Dawg House Gym | The place to go for all your fitness,nutrition and weightlifting needs.

THE BEGINNERS GYM

Getting Started

Follow a sound fitness program

If you are just starting out or if you have decided to get back in shape there is nothing that is more important than finding a solid fitness program to follow. So many people just jump into an exercise program only to become frustrated after only a few weeks and ultimately give up the fight.

Armed with the right information you could see impressive results in as little as 6 weeks. Now I am not saying that in six weeks you will be competing in a sanctioned bodybuilding contest or bench pressing semi trucks for fun, not at all but that isn't the goal anyway the goal at this point is to build a strong foundation.

You can work out until you are blue in the face but if you don't have everything in place that is needed to get the body to transform, all of your efforts will be in vain.

I highly recommend that you read The Abs Diet. You can get this book at your local book store. Or you can order it by clicking here.

The Abs Diet: The Six-Week Plan to Flatten Your Stomach and Keep You Lean for Life

For the money ($39.00) The Truth About Abs Program by Mike Geary is the best on the market. Mike covers all the bases on proper nutrition and exercises that set your metabolism on fire forcing the body to melt body fat and build muscle. He will also allow you to try the program for 21 days for only $4.95

Loosing Weight

The Truth About Trans Fat

Good Trans Fats vs. Bad Trans Fats Revealed
by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer

I'm sure most of you have heard all of the ruckus in the news over the last few years about just how bad man-made trans fats are for your health. If you've been a reader of my newsletter and my Truth about Six Pack Abs e-book program, then you definitely know my opinion that these substances are some of the most evil food additives of all and are found in the vast majority of all processed foods and fast foods on the market today.

In my opinion, man-made trans fats are right up there with smoking in terms of their degree of danger to your health. After all, they are one of THE MAIN factors for the explosion of heart disease since approximately the 1950's. MO R E>>>

GETTING STARTING

The Kettlebell

For the beginner, the kettlebell is absolutely the best tool for losing weight while building muscle mass and maintaining a high level of cardio fitness. The kettlebell is not used like traditional weights because it's design places the weight underneath the handle as opposed to between the weight on the dumbell. The kettlebell incorporates swings for building cardio and presses to build muscle. The combination of aerobic and anaerobic movements accelerates the fat burning furnace known as the metabolism thus burning more calories than traditional weightlifting.

Watch the video below to see an example of the swing.

Looks easy dosen't it! Think again, try diong 25 to 50 repetitions with a 25 to 35lb kettlebell and repeat this three to four times with only a 30 second rest between sets and then you move on to the press.

The press

Still not convinced? well after doing about 3 to 4 sets at 10 to 15 repetitions you will move on to the clean.

And then you will move on to the snatch:

And then finish this program off with the Turkish Get Up

Note: This exercise alone uses mor muscle groups than any other exercise and burns more calories

WB-BRS6

WORKOUT STATION

$499.00+ FREE SHIPPING

THE BENCH PRESS

BUILD YOUR GYM PHASE 1

GETTING UP AND RUNNING

If you are just starting out below are suggestions of what I feel will get you the best results. The beginners gym is two steps and you will have about $200.00 in total investment.

To start out I suggest that you get one Kettlebell a stability ball and a set of resistance straps. The kettlebell will stay with your routine for as long as you are working out and in my opinion is the most powerfull tool for building strength and muscle tone. You will also need to get a book and DVD on how to properly use the kettlebell. Kettlebells aren't used like other weights and to get the best results you will need to follow a sound routine designed specifically for the Kettlebell.

Kettlebells Stability ball Resistance straps

The greatest advantage of the the above items are that they are completely mobile meaning that you can take them on your business trips and vacations so that you will never miss a workout, and can be easily used in small spaces such as motel rooms without disturbing your neighbors.

There are also entire books and programs on the stability ball. The stability ball may look simple and insignificant but rest assured you will find yourself incorporating it into your routine as you progress, it is a powerful tool. Also get a good set of resistance straps, The set shown in the image above was purchased at Dicks sporting goods for around $30.00 and comes with a booklet and DVD. I would also like to suggest a good quality jump rope for your cardio. There is no better fat burner or stamina builder than the jump rope except maybe the Kettlebell.

The three items above are absolutely the best tools for building strength and endurance and produce amazing results. I would like to warn you that even though I recommend these items for beginners you had better get ready for an intense heart thumping workout. It won't be easy!!!!!

There are two advantages to starting with the Kettlebell stability ball and jump rope , First, it will be very inexpensive and an effective way to get yourself in great shape fast. Second this gym is mobile. If you find yourself on a business trip or vacation you can easily take these items with you so that you won't miss a workout. Actually there is a third advantage and that is that this program can be easily integrated into every phase of your fitness program.

Stick with this program for about 6 weeks or as long as you feel that you need to before moving on to phase two. This will give your body time to adjust to this new physical activity and reduce the possibility of injury.

Important information

VARIABLE CYCLIC TRAINING

IF YOU ARE JUST STARTING OUT: Make sure that you get started out the right way.Below is information related to a technique called Variable cyclic training or the technique called interval training. Just slinging a few weights around will not get the job done. You really need to know and understand how the body reacts to training and diet. Before you go any further please read this. This information could be the difference in between successor failure.

Read these articles:

cardio article

cardio alternatives

body part isolation

cardio versus variable cyclic training

SPEED INTERVAL TRAINING

Speed interval training is a method of training that adjusts the intensity of a movement from a slow pace to a fast pace and then back to a slow pace. The idea of this method is to raise the heart rate slow it back down and then speed it back up several times during one movement.

This method can be performed with cardio or weight training and is believed to have a much greater effect on boosting the bodies metabolism,hormone production as well as burning significantly more calories during the workout.

It is also believed that this method is superior to other forms/methods of exercise for increasing fat loss over a shorter period of time as well as establishing sound residual conditioning (long lasting).

PHASE 2

Phase 2 of this plan will require you to purchase two additional pieces of equipment. You will need to purchase a pair of fixed dumbells and an adjustable utility bench. The dumbell is a powerful tool for building muscle mass and definition. With the dumbell you can target specific muscle groups by isolation techniques. For instance to build up your arms you can do the dumbell bicep curl and the tricep extension. These two exercises target those specific muscle groups by isolating them. This technique is extremely effective and there are hundreds of exercises that can be performed with dumbells to isolate the many important and eye catching muscle groups such as arms, chest, back, forearms, abdominal and obliques, legs, glutes, (butt) and many more. So dumbells will not only be important for this phase of your routine but will also be an integral part of your routine from now on. So let us take a look at these items.

Adjustable Utility Bench Fixed Dumbell

I suggest the fixed dumbell for two reasons, most important is that they are much more durable than the cheaper dumbell sets which makes them safer and more stable as well. The second reason I prefer the fixed dumbell is because their weights are more accurate.

As for the bench you must get an adjustable bench. On an adjustable bench the back will adjust from a fully declined position to a fully upright position forming a seat. this is important as you will need these various positions to be able to perform a variety of isolation exercises.

There are a few things to look for in a good quality utility bench. The image above shows a basic bench. This type of bench can be purchased for around $50.00 at your local Walmart. The better styles of utility benches can range in prices from $75.00 to as high as $250.00. Don't pay a ton of money for these benches.

NOTE: If you just have to have a really nice bench go ahead and get a workout station like the one shown below. You will be getting one of these for phase 3 anyway and it may be in your best intrest to go ahead and get this type of bench because the actual bench seperates from the rack allowing you to use it as a utility bench and a bench press. The bench shown below sells for $145.00 at walmart which makes it a great value and will end your need to purchase any further equipment, See the images below.

As you can see this bench would be a much better choice and a great value at $145.00. Click this link to view this product and it ratings.

If you are unshure how to properly use dumbells click the image below to view a great dumbbell program. This is the program that I and many of my friends use.

Online Only Sports & Fitness Items at Walmart.com

$145.00 AT WALMART

BENCH PRESS ARM ROUTINE LEG ROUTINE SQUAT ROUTINE

Below are suggestions for the type of equipment that can be used to create an affordable home gym. They are divided by three fitness levels beginner intermediate and advanced.

BEGINNER

KETTLEBELLS

DUMBELLS