Build Muscle and Lose Fat - Articles on Conditioning, Weightlifting, Powerlifting, Strongman, Diet, Nutrition, Martial Arts :: Project Swole | Hooksett, NH 03106

Weightlifting Tool to Calculate Your 1 Rep Max

There are many strength training programs that involve calculating your 1 rm or 1 repetition maximum. Some programs want you to use a % of your 1 rm, which is sometimes even harder to calculate.

Most of us do not how how to figure out this number without performing the actual rep itself. Use this easy calculator to get a basic idea of how much weight you can lift once.

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Tags: calculator, max, powerlifting, strength, weight lifting, Weight Training

20 Pull Ups Program Integrated with a Regular Training Routine

Pull Up Routine

There is a neat new program at http://pull-ups-training.com/ that will help you increase your pull ups. Check it out then read this article.

Someone beat me to the punch. I was going to write a program like this based on what I saw at The 100 Push Ups Challenge, but I just didn’t make the time to do it. So what I will do instead, is to explain how to work this 20 Pull Ups program into your regular training routine so as not to sacrifice the rest of your muscles while on this program. Get ready for some 2-a-day workouts!

The premise of 20 Pull Ups is to combine several training methodologies throughout the week by doing several sets of pull ups each day. This is a 6-8 week program for those who can already do at least 5 pull ups. However, if you can’t do 5 pull ups, there is a slightly longer program that you can use, which incorporates assisted pull ups for the first 4 weeks. Either way, you should give this program a try if you want to be able to do more pull ups.

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Tags: 20 pull ups, Conditioning, pull-ups, Weight Training, weightlifting, Workout Routines

10 Tips to Manage Cravings with Healthy Foods

Craving Junk Food?

You are a hardworking person who gets up early, works a full day, exercises, and takes care of the kids at night. OK, maybe your story is a little different, but most likely you are still living a busy life, full of stress, anxiety, and deadlines. While you sit at your desk or dive your car, your daydreams shift to thoughts of salty chips or a smooth, sweet chocolate bar.

Don’t fret, it’s perfectly normal to have food cravings. When you constantly give in to your cravings and overindulge, is when you pay the price. Go ahead and accept your cravings as part of life, but also be aware that you can take action to prevent going overboard.

Why We Have Cravings

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Tags: cravings, Diet, healthy food, nutrition

Training for the Week of 9/15 - 9/21

Finally! I pulled off 5 workouts in 5 days. In order to do it I had to train twice on Friday, but I still made it! 3 kickboxing sessions and 2 weight training sessions were completed without a hitch.

If you have a heavy bag at home, try this kickboxing workout:

One rep: Jab, Cross, Hook, 2 quick low kicks (thai kicks), and 3 burpee/push-up combos.

See how many reps you can do in a 4 minute round. Take a minute to rest and drink water. Repeat for 5 rounds. After 25 minutes of this, you will be sweating like a little piggy. Read on to learn about my workouts for the week.

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Tags: Personal

Training for the Week of 9/08 - 9/14

This was a good week. I made it to 3 kickboxing workouts and signed up for a membership at the corporate gym where I work. What I consider to by my official comeback workout took place on Thursday and it went a little something like this…

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Training for the Month of August

I spent the month of August recovering from near death at the hands of pulmonary embolii. Towards the end of August I started kickboxing again and let me tell you, I haven’t felt this healthy since the year 2006.

My cardio is improving drastically and soon I will surpass the fitness levels of everyone in my kickboxing class… no offense to anyone in the class who might be reading this, but I will torch you.

I have nothing else to report for the month of August.

Halloween Recipes - Black Bean Dip

Halloween season is coming and we are going to need some healthy recipes to go with the fall season. As always at Project Swole we prefer to focus on recipes that can help us either gain muscle or lose fat. This high protein, high fiber black bean recipe will go a long way in satisfying your craving for chips and dip.

Black Bean Dip

Black bean dip is quick and easy, and tastes great with yellow or blue corn tortilla chips. Look for baked versions of your favorite tortilla chips in order to save additional fat.

Why Black Beans?

Black beans are a very good source of fiber. In addition to lowering cholesterol, the high fiber content in black beans prevents blood sugar levels from rising rapidly after a meal. This means beans are an excellent choice for folks with diabetes, insulin resistance or hypoglycemia.

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Tags: black beans, halloween, healthy food, recipe, Recipes

The Top 5 Best Triceps Exercises

Tricep Extensions

Two common questions you will hear from male weightlifters are:

1. How can I get bigger arms?
2. How can I bench press more weight?

Normally I would scoff at such questions, except that the answer is a lesson that most young weightlifters need to learn.

Because your triceps comprise two-thirds of your arm, the answer to the first question is: train your triceps.

Because your triceps are often the weakest link in the chain of muscles that facilitates bench press, the answer to the second question is: train your triceps.

This brings me to the point of this whole post, which is how best to train your triceps.

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Tags: bench press, benching, dips, tricep, tricep training, triceps, weight lifting

12 Mistakes All Athletes Have Made While Training

Franco Columbo

Inexperienced athletes do dumb things. Most people look for the easiest way from point A to point B, and sometimes they become obsessed with trivial details. I did it; you did it… or maybe you still do it; and the newbie that jumps on the bench after you will do it too.

Hell, when I first started training, I was following a 6 day per week, 2 a day program, written by some professional bodybuilder. It took me a year to learn how to do barbell back squats and even longer to start deadlifting. I thought I knew what I was doing just like you do.

In order to take that first step towards knowing everything, we must first realize that we know nothing. This is what I want you to do before you read the rest of this article. Once you can admit that you know nothing about weightlifting, you can read these tips and apply them to what you have been doing, in order to start doing what you should be doing.

Once you have the proper train of thought, you may proceed…

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Tags: athletes, Conditioning, mistakes, Weight Training, weightlifting

What is the Best Acai Product? This is My Final Answer!

Argh! Everyone keeps asking me what the best acai product is. There are a whole bunch of acai berry products on the market today so it is hard to know which is the best acai berry product. Well today, I would like to clear up any questions you might have.

Best Acai Berry Product

I’ve been doing a bunch of research on the subject of acai berries because I am very interested in healthy food and eating healthy. I feel at this point it will benefit the readers of Project Swole to publish my results.

Why Choose Acai in the First Place?

• See a previous article of mine regarding acai berries and weight loss.
• Then see my recent post about the benefits of antioxidants.
• Clearly acai berries are the leading superfood right now for antioxidant supplementation.
• Any other questions?

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Tags: acai, acai berries, antioxidants, Diet, extreme acai, nutrition