exercise equipment

No matter
what our jobs
all of use our back every day when we're sitting
standing
lifting
even lying down. A back injury can result in pain
disability
and even loss of income if it prevents us from doing our jobs. Together with proper lifting techniques
back exercises are one of the most important things each of us can do to strengthen our backs and help protect them from accidental injury and sports injuries. The right back exercises
when done on a daily basis
can help you to keep your back fitness at the best possible level.

Remember
though
if you are experiencing back pain of any sort
check with a healthcare professional before doing these or any exercises. And do the exercise according to the medical advice rendered by that professional. Sciatica is the disease which affects nerves of the back. To control the back pain due to the nerve disease you must undergo strength training in physiotherapy.

If you understand the concepts of how backs get injured by bad back exercise habits you can easily tell if you are moving in healthy ways
if an exercise will help or harm
or if you're doing a good exercise in bad way. You're not helping yourself if all you do is a "list" of exercises. Worse
many people are given a list of things to never do again. This list is often favorite activities that made their lives worthwhile and fun.

Most people spend their lives doing activities with poor posture that rounds their lower back. They sit
stand
walk
and exercise round-shouldered and round-backed. This shortens chest and shoulder muscles in front
and over stretches and weakens your back. Like squeezing a water balloon in front
when you round forward
it squeezes the front of your discs between your back bones (vertebrae) above and below the disc.

The aim for beginners to weight training must be to lay the foundations for the intensive workouts that their bodies will eventually be subjected to. Obviously successful bodybuilding involves bringing together disparate elements such as nutrition and rest but choosing the right exercises is crucial. In this article we'll outline the barbell exercises that will enable new bodybuilders to develop the general strength and body conditioning needed.

Initially beginners should aim to complete two sets of ten to twelve reps but after a few weeks
when you have developed sufficient control and basic strength
experiment with one set of six to eight reps to failure. This will maximize your muscle growth and give you the impetus to move on to the next stage of development. Before long you'll find the use of this single piece of equipment restricting
so later in this series of articles we'll pull together a muscle boosting program that utilizes other equipment to take you to the intermediate level. In the meantime
get to work with these exercises in order to get used to working your muscles.

Biceps brachii – The Two muscles at the front upper arm that run from the elbow to the shoulders. The biceps is actually a smaller muscle then the triceps. It is on the front of the upper arms. There are two heads of the biceps muscle (hence the bi in biceps).

Beneath the biceps is the brachialis
a flat muscle group that runs about half way up the upper arm bone from the elbow joint. From the rear you can see the brachialis as a well-defined band of muscle between the triceps and biceps when a muscular bodybuilder flexes his/her arm.

Triceps brachii – The Three muscles at the rear upper arm that run from the elbow to the shoulder. The triceps is a three-headed muscle that is on the back of the upper arm (hence the name tri in triceps).

Forearm – The several smaller muscles that run from the elbow to the wrist. There are three primary muscle groups in the forearms. The forearm flexors lie along the inner sides of the forearms. The forearm extensors run along the outer sides of the forearms. And the supinators that lie on the upper and outer sections of the forearms.

It is essential that when you do any exercise that you perform the movements correctly
if you don’t you will receive less then optimum benefit from the exercise. It is very difficult to unlearn bad exercise habits
so it is best to learn the right exercise technique from the very start.

The key to developing the arms is to avoid overtraining these small muscle groups. The arms are used as secondary muscles in almost all chest
back
and shoulder exercises. For example
the biceps are used when doing any type of rowing movement for the back. The triceps are used when doing any type of pressing movement for the chest and/or shoulders. And the forearms are used whenever you have to grip the weights.

Whether you want to tone and define weak arms so that you can wear something sleeveless with confidence or you want to increase muscle mass
working the muscles in the front and back of the upper arms will help you get there.

Most people new to bodybuilding pay a lot of attention to building big arms
sometimes to the point of overtraining. Don't forget
the arm muscles are brought into play during most exercises aimed at other body parts so care must be taken not to overdo things.

Having said that
the arms are complex body parts in their own right and deserve a properly focused exercise program. In basic terms the arm consists of three main muscle groups:

1. Biceps brachii - two muscles at the front upper arm that run from the elbow to the shoulders.

2. Triceps brachii - three muscles at the rear upper arm that run from the elbow to the shoulder.

3. Forearm - several smaller muscles that run from the elbow to the wrist.

We're really stuck on wanting to look good and that's alright
but it's really one goal of the arm exercise benefits. "Exercise is a body tune-up
and if we're keeping our body exercised
we're keeping it tuned just like a car." When working the arms
be sure to balance the body.

We tend to make the mistake of exercising only our show muscles. And that is actually an imbalanced program. We pay too much attention to the muscles in front of our body and not enough attention to the back of the body.

On the most basic level
this doesn't build the whole muscle.

The reality is
if you want big arms
you've got to work both sides of the arms. When someone flexes their biceps
it's the whole arm that's working. The triceps are a part of that.

You should vary your grip and width when performing not only these exercises
but all others. Why? Consider the barbell curl as an example. Most guys tend to use a wider grip
which works the short head of the biceps on the inside of the arm
while forgoing a narrow grip
where the biceps' long head is emphasized. When someone who does this places his hands on his hips
the long head on the outside of his arm is usually small and disproportionate compared to the inner arm. By using the same grip or width all the time
you create an imbalance in size and strength.

Let’s start with this very important rule: NEVER OVERDO THE FIRST FEW SESSIONS. Many beginners to exercising fall for this trap
especially when they do not have qualified trainers with them. They get overly excited and lose patience. They try to produce in two weeks what often takes years to accomplish.

They begin by going all out right from the start doing as much as they can. The next day
their joints and muscles lock up in pain. Then
they get discouraged
stop exercising for a while and give it up altogether. Workouts should start out smooth and easy.

Here is a warm-up routine to do 1 set of before every workout
but doing 3 sets of these alone can be a pretty good workout; particularly if you are a beginner.

LEG STRETCH
Lean over deeply on your left foot while your right leg is stretched out to your right side. Maintain balance.
Slowly
raise yourself with your left leg to a standing position.
As you stand
spread your feet wide apart.
Repeat this for ten counts.
Do steps 1 to 4 again; this time
alternate the legs’ position (left becomes right
and vice-versa).
This exercise warms up your legs
calves
and abdomen.

LEG SQUAT
Stand erect
chest out
with your buttocks protruding and your stomach in. Put your hands straight out in front of you. Relax.
Do squats by bending your legs to lower your body. Bend your legs until your upper legs (thighs) are parallel to the ground and you are in a squatting position. Keep your body erect as you squat.
Then raise yourself as you straighten your legs back to a standing position.
Do around 5 to 10 squats. Inhale deeply as you go down. Exhale as you stand up.
This exercise warms up your leg muscles
calves
and the muscles in your abdomen.

TRUNK TWIST
Stand with your feet about 3 feet apart. Relax.
Place your hands behind your head with your elbows out to the sides.
Very slowly
twist your body to your right without moving your legs or feet. Try to twist to your right as far as possible. Your face and body should be facing your right side while your legs remain steady. Then hold on to this position for 10 seconds.
Do the same to your left side.
This exercise warms up your legs
back muscles
and abdomen.

ARM ROTATION
Stretch out your arms to your sides. Keep them level with your shoulders.
Simultaneously rotate both arms to the front. Do this 20 times each rotation.
This exercises your shoulders
arms
and back muscles.

ARMS PRESS
Bring your right and left palms together. Have all fingers and palms pressing each other in front of you while pointing the fingers upwards.
Simultaneously push one palm against the other as hard as you can. Keep pushing for 5 seconds. Relax. Then push again for 5 seconds.
Do this ten times. Exhale as you push
and inhale as you relax.
Then press both palms in front of you while having their fingers pointing in different directions one set of fingers pointing to your left
the other set to your right. If your left fingers point to the right
your left hand should be under your right hand.
Push both palms against each other
the left palm pushing upwards
the right palm pushing downwards.
Exhale as you push
and inhale as you relax. Do this ten times. Then change the positions of your palms (left over right) and do the same procedures.
This exercises your forearms
arms
shoulders
and latissimus muscles (the muscles at the sides that give your body a V shape).

NECK PUSH
Gently move your head to your right side while your right hand gently pushes back against it. Do this once.
Gently move your head to your left side as your left hand gently pushes back against it. Do this once.
Gently move your head backwards as your left or right hand gently pushes back against it. Do this once.
Gently bow your head to the front as your right or left hand gently pushes against your forehead. Do this once.
This exercise strengthens your neck muscles. Never do neck rotations.

PUSH-UP
Do slow push-ups from 10 to 15 counts.
This exercises your arms
chest
shoulders
part of your abdomen
and part of your back muscles.

JOGGING
Jog in place for 3 minutes.
Then jog in place a lot faster for 2 minutes.
Then jog in place with a normal pace for another 3 minutes.
This exercise gives you a good leg and calf warm-up. This also serves as aerobics for your lungs and heart.

There! That ought to do it. After doing the above warm up exercises for some time
you should be ready start doing regular weight training and cardio workouts. Then just do 1 set of these exercises to properly warm up before you start each workout.

1
Sport is for professionals. This idea applies only in the case of performance sports. The native qualities required for professional sportsmen (speed
skills
specific height
etc.) can only be developed
they can't be formed by training. As long as the aim of a regular person is not performance
almost all sports can be practiced for keeping the body in a good shape. It's all about dosing the training you chose
so that the benefits are bigger than wear and tear. Even the sports considered tough can be practiced in a 'soft' way (tae-bo
mini-triathlon
jogging
etc.).

2. Training is tiring. This idea is true as long as it refers to consuming all your energy (muscular and hepatic glycogen)
but it doesn't mean that training gets you into that state of exhaustion which would slow down the process of recovery of the body. Even in performance sports
the purpose is to have rather effective than exhausting training
so that the body can get the stimulation necessary to qualitative progress from one training to the next.

Even more than in other sports
in fitness the sportsman is spared overexerting. However
the training must not become ineffective. People can come to the gym tired after a work day and leave relaxed (physically and psychologically) and not more tired. This is extremely useful for people with sedentary jobs
but also for those who make physical effort at work. They could use the training by choosing a type of effort meant to compensate the one involved in their job.

3. Training takes too long. Again
this idea is true if applied to performance
which can only be obtained by working a lot. But also in this case short and very intense training or training for relaxation and recovery are often performed. In fitness
you can get to 20-minute training
working only super-series of fast exercises
which could involve
directly or indirectly
all the muscles. Anyway
regular training shouldn't take longer than an hour and a half. Otherwise
the body will get into the catabolic faze
when the cortisone secretions 'cannibalize' the muscles.

4. Any type of exercise is good for solving your problems. What's true in this refers to some particular cases like excess of adipose tissue. This tissue can be 'melted' by any kind of aerobic exercise (running
cycling
swimming) if this is continued long enough. Even in these cases it was clear that some exercises are more effective than others. There are situations when only a combination of exercises with a certain amount of each
can provide you with the results you expect. More than that
repeating the same exercise all the time can have as a consequence not only losing balance in the antagonist muscles and in the joints involved in training
but also stopping progress or even regressing.

5. You're older? No more exercises! This is true only if we refer to extremely demanding efforts (really heavy weights
fast running
jumping
etc.). There are lots of exercises adapted to different ages. Their purpose is to keep and improve health and also to improve physical shape. The development of movement parameters for older people refers especially to muscular and cardio-vascular resistance as well as mobility of the joints. Because the final purpose of training is not preparing for a competition
the exercises can be organized gradually according to their difficulty
eliminating the risk of accidents. Because it's based on perseverance
fitness can be adapted without problems for older people and even for people suffering from different affections specific to old age.