Supersets - Cut down on time in the gym

Good morning everyone! Summer weather is coming and some of you may be asking what's the easiest way to burn fat, get super lean and have that six-pack? Obviously a clean diet and cardio definitely help, but when it comes to lifting weights, supersets are your friend.

Supersets not only boost your metabolic rate and burn fat faster without spending a lot of time in the gym, but using supersets while weight training stimulates the growth of lean muscle tissue...which again is your friend when it comes to increasing your metabolism.

Supersets can be done with varying degrees of volume and intensity. They can also be done differently by grouping them as a push/pull superset or by supersetting two exercises to work one body part. An example of this is something I'm currently doing. In the picture I am doing bent-over barbell rows and then I superset it with bent-over dumbbell rows. So, when I finish one set with the barbell I immediately do a set with dumbbells.

So if you're looking to get a great workout in at the gym, not spend hours there and increase both lean muscle and your metabolism, supersets are certainly a way to go! Have a great day everyone!

- Mike

Tuesday Training Tip - Shoulders

Today will be a simple tip about the shoulders (or deltoids).  The deltoid is a large three-headed muscle group consisting of the anterior (front), medial (side) and posterior (rear) deltoid.  The function of the deltoid muscle is to lift and rotate the arm.  It is important to develop and train all three groups when training shoulders...especially for those looking to achieve that "V-Taper" physique.  When training shoulders there are two types of exercise; presses and raises.  I'll list a few simple and basic exercises to hit all three deltoid groups.  One last thing I'd like to mention is not to forget about the trapezius muscle, since they extend down from the neck, to down between the shoulder blades. As promised, here are just a few simple exercises that you can do to hit all deltoid groups. Have a great day everyone! :)

- Mike

- Seated Dumbbell Presses

- Side Dumbbell Lateral Raises

- Seated Dumbbell Lateral Raises (Bent over at the waist)

- Upright Rows (Barbell or Dumbbells)

- Shrugs (Barbell or Dumbbells)

- Rear Delt Flyes (if your gym is equipped with a chest flye machine, it usually adjusts for you to hit the rear deltoid)

  

Tuesday Training Tip - Lat Pulldown

Today's tip is about the Lat Pulldown.  The lat pulldown is a staple in most back workouts.  One big thing to avoid while doing these is leaning back and using momentum to pull the weight.  I see it a lot.  People leaning back, using their weight, as their first motion to pull the weight.  You're not doing anything with your lats by doing this and you can actually move the weight significantly by just leaning back...not what you want to be doing.

Instead, what you should focus on is keeping your body upright with a slight lean back and you should stay in this position throughout the movement.  Focus on your elbows, not your hands, because if you focus on your hands pulling the bar you'll have a tendency to use more of your biceps, again, not what we're focusing on.  Work on that mind muscle connection and concentrate on pulling the bar by the means of your elbows as low as you can trying to touch the top of your chest.  It's ok the last few reps if you can't quite touch your chest with the bar, but if you find yourself not being able to touch your chest in the begin few reps, then you're going too heavy, lighten the weight.

Hope you find this tip useful the next time you do lat pulldowns.  Make sure to check back next Tuesday for another Tuesday Training Tip and you can find more training tips and fitness related topics by connecting with me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (and for some reason the Instagram icon keeps disappearing, but if you hover over the blank space next to the Facebook icon, it's there).  Just click the icons on my site and you'll be directed to these accounts.  Have a great Tuesday! :)

- Mike

Tuesday Training Tip - Bent-over Barbell Rows

Today's Tuesday Training Tip will cover the bent-over barbell row.  This is a great lat exercise and is a good partner to go along with pullups and lat pulldowns.  If you're looking to build a wider back and expand those lats, this is a great exercise to do.  Here's how to perform them.

Step up to the bar with your feet shoulder width apart and grab the bar about shoulder width or a little outside shoulder width. You can grab the bar two different ways, over grip or under grip.  I choose to do over grip because it's very easy to start using your biceps while performing this movement, but this exercise is meant to focus on your lats.  Bend over at the waist.  I like to keep the bar close to my legs, the starting position the bar is actually touching my knees.  When you pull the bar up, you want to pull towards your waist, not straight up to your chest.  Pulling straight up will engage your biceps and again, not what you're looking to do, this is an exercise for your lats.  When you get the bar up to your waist, pause and give a good squeeze.  If you can't pause at the top of the movement, your weight is too heavy, drop to a lighter weight.

- Mike

Training Tip - Biceps

Hello everyone! A little Tuesday training tip for you guys. When training biceps you have to keep in mind there are two heads. The short head, located on the inside part of your bicep, is what gives your arm width when viewing it from the front. The long head, the more outer head of the bicep, is the peak when viewing it from the side.

Here I'm doing a dumbbell spider curl. This movement focuses more in the short head, adding that width to my biceps when viewing it from the front. Hang off the end of an inclined bench with your arms hanging straight down. Hold the dumbbells so the ends are touching. Curl straight up, hinging at your elbows, while keeping the dumbbells pressed together throughout the movement. Pause at the top of the contraction for a squeeze. If you can't pause at the top, the weight is too heavy. Drop to a lighter weight to ensure you get that squeeze at the top.

- Mike