"There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because his conscience tells him it is right...." ~ Martin Luther ~
"Who aims at excellence will be above mediocrity; who aims at mediocrity will be far short of it." ~ Burmese Saying ~
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle ~
"There are two things to aim at in life; first to get what you want, and after that to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind has achieved the second." ~ Logan Pearsall Smith ~
"Failures do what is tension relieving, while winners do what is goal achieving." ~ Dennis Waitley ~
"Men's best successes come after their disappointments. ~ Henry Ward Beecher ~
If you haven’t had your butt kicked in the gym recently and feel a strong desire to do so then grab your kettlebells and knock out a set of these and you’ll soon get an idea of where your conditioning is at. Kettlebell expert Lisa Bala...
My Favorite Kettle Bell Exercise - Lisa Balash Kettle Bells have been around since the dawn of resistance training but have enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in the fitness industry over the past two years and more recently among physique athl...
Core training has become a staple of any good workout program as more and more athletes start to understand the affect it has on virtually every aspect of your body’s performance which always translates into how your body looks. Doing some...
You can never know too many glute training exercises and our Fitness Editor Liza Hughes knows a million of em. The Low Rope Hip Thrusts are an excellent movement to add fullness and roundness to your lower glutes while not engaging your low ba...
Fitness Professional Liza Hughes walks us through one of her favorite shoulder exercise combinations, super setting side lateral raises and a variation of front dumbbell raises. Shot on location at Las Vegas Athletic Club on Sahara Ave., Hughe...
The overhead triceps extension is a very basic triceps exercise that can be performed in a wide variety of ways using a wide variety of equipment. Fitness Professional and Bodysport Training Editor Liza Hughes shows us the correct form for this vari...
As you may know walking lunges are a great exercise for working the quads, glutes and even hamstrings. Adding lateral or diagonal lunges can even bring the inner and outer thigh into play which is great for developing more sweep if you are a co...
Terri Turner is known for her outstanding delt development and while her overall body shape may have come compliments of her parents, her genes are not totally responsible for the full and round shoulder caps she sports on stage. Turner tr...
Compound exercises, or exercises that recruit a number of muscle groups, should always be a staple of every solid resistance training program. Compound exercises can be used to improve overall strength and muscle quality, coordination, balance, and ...
Hams and Glutes are whats hot right now...well...always, and competitive figure professional Meriza DeGuzman has made her hams a glutes a major project this past winter. This very effective new exercise dubbed "Kirtsy Lunges" is the creation of...
IFBB Fitness Pro Liza Hughes is a lifetime natural athlete so making improvements and balancing the shape of her body to be competitive on an IFBB pro fitness stage is a slow and steady process. Liza has always relied on attention to form, cons...
While the 2009 Fitness and Figure Olympia contest is old news that no one is interested in any longer, the road to the Olympia, watching the back breaking workouts for instance, are every bit as riveting today as they were almost a year ago. It tru...
We visited Professional Figure competitor Terri Turner in her home recently where she ran through one of her chest and lite shoulder days for us in her home gym. Turner does a significant number of exercises but does less sets per each exercis...
Competitive Bikini is a relatively new sport but holds the promise of being the biggest and most popular of all physique sports since the look is more attainable for most women and healthier since the bodyfat requirements are not as low as they are f...
Ten weeks out from the California Pro Figure Championships in Culver City, Meriza DeGuzman is way ahead of where she usually is this far out from a show and its simply because she didn’t let things get out of hand in the off-season this year. ...
Our Bodysport.com Fitness Editor Liza Hughes runs us through one of her Ham and Glute workouts in her home town Golds Gym. Liza cycles her training throughout the year between light and heavy training, less and more volume, and low and high intens...
After seeing her ham and glute training video you will want to run through this stretching video with our Bodysport.com Fitness Editor Liza Hughes. Liza is emphatic about the need to include stretching in every training program as longer and more f...
Just days prior to the 2009 Figure Olympia, IFBB figure pro Patricia Mello was in Golds Gym Las Vegas and surprisingly took in a rather intense leg training session just a couple days before the big show. We were there to record it. Mel...
We have all done it. Pushed and pushed ourselves, dragged ourselves to the gym kicking and screaming despite feeling like you've been run over by a truck. You'd never miss a scheduled workout no matter how tired you feel because only people who d...
Having the so-called “six-pack” of abdominal muscles doesn’t necessarily mean having core strength and stability. The core is made up of many more muscles than just the abdominals; it encompasses muscles of the trunk and pelvis. Togethe...
There is an almost infinite number of exercises available to the trainee today with just as many variations. Often, people will discover a unique way to perform a particular movement that they feel works better for them than the standard approa...
“This shift in mental posture aligns you more precisely with your goals. Once you decide that something is a priority, you give it tremendous emotional intensity, and by continually focusing on it, any resource that supports its attainment will eve...
Cellulite is simply fat and even the fittest athletes can be affected. Unfortunately genetics will dictate the amount of fat cells you have and where you have them. We all have connective tissue that separates these fat cells into compartments and in...
Visualization, or mental rehearsal, is an effective tool that has been used by athletes for years to improve their state of mind, concentration, and athletic performance. Years ago it was a commonly talked about and used technique in physique s...
Need a quick workout option? Skip yourself fit! Research studies show that 10 minutes of jump rope is more effective for the heart increasing cardiovascular conditioning and burning more calories then a 30-minute jog. Illinois University's Phy...
With so many women competing in fitness and figure, the judges have an almost overwhelming task in trying to determine who the best is on any given day. Due to the limited number of positions that are used to evaluate the physique onstage...
What it means is doing a wide variety of resistance movements or conditioning exercises that are not typically a single direction resistance movement. Bodybuilders use resistance to increase muscle size, density and texture. "Athletes" use resi...
I think a lot of the confusion is in the definition. Maybe "Training like an athlete" should be thought of as "Training to look like an athlete" or "training to look more athletic". The best athletes (even physique athletes) seem to have a certain "f...
Both Kevin and Terry’s novel-length replies were bang on but I will give a slightly different (okay the same but said differently) perspective seeing as I have spent many years working with non-bodyshaping athletes as well. But first, in case I for...
One of the biggest keys to reaching your fitness goals can easily be the place where you workout. Choosing the correct location can either motivate you to achieve success or push you away from a fitness lifestyle altogether. Here are some imp...
Quite a few fitness trainers and physique athletes implement the use of plyometrics in their program. Yet many people don't fully understand the actual role plyometrics should play or how to best incorporate them. Two of the ind...
One size fits all? Not always. It’s unlikely that one style, cut or size of jeans will fit every woman. The same goes when hiring a Personal Trainer. Not every trainer is good for every client. You must find the perfect fit for YOU! As the ...
Theoretically the scale is a very helpful tool if you are trying to lose or maintain your body weight. For some though, stepping on the scale is more of a psychological battle than the logical use of a simple tool that measures weight and nothing e...
Whether you are gym junkie or a newbie there's much more to a gym membership than paying your dues and showing up to train. Let's talk about gym etiquette.Be on time...Schedules are hectic for everyone these days so if you have an appointment with a ...
Hopefully we all know how important it is to practice good hygiene after a gym workout or training session. Several types of problems might be caused or prevented depending upon whether or not you do. Showering after a workout is impo...
The Journal of Archives of Internal Medicine is reporting that resistance training done once or twice a week can have a significantly positive effect on the cognitive function of elderly women. Women age 65-75 years were resistance trained using free...
Dynamic Mobility (also known as Active or Dynamic Stretching) is a great warm-up before training. Although there is a bit of semantic confusion in the phraseology, I am referring to "mobility" as contracting your muscles and taking your joints throug...
Knee pain is an extremely common complaint and can be acute or chronic. It is always recommended to seek medical advice to properly diagnose knee pain and before implementing any treatment plan. Many sports enthusiasts suffer from chronic knee pain. ...
A simple problem like getting shin splints can derail a fitness program as they are very painful and can make many forms of cardio and conditioning training difficult or impossible to do. This video clip explains shin splints and offers some sugge...
Massage is a very effective tool for treating many injuries and this video clip explains each of the techniques involved in giving a sports massage for shin splints. Although you will not be able to perform this massage on yourself this is a ...
While shin splints can be debilitating and ultimately must be treated for them to recover and heal, you can also tape them to give some relief as well as prevent further aggravation of the injured area. This is a simple taping technique that ...
Cardio. It means many things but to a competitor it can mean hours upon mind numbing hours of nothingness. Almost punishment it can make you feel like the mouse in the wheel going nowhere fast forced to work off the evidence of just a few gui...
We are always keeping an eye out for something that can make your training easier and more effective and while this is not a new product, its one we can't just say enough about.Versa Gripps are self-supporting grips designed to enhance muscle isolati...
Pedaling doesn't get any more convenient than this.The Deluxe Exerciser provides a convenient and comfortable alternative for upper and lower body exercises. Make yourself comfortable anywhere at home and get your cardio in with this very handy peice...
While technology is always evolving in the athletic shoe industry previously the focus has been on improving performance. Reebok has taken a slightly different direction and has created a shoe specifically to help improve the physique. ...
The Handful bra has removable pads that contour and conceal. The polyester lining wicks moisture away, while the nylon/spandex (92%/8%) shell dries quickly and allows for smooth layering. Feminine thin straps won't stretch out. The Handful is package...
They say you can't judge a book by it's cover and I suppose the same can be said for sneakers. Often times the best performing shoes are not the most stylish and MBT certainly make that point abundantly clear.I first saw MBT's on the back of ...
