Cutting Exercises: A Bodybuilding Myth?

One of the most common goals of fitness enthusiasts is to have low levels of body fat covering their hard-earned muscles. Whether the individual is an athlete that wants to look good in and out of uniform or a fitness instructor that wants to have ?toned? arms, everyone is looking for the most effective exercises to reach their goals.

There is certainly no shortage of opinions when it comes to training programs and exercises that trainers and magazines seem to promote to reach these goals, so it is understandable that many bodybuilders and gym-goers can be overwhelmed by information. But what really confuses me is the claim made by gym employees and fitness authors that certain resistance training exercises are for definition and ?cutting up?.

Believe it or not, but no strength coach or exercise physiologist has been able to prove that one exercise rather than others can promote more ?definition? or ?toning?! Can someone explain how leg extensions are a better exercise for muscle definition than squats? This article will dispel these myths and will reveal the best exercises for meeting the goals of increased muscle definition, which is the correct term for ?toning?, ?cutting up? or ?getting ripped?. In fact, let?s just eliminate ?toning? from our vocabulary all together.

First a little background for those without a long history of weight training experience. Bodybuilders (that includes any man or woman that is seeking to improve their body?s appearance!) traditionally perform a number of exercises for a body part during a single resistance training session. For example, in a chest workout one might start with bench presses, move to incline dumbbell press, and finish with dumbbell flyes or the pec-deck.

Now according to many personal trainers and fitness magazines, the rationale behind this type of program is that the pressing exercises are best for strength and mass development and the pec-deck would provide for definition. Also, people believe that these ?definition? exercises should be emphasized in order to develop a ?ripped? body (that is, low levels of body fat). Unfortunately, it seems bodybuilders and fitness buffs alike have been led astray, and the end result is a poorly planned program that does not lead to the desired results.

Next we need a brief, yet simplistic, review of human anatomy and physiology to reason why these ?cutting? exercises (i.e. pec-deck) do not do the job. For our purposes there are 2 components determining body composition, muscle and fat. For most people it is the amount of fat that is the limiting factor for them in the development of muscular definition and not the ?quality? of their muscle. If an overweight individual were to be stripped of all their fat, they too would have muscle definition.

On the other hand, a skinny individual can increase their muscle definition by lifting weights and increasing muscle hypertrophy (growth). The body cannot tell the difference between exercises! It responds according to the demands applied to the body. If you lift weights the muscle will grow so that it is stronger and can lift the weight easier the next time. If you eat too much and do not exercise, the energy is deposited as fat and your muscle definition will be lost. It is a very simple equation!

The pec-deck can still be incorporated into workout designs, but it is not the best exercise for promoting a better body composition. In fact, this isolation exercise recruits only the chest muscles and ignores the triceps and deltoids, unlike the previously mentioned presses. And remember that more muscles result in greater energy expenditure and a greater overall training stimulus.

Another myth that seems to propagate is that sets performed for a very high number of repetitions are most effective for ?cutting up?. Refer back to the basic anatomical principle that the body?s appearance is determined by the amounts of both muscle and fat, and most importantly that low levels of body fat are necessary for muscle definition. Using a lightweight to do a huge number of repetitions might not ?show off? your muscles better than using a moderate weight and performing a moderate number of repetitions.

Why not? Because there would likely be no difference in the amount of total calories burned between the two workouts provided each performed a similar exercise volume in the workout. The greater number of repetitions in the one workout would be offset by the greater intensity (weight) used in the other workout. However, a heavier weight will stimulate more muscle growth. More muscle results in a faster metabolism and theoretically greater energy expenditure at rest. So over the long haul the more intense (heavier lifting) workout may be the optimal choice for reducing body fat. In addition, larger muscles are easier to see!

Okay, so what is going to bring you the results (i.e. definition) that you want? Keep the exercises basic and intense (i.e. moderate to heavy weight). Most bodybuilders are better off to do 4-5 sets of bench and incline presses (for a total of 8-10 sets) rather than including 3 sets of pec-deck in the traditional manner. The volume of exercise will be the same but the difficulty of exercise will be harder and the cumulative effects will greater.

Aerobic exercise is not essential for low levels of body fat but can certainly promote greater cardiovascular fitness and help prevent excessive weight gain. Interval training has now been shown in 2 studies to be more effective than slow cardio.

So stick with multi-muscle strength exercises and interval training to burn more calories out of the gym. It really adds up to more calorie burn and less body fat. That is a far better approach than relying on cutting exercises.

And finally, make the proper dietary changes to promote muscle gains and body fat reductions. Nutrition is the #1 factor for fat loss. If you don't have good nutrition, no exercise program will help you lose fat. In the end you will be healthier and will achieve superior muscle definition!

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men?s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit http://www.TurbulenceTraining.com

The Most Shocking Bodybuilding Myths Finally Revealed

The bodybuilding and fitness industry has the highest number of myths out there, even some of the 'professionals' are under the influence of myths. Knowing what stuff is true and what is false can be critical to achieving great results and staying injury free. This article should hopefully educate you and you'll be one of the few people that know the truth.

1.The workouts of professional bodybuilders are the best ? You want to become massive and ripped, so it makes sense to follow Mr. Olympia's routine...right? Wrong, Pro-bodybuilders are on a lot of steroids, therefor their bodies are capable of recovering faster from the workouts they do. If you or me did their workout for a while, we'd probably just over train and injure ourselves. Pro's also have many years of experience, meaning their bodies are capable of going through such vigorous workouts so often.

2.There is one, and one only perfect workout plan for everyone ? Some magazines or articles may try to say that there's only one workout that produces the greatest results for everyone. Funny thing is, I see hundreds of different perfect workouts! Everybody is different, a workout that works for you may not work for me, and so on. This is why it's important to educate yourself so you can make a workout thats 'perfect' for you. If you're a real beginner, you can get an experienced trainer to make a program designed exclusively for you.

3.(eg. Protein) supplement ABC is 500% more effective then (eg. Protein) supplement XYZ ? There are many supplement companies out on the market today, with a huge range of different brands available, its hard for consumers to choose one product over another. Thats why supplement companies say negative things about each others products to get a sale from you. They exaggerate the statistics by a long, long shot. At the end of the day, the difference between supplement companies is minimal in the single percentages. Unless the supplement company you buy from is your neighbor, who mixes the ingredients in his basement, its very unlikely that there's a 500% difference between the different big name companies.

4.You need to exercise to burn fat ? Nobody gains body fat because of a lack of exercise. You gain body fat if you eat more calories then you burn. For example; If your daily caloric requirement is 3000 calories, you only need to consumer 3000 calories that day.

If you consume more then 3000 calories you will gain fat.

If you consumer less then 3000 calories you will lose fat.

If you combine exercise to a good diet you will burn more calories, resulting in you losing fat faster.

James Penn is an expert at planning fitness training programs and especially abdominal routines. You can learn exactly what he teaches for free at http://www.firmupyourabs.com including abdominal workouts and abdominal exercises to help you lose abdominal fat.

Home Flex Gym - a flexible way to keep body strong & fit

Flex gym provides complete body exercises within a single machine. Its bungee cords offer secure and suitable resistance to carry out various exercises. It consists of a lat tower, belt, an adjustable bench, leg curl, supportive handles and many other adjustable settings. You can easily workout your whole body at your home. Its main features include:

- Easy to store. - Provides overall body workouts. - Easily adjustable bench and a sliding seat. - Offers more than 60 exercises. - Rounded corners for safety. - Easy lock system. - Modifiable resistance with rapid snap system

The Flex Gym looks after your body strength and cardio fitness and offers more than 60 exercises that includes: bench press, shoulder press, lat pulldown, seated rowing, aerobic rowing, leg curl, leg press, standing bicep curl, leg extension and many more. Its adjustable bench helps you to carry out various shoulder exercises and the sliding seat fulfill the requirement of a rower.

It is the easiest way to fabricate muscle strength and to improve overall fitness of the body. It has a strong steel body and curve shaped seat corners and backrest that helps in avoiding unwanted pinching. You can easily carry out your routine workout at your Flex Gym, as it doesn't require any training or experience.

Home Flex Gym serves the same purpose as a home gym. Such fitness equipments are expensive and require proper maintenance. There are many different suppliers of Home Flex Gym in the market. Always make proper selection and purchase branded equipments. It is also very important to make trial before purchasing any fitness equipment.

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