A CRAZY WORKOUT FOR A POWERFUL BACK

The back is one of the largest muscle groups in the body, composed of

 

.Sternum Chin-Ups

This variation of the chin-up involves leaning back throughout the entire movement. In this variation, the lower portion of the chest should touch the bar. As you pull yourself to the bar, have your head lean back as far away from the bar as possible and arch your spine throughout the movement.  Your hips and legs will be at about a 45-degree angle to the floor. You should keep pulling until your collarbone passes the bar and your sternum touches it.

 

 

Seated Rope Cable Rows to Neck

Most people will agree that the vast majority of trainees devote far more time to chest work than to back work. As a result, they start to look like Neanderthals. Seated cable rows to the neck will help balance the equation.

 

Set the adjustable pulley so that it’s directly in front of your pecs. Use a rope—it will reduce the stress on your forearms and wrists and allow you to concentrate on the task at hand (which is upper back work, just in case you forgot).

 

Grab the ends of the rope with a pronated grip. Start with the shoulders protracted and the forearms extended. Begin the movement by retracting the shoulder blades, and immediately bend the elbows to continue the movement until the forearms make contact with the upper arms.

 

Make sure to eliminate the lower back from the equation by keeping it perpendicular to the floor at all times. If the development of your rhomboids is lacking, you may choose to pause for a moment when the shoulder blades are retracted.

 

Narrow Parallel- Grip Chin-Ups

 

Many gyms are equipped with V-handle chin-up stations that are set six to eight inches apart, and this is just about perfect. Focus on bringing your lower sternum to the handles as you pull yourself up. In other words, lean back as you near the top of the concentric range.

 

Since the grip is narrow, the inferior fibers of the latissimus are hugely recruited. These fibers have been shown to have a higher fast-twitch makeup than the superior fibers and, therefore, they should be trained using lower reps.

 

 

GYM BELLE: GINA CARANO

 

 

The name Gina Carano may not ring any bells - unless you're an MMA enthusiast, in which case she's a household name. But if you've watched Fast and Furious 6, then you would recognise her as Agent Riley, the really hot female FBI officer who betrayed Agent Hobbs (The Rock).

 

 

Carano, 31, a former stunt professional on the TV game show "American Gladiators," was ranked among the top mixed martial arts fighters in the world before she retired to work in Hollywood. Her breakthrough: a starring role in the Steven Soderbergh-directed 2011 thriller "Haywire."

 

At the age of 21 Gina began training in Muay Thai, a form of Kickboxing, with Master Toddy at the suggestion of then boyfriend Kevin Ross. In pursuit of a life-changing experience he ended up at a local Las Vegas Muay Thai Gym and she tagged along. A trainer approached her, telling her point blank that she was fat and needed to lose weight. She weighed around 175 lbs. and had no direction at that point in her life. She began training and became addicted. Master Toddy saw potential in the way Gina handled herself. She took naturally to fighting with strong punches, deadly elbows and knees, a impressive overhand right, and rib-cracking hard kicks. Immersing herself completely in the sport, she advanced quickly. Months later she found herself in a "fight club" situation in San Francisco where she took on any female fighter plopped down in front of her. Since then she hasn't looked back.Her Muay Thai career is comprised of an impressive 12 wins, 1 loss, and 1 draw and she becomes the first American woman to win a title in Thailand. Classified by the Unified Women's MMA Rankings as the third best 145 lb (66 kg.) female fighter in the world, her current MMA record stands at 7 wins and 1 loss.

 

Gina is engaged to Henry Cavill (Aka Superman) Henry and Gina are the epitome of fitness in the realm of entertainment. Both have physically fit features, stays active and a herald a lifestyle that could apply for fitness models.

 

 

 

BULK YOUR ARMS WITH CALISTHENICS

 

Just as with abs, bar work is your best friend when it comes to arms, particularly biceps, which get a better workout from chin-ups than from all the curls in the world. Because you're pulling far more weight than you would typically curl, the gains are astronomical, and the choices are infinite.

 

Do them all—overhand pull-ups and underhand chins, wide-grip and narrow, thick bar, switch grip, and hanging from irregular objects—and you'll create amazing tensile strength and powerful connective tissue. Combine the grip training you get from bar work with advanced push-up variations—fingertips, knuckles, back-of-hands—for forearms that would make Popeye jealous.

It can take any number of machine-based isolation-style exercises to hit the arms (and chest and shoulders) from as many angles as good old-fashioned dips. Performed deep, with full range of motion, the results are undeniable. Try as many different hand widths as possible for maximum results. They can also be done on a bench or straight bar. Have some fun!

15 WEEKS BODY TRANSFORMATION - FREELETICS

When a man takes his destiny into his hands and proceeds to shape himself into whom he wants to be, he ceases to be a mere man, and approaches apotheosis. #LegallyMuscled bites

"A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts."

"As the physically weak man can make himself strong by careful and patient training, so the man of weak thoughts, can make them strong by exercising himself in right thinking."

The Aphrodite workout is the beginners phase of the freeletics workout program. It is helpful if you perform it in a group with other trainees; this keeps you motivated when you start to hurt.

APHRODITE

Your first workout is called Aphrodite. It does not require equipment. There are no mandatory breaks. That means you are supposed to complete the workout without taking breaks - if possible. It is important to complete it in the exact same order as stated below and to work through it as fast as possible. Quitting is not an option.

WORKOUT STRUCTURE

5 Rounds Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5
Burpees     50           40            30          20          10
Squats       50            40            30         20           10
Situps        50            40            30         20           10

BURPEES

Start: Start from a standing position. Knees, hips and shoulders are in a vertical line. Make sure to keep your core tight.

Movement: Make your chest touch the ground. Get back up (however you want to, not necessarily a strict push-up) and perform a jump – both feet have to leave the ground, knees, hips and shoulders have to be in a vertical line and the hands have to touch behind the head.

End: When your feet touch the ground again, one repetition is completed.

Modified version: If burpees are too difficult or become too difficult during the workout, do the modified version:

Move into the push-up position without touching the ground with your chest.

SQUATS

Start: Start from a standing position. Knees, hips and shoulders are in a vertical line.

Movement: Lower your hips below your knees.

End: Return to starting position to complete one repetition.

Additional remarks: Make sure to keep your weight on your heels, your chest up and your back flat. Push your knees out and keep your torso as vertical as possible.

Modified version: If squats are too difficult or become too difficult during the workout, do the modified version:

Lower your hips as far as you can instead of lowering them below your knees.

SITUPS

Start: Start from a sitting position. Both of your hands touch the ground in front of your feet.

Movement: Move your torso downwards and touch the ground behind your head with both hands.

End: Return to starting position to complete one repetition.

Additional remarks: Your butt may never leave the ground. Make sure too keep your core tight.

Modified version: If situps are too difficult or become too difficult during the workout, do the modified version: Touch your knees instead of the ground in front of your feet.

WORKLOAD
In general, we recommend you to train Freeletics at least four times per week. Since this is your first week, three times is fine as well.
Freeletics is really tough, especially at the beginning. Workout times exceeding an hour are totally normal. Also, don’t be discouraged if you can’t make the workload from day one. It is all part of the process. You will improve much faster than you think.

Your fastest time is called personal best (PB). If you complete a workout without a single modified repetition, the workout time receives a star (*). Star times are always ranked before workout times without a star, even if they are slower.

We recommend you to warm-up before every training session and to stretch afterwards. Jogging, jumping jacks, arm circles, light stretching and the like are suitable to warm-up.

Please take a picture of your body before you train Freeletics the first time. Take a new one every ten days. Pictures are important to evaluate physical changes. Since you only change a little every day, you will not be able to track your progress properly without pictures.

Have fun in your first week as Free Athletes!

Freeletics Instructor Team

 

ARE YOU CHAMPION MATERIAL???

 

 To be a great champion you must believe you are the best. If you’re not, pretend you are.”  - Muhammad Ali

 

When it comes to champions, there are few people who have personified the concept of the champion like Muhammad Ali, and if he talks, you better sit up and listen

 

The last three or four reps is what makes the muscle grow, This area of pain divides the champion from someone else who is not a champion. That's what most people lack, having the guts to go on and just say they'll go through the pain, no matter what happens.

 

 

Arnold Schwarzenegger

 

A champion is afraid of losing; everyone else is afraid of winning.

Billie Jean King

 

You know what a champion is? A champion is someone who's ready when the gong rings - not just before, not just after - but when it rings.

 

Jack Dempsey

 

You become a champion by fighting one more round. When things are tough, you fight one more round

James J Corbett.

 

Take the feeling of hunger out of your gut, and you're no longer a champion.

Burt Lancaster