Those hard-bodied personal trainers you see in every fitness club didn’t get that way because of any “genetic predisposition.” They are the results of dedication and a lot of focused effort. Those high-and-tight buns, the trim waist with no “hang-over,” the muscular and defined core didn’t get that way by accident.

Those deep-chested, muscular armed guys in the workout attire had to pay attention to their diet as well as pump a lot of iron in order to look that good. All those personal trainers and fitness coaches are displaying their wares in order to send a message that with the proper dedication and instruction (from them of course) you too can look and be fit and healthy.

Sure, some of the fit people we see at the health club do have some advantages in how their metabolism works, or a genetic trait towards muscularity, but anyone can achieve a tight, fit, healthy body with the right dedication and effort.

The First Secret

Make a personal commitment to workout on a regular basis. Once a week won’t get it, but two, three or five times per week may do the job if each workout is properly orchestrated. Create several workout routines for various parts of the body, then stick to a schedule that the entire body worked totally each week.

You can do a split routine twice a week; upper body in one workout, lower body in another, with some cardio each time. Another alternative is to focus on one major muscle group during five workouts per week, with some cardio each day.

The secret is to take each muscle to total exhaustion at least once per week.

Arthur Jones, the creator of the Nautilus machines and system of exercise, proved that you can build muscle with only three intense workouts per week.

Do a Google search for “The Colorado Experiment” and read how one subject gained 63 pounds of lean muscle mass in just 28 days.

Proper diet and every-other-day workouts on Nautilus equipment was the key to the success achieved by a bodybuilder who had suffered an accident and nearly died.

His recovery was “tissue memory” not all fresh muscle, but the principle is the same for anyone using this approach.

The Second Secret

Proper nutrition is the second part of the equation to building muscle and losing fat. A protein heavy diet with good complex carbohydrates, lots of fluids and fiber is the simple formula for successfully sculpting your body.

The elimination of processed foods and simple sugars is also paramount.

In “The Colorado Experiment” the two subjects ate a diet of animal and vegetable protein and fresh fruits and vegetables. They drank a lot of water and avoided caffeine and alcohol.

The Third Secret

Almost all successful bodybuilders and other athletes have strong visualizations of what they want to look like or how they would like to perform.

Several times per day, they meditate, visualizing the images of the body they want to create. In this manner they are programming their minds to help them achieve their goals.

A number of experiments have been conducted on how mental imaging can improve athletic performance. Body sculpting and massive weight loss have also been attributed to meditation and visualization.

Many “natural” athletes may have not been consciously meditating, but they were doing this instinctively. There are recorded examples of athletes being told to think about performing their sport. Performance improvements were noted after these “think- sessions.”

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There are a number of causes of “man-boobs”, but being overweight or a hormone imbalance are two of the most common. In order to figure out how to lose man boobs, you first have to know the cause of your problem.

If you are not morbidly obese, then your man boobs are probably caused by low testosterone. If this is the case, you should consult with your medical practitioner about hormone supplements or dietary changes. Also, heavy exercise will increase testosterone production naturally.

Fat collects on our bodies in different ways. Women’s bodies tend to store fat on their lower Extremities: hips, thighs and buttocks. Men on the other hand, tend to store fat on their upper bodies: stomach, chest and back.

The obvious answer to how to lose man boobs is exercise and diet . . . just like any other weight loss and bodybuilding program! Exercise will help condition the muscles, and more muscle tissue will help burn more fat, both stored and ingested.

Diet will help your body burn stored fat and you won’t be overeating of all the things that probably caused the problem in the first place. Your diet and exercise can be very specific to address the problem of man boobs, as well as the fat stored elsewhere on your body.

Spot reducing is a myth from the early days of health and fitness clubs. These clubs perpetuated the myth because of the vast amount of money it generated. They were filled with vibrating belt machines, hip-rollers and other contraptions that mechanically agitated specific body parts.

If these clinics had any successes, it was because of a diet regimen, not their flash vibrating belt machines.

Today we know that fat is stored pretty equally in those key areas subject to that storage. Any good nutrition program will reduce that fat about as evenly as it is stored. So, if you want to diet away those man boobs, you will lose fat in other areas as well. This isn’t a bad thing.

Exercising your chest muscles will make them grow underneath your man boobs. You will be firmer, but until you lose the fat, you will still have the problem.

Here is how to lose those man boobs. This is a good program of nutrition and exercise that will strengthen your body and reduce your overall body fat.

The Exercise Program Strength training will increase your strength and muscle size. Your program should include exercises for all body parts.

Unlike a serious bodybuilding program where massive size is the goal, your program will divide the upper and lower body workouts into alternate days.

The upper body will be worked on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The lower body will be exercised on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Sunday you rest. You will perform three sets of each exercise, most of them for 10 repetitions.

Chest

• • Wide-Grip Bench Press
• • Wide-Grip Incline Barbell Press
• • Wide-Grip Decline Barbell Press
• • Dumbbell Flies on Flat Bench

Shoulders

• • Standing Barbell Press
• • Upright Rowing with a Barbell
• • Front Dumbbell Raises
• • Lateral Dumbbell Raises

Back

• • Lat Machine Pull-Downs
• • Seated Rowing with Cable-And-Pulley Machine
• • Bent Over Rowing with a Barbell
• • Pull-Ups on the Chinning Bar

Arms

• • Biceps Curls with Easy-Curl-Bar
• • Triceps Press Downs on Cable-And-Pulley Machine
• • Preacher Bench Curls with Easy-Curl-Bar
• • Triceps Presses on Flat Bench
• • Concentration Curls with a Dumbbell, alternating arms
• • Bent Over Triceps Extensions

The Nutrition Program

Caloric intake for an active person is determined by age and gender. Consult with your physician about your daily calorie limits.

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Every bodybuilder has some idea of how to bulk up, but few of them really know how to lose fat and gain muscle. Bulking up is the easy part, all you have to do is pump ever-increasing amounts of iron.

The losing fat is the hard part because that requires a lot of self discipline and dedication.

It is a fact that the more muscle you build the more fat you burn. Muscle requires three times more energy to function than fat will use. Part of the solution to losing fat is to gain muscle.

The other part of losing fat is diet. This is the hard part because it requires that we shut off all desires for desserts, candy, soft drinks, bread made with any type of flour and alcoholic beverages. No refined sugars or grains allowed on a bodybuilders diet.

A bodybuilder weight and resistance training program will include exercises for every muscle group in the body; chest, shoulders, back, arms, core and legs. You need to make five trips a week to the fitness center for at least an hour or more of pumping iron per session.

If you are a fitness novice, you will need to seek the advice of an expert on the best way for you to lose fat and gain muscle. The trainer at your local fitness centre is the logical person to go to. They will establish a program for you that works every muscle to total exhaustion at least once per week.

Here is what a weekly schedule of workouts and other fitness activity will look like:

Monday – Workout focus is on chest

• Bench Press – 3 sets of 10 reps
• Dumbbell flies or Pec-Deck – 3 sets of 10 reps
• Incline Bench Press – 3 sets of 10 reps
• Decline Bench Press – 3 sets of 10 reps
• Push-Ups – 3 sets of 25+ reps
• Core Exercises

- Sit-ups

- Crunches

- Leg Raises

- Dumbbell Side-bends

Tuesday – Workout focus is on legs

• Squats – 3 sets of 10 reps
• Hack Squats – 3 sets of 10 reps
• Sissy Squats – 3 sets of 10 reps
• Leg Extensions – 3 sets of 10 reps
• Thigh Biceps Curls – 3 sets of 10 reps
• Calf Raises – 3 sets of 10 reps
• Donkey Calf Raises – 3 sets of 10 reps
• Lunges with Dumbbells – 3 sets of 25 reps

Wednesday – Workout focus is on Shoulders

• Standing Barbell Press – 3 of 10
• Seated Dumbbell Press – 3 of 10
• Front Dumbbell Raises – 3 of 10
• Lateral Dumbbell Raises – 3 of 10
• Upright Barbell Rowing – 3 of 10
• Bent-Over Dumbbell Extension – 3 of 10
• Barbell Shrugs –3 of 10
• Core Exercises – 3 of 25

- Flat bench crunches

- Decline bench crunches

- Compound crunches on mat

Thursday – Workout focus is on Back. Three sets of 10 reps on each.

• Pull-Ups on chinning bar
• Front Levers on chinning bar
• Lat Machine Pull-Downs
• Seated Rowing with cable-and-pulley
• Bent Over Rowing with barbell
• Bent Over Rowing with dumbbell, one arm at a time
• Core Exercises – 3 of 25

- Flat bench leg raises

- Compound sit-ups on mat

- Dip bar leg raises

- Upright twists

Friday – Workout focus is on Arms. Three sets of 10 reps

• Biceps Barbell Curls
• Triceps Press Down, cable-and-pulley (lat) machine
• Biceps Dumbbell Curls on incline bench
• French Presses on flat bench
• Preacher Bench curls with easy-curl-bar
• Bent Over Dumbbell Extensions
• Concentration Curls with single dumbbell
• Dumbbell Presses from behind the neck
• Core Exercises

- Decline Sit-Ups

- Compound Decline Sit-Ups

- Compound Leg Raises

Diet – The really hard part

Protein – 25% of calories from eggs, organ meats, red meat, poultry and fish Carbohydrates – 40% of calories from fresh fruits and vegetables. No potatoes or rice. Fats and Fibers – 35% of calories from natural fats, soluble oils and fibrous fruits and vegetables.

Supplements – Protein powder, amino acids and vitamins.

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The recent movie “300” was the story of the Spartans who held back the mighty Persian horde at the pass of Thermopylae. The Spartans, led by their King, Leonidas, were the front line for a small band of Greeks who blocked that mountain pass so the invading Persians couldn’t descend into Greece.

It was a heroic movie and the cast, headed by Gerald Butler as Leonidas, looked the part.  The actors playing the Spartans all had these amazing rock hard abs, and if you’re anything like me, I bet you found yourself wondering how they got such a great look!

But guess what? The secret to having those amazing abdominal muscles that looked flexed all the time is getting an animator to doctor the film. Hey, I’ve seen photos of Butler and he does not have the rock hard abs as shown in that film, nor do the other actors . . . at least not the constantly flexed look we saw in the movie!

The real secret on how to get rock hard abs lies in two words, “workout” and “diet.” You have to work your midsection correctly in order to build those abdominals. Then you have to diet to rid your body of subcutaneous fat so those abs can be displayed.

For a program on how you can build those chiseled abs, we turn to real champions with real abdominal development and share their secrets.

The abdominals are only one muscle group in several that make up your “core.” The obliques and lower back are also important parts of what make up you midsection. All of these muscles should be worked and developed.

Core Workout

Sit-Ups – The jury is still out on whether you should ever do full sit-ups. Some trainers maintain that these moves are very important, but others say all you need are “partial” sit-ups, crunches that contract the abdominals and help build them.

Most great bodybuilding champions performed a wide variety of sit-ups; flat bench, incline, decline and compound (where you twist while sitting up). They also performed crunches to further define their abs.

• • Decline Board Sit-Ups – Three sets of 50 reps, the last set being compound sit-ups.
• • Crunches – Three sets of 50 reps on the decline board, the last set being compound crunches.

Leg-Raises – These tend to work the lower abdominals.

• • Decline Board Leg Raises – Three sets of 50 reps keeping legs straight for two and bringing the knees to the chest alternately for the third.
• • Chinning Bar Leg Raises – Three sets of 20 while hanging at arm’s length from the chinning-bar.
• • Side-Bends with Dumbbells – These will work the front and rear obliques and the small of your back. Perform three sets of 100 for each side and then three sets while holding the dumbbell behind your leg for the rear obliques.
• • Roman Chair Reverse Sit-Ups – These will work your lower back and rear obliques. Perform three sets of 25 with the last set being compound, where you twist your torso as you raise to contraction.

Bodybuilder’s Pre-Contest Diet

This diet came from the Iron Guru, the late Vince Gironda, who was probably the best trainer of champion bodybuilders of all time. Vince claimed that “bodybuilding is 80% diet.”

This diet should not be undertaken for more than a short period of time. This describes the first cycle of the diet. Five or more cycles may be undertaken to reduce subcutaneous fat.

Days 1 through 4 – Eat as close to zero carbohydrates as humanly possible. Consume high protein foods like eggs, poultry, meat and fish.

Day 5 – Eat a balanced diet in which 25% of the calories are from protein, 40% from carbs and the remainder from fats and fibers.

Supplements: Protein powder taken with raw milk, wheat germ oil, lipotropic amino acids (inositol, choline, betane), desiccated liver and kelp tablets.

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Okay, you’ve spent all that time and energy pumping iron and you’re as big as a bull buffalo. Now it’s time to get cut-up and defined because you want to display the results of all that effort in the best possible manner.

Here’s how to get ripped in 4weeks.

Losing all that adipose takes a special dedication, particularly since you are in such great shape from those hours in the gym. You will have to replace your heavy iron workout routine with medium weights and very high repetitions.

You will also have to go on a highly specialized diet for about four weeks. After all, bodybuilding is about 80% diet, according to several fitness gurus. Are you ready to get started? Let’s go then.

Weight Training

You are still going to be working the muscles to total exhaustion, just like with the heavy weights, but instead of poundage it is going to be reps that wear and tear the muscles.

Instead of six to eight reps of massive weights, you are going to be going for 12 to 15 reps of moderate weights.

Additionally, you are going to use a lot of dumbbell exercises for shaping those massive muscles. You are still going to have focus days in which you work mainly on one muscle group each workout. You are still going to work up the ladder on poundage, but you will not be pushing to your maximum.

You should perform a warm-up with a light weight and pump out as many reps as you can. Try to use a weight that you can squeeze out 25 or more reps. Your next sets will be using moderate weights for 12 to 15 reps. You are shooting for total muscle exhaustion, so plan on five sets per exercise.

You will minimize cardio workouts because cardio will not help you lose fat. You will lose muscle tissue instead. Did you ever notice that marathon and other long distance runners have little or no upper body musculature? But they often have a little pot belly! This is because their bodies need the stored fat for prolonged exertion, so they burn muscle tissue until they “hit the wall” in their running.

The Workout

Chest

• • Dumbbell Flies, flat bench, incline and decline.
• • Dumbbell Presses, flat bench, incline, decline.
• • Push-ups with feet elevated, hands widely spaced.

Shoulders

• • Dumbbell Presses, standing or seated.
• • Front dumbbell raises, standing.
• • Lateral dumbbell raises.
• • Upright rowing with barbell.
• • Shrugs with barbell.
• • Bent over dumbbell extensions.

Back

• • Pull-ups on the chinning bar.
• • Seated rowing with cable and pulley.
• • Lat machine pull-downs.
• • Bent over rowing with barbell.
• • One-hand bent over rowing with dumbbell.

Legs

• • Squats with barbell.
• • Leg extensions on machine.
• • Thigh biceps curls on machine or with wall mounted cable-and-pulley.
• • Lunges with barbells.
• • Calf raises.
• • Donkey calf raises.
• • Seated calf raises.

Core

• • Crunches, flat bench or mat.
• • Compound crunches, twisting right and left.
• • Side bends with dumbbells.
• • Rear side bends with dumbbells
• • Twists with barbell across shoulders.

Diet – maintain this diet for five cycles (25 days)

• • Consume zero carbohydrates for four day.
• • Eat a balanced diet on fifth day.
• • Consume zero carbs for days six through nine.
• • Eat a balanced diet on tenth day.

Supplements

• • Protein Powder
• • Essential amino acids (Lipo3 compound, inositol, choline, etc.)
• • Wheat germ oil
• • Desiccated liver, kelp tablets.

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The legs are made up of three muscle groups: The quadriceps or frontal thigh muscles, the thigh “biceps” on the rear of the upper leg and the calves on the lower leg. Learning all the exercises for your legs will show how to get bigger thighs.

In most people, legs make up two-thirds of body weight. They are solid muscle, unlike the torso which is an organ-filled hollow containing lots of air spaces. As large muscles, the legs, and particularly the thighs, will require a lot of exercise in order to get bigger.

Researching in the great encyclopedia of bodybuilding, Keys to the Inner Universe by Bill Pearl, four-time Mr. Universe, we find 50 pages of exercise devoted to developing and defining our thighs. More than 150 different exercises are explained and pictured.

The Squat

Arguably the best exercise for getting bigger thighs is the squat. This is also the most avoided exercise by less-than-serious bodybuilders because it requires a lot of exertion. Squats may be performed with barbells (preferred) or with devices like the weight-loaded Smith machine.

Squats may be done with the weight on our shoulders, or held at chest level in front. They may be performed with the heels elevated about two inches or flat-footed. Regardless of how they are performed, the legs should never be “locked out” when in the straight position, or the tension will be off the muscles.

A bench may be used for one type of squat so that you may gauge the correct distance to go down, or you can just go until your butt hits your heels. How you point your knees and your foot spread will determine whether you work inner, outer or upper thighs.

To build bigger thighs, several types of squats should be performed for three sets of ten repetitions.

• Barbell Squat – using an Olympic bar and weights and a squat rack, elevate your heels and squat down until your thighs are parallel with the floor. Use enough weight that you struggle to reach ten reps.

• Barbell Squat Wide Stance – with heels elevated and legs spread widely, squat with your knees pointed out for an inner thigh workout.

• Hack Squat – with heels elevated and the barbell held behind your buttocks, squat until the weights nearly touch the floor.

Leg Presses

• Leg Press Machine – seated in the machine, the placement of your feet on the foot pads will determine whether you work inner, outer or upper thighs.

• Decline Leg Press Machine – seated in the machine, the foot placement will change the portion of the thigh that is worked. The gluteus maximus (buttocks) also get worked if you go deeply enough.

Leg Extension Machine

• Leg extensions will work the outer, inner and lower thigh down to the knee.

Thigh Curls

• Using a thigh curl machine or cable-and-pulley machine with ankle straps, perform curls to build the hamstrings or thigh biceps muscles.

Abductor and Adductor Machines

• These machines will work the inner thigh and the hip flexors. The development of these muscles is important to the overall look of your thighs. If these machines aren’t available, a cable-and-pulley machine may suffice.

Dumbbell Lunges

• This exercise will build the rear thigh muscles, including the gluteus. They are also good for the hips and lower body flexibility.

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The chest muscle group, the pectoralis major, is the largest muscle group in the upper body. As such, the chest requires a great many very specific exercises to work the upper, lower and inner pecs. A good looking chest really sets off the appearance of a physique.

Even beginning bodybuilders are aware that in order to build muscle, you have to tear it down with exercise and rebuild it with a high-protein diet. A bodybuilding diet should be at least 25% protein and 40% natural, unrefined carbohydrates, with the balance being in fats and fibers.

The bodybuilding chest workout should be the total focus of one workout per week. Other muscles will get worked in this routine, but only as incidental to the chest exercises. The exercises will involve barbells, dumbbells and body-resistance moves.

The exercises should be performed in the order of descending strength of the muscle parts. In other words, begin with the exercise for which you use the heaviest poundage. Then work down the ladder from there.

Most chest bodybuilding exercises will be three sets of eight to ten repetitions each for an intermediate level bodybuilder. An advanced exerciser should consider raising that to five sets of six to eight reps with heavier weights.

Bench Press, with Barbell, Wide-grip

Lie flat on the bench with your feet planted flat and squarely on the floor. Grip the bar at about double shoulder width. Lower the barbell to your upper chest-lower neck region, pause, and return to overhead.

Begin with a one set as a warm-up with a moderate weight. Perform the next sets with the maximum weight you can handle for eight to ten repetitions.

Make each movement slow and smooth and pause at full contraction. Do not bounce the weight on your chest. Do not arch your back or lift your buttocks off the bench as this will place strain on you lower neck and could cause injury.

Front Barbell Raise, Incline

Using an incline bench and a lighter weight barbell, begin with the barbell grasped palms down and your arms facing straight down. Raise the weight smoothly overhead, continuing until your arms are extended behind your head.

Dumbbell Flies, Flat Bench

Using two moderately heavy dumbbells and lying supine, begin with the dumbbells held straight up. Lower them smoothly while bending your arms slightly at the elbow. The finish point should be with your arms parallel with the floor. Don’t hyperextend your shoulder joints.

Incline Press with Barbell, Wide-Grip

Using an incline bench, begin with the barbell straight overhead. Lower the weight to your upper chest-lower neck area. Use a weight that exhausts your muscles at eight to ten reps.

Decline Press with Barbell, Wide-Grip

Using a decline bench, begin with your arms perpendicular to the floor. Lower the weight slowly to the neck and perform eight to ten reps.

Flat Bench Dumbbell Press

Begin the move with the dumbbells straight overhead and then lower them to your chest keeping your elbows high and your upper arm nearly parallel with your shoulders. Use heavy dumbbells for eight to ten reps.

Flat Bench Dumbbell Pullover Press Lateral

Using medium weight dumbbells and beginning the move with the weights at your chest, rotate the dumbbells past your head towards the floor. In one movement, bring them back to your chest and press them overhead and then immediately perform a lateral fly with your arms bent at a forty-five degree angle.

Push-Ups Hands Together

Assume the push-up position with your body straight and up on your toes with your hands about a foot apart. Perform push-ups slowly for as many reps as you are able.

And that completes your chest workout. Bring on those ripped chest muscles!

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Functional fitness is one of the most recent training trends to hit the gym scene and it has exploded in popularity due to the results that it produces.

What is it?

Functional fitness is designed to prepare your body for everyday living.  It focuses on compound movements that force you to engage all of your core muscles and your stabilizer muscles, many of which are not stimulated during traditional weight training.

An example of a functional fitness movement is the step-up.  During this exercise you step up on to a platform that’s high enough to achieve a 90-degree knee bend.  Then you lower yourself back to the ground on the same leg.  Switch sides and repeat.  This motion simulates stair climbing or getting up from a kneeling position after playing with the kids or even getting on a chair to change a light bulb.

What can it do for me?

The greatest benefit of functional fitness is that it helps reduce your risk of injury, not during your workout, but during everyday living.  So, if you worry that you’re going to throw your back out at work or that you don’t have the strength to continue heaving your toddler up the stairs everyday – you might want to look into functional fitness.

In addition to minimizing you risk of injury during everyday activities, functional fitness also makes life easier as a whole.  Every activity that you struggled to do before functional fitness will seem just a little bit easier after functional fitness.

The next best thing about functional fitness is that it doesn’t require a whole lot of equipment to do.  All you really need is your body weight and a few dumbbells and you’re ready to go.  If you can invest in it, a BOSU trainer is also great for functional fitness, but it’s not required.

More examples of functional fitness exercises:

For people who are use to doing traditional workouts, going through a few functional fitness sessions will definitely be an eye opener since functional training is usually a lot more intense than traditional workout programs.  Here are a few exercise variations that support functional fitness:

1. Squats – either with or without weight, you simply bend your knees to 90-degrees while keeping tight abs and a flat back and then return to standing upright.

The functionality of this exercise in everyday living is fairly easy to see, as we all sit down and stand up several times a day.

2. Bent rows – These can be done as one arm rows with dumbbells or as two arm rows with a barbell.  In this exercise you bend at the waist, keeping your abs tight and your back flat and your arm(s) hanging straight down.  Then lift the weight towards your abdomen by moving your elbow straight up towards the ceiling.  Lower it back down and repeat.

The functionality of this movement is reflected in everything from taking out the trash to picking up a laundry basket.  We all perform bent lifting movements almost every day.

3. Balance training – Any movement that requires you to use your balance can be considered functional training since we require balance in all that we do.

Using a stability ball, a BOSU trainer or a balance board are great ways to improve your balance through functional training.

So you see, there are plenty of things that you can do in or out of the gym to train your muscles to work together to support your everyday movements.  Beginning a functional training program, or even incorporating a few days of functional training into your current workout schedule will save you a lot of time, pain and medical bills in the the future and it will make your life easier to live.

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All home gym junkies start out with the thought that the convenience of working out from home will help them squeeze their workouts into even the busiest days.  Unfortunately, even with the benefits of having a home gym, life can still get in the way of a consistent training routine.

Being the fitness fanatic that you are or that you’re striving to be, you simply can’t let this happen.  You have to make your workouts part of your day, regardless of what you need to do to squeeze them in.  Here are just a few tips to help you fit your workouts in no matter what your schedule looks like.

1. Trim the Fat

If you feel like you’re constantly missing workouts because of your hectic schedule, take a minute to look at how you’re spending your time.  See if there are any tasks that can be combined or, even better, delegated.

Look at the chores that you need to accomplish during the week…can any of them be moved to the weekend?  If so, that may free up a little more workout time.

Finally, look at any time that you’d consider “wasted minutes” during your day.  If you find that you have 5 minutes here or 10 minutes there of free time, you may be able to use that to squeeze in your training; which bring me to my next tip…

2. Break it Down

If your schedule is so packed that there’s nothing you can do to free up 30 minutes to an hour a day for training, you may need to break your workouts down into mini-workouts throughout the day.

This concept is similar to that of taking a smoke break, only instead of breaking to diminish your health by smoking, you can break to improve your health by doing a 5 or 10 minute circuit.

Go outside or to an open area and do push-ups, squats, walking lunges or even crunches if you have a place to do them.  You can apply any unweighted exercise you want to this circuit – heck, if you have some light weights hiding under your desk at work, you can even do weighted exercises.  The point is to just do something.

By the end of the day you’ll have done a minimum of 20 minutes of working out.

3. Adjust Your Training Plan

If none of the above tip work, you may want to consider revising you fitness program to meet the demands of your schedule.  If you presently workout 5 days a week, maybe you could shift your training split to workout 3 days a week.  Maybe do upper body training on Saturday and lower body training on Sunday and focus on cardio a couple of days during the week.

You just need to look at your training plan and look at your schedule and make you training plan an integral part of your schedule, much like going to work every day is.

4. Invest in Resistance Bands

I say this only because resistance bands can give you a pretty good workout and they’re portable.  They don’t take the place of weight training, but they can certainly augment it.  So, if you have a good program down and you travel frequently or you have some days that are harder to schedule dedicated workout time; instead of skipping your workout altogether, do a short workout with resistance bands.

5. Get Your Office On Board

Another great idea that will help others as much as it will help you is to talk to your office about approving a thirty minute fitness break for employees who are interested.

Most employers know by now that fit, healthy employees are more productive than their out of shape counterparts and have fewer sick days overall.  If you can present some figures to your boss, they may see that giving up 30 minutes a day for employee fitness will actually recoup them more hours in saved sick time they just may bite.

5 Ways To Squeeze A Workout Into A Jam Packed Day is a post from: Home Gym Fitness Equipment Reviews

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If you’ve been serious about working out for any period of time, you’ve probably been given the sage advice…“just listen to your body and you’ll know when you need a break”.

While this is true to some degree, for me it seems to be much more complicated than that.  As a full-time working mother of two children, both under the age of two I always feel run down.  Does that mean I should just give up my training for fear of over doing it?

I don’t think so!

In fact, despite my constant state of exhaustion, I find that as soon as I start skipping workouts, I feel even worse.

Honestly, I suspect that the majority of you multi-tasking fitness buffs have the same battle with fatigue that I do.  Yet the experts say that fatigue is a sign of over training.

So, what’s the real deal?

In a perfect world, where we all get 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep and our diets are clean and consistent – never disrupted by marathon meetings or grid locked traffic – then a little fatigue may be a key indicator of over training.  But we all live in the real world where fatigue is just a part of life.

So, to determine whether you’re over training or just plain tired from sleepless nights with a crying baby or from burning the mid-night oil for a boss who clearly doesn’t sympathize with your need for rest, you need to look at the big picture.

Are You Sleeping Well?

If you find that your normal sleep cycle, no matter what it may be, suddenly changes for no apparent reason, you may consider over training as a culprit.

Over training can cause fatigue, but it can also cause restless sleep cycles, where you find yourself waking up every hour or two without a reason. On the other hand, if you normally feel pretty good after 6 hours of sleep and you suddenly find yourself waking up feeling like you need about 6 more hours.

You may also look at taking a couple of days off.

Are Your Recovery Periods Changing?

Another key indicator of over training is extended recovery periods and excessive soreness.

If it normally takes you 72 hours to recover from a leg workout and this week you’re still hobbling around a full 5 days later, you should consider decreasing your intensity during your next leg workout.

However, if you’ve recently made significant alterations to your routine, your sudden marathon recovery period may just be your body adjusting. So again, look at the big picture, not just your symptoms in a vacuum.

Are You Dreading Your Workouts?

Okay, if you hate working out and you’re only doing it to look good or live longer, then please disregard this little section altogether. But, if you actually enjoy working out and all of a sudden it seems like your gym time is a punishment instead of a reward, you may be on the verge of burn out.

In this situation it’s good to keep doing light workouts or reduce you number of workouts for a week.

It’s been my experience that if I start feeling burned out and I take time off altogether, I have a very difficult time getting my butt back into the gym once I’m rested.  So, I always recommend that you first try reducing intensity or frequency of your workouts.  Then, if you still feel burned out take an extra day or two to relax.

Are You Getting Weaker?

Are you pushing yourself to your limits in the gym only to find that you suddenly seem to be losing strength instead of gaining it?  This is a classic sign of over training, particularly among beginning bodybuilders.  Many people believe that more is better in the gym.  This is simply not true.  Your muscles can only respond to a certain threshold of stimulation.  Anything beyond that results in negative results.

If you’re shaking your head right now because you’re one of these people, take a week and lighten up your workouts slightly.  Then, maintain your lighter pace for an additional week.  Once you begin to feel your strength coming back, gradually increase intensity.  You’ll be thrilled with the results you’ll see in strength and muscle size.

Okay, I could go on forever about potential indicators of over training.  The fact is that everybody’s different and every body responds differently to given stimuli.  As a result, an over training indicator for one person may mean nothing to someone else.  It is important to listen to your body, but it’s also important to consider all of the factors that are having a physical impact on you everyday.

You may not need to ease up on your training if you make an adjustment to your diet or get an extra hour of sleep at night.  Just keep it all in perspective and you’ll figure out what your body needs to keep running strong.

How To Tell If You’re Over Training? is a post from: Home Gym Fitness Equipment Reviews

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