CROSS FIT

CrossFit clueless? CrossFit curious? CrossFit confused? No worries, so are many people! But, CrossFit is as popular as ever right now, so I want to give you the low down on my experience and what to expect for yourself. Three months ago with a little push from Groupon, I took the plunge and joined the craze. I signed up for an introductory month at my local box, CrossFit My Town in Plymouth, Minnesota, and only one week into my newfound fitness adventure, CrossFit became my new favorite hour of the day (Sorry, Happy Hour!).

If you’re completely new to this term, CrossFit is high intensity functional fitness. You train to live healthier and perform everyday, natural movements in a more functional and efficient way. CrossFitters want to excel in all 10 areas of fitness (cardio, respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, power, flexibility, speed, agility, coordination, balance, and accuracy) instead of, for example, just being able to lift something really heavy and set it down. The workouts are constantly varied, never boring, and just plain fun.

CrossFit convinced or CrossFit still on the fence? Here’s what you need to know before you go to your first class:

1. I don’t think we’re in Kansas in anymore

A CrossFit gym is called a “box.” Basically four walls filled with ropes, weights, pull-up bars, giant tires (my favorite!), and sweaty humans. No treadmills, personal TVs, or “Free tanning with three month membership!” in sight. Very warehousey. The first time I pulled into the parking lot, I was pretty confident my GPS had lead me to a mafia hideout instead of the CrossFit box. When I climbed the stairs of the loading dock/entrance, I wasvery relieved to only find smiling people ready to workout.

2. Weird jargon and lots of acronyms

CrossFitters have their own language, and at first you feel like it’s a secret club with code words. However, after a session or two, you’ll be fluent in CrossFitese and soon will be tossing WODs, Frans, and AMRAPs into your every day conversations and confusing others.

A small sampling of CrossFit terms:

WOD: Pronounced like a wad of gum. The “Workout of the Day” is the workout scheduled for that day at your box. Right when I get to class, I check out the WOD written on the whiteboard. Sometimes your favorite exercises are in the WOD, and you have a little more swagger in your step during warm-ups. Or sometimes your least favorite exercise is basically the entire WOD (looking at you, push-ups), and you check to see if anybody saw you enter the building, so you can run back to your car.

AMRAP: “As many reps/rounds as possible” is a workout where you try to get through as many rounds of a series of movements in an allotted time period. Sometimes the time is 10 minutes. Sometimes the time is 35 minutes. It’s all in the hands of the WOD Gods (the coaches).

EMOTM: “Every minute on the minute” is another workout style where you do a series of movements each minute. So the faster you get done, the more rest time you have before the next minute starts up again. This guy seems easy at first but as the time ticks on, your rest time magically seems to get shorter and shorter.

(Note: Either pronounce this “Every minute on the minute” or “E-M-O-T-M.” I thought it was an actual word at first, so I kept telling my coaches, “I can’t wait for my next Imodium!” Moral of the story; if you’re unsure of what something means, ask someone. The one thing CrossFitters like more then CrossFit is talking about CrossFit.)

Fran: Fran is one of CrossFit’s most famous workouts. A bunch of pull-ups and a bunch of thrusters (a barbell movement). Lots of CrossFit workouts are actually named after girls—Grace, Karen, Isabelle, Angie, as started by the founder, Greg Glassman. Some of these “girls” may or may not be your friends depending if they kicked your butt that day or not. Karen is currently my BFF. Fran…not so much.

3. Safety and Credible Coaches

If you’ve heard anything about this sport before, from a blog, from your neighbor, Bob, who knows a guy who knows a guy, from whatever, the words unsafe and dangerous are sometimes paired with CrossFit. YouTube is often a source used to label CrossFit as “harmful.” Like many sport videos posted online, it’s often for shock value. Search any type of fitness class on YouTube, and you’re sure to find snippets of poor form and extreme movements. However, CrossFit coaches are certified coaches and have your well-being in mind at all times. These are not some beefcakes off the street telling you to pick up that 200-pound bar and whip it around haphazardly. So much emphasis is put on form and safety, especially for beginners like me. My coaches are like flies in my ear constantly buzzing, “Drive your knees out on your squats, Hannah.” Sometimes I want to break out the fly swatter and do my workout in peace, but I know that their advice will keep me safe and ultimately, make me a better athlete.

4. Badass Atmosphere

One of my favorite aspects of CrossFit is the atmosphere. My box opens the side garage doors so sunlight and fresh air stream in, the music is loud and bumpin’, and everyone is psyched to be there. Okay, who am I kidding? I live in Minnesota. We have three months of open doors and nine months of brutality. Doors up or down, the energy is still absolutely incredible. I swear they must pump something through the vents. I’m far from a badass in real life, but whenever I’m done with a WOD, I feel like I should make a pit stop at a tattoo parlor on the way home and get a sleeve.

 5. 66-Year-Olds Kicking Your Butt

If you’ve been reading this and have thought, “But Hannah, I have three kids, and I’m twice your age. I could never possibly do CrossFit. Pull-ups? Puh-lease.” I totally, totally get where you are coming from. I personally couldn’t do a pull-up when I first started even if a marriage proposal from Ryan Gosling was waiting at the top of the bar. But here’s the beauty about CrossFit: everybody can do it! All ages, my box ranges from 12-66 years old, and all abilities, every single movement can be modified. Instead of doing box jumps on a 30 inch box, you can do step-ups on a 10 inch box. Instead of 95-pound front squats, you can start with air squats holding a weight free PVC pipe. And instead of pull-ups, you can use these lifesaving resistance bands under one foot (known as Super Bands), and they will assist you. Eventually use less and less resistance until you do your first real pull-up (Month three for me. Marry me, Gosling!). If you think CrossFit just isn’t for you, give it a month. Most boxes have (or require) a month long introductory CrossFit class, so you can learn proper form for all the movements. Not up to committing to a whole month? Take a free intro class. Almost every box offers one!

6. A Giant Timer Staring You In The Face

Almost everything is timed in CrossFit. Yes, you are technically trying to finish first or get the most reps in a certain time period, but the real competition is against yourself. Ignore that looming timer, ignore the other people and just work your hardest. Did you just climb your first rope ever? WINNING! Did you just do 10 push-ups in a row? WINNING! Did you slash your time in half from three months ago but still came in last? WINNING! Lots of CrossFitters keep a journal at the box and record their workout each day. It is so rewarding to look back at your improvements over time. WINNING!

7. A Built-In Cheering Section

At your first CrossFit class, you most likely will be at the bottom of the pack. No offense. But it’s true, and it’s completely A-OK. Why? No one gives a rip if you finish dead last or first. There is an unwritten rule of support: Nobody leaves the box until everybody is finished and everybody cheers everybody on. When I’m struggling on my last few clean and jerks, I get motivated when I hear “C’mon, Hannah. Finish strong!” The camaraderie at CrossFit is amazing. The people you compete with on a daily basis are also your biggest supporters and friends.

8. An Awesome Community

Along the same lines, I’m a huge fan of group fitness classes and will do them my whole life, but after I’m done shaking it in the corner during Zumba, I reel in my inner-J.Lo and go home. Many clubs and instructors do a wonderful job making you feel like you belong and friendships are formed, but CrossFit just offers something a little different. It’s hard to understand without witnessing it for yourself, but I’ll do my best to explain. I think because class sizes are so small (the average class size at my box is about 6-10) that you end up knowing everybody by first and last name, you hang out on the weekends, and you get sad when someone moves away. For example, I was barely a member for one month and they designed a WOD completely around me on my birthday! 5 rounds for time (for my birthday month) of 23 weighted sit-ups (for my age), 22 box jumps (for my birthday day and one of favorite movements), and a 100-yard sprint (running is my strength!). It was a very hard WOD and people probably cursed my name when they got home.

9. Post-WOD Victory

No sugar coating from me. At the end of your first WOD, you’re going to feel it. I usually lay on the ground for a minute or two, do really unattractive things with my face (there will be no chance of a CrossFit romance for me), and then pop up and say, “I can’t wait to do that again!” I don’t know how it happens. Magic. Your mind has a blast during the workout (how can you not have fun when “Hot In Herre” is blaring?) and your heart and body love the challenge. The good news that comes with all that sweat? You just finished your first CrossFit workout, champ!

Ab and Butt Toning Exercises

#1: Seated Glute Stretch

The seated glute stretch is a good flexibility exercise that stretches the gluteus medius and hip external rotators muscles. 

Stretching is often pushed to the side or left for the end of workout, but it should be part of your exercise regimens and performed prior to your workout.

Frequent flexibility work reduces the risk of injury and improves the range of motion.

Adding glute stretches into your lower body workout day is extremely important since many of us suffer from tight, inactive glutes often caused by sitting on a chair all day everyday.

Lower body exercises often rely on the work of well stretched and conditioned muscles, and stiffness in your lower body can only lead to a poor performance and higher risk of injuries.

Make sure to add a few stretches before you begin workout regimen. 

How to do a seated glute stretch:

1. Sit with your legs straight out in front of your body.
2. Cross your right ankle just above your left knee. Both knee should be bent and resting out to the side. Bend your left knee back in toward your body. Hands should be back behind your hips on the floor.
3. Slide your butt down closer to your left foot. The closer your left is to your body, the deeper and greater you should feel stretch in your glutes, outside of the hip.
4. Hold the stretch 25-30 seconds before switching to the other side for another 25-30 seconds. Repeat 2-3 times. 

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Tips: 

•  Keep your shoulders back and down and your chest as open as possible  throughout the stretch 
•  Breathing is very important when perform this stretch.
• Take long diaphragmatic breath in and out as you hold the stretch.

By keeping a nice flow oxygen to the body, you will allow the tight muscles to relax, and stretch better.

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#1: Glute Bridge

The glute bridge also known as the butt bridge or supine hip extension, is one of the best exercise for working your glutes (butt), lower back, and hamstrings.

This glute exercise is so simple, yet super effective at developing strength in your lower posterior.

It’s a great exercise to add to your at home bodyweight workout routine because it is beginner friendly and doesn't’t require any fitness equipment to perform.

Another characteristic of glute bridge that can make this a superior choice than other "butt toning exercises" is glute bridge is one of the few exercises that accommodates people with bad knees.

When many lower body exercises place pressure and stress on the knees, glute bridge does not.

It also works to improve the knees by strengthening the hamstrings muscles. 

How to do it:

1. Lie on your back face up with your knees bent, arms to the sides, and your feet placed firmly on the ground.
2. Keep your back in a neutral alignment, meaning neither arched or glued tightly to the floor. 
3. Clenched your butt muscles, push through the heels and raise your hips off the floor until your knees, hips and shoulders form in straight line.
4. Pause, then slowly lower hips and butt back down to the floor. Do 12 reps, for 3 sets. 

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#2: Squat

Air Squat or bodyweight squat is one of the most effective "butt toning exercises". Squat is also really effective at toning and shaping your thighs in addition to the buttocks.

You can perform this exercise using your bodyweight, a pair of dumbbells, a medicine ball or barbell.

There are many squat variations to fit your fitness level and accessibility to fitness equipment.

How to Do Squats

1. Stand as tall as you can with your feet spread slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Hold your 
   your hands behind your head. 
2. Look straight ahead and keep your torso as upright as possible for the entire exercise with your lower back slightly arched. 
3. Tighten your abs, bend your knees, and lower your body as far as you can by pushing your hips back.
4. When your thighs are parallel to the floor, hold the position for a couple of seconds and return to the starting position. 

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#3: Bulgarian Split Squat

The Bulgarian split squat or split lunge is a variation of squat exercises.

As the name implies, your legs are in a split position with your back foot elevated on a bench, chair or steps.

Tips: One coaching tip here is not to elevate your back foot any more than 4-8 inches.

The exact height of the bench, step, or chair should depend on your heights, but the general rule is elevate it just enough to place more emphasis on the front leg.

If it is too high, it can put too much stress on the hip flexors and also cause hyperextension of your spine and lower back. 

How to Do Bulgarian Split Squats: 

1. Stand about 2 feet in front of a chair or bench (4-8 inch height) and place your hands on your waist(or let them hang down on your sides). Place the top of your left foot on the chair
2. Bend your knees to lower your body as far as you can, keep your shoulders back and your chest up and out. Pause, then push through your right heels to return back to the start position. Do 10 reps then switch legs and 10 reps. Continue for 3 sets. 

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#4: Hip Thrust

Hip thrust is a super effective butt lifting exercise that strengths your glutes (butt).

Both squats and hip thrusts are excellent butt workkouts, but if you have a weak back and knees, hip thrust is a preferred choice.

While squats are very functional and one of the best lower body exercises for working the glutes, hamstrings and thighs, it requires more balance, coordination and core strength to perform than hip thrust.

"Butt toning exercises for women to get a perkier butt, leaner legs and flatter abs."

Your squats can also be limited by your back strength, which is not the case with hip thrusts.

According to a post on Squats vs Hip Thrusts by Eric Cressey. Hip thrust is a much more stable exercise and simpler to perform, and generally limited by glute strength, meaning that the set reaches failure when the glutes can no longer raises ups off the ground.

How to Do it:

1. Sit in front of a bench, knees bent and fee flat on the ground, lean your upper back, shoulders against the edge of the bench. 
2. Clenched Your butt and push through your heels to raise hips off the floor to form a straight line from your knees to shoulders, with your upper back completely resting on chair, bench or couching.
3. Pause 2-3 seconds, then slowly lower your hips and butt to return to the start. Do 10 reps for 3 sets. 

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#5: Bicycle Crunch

Bicycle crunch is a simple abdominal exercise that primarily targets your rectus abdominal muscles (A.K.A.. the six-pack muscle), located in your stomach and it allows you to move, tilt and bend your body.

Other abdomen muscles targeted are your obliques (A.K.A.. love handles that run along side your abs). Your obliques also help you to twist your torso and your spine. 

This crunch workout is great because you can activate your abs at a very high level without needing any fitness equipment or ab machines.

In fact, bicycle crunch was named the best and most effective exercise for both your lower abs, and upper abs by a research sponsored by The American Council on Exercise (ACE). It's been ranked higher than the plank.

Another secondary sets of muscles that get activated during the bicycle crunches are your Iliopsoas, also known as your hip flexors.

Iliopsoas allow your hips to flex, turn and rotate from side to side. Since this advanced crunch exercise stretches the hips and glutes, it can also be considered as a flexibility exercise.

Primarily the head of the Iliopsoas, the psoas major, gets engaged during the bicycle crunches. 

How to Do it:

1. Lie down on the floor on your back with your hands behind your ears. Lift your legs about 4 to 6 inches off the ground and bring your shoulders up, so that your arms are in a wide V-Shape.
2. Engage your abs to lift your upper body to drive your elbow toward your left knee, release, and then drive your left elbow toward your right knee. Continue alternating side to side for 10 each. 

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#6: Plank

Plank - Plank is one of the best core strength exercises that challenges your entire core to maintain a straight line position.

The planks involve contracting your muscles against your body resistance and is commonly used in injury rehabilitation or reconditioning of your core before doing spinal flexion exercises. 

How to do it:

Lie face down on your stomach, legs straight and feet together.  Bend your elbows and rest your body weight on your forearms. 

1. Engage your abs and brace your core as if you were about to be punched in the stomach.
2. Push your forearms away from chest so your body form a straight line from your shoulders to your ankles.
3. Hold the plank for 30 seconds.

This workout is designed to not just tone your legs, abs and butt, but also every inch of your body.

While the focus is your butt and abs, the exercises engage your core, shoulders, and arms. Enjoy it! 

Get Bigger Muscles In 10 Days

Growing Your Muscles Fast In 10 Days

Believe it or not there is a formula and methodology that answers the question how to shock your muscles into growth, and its not all about how you workout either. The human body has various needs when it comes to building muscle and there are a number of factors that can influence how much muscle you will gain during a certain period of time.

This article will help others understand what it takes to trigger a growth response within the muscles and will discuss techniques and potential factors that will influence how big your muscle gains will be. In order to successfully build muscle its important to understand how workout routines can influence your results, what foods help promote lean muscle gain and the most important things that your body needs to build muscle. In fact, you can learn a lot about what it takes to build muscle by resourcing to other bodybuilding resources.

Work Your Muscles Hard But Not Too Hard

In order to shock your muscles into growth, you need to work them hard. Explosive workouts are important if you want to see maximum muscle gain. Switch up your routine every week and do different exercises that work the same muscles in different ways. If you do bench press one week, do incline bench press and decline bench press next week. Continue to switch up your routine so that your muscle is constantly adapting and developing. If you do the same workout every day you will eventually reach a plateau and therefore you will find it hard to continue building muscle.

Foods that Help Your Muscles Grow

If you want your muscles to grow, its important that you eat a balanced diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and protein. It is also important that you have variety in your diet. Don't be one of those bodybuilders that says that they eat 12 oz. of steak everyday, it may be a great way to build muscle but its not balanced and its not healthy to eat the same thing every day. Include veggies, fruits, whole wheat bread and whole grains and your fine.

Foods That Help You Build Muscle

• Beans (super healthy, high in protein, heart healthy, with plenty of amino acids)
• Fish ( definitely one of the best lean choices for a high protein diet)
• Tofu (a potent staple to a high protein diet)
• Eggs (In moderate amounts, eggs are great. But if you eat eggs everyday in large amounts, please know that that is a lot of unnecessary cholesterol. Most of the cholesterol is in the egg yolk and that is why egg whites are so popular. Egg whites contain over 90% of the protein anyway.)
• Lean Red meats like steak are high in protein and are great!!! Just don't go barbecue every night.
• Chicken is another lean meat that is very high in protein. Chicken has less saturated fat than ground beef and is still very high in protein. Its also very tasty.

Best Exercises For A Strong Sexy Butt

Ready for a booty like Beyonce’s? Well, you might be finally able to once you ditch those squats. Squats aren’t bad, but if you really want to tone and tighten you’ll need to vary your workout with exercises that hit different muscles, including the hamstrings and back.

And it turns out that shaping up your rear won’t just make you bootylicious—the butt is the largest and strongest muscle in the body, so putting it to work can rev up your metabolism and help you burn off calories, too. Here’s 5 exercises that will sculpt your glutes in no time.

1. BARBELL BENCH BUTT RAISE

Lie in a bridge position with just your shoulders on the bench, thighs parallel to the floor with knees bent at 90 degrees. Place a barbell on your lap. Lower your hips as much as possible to the floor— your upper body and thighs should form a V-shape. Then lift back to the starting position by pushing through your heels. You’ll want to keep your toes off the ground to really focus on the butt muscles. Do three sets of 15.

Tip: If you’re new to barbells, you can start off with just the rod and work your way up by adding weights to up the challenge.

2. DUMBBELL CURTSY LUNGE

Stand with feet hip width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand. Step back with right foot into a lunge while crossing your left leg in front of your right. Maintain control with your front leg and keep your hips pointed straight ahead. A lunge already requires a lot of work from your glutes, but doing a curtsy amps up the intensity and burn. Repeat 15 times, then switch legs. Do two sets on each leg.

3. SUMO DEAD LIFT

Hold a kettle bell by the end with both hands. Maintain a wide stance (wider than shoulder width) with your toes pointed out at a 45 degree angle. Lower down so that weight touches the floor, keeping back straight. The only movement you want to make is bending your knees. Your upper body should remain erect, without rounding the back. Raise back up, squeezing glutes at the top. Do three set of of 15 reps.

4. ONE-LEG BRIDGE

Lie on the floor with left knee bent and flat on the floor and right leg straight up at a 45 degree angle. Squeezing glutes, raise hips and hold for two counts, then release hips back, keeping the leg raised the entire time. That’s one rep. Repeat 15 times, then switch legs. Do two sets on each side. To make it more challenging, you can hold the bridge four counts and/or cross arms over chest (instead of resting them on floor).

5. TWISTED WALKING LUNGES

Holding a medicine ball or dumbbell with both hands at waist level, take a step forward, bending into lunge position, with knees forming a 90 degree angle. As you step, rotate your torso and the medicine ball to the outside of the same leg. So, if you step forward with your right leg first, twist your upper body and rotate the ball to the right side. You want to make sure you are only moving your torso, not your hips. The rotation to the outside forces your butt muscles to work even harder. And you’ll sneak in a core workout while you’re at it. Do a total of 30 lunges.

Fast Tricks to Lose Belly Fat

1. Take a walk before breakfast

Zero Belly Diet panelists Martha Chester did just this as part of her Zero Belly program, and the results were astonishing. “I saw changes immediately,” she reports. In less than six weeks on the program, Martha dropped over 20 pounds and an astonishing 7 inches from her middle by combining the Zero Belly Foods with a pre-breakfast walk.

2. Eat more protein

Of course you know that protein's essential for a slimmer you—you couldn't have made it through the Paleo and South Beach crazes without hearing all about it. But here's why protein really needs to play a prime roll on your plate: "Your body starts to produce more insulin as you age, since your muscle and fat cells aren't responding to it properly," explains Louis Aronne, MD, Director of the Obesity Clinic at Cornell. And insulin promotes fat storage, especially around your belly (yippee!). A diet high in protein may protect you against insulin resistance, Aronne says. In one study, obese women who followed a diet for eight weeks that was roughly 30% protein, 40% carbs, and 30% fat lost significantly more fat—including visceral pudge—than women who stuck to a plan that was 16% protein, 55% carbs, and 26% fat.

3. Make sugar your enemy

Fighting belly fat is 80% healthy diet. Reduce calories by filling yourself up with protein, vegetables, whole grains, and replacing bad habit snacks with good ones. For example, if you have a sugar craving, replace your calorie laden latte with a Muscle Milk lite, one of my favorites, because it has zero sugar and a ton of protein that will satiate while also torching my sugar craving! Another great trick is a sprinkle of cinnamon in your morning coffee or oatmeal- the spice has been shown to help stabilize blood sugar. It also slows the rate at which food exits the stomach, which helps you feel fuller longer.

4. Eat healthy fatty acids

Yup, you heard me! It takes fat to burn fat. Like I said above, it’s sugar that gets you fat, not fat. Good fats include foods rich in Omega 3′s, like salmon, avocados & walnuts. These foods are full of nutrients that help keep you satiated throughout the day.

5. Get enough sleep

If you want to work late at night, think again. When your biorhythms are off, you end up eating more. When you’re tired you produce more ghrelin, which triggers cravings for sugar and other fat-building foods. Losing sleep can also alter your hormone production, affecting your cortisol levels that cause insulin sensitivity, prime reasons for belly fat! Getting about 7 hours of sleep a night is one of the best things you can do for your body shaping goals.

6. Consume Foods with fibers

As in, make sure you're eating a lot of it. In a 2011 trial, subjects who increased their soluble fiber intake by 10 grams a day (the equivalent of two small apples, one cup of green peas, and one half cup of pinto beans) reduced visceral fat by 3.7% after five years.

How to Lose Weight Quickly

How to Lose Weight Quickly

Although there are no magic remedies for losing weight quickly, there are a number of common sense guidelines that individuals can follow in order to lose weight quickly and safely. Reducing the number of calories that you consume is the quickest way to weight loss, however, getting thirty minutes of aerobic exercise will also burn calories and hasten weight loss as well. In addition to decreasing your caloric intake and exercising, staying hydrated also helps beat the battle of the bulge. Drinking plenty of water stokes the metabolism, which helps burn calories faster. Staying hydrated also helps flush out harmful toxins from the body as well, and assists in optimal urinary and kidney health.

Prior to embarking on a “lose weight quickly” plan, individuals should consult their health care providers first. Restricting caloric intake, exercising and drinking copious amounts of water many be contraindicated in certain medical conditions or prescription medications. After getting clearance from a medical professional, strategies for losing weight quickly can then be employed.

Enjoying a diet that is rich in fruits and vegetables can also help those seeking quick weight loss. Although initially, the weight loss will be attributed to excess water weight, maintaining these healthy eating habits will result in a steady, healthy weight loss. Consuming fiber also helps people lose weight. By keeping the digestive system regular and functioning at an optimal level, losing weight will be easier. Sensible methods of weight loss will provide the individual with a steady, permanent way to lose weight. Those trying to lose weight quickly by using fad diet tricks may be quickly disappointed. These fads generally fail, resulting in re-gaining the weight back, and in some cases, even more weight is put on.

Fasting or severely restricting caloric intake can be dangerous and is not considered to be a healthy way to lose weight quickly. Generally, very low calorie diets tend to slow the metabolism, resulting in a sluggish weight loss. When the body is subject to a severely restricted diet, it perceives this as a threat and as a result, will hold on to every pound. For this reason, the best way to lose weight quickly, is to consume a healthy diet rich in fiber, fruits and vegetables, drink plenty of water, and follow a regular exercise program to make sure that the weight comes off steadily and stays off indefinitely.

SIX KEYS TO INTENSITY

SIX KEYS TO INTENSITY 

To some, working out is simply about numbers.Three sets of eight. Four sets of 10. Rest one minute

between sets. Do 20 total sets. But beneath every tangible number and finite measurement used to define the amount of work you’ve done,there’s the enigmatic — albeit ever-important —variable known as intensity. In fact, this might be the most crucial training variable of all.Intensity isn’t a number. It can’t be written down in a training log nearly as succinctly as, say,a tally of sets and reps you do for an exercise. And a set of 50 reps isn’t necessarily more intense than a set of six. Bottom line: Where training for gain sin muscle size is concerned, intensity equals muscle failure.If your muscles fatigue to the point that you can’t do another rep (aka “failure”), that’s an intense set. Stopping short of failure? Not as intense. Yet intensity goes far beyond just one set — each set affects the next set, every workout affects the next workout, every week affects the

next week, and so on. How you manage your intensity from set to set and workout to workout goes a long way in dictating the effectiveness of your program. That said, there’s a certain hierarchy to training intensity, and the best way to articulate it is to start small (with a single rep) and pull the layers back until you see the big picture.Hence, the following six levels of intensity.

1. INTENSITY OF A REP

To ensure adequate intensity in a set, and subsequently in a workout, you first need to make sure that each and every rep is performed in an intense manner. Of course, the first few reps of a 20-rep set (in which you would use a relatively light weight) feel muchdifferent than those of a six-rep set — with the heavier weight, the reps feel difficult right away, whereas the first sev eral reps with the lighter weight feel much easier. Yet the amount of weight you use and how many reps you plan to do in that set shouldn’t affect each individual rep.

The first key to maximizing intensity at this level is to concentrate on the muscle group you’re working, whether you’re at the beginning or the end of a high-rep set and regardless of whether the weight feels heavy or light. This is what bodybuilders typically refer to as the “mind-muscle connection.” Second, make sure you emphasize the eccentric, or negative, portion of each rep just as much as the positive, or concentric, portion. Don’t let the weight simply drop on every rep; rather, control the negative so it takes at least two seconds

to lower the weight. Since it’s possible to produce greater force during eccentric con traction than during concentric muscle actions, eccentric activity may be more important in producing muscle strength and size. Therefore, it’s critical to control the weight’s return or descent; don’t just let it fall back down. Oftentimes, the negative is overlooked in high-rep sets, as well as when training heavy. Making a habit of both of these practices— concentrating on the working muscles and controlling the negative — ensures adequate intensity

on each and every rep.Third, consider the point of peak contraction (the top of the repetition where you squeeze the muscle for a moment or two before continuing through the rep). This squeezing creates more work for the muscle, driving more blood flow (aka “the pump”), which temporarily increases the muscle’s size by placing a stretch on it. This stretch initiates biochemical pathways that signal the muscle to grow.