Chest Day: My Routine and Why I Love It

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As many other mammals, we as males typically try to impress and show superiority. A deer and its rack, ducks and their coloring, and humans with our pecs. We do these out of basic instinct to show we are bigger, better, and stronger. Some may say that we try more towards arm size for intimidation, and they are right. Yet we puff our chest in stressful and high anger situations.

We all have our reasons for wanting huge muscles. Whether it be for sexual appeal, sport, hobby, or for physical fitness and health. I will be telling you how I do my chest day, and why it is my favorite muscle group.

I have chosen Monday as my chest day, and I kick it off with an 8 Minute HIIT style warm up mixed with some boxing. Making sure you go as fast (While being safe) as you can. HIIT’s are High Intensity Interval Training meant to get your blood going as fast as possible in as little time as possible.

 

HIIT Style Warm Up

5 Sets (Totaling 3 Minutes and 20 Seconds)

• 30 Seconds of Box Jumps (1.5 ft. tall)
• 10 Second Rest

3 Sets (Totaling 2 Minutes)

• 30 Seconds of Leaning Push-Ups (Body at a 55-65 degree angle)
• 10 Second Rest

2 Sets (Totaling 1 Minute and 20 Seconds)

• 30 Seconds with right foot forward; Begin with a right jab, left hook, and a right upper-cut. (Keep your arms in tight and be quick.)
• 10 Second Rest

2 Sets (Totaling 1 Minute and 20 Seconds)

• 30 Seconds with your left foot forward; Begin with a left jab, right hook, and a left upper-cut. (Remember to keep arms in and tight.)
• 10 Second Rest

Now that you’re done with the warm up, we can now begin the workout. These next movements will be done slowly. These are for building, so your muscles will tear and have room for growth.

Chest Day Workout

1x3x5x10 Routine (Approximately 1 Hour)

This routine is the best I’ve ever encountered. One muscle group, three exercises specific to that group, five sets each exercise, for a total of ten reps per exercise in each set. It seems like a lot, but it really isn’t. You will spend around an hour total doing this workout. Now you choose the exercises of your choice, for now you can use mine as reference.

1. Pectoral Flies (Dumbbells)
2. Chest Press (Machine)
3. High Cable Chest Flies (Machine)

We have our three exercises, now we can start our workout.

5 Sets at 10 Reps Each

• x10 : Pectoral Flies using 30lb dumbbells
• 20 Second Rest
• x10 : Chest Presses at 100lbs
• 20 Second Rest
• x10 : High Cable Chest Flies 80lbs resistance
• 60 Second Rest

After every chest day I switch up the exercises to hit different parts of the chest. I try to work in upper and lower pec exercises every week to ensure I hit all of the pec. And I never walk away from these workouts without feeling completely exhausted and shredded the next day.

I structure all of my days as this routine. Working in supersets, running, and other things to help hit areas that need work that normal wouldn’t get attention on more important muscle groups.

Chest workouts are the best for my stressful days, primarily why I do it on Mondays. I feel very good after chest workouts, more than any other muscle group. This is because I used to be very overweight, and since those dark times I have been adamant to never have man boobs again.

Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions below!

Supersets: What They Are and Why We Should Do Them

No matter the work out, you’re spending time doing them. Whether it be 30 minute or 3 hours. Luckily, supersets help trim your time but you do eliminate a lot of your resting periods. 

There are many way you can incorporate a superset into your workouts. You can choose to work a separate muscle group then the one you’re currently working out. Ex. 10 reps of dumbbell flies, superset with 10 reps incline shoulder press. Notice there is no break between the sets. This makes your body work more intensely in a shorter time frame on multiple muscle groups.

You may also superset another exercise for the same muscle group to really increase your muscle performance in one group for a shorter time. Ex. 10 reps compound curls, superset with 10 reps bench press. This focuses your time on shredding one specific group rather than a total body workout. 

You’re body will also experience a higher level in growth hormones. After a weight training session, your growth hormones rise. And adding in supersets, increases  them even further. Why does this matter? Because growth hormones are used to build muscle mass and to help your recovery after your workouts. With a higher muscle mass, your body uses more energy, and pulls that energy directly from your fat. 

What you lose in down time, you gain in better results. 

Overall Take Away:

• Cut your workout time by working multiple muscle groups back to back.
• Intensify a workout by combining multiple muscle group workouts back to back.
• Increase Growth Hormones 
• Faster fat burning and muscle building 

The Benefits to Adding Boxing to Your Workouts

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Boxing is and has always been a popular sport. Our society has always been a fan of publicly broadcasted violence dating back to Roman times. Though it has come to light that boxing doesn’t have to be all about the brutality and violence.

According to Independent; boxing incorporates pad, bag, skipping, and ground work as aerobic exercises to provide a workout to muscles all over your body. Focusing on repetitive punching and movements supported by your core, will  increase cardio efficiency and local muscular endurance. With an added high heart rate and constant moving, boxing workouts can burn anywhere between 350 to 500 calories per hour.

Not to mention the fact that boxing is essentially a HIIT workout. Or high intensity interval training. The main comparison is between the spike you receive in your heart rate from doing exceedingly fast movements and then stopping for a short rest period and then going again. Thus burning a lot more calories than you typical run.

You can also improve your all around coordination. From hand-eye to full body balance. Boxing involves never ending amounts of full body balance and strength, as well as hand-eye focus. Because without it, you would not be able to follow through with more than half of the movements.

And last but certainly not least, stress relief. By far the most beneficial part of boxing in my opinion. You are unwinding all your anger, frustration, sadness, happiness, you name it. You have a bad day at work, come home and envision your bosses face on the bag, or your car for not starting in the winter. What ever it may be, boxing it out is definitely the way to go!

The Ketogenic Diet

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What is the Ketogenic Diet?

The ketogenic diet or “keto” diet is a low carb, high fat diet. Essentially making your body burn fat as a primary energy source by turning those fat cells into ketones.

During this diet, your body enters a metabolic state known as ketosis. Due to your low-carb intake, your body is not producing the glucose it needs to energize or fuel itself. Ketones are actually found to be a more efficient source of energy than glucose.

Ketosis can take anywhere from 3 to 7 days to enter. Once you’ve entered ketosis, you will then begin burning fat into energy.

Signs You’ve Entered

You can tell if you’re in ketosis a few different ways. Look for changes in the strength of your breath and urine odors, mood, alertness, and even how well you’re sleep is. You may also purchase a ketone test strip, similar to drug test strips. You urinate into a cup, dip the strip, and then you’ll know if you ketone levels are high enough. Thus meaning you’re body is in ketosis!

Benefits

• A long-term diet that can be enjoyable
• Employs you to only eat wholesome, and fresh foods like whole grains, meats, poultry, vegetables, etc.
• Gives you a much more stable energy source
• Cuts weight fast and in a healthy way

14 Exercises to Lose Weight on a Budget

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The 21st century is full of new trends, and one of the biggest is physical fitness. Though it can come with a pretty steep price tag. That’s why I have compiled a list of exercises that only require a good pair of tennis shoes and workout attire. You don’t need to burn a hole through your wallet in order to lose weight and slim down.

These movements are among the easiest and have been taught in P.E. for decades.

Core / Abdominal

• Planks

Planks are fantastic core exercises that require little to no movement at all. Using your forearms, hold yourself up and lay them out flat, and pointing forward. Keeping your elbows under your shoulders and staying flat in the air like a push up style position.

• Crunches

Everyone knows how to do this. But I will explain just to cover my bases. Lie flat on your back, knees up, and feet planted. Now; put your index, middle, and ring fingers behind each ear. Lean your elbows inward at a 30 degree angle or so and come upward slightly, hold, and release back down.

• Russian Twists

By far my favorite abdominal workout. These will hurt you like no other. Luckily, that is what you’re aiming for. Imagine you are doing a sit-up. Yet, once you come up the whole way and you are now on your butt and feet only. Lift the feet off the ground keeping your knees and thighs tucked upward. With balance on your upper butt or with someone holding your feet, hold your hands with your arms out straight. twist to the left until your arms go parallel with the floor and proceed to the other side. The better you get the faster you can go, and the more weight you hold while doing it if you have them.

• Bicycles

Much like the balanced position of the Russian Twist; you want to instead hold the index, middle, and ring fingers behind each ear like a crunch. keeping your back and legs off the floor, you will then bring your right elbow to your left knee moving each limb to one another while maintaining balanced continuing in that motion to and from each side.

• L-Sit

You take two sturdy platforms or chairs and put one on both sides of you. Place or grab the backs firmly and bring your feet and legs upward. put your legs together and make them parallel with the ground. Keeping your body in the shape of an L.

Legs / Butt

• Squats

These will shape your legs and butt like no other! Space your feet about shoulder width apart and pointing straight. Pick a point on a wall or the ceiling and focus on it as to keep your head and chin up. Keeping your back and spine straight begin your decent. Remember to keep your knees facing forward, parallel to your feet. As you go down lift your are upward in a straight and parallel motion. Once you’re all the way down, as far as you can, come back up slowly.

Keeping your back straight, shoulders back, and focusing on a spot like with the squats to keep your head and chin up. Take a semi big step forward with one leg and bend at your knees until they both reach a 90 degree angle. Remembering not to over bend, keeping your top knee over your ankle and your bottom knee off the ground. step back upward and repeat with the other leg.

• Running

Luckily everyone know how to run. We’ve been doing it since we were kids. Only now we are doing it at specific paces, distances, and for the purpose of fitness and not for playing tag. I would explain the how to portion of this exercise but if I had to, you should be seeing a specialist.

• Upward Leg Extensions

These are very popular amongst women because they work great with toning and firming your thighs and butt. Get into a downward dog pose. For those who don’t know what that is, get on your knees, bend at the wait and bring your forearms to the ground and your head with them. Bring one leg up into the are and drive your heal up into the air as far as you can. Repeat on both legs with your desired amount of reps.

Upper Body: Arms, Chest, and Back

• Push-Ups

The fundamental necessity of any work out. Push-ups work a lot of your muscles in your upper body at the same time. And the adjustment of hand and leg placement will quickly change the muscle groups being used.

Normal push-ups work just about all the muscles equally. Putting your body on the ground, put your hands just a tad past shoulder width. Put your ankles together and make a straight plank with your body, arms fully extended. Now bend at the elbows and tuck them close to your sides and go down till you’re 6 inches from the ground. Yoga blocks for guidance. And back up, then simply repeat for your desired amount of reps.   

Diamond (Triangle, pyramid, triceps, etc.) push-ups focus on your triceps. Shape your hand flat, as you would slap someone, with your thumb outward. Put your hands on the ground with the tips of your pointer fingers and thumbs together. Notice its making a diamond, triangle like shape. Now follow through the same as you would your normal push-up. Harder isn’t it?

Wide push-ups focus on your chest muscles. While in position for a normal push-up, slide your hands further out past your shoulders. Adjust width to your preference, and proceed in doing your push-ups as you would normal.

One handed push-ups are the hardest of them all. It takes quite a bit of training to be able to do them. The positioning is a little different, using one hand with the other tightly clinched against the lower back. You move your feet far apart into a two point. Them slowly go down as to control the movements, and exploding back up.

• Pull-Ups

Using a pull-up bar, tree branch, swing set, or go to the park. You place your hands onto the bar with your palms facing away from you. Generally around shoulder width, and proceed to pull your body upward until you get your collar bones level with the bar and back down.

You can change the hand placement to a wider grip to help build stronger wings, back, and shoulders.

• Chin-Ups

The chin-up is no different than the pull up other than turning your hands inward toward yourself and bringing your chin above the bar and back down.

• Muscle-Ups

Same placements as a pull-up, only you will put your thumb above the bar and not around it like your gripping. You then pull yourself up and roll your chest up onto the bar and into a dip position. From there you will push your body upward like you would a dip.

• Dips

Weather you use the edge of a table or two chairs on the sides of you, the movements will be relatively the same. Plant your hands on the bars beside you. Lift yourself off the ground and tuck your legs. From fully extended arms, go down by bending at the elbows. Continue by bringing your shoulders lower than your elbows. Then bring your body back up to till your arms are locked into full extension. Repeat for desired amount of reps.

 

So now that you know some body weight exercises, you don’t need to go and buy a whole gym/membership just to lose weight. Start with the basics and go from there until you can acquire the funds for a membership or to get yourself a nice home gym.

Thanks for reading! I hope this helps you who can’t afford to go all out on a home gym or a membership. And you have suggestions or exercises I missed, please drop a comment!