Florida Agenda

By Tom Bonanti

A couple of weeks ago I shared with you some excellent tips and gave you a dynamite routine to develop beefier biceps by Christmas. Follow my advice and I can guarantee your success. No doubt, bulging biceps with those to die for peaks are impressive! But the real secret to having great arms is to work harder and longer on your triceps (the back of your upper arms).

Triceps make up two-thirds of your upper arm, therefore it is logical that the bigger and more defined these muscles are, the more massive your arms will look, from the front, to the sides and from behind. The triceps are responsible for the movement of extension of the elbow and produce motion of the forearm. Because of their larger size, triceps require more effort and time than the smaller biceps muscles. Hit triceps once a week using 3-4 exercises of 3-4 sets of 8-12 repetitions for strength and maintenance. Work them at least twice to three times per week using the same formula to add mass and to build them.

Use free weights for triceps to give you a better range of motion and to produce a fuller muscle. Throw in a machine exercise every now and then for isolation and to break up monotony. Always make sure you get a good stretch for tri’s especially as you conclude the workout. Stretching helps bring out the separations and detail in the muscle.

Here are some dynamite exercises that will leave your triceps feeling pumped after only a few sessions.

Whenever you are working a muscle group, always include at least one exercise that will take the muscle group through its full range of motion. Close-grip bench presses will do this for triceps. Lie face up on a flat bench, feet firmly planted on the floor. Take a barbell or E Z curl bar from the rack. Use a narrow grip so that your hands are only 2-3 inches apart. Keeping your elbows close to your body, lower the weight to your lower sternum, and immediately push upwards. Always begin with a light warm-up set.

Triceps extensions are a classic. Start this exercise by holding a lat machine bar with your hands 2-8 inches apart. Now press downwards from your chin until your arms are straight. Return and repeat. Most bodybuilders keep their elbows tucked in at their sides during this movement. A few deliberately hold the elbows out to the sides and lean into the exercise. The choice is yours. This exercise can also be performed with a rope instead of a straight bar or lat machine bar.

Bent-over triceps kick backs are great for isolating each of the triceps. Hold a dumbbell in one h

and and hold on to a rack or bench with the other hand. Raise and lower (kick back) the dumbbell at an even rate, keeping the upper arm in line with your torso and parallel to the floor. Keep your upper arm tight against your waist throughout. Be careful not to over use your wrist as you kick the weight back and extend the elbow.

Lying triceps extensions or “skull crushers,” as they sometimes called, are killers. Lie on your back on a flat bench and hold a barbell or E Z curl bar at arms length above you. Lower it slowly to the forehead and raise the bar again to arm’s length. This is a more advanced exercise and you may have to wait until your tri’s are ready for this one.

During your workouts, do not waste time. When you’re working triceps or any muscle group, remember to stretch and move around between sets. For more tips on how to get bigger, beefier arms by Christmas, give me a shout at trainertomb@aol.com!

Tom Bonanti, is a certified personal trainer and owner of Pump’n Inc gym at 1271 NE 9th Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL, Email: TrainerTomB@aol.com  Facebook: TrainerTomB.  www.pumpnincgym.com

By Tom Bonanti

Over the past few weeks, I have received several requests from clients and avid readers of Mark Magazine and the Florida Agenda to write a column on how to get bigger biceps. Since biceps are the smallest muscles of the anterior upper body, they are the easiest to work and develop almost immediately. They are also a favorite to show off and flex, not that anyone I know would ever be into such a shallow display of vanity. Anyway, here’s the lowdown on how to get bulging beefier biceps by Christmas!

First, if you want to put on size, do free-weight exercises. Using barbells, E-Z curl bars, and dumbbells will give you a better chance to take your biceps through their full range of motion

and fill out the muscle bellies. Hit biceps twice a week employing three different exercises using 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps.

Second, I never work biceps on the same day that I work the back, because by the time you’ve really exhausted lats and traps, etc. you’re not going to give biceps your all. Try working shoulders with biceps because neither muscle group suffers with that combination.
Third, make sure to lift using proper form as with training any muscle group, to prevent injury. Don’t try to lift too much weight or do too many reps.
Fourth, stretching helps bring out the separation and detail in a muscle beside being great for your whole body. Stretch briefly before your workout, periodically between sets, and always afterward.

Here are four sure-fire bicep exercises.

Standing barbell curls are the king of all bicep-building exercises. With you feet hip width apart and your knees slightly bent, take a shoulder width grip on a barbell or E-Z curl bar and then fully extend both arms in front of you. Keep your abs tight and back straight. When you start the exercise use a hinge motion, keeping the areas from your shoulders to your elbows locked so that the only movement taking place is from your elbows to your wrists. Bring the weighted bar up to your chest, and then return the weight along the same path in one smooth, continuous motion. Perform this exercise without rocking or swinging your shoulders and back. This exercise is a sure way to take bi’s through their full range of motion.

Alternate dumbbell curls allow you to give each bicep its due. Perform the movement sitting erect on a bench and first curling one dumbbell up to your chin; then, as you lower it, curl the other arm. Lower slowly and don’t swing the weights up with any added motion.

Preacher or Scott curls are my favorite way to isolate bi’s. Adopt a position with your arms over a preacher (Scott) bench. Hold either a barbell or a pair of dumbbells. Curl up to the chin, and then lower slowly – without bouncing or jerking.

Under-grip close-hand chin ups are a terrific biceps building exercise with a difference. Instead of the arm moving from the body, your body gets curled toward the arm. Grasp an overhead horizontal bar with an under grip so that your pinkies are 6-12 inches apart. Start from “dead hang” position with arms entirely straight, pull upwards until your chin is above the bar.

There you have it – the ammo you need to load those guns to the max! For more tips on how to develop bigger arms, contact TrainertomB@aol.com.

Tom Bonanti, is a certified personal trainer and owner of Pump’n Inc gym at 1271 NE 9th Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL, Email: TrainerTomB@aol.com Facebook: TrainerTomB. www.pumpnincgym.com

By Tom Bonanti

So you want to turn up the heat under your current fitness regime a few notches? What’s the first thing you should focus on? Should you start lifting mammoth weights to overload your muscle groups? Maybe sign up for yoga a couple of nights a week to increase flexibility? Perhaps you could start your day off with an hour of cardio on an empty stomach to jump start your fat loss program.

With so many choices, where does a sane person start?

Most fitness professionals have, for some time now, promoted developing core strength as a foundation for any fitness regime. If you have a strong trunk or torso, which is considered your core, you can simply go farther more safely and successfully with your fitness goals. Good core strength is also essential for such popular Florida past-times as swimming, tennis and biking.

Core strength begins with your posture. Stand up straight and tall – keep your shoulders back, don’t slouch, pull your belly button into the spine and lower back. Ask your workout partner, trainer or massage therapist to evaluate your posture honestly to give you pointers. Improving poor posture is like starting a new habit. It takes time and practice and a sense of self-awareness, but you’ll catch on if you persevere.

It’s crucial to develop core strength since the muscles of this area protect your spine and help prevent dreaded back injuries. By the way, back injuries and lower back pain are the main reason why people miss work and workouts! So, which are your core muscles? Your abdominals including your obliques (your sides), upper and lower back (deltoids and rhomboids), hips (gluteals, hip flexors, psoas), outer and inner thighs (abductors and adductors), hamstrings, the pectorals and triceps to some extent, and a whole host of deeper muscles you’ll never see, make up your core.

Training your core should be an essential part of everyone’s program.

Just as maintaining good posture is vital for core strength, so too is maintaining good form when you are stretching or doing cardio and especially pumping iron. What good is it to be able to curl a 100 pound dumbbell if you rock back and forth and throw out your lower back? Review your form with each weight training exercise.

Make sure you know which muscle groups you are training. Be careful not to rush, jerk or swing your weights. Significant core strength can be achieved simply by maintaining good form when you’re lifting weights.

To focus on the core, start out simply by working out on a Swiss Ball. Exercising on an unstable surface can help develop strength and steadiness in several muscles of the core at once. For example, instead of doing overhead dumbbell presses seated on a bench, steady yourself on a Swiss ball and then perform the exercise. When performing dumbbell flies, situate yourself by lying across the ball and then do the exercise. There are tons of ways to work abdominals on a Swiss ball, crunches, reverse crunches, bent knee leg lifts, you name it! There are literally hundreds of ways to strengthen your core with one of these Swiss Balls. Just make sure that you get used to steadying yourself before you add heavy weights to your exercises.

Now that I have introduced you to core training, you can download different exercises and regimes from the internet. With a little creativity and hard work, you, too can be hardcore! For more information on core strength, contact TrainerTomB@aol.com!

By Tom Bonanti

Do you ever get the feeling that you’re spinning your wheels and getting nowhere “doing your cardio?” It’s bad enough that life can seem like the proverbial treadmill, you don’t need to be frustrated and bored when you go to the gym too! This week, let the Florida Agenda give you some tips that will put the mojo back into your cardio and help you to go from feeling sluggish and bored to super charged and rearing to go!

First, let’s answer the above question with a decisive YES! Cardio work-outs are indispensable to any effective training program. They can be any activity that raises and maintains your heart rate over a predetermined amount of time, such as power-walking, biking, swimming, wrestling, martial arts and elliptical machines. By doing this, you strengthen your cardiovascular system and lower your resting heart rate. Doing regular and monitored cardio will help you live longer PERIOD!

Cardio workouts burn fat. Weight training builds muscle. Any fitness regime must include both to be effective and successful! A bout of cardio will use up more calories than lifting weights over a prolonged period of time.

Yet the more quality lean muscle you build, the more calories your body will burn all the time, even in a resting state. Bigger muscles make you stronger, but cardio fitness gives you endurance.

Although cardio training programs can vary from individual to individual, here are some pointers that can benefit everyone.

• Drink water before, during and after any cardio workout. Stay away from sports drinks that are loaded with sugar and caffeine.

• You can perform cardio on an empty stomach, preferably early in the morning if you need to jump start fat loss. But remember that early in the a.m. your body is already in a catabolic state, so you may need to eat an hour and a half or so before you hit the treadmill so that you won’t pass out from hunger or lapse into a hypoglycemic episode.

• Always include a 5-10 minute warmup and cool-down, consisting of a brisk walk, slow jog and some stretching with each lifting session.

• Many cardio machines have heartrate monitors that are built into the equipment. Use these to monitor your heart rate. Or, consider investing in a heart-rate monitor. Purchase a model with a timing device, especially helpful for interval training sessions.

• Learn to calculate your target heart rate range in order to maximize the benefits of your workout. Ask a certified trainer about the Karvonen Method which is the most effective, but more complicated way of determining target heart rate range. In general, anyone can approximate maximum heart rate or “MaxHR” by subtracting your age from 220. For example, 220 – 40 = 180. This is the starting point for all your calculations. Depending upon your age and fitness level, determine a safe, but challenging range to work with. For example, a beginner may try a range between 55-65 percent of his maximum heart rate range for best cardio and fat burning results.

• Remember to consult your physician or health care provider before beginning any new exercise, nutrition or supplementation program, especially if you are on medication or being treated for a medical condition.

Need a few more tips on cardio effectiveness? You can always contact TrainerTomB@aol.com!

Tom Bonanti is a certified persinal trainer and owner of Pump’n Inc gym at 1271 NE 9th Ave., Ft. Lauderdale,
FL, Email: TrainerTomB@aol.com Facebook: TrainerTomB. www.pumpnincgym.com

By TOM BONANTI

Staying fit takes more than just pumping iron and downing protein shakes. You must have patience and practice persistence and consistency. Whether you’re a bona fide pro, or just an average guy trying to get into shape, there comes a time when you feel a little frustrated, burned out and, yes, even a little bored. Just as there are a zillion ways to get fit, there are the same numbers of ways to keep up your mojo in the gym.

Make working out your special “me” time. Pressures and hassles abound at work and even at home. When you’re at the gym, you are building your body first and foremost for yourself. Shut out all mental distractions. Limit conversation. If you’re working out with a partner or trainer, make sure that accomplishing your routine comes before socializing.  Lock your cell phone away somewhere. Tune in to some high energy music and kick ass in the gym – your ass! Stay focused on using correct form and feeling the burn with each muscle contraction. Stay in tune with your body, how you feel, what you are thinking as your body goes through the marvelous changes that accompany working out.

Everyone needs short-term and long-term goals to work toward while in the gym. Otherwise, you’re left spinning your wheels.

Periodize your training by setting long-term goals for the year.

Break up the year into shorter two or three month periods, each with its own goals. A short-term goal might be wiggling that hot ass of yours into a new bathing suit. There’s no better long-term goal for working out than anticipating all the new friends you’ll make on the Atlantis Cruise you’re taking early next year. Whatever it is, give yourself something to look forward to! And hell, while you’re sculpting that gorgeous body, you may even be improving your health by lowering your blood  pressure and building cardio-vascular strength!

Insanity has been defined as doing the same things, the same way, all of the time–and expecting different results. The same can be said about your workouts as well. Think of ways to vary routines without losing the progress you’ve made. Check out the strides you can make with interval training or circuit training. Change from the same old machines you use at the gym to more free weights. Change the days you work out and the time of day you hit the gym. Change gyms if necessary. Just remember, change can be a very good and exciting thing.

Book your workouts into your schedule. Your workouts are as essential and vital to your well being as business meetings, power lunches and conference calls. Furthermore, any boyfriend, boss or co-worker that doesn’t understand your commitment to working out needs a reality check. A fit spouse makes a better lover and happier companion. A healthy employee is less likely to have “down time” being puny and sick.

Try to make each workout fun and productive. Remember to set goals and stay consistent. Fitness is a lifetime commitment. You owe it to yourself, Gorgeous! For more inspiration, contact TrainerTomB@aol.com!

 Photo courtesy, XTG

Tom Bonanti, is a certified personal trainer and owner of Pump’n Inc gym at 1271 NE 9th Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL, Email: TrainerTomB@aol.com  Facebook: TrainerTomB.  www.pumpnincgym.com

Well, you can’t really, but you can take some measures to stall it a little.

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By Tom Bonanti

Face the facts. We are living in very stressful times. Worrying about your job and this crappy economy, not getting enough sleep, poor nutritional habits, etc. are just a few of the factors that speed up the aging process in one hell of a hurry. You can use botox, collagen and a top notch plastic surgeon to fight off the ravages of Father Time, but you  may just go broke in the process. Result: more damn stress! Why not let The Florida Agenda offer a few cost-free suggestions this week on how to eliminate some of your stress and the wrinkles that come with it!

Remember when your mother told you to stop scowling or your face would freeze that way? Well, your old lady had a point. Every time you cop a facial expression, tiny creases form underneath the surface of your skin; the more you do the expression, the deeper the creases. As you age and your skin loses moisture and elasticity, these lines turn into permanent deep grooves. Hint: so that you won’t end up looking like one of the apple trees in the “Wizard of Oz,” try to keep your eyes, eyebrows and forehead relaxed. Also, try sleeping on your back and avoid sleeping on your side with your face scrunched up in the pillow. Yes, more time on your back will keep you looking younger! And don’t forget the importance of moisturizing your skin at night and in the morning before you go to work.

Yo-yo or crash diets are a “no-no”! While it’s tempting to starve yourself or try a new gimmick to shed fat fast, such strategies can wreak havoc with your heart, cause bagging, sagging skin, and make you fatter in the long run. Eat healthy and exercise regularly starting today! That waist and butt didn’t blimp out overnight, so it only makes sense that you can’t tone up and trim down and acquire a gorgeous body overnight. Diet wisely by losing only one to three pounds per week and always combine a sound nutritional plan with a program of wise, consistent exercise.

Stop smoking and eating so many sweets. Both of these vices can cause wrinkles by speeding up the degradation of elastin and collagen, both crucial skin proteins. In addition, cigarette smoking can dry out your skin and give you bad breath and yellow teeth. Lovely! Try eating more fruit instead of cupcakes and brownies. Try replacing cigarettes with more sex. Great cardio!
Life is a bitch and then you die – and stress is here to stay. But when stress makes you feel out of control, certain catabolic hormones, like cortisol, adrenaline and neurodrenaline, rage wildly in your body speeding up the aging process. Try deep-breathing activities like yoga and meditation—both can be done anywhere. Try listening to classical music. A little Mozart can make you calmer
and smarter, too. Masturbation is also a  great stress releaser, but not recommended at your job.

A great tan is sexy. But years of baking and broiling can also cause skin to become dry, splotchy and wrinkled. To prevent these casualties and worse, use a sunscreen, a minimum of SPF-15 daily and your skin will retain its moisture and absorb the sun’s cancer fighting and bone building Vitamin D.

Here’s to youth, beauty, joy and happiness. Remember, life is too short to be stressed and miserable. For more fitness tips, contact TrainerTomB@aol.com!

Tom Bonanti, is a certified personal trainer and owner of Pump’n Inc gym at 1271 NE 9th Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL, Email: TrainerTomB@aol.com  Facebook: TrainerTomB.  www.pumpnincgym.com

By Tom Bonanti

Besides being fun and essential to your health, there is a science to working out. With some planning, a little skill and concentration – and some good old fashioned sweat – you can get one hell of a great workout in less than an hour. The trouble is that most guys fall into ruts by wasting time. Try leaving your cell phone and iPad in the car. Conduct business and chart your social calendar when you get back there. Stay focused on what you wish to accomplish during your workout and try to ignore other distracting stimuli. Save the gossip for the juice bar or the water cooler at work. You can cruise the parking lot, steam room and internet after you’ve performed your sets in the gym.

There are also other ways to waste time in the gym. Certain commonly used exercises and techniques are ineffective and just plain unsafe. Here is my list of some time-consuming mistakes and bad habits to avoid in the gym. Let me share just a few of them and save you not only time, but also injury as well.

• Jerking heavy weights on the leg extension machine in an attempt to blast your quadriceps (the muscles on the front of your thighs) is a recipe for a knee disaster. Besides straining knee ligaments, this exercise can over-develop your quads causing your hamstrings (the muscles on the backs of your thighs) to become excessively tight and inflexible. Tight hams in turn can cause low back pain and contribute to injuries. Avoid all this lower body “drama” by sticking with squats, presses, and lunges.
•  I’ve said this before: Any exercise where you push or pull a bar that’s positioned behind the neck can damage the rotator cuff muscles that attach your humerus (arm) to your scapula (shoulder). Once you strain or sprain these muscles, you can expect a royal pain in your neck or back. When you do wide grip lat pull downs or barbell or dumbbell shoulder presses, sit up straight, point your chest outward and pull or press the weight in front of you.
• Doing cardio can be a boring waste of time, especially if you set your cardio machine too slow each and every workout. Actually varying your pace and intensity during your hour or so of cardio is a more successful fat-loss strategy. The best way to burn calories is by mixing fast and slow speeds.
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  This is also the best way to address the body’s different energy systems and muscle groups.

• Sit-ups are as useless and ineffective as a high school phys. ed. teacher. Locking your feet under a rack or bench and rolling up on your lower back as you pull for dear life on your seven cervical vertebrae will only give you a sore back. Instead, you must do crunches. Keep your feet flat on the floor or slightly elevate your legs over an exercise ball to stabilize your hips. Extend your arms and crunch your torso, bringing your elbows to your knees. You can feel the burning in your abs already!

•  When you go to the gym, your main goal is to lift weights, so for goodness sake, use a weight that’s heavy enough so that your muscles feel worked by the end of a set of eight to 12 reps. Pyramid your weights up with each set, but be careful to maintain good form with each rep.

For more tips on how to maximize your time in the gym, please contact TrainerTomB@aol.com

Tom Bonanti is a certified personal trainer and owner of Pump’n Inc gym at 1271 NE 9th Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Email: TrainerTomB@aol.com Facebook: TrainerTomB. www.pumpnincgym.com

By TOM BONANTI

Athletes and bodybuilders concerned about getting enough high quality protein often grab first for chicken breasts and lean beef, leaving fish to flounder in their nutritional regiments. In reality, fish should be an essential part of any body building diet, because it is loaded with protein, nutrients and the world’s healthiest fat. Let’s take a look at this gift from the sea and how eating fish can leave you with bigger muscles and a healthier heart.

While it may be necessary to trim the fat from your beef, pork or chicken, with fish, it’s the fattier the better. The  predominant fat in fish is the type that will keep your arteries clear and healthy. Fatty fish like salmon, sardines and mackerel are the only reliable sources of eicosapentanoic acid (epa),and docosohexanoic acid (dha), two important omega-3 fatty acids with a broad range of health benefits. Both of these miraculous omega-3’s help to lower blood triglyceride levels, making fish a heart-healthy choice in anyone’s diet. As an added benefit for those who work out, fish fat may also help to reduce the residual muscle soreness that accompanies working out.

For the protein punch your muscles crave, fish will give you more bang for the buck. Most fish is a lean protein source with a superb protein-to-fat ratio which will keep you in an anabolic state – key to muscle growth. Whenever possible, it is great to eat whole food protein an hour or two before your workout – and certainly within an hour following your workout. Guess what? Fish is digested and absorbed faster than beef, pork or chicken, and its amino acid profile makes it useful in muscle recovery as well as building mass.

Besides those tremendous omega-3 fatty acids and the rich source of clean, lean protein fish provides, there is more good news.

The iron in fish helps to carry oxygen to your working muscles; vitamin B6 assists in red blood cell formation; selenium can keep your prostate healthy; and zinc will boost your testosterone level.

The down side to fish is that it often contains mercury. This neurotoxin is deadly to pregnant women, children and even the toughest muscle head. As a  general rule, the larger the fish (like shark, tuna, swordfish and king mackerel) and those that have longer lives (like grouper and sea bass) can accumulate plenty of mercury. Salmon, catfish, shellfish, pacific halibut, sardines, tilapia and rainbow trout are safer options. And remember: The American Heart Association recommends at least two 3- ounce servings a week, but no more than 12 ounces on a weekly basis.

Here are some healthy hints about cooking fish. A good filet will have no odor. Reputable fish markets are your best bet for the good stuff. Handle your fish as little as possible. Let it cook undisturbed for a few minutes and turn only once during cooking. This allows for browning of proteins on the surface, which contributes to its flavor.

When it comes to seasoning, a good quality sea salt and pepper rub is all that a filet really needs. If you marinate, do so only for 30 minutes. Fish is more tender and porous than meat, so it requires less time to soak up the flavor.

Over-cooking any food can rob it of important nutrients and vitamins.  Delicate fish, like flounder, cook quickly (about two minutes per side if grilling or broiling). For thicker fish, like salmon and swordfish, just wait for the color to change from translucent to opaque, remove from heat and serve immediately.

For more nutritional tips to help your workouts, please send an email to TrainerTomB@aol.com.

Tom Bonanti, is a certified personal trainer and owner of Pump’n Inc gym at 1271 NE 9th Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Facebook: TrainerTomB.  www.pumpnincgym.com

By Tom Bonanti

I have been working out all my life. In that time, I have read a lot, heard a lot and I’ve seen everything. Everyone has an opinion about how to bulk up, cut up and trim down.

Some of this information has proved invaluable; some of it is pure bull. Let’s look at some common myths that just may be holding you back and/or even totally derailing your workouts.

Myth #1: If you want to build mass, cut out the cardio.

Aerobic fitness is achieved through regular cardio-vascular training and it is among the most preventative medicines available. What good is having gorgeous muscles if you drop dead of a stroke or heart attack! While building solid lean muscle is important, cardio vascular fitness is essential. And the best way to “pump up” the lungs and heart is by exercising aerobically. According to the International Sports Sciences Association, three to four 30 –45 minute sessions of cardio per week will definitely help to build cardiovascular fitness. Whether it’s running, swimming, biking, doing the precor or treadmill in the gym, you’ve simply got to
do cardio in order to stay healthy and live longer.

Myth #2: I’m hurting, but if I just keep training, I can work through the pain.

Only a real horse’s ass or the former governor of California still believes the adage, “No pain, no gain.” This long-running myth can potentially have dangerous effects on your body. There is a difference between pain, and the soreness and discomfort you feel after a really “kick-ass” workout. The latter is called ‘delayed onset of muscle soreness’ and it is a natural reaction to a really tough workout. Stretching, rest, massage and contrasting hot and cold showers can help ease this discomfort. Any indications of real pain (joint sprains and swelling, chest pains and difficulty breathing, etc.) should signal you to see a doctor. Working out with such serious symptoms could cause major damage to your body. See a physician as soon as possible.

Myth #3: I can only get “big” if I take the latest, most expensive supplements and steroids.

Just because a prominent bodybuilder is pitching a particular supplement or pro-hormone in one of the muscle rags does not mean that you need to buy it  or use it. You can achieve greatness in “muscle-dom” by working hard in the gym, eating healthy and clean, and getting enough quality rest between workouts. Always consult a doctor before taking any supplement and, by all means (especially for guys over 40), have your testosterone levels checked.

Myths #4: Drinking enough water during exercise is not important; in fact it can cause cramps.

Drinking enough water during workouts is vital. Most of us never get enough water. You need water throughout the day, especially before, during and after  a workout or other physical activity. Lack of water can lead to headaches, fatigue, body aches – and even death!  The International Sports Sciences Association recommends 8-12 glasses of water per day. On strenuous workout days, drink 16 ounces of water for every pound lost during exercise.

If you’ve got questions about your fitness routine, please send an email to  TrainerTomB@aol.com today!

Tom Bonanti, is a certified personal trainer and owner of Pump’n Inc gym at 1271 NE 9th Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL, Email: TrainerTomB@aol.com  Facebook: TrainerTomB.  www.pumpnincgym.com

Looking for a way to add some bounce to your routine in the gym? Try adding a Swiss Ball to turn easy exercises into more challenging maneuvers. Balancing on a ball as you crunch, press, curl, etc., helps bring more muscle groups into play and forces you to concentrate on maintaining proper form and balance. And there’s no way better to work those core muscles like the abs, obliques, and quadratus lumborum, etc.

Performing resistance exercises on a ball is a more effective way to train for sports (i.e., track and field, martial arts, etc.) since in any kind of competition you are in motion and often off balance. Here’s a surefire routine that’ll put some “balls” in your workouts – Swiss Balls, that is!

There’s no better way to train abs than by doing crunches on a ball. Lie on your back across the ball with legs bent, feet flat and hands behind your head. Proceed by raising head and shoulders up a few inches. Pause, squeeze your abs and return to starting position. To add resistance, clasp a dumbbell or weight plate to your chest as you crunch. Perform as many reps as it takes to get a nice burn. Try reverse crunches by laying flat on the mat with your heels on the ball then crunch as you move the ball simultaneously by bringing your knees up toward your elbows.

Don’t forget your obliques – or your “side abs”. Lie on your right side over the ball, left leg over right, hands by the sides of the head, elbows out. Proceed to bend upward as high as possible. Pause, return to starting position. Perform 8-12 reps.

Lie on your left side for another set bending up the other way.

Swiss ball squats are a great and safe way to build up the butt and legs without chugging a loaded barbell across the back of your neck and shoulders. Stand with the ball between your back (actually the small of your back) and the wall. Squat slowly down until the backs of the thighs are parallel to the floor. Pause. Then return to starting position. Perform 8-12 reps.
Make push-ups meaner and more effective by using the ball. Place your hands on top of the ball with arms bent at a 90 degree angle, legs out behind you and extending up on toes. Proceed to push up to arms’ length. Pause. Then return to starting position. Perform 8-12 reps.

To make dumbbell curls, shoulder and chest presses and/or front and side raises more challenging, try them seated on a ball. Of course, use lighter weights at first. Use your Swiss Ball on a mat area for added safety. Swiss Balls come in sizes small, medium and large and can be purchased at any sporting goods store. They usually come with a pump to keep them firm and bouncy! Get one and put some balls into your workouts! For more tips on how to use the Swiss ball in your workouts, please contact TrainerTomB@aol.com.

Tom Bonanti, is a certified personal trainer and owner of Pump’n Inc gym at 1271 NE 9th Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL, Email: TrainerTomB@aol.com  Facebook: TrainerTomB.  www.pumpnincgym.com