Welcome to Muscle Building Tips

Chin Up Bars for Ab Workouts

You can use your doorway chin up bar for abdominal exercises. Just hang by your hands and raise your knees to waist level. Raise up and go back down slowly as many times as you can. It's tough, but effective. This is another example of the versatility of chin up bars. You can also use ab loops on your chin up bars for an easier and even more effective abdominal workout.

Negative Chin Ups

Not strong enough for chin ups? That doesn't mean that chin up bars are not for you. You can do negative chin ups and build your strength. For this you have to start in the top position and lower yourself slowly to the floor. (You can lower more weight than you can lift.) Stand on a chair or bench to start, grab the bar and lower yourself until your feet are on the floor, being careful to position the bench so you don't hit your shins on the way down. It's best to have someone there to help you, at least at first.

The Erg

An ergometer is just a device for measuring the work performed by an exerciser. Rowing machines have these, but so do most other exercise machines. Certain kinds of exercise bikes are called bicycle ergometers and often used in research. Rowing machines are often called ergometers or erg machines. When someone talks about worki out on the erg, they usually mean a rowing machine.

Burning Calories

The elliptical machine will tell you how many calories you've burned. This basically depends on how fast you go and how long you stay on. Set the tension high enough that you feel a little resistance, but not so high that you can't exercise very long. If you're interested in weight loss, try for at leaset 200-300 calories expended on your elliptical every day. They don't all have to be in the same session. Work up to 500 and you'll see great results.

Symmetry and Stretching

Another important reason for stretching is to aid in balanced muscle development throughout the body. If one group of muscles is tight and overdeveloped, while another is lengthened and underdeveloped, not only will this look poor aesthetically, but it will contribute to potential future injury. For example, overworking the chest, relative to the back will cause you to have rounded shoulders and look like a gorilla, in addition to causing low back problems.

Ellipticals and Your Knees

People with bad knees love the elliptical trainer. As a non-impact machine, it spares your knees the pounding they get from running, but still gives a great workout. Many ex-runners whose knees gave out use the elliptical to get a vigorous workout. People whose knee problems come from arthritis or other conditions can get a workout, perhaps less vigorous, but equally enjoyable and beneficial.

What's an Elliptical Trainer?

The elliptical trainer is a relatively new piece of aerobic exercise equipment, but it's here to stay. Most commercial gyms have them and they get a lot of use. An elliptical is also a great piece of home fitness equipment. Something of a cross between a bike and a treadmill, it gets its name from the elliptical, or egg-shaped, motion of the pedals. Ellipticals can be used by anybody from a deconditioned beginner to a pro athlete.

Elliptical Efficiency

One of the great things aabout elliptical machines is that they require very little adjustment. If you want, you can jump on, press start, and you're on your way. You'll appreciate this if you're trying to squeeze a workout into a short time frame. It also makes the machine one of the best for circuit training. You can go back and forth from weight training to cardio workout on the elliptical trainer without much setup time.

Body Fat Scale

The easiest way to measure body fat is with the new high tech scales now available. The body fat scale gives you your weight and also your body fat percent. It's use is similar to a common bathroom scale. Do read the instructions to get the best results with these fine instruments.

Body Fat Measurement

There are several methods of measuring body fat. Some are used only in research settings. Of the others, the most accurate body fat caculator is underwater weighing, but the equipment is bulky and expensive, and not widely available. The most common techniques used in gyms, sportsmedicine facilities, and health fairs are body fat calipers and bielectrical impedance devices. Recently, home-use devices have become available so you can measure your own body fat. These include body fat calipers and body fat scales.