lost during exercise so that it can boost performance.
• How can I lose inches off my stomach?
  • Losing inches off your waist can help you drop a few dress sizes or fit into smaller jeans but what is the best way of accomplishing it? Sit ups, diet, running or is it something else?
• What's the difference between machines and free weights?
  • Both machines and free weights can be part of a good resistance training routine. As long as you're using a weight sufficient to stimulate your muscles to grow, either one will do the job.
• How long should I wait before exercising the same muscle?
  • When you workout a muscle, what you're doing is damaging the muscle in hopes that when it heals, it'll heal stronger.
• What time of day should I exercise?
  • You should exercise whenever you have time. If you are free the entire day the best time would be early in the day after you've had something to eat.
• What should I do first: cardio or weights?
  • The answer to this question depends on what your main goals are. Do whatever you want to be better at first.
• Should I eat before, after or during my workout?
  • The timing of your meals in relation to when you exercise is very important. If you eat too early you'll be hungry and might not have enough energy to complete your routine.

Top 5 Lists

• Top 5 Ways to Fix a Boring Weight Training Routine
  • Lets face it, we all get bored with our workout routine. Going to the gym everyday and lifting the same weight can get tiring when you're doing it four or even five times per week. But don't worry, there are ways you can avoid and even stop the boredom from affecting your gains.
• Top 5 Exercise Myths
  • If you listen to anyone talking about exercise, it's almost a given that they'll share some half-truths or even all out falsehoods regarding fitness. Because these ideas have been around for years, a lot of people have accepted them as true. If you repeat a lie over and over again, it remains just that, a lie.
• Top 5 Alternatives to Running
  • There are plenty of reasons why some people can't run. Joint problems, weight issues and age are just the beginning. If you want an excellent workout without the run, there are some good alternatives you can use.
• Top 5 Signs You're Working Out too Much
  • Since working out a little can have a big impact on your health, working out even more should result in even better gains. Unfortunately this isn't the case. After a certain point, extra exercise will lead to injuries, excessive soreness and even the common cold. Find out how to tell if you're working out too much.

Tools

• Free Workout Routine
  • This tool will provide you with a daily workout routine tailored to your goals and schedule. Whether you want to tone up or build muscle, the SH Trainer has a plan for you.
• Calorie Calculator
  • This tool will estimate your daily calorie needs based on your age, height, weight and activity level in order to help you figure out how much to eat to gain, lose or maintain weight.
• Maximum Heart Rate and Intensity Calculator
  • This tool will calculate your target heart rate based on your age and desired intensity level.
• Body Fat & Body Density Calculator
  • This tool will calculate your body fat percentage using measurements you obtained with a skinfold caliper.
• Health Calculator - Daily Calorie Needs Calculator, BMI and Ideal Weight
  • This calculator will give you information such as your daily calorie needs, BMI and ideal weight. If it detects that you are either overweight or underweight, it will recommend a calorie intake to bring you to your ideal weight.