:BodyFitnessInfo.com BLOG

I don’t know about you, but the weather where I live had been FANTASTIC the last few days. If you’re having nice weather as well, you should try getting outside and having some sort of an outdoor workout from time to time. There are a lot of things that you can do outside.

Outdoor Cardio Exercises

There are a lot of things you can do outside for cardio, and most people know about these already. Try going for a jog, biking, rollerblading, playing some outdoor sports like basketball, football, etc. Any of these activities are great ways to get a good cardio workout outside.

Other Outdoor Exercises

Next time you’re at the park with your kids, maybe head over to the jungle gym and do some pullups. You can also do some great pushup variations using different playground equipment as well. Try pushing you kid on the swing, doing a few squats in between pushes. Or squats with your kid sitting on your shoulders. Get creative a have some fun. Naturally, be careful not to injure yourself.

Getting out and doing some exercises in the sun is a great way to first get some sun, and second have a good and productive time while doing it. You’ll still get a better workout overall in the gym, but for variety do what you can to get outside and enjoy the sun from time to time.

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Here’s a sad, but also well known truth: Americans watch a lot of TV. Here are some interesting statistics from TVTurnoff.org:

- The average American home has the TV on for 8 hours a day
- The average American watches 4 hours and 35 minutes of television each day
- The average American household is 2.55 people, but the average home also has 2.73 televisions

These statistics tell us that as a people we are spending a ton of time in front of the TV. We aren’t suggesting that you all turn off your TV for good (although that might not be a bad thing), but rather suggesting that you at least make some good use of this time. Either during the show you’re watching or at least during the boring commercials, get down and do some pushups. During a standard commercial break you could probably get in at least 20-40 pushups depending on your level. Then maybe during another break do some crunches or other body weight exercise. The idea here is that if you’re going to sit around a watch TV, at least do something productive and helpful for your fitness/weight loss goals.

Here is a short list of exercises that you can easily do at home that require little or no equipment that you could do while watching TV:

- Pushups
- Wall Squats
- One-Leg Squats
- Quick Jog Around the House
- Chair Dips
- Angled Calf Raises
- Anything with Bands or Free Weights you have at home

Get creative! You could even come up with little mini workouts you can do, or even have a competition between you and other people watching the show. See who can do the most pushups before the show comes back on. That way not only are you getting in some good exercise, but you’re also have a good time with those around you and motivating each other to achieve your best.

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Not everyone has the same goals when it comes to fitness and exercise. Some people are trying to pack on muscle and be a body builder. Others just want to be in really good shape. Others are more interested in competing in events like marathons, triathlons, etc. Whatever your goal is, we hope that you’ll be able to find some information that will be beneficial here on BodyFitnessInfo.com.

Today we’d like to talk a little bit to those of you that are more interested in training for some type of running event. If you’ve been running for some time already, than this post probably isn’t for you. But for those of you that are just getting started in running and would like to know where to start, we hope you’ll find this to be a good resource.

The resource we’re referring to is the Couch to 5k Running Plan. This is a plan that was designed to take those that are just getting started in running and over a 9 week period get you ready for running in your first 5k event. One thing about running and really any other new exercise regiment is that if you work up to it you’re more likely to stick with it rather than running 5 miles your first day. Check the plan out and in 9 weeks you’ll feel much better about your running abilities!

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These days there are so many programs being advertised that promise to help you lose weight or gain muscle that its almost impossible to choose one. This has created a huge problem of people trying a program for about a week, then jumping to another one for a week, and then jumping to another one … you get the idea. Honestly, you’re unlikely to get results from doing this.

First of all, we have to realize that a lot of the ‘programs’ out there are not very good. So before you start to follow any given program, make sure its a good one. Here are a few things to look for:

Is it too strict?
In order for a program to be effective for you there has to be some degree of flexibility. There is no such this as a “one-size-fits-all” fitness program.

Does it focus on the basics?
A good program will focus on the old tried and proven methods for either losing weight and/or gaining muscle. If it starts with something like “The new revolutionary way to (fill in the blank) in a week or less!” there is a good chance that its mostly hype. Feel free to check it out, just watch out for too much hype and not enough reality.

Does it have a good nutrition program?
If the program claims to be a complete program but doesn’t give you good suggestions on nutrition, then it isn’t a complete program. Refer to point number 2 for this one as well.

Is it appropriate for your body type?
If you’re a high ectomorph, don’t do the same training program that a high mesomorph or endomorph is doing. You have to train appropriately for your body type to really get good results. This is a constant problem with programs found in many of the muscle magazines.

There are other things we could add to this list, but I think that these three basically sum it up. You also have to realize that in order for any program to be effective, it has to have time to be effective. Jumping from program to program won’t get you anywhere. Yes, you do need to change up what you’re doing from time to time, but a good fitness program will have this worked into the program as well.

Take some good time when choosing a program to follow. Decide on what your overall goal is and then research some programs before you just jump into one. This will help you have a better chance of success.

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As a help with getting going on your cardio routines, here is a list of articles from the main BodyFitnessInfo site. We hope you find this information to be helpful in designing your own cardio routine.

What is the Best Cardio Machine for Your Workout?
Common Cardio Exercise|Workout Mistakes On Cardio Machines
Cardio Exercises-Low Or High Intensity Exercise Burn Body Fat Faster?
BodyFitnessInfo.com BLOG » Making Your Cardio Workout More Enjoyable
Five Great Exercise Machines for Burning Fat
The Best Way to Get Six Pack Abs

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Let’s face it, there are a lot of different cardio machines out there and it seems that everyone has their own favorite. So what’s yours?

Also, perhaps you have a favorite for different purposes. For example, maybe you prefer to use a treadmill for longer cardio sessions but a stationary bike for HIIT workouts. Whatever the case we’re looking for some feedback from visitors to the site. Leave a comment below and let us know which cardio machine (or outside workout) you prefer and why.

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Every now and then its a really good idea to mix up your routine and do some really good intensity workouts. There are a lot of different methods and techniques that you can use to increase the intensity of a workout. Here are a couple that you may have heard of:

Dropsets - do a normal set for one exercise (curls for example, 6-8 reps), then immediately drop the weight by about 20% and do 6-8 more reps, then do it again. This would be a ‘triple drop set.’

Supersets - this is where you take two exercises and do them without rest in between. This can be done with exercises for the same body part of different ones. Great intensity technique and time saver!

Running the Rack - start at the lighter end of the weight rack, do 6-8 reps of an exercise, then without resting (or maybe a short rest of 10-15 seconds) move up to the next weight. Go as high as you safely can, then go back down.

This is just a small sample of some techniques out there. For a great article on some intense arm workouts, check out 5 Star Arm Workouts by Tom Venuto. Tom also recently released a great chest workout that has great intensity also. You can reach that article here: Build a Bigger Chest in 3-5 Workouts or Less.

You can also read about a lot of intensity techniques in Arnold’s book The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding.

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Let’s face it: there are a lot of good body weight exercises out there that a lot of us don’t do because we think you can only workout by going to the gym. But what about those days where you just didn’t have time to go? Think about it, what would be better: don’t workout at all or do some good body weight exercises so that you still get your workout even though you aren’t pumping iron? Yes, its sort of a duh statement - you should at least get in some sort of a workout!

One of the great classic moves is the pushup. The nice thing about the pushup is that it isn’t just a chest move. Its actually more of a full body workout that most people give it credit for. Let’s break it down a little bit and see what groups are being worked when doing pushup:

Chest - yes, the pushup does work the chest. Similar to the compound movements of the bench press, doing pushups will also stimulate your chest muscles

Arms - also very similar to the bench press, doing pushups will work your arms as well. Especially the tripceps.

Abs - here’s where some of the differences start to come in. By holding your body straight you are also working out your abs because you have to contract them in order to keep your back straight.

Lower Back - similar to the reason doing pushups works your abs, you also have to clench your lower back muscles to keep your back straight. This actually applies to you glutes as well.

Looking at the list above, you have to agree that pushups are much more than what a lot of people think. In fact, it might not be a bad idea to incorporate some of them into your standard workout as well. (The military has had people doing pushups for a long long time . . .)

If by chance you don’t want to do pushups because you think they’re boring, look at them again and spice things up a bit. There are a lot of variations that you can do with pushups. Here’s a great article from Men’s Health writer Scott Quill: More Power to the Pushup

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Here is a good article that we found on MSN Health that talks about several exercises that a lot of people are doing wrong. Form is a very important thing when you’re working out for several reasons. One is that it makes sure that you’re working the right muscles. Another is so that you aren’t making your body move in a way that it wasn’t intended to. Do things the right way and you’re much less likely to injure yourself.

Here’s a link to the article: Iron Out the Kinks

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One of the big questions out there is how do I get a six-pack. Simply put, you could have the most developed, best looking abs in the world but if you have too much fat covering them up you won’t know it (and neither will anyone else!). So the key to having a great six-pack is losing enough of your body fat percentage that your abs are actually visible. You’ll probably have to be at least in the single digits (under 10%) for your abs to actually be visible, but this varies a bit per person. So keep training, lost that body fat and start to look ripped!

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