Dimensiones recipiente Superior

When you begin to make progress in Fitness4x4 I would like to hear about your improvements! Email me your success stories and improvements via the Fitness4x4 website, as they will be a source of inspiration and motivation to others who are beginning, and also to me! Email:

Advanced

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The second stage of the Fitness4x4 training endeavor is the most rewarding part. At this stage, the communication between your upper-body muscles and your cardiovascular system is well established. The choice of dumbbell weight is determined not just by the condition of your muscles but also by the condition of your cardiovascular system. This is never the case with beginners since their upper-body muscles are not conditioned enough to engage the cardiovascular system fully and effectively. At this level of Fitness4x4 training, nothing is left to guesswork or improvisation. This is a more complex subject and more information can be found via the Consultation Program. In the final stage of Fitness4x4 development, which happens after an unspecified period of training, your body is in near perfect balance: both the upper-body and lower-body potentials are fully realized and you reap the maximum benefits from your training whilst investing a minimal amount of time. For example, most of my senior students (who are at this stage of Fitness4x4 development) will comfortably perform 500 or more squats as a warm-up, or 500 or more Vertical Lifts with 25 lb to 40 lb dumbbells. Both of these tasks take less than half an hour, but require more energy than 1½ hours of conventional gym exercising.

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The movement must be performed in a smooth, controlled manner, with minimal movement of the legs. Start out slowly and deliberately. Gradually, as your body temperature and heart rate increase you may wish to gently increase the pace of movement. Do not attempt to overexert yourself in the first few sessions. Initially you may find that one muscle group becomes fatigued much more rapidly than the others (e.g. forearm, bicep, etc.) causing you to stop the workout before fully engaging other muscle groups. This is normal, since the upper-body is unaccustomed to such high-intensity continuous exertion. Before long your muscles will adapt to this new method of training and, if you stick to the program rigorously, you will make considerable improvements that you can record on the Progress Chart.

There are a number of other important factors that must be observed in order to reach high levels of performance:

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Regular, controlled breathing is essential for optimum performance. Try to adopt the following breathing pattern:

Exhale during each overhead press movement and inhale during the downward phase.

As your cardiovascular system becomes engaged it may be necessary to increase the pace of breathing, however try to synchronize the pace of movement with your natural breathing rhythm.

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• Always execute the movements in a smooth, controlled manner.

• The upper-body and legs need not be rigid but avoid excessive swinging, bouncing and twisting movements. • Extend the dumbbell above your head during the press

movement; however do not aggressively lock out your elbow joint.

• Always perform each lift in two phases: the curl to the shoulder and the press overhead. Do NOT try to raise the dumbbell from your waist to overhead in one ballistic motion. Curl and Press!

• Similarly each time you lower the dumbbell from the overhead position, stop momentarily at the shoulder before lowering the dumbbell to your thighs.

• Do not grip the dumbbell excessively tightly. Maintain a firm grip, but do not squeeze the dumbbell. Squeezing the dumbbell tightly will cause unnecessary forearm tightening and can cause wrist pain.

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It is vital that you focus completely on the movements that you are performing or you will not achieve the necessary EO for maximum results. Try to minimize any distractions, such as TV screens, telephones, etc. If it is not possible to avoid these distractions, simply block them out of your mind. Do not interrupt your Fitness4x4 routine to make conversation or chat.

The vertical movement may initially feel frustratingly monotonous. If you prefer to perform the workout to music, remember that the pace of lifting should be set by your own body, not by the beat of the music. Performing the workout in front of a mirror will help you to focus on the movements and maintain good technique.

Remember that intense exercise requires mind participation. If you intend to reach your optimum vitality, you will begin to appreciate the concentration and mental involvement required to train at maximum intensity. This concept however is entirely absent in most health clubs, where the mind and the body are often completely disconnected.

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The heart rate is a simple and accurate way of monitoring the cardiovascular intensity of exercise, and is therefore essential information to the serious athlete.

The best way to monitor the effectiveness of your Fitness4x4 training is to obtain a heart rate monitor that you can wear whilst exercising. This is not essential in the first stages of the

Fitness4x4 program because it will take a while for your upper-

body muscles to adjust to this type of exercise. However, once your muscles have adapted to the new routine, you will be able to lift at a sufficient intensity to engage your heart and lungs for 15 minutes or more. This is the second stage of Fitness4x4 training – simultaneous cardio and muscle conditioning – and it is at this point that it will be important to monitor your heart rate. In the absence of a heart rate monitor, it is possible to measure your heart rate manually. However this will require stopping your workout or simply measuring at the end of your workout because it is very difficult to accurately measure heart rate manually while you are active.

How to measure Heart Rate Manually

• Find your either your radial pulse (at the wrist) or your carotid artery pulse (either side of your windpipe), depending on which one is stronger and easier to find.

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Perhaps the simplest and most complete of all lower body exercises, the squat is the principle lower body exercise used in

Fitness4x4. It is also the exercise used to evaluate lower body

Energy Output Capacity. The reasons we use the squat are quite simple:-

1. The squat is a natural human movement. People have been squatting for centuries! Every time you sit down and stand up, you are squatting, because this is a movement the body was designed to perform. This is how we know it is safe.

2. The full squat involves almost every muscle of the lower body, so for muscular conditioning it is highly effective.

3. The squat is a very high Energy Output exercise, therefore also very high on the Fitness4x4 hierarchy of exercises.