Total Gym Workout Routines

Total gym workout routines, multiply workouts to train your whole body that will build muscle and tone your body.

The exercises in these routines will train your whole body and all the major muscles in one simple workout.

You can train your whole body with simple workouts that can take less than 30 minutes to complete, you don't need to spend hours in the gym to get results.

Increase the reps and reduce the weight if you just want to tone up and not build too much muscle mass. The sets and reps here are focused more on muscle building.

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Workout one

• Bench press - muscles trained - chest - triceps - shoulders - 4 Sets of 8 - 10 reps

• Lat rows - muscles trained - upper back - biceps and shoulders - 4 Sets of 8 - 10 reps

• Bicep curls - muscles trained - biceps - forearms - 3 Sets of 8 - 10 reps

• Tricep extensions - muscles trained - triceps - forearms - 3 Sets of 8 - 10 reps

• Squats - muscles trained - hamstrings - buttocks - lower back - 4 Sets of 8 - 10 reps

• Lunges - muscles trained - buttocks - thighs - 4 Sets of 8 - 10 reps

• Leg raises - muscles trained - abdominals - 3 Sets of 10 - 20 reps

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Workout two

• Bench press - muscles trained - chest - shoulders - triceps - 3 - 4 sets of 10 reps

• Lunges - muscles trained - thighs - buttocks - 3 sets of 10 reps each leg

• Lateral shoulder raises - muscles trained - shoulders - 3 sets of 10 reps

• One arm lat rows - muscles trained - upper back (lats) - biceps - 3 sets of 10 reps

• Ab crunches - 80 reps

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Workout three

• Shoulder press - muscles trained - shoulders - upper chest - triceps - 3 sets of 10 reps

• Squats - muscles trained - buttocks - thighs - hamstrings - lower back - 3 sets of 10 reps

• Pull ups - muscles trained - upper back (lats) - biceps - 3 sets of 10 reps

• Peck deck - muscles trained - chest - biceps - 3 sets of 10 reps

Leg or knee raises - 60 reps

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I recommend mixing up your workouts every six weeks to keep things fresh and interesting. There some other workouts on this site that can give you some ideas.

Simple Thigh Stretches

List of the best thigh stretches, prevent injury to your thigh muscles by using these stretches.
These quadriceps stretching exercises should be performed by almost everyone, they're especially beneficial if you exercise on a regular basis or compete in sports.

Stretching regular will allow you to keep performing at your best for longer without your quads cramping up and reduce the chance of developing muscle pulls and tears.

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Side quad stretch

Technique

• Lie down on your left side, legs together, rest your upper body on your left elbow and forearm.

• Keep your body and left leg straight, grab your right ankle with your right hand, keep your thighs together and parallel.

• Pull your ankle back behind you so your right leg is bent at about 90 degrees, you should feel the stretch on your thigh.

• Hold for 10-15 seconds then repeat with your other leg. 3-5 times with each leg.

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Standing quad stretch

Technique

• In a standing position, use one arm to support you, with the other arm grab one leg at the ankle so your foot is behind you.

• Pull back the ankle until you feel your thigh stretch.

• Hold for 10-15 seconds then repeat with your other leg, 3-5 times with each leg.

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Kneeing quad stretch

Technique

• Get in a kneeing position keep your knees about 1 foot apart and sit on your feet.

• Lean back and support your body weight with your hands.

• Keep leaning back until you feel your quadriceps stretching. 

• Hold for 10-15 seconds and repeat 3-5 times.

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CAUTION!

If you feel pain in your knees while performing any of these exercises, especially the KNEEING QUAD STRETCH you must stop, you do not want to injure your knees. The pain could come from using the incorrect technique or a knee injury or perhaps your knees cannot cope with the extra pressure.

Stretching Information - Tips and Benefits

Stretching exercises to improve your range of motion, workout harder with reduced risk of injury, stretching is very overlooked in exercise.

If you want to achieve your best, then stretching should not be neglected, as well as reducing the risk of injury, it will improve your ability to move.

Other benefits

Improved circulation
Reduce muscle soreness
Helps to release lactic acid and toxins from the muscles

Don't stretch to far!

Stretching to far can cause injury, during your stretching sessions you'll feel discomfort, this is normal but if you go beyond this discomfort and you start to feel pain you must stop, you're at risk from over stretching and injuring yourself.

Warm up before stretching

When your muscles are cold they're not as flexible as when they're warmed up, and trying to stretch your muscles when they're cold could cause a muscle injury.

Types of muscles

Protagonistic muscles allow motion to happen

Antagonistic muscles limit our flexibility

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The four major stretching elements

Muscle - Muscle tissue itself is stretchy, but it has its limits, when muscle is stretched beyond its ability, muscle tears happen and they can take six months or longer to recover from.

Tendons - Connects muscle tissue and muscle to bone.

Ligaments - Connects bone to bone.

Joints - The range of motion of your joints can be improved by stretching.

Different types of stretching

Ballistic - This involves sudden bursts of movement not actual stretching of the muscles.

Static Active - Requires effort to hold your body in a particular static position.

Static Passive - Passive is just using your body weight to stretch.

Dynamic - This is just completing a range of motion of a joint.

Simple Shoulder Stretches

Here you will find some simple shoulder stretches. Your shoulders are made up from very important and powerful muscles, stretching can reduce the chance of injury and improve performance.

Shoulder injuries are very common, this is for two main reasons, first shoulders are used in almost every upper body movement and second your shoulder muscles have to deal with a great range of motion. Your shoulder joint is capable of the greatest range of motion of all your joints and your shoulders(deltoids) have to deal this with motion.

The below deltoid/shoulder stretches can help to pervert injuries.

Cross arm deltoid stretch

Technique

•  Raise one arm out in front of you, so it's parallel with the floor.

• Then move it across your body as far as you can, keep it straight.

• Use your forearm of your other arm to squeeze it into your body, you should feel your shoulder muscle being stretched.

• Hold for 10-15 seconds then repeat with your other arm

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Anterior deltoid stretch

Technique

• Stand up straight, place both hands behind your lower back.

• Lock your fingers with your palms facing away from you.

• keep your arms straight and lift your arms, (you'll not be able to lift very far).

• Lift only high enough until you feel your shoulders starting to stretch, do not go beyond that point.

• Hold for 10-15 seconds then repeat with your other arm

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Slow arm circles

Technique

• Stand up straight, keep your arms straight or you can have your elbows slightly bent.

• Slowly rotate your arms using your shoulders full range of motion.

• Repeat for 10-20 reps rotating forwards and backwards

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Please use caution when attempting any shoulder exercise, do not stretch beyond your comfort level.

Normal Heart Rate During Exercise

What is the average / normal heart rate for men and women? also what is the idea heart rate for burning fat and improving your cardiovascular system.

A normal heart rate for an adult is between 60 and 95. Someone with very good fitness can have a heart rate as low as 40bpm.

Women tend to have a higher heart rate than men, this is mainly due to a mans heart being larger than a women's, it can be 20%+ larger in some cases. This larger size is because men have more muscle mass and a larger heart is better at pumping blood to those muscles. A women's heart rate can beat more than 5 times a minute more than a mans.

Ways to check your pulse

Neck

Use your index and middle finger to check your pulse on your neck, place those fingers on the right upper side of your neck, you may have to apply some pressure before you can feel your pulse.

Wrist

Place your index and middle fingers just below your thumb on your wrist, a small amount of pressure may be needed.

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Don't use your thumb to check, as your thumb has a pulse and can distort the reading, bear in mind you should be fully rested and relaxed when you check your pulse. If you are feeling stressed or anxious your heart rate may be higher.

You don't have to hold and count for 60 seconds to get your beats per minute, you can hold for 20 seconds then multiply that figure by 3.

The below table shows heart rates during exercise to burn fat and improve cardiovascular fitness.

Age	Fat burning	Cardio improvments
20	130	160
30	122	152
40	117	144
50	110	135
60	105	128
70	98	120
80	90	112

The above information and figures are only an approximation and are based on my own study and research. If you are concerned that your heart rate might be too high or too low please visit your doctor.

If you would like more information on a healthy heart rate see the following article at medicalnewstoday.com

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What is Muscular Endurance? Example Workout

What is muscular endurance? this page includes tips and exercises that will allow you to improve your endurance.

Muscle endurance is one of the 5 major components of physical fitness, it's very important if you compete in sports or other athletic activities.

Muscular endurance is the ability to perform a physically demanding activity for a sustained period of time.

We have two different types of muscles, fast twitch and slow twitch muscles. Fast twitch muscles are designed for sudden bursts of movement, power and strength, an example of this would be, sprinting or weighting lifting. Slow twitch muscles allow an individual to perform certain physical activities for long periods of time, for example long distance running.

Fast twitch equals power and strength.

Slow twitch equals endurance.

The amount of slow and fast twitch muscles we have is decided by our genetic make up, so we cannot change this, however we can still improve on our abilities.

If you're interested in improving your muscular endurance you should perform activities such as, long distance running, swimming and cycling. You could also perform light weight and high repetition resistance training aka weight training.

Example Endurance Workout

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Running machine		10 - 15 minutes
Rowing machine		15 - 20 minutes
Stair climber		5 - 10 minutes
Press ups/Bench press	2	Until failure
Pull ups/Lat pull downs	2	Until failure

If you're using weight training exercises for your muscular endurance workouts, keep the weight low and the repetitions high, for example 20 - 40 repetitions or until failure. Endurance workouts should exclude strength and flexibility training.

Simple to Perform Hip Stretches

The hips can be a problem area, this page has some simple to perform hip stretches, the exercises include how to perform instructions.

These hip stretches can help to prevent injury and also help to recover from past injuries. Please contact your doctor for advice if you have suffered from any kind of hip injury.

The hips is a very important area, the hip joint is responsible for a large array of movements and it's responsible for supporting our bodies weight as we stand, walk and run, so yeah slightly important.

Exercising the hips strengthens the surrounding muscles and the 5 ligaments of the hip joint. It improves blood circulation and elasticity of the muscles and ligaments helping us to perform daily tasks easier, as well as helping prevent hip problems in the future.

Knee to the side extension

Technique

Lie face up on the floor or an exercise mat, keep your body straight.

Bend your right knee so you leg is bent at about 90 degrees, your knee should be pointing up.

Now move you right knee out to the side as far as you can, you will feel you inner thigh stretch, hold for a few seconds, then repeat with your other leg.

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Knee raise

Technique

Lie face up on the floor or an exercise mat, keep your body straight.

Slowly raise your left knee and bring it towards your chest as far as possible, keep your right leg straight, hold for a few seconds then repeat with your other leg.

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Hip side extension

Technique

Lie face up on the floor or an exercise mat, keep your body straight.

Now slowly extend your right leg out to the side as far as you can, keep it straight and hold for a few seconds, return to the start position and repeat with your other leg.

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