Posts Tagged ‘legs’
Sunday, January 9th, 2011
What is a Shin Splint?
“Shin splints” is a term used to describe the pain felt between the knee and the ankle after athletic activity, and are considered a cumulative stress disorder rather than an acute injury. This painful condition occurs when muscles and tendons in the lower legs pull on the tibia bone along the shin.
There are several reasons why athletes develop shin splints, but ultimately we can say they develop when the constant stress placed on the joints, bones, and muscles of the lower leg overwhelms the body’s natural ability to recover from trauma.
The most common cause is inflammation of the periostium, the sheath that surrounds the tibia. Traction forces on the periostium from the muscles of the lower leg cause shin pain and inflammation.
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Tags: exercise, injuries, injury, injury prevention, legs, Medical, Research, running, shin splint, shins, Sports
Posted in Medical, Research, Sports | No Comments »
Tuesday, June 29th, 2010
How to Perform Overhead Squats
Among the best exercises for strength, size, speed, and power, are squats – no exceptions. Front squats, jump squats, and overhead squats are all great alternatives to the king of squat exercises – the barbell back squat.
Squatting will help you develop powerful legs and a rigid core, have no doubt, but when we get creative we can mix and match exercises for an even more effective exercise that trains the whole body.
Sometimes we must think about our upper body as well and there is no better way to look and feel jacked, than to build massively strong shoulders. And there is no better way to feel sexy as a female, than to have sleek, strong, healthy shoulders. It is also equally important to build structurally invincible shoulders to proactively protect yourself from injury.
Combine everything together that I’ve just mentioned, and you get the overhead barbell squat. Let’s see how to do them correctly.
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Tags: hamstrings, legs, overhead squat, quads, shoulder, shoulders, squat, squats, squatting, Weight Training, weightlifting
Posted in Exercise Technique, Weight Training | 8 Comments »
Friday, June 25th, 2010
How to Perform Front Squats
The best exercises for speed, strength, size, and power, are squats – bar none. Back squats, front squats, overhead squats… they are all great, and will help you develop powerful legs and a rigid core.
Front squats are just about the best alternative to back squats, so let’s see how to do them correctly.
Barbell front squats are just about the same as back squats except the bar is placed across the front of your shoulders, using one of the two styles detailed below.
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Tags: barbell, front squat, hamstrings, how to, legs, quads, squat
Posted in Exercise Technique, Weight Training | 6 Comments »
Friday, March 12th, 2010
Increasing Your Vertical Jumping Ability
A single vertical jump for maximum height is one of the most intense exercises you can do.
Why? Because it requires you to utilize your entire lower body chain in a maximal effort contraction, to produce a maximal amount of force in a split second.
The important aspects of training to work on, to increase your vertical leap include:
- Squatting strength – Maximal leg strength transfers directly to a vertical jump. A strong 1 rep max = a big jump.
- Squatting speed – The faster you can squat, the more power you can generate, the higher you can jump.
- Squatting power – Tied in directly with speed and strength, squat heavier and squat faster and you will jump higher.
- Acceleration – You want to continue accelerating out of the hole all the way through the top of your jump.
- Single leg strength – To eliminate strength imbalances and to improve neuromuscular coordination, train your legs individually.
- Calf strength – Your calves are used at the end of the jump, so max calf strength can mean an extra inch on your vert.
- Sprint speed – Sprinting trains the Type-II Fast Twitch muscle fibers, which are what you need to attain your highest jump. Acceleration applies here as well.
- Hip drive – Your hips are responsible for a significant portion of jumping power from a parallel squat position to standing.
- Glute activation – Your glutes are responsible for driving you out of the hole at the bottom of a squat or jump.
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Tags: glutes, hips, jump squat, jumping, jumping rope, jumps, leaping, leg training, legs, plyometrics, squats, squatting, vertical
Posted in Conditioning, Fitness Tips, Weight Training, Workout Routines | 4 Comments »
Wednesday, March 10th, 2010
Double Your Calf Size with These Two Simple Tips
Calves tend to be a bodybuilding problem spot. Even Arnold used to worry about the size of his calves in relation to the rest of his body.
Here is a simple tip to double the size of your calves in no time:
Since your calves are made up of two muscle groups, you will need to train your calves in a standing and seated position. Most calf exercises can be tweaked to include straight-knee and bent-knee variations. Use them both.
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Tags: bodybuilding, calf training, calves, legs, weight lifting, Weight Training, weightlifting
Posted in Fitness Tips | 2 Comments »
Monday, March 8th, 2010
How to Train with a Busted Arm or Leg
When you hurt one of your arms, you shouldn’t necessarily stop exercising the healthy arm.
A study at the University of Oklahoma suggests that when you train a single arm (or leg), the muscle nerve fibers in the opposite appendage are stimulated. This means you will still get the benefits of Central Nervous System (CNS) adaptations in an injured limb as long as you train the opposite healthy limb, over a short period of time.
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Tags: arms, injuries, injury, legs, Medical, Weight Training
Posted in Fitness Tips | 3 Comments »
Tuesday, February 10th, 2009
Look, now I’m turning up in other places online!
Somehow dietsinreview.com gave me an opportunity to write a guest post. You can find it at How to Train Legs part 1.
I had originally written a 1500 word article for this, but ended up having to shorten it to 2, 500 word pieces. Now I know what it feels like when a Hollywood director is forced to cut 20 minutes off of his movie to be able to get his R rated movie down to a PG-13 rating.
Thanks to Diets in Review for giving me my first chance to write a unique guest post on a high profile website.
I also published a guest post from Heather Ashare of Diets in Review fame. You can find that post at Yoga for Men. Thanks Heather!
Tags: diets in review, Guest Post, legs
Posted in Business, Social Networking | 2 Comments »
Sunday, November 9th, 2008
In a recent training log, I mention Zercher squats as an alternative to barbell squats, and you might have asked, “What is a Zercher squat?”
So, What is a Zercher Squat?
The Zercher squat was developed by Ed Zercher, a well-known powerlifter and strongman from St. Louis who competed back in the ’30s. Rumor has it that Zercher’s home gym lacked a squat rack, so he would load a barbell on the floor, squat in front of it, hold it in the crook of his arms and lift the weight with his legs and lower back.
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Tags: legs, squat, zercher
Posted in Weight Training | 2 Comments »
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