Misrelate

What two things do most guys want when they take up weight
training? Bigger muscles and a bigger bench. Unfortunately,
their enthusiasm for these goals is a big reason most men don’t
get either. From now on, when you hit the gym, take a look
around and start paying attention to what others are doing.

You’ll quickly notice some standard muscle building no-no’s.
First, their weight lifting routines are far from balanced.
When’s the last time you saw anyone working hard on the deadlift
or the free weight squat? Heck, nowadays, how many so-called
“gyms” even have a power rack? Not many. By not pursuing a
balanced bodybuilding routine focused on the big, basic
movements, you’re really limiting the amount of muscle you can
build.

If you focus on exercises for your biggest muscles, the back and
the legs, you’ll start building muscle everywhere. You’ll also
see your strength and poundages shoot up on your other exercises
as well. And that includes the bench press.

The other major stumbling block people run into when trying to
build a big bench is that they bench too much. They do too many
sets too often. They end up overtrained, weaker, and possibly
with shoulder and rotator cuff injuries.

So what can you do to build a bigger bench? First, start
focusing on deadlifting and squatting. And, more directly,
implement power cycles specifically geared toward increasing
your bench press. Here’s an eight week power cycle you can use
today.

You’ll be performing five sets each workout. Two of these sets
will be warm up sets and the final three will be your work sets.
Let’s say you start your cycle with 170 pounds. Each workout
you’ll warm up sets will look something like this:

125 x 10 followed by 140 x 6

Your work sets will follow:

Week 1: 170 x 5 x 3 (3 sets of 5 reps each)

Week 2: 175 x 4 x 3

Week 3: 180 x 3 x 3

Week 4: 175 x 5 x 3

Week 5: 180 x 4 x 3

Week 6: 185 x 3 x 3

Week 7: 180 x 5 x 3

Week 8: 185 x 4 x 3

Depending on your current strength levels, recovery ability,
and whether you’re overtrained at all from your previous
routine, you might be able to make better progress by
implementing two bench press workouts per week.

After you work through a successful eight week power cycle,
you’ll want to shift gears for a few weeks and perform sets with
some higher repetitions. Shoot for 4 or 5 setes of eight reps
per set.

Remember to train your other muscles as well. Properly working
your shoulders, triceps, back and even legs will help you build
a bigger bench as well as building bigger muscles. Don’t be one
of those guys that benches and does some arm work and that’s the
extent of his workout.

Give this power cycle an honest try and see if you don’t end up
boosting your bench and building bigger muscles.

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Of the many fitness-oriented pieces of equipment available today, one the most effective is also one of the least understood. A heart rate monitor, however, is not a complicated device. In fact, it un-complicates a wieldy but essential fitness formula by putting the calculated answer right before your eyes. In so doing, it aids you in reaching your fitness goals more safely and quickly.

While calculating your heart rate during a workout can be accomplished manually, there are some inherent problems in tackling this task yourself. Fitness proponents suggest two self-measurement heart-rate methods, each with its own set of complications:

1. The “Perceived Exertion” method requires that you evaluate the level of your activity by means of a “talk test.” In other words, at various stages throughout your workout, you are to measure your exertion by how easily you can utter a complete sentence. It goes something like this: If you can let loose a string of statements, or carry on a lengthy conversation with yourself, you’re likely not working hard enough. If, on the other hand, you’re huffing and puffing halfway through that sentence, you’re probably working too hard. While the simplest to put into use, two difficulties plague this heart-rate measurement strategy: 1) You have to actually remember to implement the test at various stages throughout your workout, thereby distracting you from the task at hand; and 2) Exertion perception is in the eyes of the beholder, meaning human error is probable. That is, what a novice exerciser perceives as heavy breathing may be only moderate to an expert.

2. The mathematical method requires that you plug some values into the following formulas: (220 - Your age) * 0.60 = Your minimum target heart rate and (220 - Your age) * 0.80 = Your maximum target heart rate. For optimum benefits and safety, your heart rate should fall somewhere between these two numbers during continuous bouts of exercise. The obvious dilemma with this heart-rate measurement methodology is that it requires brainpower. (Who can think when they’re concentrating on exercising?!) The underlying difficulty is that you must actually count your own pulse while active, another task riddled with the likelihood of human error.

A heart rate monitor eliminates all these margins of error by putting the tracking and calculations into the hands of an electronic device. Simply follow the instructions that come with your heart rate monitor to determine your target heart range then wear your monitor during any strenuous activity. The monitor takes care of all the detailsthink of it as your mini-fitness computer.

Regular use of a sound heart rate monitor will yield the following benefits: