I often run/jog/walk the Lost Bluff trail here in my hometown. It is a very challenging trail to run. One that requires you to be alert, as there are many dangers like sleep hills, and descents, exposed tree roots to trip on, and if its in the summer, sweltering heat.

The trail claims to be 2.2 miles through rigorous terrain, I find it to be 1.62 miles using gps.

I ran this trail at around 1 p.m. when the heat was a blistering 102F and heat index of 113F.

When I was done I could ring out my tank top and get a half a cup of sweat from it.

If you want to test your stamina, endurance, and cardio, you will want to give this trail a try. Once you get it down pat, your only competition will be that of your stop watch as you try and beat your last time. My best time was 23 minutes. I average about 26 minutes.

In the video below, I take you with me on my jog, using a pair of mini dvr sunglasses that I purchased online.

So that it would not be completely boring, I threw in some still shots of the trail and some extra footage taken by the dvr sunglasses.

All of this was shot using the dvr sunglasses, the music was obtained from royaltyfreemusic.com and all of it was edited on an iMac using iMovie.

This is a large video, about 26 minutes in length so I had to break it down into two parts due to the limitations of YouTube.

Sorry for all the shake, it is on my head and I was jogging after all. Hopefully the music and still shots and sometimes video scenes that do not shake, will help you tolerate it and watch it all the way to the end.

Part One.

Part Two

Day 1  Back

• Chin ups  3 sets of failure
• Lat pulldowns 1×20,1×18,1×15,3×12
• Seated cable rows 5×8
• Bent over dumbbell rows 3×15
• Reverse grip pulldowns 4×8
• Close grip pulldowns 3×10
• Wide grip rows (machine) 2×20

Day 2 Chest

• Incline barbell press 1×15,1×12,1×10,3×8
• Incline dumbbell press 4×10
• Chest press 1×15,1×12,2×10
• Decline bench press 3×8
• Dumbbell bench flyes 1×20,1×15,2×12
• Push ups 2 x failure

Day 3 Legs

• Leg extensions 4×12
• Leg curls 4×12
• Squats 3×15
• Leg press 1×25,1×20,2×18,2×15
• Calf raises 4×10

Day 4 Shoulders

• Side lateral raises 1×15,2×12,3×10
• Dumbbell shoulder press 1×15,2×12,3×10
• Front raises 3×15
• Upright rows 4×8
• Reverse flyes 3×12
• Barbell shrugs 4×10

Day 5 Bi’s and tri’s

• Rope extensions 4×18
• Dumbbell curls 4×15
• Skull crushers 4×8
• Barbell curls 4×8
• Close grip bench 3×10
• Hammer curls 3×10
• dumbbell extension 2×12
• machine curls 2×12

Go as heavy as you can but keep good form
One minute rest between sets

The workout: Incline Dumbbell Press

Warm-up 2 sets using 55 lbs for 15 reps,
1 set 80 lbs for 12 reps
1 set 85 lbs for 10 reps
1 set 90 lbs for 8 reps
1 set 95 lbs for 8 reps

I only recorded what was needed to prove what we had been saying to him in the gym.

After all this we did a super set routine.

Bench Press
Machine Flyes
Pushups

What you want to do is 5 sets of 12  as heavy as you can do it. Do the bench press, then immediately go and do the flyes, then drop down on the floor and do pushups at a standard width till failure. Wait about 90 seconds and do it again.

I usually start heavy on bench and strip for each set.

Good luck!

Here is a new five day workout routine that’s meant to add bulk and strength.
Remember to go heavy as you can for the reps given.

Don’t get all Wizard Sleeve on me and lift a few reps past what you are supposed too.
When it says 8 reps, I want you to lift some HEAVY WEIGHT so that the 8th rep is a HARD ONE.

Lets do this for a month and maybe a month and a half and they we will change it up and do something that will lean us out for summer.

Enjoy.

Monday

• Incline Flyes 3×20
• Incline Barbell Press 4×8
• Incline Dumbbell  4×8
• Bench Press 4×10
• Flyes Machine 5×8

Tuesday

• Lat Pull downs 4×15
• Dumbbell Rows 5×10
• Reverse Grip Pull downs 4×10
• Wide Grip Row Machine 4×8
• Cable Rows 3×10

Wednesday

• Dumbbell Shoulder Press 5×8
• Lateral Raises 4×10
• Front Raises 3×12
• Upright Rows 4×8
• Shrugs Barbell 4×10
• Reverse Flyes 4×8

Thursday

• Leg Extension 4×15
• Leg Curls 4×12
• Leg Press 5×15
• Deadlift 3×12
• Lunges stationary 4×12
• Calf Raises 4×15

Friday

• Barbell Curls wide grip 5×10
• Tricep Rope Pressdown 5×10
• Hammer Curls 4×12 or Concentration Curls
• Close Grip Bench 4×12
• Preacher Curls 4×8
• Dips 4×10
• Machine Curls 1×20
• Straight Bar Tricep Press down 1×20
• Wrist Curls 4×15

How many times have you witnessed someone trying to do shrugs with an unreasonable amount of weight. I have seen guys trying to use 110lbs dumbbells in each hand. This doesn’t seem effective and is quite frankly rediculous. There are many exercises that can work your “traps” or Trapezius muscles, other than extreme weight shrugs.

If you don’t mind looking like a fitness model (which I agree isn’t that bad), then don’t worry about your traps. I happen to think they are what sets the body builder look apart from the body of a fitness model, among other things. No wonder people work so hard to get huge traps.

The “traps” or Trapezius muscles are above your collar bone on top of your shoulders and extend from your neck to the tip of your shoulders.

If your traps aren’t developed just be glad they they can be the biggest improvement in your overall look, and grow really quickly. With well developed traps, you will raise the bar from looking like a regular Joe to looking like a body builder.

Trapezius “Trap” Exercises

I know you probably think shrugs are the only way to build huge traps. How’s that working out for you? I’m guessing not too well, otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this. Well, shrugs are an effective core exercise to build traps just like bicep curls are to build biceps, but there are other things you can do to get a good trap workout. Below is a routine I have developed to get you on your way.

1. Shrugs 3 sets X 10 – 12 reps

These had to be included, they are the key to a successful trap training. Now I know we have all done shrugs before, but I would like to included a few tips. Now I know that when I use the standard shrug form and fully contract my traps, they end up hitting my neck resulting in a limited contraction. If you push your head as far forwardas possible, it will remove your neck from the range of motion and allow your traps to fully contract. Once you have flexed your traps, hold the position for two seconds and slowly release. It is also good to sit on a bench to avoid cheating.

1. Lateral Raises, with Traps Flared 3 X 12 – 15

This can be a much harder move than the shrug. The first thing you want to do is flare your traps with the dumbbells in your hands. Next you will perform a lateral raise. This is just like a lateral raise done for shoulders, but with your traps flared, most of the pressure is put on your traps. You will want to start with 12 to 15 reps and not very much weight to maintain proper form and get used to the movement.

1. Bent over lateral raises, with Traps Flared 3 X 10 – 12

The bent over lateral raise is just like the last move but obviously bent over. This is good for hitting the back of your traps which helps you look more built, defined and strong from behind. You will want to bend at the waist at about a 45 degree angle.

These are two unpopular exercises that will really improve your trap building results.  You can just add the exercises into any workout, they would be perfect if you do a split and have a “shoulders day.”

Throw these exercises into the mix and watch your results go through the roof!

2002 Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic Winner

When I turned pro in 1996, I weighed 248 pounds. In 1998, I was 260. In 2000, I was 265. In 2001, was 267; and when I won the Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic this year, I was 270. I’ve said it a thousand times: The secret to my success is consistency, and the secret to my consistent improvement is a harnessed but aggressive pursuit of mass and a healthy acceptance of time.

It’s all right to be impatient, but you need to realize that quality mass does not come overnight. Quick mass might, but quick mass doesn’t win contests, because it hasn’t been forged into place and anchored deep in bones by the cold-steel hammer of decisive training. There is a lot of braggadocio these days from bodybuilders who are proud of their “insane intensity” when they train. The winners, however, are invariably seasoned pros who take charge of their bodies, encouraging them onward, rather than punishing them masochistically for not responding to demands.

Your body has its own rules for growth, and those rules are the parameters for getting the most out of your training. Try imposing your own rules, and your body will refuse to respond; cooperate with your body’s rules, and your body will respond in kind. Thankfully, I intuited this early in my career, and, ever since, my body and I have been able to negotiate a set of rules for keeping me balanced at the peak of my potential.

Rule 1

EAT BIG

To grow, you need to eat more calories than your body uses. My rule of thumb is one to one-and-a-half grams of protein per pound of bodyweight per day and two-and-a-half to three grams of carbohydrates per pound of bodyweight per day. Start with that, then fine-tune it to your individual requirements as you go. Keep saturated fats to a minimum, eat as much quality and variety as possible, and drink at least two gallons of water per day. This is to keep your metabolism elevated, an especially important consideration when you’re consuming this much food.

Rule 2

TRAIN HEAVY

Train at 70-80% of the maximum weight you’re capable of handling effectively for six reps almost to failure. This is bodybuilding, not powerlifting; do not train so heavy that you reach total failure at two reps. My goal with every set is to help the muscle empty itself of its existing glycogen, so that can push more glycogen into the muscle in its place, without taking the muscle to failure or damaging tissue. With every set, leave the muscle room to recuperate and grow.

Rule 3

STICK TO BASICS

Meat-and-potatoes exercises make you grow best, and that means bench presses for chest, squats for quads, deadlifts for back, shoulder presses for shoulders, barbell curls for biceps, close-grip bench presses for triceps and stiff-leg deadlifts for hamstrings; i.e., all of the compound exercises that people hate to do. By involving muscle groups ancillary to the target bodypart, synergistic growth of adjacent muscles is stimulated, as well. This, in turn, accelerates your strength gains, which, in turn, translates into even more muscle growth; round and round we go, in an ever-faster upward spiral of mass gains.

Rule 4

SIX TO 10 REPETITIONS

Pick a weight you can control for six to 10 repetitions, executing each rep to its fullest contraction. Avoid excessive sloppiness in your training, but at the same time, use enough force, in the form of body thrust and explosiveness, to exhaust the muscle and break down the tissue. What I tend to do in a Jay Cutler routine is warm up by pyramiding the sets for my first one or two exercises. As I continue to move through the successive exercises in my workout, I will start with the heaviest weight and stay with it through all of the sets. For range of motion, I compromise: I don’t lock out, but I get a full contraction. No half reps.

Rule 5

A MINUTE TO A MINUTE-AND-A-HALF REST BETWEEN SETS

When training for a show, I rest only 30 to 45 seconds between sets, but when I’m trying to 3 add mass during the offseason, I rest twice as long: a minute to a minute and a half. This gives me just enough recuperation time to catch my breath and allow my heart rate to return to normal. Most important, I want to have maximum strength to perform every set to its fullest potential. At the same time, a minute and a half is not so much of a delay that I will lose the pump I built from the preceding set.

Rule 6

NO MORE THAN 12 SETS PER RODYPART

If you’re not getting the job done in 12 sets, after training heavy and resting only a minute to a minute and a half, you are doing something wrong. Most likely, you’re not training with enough intensity. Conversely, if you trained intensely with your first 12 sets, you’ll be entering the region of muscle waste if you try for more. As for myself, I like four exercises per body part, with three sets per exercise.

Rule 7

AT LEAST EIGHT HOURS OF SLEEP PER NIGHT

You grow when you’re out of the gym, not in it, and you grow even more when you sleep. That’s when your body slows down, and its natural stores of growth hormone are released. Without enough sleep and recuperation, your body will have to struggle, and you won’t be able to add weight. I get at least eight hours of sleep at night, but I also get in two additional hours of naptime every day, preferably an hour after a workout and another hour cumulatively after meals. In other words, I get 10 hours of sleep in a 24-hour period.

Rule 8

LIMIT OTHER PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES

Calories burned for other physical activities are not available for training, thereby limiting your growth cycle. I get a lot of questions from construction workers and athletes, for example, who complain about not being able to maintain weight; likewise, those who do a lot of walking and running, and people who live in hot climates. In such cases, I suggest eating every hour to hour and a half, breaking down the meals to half-size and having 10 to 12 meals a day, to help avoid a calorie deficit.

Rule 9

TRAIN A BODYPART ONCE EVERY FIVE TO SEVEN DAYS

Avoid overtraining at all costs. For an average person, recovery time is assumed to be 48 hours for a bodypart, but for a heavy-lifting bodybuilder trying to add mass, it’s much longer. Even that protraction is modified by your work schedule, family obligations and other activities. Ronnie Coleman trains every bodypart twice a week, but not everybody can do that. Your individual case will take some experimenting on your part. For me, it works out to be five to seven days. None of this is written in stone, but those are safe numbers that have worked for me, illustrating the vast differences among us.

Rule 10

NO OFF-SEASON CARDIO

I like to emphasize that training to your fullest ability burns more calories than any specific cardiovascular workout; conversely, cardiovascular workouts, if performed to a beneficial level, burn muscle mass, so I suggest that bodybuilding and cardiovascular training should not be mixed. It’s healthy to be cardiovascularly fit, but if you lift weights with sufficient intensity to substantially boost your heart rate, that’s enough. Train with very heavy compound movements and moderate reps, and you not only tap into glycogen reserves and fat storage, but you force yourself to breathe deeper than you would in a standard cardio workout. A healthy heart is one that is responsive to dramatic demands on its rate differentials. Bodybuilding conditions the heart to handle those sudden jumps; cardio training does not. Even for a contest, I tend not to do a lot of cardio, yet I hear some guys do as much as two hours a day. They’re burning more than glycogen and fat; they’re burning muscle.

Rule 11

CONSISTENCY

The one word you’ll hear me utter more than any other is “consistency,” but if you expect to make major gains in mass, it becomes more than a flip term or even a rule. It’s a philosophy that perfuses every aspect of a bodybuilding life. You need to eat consistently, train consistently and keep yourself consistently motivated. Fight every impulse to subordinate your workouts to rationalizations and temptations. After work, do not go home before you go to the gym. The refrigerator, couch and television are powerfully seductive. Also ignore hunger pangs at that time of day; do not stop at a drive-through burger joint, but go directly to the gym. If your training partner fails to show, don’t use that as an excuse to go home. Plow through your workout by yourself, and take pride that you have more guts than he does. Guts and consistency drive you toward your goals.

“The big 11: my 11 rules for building mass and power”. Flex. FindArticles.com. 13 Jan, 2010.
COPYRIGHT 2002 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group

Complete this entire routine in an hour or less. This is how you will get ripped. Rest no longer than 1 minute between sets. This is your cardio, trust me on this.

When I say do 4 sets of 10 reps, that 10th rep better be ALL YOU GOT! I would rather see you do between 8-10 than to go over ten. If you are going over, its not heavy enough!

Monday (Chest)

• Incline Barbell 4×10
• Incline Dumbbell Press 4×8
• Flat Bench Press 3×10
• Chest Flyes Dumbbells or Machine 3×12
• Dips 3×15 -Push Ups 2xfailure

Tuesday (Back)

• Lat Pulldown 3×20
• Reverse Lat Pulldonw 3×12
• Dumbell Rows 4×10
• Wide Grip Machine Pulls 3×12
• Chin Ups 2xfailure -Shrugs 5×10

Wednesday (Legs)

• Leg Extensions 3×20
• Squats 3×15
• Leg Press 3×15
• Lunges 3×20
• Leg Curls 3×10
• Calf Raises 4×10

Thursday (Shoulders)

• Dumbbell Shoulder Press 4×12
• Lateral Raises 4×12
• Front Raises 3×12
• Upright Rows 4×10
• Reverse Flyes (rear laterals) 3×10

Friday (Biceps Triceps Forearms)

• Barbell Curls 4×10
• Tricep Pressdown 4×10
• Hammer Curls 3×12
• Skull Crushers 3×12
• Preacher Curls 4×8 -Barbell Wrist Curls 4×15
• Close Grip Bench Press 4×8
• Wrist Curls 4×15

Stay Tuned for Part 2 coming next month.

Contraction Rep Dips – Perform a common dip using a flat bench. On the up movement only come up 3/4 of the way.  You will feel a contraction in the triceps at the 3/4 mark.  Do 3 sets of 15 using your usual weight resistance.

Pull over Skulls – Perform a common pullover with your arms bent at a 45 degree angle.  On the up movement extend your arms doing a triceps extension. Repeat this motion in a fluid and controlled manner for 3 sets of 12 with about 30% less of your usual triceps extension workout weight. You should feel a wonderful burn and you will definitely see the pump.

*Be careful not to bash you head on the downward movement.

Tricep curls – This is a modified version of tricep kickbacks. Take your usual workout weighted dumbells used for kickbacks, Take a bent over row position and then lean forward at a 30 to 45 degree angle.  This forces your Triceps to stay in resistance mode, similar to Preacher Curls for the biceps, while performing kickbacks.  Do 3 sets of 10-12.  Your triceps will feel like your biceps.  This one really plays tricks on the muscles.

Guess what, you are done with the Tri’s!

Your rest periods should be kept between 30-45 Secs. And do like the Austrian Oak and keep flexing the Tri’s between sets so as not to let them fully rest until you are done.

Have a good workout!

To get the best results from your leg workout, train legs on their
own day of the week. When training your legs, you’re basically
working half your body in one session.

Training your leg muscles doesn’t only work your lower half; it
actually works your entire body, increases your heartbeat and gets
your blood flowing to help burn fat and work your cardiovascular
system. If you’re working out hard enough, you won’t have any
energy left to train any other body parts anyway.

The squat is the mother of all leg exercises. If you were to do
only one leg exercise, it should be the squat, since it works
your entire body. The regular squat is a great exercise in order
to build your legs and your overall fitness level.

Thigh Exercises
Squats or Leg Press – 4 sets x 12,10,8,6 reps
Leg Extension – 3 sets x 10,8,6 reps

Hamstring Exercises
Lying Leg Curls – 3 sets x 12,10,8 reps
Stiff Leg Deadlifts – 3 sets x 12,10,8 reps

Calf Exercises
Standing Calf Raise – 3 sets x 12,12,12 reps
Seated Calf Raise – 3 sets x 12,12,12 reps

By Ray Burton
Author of the Bodyweight Training System
see http://www.jamnfitness.com/bodyweight-training-system.html

Here is a quick run down on the biggest bodyweight no equipment
workout questions I get. Things like their effectiveness and
what you can achieve without even leaving the house to get your
workouts done. I also threw in a mini workout for you… so
here you go Hope you like it…

Do no equipment bodyweight training workouts build muscle or
do they burn fat? Actually, I’ve been asked if they do
anything at all sometimes. Well, besides the fact that
sometimes you engage in an activity simply because it’s
freak’n fun, let’s see if there is a concrete result that
might get from all this effort it as well.

What causes muscles growth? That’s a tricky question. Some
think it’s weight training. In fact, weight training destroys
muscle. When you place a stress on a muscle that it has not
encountered before or use it to it’s maximal capacity, muscle
tissue is broken down in that effort.

What causes muscle growth is the adaptation to that stress
that you just exposed the muscle to. The adaptation can be
cellular volumization through holding more energy components
inside the muscle or increased size through muscle fibre
repair. It depends on the stress you put on the muscle and
the adaption that is required so the next time your body
encounters the same stress, it is more efficiently set up
to deal with it. So in fact, training at a high intensity
(comparative) is actually the START of muscle growth. It is
the stimulus and not the end point. Regardless however, it
is a necessary component to get to the desired outcome of
muscle growth in the end.

So can you build muscle without equipment using only your
bodyweight at home? YES, but not directly. It’s simply
pulling the trigger. If the stress is of sufficient
magnitude, then it will start off the process just like
any other form of resistance training.

So again. What builds muscle? Your body builds muscle. Training
is a stimulus. Food and rest are the building supplies that make
the remodelling, adaptation and replenishing possible.

Now for the second part. Does and bodyweight training burn fat?
Well, what causes you to burn fat?

Burning fat is called technically called Lipolysis. It is the
chemical decomposition and release of fat from adipose tissue
or fat. This Lipolysis predominates over lipogenesis (storing
fat) when additional energy is required by the body. Body fat
is basically just like a bank. A bank that handles energy
instead of money.

So if you get to the point where your body needs more energy
than can be provided in existing energy stores to perform the
given task you’re doing during your home workouts, then you
will burn fat.

Just like if you need more money than you have in your pocket,
you go to the bank and pull some out.

It is a complex series of mash ups and changes of the adipose
tissue into a more usable source of energy but the end result
is that you mobilize your fat stores to create another fuel
source for the body.

So let’s get to the short of it without the lengthy explanations.
Does no equipment bodyweight only training training build muscle?
Yes. Does burn fat? Totally.

And now for the last part…. I can’t leave without making you
sweat a little. This will take you about 5 minutes and jack you
up so you’re running in high gear for a couple of hours, enjoy.
This one’s a mini commando home workout and you should do it
non-stop!

Pushups continuous for one minute, hold the top position if
you cannot continue.
Sit-ups continuous for one minute, hold the top position if
you cannot continue.
Body weight squats 1 min. No resting in the standing position.
Pushups 20 repetitions (reps)
Sit-ups 20 reps
Pushups 15 reps
Sit-ups 15 reps
Pushups 12 reps
Sit-ups 12 reps
Bodyweight V-ups 30 seconds (sec) This is a sit up where both
the lower and upper body come off the ground to meet at a
point above your stomach.
Alternate forward lunges 1 minute (min)
Bodyweight V-ups 30 sec
Burpee’s 30 seconds From the standing position, squat down
and shoot your legs back so that you are now in the push up
position. From there pull your legs back in stand up and jump
with your arms overhead.
Side lunge – hold the bottom position of the lunge and do mini
pulses for 30 each leg and do that only once.

Awesome. Now wipe off your forehead and get back to what you
were doing The cool thing about using only your bodyweight
and hitting it at home is that you’re never more than 20 feet
from your shower!

Train Hard, Live Easy

Ray Burton

Note: If you’d like to check out more of Ray’s stuff, he just
released a complete no equipment, bodyweight only training
system that you can do without ever leaving your house. It’s
not the the faint hearted but it sure works.
It’s right here ===> http://www.jamnfitness.com/bodyweight-training-system.html