LADY GAGA “cowabunga dude surfs up” in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

LADY GAGA "cowabunga dude surfs up" in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

5 Surfing Exercises to Boost Your Surfing Training and Surfing Fitness
By Hayden Rhodes

1. Basic Yoga. The movements in yoga help to both strengthen and lengthen the muscles in your body. This allows for easier movements and a flowing connection between the mind and body that is very similar to what good surfers do when surfing. By performing yoga movements into your surfing training you quickly develop rotational flexibility that allows you to turn and tuck into positions demanded by the ocean. You do not have to turn into a yoga fanatic, just take five to ten minutes per day and add some yoga into your surfing exercises to quickly improve your surfing.

2. Leg Strength. As a surfer your power comes through the wave and into your board and legs. Developing leg strength sets you up for balance, power surfing and landing new school tricks in steep sections of waves. Running is not the way to develop strength, it may help with cardiovascular training but is not strength orientated. Some of the best surfing exercises you can perform are jumping exercises specific to surfing. This builds both fast twitch muscle fibers and eccentric strength that is required in the water. Imagine jumping to touch the rim of a basketball hoop. Start in a squat position, power up with your arms and jump as high as you can then land as soft as you can. The number of repetitions depends on your over all surfing training objective, most surfers only need to do a few reps at a time as apart of their surfing exercise.

3. Lung Capacity. Every surfer wants better lung capacity and a great way to do this is swimming. Not only will you use similar muscles as when you surf, you also build the capacity of your lungs by learning not to breathe with every stroke. If you swim in the pool or the ocean be sure to determine what you are doing before you start to swim. Are you focusing on long endurance surfing exercise or are you doing shorter burst anaerobic training? Most surfers will benefit greatly from short distance swimming followed by small rest periods. This trains both the anaerobic and aerobic system required by surfers and simulates being caught on the inside or paddling back out after catching a wave.

4. Shoulder and Back Strength. Surfers naturally have V shaped bodies due to all the paddling and swimming in the ocean. The lower back however often gets neglected and is prone to injury due to the impact element of surfing. Shoulders also are prone to injury due to over use and the constant rotational forces put into the shoulder joint. To balance this ensure your surfing exercises include lower back stability and strengthening work and be sure your shoulders have good mobility and range of motion to prevent wear and tear. Yoga and surf training stability exercises can help a lot with these common surfing problems.

5. Rest. As surfers we are often inspired and motivated to ‘charge’ every day in every way. If you have been surfing and training while working or studying it is easy to get run down and suffer low energy levels. Only by refueling with rest can your body continue to get stronger and recover faster. Rest may include chilling out, reading or relaxing by the pool, however true rest and recovery only comes through good quality sleep. Do what ever it takes to sleep in a well-ventilated dark room and sleep early, for as they say, the early bird catches the worm. In this case, more waves.

So there you have it, five basics to add into your surfing exercise program to boost your surf training just like a professional surfer. Surf training is a huge part of improving as a surfer and catching more waves. I hope you get started today.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Hayden_Rhodes

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6391369

Chris Hemsworth Thor Workout Routine

Chris Hemsworth as Thor

Chris Hemsworth born August 11, 1983 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, best known for playing the roles of Kim Hyde in the Australian soap opera Home and Away.Chris Hemsworth will portray Marvel Comics character Thor. While you may not have heard of Chris Hemsworth, but you’ll remember him after seeing him as the character in Thor.
He gained over 20lbs to play the role of Thor, Sleeping and training were two of the three critical components to Hemsworth’s success. Diet was probably the most critical though. He focused on eating as much as possible, including chicken, meat, protein shakes, and healthy carbs. Saturated fat and sugar had to be limited.

“I put on a lot of weight — I put on about 20 pounds at one point. It was purely eating, eating, eating, working out and working out, trying to sleep as much as you can — that’s the other third of the equation. The eating was the biggest thing; since stopping shooting I probably work out the same but don’t eat as much, and I’ve probably lost 15 pounds or something. Chicken breasts and protein shakes, boiled chicken . . . clean meats, the right carbs. Sickly stuff.”

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0800369/
MARVEL: http://marvel.com/movies/movie/36/thor

Bit of fun guess where this was taken?

It is a miniature version edited by way of tilt-shift of the real photo.

Bit of fun guess where this was taken?

The Top Six Butt Sculpting and Trimming Exercises

As we all know Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, Vida Guerra have awesome back sides and with some hard work it is definitely achievable. I have source the top six Butt Exercises so we can get you looking like the celebrities, well the bottom half anyway

The Top Six Butt Sculpting and Trimming Exercises
By Steve Hochman

Have you ever noticed that when you try on a new pair of jeans, the first thing you do is turn around and look in the mirror to see how they make your butt look? It even happens at home, no matter how many times you’ve worn them, the first thing you do is look at your rear. It’s true, watch yourself and others and see what happens.

Men and women alike all have this affinity for a nice butt, not just a nice butt, a really great butt, so we try to find ways that will give us the look we want. The thing you need to keep in mind is that it’s not just exercising that will give you that great rear profile that you’re looking for. You have to work out your derriere with sculpting exercises to get the glutes in the shape you desire.

So to help you obtain the rear you want follow the top six butt sculpting and trimming exercises listed here.

**Tip 1 – When performing most butt sculpting exercises, it is very important to keep the weight on your heels. This will cause the stress from the exercise to go to your butt and not your knees.**

1. Reverse Step Back Lunges.

For support hold on to a bar at chest level (like the one on a smith machine), place both feet directly under the bar. Keeping the weight on you left heel, step back with your right leg and far enough so that when you lower your body, you end up in a lunge position with your left thigh and shin at a 90-degree angle. Now raise your body back up lifting your right knee up to the bar. Repeat 20 to 30 times then switch legs.

**Tip 2: Any time you are doing Lung exercises you need to keep your upper body as upright as you can to reduce strain on your back. Start slow and don’t go too low if you are new to the reverse lunge. As you progress you will be able to lunge deeper and to work your glutes more and more.**

2. Walking Lunges (with or without weights)

Standing straight, step forward as far as you comfortably can, place your foot down heal first. Flex your hip and knee and lower your body until the rear knee is almost to the floor. (Do not let your front knee go over your toe.) With the assistance of the rear leg, stand on the front leg, lunging forward with the opposite leg. You will need an area where you can walk about 20 feet unobstructed.

3. Dead Lifts

Using a barbell and weights suited for your fitness level, stand with your feet shoulder width apart and bend forward from your hips, keeping your legs straight or a just slightly little bent (not squatting). Make sure to keep your back flat for this exercise to work and to avoid injury. When you reach the end of the movement towards the floor, tighten your butt and hamstrings as you slowly move back to the starting position. Keep the bar close to your legs throughout the entire movement. Repeat 20 to 30 times.

4. Squat

Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and forward. Keep your lower back straight and lower your body down to about a 90-degree angle as if you are going to sit, letting your hamstrings and glutes do all the work. Then pushing up through your heels using your gluteus and hamstrings come back to the standing position. Repeat 20 to 30 times.

5. Wide Stance Dumbbell Squats

Stand with your feet so that they are about one foot wider than your shoulders. Point toes outward to a 45-degree angle. Hold onto a dumbbell and squat down pushing your knees outward until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Now raise your body back up and clench your butt cheeks at the top for 3 seconds. Repeat 20 to 30 times.

6. Step Ups (with or without weights)

Place one foot on a bench so that your thigh is parallel to the floor, the knee pointing in the same direction as the foot throughout. Pushing heel into the bench step up, then slowly step back down while concentrating on the leg up on the step. Make sure to keep your upper body straight during exercise. Do one leg for 15 to 20 repetitions then change legs, or alternate legs for 20 to 30 repetitions each. You can maximize this workout by standing away from the bench to emphasize the glutes or standing closer to the bench to emphasize the quads.

With these exercises it won’t be long before you have some absolutely fabulous glutes and the rear profile you have been looking for.

Out of the Box Boot Camp Lifestyle And Self Improvement. Lifestyle and Self Improvement

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steve_Hochman

Other Exercises include:
Butt Exercises – Lying Butt Bridge
Butt Exercises – Glute Kickbacks
Butt Exercises – Leg Lifts
Butt Exercises – One Legged Cable Kickbacks
Butt Exercises – Walking Dumbbell Lunges
Butt Exercises – Single Dumbbell Squats
Butt Exercises – Smith Machine Good Mornings
Butt Exercises – Reverse Dumbbell Lunges
Butt Exercises – Leg Presses
Butt Exercises – Exercise Ball Butt Lifts
Butt Exercises – Dumbbell Bench Step Ups
Butt Exercises – Smith Machine Squats
Butt Exercises – Elastic Band Kickbacks
Butt Exercises – Exercise Ball Butt Raises
Butt Exercises – Exercise Ball Leg Lifts

One Arm Triceps Extension Exercise

Lying triceps extensions, also known as skull crushers and French extensions are a strength exercise used in many different forms of weight lifting. Lying triceps extensions are one of the most stimulating exercises to the entire triceps muscle group in the upper arm. It works the triceps from the elbow all the way to the latissimus dorsi. Due to its full use of the Triceps muscle group, the lying triceps extensions are used by many as part of their training regime.

1. Lie on a flat bench with feet on the ground and head hanging just off the top of the bench, so that the edge of the bench rests in the pit between neck and head.
2. Take the barbell (preferably an EZ Curl bar for optimal hand positioning) with an overhand grip (palms away from body) and hold it out above the head so that the arms are supporting the weight. Do not hold the arms straight over the face at 12 o’clock, but rather at an angle more like 10 o’clock, with feet at 3 o’clock. All of the weight should be on the triceps.
3. Now bend the arms at the elbow, bringing the bar down close to the top of the forehead.
4. Keep the elbows in the same position, do not let them sway outward.
5. Press back up to starting 10 o’clock position.

Michael Phelps swimming diet and training routine

Michael Fred Phelps born in Baltimore (Maryland) is an American professional swimmer who is generally considered the greatest swimmer of all time as well as one of the greatest Olympians of all time. He has won 14 career Olympic gold medals, the most by any Olympian. As of August 2, 2009, Phelps has broken thirty-seven world records in swimming.
DOB: June 30, 1985

Phelps holds the record for the most gold medals at a single Olympics, his eight at the 2008 Beijing Games surpassed American swimmer Mark Spitz’s seven-gold performance at Munich in 1972.

Overall, Phelps has won 16 Olympic medals, Phelps’s international titles and record breaking performances have earned him the World Swimmer of the Year Award in 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2008 and American Swimmer of the Year Award in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2008. He has won a total of fifty-four career medals thus far in major international competition, forty-five gold, seven silver, and two bronze spanning the Olympics, the World, and the Pan Pacific Championships. His unprecedented Olympic success in 2008 earned Phelps Sports Illustrated magazine’s Sportsman of the Year award.

Michael Phelps ESPN magazine

Michael’s Phelps’ Diet

Phelps does not have a strict menu to follow. He actually eats what he wants to eat, whenever he wants it. For the normal day, here is what he usually eats:

Breakfast: 3 fried egg sandwiches; cheese; tomatoes; lettuce; fried onions; mayonnaise; three chocolate-chip pancakes; 5-egg omelette; 3 sugar-coated slices of French toast; bowl of grits; 2 cups of coffee
Lunch: Half-kilogram (1 pound) of enriched pasta; 2 large ham and cheese sandwiches with mayonnaise on white bread; energy drinks
Dinner: Half-kilogram of pasta, with carbonara sauce; large pizza; energy drinks
He eats white bread instead of whole wheat bread.
He eats only 3 big meals instead of spreading them to more meals with smaller portion.
He eats not so much fruits and vegetables. Instead, he eats damn lot of carbohydrates – pasta and bread.

Michael Phelps’ Workouts and Training Routines

Phelps trains for six hours a day, six days a week, without fail.
“He swims approximately 50 miles (80km) each week, which is over 8 miles per training day. He has two massages everyday and also takes icebaths to help his body to recover.”

“In order to slice through water with those deadly powerful strokes, one must be strong in multiple planes of motion. True enough, according to what his coach has disclosed, Michael Phelps does diagonal wood choppe and straight wood chopper.

Phelps does other typical strength trainings, 3 times a week with 1 hour each session, but those trainings focus in building his muscle endurance and flexibility in addition to improving his stroke power. With such a powerful and long stroke, when others have to take 12 strokes, he probably cover the same distance with only 8 strokes.

As for cardiovascular exercise, Micheal Phelps relies on stationary bike because running is too much hazard for his knees. Believe it or not, Phelps often tripped and fell often when he run. Rumor said his flexibility in his knees and ankles, though enhanced his performance in pool, results in some loss of stability on land.”

Here are guidelines how you can do diagonal woodchopper:
1. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Hold a medicine ball with both hands.
2. Lift the medicine ball over your right shoulder.
3. Then, chop down across your body by moving the medicine ball towards the ground outside of your left foot.
4. Return to the starting position.
5. Do 3 sets with 10 repetitions for each side.

How you can do straight woodchoper
1. Lie on your back on the floor. Bend your knees, but your feet remains flat on the floor.
2. Hold the medicine ball directly above your head.
3. Contract your abdominal muscles and lower the ball behind your head as far as you can without lifting your back or bending your arms. The motion is like chopping the air, but in one single straight plane.
4. Do 3 sets of 10 repetitions.

[source: www.usms.org, www.findarticles.com, munfitnessblog.com]

Michael Phelps Training Video 42min

Arnold Dumbbell Press

Compound Exercise: Shoulders – Arnold Press

The Arnold Press is a compound exercise associated with the Shoulders. exercise with the best range of motion for Shoulder muscles, It gives a wide range of motion as you lower the dumbbells well down in front giving that maximum stretch other shoulder exercises lack. Building Muscle Mass in the front and side heads of the deltoids.

Steps.

1. Stand straight holding a dumbbell in each hand. Raise the dumbbells to shoulder position with palms facing you.

2. Now press the dumbbells overhead just like dumbbell presses but twisting them so that palms face forwards at the top of the movement.

3. Now lower the dumbbells in a reverse movement.

- Remember exhale while you exert.
- Keep a controlled motion and avoid jerky movements
- Keep a strict form.
- Do not lock your arms overhead.

An Outline of Jessica Biel’s Workout

By Rusty Moore

Jessica Biel probably has the best body in Hollywood. Seriously, she is a great role model for women who want to get in shape. Jason Walsh, her personal trainer recently revealed to People Magazine the workout that gives her slim thighs, firm butt, and generally a rocking body!

Were you lucky enough to see Jessica Biel in the movie Blade 3? If you did, you may have seen fitness perfection. Seriously…Jessica looked amazing in that movie. As a side note, Ryan Reynolds got in amazing shape as well. The great thing about Jessica Biel is that she manages to stay in amazing shape without losing her femininity.

So here is a summary of Jessica Biel’s Workout (along with my comments)

1) Cardio…for cardio she does interval training. After jogging for 1/2 a mile to warm up, she does a total of 6 sprints with short rests in between. She sprints for two sets of 200 meter sprints, two sets of 150 meter sprints, and two sets of 100 meter sprints.

My Comments: This is the best form of cardio to really burn stubborn body fat quickly. High Intensity Interval Training has been shown to burn significantly more body fat than steady state aerobics.

2) Plyometrics...”These hurt,” says Walsh of stair jumping. “Even athletes hate them. After Jessica did these the first time, she would’ve punched me if she had the energy.” How-to: Jump from the bottom step of a flight of at least 20 stairs to the third. Keep going, skipping a stair each jump.

My Comments: Her trainer, Jason Walsh, understands that plyometrics tone the body in ways that can’t be duplicated in the gym. It makes sense that he would recommend these, because Jessica will get better muscle tone as a result. This is one of the reasons why I believe that athletes have better looking bodies than people who only workout in the gym.

3) Weight Training...”We tend to use lighter weights and do more reps,” he says. “We keep moving, so it becomes a cardio workout too.”

My Comments: This is what Craig Ballantyne, who wrote an excellent book called Turbulence Training, recommends. You can basically burn fat like crazy if you do your weight training in a very specific manner.

4) For the Abs…”Hanging leg raises don’t build a six-pack, but they flatten,” says Walsh. “Jessica hates them, but she powers through!” They also do the Russian Twist. Sit down and lean back slightly. Hold a 5-lb. medicine ball and twist from side to side, 15 twists per side, three reps.

My Comments: I don’t agree with this approach to developing the abs. The problem with hanging leg raises is that they shorten the hip flexors which can dramatically increase your chances for injuries. I am a big believer in a great exercise called “planks”. Not only are they effective…they help protect your back from injury as well.

Summary…Jessica Biel’s Workout is very similar to a high level athlete. It makes sense that she would have a better looking body than most other actresses in Hollywood…she is training at a higher level. Her approach is intense interval workouts, which have proven time and time again to burn more body fat than “slow and steady” types of workouts. No wonder why she looks so good!

About the Author: Rusty Moore is a trainer who gives advice to men and women who want a body that attracts the opposite sex. Don’t train to be bulky! Learn the Fitness secrets of Hollywood’s finest and get lean and sexy instead. Visit his site today…http://www.FitnessBlackBook.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rusty_Moore