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Are Vitamins Good For You? Or Safe? Or Even Healthy At All?

QUESTION : Every once in a while I come across something that makes it seem like vitamins aren’t actually safe, or healthy or even good for you to be taking in the first place. As someone who takes a Vitamin D, calcium and fish oil, this concerns me. In fact, just this week I saw an article in the newspaper that talked about a new study which found that women who take certain vitamins had an increased risk of death . Is this really true? Are the vitamins that are supposed to be helping us actually capable of killing us sooner? ANSWER : Want to hear a secret? Unlike most of the questions that are asked to me and then answered on the site, this one wasn’t emailed to me. It was actually asked out-loud in real life by none other than my mom. Yup, for real. I’m of course paraphrasing her question a bit to be more descriptive (she basically asked “what’s the deal with this study?”), but she gets full credit for the existence of this article. Thanks mom! Now...

Free Weights vs Machines vs Body Weight Exercises: Which Is Better?

In the most basic and obvious sense, weight training exercises can fall into 3 different groups based on how they are preformed and what type of equipment is used. They are: Free Weights Body Weight Exercises Machines Despite what anyone else tells you, each type of exercise can serve a useful purpose in literally every workout routine regardless of what your goal is. However, certain types of exercises are definitely more ideal for certain people based on factors like experience level, training preferences, body type/genetics, and of course, your specific fitness goal. So, let’s go through free weight exercises, body weight exercises and machines and look at some examples of each, find out what their pros and cons are, and see how they compare with each other. You’ll then be able to easily determine which is best (and worst) for you. Free Weights A free weight exercise is any exercise where the resistance is provided by a barbell, dumbbells, or any other free moving objec...

Versa Gripps Pro Review: Are They Better Than Straps?

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Versa Gripps Pro and basic straps… on my bedroom floor. I’ve probably used traditional weight lifting straps for around 10 years or so. You know the type. You loop one end around your wrist and wrap the other end around the barbell, dumbbells, handles, etc., thus basically attaching the weight to your wrists/hands. Doing so improves your grip on the weight you’re holding and helps prevent it from sliding out of your hands during your set. If you’ve never used them before, they work extremely well. Versa Gripps ARE straps … just a slightly different version of them compared to the traditional type most of us already know and use. They exist for the same purpose (to improve your grip on the bar) and they’re used the same way (one end goes around your wrist, the other end is wrapped around the bar). It’s basically another form of the same training tool. The question is, are Versa Gripps any better or worse than regular weight lifting straps? Le...

Beginner Workouts: The Best Workout Routines For Beginners

If you’re reading this, then you are probably fairly new to weight training and looking for the best workouts and routines for beginners like yourself. Good, that is exactly what you should be doing, and I’m going to provide you with a few proven sample beginner workouts at the end of this post. However, before we get into the actual specifics of those routines, there are a few important things that you need to know about beginner workouts and beginners in general in order for your results to be as positive as possible. How To Tell If You’re A Beginner First, before you start looking for the best beginner workouts and routines, you need to make sure that you actually are a beginner. If you are, then a weight training plan that is geared towards beginners is definitely what will work best for you and it’s definitely what you should be using (as opposed to something more advanced, which would be terrible for you at this early training stage). But if it turns out...

Intermediate and Advanced Workouts Routines

If you’re reading this, then you should be past the beginner stage of weight training and in search of the best intermediate or advanced workouts and routines. If so, then you’re in luck. I’m going to provide you with a handful of the most proven and effective intermediate and advanced workout routines for various goals and situations. However, before we get into the actual specifics of those routines, there are a few important things that you need to know about intermediate/advanced workouts and intermediate/advanced trainees in general to ensure your results are as positive as can be. How To Tell If You’re An intermediate or Advanced Trainee Before you start looking for intermediate and advanced workouts, the first thing you need to do is make sure that you actually are an intermediate or advanced trainee. If you are, then these are the types of workout routines that will produce the best possible results for you. However, if you’re not truly at the in...

Sample Workout Routines: Example Weight Training Workouts

If you’ve been following the guide to creating The Ultimate Weight Training Workout Routine from the very beginning, then congrats… you just learned a ton! At this point you’ve figured out what your exact goal and training experience level is, found out how much frequency, intensity and volume is best for you, chose a workout schedule that is optimal for what you need, selected the exercises that are most ideal for you, learned the importance of progressive overload, and created a diet plan that will perfectly support it all. So, good luck putting your workout routine together and have a nice life. Wait… what? What’s that you say? You want sample workout routines and example weight training workouts ? Oh, ok. You got it! However, before we get the those sample workouts, there’s a few things that need to be said first about the pros and cons of sample workout routines. Why Sample Workout Routines Are Great Even though I’ve done my best to expla...

How Long To Rest Between Sets And Exercises: Workout Rest Times

After you’ve selected the exercises you will perform in each of your workouts and put them in their ideal order , the next important step is to answer the following questions: How long should you rest between sets of an exercise? How long should you rest between different exercises? Simply put, if your rest periods are too long or too short, you’ll end up sacrificing the results you want to some degree. The goal is to find that sweet spot right in between resting too much or too little. When you find that, you’ll have found your optimal rest time . As it turns out, there’s primarily 3 major factors that influence what your ideal rest times should be: What intensity/rep range you are using for a given exercise. How demanding that exercise is on your body as a whole. Your primary goal (building muscle, increasing strength, losing fat, etc.). Based on these three factors, it’s quite common to see rest time recommendations of anywhere from 0 seconds to 5 minut...