There is more to a physique than just the mirror muscles. Mirror muscles are those that you can easily see in the mirror; the chest, delts, biceps, etc. Many so-called serious lifters place too much emphasis on these muscles, and neglect a very important aspect of upper body training; the back. While lower body training is just as important, the focus on this article is taking a look in the rearview mirror; the back muscles.

Many people hate back training for a variety of reasons. It may be due to the fact that you can’t see it easily in the mirror, you can’t really isolate it like say a bicep or tricep muscle, and it’s boring. There may be a host of other reasons, but those seem to be the most common amongst lifters.

Why should you train your back? There are a myriad of reasons why, but here are three reasons why back training should be a focus in your routine.

1. Lower Back/Spinal health.
Many back injuries could be easily be avoided if more attention was given to the lower back muscles. A strong lower back is essential to protect the spine and discs. A lot of injuries occur on lifts such as the squat and deadlift simply due to the fact that the lower back was not properly conditioned and/or not strong enough. A good way to remedy that is to make exercises such as Good Mornings, Reverse Hypers, and other lower back exercises a staple in your routine.

2. Muscle balance.
As with the lower back, many injuries occur to the chest, shoulders, and even back muscles due to the fact that there is a muscle imbalance. Many lifters tend to worship lifts such as the bench press, shoulder press, etc. and neglect the rows, lat pull downs, pull ups, etc., resulting in a muscle imbalance. This muscle imbalance can create a host of problems such as lower back and posture issues as well as shoulder problems. A good rule of thumb is to focus on rowing movements as much as you do on pressing movements; if not more! Compare your row strength to your pressing strength. If you can bench press way more than you can row, then more than likely you need to reassess your training. In other words, make rows, lat pull downs, pull-ups, etc. a normality.

3. The illusion of a small waist.
Not only can a strong back reduce the risk of injury, but it can also benefit the aesthetics of a physique as well, by creating the illusion of a smaller waist. Wide lats create what is known as the V-taper. A nice V-taper can create a wide, pronounced appearance, and make the waist appear much smaller. A thick and developed upper, middle, and lower back help create this strong, powerful look. Nothing completes the upper physique like a strong, developed back.

As you can see, back training is a necessity in any lifting routine. Many people neglect back training, but hopefully after reading this article, they will make a habit of looking in the “rearview mirror.”

Why is there so much confusion about fat loss? The truth is that there is a lot of disinformation regarding fat loss from companies only trying to sell you something.

The best Way to Lose Fat

Total body workouts (typically meaning workouts that involve more than just the large muscles of the lower-body) in study after study have proven to be more effective for losing body fat. By exercising muscles in the upper-body and lower-body simultaneously the heart must deliver increased blood supply throughout the body. When repeated on a regular basis, the heart and lungs become more efficient. The most exciting news is that a total-body workout not only burns more calories per workout, but also allows the average person to sustain a longer workout.

Not all studies agree on the absolute best method for burning fat. Here’s what we do know about fat loss. Fat is an excellent fuel for muscles to burn during a workout. To increase your chances of burning the maximum amount of fat during your workout, here are a few suggestions. Some studies have indicated that high intensity intervals into your workout. Not only will these one to two minute bursts add variety to your workout, some research suggests that these intervals are key to burning fat, especially for those who have reached a plateau in their progress. Finally, watch what you eat. If you are serious about lowering your body fat percentage, keep your percent of calories from fat below 20 percent.

Resistance training is also of great benefit if your goal is to lose fat. Resistance training is a form of strength training and is comparatively more efficient then cardio exercises for burning fat, because unlike cardio training which only burns calories during a workout, resistance training permanently increases your metabolic rate due to increases in muscle mass. Muscles require energy to burn even when at rest, so your are burning calories even when your sleeping.

In conclusion, if you focus on high intensity interval training which incorporates both cardio and resistance exercises which workout the lower and upper body, you will be on the path to successful fat loss.

Do you remember the last time you were angry? Do you remember how you were breathing? Do you remember your posture or the feeling in your muscles?


More than likely your breath was rather shallow with rapid pace and your muscles were quite tense. You reacted to some event with a simple emotion called anger. It got your breath and muscles involved. This is just a simple, and not very positive, example of the mind, body, breath connection.

Yoga teaches us techniques to evoke a positive and calm connection of body, mind and breath. Breathing techniques are simple examples. There is something to the saying, take deep breaths and count to 10.
If we can learn to tune into our breath and practice deep, slow breaths, our mind and muscles will want to follow along resulting in more relaxed muscles and a calmer, clearer mind. In this state of being, rather than being reactive to events, yoga promotes being proactive and calmly responsible to events. You still address the situation, but you can more objectively see the situation and calmly work toward a solution. In this calm state, you may even dismiss the event as insignificant.

To practice, find a special, peaceful place where you can sit undisturbed for 5 minutes. If you know that “time” will be on your mind, set an alarm for 5 minutes so that you can completely dedicate yourself to the exercise. Perhaps light a candle or play soft, uplifting music to evoke a spirit of calmness. Use pillows if needed to help you adjust to a comfortable sitting position. Then, close your eyes and begin following your breath as you inhale and exhale through your nostrils.

At first, don’t try to change it, just notice it. You may notice the rate or depth; you may notice the temperature of the air. Slowly begin breathing more deeply and more slowly at a steady rate. Each time an outside thought grabs your attention, gently bring your focus back to the breath. When the 5 minutes have passed, sit for just a moment to notice the affect of the exercise. Try this twice each day. Over time the effect may drift into other parts of your day. With practice, you may find that traffic, long lines, and messy rooms even bother you less. This calmer state also translates to better workouts.

1. Proper warmup helps prevent injuries. You need to sweat a little, but don’t get fatigued by the warmup.
2. Increases the removal of lactic acid accumulated during previous workouts.
3. Increases the efficiency of contracting muscles. Some light stretching is good to get limbered up.
4. Research suggests neuromuscular coordination is enhanced by warming up.
5. Improves coordination of individual exercises. (doing a warmup set of an exercise before hitting the heavy weights)
6. Increases heart rate and speeds blood circulation.
7. Increases oxygen reserves to the muscles.

Be careful not to warm up too long because you don’t want to use up your energy for warming up instead of getting an intense workout. A good rule of thumb is to elevate your heart rate, sweat lightly, and have an elevated body temperature. 10-15 minutes on the treadmill is good to get your body warmed up. Perform one light set of each exercise before you start adding heavy weight to the exercise. This will help with your form.

Stretching is another important part of warming up and cooling down. Stretching will help you get a full range of motion for the exercises that you are about to perform. Stretching also helps after the workout by stretching out the muscles that you just pumped up.