The Need for Speed

In a world where speed is constantly breaking new technological grounds.. Where we can fly around the world within 24 hours as opposed to months, or years like in the old days (yet we still complain)..

fighter jet breaking the speed of sound barrier

In a world where we want everything to be done immediately (quick fixes, fast food, transportation, customer service, etc.).. where speed is highly demanded in order to keep up with society..

                              

In a world where speed is everything and everywhere, our bodies are the ones that get left behind in the dust.

We as human beings, and creatures of this planet, have the innate ability to run, and I mean run FAST! When we run as fast as we possibly can with 100% effort, we call this a sprint.

Usain Bolt, world's current fastest man

What makes it innate? Well, there are dozens of factors. The fact that we are fast thinkers, have long legs, upright torsos, swinging arms, and fast twitch muscle fibers should be a clear sign. *(fast twitch muscle fibers contract rapidly and are used for short, explosive bursts of energy) But if that does not convince you, maybe the fact that we are built with an automatic “fight or flight” response will. This is when our brain and nervous system perceives an immediate danger and responds with seemingly automatic evasive maneuvers.

For example, let’s say you’re walking down a side-walk minding your own business when, all of a sudden, you realize you’re being run down by a neighbor’s fearful Rottweiler. You immediately start to haul-ass (sprint) towards somewhere safe. It won’t matter how old you are, or if you haven’t exercised in years, you will end up sprinting for your life without considering making one excuse. Hopefully you’ll make it.

Cute

Not so cute

Extreme situations or not, the sprinting capability is within us all and should be exercised and maintained. That way, when those extreme situations do occur, you are better suited for them. Oh yeah.. Sprinting is also great for you and your health (the reason I am writing this blog).

Sure, some people may be faster than others. Some people may even be gifted with the genetic ability to run as fast as 11 meters per second. Although, I will never discredit a lifelong competitive training program even if it is combined with great genetics. Either way, this should not deter you from being able to sprint to the best of your ability.

Olympic Sprinters

Unless there is a harmful metabolic condition, injury, or some specific ailment, you should be running sprints.

One more time. Unless there is a harmful metabolic condition, injury, or some specific ailment, YOU SHOULD BE RUNNING SPRINTS!

And finally, here are my Top 10 reasons why:

10 ) Sports & Running Performance (available on page 2)

9 ) Anaerobic Performance (available on page 2)

8 )  Aerobic Performance (available on page 3)

7 )  Body Composition (available on page 3)

6 )  Functional Advantage (available on page 4)

5 )  Health & Youth (available on page 4)

4 )  Time Management (available on page 5)

3 )  It’s Easy To Track Progress (available on page 5)

2 )  Competition (available on page 6)

1 )  Sprints Are COOL (available on page 6)

(Copyright 2011 by Javier Fleites/Mr. Workout. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcasted, rewritten or redistributed without permission.)

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6

what is the core? (part 1)

You’ve heard it all over the media and gyms, “Core” this and “Core” that, but what does it really mean?

Aside from being a fitness marketing buzzword, the core should not be interpreted as a fitness gimmick or a so-called trend in training.

Some points on what the Core is NOT:

-upper abs

-lower abs

-abdominal exercise machines

-something you can’t control

-reducing belly fat

-hyped up and commercialized abdominal exercises

useless!

Alright, so we got that part out-of-the-way. Now let’s focus on what the core really is.

*One definition of the word core: the central, innermost, or most essential part of anything.

*One definition of the core in reference to the human body: the central link in the kinetic chain between body extremities which transfers, generates and stabilizes human movement.

*Kinetic Chain: A group of body segments that are connected by joints so that the segments operate together to provide a wide range of motion for a limb.

Understanding these definitions will allow you to see beyond the BS that’s out there, and will hopefully improve your decision-making in regards to exercise selection.

The core is not one muscle or an isolated group of muscles, but rather a system of muscles that exist to efficiently transfer movement force in 3 dimensional planes of motion. In doing so, it protects the spine and internal organs, essentially the most important role of the core. It can be considered your body’s transmission system, just as in a car.

Having unbalanced or weak core muscles can result in injuries to the spinal column. Think of the spinal column as an extension of your brain and your intelligence. It controls and responds to all major movements and body functions. Protecting it is vital to life!

Because a weak core can result in spinal column injuries and spinal misalignment, it can therefore influence and affect your digestion, reflexes, immune system, posture, and nerve impulses. Everything in your body is connected and has its roots in the core. What is more, a weakness in your core can result in an injury further up or down the kinetic chain (shoulder, neck, hips, knees, ankles).

Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci

Sedentary lifestyles, prolonged unhealthy postures, improperly rehabbed injuries, 1 dimensional exercises, muscle imbalances around the spine, and obesity CAN and WILL lead to spinal/back problems.

Then, once some pain or injury occurs, people begin to apply all the common excuses (“getting old, it’s not for me, I’m not built properly, I don’t have time for this, my job, stuck in traffic, I don’t like to change my exercise routine, etc..”) without realizing how much control they have over the situation.

poor old fellow

different postural imbalances

If you spend most of your day (or life for that matter) undoing the natural mechanics of the human body/core, then you should UNDO the undoing by spending at least 10 minutes a day performing exercises that will promote core strength & endurance, and spinal health. That’s all it would take! Consistency is the key.

what we do all day

Alright, you understand it’s importance. So someone please explain to me how performing 3 sets of 20 crunches is strengthening your core? Truth is, It’s NOT! Crunches are an upper abdominal, 1 dimensional, isolation exercise. The core is worked BEST when demands are applied that force the core to work as a whole unit, such as an overhead squat.

overhead squat

Would you buy a Ferrari to only use it to back up out of the driveway and drive around the block at idle speed..? NO, you wouldn’t! You would take that baby to the track and race it to the extremes, or show it off on South Beach (but that would still require work to get there).  Performing crunches on the floor is the equivalent of driving your Ferrari around the block at slow speeds and expecting to win with great results.

As I mentioned before, the core is like the transmission system of the body. Generally speaking, it connects and transfers force and energy between the engine (the desired movement), the front wheels (arms), rear wheels (legs), the gears (the movement intensity), and the driver’s controls (your brain).

By now you should be wondering what muscles comprise the core. I will mention the big ones:

Internal Obliques (love handle muscles)

External Obliques (diagonal ab and rib muscles)

Transverse Abdominis (the muscle that draws in your belly button; the body’s own natural weight belt)

Diaphragm (internal breathing muscle)

Erector Spinae (lower back muscles, they travel from the pelvis all the way up the spine; not shown)

Rectus Abdominis (upper and lower abs)

*The transverse abdominis and diaphragm work together to create an internal pressure chamber so that your spine remains neutral during extreme movements. (Will be discussed in part 2)

Working your rectus abdominis (abs) alone will lead to imbalances. In fact, we should stop using the word “abs” and start referring to our midsection as the core. You MUST train each part of it.

To make it easy, choose a different part of the core to train on different training days. You can also combine some muscles on different days. For example, on your leg training day, you can train all angles of obliques. On upper body day, you can train rectus abdominis and lower back.

On other days, you can choose exercises that challenge the core as a whole for strength and endurance. Essentially, the most important way to train the core for health. Below are some examples of exercises that accomplish just that.

plank

yoga bridge (yoga is great for spinal flexibility and endurance)

*A point to remember, training your core musculature for size and strength will NOT be the only way to get your “abs” to show. You must also lose the belly fat that covers them. Skinnier people do have an advantage for this.

*Fitness is an even combination of strength, endurance, flexibility, body composition, diet, and health. That is how you get the results you ultimately want, a well-rounded and healthy physique. Get after it!

I hope I have helped you better understand the truth about the core. Please stay tuned for more on core training including sample exercises and video demonstrations.

Thank you!

(Copyright 2011 by Javier Fleites/Mr. Workout. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcasted, rewritten or redistributed without permission.)

Mr. Workout’s Big Four

By now you have probably read my blogs about certain bodyweight exercises. If you have not, the links are provided below.

I will get right to the point. If you want to get in any kind of shape you need to be doing the Big Four:

-The Squat

-The Lunge

-The Push Up

-The Pull Up

There you have it folks!

These Big Four exercises are essential in attaining any kind of strength and conditioning. Mastering these bodyweight exercises will allow you to coordinate muscles all over the body simultaneously.  It’s what makes them functional. Plus, they will put some meat on your bones!

You should always be able to handle your own body weight with good form FIRST before you decide to add some extra weight, if not, you will only be feeding into some of your weak links (that means injury further down the line; back, hip, shoulder, knee).

*Weight loss and bodyweight exercises (i.e. CALISTHENICS) have an inverse relationship because weighing less will allow you to accomplish more reps, which in turn, will allow you to become stronger AND lose more weight.

Orange=Body Weight, Green=Calisthenic Strength

If you are not doing the Big Four in your exercise routines, or at all for that matter, then get to it!

They will guarantee great results.

Check out the following video I created with two friends of mine.  I put them through the “Big Four Pyramid”. It’s purpose is to challenge bodyweight strength and muscular endurance. They performed the four exercises in sequence for 10 repetitions each the first round, then 9 reps each the second round, and so on until they got to do 1 rep each on the last round. The reps for the lunges were doubled because you are using one leg a time. So 10 squats means 20 lunges.

*Fatigue will accumulate with each round, but it is tolerable by doing 1 less repetition each round.

10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1. Try it for yourself.

Please review the first comment that was written by Mr. Workout.

Til’ next time!

(Copyright 2011 by Javier Fleites/Mr. Workout. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcasted, rewritten or redistributed without permission.)

 

The Lunge

In short, the Lunge is underrated. This movement is essential in preventing and correcting imbalances between the left and right legs. It is functional because it mimics walking, jogging, hiking, running, sprinting, cycling, going up stairs, and any other one leg activity you can imagine.

In terms of muscle-building, it will intensely target the glutes (butt), hamstrings (back of thigh), adductors (inner thighs), and quadriceps (front of thigh) in ways that squats and leg presses do not.  Also, you get to work each leg evenly without one trying to dominate the movement while the other doesn’t get enough work, as in a bilateral movement such as the squat or leg press.

*Two additional facts ladies can appreciate: 1) lunges are more effective at targeting the largest of the three inner thigh muscles (adductor magnus shown above) than those adductor machines you sit on to open and close your legs,

we've all done this at least once

 

and 2) lunges also require balance, hip/core stability, and flexibility. They’re great for you in so many ways.

no more useless gimmicks

 

It’s easier to point out the weak(er) leg when performing lunges because you can see the compensations that each leg may, or may not have, apart from each other.  For example, the left leg may execute the lunge with good alignment (knee aligned with toes, hip aligned with knee, core upright) while the right leg may execute the lunge with weakness or compensation somewhere along the kinetic chain (the knee may turn inward, the toes may point outward, hip may drop, and an overall feeling of lack of balance can occur).

One of the many ways to correct this unequal weakness problem while performing the lunge is to simply do more reps and/or sets with the weak leg. Practice makes perfect. Well, almost. You need to concentrate on maintaining posture and joint alignment, as well as being aware of engaging the right muscles. Form and technique are crucial in this movement.  Performing them carelessly will only feed into those weaknesses and imbalances that were aforementioned.

There are countless variations of lunges you can do: forward, reverse, sideways, walking, rotational, jumping, and even walking backwards.  They all require the same fundamental form and mechanics despite the changes of direction and resistance. That means having an upright core with a slight lean, hip-knee-toe alignment, and proper planting of the heel and foot. For forward or walking lunges I often say to assign each leg its own invisible lane in order to maintain proper stance width and not cross over to the other leg’s lane.

Applying a load to lunges will increase its effects. For example, holding dumbells and weights in your hands, or carrying a barbell on your shoulders.  Again, attaining proper mechanics of these fundamental exercises with bodyweight is crucial before you apply a load. Heavier resistance will increase strength and size of the muscles involved, and will indirectly improve the speed of functional activities.

*A key point to remember, don’t allow your back knee to hit the ground. You will momentarily lose the contraction and be susceptible to injury or contusion.

Thanks for stopping by and checking out the lunge.  You can email me with any questions and concerns. Make sure you subscribe as well!

(Copyright 2011 by Javier Fleites/Mr. Workout. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcasted, rewritten or redistributed without permission.)

The Pull Up

Remember the monkey bars in your childhood play grounds? How about “Tug of War”? Ever climbed up a tree or swung on a rope? How about water skiing? Ever had to wrestle someone or pull yourself up from plummeting to your death or injury?  If you answered NO to any of these questions, you have not lived life!

The pulling motion is essential in executing all those tasks, and you guessed it, the Pull Up is king for training this!

How many of you wish you can do a Pull Up, but can’t? In my opinion, everyone should be strong enough to accomplish at least 1. The Pull Up engages every muscle fiber in the upper body and even some in the legs.

*A simple fact to remember; the less you weigh, the easier the pull up will be because you are pulling less weight. So keep working on achieving your weight loss goals and you will be half way through the battle of mastering your pull ups.

Even kittens can do pull ups.. although this one seems to be using its head

I’m not going to lie, Pull Ups are hard! Luckily there are many variations and ways to progress to achieve your first pull up.

If you can’t do 1 pull up, I usually recommend beginning with the Reclined Pull Up, or Bodyweight Row.  This movement is very similar to the push up although the resistance is applied to the pulling muscles.  It targets all the same muscles as a regular pull up, but it applies an emphasis to the upper back muscles which, in turn, are needed to be strong in order to stabilize the body to do a regular pull up.

Bending the knees will make the resistance even lighter if you are not strong enough to do the straight leg version. Once you can achieve 3 sets of 15 reps (with 1 minute of rest in between) of the Bodyweight Row, you can definitely go ahead and attempt your first Pull Up.

Here’s to clear some confusion:

The PULL UP is done with a slightly wide PRONATED grip

The CHIN UP is done with a slightly narrow SUPINATED grip.

Normally I use the terms pull ups and chin ups interchangeably because they are both very effective.  They both target the grip, biceps, shoulders, rotator cuff, the core, and the entire back in essentially the same ways.  Here’s a tip; do them both! If in any case, one of them hurts, do the other.

The same way that supplementing push ups (and variations) in between your pressing sets give you an added benefit to your pushing muscles, adding pull ups and bodyweight rows to your pulling work out will do the same to your pulling muscles.

Once again, for the gym rats; try doing your set of Lat Pulldowns and immediately follow them with some pull ups.  You won’t have the strength to do as many at this point, but the combination of the two exercises will have a greater effect than doing them alone and separately.

That’s actually one of my favorite ways to train! Beginning with the weighted strength exercise that isolates the muscle group being worked, then immediately followed by the functional, bodyweight version of the movement.  You will absolutely work up a sweat and burn more calories as well as maintain natural movement.

Another strategy is to add pull ups and rows on your pushing days, and push up variations on your pulling days. This way you will maintain form and strength at a more consistent level.

Pull ups are totally underrated if you ask me.  Nonetheless, they are great for your body and are an impressive tool to show off your strength.

(Copyright 2011 by Javier Fleites/Mr. Workout. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcasted, rewritten or redistributed without permission.)

The Push Up

We’ve made it!

At last we get to have a chat with the almighty Push Up.

If Squats are the king of all leg exercises, push ups would definitely be considered the king of upper body exercises. Not trailing far behind, and occasionally wearing the crown, the Pull Up.

The term push-up is American and it’s been around for 100 years.  The press-up is the English term and its been around  65 years.  Nonetheless, the actual movement of the push up (or any variation of pushing) has always been around in humans.

Pushing is very functional in our lives because we use it for so many things.  Whether it’s used with one arm, two arms or the entire body, we do it everyday for something.  Just think about it.

Push Ups are at the top of the pushing exercise list.  They cover all the basics; total body-weight pushing strength, core strength, chest, back, shoulders and arms strength.  This combination you do not attain with a bench press.  A bench press is great for isolating the pushing muscles but it neglects to use everything else in conjunction, which is what makes the push up so functional.

For you gym rats out there, superset your bench presses with push ups and you will be on your way to greater gains while maintaining some natural function in your upper body.

*A simple fact to remember; the less you weigh, the easier the push up will be because you are pushing less weight. So keep working on achieving your weight loss goals and you will be half way through the battle of mastering your push ups.

(Copyright 2011 by Javier Fleites/Mr. Workout. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcasted, rewritten or redistributed without permission.)

To Squat or Not To Squat?

99% of the time the answer is simple:  YES!

Squatting is one of the most natural movements the human body can do.  You squat every time you sit down and stand back up, when you get in and out of your car, when you pick something up from the floor, when you go to the bathroom, when you jump, when you play a sport, heck even babies and toddlers squat often. In fact, babies and toddlers have perfect squat form

When was the last time you were able to squat this low without discomfort?

As you can see, it is a very functional movement.  Functional for sport and for life in general.  Unless there is some specific ailment or injury, YOU SHOULD BE SQUATTING!

If you haven’t squatted in a while, you should really think about restoring this natural function to your life. Squatting requires LEG strength, flexibility and stability, CORE strength and endurance, and UPPER BODY strength and stability.  It is a FULL BODY movement that keeps you alive!

Ever felt pain, discomfort, or lack of breath in performing daily activities such as sitting and standing? Strength and proficiency in the squat movement will help you perform those daily activities with ease.

There are many different types of squats. Some aren’t even called squats but they use the same movement. As far as a workout is concerned, incorporating squats to your routine or on leg day would be extremely beneficial.  They make you strong from your toes to your head.  They stimulate anabolic hormone production (great for lean muscle-building) and they burn more calories than other, simpler leg exercises or leg presses.

Many males, young and old, refuse to perform squats because they are afraid or they do not care to train their legs. Whatever the EXCUSES are, Squats will help you get bigger and stronger in the upper body.  That’s right! Your chest, back, arms and abs will benefit from squats and/or any powerful leg exercise.

Men's Fitness Barbell Back Squat

As with everything in life, squats do require some practice.  If you have never squatted before or have taken some time off, body weight squats are a great way to start.  Lower back and knee injuries can prevent you from squatting properly, or at all, but as soon as you begin to rehab you should attempt the squat movement and perfect your form.  If you are inflexible and tight in certain areas, then you need to stretch, strengthen your core, and practice the squat form with body weight until you improve.

Body Weight Squat

Stay tuned for more on squats and training!

(Copyright 2010 by Javier Fleites/Mr. Workout. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcasted, rewritten or redistributed without permission.)

The Truth About Women And Weights

Here is the big one! “Women who weight train become bulky and masculine.”

Or “I stay away from weights and resistance training because I don’t want to look like a man”.

How many times have you heard this stuff?  I hear this everyday!  It seems no matter how much research has concluded these phrases to be false, they will never go away. I will point out right away the ONLY ways this can happen to women:

-Anabolic steroids (most obvious)

-Having higher than normal testosterone levels and/or lower than normal estrogen to testosterone ratio

-Highly mesomorphic genetics.  (predominance of robust & muscular body structures)

-Very Intensive weight training program (i.e. certain female advanced bodybuilding programs)

-Any combination of the above [1]

Now that we have established the above, I will point out the ways this CANNOT happen to MOST women:

-Beginning a strength training program

-Beginning a fitness program which includes strength, cardio, and flexibility

-Adding some resistance training to a cardiovascular training program

-Adding some resistance training to Yoga, Pilates, or any group fitness class schedule

-Allowing yourself to lift heavy weight periodically (not just low weight and high reps all the time)

-Allowing yourself to give resistance training a try for at least 1 month and finding out what the results were for you.  Because it never hurts to try.

With all of the above out of the way, we may continue.

So you want to know the difference between female muscle and male muscle? Well the answer is very simple;

There is none!

No need to point out differences anymore because now you know the truth.  Muscle is muscle whether it’s on a boy or a girl, a man or a woman.  Muscles are muscles just like bones are bones and livers are livers and hair is hair.. etc.  Muscles all function the same and connect to the same things; bones and connective tissue.

Muscles will contract and stretch, they will thermoregulate, they are told what to do by the brain (innervated by nerves), they have dozens and arguably hundreds of functions in the body in which they do not matter if you’re a male, female, cow or chicken.

What determines the size difference, in regards to muscle, between males and females is two-fold:

1) Testosterone: males have ten times the amount of this hormone when compared to females *[2]

2) Genetics: you can say it determines the layout of the body as well as potential testosterone production, and pretty much everything else

There you have it.  From a MUSCULAR standpoint: Your genes (from your parents) determine your specific layout and hormone producing potential.  Your hormones (endocrine system) determine the size of the muscles and how the muscles use energy, but again, muscle tissue is still only muscle tissue.

Testosterone is the number one male hormone. In essence, it is what makes us men.  Simply put, because men on average have 10 times the amount of “T” that women do, women WILL NOT look like men nor do their muscles have the same potential for anabolic growth. So don’t be afraid to try the weights ladies! You will appreciate the benefits.

Many of my female clients, prior to training, had this fear based from myth created by misinformation and commercialized fitness.  Even explaining everything to them sometimes isn’t enough to convince them otherwise.  Then they begin to see the differences for themselves after we build a trusting, trainer-client team relationship. As a result, they worked hard to achieve certain aesthetic results without looking like a man or the Hulk.

Needless to say, they have a much better understanding and appreciation of healthy muscles after they experienced it for themselves. Their muscles all over became only a little bit bigger and they lost the right amount of bodyfat.  This is a killer combination for sexy and defined muscles of the shoulders, upper back, arms, abs, butt, thighs and calves.

Cat Haayen

Here is a friend and fellow Yogi, Cat, who is the mastermind behind (www.yogathleta.com); a more athletic and strength oriented form of yoga.

Put a male under the same training program as the female, and he would have become stronger, faster than the female counterpart, have increased more muscle mass than the female counterpart, and would have lost more bodyfat percentage than the female counterpart.  The “T” is just that powerful. Sorry ladies! [1, 2, 3, 4]

Although, there are plenty of exceptions.

For example, one of those exceptions is the lower body.  Research has concluded that women have the same amount and/or greater potential to build the legs.  This means, in many cases, women may become just as strong, or stronger, with leg exercises when compared with men.  They also have the same ability for lower body hypertrophy (muscle growth).  The upper body is mainly where males strive. [3,4]

I have personally observed this phenomenon when training some of my female friends or clients.  In fact, last week I exercised with a female friend of mine, Danielle. We performed the deadlift exercise (squatting down to the floor to grab the large weighted barbell and squatting straight up to a standing position with the bar in your hands; picture below left).  We were both lifting 275 pounds off the floor.  Very impressive on her part!

But when we compare the shoulder press exercise (pressing the weighted barbell from shoulder level straight up over your head; picture above right), I was significantly stronger.  She was lifting 95 pounds (still an impressive amount) and I was using 155 pounds.  Like myself, Danielle is very physical and has been training for most of her life for sports or recreation.  Most importantly, she does NOT look like the Hulk.

Lou Ferrigno (my favorite Hulk of all time)

More so, I have also observed petite collegiate female athletes able to squat with 225 pounds on their backs! Crazy stuff to even think about for most women.

Monik Lopez-Calleja

Check out this great blog site (www.rxgirlsmiami.com) from my friend Monik, a fellow female CrossFitter who has motivated many women to look beyond the myths and change their lives.

More about hormones.

When any individual, male or female, lifts heavy weights, they stimulate growth hormone production as well as a few other anabolic hormones.  (Anabolic simply means in a state of growth, as opposed to catabolic which means in a state of break down.)  Two very important functions of growth hormone (GH) are bone density growth and bodyfat metabolism. [1,2,4]

This is what women want on their side; this should be the goal. Females need to build and maintain strong and healthy bones to help prevent osteoporosis (thinning of bone mass) and osteopenia (mild thinning of bone mass).  Two debilitating conditions that usually target women as they get older.  GH also has a unique ability to metabolize fat cells when stimulated by intense resistance workouts. [2,4] In other words, GH is where you get the bang for the buck!

Another factor to be considered with resistance training is an increase in metabolism.  Numerous research has concluded that after a resistance training session, your metabolism is increased and is still burning calories, specifically from fat, for a few hours afterwards. [2,4,] This is great news for trying to achieve lean muscle mass, which is what the generic term “tone” really means.

After a period of training, lets say 6 months, your body will have an increased metabolism compared to when you began training because it has to maintain all the lean muscle mass you put on.  Because women strength train, they could be burning more fat even while they are sitting at their desk at work.  For more on metabolism, check out my friend’s blog: (www.dietarymythbuster.com)

Dietary Myth Buster

I hope I have helped my readers better understand the truth about resistance training for females.  I would love to see more women hitting the weights hard and reaping the benefits.  It is just as important as cardiovascular exercise and flexibility.

Mix this combination with a healthy diet and BOOM..! you’re on the way to a newer, sexier, leaner, stronger, and healthier you!  It does not matter if you are young, old, pre or post part-um.  If you are happy with the current amount of muscle mass that you have worked hard to attain, then you can always stop the continuing of growth and maintain what you currently have.  Also, if you are one of the lucky gals that has great mesomorphic genes and can put on lean muscle quickly, I congratulate you and you can also maintain the level of muscle you have worked for.  Or you can periodize your training program the same way athletes do.. but that’s a whole other topic.

As always, believe in your abilities, train hard and consistent, and most especially, train smart!

-Mr. Workout

(Copyright 2010 by Javier Fleites/Mr. Workout. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcasted, rewritten or redistributed without permission.)

References:

*[1] – Wilmore, J.H. and D.L. Costill. Physiology of sport and exercise.Champaign: Human Kinetics Pub., 1994

*[2] – Research conducted through the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)

*[3] – Wilmore, J.H. Alterations in strength, body composition, and anthropometric measurements consequent to a 10 week training program. Med. Sci. Sports and Exer. 6 (1974): 133-138

*[4] – Research conducted through the National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA)