Beebleblog

What are your Triceps?

Triceps (shaded in red) can often be the forgotten muscles of the arms, not surprising really because they are at the back and we can’t see them. The Triceps are a group of 3 muscles (Long head, Lateral head and Medial head) and they join through the shoulder and pass the elbow joint, allowing movement at both the shoulder and elbow.

By the way, I would like to point out that the Triceps are not responsible for ‘Bingo wings’ (the flabby bits on the underside when you raise your arm – Beeble). A common misconception is that by training your Triceps you can rid yourself of ‘Bingo Wings’…….YOU CAN’T, that my friends is called ‘Spot Training’ and it doesn’t work (click here for more information on ‘Spot Training’). The only way to reduce these is to reduce your body fat by eating well and exercising all of your body.

Technorati Tags: Arms, chair, dips, Exercise, fitness, muscle, triceps, workout

What is this muscle?

There are two biceps (the short head and the long head) and they are located on the front of the arm above the elbow and below the shoulder (as in fig.1). It is these muscles in particular that us men want to develop so they are big and we love to spend ages working on them. However it is also the muscle that we are least likely to stretch. Bear this in mind: you can only achieve the best results if you stretch your muscles, only then can they get to their biggest and strongest.

What do we use them for?

Apart from attracting the ladies the body uses them to bend the lower arm towards the upper at the elbow (for lifting that important pint of beer! - Beeble). Its secondary jobs are to turn the palm of your hand upwards when the elbow is bent and to raise the whole arm up in front of you.

Technorati Tags: bicep, Exercise, fitness, muscles, Stretch, Stretching

I have a very mixed opinion when it comes to the Kiwi as far as taste goes. It only seems to be in season for a very short amount of time which means that most of the time when I eat one I am wincing like I have just sucked on a lemon. That said I have found out some interesting facts which I was not aware of and now my opinion has changed (we are very pro kiwi – Beeble).

•    Calories: 60 kcal
•    Protein: 1.31 grams
•    Carbohydrates: 14.41 grams
•    Fibre: 3.4 grams
•    Fat: 0 grams
•    Calcium: 26.2 milligrams
•    Phosphorus: 39.3 milligrams
•    Potassium: 330 milligrams
•    Zinc: 0.13 milligrams
•    Iron: 0.39 milligrams

Technorati Tags: contents, Diet, food, Fruit, Health, kiwi, nutrients, nutritional

Your "core" is a word that is used a lot these days without really any understanding of the muscles involved and how to use them. Today I want to explain which muscles make up your core, where in the body they are found and how they are, or rather should, be used.

When most people talk about the core they are mainly referring to the stomach muscles which although not wrong does not give the complete picture. For example there are many pieces of equipment out there that help to strengthen your stomach muscles and as part of their advertising they will talk about “building a stronger core.” This is partly true, but obviously it would be more accurate to say that it “helped towards building a stronger core” as if you just used this piece of equipment you would miss out the other muscles that make up the core.

Technorati Tags: abdominals, Abs, Core, Exercise, fitness, muscles, stomach, strength, workout

What is it for?

Obviously this exercise is for your abdominal muscles and is a very good one to strengthen your core (which are the group of muscles that support your whole body). It concentrates on your transverse abdominals (a belt-like stomach muscle that sits underneath all the other muscles) and the lower portion of your rectus abdominus (aka the 6 pack). As long as your body fat % is lower than 25% for men and 35% for women this exercise can help create a flatter stomach and certainly a firmer one.

Technique

This exercise is in fact very similar to the 20-20-20 leg drop. However because of the increase in movement and the forces this creates, I would say that it is fractionally harder than those two. As with the others it is important to prepare your body before commencing.

Technorati Tags: abdominals, Abs, Core, Exercise, firm, fitness, flat, stomach, Strong