TRX training Vs Gymnastics Ring training

Suspension training exercises are big and have been around for a while now. An increasing number of gyms have opted to install such equipment in their facility. Some charge extra for using them and it is one if the reasons why I decided to quit working out at my last gym. I bought my own TRX while I was still working out there and eventually decided to ditch the gym scene altogether.

But I have been fascinated with the gymnastic rings for a while and have been toying with the idea of buying one for my home training. After much self conflict over purchasing it online, I bought myself a new pair of gymnastics rings from a retail store close to home and am really excited about it. I have to confess, visiting a fitness and sports store or investing in quality and effective calisthenics equipment gets me excited like a child in a candy store.

As soon as I stepped inside my house with the rings, I had to set them up and try them out and I did. I did the horizontal rows and the resultant effect on the working muscles was unmistakably profound. So now I have a module to compare the TRX with, which I must say, though fantastic, has its fair share of negatives when it comes to several exercises. Hence this article is dedicated to comparing the two equipment and their pros and cons.

GYMNASTIC RINGS	TRX WORKOUTS
·         Rowing movements have a more profound effect on the back muscles than the biceps	·         Rowing movements have a more profound effect on the biceps than the back muscles
·         Pectoral exercises Movements like the Chest press and Pectoral flys can be done more effectively here	·         The TRX digs into your upper arm when you try to do the Chest flys. They also do not provide a complete convergence towards the end of the movement
·         The dips are better performed here as the rings do not keep rotating when you are doing this movements	·         More often than not, the TRX keep rotating once you suspend yourself while doing the dips, thus pulling away from the intended effect of the exercise
·         The gymnastic rings are not very conducive when it comes to portability	·         The TRX are excellent when it comes to portability
·         The gymnastic rings need proper suspension frame or bar overhead	·         The TRX can be suspended overhead from a single point, a door or a grill. When It comes to suspension it is very versatile.
·         The Gymnastic rings are cheaper than a TRX system	·         Like the point to the rights says, the TRX is expensive.

While they are both excellent training modules within themselves, if you’re training at home and have proper suspension frames for them, gymnastic rings are the way to go. However, if proper suspension frames are not possible, then I suggest you opt for the TRX. The TRX is also a better purchase if you are the kind that travels a lot. Never miss a workout when you travel.

Read More »

Benefits of Squats

When it comes to fitness and workouts, I always say less is more. So if there is one exercise through which I can workout on a substantial part of my body, in my books, that exercise is a winner. Once such exercise, in the universe of bodyweight training is the SQUAT.

Just counting the squat as one of the many quadriceps exercises is doing it a disservice. It is actually the precursor to many motions – sitting down, jumping up and virtually any plyometric motion that your legs might perform. These motions have to mimic the squat in some way.This hence, renders it primarily as functional training exercise. The squats benefits us in the following ways:

·   It is one the best quadriceps strengthening exercises – The squat is a movement that is carried out by the flexion and extension of the knee joint, along with some flexion and extension at the hips and ankles. However, the bulk of this movement is carried out by the knee joints and therefore it primarily works the muscles in this area. The most prominent muscles carrying out this function are the quadriceps, which act as the antagonists.   The hamstrings control the cadence of the squat by acting as the antagonists. Therefore the squats are an excellent exercise for strengthening the quadriceps.

·     It has various functional benefits –As mentioned before, the squat as a movement is a precursor to most locomotive movements carried out by the lower limbs. The squats also mimic the sitting and raising actions. Apart from the strengthening of the quadriceps, the squats benefits us by strengthening the ligaments and tendons in the entire leg region thus making basic, daily tasks and functions easy to do.

·   Squatting is good for knee flexibility and overall health –Contrary to what you may believe, full squats are fantastic for strengthening the knees. Observe toddlers or as a matter of fact, observe babies in their fetal position within the womb. They are in the concentric position of the squat and remain like that for 40 weeks. If your trainertells you to squat only half the way down, be wary of this person and fire them immediately. The purpose of your fitness training regime is to ensure your fitness levels increase and this includes your flexibility too. By training through only half the range of motion of any joint, you’ll eventually reduce the flexibility of that joint. So ensure you are training all your joints, knees especially, through a full range of motion.

·         It improves posture –One of the greatest benefits of Squats is that it trains the body to move in the correct posture while it is carrying out the movement. As the saying goes, function dictates form – therefore squatting, improves function. The important thing to note here is that you need to train in correct form in order to be able to fix your posture.

Many more arguments can be made in the favor of squats and more so, full squats. So make sure you begin training with squats to reap all its benefits, peak functionality being the most important of these.

Read More »

Do you need progressive calisthenics with bodyweight training

Yes, you do. Often we do the progression exercises and variations. But that is not what the case should be.

If you were at the gym and it is your first day working out ever and the instructor tells you to get under the bench and do the bench press, would you load the bar up to 100 lbs on day 1? You wouldn’t. It would be foolish to do so. You’d need to start with just the bar, learn the proper form and then progress to loading the bar with progressively heavier weights. The same is the case with calisthenics exercises. You can’t jump to the master exercise on day 1 and not expect adverse consequences, maybe not on day but soon enough. You have to build up your strength to be able to handle the pressures the exercises lay on your muscles, joints, tendons and ligaments. This is done through progressive calisthenics.

Let’s say you the 5 lbs, 10 lbs weight plates and opt to load the bar by 25 lbs or 35 lbs instead and make a habit out of it, you’d plateau faster than if you followed the overload stages. Similarly, with bodyweight training, if you skip levels to do the master exercises without building a sound foundation of strength by doing the easier versions first, you are bound to plateau and much worse, injure yourself due to lack of strength or proper form.Therefore when embarking on your bodyweight workouts, make sure you have a good progression plan in place for the master exercises. Below is a list of exercises that I prescribe as the master exercises for your bodyweight training program at home.

1.      Pushing Exercises

·         Dips

·         Push-Ups

·         Handstand Push-ups

·         Triceps Dips

2.      Pulling Exercises

·         Wide Grips Pull-Ups

·         Inverted Rows

·         Regular Grip Pull-ups

3.      Legs and Core

·         Squats

·         Flat Leg Raises

·         Bridges

Each of these exercises needs to be done with your bodyweight. So imagine handling your entire body’s weight when doing the handstand on day 1, without prior practice. It’d be a disaster just waiting to happen. You’d need to begin with simpler exercises like the pike press to build your strength and be able to do the handstand push-ups.

The details of the progression exercises and how to do them will need a post for itself. It is most likely to feature on my website http://kalisofitness.com. Do stay tuned to the blog and subscribe to receive the updates at your inbox. 

Please follow me here to know more about my activities on Quora.

Follow me on facebook.com!!

Follow me on Twitter.com!!

Read More »

Best Mass gaining and strengthening exercises for legs

There was a time when I felt that the only way you can really work the legs to the point of soreness is by squatting with heavy weights. I have experienced this too. Every leg workout used to make my legs wobble for the next two days (I loved the feeling).

But having ditched the iron room for a bodyweight only training routine, I now know that my earlier assumption was absolutely wrong. Bodyweight exercises when done right can give amazing results, even when it comes to developing mass and strength. It wouldn’t have been possible for me to maintain my muscle tone with a 245 lbs body without weights. Would it?

The first of my mass gaining and strengthening exercises series is for the legs. The legs form the foundation of your physique and therefore leg strengthening exercises should form the cornerstone of your bodyweight workouts and also any other workouts. I can never stop to criticize those to look like the typical Captain Upper bodies with zilch development in their legs. 

Bodyweight workout routine for Mass – Legs and lower body

1.    Squats – 3X30 (If you’ve been doing this exercise regularly for 4-6 weeks, add jump squats for the first 10 reps or more. When the length of jump decreases, continue doing regular squats until you finish all 30 reps in a set)

2.      Close Squats – 3X15-20

3.    Simple Bridge – 3X15 (this is one of the best hamstrings and lower back bodyweight exercises that doesn’t depend on any equipment and when done properly can help build strength and muscles in your lower back. It is also one of the most effective bodyweight exercises for hamstrings. If this becomes too simple, try doing this with your feet elevated to knee height)

4.     Lying Leg raises – 3X15-20 (Don’t stop when the legs are perpendicular to the floor. Continue to lift raise your legs until your feet are as close to your head as possible. It’s absolutely alright if the hips leave the floor and the back has to round a bit)

If you’re a beginner and are going to work up the ladder, then make sure you do the squat properly for 4-6 weeks and then incorporate the jump squats into your routine. The jump squats fall under the category of plyometric exercises and are used to develop explosive strength, enhance the working of your nervous system. The plyometric exercises helps build the fast twitch muscle fibres which are larger than the slow twitch muscle fibres much like the heavy weight training sessions in the gym. This means that plyometric training can help boost muscle growth.

Read More »

Why I consider the Leg raises as the best abs exercise - Lower body and core workout

In a lower body workout coupled with the core, if you have worked out right, you will always have wobbly legs for a good hour or two and soreness for a day or two. I am not complaining because this soreness is an indicator that the workout was great. The challenge is when you try to descend a flight of stairs later.

While the Squat is the king of all exercises according to me, the king of the abs exercises is the Leg Raise. However, there is a small catch to this. The leg raise you usually see in gyms and fitness centers does zilch for your abs. They are great for working the hip flexors, but not the Rectus Abdominis. The function of the Rectus Abdominis is to pull your hip girdle towards your rib cage or to curl the rib cage towards the hip girdle.

Therefore always continue raising your legs upwards towards your head. This will definitely send sharp contractions through the abdominal wall and make you feel the six packs beneath the layer of fat. To ensure you are working the abs properly, suck you tummy in and tighten it throughout the set. Doing this will ensure that you are working the rectus abdominis, and to a lesser degree, the transverse abdominis.

This is why I consider the leg raise (done in this manner) as the best exercise for the abs. It gets better though. Like all bodyweight exercises, even your abs training can be progressively overloaded with tougher variations of this exercise. The gold standard of the leg raises family of exercises is the Hanging Leg Raises, done with the feet going all the way to your head.

Don't take my word for it, do it yourself and you'll see the results.

For further updates on better exercises, workout tips to boost your results Subscribe to http://eurekafitness,blogspot.in today.

Read More »

Meal plan progressions and Push and Neck workout

Another day another workout. AS planned, today was the push workout with the front part of the neck. The workout progressed amazingly well. My performance in most exercises was astonishing for myself.

The routine was as below:

·         Parallel bar dips

·         Push-Ups

·         Pike Press

·         Triceps Dips

·         Front Neck simple bridges

Last Push workout, my numbers were:

·         Parallel bar dips – 3X10

·         Push-Ups – 3X8

·         Pike Press – 3X6

·         Triceps Dips – 3X10

This week was much better, my numbers were as follows

·         Parallel bar dips – 3X15/12/7

·         Push-Ups – 3X

·         Pike Press – 2X8

·         Triceps Dips – 2X10

*Sets in the pike press and Triceps dips were reduces as both muscles are getting ample work from the two preceding exercises.

The workouts are getting better with each session.

Nutrition and Diet

Having been hungry for most part of yesterday, I didn’t feel lethargic or tired. ON the contrary, I felt alert and charged. However, there were mild hunger pangs in between until the first meal, which was at 2000 hrs. Today, the hunger pangs before my first meal were very strong.

Something that I did not adhere to yesterday was segregating my meals based on the quantity of calories per meal. The idea here is to keep the higher calorie meals for the earlier part of the day and taper it down as the meals are eaten. My first meal today was the largest. The next two are about the same each but lesser than the first meal.

The intermittent fasting diet isn’t going to be easy because contrary to the leangains.com norm my:

·         First meal is not immediately after a workout

·         Consumption of BCAA is at only 10 gramsright after the workout, nothing before or during and nothing until the first meal which is 3 hours from my workout.

·         I have a flexible eating window between 8-9 hours depending on how work drives my schedule – a bit.

However, the fasting period is well over 12 hours, in the range of 14-15 hours. So I believe the benefits of fasting can be enjoyed. I do feel I need to incorporate more crunchy green vegetable in my diet, preferably in the fasting stage and during the meals, along with some leafy greens. A little more work required with the diet planner tool, I guess.

Read More »

Intermittent fasting day 1 and Back and Neck workout

While the basic 6 body weight exercises are great and enough to build a strong physique, I still felt the need to add a neck workout using bodyweight exercises to my routine. How this is going to work is that the muscles of the back of the neck are going to be done with the PULL workout and the muscles of the front of the neck are going to be done with the PUSH workout.

I began this week with the PULL workout and therefore worked the back of the neck today. The routine was as follows:

·         Wide Grip Jackknife Pull-Ups

·         TRX Inverted Rows

·         Close Grip Jackknife Pull-ups

·         Reverse Simple neck supported bridge

This was the first time I was doing a proper workout for the neck and it felt like it too. Working the neck muscles with a bodyweight of 233 lbs. can be a daunting task. Fortunately, I let the ego out of the door and did this one with the support of my hands resting on the floor next to my skull.

The back workout itself was quite amazing and I felt the immediate effects in my entire upper back and lats. My previous outings with the PULL routine in the last 3 weeks were using only the TRX, even for pull-us. But I decided to opt for the door gym to perform the wide grip pull-ups as the focus on the exercise and working muscles is far greater than with the TRX. In the latter case, the body also works hard to stabilize itself thus inducing skill work and hampering the strength work.

Nutrition and Diet

Another topic I am going to touch on today is my nutrition plan. I currently weigh in at 233lbs. Of these 233lbs about 178lbs are actually lean mass. Meaning this is the weight based on which my calorie counting begins. I am aiming or 2800-3000 calories a day on days that I workout. So today I have packed about 2900 calories using the following:

·         Chicken

·         Rice

·         Red Kidney Beans

·         Peanuts

This was further supported by other ingredients – green chilies, green beans and garlic. The total protein obtained is about 200 grams, Carbohydrates about 300 grams and Fats about 94 grams. This is being split into 3 meals.

The principle I am following is that of the 16/8 intermittent fasting. Now let’s see how this goes. This was day 1 and I carried the meals to work. While I could furnish the first two meals down, the third was a mammoth task and I had to let close to 1/3 of the contents of my lunch box remain. I also felt bloated but not heavy. 

I have been in the habit of eating small meals for a few years now and therefore unable to eat large meals at one sitting. This is something I am going to work on by force feeding myself until the body begins to accept it.

Read More »