Category — Strength training

I was recently talking to my brother who is a certified personal trainer and we were talking about if it matters in terms of the types of exercises you’re doing for each body part. For example, when training your triceps does it matter what order you perform dips, overhead extension, and tricep pulldown? The answer is it absolutely does.

If you are doing three exercises per body part you should always start with a pressing exercise, then move to an extension, and then a push or pulling motion. This will allow you to get the most out of your muscle fibers and prevent your muscles from failing when you get to your final few reps.

For those doing just two exercises for each muscle try to stick with a pressing movement and an extension.

It’s football season and that means sitting in front of the television for the entire day on Sunday to watch all the games. It also means eating all of that great food that’s not necessarily great for you. But luckily for you, from Monday to Saturday you can train for your big day on Sunday to soften some of the blow.

You don’t have to run wind sprints in 100 degree heat, or go up against 300-lb lineman, you just have to follow a training regimen that maximizes results from a total body workout. If you’re a guy who plays flag football or if you’re just looking to lose body fat and gain some lean muscle, then you could benefit from a football training regimen.

Most of the exercises focus on lifting a low amount of reps through a high amount of sets. This is due to the fact that you want “explosive” muscles because the movements in the game football require that.

Give it a shot and see if you notice some improvements in both your body and your game.

I will admit that I’m guilty of becoming obsessed with the bench press. It was always the first exercise I wanted to do because in my mind it was a good barometer of my progress within my fitness plan. What I didn’t know was that it really had little affect on my performance in sports, which was part of the reason I was working out. Recently, I’ve discovered that there are other ways to build definition and strength in your pectorals that will be both aesthetically satisfying (if done correctly) and beneficial to your athletic lifestyle.

MensHealth.com recently outlined 5 new ways to build powerful pectorals. The key is combining rarely used movements with a Swiss ball — the ball allows you to use all of your muscles when performing the exercise, which is similiar to what your body has to do when playing sports.

Tip: If you still need to get your “bench fix” then follow the exercises above with one set on the bench. Lift 30-50 percent of your max for 20-25 reps. It will give your pectorals a good “pump” and help create better endurance for your other chest exercises.

Baseball has been called a “game of inches” and those few inches can be the difference between winning and losing. In order to gain an edge you have to develop a winning exercise program. Evan Waters at Bodybuilding.com has constructed a fitness regimen for baseball players or those just looking to develop the physique of one.

The program is mostly strength-training based focusing on ways to develop and maintain strength throughout the upper body, lower body, and the core. If you had to choose between those three areas the latter two are the most important in terms of baseball specific moves.  A strong core and lower body allows for more power in hitting and throwing. Mostly every baseball move derives from the core therefore it’s very important to develop that area.

On the field, the program outlines a few drills (30-yard dash, throwing with a weighted ball, and long toss) that will complement your work in the gym.