“The real contest is always between what you’ve done and what you’re capable of doing. You measure yourself against yourself and nobody else.” — Geoffrey Gaberino

Not enough sleep can dramatically affect your current and future health. While you sleep, your body is recovering and resting from all the things you have done during your day. Your serotonin levels are brought back in line, your muscles relax, and your mind is allowed to clear itself in preparation for the next day’s events. If you are not getting enough rest, you will begin to notice it in a physical way. While there is no perfect number in terms of hours of sleep, 8 hours should be your target each and every night.PHIL B’s FITNESS & PERSONAL TRAINING

   

Starting Position: - Place one hand and the same-side knee on an exercise bench, the foot of the opposite leg on the floor, and the hand on that side of the body holding a dumbbell in your hand hanging at arms length below your shoulder.

Execution: - Exhale as you pull the dumbbell upward until it touches your outer chest.  Inhale as you lower the dumbbell slowly to the starting position.  Repeat as required.

PHIL B’s FITNESS & PERSONAL TRAINING

From Hugo Rivera,
Your Guide to Bodybuilding.
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In this bodybuilding FAQ I answer some of the most common bodybuilding leg training questions.

1. Are lunges a hamstring exercise or a quadriceps exercise?

In order to emphasize the quadriceps perform the exercise pressing with the ball of the foot. To emphasize the hamstrings muscles, press with the heels instead flexing the glutes as you bring your torso up.

Make sure that you lower yourself all of the way down but maintaining at all times the knee behind your toes so that the knee is protected. For even more emphasis on the backside of the leg, place the foot of the leg that is being exercised on top of a small step so that your thighs can go slightly below parallel as you lower yourself, thus maximizing glute and hamstring activation even more.

For more information on the correct execution of lunges take a look at How To Exercise Legs Using The Lunges.

2. For more muscle mass, can I train calves everyday for high repetitions?

Calves, like any other muscle need time to recover so a training frequency of once every third or fourth day (like for example training them on Monday and Thursday) is sufficient.

Repetition wise, exercises like standing calf raises and calf presses, which emphasize the gastrocnemius (a muscle that is mostly white fiber type), yield the best results when you use anywhere between 8-15 repetitions, going as high as 20 reps occasionally. For the seated calf raises, try doing from 25 repetitions to as much as 100 reps, since seated calf raises emphasize the soleous muscle (the muscle under the gastrocnemius) which is a red fiber (endurance) type of muscle! Use 3-4 sets per exercise and rest only 30-60 seconds in between sets.

For good calf raise routines, take a look at my Bodybuilding Training Routines for Calves.

3. I want to get bigger legs so I’ve been looking at introducing squats in my leg training. However, I’ve heard that squats are unsafe for the knees and the lower back. Is it safe to do squats?

Several studies show that a properly executed squat is safer than a leg extension, and even a better exercise choice for knee rehabilitation. The key thing for squat safety is to lift a weight that you can control. The knees should never go past the toes and the back should always be slightly arched. As one lowers the body, the torso should remain as upright as possible. Typically, lifters who injure themselves with the squat use far too much weight and as a result, they bend too far forward (which puts excessive stress on the lower back) and allow the knees to go past the toes (which stresses the knee caps).

For more information on the correct execution of the squat take a look at How To Exercise Legs Using The Barbell Squat.