There are hundreds of exercises youy can call on for these body parts but we're going to focus on a simple group of basic exercises that have stood the test of time and are proven to work.

It's easy to go into the gym and be dazzled by the array of weights machines and exercise combinations and you have a fantastic choice of options from which to build your training program.

But, whatever routines you use, occasionally slipping in some of the simpler exercises can work wonders. Its all about keeping your body (and your muscles!) guessing and adapting.

Incline Dumbbell Bench Press

The Workout

Each exercise is performed as a 2 sets with a first set being heavier followed by a lighter set but with more reps. The key to success with this workout is to perform the reps slowly and concentrate your mind on the muscles being used. This mind-muscle connection has been proven to increase the effectiveness of workouts significantly.

Warm-up first

1. Incline bench Press – targets upper chest

This can be performed with either a barbell or using dumbbells

2 sets of 8-10 reps

2 sets of 10-15 reps

2. Wide Lat Pulldown – targets the large latissimus dorsi muscles in the upper back

2 sets of 8-10 reps

2 sets of 10-15 reps

3. Flat Bench Press – targets the middle part of the chest

This can be performed with either a barbell or using dumbbells

2 sets of 8-10 reps

2 sets of 10-15 reps

4. Bent-over Barbell Row – targets the lats and also hits the rhomboid and trapezius muscles

2 sets of 8-10 reps

2 sets of 10-15 reps

5. Decline Chest Press – targets the lower chest

2 sets of 8-10 reps

2 sets of 10-15 reps

6. Seated Cable Row – targets the lower part of the lats plus the middle trapezius, rhomboids, biceps, and brachialis muscles

2 sets of 8-10 reps

2 sets of 10-15 reps

Add this upper body routine to cover your chest & back muscles. Perform the exercises with good form and enough weight and you'll be rewarded with a great feeling in your muscles as they tell you that you've worked them hard.

Before you know it, you'll be looking in the mirror at that great body that others envy – what a feeling!

- Thighs (Quads)

- Hamstrings

- Glutes (Buttocks)

- Calves

It's an accompanying workout to the Upper Body Workout: 5 Main Muscle Groups in that it uses the same pyramid-based resistance training techniques and relative  'Effort-Level' so that it is personalized to you.

The lower body, and legs in particular, are often neglected when it comes to weights or resistance training, especially by men. Much more focus is placed on upper body training.

However, when it comes to building 'fat-burning-furnaces', develping your leg muscles will pay back in shovel-fulls. The quads & gluteal muscles (glutes or buttocks) are amongst the biggest muscles in the body.

If you've taken the time to read the blog posts here at GetFitFast.com you'll have learned that muscles burn fuel even when at rest; burning fuel eats up calories and burning calories burns up fat. So, the denser your muscles, the more fat you'll burn.

Barbell Squat - A Top 5 Exercise

Not many people realise that one of the ways to a great 6-pack is through core leg exercises!

OK, a quick review of the basics behind the workout & then we'll get into the details.

The weights progressively get heavier with every set, but you reduce the reps until you do a 'peak' double set of reps at the end using a lighter weight with higher reps.

The 'effort-level' rating system works on a 1-10 scale so you can use this to guage the weights relevant for you. For example, at level-5 or 6, you should feel relatively comfortable so that on the last rep you feel like you could just about perform another set of the same. But by level-8, you should be beginning to struggle on that last rep and finally by level-10, you should  be failing on the  last-but-one or very last rep.

So, onto the workout.
 

The Workout

Quads

Rest for 2 mins before moving to your next exercise. Your muscles should be feel pumped if you've worked hard & followed good form. Keep moving though, walk around shaking your legs to help keep the blood flowing, and make sure you drink plenty of water.

Hamstrings

Rest for 2 minutes.

Glutes

You'l have already hit your Glutes as part of the Squat exercise for your quads, but in that they played more of a 'supporting act' so this time we need to hit them with some focus.

Rest for 2 minutes.

Calves

Rest for 2 minutes.

As with the upper body version of this workout, you can add in a twist by changing the exercise for the last 2 'peak' sets of each muscle group. This will have the effect of hitting the muscles from a slightly different angle and will give you an even better workout.

Give it a try & let us know how you get on!

- Chest

- Shoulders

- Back

- Triceps

- Biceps

The technique we're using is based on pyramid training.

For this workout, as the weights progressively get heavier with each set, you reduce the repetitions (reps) until you finally blitz the targeted muscles with a 'peak' double set of reps at the end using a lighter weight but ramping the reps back up.

Rather than dictate the weight you should use which will be different for each person, we'll use the 'effort-level' rating system to give you a level on a 1-10 scale so you can use this to asses the weight levels relevant for you.

At level 5, you should be performing comfortably so that by the last rep you could just about do another set of the same. At level 8, you should be starting to struggle on the last rep and at level 10, you should fail at the last or last-but-one reps.

The Workout

Chest

You'll need to rest for 2 minutes before moving to the next exercise as you shouild be feeling pretty 'pumped' if you've done this right. It's best to keep moving though, walk around, and drink plenty of water.

Shoulders

Again, 2 minutes of rest – move around and drink your water!

Back

2 minutes rest

Triceps

2 minutes rest

Biceps

Mix It Up For Greater Benefit

To give an extra 'tweak' to this workout which will increase the impact of the exercises, when you get to the double-set at the end of each exercise, perform a different exercise for that muscle group.

For example, for the chest exercise: Do the first 5 sets (12 reps down to 6 reps and the first 12 reps of the double set) performing the Lying Dumbell Chest Press, but then for the last set of 12 reps, immediately move to a lying dumbell flye.

You'll be hitting the chest muscles from a slightly different angle and if you push yourself, the pump you'll feel will be awesome and the results in improving your muscle mass and your fat-burning capacity will match!

Give it a try & let us know how you get on.

Depending on your fitness levels, you can either keep to the 3 days per week or, if you're more advance, double them up over a 6 day cycle so you'd do upper abs on days 1 and 4, lower abs onb days 2 and 5, and finally obliques on days 3 and 6.

We've kept the exercises as bodyweight only so that you could do them at home although you could just as easily substitute some of the exercises for gym machine based ones. However, we've also kept the reps high with minimal rest between sets to keep the pressure on

If you find that you can perform the number of reps easily, increase the number of reps per set & decrease the rest time between sets.

Progression is the key here and if you really find this workout easy, then you need to introduce weights-based exercises to help your progression.

As with all exercises, form is important. With some abs exercises there is a temptation to grab the back of our neck or head and pull yourself forward or up – DON'T! Concentrate on good form. Focus on the muscles that are being engaged and think about the action that they produce. You don't need to be performing situps like a manic circus act to get a good workout!

The Workout

Get Those Abs Working!

3 session. 3 exercises per session.

Rest for 45 seconds between sets.

Reduce this by 15 seconds if you find it too easy.

Session-1 Upper Abs

Straight-legged Crunch (3 sets of 20 reps) – Lie on your back with you legs pointing straight up to the ceiling. Spread your feet slightly. Placing  your hands behind your head, contract your abs and try to raise your shoulder blades off the floor. Do not use your hands to pull on your head and try not to use a jerking motion – keep it smooth.

Bent-Legged Crunch (3 sets of 20 reps) – Lie on your back with your hips & thighs are at 90 degrees and your calfs are resting on a bench or chair. Place your hands behind or at the side of your head and slowly crunch your abs whilst raising your head & shoulders towards your knees. Focus on feeling the muscles contracting. Pause & squeeze at the top and then slowly lower down – trying to keep a contraction in your abs all the way down.

Overhead Crunch (3 sets of 20 reps) – Lying on your back with your feet flat on the floor & knees bent, hold a towel with straight arms behind your head (or a weight if you find it easy)  as if you're stretching your arms out along the floor behind/above you. Keeping your arms behind/above your head, slowly curl your chest towards your knees whilst trying to lift your shoulder blades off the floor. Don't try to raise up to far. Concetrate on rolling your chest towards your belly-button.

Session-2 Lower Abs

Hip-Thrust ( (3 sets of 20 reps) – Laid on your back with legs at 90 degrees pointing to the ceiling. Place your hands out to the side on the floor to help you balance. Use your lower abs to lift your hips off the floor by 'pushing' your feet up towards the ceiling. If you find this easy, you could try to grip a dumbell or medicine ball between your feet but do this with extreme caution and only if you are very strong in your lower abs!

Reverse Crunch (3 sets of 20 reps) – Lying on your back on the floor (or a bench), hands at your side, feet together, thighs perpendicular to the floor. Squeeze your lower abs and roll your pelvis upwards to raise your hips off the floor. You should be aiming to get your knees to be above your chest at the 'top' of your contraction. keep your knees at a 90 degree angle throughout the move. Lower back down in a controlled manner.

Knee-up (3 sets of 20 reps) – Sit on the edge of a bench or chair and grip the back or sides so that you can lean backwards whilst extending your legs out in front of you. Feet together, squeeze/crunch your lower abs to draw our knees up towards your chest whilst leaning forward slightly to accentuate the 'squeeze' in your abs. Slowly push your feet back out and lean back to complete the move. Try to do this with some control rather than ending up with a rocking motion which doesn't work the abs.

Session-3 Obliques

Twists (3 sets of 20 reps) – Using a broomstick or pole, and either sittig or standing, hold the pole across the back of your shoulders behind your head with your hands as wise apart as possible and twist/rotate at the waist as far as you can without using any momentum. Then turn slowly back in the opposite direction until you've twisted round all the way in the opposite direction. Keep alternating sides and try to give the obliques an extra squeeze when you feel them working.

Oblique Crunches (3 sets of 20 reps) – Lie on the floor on your left hand side with your legs resting one on top of the other and your knees slightly bent. Using your right hand to cup the back of your head,  slowly crunch upwards as high as you can (your elbow should travel in a 45 degree line, not straight up). If you can, at the same time try to raise your legs up off the floor, keeping them together, to emphasise the squeeze in the oblique muscles. Return with a controlled motion & repeat for both sides.

Diagonal Crunches (3 sets of 20 reps) – Lie on your back with your left foot on the ground, knee bent at approx 60 degrees. bend your right leg and rest your right ankle on top of your left knee. With your hands behind your head and elbows pushed back, slowly squeeze your abs & obliques by curling your right shoulder down towards your left hip, keeping your elbows back. Do this slowly and keep the muscles tight throughout. Slowly return back to the start. Repeat for both sides.

Introducing splt workouts into your routines will allow you to put more effort into each workout as you'll have longer for muscles to recover before you next hit them.

Have fun & let us know how you're getting on. What works for you?

If you're considering buying your own treadmill, check out our feature article on How to Choose the Best Treadmill to Blast Calories Fast!

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) has long been recognized as a terrific way to trigger fast fat loss with a fat burning effect which carries on way after the exercise itself has finished.

You could easily adapt this workout for outside use if you prefer to run outdoors but the advantage of using a treadmill is the use of incline & speed settings which you can record in your workout journal (you do record your workouts don't you?) so that you can measure your progress.

We've used a technique in this workout called 'effort level'  (other names for it include 'perceived effort level' and 'intensity level'). Effort Level is a scale from 1 to 10 where level-1 is stationary (sitting down or even sleeping!), level-3 would be light walking, level-5 might be walking briskly, level-7 would be sweating heavily and only just able to talk if you really had to, level-9 would be only able to last just over a minute at this pace and level-10 would be absolutely flat out and only just able to complete 1-minute at this level.

The Workout

This should take 20 minutes to complete.

You're basically performing a warmup followed by 4 'cycles' of intensity ending at a peak before a final minute of cooldown.

So how do you adjust the Effort Level? Well, this is a combination of the incline setting and the speed. The first few times you do this workout, you'll be going through a process lf 'trial-and-error' to find out what works for you. For some, you'll stick to a standard incline throughout and simply increase & decrease the treadmill speed. For others, you may find that you keep at a steady pace but adjust the incline. And finally, for the more experienced fitness enthusiast, you'll probably need to adjust both.

That's the benefit of the 'Effort Level' approach – it is relative to how you perceive the effort level.

If you have time, you can really crank up the fat burning effects of this workout by continuing with a further 15-20 minutes of mild cardio after you've finished this High Intensity session.

OK, so here is the workout, minute-by-minute:

The workout is based on circuit training with sprints between exercises all aimed at getting you quickly into an anaerobic state, which combined with the exercises give your lungs & muscles a real test.

You#ll get a high calorie burn and equally high fitness training result from this workout because you’re pushing your anaerobic system which generates muscle power, and also blitzing your aerobic system which helps to build up your stamina and your body’s efficiency in getting oxygen to your muscles.

It’s a workout designed to help you shed fat fast whilst also building up your core stamina and giving some of your main muscle groups a great workout too!

The Workout

You need to perform this workout in an area which will allow you to sprint for a maximum of 15 seconds between exercises so mark out an area which will allow you to do this.

You should aim to repeat the circuit at least once. Why not give it a try & post your results in a comment to let others know how you got on?

Warm-up:

Start with 5-10 minutes of  light jogging to warm up

Exercise #1: Lunges – 10 with each leg

Either standard lunges or to increase the effort levels, raise your knee high before stepping forward for each lunge.

Sprint!

Immediately you’ve finished exercise #1, sprint for 15 seconds almost flat out

Exercise#2: Press ups – 12 to 15 reps

As you do each circuit, you can vary the type of press-up (wide arm, narrow arm, offset etc)

Sprint!

Immediately you’ve finished exercise #2, sprint for 15 seconds almost flat out

Exercise#3: Ab crunch – 12 to 15 reps

You can vary this ab exercise with other core body versions

Sprint!

Immediately you’ve finished exercise #3, sprint for 15 seconds almost flat out

Exercise#4: Triceps dip – 12 to 15 reps

Using a chair, bench or other support peform triceps dips. You can try to do these slowly to give you chane to get your breath back a bit but you’ll find your arms shaking with the strain pretty soon !

Sprint!

Immediately you’ve finished exercise #4, sprint for 15 seconds almost flat out

superman exercise

superman exercise

Exercise#5: Superman – 10 to 12 reps

Trust me, this is a tough exercise. Lie facedown on the floor with your legs together and straight. Extend your arms out straight above your head as if you’re flying.

Keeping your arms & legs straight and your core body still, lift your arms and legs up toward the sky as if arching your back. Hold for a count up to 30 – adjust this to suit your fitness level but do try to give it what you’ve got as this is a terrific core exercise. If you find it too easy, you can add in a little scissor kick with you legs & arms.

But remember – don’t hold your breath! Try to keep your breathing  nice & even.

Sprint!

Immediately you’ve finished exercise #5, sprint for 15 seconds almost flat out

Exercise#6: Jumping Squats – 20 to failure

Start in a deep squat position with your arms folded and in front of you. From here,  jump up as high as you can and reach for the ceiling with your hands as you jump. Land and immeditaley lower into the squat position. Repeat.

Sprint!

Immediately you’ve finished exercise #6, sprint for 15 seconds almost flat out

Repeat the circuit at least one more time starting at exercise #1

Summary

1. Lunges – 10 with each leg
2. Sprint!
3. Press ups – 12 to 15
4. Sprint!
5. Ab crunch – 12 to 15
6. Sprint!
7. Triceps dip – 12 to 15
8. Sprint!
9. Superman – 10 to 12
10. Sprint!
11. Jumping Squats – 20 to failure
12. Sprint!

Repeat from the start

Remember that killer abs and an amazing six-pack can’t be get by exercise alone. You need to be looking at less than 10% body fat for most people to have a visible 6-pack.

That said, the benefits of a strong core and abs region are more than just cosmetic! One of the major contributors to lower back problems is a weak core or excessively large stomach.

As with all exercises, take care & use correct form so that you avoid injury. The Hanging Pike exercise is quite an advanced move so if you’re a beginner you should leave that out.

Depending on your fitness levels you should look to have a rest period of up to 60 seconds between sets and up to 3 minutes between each exercise.

Hanging Leg Raise

Hanging Leg Raise

The Top-5 Abs Workout:

1 set of 12-15 reps of Hanging Leg Raise
1 set of 12-15 reps of Decline Reverse Crunch
1 set of 12-15 reps of Exercise Ball Pull-In
1 set of 12-15 reps of Hanging Pike (beginners substitute this with a core exercise such as the Plank)
1 set of 12-15 reps of Exercise Ball Crunch

Repeat the circuit 1 0r 2 times more depending on your fitness levels

If you do this properly, you should certainly know you’ve hit your abs the day after !

*Source: bodybuilding.com

The idea is simple; your aim is to do the second half of your run in a faster time than the first half. And don’t worry, it’s not complicated – although it will certainly test your fitness if you do it right

Here’s what you do:

Part-1: Run for 10 minutes in one direction

Part-2: Turn round and run back to the start but aiming to get back within 10 minutes.

Cardio Workout - Negative Split Running

Sound easy?

Give it a try on one of  the days you’re not working out in the gym and see how you go!

Have you ever had this experience? You’re into your workout and you’re about to move on to your next exercise. You walk over to the dumbbell rack to pick up the pair you need and what do you find? Space! Air! A great lumbering gap where the weights should be! Aaaargh!!

So, you start looking along the dumbbell rack only to find that the dumbbells in the gym are either scattered around the free-weights area or, if they’re on the rack, they’re not where they should be and often not even in pairs!

You’re now on a mission to find the weights you need and your workout clock is ticking away mercilessly. Eventually you’ll find them, but by then you’ve lost precious minutes and you just know that this will be repeated in a few minutes when you move on to your next weights.

The Dumbbell Rack Keeps Dumbbells Easy To Find

The Dumbbell Rack Keeps Dumbbells Easy To Find

Weights & Dumbbells Have a Home!

Why do so many people who go to the gym have so little respect for others? All they need do is to simply return weights to their rightful home where they can then be easily found by others. When it comes to dumbbells in particular, there seems to be a complete inability to do this. Even if someone returns their weights to the rack, they often simply dump them on the nearest available gaps.

It’s not as if it takes a long time to return weights to their rightful place but the impact on everyone’s workout timing can be huge.

Just How Many Dumbbells Can YOU Lift At Once?

One of the other downsides to this behaviour is where a guy will take multiple sets of dumbbells over to a bench for his next exercise, simply so he doesn’t have to spend time searching for the next pair. But, this then means that all those weights are tied up and unavailable for others to use. And, let’s face it, you can only use one set of dumbbells at a time – right!

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve seen people use several pairs of dumbbells, complete their exercise, and then simply walk off & leave the weights strewn across the gym floor.

What’s The Answer?

So what’s the answer? Well, in one word: RESPECT!

One of the main problems in the world today is a lack of respect. As people who take a keen interest in fitness, we respect our bodies – so we should know how to respect others.

Let’s make a start, today, by demonstrating this with simple actions in the gym. Wipe equipment down after you’ve used it, work with each other between sets to share equipment at busy times and let’s put our weights back after we’ve used them!

When you’ve finished a set, you have a rest period of anything from 30 seconds to several minutes. This is more than enough time to return weights back to their home once you‘ve finished with them. It will be easier for others to find them when they need them and, more importantly, if everyone does it, YOU will be able to find them more easily the next time that you need them!

Perhaps it’s time to think about taking the athletes’ approach to training. There’s an exercise term called “Periodization” which basically means that you don’t always have to be working hard all of the time – sounds quite good!

Here’s what I mean.

Just What Is Periodization?

Professional athletes train for an event, a set of games or maybe a season. Their workouts are designed to bring them to peak fitness ready for the season or to be ready for the event itself.

And the rest of us? Well, we seem to want to be flat out all the time; to climb mountains every day!

We’d be better thinking of our training as a series of highs & lows and plateaus which run over days, weeks, months and even years.

The secret is to rotate the training intensity and keep your body guessing. Periodization is one tool in our kit which we can use to great effect and will help maximize results in a minimal amount of time!

Periodization Training is the Secret to Success for Most Professional Athletes

Periodization Training is the Secret to Success for Most Professional Athletes

Where did Periodization come from?

Tudor Bompa (author of “Periodization of strength: the new wave in strength training” “Serious Strength Training” and “Periodization Training For Sports” ), is considered the father of periodization.

He took the ideas of Russian sports scientists and, in the 1960s, developed them further. The results were spectacular.

Early training was aimed at maintaining the same constant levels of activity & intensity all year round. In other words, doing the same workouts week in and week out (if you’ve read the free 7-Secrets to Getting Fit and Losing Weight – Fast! report, you’ll know why this doesn’t work).

The new approach Bompa advocated was to utilise some training periods which were easier than others to promote rest and to let the body grow stronger.

Most training programs today are based on Bompa’s methods, and it’s how today’s successful athletes train.

How To Introduce Periodization To Your Fitness Program

By varying the following, you can create a program which brings you to a peak at a point in time – for example the photoshoot of a body transformation contest:

* Frequency – how often you train
* Duration – how long you train for one session
* Intensity – how hard you train in each session

Periodization goes through a number of phases as you attack different parts of your fitness program such as developing lean body mass, gaining strength, increasing endurance, gaining greater aerobic capacity. The types & lengths of these phases varies depending on your goals and on such things as the time period over which you want to achieve peak fitness, and what specific aspects of your fitness you want to maximise and perhaps which sport or event you are training for.

The Phases Of Your Periodization Progam

All the different approaches to phases, however, tend to follow a similar overall plan:

* Preparatory Phase – This usually consists of general preparation and, especially for sports related periodization, specific preparation. Usually the general preparation is the longer of the two prep phases.
* Competitive Phase – This is the phase in which you reach the peak levels of fitness for the goals you have set whether this is a sport, an event or simply looking good on the beach!
* Transition Phase – This is the rest phase and covers psychological rest, relaxation, and your body’s biological rebuilding. But this isn’t a ‘do-nothing’ phase. Alternative exercises are used in this phase to help maintain an acceptable level of general fitness.

As part of your approach to getting fit and losing weight fast, take a look at Periodization – it could be the answer to your dreams!