Everyone have seen the cut/bulk cycle that many people go through adding weight for the winter with the pipe dream of gaining some extra muscle and dieting the whole summer to reveal those abs…..Its not something you want to do you can look and feel great all year round by following a few rules!

- Don’t attempt to bulk!

Your body is very self regulating if you start lifting heavy weights and doing intense workouts your appetite will ramp up and so long as you stick to good wholesome food 80% of the time you will gain quality muscle and your strength in the gym will increase….
Take your time with gaining size if your getting stronger it means you are getting bigger, simply having trust in that will keep you progressing in the gym. Find new ways to challenge your body and trigger growth whether thats 100 rep body weight squats or a fully loaded leg press just keep your body guessing! You can’t force feed yourself into growth it will just leave you feeling bloated and chubby….

Intensity refers to load/weight and has been shown to have a significant impact on muscle hypertrophy and is arguably the most important exercise variable for stimulating muscle growth.  Intensity can be recorded as a percentage of 1RM and equates to the number of repetitions that can be performed with a given weight.

Repetitions can be classified into 3 basic ranges:

• low (1–5)
• moderate (6–12)
• high (15+)

These repetition ranges involve the use of different energy systems and stress the neuromuscular system in different ways.  This variation of stress impacts the extent of the hypertrophic response.The use of high repetitions has generally proven to be inferior to moderate and lower repetition ranges in eliciting increases in muscle hypertrophy.  This means that a load less than approximately 65% of 1RM is not considered sufficient to promote substantial hypertrophy.  This is because the high rep training can bring about significant metabolic stress but the load is inadequate to recruit and fatigue the highest threshold muscle fibres.Whether low or moderate reps evoke a greater hypertrophic response has been a matter of debate as both produce significant gains in muscle growth.  However, the general consensus is that the moderate rep range of 6–12 reps will optimise muscle hypertrophy.

Tucks

Steps:
Stand on a padded surface (tumbling mat) with feet slightly less than shoulder width.

It is important to practice tuck jump on a safe surface and avoid any harms.Bend your knees and use your whole foot to generate power to jump and not just your toes. Jump as high as you can. While you are in the air, tuck your knees close to your chest. Don’t let your shoulders lean out beyond your knees because this may stress your lower back.Land on the same spot with knees slightly bent to reduce the impact to your knees.

Losing fat and gaining muscle has nutritional, physical and psychological aspects. The following 15 strategies can help you reach your goals:

• Increasing your protein intake helps protect muscles when calories are low and helps release stored energy.
• Eating smaller meals more often provides a continuous flow of nutrients when calories are low. Foods high in nutrient volume but low in calories, such as spinach, broccoli and cabbage help you stay lean while feeling full. Beaten egg white expands for the same effect.
• Eat more green leafy vegetables and fresh fruits to keep your body functioning and maintain your acid balance. Starches such as sweet potatoes, brown rice, quinoa, etc. Should be kept for post workout meals.

Hanging leg raise works the abdominal muscles, especially the lower abs.  It also trains your grip strength which you need it for many weight lifting workouts including pull up and bench press.

From time to time, people are saying they find the perfect solution to "build" your body. But what about if you don't want to become a body-builder, but just get more fit and healthy? Let's see the 5 basic rules to fit your self up the easy way:

1.  Eat five times a day at 2-3 hour intervals. This keeps you saturated with the amino acids and glycogen from protein and carbohydrate sources that you need to push abnormal muscle growth. This also prevents muscle loss due to a bodily starvation reaction to heavy workouts.

Working on your fitness can really improve your tennis game. The workout below targets each of the main areas involved in the game so you’re in top shape when you step on court. Repeat the workout twice a week for the best results, resting for 30-45secs between sets.  Start with a warm-up of marching then jogging on the spot and stretches for the upper and lower body.  

Forward and Side Jumps/hops – 2 sets.

Arrange 5 low hurdles in the floor roughly 1.5f apart (you can use cones or any other markers if necessary).  Jump over each hurdle with feet together, using your arms to add momentum, jumping again as soon as you land. Turn to your right and repeat the course, jumping sideways, leading with your left shoulder, and then repeat leading with your left. 

Lunge and Twist – 2 sets of 12 reps (6 each side)

Stand with feet together holding a medicine ball or weight level with your chest.  Take a large step forward with your right leg and extend your arms out in front of you.  Rotate your torso to the right and then back to the centre.  Bend both knees to perform a lunge, making sure your front knee is behind your toes.  Quickly straighten your legs, jumping up and bringing your left leg forward and right leg back.  Turn your torso to the left and then back to centre, lunging and jumping again.  Continue, alternating sides to complete one set. 

The health benefits and the energy It's what keeps us jogging in the sideways rain, blistering cold and slippery snow and, once you're hooked, can be as addictive as any chocolate ice cream.  But despite the array of health benefits, running is actually quite tough on your joints.
Yoga is a new method to improve running. All about restoring the muscles and joints, the class uses yoga postures to target and stretch areas worn down from pounding the pavement. Needless to say, a serious stretch is well overdue.