If you don’t want a specific strength or hypertrophy routine and prefer a mixed strength routine that mixes the best of both worlds, you should try the 5-Day PHAT Workout.

The PHAT is a routine frequency 2 5 days. The idea is to build our base with exercises worked in ranges of strength, and hypertrophy accessories, it is also a routine with a frequency of two, so we must work all parts of our body 2 times a week.

This routine was created by legendary powerlifter and professional bodybuilder Layne Norton as well as a nutrition doctor. According to Layne, each work of a specific quality involves the use of a certain number of muscle fibers, so when strength and hypertrophy work together, this number of muscle fibers subjected to effort and fatigue is greater.

Guidelines:

1. Weekly Division of the Routine:

Monday: Torso Strength
Tuesday: Leg Strength
Wednesday: Active Rest
Thursday: Shoulders and Back Hypertrophy
Friday: Legs Hypertrophy
Saturday: Chest and Arms Hypertrophy

Although in general this routine is designed to go to the gym five days, if for some reason one week you can only go three days, you can do four days of this routine and start the following week with the training that was missing.

What is active rest? It consists of resting from our PHAT routine, but continuing to be active by doing some moderate activity with a moderate pace and duration. Examples of active rest: yoga or stretching session, 45-60 minute walk, foam roller routine, riding a bike… there are options for all tastes.

2. Rest between sets:

This routine has a great weight of multi-joint exercises to lower repetitions, so in order to maintain performance you have to have long rests between series. The rests are variable according to our sensations or you are afraid to rest 4 minutes if you feel fatigued before your last series of Deadlift, but if you feel fresh go for the next concentrated series.

3. Effort:

Given the predominance of multi-joint exercises, we do not recommend training near failure if we want to maintain performance and technique throughout our sets. As a general rule in compound exercises we recommend training with a weight that allows us to do 2 or 3 more repetitions. In the more analytical exercises we recommend training with a weight that allows us to do 1 or 2 more repetitions.

If we are beginners we can apply a linear weight progression and almost every week we will be able to lift more weight than the previous one, but if we are already intermediate we recommend other types of more complex progressions that we will talk about later.

4. Warm up and stretch:

The warm-up will be the same every day, it is VERY IMPORTANT to never skip the warm-up and stretching before doing the dumbbell plank at home if we want to continue progressing without injury.

5. When should I change the PHAT routine?

Many people wonder how long we can do this PHAT routine and still get results, the answer is simple until you drop! If you like training this way, it fits your lifestyle and you keep making progress, there is no reason to change this routine for another. If our objectives change or we want another distribution of days, we can opt for another type of routine such as torso-leg (4 days), divided routine (5 days) or fullbody (6 days).

Our recommendation is that if you are a beginner you stay with this table exercises with dumbbells at home for at least 12 weeks.

6. And the diet?

To make truly significant progress in the gym, diet is just as important as training if not more. Avoid processed foods, eat a reasonable amount of protein for your weight and training level, and calculate a caloric deficit/surplus based on your goals. Read our article if you want to have a Perfect Body.

The PHat routine 5 days

With our PHAT routine and the complementary information you can already get fit at home forgetting about the complications of a gym routine with dumbbells. Don’t forget to record your progress and upload it to Fitenium!

The 4-day PHUL Powerbuilding Routine is a routine whose acronym stands for Power Hypertrophy Upper Lower, which indicates that it combines torso and leg sessions in which strength training and others hypertrophy play a leading role.

The PHUL is a 4 day powerbuilding routine. The idea is to build our base with exercises worked in ranges of strength, and hypertrophy accessories, it is also a routine with a frequency of two, so we must work all parts of our body 2 times a week.

The basic principles of this routine is to train basics every day in which we will progress, and then we will use accessory powerlifting exercises with which we will correct imbalances and improve our posture and other defects.

Guidelines:

1. Weekly Division of the Routine:

Monday: Torso Strength
Tuesday: Leg Strength
Wednesday: Active Rest
Thursday: Torso Hypertrophy
Friday: Legs Hypertrophy

Although in general this powerlifting training is designed to go to the gym four days, if for some reason you can only go three days a week, you can do four days of this routine and start the following week with the training that was missing.

What is active rest? It consists of resting from our PHAT powerbuilding routine, but continuing to be active by doing some moderate activity with a moderate pace and duration. Examples of active rest: yoga or stretching session, 45-60 minute walk, foam roller routine, riding a bike… there are options for all tastes.

2. Rest between sets:

This routine has a great weight of multi-joint exercises to lower repetitions, so in order to maintain performance you have to have long rests between series. The rests are variable according to our sensations or you are afraid to rest 4 minutes if you feel fatigued before your last series of Deadlift, but if you feel fresh go for the next concentrated series.

3. Effort:

Given the predominance of multi-joint exercises, we do not recommend training near failure if we want to maintain performance and technique throughout our sets. As a general rule in compound exercises we recommend training with a weight that allows us to do 2 or 3 more repetitions. In the more analytical exercises we recommend training with a weight that allows us to do 1 or 2 more repetitions.

If we are beginners we can apply a linear weight progression and almost every week we will be able to lift more weight than the previous one, but if we are already intermediate we recommend other types of more complex progressions that we will talk about later.

4. Warm up and stretch:

The warm-up will be the same every day, it is VERY IMPORTANT to never skip the warm-up and stretching before doing the dumbbell plank at home if we want to continue progressing without injury.

5. When should I change the POWERbuilding PHUL routine?

Many people wonder how long we can do this PHUL powerbuilding routine and still get results, the answer is simple until you get tired! If you like training this way, it fits your lifestyle and you keep making progress, there is no reason to change this routine for another. If our objectives change or we want another distribution of days, we can opt for another type of routine such as torso-leg (4 days), divided routine (5 days) or fullbody (6 days).

Our recommendation is that if you are a beginner you stay with this table exercises with dumbbells at home for at least 12 weeks.

6. And the diet?

To make truly significant progress in the gym, diet is just as important as training if not more. Avoid processed foods, eat a reasonable amount of protein for your weight and training level, and calculate a caloric deficit/surplus based on your goals. Read our article if you want to have a Perfect Body.

The PHUL powerbuilding routine 4 days

With our PHUL routine and the complementary information, you can now do your powerbuilding training and progress both in aesthetics and in strength.. Don’t forget to record your progress and upload it to Fitenium!

There are people who say that you cannot train with little equipment at home, but that is not true. With just a pair of dumbbells you can do this dumbbell routine at home that will allow you to stay in shape without leaving home

This table exercises with dumbbells at home is full body and you can do it as many times as you want throughout the week, however we believe that it is best to leave a day of rest between training and training.

There are many variables to progress in hypertrophy or strength: volume, intensity, density, rest, so let’s not make the mistake of thinking that this routine with dumbbells at home falls short because you only train three times a week. It’s the best way to lay a solid foundation to then opt for other training options that are more suited to our goals.

Guidelines:

1. Weekly Division of the Routine:

Monday: Dumbbell workout at home
Tuesday: Leg
Wednesday: Dumbbell workout at home
Thursday: Torso
Friday: Dumbbell workout at home

Although in general this routine is designed to go to the gym four days, if for some reason one week you can only go three days, you can do three days of this routine and start the following week with the training that was missing. An example would be like this.

What is active rest? It consists of taking a break from our exercise routine to do at home with dumbbells, but continuing to be active by doing some moderate activity with a moderate pace and duration. Examples of active rest: yoga or stretching session, 45-60 minute walk, foam roller routine, riding a bike… there are options for all tastes.

2. Rest between sets:

This routine has a great weight of multi-joint exercises to lower repetitions, so in order to maintain performance you have to have long rests between series. The rests are variable according to our sensations or you are afraid to rest 4 minutes if you feel fatigued before your last series of Deadlift, but if you feel fresh go for the next concentrated series.

3. Effort:

Given the predominance of multi-joint exercises, we do not recommend training near failure if we want to maintain performance and technique throughout our sets. As a general rule in compound exercises we recommend training with a weight that allows us to do 2 or 3 more repetitions. In the more analytical exercises we recommend training with a weight that allows us to do 1 or 2 more repetitions.

If we are beginners we can apply a linear weight progression and almost every week we will be able to lift more weight than the previous one, but if we are already intermediate we recommend other types of more complex progressions that we will talk about later.

4. Warm up and stretch:

The warm-up will be the same every day, it is VERY IMPORTANT to never skip the warm-up and stretching before doing the dumbbell plank at home if we want to continue progressing without injury.

5. When should I change my dumbbell routine at home?

Many people wonder how long we can do this dumbbell routine at home and still get results, the answer is simple until you drop out! If you like training this way, it fits your lifestyle and you keep making progress, there is no reason to change this routine for another. If our objectives change or we want another distribution of days, we can opt for another type of routine such as torso-leg (4 days), pull-push (4 days), divided routine (5 days) or push-legs (6 days).

Our recommendation is that if you are a beginner you stay with this table exercises with dumbbells at home for at least 12 weeks.

6. And the diet?

To make truly significant progress in the gym, diet is just as important as training if not more. Avoid processed foods, eat a reasonable amount of protein for your weight and training level, and calculate a caloric deficit/surplus based on your goals. Read our article if you want to have a Perfect Body.

Dumbbell workout at home

With our routine with dumbbells at home and the complementary information you can already get fit at home forgetting about the complications of a gym routine with dumbbells. Don’t forget to record your progress and upload it to Fitenium!

We are going to start sharing with all our followers an optimal 5 3 1 routine for all people who want a hybrid program between strength and hypertrophy.

This 5 3 1 strength routine has a torso leg split and is quite focused on building up the basics as the best way to gain strength and hypertrophy.

There are many variables to progress in hypertrophy or strength: volume, intensity, density, rest so let’s not make the mistake of thinking that this 5 3 1 strength routine falls short because you only train three times a week. It’s the best way to lay a solid foundation to then opt for other training options that are more suited to our goals.

Guidelines:

1. Weekly Division of the Routine:

Monday: Torso
Tuesday: Leg
Wednesday: Routine B
Thursday: Torso
Friday: Leg

Although in general this routine is designed to go to the gym four days, if for some reason one week you can only go three days, you can do three days of this routine and start the following week with the training that was missing. An example would be like this.

What is active rest? It consists of resting from our 5 3 1 routine, but continuing to be active by doing some moderate activity with a moderate pace and duration. Examples of active rest: yoga or stretching session, 45-60 minute walk, foam roller routine, riding a bike… there are options for all tastes.

2. Rest between sets:

This routine has a great weight of multi-joint exercises to lower repetitions, so in order to maintain performance you have to have long rests between series. The rests are variable according to our sensations or you are afraid to rest 4 minutes if you feel fatigued before your last series of Deadlift, but if you feel fresh go for the next concentrated series.

3. Effort:

Given the predominance of multi-joint exercises, we do not recommend training near failure if we want to maintain performance and technique throughout our sets. As a general rule in compound exercises we recommend training with a weight that allows us to do 2 or 3 more repetitions. In the more analytical exercises we recommend training with a weight that allows us to do 1 or 2 more repetitions.

If we are beginners we can apply a linear weight progression and almost every week we will be able to lift more weight than the previous one, but if we are already intermediate we recommend other types of more complex progressions that we will talk about later.

4. Warm up and stretch:

The warm-up will be the same every day, it is VERY IMPORTANT to never skip the warm-up and stretching before doing the 5 3 1 routine if we want to continue progressing without injuries.

5. Substitutions:

We highly recommend doing our 5 3 1 routine with the scheduled exercises, but if for whatever reason you can’t do any of the exercises, you can substitute them as follows.

• Squat: Press + 15 reps of lower back extension (i.e. if you have 3×8 of Squat, replace it with 3×8 of press and 3×15 of lower back extension).
• Deadlift: Hip Thrust + 15 repetitions of lumbar extension.
• Romanian Deadlift: Nordic Curl.
• Stride: Unilateral Hip Thrust with Dumbbell.
• Hip Thrust: Hip Thrust on a quadriceps extension machine.
• Calf Raise standing machine: Calf Raise with dumbbell.
• Femoral Curl: Femoral Curl with Dumbbell (between the feet).
• Quadriceps Extension: You can eliminate them.
• Press Banca Barra: Press Banca Mancuerna.
• Incline Dumbbell Press: Incline Barbell Press.
• Press Militar: Press Militar con Mancuernas de Pie.
• Pulley Openings: Dumbbell Openings or Pec Deck.
• Funds: Bench Press Declined Dumbbells.
• Supine Pulley Pulldown: Biceps Pull Ups.
• T-Bar Row: Dumbbell Bench Row.

6. Change of routine

Many people wonder how long we can do this 5 3 1 routine and still get results, the answer is simple until you get tired! If you like training this way, it fits your lifestyle and you keep making progress, there is no reason to change this routine for another. If our objectives change or we want another distribution of days, we can opt for another type of routine such as torso-leg (4 days), pull-push (4 days), divided routine (5 days) or push-legs (6 days).

Our recommendation is that if you are a beginner, stick with this 5 3 1 routine for at least 12 weeks.

7. And the diet?

To make truly significant progress in the gym, diet is just as important as training if not more. Avoid processed foods, eat a reasonable amount of protein for your weight and training level, and calculate a caloric deficit/surplus based on your goals. Read our article if you want to have a Perfect Body

The Routine 5 3 1

Body day 1:

Day Leg 1:

Body Day 2:

Day Leg 2:

With our 5 3 1 routine and the complementary information, you can now go to the gym and start hitting the irons. Don’t forget to record your progress and upload it to Fitenium!

We are going to start sharing a 3-day routine with all our followers so that everyone who wants to start in the world of weights.

These types of 3-day fullbody training programs are the most recommended for people who are new to the world of weights and for people with little time who cannot go more than three times a week. It is the most efficient way to progress both in strength and hypertrophy since every day we touch all muscle groups emphasizing compound movements and with a high volume of training since we have a rest day between training days.

There are many variables to progress in hypertrophy or strength: volume, intensity, density, rest, so let’s not make the mistake of thinking that this 3-day routine falls short because you only train three times a week. It’s the best way to lay a solid foundation to then opt for other training options that are more suited to our goals.

Guidelines:

1. Weekly Division of the Routine:

Monday: Routine A
Tuesday: Active Rest
Wednesday: Routine B
Thursday: Active Rest
Friday: Workout C

We must leave a rest day between days of training for proper recovery and avoid injuries.

What is active rest? It consists of resting from our usual 3-day routine, but continuing to be active by doing some moderate activity with a moderate pace and duration. Examples of active rest: yoga or stretching session, 45-60 minute walk, foam roller routine, riding a bike… there are options for all tastes.

2. Rest between sets:

This routine has a great weight of multi-joint exercises to lower repetitions, so in order to maintain performance you have to have long rests between series. The rests are variable according to our sensations or you are afraid to rest 4 minutes if you feel fatigued before your last series of Deadlift, but if you feel fresh go for the next concentrated series.

3. Effort:

Given the predominance of multi-joint exercises, we do not recommend training near failure if we want to maintain performance and technique throughout our sets. As a general rule in compound exercises we recommend training with a weight that allows us to do 2 or 3 more repetitions. In the more analytical exercises we recommend training with a weight that allows us to do 1 or 2 more repetitions.

If we are beginners we can apply a linear weight progression and almost every week we will be able to lift more weight than the previous one, but if we are already intermediate we recommend other types of more complex progressions that we will talk about later.

4. Warm up and stretch:

The warm-up will be the same every day, it is VERY IMPORTANT never to skip the warm-up and stretching if we want to continue progressing without injuries.

5. Substitutions:

We highly recommend doing our 3-day routine with the scheduled exercises, but if for whatever reason you can’t do any of the exercises, you can substitute them as follows.

• Squat: Press + 15 reps of lower back extension (i.e. if you have 3×8 of Squat, replace it with 3×8 of press and 3×15 of lower back extension).
• Deadlift: Hip Thrust `+ 15 repetitions of lumbar extension.
• Romanian Deadlift: Nordic Curl.
• Stride: Unilateral Hip Thrust with Dumbbell.
• Hip Thrust: Hip Thrust on a quadriceps extension machine.
• Calf Raise standing machine: Calf Raise with dumbbell.
• Femoral Curl: Femoral Curl with Dumbbell (between the feet).
• Quadriceps Extension: You can eliminate them.
• Barbell Bench Press: Dumbbell Bench Press.
• Incline Dumbbell Press: Incline Barbell Press.
• Military Press: Standing Military Press with Dumbbells.
• Pulley Openings: Dumbbell Openings or Pec Deck.
• Funds: Bench Press Declined Dumbbells.
• Supine Pulley Pulldown: Biceps Pull Ups.
• T-Bar Row: Dumbbell Bench Row.

6. Change of routine

Many people wonder how long we can do this 3-day routine and still get results, the answer is simple until you get tired! If you like training this way, it fits your lifestyle and you keep making progress, there is no reason to change this routine for another. If our objectives change or we want another distribution of days, we can opt for another type of routine such as torso-leg (4 days), pull-push (4 days), divided routine (5 days) or push-legs (6 days).

Our recommendation is that if you are a beginner, stick with this 3-day routine for at least 12 weeks.

7. And the diet?

To make truly significant progress in the gym, diet is just as important as training if not more. Avoid processed foods, eat a reasonable amount of protein for your weight and training level, and calculate a caloric deficit/surplus based on your goals. Read our article if you want to have a Perfect Body

The 3 day routine

Day A:

Day B:

Day C:

With our 3-day routine and the complementary information, you can now go to the gym and start hitting the irons. Don’t forget to record your progress and upload it to Fitenium!

If you don’t already know Fitenium is a free, mobile, video-based social network for athletes who train strength or bodyweight exercises. In Fitenium users can share the progress you get from training, so we look forward to seeing how you warm up for squats. Download it here.

Warming up is key to our progress in training as a good warm up will reduce, but not eliminate, the chances of injury. Many do not give any importance to the warm-up and even say that “it’s lazy”, then come the discomfort and knee pain because they were not able to find out how to warm up before doing squats.

On the other hand, the squat warm-up has several positive effects on our training, such as the following:
– flexibility improvement
– performance improvement
– increased lubrication of the joints
– less risk of injury

Our warm-up for squats is divided into the three joints we have in our lower body: hip, knee, and ankle. It is important to have all three joints lubricated when we are going to do squats or any other lower body exercise. This squat warmup is valid for any lower body workout so you can use it for lunges, deadlifts, or any other exercise.

warm up for squats: part 1 ankle

Ankle Rotation: 10 Reps with each foot
Ankle Activation: 10 Reps with each foot
Ankle Mobility against the Wall: 10 Reps with each foot

squat warm up part 2 hip

Hip Rotation: 10 Reps
Hip Stretch: 10 Reps
Unilateral Hip Stretch: 10 repetitions with each leg

squat warm-up: part 3 Knee

Knee Flexor Stretch: 10 Reps per leg
Knee Rotation: 10 Reps
Bodyweight Squat: 10 Reps
Deep Squat Pose: 30 Seconds
Pike Squat: 10 Reps

With this squat warm-up, you will be ready to start approaching to start your squat routine, share your training at Fitenium, we are waiting for you!

Participating in the gym is one of the most common solutions for January. After a Christmas holiday, usually celebrated around a table full of food and drinks, it seems that we have realized that we want to lose weight and improve our health, starting to exercise is one of the things that comes to mind. and

If you don’t already know Fitenium is a free, mobile and video-based social network for users who train strength and/or body weight exercises. At Fitenium users can find free personalized routines, follow their performance, compete and get discounts at nutrition stores and sports equipment. Download it here.

However, this motivation usually dissipates over time and we see ourselves with the gym paid for months but without attending it, how can we avoid this? These tricks will help you.

Take the time to choose the right gym

It is important to go to a center where you feel comfortable and have the equipment you need. You might be more into the vibe of a rusty underground gym or chain gym full of influencers.

All you need to do is “sweep” through the current centers and see the ones that interest you the most before joining the gym. Before making a decision, go to the gym and try it out. Many gyms have a day pass that you can use to try out the facilities and the different classes you plan to attend. Take the time to make the right decision.

Establish a fixed schedule for training

“Getting on the train as much as possible” is almost the same as not getting on the train. If you really want to be consistent when training at the gym, set that schedule. Instead of treating it like a “Hey, go if you have time” extra, treat it like another promise of your day, just like everyone else on your schedule.

Peak times start in the gym around 6pm. The gym is crowded, especially during January, June and September, from 6 to 9 or 10 at night. Waiting in line or on a bench for the cardio machine can go against us and our will. But it only lasts a few weeks and in the end it always ends with the same patrons.

Group classes: search, compare, try

Group classes have strange names and many times you don’t even know what they consist of before signing up for them. Try, look for references, videos, opinions etc… from teachers and their classes before committing to an activity.

It is also important to know the atmosphere of the classes and how they motivate you to continue working and enjoying.

Track your training

If there is no progress, there is no motivation. And if there is no follow-up, there is no progress.

If you go to the gym during peak hours and train in the fitness room, it’s a good idea to write down “alternative exercises.” This allows you to replace this machine or if it is busy. A similar exercise does not waste much time.

With these little tips, I hope that not only will gym workouts continue until at least December of this year, but they will become a part of every day and encourage you to move more each day.

The 4-day Superseries Routine is a routine that has two main advantages: it helps to burn fat since caloric expenditure is very high, and it allows you to do complete workouts in a fairly short time.

This super series training is executed by doing two exercises in a row without resting between them, resting every time we finish both series. An example of a chest superset would be doing 5 reps of the bench press, then doing 12 reps of the cable fly and rest. Some supersets for the leg could be doing 5 repetitions of the deadlift and without resting, doing 10 repetitions of the barbell lunge.

The basic principles of this routine is to train basics every day in which we will progress, and then we will use accessory powerlifting exercises with which we will correct imbalances and improve our posture and other defects.

Guidelines:

1. Weekly Division of the Routine:

Monday: Torso Strength
Tuesday: Leg Strength
Wednesday: Active Rest
Thursday: Torso Hypertrophy
Friday: Legs Hypertrophy

Although in general this powerlifting training is designed to go to the gym four days, if for some reason you can only go three days a week, you can do four days of this routine and start the following week with the training that was missing.

What is active rest? It consists of resting from our PHAT powerbuilding routine, but continuing to be active by doing some moderate activity with a moderate pace and duration. Examples of active rest: yoga or stretching session, 45-60 minute walk, foam roller routine, riding a bike… there are options for all tastes.

2. Rest between sets:

This routine has a great weight of multi-joint exercises to lower repetitions, so in order to maintain performance you have to have long rests between series. The rests are variable according to our sensations or you are afraid to rest 4 minutes if you feel fatigued before your last series of Deadlift, but if you feel fresh go for the next concentrated series.

3. Effort:

Given the predominance of multi-joint exercises, we do not recommend training near failure if we want to maintain performance and technique throughout our sets. As a general rule in compound exercises we recommend training with a weight that allows us to do 2 or 3 more repetitions. In the more analytical exercises we recommend training with a weight that allows us to do 1 or 2 more repetitions.

If we are beginners we can apply a linear weight progression and almost every week we will be able to lift more weight than the previous one, but if we are already intermediate we recommend other types of more complex progressions that we will talk about later.

4. Warm up and stretch:

The warm-up will be the same every day for our superset routine, it is VERY IMPORTANT to never skip the warm-up and stretching before doing the dumbbell exercises at home if we want to continue progressing without injuries.

5. When should I change the Superset routine?

Many people wonder how long we can do this Superset routine and still get results, the answer is simple until you get tired! If you like training this way, it fits your lifestyle and you keep making progress, there is no reason to change this routine for another. If our objectives change or we want another distribution of days, we can opt for another type of routine such as torso-leg (4 days), divided routine (5 days) or fullbody (6 days).

Our recommendation is that if you are a beginner you stay with this table exercises with dumbbells at home for at least 12 weeks.

6. And the diet?

To make truly significant progress in the gym, diet is just as important as training if not more. Avoid processed foods, eat a reasonable amount of protein for your weight and training level, and calculate a caloric deficit/surplus based on your goals. Read our article if you want to have a Perfect Body .

The Superset Routine 4 days

Day 1: Chest Biceps

Day 2: Leg

Day 3: shoulder

day 4: back triceps

With our Superseries routine and the complementary information, you can now get the most out of your workouts when you don’t have time. Don’t forget to record your progress and upload it to Fitenium!

If you don’t already know Fitenium is a free, mobile, video-based social network for athletes who train strength or bodyweight exercises. At Fitenium users can follow their performance, compete and get discounts in nutrition and sports equipment stores. Download it here.

For many people, when they started going to the gym, their goal was to gain muscle and get strong. Although they are two objectives that may seem to go hand in hand, and to a certain extent they do, there comes a time when you stagnate and stop making progress. Normally you respond to that stagnation by being more specific, you choose what you want to work on and you work for it. It is very rare to see strategies that seek to improve aesthetics and strength, but there is one and it is called Powerbuilding.

In Powerbuilding we seek to improve performance in the basics of Powerlifting: bench press, squat and deadlift while we do not lose sight of aesthetics and try to stay with a low percentage of fat and an aesthetic physique from the point of view of bodybuilding.

In general, in bodybuilding, the Bench Press and Squats are common exercises, but they are not performed in ranges that prioritize the development of strength, but instead seek to optimize muscle development. On the other hand, the Deadlift is even contraindicated for people who are looking for aesthetics, since some people think that it creates too wide a waist. However, when we train Powerbuilding we will do all these exercises with high frequency and in ranges of force.

On the other hand, in Powerlifting isolation exercises are not usually performed since all the training is focused on strength and it is not usual to look for strength in isolation exercises (it is even unsafe). In Powerbuilding we will also do isolation exercises to complete our training.

In general, a Powerbuilding routine will be divided into two blocks. The first will be the basic exercise focused on strength, and later we will do isolated exercises that complement the basic of the day.

There are plenty of reasons to try this approach to training. Historically it has always been said that high and low repetition training cannot coexist, but the reality is that heavy squats create a very advantageous environment for hypertrophy.

Powerbuilding routine

A simple example of a Powerbuilding routine would be the following, there are more advanced versions in which the priority between strength and hypertrophy undulates over time, but what we propose here is an initial approach to powerbuilding.

This is a routine in which compound movements are trained in strength ranges and accessories in strength-hypertrophy ranges. We must bear in mind that not only the number of repetitions determines if you train for strength or hypertrophy. Tempo, technique, rest and intensity are very important variables to differentiate between the two.

Factors in Strength and Aesthetics training

Repetition Range: Different ranges have different effects on our body and can be summarized in the following table in a very general way.

Tempo: The speed of the lift changes dramatically between Powerlifters and Bodybuilders. Powerlifters may choose to train at a slower tempo to improve weak points in their lifts, but the goal and most efficient way is to lift fast and explosively.

However, for a bodybuilder there is not much reason to move irons explosively, as it increases the chance of injury while reducing the effectiveness of each repetition and it only serves your ego since you can get a few extra repetitions out of it. Muscles respond more to time under tension than to the number of repetitions performed, so slow tempo and even pausing at our weakest part of the stroke is how hypertrophy is maximized in our body.

Technique: There is no debate here, technique is extremely important for both bodybuilding and powerlifting. However, it is curious how the technique changes depending on the discipline we practice, let’s take the squat as an example.

When a bodybuilder squats, what he takes into account is the muscle division of the legs. They are likely to choose a narrow foot stance to target the quads and use a high bar to keep their spine as upright as possible. However a Powerlifter focuses on how easy it is to move the load. To do this, many Powerlifters will opt for a wider foot position since this way the glutes are involved more and also place the bar lower, resting on the scapulae, so that the lower back participates in the movement.

There are other similar examples such as the Bench Press in which Powerlifting athletes perform a lumbar arch to reduce the range as much as possible while bodybuilders seek a wide range so that the pectoral muscle works as much as possible.

Rest: this is another of the factors in which there are very wide differences between training for aesthetics and strength training.

In the strength block it is key to get enough rest between sets to recover the muscles. You usually rest between 3 and 5 minutes when we train strength, depending on sensations and the general advice is to rest until you feel ready to go for the next series.

However in bodybuilding, it is very important not to rest too much. Generally between 60 and 90 seconds is enough to maintain the tension and that each series breaks down your muscles more since we are not fully recovered from the previous series. It is very interesting to put our ego aside and move light weights with short rests, your muscles will grow more than moving heavier weights with longer rests.

Intensity – This is probably the most important factor, as it is vital for both Powerlifting and Bodybuilding routines. We must know how to play with it to improve with a Powerbuilding approach.

To put a mathematical variable to intensity use the RPE “Rate of Perceived Exertion,” which ranges from 1 to 10 based on the effort required to perform a lift.

This concept underpins all Powerlifting routines as if you were to go for RPE 10 in all your workouts you would not be optimizing your strength gains as you would exhaust yourself very quickly and not be able to do an entire routine. On the other hand the possibility of injury increases dramatically. In normal training, we recommend maintaining an RPE between 7.5 and 9, reaching 10 in a timely manner and knowing that training will have to be shortened if we do.

On the other hand, when you train for bodybuilding, the effort must be maximum or near maximum in each of your series. While going to complete failure on every set can be dangerous, having an RPE of 9 or 10 depending on the exercise is what will make your muscles grow. For this, techniques such as Rest-Pause, Drop Sets or descending series are very efficient.

Conclusions:

Although in the United States Powerbuilding is already relatively well known, in Spain it has not been until recently when Youtubers and Influencers such as Brainbuilder or The Titan have begun to popularize this type of training.

It is clear that with this approach you will not be the best powerlifter or win bodybuilding competitions, but it is not unreasonable to think of Powerbuilding federations where both factors are valued and a competition is created for itself.

From Fitenium we encourage our readers to start in this discipline that combines the best of Powerlifting and Bodybuilding and that develops strong and aesthetic athletes since it is not mandatory to give up either of the two things.

Greetings and see you in Fitenium!

If you don’t already know Fitenium is a free, mobile, video-based social network for athletes who train strength or bodyweight exercises. At Fitenium users can follow their performance, compete and get discounts in nutrition and sports equipment stores. Download it here.

Often when we talk about the relationship between physical activity and the proportion of overweight and obesity, it is equally necessary to establish and explain the relationship between sleep deprivation (or decreased sleep time) and overweight and obesity. ..

Specifically, sleep is a factor primarily associated with two very important hormones when it comes to regulating appetite. Therefore, if you do not respect your hours of sleep, you can ruin your diet.

Sleep deprivation and hormone regulation

Sleep cycles and hormonal regulation are two issues that may seem unrelated to us, but they are more important than we think. Therefore, prolonging this tendency over time (either voluntarily or for work reasons) by saying, “I can sleep for 4 hours,” makes serious mistakes that lead to overweight and obesity.

The reason is that during sleep, the two hormones ghrelin and leptin act to regulate hunger and satiety. How many people got up in the morning to be hungry enough to eat the whole refrigerator?

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In addition, lack of sleep causes changes in our intestinal flora and there are problems that this poses.

Ghrelin

Ghrelin is a hormone that regulates our appetite, the desire to eat. The problem with this hormone is that our body needs food (generally high in sugars and fats) since its production increases as sleep time decreases.

To reflect this, please think. When you’re hungry at night, do you eat fruit or go straight to something “thicker” like cookies, candy, and processed foods? Yes, some say drink a glass of water and go to bed, but most people are looking for a way to satisfy their hunger and eat what they first found. Unfortunately, they are not very healthy foods.

leptin

Leptin is what we need to adjust our feelings of “satiety”. The higher the concentration of leptate, the greater the degree of sufficiency and the decrease in the amount of sufficiency, resulting in a decrease in the so-called “full stomach window” and the reduction in each meal. There is a tendency to You can eat a lot of food.

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Here, the less you sleep, the longer you wake up, very low leptin levels, and the longer you eat.

Multizona

This hormone is commonly associated with stress levels, but it’s also associated with sleep-wake cycles, so consider it when discussing lack of sleep (especially those that can cause certain symptoms). Required element. Stress levels due to lack of rest) and increased rates of overweight or obesity (among other functions, cortisol is involved in the metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins and fats).

During sleeping hours, this hormone is at its lowest level (or under normal circumstances, unless there is a hormonal change that may affect cortisol secretion or external factors that affect us in the future). They have to disappear) The sun rises and when I wake up it rises. If these levels were not raised before waking up, we either cannot wake up or are awake and exhausted with no energy.

High cortisol levels lead to high energy levels (as well as being associated with stress), and high levels at bedtime can make it difficult to fall asleep and, in the long term, can lead to related complications. More serious like the need to take medication to keep going. One option you can consider before having to take your medications and sleep is to rely on melatonin, a hormone that helps regulate your sleep cycle.

Published on Unplash by Jared Rice

How my rhythm of life affects the sleep cycle

We live in a society where the rhythm of life from the time we get up to the time we go to bed is enthusiastic and makes us sleepy. Work, family, bills, everyone in a hurry, everyone wants to be first, urban environment, traffic jams… all these factors are vulnerable to influencing the hormonal system, usually stress. In the form of, as mentioned above, high stress means high cortisol levels.

For this reason, it is important to find time and relax during the day. Take a walk in the park, go to the library, listen to music, take a relaxing bath, and do whatever you want. .. There are more options for achieving a sleep-wake cycle that reduces stress levels and allows for rest and recovery at the end of the day.

Sleep disorders: insomnia and hypersomnia

insomnia

It is common in certain high-stress situations (exams, health problems, major life changes, etc.), but it can also be chronic and not directly related to the problem that caused it. To speak of insomnia at the level of illness or disability, it must occur in a “common” way (3 nights or more per week).

Insomnia indicators wake up before resting 6 hours and 30 minutes, wake up several times a night, sleep more than 30 minutes, or sleep more than 30 minutes before going to bed.

hypersomnia

It is an excess of sleep during the day, with different syndromes and symptoms of different causes. For example, narcolepsy-cataplexy syndrome is characterized by uncontrolled sleep attacks, episodes of sleep paralysis, hallucinations during sleep onset, and/or weakness (loss of muscle tone).

Another syndrome, sleep apnea, mainly (but not only) affects people with hypertension and obesity. In apnea, breathing stops more or less prolonged sleep, which can cause heart, nervous and social problems. Apnea treatment includes the use of continuous oxygen masks.

Circadian rhythm disorders that can affect hormones

Although recommendations for the amount of sleep needed to maintain a proper circadian rhythm have changed over time, you can find general guidelines established by the National Sleep Foundation for recommended hours of sleep based on the following: Can our age.

Delayed Phase Syndrome: The patient falls asleep, is awake longer than desired, and is awake for more than a month. It is mainly adolescent population and young adults. Many patients need to wake up in the morning to meet social and work obligations and are often chronically sleep deprived. Embrace Embrace In addition, it can cause a depressive syndrome.

In addition to being able to have a primary sleep phase delay for the desired amount of sleep, patients primarily report inability to fall asleep or inability to wake up spontaneously or excessive fatigue. These symptoms should last at least a month.

Jet-Lag: typical of intercontinental air travel, presenting a series of biological, clinical and social changes associated with the rapid transit of various time zones. The speed of traveling long distances exposes the body to sudden delays between its physiological time and the local time of the country of departure and the time of the country of destination.

Clinically it is easy to achieve in normal conditions due to mood disorders, anxiety, decrease, as well as sleep disorders (falling asleep and difficulty waking up) and asthenia (general weakness or fatigue). Difficulty or hindering the ability to perform physical and intellectual performance, and sometimes digestive disorders. The severity of the symptoms is proportional to the number of time zones elapsed and the age of the individual.

It also depends on the direction of the flight. Traveling east (which leads to faster sleep and wake rates) is more problematic than traveling west (slower pace). Sleep Sleep becomes less effective and you wake up more frequently. Adjusting to your local time zone may take 2-7 days, depending on the length of your trip and your personal sensitivity.

The symptoms are insomnia or excessive sleepiness. Symptoms begin one to two days after the aircraft’s flight in at least two time zones.

Shift Worker Syndrome: When night workers are frequently subjected to shift work rotation, daytime sleep is much more fragmented and less comfortable than nighttime sleep, and is usually a noticeable lack of time to sleep. This usually causes discomfort, fatigue, irritability, more gastrointestinal disorders, desire to consume alcohol and can lead to the indiscriminate use of sedatives and hypnotics to fall asleep.

Symptoms occur especially on the first day after the shift change. The situation can be aggravated if the worker does not follow a consistent pattern throughout the week, simply keeps changing cycles on weekdays and returns to the normal cycle during holidays and vacations.

The main symptom is insomnia or excessive sleepiness and is temporarily associated with the duration of work (usually nocturnal) that occurs during normal sleep.

Advanced phase syndrome: Sleep that is characterized by the need to fall asleep very quickly before the desired time, in the late afternoon, not adjustable, and by waking up very early a few in the morning. People who have it often complain abnormally early when they wake up. It occurs mainly in the elderly and is characterized by the inability to wake up at the desired bedtime or to stay asleep for the desired length of time.

Symptoms must be present for a minimum of 3 months, with 24-36 hours of polysomnography showing evidence of a one hour advance to a normal sleep period.

Irregular sleep-wake rhythm: It is a change in the circadian rhythm of sleep due to the dysregulation of an internal biological clock that “tells” the time (for example, the time to wake up each morning). For several months, it leads to the fragmentation of daytime and nighttime sleep, which fluctuates and becomes irregular.

This abnormality in the temporal distribution of sleep has an important relationship with daily life. Therefore, students, unemployment, inappropriate styles (such as young people), bedridden patients or a person who loses these routines. If total sleep time is within normal age limits, then

Insomnia and hypersomnia are found in people whose sleep is fragmented into three or more episodes during a 24-hour period. They have an irregular pattern of at least 3 sleep episodes every 24 hours for at least 3 months.

Freedom thyroid dome (hypernictameral): Produces more than 24 hours of sleep-wake cycle in 1 to 2 hours daily. Then you can gradually exit the adjustment process. Sleep regularly returns to normal nighttime hours, which can also be found in people deprived of their feelings of improvement in discomfort. This is similar to.

This syndrome is particularly common in people with visual impairment. If this is not the case, to exclude the psychological state of the ip, exclude psychological (psychological) psychological examination by radiation technology to investigate the psycho-psychological domain. Therefore, it is difficult to detect a tumor or a harmful ulcer, a harmful ulcer or a harmful ulcer, for which a psychometric measurement and a psychiatric examination are indispensable.

A stable 24-h sleep-wake pattern cannot be maintained for at least 6 weeks, requiring a gradual delay in sleep onset and sleep end.

Conclusion

As we have seen, sleep and rest patterns are clearly more important than people realize. Normally, “the associated disorder and/or disease can be more or less severe.

In addition, hormones such as leptin, ghrelin, and cortisol cause eating disorders when their production rates are altered, resulting in weight gain and everything associated with it (increased body fat, increased risk of disease). Increased cardiovascular disease, increased waist circumference, risk of metabolic syndrome.

Therefore, it is recommended to pay maximum attention to sleep-wake cycles and keep the production of hormones described above within normal parameters. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the level of stress that can be received and avoid the appearance of an episode. It is the food that leads to fats and fats.