By Gabe Mirkin MD

If you’re a beginning weight lifter, you will want to know how to get the most from your workouts. A recent study from the University of Sydney in Australia shows that you benefit either from increasing the number of sets of repetitions or from training faster. Weight lifters were divided into four groups:

1) one set fast

2) three sets fast,

3) one set slow

3) three sets slow.

A control group did no lifting. A set was the heaviest weight that they could lift six to eight times in a row. They trained three times a week for six weeks (Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, September 2005).

The group that did one slow set increased strength by 25 percent. Three sets produced twice the increase in strength of one set. Fast training resulted in a greater increase in strength than slow training. There was a benefit of training with three sets or fast speeds, but there was no additive benefit of training with both. So unless you are an athlete who needs speed to compete, you can follow a regimen that emphasizes increasing weight, rather than moving faster.

If you want to become strong, check with your doctor to make sure that you do not have a condition that will be aggravated by heavy exercise. Then pick several different exercises, such as a bench press, upright row, and so forth. Start out with a weight that you can lift comfortably six to ten times in a row. Do one set in each exercise, and repeat this workout three times a week. As you become comfortable with this workout, increase to three sets of 6 to 10 repetitions. When you are comfortable with this workout, increase the weight that you lift.

Dr. Gabe Mirkin has been a radio talk show host for 25 years and practicing physician for more than 40 years; he is board certified in four specialties, including sports medicine. Read or listen to hundreds of his fitness and health reports at http://www.drmirkin.com

By Zach Bashore

Having the ability to accomplish any goal that you set yourself out for will make you respected in all walks of life. Not only will you feel good about yourself, but you`ll also inspire someone else along the way as well. This article is going to tell you why beieving in oneself is important to accomplish anything in life. You`ll also learn the importance of self confidence and why you should never let anyone have a plan for your life. Read more »

By Zach Bashore

Everyone experiences problems in their life, but sometimes it seems as if the world is crashing down on you. For anyone who feels this way, there is some good news. You are not alone! This article is intended to keep you under control even during the worst of times. I will give you examples of problems that can go wrong, steps to overcoming your problem, and words of encouragement to get you in a positive mental state. Read more »

By Zach Bashore

Having a high self-confidence is important in achieving any fitness goal you may have. This article is intended to explain the reasons behind a high confidence level and the expectations from it. You`re also going to learn why having a high self-confidence is important in all walks of life. After reading, you should then be walking with your head held high, armed for battle.

Having high self-confidence is important because it gives you the mindset that what you are doing is the right way and nobody`s negative opinion about you can change that. Most high levels of self confidence comes from past successes and also the ability to believe in oneself. In order to perform at your highest potential, high self confidence must be in place.

Every successful person has a plan, a plan to become better at whatever they do in the future. That is where high self-confidence comes in handy. You don`t want to start the day not knowing what you want out of it. Instead, you should be controlling every minute, using that time as a means for improvement.

There is a downside to being successful and that is being expected to perform at that same great level at all times. This takes maturity on your part but you should use this as motivation. When great things are expected from you, expect more respect from others at work, home, and even social outtings. People will start to trust you and come to you if they want positive advice. It is one of the greatest feelings in the world knowing that you are expected to be the best because if you fail, you at least have the ability to rebound and not make the same mistakes again.

Developing high self-confidence takes a lot of practice and the rate of improvement will depend on the individual. Anyone can increase their confidence levels by doing something small that they are good at. Just be careful not to jump the gun and try doing too much. This will leave you with nothing and the worst confidence killer you can think of.

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By Zach Bashore

Just like any part of the legs, the hamstrings muscle is an often neglected muscle group. Again, prior knowledge dramatically influences a person`s decision to train them. This article is going to look into the basics of the hamstring muscles and exercises that can be performed to make them look better. You are also going to learn why the hamstrings are the most prone to injury and common injuries that occur with having underdeveloped hamstrings.

The hamstrings are the muscles that run from behind and below your knees, to the backs of your thighs, to the bones that you use to sit down on. They consist of five major muscles. The psoas major and minor, and the iliacus all help with flexion and lateral roatation. The semitendinosus and semimembranosus both allow for extension, and the rectus femoris allows for flexion. It is very important that you learn the different sections that make up the hamstring muscles if you want to reach your maximum potential.

The hamstrings become active with the completion of knee flexion when the knees are extended or through the completion of hip extension when the knees are more flexed. Despite the importance of exercising your hamstrings, there are very few exercises that primarily emphasize the quadriceps muscle. The selection of exercises performed will depend on what type of equipment that is available to you. If you have no equipment, you can do bodyweight exercise such as bridges and flutter kicks. Since most of the exercises you perform target other muscle groups as well, you should train hamstrings on the same day as your quads and lower back to reduce the chance of overtraining. The best exercises for this type of split are the dumbbell lunges, romanian deadlift, and the stiff-legged dumbbell deadlift.

Underdevelopment of the hamstrings is the main cause of hamstring inflexibility and that is not the only problem associated with underdeveloped hammies. Tight hamstrings can cause poor posture and not allow you to bend over completely. Knee pain, torn cartilage in your knees, and wearing of cartilage behind your knee cap are also caused from tight hamstrings. For these reasons, it is very important that you stretch before and after your workout. Stretching is boring and very time consuming but the results are well worth it in the long run. Massage therapy is another good investment you should consider if you are currently suffering from tight hamstrings.

Every bodybuilder needs to train his or her hamstrings, but it`s very important that non-bodybuilders take care of their legs and at least go on a walk every now and then. To many people sit back thinking that the longer they complain about being overweight that the fat will just come off by itself. Right now is the best time to do something about it. How can you change tommorow if you can`t change today is a quote that I live by. You need to start making yourself better right now and the rewards will come with it tommorow.

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