Meanwhile, good workout plans and simple truths lurk in the background waiting for their time to shine. All of this results in a ton of misinformation about exercise in general, and while the reality is different for everyone, we’re taking some of those commonly held exercise myths to task, and we have science to back us up. Let’s get started.

• Myth 1: No Pain, No Gain

• Myth 2: Soreness After Exercise is Caused by Lactic Acid Building Up in Your Muscles

• Myth 3: Exercise Takes Long Hours/Is Worthless If I Can’t Exercise Regularly

• Myth 4: You Need a Sports Drink When Exercising to Replenish Your Body’s Electrolytes/Minerals/Etc

• Myth 5: Stretching Before Exercise Will Prevent Injury

• Myth 6: Working Out Will Only Build Muscle, Not Help Me Lose Weight

• Myth 7: Exercise Will Help Me Lose Weight Quickly

• Myth 8: You Need to Take Supplements to Build Muscle

• Myth 9: If You Don’t Exercise When You’re Young, It’s Dangerous When You Get Older

• Myth 10: Working Out at Home/Working Out at the Gym is Better than Working Out at Home/Working Out at the Gym

Read the full article on Lifehacker.

By Jason Ferruggia

It has been said that nutrition is responsible for 80% of your muscle building results. I think that is dramatically overstating it but nutrition is critically important to your muscle building efforts. Without proper nutrition you will never build the physique you desire. Below are a few easy to follow nutrition rules that will help you get bigger and leaner. Follow these rules and you will reach your goals, ignore them and you could be in for years of frustration.

• Eat every 2-3 hours. Doing this keeps your body in an anabolic state and keeps your metabolism running along at high speeds so that you don’t get fat. If you need 3,000 calories per day to build muscle, it is much more effective to have five 600 calorie meals or six five hundred calorie meals than it is to have three big 1,000 calorie meals. Doing that leads to fat accumulation and also has you going too long without eating which only leads to muscle loss.

• Build your meals around a base of lean protein. Protein is what builds muscle, so every time you sit down to eat you should be consuming some kind of protein. That should be the main focus of each meal. Once you have that covered you can add in starchy carbs, vegetables and good fats. As far as daily protein requirements go, you should shoot for one gram per pound of bodyweight per day. The only time you would need more than this is when you are dieting and your carbs are extremely low.

• Eat vegetables at every meal except breakfast. Not only are vegetables incredibly healthy because they provide tons of nutrients and fiber but they also slow down the absorption of your meals leading to less bodyfat accumulation.

• Eat organic foods whenever possible. There is so much artificial crap in the food we eat these days that it is really a very wise decision to eat organic as often as you can. This includes meats, fruits, veggies and grains.

• Avoid sugars, artificial sweeteners and saturated fats as much as possible. The consumption of sugar and saturated fat is what leads to numerous health problems and diseases. Too much saturated fat and sugar consumption also leads to inflammation in the body and can actually worsen nagging injuries and lead to other aches and pains. Many people actually notice a reduction in back pain once they cut saturated fat and sugar from their diet. Some saturated fat in meats is ok from time to time, but you should really try to cut out the sugar and artificial sweeteners. Although they don’t talk about it much in this country there is plenty of evidence that artificial sweeteners are not the least bit healthy.

• Eat most of your carbs at breakfast and immediately before and after your workout. Those are the times when your insulin sensitivity is highest and when you will use carbs most efficiently with the least risk for body fat gain. Don’t be scared to eat carbs at this time because most of them will be used for building muscle and will not usually add to body fat accumulation.

• Drink at least a half gallon of water per day. Doing this keeps you well hydrated which keeps your performance levels high. Even a slight drop in hydration will cause a drop in performance. A half gallon is a good start but a gallon is usually better, especially in the summer.

• Pay strict attention to your sodium intake. When I say that I mean it in the opposite way that most people and doctors would think I mean it. I mean that you must be sure that your sodium intake is adequate. This is especially true for athletes who play in the summer time when it’s hot out and you are sweating a lot. Without adequate sodium intake, your performance can suffer drastically. Adequate sodium levels also help to maintain strength levels while dieting.

Jason Ferruggia is a world famous fitness expert who is renowned for his ability to help people build muscle as fast as humanly possible. He is the head training adviser for Men’s Fitness Magazine where he also has his own monthly column dedicated to muscle building. For more muscle building nutritional tips, check out http://www.musclegainingsecrets.com/

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There are several programs professional trainers and gyms can offer to help initiate a beneficial stretching program. Although, there are ways to start a stretching program without consulting a trainer. There are many illustrated stretching guides available online. By checking out an illustrated stretching exercise guide, you can visually see if you are stretching correctly. In addition, an illustrated stretching exercise guide should tell you when to do certain stretches, for how long and how many repetitions. For example, certain illustrated stretching exercise guides and programs will have you start with the upper part of your body. For instance, it may suggest starting with the neck and the back. The illustrations will show exactly, step by step, how to stretch these areas properly, for how long and how many times. There should be an illustration for each area of the body. When you follow an illustrated stretching exercise guide routine, the benefits are unbelievable. You will see how much better your body feels and you will see how much more flexible you are. Your body will be more toned. At first there may be some soreness until the stretching becomes a daily routine. Stretching can do so much in a variety of different ways. A person may notice a difference in their strength, flexibility and tone without ever going from stretching into a physical exercise program.

Stretching can be a great way to stay in shape even if you do not have time for a daily rigorous weight or exercise regime. Exercise and weight lifting equipment can be very costly. Joining the local gym can also dip deeply into your pocketbook. Stretching can be done at home without any special equipment. If you follow the illustrated stretching exercise guide very carefully, and stretch every muscle in your body, you will see a dramatic improvement, in most cases, after only a month. Stretching is vital for starting your day whether you are planning to do some serious exercising or just running off to work. At the end of the day doing a few stretches helps you to relax and wind down after a particularly stressful day at work. Look into an illustrated stretching exercise guide to begin helping your body feel as great as it possibly can.

Written by David Swanson. Find the latest information on Illustrated Stretching Exercises as well as Calisthenic Exercises

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Stretching Anatomy – 1st Edition (Book)

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Stretching Anatomy – 1st Edition (Book)

See inside every stretch-and maximize flexibility! Stretching Anatomy will arm you with the knowledge to increase range of motion, supplement training, enhance recovery, and maximize efficiency of movement. You’ll also gain a detailed understanding of how each stretch affects your body.

Stretching Anatomy is like having an X-ray of each stretch, only better. Not only do you see full-color illustrations of the muscles in action, but you also find out how changes in position can alter the muscle emphasis and difficulty and how variations can improve safety and effectiveness.

Each exercise includes detailed instruction on how to stretch, when to stretch, primary and secondary muscle emphasis, and which muscles are activated for support. Stretching programs provide three levels of difficulty, including light stretching that can be used as a warm-up or to aid in recovery from soreness or injury. And summary movement tables show how to customize stretching programs to focus on key problem areas.

Whether it is increased flexibility or reduced muscle soreness or tension, Stretching Anatomy allows you to see and feel the benefit of proper stretching technique.

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Hatha Yoga is one of the most widespread and it a divine practice that concentrates on the physical aspects to derive mental, emotional and physical health. It goes back to the fifteenth century and founded by Yogi Swatmarama, a wise teacher. Hatha yoga is called “hatha vidya” with “ha” means the sun and “tha” implies the moon and together they are the “nadis” or the flow of energy in the body and must work to achieve “dhyana” a feature of meditation.

The full notion of the ancient hatha yoga is a divine path that encompasses moral and ethics, exercises, breathe control and meditation. Hatha yoga practices that are taken up by western practitioners largely concentrate on poses. Both hatha and raja yoga concentrate on the physical aspects and are collectively known as astanga yoga.

The key difference is that raja yoga concentrate on “asanas” or poses to prepare the body for extended meditation.

On the other hand, Hatha yoga creates harmony in the mind and body through exercises, breathe control as well as relaxing the mind by relaxing and meditating. Adopting different poses can ease or prevent health troubles from constipation to cancer.

Raja yoga is known as king of yoga and is also referring to as “Classical yoga” or “Astanga yoga”. It is a practice that has to do with the stimulus and harmony of the mind from yoga poses. Raja yoga is also able to manage your feelings in addition to getting your bodies into raja yoga postures. In Indian civilization, the mind lords over the body hence raja.

Astanga, known as eight limbed yoga and is the eight objectives of raja yoga to become a raja yoga master: “Yama” is the application and observance of being moral. “Niyama” is staying true to your own spirituality. The practice in India is believed to be abiding by religious traditions and festivals.

“Asana” is subjecting your body to the various poses to achieve relaxation and increase flexibility. “Pranayama” is keeping to a correct breathing technique by not constantly thinking about the past, as it results in superficial breath. “Prana”, generally refers to “life force” in Hindu. “Pratayahara” is through forming your own strength of will and mind without subjecting to outside influence.

“Dharana” is observing of meditation, “Dhyana” is to maintain self detachment. This is by far the most difficult objective of raja yoga to clarify. An absolute ideal is to be free of any emotional or materials attachment to be one and harmonize with the God and the Universe even depriving yourself of food, oxygen and sleep. Once your body attains flexibility, it will align with your needs and desires. “Samadhi”, this is the highest state, to be one with God, the Nirvana state of raja yoga.

While Ivengar focus on the right alignment and shape of the body and cling to it for extended period of time instead of changing poses like ashtanga yoga. Props are also requiring in ivengar yoga to achieve alignment.

One of the most widespread types of yoga is the bikram yoga and it is practiced in forty degree Celsius and forty percent humidity. It was founded by Bikram Choudhury and main philosophy is to achieve better breathing and body suppleness as well as circulation in the body. The increased temperature will induce the blood to flow.

Bikram yoga has 26 postures and two detailed breathe control. Bikram yoga is taught by trained and licensed practitioners in order to provide a safe environment for those taking it up. This type of yoga will make you suppler with a better body circulation, an ability to manage breathing together with many other benefits.

Besides the few major types of yoga that are mentioned above, other forms of yoga exist but to start off with yoga, it is best to be acquainted with one of these major types. Having a rough idea of all these major types, you can proceed to find out about other forms of yoga. For beginners, astanga yoga is the most ideal as all other different features can be picked up from there.

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A very key point to good stretching is to hold the stretch for at least seventeen seconds. This is a pearl of wisdom gleaned from a ballet teacher a few years back. She said that any stretch under 17 seconds was just not effective.

The 17 second rule is exceeded in the high intensity Bikram’s yoga where stretches are held for about 30 seconds. Don’t forget the high level of heat that is used in Bikram’s to extract that last little bit of stretch out of your muscles. An interesting twist that is not necessary to gain benefits from stretching. But, it can’t hurt, right?

So what kind of benefits can you expect from stretching? That’s an easy one. Have you ever seen the movie, Blood Sport? Did you know that Frank Dux could truly stretch his body to the extreme. The actor that played him was quite elastic as well.

Great elasticity is also something you might see in well trained Spetsnaz(Russian)agents. They often work out with Russian kettlebells too. They are for superior strength gains and the ability to withstand ballistic shocks.

Why are stretching and flexibility considered important to these people? Stretching gives one the ability to have explosive power available at one’s fingertips without the need to warm up. Of course most of us are not martial artists or agents. But, you’ll be happy to know there are plenty of other benefits.

Let me give you an example. After learning to sit in the full lotus position for long periods of time, my ankles became very flexible. One day I was walking along and my left foot fell into a pothole. This mishap pushed my ankle sideways to about 90 degrees from it’s normal position.

Amazingly, this didn’t even hurt, not one bit. If my ankle hadn’t been so flexible, I may have suffered a sprained ankle. At the very least, it would have hurt for days.

Key point: stretching helps us to avoid injuries. Not only that but if you do have a muscle, tendon or ligament injury it should heal faster, theoretically speaking.

Stretching actually grows the ligaments, tendons and muscles being stretched. They really grow longer over time. Check with your physician before undertaking any type of exercise, including stretching.

It might seem unbelievable but if you actually squeeze the ball yourself, you will feel a tensing of the muscles on the side of the arm you use.This is particularly noticeable if one is experiencing back pain.

Strong back muscles are essential for any sport as it helps in speed and coordination,balancing the body,movement and provides support for limbs to work in coordination.

Given below are some simple exercises that will help strengthen the back muscles.It is always advisable to do them on a firm surface but make sure it isn’t too hard as otherwise it might cause undue pain or pressure on the bony parts of the body.

Knee to Chest :-

Lie on your back.Clasp your hands behind one thigh and slowly pull it towards your chest while keeping the other leg flat on the ground in front of you.Vary the action by flexing the ankle first by pointing it towards the toe and then by pulling it back toward the knee simultaneously while stretching your leg.Hold this position for around 5 seconds and then alternate legs and repeat this exercise around 10 times.

Rotations :-

Lie back with your feet on the floor and your knees bent.Extend your hands on either side and make sure you place your palms flat on the floor.Now lift your feet off the ground slowly and gently rotate your trunk by moving your knee slightly to the right and then to the left.Once your body becomes more supple then you can increase the range of this exercise as the goal should be to touch your knee to the floor.

Alternate the action by crossing your arms over your chest, and then repeat.

Pelvic Press :-

Lie down on your back, knees raised and feet flat on the floor. Push the small of the back into the floor, so that you can feel the muscles in the lower abdominal getting stretched. Vary the action by moving your feet together first and then slightly apart before repeating the exercise.

Pelvic Lift :-

Lie down on your back, knees raised and feet flat on the ground, arms crossed over your chest. Keeping the legs and knees together, raise the buttocks up slightly and hold for 5 seconds. Lower slowly, count to two, then repeat.

It is important to breathe in and out normally while doing these exercises .

Dog Stretches :-

Go down on all fours, raise your head so that your eyes are looking forward. Lower your arms and arch your back, hold 2 seconds, then go back to the original position. Slowly extend one leg, as near parallel to the floor as you can. Hold 3 seconds, then put the leg back into starting position.Switch legs and repeat. Vary the exercise by extending the leg with toe pointed, then flex the ankle perpendicular to the leg. Hold for 2 seconds and repeat. Do 10 reps for each leg.

Although mild discomfort due to inactivity is to be expected while exercising, if you find that it is causing pain to any region of the back,hip or leg stop immediately and consult a physician.