Men's Health Ultimate Exercise Book for Strength & Endurance
Chapter one THE FUNDAMENTALS
THE GENIUS OF WEIGHTS • 20 ways lifting helps you look great, stay healthy, and live longer.
LIFTING WEIGHTS GIVES YOU AN EDGE
ALL YOUR LIFTING QUESTIONS, ANSWERED • The tactics you need to maximize your workouts.
THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS A BAD REP • Trainers don’t randomly choose the number of repetitions a person does. Well, at least the good ones don’t. That’s because the rep range you use dictates how your muscles adapt to your routine. In fact, by knowing the benefits of three key rep ranges, you can choose the strategy that’s best for the results you want. Keep in mind that these rep ranges don’t work like an on-off button; they’re more like a dimmer switch. As you move up and down in reps, you’re simply dialing back the benefits of one and emphasizing those of another. Here’s a primer on each.
MEET YOUR MUSCLES • The know-how you need to build the body you want.
Chapter two THE BEST MUSCLE - BUILDING WORKOUTS
THE GET-BACK-IN-SHAPE WORKOUT • If you’ve never lifted weights or you just haven’t made time for exercise lately, this 12-week plan, from Joe Dowdell, CSCS, was created with you in mind. It’s designed to blast fat and build muscle, but it takes into account that you’re not in peak condition. And it does all of this while targeting the weaknesses brought on by a sedentary lifestyle—the kind that often slow your results and lead to frustration. So you’ll not only transform your body but do it faster than ever.
THE ULTIMATEFAT-LOSS WORKOUT • This intense 12-week fat-loss plan from Bill Hartman, PT, CSCS, torches calories and unleashes a flood of fat-burning hormones that supercharge your metabolism for hours after you’re done training. So your body’s fat-frying furnace runs on high all day, even when you’re sitting on the couch. And that’s the secret to losing your gut for good.
THE BIG MUSCLE WORKOUT • This old-school muscle-building plan is all about the basics: heavy weights and hard work. That’s the proven formula for packing on size, strength coach Zach Even-Esh says. Add slabs of muscle to your frame with his time-tested workout.
THE BEST BODY-WEIGHT WORKOUTS • You don’t need a gym membership to sculpt a strong, fit body. In fact, you don’t even need equipment. You can build muscle and burn fat anywhere with these super-simple body weight workouts. Alternate the three workouts throughout the week, or add a body-weight session or two in place of your regular strength workout when you’re too busy to hit the gym, you’re traveling, or you just want to switch things up.
chapter three THE BEST ENDURANCE - BOOSTING WORKOUTS
EIGHT WORLD-CLASS WAYS TO PICK UP THE PACE • These short speed workouts from Ed Eyestone, M.S., a two-time Olympic marathoner and the coach of the Brigham Young University men’s cross-country team will boost your speed and endurance to an all-time high. A great way to mix them up: Do one of the first three workouts early in the week, then choose a second from numbers 4 through 7 later in the week, at the track. Do the last run on the weekend.
THE ULTIMATE 10K PLAN • This eight-week speed plan from Len Kravitz, Ph.D., CSCS, a professor of exercise science at the University of New Mexico, uses the Pledge of Allegiance—yes, the one you recited in elementary school—to push your lactate threshold higher, helping you run faster and longer than ever before.
THE FASTEST CARDIO WORKOUTS OF ALL TIME • Strapped for time? Try these novel cardio workouts used by top strength coach Alwyn Cosgrove, CSCS, and his team at Results Fitness in Santa Clarita, California. They’re actually called metabolic circuits, and they’re designed to challenge your cardiovascular system and speed fat loss just as hard...