Posts Tagged ‘weight lifting’

How to Perform Dumbbell Flyes – Boost Your Training with the Best Chest Exercise

Wednesday, July 26th, 2023
man performs Dumbbell Flyes

The dumbbell fly is a cornerstone exercise in strength training and bodybuilding, yet its significance often goes unrecognized. Dumbbell flyes play an instrumental role in developing chest muscles, increasing strength, improving posture, and enhancing overall wellness. Our comprehensive guide will delve into the intricacies of the dumbbell fly, shedding light on its profound impact.

We will provide a guide for performing the dumbbell fly and recognizing muscle activation during the exercise. We’ll also explore using this exercise to increase strength or build muscle.  Also, look for our tips on incorporating drop sets into your routine to elevate your dumbbell chest fly sessions to new heights.

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What Is “The Pump” At The Gym 

Monday, November 21st, 2022
how to get a pump in the gym courtesy of Arnold "The Oak"

How to Get Pumped Up at the Gym

Muscle ‘pump‘ is a commonly used term amongst bodybuilders, and it means pumping up your muscles by doing vigorous exercises. This increase in muscle size is temporary and can be achieved quickly by using lighter weights and higher reps, and by resting only briefly between sets. You see beginner athletes wondering, “what is the pump?” and “how do I get the pump?” – well it’s not that difficult, believe it or not. Getting pumped is much easier than setting a new PR, that’s for sure.

Read more to learn about what the pump in the gym is all about ?

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The Top 5 Best Triceps Exercises

Saturday, November 12th, 2022
Arnold uses the best triceps exercises.

We frequently end up having to answer questions about which exercises are the top 5 best triceps exercises of all time. Literally, the two most 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: how best to train your triceps.

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Werewolf Training: A Weightlifting Routine to Gain Muscle

Monday, July 4th, 2022
Werewolf Training

Gain Muscle with Werewolf Training

This training routine is designed for you to gain muscle. That’s it.

If you’ve come here to lose fat, you are better off using the Full Body Fat Loss Routine for Men or the Full Body Fat Loss Routine for Women. This routine definitely has nothing to do with fat loss.

If you came to learn how to bench 700 lbs, you are better off reading Werewolf Training for Strength Gains. Although, truth to tell, you will get significantly stronger following this program.

Use this menu to skip to:

Werewolf training is not designed to get you ripped or “toned” (::barfs::), or even super strong, but you will get stronger anyway. This is much more of a bodybuilding routine than anything else, but with great strength benefits.

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The Top 5 Best Neck Exercises

Wednesday, May 26th, 2021
Best Neck Exercises

The neck really is an important muscle. Think about it; unless you are wearing a turtle neck, everyone will see your neck. It can distinguish you from a bodybuilder to just a normal person. Furthermore, next to forearms and calf training in muscles being neglected, neck training is next in line. Actually, I would say that people neglect neck training more than anything else. Many people have never even heard of it or would even know what to do. This is why we are mandated to publish this list of the best neck exercises with guidance for how to build a tree trunk neck.

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The Top 5 Best Leg Exercises for Your Quads

Tuesday, May 4th, 2021
arnold squats

Serious fitness enthusiasts and athletes want to be bigger, stronger, and leaner. The number one way to make that happen? Train your legs with complex free-weight exercises such as these best leg exercises.

Your legs are the largest group of muscles in your body. They are the foundation of your strength and power. Never will you be able to bench press 315 if you can’t squat 315 first. By training your legs hard, you will be setting yourself up to gain the most progress compared to every other muscle group.

Arnold loved squatting, and look what happened to him. If you want to be Mr. Olympia, a famous Hollywood actor, and the governor of California, you need to squat! This article will give you great direction on training the quad, while our best hamstring exercises will give you some great ideas for supersetting or dividing leg day into a push and pull split.

By training your legs, you will:

  • Lift the most weight of all muscle groups.
  • Burn the most calories of all muscle groups.
  • Form the foundation of your body’s strength chain.
  • Stimulate the highest growth hormone release through training.
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The Top 5 Best Biceps Exercises

Friday, April 23rd, 2021
Arnold Biceps

Biceps. The ultimate show muscle. From age 10 on, every boy, teenager, and man wants to have huge bulging biceps. This is, apparently, a true sign of manliness and strength, and is also attainable if you incorporate these best biceps exercises into your routine.

Biceps are among the most famous muscles in the body. When somebody asks you to “make a muscle” or “flex”, they aren’t asking you to flex your hamstrings. They want to see your biceps!

This whole notion of flexing the biceps as a measure of anything is completely ludicrous to me, but it is a reality. When someone asks me to flex, I ask them if they’d much rather discuss max-effort PRs, perhaps dynamic powerlifting strategies, or better yet how to put together the most effective HIIT complexes. Most folks walk away thus.

But I digress…

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Seven Easy Ways to Boost Your Metabolism ?

Tuesday, January 29th, 2019
boost metabolism girl

Metabolism is a word that describes any and all chemical reactions that occur within the body. The rate at which metabolism occurs in your body may vary depending on a lot of things. The rate at which our body metabolizes is also shown in how many calories we burn and how much energy we have. A higher metabolic rate means we burn calories much easier and it is easier to both lose weight and then keep it off. Here are seven easy ways to boost your metabolism for weight loss.

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Health Considerations for Bodybuilders

Wednesday, November 28th, 2018

barbell deadlift

 

The sport of bodybuilding increases your strength and changes your physique. The demands of sculpting your body are tremendous. It takes time and a lot of hard work to reach goals in bodybuilding, but it’s very rewarding when you do.

Bodybuilders push themselves and their bodies hard. The stress they exert on their muscles and bones requires specific health maintenance routines particular to a bodybuilder. What works for most of us, won’t work for someone who pushes the limits of working out to greater and greater heights.

Gains come in small increments, but if you take care of your body while building it, you have a better chance of faster returns. Here are some ways aspiring bodybuilders can ensure their bodies stay healthy and robust as they develop more muscle and drop body fat percentage.

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Gym injuries: how supplements can aid recovery and boost performance

Thursday, August 16th, 2018

How’s your fitness regime going? In summer, most of us take our workouts a bit more seriously. But did you know that taking the right vitamins and minerals can help strengthen bone, build muscle, prevent injury, and aid recovery — ideal whether you’re into cardio or resistance training?  

workout performance

If you’re a regular at the gym, you need to ensure that your body takes in what it needs to perform. Don’t underestimate the importance of nutrition — check out how vitamins and minerals can help you push harder in your next work-out session. (more…)

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5 Bad Habits You Need to Quit Now if Sustained Muscle Growth is Your Goal

Wednesday, August 8th, 2018

build muscle

Here is an interesting guest post by a good friend of Project Swole. He wishes to remain mostly nameless (aside from mentioning his name is Andy), but trust in me he is smart and experienced, and I think this piece will really connect with most Swole readers.


It’s unpleasantly like being drunk.”

“What’s so unpleasant about being drunk?”

“You ask a glass of water.”

– Douglas Adams, British author, and humorist

 

Human beings like habits, as a rule. It’s like that old phrase, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” So, if we do something, and it works out ok, we’ll do it again.

 

Good or bad, habits allow us to predict the future – if I do this (exactly as I did yesterday), I know what will happen. Habits equal proven outcomes. Get on this train at this time in the morning, and I’ll be at work on time.

 

And if those habits are linked to a reward of some description, anything from a hit of dopamine in the brain by achieving a specific goal or, heaven forbid, one of a human being’s primary rewards – either food or sex, we’ll be back same time tomorrow, guaranteed, with our plate in our hand, as it were.

 

Habits provide routine, and for us, routinely provides security.

 

Unfortunately for us, some habits don’t sit well with others, and the rewards each brings actually off-set against one another, which kind of defeats the object. Take, for example, the diabetic cake-shop owner. You get my point. In fact, like the rest of our existence, it’s all just one big juggling act, seeing what works, what doesn’t, what affects something else, and so on, and hoping for a happy medium somewhere along the line. (more…)

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Best Headphones for Each Type of Workout

Thursday, May 10th, 2018

Working out without music would be miserable. Workout playlists make time pass faster and help you pump yourself up for the next rep! If you’ve ever tried to workout with the wrong pair of headphones, you know just how frustrating it can be. Whether you hate dealing with a cord in your face or you sweat all over bulky over-the-ear headphones, you know you need something that can handle your level of workout.

It turns out not all headphones are created equal! Some headphones are best used for certain types of workouts, and that’s why you need to learn more about what kind is right for you. Here is a guide to the best headphones for every type of workout! Take your workout to the next level with these tips.

changing weights

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Lesser Known Benefits of Weight Lifting

Friday, April 6th, 2018

Crossfit girlWeightlifting requires an exceptional amount of motivation, endurance, and discipline. Pushing through the pain and sweat requires a lot of mental strength in addition to physical strength. As such, the things you learn by lifting weights can be translated into other important areas of your life. Think about creating and sticking to a budget or even writing your first novel (the best stories come from personal experiences after all). Having the discipline, endurance, and strength it takes to train your body and mind are invaluable skills you can implement into your daily life.

Here are a few lesser-known ways weightlifting can benefit your life:
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Use Proper Form and Nutrition to Prevent Injury

Friday, November 24th, 2017

Too many times people throw themselves into an exercise routine with the expectation that if they heave as much weight as possible, enough times, they’re going to see the results they want. In reality, the result they’re likely to see is an injury that sets them back significantly in achieving their fitness goals.

gym injuries

Whether you’re just starting out or finessing your current exercise routine, it’s essential that you always take the time to ensure you’re practicing proper form. If you don’t, you are cheating yourself by lessening the positive effects of your workout and opening yourself up to serious injury. Aside from maintaining proper technique as you build strength and flexibility, you should also focus on the nutrition your body needs to function, recover, and grow. (more…)

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Tips For Making Sure That You Are Not Over Training

Monday, July 17th, 2017

carbohydrates for recoveryAre you in the gym day in and day out, but feel like you just are not seeing results like you used to? Well, it is completely possible that you might be overtraining, which is a lot more common than you might imagine.

Overtraining means that you are training so hard your body does not have the time to rest and recover, as it normally should. This condition can lead to a slew of negative side effects, like muscle atrophy, motivational loss, and mood swings.

Overtraining can even diminish the results that you worked so hard to earn, so it is imperative that you never let this happen to you. Stick to the following tips and information to ensure that you never over train. (more…)

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10 Reasons Not to Train Like a Professional Bodybuilder

Tuesday, April 4th, 2017

One of the biggest mistakes you can make when attempting to gain muscle is to imitate your favorite professional bodybuilder.

Look Like a BodybuilderIf you’ve seen the magazines: Flex, Iron Man, Muscular Development, etc…, you’ve seen the pro bodybuilding routines. These guys train one body part a day, 10 exercises for each muscle group, 6 sets per exercise, 12-20 reps per set, and they put together brutal 6 days per week workout routines, sometimes with 2-a-days.

What they don’t tell you, is that routines written by professional bodybuilders are not going to work for you if you are not either a pro bodybuilder yourself, or an unemployed, juiced up, genetic freak. If you follow these routines, you will overtrain faster than Arnold shows his bare ass in a Terminator movie. At least you will learn how NOT to train, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.

My Experience Training Like a Pro

I wish someone told me all these things before I started on some ridiculous pro routine when I was 16. This guy had me using ramps, training 6 days a week, once a day for two weeks then twice a day for four weeks, and focusing completely on machines, cables, and leg presses instead of squats.

What a complete waste of 6 months that was. When I finally confronted a personal trainer about my sore body and lack of progress, he ripped up my routine and set me straight. Thanks Ted!

Here are 10 reasons why you should not train like a professional bodybuilder:

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Weight Training is More than Just About Building Muscles

Monday, February 20th, 2017

Women Weight TrainingWhen it comes to lifting weights, most people have the wrong perception. Weight training does not necessarily equate to bodybuilding and its benefits are not limited to aesthetic muscle growth either. It is a principle that can be used to achieve a variety of goals for both men and women. In fact, all kinds of athletes and sportsmen use different variants of weight training to boost specific aspects of their game. As the general consensus is that the only ones who lift are the people who want to get jacked, let us take a closer look at what else weight training can do to help your health. (more…)

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Strength Training Guide for Motorcyclists

Sunday, February 12th, 2017

Motorcycle FitnessThis article is exclusively on the right exercises to improve the strength of motorcyclists and make them better riders. For the record, the exercises will yield other desirable results such as improved metabolic activities, improved body detoxing, reduced unwanted fat, improved sleeping orders, improved looks etc., but these are only peripheral perks. The sole essence is to improve the riding performance of the motorcyclists.

These exercises are great for beginner riders and veteran riders alike. If you think you are not fit enough to ride your bike and you are not motivated enough to try to get into riding shape, you can always visit sellbike.com for quick valuation of your motorbike and then unsubscribe to Project Swole, because those without ambition might not bother wasting their time reading these posts.

Lower Body Conditioning

Your lower body and ‘core’ plays the most crucial role in establishing contact with your motorcycle and balancing you on it, as a rider. Therefore, these exercises will be focused on those parts of your body.

Exercising to improve those parts of your body is essential because, while riding, there’s a need to do a number of things, some of which are the need to shift the weight of your body between opposite pegs as your motorbike tilts from side to side when negotiating bends. There’s also a need to engage your legs as props and shock absorbers while doing an off road, and so on.
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5 Ways for Swimmers to Build Upper Body Strength

Friday, July 19th, 2013

Swimming and Strength

Female Swimmers
If you want long, lean muscles, swimming is one activity that is almost certain to deliver, especially if you like doing laps rather than, say, water aerobics. But you’re going to have a much harder time bulking and building upper body strength beyond a certain point if you rely solely on aquatic sports for your physical fitness.

If you’re into competitive swimming (like triathlons or swimming the English Channel) or you simply want to improve your performance for your own benefit, building upper body strength is a good way to accomplish your goals.

A regimen that includes a variety of cross-training options is likely to provide the best solution.

Here are just a few extra exercises that are sure to deliver the upper body strength you need to take your water-based fitness to the next level.

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The Top 5 Best Back Exercises

Sunday, July 14th, 2013

Arnold T-bar RowNothing is more impressive than being able to bang out 30 pull ups in a row or finishing a set of 10 with 90 lbs hanging from a belt. Nothing LOOKS more impressive than being able to hit an impressive front or rear lat spread with confidence. Furthermore, how many women do you know who can finish a set of 10 pull ups? Trust me, there aren’t many.

The reality is that we can accomplish all of these things with intense free weight back training.

Your back muscles comprise the second largest set of muscles, after the legs. Therefore, putting some serious effort into training your back will pay off huge dividends whether you are looking to burn a large number of calories, better fill out your shirts, condition your body for functional strength, or even to fix your posture from focusing too long on chest training.

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