FREE Fitness Articles For Your Website! Increase your site traffic now! Use the professionally-written fat loss, muscle-building and exercise articles you find in the BetterU News Archive FREE on your website. Click here for details

NOTE: All articles in BetterU News are written by Nick Nilsson -
http://www.fitstep.com/ unless otherwise credited.

---

Secret Training Tip #881 - Suitcase-Style One Arm Deadlifts This extraordinary exercise will tighten up your waist, build a rock-solid core AND target your grip strength like no other. It's also one of the most functional exercises you'll EVER do.

The Suitcase-Style One Arm Deadlift is one of the most powerful, results-producing exercises you will NEVER see anybody in the gym do until you actually do it yourself! The reasons? First, it's NOT a common exercise, even though it's been around for many years. Second, it's a tough exercise to do! But as you know, the toughest exercises are always the most productive.

The Suitcase-Style One Arm Deadlift places extreme torque on the core and will help you develop an incredibly tight and powerful midsection. Basically, instead of using both arms and doing a barbell deadlift in front of your body as you normally would, you'll stand BESIDE the barbell and pick it up with one arm.

Imagine reaching down and picking up a suitcase sitting beside you. That's the Suitcase-Style One Arm Deadlift but, of course, using a heavy barbell!

There will be a link to pictures and a video of this exercise in action at the end of the article.

How To Do It:

First, if you're doing this exercise off the floor, load a barbell with a 45-lb plate on both ends. To lift this amount of weight, you should be able to deadlift at least 250 to 275 lbs in a normal deadlift.

If you wish to use less weight for this exercise, set the safety rails in the power rack to just below knee height and load the bar with however much weight you want to use. The reason you'd want to use the rack is, because you're using smaller plates, the bar will start too low to the ground and you'll need to lean over too much to the side to pick it up.

Stand beside the barbell and reach down and grasp it with one hand. When you do the One-Arm Deadlift, you should grip the bar slightly off-center. Your thumb and index finger grip should be about a centimeter (about a half inch or so) from the edge of the center grip surface. This uneven grip will prevent the bar being lifted unevenly and tilting as you are lifting.

The reason for this is that when you grip the bar with one hand, your thumb and forefinger grip area become the main pivot point. If that main pivot point is not close to the real center of the bar, the bar will tilt when you pick it up. By sliding your hand down so that your thumb and forefinger grip area is closer to the real center, you will have a much easier time keeping the bar level.

Before you pick up the bar, make sure your shoulders are level and your entire core area is tightened up very strongly. Pick up the bar, focusing on keeping your shoulders level as much as possible. The weight of the bar on the one side will place an EXTREME stabilizing load on the other side of the body. You will be pushing HARD with the same side foot as you're pulling on the bar, e.g. if you're picking the bar up with your right arm, you'll be pushing hard with your right foot.

Keep your lower back tight and arched as you stand up. Come all the way up to the top position and hold for a few seconds then lower the bar back down slowly. Gripping the barbell with one arm in this fashion is also VERY challenging to the grip. You'll need to hold on tight in order to keep your grip on the bar.

Set the bar down on the floor between reps and relax the core. Re-tighten everything then start your next rep. This exercise should only be done for low reps, e.g. 3 to 5 reps per set. Any more than that and the stabilizing muscles of the abs will become fatigued and cause the torque to go into the lower back instead of the abs, where you want it.

The first time you do this exercise, start with a conservative weight. It's deceptively tough, especially if you've not done a lot of movements that are weighted on only one side. The torque on your core will be a very new thing! The incredible tightness you'll feel all along your side abs the next day will show you just how effective this exercise is.

If you're a strong deadlifter or find your grip strength limits the amount of weight or number of reps you can do, I would DEFINITELY recommend grip assistance in the form of either lifting straps or a product called "1 Ton Hooks." The grip assistance will allow you to use heavier weight and hold onto it longer. It will also prevent the bar from rolling out of your fingers as your grip fatigues.

I would recommend the hooks over the straps in all cases. "1 Ton Hooks" are cast iron lifting hooks that are designed to allow you to hold extremely heavy without worrying about your grip strength. These hooks, in my opinion, should be in the arsenal of EVERY serious lifter and I highly recommend them. To put it in perspective, I've used these hooks to do partial deadlifts with more than 900 lbs and the hooks held up fine!

You can read my full review of "1 Ton Hooks" here:

http://www.fitstep.com/fitness-equipment-reviews/equipment-reviews/1-ton-hooks-review.htm

Or you can get a pair of them right now here:

http://www.fitstep.com/goto/1tonhooks.htm

Give the Suitcase-Style One Arm Deadlift a try in your next back workout - I can promise you'll either be thanking me or cursing me for the next two days after you do it! Your entire core will be worked in a way it has NEVER been worked before.

For pictures and a video of this exercise in action, click the following link:

http://www.fitstep.com/Misc/Newsletter-archives/issue45-deadlifts.htm

Want more articles like this? Subscribe to BetterU News now!

---

Secret Training Tip #882 - Cable Cross-Over Machine Adductions For Inner Thighs AND For Better Squatting Looking to tighten up your inner thighs? The adduction exercise is one of the best. But did you know strong adductors are KEY for a strong squat? Learn a variation that will tighten the inner thighs and build squatting strength.

The Thigh Adduction exercise is excellent not only for tightening up the inner thighs, but also developing a strong squat. In fact, the adductor muscles are CRITICAL during the squat! So it doesn't matter if your goal is tighter thighs or a stronger squat, the adductor exercise should be on your list.

The adductor muscles (Adductor Magnus, Longus and Brevis, the Gracilis and the Pectineus) are located on the inner thighs and serve to bring the thighs together.

http://www.fitstep.com/Advanced/Anatomy/Adductors.htm

Most often, you'll see this exercise done either in a specialized seated machine (where you sit down and spread your legs then squeeze them together against resistance), on a rotational hip machine (done on leg at a time, bring the thigh down against resistance) or using a low pulley and an ankle harness.

But none of these exercises can compare to the focused tension and dynamic stabilizing requirement placed on the adductors by the Cable Cross-Over variation of this exercise! This exercise will work the adductors and tighten up your inner thighs like no other.

There will be a link to pictures of this exercise in action at the end of the article.

How To Do It:

First, set a Swiss ball directly in the middle of the two pulleys of the cable cross-over machine. Attach the single handles to the low pulleys on either side and set a moderate weight on the stacks.

Grab the handles one at a time then move to the center and sit on the ball. Your feet should be fairly close together but let your knees splay out wide. Brace your forearms against the insides of your knees - your hands (and the cables) will be forward of your knees. Basically, you are going to be doing an adduction (squeezing your thighs together) while seated on the ball. You will be holding the cables in your hand for resistance and pressing inward against your forearms until they get squeezed together.

The ball allows you to shift body position dynamically, even while doing the exercise, by rolling forward or backward on it. This instability makes the exercise much more functional than a machine adduction while also allowing you to use enough weight to build strength.

In addition, because you're using your arms as the equipment, you can also squeeze in with your chest to help spot yourself during the movement in order to get more reps. You can make this one extremely tough!

Adductions are obviously ideal for tightening up the inner thighs - so how do they improve your squat?

Easy - every time you squat down, your adductors contract hard to stabilize the legs and hips. As you start to squat up, the adductors must also contract hard to not only maintain the stabilization of the hips but also to contribute in moving the body to the standing position. This demand is even more pronounced the wider the stance you take in the squat. The stronger your adductors, the stronger you'll be out of the bottom of the squat.

So basically, if you want a big squat, do this exercise. It's not just for tightening the inner thighs. And don't be afraid of working up to using a heavy weight, especially if you want to use this to build up your squat.

This exercise is also ideal for athletes in sports that require a lot of lateral movement, e.g. hockey, football, soccer, etc. It's very rare you find an athlete directly working the adductors - quite honestly, adductions are often considered a "toning" exercise and are shunned by serious athletes. Don't fall into that trap! You will find that strengthening of the adductors can help prevent groin injuries!

Abductions (moving the legs outward against resistance) can also be performed with this set-up - it must be done one leg at a time. To do abduction, you would grab the left cable with your left hand and place the left forearm on the outside of your left knee. The cable would cross over in front of your knees. Keep your foot directly in front and move your knee out wide to the side.

For pictures and a video of the Cable Cross-Over Adduction exercise in action, please click on the following link:

http://www.fitstep.com/Misc/Newsletter-archives/issue45-adductions.htm

Want more articles like this? Subscribe to BetterU News now!

---

Here's how you can get the REAL insider fitness knowledge so powerful it can even turn a 475 pound Fat Guy into a lean, mean machine They Have Built The Most Admired Bodies In The World... And Now, For The First Time Ever, They Share With You The Insider Secrets You Must Discover If You Want To Sculpt A Body You Can Be Proud Of Find out in this 5 part, live audio interview series with top name bodybuilders Tom Venuto, Clarence Bass, Shawn Phillips, Monica Brant and 5 time Mr Universe - Bill Pearl: http://www.fitstep.com/goto/interviews.htm This is extraordinary information from some of the most well-informed, experienced trainers in the world. Quite honestly, it's the next best thing to actually sitting in the same room with them and picking their brains for their most powerful fat-loss secrets!

---

"All Star Trainers Secrets to Maximum Muscle Gain and Fat Loss in 30 Days" - New, Innovative Addition - Video Chapter!! Want to learn how to get better results from your diet and training program in the next 30 days than most people get in 3 to 6 months! Check it out here!

If you're training hard, you want fast results. That's why you do it! But without an effective plan, you can work as hard as you want and get absolutely nowhere. Having the right plan of attack is really the key.

Lewis Wolk of A-to-Z Fitness has put together an extraordinary compilation of the fat-loss and muscle-building secrets from some of the top fitness trainers in the world!

His challenge to them: deliver a program that will get you the best results in 30 days.

Now I liked this challenge so much, I contributed a chapter myself. It's called "Push Your Body's Muscular Adaptation to the Limit With the Power Of Rapid Change."

In my chapter you'll learn...

- How to properly use weight training for fat loss - high reps
and light weight are NOT the answer! This will open
your eyes WIDE about fat loss training

- The secret to making a low carb diet work for fat loss and
what you should NEVER do on a low carb diet (which almost
all the low carb "gurus" allow)

- How to tap into your body's own natural metabolic adaptive
power to easily achieve fat loss or muscle growth within
weeks, not months

- Much more!

I also mentioned that Lewis has added a new author to the book: Jeff Anderson, a.k.a. "The Muscle Nerd." You may remember Jeff from my review of his muscle-building program "Optimum Anabolics" not long ago. Well Jeff has given up some of his most powerful fat-loss and muscle-building secrets in his new chapter in the book.

Here's what you'll find in Jeff's video chapter "The 30-Day Anabolic Hormone Blast!"...

- Discover how natural enhancement of your body's own muscle-
building/fat-burning "hormone factory" is your ticket to
fast muscle gains while you simultaneously watch the fat melt
off your body!

- Why "hormone-boosting" supplements are NOT the answer for
rapid muscle growth…and the secret to how YOU can "trick"
your body into doing the same thing these compounds promise...
naturally and even MORE effectively (and WITHOUT the dangerous
side effects)!

- A "free hall pass" into the Muscle Nerd University where you'll
receive an exclusive viewing of a bonus video presentation on "5
Amazingly CHEAP Supplements That WORK!" including a FREE
one that I promise you'll NEVER guess (yet it can increase
a precursor hormone to testosterone by 69.5%)

- A bonus online video presentation about the one diet "truth"
you've been brainwashed into believing by every "dieting
expert" who's memorized their outdated textbooks and how
completely ignoring their warnings is actually NECESSARY
for increased hormone production, muscle growth, AND fat loss!

- A free bonus downloadable ebook jam-packed with 21 tips on how
to jack up your body's anabolic hormones through the roof
WITHOUT spending a penny on bogus supplements!

You can learn more about "All Star Trainers Secrets to Maximum Muscle Gain and Fat Loss in 30 Days" by clicking the link below. You'll get the fat-burning and muscle-building expertise of 15 of the top fitness experts in the world!

http://www.fitstep.com/goto/allstars-special.htm

Want more articles like this? Subscribe to BetterU News now!

 

Want More Powerful Fitness Information? Read another issue of BetterU News now!