Building a Home Gym in the Garage

Having a home gym is very attractive idea for anybody who likes to regularly exercise at home. Home gym has many benefits when compared with commercial gyms. In the home gym, one can exercise whenever one wants, there is no time lost trafficking, there is no time lost waiting for some other guy or girl to finish, there are no gym fees, it can be accustomed to personal needs etc. On the other hand, home gyms require space and money to buy and maintain.
Money for home gyms many consider to be the main problem, but in the long run, you are actually saving money because you are not paying monthly gym fees, you don't spend any money trafficking etc. So, when building a home gym, consider purchasing equipment little by little, month by month or even quarterly or annually.

Cardio Equipment
Depending on your personal preferences, cardio equipment can be in the form of expensive, but durable and sturdy treadmill or elliptical, or if you have ordinary bike, you can purchase a bike stand for just a fraction of cost of good treadmill or elliptical.
Home foldable treadmills cost less, especially self-powered models, and they are great choice for people who prefer walking as the form of low impact, low intensity cardio.
If you have good, heavy rope for rope jumping (and enough high ceiling), you have all necessary equipment for good cardio workout. Ordinary rope can be purchased in any hardware store for cheap.
If you like Martial Arts, good punching bag will build your strength, stamina and burn fat tremendously. Punching bag can be used as warm-up, as main workout, or to burn extra calories after main workout. Note that if you have never used punching bag, it is highly recommendable to find someone to show you how to actually punch.
To save space, punching bag can be stored away and mounted when required.

Exercise Equipment
Pull-up bars can be wall mounted, ceiling mounted, part of dip station or squat cage, doorway mounted etc. Simple pull-up bars are cheap and reliable – fix them somewhere on the wall and use them for great back and biceps workouts with various pull-ups and chin-ups.
With just a few items – bike stand, rope, punching bag and pull-up bar – one can make great full body workout that will increase strength, stamina, increase muscle mass, burn fat etc. And in the case of circular workouts, even full-body workout doesn't have to last more than 60 minutes. List of exercises that can be done using such equipment is rather long: cycling, running, walking, rope jumping, bag punching and kicking, various push-ups, various squats, various pull-ups and chin-ups, burpees, various abs exercises etc. As one can see, plenty of these exercises are bodyweight exercises and even if you are gym rat, don't underestimate them.
Next piece of equipment that one should consider for home gym are dumbbells – variable or adjustable dumbbells with proper stand. Variable dumbbells save space and even money in the long run when compared with ordinary dumbbells, but their initial price is relatively high.
Note that with the pair of adjustable dumbbells only one person can exercise at one time – with modern variable weight dumbbells this is not great issue, since weight can be changed often in just a few seconds. Variable or not, dumbbells are great for many exercises and it is nice to have them.

Variable bench is often next piece of equipment to be purchased. This bench must be capable of several decline and incline positions and of course, flat position. When buying a bench for home gym, it is good to choose a bench which have a stand for barbell and extension for leg exercises (for quads and hamstrings). Such benches cost little bit more, but in the end, they are worth that extra money.
After bench, one needs good, solid barbell with some weights according to your needs. When considering weights, choose weight plates with rubber coating. Rubber coating prevents rust to occur, they are much quitter when used, protects walls and plates from getting damaged etc. Also, consider weight stand to store your weights and some rubber mats to put around your bench – your floors will last longer.
As one progress, squat rack is next to be obtained – it requires space and strong floors, but for various squats, it is a must have equipment.
On the other hand, if you don't have much room for various weights, bars, barbells, racks etc., and you just need 'something' to work out on, consider all-in-one home gym exercise machine. There are several types of them and most of them look like medieval torturing devices, but in the end, they get their job done. Just don't expect levels and type of resistance as if you are working out with regular weights.

 

Home Gym Maintenance
Maintaining a home gym is rather easy. Each exercise machine must be maintained as recommended by their manufacturer. This often includes lubrication, changing pulleys, cables, batteries and similar.
Good AC unit is required for keeping proper temperature and humidity levels. Be sure to regularly clean air filters on your AC unit, since filters decrease amount of dust and other airborne particles in the gym.
Strong vacuum cleaner with various cleaning attachments for reaching corners and tight areas is great thing to have. Such vacuums doesn't have to cost much and can be a general home vacuum, like ordinary Shark NV356e or any similar vacuum cleaner. Once a week, clean entire area and if you have time, clean the equipment with wet, disinfecting wipes. Maybe this sounds too much, but clean home gym is more pleasant environment for regular workouts than a dirty one.

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Fitness Programs for Women: Four Essential Tips

Fitness programs for women are often wrought with bad advice and pseudoscience. It's no wonder that so many fitness programs for women utterly fail! There's plenty of great information out there, but it can be impossible to find amidst the gimmicks, fad diets, and ineffective workout routines. If you're looking for fitness programs for women that really work, try using the four following tips.

1. Lift Heavy Weights

Plenty of women make their way into the weight room now and again, but most are afraid that they'll get "bulky" if they lift too heavy. That's nonsense! It takes male bodybuilders years of dedicated effort to pack on muscle mass, and they've got testosterone and tons of food on their side. Not only will you not get "too big" by lifting challenging weights - you'll actually look better.

Lifts like squats, bench presses, deadlifts, and other heavy movements are great for stimulating your metabolism and packing on a little bit of lean mass. Whether or not you realize it, that's really what you want! The right amount of muscle gives you a lean, fit look that you simply can't achieve with cardio alone. Challenging yourself in the gym will also cause you to burn more calories, which means you get to eat more and still lose weight.

2. Low Fat is NOT Healthy!

Some nutritionists are still stuck in the 1980s' low-fat craze, but avoiding dietary fat is NOT going to get you the results you want. In fact, most "low-fat" products like crackers, pretzels, and other grain-based products will make it nearly impossible to get lean! They make your blood sugar levels skyrocket, which in turn causes your body to secrete tons of insulin - a hormone which actually makes your body store even more fat. If you're trying to get lean, ditch most of your carbs and eat plenty of olive oil, avocados, nuts, and even some red meat.

3. Ease Up on the Cardio

If you're going to start lifting heavy weights (which you should!), then you're also going to need to ease up on all of that cardio you're probably doing. Slaving away on a treadmill or elliptical is simply not necessary, and it eats up way too much of your time. It's great to do a few short sessions per week for your cardiovascular health, but hours upon hours of monotonous movement aren't going to help you lose fat.

However, there is a much better type of cardio for optimal fat loss: interval training! On a track, treadmill, elliptical, or exercise bike, simply alternate short bursts of all-out sprinting with longer bouts of active rest. For example, you might do eight rounds of fifteen-second sprints and forty-five second "jogs" on an elliptical machine. The whole thing will be over in under ten minutes, but the intensity of the workout will cause your body to burn more fat all day long.

4. Don't Under-eat

One of the worst things you can do in fitness programs for women is to eat too little. Your body is an adaptive machine, and it will respond to severe calorie restriction by slowing its metabolism way down. Have you ever noticed how lethargic, tired, and cold you get when you don't eat enough? Those are sure signs that your body is burning less fuel!

That's not to say that you shouldn't cut calories at all - your body does need a reason to use its fat stores for energy instead of your food. The key is to eat just little enough that you can burn fat while avoiding hunger. Focus first on the right food choices, and then start counting calories if you truly need to. Overall, it's best to take it slow and steady with your fitness programs for women and focus on losing no more than a pound per week.

Source

30-Minute Fat-Frying Bikini-Body Workout | Class FitSugar

This workout was designed with Summer in mind — specifically swimsuit time and the body-baring bikini! All the exercises target the trouble zones while keeping your heart rate up to burn fat. Press play and we will warm you up, work you out, and quickly cool you down. Then you can hit the beach feeling strong and confident. 

Rope Climbs: Benefits, Technique, and Performance

Rope climbing has been an immense physical strength test for decades. To this day it has been used as a strength test in the military as well as in gymnastics to build strength. This week in gymnastics class we will be focusing on rope climbs.  Rope climbs are a total body workout. It is an effective exercise for the arms, upper back, core, grip strength, and legs. Beyond muscular strength, rope climbing increases the cardiovascular system and builds muscular endurance. The rope may be intimidating to you, but all it takes is a little self-confidence. There are two types of ways to climb the rope that we will learn.  One, which is called the S wrap or Spanish wrap (safer lock method). The other is the Russian Wrap (faster method, widely used in competition.  Keep in mind that when we think about climbing the rope, as Carl Paoli says; think about doing knees to elbows and then standing up.  Now, once we are able to perform a climb, great, but let’s talk about how we can make these better.

To improve your rope climb, think about 3 things: 

1.  Shoulder strength- This is super vital for that body weight climb. Performing lifts such as overhead press, snatch, clean and jerk, and strict pull ups will help build the strength to climb the rope at speed. 

2.  Fingertip pushups: This movement requires the hands, back, chest, and forearms to work together improving grip strength. 

3.  Time yourself climbing the rope: This will help increase power and dynamic strength for longer and more climbs. 
If you have never tried to climb the rope, now is the time to learn! Let’s increase that pulling strength and get you up there! 

Source http://pbcrossfit.com/article/lindsay-renteria

Great Aerobic Exercises Tips and Tricks For You To Run With

What we all need are some aerobic exercises...by that I mean decent ones which make you really sweat and your breathing faster. You need to get the heart pumping and muscles working.How's the weight looking these days? Is the bathroom scale taunting you relentlessly? You know what; I'll bet it's flat out lying to you. Scales have a tendency to do that, right? Okay, this is highly unlikely. But don't you ever feel that way? Our weight tends to fluctuate up and down, but it never seems to reach that low number we're looking for. One day you think you dropped four pounds, but the next day it's right back on. Now, you could scowl furiously at the scale, and chuck it out the bathroom window. Or you could just adopt a good exercise regime. The latter may be a more health option. What you need is a new and improved diet plan and good aerobic exercises.

How often do you exercise? This is an important question that everyone should be asking themselves. Fitness is a key factor in staying healthy and living well. You want to live well, right? Of course, we all want to live hospital-free lives. Therefore good habits must be acquired, and at a youthful age if possible. It's always prudent to start earlier, rather than later. In recent years my wife and I decided to better our diet. We are slim folks, but that is not the only aspect to consider.

A slim figure doesn't automatically guarantee that you're healthy. Poor eating habits can have powerful effects on your body and mind. Plus we want our children to adopt healthy eating routines as well. On top of a proper diet, we all began doing more exercises. This is something all human beings should seriously consider. Just like a machine, your body can really depreciate if you fail to ever use it. Sitting in a chair in a cubicle the entire day and watching television in potato-couch style the entire evening do not help much.

What we all need are some aerobic exercises; by that I mean decent ones which make you really sweat and your breathing faster. You need to get the heart pumping and muscles working. You not only burn calories, but also make the body stronger and increase your stamina. With regular aerobic exercises, you also increase your energy levels. This is ideal if you are a busy-body like me. I think it's safe to say that we could all benefit from being able to generate some more energy and last for longer. The sad truth is that so many individuals are blind to this simple fact: energy depends on diet and exercise. These are crucial factors, folks.

Are you in search of some great aerobic exercises and cannot afford a private consultation with that well-paid personal trainer? Well, if this is the case, maybe you want to try the World-Wide-Web. On the Internet there are abundant diet plans, workout regimes, and aerobic exercises ready at your service. It's as good as having multiple personal trainers and as easy as punching a few keywords in a quick Google search. What are you waiting for? Time to put on those athletic shoes and move your muscles!

Brigi G by Fit 4 Health