Welcome Message from Sarah
-AtoZfitness Weekly featured Fitness Article
-Nick Nilsson's Weekly Fitness Tips
-Isabel De Los Rios Monthly Article
-Karen Session Monthly Article
-Tom Venuto Monthly Article
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-AtoZ Fitness and You

Sarah's Introduction 

NO MORE EXCUSES

You all know by now that I’m partial to Jon Benson’s stuff. We live on EODD for the third year running without a break, just switching around from Extreme Plan to Lifestyle 2 Plan from one season to the next. I’ve done two 3-week periods of Radical Fat Loss Blueprint to get through a plateau or two, where Lewis has been doing one-week natural detoxes.

Result, we’re still dropping those pounds of fat, slowly but surely.

On the training side, I’m also sticking with Jon Benson’s 7 Minute Muscle program. I’ve taken it to level 2 (which is 14 minutes/day) and back to level 1; I've interspersed with a couple of other programs (1 Rep Fitness by Fabrice Rinaldi and Karen Sessions’ Fitness Competition Secrets workout nr 1) but always come back to what works best for me, 7 Minute Muscle.

I enjoy the intensity and concentration of these workouts, as much as the time-saving aspect of just 7 minutes per day 5 days a week.

Until now however, many people have said "yes but … I train at home, I can’t afford a gym membership, how can I do 7MM?" Jon Benson has taken care of all of you home-trainers!

Seriously, there is no longer any excuse not to get in shape! When you buy EODD now you can now add a new program from Jon called 7 Minute Body – for the simple reason that you can use this system to get the body you want, which is not necessarily a body full of ripped muscles, but more an everyday lean look to put it that way – you see what I mean : -) Of course, 7 Minute Body still works to get the muscle-body as well!

7MB (7 Minute Body) has a whole new section that 7MM didn’t have: detailed explanations and photos of each exercise, exercises you can do with resistance bands, dumbbells, barbells – machines of course, but that’s if you go to a gym or happen to have a few machines at home – pages and pages of “how-to” for each body part.

Now where is your excuse? Vanished : -) blown away by Jon’s dedication to helping you get out of your fat-suit and into a healthy lean-suit once and for all!

7 minutes a day, at home, with resistance bands and a few dumbbells … minimal expense, minimal time, the only excuse left is “I’m too lazy to get off the couch and miss 3 commercials on TV”.  Even in the middle of preparations for the Holidays, you can find 7 minutes a day. Even with a full working day, you can find 7 minutes. Worse-case scenario you set your alarm 10 minutes earlier in the morning – 3 minutes for a coffee, 7 minutes training, and you’re back to your usual schedule. Grab a shake as per Every Other Day Diet SNAPP edition, and you’re good to go for the morning.

There are many training books with photos and/or explanations available, I know. However, this one includes the resistance bands – which is very rare – and it’s a system that works! Have fun with this, make sure you are better than yourself every workout, get more repetitions and feel stronger as you get leaner.

btw just heard from Jon that in the next few days 7 minute body will be available with 7 minute muscle .

Have a great week!
Sarah, CPT
www.trainwithsarah.com

AtoZfitness Weekly featured Fitness Article

A unique ab workout that doesn't contain your typical boring stomach exercises – no crunches or situps here…
by Mike Geary – Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer

Instead of the typical ab routines that we see so often with crunches, situps, leg lifts, etc… I like to give my readers better options for metabolism-boosting high intensity workouts that work their entire body while also working their abs… thus building rock hard abs & core, but also creating a much better fat-burning workout than a typical ab workout.

I'm going to show you an example today of one of my favorite "ab workouts" that doesn't include any direct "ab exercises" at all. It's in a tri-set format (similar to a super-set but alternating between 3 exercises).

Here goes:

1a. Renegade Dumbbell Rows
1b. Front Squats with Barbell
1c. Mountain Climbers on Floor

So, Click-Here and you can see the exercise examples …

Nick Nilsson's Weekly Fitness Tips

By Nick Nilsson
http://betteru.atozfitness.com

Got No Chest? How to Feel Your Pecs Actually WORK When You Do Chest Training

By Nick Nilsson

If you have a hard time feeling your chest working when you do chest
exercises, THIS is the information you need. I'll give you my best
techniques for ensuring maximum activation of your pecs with
every set and rep you do.

One of the most comment training questions I get with regards to chest training is simply not being able to feel the pecs working at all when doing chest exercises!

And when you can't feel the pecs working, you know darn well that actual muscle development is simply NOT going to happen.

So enough about the problem…how do you FIX it?

I've got a number of techniques for you to try out, some of which may work better than others for you.

But they should get you well on your way towards the chest development you're looking for.

1. Pre-Exhaust Training

When performing a movement like the bench press, the pecs are definitely involved but can be easily pushed into a secondary role by the front delts and the triceps.

So instead of doing a regular bench press movement, you will instead do 6 to 8 reps of dumbell flyes (an isolation movement for the chest) THEN immediately go right to the bench press.

The idea here is to "pre-exhaust" your pecs so that when you do the bench press, your pecs are the weakest link and the shoulders and triceps then push the chest harder than it would normally be pushed.

When you have to stop, it's going to be pec fatigue that ends the set while the shoulders and triceps are still relatively fresh.

2. Feeling The Flye

Now, the pre-exhaust training is all well and good…but what if you can't feel your pecs even doing FLYES? Pre-exhaust won't be much help.

The first thing you need to do is get off the flat bench and onto a Swiss Ball. Get into position on the ball and wrap your entire back AROUND the ball. Don't just put your shoulders on the ball and keep your body straight, like many people are taught with the ball.

To get the most out of flyes, you need to open up your rib cage and get your shoulders back (which helps focus the tension on the pecs instead of the shoulders). The ball is PERFECT for this position. So lay back on the ball, wrap your back around it and consciously force your shoulders back and down. THEN do a dumbell flye.

Imagine on the way down like you're trying to push your chest up to the ceiling. And imagine on the way up that you're wrapping your arms around a big tree.

When doing flyes, don't hold the dumbells perfectly parallel to each other…hold them at about a 45 degree angle to your body (thumb end in closer to the head – pinky side outwards). This takes stress off the shoulders and helps keep tension on the pecs.

3. Tilt the Dumbells

When doing dumbell presses (either on the ball or the bench), tilt the dumbells down and in…if the dumbells were pitchers or water, it would look like you're pouring them on yourself.

This tilt (and make sure and keep that tilt through the whole exercise) keeps tension on the pecs. If you keep them horizontal or tilting outwards, the tension goes to the shoulders.

4. Concentration Flyes

These are done standing, in a bent-over position, with light weight. They're a great exercise for developing that "feel" in the chest. They won't build a chest – just assist in getting that connection.

Grab the dumbell and bend over a bit. Now, keeping your arm slightly bent but stiff (no movement other than at the shoulder), bring the dumbell up and across your body as though trying to touch it to your opposite shoulder.

Because your arm is hanging down and the dumbell is coming across your body, it takes the front delt pretty much completely out of it, forcing the pec to do all the work. Hold at the top and SQUEEZE the pec hard.

Remember to go light on this one – it's not about building but developing that mind-muscle connection. And be absolutely sure you're NOT bending your elbow – the movement must occur only at the shoulder.

5. The Rolled-Up Towel Trick

This is a technique I came up with to force the shoulders down and back (as I mentioned with the flyes above) and get the pecs involved in the bench press. This is done on the flat bench.

Roll up a towel and lay it lengthwise down the centerline of the bench. Set it on the bench right between where your shoulder blades will be. Your head should be on a flat section and your butt should be on a flat section.

Lay down on the bench, feeling the towel run right down your spine. This elevation immediately forces your shoulders back and down (the proper position for benching and feeling it in your chest). It's not particularly comfortable but it's a great teaching tool to force your body into the proper position.

6. Stop Trying To Go So Heavy

Half the time, you're probably just trying to go too heavy on the chest exercise and you just lose the feel for the exercise. Back off on the weight and feel the pecs working rather than focusing on blasting up the weight.

When you load the exercise heavy, your body immediately turns to its strongest movers. If your chest isn't part of that A team, it won't be called upon.

7. Don't Grip So Hard

One of the things I've noticed with chest exercises is that the harder you grip the bar/handles, the more the tension gets moved to the shoulders and triceps.

Try easing up on your grip a little – not to the extent that you make the exercise dangerous, but back off on the death grip and see if you feel a difference.

8. "Shocking" High-Rep Training

This is best done on the very first set of your workout with NO warm-up. You're going to just be using a moderate weight, so don't worry about not doing a huge warm-up. If you have a decent amount of training experience, you'll be just fine.

We're going to literally "shock" your chest muscles into responding here. Load the bar with (or select dumbells) a weight you'd normally be able to get about 12 to 15 "strict" reps in your regular workout.

Now lay down and CRANK OUT as many reps as you can with that weight as fast as you possibly can. Don't worry if your form isn't perfect…just hammer the reps out.

And when I say crank, I mean CRANK…don't bounce the bar off your chest or anything but you must quite simply EXPLODE out of the bottom of every single rep…and don't even think about slowing down to get the negative.

The idea here is very rapidly call upon every available muscle fiber worked by that exercise to contribute an emergency situation, especially the power-oriented type 2 muscle fibers.

And this emergency idea is why you're not going to do a warm-up…we want it to be a TRUE emergency situation where you go from zero to kablammo!

ONE set of this is all you need. Because once you do that first set, not only will the entire area be fatigued, you won't be able to get nearly as many reps and it won't have the same emergency effect on your body.

9. Static Contraction Holds and Pushes

This can be done on almost ANY chest exercise…though it doesn't work too well on dumbell flyes or presses. It works best on cable cross-overs or pec deck, where the tension is greatest at the top, when the arms are close together. It's also pretty good on barbell bench.

A straight static hold means just hold that contracted position for as long as you possibly can. Then fight the negative all the way to the bottom.

This systematically exhausts all the muscle fibers of the chest AND gives you time to really get your mind into the muscle, shifting your arm and body position during the hold until you really feel it targeting the pecs. By taking this time, you get to feel what you don't normally get during a standard exercise.

And those pushes I mentioned?

As you're holding that static contraction, have a partner push down on the weight stack (if you're on a pec deck). Just a quick push is all you need. This sets off a stretch reflex in the pecs, activating even more muscle fibers. It's basically another emergency situation.

When using cable cross-overs, have your partner put their hands in between yours and push outwards really quick. If you're doing a static hold in the top position of the barbell bench, have them push down on the bar really quick while you maintain the hold.

A couple of these pushes is all you need.

10. Cable or Band Push-Ups

This technique combines two type of resistance – a bodyweight push-up and direct outwards-pulling resistance of cables or bands. When you put them together, it's CRAZY how much tension you'll get on your pecs.

It's like combining a static hold with a dynamic exercise – two of tension, both targeted on the pecs.

For the cable version, set two handles on the low pulleys and use a light weight. Kneel down holding both handles. Now set your fists on the floor in the push-up position. Straighten out your body and start doing push-ups.

The cables will be trying to pull your hands directly out to the sides. Your pecs have to fight this outwards-pulling tension. When you add in the push-ups, you'll feel these even more in the chest than you usually would, simply because your pecs are ALREADY working by holding the cables in place.

It's a two-for-one exercise that will light your pecs FAST.

You can easily accomplish the same thing with bands by hitching a couple of bands to solid objects out to the sides of you. The just hold the bands in your fists or loop around your wrists, make sure you get tension in them, then do the push-ups.

YOUR CHEST WILL BE TOAST…

I have to say, if you've not really felt your pecs before, these techniques should get you seriously moving in the right direction. I would recommend taking a few "chest" days and just trying all these techniques to see which ones work best for you.

For pictures and video of many of these tips in action, click here !

Metabolic Surge – Rapid Fat Loss
by Nick Nilsson

Nick Nilsson is Vice-President of the online personal training company BetterU, Inc. He has a degree in Physical Education and Psychology and has been inventing new training techniques for more than 16 years. Nick is the author of a number of bodybuilding eBooks including "Metabolic Surge – Rapid Fat Loss," "Muscle Explosion,""The Best Exercises You've Never Heard Of," "Gluteus to the Maximus – Build a Bigger Butt NOW!" and "The Best Abdominal Exercises You've Never Heard Of" all available here  !

Isabel De Los Rios Monthly Article

Does Eating Fat Make You Fat?
By Isabel De Los Rios
http://www.yourdietsolution.com

Well, YES and NO. The right answer to this question is dependant on what type of fat we're talking about. Certain fats are actually essential for so many important bodily functions, but the wrong kind of fat can lead us down an unhealthy path to weight gain and a long list of diseases.

Remember all fats are not created equal and proper use of the good fats can be a great way to keep you and your family at optimum health!

Isabel De Los Rios is a nutrition, exercise and lifestyle coach who has helped hundreds of people lose their unwanted weight and take complete control of their health. She is the author of The Diet Solution Program, a complete and comprehensive nutrition program that is helping people all over the world finally reach their ideal weight. For more information on The Diet Solution Program and how it can help to change your life, visit http://yourdietsolution.com

The Diet Solution Programm
By Isabel De Los Rios

Here Is The Real Reason Every Single One Of These "DIETS" Has Failed You
Low Fat, Low Carb, Low Calorie
and every other crazy fad diet you have tried…

I'll show you below exactly why you have been eating the wrong types of foods and following the wrong nutrition plan. The methods you've been using will never work to get you the body you truly deserve. With just a few simple changes you will start to lose your stubborn unwanted fat ONCE AND FOR ALL!

Karen Sessions Monthly Article

Operation Biceps Blast

Information Abundance can lead to Chronic Information Overload

By Karen Sessions NSCA-CPT
Author of Iron Dolls – Women's Bodybuilding Secrets
http://irondoll.atozfitness.com

You hear it echoing in your head, "What to do for biceps?" "Do I do four standard sets like everyone preaches on the message boards or do I dare to step out of the norm and do less?" What would three sets accomplish? That extra set is bound to put that extra quarter inch on your arms. What about reps?

You've read over and over that you need to do more sets and reps to build muscle. You've actually brainwashed yourself into believing this. You have become so deathly afraid that you are not training enough in the gym that you being to overtrain. You begin to feel tired and your training becomes less effective. You don't have that inner spunk that drives you in the gym and what's worse, no biceps development.

Is the confusion getting to you? Are you tired of being at an information loss that training isn't fun anymore? Perhaps if you overcame the misinformation circulating on the forums and in the gym, you may get results to bring back that training drive naturally. Usually, what motivates most people is seeing changes. If you can make your next training session productive, that would be motivation enough to bring that desire and drive back.

In this article we will break through some biceps plateaus. We'll discuss the "hows", "whys," and "why nots" of biceps training.

Typically, female bodybuilders train biceps for growth, which adds size to their arms. Let's face it; nothing is more fun then flexing a 14" biceps when called upon.

So, if you are ready to go into battle let's break out of the norm. We will break this up in "rules" for simplicity.
 

Stop Going in Circles and Get the Truth About Muscle Gain!
 

Rule #1 – Get a good warm-up

A good warm-up is not a mini training session. All you need collectively is two warm-up sets, each with 15-20 reps. Get the muscle warmed up and slightly pumped. You don't want to exhaust yourself before the real training begins.

 

Rule #2 – Use heavy compound movements first in your biceps training

Now, that's not so hard, is it? You already know that compounds movements are a multi-joint movement, working all the muscles of that targeted muscle group simultaneously. This is the reason why you should do the compound exercise first. Stimulate all the muscle fibers first simultaneously. In addition, the compound exercise is the mass building exercise. It doesn't get any simpler than this.

 

Rule #3 – Keep sets to a minimum

Adding more sets, no matter how mentally pumped you are, won't increase your biceps growth. Granted, you may get an outstanding pump, but a pump does not equal growth. A maximum of three sets per exercise is more than enough. Any more than that can lead to overtraining. The biceps contains two muscles, and once you stimulate them. That's it. Training is over.

 

Rule #4 – Use 4-6 reps for strength and 6-8 reps for mass

Strength and mass work hand-in-hand when it comes to bodybuilding. You should employ both factors, at different times of course. For bodybuilding mass training, keep your weight heavy and shoot for 6-8 reps. Every few weeks add more poundage and drop your reps to 4-6 for some strength training. Alternate the two methods to prevent boredom and plateaus.
 

Finally, REAL Female Bodybuilding Information!
 

Rule #5 – Keep your biceps training basic and simple

Don't fool yourself into thinking that doing 12 sets of curls using various exercises will build huge guns. It just doesn't work like that. Building great biceps doesn't take a lot of sets and reps. In fact, when it comes to biceps training, less is more. In actuality, 5-6 good sets are all you need. When I say good sets, I mean stimulating the muscle with all out intensity with maximum poundage. All you generally need with biceps training is one mass builder or rather compound movement (straight bar curls) for 3 sets of 4-8 reps and one auxiliary movement, such a dumbbell curls or hammer curls for 3 sets of 4-8 reps.

Rule #6 – Limit biceps training to once a week

This shouldn't be new to you, but I still find it shocking to discover some lifters are training their biceps twice a week to get them to grow. There is such as thing as too much of a good thing. Think of watering a delicate flower. You wouldn't water it every day with a full 12 ounce glass of water, now would you? You must allow it time to absorb the water you have already given it. This same tactic should be applied to your biceps training. If you fail to allow your muscles to rest and recover, they won't respond (grow).

 

Rule #7 – Employ partial training

Partial training can give you that extra edge you may need to push through barriers holding your biceps training back. A partial barbell curl will take you from midpoint, where your forearms are parallel to the floor, to the point where your biceps are fully contracted. After the contraction, in a controlled manner, lower the bar back to the 45 degree angle and repeat. When you do partials, use heavy poundage and shoot for reps in the 25-30 range to take advantage of time/tension factor. Since partials are a partial movement, you will complete the set much faster, in half the time. The disadvantage to this is that your muscles aren't under the tension that long. Therefore, adding more reps will provide adequate tension.

Now you have seven rules to build unruly biceps. The above training will get biceps growth underway fast. It's designed to get the job done right the first time. If you follow these guidelines, you can blast your biceps training without going into overtraining mode. Now that you are armed with the facts, proceed with Operation Biceps Blast.

Fitfully Yours,
Karen Sessions NSCA-CPT
MsFit

P.S. Want more information on packing on muscle? If it, and a LOT more in Iron Dolls – Women's Bodybuilding Secrets and get the cold hard facts!

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About the Author

Karen Sessions has been in the fitness industry since 1988 and is a certified personal fitness instructor and specialist in performance nutrition. She is a nationally qualified natural female bodybuilder, holding numerous titles in the southern states including two overalls.

Karen has written six eBooks on fitness. She also writes articles for several fitness websites, and distributes two monthly newsletters regarding weight loss and female bodybuilding.

Karen has helped hundreds of clients reach their goal of transforming their body. Her success and success stories speak for themselves. Visit http://irondoll.atozfitness.com for more information on Karen's programs.

Tom Venuto Monthly Article

How To Lose 20 Pounds Really, Really Fast!
by Tom Venuto
http://www.atozfitness.com/recommends/innercircle.html

Back in the day when I was a full time personal trainer and I met with my clients in person at my New Jersey Health Club, the first thing I would always ask during the initial consultation was:

It is on these rare occasions that I know there is still intelligent life on this planet.

Click-Here to read the rest of this article .

Tom Venuto is an accomplished STEROID-FREE bodybuilder who has competed 28 times. His titles include the Mr. Natural New Jersey, Natural Pennsylvania, Natural New York State, Natural Mid Atlantic States and NPC Natural Eastern Classic championships – all fully drug-tested. As you can see by looking at his pictures, he absolutely walks the walk and sets the example for all his followers.

I cannot stress enough the importance of having a coach and role model who knows what it takes to get in shape NATURALLY. Surely if you watch the news, you can appreciate this when you hear about all the DRUG SCANDALS in the Olympics, baseball and other professional sports today. Turns out, our "heroes" were "on the juice!"

But maybe you didn't know about the magazine models and before and after "transformations" who got their artificial bodies from gulping fistfuls of steroids, diuretics, hormones and other fat burning drugs, and then had the bald-faced audacity to claim it was some miracle supplement that got them their six pack abs! Meanwhile, the supplement companies were paying them for their fraudulent endorsements. Phonies!

Visit Tom's famous inner circle club at : http://www.atozfitness.com/recommends/innercircle.html

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