Summer is coming around the corner, and the owner of Club Fit Kuwait, Abdullah Al-Askari (who we've interviewed here), has some great tips on how to get fit and shape up. This is not just aimed at our male readers, but females as well. So ladies, don't be afraid of lifting weights!
By adding a basic training routine we are able to gain lean muscle, strength, speed, and burn loads of fat. When it comes to basic training, we usually incorporate various forms of exercise to strengthen and condition various muscle groups and body parts. Let's focus on the most important muscle, the heart. Cardiovascular exercise will strengthen the heart, and allows you to burn calories, and build endurance. You are able to get this type of workout by running, walking, swimming, or getting on the treadmill.
Now that we trained the heart, let's begin with the mother of all exercises, squats. Squats are a great overall compound exercise that targets your legs, quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes and calves. Squats are also a functional exercise that targets overall body strength. We then move to the bench press. The bench press may be done on a flat bench with free weights or on a chest press machine. Either way this exercise will work your chest, triceps and shoulder muscles.
The wide grip pull-down is a great compound exercise for the back. The pull-down also works your lateral muscles, mid-back area and biceps. Now that we have targeted the large muscle groups let's move to the smaller ones. If you want to get rid of those flabby arms the triceps pushdown is a great exercise that targets all three tricep heads. The bicep curl is a good exercise for biceps, and combined with triceps will give your arms great muscle tone and strength.
The shoulder press can be done with either free weights or a shoulder press machine. Last but not least, abdominals. For a perfect physique, your abs are what people recognize first. Crunches and planks are an effective way to strengthen and shape abdominal and core muscles.
Here are some tips for basic training:
- Increase your chances of success by moderating your activity. Take it one step at a time. Nothing happens overnight!
- The best repetition range for building lean muscle is 12-20.
- Stick to your diet and always eat healthy, lean and clean. You need to fuel your tank to train hard and continue to make the progress you are looking for.
- Change up your exercise and don’t be afraid to try different things. Believe it or not the body adapts quickly to routine.
- Stretch after you train and warm up before you train.
So remember, give yourself at least 30 minutes out of your day to work out just a little bit, whether at the gym, the great outdoors or in the comfort of your own home. Eat right, drink plenty of water, and see you on the beaches over the summer!
