Good Health Planning

Desperate to get those chiseled six-pack abs? With the magazine covers and silver screen blazing with coveted physiques, every guy wants to trade an arm to get there quick. But gaining a physique that steals a glance from the eyes of many requires more than just nailing the ab crunches.

It is easy to wrong unless you know where to start. Remember, few factors can make or break your efforts to build a muscular body. Also, with tons of misleading information floating over the internet, it is easy to get puzzled for a new bee.

If you want to sculpt a physique you can be proud of, here are some things that you need to understand as a beginner.

Set Realistic Goals

If you think you will look like the muscular model or a fitness athlete in a few weeks, it is unrealistic. It is very important to be realistic while setting your goal. Focusing on just losing fat and instead of quantifying your nutrition will leave you skinny-fat, weak and unhealthy.

Also, setting an unattainable goal will leave you frustrated and demotivated.  So it is better to have realistic goals and go step by step to stay motivated.

Don’t Starve Yourself to Death

Most people go to the extreme level while dieting. Remember, you are dieting to lose fat not to impact your health adversely. Just cutting out unnecessary calories like excess sugar, oil and junk will do the trick.

Start tracking your food to ensure that you are not going too low on calories. While trying to be fit, enough calories are important to gain the energy you need to train. By eating too little, you will be moving away from your goal.

Don’t Rely Too Much On Stupid Supplements

You must have heard of many promising bodybuilding products like best protein powder with 0 carbs or the best supplement to gain abs faster.

Keep in mind, these are just frills and it hardly ever matters when it comes to bodybuilding. Guys, it doesn’t matter whether your protein powder has 0gm or 4gm carbs unless you are an advanced bodybuilder.

There Is No Magic Potion to Gain Muscle Overnight

It is very important for beginners to understand that muscle building takes time. There are trainers who promise to transform you in a couple of weeks.  While in reality, patience and the right approach is the way to go when it comes to achieving fitness goals.

Most people go to the extreme level while dieting. Remember, you are dieting to lose fat not to impact your health adversely. Just cutting out unnecessary calories like excess sugar, oil and junk will do the trick.

Start tracking your food to ensure that you are not going too low on calories. While trying to be fit, enough calories are important to gain the energy you need to train. By eating too little, you will be moving away from your goal.

Don’t Rely Too Much On Stupid Supplements

You must have heard of many promising bodybuilding products like best protein powder with 0 carbs or the best supplement to gain abs faster.

Keep in mind, these are just frills and it hardly ever matters when it comes to bodybuilding. Guys, it doesn’t matter whether your protein powder has 0gm or 4gm carbs unless you are an advanced bodybuilder.

There Is No Magic Potion to Gain Muscle Overnight

It is very important for beginners to understand that muscle building takes time. There are trainers who promise to transform you in a couple of weeks.  While in reality, patience and the right approach is the way to go when it comes to achieving fitness goals.

While it comes to losing fat, people just come up with a number that they think they need to lose. They just focus on a number like 10 kilos or 20 kilos they want to lose without having an idea of how much fat is there in their body. And they just give up when they don’t see their weight going down.

However, instead of obsessing over a number, they should aim for staying fit. Fitness is more important than trimming a number of kilos that you have in mind.

Go Easy In the Beginning

If you haven’t worked out before, go slow in the beginning. Lifting heavy weights right from the beginning will traumatize your body.

Don’t overdo or overstress and start with strength training. Listen to your body and take rest when required.  Your body needs rest to re-energize. So, make sure to have a proper sleep after doing exercise.

Have Enough Protein

When it comes to bodybuilding, protein is essential. Incorporate enough protein into your diet. Dairy products, nuts, chicken, fish, and eggs contain protein. If it is difficult for you to consume enough protein each day, you can add a protein shake to your diet.

Protein shakes are great for building muscle but don’t overdo it. Most of the protein powder contains sugar that can increase your risk of developing cavities. You want to build muscle, but that doesn’t mean you will neglect your oral health.

If you are consuming sugar-laden protein shakes, make sure to find a dentist near you to ensure that you are not developing any cavity.

Final Words

Popping up in the gym and lifting some weights is not enough to accomplish your bodybuilding goals. Along with exercise and proper diet, a little lifestyle change is required for successful bodybuilding. Remember, no shortcuts are there when it comes to gaining a great physique.

As a beginner, it is easy to fall into the trap of the expensive fat burners and fat cutters. But don’t gamble with your health by forcing things. Go for a gradual, more personalized approach that is apt for your needs rather than any cookie cutter plan from a so-called fitness expert who claims to ‘transform’ you in a matter of weeks.

Being able to cram in those early morning work outs, without having to leave the house is one of the best feelings in the world. Home gyms allow you to exercise from the comfort of your own home, saving both time travelling to and from the gym, and money on a membership.

Having said that, deciding what equipment to fill your home gym with can often be a tricky situation. Today, we’re going to be taking a slightly less traditional approach by looking at some of the best boxing equipment for home gyms.

Let’s get to it.

Hanging Heavy Bag

First up and probably the most commonly found item on our list, is the heavy bag. They’re designed to develop both your cardiovascular and muscular endurance, as well as allow you to work on your explosive power.

There are two different types of heavy bag, both of which we’re going to discuss in this article. Firstly, we’ve got the traditional hanging heavy bag, which as the name suggests, hangs down from the ceiling, a beam or a specialised heavy bag stand.

This is often the preferred type of heavy bag, as the bags’ swinging motion most accurately mimics the movement of a real fighting situation. This in turn allows you to work on your timing and get a feel for striking a moving target.

The downside to a hanging heavy bag is that it can be a bit tricky to set up. If you’ve not got anywhere suitable to hang your heavy bag, buying a stand can add more to the cost of your home gym.

So, what are some of the main benefits of working out on a heavy bag?

Firstly, heavy bag work outs are a sure-fire way to get your heart racing, blood pumping and develop your cardiovascular endurance. Typically, work outs consist of 1-2 minute rounds, usually for 4-5 rounds.

During these rounds, you’re throwing a barrage of different strikes whilst keeping your hands raised at all times, which as you can guess, can get tiresome extremely quickly.

Secondly, working out on a heavy bag involves using a number of different muscle groups. Your arms, shoulders and core all work simultaneously when throwing a punch and after a few minutes of working the bag, you’ll definitely start feeling the burn.

Implementing a heavy bag into your work out is a fantastic way to change up your cardio routine and keep things interesting.

Free Standing Heavy Bag

This is the second type of heavy bag that you’ll come across and is the most commonly used in home gyms. This is because there is very little set up required and you don’t need to hang the bag anywhere.

Instead, the bag stands upright from the ground, with a large base at the bottom that can be filled with either sand or water. I would recommend using water, as it’s easier to fill, makes less mess and can be removed a lot easier.

The weighted base helps to keep the bag standing upright when it’s struck. Some of the best free standing punching bags will feature a spring loaded design that allows the bag to swing back and forth when struck and less likely to fall over.

Having said that, the main problem with free standing punching bags is their instability. Despite having a weighted base, they can often fall over when struck with enough force.

With this in mind, free standing heavy bags are designed more for working on muscular endurance and cardio, as opposed to developing explosive power.

Speed Bag

Next up we’ve got the speed bag, a topic hotly debated in the boxing community. Some see the speed bag as an outdated boxing ritual, whilst others see it as a vital piece of equipment in their arsenal.

Speed bags are one of the smaller punching bags and hang down from a platform above the user. As you punch the speed bag, it will rebound back and forth. The aim is to maintain this movement by striking the bag every 4^th rebound. Typically, you strike the bag twice with your right hand and, then twice with your left.

This is another fantastic piece of boxing equipment to get your heart racing, as well as work on your arm and shoulder endurance. In order to strike the speed bag at the right time, both hands need to be raised at all times whilst throwing a strike with alternating hands.

Doing this repeatedly for 1-2 minute rounds provides a brilliant way to tone up your arms and shoulders, whilst at the same time acquiring a new skill.

Unfortunately, setting up a speed bag isn’t the easiest. Firstly, you’ll need a wall suitable to attach a speed bag platform (like these ones). Once you’ve attached the platform to a wall, you then attach the speed bag to the platform using a specialised swivel.

This may sound tricky, but there’s a plethora of tutorials online on sites such as YouTube and specialised forums that will walk you through the entire process.

Battle Rope

A bottle rope is a long, heavy rope that that has its’ mid point weighted to the floor. You can attach the middle point of the rope to kettle bells or even a bench to keep it secured.

You then hold either end of the rope in each hand and using your arms, swing them in certain a direction.

There’s a number of different exercises you can do, such as the double rope slam. This is where you hold both ends of the rope, raise your hands above your head, then bring your hands down and up in a fast and quick motion. You then do this 20-times for 3-4 sets.

If you’re looking for a less explosive work out, hold the rope in each hand and swing your arms up and down, alternating between each hand. Again, do this 20 times on each hand for 3-4 rounds.

Battle ropes are both extremely effective and cheap, making them a perfect option for home gyms.

Skipping Ropes

Last up on our list is a skipping rope, another brilliant piece of equipment that definitely won’t break the bank.

Most peoples preferred choice of cardio is running, however this is unfortunately very weather dependent. If you’re wanting your daily dose of cardio, but don’t want to splash out on a treadmill, then buying a skipping rope is a fantastic choice.

You can skip for as long as you like, use it as a warm up, cool down or even for the bulk of your cardio routine.

Believe it or not, there’s actually a few different types of skipping ropes. For example, speed ropes are often very thin and made using plastic and as the name suggests, are designed for skipping at speed.

Alternatively, if you want to work on your forearms in the process, you can opt for a thicker rope, however make sure that you’re wearing shoe as it can hurt your feet… a lot!

Final Thoughts

When looking to build your home gym, it’s can  a good idea to think a bit outside of the box. At the end of the day, you’ll be using the gym on a regular basis, therefore you want keep it as interesting and engaging as possible as to avoid getting boredThanks for taking the time to read our article, feel free to ask any questions below.

For one to get excellent results from a workout schedule, there are a few things she or he needs to do before and after the session. Most successful fitness enthusiasts use these tips together with using steroids from reputable sellers like Valkyrie. According to experts, the before and after workout routines are applicable to every person with only a few exceptions.

As a fitness enthusiast who wants to achieve the set goals with ease, there is a great need to use proven tips. All of them are not only simple to follow but also fun to do. They add value to your life apart from making the workout session fruitful. So, what are these things one must do before and after a workout session?

Things to Do Before a Workout

•         Eat a meal – this is not any other meal that you eat during the day. It is a carefully selected meal that is eaten 30 minutes before going to the gym. Fitness nutritionists recommend that one should eat enough carbs to provide the much-needed energy throughout the workout sessions. Proteins, on the other hand, help with cell recovery and repair.
•         Hydrate the body – have you ever wondered why water is so important to fitness enthusiasts? It is the best way to keep the body at optimal performance during an exercise session. It is important that you drink enough water before starting the training session. After all, the body will be sweating it all out. Lack of enough water in the body derails the exercise session and does not allow the positive effects of exercises to take place.
•         Stretching and warming up – one great way to physically prepare the body for the workout session is through stretching and warming up. It is a few-minute routine that people tend to ignore, yet it has numerous benefits. Basically, these activities set the body into the right gear, prevent injuries and bring someone closer to their fitness goals.

Things to Do After a Workout

•         Refuel the body – just like a car that needs refueling after a journey, the body also needs some nutrients replenished. Workouts deplete energy and protein during the workout session. So, one has to have an appropriate meal soon after the session. Both carbs and proteins are crucial to bringing nutrient levels back to normal. After all, proteins have not completed their work of building the cells and repairing them.
•         Drink water and juices – hydrating the body back to the normal level is important. If one did not get a chance to drink water during the workout, then the body will already be dehydrated. Both water and juices work well in hydrating the body back to normal. Juices, however, have more nutrients like vitamins, minerals and glucose.

Conclusion

Further, stretching the body for a few minutes immediately following the conclusion of the workout is important. It cools down the body and prepares it for the subsequent training session. Good training is all about doing the right thing before and after a workout. Now that you know the right thing to do, why not practice it?