Pick the Right Exercises

[Craig]

Choosing the right exercises is the key to getting more results in less time. That's how you lose fat fast and build a better body without having to exercise 6 days a week.

If you are using machine-based, isolation exercises right now, such as the pec-dec, the leg extension, and biceps curl machine, then I recommend you drop this expensive equipment in favor of the basics.

The cheap, efficient, effective exercise basics that worked for Arnold and the generations of beach bodies before him will work superbly for you and I as well.

We don't need to re-invent the wheel. Or in this case, the workout.

Do your exercises standing if possible.

Choose multi-muscle, total body exercises.

Always focus on working your abs in every exercise, so that you don't have to do isolation ab exercises for 30 minutes each day.

Stick to squats, lunges, pushes, and pulls.

Do the exercises you hate. I guarantee you'll get more results if you do those dreaded split squats, dumbbell rows, pullups, and advanced pushups than if you had taken the easy way out and used machines.

The exercises that take the most out of you, are the ones that you can't take out of your program.

Unilateral exercises make you work twice as hard. And that's one of the reasons they are a fat-cell killer.

Another way to blast more fat?

Increase the intensity of your workouts.

So if you are doing 10 reps for each exercise, increase the weight by 5% and drop the reps per set to 8.

That will put more turbulence on your body, and increase your metabolism more than high rep sets will.

Do this, and you'll kick that fat loss plateau to the curb.

Saving you valuable minutes each day,

CB

[Angel Rising]

Hey Craig, what exercises do you suggest as an alternative to chinups/pullups? I work out at home and currently don't have anything to do these from?

[Craig]

DB row

CB

[Angel Rising]

Would that be a substitute for the pullups AND the wide grip rows? Or should i do dumbell rows AND barbell rows??

[Craig]

Hi Angel,

Glad to hear that you have the barbell. With the barbell, you have A LOT of options...now you can vary the grip on the bar.

Chins - underhand barbell row
Pullups - Wide-grip overhand barbell rows

And that's just a couple of variations...

CB

[Angel Rising]

Hey thanks Craig...much appreciated.

it's so good to just have the basics at home rather then spend so much money at a gym....

I have a bench (which has various degrees of incline) dumbells, barbell and swiss ball, plus a treadmill, skipping rope and of course my bike.

Starting the TT on Monday...really excited.

[galya]

It's really cheap to install a bar in your home gym. Have you thought of that option?

[Angel Rising]

Don't really know where I could install the bar unless I got one of those doorframe ones...but it is getting and installing it too..

[Lost Dog]

This kind is a bit more expensive, but requires no tools. You just take it down between workouts, so you can use it pretty much anywhere.

Universal Door Mount Pull up bar

[Craig]

Awesome. Thanks for the link LD.

CB