Category: Blog

To start, remember gaining muscle doesn’t mean getting big. This can mean losing weight and leaning out. Rather if you are starting out or have been lifting for years. There is always something you can learn. If you are not changing, if you are not getting stronger, pay attention and take notes. The body is a wonderful thing and learning how to feel, look, perform better, and better yourself is a good thing.

 

 

Rep Range

Now, you can find a simple answer online such as “the muscle growth range is around 12-15 reps”. Sure, this can be true, but to a point. The most important thing to remember is putting stress on the muscles. If you perform 15 reps with a certain amount of weight, it’s okay to lower that weight and do as many reps as you can past 15. Yes, it’s also okay to focus on reps, but remember not to limit yourself. If you usually weight train around 10-15 reps, change it. Do sets of 20 plus reps until your legs, arms, chest, back, or arms are burning. The only way to grow is to change and get out of your comfort zone.

You can have a week where you perform heavy 10-15 reps, but the week after, don’t just keeping doing those reps because “that is the way”. If you perform 12 heavy reps Monday on chest for example, next time you work on chest, perform higher reps, or do lower reps for strength. If you feel like 15 reps is all you can do, rest 10 seconds and do more reps. That way, you are doing more with that weight than you are used to, so you get stronger, gain strength, and are pushing yourself further.

Let me give you a good example to make it clearer. If you perform chest twice a week, Monday and Friday, those days should be different with reps. The exercises can be close to the same, but shouldn’t be the same. So, if you perform 4 to 5 sets of 12 to 15 reps Monday on every exercise, when Friday comes, perform 4 to 5 sets of 20 plus reps. This way your muscles are having different stress levels on them to change. This can be the same for strength exercise. If you perform heavy 1-5 reps on bench Monday, your Friday bench should be higher reps. This will help your muscles gain more strength, gain size, and perform better. If you lift heavy too often, this can decrease your strength performance. Remember, it’s okay to stay in that 12-15 rep range, but you should not be performing that almost every time you lift weights. The only way you can grow and change, is if you change how you exercise.

 

Super-sets and Drop-sets

This is one thing to really focus on. If you don’t know what these are then take notes. Super-sets are exercises where you add 2 exercises back to back to equal one set. For example, performing a bench press and then doing push ups right after. A drop – set, is performing an exercise such as shoulder press with 30 lbs., and then dropping to 20 lbs. right after to equal one set. These should be into your workout routine every week. This doesn’t mean every day or every exercise, but add them to stress your muscles more.

Let me give you some examples to help put this into your mind. If you perform dumbbell shoulder presses one day for 15 reps, the next time to help your muscles grow, you can perform 15 reps if you want again, but add lateral raises right after. The reps did remain the same for the presses, but because the super – set is added, now you are adding different stress on the muscles. When doing a drop – set, you can perform this 2 or 3 times. For example, doing presses for lbs., for 10 reps, dropping to 20 lbs., doing 15 reps, and dropping again to 15 lbs., and do whatever you can do for reps. This is can stress the muscles more so they grow and your body changes.

 

Recap

Performing 12 – 15 reps is okay to do, but you need to change it up for your body to change.

If you perform 12 -15 reps one day, then next time do more reps, or less reps for strength.

Add super-sets and drop-sets to stress the muscles more and push yourself further.

 

Any questions let me know via contact page below and I will be happy to help.

https://markymarksfitness.com/contact/

 

Recommended Book:

 

View Book

 

 

 

A lot of us live in a world where we think that there is just no time to exercise. No one is that busy, where they cannot take 20 to 30 minutes out of the day to change their life. I will show 5 easy exercises for at least 3 days at the end of this blog, that there should be no excuse to do it. What is it that holds us back from exercise? Motivation, which is just not there for a lot of people. But, think about this. Let’s say you go home, sit down, walk around, maybe do chores, then sit down again for around 30 min to a few hours before bed. In that amount of time, if you really want to change your health, all you need is 20 to 30 min of high intense exercise. After that then you can relax, that’s it! Yes, you do have to do this at least 3 times a week if that is all you can do.

Higher Intensity while Training

When you perform higher intensity exercises, or also known as HIIT (high intensity interval training), this will help continue to burn calories for hours after. So, this type of workout will be the best for weight loss. A lot of people also think working out takes too much time. The other reason is that a lot of people don’t know what exercises to really perform. As mentioned before, there will be a 3-day exercise guide that will be so easy to follow at home, you will not want to avoid it.

When it comes to the workout provided. Let me describe exactly how the 4-1 works and what is simply means. The 4 means that you go for 4 minutes non-stop. Doesn’t matter what exercise you stop on. The 1 minute means you rest 1 minute, that simple. So, you do this generally for 20 to 30 minutes. The intensity should be high, but not to the point where you cannot breathe. Try to go through the total 4 minutes without resting. If you must rest, you can. Perform this cycle at least three days a week. If it’s too easy, throw in one more exercise. If you can do more days, then add a fourth day or even fifth! So, below are the simple workouts to go through as rounds. No weight include, just your body.

 

Workout- 4 min on, 1 min off for 20 to 30 min.

 

Jumping Jacks 25 reps

Pushups (on knees if you cannot perform regular ones) 12 reps

Squats 20 reps

• Remember to push the but back and down so the pressure is on the heels.
• Make sure the knees do not go over the toes,

Knee Drives (on stair or step preferred, on ground is okay) 15 each side

• Keep foot on box. Do one side first and then switch.

Burpees 12 reps

 

 

Cons

Today, we face a big problem with the supplement industry. Let me

start you off with this information, The U.S. Food and Drug 

Administration (FDA) does not have the authority to review dietary 

supplement products for safety and effectiveness before they are marketed. So, a lot of supplements

you might take, thinking they give you crazy muscle, well some or most those ingredients they don’t

want you to know or care about. Some of you might already know this and don’t care, others just

found this out.

A lot of supplements can have negative effects on the body, and you don’t even realize it, because

you have that “pump” that makes you feel good. There are certain pre workout supplements that are

bad for your heart, liver and more. One for example is Ripped Freak Pre Workout. This pre workout

like many can contain an ingredient such as, 1-3 dimethylamylamine, “1-3 dimethylamylamine is

essentially like Adderall or Ritalin in a legalized form,”. If you are going to buy supplements, read

the ingredients and do research on those ingredients. Companies know that most people won’t be

doing this, so what do they care?

Something to really understand is most pre workouts, or other supplements have those one or two

ingredients stores want you to know about, because those are the “important” ones. If you ever read

the back of containers, you might know 1-3 out of 10 labeled. Not always, but most the time. A lot of

ingredients can just be ones such as caffeine, but they are named something else. The point is to be

careful and do your research. Even if nothing happens to you now, it may effect your future. Skin

irritations can occur with certain supplements, or makes you shake, there are reasons for that.

Pros

So, back to the main question. Should you trust supplements? The answer, to a point. Many other

supplements are beneficial for you and can be great for your body. But, even good ones, too much of

it can be bad. Not all supplements are bad. Your daily vitamin for example; can be beneficial

especially if you don’t consume the necessary amount per day anyway. Another one such as fish oils,

with omega 3 fatty acids.

Depending on your situation, let’s say you are deficit in vitamins and minerals. Then you have to

take supplements to make up for that. But, you are taking supplements for the fun of it, just be

careful. A lot can damage your kidneys over time. If we are talking about protein. Whey Protein

supplements are generally the best for you and are good to take. Other supplements can be good, but

may have random other chemicals in them. Whey Protein in moderation can be good for muscle

repair. The one thing to remember to even though some are good, you don’t want your body relying

on supplements.

Get your main sources from food, and at times grab a shake, even just after a workout or before.

when it comes to pre workouts or other supplements such as mass gainers, creatine etc, be careful on

how much you take. Those require you take a lot of water with them or have to eat a lot, too. So,

depending on your situation, supplements can be good for vitamins, muscle repair and growth. But,

too much or the wrong chemicals and this can lead to heart, kidney, liver and more problems.

 

https://www.fda.gov/food/dietarysupplements/usingdietarysupplements/ucm109760.htm

http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2013/04/12/its-like-crack-doctor-on-pre-workout-supplement/

https://nccih.nih.gov/health/omega3/introduction.htm

High Intensity Interval Training is one of the best ways to lose weight. If you are feeling that you’re working out but not much is changing, then you need to up the intensity to get your heart rate up more. This type of training can be fun, because it can consist of many combinations. It is important to remember that variety is one of the best things to help lose weight and build muscle. You don’t need to do HIIT every day if you do not want to. You can do it two or three times a week, or throw it in randomly to confuse your body. But having it in your training program can be very beneficial for you.

HIIT can help reduce high blood pressure, increase endurance capacity, reduce cancers, reduce weight loss, reduce joint pain, gain muscle and bone strength. When it comes to how long you should be doing the high intensity training, usually all you need is about 30 to 45 minutes. But make sure that if you do it for 30 minutes you are having short rest periods. The rest periods should be about 30 seconds, one minute at most. You can also go back to back with no rest in-between workouts. If you are trying to burn a lot of calories in a short amount of time, this is what will really help.

Another great reason for HIIT is that you can make it into a group exercise. You can have each person start on different exercises and rotate through. This can be great for motivation and learning. You can help each other try new exercises, push each other, be accountable for each other, and more. Check out an example of one HIIT exercise below to go through.

 

One combination (out of many) that you can do for HIIT is listed below.

• This can be done for 2-3 rounds, or you can keep going through it for 30 minutes. Remember, you can add your own exercises and be creative to make it fun.
• The one below does have some weights included. You can do HIIT just with your body weight too.

 

Deadlifts – 15 repetitions (Enough weight to be able to do the reps)

Mountain climbers – 30 seconds

Dumbbell squats – 15 reps (dumbbells held at chest)

Pushups – 15 reps (or whatever number you can do if you cannot make it to 15)

Battle Ropes – 20 to 30 seconds

Jump squats – 15 reps

Jumping jacks – 60

 

 

Recommended 

 

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A lot of people want to lose weight, but lack the knowledge it takes to get there. This isn’t a bad thing, people can just be less experienced than others. That is why I will explain, in my opinion, the three common mistakes when people try to lose weight.

 

 

 

Cardio

So, before you think to yourself, cardio? I thought that is how I burn fat. Yes, but when you do it matters a lot. If you love doing cardio when you wake up and eat after, you are making a big mistake. This is not going to cause you to burn fat and lean out. You will end up eating through your muscles more. You are a sleep all night, maybe have not eaten for 8 hours, and then you go for a run? That doesn’t make sense. You want to have food as energy while you run, not your muscles.

According to the ACE (American Council on Exercise) written by Jonathan Ross, Health and Fitness Expert. “You can find other equally well-designed studies that conclude that it’s better to perform strength training first because muscle force-generating capacity (a fancy term for “strength”) is reduced when doing cardio first”. This applies to weight loss, too. Of course, if your goal is to run marathons, just mainly stick with cardio more than weight training. But if you want to lose weight or build muscle, do your weight training first.

 

Nutrition

Of course, this is the biggest one. If you want to lose weight, it is recommended to reduce your calorie intake of about 500 calories per day. Honestly, that can really be it. But, for a lot of people who can be difficult. The other issue is just eating unhealthy over all, such as having too much bad fats (trans and saturated), sugars and white carbs which can lead to bad sugars in the body.

Reduce bad calories such as sugars and overall eat more veggies than fried foods, fast foods, greasy foods and junk food. On the link below you can look at the Six Basic Steps to Weight Loss, which will go into a lot more detail with nutrition, weight training, and more.

 

Six Basic Steps to Weight Loss

https://markymarksfitness.com/six-easy-steps-to-weight-loss/

 

Intensity

Not all, but there are many people who want to lose weight, but when they get to the gym their pace is slow. Their rest periods are way too long or they simply do not know what exercises work the best. Therefore, it can be good to have a trainer to show you different exercises, push you, and achieve results even if it takes a while to get there. Rest periods for weight loss should be about 30 seconds in-between sets. Of course, you can go back to back with workouts or do as many rounds as you can.

A good example would be doing barbell squats for 15 reps, then going into mountain climbers after for 20 to 30 seconds. After that, then you may rest 30 seconds to 1 min at most and repeat. There are some people who also sit at work for the most part, then come to the gym and sit on the bike. Does that really make sense for weight loss? Most exercise should be standing to engage the core more, but also burn more calories.

 

Recommended Book

 

The Obesity Code

 

• Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss