Cardio Workouts - Considerations & Options

As highlighted in other chapters, there's many cardio options out there - both cardio equipment and cardio workouts - and it can be a bit of a minefield choosing the right path. The right option for you is one that suits your ability, goals, and current period of training. I (GP) have listed sample gym workouts and fitness workouts on the Gym Professor website to provide you with some ideas.

To help further, I've categorised several cardio equipment options and program types to easily identify their typical associated level of difficulty when conjoined in a cardio workout program (NOTE: They're not always the case though!).

Basic

Cardio Equipment Options:	Cardio Program Type
Stationary Exercise Bike Treadmill Walking Arm Ergometer	Base Training/ Steady State

Progressive

Cardio Equipment Options:	Cardio Program Type
Cross Trainer/ Elliptical Trainer Treadmill Running Rowing Machine Stepper	Interval Training (Difficulty rising respectively from High Rest:Little Work to Little Rest:High Work + Fartleks)

Advanced

Cardio Equipment Options:	Cardio Program Type
Stairclimber Versa Climber The Wall (Climbing Wall)	Interval Training (Little Rest:High Work) Fartlek (Random Intervals)

If you're new to training, it's advised that you seek medical advice prior to undertaking a new exercise regime. If the workouts are for a new client, you should also take the rudimentary
precautions of a PAR-Q and health/ fitness tests.

Please direct me to:
Treadmill Workouts  

Cross-Trainer Workouts 

Rowing Workouts

Exercise Bike Workouts
Stepper Workouts
Versa Climber Workouts
Equipment Combination Workouts
Steady State Workouts (Base Training)
Interval Training
Fartlek Training
Fat Burning Training
Heart Rate Training
Marathon Training
Training for Sport 

Gym Workouts

How to Perform the Flat Bench Press Correctly

Probably the most familiar of chest exercises and the primary compound exercise for chest workouts - the Flat Bench Press. Below are a list of the key steps you should follow to mimic correct exercise technique and what muscles are at work.

If you're confused about what gym exercises to perform and when? You should consider reviewing the Gym Professor's sample Gym Workouts and Gym Routines.

Key Steps to performing the Flat Bench Press correctly:

For this exercise, you require a spotter.

1) Ensure that gym equipment is set up correctly - bench, bar, weights etc. The bar should be empty (free of weight) at this stage.

2) Lie down flat on the bench, sliding underneath the barbell. The bar should be resting on the lift-offs directly above your eyes. The bar should be empty (free from weight) at this stage.

3) Grip the bar with your hands roughly shoulder-width plus one hand-width on either side. Remember this grip point in correlation with the bar's knurling.

4) Inhale as you lower the bar downward to touch your mid chest - a weight will typically be drawn or lowered to the area/ muscles being worked!. At this point your arms should form a right angle (ask your spotter to check). If your arms do not, you will need to adjust your grip width accordingly. Exhale, and the press the bar up.

5) Repeat the exercise for the given number of repetitions Do not lock your elbows out at the top of the movement and do not bounce the bar off your chest.

6) Warm Up. Warm up with little or no weight, performing 3 to 4 sets of 10 reps or more, in order to lubricate joints and raise local muscle temperature.

7) For your working sets, select an appropriate weight that allows you to achieve your target repetition range in a safe and controlled manner.

Muscle worked during the Flat Bench Press:

Primary Muscles: Pectoralis Major - Mid Sternal Fibres.

Secondary Muscles: Anterior Deltoids, Triceps, Serratus Anterior, Anconeus.

Stabilizing Muscles: Lateral Deltoids, Rectus Addominis, Transversus Abdominis, Forearm Flexors...

For further chest exercises, visit the Gym Professor exercise diagram library.

GP
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Fitness Tests

Many fitness tests have been created as a unit of measure of various fitness categories, such as general fitness, aerobic fitness, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, and body composition. 

Fitness tests are only as accurate as you make them, so reading instructions carefully, and performing them often, should bring more accurate results. 

Although the fitness tests are only likely to highlight what you already suspect - a bodybuilder achieving "excellent" muscular strength test results, or a marathon runner displaying an "excellent" score for their aerobic fitness tests - it can be used for trend analysis, which can identify progression or decline and might, in turn, alter the way you train your client. Also, it'd be ignorant to assume you've taken all factors into account. Although unlikely, sometimes the test results can throw up a surpise, such as a powerlifter with poor grip strength or an outwardly healthy individual with high blood pressure.

If you're performing these fitness tests on a client for the first time, you should have their full approval and a completed PAR-Q (health questionaire) that you're happy with. If you're working with a deconditioned individual, as a matter of course, they should see their Doctor beforehand and, thereafter, it would be prudent to perform the static fitness assessments (measuring general fitness) first.

Please visit the Gym Professor website for more information on the following:
Static Fitness Tests (measuring general fitness - good health & well-being).
Dynamic Fitness Tests (aerobic fitness, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility).

Until next time,

GP
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W: http://www.gymprofessor.com/
B: http://gymprofessor.blogspot.com/
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