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Are you ready for a Fun Set? You may be asking yourself what set could fun? Let me describe the situation by using typical bicep routine.

Let’s suppose when I go the gym today to blast my biceps, I start off with standing barbell curls. I work four sets with 8 to 10 reps. My partner is no way letting me off easy, so he loads the bar to make every set heavy. On the last set, I know 4 reps is going to be tough, the 5th will be almost impossible and 6 through 8 will be done only with his help. My “bi’s” are beginning to fry and I have just gotten started.

Next we move to seated alternating dumbbell curls. The movement is more concentrated because you only have to focus on one arm at time. Again, my partner sees an opportunity to torture me a bit more. He forces me through the last reps of every set. Remember I said fried before; well now we are really pumping in the blood. The head of the bicep is getting down right full from this workout. I feel the growth coming on!

Now I move to another bi blasting exercise, the seated curl machine. This machine isolates the bicep movement and eliminates any possibility of cheating. Again, I do 4 sets of 8-10 reps.

So what the heck is FUN SET? None of the above sounded like fun…right? Hold on I’m getting there. I just had to set the stage for defining the Fun Set.

The Fun Set is a set that you do in addition to your normal routine. However, with the Fun Set you choose any weight and number of reps you want to do. In my mind, if you have just pounded out the hard and heavy sets, the Fun Set should be light weight and done with higher reps. Often I will stay with the last exercise in my arm routine and just lighten up and rep out. In this case the curl machine does the trick for my Fun Set.

My biceps will flush with blood for the best feeling pump on the planet. Try it; you’ll know what I mean. Heck I might even do 2 Fun sets if the feeling is there. You’ll know when to stop. Do too many and the Fun Sets will become counter productive.

You can do a Fun Set with any muscle group! Some suggested funs for other body part are:

* Triceps- do bent over tricep kick backs with a light weight dumbbells

* Pecs- do light weight cable flies or flat bench dumbbell flies

* Back- do wide grip cable pull downs

* Legs- do high rep squeezing leg extensions

* Calves- do calf extensions on box or other elevated surface with just your body weight

The key to a Fun Set is to add it periodically to your regular routine. Keep it spontaneous. Also, keep it light and increase the reps. You will have a blast.

This technique was introduced to me by a very good friend (Tom Hahn) in Louisville, KY. My thanks to him. There is nothing like a FUN SET!

Scott Jameson is a bodybuilder and trainer for over 30 years. He has a passion for bodybuilding and helping other achieve this success. He regularly applies the techniques in this article. See more of his articles at http://www.bodybuildingprogramzone.com

If you want to more information on a Bodybuilding Program - Check out the Zone, the site with a passion for you to succeed.

This article may reproduced on your website provided you acknowledge Scott Jameson as the author and must show link to http://www.bodybuildingprogramzone.com

There are many health benefits to doing a regular daily aerobic workout. Taking part in any type of aerobic exercise greatly improves a person’s health and fitness levels and of course, it can also be effective in weight loss since different types of aerobic activities help to burn more calories and for that reason can be combined with a healthy diet to produce even more health benefits. The term ‘aerobics’ means ‘with oxygen’ since you take in oxygen when you breathe and when you are exercising your breathing is faster and you feel quite warm and sweaty when you are working out as a result of taking in more air. This type of workout is extremely good for the heart and helps in delivering oxygen to different parts of the body.

What Type of Activities are Aerobic Workouts?

Aerobic activity can involve any type of exercise that raises a person’s metabolism. Some of the more popular exercises include swimming, cycling, walking, jogging, running, stair climbing and general aerobic workouts. However, any kind of activity or exercise will help to improve a person’s fitness level and aid in a person’s weight loss. For instance, performing household chores such as vacuuming and cleaning can also contribute towards raising a person’s fitness level.

What about dancing or bouncing on a trampoline, skipping, rowing, basketball or skating? These activities are also very good at burning calories.

In other words, any type of exercise will help you to get fitter as long as you do it regularly and it does not have to involve activities that are exhausting to perform. In fact, doing regular light or moderate aerobic activities is easier to maintain and gives better results since they are more likely to be kept up than aerobic exercises that involve high intensity workouts. In any case, it is always best to start at a lower level and gradually increase your activity levels when you get fitter.

For a person who is new to exercising or someone who finds it difficult to get themselves motivated or stick to any form of aerobic exercise, the best place to start is with doing something you enjoy for around thirty minutes a day three to five times a week. One of the easiest aerobic exercises to perform is walking since a person can start off doing a low intensity workout that is easy to keep up and then gradually progress to a more effective type of brisk walking. The only special requirement is a reasonably good pair of walking shoes and appropriate clothing. There are many people who enjoy performing this type of activity since it doesn’t really feel as though they are doing any specific kind of aerobic exercise. Many have increased their fitness levels to the point where they actually enjoy going jogging or running.

The thing to keep in mind with exercising is that any type of aerobic activity is effective as long as it is adhered to regularly and when it is performed on the right fitness level to suit the person doing the exercises.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Aerobics

What if I were to tell you that most if not all of the cardiovascular exercise you do was worthless? Well, guess what… over 50% of the people who perform cardio in an attempt to burn fat are wasting their time… hours and hours of it! Are you one of them?

Before you call me crazy, let me explain. I’m not saying that cardiovascular exercise can’t or doesn’t burn fat; it’s just that most people are not performing the right type of cardio workouts. Before I get into the details, let me first cover some of the basics.

Just like anything in life, if you want to be successful you must do two things:

1. Know what you’re doing (or learn); be knowledgeable

2. Have a plan (detailed/well thought out)

How Cardio Exercise Affects Your Body

Well, I’m going to make sure that after reading this today you will be able to do both. So let’s start with your knowledge. It’s critical that you understand how your body works and what happens when you exercise.

The human body is constantly burning a mix of fuels or energy sources: fat and glycogen. Glycogen is energy stored in muscle cells that is primarily used during intense muscle contractions. Some examples of these intense muscle contractions would be strength training, running, hard physical work, etc. So basically, during low to moderate activity levels, your body first uses what’s in the blood stream and then uses primarily fat.

When you are highly active you use more glycogen and less fat. You are probably wondering what all this has to do with you and your cardio workouts… right? Well, it matters… a lot!

There are different benefits of different level of activity. Let me explain to you the system use, why I use it, and why it’s the most effective. I recommend three basic level of cardiovascular exercise:

Level 1: Long easy workout (ex. walking 60 minutes

Level 2: Moderate intensity / moderate time (ex. fast walk 45 minutes)

Level 3: Short, hard workout (ex. running 20 minutes)

NOTE: It doesn’t matter what activity or piece of equipment you choose. All that matters is that you get to the desired level.

Let’s talk about what happens at each of the three levels. When exercising at the Level 1 pace, your body burns more colonies from fat, HOWEVER the total number of calories is small. In order for you to burn a lot of body fat at the easy level you would need to do it for hours at a time! Not too practical is it? This is not to say there aren’t benefits because there are…it’s just not the best choice when it comes to fat loss. The primary benefit is increased blood flow and circulation, which means you’ll feel better, you’ll recover more quickly, and you’ll be healthier in general.

Ok, let’s talk about Level 2 now. At this level you burn more calories but less are from fat. Moderate work will result in a larger increase in metabolism than the easy Level 1 and will last 2-6 hours in most cases. You also get the benefits of increased blood flow but you also have to remember that it’s a bit more stressful than Level 1. The main benefit, or I should say possible benefit is increased endurance (cardio/respiratory) IF your workouts are progressive (challenge the body’s systems to work harder over time nearly each workout if possible).

Last but not least Level 3. At this level you burn the most calories per unit of time. You also burn less fat during the workout, but the plus side is you deplete muscle glycogen which means you’ll be les likely to store “new” fat because any excess calories will be stored in the muscles instead. This typed of workout also results in the largest increase in metabolism, which will generally last 4-24 hours or more.

The Level 3 workout is by far the most effective when it comes to fat loss for four reasons:

1. Burn more calories in less time

2. Largest increase in metabolism that lasts the longest

3. Helps to add and maintain muscle tissue

4. Depletes muscle glycogen which means you’re less likely to store new fat

So what’s your goal? As you can see there are benefits at each level and how often you perform each workout should be based on your goals. You can get the benefits of all three but you must be cautious in how you structure your program. Here are some general guidelines to follow:

If your primary goal is:

Fat loss

• 1-3 Level 3 (10-20 mins)

• 1-2 Level 2 (20-30 mins)

• 1-2 Level 1 (40-60 mins) – Optional

Endurance

• 1 Level 3 (10-20 mins)

• 2-3 Level 2 (20-40 mins)

• 1-2 Level 1 (40-60 mins)

General Fitness

• 1 Level 3 (10-20 mins)

• 1-2 Level 2 (20-30 mins)

• 1-2 Level 1 (40-60 mins)

So to recap, you really need to know what your goals are, and what levels you need to be at and how often. On the following page is a chart that gives you the heart rate zones for all 3 of the workouts based on your age.

NOTE: If you are on blood pressure regulating medication you should first consult with your doctor and reduce the numbers by 10 each. If you are not currently exercising or have not exercised at the different levels before I advise you build up your intensity slowly.

If you would like more information on cardiovascular exercise please give me a call. You reach me at 240-731-3724 or by emailing jesse@achieve-fitness.com

Heart Rate Based Cardiovascular Exercise Guidelines

Jesse Cannone is a certified personal trainer and author of the best-selling fitness ebook, Burn Fat FAST. Be sure to sign up for his free email course as it is full of powerful weight loss and fitness tips that are guaranteed to help you get the results you want. http://www.guaranteed-weightloss.com

info@guaranteed-weightloss.com

It’s important to set the way we’ll respond to different critics throughout the journey of achieving our personal and bodybuilding goals. As are other areas of life, Bodybuilding is a sport of opinion. When we step on that stage, or conduct our daily business, whether with associates or judges, it’s our relationships with these people, and their opinions and impressions that will determine our personal and bodybuilding successes and victories.

The more dedicated you are to your bodybuilding goals, the easier it will be to show the judges your best physique. The greater your ability in controlling and handling daily communication, the more successful you will become with people and in personal endeavors.

Yet at various instances, opinions, that we may not necessarily condone and desire to receive will come through from other people.

The levels of our flexibility in handling outside feedback will greatly determine the impressions that others hold toward us, the way we view ourselves, and the results of our goals. You see, the way we respond to events reflects whom we are within.

Thus, by developing the ability to positively respond to events and changes that occur in our life, and respond to them in a constructive matter will greatly enhance the quality of our actions, create positive impressions about who we are for ourselves and others, and enable us to rise to higher levels of quality and results.

I believe there are three forms of opinions. More precisely, there are three roots from which they manifest.
Criticism is a way of justifying one’s own weaknesses.
First are the people who are jealous and will criticize your achievements to lower you to their level, thus making themselves feel better. Those people usually accompany words like “can’t”, “impossible”, “I don’t have time”, and so forth.

Steer clear, by nodding your head with disguised agreement, as anything further would be just a waste of time.

A second scenario would involve an advice that is in our control to determine whether it is perceived as offensive or constructive.
For example, if a gym member or someone with more experience and knowledge, comments that your legs are small, avoid get offended by shouting back “Huh, do you know how hard I blast my legs, they are not small at all”. This automatic response is perfectly fine, due to the desire to avoid negative feedback, also since we don’t like to be put down. Even if we know what’s stated is right. Especially when there’s hard work involved.

Yet I believe there’s always room for growth. Always. So welcoming these types of suggestions could be even beneficial to help us excel and achieve greater results. So the next time some one criticizes your legs, say “Thanks!”, and make a note to use that as an advantages on your next leg workout.

A third opinion is a compliment. Use the compliment to appreciate your achievements, and enjoy the ride along your journey. Often times we don’t appreciate our efforts enough, and what we have achieved. Yet at the same time, avoid letting that compliment put you in ease. Continue striving for your goals, with full dedication and persistence, and you’ll achieve what you set out to do.

And remember, Be patient. Build it, and it will come.

You can also contact Mike at Mike@RepsOfPain.com
And Visit his website at www.repsofpain.com

Mike Vainshtein, a bodybuilder and motivational speaker shares his power mental and motivational strategies to take your bodybuilding and life goals to a higher level of performance, quality, and results.