As of late I have been putting in several core muscle work outs into my routine since I too was guilty of over-looking hitting my core muscle group. Medicine balls, cables, and classics such as the squat and power clean are great for working out the core. If you’re lucky enough and your gym has Hammer Strength equipment (Sadly, most don’t), they may have what’s called a Jammer – quite possibly the best piece of equipment out there for core strength. If so, I suggest you use that to work on your core strength – You will not be disappointed.

You need forearms to fill out your arms. Guys always hit the gym wanting to do a million bicep curls in order to look jacked, but they forget two muscle groups: Triceps and forearms. In fact, the bicep isn’t even the biggest muscle in your arms, it’s actually the tricep so it would naturally make sense to focus more of your effort on your triceps rather than your biceps, but that isn’t always the case.

The point of this post isn’t to bash frat boy lifters (Again) it’s to add on to bodybuilding.com’s article about building huge forearms. They only mention doing seated dumbbell wrist curls to build your forearms. I actually don’t prefer this method for building my forearms. I prefer a behind the back standing wrist curl using a traditional barbell. Here’s an example of this being performed:

If you’re serious about really building up your grip strength, I recommend you go over to EliteFTS and pick yourself up some Fat Gripz to really work your forearms with each end every rep you do in the gym. In a month’s time you’ll notice that your grip has gotten almost twice as strong as a result of using them constantly.

Just which option is better? Is working out at home better or is it better to have a membership at a local fitness center?

To truthfully answer this, it depends on the type of person you are.

Think of it like taking an online course through a college. Sure, the course counts the same towards your degree, but the difference is there is no one there pushing you or lecturing you on what the important topics are in the chapter. If you don’t make time in your schedule while at home for the online course work, then there’s no way it’s going to get done. Discipline is the name of the game when it comes to lifting and actually making progress towards your goal whether it be weight loss, strength gains, or muscle tone.

The same thing applies to having your own gym equipment in your house. If you have the discipline to use it on a regular basis then great. It’ll save you money in the long run. If on the other hand you might need a swift kick in the ass by someone at the gym asking you “What the hell are you doing?” when you perform a lift incorrectly, then having a membership at a local gym is probably best.

I must warn you that if you’re serious about lifting and really want to make significant strength increases, then home gym equipment will only get you so far before you find yourself spending thousands of dollars to keep up with your demands. Keep in mind that weights are generally a dollar per pound. You might be able to find weight sets on Craigslist for a lot less, but act fast because they tend to go quick.

Personally, I recommend Optimum Nutrition’s protein products. The number one advantage to using their products is cost. It’s not one of those insanely expensive blends that will break the bank. Secondly, ON’s products have the nutrients you need. Third, their products don’t taste that bad. If you’re looking for something that tastes almost like candy, I recommend going for a Cytosport Muscle Milk product as I believe they have some of the best tasting protein powders available. The only down side is cost, and fat content. Generally speaking, Muscle Milk does tend to contain higher amounts of fat than other blends. But they have since come out with a “light” Muscle Milk product, I believe.

As for the issue with clumping… Well, the truth is I have never really had an issue with any blend clumping more so than any other brand. If you’re using a shaker cup to mix your shake in, then I recommend adding liquid first, then the powder. Don’t forget to leave about an inch to and inch and a half of room between the top of the powder just added and the top of the cup portion of the shaker bottle (The part that holds the liquid, excluding the top). This will give you room to mix it well.

CNN.com has a good article investigating why so many people fail to follow through with their New Year’s resolutions only a few weeks into the year. Actually, the author of the article seems to think that just only three weeks into the new year many people have given up or lost track of their goals.

I especially like the fourth reason that they give: Your goal is unrealistic.

I can’t tell you how many times I have heard people say that they “just want to lose weight” or “increase their bench press”. Neither goal is good because there is no way to define your progress. Sure, if you lose one pound you have made your goal. Sure, if your bench press increases by 10 pounds you’ve made progress.

But where do you stop? How do you know how much further you have to go? Once you figure out what is a reasonable end point, then you can map out a plan on how you will get to the end. But until then, you will be lost and not know how to keep yourself focused and motivated as the year goes on.

The two part series conducted by Matt Wenning outlined how to squat properly and took someone’s poor squatting form and turned it into a solid lift.

If you’re going to take advice from someone when it comes to squatting, it ought to be Matt Wenning. He’s right up there with guys like Captain Kirk with an 1100 pound squat and a mind blowing 2600 pound total in one competition.

I noticed that for a limited time they have Super Pump MAX on sale for $12.41 (plus shipping). I thought this was a pretty good deal and was worth mentioning considering many pre-workout supplements – such as N.O. Xplode  - usually sell for $40 if you buy it from a brick and mortar GNC shop.

Here’s a tip: If you’re looking to start training with supplements, look to online retailers to get the cheapest prices. Places like GNC mark up their products like crazy and will make weight training more expensive than it ought to be.

This is a 9 part series (Which is actually just one DVD broken up into 9 parts for the sake of convince) that follows world renowed power lift Ryan “Bench Monster” Kennelly 105 days out as he prepares for the Arnold Classic in 2005.

It documents the training, dieting, and discipline needed to compete as Kennelly’s level and shows you that while in the gym he means business.

“LaLanne died Sunday at his home in Morro Bay on California’s central coast, longtime agent Rick Hersh said. The cause was respiratory failure due to pneumonia.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/01/23/fitness-guru-jack-lalanne-dies/#ixzz1C1VMKdTy“

Jack certainly helped to put weight training and physical fitness in general into the spotlight decades ago when the benefits of being physically active weren’t yet fully discovered by scientists.

This post is for you, Jack – Someone who truly lived by the motto “go hard or go home”.

So now that it’s January and the holidays are over and the pounds have been put on, which is more important to avoid? Carbohydrates or fats?

Recent research has shown that eating a calorie from fat and a calorie from a carbohydrate will lead to nearly the same weight gain in either case. However, will eating different types of either substance effect the amount of weight gained?

The answer is yes. Research conducted using monkeys (Since you can control their portion size very closely) has shown that a high-trans-fat diet led to an increase of about 7% of their body weight over a five year period, whereas a low-trans-fat diet yielded a gain of 1.5% of their body weight across the sample.

And as for simple carbohydrates and complex carbohydrates: Simple carbohydrates (Generally found in soda and other processed foods) put you at a greater risk for type 2 diabetes and heart disease and generally yield greater weight increases than consuming the same amounts of complex carbohydrates.

So which is worse? Carbohydrates or fat?

Avoid foods laden with trans-fats as well as foods and beverages loaded with simple carbohydrates and you will take a step in the right direction towards a healthier you and a little closer to your weight loss goal.