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http://www.fitstep.com/ unless otherwise credited.

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Daily Specialization Training - Transform Your Weakest Bodyparts Into Your STRONGEST Bodyparts! Experience the power of extremely targeted, high-frequency training. It literally has the power to turn your weakest bodyparts into your best!

Everybody has them but nobody wants them. What are they? Stubborn, hard-to-develop bodyparts. For me, it's shoulders, calves and biceps. For you, it may be chest and triceps or perhaps hamstrings and quadriceps. No matter what the part, the solution to it remains the same: specialization!

Specialization is a technique that provides highly-targeted training overload to one or more bodyparts. This can be in the form of additional training volume and/or training frequency, i.e. do more sets for it and/or train it more often. Just like medical doctors specialize in certain areas of medicine, you will learn how to specialize on a particular bodypart and excel with it.

I'm going to show you a particular specialization program that I've found to be EXTREMELY useful for developing stubborn bodyparts. It's not hard to do and it doesn't take long to do but it has the potential to shatter plateaus in hard-to-develop bodyparts like a brick through a plate glass window.

How To Do Daily Specialization:

The name of the program is Daily Specialization and, as the name implies, it's done on a daily basis. In a nutshell, you will do just 1 set of 1 exercise for 1 bodypart twice a day, every day. It's very simple but very powerful and it can be done with any bodypart you like!

I will use dips as an example here but you can use any exercise you like. Choose an exercise you can do at home for your selected bodypart to make it easier and more convenient to do (chances are, you're not going to be going to the gym twice a day to do 1 set of 1 exercise!).

If you have weights at home, it will broaden your selection but I find that bodyweight exercises (that use your bodyweight for resistance, e.g. dips, chin-ups, push-ups, etc.) are most effective.

Using dips as the example, on Day 1, very soon after you wake up, do as many dips as you can. Go to failure, doing as many reps as you can then stop. That's your morning workout. You're done.

Do everything else in your day as you normally would, even your regular workouts for that bodypart if they're on your schedule. This program exists completely outside your regular workout schedule.

At night before you go to bed, do another set of dips to failure. That's it. When you wake up the next day, do another set of dips to failure, just like on Day 1. Keep this up for as long as you like - anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, depending on the results you want and whether you want to switch to another bodypart or not.

This is the entire program! As a quick note, you can add a third set in the middle of the day on non-training days in order to speed results. It will give your body a little extra stimulus for that bodypart. Also, do only one bodypart at a time with this program. If you add in more parts, you will dilute the training stress and diminish the effects of the program.

The key to success with this program is consistency. You MUST do it consistently every day, twice a day, without fail to provide that constant training stimulus to the body. Even if you don't feel like it, do it. Even if you're tired and you don't get nearly as many reps as usual, do it. Even if your muscles are sore, do it. The only exception to this rule is if you're sick or injured. Do this, and you WILL get results.

Why It Works:

Physiologically speaking, the body becomes its function. If you run long distances, your body will have a tendency to become smaller and lighter to be better able to cope with the stress. If you lift weights, your body will have a tendency to become more muscular in order to deal with the resistance.

We target this highly-efficient adaptation process by training stubborn bodyparts with very high frequency. Your body quickly learns it needs to build up that bodypart in response to this constant workload. Your body will very quickly start allocating recovery resources towards rebuilding that part bigger and stronger.

You keep working it and your body will keep building it. This program harnesses the adaptive power of your body and channels it into a specific bodypart for maximum results. The results are consistent and phenomenal!

Let me give you my experience with Daily Specialization. I used this program for my shoulders, doing handstand push-ups. At a bodyweight of 200 pounds, when I started I couldn't do a single full rep, only a few partial reps.

After 12 weeks of consistently doing handstand push-ups morning and night, I was able to perform 40 full reps at the very same bodyweight. If you think about this for a moment, it's actually quite shocking! Could you imagine barely being able to bench press your bodyweight one day then, 3 months later, being able to press it 40 times!

The results came little by little but on a consistent and daily basis. Over the 3 months (which were going to go by anyway, regardless of whether I did this program or not) this resulted in HUGE gains in muscle development and also carried over to strength in exercises such as shoulder press and bench press.

You can easily achieve powerful results like this with the Daily Specialization Program.

One of the greatest benefits I found with this program wasn't even the improvement in strength and muscle development. Working the stubborn bodypart twice a day to failure actually made my stubborn shoulders not stubborn anymore!

The constant workload, in addition to building strength and muscle mass, also greatly increased the circulation/capillarization in the muscles. Poor blood circulation is one of the biggest causes of lagging muscle development. This greatly-improved circulation meant more nutrients could get into the muscles more easily, which means easier muscle growth in the long-term.

Not a bad result for a few minutes of effort every day!

I want you to pick a lagging bodypart, pick an exercise for it and try this program for yourself. I guarantee you will see consistent results. Your body will simply have no choice!

Interested in learning more about other Specialization Programs and how you can use them to shatter training plateaus? Click this link now to find out about other highly-targeted Specialization Programs.

http://www.fitstep.com/specialization.htm

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Damn, That Pain In My Ass! Here's what you need to know about Piriformis Syndrome (Sciatic Pain)... by Jesse Cannone, CFT, CPRS + Steve Hefferon, CMT

If you're reading this article, it's a good bet that you have a radiating pain running down the back of your leg that just won't go away. If what I'm about to tell you sounds familiar, don't worry, help is on the way.

Sciatica and Piriformis Syndrome are the same condition...it is just that the medical community is starting to call the condition by the muscle (Piriformis) that is involved and getting away from calling it by the name of the nerve that is involved (sciatic)...nothing more than semantics.

Did you go see your primary care physician and get a diagnosis of Sciatica only to have them refer you to an orthopedic specialist and then get a diagnosis of Piriformis Syndrome...and than be told to see a Physical Therapist and the PT tells you a little heat, ultra sound, electrical stimulation and some therapeutic exercises and we will have you good as new???

If this is the path you have been down and you're tired of all the worthless treatments that just don't work, you must read this article! I guarantee you, it will likely be far different than what you have read or heard anywhere else!

First, let me tell you why today's traditional treatment methods just flat out miss the boat. The medical community is so conditioned and focused on treating only the symptoms and trying to get in as many patients a day as possible, that many people are misdiagnosed and/or mistreated.

Sciatic pain is simply caused by pressure being placed on the sciatic nerve and there are primarily four things that can create this...you may have one or more of the following:

1. Pressure caused by shortening and tightening of the
piriformis muscle. This is almost always due to months or
years of muscle imbalances in the hip rotator muscles.

2. Pressure caused by spinal stenosis, which is a decrease
in the space between the vertebrae. This is primarily
caused by uneven pressure and compression due to muscle
imbalances.

3. Pressure caused by Isthmic spondylolisthesis which is
simply when a vertebrae slips or moves...this can
sometimes pinch the sciatic nerve but often times people
who have this condition don't have any pain, symptoms, or
even know they have it!

4. Pressure caused by a herniated or bulging disc. A
herniation is when a disc protrudes out from between the
vertebrae and this can either be caused by an event like
a car accident, or, by months or years of uneven pressure
due to muscle imbalances. It is also important to note that
many people with herniated discs don't even experience pain
or symptoms, and many don't know they have the condition.

As you can see, there is a trend here... in nearly every case, muscle imbalances are the primary cause of the pressure being placed on the sciatic nerve.

If you are not sure which one of the four is causing your sciatic pain, I recommend you start with the basics. Most cases of sciatic pain are caused by muscle imbalances so if you begin to work on correcting any muscle imbalances you have, you should start to see improvement right away.

There are several self assessments you can perform to help identify which specific muscle imbalances you have and these are covered in our "Lose the Back Pain" video along with step-by-step instructions on what to do to eliminate your imbalances and pain.

Click this link to order now:

http://www.fitstep.com/goto/backpain.htm

Sciatic pain comes about either due to a traumatic event, muscle imbalances, or a combination of both.

"The event" scenario is most likely the catalyst for sudden onset of sciatic pain. So what happens is this...when there is undue stress on the Piriformis muscle, that stress causes it to go into spasm and then you have pain due to the Piriformis muscle putting pressure on the sciatic nerve.

In most cases, people go to physical therapy or minimize their physical activity to break the pain - spasm cycle and in most cases the symptoms subside. However, the event will also set you up for a lifetime of sciatic pain if the Piriformis muscle does not recover 100% in both strength and flexibility.

When you have an injury to a muscle, both strength and flexibility are compromised, and if your recovery ends before strength and flexibility return, you will never be 100% and will likely struggle with the problem forever.

The other way sciatic pain creeps into your life is due to your lifestyle and habits, and that is what we like to call "the process." The process can be described as a prolonged onset of symptoms based on your everyday activities.

However, from a technical standpoint, the process really describes the development of the muscle imbalance in your hip. The Piriformis muscle is responsible for external rotation (moving your leg so your feet point outward). So over time that muscle gets tight from the positions you put yourself in and weakens from lack of use.

Let me give you some examples of what I mean:

1. If you sit on the edge of your chair with you legs
separated and your feet pointing outward you are keeping
your Piriformis muscle in a shortened position and that's
how it gets tight. With extended sitting in that
position, it gets weak from lack of use. Hence the
imbalance.

2. Runners and bikers who work very hard tend to get sciatica
because they fail to keep a strength vs. stretch balance
in their workouts. Hence the imbalance creates a greater
pull toward external rotation and the result is a tight
Piriformis and an irritated sciatic nerve creating pain.

These are just two examples of how muscle imbalances can affect the Piriformis muscle and cause Sciatic pain. You may not be a runner or cyclist but I'll bet you have muscle imbalances that are causing your sciatic pain!

To learn more about muscle imbalances and how they affect your body, please read our article "Aches, Pains, and Injuries" which you can find on our website by clicking here.

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Recovery Tip: In severe cases, the sciatic pain can run from the top of the hip to the bottom of the foot. It is very important to recognize that changes and shifting of pain is often times a sign of improvement. Furthermore as a way of gauging recovery, take note of how far down the leg the pain goes. If the pain goes to the foot one day and then only makes it to the calf and then to the knee and then it can only make it to the hamstring that is a sign of improvement. You should feel good about those noticeable improvements and this should give you encouragement to keep working toward a full remission of pain.

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So how do you get rid of your pain? Will learning one new stretch be enough? It very well may be. However depending on the severity of your condition you may need to change your activities of daily living to include new stretches, new exercises that include the use of the hip rotators like roller-blading, basketball, tennis, etc, and even better, corrective exercise specific to your situation...like those covered in our video. As always, learn as much as you can about your condition so that you can ask the tough questions of your healthcare providers and get the best care possible.

One last point, sciatic pain is not caused by a lack of prescription medications. So, don't think that taking anti-inflammatories or muscle relaxants will fix it...it won't! Also, many people are able to eliminate sciatic pain within days just by performing a few exercises and stretches (the exact corrective exercises and stretches they need to do).

Find out what's causing your sciatic pain and learn exactly which exercises and stretches you should be doing by watching our "Lose the Back Pain" video.

Click this link to get your video now!

http://www.fitstep.com/goto/backpain.htm

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Secret Training Tip #452 - Taking One-Arm Dumbell Rows To The MAX! Learn how a simple change in body position can INSTANTLY increase the amount of weight you can use for this exercise AND make it safer. You'll never go back to the old way again!

The One-Arm Dumbell Row is one of the best lat-building exercises you can do. If you knew of a way to be able to not only perform it with heavier weight but in a far safer manner for your lower back, would you be interested?

I have just what you're looking for: a simple body-positioning trick that will INSTANTLY allow you to use much heavier weight with good form without compromising the health of your lower back.

The typical one-arm dumbell row is done on a bench with one knee placed on the end, one hand set forward on the bench to brace the upper body and the other foot planted solidly beside the bench. The lower back should be arched and tight and the head should be looking somewhat up and forward.

This position is absolutely fine for the back and body when you are in it without weight. Now let's add a dumbell and see what happens.

Generally, you are taught to hold the dumbell in your hand, let it stretch forward a little then bring it up along the outside of your thigh and up towards your hip. Nothing wrong with that, right?

Wrong! Bringing the dumbell up along the outside of your thigh can not only greatly limit the amount of weight you're able to use safely for this exercise, it can also compromise the safety of your lower back. The technique I'm about to show you will TOTALLY eliminate these problems, making the exercise safer and making your immediately stronger in it.

How can I go against the teachings of decades of exercise instruction? Easy, I do it every day. Quite often, it actually ends up being a lot better for you!

What's the technique? Instead of placing your foot beside the bench and bringing the dumbell up along the outside of your thigh, set your foot out wide to the side and bring the dumbell up along the INSIDE of your thigh (your knee should be slightly bent when you do this).

It doesn't sound earthshattering but you'll notice an IMMEDIATE difference in how the exercise feels. You will feel stronger and more stable right away.

When you examine the standard performance of this exercise, you'll see one glaring problem: the resistance is placed entirely OUTSIDE of your base of support during the movement. Your base of support is formed by your legs and your arm on the bench. When the resistance is outside of your base of support, i.e. the dumbell coming up the outside of your thigh, your body must attempt to counterbalance this torque with your lower back.

When you're using lighter weights, it doesn't matter so much as the resistance is not enough to really cause problems. Imagine, however, trying to do a one-arm dumbell row with a dumbell that weighs almost as much as you do. Think you'll be able to hold that outside your thigh and not fall over or severely injure your back?

By setting your foot out wide (like an angled brace holding up a retaining wall), you immediately widen your base of support, making yourself far more stable and increasing your power. Bringing the resistance up INSIDE of your base of support allows you to instantly use much heavier weight without the dangerous, unbalanced torque on your lower back and body.

Using this technique allowed me to perform 3 reps (with good form) with a home-made 210 pound dumbell. This dumbell weighed 20 pounds more than I did at the time.

When you try this technique and are able to starting moving heavier weights, be absolutely sure you keep a tight arch in your lower back. DO NOT allow it to round over at all. Rounding your lower back not only decreases the effect of the exercise on the lats, it also immediately relaxes the muscles of the spine that work to stabilize the spine. The result: possible immediate injury. Keep it arched and keep it tight.

Give this positioning technique a try in your next back workout. You will notice an immediate difference in how the exercise feels and realize an immediate increase in the amount of weight you are able to handle with it.

For pictures of this enhanced technique, click this link now:

http://www.fitstep.com/Misc/Newsletter-archives/issue27-1arm-row.htm

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Serious lean muscle gains without the bodyfat - scientifcally proven information. Build serious lean muscle in record time with a proven muscle building nutrition plan and discover exactly which bodybuilding supplements work and which are no more than pure marketing hype, by sports nutrition and supplements expert Will Brink. Editors Note: I have been reading Will Brinks' books and articles for many years and he has been right on the money every time. This book is definitely worth getting! http://www.fitstep.com/goto/muscle-building-nutrition.htm

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RANTS #2 - I've Got More To Say And There's No Stopping Me Now! I've got more things to say about health, fitness, nutrition and the stupid things that seem to happen with them all the time. Whether you agree or disagree, you'll have something to think about.

Nothing gets on my nerves more than things being passed off as something they're not, especially when it comes to health and fitness. If you've read my previous rants (http://www.fitstep.com/Misc/Newsletter-archive/issue25.htm), you know exactly what I'm talking about. Now I've got even more stuff on my mind.

1. "Eat Whatever You Want And Still Lose Weight" Fat Loss Pills and Carb Blockers

What a wonderful message to send to the millions of people out there trying to lose weight. You don't need to watch what you eat or exercise...just take this little pill and you can eat frosted Twinkies stuffed with hot dogs and not gain a pound.

Never mind what all this terrible stuff is doing to your insides, there's also the vicious cycle of loss and regain that diet pill manufacturers build their entire businesses on: you eat like crap so you get fat then you take a pill so you can keep eating like crap while losing weight. When you don't take the pill and continue to eat like crap, you get fat and depressed and need to take the pills again. What better way to sell something than to create a physical and emotional dependence on it!

Now I'm not saying the general population shouldn't know better than to fall for this but there is a reason that toothpicks and shampoo come with instructions on the back and why hair dryers come with a warning not to operate while standing in a pool of water.

Here's a thought, and pardon me if I'm out of line, if you can't eat it unless you take a pill to stop it from being digested by your body, perhaps maybe, just maybe, you shouldn't be eating it in the first place...

2. "Certified" Personal Trainers Who Have No Business Training People

When I say this, I want you to know I've got nothing against certified personal trainers - I am one! I just don't like watching a "certified trainer" make a trusting beginner do Behind-The-Neck Close Grip Lunging One-Arm Upright Bent-Over Swinging Barbell Presses while he or she stands there and counts the number of times the weight moves up and down.

It takes a little more than a two-hour seminar and a polo shirt with the name of the gym printed on the front to make a person a qualified personal trainer.

3. Fitness Instructors Who Eat Donuts In Front of Clients

Just because you're 20 years old and could metabolize vulcanized rubber doesn't mean you should eat a bag of chips or donuts in front of people who are desperately trying to lose weight by taking a class that you are teaching and who are looking to you as a role model! If you want to eat junk, fine, just do it on your own time. When your habits catch up with you in a few years (and they will), there will always be fat loss pills and carb blockers to fall back on...

4. Weight-Loss-Due-To-Illness Envy

Have you ever been really, really sick, dropped 10 or 20 pounds in a week, then had some knucklehead come up to you afterward and say "I wish I could get sick like you so I could lose weight."

Start with the fat in your head! How come these people never get their wish?

5. Sad But True - Sh** Yourself Thin

Another brilliant way to lose weight. Take laxatives with every meal so that you don't keep ANYTHING in you for longer than a few minutes. Just go eat 3-day-old fast food cheeseburgers every meal - you'll get the same general effect.

6. Losing Weight By Wearing Lighter and Lighter Clothing Every Time You Weigh Yourself

This is just kind of funny but I've seen it happen. Start by wearing heavy winter clothing and weigh yourself. Next week, take off the jacket - you've lost 5 pounds! Congratulations! Go with the snow pants next week. Another 3 pounds. The sweater goes next - 2 more pounds. When you get down to pajama bottoms and a tank top, be careful...you may have to start exercising :)

7. Food That's Only 10% Real

How can a juice call itself a juice if it's only got 10% real juice? Can I pay for the juice with 10% real money? How come they don't advertise it as 90% fake? Some say it's half empty, some say it's half full. I say it's only 10% real. Who's to say who's right?

8. The Diet Patch Again Because It's Just So Stupid

I just saw another ad for this thing the other day. "Burn 500 calories an hour!" If you think your metabolism is going to go that fast from a simple, useless patch, get yourself to the emergency room. Sign a blank check and hand it to them. Tell them to do whatever they want to you because you'll believe whatever they tell you.

9. Cereal Bars "With All The Nutrition of a Bowl of Cereal"

And all the high fructose corn syrup of a can of Coke. And all the fiber of a piece of gum. And all the preservatives of a jar of jelly. If they want to impress me, they should base these cereal bars on cereals that are actually GOOD for you to start with!

10. Women Appearing in "Shape" Magazine Who Have Never Touched a Weight in Their Life.

I guess when they say "shape" they really don't specify exactly what "shape" that may be. Marshmallows have shape. Twinkies have shape. There may be women out there who aspire to the ideal of not having any muscle tone, but they probably aren't buying this magazine - they're using it to prop up the short leg of their couch.

Call me crazy but I think a magazine that is about health and fitness should have pictures of people who are actually healthy and fit.

11. Low Carb Hershey Bars

The day I saw one of these on the candy rack was the day I knew the low-carb craze had truly gone too far. Eating low-carb is not about carefully plotting out how crappy you can eat while still keeping your carb count low, as many food manufacturers seem to think.

Eating low-carb is about improving your health and lowering your bodyfat by eating naturally low-carb foods, not about how many grams of the sugar alcohol "gottapoopitol" you can cram into some nasty, chewy, foul-tasting imitation chocolate bar.

12. Supplement Companies That Disguise Their Bottles As Prescription Medication

While some companies rely on fancy pictures and hype to sell their products, other companies make the packaging generic and resembling a powerful prescription medication. Guess what? The stuff still doesn't work. It just looks like it does.

When is a fat loss pill worth $150 a bottle? When the bottle is stuffed with 5 twenties and a fifty.

13. People Who Jump On A Diet Bandwagon Then Bash Others For Not Eating Like They Do

My thanks to Dustin J. for giving me the idea for this one:

Just because you are eating low-carb doesn't mean that everybody else in the world is an idiot when they bite into an apple. Eating low-carb certainly works. So does eating low fat. Heck, you could lose weight on an all-chocolate diet because you'll get so sick of it you won't want to eat it any more.

Eat what you want to eat but don't hack on others for stuff you were doing just last week. Are we going to have to start dividing up restaurants into "Carb" and "Non-Carb" sections like with smoking?

If you feel you need to eat entire packages of Jimmy Dean sausage for breakfast, lunch and dinner because "you can," then just keep it to yourself. Trust me on this...nobody who is watching you stuff your face with buttered bacon wants to hear about how the apple they just ate is going to make them fat and kill them.

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