GUYS! BUILD MUSCLES AT HOME BY TRYING THESE VARIATIONS OF THE PUSHUP EXERCISE

Hey fit nation, Happy new month of august! I wish you all a fulfilled month.

My post today is dedicated to folks who want to build muscles without visiting the gym; I will be sharing different variations of the push up exercise to help you build muscles from the comfort of your home.

 The Push up exercise is an effective exercise for building the upper part of the body; it targets your arms, chest, and core, serving as one of the most efficient body weight movements.

Below are different variations of the push up exercise that works for me and how to perform them correctly.

-Wide Grip Push up: This is the common push up program. It is performed by starting out in a prone position with your hands on the floor (palms facing the floor); both hands a bit wider than your shoulder width, while in that position push yourself up until your arms are fully stretched and then go down until your chin is inches from the floor. Repeat this process for as many reps as you can; Make sure to move every part of your body simultaneously with your arm, See illustration in the video below.

                                                        

Remember to inhale as you go down and exhale and you rise up

-Close Push up: The Close grip push up is performed in the same manner as the Wide grip; the difference here is that you need to bring both hands as close as possible. However the close grip push up is more effective for building the triceps. Watch video below to see how to do the close grip push up correctly.

                                              

- Declined Push up: Declined push ups are good routines for building more mass around the chest region. It is performed by lying face down with both hands on the floor and your lower body stretched out. Place both feet on an elevated plane (Chair, box etc).Push your body up until your arms are stretched out and then go down until your chin is inches from the floor. See Video illustration below.                                                                                                                             

                                         

                                                        

-Weighted Push up: The weighted push up is performed in the same manner as the normal push up, however when doing a weighted push up someone has to place a weight on your back.  You can place a barbell plate or have your kid or spouse sit on your back as you perform this routine. In this video I had a truck tire placed on my back...
 

                                  

-Spider man push up: Spider man push up targets the core. To perform the spider man push up; do a normal push up but raise one knee toward the elbow of the same side as you rise (like Spider man climbing a wall). Switch knees with each rep.

                                

Push ups are interesting home workout and they build muscles as well.  There are many more variations of the push up program but like I said earlier these ones work for me; no equipment, no iron just sweat and muscles. Try them out as well and have fun all the way.

Cheers to the fit life.

EFFECTIVE HOME EXERCISES FOR BUILDING POWERFUL LEGS

Hello Fitnation, It’s the last day in June and I thought I should quickly drop this post before the month ends. In this post I’m going to be sharing 4 simple exercises you can do at home to build the leg muscles and give you stamina. I posted homemade workout videos for the under listed exercises, so you can learn to do them yourself.

No 1 Exercise: Squat

The First exercise that comes to everybody’s mind when you talk leg programs is squat, you know why? Because it is the king of all leg exercises. Good enough the squat exercise works on all parts of the body; it strengthens the leg muscles and is equally an effective exercise for weight loss and endurance. Watch the video below to see how to do the body squat exercise (without resistance).

                                                    

No 2 Exercise: Lunges

The lunge program is another effective program that works on the leg and lower part of the body. Common Variations of the lunge program includes:

*Front Lunge

*Back/Reverse Lunge

*Side Lunge

Watch Video below to learn how to do the 3 variations of the lunge program listed above.

                         
                                              

No 3 Exercise: Wall Sits

The wall sits builds strength and endurance in glutes, calves, and quadriceps. It works on the abs and lower part of the body and is a good exercise for gaining stamina, balance and concentration power.To do the Wall sit exercise, place your back against a wall and then go down as if doing a squat, verify your legs are at a right angle with the floor, allow your back to stick to the wall and stay in that position for how much ever long you can. Watch Video below to see me do the wall sit exercise.     

                                                 

                                                   

No 4 Exercise: Climbing a Chair (Step UP)
This is a good cardio program and it is equally effective for building good legs and butt for ladies. Try this out; make sure you use a stool that is stable and not slippery. Watch video.

                          

        The best thing about these exercises is that they can be done at home without equipment but the result are still tremendous. Try them and let me know what you think.

Cheers to the fit life.   


                             

STAYING FIT; 6 WAYS TO KEEP YOUR FITNESS MOTIVATION BURNING

Hey Fit nation, I hope everyone is having a great week and staying fit? In this post we will be discussing how to keep our fitness motivation.
As a fitness trainer, I get to meet  a lot of people who are out of shape and when I try to encourage them to start off on the fit path, many of them respond: ‘I used to keep fit, but I lost my motivation’; and to such people I usually respond ‘find your motivation and keep it safe.’
                                                                             
Motivation is as important in fitness as it is in every other facet of life, once you lose your motivation, it is almost impossible to continue on the fit path.  Therefore, it is important that you renew your motivation regularly to keep it from burning out. 
Presented below are six ways to renew and keep your motivation for fitness;

     1.Create/Revisit your Motive:  Motive is the reason why we do the things we do, every action we take is backed by a motive.  If you are new to the fit life, a simple way to know your motive is by answering these questions: Why am I staying fit? What do I intend to achieve by doing this? Why do I have a Gym membership?  The stronger your motive, the greater motivation you will get from it.

      2.Take it one step at a time:  The reason a lot of people give up on their fitness journey is because they rush into it. They want to fall into shape immediately, possess the perfect body over night or start lifting heavy on their first day in the gym and if they do not see these results as soon as they expect, their motivation drains. It doesn’t work that way, a better approach is to take it one step at a time; set an easy goal, follow through and squash it, then  set another goal and repeat, as you continue in this manner, your motivation will grow and so will your endurance and strength.  Also be easy on yourself- there will be days that you just can’t get yourself to workout try as you may, on such days don’t beat yourself up, accept this as human nature, promise yourself to make it up with extra work next time and then make sure to follow up on your promise. Remember fitness is a life long journey and your goal should be to set a pace that you can keep up with.
                                       

      3.Join a workout group: A workout group is a great way to stay motivated because it encourages accountability and teamwork. It’s also fun and exciting to workout in groups.  Be sure to join a group that has members with the same set of fitness goals as you do. 

      4.Use music to motivate yourself: Whether you are going for a run, lifting weights or doing cardio, music is a great way to add excitement to your workout. It gives rhythm to your exercises and takes your mind away from the hard work you are doing, the trick is to listen to your preferred genre of music- songs that inspire and motivate you and you can listen to over and over again, create a playlist exclusively for work out and always go to the gym with your earphone and music device. Don’t forget to update your playlist or create new ones regularly.

      5.Reward yourself regularly: It is important that you create a reward system for yourself, every time you reach a fitness goal, reward yourself. Your reward doesn’t have to be expensive or demanding, it should only be something you appreciate. Every time you reward yourself it means you appreciate your efforts and that goes a long way in keeping you motivated.

      6.Encourage someone to start keeping fit: This is another great way to stay motivated and accountable, because to preach fitness, you must practice fitness. As you encourage people to start up on the fit life you become motivated to stay the course.

Even if you are new to the fit life or you lost your motivation along the way, the six formulas outlined above will help you regain your fitness motivation and keep it burning.

                                             

The more you feed your motivation by applying any or all of the steps outlined in this post, the stronger your motivation will be. I encourage you to continue staying fit-whatever the cost. Remember that health is wealth.

Cheers to the fit life.

VARIATIONS OF THE PLANK EXERCISE

Hello Fitnation; happy new month to y’all; It’s suddenly the sixth month of the year and a good time to carry out a reality check on your goals and resolutions for the year. If you find yourself lagging behind, don’t be dismayed as you have six months more to straighten things out.

One of my fitness goals for the year was to build visible abdominal muscles and as the months roll by I’m getting closer. It took lots of experiment with workout routines and nutritional plans to get to where I am today. 

Interestingly,the plank exercise is one of the many tummy exercises that built my abs muscles effectively and over the months this has come to be my favourite tummy workout.

                                  

Let me tip you on the benefits of the plank exercise.

· -It is a remedy for back pain, because it strengthens the back muscles

· -Plank exercises work directly on the inner core muscle group, which is the basic foundation for a solid six pack.

· -It makes you more flexible

· -Gives you a good posture

Even with it's immense benefits,the basic plank program can be very boring because you have to suspend yourself and stay at a particular position for a long time- the longer, the more effective. However there are many variations to the plank program that adds life to this seemly boring routine and I am going to illustrate 5 different variations.  

1. Basic Plank

How to do:  Start in a prone position(face down); then rise and suspend your body; only your elbow and toes should be on the floor, keep your butt down and head in a neutral or looking slightly forward position. Don’t drop the head to look down at your toes.

Keep the shoulders directly over the elbows or a little bit forward. Squeeze the butt and thighs together to engage the muscles.

Hold it for as long as possible!

                                  

2. Plank Jacks

How to do:

Start in the Basic plank position.

Put your feet together, then jump and spread your legs a little wider than shoulder width apart and jump back to start.

                                         

   
  3.Spider Man

How to do:

Start at the top of push-up position.

Raise the right knee towards the right elbow.

Your Leg is bent to 90-degrees with the hip rotating the foot away from your body.

While moving your leg up, look back and squeeze your core muscles.

Repeat with the left side.

                                                                                                                                                                                          

                                      

                                  

                                  

   4.Hell Raiser(Plank Up and Downs)

How to do:

Start in the basic plank position and lift your arms one at a time, each time replace your elbow with your hands and go up as if doing a push up.

Lower back down, one elbow at a time.

                                         

    5.Side Plank

How to do:

Lie on one side, then raise and suspend yourself on your elbow and your feet, make sure your body is in a straight position, squeeze your stomach muscles and hold that position as much as possible, repeat for the other side.

                                   

                                     

Try these variations out and tell me what you think. I’m expecting to read from you.

Cheers to the fit life.

20 NIGERIAN SONGS TO GINGER YOUR JOGGING EXPERIENCE

Hey Fitnation, Thank God it's the weekend. I'm sure many of you will be turning up tonight;I employ you to find a spot where you can dance and sweat to good music because it is possible to burn a reasonable amount of calories by just dancing. 

Outside the club, music is a great motivation in sports too, I have been an active jogger for more than a decade and through all these years my greatest 'ginger' has been music.The rhythm music adds to the jogging experience is priceless.

In the spirit of the weekend, I'll be sharing 20 Nigerian songs that I listen to when I am on the move; I have 5 playlists (with over 50 songs each) exclusively for jogging on my iPod; but the ones below were randomly selected from my favorites. They range from old songs to newer ones; Afro pop to Afro dancehall to Gospel; one thing for certain is that these songs will keep you on your feet.

  

Enjoy my list

 1. Ara by BRYMO

 2. Implication by 2BABA(TU FACE IDIBIA)

 3. Kiss your hand by R2B FEAT WANDE COAL

 4. Kukere by IYANYA

 5. Okaka by FRANK EDWARDS

 6. Fada Fada by PHYNO feat OLAMIDE

 7. Taken by CYNTHIA MORGAN

 8. Make am by PATORANKING

 9. IGWE by MID NIGHT CREW

 10. Adaobi by MAVIN CREW

.11. Pump it up by JESSE JAGS

 12. Laye by KISS DANIEL

 13. Where by TEKNO

 14. Fine Fine love by  JAY MARTINS

 15. Man in your life by I-NUM

 16. Local Rapper by Reminisce feat PHYNO & OLAMIDE

 17. Ojuelegba by WIZKID

 18. Oliver Twist by D’BANJ

 19. 7 Days by MI ABAGA

 20. Bow Down by TIMAYA

   

  You should download these songs and spice up your jogging experience too.

   Have a healthy weekend & Cheers to the Fit life.

QUESTION; IS IT GOOD TO HAVE BREAKFAST BEFORE GOING TO THE GYM?

Hey fitnation, Last week I got an email from a reader asking if it is good to have breakfast before going to the gym, I decided to answer this question on this blog to help other readers because I get asked this question a lot. In fact, this topic has been a subject of argument for many fitness trainers, I happen to have been involved in such arguments a couple of times and the more I think about it, the more I understand why a lot of people easily gas out in the gym.

If you have had a reason to check your blood sugar early in the morning before you have breakfast; you notice that your blood sugar is usually low. Why this happens is because when you sleep, your body doesn't stop working, it has to continue functions like breathing; blood circulation; brain function etc, to carry out these functions, your body uses up whatever food you ate the day before and the left over is stored up. By the time you wake up your body has used up almost  all of the nutrients you ate the day before and is in need of new fuel(calories) to start the day’s function. That is why it is called breakfast because you were on a food fast through the period you were asleep and now that you are up you need to break the fast in order to have enough energy for work. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day; nutritionists advice that you eat breakfast at most 2 hours after waking up.

Even if you are trying to lose weight it is wrong to skip breakfast because you leave your body without fuel to work. You must understand that the body needs fuel to burn fat; you need calories to be able to carry out weight loss exercises.

Let’s have a practical scenario of this; Chika is overweight and is trying to lose weight, her trainer advises her not to eat after 7:00pm every night (which is very advisable for people that are less active at night).  The next morning at 7:00am, Chika eats nothing and heads out to the gym, bearing in mind that she has gone 12 hours without food? Where is she to get the energy for work? As a result of not eating, Chika is tired and weak to work out for long, so she does little and leaves for home, how long do you think it will take Chika to lose weight? Compare this scenario to someone who is overweight and eats light in the morning before hitting the gym, she will be filled with energy to work and will work longer thereby burning more fat in the long run.

It is therefore important that you eat breakfast before heading to the gym, the idea is to eat light; you can have cereal, tea or whatever is light for you but never go to the gym hungry! Also I must say that you should give your body room to digest whatever you ate before you start working out.

Please drop a comment below if you found this post helpful, I want to read from you; questions, suggestions or feedback. Also share my posts with friends and family who need to read them, encourage someone to start living healthy and fit today.

Cheers to the Fit life.

DRAWING A SUSTAINABLE MEAL PLAN FOR WEIGHT LOSS

In my last post, I promised that we will be looking at some local foods and their constituent food nutrients and  how to obtain a sustainable meal plan for weight loss.

Many locally made meals are nutritious and good for weight loss; however some should be eaten in low quantity or avoided totally.  

The table below shows nutrients and how to obtain them locally;

Food Nutrient	Ideal  quantity for weight loss	Local Sources	Remark
Protein	Best for weight loss, should be eaten in relatively large quantity.	Beans (including foods gotten from beans like Moi-moi and Akara), Soya beans, Bread fruit(Ukwa),  locust beans (Okpa), Milk, Egg, Chicken meat, Melon seed(Egusi),low fat yoghurt, Fish(including Okporoko, smoked fish)	The human body is designed to excrete unused protein. It doesn't store up in the body like carbohydrate or Fat.
Carbohydrate	should be eaten in low   quantity	Cassava, Yam, White Rice, Bread, Flour, Potatoes, Cereals, Semovita, maize, guinea corn, millet (Soft drinks and alcoholic drinks contain lots of sugar)	Carbohydrate increases  blood sugar and contributes heavily to overall body fat
Fat & Oil	Should be eaten in very low quantity or avoided totally.	Vegetable oil, Mayonnaise, butter, Fried foods, Nuts, Corn, Yoghurt,  Snacks, (our local soups are high in fat and oil too)	Asides making one add unwanted weight; fat also increases the body’s bad cholesterol which affects blood flow in and out of the heart.
Vitamins	Vitamins should be taken in small amounts. They can be gotten from a balanced diet or taken as supplements	There are 13 different   Vitamins; each vitamin can be gotten various sources. However some general sources of vitamin include: Milk, cheese, yogurt, fish, poultry, liver, soybeans, Potatoes, bananas, nuts and Meat	Taking too many Vitamins or taking them for too long can cause harmful effects
Minerals	Should be taken in limited quantity	The body needs about 15 minerals to function, including Iron, Calcium, Potassium etc. Some of the sources of these minerals are: Meat, cereals, bread, fish, milk and dairy foods, vegetables, fruit (especially dried fruit),nuts, soybean flour, tea	Just like Vitamins, taking too many minerals for too long has toxic effect on the body.

                   Many years ago, I came across this simple formula for weight loss which I used myself and found that it works. I call it ‘the 123 formula’; this means in every meal the proportion of carbohydrate to protein and vegetables/fruits should be in ratio 1:2:3; i.e for every  ounce of carbohydrate, you should supplement   with 2 ounces of protein and 3 ounces of vegetable.

For this formula to be effective, the following must be observed;

1. Make healthy swaps; this simply  means substitute fat and carbohydrate for more protein and vegetable. Here are some suggestions on food items you should swap;

White Rice= Brown Rice

Butter, Maiyonaise= Avocado butter

Candy, Chocolate, Junk food=Fruits,Vegetable

Bread=Wheat Bread

Red Meat=Chicken Breast or Fish

Soft drinks=Water, Fruit smoothies

while you do the healthy swap, remove the following from your meals:
• Hydrogenated fats
• Refined grains
• High fructose corn syrup
• Artificial sweeteners
• Artificial coloring and preservatives

2.Fruits and Vegetables should be consumed in large quantity.

3.Avoid fried foods and cook with less oil; many local soups can be cooked without palm oil and they taste delicious too.

4.Do not eat heavy food after 7 pm, if you get hungry at night drink water or have little cereal. Late night meals are counterproductive for weight loss.

5.Exercise  for a minimum of 30 minutes everyday.

   This formula can work for anyone who takes it seriously but do not expect to lose 20 kg in 2 weeks because losing body fat requires patience, discipline and dedication.

   Cheers to the fit life.

 Thank you  for the encouraging comments on my previous posts, I’m dedicated to motivating readers  to take  the necessary steps towards losing unwanted fat, staying fit and enjoying a healthy lifestyle. Be free  to comment with your questions or suggestions on my posts and I will be glad to answer.

NUTRITION AND WEIGHTLOSS

Hello Fitnation, I hope everyone is doing great? It’s been a while I posted on this blog due to the high volume of commitments I had within the past few weeks.

             In this post, I will like to discuss nutrition and how it affects weight loss.

Often times you hear people say that they are on a “slimming fast” in other words they are starving themselves to lose weight.  People that indulge in such exercises are those who want to go from being an ‘orobo’ to being ‘ lekpa’ over night.  They do not understand how the human body works and are just wasting their time. I say this because the moment they start eating, their bodies add fat and they become overweight again. Many people struggle with this circle and after a while they give up trying altogether.

If you belong to this group of people, I intend to change your mentality for good. Like I always say; "being fit is not a destination you arrive at, it is a lifestyle".

               Here is a fact you must know about nutrition and the human body; our bodies need calories (energy) to function; it is the fuel of the human body and these calories are gotten from food items we consume every day.  Same way you refill your vehicle tank is the same way you must add nutrients to your body everyday for it to function properly. At the end of each day, your body stores up the unused nutrients in order to use them up later. Every time you use up more calories than you consumed and your body is in need of more calories, your body gets the deficit calories from the ones stored up.  The problem is  most times we consume more food than our body requires, and so our body just keeps storing these excess nutrients away as fat and sugar.

Anyone trying to lose weight must be mindful of what they put into their mouth, because everything you chew contains nutrients of some sort that either helps or mars your weight loss journey.

Let’s look at the roles that different food nutrients play in our body:

Fat is important to the body because more than half of the energy needed is gotten from fat and the body loves to store fat because it easily releases needed energy fast.  If there is a deficit of fat the body has to dissolve and use up the fat cells (where excess fats are stored) to produce energy. However excess fat causes one to be overweight.

                                             

                                             

Carbohydrate also provides calories for the body to work with, it is the first nutrient to be digested by the body and the body stores away excess carbohydrate as sugar or glucose; however the body cannot store sugar or glucose for more than 3 days, so it has to convert excess carbohydrate to fats for long term use.

                                      

                                          

                                            

Protein is important for tissue repairs; building muscles, enzymes and hormones.  The body does not store excess protein, it excretes unused protein. However if there is a deficit of carbohydrate or fat, Protein can also be used by the body to produce energy.

                                     

                                                 

Minerals are needed for growth. These minerals are inorganic and not made up of living things. Our body needs different amounts of various minerals. Minerals can be gotten from various sources and are mostly taken as food supplements.

 Vitamins are needed by the body to stay healthy. Each of them does a different job. For example the body needs Vitamin C to fight off infections. A deficit in Vitamins can lead to ailments or diseases. Vitamins are gotten from fruits and vegetables.

 Water is the most important of all nutrients, it does not add to the body calories or energy level but water has many functions in our body. It helps break down food. It also cools the body down when it becomes too hot and the body carries away waste products in a watery solution. Our body needs about 2 –3 liters of water a day.

We get it  not only from the water and liquids we drink but also from fruits, vegetables and foods in liquid form.

Having discussed the different nutrition classes available, in my next post we’ll talk about local food items that are effective for weight loss and how a balanced meal plan for weight loss should look like.

Cheers to the Fit life.

5 SIMPLE & EFFECTIVE CARDIO EXERCISES FOR WEIGHT LOSS

Hey fit nation, in this post we'll be discussing five simple and effective cardio exercises that speed up weight loss.

There are many exercises that help with weight loss however below are my favorite five:

1.  JOGGING: Jogging burns more calories than most cardio exercises; it also helps build endurance and strengthens the legs.  If you are serious about weight loss, you should incorporate jogging to your workout routine.

For starters, it is advisable to start with walking long distances then progress to jogging shorter distances and as your endurance grows you can increase speed and distance.

    2.  SKIPPING: Skipping is effective for weight loss, it boosts the heart rate and improves your cardiovascular system thereby enabling you to burn a reasonable amount of calories in a short time. It is easy to practice and there are different variations of the skipping exercise you can try.

     3.  DEADLIFT: The Dead lift is a workout program with amazing results whether you are looking to lose weight, build muscles or build strength and stamina. It works on all muscle groups in the body and helps you burn fat faster.

                                                   

.   4.  BURPEES:  The burpee exercise, named after an American Physiologist Royal H. Burpee is one of the most effective exercises for weight loss and body toning. It requires no equipments; it’s easy to do and the benefits are immense.

To do this exercise follow the steps below:

*From a standing position get into the plank form

*Lower your chest to do a push up

*Push your feet back to their original position

*Get up, Jump with both hands up.

*Repeat

                                 

Burpee

 5. SQUATS: If you are a body builder reading this post, you will agree that the squat exercise is the king of all exercises. It works on all parts of the body, strengthens more muscles than the most weight-lifting exercises and is therefore an effective exercise for weight loss, gaining strength and endurance.

However, it is important that you do the squat exercise correctly to avoid knee or back injury (especially if you are using weights to perform this exercise).

If you are starting out, it is advisable that you first get acquainted with the body weight squat before progressing to using weights or resistance. 
There are several variations of the squat program that works on different muscle groups, try as many as possible and have fun all the way.

                                             

Remember the formula for weight loss is: burn more calories than you consume daily. For better results, you should follow a dietary meal plan while doing these exercises.

Cheers to the fit life.