Gold Standard of Abdominal Exercises: Hanging Leg Raise

There is a reason you see more people doing abdominal crunches instead of hanging leg raises! The hanging leg raise and its variations is very tough to execute. In fact, it is the gold standard for abdominal exercises! Gymnasts have been doing hanging leg raises for decades.

A person needs core strength, arm strength and grip strength to perform the exercise correctly. If you can't do one hanging leg raise, you need to strengthen your core, back, arms and grip.



1. Hang from a bar using an overhand grip with arms straight and shoulder-width apart. Let your legs hang straight down.

2. Contract your abs and make sure that your back remains neutral with natural arch. Keep your head still and looking straight ahead. Raise your legs to the midpoint of your body using your abdominal muscles. Don't swing your legs up and use momentum to do the exercise. This is a controlled strength exercise.

3. Hold for 1 to 2 seconds and slowly lower your legs. That is one repetition.

Beginning exercisers can start by trying to bend the knees up to the chest. Intermediate exercisers are able to do a straight leg raise up to the midpoint of the body. Advanced exercisers can usually raise straight legs up to the head or "windshield wiper" bent knees to the left and right.

Go ahead and try a hanging leg raise the next time you're at the gym!

Be sure and download your Free Bodyweight 500 Metabolic Fat Burner Workouts and start shaping your body faster!

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
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Blast The Body Fat: Work Hard, Work Smart and Eat Right

There is a flood of information about weight loss out there in the marketplace. Some of it is just garbage.

A general rule for you to follow with regards to weight loss is this: Don’t waste your money if the program offers a quick solution to your weight problem! Why? Because what you need is the permanent solution to your weight problem.

A permanent solution takes hard, smart work and sacrifice on your part. Human nature always seeks the path of least resistance. So, you can see why commercial weight loss programs promote things such as “in 2 weeks….” The promotion may be partially true, but what they don’t tell you is the most critical part of the fitness equation: fat loss is the key to permanent weight loss.

So, here is my Top 5 List to get you started on the way to Blasting The Fat and getting the lean and toned body that you want:

1. Make a commitment to a lifetime of fitness. This commitment trumps all other fitness commitments. Without it, you will always fall prey to the inevitable obstacles and pitfalls along the way.

2. Be willing to change your eating habits! Sixty to 70% of your fitness goal success or failure will depend on good nutrition. Since we must eat to survive, get ready to change! Get rid of the fad diets! Start planning your own meals using a mix of carbohydrates, fats and proteins.

3. You must change your body composition! You must increase lean muscle mass to become a “fat-burning machine.” You don't need to be a body builder but you need to replace the fat (to an acceptable level) on your body with muscle mass.

4. You must do more than cardio exercise to change your body composition!

5. Make a commitment to full-body strength training! Among other things, it speeds up your metabolism (the body has to work harder to maintain muscle) and helps improve your bone density. And, you’ll look great!

Be sure and download your Free Bodyweight 500 Metabolic Fat Burner Workouts and start shaping your body faster!

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
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Cardio Exercise Doesn't Have To Be Aerobic

Traditional lower-intensity, steady-state aerobic exercise on treadmills, bikes, ellipticals, etc. are good for beginners or those who have been inactive. It will also bore you to tears! Aerobic exercise is an activity that is done continuously for more than 2 straight minutes.

But, research has proven that the benefits of anaerobic exercise is superior to aerobic exercise. The progression of exercise should be low-intensity aerobics to moderate/high-intensity aerobics to high-intensity anaerobic exercise.

Middle-aged and older adults can definitely benefit from anaerobic exercise. According to research, low-intensity walking for 30 minutes, 5 days a week, is not adequate enough to delay heart disease and premature death.

The research was performed using 2000 men, ages 45 to 59, over a ten year period. The men had no initial signs of heart disease. The men's exercise was measured using low (walking and bowling), moderate (golf and dancing) and high levels (running and swimming).

The number of deaths that occured during the 10 year period was 252. Of that amount, 75% were linked to heart disease and stroke. and 25% was linked to cancer.

The conclusion of the study was this: low and moderate intensity exercise failed to reduce premature death from heart disease. Only the high-intensity anaerobic exercise lowered death rates.

Older adults may not be able to perform at the same intense exercise levels of 20 or 30 year olds, but they can certainly do high-intensity anaerobic exercise adjusted for their age.

Anaerobic exercise should be eventually added to older adults' fitness programs. Progressing from low to high intensity will prevent injury and prepare the body for more intense exercise. A doctor's clearance should be obtained before high-intensity anaerobic exercise begins.

Be sure and download your Free Bodyweight 500 Metabolic Fat Burner Workouts and start shaping your body faster!

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
Your Fitness University
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Rapid Fat Loss and Six Pack Abs

Substituting Hard Work With Weight Loss Supplements Doesn't Work

In the commercialized world that we live in, we seem to want the quick solutions. Commercial weight loss programs always promise quick weight loss. Have you ever wondered why they never talk about fat loss? I'll tell you why.

Because permanent fat loss takes longer and you have to really work hard and smart to achieve it. Pills, powders and patches won't get the job done when it comes to permanent fat loss/weight loss.

Review my post to see the truth about commercial weight loss programs. Credible personal trainers want health, injury prevention and permanent fat loss/weight loss for you. Save your money and stop buying all those weight loss supplements.

They don't work longterm and some are dangerous. Check out the supplement safe list before ingesting any supplement. Doctors, health professionals and personal trainers agree that the only safe and surefire way to good health and fitness is through good nutrition and regular exercise.

Are you ready to swim with the sharks? Don't kid yourself about fitness---make a lifetime commitment to it and you won't be sorry! Get your fitness assessment done today and start setting your fitness goals!

Download your FREE Report, The Truth about Diet Pills!

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
Your Fitness University
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Rapid Fat Loss and Six Pack Abs

Improve Workout Performance With Proper Warmup

You need to do more than jog for 5 minutes when getting ready for your workout. Most people will have muscle areas that are tighter because of the way they live. An example would be tight hip flexors, which is common with people who sit for most of the day (thanks to technology!)

Gone are the days when static stretching before workouts was commonly accepted as the best method. Current research suggests that a dynamic stretching routine will prepare your body better for your workout.

Among other things, a dynamic stretching routine will excite your central nervous system and juice up your muscles. Dynamic flexibility integrates various stretches in all three planes of motion to produce maximum extensibility of soft tissues throughout the full range of motion.

Summary of Benefits of Flexibility Training:

--Corrects muscle imbalances
--Increases joint range of motion
--relieves joint stress
--decreases excessive tension of muscles
--maintains the normal functional length of all muscles
--helps to achieve optimum neuromuscular efficiency

An example of a dynamic warmup would be (note: if you have tight hip flexors, you may need to do some stretches for them also):

--Jump Rope, 3-5 minutes
--Body Weight Squats, 3 sets/8 reps
--Walking Lunges 2 sets
--Lateral Lunges, 2 sets
--Leg Swings
--10-15 Pushups

End each workout with static stretching to bring your muscles back to normal length:

--Gastroc/Soleus (calf)
--Peroneals
--Hamstrings
--Hip Flexors/Quads/Psoas
--Erector Spinae
--Piriformis
--Adductors
--Lats, Pectorals, Neck

Enjoy your workout today!

For more help with flexibility, download your Free e-Course, "Stretching Tips e-Course" from The Stretching Institute.

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
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Add Some Volume To Your Diet (Eating Wet)

About 60%-70% of your exercise goal success or failure will depend on your eating habits. A "workout warrior" with poor nutritional habits will not succeed with health or fitness. So, how do you add volume to your diet? The basics of it is to eat as many foods with high water content/low calories. Foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables are examples. These types of foods help you to feel fuller (satiety) while eating fewer calories.

For instance, grapes with the same caloric amount as raisins will provide more satiety and theoretically help you eat less the rest of the day.

Energy density of food is a key component when trying to add volume to your diet. Energy density (ED) is defined as the amount of calories of a food divided by its weight in grams.

You would basically focus on foods rich in fiber with high water content (or low ED value). Fresh fruits (apples, etc.) and vegetables (such as tomatoes and broccoli) whole grain pastas, rice, whole grain breads and cereals, soups, salads and skinless white chicken/turkey are some examples.

Other dryer foods could be added to your diet on a limited basis. Dryer foods would be starchy fruits and vegetables, pizza, salad dressings, crackers, etc.

The old rule still applies: A caloric surplus (consume more calories than you burn) will cause you to gain weight! Hopefully a diet high in water content will cause you to consume fewer calories while providing all the nutrition you need.

And keep doing the things that always work:

1) High intensity interval cardio 5-6 days a week (20 minutes a day).
2) Full-body circuit weight training 3 days a week.
3) A diet with about 60%-65% carbs, 20% healthy fats and 15%-20% proteins.

And, no matter how you plan your diet, always exclude fried foods, highly processed foods and high-fat fast foods. Limit foods high in sugar. And drink about half an ounce of water for every pound of your body weight every day.

Be sure and download your Free 5-Day Fat Loss Course from Precision Nutrition:

Free 5-Day Fat Loss Course for Women

Free 5-Day Fat Loss Course for Men

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
Your Fitness University
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Rapid Fat Loss and Six Pack Abs

Shape Up Your Glutes, 5

In the final article of the glutes series, I will look at causes and prevention of injuries to the glutes area. There are a host of problems that arise when you don't properly "get your rear in gear!"

You can count on hamstring injuries. When your glutes don't fire properly, the hamstrings are left to do the work that your glutes should be doing. See this post about hamstring injuries

The glutes don't fire properly when the hip flexors (psoas, iliacus, tensor fascia latae, etc.) are overactive or tight. This can happen due to poor flexibility or prolonged sitting. When the hip flexors don't work properly, its antagonist (mainly the gluteus maximus) becomes weak. This is known as reciprocal inhibition (when muscles on one side of a joint become tight or overactive, it shuts down the muscles on the other side of the joint). When a prime mover (such as the gluteus maximus) becomes weak, other muscles (synergists) take over the function that the prime mover should be doing. Some other injuries that occur because of inactive glutes are piriformis syndrome, knee ACL tears and low back injuries.

As I have stated previously, flexibility is crucial for your fitness success in all areas. The glute area cannot be left out of the flexibility puzzle. Jogging for 5 minutes is not enough. Specific flexibility exercises for the glute area are needed.

Review the first 4 parts of the glutes series:

Glutes, Part 1

Glutes, Part 2

Glutes, Part 3

Glutes, Part 4

Don't undertrain or inadequately train an important part of your power center---your glutes!

Be sure and download your Free Bodyweight 500 Metabolic Fat Burner Workouts and start shaping your body faster!

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
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Rapid Fat Loss and Six Pack Abs

Your Muscles Need Eccentric Training

What is eccentric training for your muscles? I'm glad you asked because you need to know what it is! Review this post to see a discussion on muscle contractions.

When I played collegiate football, my bench press max was 400 pounds. The truth is, I didn't need to bench press 400 pounds to be successful on the football field. I was able to bench press this much weight because my training focused heavily on concentric muscle training (force production).

Research has shown that most injuries occur in the transverse plane of motion during eccentric muscle contractions (force reduction). You should be strong when you need to decelerate your actions, come to a sudden stop or land from a jump. Eccentric muscle contraction training will help you develop this type of strength. Traditional training techniques, such as those with weight machines, have focused on the sagittal plane of motion (backward-forward and up-down motions) and concentric
muscle contractions (force production).

Going back to the bench press example, the eccentric contraction part of the exercise would be when you are lowering the weight down to your chest. You should lower the weight at a slower pace in order to strengthen your muscles more during the eccentric phase of the lift. You can take this example and use it with any weight lifting exercise.

Eccentric contractions are able to produce the greatest tension development in your muscles, followed by isometric contractions and, lastly, concentric contractions. Because this is the case, you should dedicate more of your training on eccentric contractions. Doing this will help you prevent injuries such as knee sprains and tears.

Be sure and download your Free Bodyweight 500 Metabolic Fat Burner Workouts and start shaping your body faster!

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
Your Fitness University
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Rapid Fat Loss and Six Pack Abs

Core Training: Some Things You Should Know

Core training is a huge buzzword in the fitness industry these days. It's one thing to talk about it but yet another to really understand what's going on with the core. Profit making companies tend to promote "building your six pack abs" when discussing the core. You need to know more and do more for your body's core!

Your body's core consists of the lumbo-pelvic-hip complex, thoracic spine and cervical spine. THE CORE is your body's center of gravity. Some people have sufficient EXTREMITY STRENGTH (limbs), but few display sufficient CORE STRENGTH.

A strong and stable core will maximize your EXTREMITY STRENGTH and POWER. A core strengthening program involves using many muscles in a coordinated movement. Rather than isolating specific joints as in most weight lifting exercises, core stability exercises focus on working the deep muscles of the entire torso at once.

The core muscles are also very important in preventing low back pain. Stability ball exercises, bridges, planks, low back extensions, medicine ball exercises, etc. are great for strengthening core muscles.

The body's core is so much more than your "six pack" abs! A strong core will maximize your strength and speed. Since the core is your body's center of gravity and all movement begins with the core, it is essential to strengthen and stabilize it.

A strong core will allow you to handle heavier loads as your training progresses. You will also lessen your chances of injury. About 34 muscles support your core which includes the pelvic floor. Some of the major core muscles include:

transversus abdominis - the deepest of the abdominal muscles, it lies under the obliques and wraps around your spine for protection and stability. Think of the transversus abdominis as "your internal weight belt." It is recruited when you draw in your navel toward your spine during an exercise.



external obliques - these muscles are on the side and front of the abdomen and wrap around your waist.

internal obliques - these muscles lie under the external obliques and run in the opposite direction.



rectus abdominis - this is the "six pack" part of the abs that runs down the front of the abdomen.

erector spinae - this collection of muscles runs along your neck to your lower back.

These core muscles lie deep within the torso. They generally attach to the spine, pelvis and muscles that support the scapula. When these muscles contract, we stabilize the spine, pelvis and shoulders and create a solid base of support. We are then able to generate powerful movements of the extremities.

Training the muscles of the core also corrects postural imbalances that can lead to injuries. The biggest benefit of core training is to develop functional fitness, that is, fitness that is essential to both daily living and athletic activities.

A core conditioning program will decrease the likelihood of back and neck pain, incontinence, ruptured disks, muscle and ligamentous strains, all while improving posture.

Core training may not be glamourous but your body will thank you for years to come when you stabilize and strengthen your core!

Be sure and download your Free Bodyweight 500 Metabolic Fat Burner Workouts and start shaping your body faster!

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
Your Fitness University
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Rapid Fat Loss and Six Pack Abs

Shape Up Your Glutes, 4

By way of review, let's look again at getting your glutes fired up! Remember, that your glutes are probably not firing properly because of inadequate neural drive from the central nervous system. In other words, it is probably not an issue of strength. First, you need to lengthen tight muscles. The stretches are listed as follows (use self myofascial release with foam roller before doing these stretches):

1. Hip Flexor Stretch
2. Quadriceps Stretch
3. Bodyweight Lateral Lunges (for adductors)

Then, you need to activate (fire up) your glutes with these exercises:

1. Glute Bridge
2. Opposite Leg Opposite Arm Raise
3. Glute Kickbacks

Lastly, exercise the fired up glutes with these exercises:

1. Bodyweight squats
2. Lateral tube walks
3. Walking Lunges

Now you're ready for your workout! Keep in mind, this is just part of your total workout which includes upper body work. To be effective, glutes (and leg work for that matter) should be trained with cardio and strength training.

The American Council on Exercise (ACE) research found that the top cardio exercises for shaping your glutes (and legs) are: lunges, walking uphill, stair climbing, jogging and running. No big surprises here and no gimmicks! Just hard work! And research has proven that high intensity interval cardio is superior to longer duration, slow cardio (interpretation: go hard for 20 minutes instead of slow for 40 minutes)! Do 5-6 days of cardio exercise.

As for strength training? You can't leave out squats! Do your squats---bodyweight squats, dumbbell squats, barbell squats, split squats, lateral squats, one-legged squats, etc. Mix it up but do them. The benefits of the squat exercise extend beyond your legs. The same can be said for deadlifts (traditional, stiff-legged or other variations). Other top glute exercises are:

1) Step ups (front and lateral)
2) Standing cable or machine hip abductors
3) Standing, prone or floor hip extensions
4) Floor lateral thigh raises
5) Glute bridges and marching glute bridges
6) Pelvic raises and posterior pelvic tilts

If these exercises become easy for you, then increase resistance or weights.

Visit the posts for the first 3 parts of the glute series:

Glutes, Part 1

Glutes, Part 2

Glutes, Part 3

In the final part of this series, I will look at causes and prevention of injuries to the glute area.

Be sure and download your Free Bodyweight 500 Metabolic Fat Burner Workouts and start shaping your body faster!

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
Your Fitness University
My Fitness Hut
Her Fitness Hut
Sports Fitness Hut
Rapid Fat Loss and Six Pack Abs