Archive for July, 2011
Leg Press Toe Position – It Matters!
The leg press is one of the most unique exercises you can do in the gym. It is possible for you to work your hamstrings glutes quadriceps and calves depending on the placement of your feet and how much range of motion is applied. On the other hand if this exercise is performed wrong the leg press can be very damaging to your knee joints.
For years and years the die hard fans of the gym have been arguing about the angles you should point your toes at and the amount of distance between your feet while doing a leg press. A popular statement floating around the gym is that the more outward the toes point the more the inner thighs get worked out. Going along the same general principal the more you point your toes inward the more outer quad is concentrated on.
Another issue that’s been up for discussion is the distance between the feet during a leg press. It’s been argued by many that the right distance between your feet is your shoulderwidth distance. It’s also been argued by many that this distance puts more strain on the knees providing an alternative where a slightly wider stance will more naturally compliment the natural outward pelvic angling of our feet.
Unfortunately there is no clear cut procedure that has proven success. The foot placement that feels the most comfortable to you is probably the best one for you. Many taller people in the gym have found that a narrow stance during a leg press puts a very large amount of stress on the knees. For the taller people at the gym a wider stance would most likely be most beneficial to a workout. On the other end of it people who have larger legs might benefit from more of a “toes out” stance. For those in the gym new to the leg press a “toes forward” stance might be an easier angle for which to do the exercise.
It’s all about what’s best for you and what you’re most comfortable with so it’s good to try different angles in the gym. You’ll want to keep careful track to the soreness you experience and the growth you attain while also paying close attention to aches and pains never experienced before trying different angles. The standard approach is always a good foundation to explore from.
So if you find an angle that feels great minimizes aches and pain and hits the areas you need to hit tell others about it because they’ve most likely run into the exact same problem before.
About the writer: Dane Fletcher is the worldwide authority on bodybuilding and steroids. He has coached countless athletes all over the world. To read more of his work please visit either http://www.BodybuildingToday.com or http://www.SteroidsToday.com
Learn To Fight And Rise Above Your Fear
Fear has its undeniable dynamics in all forms of street combat with no exception but you can rise above the fear factor by adding a considerable mental feature to your efforts of learning street fighting. Critical situation on the street are possible at any moment it is a good point to start with for your preparation for facing the additional fear aspect. Do you feel like you are the type of man or woman who simply freezes when a street fighting situation occurs? Well panic is unavoidable with most of us but if you learn to fight and control at the same time your emotions you will handle your emotions to the disadvantage of your opponent.
This is why it is vital to practice practice and then practice again it is the essence of any effort to learn to fight. It is crucial to arrive at such a point of naturalness so that by the time you become conscious that you should actually feel terrified your attacker has already been dealt with. Many people forget to take in hand the intensification of the feeling in an authentic street combat situation.
More often than not if you can bring to a halt the intensification of emotions on both street combat sides the attackers and the defenders the conflict does not take place. However such prevention of emotion intensification rarely occurs so the only thing that you can do is to continue your street fighting training and to learn to fight by being the one in control which means that you control your emotions and not the reverse.
I can recommend a series of reallife situations exercises but my warning is that the level of emotion intensity with such exercises does not compare with the level of emotion intensity in the actual street combat. For instance a good manner of learning to deal with fear is by having someone rub you the wrong way. When someone is rude to you you will experience both panic and bewilderment as to the reasons why he or she might act in such a manner.
The reality is the same: you may often find no authentic logical reason behind street attacks. They might want to rob you in some situations but time and again you may find yourself with your face smashed for no reason that you could actually comprehend. This will definitely line up a series of contradictory emotions. In practice you may even feel the need to cry or even let your tears out for that matter. This means that you have lost control over your emotions.
However practice does make perfect. If you cry while you train you will gradually learn to retain those tears so that when a street fighting situation actually comes up you will be the complete master of your emotional reactions. Listen to what I am saying: an aggressor is not going to attack you with subtleties. On the contrary he or she will yell insults straight to your face sometimes closer than what you might ever expect to and believe me; sometimes you may even have to deal with literally bad breath situations.
Finally when you learn to fight by controlling the fear factor remember that your attacker actually deals with emotions too. Your fear control training may in fact provide you with some reliable clues as to what the other is going through in a similar situation. In other words never let it out of your mind that your opponent has weak emotional points too. By studying yours you can get an idea of his or hers.
About the writer: When you learn to fight practice of emotional control is mandatory. Street fighting situations always generate intense emotional reactions they are in fact those that lead to the intensity of the physical conflict. By learning to deal with your emotions you have an advantage over your adversary.
Learn The Crucial Techniques For Judo Throwing
Throwing is one of the crucial aspects of judo technique. Below are some advice on these techniques
1. Where to hold
If you hold your opponent’s right sleeve with your left hand and his left lapel with your right hand your techniques will be limited to only the right side. If you hold him by both sleeves you can readily apply either right or left techniques such as hizaguruma or deashiharai but this is not true in a number of other techniques such as hanegoshi haraigoshi or seoinage hip and hand throws.
If you hold his jacket on both the right and left sides of his chest you are well set to apply waist techniques but not seoirtage shoulder throw or deashiharai and osotogari which are foot and leg throws.
Therefore the techniques are largely restricted by the choice of where you grip and how you stand. If your opponent has enough time to defend himself from your attack he will be able to anticipate the kind of technique you will use. You should always change the place that you grasp according to the changing positions of your opponent and yourself.
2. How to grasp
When you hold your opponent by his jacket you should do so as gently as you would hold an egg in your hand. Always keep the forearms relaxed. If you stiffen your forearms you are prevented not only from changing your grasp quickly but also from reading your opponent’s motions. You must remember that the feel in the gripping hand is just as much an indicator of your opponent’s motions as are your eyes. It is only at the moment when you apply your technique or break his posture that you must grasp tightly.
Besides these two factors there is anotherperhaps the most important one. Unless your arms are kept relaxed you cannot make good use of the force of the waist and abdominal region which is the foundation of judo. The force of both arms is only one part of the force of the whole body ; it plays its part in the harmony of the whole. Therefore if strength is always concentrated in the arms the overall force of the body becomes weak.
3. How to advance or retreat
To apply throwing techniques effectively you must first get your opponent offbalance. This technique is called kuzushi. It can be used most effectively when your opponent is advancing or retreating. All you have to do is advance or retreat farther than he pulls or pushes. This is done by making use of a special way of walking called tsugiashi special footwork which we shall now explain.
There are two ways to walk. One is the normal way by advancing the right and left legs alternately. In the other way of walking a shuffle step you first advance your right foot and then draw up the other foot until it rests about ten inches behind the right foot and is pointed outward at an angle. This is tsugiashi. In boxing too as you know both competitors advance or retreat in this fashion.
Which is better in judo? Of course it is tsugiashi for it enables you to move faster than in the normal way. Furthermore if you walk using the normal step your posture is more vulnerable since the time that you use to place your weight on one foot is longer than in tsugiashi.
Next you must keep in mind the correct angledfoot pattern that enables you to make the best use of the force of the waist and abdominal region. Then you must make the maximum use of the action of both your big toes through practice. If you can put your strength in them you will be able to make your base larger up to the length of the big toe. When you put your knee on the mat your big toe must be placed upright. This too will enable you to make better use of the force of the waist and abdominal region.
With these three principles in mind you will be well on your way to effective throwing in judo.
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