Tag Archives: triceps

New Video….Resistance Bands!!

Posted on by
Reply

Hi Everybody,

I promised you some more videos and here is the next one. The video is fairly self explanatory so I’ll keep the notes brief, although there are a few things i want to say.

Resistance Bands:

Firstly in the video itself the exercises I am doing look pretty easy and I’m sure that will be putting some guys or hardened trainers off. As I said in my previous post , if you are a hard core body builder or strength athlete these may not be for you, but for everybody else Resistance Bands are a great addition to your workout equipment and perfect for home use. In this video I am only using 1 band but by using the higher resistance ones or adding 2, 3 ,4 or even 5 bands you can really make the exercises much more difficult.

The second thing I’d add is that Resistance Bands are fantastic for people who either have injuries that they live with and have to work around, or who are recovering from injury. The ability to add or decrease resistance as needed but also to change the angle and approach to exercise’s mean that they can be very forgiving for various type’s of muscle, ligament or tendon damage, and you can build up strength, tone and muscle without risking further damage.

Resistance bands are also perfect for beginners, people who don’t belong to gyms, or ladies looking to tone their bat wing arms or other saggy parts but who don’t want the expense or hassle of going to a gym.

Finally they are extremely light, convenient, easy to travel with and very inexpensive compared to either a gym membership or buying your own sets of weights for home use. It makes them one of the perfect additions to your home use equipment.

I hope you enjoyed the video and as i say at the end, please watch this space for the opportunity to get great discounts on Ordinary Guy Fitness Resistance Bands and other products that will be coming soon.

Regards

John

Join The Band to Build Muscles & Get Fit!

Posted on by
2

Don’t panic, we’re not talking music here (I’m tone deaf). We are talking about what i rate as the single best piece of home workout equipment you can buy. Watch the video, read the article and scroll right down to the bottom for some exciting news!!

Resistance Bands:

So what exactly are resistance bands and why do i rate them so highly? They are simply a set of latex tubes that come with handles, feet and door attachment. Usually they come in a set with 5 different colour tubes or bands and each has different resistance levels. By attaching all 5 bands you can really ramp up the weight/resistance to some quite high levels. I wrote in a previous article about these and some other pieces of essential home equipment but to me these are top of the list.

Why? Well because they are just so versatile. You can replicate probably 80% of the exercise’s that you can do in even the most well equipped Gym with just one piece of equipment that fits in a drawer. You can take it on holiday or business trips with you. They work equally effectively for beginners or for pretty serious trainers who are looking to build solid muscle. Resistance bands are also a little more forgiving on muscles, joints and tendons for those that have injuries or those who are perhaps getting on in years slightly. They are also perfect for ladies that either don’t want to go to the Gym or have busy lives with kids etc and want something they can do at home for 20 minutes a day.

They take a little getting used to and certainly a bit of experimentation to find the angles and exercises that work best for you, and that target the muscles that you want to target. However with a little practise you will find that you can work Shoulders, Chest, Biceps, Triceps and your entire back very easily. Working those leg muscles and Abs are a little more complex but still perfectly possibly.

Now i know that there are a load of guys out there shaking their heads and saying “resistance bands?? Really? They are for wimps!”  To a degree I can’t argue with that. If you are an advanced body builder or weight lifter then resistance bands cannot replace going to a gym and just shifting a shedload of heavy weights. If you are really trying to build massive muscles then resistance bands are not going to do it for you. However this blog is called Ordinary Guy Fitness and it aims to cater to the majority of people who want to get fit, lead healthier lifestyles and definitely tone up and build some muscle. For that aim these are perfect.

An additional, and for many people an essential benefit, is also the cost. Gym memberships generally speaking are expensive. Exercise classes are expensive and any sort of personal trainer is definitely expensive. I’m not putting you off of any of those things as I use or have used all of them, but many people are no fortunate enough to have the spare cash and in those cases a one of payment of maybe £20 or $25/27 is a very inexpensive way to buy a piece of equipment that can help you get fit and build some muscle.

If you want some tips on how to use the bands or incorporate them into your existing workout programme then drop me an email or comment and I’ll do my best to respond.

That’s it for this article. I will make it a mission to do my own video showing as many different band exercise’s as possible in the near future.

However at the top I promised you some exciting news. A couple of weeks ago in this blog post I talked about Ordinary Guy Fitness possibly offering some products that will help with your fitness, health and training goals. Well in a couple of weeks the first couple of products will be rolling off the production line and will be available on Amazon with Ordinary Guy Fitness branding and guarantee. Not only that but the very first products available will be Ordinary Guy Fitness Resistance Bands. Not only that but readers and subscribers to this blog , the Facebook page or my Twitter page will be given their very own discount codes that will not be available elsewhere. Make sure you don’t miss out. Go to the home page and subscribe to my email list now to make sure you don’t miss future posts and the release date.

Take Care,

John

Todays Training – Shoulders & Some Legs!

Posted on by
Reply

arnold-shoulder-pressingHi Guys, here is todays quick training update. Please let me know if you are getting bored with these. It was always intended to be just a quick insight into what i do but I’m not here to preach and definitely not to bore you. I’m now struggling with a couple of niggles so not quite able to do exactly what i want in the Gym. However that is not an excuse and you can always do something. My left shoulder is still very sore, and now so is my left hip and lower back which is causing a sciatica type pain down my left leg…..I think I’m just getting old!!

So due to the slight injuries i wanted to avoid doing any further damage. I’m usually a big advocate of free weights over machines but went the machine route today because of the more limited range of motion and control they give you. Once I’m rocking again I’ll be back onto the Barbells and Dumbbells. So here is todays programme.

Firstly over to the Smith Machine for some seated overhead press to hit shoulders. I did 10 sets, 5 behind neck and 5 in front Military press style. I kept the weight fairly low at 30kg (+ the bar) and concentrated on really squeezing and isolating my shoulders rather than pushing with my Triceps. It worked and by the ninth and tenth set i was struggling to get to the full 10 reps.

Next over to Lateral raises. For these i DID use Dumbbells but kept the weight low and instead did Giant drop sets. So i grabbed 3 sets of Dumbbells at 10kg, 6kg and 3kg. I did a set of 10 reps with the 9’s, dropped them, straight into 10 reps with the 6’s and then straight into 10 with the 3’s and for the final set with the 3’s tried to squeeze my deltoids as hard as possible. That was one set and I did 4 in total.

I then sat on a bench, leant forward and did exactly the same routine, same weights, reps and sets for bent over laterals to work on the posterior head of the Delts. That was it, shoulders almost done.

Next up were some shrugs to build up the Traps. 32kg dumbbell in each hand and did 3 sets of 15.

Next some leg work although I didn’t want to go mad as they were still sore from earlier in the week. I went over to the Leg press machine. I cranked out 2 sets with both legs at 70kg. I then dropped the weight to 30kg and did single leg presses. 3 sets of 10 for each leg. I also moved my foot up and down the foot board to try to change which part of the muscles it worked and tried to focus on the Glutes as much as possible.

I then stayed sitting where i was and proceeded to do Calf presses. One leg at a time, 4 sets for each leg at 25kg.

That was it, i was sort of done. However it felt like a bit of a feeble session. I’d wimped out on the legs and didn’t want to leave it like that. My arms felt fine so thought I’d have a very quick superset blast on Biceps and Triceps. In a previous post (here) i talke4d about a Cable based Bicep and Tricep ladder workout where you go up in weights on Triceps whilst coming down on Biceps. So i did that. Started at 20kg on Triceps and 55kg on Biceps and then came down/up in 5 or 10kg increments, supersetted with no rest at all. It worked out at 5 sets each side. That was it, i was done and felt better having added that in at the end.

Let’s see what tomorrow brings. I seem to have a few broken bits at the moment but will see how i feel in the morning before deciding what to do or maybe just having a day off.

Take Care,

John

Todays Training- Resistance Super Sets, HiiT stylie!

Posted on by
1

CircuitsSummer is coming, I have a holiday booked and I freely admit I’m vain. I like to look as good as i can in my beach shorts so need to start adjusting my training accordingly. Therefore I’ll still be hitting the weights but will be making some changes to how i train a couple of time a week. Generally speaking I’ll be throwing in some weights based resistance circuits, a bit more HiiT and just aiming to burn some fat and get a bit leaner. Also trying to be good when it comes to food and diet so bye bye to the Wine, Beer and Crisps that I love (well at least to some extent, I’m not an angel after all).

So here is todays training workout. Basically i picked sets of two exercises at a time and did them as Supersets with very little rest.

I started with Hanging Leg raises supersetted with Chest/Tricep dips on parallel bars. 8 hanging leg raises, straight into 12 dips. Then rest for around 45 seconds and repeat. 3 sets in total.

Next was standing alternate arm shoulder press with 15kg dumbbells supersetted with Kettlebell swings (2 hands between legs). Concentrate on bracing the core when doing the shoulder press and pushing with the shoulders not the triceps and then thrusting forward with the hips and glutes when doing the swing. 10 reps each side for the dumbbell press and then 12 reps for the Kettlebell swings.3 sets in total.

Next bent over Dumbbell rows supersetted with Goblet squats. Again using the same 15kg Dumbells in each hand concentrate on squeezing the weight up, back and into the side and pulling with the back rather than the Bicep, then standard Goblet squats with a fairly wide Sumo stance and going down as deep as possible to stretch the Glutes and Hamstrings. 3 sets in total.

Next I used an exercise ball as a bench and did Dumbell Chest press. The ball wobbles slightly which means you engage your core to maintain stability and you also get a really deep stretch in your chest as you lower the weight down. 15kg for 10 reps.This was immediately followed by standard exercise ball crunches x 15 reps. 3 sets in total.

The final exercises of the circuit were on the cable machine. I set up a single handle at mid chest level with 20kg on it. Then did Cable twists or woodchoppers as they are sometimes called. 10 reps on the right and then 10 on the left. I supersetted this with Tricep pushdowns on another machine. 12 reps at 50kg.

That was it for the weights. These exercises used pretty much every part of my body – Shoulders, Chest, Back, Legs, Abs etc and gave me a pretty good full body workout but would also have burnt calories due to the superset effect and low rest periods.

Finally i headed over to the running machine. Incline up to 4.5. Speed up to almost sprint level. I jumped on and did 20 seconds running at speed, then stepped off and rested for 30 seconds. Repeated this 6 time. Then did 2 more reps with 30 seconds sprinting and 30 seconds rest so 8 in total.

That’s it, done. Back to doing some mass building stuff tomorrow in training and then something similar to this on Friday maybe. As always, if you have any questions please ask. It’s probably cheeky of me to ask but if you are enjoying these posts, or any of the stuff i put out, then please share or Like them from the website or Facebook, Linked In or wherever you are reading them. I really appreciate it.

Have a good evening.

Take Care,

John

 

My Daily Training Diary!

Posted on by
1

No Pain No GainI’ve had a bad couple of weeks from a health and training perspective. I have lots of good excuses (I’m in the middle of getting a loft extension done, the kids are off school on Easter holidays, it was my birthday and we had a couple of days out to celebrate etc etc, but the truth is I’ve just neglected things a bit and not been training as much as i should. I’m only human, and very much the Ordinary Guy that this blog is about.

So I’m determined that for the next month or so I’m going to be very strict, get back on track and smash the training and healthy eating again. A few people have asked me how i train, what i do, how often etc? So i thought it might be an idea to do a quick daily post outlining what training i have done, what it involved, weights lifted etc. Hopefully some of you will be interested and I’d welcome any comments. It won’t be every day as i tend to do some sort of activity 4 to 5 days per week. If any of you would also be interested in what i eat and my diet then please let me know and maybe I can start to include that as well. So here is day 1.

Thursday: I only had about 50 minutes to squeeze a session in today so the aim was to hit shoulders and arms and maybe do some cardio/abs if i had time. My left shoulder is buggered (that’s a technical term) and as soon as i start to lift any heavyish weights in terms of shoulder press or bench press it becomes sore and stays that way so i have to work around it. Therefore i started with 5 minutes of shoulder joint stretches, muscle stretches, rotator cuff stretches to try to loosen it up as much as possible. Then here is the routine i hit.

1 x warm up set of 10 reps @ 14kg of seated dumbbell shoulder press

1 x 10 reps @ 20kg, followed by 2 x 8 reps@ 22.5kg, followed by 3 x 10 @ 16kg. Rest between all sets was approximately 50/60 seconds.

Then moved on to standing side lateral raises.

I took a 10kg dumbbell in each hand and did alternate reps for each side, 10 reps per side. Then immediately dropped those and picked up 7kg each side and with no rest went into a strict set of 10 reps (both sides at the same time). So effectively supersetted side lateral raises. Repeated 3 times. Rest between sets was about 1 minute max.

Then sat on a bench, leaned forward and went into bent over rear lateral raises. Again i did a superset style. So did 10 reps with 9kg, dropped them and straight into another 10 reps with 5kg. I realise the weight for these lat raises may sound light to some people but… a) I am trying to protect my shoulder and b) If you do them really strictly and only engage your deltoid muscle without “throwing” the weight up, it still gives you an amazing pump and is very effective.

Then picked up 2 x 30kg dumbbell and did 3 x 15 reps of shrugs, concentrating on shrugging my shoulders up and back to really work the traps (trapezius). That’s shoulders done.

For arms i normally work with free weights but i watched a video by a guy called Jeff Cavaliere from Athlean X who i rate very highly and would massively recommend his videos. The video is here and it is a cable machine workout that works both biceps and triceps at the same time and wow is it effective. Basically you set a flat handle on a cable machine. I was lucky as at my Gym i had two right next to each other. Have 1 handle up high to do Tricep push downs and one down low for bicep curls. You move from Biceps to Triceps with no rest and move the weights up or down after each set. So…..

1 x 10 reps@ 60kg Tricep push down, followed by 1 x 12 reps@20kg bicep curls. Then 1 x 10 reps@50kg Tricep push down, followed by 1 x 12 reps@30kg bicep curls.  Then 1 x 10 reps@40kg Tricep push down, followed by 1 x 12 reps@40kg bicep curls.  Then 1 x 12 reps@30kg Tricep push down, followed by 1 x 10 reps@50kg bicep curls. Then finally 1 x 12 reps@20kg Tricep push down, followed by 1 x 8 reps@60kg (That’s all i could manage). I rested for a few minutes then squeezed out 2 sets of 15kg hammer curls and 2 sets of 50kg overhead tricep extensions. My arms were fried by the end of it.

I was running out if time so couldn’t do any cardio but quickly did a little ab superset of 8 hanging leg raises, followed by 10 v-sits, followed by 45 second plank. Did it three times and then headed for the door.

Tomorrow I have slightly more time so plan to do back and legs + some cardio stuff.

I hope you like this and enjoy it over the next few days. Please let me know your thoughts.

Take Care,

John

 

 

Ladies….How to banish flabby arms and saggy butts!

Posted on by
8

Bingo WingsThe dreaded Bingo wings, dinner lady arms (no offence to dinner ladies), bat wings….whatever you want to call them, most ladies hate them. With summer coming and the time to ditch the jumpers and break out the T-Shirts, summer dresses and even the Bikini’s upon us, many women look in the mirror and sigh discontentedly at the site of those “soft”, flabby and sometimes even saggy bits. It’s not just the backs of your arms, it’s your bum, your thighs, your belly and your waist…….aaaargghhh!!!

Well don’t panic you CAN do something about all of these problems and right now. Mid March gives you time to do something about all of these areas before we properly hit Summer in June.

Firstly, without wanting to sound like a broken record, you all know that what you eat and drink, your diet and nutrition generally is going to play a big part. This isn’t a diet article so i won’t bang on about it but if you can eat cleaner, cut out the processed crap, cut back on sugar, drink less alcohol and ideally also do some cardio based work then you are going to start to lose fat from all of those wobbly areas listed above that you hate.

However in this blog I’m going to focus on what exercises you can do to tone, firm up and add some tightness or even a bit of muscle to those soft bits. First an honesty alert. This is going to take some work. Not necessarily a huge amount of time, 20 to 30 minutes a day will do the job but during that 20 minutes you HAVE to work hard and it will be sore. No pain no gain is a cliché but it’s also true……Right, ready? Here we go.

Baggy Arms: Most women don’t spend much time in everyday life using their Tricep muscles which is the muscle that runs down the back of your upper arm. It is the muscle that extends your arm from a bent to straight position and are also the muscles you use when pushing things away from your body. It is this muscle that you need to work hard and tone up to avoid having baggy, saggy arms. So logically any exercises that involves pushing or better still straightening of your arm against resistance will work this muscle. Here are three you can do at home with no equipment.

Lady push ups: The push up or press up is a great Tricep exercise IF you do it right. The trick is to keep your hands no more than shoulder width apart and as you go down towards the floor keep your elbows tucked in close to your side. Aim for 3 sets of 8.

Chair Tricep Dips: Another great exercise for really isolating the backs of those arms. Initially start with the easy version which means your feet will be quite close to you. Make it harder by gradually moving your feet further away as you get stronger. Also be careful not to come down past a 90 degree bend in your arm or you may damage your shoulder. Aim for 3 sets of 12.

Overhead Tricep extension: This is a brilliant exercise that really stretches and tones your Tricep muscle. If you have access to some weights (At home or gym) just use a light dumbbell initially (maybe 1.5 or 2kg) If you don’t have access to a dumbbell then a bottle of water (500ml, 750ml or even 1 litre) will do the job to start with. Aim for 3 sets of 12 reps.  Each day pick 2 of the exercises and do the number of sets listed. Keep rest time between sets fairly low (max 1 minute). It should only take 6/8 minutes total.

Now for your thighs and bum!! Waheey, everyone wants great thighs and a shapely backside don’t they? Again though it’s not easy, your diet is very important but you also have to work hard. Your Quads (front of leg), Hamstrings (back of leg) and Glutes (backside) are some of the biggest muscles in the body and as a result need to be worked hard to change them.

Lunges: There are a number of different variations of the lunge, all of which work a slightly different part of your thighs and backside. Therefore I’d recommend doing a different one each day and rotate them. Initially start without any weight until you feel comfortable and can control the movements. Then as you get stronger add in some weight, but don’t go too heavy. It’s more important to go low when you dip down and really squeeze the muscles as you push back up. Start with 3 sets of 12 (6 on each leg) and work up to 3 sets of 20.

Squats: As with lunges there are many different variations, both with and without weights. To really strengthen and tone your legs you will need to use some weight at some point. However, initially you can do a perfectly good job just with body weight. Again try to use some of the different variations and change each day to work different parts of the leg and backside. Keep your back straight, chest up and head & eyes looking ahead and up. Push your butt backwards and lower it towards the floor, do not lean forward and topple over your feet. If using bodyweight do 3 sets of 12 to 15. If you progress to using some weights do 3 x 8/10.

Hip Thrusters/Glute Bridge: Hip thrusters or the Glute bridge as it is sometimes called is an excellent exercise for toning, firming and shaping your bum. Again it needs to be done correctly and the key thing here is to really focus on squeezing and engaging your Glute or Bum muscles as you push up and at the top of the exercise. Go for 4 sets of 15/16 when using both legs and 3 sets each side of 7/8 when just using one leg. Again i would choose 2 of these exercises to do each day and again it should take less than 10 minutes.

Finally lets get to your stomach and core. The truth of the matter (yes i know the truth hurts) is that if you are carrying a fair amount of excess weight and have a very flabby stomach and waist area it is pretty hard to really tone and shape it without losing some of that weight first. However you can do core and stomach exercises that will pull in and tighten your abdominal and core muscles underneath the soft tissue and simply by pulling you tighter it will give the illusion of having lost a couple of inches.

The Plank: The king of core exercises. Again there are loads of variation and the video shows a few that are all great for women and will work your entire core, ab and waist area. Initially just focus on the plain front plank until you gain some strength and then after a week or so try some of the variations. Everyone’s core strength varies but initially aim for 4 sets of 20 seconds at a time (with only 30/40 seconds rest in between). If that is too hard just do 15 seconds but the aim should be to get up to 45 seconds+ to really make it work. Concentrate on really squeezing everything tightly, your stomach, thighs and butt in particular.

The Hip Lift: This works deep core muscles and lower stomach muscles. Concentrate on keeping your legs straight above and thrusting upwards with your pelvis and lower stomach. If it helps you can slightly place your hands under the edge of your bum/thighs to support yourself. Aim for 3 sets of 10 with 40 seconds rest in between.

Russian Twists: I’ve no idea why they are called that, invented by a Russian i guess. Initially start off doing this without a weight, but again as you get stronger add some weight in. Either use a small dumbbell, a kettle bell or even just a 2 litre bottle of water. Aim for 3 sets of 8 on each side. Concentrate on keeping your feet raised just off the floor and lean very slightly back with your torso which places tension on your abs and core. As with the above choose two exercises each day and rotate them. Again this should only take 7 or 8 minutes tops. With Ab exercises try to keep rest between sets minimal for maximum effect.

That’s it ladies. 20 to 30 minutes each day and believe me in two months you will really notice the difference. Your wobbly arms will be firmer and leaner. Your upper legs and bum will definitely be tighter and shapelier and your waist and midriff will have been pulled in ad you will look slimmer. The key here is hard work. You need to push yourself. As you get better either increase the number of sets and reps or add in some more weight. Just doing the same thing day after day and not improving will halt your progress.

Take Care,

John

20 Minute Home workout that BLASTS Calories and Tones Muscles!

Posted on by
4

20-minute-full-body-workoutYour life is busy, you have become the taxi service of Mum & Dad, you are unfit, over weight and don’t want to be seen at a Gym……(Yet!)

Do any of those descriptions fit you? Do you think that unless you hit the Gym 4 times a week and pound away for at least an hour that you can’t make any difference to your life? Well I’m here to tell you that just isn’t true. Here is a 20 minute work out that you can do at home, in your garden or even your front room with very little equipment at all.

Do this every day for the next 4 weeks and I PROMISE you that there will be noticeable changes. You will be fitter, should lose weight and will also be stronger. This is not a routine aimed at people who are already pretty fit, it is aimed more at the beginners who want to kick start their new fitness regime but it will also be effective as a maintenance routine for those who just need to do something, anything other than sit on the sofa.

So here goes. Do all of these exercises for the stated number of repetitions (or time) without any rest between the exercises. Then when you have finished the cycle stop and rest for 1 minute or a maximum of 90 seconds. Keep going for the full 20 minutes and see how many cycles of the routine you can do. Keep a record and try to beat it each day.

10 x Goblet Squats. Ideally use a dumbbell with a weight you are comfortable with (5kg, 10kg) or if you don’t have access to a dumbbell find something you can use at home (4kg bag of rice, large bag of potatoes etc). Keep your form nice and steady, squat as low as you can and concentrate on contracting and squeezing your thigh and butt muscles as you move up and down.

10 x Press ups. Keep your arm just wider than shoulder width. Lower yourself until your nose almost touches the floor and then push back up. Concentrate on trying to squeeze your upper arm and chest muscles together as you push back up and extend at the top. If you are either very heavy or are a lady and can’t manage full press ups yet, then lady press ups where you rest on your knees are fine until you become stronger.

Jump back to your feet and do 10 x forward lunges, 5 on each side. Concentrate on stepping forward in a controller fashion, bend your trailing leg until the knee touches or almost touches the floor, then push up firmly with your front leg. Again, squeeze your thigh and butt muscles on the way up and down.

10 x Reverse Tricep Dips. Use a stable chair or low ish table top. Place your hands on the edge of the chair at shoulder width apart behind you and your feet comfortably just in front of you as you lean back very slightly. Bend your arms to roughly 90 degree’s and lower yourself down. Push yourself back up by straightening your arms. Concentrate on squeezing your tricep (back of your arm) as you straighten back up.

20 x Jumping Jacks. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and hands by side. Do a slight jump and push your feet out to the side to wider than shoulder width apart. As you do this fling your arms out to the side and bring them up into a clapping motion above your head. Do 20 reps.

Finally get down into a Plank position. Rest your wait on your forearms. Have your feet at shoulder width and your body should be held in as straight a position as possible (no sagging in the middle). Once you are aligned squeeze your stomach, thighs and butt and hold the position for a count of 30.

That’s it. As described, take a rest for a minute or 90 seconds if you must. Then repeat as many time as you can in the 20 minutes.

As you get fitter and stronger simply decrease the rest time between sets.

TOP TIP: click on the red highlighted words to be taken to demonstration videos of these excercises. The videos are not mine but give you an idea of how to perform them correctly.

This routine will work for both guys and girls and if you combine with healthy eating (see future posts) it will help you to shed weight, improve your fitness and strength AND improve heart and lung function.

In a few weeks I’ll post some more 20 to 30 minute exercise routines that you can do at home.