How To Take The Path Of The Dragon

Published by elcodave56

Do you remember that one particular knockout punch of your favourite fighter, that particular kick of a certain Bruce Lee in mid air or the roar of the crowd as the wrestlers engage on the floor? Didn’t we all at some point in our youth want to be the next Ali or Lee or be able to pull off impossible triple kicks like Keanu in the matrix? Whilst they have their own style and may be beyond the reach for some, there is nothing to say that you cannot adopt the martial way.

In fact for a health and fitness point of view martial arts / boxing and combat sports offer many benefits: increased cardiovascular fitness, better flexibility, enhanced self image and confidence, improved speed and power and a better looking leaner athletic shape. After all have you ever seen and out of shape fighter?

When first starting there are some important considerations to take into account: The first is why do you want to do it? If like many people you want to because it looks good, it’s the next best thing or a friend does it then you may wish to reconsider as it takes a lot of patience and dedication. However, if you have a genuine reason such as fitness, health, flexibility, social, enjoyment, etc.

The next question to ask would be what style? Martial arts are sometimes divided into two sections of hard and soft; the hard styles such as Boxing, Kick/Thai boxing, Taekwando and certain types of Kung-fu and Karate are more aggressive in the way they are taught and can focus more on attacking. The soft side such as Aikido and jiu-jitsu focuses more on the defence and using your opponent against them and some such as Tai Chi focus more on relaxation and spiritual side of the arts.

The next thing is availability, it’s all well and good finding a club that does what you want if you can’t make it at their times or it’s too far away. Do some research around your local area, see what’s available, contact the instructor beforehand to ask what it’s about then go along and try. Have a look at the instructors qualifications as well, national registration with certain boards are necessary in certain types of arts and lend credibility to the club.

Most clubs will allow you to try a few sessions to see if it’s for you before you decide to commit. Your safety and enjoyment should be paramount with any style that you take up, make sure you are comfortable with the class, the instructor, the environment and the method of teaching being used. Also consider when you decide to join as some clubs do have timetables that they run to and you may not be able to sign up at certain points in the year, this is something to ask the instructor.

After that there is the cost issue; this includes the sessions itself, any registration or licensing fees that may be needed, special uniform that may be needed, which can cost large sums of money in some cases. There may also be an equipment issues, footwear, mouth guard, protective equipment and so on. This may be where you really decide what am I doing this for and is this club for me as this is where that commitment issue may come in.

Remember the main factor is your safety and enjoyment before committing to your new found ability to fly like a butterfly and sting like a bee, it is important to get the all clear from your GP, and by following the guidelines above we can take the first steps to unleashing the warrior within.

Dave Elcoate is a Personal Trainer and Exercise Coach based in Islington North London and Basildon Essex. He is a dedicated trainer who has a thirst for knowledge and training and passing that onto all his clients.

Find out how you can change your shape at my website which is here

Maximize Gains by Training to Failure and By Not Training to Failure

Published by stevehnsn

Many people, when they start lifting weights, believe that training to failure on every set of every exercise is the key to growth. This is one of the biggest weightlifting myths, and one that is nearly impossible to squash unless you educate yourself on exercise physiology.

What Exactly is Failure?

Failure is weightlifting is defined as the inability to generate the force required to complete the full range of motion for a single repetition. Many people, experts and trainees, fall on both sides of this debate. Some coaches insist on leaving a couple reps in the bag, stopping well short of failure to avoid stressing the central nervous system (CNS), while others recommend taking each set to that last rep. In order to get to the bottom of it, we really have to examine the science behind the theory.

One fact that we have to accept, is that training to failure on a consistent basis will overload the CNS enough that it will be impossible to continue to train with high frequency. You will begin to notice that every other weightlifting session turns out to be a “bad day”. In fact, the CNS takes more than triple the recovery time that the muscles do. Chronically overloading the CNS will, in effect cause your muscles to detrain while your body fully recovers; you will end up with a series of “bad days”.

On the other hand, you’ve got many performance coaches who promote training to failure often in order to tear up and fatigue muscle fibers as much as possible. The penultimate theorists for this type of training are those that follow High Intensity Training (HIT) (not to be confused with High Intensity Interval Training [HIIT], which is an excellent form of training for superior conditioning). The idea behind HIT is to train once a week or so, but to cause as much damage as possible during that session.

In any case, as the theory goes, taking each muscle to the point of failure ensures that it has been sufficiently fatigued, and therefore the set was as productive as possible (short of forced negatives). As a fact, this has some merit, since it is not enough to simply recruit a given motor unit, but by virtue of adaptation any motor unit must be sufficiently fatigued in order to demonstrate growth. After all, you wouldn’t bench 100 lbs x 5 reps each and every week and hope for growth. Well, maybe you would but then you’d be a total tool.

Another important point we have to remember is that the CNS is a major factor in muscle performance. The CNS definitely has the overall say in performance. Your muscles could be as fresh as a spring flower, but if the CNS is still fatigued from a previous workout then you haven’t much hope of optimal performance. Due to a depletion of the neurotransmitters dopamine and acetylcholine, motor units won’t fire properly and coordination will be thrown completely off, thereby all but ensuring a “bad day” at the gym.

So then question then becomes:

In order progress as much as possible, should I train to muscular failure and invite CNS failure, or should I stop short of muscular failure thus guaranteeing proper CNS recovery?

And the Answer Is…

Depending upon the intensity of the exercise, you can do both. Simply stated, compound and explosive exercises require maximal recruitment of the CNS and therefore you should not train to failure with these types of movements. On the other hand, isolation exercises rely more on the health of the individual muscles, and therefore can be taken to failure. Sounds simple? It is!

Training with Absolute CNS Requirements

These types of exercise include Olympic lifting, dynamic effort lifting, and plyometrics. This type of exercise is CNS intensive, and you should stop your set when the speed of movement decreases, which is actually well short of failure. Training to failure with this type of exercise can really prove to be damaging, because when you begin to lose timing and coordination you are actually training CNS to perform the exercise with improper form. Not good.

Training with High CNS Requirements

These types of exercise include pressing with free weights (benching and overhead), squats, deadlifts, and any other exercise where a heavy free weight is on your back such as good mornings and barbell lunges. This type of exercise requires a high level of CNS recruitment, and you should stop your set when you perceive yourself to have 1-2 reps left in the tank OR if you feel that you are starting to lose your form. It is OK if you start to slow down as long as it is still pretty easy for you to maintain good form.

Training with Low CNS Requirements

These types of exercise include pulling and pressing on machines and isolation exercises for large muscle groups like hamstrings, quadriceps, chest, back, lower back, and abs. This type of exercise requires a moderate to low level of CNS recruitment. You should take at least one set to failure; and it is acceptable to take all sets to failure although I personally would only take the last two sets to failure.

Training with Minimal CNS Requirements

These types of exercise include small muscle isolation work such as traps, calves, bis and forearms, and tris. You should go to failure on all sets, and it is acceptable to take the last 1-2 sets past the point of failure by including drop sets, forced negatives, assisted negatives, half reps, etc… I typically would only take the last set past failure.

Is It Necessary to Perform Exercises with Minimal CNS Requirements

This depends on your goals. For sport specific athletic performance, you might do some isolation work on those muscles specific to your sport. For example traps in football, shoulders (rotators) in baseball, calves in basketball. For powerlifters, I see very little need to train with isolation exercises on a regular basis. For bodybuilders, you won’t be able to achieve that complete package without regular isolation training. For Olympic athletes, I would say isolation exercises are a definite no-no.

Choose your goals and select your exercises accordingly, but always remember to train smart rather than train hard.

Steve Hanson has 10 years experience in the fields of exercise science and sports nutrition. He writes articles on all forms of athletic training and nutritional theories. View the blog to learn more about your favorite exercise and nutrition topics.

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Self Talk - Does Yours Cause Weight Loss Failure?

By Bruce Bair

Bruce Bair
Level: Basic PLUS

I am a Physician Assistant and Wellness Coach. I have 30 years of active clinical experience and several years of coaching. I teach ...

Self talk is a natural thing. We all do it. We exclaim "Oh No!" when something happens that is a minor disaster. We throw things down and exclaim "I just don't get this" when something we are learning frustrates us. It is natural and normal. Most of the time it isn't a problem.

Sometimes, we have learned an attitude that influences our self talk. Even though we are in the action mode, with written goals, a diet plan and maybe even a coach, we are emotionally in pre-contemplation. We are really saying to ourselves "I won't" or "I can't". These have been described as self sabotage. Words and thoughts that we choose to believe. These are words we say to ourselves. They are words that lead us away from our desired goal.

They are words like "This is just too hard, I can't do it." or "I am never going to lose this weight, I may as well eat what I want" - "I have already blown it. It doesn't matter what I do today" What are your words? Have you ever done this?

Perhaps you end up in front of the refrigerator or your goodies stash. You "find" yourself half way through a pint of ice cream or a bag of cookies. You don't remember what the trigger was that got you there. That trigger was self talk. Either it was verbal or an idea that you have felt for so long that it is an emotional response to the situation. No thinking or talking necessary. It happens, you feel it and then you react.

To get this to stop, you are going to have to look at your self talk. If you don't speak, you are going to have to examine your thought and emotions and decide what triggers this auto-response.

If you correct your self talk, you can control these auto-responses. Correct self talk can catch us up from "I won't" or "I can't" to "Not all I have said or thought is entirely true" or "I don't have to act on this thought. That is all it is until I give it validity."

I invite you to learn more about weight loss from me, Bruce L Bair. Consider reading my special report. The following link will take you there. http://www.gettheskinney.com/2008/06/03/free_report Want the best I have to offer? Join me in a free 6 week, 12 hour teleseminar. Limited to 20 seats, you can really make progress on the process of change and in losing and keeping off excess body fat. You will need to sign up soon. Go to the following link for these benefits: 1. Your email address is guarded and kept private, 2. You get to participate in a small group at no cost except a testimonial about the classes when it is over. 3. You will gain skills, knowledge and encouragement to use the correct principles to accomplish your wellness goals. Here is the link: http://www.gettheskinney.com/2008/06/03/recipe_opt_in