Hot answers tagged workout-types
15
Livestrong.com has a great article about variations in push ups:
Regular push-ups
Plyometric push-ups, the goal is to push yourself off the ground to develop power. Careful, it's tough on the wrists
Diamong push-ups, involves making a diamond shape with both hands. Pushing up like this focuses on the triceps.
Staggered push-ups, basically ...
12
Wide pull-ups
Source: This blog.
I can't believe nobody has mentioned this yet. The muscle that gives the overall appearance of 'broad shoulders' is the 'Latissimus dorsi' or your 'lats'. Wide pull-ups are a great exercise for targeting this region as well as your shoulders (deltoids), arms (both biceps and triceps), and forearms (from gripping the bar).
...
11
This is an example of a Weight-Assist Machine. The woman in the photo is using it for dips, but this particular machine also supports Chin-Ups. Some Gyms and Fitness Centers have these. The one where I work out has one, and with it, I'm able to get 10 reps instead of my normal 3.
11
Another option for building your shoulders is the Shoulder Press.
Front Raises will also help build your shoulders.
To build any muscles, it's important to do a variety of different exercises that target different muscles in the same area.
As @Adam pointed out, military presses and exercises that target large muscle groups is critical to building ...
10
Taken from here:
Standing Military Press
The military press is in league with squats, deadlifts, and bench presses as one of the mandatory exercises for all serious weight lifter. If you are not overhead pressing you are not really lifting. This is the ultimate compound pressing exercise for your shoulders.
Video
9
If you are looking to improve your quality of life along with keeping the time for training down, then you want to focus on compound movements rather than isolation movements. Compound movements work entire muscle groups together in the proportions that they are meant to work. They are more effective to build strength. Isolation movements are more for ...
8
I have to disagree with Christopher Bibbs assertion that you are limited to the same weight by performing bodyweight only exercises. It is not how much weight in total that you have at your disposal but rather how much force you are able exert on particularly groups of muscles that will determine how close to maximal a loading you can apply to them. There ...
7
The basic principles behind the ShakeWeight appear to be somewhat sound, however, the research displayed in their advertising is (likely intentionally) misleading. Their advertising states that a minute of exercise with the ShakeWeight is equivalent to 42 minutes of exericise with dumbells. What you don't see (or most people don't see) is the little print at ...
7
Join a dragon boat team! Seriously, if there is a dragon boat paddling team in your area, consider joining it. I paddled for several years, and every person who started paddling and came to practices regularly grew broad shoulders, even if they started scrawny. It's an amazing full-body workout, and results in much stronger shoulders, abs, lats, and other ...
6
Any exercises that work your lats and biceps should be about equally as effective if you do them correctly and in sufficient quantity/sets. After about a month or so of steady training you should be able to start doing regular pull-ups without assistance, if only a few. Just keep working at it.
One of my personal favorites is just getting on a chair or ...
5
It is a fallacy that health is best obtained solely through long, slow cardiovascular exercise. Jogging does not hold a patent on health.
Strength training gives you health by way of:
Strength, which is useful in all areas of life, including fitness for all manner of tasks
Improved bone density, which is particularly important as we age
Improved ...
5
1.To live long and with a high quality of life (includes cognitive benefits, ability to use my body effectively long term, avoiding medical problems, etc.)
The extra time for strength training is definitely worth it for all of your goals, but esp. for #1. As we age we lose muscle unless we work at it. Take a look at the amount of effort it takes for an ...
5
There sure are, check out this article - 7 Muscle Targetting Push Up Variations
Push Up Variation #4: Biceps
You’re probably thinking that traditional push ups work your biceps just fine, and you’d be right. They do. But they tend to get a little stale after a few days and you forget to maintain the integrity of the moves, losing nearly all the ...
5
All things have to be taken in context, and understanding the target audience. Some compound movements like Squats and Deadlifts have a great anabolic effect, which puts the body in a place where it is more likely to put on muscle. Particularly beginners are best served focusing on compounds for both the strength and size considerations. However, that is ...
5
Starting Strength and StrongLifts have the goal of strength, and to a lesser degree athleticism. Reg Park's workout was for bodybuilding prep, which has a large degree of overlap with strength training for the beginner.
Removing things like calf and forearm work from Reg Park's workout allows more focus on the remaining elements.
4
I agree with everything md5sum says but there are a few thing's I'd add.
What the link points out is that, while aerobic exercise burns more calories during the exercise (and soon afterward), the anaerobic exercise continues to burn calories well after the exercise (up to 38 hours) because your body uses a lot of energy during recovery (reversing the ...
4
Using more and different muscles will cause you to burn more calories and will increase your Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Burn (EPOC). I would definitely advise you to work your entire body, and not just running. I work my upper body every other day and work my legs and run on the days between.
4
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) would be a good type of exercise to do. Workouts are usually short and aimed at burning fat. An example would be running for a minute followed by sprinting for 30 seconds followed by running for a minute etc. Another example is running at an incline for a couple minutes followed by level running. If your treadmill can ...
3
I have no disagreement with Berin and Backinshapebuddy, but since you mention adding 30-40 minutes to every workout and you refer to the cost/benefit with respect to certain goals, this post is an answer with a slightly different emphasis. You list exercises ("pull ups, bench press, preacher curls, tricep push-downs") that focus on small isolated muscle ...
3
The first thing I noticed when reading your post was these two sentences: I've been off the horse for a few months now and My primary concern is over-training. Given the fact you haven't exercised in a while, I definitely recommend an "ease-in" approach to your workout schedule. There are two reasons I recommend easing-in:
If you train too hard or too ...
3
The basic building blocks of all successful exercise regimens will require a decent understanding of Selye's General Adaptation Syndrome. The initial theory has been expanded to include a two-factor conceptual model of adaptation syndrome:
You need stress sufficient to disrupt homeostasis (the current level of adaptation)
You need rest sufficient to allow ...
3
You cannot expect to see muscle mass or strength gains if you repeatedly do the same exercises with the same weight (in your case, bodyweight). At best you'll see a change in the ratio of slow-twitch to fast-twitch fibers for an improvement in endurance.
Looking at recent ACSM guidelines, in order to see gains you'll need exercises that can take you to ...
3
You could have tried different exercises to see which strained your wrist and which did not (with light weights) - it may be that pulling exercises wouldn't strain as much as pushing or vice versa.
However, the right answer is to just stay off your wrist and let it recover. Losing a few weeks is really not that big a deal, and re-injuring yourself is.
If ...
3
If you have access to a gym, try (in order of preference):
Assisted pull-up machine - generally there is a platform with an adjustable counterweight under the pullup bar that you kneel on
Band-assisted pull-up using an elastic band - tie to the pullup bar, and then stand in the other end with one or both feet
Lat pulldowns
3
Try to cut all barbell exercises and dedicate yourself to Dumbbell work for the next 2-3 months. Everyone always has a dominant arm or leg (throw, kick, etc with). Work on some grip training (holds 2 25-45pd plates with your fingers for time for e.g.), dedicate yourself to DB exclusive work (curls, pullovers, flys, bench, incline, raises, tricep, etc. 2 x ...
3
In short, the answer is no, there aren't really any good cardio exercises that are upper body only and don't involve the legs without the knees.
To understand, you need to know the structure of the knee, but suffice to say that there are tendons that go through the knee area and encapsulate the patella (kneecap) and there are ligaments that hold the knee ...
2
One unexpected thing that worked very well for my trapeziums was carrying a heavy backpack during my University days.
I had a business-styled backpack with a flat back, with firm, comfortable and thin belts that would use the clavicle as hook and place all the weight from the backpack on the shoulder, which I believe wasn't designed for the heavy load I ...
2
If you want to build overall strength and gain muscle, you need to train the LEGS. Why? They are your biggest and strongest muscles, and many exercises involving the legs will recruit a variety of secondary muscles as well.
You want intense/heavy compound exercises that will increase your testosterone levels, which is, in the simplest of terms, your body's ...
2
It should go without saying: consult your doctor and physical therapist.
That being said, you should make a point to avoid high-impact activities which aggravate your knee. These can vary depending on your injury, but are typically exercises like running, stairs, squats, deep lunges, and box jumps.
For doing cardio you want to keep it low-impact, and to ...
1
I'm a big fan of Exrx site, you can browse this site based on which muscles and which body weight form to work.
Are there some push-up variations I can do to work the biceps or shoulder muscles? Illustrations or pictures would be appreciated as well.
I'll summarize some exercises to work the shoulder muscles here based on both of my favourite sites:
...
Only top voted, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible
