Home Gyms Rule!

If you have read past the title of this article you either agree with it or are strongly opposed, but curious. As you can probably tell, I am biased toward home gyms. In my case, a home gym really means a garage gym, but the idea is the same (home gym, basement gym, garage gym, patio gym, etc.). I can walk out my door and hit the iron in a matter of seconds. My personal gym setup might be an exception, as it is quite well equipped. Irrespective, I make the same assertion for almost any home gym – that is, home gyms rule!I would not take such a strong stand for home gyms without having some experience with other gym alternatives. Perhaps it might be best to provide a little personal background. I’m approaching 50 yrs old and have over 35 years of bodybuilding and powerlifting experience.

I competed as a teen and into my twenties.My start with weight training was perhaps not unlike yours. I received a plastic covered 110 lb. (with concrete inside) weight set as a Christmas gift. A year later, I also received a bench. I followed the exercises as prescribed in the accompanying manual and acquired a set of Weider courses by mail. I also read a number of bodybuilding magazines and dreamed of the day when I might achieve a physique as exhibited in those pages.I had a very high metabolism and limited access to appropriate supplementation and diet. As a result, my mass and size gains proceeded slowly. Despite this sluggish progress I enjoyed every workout. After I married, we lived in an apartment for a number of years and as a matter of convenience I joined my first commercial gym. Over the years I patronized many different gyms.

I had some fantastic commercial gym workouts, good gains in size and strength, and I found some great workout partners. I also had some less than desirable experiences.The most annoying things from my commercial gym experience included:

• Travel time to and from the gym
  


• Sanitation (someone else’s sweat left on the benches)
  


• Having to wait for equipment
  


• Searching high and low to find a matching pair of dumbbells (they were rarely re-racked)
  


• Horrible workout music
  

Ok, so the list is possibly unfair. Your gym might not be quite like this and I’m not saying that this was my experience with every workout or at every gym. However, it was frequent enough as to be quite irritating. I’d be quite surprised if you have not had at least one similar experience at your gym.To provide the alternative view, I must admit there are also a number of positive aspects to a commercial gym:
Availability of spotters and safety (of critical importance)
A broad selection of equipment
Motivation that naturally occurs from being around other lifters
The “scenery” (if you get my drift…)Note that the last item can be both a plus and a minus. I enjoyed watching the ladies, but it can be somewhat distracting when trying to focus on your workout. In the end, my negative commercial gym experiences far outweighed the positives, and I returned to my roots – working out at home.

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When I first returned to home gym training I realized that if I intended to continue down the path of competition I would need to look beyond a simple 110 lb. weight set. I knew that there was a minimum amount of equipment which would allow me to achieve my training goals and not “break the bank”. Below is listed what I consider to be the minimum equipment for those who want to workout at home:
300 lb. Olympic weight set
Bench (adjustable – flat and incline)
A set of dumbbells (if cost is a factor, adjustable handles with extra plates work great)
A power rack is also strongly recommendedThis basic equipment will allow you to work every body part with quite a lot of variation as to exercise and range of motion. Note that safety is critical and I strongly recommend a power rack. When properly configured and put to use, a rack can result in a high degree of safety for those who workout alone. Personally, I do not use a power rack in my home gym as I am lucky enough to have a full-time spotter for questionable lifts. Something less tangible and not reflected by my recommended list of equipment, but equally important is “motivation”. Just because you have the convenience of a home gym, do not ignore motivation. With a home gym, it can be just as easy to decide to watch television rather than working out. If you have or will setup a home gym, remember to keep it interesting and fun to use.If you have followed the link to my home gym site and viewed the gallery of gym pics, you’ll see that my gym (the “AZ Iron Mine”) is equipped a bit beyond that of the list above. In my case, equipping my garage gym has become almost as big a part of the workout lifestyle as lifting. I enjoy every workout as if it was my first, and I enjoy every exercise that my gym can provide. So, in that vein here are my “ultimate” or “dream” home gym add-ons:
Significant number of additional Olympic plates (of various weight, and plenty of plate racks)

Lat pull down machine (also for triceps press downs, seated cable rows)
Preacher curl bench
Leg Press
Calf raise
Pec Deck
T-Bar, Lat Row
Ab crunch machine
Pull-up, Dip stand
Roman Chair, Hyperextension
Dumbbells from 5 lbs. to 120 lbs. (in 5 lb. increments)

I still have a few items to acquire in order to reach my idea of the ultimate home gym, and getting there is half the fun. If you’ve followed along and find this article interesting, watch for the next installment: “Where to Find and How to By Home Gym Equipment”.Until then, thanks for listening and keep on lifting !

Written by Jim Bean www.azironmine.com

Strength Training Guidelines for Endurance Athletes

You can make great strides in your sport performance in the weight room. Because strength training can break down a lot of muscle tissue I recommend weight work be done in the foundation or base period. This does not mean you will not continue to build strength throughout the season. Hill running, slow cadence cycling work outs, and resisted swim work outs are all forms of strength training that are specific to disciplines.

Try to use a pedal width stance on your exercises and mimic the range of motion of running and cycling. One exercise I will caution you on is the leg extension. Most people use way to much weight on this exercise, which can put a lot of pressure under the knee cap. This may lead to cartilage damage. Leg extensions are a good exercise to warm up with. Use light to moderate weight and lots of reps. You may want to perform this exercise in the top 20 degrees range of motion. This helps strengthen your VMO or innermost quad which plays a key role in patella tracking. Finally, if you are unfamiliar with weight training and proper form I highly recommend you get with a certified athletic trainer. Exercises such as the squat, dead lift, and even leg press can easily injure you if performed incorrectly. I could write an entire book on how to perform these exercises, but if I am not standing next to you and watching your form, you could still be performing them incorrectly. I see and correct bad form from even experienced clients on a daily basis.

Phase I- Acclimation 4-8 weeks Purpose:

To gradually adjust your body to the stresses of strength training. During this phase you will use light weight and high reps. You may want to start of your first few weeks with very light weight or body weight. Make sure you perform your exercises slowly and controlled.

Reps: 15-25
Weight: Light to Moderate
Exercises: 3-5
Sets: 2-3
Rest between sets: 1-3 minutes generally allows full recovery

Phase II Hypertrophy: 4-6 weeks Purpose:

To recruit maximum amount of fibers and promote muscle growth and absolute strength. Make sure your first set is a light warm up set. You will want to "pyramid" or increase the weight on each set while lowering the reps. A typical rep scheme may look like this 12-10-8-6, or 12-10-8. This phase has a good potential for injury, so be careful and listen to your body. You can take your lifts to muscular failure during this period. I recommend a spotter. Don't be surprised if the first few weeks leave you very sore.

Reps: 6-12
Weight: Moderate to Heavy
Exercises: 3-6
Sets: 3-4
Rest between sets: 1-3 minutes generally allows full recovery


Phase III Strength Endurance: 6-8 Weeks Purpose: To train the ability to sustain repeated hard efforts, similar to a steep climb. This phase will raise your lactate threshold and time to exhaustion. You want to use moderate weight and slow controlled motion. You can bring yourself to muscular failure but at a higher rep range. I recommend that you raise your rep range slightly as you progress.

Reps: 15-30
Weight: Moderate
Exercises: 3-5
Sets: 2-4
Rest between sets: 1-3 minutes generally allows full recovery


Phase IV Power: 3-6 weeks Purpose:

Power is force over time, or the ability to move the most resistance in the shortest time period. This is necessary for jumps and short sprints. Again, I recommend a trainer during this period because of the potential for injury, and the creative knowledge needed for power training. You will take each strength exercise and explode upwards. Be careful on the eccentric phase (lowering). Try to picture a spring that is slowly coiled until it is tensioned, then explodes. Go light, especially in the beginning. This does not mean you will not fatigue the muscles. I use a body weight for the first few weeks.

Reps: 8-20
Weight: Light to Moderate
Exercises: 4-6
Sets: 2-3
Rest between sets: 1-3 minutes generally allows full recovery.

You have to view strength training as a tool box. You have to decide which tools are right for you based on your body, and your event. I personally am a smaller person, slow twitch, and my goals are usually short events. This means more time in the weight room for me. If you are a marathoner, you will need less strength work and less weight. If you are a large muscled person, who has good short distance speed, yet you are training for an IM event, I would focus less on hypertrophy and more on strength endurance for climbing.

Reshaping Your Body with Body Building Equipment

Strength training is one of the most rigorous training workouts that you can experience. All the work that you put forth during a body building workout benefits you in several different ways. By performing body building exercises just a few days each week you can increase your stamina and metabolism, and build lean, strong muscles. The metabolic changes will happen naturally. To sculpt your muscles you will need to use specific equipment. The equipment you need to use depends on the muscles you want to redefine.

Arms are a part of the body that just about everyone wants to reshape. Free weights offer the most flexibility because you can easily increase the intensity by increasing the amount you lift. There are also a variety of styles to fit individual needs. Traditional barbells that range in weight from 10 to 40 or more pounds are ideal when you have a weight bench and you want a rigorous routine for building large muscles.

You basically perform your reps, increasing the weight as you progress through your routine. When you travel or if you are interested in slight definition, you will want to invest in a smaller set of dumbbells. If you have back problems, aquatic barbells may be a better option. You use this equipment in a swimming pool where the water provides support. In addition to free weights, you can also use a dip stand, pull-up bars, or pushup stands to work your arm muscles. This equipment is versatile and enables you to work your entire upper body. If you are interested in bulking up your muscles, you simply need to perform additional reps using this equipment a few times each week. If you want to tone your muscles you will need to perform fewer reps several times a week. Reshaping your legs is easy with body building equipment. While you can use free weights to define your leg muscles, machines that enable you to perform leg curls or leg raises provide the most benefits. There are very few equipment choices outside of large machines for performing these exercises. Most home gyms contain a leg press or calf machine for you to work your leg muscles. If you're interested in redefining multiple muscles, a home gym is probably a better solution than individual equipment. Most home gyms contain "stations" that feature equipment for a particular muscle group.

You have two exercise options when using a home gym. You can use a station every time you exercise, or you can work a specific muscle group each day you choose to workout. Whichever option you choose, it's a good idea to follow a body building program so that you don't overwork your muscles and so that you obtain the results you desire. Smith Machines and power cages are other all-in-one systems that enable you to work multiple muscle groups. The difference in these two systems is how you perform exercises. Smith Machines basically include slots for different weight amounts, while power cages include pulleys that make lifting easier and safer.