Archive for August, 2009

When most people think of strength training, visions of grunting with weights or massive multi-armed gym systems come to mind.

Strength training is the name for any exercise that uses resistance to work a muscle or a group of muscles to the point of fatigue by actually creating microscopic tears in the muscle fibers. As the muscles heal and recover, they build strength and endurance.

Introducing Strength Bands

Unlike weights, the elastic resistance with strength bands is smooth.

When doing a biceps curl with a dumbbell, the dumbbell is literally falling towards the shoulder at the very top of the movement because the dumbbell is no longer being lifted up against gravity by the biceps.

When doing a biceps curl with elastic resistance, the tension is present throughout the entire range of motion because the elastic material provides resistance due to its own properties.

Weights are heavy and obviously not portable.  You can’t toss, say,  254  pounds of weights into a gym bag or back pack and be on your merry way.  However, you can with strength bands.

Types of Strength Bands

Strength bands can range from thin flat bands (think pilates bands) to bands made from elastic tubing.

The pilates-type bands typically wrap around your hands squeezing the hands and fingers and putting strain on the wrists in an effort to grip them.

Bands made out of tubing usually have handles attached than make them much easier to grab without crushing your grip.  However, these types of strength bands typically found in stores like Walmart or Target come in ratings like light, medium and heavy resistance.  Just exactly how many pounds of resistance is that?

Get Only Quality Strength Bands

Quality fitness tubes like those from Bodylastics are made of dense surgical quality elastic tubing.  Instead of having handles already attached, each tube is outfitted with a sturdy clip on each end and the clips attach to a heavy duty metal ring on a comfortable cushion grip handle.  This unique clip system allows you to clip multiple bands to a set of handles, padded ankle straps or door anchor, thereby allowing for the creation of custom resistance workouts.

Learn how to create custom resistance levels with our free download.  Enter your name and email into the form in the right sidebar.

I bought myself a set of the Basic Tension Bodylastics exercise tubes last year for myself and whenever the grandboys come over, they use them.  The oldest one loves them so much that I bought a set for him for Christmas last year.  He’s six.

I would love to show you a pic of him, but to protect his privacy and the fact that my daughter would kill me, I’ll just call him GS1 (grandson #1, I have 2).  GS1 is a gadget man.  He loves to tinker.  He loves having “stuff”.  He’s never been one for toys because he’d rather have the real thing.  While most kids would love a Handy Manny tool box, GS1 goes into my tool box and uses the real hammer and screwdrivers.  He also loves weed whacking my lawn with the real trimmer.

GS1 loves his Bodylastics.  Over the past couple of years I took notice of his body.  He’s a picky eater.  Long story as to how he got that way.  I noticed back then that his muscle definition was waning and his arms looked skinny.

Fast forward to now and wow!  I asked his mom if he’s been using the resistance bands and she said every day.  I said, “Have you looked at his arms and chest lately?  Have you seen how much definition and bulk he has?”  Especially his chest.  He’s got the most beautiful V-shaped torso.  His pecs are beefy.  We’re not talking bodybuilder muscles, but he definitely has more muscle mass from using the tubes than when he first started.

He’ll be 7 next week and a normal kid his age just gets taller, but he’s actually got some muscles on his little frame and it’s only from working out a few minutes a day.  He’ll get up from the TV during commercials and go pull the tubes for a little bit.  He’ll do it to the point of failure which is how you’re supposed to do reps.  It’s not an obsession, it’s just normal kid “gotta be doing something” behavior.  But truth be told, a few minutes and a few reps is all you really need.

Because he has no body fat, you can really see the results on him.  If a 6-year old can do it, anyone can.  It’s not too early to get kids interested in fitness.  They’ll do better in P.E. class and sports because they have more strength and endurance.  Plus, strength training increases bone density and keeps the muscles lean and tone.

So when it comes time to find Christmas presents this winter, consider getting the family a set of Bodylastics tubes.  I suggest the Terrell Owens Super Strong Man set.  It comes with 7 bands, enough for 254 lbs of resistance.  It’s also got 2 sets of handles and ankle straps so more than one person can use them at a time.

You see all the Bodylastics strength training systems here.

There’s no time better than now to begin a strength training program with Bodylastics fitness tubes and here are 4 good reasons, 5 if you count the coupon code.

• August means back to school and kids will be participating in sports programs.  Give those budding athletes the fitness edge they need to be quicker, faster, and stronger.  The tubes are lightweight so they can be tossed into a gym bag or backpack.  Don’t forget about the cheerleaders, too.  They need nice slim legs, smooth tummies and toned arms.
• Kids are off to college and that means hitting the books instead of the gym.  With a set of Bodylastics fitness tubes, those future Einsteins only need 10 mintues in their dorm room to get a full body workout, then it’s back to the books with practically no time lost.
• The economy sucks and if you’ve had to cut back on expenses by canceling your gym membership, you can still workout at home.  Bodylastics fitness tubes are capable of performing over 140 top gym exercises without the bulky, expensive equipment taking up room in your house.
• Oh, and the holidays will be here before you know it.  Stock up now on Bodylastics for every fitness buff on your shopping list.  Can’t afford to give away gym memberships?  Give away Bodylastics, instead.

Get 5% off all Bodylastics purchases when you use this coupon code at checkout:  getstrong

Coupon is valid through September 31, 2009.  Hurry!

Get Your Bodylastics NOW!

So, you’ve been working out for some time and are really starting to see results. Then, suddenly, you can’t seem to make any improvements to your fitness level. Your workouts seem easier and your body isn’t as sore the next day. Plus, your muscles simply aren’t growing. What is the cause of all this? The answer is simple: boredom.

Even though your mind may not be bored by your workout routine, your muscles probably are. If you consistently do the exact same exercises week after week, you are bound to hit a workout plateau. To fix this, you need to keep your muscles interested in your workout. How can you do this? Well, you can confuse your muscles by varying your workout routine, Muscle Confusion. Read the rest of this entry »

There are many overweight people looking for ways to lose weight that actually work. There are way too many diets that don’t work. By knowing these nine tips anyone can start their own program for healthy weight loss.

1. Exercise – You have to start moving every day, no matter how hard it may seem. Without moving the body in healthy ways such as, walking, swimming or another way you enjoy, losing weight the healthy way can’t be achieved.

2. Smart eating – Always improve your diet with a healthy diet plan. This is something that you can come up with on your own, or have your doctor help with it. Read the rest of this entry »

Now available to the public.  Get the exact same strength training system you see T.O. using in the pool.  This is a complete strength training home gym system. No other equipment is needed.

• Over 140 strength training exercises.  The included manual shows you how to work each specific muscle group.  There is no guesswork involved. 
• Build dense, powerful muscles without free weights or weight machines.  These resistance bands are all the home gym you will ever need.
• You control the tension by moving closer/farther away from the bands, or lengthening/shortening them.
• Unlike most “bands”, these resistance tubes have sturdy aluminum clips that attach to comfortable handles.  That means no more wrapping bands around sweaty hands and squeezing your fingers.
• With resistance bands, no one needs to “spot” you so you don’t crush yourself to death like you need with weight lifting.
• Effectively burn fat and calories, tone, strengthen and have fun doing it.
• Super low impact workouts are extremely easy on the joints.  Great for rehabilitation, which is exactly what Terrell Owens did after his football injury.
• Energy levels and strength will increase in a few short weeks and you’ll actually see visible results in a little as 6 weeks.
• Workout any where, any time, and on your own schedule with this compact home gym system.
• No more expensive gym membership fees, smelly gyms, or dirty/germy equipment.
• Working out is extremely quiet with no clanking weights.  Sneak out of bed in the morning to workout out while the rest of the house sleeps.
• Great for students going back to school.  Use them in the dorm.

Hectic class schedules make it difficult to find the time to workout.  They wake up early, go to school, come home, eat, study and go to bed. It’s a pattern that’s repeated over and over as students become a slave to time. It interrupts social lives and unfortunately, it also leaves little or no time to get to the gym, pass the football around or shoot a few hoops.

Keeping muscles toned and staying in shape doesn’t require a time consuming trip to the gym.  All it takes is a abut 10-12 minutes three times a week with some Bodylastics fitness tubes.  There’s an optional circuit training DVD available, too.

There’s always time time to do a few reps.  Keep a band or two in a convientent place like a desk draw, next to your bed or couch, in a gym bag, back pack or your car’s glove box.  Then start pulling!

• Before showering.
• When you get up to stretch for a few minutes.
• During commercial breaks when watching TV.
• Waiting around for friends.
• While waiting for the microwave.
• Challenge your roommate to a rep dual.

Leave a comment and share your tips for grabbing a few reps.

FREE Download – Download a free 1-page color-coded quick reference chart detailing how to create custom resistance levels with Bodylastics bands. It’s the easiest way to customize your fitness routine without having to get out a calculator to figure out which bands to use.

Custom resistance levels are easy just by combining different resistance bands. Want 18 lbs of resistance for each arm? That’s a red and yellow band. How about 67 lbs? That’s two orange and a green. It’s perfect for ramping up your workouts when you’re ready to bump up the resistance by another pound or two.

Click Here To Buy The Terrell Owens Super Strong Man Home Gym System

What is it about sitting in front of the TV in the evening that has me eating more calories in those few hours than I eat all day long?  There was a time when I didn’t snack at night, however I was sipping wine at the time.  Actually, I’ll be honest, it wasn’t sipping.  I was drinking wine iced down in a 28 ounce tumbler every night…several of them.

When I stopped drinking wine my carb cravings went through the roof.  Suddenly I was craving sweets and I am not a dessert person.  It’s not that I don’t like sweets, it’s just that I rarely ever eat them.  All of a sudden I found myself filling my shopping cart with them.  That’s not me.  I don’t do that.  The only thing I can link it to is no longer drinking.  I know my wine drinking was an expensive and out of control habit, but quitting drinking made me gain at least 45-50.

Taking a flax seed oil capsule helps a little.  The fat satisfies me and flax seed oil is healthier than greasy potato chips.  I’m wondering if Benefiber would help.  It’s soluble fiber and something I saw the other day said soluble fiber takes longer to get through the system than non-soluble fiber.

I’m not hungry in the evening, but there is a switch inside of me that’s not flipping off.  Something is telling me I’m not satisfied, therefore I keep eating.

I’d like to hear from you.  Do you snack in front of the TV?  What do you eat?  Do you have any tips for controlling unquenchable “hunger”?  Please feel free to comment.