And that’s their first mistake!

Bodybuilding programs combined with long, slow aerobic exercise has failed time and again to produce the strong, lean, athletic bodies most men and women are after.  Don’t believe me?  Just walk into any commercial gym and see how many people there have successfully reached their physique goals.  I guarantee you it won’t be much, because they are using the bodybuilding and aerobic exercise duo.

To get a better understanding of what I mean, let’s reverse engineer your workout program.  By that I mean, let’s look at the result you want first, and then figure out how to get it.  This approach promises to be revealing.

Now, in order to make this process as simple as possible I’m going to use some generalizations.  When I ask most people what they want to end up looking like as a result of their workout program, very few say bodybuilder or marathoner.  And when I say very few, I mean almost NONE.

The fact is, most people want to look like some form of athlete.  They want a strong, muscular, lean, athletic body.  They want the kind of muscle and low body fat that exemplifies a high performance physique.

So, why are they training like a bodybuilder and marathoner?  Good question!

I propose your train like an athlete to get the good looking body of an athlete.  Sounds like a simple solution, but I can’t tell you how hard it is to get “regular” people to adopt athletic training.  They would much rather focus their efforts on things they can see, like building muscle and reducing fat.  And this ultimately leads to failure in reaching their physique goals.

Have you ever heard the expression, “A watched pot never boils.”  If you’ve ever been in hurry and tried to cook pasta you know what I mean.  If you stand over the pot waiting for the water to boil, it seems like it never boils.  However, when you are busy doing other things, the next thing you know, the water is boiling.

The same thing happens when you are trying to transform your body.  If you focus on the things you can see (building muscle and fat loss) it seems like you are not making any progress.  However, if you concentrate on something else (performance), the next thing you know the physical changes you wanted are staring back at you from the mirror.

So, here’s what you need to do to finally reach your fitness, fat loss and physique goals: train like an athlete.  And by that I mean, train for performance.  Train to get stronger, more powerful, faster, more flexible, more agile and coordinated… and the next thing you know, you’ll have the body you want.  Athletic training is not just for athletes.  It is for every man and women who what the physical attributes of an attractive athlete.  (And in my experience, this is most of us!)

So, stop watching the pot by training like a bodybuilder and marathoner.  Divert your attention to performance based training and focus on improving your athletic performance.  You body will naturally make the physical changes you can see in order to improve performance.  This means, building strong muscles and burning performance robbing fat.  And that, my friends, is how you finally get the body you’ve always wanted.

Don’t you want the strong, lean body of a champion athlete?

Coach Eddie Lomax believes we are all athletes and should train like athletes.  His Athletic Body Workout targets general fitness, fat loss and strength and muscle building for an athletic body you can be proud of.

But there are a couple of things going one with dumbbell training below the surface that don’t get talked about a lot, and this is what I want to talk about today.  For example, what is the relationship between the brain and your muscles when exercising with dumbbells?  This is a very important aspect of training that doesn’t get talked about a lot.

I always like to think of the body as a whole.  This is very different than bodybuilding style training where they like to split the body into parts and train them separately.  And when I say “whole” I mean WHOLE.  I think of how each exercises stimulates the muscles needed to perform the movement, how the heart and lungs support the movement and how the brain facilitates the movement.  As you can see, this is a little more complicated than “Biceps curl makes biceps big”.

So, let’s look at some of the brain-muscle connection when using dumbbells.

Did you know that if you train one limb exclusively, the other limb will also get a little stronger?  This is called “cross education”.

You see, strength is not only about the size of the muscle, but the efficiency of the brains ability to send the message to perform the movement with strength.  When you train one side of your body, your brain applies the training to the other side as well.  The strength gains are not equal, by any stretch of the imagination, but it is a little something extra going on behind the scenes of your dumbbell workouts. 

Did you know that the sum of your single limb efforts is often greater than the total amount you can do with both limbs? There are many reasons for this.  One is the fact that your body recruits more muscle fibers when performing single limb lifts for stabilization purposes.  More muscle fibers means you can lift heavier weights.  Another reason is because often one limb is stronger than the other, allowing you to lift more with that limb.  But when you lift with both limbs at the same time, the brain reduces the force of the stronger limb for a more balanced effort.  This means your two limb strength is less than the sum of each limb separately.

As you can see, there is a connection between the brain and your body that influences how you perform and how much strength you can command.

If you are currently neglecting your dumbbell training, you should add unilateral training into your overall fitness program.  It will not only allow you to build a more balanced body, but it will teach the brain to recruit more muscle for common, everyday movements.  This means you build a more symmetrical body with more strength.  Often, it is what goes on behind the scenes that produces the most benefits.

Coach Eddie Lomax is giving away a valuable Special Report called, “Why Dumbbells Are My Secret Weapon For Building Six-Pack Abs You Can See In The Shortest Time Possible!”  Get yours today, while it’s still free.

But first, why should you even do push ups?

The push up is more than an upper body exercise.  It is a full body exercise requiring core stability and balance as well as strength to complete.  I’m a big fan of exercises that require the entire body because it teaches your body to function as one complete unit, instead of a bunch of unrelated parts.

So, what constitutes a proper push up?

The push up is a slow and deep lowering and raising of the body while the body remains straight and stiff.  The body has to remain stiff and straight throughout the entire lowering and raising.  The only thing that moves during the movement is the arms. The body should be straight at the top, during and at the bottom of the movement. 

This is accomplished by using your core stabilizer muscles, butt and legs to make your body as ridged as possible.  As you can see, your whole body is involved in completing a proper push up, and not just your upper body. Upper body strength and core strength must be coordinated to do a proper push up.  If either your upper body or core is weaker than the other, errors will occur and performance is reduced. If you are making any of these common mistakes, you are not performing a proper push up. 

-      Don’t sag in the middle.  Your stomach should not drop down… you must remain ridged. 

-      Don’t raise your butt.  Your butt should not be in the air in an attempt to rest or decrease the distance the proper push up must travel… remain straight. 

-      Don’t lead with the head and neck.  Don’t crane the neck and seek the ground with your nose in an attempt to shorten the push up distance… your whole body must be lowered and raised.  

-      Don’t bounce.  Your body should stop short of touching the ground… don’t hit the ground for the rebound effect. 

-      Don’t stop short.  You must complete the full range of motion to be considered a proper push up. 

-      Don’t go too fast.  Many people go fast to use elastic energy to help them complete the up movement… the tempo should be slow and steady to be considered a proper push up. 

-      Don’t rest.  If you have to stop, the set is over. If you find yourself committing any of these mistakes during the set… terminate the set. 

I would much rather you do a few great push ups than a lot of sloppy movements.  You’ll get more physical benefits by performing each repetition perfectly, than boasting high numbers of bad push ups. Now, drop and give me 20 good push ups, if you can! 

Coach Eddie Lomax, author of Workout Without Weights uses bodyweight exercises like push ups to improve fitness, burn fat and build an attractive physique.  No equipment necessary, so you can start today!

Heads up: at the end of the article I’m going to share with you one exercise that simultaneously builds muscle and burns fat.

It’s happened to all of us at one point or another (even me).  We look in the mirror one day and we notice we are softer and fatter.  While we weren’t paying attention, our muscle tone and strength has decreased, and our waist size has increased.  This is when most of say, “It’s time to hit the gym.”

But hold on a minute.  I agree, it is time to do something about your physique.  But joining a gym does not have to be the answer.  As a matter of fact, you can start burning fat and building muscle today to improve your physique.

Let me show you how bodyweight training can improve your physique in as little 15 minutes a day…

Instead of joining a gym, that you may or may not end up going to, start by adding a bodyweight training program to your daily schedule.  Come on, it is easy to find 15 minutes to exercise.  And 15 minutes is all you need to do to start feeling and looking better.  Obviously, I’d like to see you exercise even more, but let’s keep it simple at 15 minutes for now.

So, you wake up in the morning and do 15 minutes of bodyweight calisthenics.  By the way, you’ll find this more invigorating than swilling down cups of coffee.  Do this every day.  Yes, every day, and you will see great results.

Now, I can hear some of you saying, “I thought you were only supposed to exercise every other day, or 3 times a week!”

This is true, if you are on a high volume bodybuilding program!  Bodybuilders need that extra day to recover from the huge amount of training they perform.  But you are only doing 15 minutes of bodyweight exercise.  This leaves you 1,440 minutes to recover between bodyweight training sessions.  This is more than enough.

Now, if you do this every day for a week, you do 1 hour and 45 minutes of exercise.  Do you think 1 hour and 45 minutes will start to tighten your muscles and burn off extra fat?  You bet it does!

Now, for the skeptics that think bodyweight training is too “easy”, or that you can’t get a great muscle building, fat burning workout in 15 minutes, I’m going to share an exercise with you.  (Remember, I promised to do this at the beginning of the article.)

This exercise is called the Burpee – Chin Up Combo.

Here is how you do it… Stand under a chin up bar with your feet shoulders width apart and arms at your sides.  Bend your knees and squat down, placing your hands on the floor in front of you.  Kick your feet back so you are in the up position of the push up.  Perform a push up.  Jump your feet forward under your body… then explode up and grab the bar with palms facing you.  Perform a chin up.  Drop down and repeat. Do this for a few minutes and your whole body will feel it, from your muscles to your heart and lungs, and you burn a lot of fat. 

Try to do as many as you can for a full 15 minutes, and I guarantee you’ll have a new appreciation for bodyweight exercise. I hope this article has opened you eyes to the fantastic possibilities of bodyweight training.  If you need to strengthen and tone your muscles and burn fat, start changing your physique today with your own bodyweight.  Make a consistent effort every day and you’ll soon meet your goals. 

Coach Eddie Lomax, author of Workout Without Weights uses bodyweight calisthenics to improve fitness, burn fat and build an attractive physique.  No equipment necessary, so you can start today!

Well, the good news is, you can easily improve the way you look, feel and perform by using bodyweight calisthenics!Let’s look at some of the benefits of bodyweight calisthenics in more detail…

-      Bodyweight calisthenics can be done anywhere, indoors or out.  This is a powerful benefit because it eliminates any excuse you could come up with.  Rain or shine, if you have a functioning body and a little floor (or ground) space, you’re ready to go! -      Bodyweight calisthenics can be done anytime.  Day or night, doesn’t matter.  You like to work out in the morning, go ahead.  You don’t even have to wait for the gym to open.  Once again, no excuses!-      You can do bodyweight calisthenics with no equipment.  Nothing to buy, you can start today.  Of course, if you wanted a pull up bar or other equipment you could use it.  (I actually recommend it).  But your body is really all you need.  Any equipment is optional.

-      Bodyweight exercises are adaptable for any fitness level.  Just getting started, great.  I recommend everyone begin their fitness journey with bodyweight calisthenics.  But, the level of difficulty and intensity can be turned up to give even elite athletes a run for their money.  So, from beginner to elite, there is a bodyweight program to challenge you!-      You can get a full body workout with bodyweight training.  And by full body I mean upper, lower, core AND the heart and lungs.  I actually believe bodyweight exercises are better for building cardiorespiratory endurance you can use in the real world than long, slow aerobic training.

-      You can simultaneously build a strong, muscular body and burn off fat.  Can you think of a better way to look your best faster than building your muscles and burning fat at the same time?  What’s left is a strong, lean body that turns heads!-      Last but not least, I think bodyweight exercise is invaluable because it trains you for all other forms of training.  Sadly, in modern society, men and women are not as naturally athletic as they once were.  Jumping into other forms of training without first getting used to the capabilities of your own body with added resistance can be unproductive and even dangerous.  Learn how to use your body first, then you’ll get more out of other training methods!

I think you’ll agree, bodyweight calisthenics should be the starting point for anyone just starting out.  But more importantly, bodyweight exercise should remain an integral part of any serious workout program.  Don’t miss out on the tremendous benefits of bodyweight calisthenics.  They really can improve your quality of life!Coach Eddie Lomax, author of Workout Without Weights uses bodyweight calisthenics to improve fitness, burn fat and build an attractive physique.  No equipment necessary, so you can start today!

I’m not going to get into the whole free weight vs. machines debate.  My mind is made up.  I believe free weight are more effective for training every aspect of fitness that can be used inside or outside the gym.  And of all the free weights, I believe dumbbells have a lot of untapped potential.  End of debate.

I’m not going to talk about how free weights are more closely related to movements you find in sport, work and life.  I’m also not going to talk about how machines limit your range of motion and force you to training in ways you’ll never encounter in the real world.  I want to talk about mindset.

What happens when you walk into a gym and see an ocean of fancy gym machines on one hand, and a dumbbell rack sitting in the corner on the other?  You believe the machines are better, that’s what.  And in the back of your mind, “better” means more results for less effort.

This is why I believe a dumbbell exercise program is better than machines.  When you work on machines, you automatically feel you can get away with doing less.  You think it’s going to be easy to get the results you’re after, whether it be building muscle or losing fat.  After all, the expensive machine must be “better” than those old dumbbells, right? 

Not necessarily!  The fact remains, you’ll get out of your exercise program what you put into it.  If you look for shortcuts or “easy” ways to achieve the results you want, you will fail.  But if you are determined to improve your fitness, fat loss and physique, and are willing to work for it consistently, you will succeed.  I don’t care if you only use your own bodyweight or a pair of rusty old dumbbells, your determination is more valuable than a gym full of fancy, expensive equipment. 

Dumbbells have been around for centuries for one reason and one reason only.  They are extremely effective!  You can use them for a wide variety of exercises, over a wide range of motion and with varied weights.  And used properly, they can simultaneously improve fitness, build strong, athletic muscles and burn off unwanted fat.

So the next time you have a choice between performing a dumbbell exercise program or one involving machines, choose the dumbbells.  Find out why dumbbells have withstood the test of time.  And most importantly, use dumbbells to their full potential.  (Most people only do bodybuilding exercises, or light weight “sculpting exercises… what a waste!)

I hope I’ve opened your eyes to the value of a dumbbell exercise program.  Not only will you use a highly effective fitness, fat loss and muscle building tool, but you’ll enter the program knowing you’ll get as much out of it as you put in.  This alone can make your exercise efforts more productive than ever before!

Coach Eddie Lomax is giving away a valuable Special Report called, “Why Dumbbells Are My Secret Weapon For Building Six-Pack Abs You Can See In The Shortest Time Possible!”  Get yours today, while it’s still free.

I’m not surprised people are confused. Walk into any gym today and you’ll be overwhelmed by the shiny machines and fancy equipment. It is easy to start believing you need all this equipment to meet your fitness, fat loss and physique building goals. But in my opinion, a full body dumbbell workout can do everything those expensive machines do, better!

Just so we’re on the same page, let me start by saying you don’t need a gym full of fancy equipment to get fit, burn fat and build the type of body that turns heads. You don’t even need to join a gym at all. A full body dumbbell workout, dedication and consistency are all you need.

First of all, did you know you can get an excellent full body workout using only dumbbells?

Yes, that’s right. You can use dumbbells for more than curls and flies! I know it sounds crazy, but if I hand someone a dumbbell, the first thing they do is try to curl it. I hand it to them, and without thinking, the curling motion begins. But these limited motion exercises using small muscle groups are not the only reason to use dumbbells. As a matter of fact, if you are only using dumbbells for a limited amount of exercises, you’re missing out on their true potential.

When I say, “full body dumbbell workout”, here is what I mean…

• Dumbbells are the only piece of equipment used.
• Upper body, core and lower body are all worked.
• The heart and lungs are also involved

With dumbbells, you can perform workouts that involve all the big, major muscle groups AND the cardiorespiratory system. You can train both muscles and the heart and lungs at the same time. So when I say “full body” I mean full body.

Compare this to “bodybuilding” style workouts that split the body into small muscles and focuses on training each muscle separately. And forget about getting a heart and lung workout. You’ll have to do that separately!

The truth is, there are many different types of dumbbell exercises. There are grinding strength exercises, explosive power exercises and rhythmic exercises requiring both incredible strength and endurance. Each type of exercise can be arranged into a full body dumbbell workout that simultaneously improves fitness, burns fat and builds strong muscles.

The secret to reaching your goals is to get the most out of your training equipment and training time. So, don’t overlook the power of full body dumbbell workouts. If you have access to a set of dumbbells, you have everything you need to get a great workout. And you don’t even need to drive to the gym!

Coach Eddie Lomax, author of Superior Dumbbell Workout, invites you to explore the fat burning power of a proper dumbbell workout and learn the 5 hidden secrets of dumbbell workouts.

A dumbbell workout is an excellent way to burn off fat, and keep it off. Unfortunately, many people don’t understand how to take full advantage of the fat burning characteristics of dumbbell training. I hope this article opens your eyes and helps you on your quest for a leaner, more attractive body!

When most men and women think about burning off the ugly fat keeping them from looking and performing their best, very few of them think about a dumbbell workout. Usually, the first two things that come to mind are restrictive diets and long duration aerobic exercise. This is a shame, because dumbbell exercise is an excellent way to burn off fat and build a muscular, attractive body.

Here are three important ways a dumbbell workout helps you shed extra pounds of flab…

• Dumbbell Training Builds Muscle

You may be asking, “What does building muscle have to do with fat loss?” The answer is simple. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn during the day to maintain the muscle. Muscle is more “metabolically expensive”. It takes more energy to maintain muscle, even during rest. So, since you burn more calories naturally during the day for maintenance, there are fewer calories left over to be converted into fat.

A dumbbell workout is excellent for building muscle because you can take advantage of the bilateral deficit. You see, when you perform dumbbell exercises with a single limb (as compared to the two-limb version of the same exercise), your body recruits more muscle for stabilization purposed. More muscle recruited means the ability to use heavier weights. And heavier weights mean more muscle growth!

And just to make sure you’re paying attention: More muscle = less fat!

• A Unilateral Dumbbell Workout Uses More Energy

Unilateral training is when you perform an exercise with one arm or leg for a certain number of repetitions, then perform the same number of repetitions with the opposite arm or leg. This doubles the amount of “work time” per set.

So, not only can you use heavier weights (as discussed in #1), but you spend more time exercising with those weights. This means you expend more energy performing a unilateral dumbbell workout than a machine or barbell workout.

More energy used in the workout means more fat burned and less calories left over to be converted to fat!

• A Dumbbell Workout Blurs The Lines Between Strength And Cardio Training, Producing More Metabolic Disturbance

Most people have been lulled to sleep by the set 1, rest, set 2, rest, set 3, rest format of training. But what happens if you throw some high repetition, rhythmic exercises into your dumbbell workout. For example, what happens if you do 20 reps of dumbbell snatches for each arm back to back. The exercise requires muscular strength and power, but also extraordinary heart and lung power. This kind of dumbbell workout burns a lot of fat.

But maybe more important, you burn fat during AND after the workout. Think of it this way. The workout places stress on your muscles, heart and lungs. To recover, your body uses a great deal of energy to return to a normal state. This means you are not only burning calories during the workout, but during the recovery process as well.

So, you effectively turn your body into a 24 hour fat burning machine!

Are you starting to see what a powerful weapon a dumbbell workout is in your battle to lose fat and keep it off? And I’ll let you in on a little secret. Restrictive diets and long duration exercise is NOT the fat loss solution you seek. A nutritious diet, well planned workout program and healthy lifestyle is!

If you need to lose ugly pounds of fat, it’s time to give a dumbbell workout a try!

Coach Eddie Lomax, author of Superior Dumbbell Workout, invites you to explore the fat burning power of a proper dumbbell workout and learn the 5 hidden secrets of dumbbell workouts.