Bringing the Gym to You!

Author: Noel Lyons

You don’t need barbells, dumbbells, or machines to build muscle.

In fact, weight-training equipment can inhibit the process through poor biomechanics.

With challenging body-weight exercises, you can build lean muscle anywhere, anytime…..at home, on the road, or even in a public park.

The longer your body, the weaker you become.

By increasing the distance between the point of force (your target muscles) and the end of the object you’re trying to lift (your body), you decrease your mechanical advantage. Think of it this way: An empty barbell is easy to lift off the floor if you grab it in the middle. But try moving a few inches in one direction and it instantly seems heavier even though its weight hasn’t changed. The same is true of your body: Lengthen it and every exercise you do becomes harder.

Apply it:Raise your hands above your head so your arms are straight and in line with your body during a lunge, squat, crunch, or situp. If that’s too hard, split the distance by placing your hands behind your head.

The farther you move, the more muscle you work.

In physics, “mechanical work” is equal to force (or weight) times distance. And since your muscles and bones function together as simple machines they form class 1, 2, and 3 levers the same formula applies to your body. It’s the most basic of principles: Do more work, build more muscle. Of course, in a weight-free workout, you can’t increase force (unless you gain weight). But you can boost your work output by moving a greater distance during each repetition.

Apply it: Each of the following three methods increases the distance your body has to travel from start to finish, increasing not only the total amount of work you do, but also the amount of work you do in the most challenging portion of the exercise.

Hard: Move the floor farther away. For many body-weight exercises lunges, pushups, situps your range of motion ends at the floor. The solution: Try placing your front or back foot on a step when doing lunges; position your hands on books or your feet on a chair when doing pushups; and place a rolled-up towel under the arch in your lower back when doing situps.

Harder: Add on a quarter. From the starting position of a pushup, squat, or lunge, lower yourself into the down position. But instead of pushing your body all the way up, raise it only a quarter of the way. Then lower yourself again before pushing your body all the way up. That counts as one repetition.

Hardest: Try mini-repetitions. Instead of pushing your body all the way up from the down position, do five smaller reps in which you raise and lower your body about an inch each time. After the fifth mini-repetition, push yourself up till your arms are straight. That counts as one repetition.

As elastic energy decreases, muscle involvement increases.

When you lower your body during any exercise, you build up “elastic energy” in your muscles. Just like in a coiled spring, that elasticity allows you to “bounce” back to the starting position, reducing the work your muscles have to do. Eliminate the bounce and you’ll force your body to recruit more muscle fibers to get you moving again. How? Pause for 4 seconds in the down position of an exercise. That’s the amount of time it takes to discharge all the elastic energy of a muscle.

Apply it: Use the 4-second pause in any exercise. And give yourself an extra challenge by adding an explosive component, forcefully pushing your body off the floor into the air as high as you can during a pushup, lunge, or squat. Because you’re generating maximum force without any help from elastic energy, you’ll activate the greatest number of muscle fibers possible.

Moving in two directions is better than moving in one.

Human movement occurs on three different geometric planes: the sagittal plane, for front-to-back and up-and-down movements, the frontal plane, for side-to-side movements, the transverse plane, for rotational movements.

Most weight-lifting movements the bench press, squat, curl, lunge, and chinup, to name a few are performed on the sagittal plane; the balance of exercises for instance, the lateral lunge and side bend occur almost entirely on the frontal plane. This means that most men rarely train their bodies on the transverse plane, despite using rotation constantly in everyday life, as well as in every sport. Case in point: walking. It’s subtle, but your hips rotate with every step; in fact, watch a sprinter from behind and you’ll see that his hips rotate almost 90 degrees. By adding a rotational component to any exercise, you’ll automatically work more muscle since you’ll fully engage your core, as well as the original target muscles and simultaneously build a better-performing body.

Apply it: Simply twist your torso to the right or left in exercises such as the lunge, situp, and pushup. You can also rotate your hips during movements such as the reverse crunch.

The less contact your body has with the floor, the more your muscles must compensate.

The smaller the percentage of an object’s surface area that’s touching a solid base, the less stable that object is. That’s why SUVs are prone to rolling, and tall transmission towers need guy wires. Fortunately, humans have a built-in stabilization system: muscles. And by forcing that internal support system to kick in by making your body less stable you’ll make any exercise harder, while activating dozens more muscles.

Apply it:Hold one foot in the air during virtually any exercise, including pushups, squats, and deadlifts. You can also do pushups on your fingertips or your fists.

About the Author:

Noel Lyons self-publishes – get fit – the busy person’s exercise club. Visit today and receive a free club membership whilst places last.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Bringing the Gym to You!

NATURAL MASSAGE, BODY & BATH OIL -VANILLA BEAN NOEL 8oz $7.99

Bath Body Works Vanilla Bean Noel Anti-Bac Hand Soap x8 $22.99

Bath Body Works Vanilla Bean Noel Anti-Bac Hand Soap x3 $12.99

Bath Body Works Vanilla Bean Noel Anti-Bac Hand Soap x3 $12.99

BATH & BODY WORKS VANILLA BEAN NOEL BODY CREAM X 2 ~ FS $12.99

2 Bath and Body Vanilla Bean Noel Body Lotion - New $10.00

Bath Body Works Vanilla Bean Noel Anti-Bac Hand Soap x3 $6.50

BATH & BODY WORKS - VANILLA BEAN NOEL WALLFLOWERS - NEW $12.99

Bath Body Works VANILLA BEAN NOEL Hand Soap Lot of 3 $4.95

Bath Body Works 2 Vanilla Bean Noel Shower Gel NEW $9.99

Bath & Body Works Vanilla Bean Noel Anti Bac Soap HTF $0.99

BATH & BODY WORKS FOAMING SOAP- VANILLA BEAN NOEL $2.50

BATH AND BODY WORKS VANILLA BEAN NOEL BODY LOTION X2 $9.99

Bath & Body Works Vanilla Bean Noel Hand Soap x 4 LOT $9.99

BATH BODY WORKS~VANILLA BEAN NOEL~ Body Lotion 10oz $17.95

BATH BODY WORKS Vanilla Bean Noel Body Lotion X 2 2009 $22.54

VANILLA BEAN NOEL AB HAND LOTION Bath Body Works x3 $15.20

Bath Body Works~VANILLA BEAN NOEL AB DC Hand Soap x3 $12.99

Bath Body Works~VANILLA BEAN NOEL Moisturizing Soap x 3 $12.99

Bath & Body Works Vanilla Bean Noel Lotion Set $9.99

Bath Body Works Vanilla Bean Noel Body Lotion New $9.99

Bath & and Body Works VANILLA BEAN NOEL HAND SOAP $4.49

Bath and Body Works VANILLA BEAN NOEL shower gel set $14.99

3 Bath & Body Works AB hand lotion VANILLA BEAN NOEL $11.95

BATH & BODY WORKS VANILLA BEAN NOEL HUGE PUMP LOTION $9.99

Bath Body Works Vanilla Bean Noel Anti-Bac Hand Soap x8 $22.99

BATH & BODY WORKS VANILLA BEAN NOEL SOAP X 6 NEW $16.99

NEW! Vanilla Bean Noel Lotion & Gel Bath & Body Works $8.00

Bath & Body Works Vanilla Bean Noel Foaming Hand Soap 6 $24.95

Bath & Body Works-Vanilla Bean Noel-Hand Soap x12 NEW $39.99

Bath & Body Works BEAR VANILLA BEAN NOEL Hand Soap X 3 $19.95

@BATH AND BODY WORKS VANILLA BEAN NOEL HAND LOTION@@@@@ $3.75

Bath & Body Works Vanilla Bean Noel Shower Gel x2! $12.99

Bath & Body Works Vanilla Bean Noel ANTI-BAC SOAP x2 $0.99

BATH AND BODY WORKS FRAGRANCE OIL *VANILLA BEAN NOEL* $12.89

Bath and Body Works Vanilla Bean Noel Splash Soap Lot $30.00

BATH AND BODY WORKS ROOM SPRAY *VANILLA BEAN NOEL* $4.89

BATH AND BODY WORKS ROOM SPRAY *VANILLA BEAN NOEL* $9.39

Bath and Body Works Vanilla Bean Noel AB Foam Soap X5 $21.99

Bath and Body Works Vanilla Bean Noel Anti Bac Soap X6 $24.99

Bath and Body Works Vanilla Bean Noel Anti Bac Soap X6 $24.99

Bath & Body Works Polar Bear Vanilla Bean Noel Soap HTF $1.99

x3 Bath&Body Works Vanilla Bean Noel Anti-Bac Soap Rare $8.99

BATH & BODY WORKS VANILLA BEAN NOEL A-BACT HAND SOAP X2 $7.99

BATH & BODY WORKS VANILLA BEAN NOEL SHOWER GEL NEW! $0.99

Bath & Body Works VANILLA BEAN NOEL Splash Mist x5 $28.00

Bath & Body Works Vanilla Bean Noel Moist Hand Soap x 4 $14.95

Bath & Body Vanilla Bean Noel Shower Gel BIG $11.99

BATH AND BODY WORKS VANILLA BEAN NOEL FOAMING HAND SOAP $7.99

Vanilla Bean Noel Hand Soap AntiBac Moist Bath Body x 2 $5.00