Adam’s back with some more good moves to get you in shape! This time, Adam’s using the Smith machine once more…to show you how to do a reverse pull up.

Here’s the link…happy lifting!
Adam Steel Episode Five- Reverse Pull Up

Odd Days:

Do either supersets of pull ups, pushups, dips, and an abs exercise of your choice or a pyramid of just pull ups, pushups, and abs. A Superset is simply performing one set of each exercise (i.e. pull ups) then doing one set of another exercise, then another, and another until you’ve done one set of each exercise once. Then you repeat this several times. Pyramids are a similar concept but you are increasing the number of repetitions you are doing for each exercise and then decreasing your reps to the number you began with. This might seem a little confusing at first but you’ll get the hang out it once you start doing them.

Supersets (total of 10 sets):

-Pull Ups- Burnout (do as many as you possibly can)

-Pushups- 20

-Dips- 5-10

-Abs of choice- 30

Do not rest between each exercise. You can rest after each set, but keep it short. And these numbers for reps are more like guidelines; don’t feel bad if you can’t do as many as it tells you to do. Just concentrate on form.

Pyramids

-Pull Ups- 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,6,5,4,3,2,1

-Push Ups-2,4,6,8,10,12,14,12,10,8,6,4,2

-Abs of choice- 5,10,15,20,25,30,35,30,25,20,15,10,5

So the first set, you do one pull up, then immediately get down and do two push ups, and then do five crunches or whatever abs exercise you choose. Then you should take no rest and go right into doing two pull ups, four push ups, and ten abs, and then continue until you work up to seven pull ups, fourteen push ups, and thirty five abs, then work yourself all the way back down. If you’d like, you can start with a pyramid that doesn’t go quite so high up in repetitions; just do what you’re comfortable with.

Even Days:

This is much simpler than the odd days; just do between 25-50 pull ups throughout the course of the day or in a single workout if you’d like. If you can’t do more than five pull ups right now, start with twenty five pulls up. If you can do more than five, try getting up to fifty pull ups.

Like the push up workout, remember not to do this workout for more than the 2 week period; you could hurt yourself if you overdo it. For proper techniques on pull ups, pushups, and dips, just click each.

For another helpful guide on the upright row, click here.

Back again this week is “Buns of Steel with Adam Steel.” After showing us a leg exercise on the Smith Machines, he’s here with a chest/shoulder exercise: the Bench Press. Using the Smith Machine again, he’ll show you the technique on how to do these popular exercises without a spotter.

For additional information about the Bench Press with Smith Machine, click here. ]]> http://blogs.miscellanynews.com/vcfit/2009/11/02/buns-of-steel-with-adam-steel-episode-3/feed/ 0 http://blogs.miscellanynews.com/vcfit/2009/10/30/fifty-push-ups-no-big-deal/ http://blogs.miscellanynews.com/vcfit/2009/10/30/fifty-push-ups-no-big-deal/#comments Sat, 31 Oct 2009 02:55:48 +0000 Charlie Gray http://blogs.miscellanynews.com/vcfit/?p=103 One of my favorite exercises to do is a push up; it’s simple and quick, you can do it anywhere, and it works your chest, shoulders, triceps, and midsection. I recently stumbled across a workout routine that guarantees you will be doing 50 consecutive push ups in just 2 weeks.

On Odd Days

Do 200 pushups in as few sets as you can at one point during the day. So you can do 8 sets of 25 repetitions, 10 sets of 20, whatever works best for you. And you can still do upper body lifting on these days if you’d like, however, it might make this program a little more difficult.

On Even Days
Do 200 pushups throughout the day. I like to wake up and do 2 sets of 25 in the morning, 2 sets of 25 in the afternoon and then 2 sets of 25 before I go to bed.

Repeat the ODD/EVEN routine for a total of 10 days. Then take three days off and do NO upper body exercises that work your chest, triceps, and shoulders. Then on the 14th day, see how many push ups you can do consecutively.

NOTE: Always remember to do a little warm up of your upper body before you perform any push ups. I like to do several arm circles and a few shoulder stretches beforehand. Also note that this workout should only be done once every few months because you can overexert your muscles if you are doing 2000 push ups every 10 days.
If you’d like to see proper push up technique, check out this video.

Now go get huge!

Here’s the latest episode of “Buns of Steel with Adam Steel.”  Here, Adam’s back in the AFC Gym introduces the Smith Machine, and the proper technique for a Smith Squat!

For additional information about the Smith Squat, click here.

In this first episode, Adam talks a little bit about how he came to weight lift, nutrition, and general fitness.

Buns of Steel with Adam Steel, Episode #1

When I tell most of my friend’s that I’m taking a 7:30 a.m. Pilates class, I normally get the following responses: “Why are you awake at 7:30?”; “Are you the only guy in that class?”; “Dude! Pilates is easy; my mom does it.”

I love sleeping in, so waking up at 7 is not my favorite thing in the world to do. I’ll admit that being the only male in a class that is predominantly populated by older woman is a little embarrassing; even so, I give these ladies credit, since Pilates is far from easy. As someone who considers himself to be a pretty good athlete, I was amazed with the quality of workout you can get from just an hour a day.

In my first class, I was a little skeptical because I wasn’t finding the first few moves to be that challenging; but by the time it was 8 o’clock, I was pouring in sweat and my heart was pumping like crazy. The greatest thing about Pilates though, is the last 5-10 minutes; you stretch and lie on your back with your eyes shut and you simply let your throbbing muscles and mind leave your body for a few minutes. It is honestly one of the best parts of my day.

The class is also great because Theresa, the instructor, really knows Pilates well and she allows everyone to go at their own pace. The class consists of people who, like me, have never done Pilates before, as well as people who’ve been doing it for years; and everyone gets something out of it. If there’s a movement you can’t do, Theresa will demonstrate at least one modified version so you can still get a good workout.

So if you’re looking for something new, or you want to improve your core strength and flexibility, or if you don’t believe me about how great of a workout Pilates is, try it yourself. Contact Roman Czula for schedules and costs of classes (Classes are at most about $30 for the whole semester so it won’t bust your wallet).