#workout-tips

Zakaj domača vadba ne deluje? Resnica o pogojih vadbe

Veliko ljudi misli, da domača vadba ne deluje zato, ker nimajo dovolj težkih vaj ali ker ne trenirajo dovolj pogosto. Resnica je precej drugačna. Večina domačih vadb ne “ne deluje” zaradi vaj ali truda, ampak zato, ker telo nikoli ne dobi prave stabilnosti, da bi se lahko res vključilo. Ko podlaga ni stabilna, ko sklepi nimajo podpore in ko telo kompenzira z napačnimi gibi, vadba postane nekaj, kar samo “narediš” — ne nekaj, kar dejansko čutiš.

It’s no secret that muscular legs come down to this dreaded fact: You have to train legs. Not only do you have to train them, but you have to train them hard. (Photo: Getty Images)

Sick of being known as the guy with chicken legs? This article will teach you how to do so efficiently with specific leg workouts for men.

This means you have to dish out punishment in an intelligent way so that the leg muscles are forced to grow but so that you don’t spend the next six days moving around in a wheelchair. Yes, we’re going to make you sore, but being sore for longer than three or four days is a clear sign that you overdid it.

Tip No. 1 - Split Your Week Up Into A Quad-Dominant Day & Hip-Dominant Day

If your legs have been a tough body part for you, then begin by splitting your quads and hips (when I say “hips” I’m referencing the hams, lower back and glutes) into separate workout days.

On a five-day split, you could train quads on Monday and hips on Friday. This method allows you to give equal attention to the front of your legs and back of your legs.

Here’s a sample leg-prioritization training split:

Monday - Quads priority + one hip exercise Tuesday - Chest + abs Wednesday - Back + calves Thursday - Off Friday - Hips priority + one quad exercise Saturday - Shoulder, bicep and tricep exercises Sunday – Off

A quad-dominant day could include single joint leg exercises like leg extensions and multi-joint exercises like leg presses, back squats, front squats, forward lunges, reverse lunges, one-leg squats, wall squats, hack squats, Bulgarian-split squats, smith-machine squats, vertical leg press and all single limb variations.

A hip-dominant day could include single joint exercises like leg curls or back extensions, and multi-joint exercises like deadlifts, sumo-style deadlifts, stiff-leg deadlifts, Romanian deadlifts, feet wide/elevated leg press and all single limb variations.

Tip No. 2 - Prioritize Your Legs For At Least 6 Weeks

I’m getting really tired of having guys approach me to say, “Man, I wish I had your legs.” I always shake my head and think to myself, “You could — if you stopped training chest three times a week!”

Many people are afraid to take time away from their upper body in fear of “losing” their gains. That couldn’t be any further from the truth. The only way you’ll lose size on your upper body is if you stop training it completely. So throw that fear out the window.

Once you get your legs going twice a week, not only will you have a more proportional and symmetrical physique, but everything else will grow, too, because of the effects of hard training on your hormone levels.

Start training your legs regularly and hit your lower body with the right intensity and frequency, and your entire body will keep on growing. Six weeks of dedicated leg training, two times per week, will get you growing for weeks.

Tip No. 3 - Pre-Exhaust With Leg Extensions on Quad Day and Leg Curls on Hip Day

Although no one has the same ratio of muscle fiber types, the muscle fibers activated during quad training are predominantly slow-twitch (Type II fibers). Believe it or not, I rarely ever squat more than 225 pounds, and my legs continue to grow.

Many guys see their legs grow once they use loading parameters that are different from the ones they use for the rest of their body. Higher reps are not associated with muscle growth, but when it comes to quad training, it makes a big difference.

Kickstart your quad workout with 4 sets of 15-20 reps, with a 5-0-1-1 tempo (take 5 seconds to lower the weight, no pause, 1 second to rise to the starting position and then pause 1 second before performing another repetition). Rest 45 seconds between sets.

Technique Tips for Leg Extensions: Keep your glutes locked down, sit upright (you can lean forward slightly to increase difficulty), keep your patella pointed to the ceiling, go through a full range of motion (weight stacks should be a cm apart) and don’t bounce the weight up.

Conversely, hamstrings are predominantly fast-twitch (Type I fibers) so they will respond better to explosive and lower rep ranges such as 4-6 and 6-10. Kickstart your hip workout with 4 sets of 5-8 reps with a 40x1 tempo (take 4 seconds to lower the weight, no pause, “X” means as explosive as possible, then pause 1 second before performing another repetition). Rest 60 seconds between sets.

Technique Tips for Leg Curls: Shove your hips into the pad, don’t move your glutes, keep your toes pointed (to eliminate assistance from your calves), prop yourself up onto your elbows (which makes it instantly harder).

Tip No. 4 - Use The Old-School 5x5 Protocol: 5 sets of 5 reps with 4-0-1-1 Tempo & two-minute Rest

After your legs are warmed up, limp on over to the squat rack to use one of the most famous rep and set protocols responsible for making generations of athletes stronger. The idea here is to start your first set of five once you have found your ideal work weight. You should hit failure on your first set of five to make this work for you. This might take one or two warmup sets to prime your legs. The reps and tempo dictate the load so a typical set might look like this:

Set 1- 5 reps at 225 pounds Set 2 - 5 reps at 225 pounds Set 3 - 5 reps  at 225 pounds Set 4 - 4 reps  at 225 pounds Set 5- 3 reps at 225 pounds

Increase the weight 5%-10% when you accomplish 5 sets of 5 reps with a 4-0-1-1 tempo and 2-minute rest between sets. The idea is to not increase weight until you can successfully complete the goal reps and sets, and, most importantly, the tempo and rest periods.

On hip day, you can do the 5x5 method on any deadlift variation of your choice. I recommend trying an exercise you haven’t tried for some time.

This article was written by Vince Del Monte and was originally published on AskMen.

More from AskMen:

Aerobic Exercises

5 Ways To Avoid Overtraining

Lifting Weights Burns Fat

Best Workouts For Couples

(Photo Credit: Run SMART Project)

By Lisa Elaine Held for Well+Good

Keeping up your running routine during winter can be a challenge—with icy pavement, freezing temperatures, and holiday parties wreaking havoc on your training plan.

RELATED: 7 stylish pieces to wear on your cold-weather runs

Which is why the Run SMART Project, Finish Line Physical Therapy, and Brooklyn Running Co. teamed up to create the new Winter Running Program, a 12-week training plan that’s personalized and comes with injury prevention measures and cold-weather shoe consultation and education. “We’re trying to really focus on staying healthy and motivated—and also getting faster,” says running coach and Run SMART Project founder Brian Rosetti.

RELATED: The super-important training component most runners ignore To help you achieve all of those goals, we asked Rosetti to share some of the expertise used in creating the Winter Running Program. Keep these five tips in mind next time you’re lacing and bundling up:

1. Don’t wear your summer shoes.  When streets are slick, you want to go with a trail shoe over a road shoe, Rosetti says. Some shopping tips: Choose something with a softer rubber sole; harder rubber will get even harder in the cold, worsening the shoe’s grip. And make sure the tread pattern is wide and open as opposed to tight. “Snow packs up in tight treads, and then there’s no traction,” he explains. “Then you’re kind of on skis at that point.” Save that for the mountain.

RELATED: A peek at the New Balance x Kate Spade Saturday collab

2. Run for time, not miles. Running in the snow (or hopping around ice patches) is harder and will take you longer, so rather than running for miles, run for time (i.e., an hour instead of 5 miles), Rosetti recommends. This way, you won’t exhaust yourself based on your fair-weather pace. You should also start out slower than you normally would, since it’s going to take longer for your muscles to warm up. “Just expect that your pace is going to be slower, and get used to that in the winter,” he says.

RELATED: 3 seriously no-slip headphones for running 

3. Run against the wind first. If you’re going to run an out-and-back, figure out the direction of the wind before you get moving (especially if you’re running on a really windy water route, like New York’s West Side Highway). “If the wind’s at your back on the way out, you generally get really warm and start to sweat and then when you come back, you’re going to be slower and wet with sweat, which will make you freezing,” Rosetti explains. So as unappealing as it may be, run into the wind first, then coast home with it at your back.

4. Don’t snub the treadmill. "More serious runners are wary of the treadmill because they think it’s not as good of a workout," Rosetti says. Even though it may be less exciting than checking out the cast of characters in Central Park, it’s a solid option for days when it’s just too treacherous outside. And if you don’t have access to a treadmill, give yourself a break rather than breaking a leg. “If you’re sore, a little sick, or it’s really snowing, just take the day off. It’s safer,” he says. “You can miss up to five days in a row and be comfortable with the fact that you haven’t lost any fitness.”

RELATED: How not to be bored on the treadmill ever again

5. Say no to cotton. It may sound counter-intuitive, but sweat-wicking is even more important when temperatures drop, because if your shirt is wet and sticking to you, you’ll be extra, extra freezing, making it hard to keep going. The key is your base layer: make sure to wear technical fabrics that will soak up your sweat against your skin.

More Reading:

Why more yogis are taking up running