laurensfitness.com
Fitness. Strength. Nutrition.
How To Get Bigger Legs
Sep 1st
If you want to know how to get bigger legs, then I applaud you! I can’t express the amount of times I have heard people, especially women ask me how to tone up their legs. Getting bigger legs is actually pretty easy, if you do it the right way. A lot of it comes from the kind of training that you do, and of course even more stems from the things you eat. Don’t get the right combination of the two, and you are going to struggle to achieve your goal. Follow these three simple pieces of advice, and you will be getting bigger legs in no time.
7 Best Hamstring Exercises
Aug 26th
Hamstrings are the forgotten muscle. When we think of legs, most of us will head straight to quad work. This is great and totally necessary, but without balance in your training, you are not going to go very far. It is extremely important to include a range of hamstring exercises into your training, and you often need to isolate them relatively. There are very few people out there that actually have adequate hamstring development, and there is usually a lot of work needed.
Why You Need To Work Your Hamstrings
Push Up Vs Bench Press
Aug 25th
People often want to know the difference between the push up and bench press. They actually don’t work exactly the same muscles, one is not better than the other, and you can get important benefits from both. One gives you a means to create huge amounts of power, and one gives you a way to get strong and protect your shoulder at the same time. Read on to understand the important differences and find out more about the push up vs bench press.
Muscles Used In Push Ups And Bench Press
Do Squats Make You Jump Higher?
Aug 25th
The short answer is yes, most definitely. If you want to jump higher, the squat is a must do exercise. The correlation between increasing your squat, and increasing your jump is extremely high, and although some people need more reactivity training than others, everyone can do with getting their squat up.
To put it simply, the movement of a squat is exactly like the movement of a jump. Get your maxiumum squat strength up, you are without a doubt going to get your maximum jump up. The fact is that most people looking to increase their vertical jump, will probably just be lacking big time in brute strength, without a base on the squat, you aren’t going to get off the ground.
Aeromat Foam Roller
Aug 25th
great quality foam roller
Head to amazon to check out more about the Aeromat Foam Roller
Two important things to ask regarding a foam roller:
- Is it firm?
- Does it retain it’s shape?
Back Spasms
Aug 24th
Back spasms are involuntary, intermittent and often prolonged contractions in the muscles of the back, they have various causes and severity levels, however they are painful, cause a lot of discomfort and can really put you out of activity for a while. Most people that are active in some way would have felt the wrath of back spasms before, and just like anything else, it is important to ensure that you understand what is going on, in order to get rid of the pain.
Common Causes Of Back Spams
Leg Exercise Equipment: Do You Need It?
Aug 24th
There is an ongoing argument about using leg exercise equipment as opposed to doing free weights. The fact is, in my opinion at least, free weights wins out almost every time for leg exercises. This is not to say that exercise machines do not have their place, however if you want to build a great strong body, the most effective way is to lift a lot of weights with a lot of different muscles. Compound exercises with dumbbells and barbells will more often than not achieve this.
Free Weights Vs Equipment
Build Muscle 101
Aug 24th
If you want to build muscle, there are right and wrong ways to go about it. Wasting your time doing the wrong weights, or wasting your time eating badly will both prevent you from gaining and building muscle at a decent rate. You need to lift correctly, and you need to eat correctly. Follow this simple formula, and you will be building muscle in no time.
Why Is Building Muscle So Important?
People are often reluctant to build muscle, whether it is because they don’t want to put in the work, they don’t want to get too bulky, or they think that cardio is a more efficient means of attaining their goals. There are more than just the obvious benefits of building muscle strength:
Hip Labral Tear
Aug 23rd
Hip pain is pretty common, and one diagnosis we are seeing more of since investigative technologies have been developed, is the hip labral tear. Not only is this painful, depending on the severity, it can require surgery to correct. The labrum in the hip is actually a ring of cartilage and has two important functions. It acts to deepen the socket to provide stability to the joint, and it also acts to reduce the friction that is felt whilst moving. A hip labral tear is characterized by the breaking or damaging of the labrum in the hip, the surface is no longer smooth.
How To Self Massage
Aug 23rd
We have repeatedly discussed the benefits of self massage and ensuring that your muscles get the soft tissue work they need. I found a great video that tells you exactly how to self massage with a foam roller and tennis ball. I can’t stress enough the important of you actually getting into some soft tissue work, you will immediately discover the benefits. You no doubt have a lot of trigger points in your body that are causing you pain. Check out these posts to get some more info:
How To Get Rid Of Shin Splints
Aug 20th
You upped your training levels, started to push harder, got more serious, everything was fine for a while, until you started to feel pain in your shin. No doubt this pain only got worse over time. Chances are you are suffering from shin splints. Shins splints are a common condition that many people suffer from. They are painful, annoying and if you don’t look after them correctly they only get worse. Finding out how to get rid of shin splints is important, and will ensure that you don’t end up with a stress fracture.
What Are Shin Splints?
Top 5 Changes Anyone Can Make to Improve Their Health
Aug 17th
Everybody wants to be healthier. Some people just don’t know how to do it, or they think that it’s too difficult. It may be difficult, but it’s too important to ignore. Here are five changes you can make in your daily life that will make you healthier.
1. Eat well.
This does not mean you should go on a diet because the term “diet” implies a temporary change. You want to learn to eat properly forever, so consider it a lifestyle change. Try making a healthy meal plan with food that you like. Whenever you want to eat, now you won’t have to think about it. If you plan your meals properly ahead of time, the correct decision is already made.
Electronic Muscle Stimulators
Aug 17th
A lot of people wonder about the use of electronic muscle stimulators in sport and training, and the fact is that they do have their place. Although not at the forefront of methods that will help you be the best, they can certainly give you an edge in both your training and recovery. The problem is that they don’t come cheap, so here are a couple of great cheap electrical muscle stimulator options from Amazon that I found. If you want to see the full range of EMS machines to choose from then click here.
Achilles Tendon Injury
Aug 16th
The Achilles tendon is a problematic area, and one that can get pretty painful. It is important when you start to feel pain in this area, that you take notice and do the correct rehabilitation. Achilles tendon injuries are painful and complicated, but not impossible to rehabilitate. They often take a lot of time, and you need to be patient with the work you are doing. it is important that you get it right the first time in order to avoid repeating the injury, and possibly making it worse. The Achilles tendon connects the calf muscle to your heel bone. It is a thick tendon that is visible at the back of your foot, and works to help you rise onto your toes. There are two common injuries to this tendon that we will discuss.
Arch Pain: Causes & Treatment
Aug 13th
Arch pain is usually felt as a burning sensation or discomfort that you feel under your foot, in the arch. The most common cause that you will hear about is plantar fasciitis, however there are a number of other reasons why you might be suffering this pain. Generally it will be caused from an imbalance, like most most problems in the body, leaving other areas to heavily compensate. Combine that with other factors that can cause overuse injuries, plus some bad footwear, and you have a serious recipe for arch pain.
Arch Anatomy
Overtraining in Sport
Aug 10th
There is a fine line between getting the most out of your training and overtraining. To improve your performance in anything, you have to work hard and push your limits. However, you have to find the right balance between getting the most out of yourself and breaking down. The improvements that will occur in your body, occur in your rest periods. It is when you allow your body to adapt. Managing training loads is important and will ensure that you keep yourself from over training.
Lack Motivation?: Break Through Your Barriers
Aug 10th
This is a guest post from the author or your happy hearts.com! My name is Angie Christine and I am the author of Your Happy Hearts. I am asked to write about Motivation more than any other subject. It’s hard to help someone find their motivation. “Motivation is unique to each of us.” I have said it in the past and will continue to say it again. You may be working out for a totally different reason than that of the person jogging next to you in the gym.
The Ultimate Sports Recovery Guide
Aug 5th
Whether you are a professional athlete, a weekend warrior, or someone who loves working out, you will benefit from having a good grasp on how to recover properly. Good recovery will enhance performance, allow you to train harder and ensure that you get better gains from your training. It helps the muscles repair, adapt and build and is essential in any training routine. Of course, not all sports recovery methods are necessary for everyone, but as we well know, knowledge is power. Here I am going to review the top methods for recovery, talk about why you need them, and what cases you should apply each one. The best evidence is trying it yourself. If you feel better, then it is a good recovery method for you.
Exercise in the Heat and Acclimatization
Aug 4th
This is an assignment I wrote at university, five years ago. For those that don’t know I studied Exercise Science. I came across it today looking through some old documents, and thought it might be of interest to some of you. Exercise in the heat can cause a lot of issues, especially for athletes. It is very important to acclimatize and get used to the conditions. This discusses what happens to the body during exercise in the heat, and ways that you can acclimatize to the conditions. Beware that is reasonably scientific and cites all the references, so for those who prefer a shorter version…
Is Pasta Healthy?
Aug 4th
Such a simple question that deserves a much longer answer…Pasta has been a staple in so many of our diets. Simple, quick, cheap and tasty, it makes for a very easy dinner solution. You can have a wide variety of sauces and tastes through it, and in this economy it is a very good option. However, given the rising obesity rate all over the world, we need to stop and think whether this nightly staple is actually a good choice for us or not. Is it healthy? Well, you have to define healthy first. Anything in moderation is completely fine. I prefer to look at how much you actually need it, what you get from it, and what are potentially better options.
Nutritional Value Of Pasta
