Woodt said:
Ok guys, few questions.
1) Is it as stated in a previous post
. arms wide apart = pecs
. arms close together = tri
My friend seems to think it's the other way round, I think it's the above.
2) Are the 'Hindu' exercises in general as good as they are said to be? Could somebody elaborate on them please? Also I know how to do the squats and push ups, but are there any more exercises to do?
3) With my current eating sligtly more calories than I normally do (I think around 200 cals to 500) + push ups ect, should I put on weight quickly/ roughly how long will it take to get 10lbs?
Again thank you very much for the responces
1) Woodt,
While you are correct, to vary the muscle groups you use in dffierent pushups, try varying the direction you point your hands. ..Like finger tips 45degrees inward ( wide diamond) elbows out, elbows facing directly to your rear and so on. It also makes a difference how you distribute your weight through your palms like evenly over the whole surface, on the outter side toward the blade and so forth. Play with a few variations and you'll see what I mean.
2). Hindu versions of exercise are good harder and differnt to standard versions, because with the rolling action it allows you to get deeper into the muscle and have a fuller rom( range of movement).
here is my own regular bwe exercise sesh that I ideally do every afternoon.
It is quite a serious program, but my own daughter is 12 going on 13 and se has managed this herself ( even with less reps /sets/ or on easier levels of the exercises) for years. she also blitzes mainly her sprint but also distance feilds.
To begin, Nearly always in minimum sets of 50x4,
1. abs
reverse crunches ...lay on you back... knees up, feet flat and shoulder width apart,last few vertabrae planted into the ground, lower back flat to ground, navel to spine so entire back is flat on ground as though sunk in cement. ( Remember , the idea behind ab exercises is to get your ribs closer to your pelvis on a flat plain).
ab1.In a rvs crunch, for each rep, rock your knees into your chest , lifting your feet off the floor as you might do if you wrere on a swing, bringing your shins parelell to the sky and knees to 90 degrees. The trick here is on the way down, to keep your spine (every vertabrae )planted on the ground.
Once you get the hang of that.. you can begin to do sets where you widen your legs in an isokentic movement where you increase resistance by working through changing angles. you can check out the meaning of that term by googling "dictionary definition isokinetic".
Usually when doing abs, I work in sets of 100 and 120 for straight crunhes. 120 reps for abs is an army set.
Ab2 after rvs crunch,I then go into a straight crunch, where feet back on ground, sliding hands along ground the run alongside my feet, crunch my ribs into my pelvis.
Ab3. lateral olibques.
using a twisting motion, rotating through ribs and torso, dropping lead shoulder back on the side twisting to ( and I do this with my forearm up in a self defence guard)as I bring the opposite shoulder arm and hand across my body to with the inside of my last couple of fingers ( rotating hand down as one might for throwing a good jab) to touch the outside of my foot. minimum of 50 each side..100 good.
Ab4.come back to beginning pose, feet flat, shoulder width apart, arms forward reach into a crunch, extending finger to or over knees. again 100 reps good.
ab5. Same again but this time hands flat thumbs up, crunch and extend hands along outside of your mid thighs / knees.
ab6. as for ab5, but ad a twist to alternate sides. touch finger tips to outside knee.
ab6. same as for ab5, but as you come out rotate hands down , palm facing opposite leg, so outside fingertips touch inside knee. You can do this at various heights and touch opposite inside shin, knee, inside thigh and so on.
ab7. as for abs 4, but reaching /extending through different plains between your legs, over your knees, at a closer angle between your shoulders and arms , over your knees, so maybe on a parelell angle to your chest, then straight up, then arms alongside ear angle and so on until you reach 100.
ab8. 9 this one feels magic and besides tone lateral to really rip a six pack, will physcally squeeze the toxins out of your organs)
as for ab3, twisting laterally, but alternate each rep for where you reach. reach to outside foot, reach just left of that ( when twisting twd left), slightly higher and so on, until you reach directly across to your side twisting trough your ribs and torso, then continue until you're reaching back above your shoulder. Rpt on other side and or / add another set where you alternate sides on each rep.
This builds crAzy core endurance and stabilt at this many reps and feels awesome!!
Ab.9 oblique crunches. alternating side to work obliques only, elbows wide fingertips to base of skull, run straight arm, dircetly down side of body, palm up or down, along the ground to come along side of foot. Rpt for other side or and add another set alternating ides for each rep.
Calves.
calves 1. calf raises. in sets of 50 reps , feet directly forward and shoulder width apart, come up onto tippy toes,for the first 50 landing dead weight on your heels as you come down, using lower portion of muscle between pelvis to stablise as you shake your spine loose . stay relaxed through chest. ( n.b. they do something similar in china for a very prized skill warm up for baguazhang iron qigong)breath through nose. 50 reps
After first set, bending down out of your pelvis( as opposed to over your knees) back straight, come down to first grab or touch ankles, ( chest along your quads as roll down) or touch the ground, palm flat to floor if you can manage.come up roling through verabrae to avoid injury, cross one ankle in front of other, hugging chest to legs head upsidedown holding beind your ankles....change sides repeat.
repeat set, no stretch.
repeat set but point feet inward. ( warning ,..you may feel like a retard, but all is good ..execute fast or slow. a quick pulsing set is good set..but if you do thayt, may want to do 100.
)
point feet outward and repeat.
When you get the hang of this, you may want to isometrically contract butt and hammies and insie thigh as you come up.
stretch down as for stretch after first set.
Quads and butt.
In sets of 50 reps.. wide squats feet forward, butt out, squeeze butt as you come up. alternate feet angle and leg distance apart for each set if you wish. To stretch here, after each 50, on your last rep, hands in prayer position ( which you may also want to consider during reps for extra resistance) come right down into a low low squat, butt nearly to ground, tilt butt back so ( scuse language) between butthole and gentials pointing directly over ground, using elbows to push knees apart. In martial arts this is called a monkey stance.
Add any other quad stretch as you choose.
Pushups. in reps of 50 /set to whatever goal number is.
Tricep extensions.
using a chair or a sofa, or your bed, or a cofee table or low wall or whatever, place palms down directly nxt to you, finger tips hanging over elevated platform.
keeping elbows pointing directly behind you, drop but to floor ( either lvl 1. kness bent, lvl 2 legs straight working off heels, toes pointing skyeward, lvl 3 knees bent 1 ankle over opposite knee, lvl 4 leg straight one foot over opposite knee.
shoot for reps of 50, but eventually at advanced fitness, 100 will be sweet. 200 of these should be ample and will compliment your push ups. 300 if yu must.
chest raises.
lay on ground, pelvis planted into the ground, knees slighty inward for pelvic stabilty. toes pointed behind you.
palm flat, hands under your chin.
lvl 1, raise chest off ground brnging chest up in accordian motion.
lvl 2, as for lvl 1 but at hieight of contraction, release fingertips from chin and squeeze elbows directly out your sides. Great for entire back. 200 of these in sets of 50 good.
lower back extensions.
These work insympathy to compliment and balance your ab work.
still laying face down ( and is okay to alternate sets with your chest raises for rest period between sets)
back of hands on butt or lower back to feel out correct form and what you're working,
raise feet and legs off ground flatting and accorianing chest downward as you lift to cement into ground as you lift or squeeze up. lvl 1. alternate single legs, one foot just off ground for lvl 2. again 4 x sets 50 good.
good deliberate stready deep lower diaphagm breathing through nose important for oxgyen to work with.
Use your exhalation for extra stretch or to produce a relaxed additional resistance.(
. )
lateral lower back contraction twists.
knees up sitting up high ,feet shoulder width apart, toes fwd, ( Jet Li's lower back is worked on similar principals) hands up in a good martial art guard, as you lower your back to no less than 30 degrees, twist behind through ribs dropping lead shoulder as you come around, elbow to ground if you can manage, .. shoulders on parelell plain, idea to eventually end up at a full 90 degrees from start position.
Have a good stretch sesh.. and you're done.
Sounds scarey but it is a full body workout all without needing to buy anything and something you can do anywhere.
Hope you find something in it you can use.
answer to question 3)
sandwhiches okay ( wholemeal or dark grainy bread best) but try it with cold meat / fish or chicken and don't forget to sometimes ad salads and eat enough fruit.
cheers
Blooming Lotus
