Fitbit Fitness trackers P1

Welcome to 5.14 fitness, 

Hi everybody. It was addressed in the last post how and why their has been a lack of posts. I apologise for it myself!

So, in this post I will shortly talk about my interest in the Fitbit ftiness trackers. Fitbbit is a company who sell fitness bands ( like smart watches ) products that are for tracking and viewing your fitness. Fitbit currently sell 4 products, I believe ,  and they all range in price. 

The first tracker, the Fitbit flex, is about £35 I think, and it has the most basic features of the 4 due to this price. However, it is still a nifty device and the features are Ideal for somebody who wants to keep track of their exercise and sleep. The trackers can pick up on how many steps you have walked, for how long, at what time etc... The tracker keeps a basic, yet accurate, recording on what you do in the day. It will log if you go out for a run, and the band will allow you to see how you did and how to improve.

I believe that the watch pairs to your device ( phone etc) and from there you can view your data 

The band also tracks your sleep and can wake you up without making a noise, which is very handy.

The band looks stylish and sleek, as you can see on the right. 

The next trackers, the Fitbit charge, is about £60. This tracker has the same features as the flex, however it has a few new things. First of all, it has a display on it which tells the time and gives data whilst you are on the go. It can track calories burned , active minutes steps climbed and many more. It has caller ID so links with your phone just like a smart watch. It is more accurate than the flex and also has a extremely long battery life.

Both these products come in a variety of colours, and they both look really nice to have on your wrist. They are cheap and stylish, and perfect if you are somebody who exercises regularly and wants to track your fitness.

Next post I will talk about the other two products, one of which is the tracker I think is the best and the one I am most likely to buy. 

Thanks for reading, please like and subscribe!

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Sorry + current ab workout

Welcome to 5.14 fitness,

I apologise for no posts of late, but unfortunately due to circumstances this will be a repeating issue over the next year, with myself and will both occupied with school work and exams. 

However I thought I would do a very quick post on my current workout:

For abdominals 5 sets of 

25 reps crunches 

25 reps left/right side crunches

25 reps right/left some crunches

25 reps bicycle reverse crunches 

25 reps Russian twists 

25 reps jackknives

25 reps leg raises 

1 min held leg raise 6 inches from floor 

Thanks for reading, please visit again and check out other posts, if you have any questions or post requests do not hesitate to contact us, remember to plus one everything, comment and follow- work hard and peace!

Jason 

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My Goals Update + New Weights Workout

Welcome to 5.14 Fitness, 

Today I will be posting about how my workouts are going and how I have achieved my goals. 

As I have said, I planned to do Insanity 3 times a week followed by 20 minutes of weight lifting. On the other 3 days, I planned to do weight lifting followed by an abdominal workout. Instead, I have been doing something a little different but still has the same results hopefully. I have also introduced a new weight lifting workout that I will share with you. 

I still follow that basic plan I set, however I have made a few differences to fit in with my schedule. Here is my full week plan:

Monday- 40 mins Insanity followed by 20 mins Weightlifting
Tuesday- 45 mins Weightlifting followed by 15 mins Abdominal workout
Wednesday 25 mins cardio followed by 20 mins Abdominal workout
Thursday- 40 mins Insanity followed by 20 mins Weightlifting  
Friday- 25 mins Abdominal workout 
Saturday- 50 mins Weightlifting  
Sunday- Rest

As you can see, I have 3 core workouts: Cardio, Abdominals and Weightlifting. I do 3 of each every week in order to focus on all the groups. I make sure that I do not have 3 days in a row of weights, as it is important to have a recovery period for your muscles to grow. As I often do not have time for Insanity on Wednesdays like I planned, I do a 25 minute cardio circuit training video which I found on Youtube.
I am still focusing on my Triceps and Biceps and looking to lower my body-fat percentage like I wanted to. This plan Is what I am trying to do every week, however sometimes there are complications and I try my hardest to make up for them. I will post now and again to say if this plan is working and If i am doing too much or too little ( I don't know yet!). I you have any improvements to my plan, I would love some feedback.  

Now onto my new Weightlifting plan. It is called The Ultimate 6-week Home Workout. I am doing it because it only requires dumbbells and a bench, which is what I have. There are 3 parts to it : A legs and shoulders day, a chest and back day and an arms day. I am currently only doing the arms day 3 times a week . I am replacing the other days with arms as I am focusing on that group. 
I do this workout 4 times a week- the full thing on two days and half on the other two ( 3 in total ) . I ma starting straight away on week 2 as week 1 looks a bit to easy. 
Here it is:

Week 1-2       Week 3-4      Week5-6

Standing Biceps Curl                       

2*X 6-8            3 X 8-10       4 X 10-12

Overhead Triceps Extension            

2*X 6-8            3 X 8-10       3 X 10-12

Incline Curl                                      

2 X 6-8            2 X 8-10       3 X 10-12

Weighted Bench Dip                        

2 X 6-8            3 X 8-10       4 X 10-12

One-Arm Incline Preacher Curl                

2 X 6-8            3 X 8-10       3 X 10-12

Lying Triceps Kickback                  

2 X 6-8            3 X 8-10       3 X 10-12

Reverse Curl                                   

3 X 6-8            2 X 8-10       3 X 10-12 

I will keep you updated on this workout. Thank for reading, please subscribe and like (we will like and subscribe back) . Thanks again and peace! 

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Cardio - What To Do? Part 1

Welcome to 5.14 fitness, 


Today I will be posting about Cardio and the different ways in which you could do it.

Almost every sport has cardio implemented, whether it is running in football or swimming in water polo. This cardio is key in order to become a healthier, fitter and thinner person. It is important that Cardio is done ,as without it, a good measure of health can not be achieved. Sport is the perfect way to do Cardio, but there is other ways that can sometimes be more effective ( Jogging for example). The important rule here is: Cardio is key. Aerobically exercising : Getting your heart rate up, sweating and breathing like hell is important for us! 

The NHS states that a 19-64 year old adult should do at least 150 minutes ( 2 hours 30 minutes ) of moderate-intensity aerobic activity such as cycling or fast walking every week, or, 75 minutes (1 hour and 15 minutes) of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity such as running or a game of singles tennis every week. You should really aim for this to be deemed healthy and fit. However, I understand it can be difficult. 

All of us live different lives, and therefore we only have space or time for certain things. Because of this, it can be hard to find what exercise we are able to do or what interests us. It can be hard sometimes to find the right sport that keeps us motivated and eager. Whether it is badminton to hockey, there is a sport out there for all of us: you just have to find it. 

Unfortunately, even if we find the right exercise we may still not be able to do it; work or other past times might restrict us from getting to places or doing the things we want to do. I myself would love to do some kind of karate or martial arts, however I do not have the time, the money or the means of transport to get to somewhere which offers that. 

So, compromises have to be made and we have to find some sort of Cardio that we have time to do regularly, have the money to afford, the space to do it, and the motivation to carry on going. Finding this can be hard, and so the main options have to be clear and helpful.  To help myself and also you, I will be researching different sports and cardio methods and posting about them regularly- In order for us to have to have a wider knowledge of exercise and what the most effective methods are. 

In part 2, I will be going over the three most well known forms of exercising, Walking, Running and Cycling, and also talking about some well-known sports. 

Thank for reading, please follow and like (we will like and follow back) . Thanks again and peace! 

 

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3000 views + !!! (advanced core workout)

Welcome to 5.14 Fitness,


I am going to start this post by sending a massive thank you out there to everyone who has been viewing and looking at some of the stuff we have written and shared. I think it is absolutely insane to see just how much the blog has grown and developed over the last 6 and a bit months, from going from starting up the blog with no experience, simply on the spur of the moment to now having over 3000 views.


My Google plus profile has a total of over 131,000 views which is also incredible; I am fully aware I post lots of comments on communities and that I talk to a lot of people via hangouts, but it is all to get better advise so that I can improve my content and become a better blogger in the long run of things. On top of this I have know accumulated a whopping following of 119 to date which was initially at 0 as I made a new account in order to dedicate entirely to the blog. In addition, I have to say hearing from readers/other bloggers and meeting new people across the world has been a great experience and it is always warming to hear that people are listening to what you have to say and doing some of the things that I do. So to everyone who has read, commented on, subscribed to, followed my self or any thing I have written I would like to say thank you! I love hearing from you guys so please continue with this and if you haven't subscribed to the blog already please do so there is a button showing where towards the bottom of the page.




Just a bit of house keeping: I have now found myself a new gym and will be aiming to join there over the next week. Post wise I shall post every Monday and Will shall do Thursdays and there will be an extra one at another day once a week as well. Series wise we shall get started on Back to Basics again, My weight loss journey, reviews, top sources and 101 Workouts shall all be coming up on top of Daily Diaries




Advanced Core Workout


So a lot of you have had a look at the General Core Workout and the Standard Sit-ups page (if you haven't I suggest you go have a look now before hand then come back to this post). The General Core Workout is a routine that I have created by simply finding exercises and adding them one after another. The idea of this being a single set of high reps and lots of activities to be performed at your maximum and given 100% intensity and effort so that you work really hard on every area one time at your absolute maximum. This will help improve your abdominals in general and an all round core workout, rather than more specific one tailored to an individual goal, this one is designed for some one who wants to work everything in that muscle area.


The advanced workout adds more reps, more exercises and an even more all round experience, it also opens up opportunity to apply sets to work into more depth. This being a step up from the General as the extra activities provide a higher level of difficulty and are for those already in a decent physical shape and have progressed from lower tier workouts ( when you find them getting easy). This is designed for those working at an intermediate or experienced level.


* number of reps given equate from intermediate/experienced/body-builder in order

• Standard sit ups 25/30/40
• Side sit ups (right) 25/30/40
• Side sit ups (left)25/30/40
• Reversed bicycle crunches 25/30/40
• Russian Twists 25/30/40
• Jacknives 25/30/40
• Leg raises 25/30/40
• Stationary leg raise help for 1/1.5/3mins

Sets can then be added once you find the workout easy but work up by staying at intermediate sets just moving on to experienced sets and then body-builder sets before changing to experienced reps but back to intermediate sets.


An extra tip for this workout would be to vary each side of the side sit ups each time you do the workout or else one side would end up becoming more developed than the other.


This is a much improved workout than the General as it really works on developing all 8 of the abdominal muscles rather than just the normal top 6 it helps bring the last 2 to show as well and toning the others further in the process.


Thanks for 3000 views next landmark being 5000 so make sure you keep checking out the blog and older posts etc, follow the blog and me, plus one everything and please comment ideas as well- work hard and peace!


Jason

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My exercise bike workout

Welcome to 5.14 fitness, 

Today I will be posting about the cardio workout I do every other day ( 3-4 times a week). I do not have time or access to the gym, so cardio machines are limited for me. Going outside to run is a big no-no for me because of the cold and weather. The only option I have is an exercise bike- which ,to be fair, is often considered as one of the worst machines for cardio. A treadmill is great as it is just like a running, and a rowing machine strengthens your body as well burning your fat. An exercise bike on the other hand does not get your heart pumping as much as the others, and its calorie loss is low. Your legs are often put under more stress then your heart, causing less sweat and more aches in the legs. 

With this the only option, I searched the web for the best workout that will burn the most calories and make me sweat the most. After a while, I found an interval-training workout that looked very good and claimed to be effective. I wanted something that made me sweat and was not pointless, and after a week or two of doing the workout my wish was fulfilled.
So, here it is-

The workout is done in half an hour , and involves times where you work at very high intensity.

0-2 mins-

Warm-up gently at an RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) of 4/10. Switch to a sports channel on the gym TV if you need motivation. Just don't try to keep up if they're showing the Olympic cycling qualifiers.

2-6 mins

4x20 second high-intensity sprints (RPE 9/10) with a pedal speed of 100rpm to elevate your heart rate as quickly as possible. Follow each effort with 40 seconds recovery (RPE 4/10), seated throughout. 

6-18 mins

4x60 second high-intensity efforts (RPE 9/10) with a speed of 90rpm, standing for the first 30 seconds to work more muscle and raise your heart rate to 160-170bpm. After each, a 2 minute seated recovery (RPE 5/10).

18-30 mins

4x60 high-intensity (RPE 9/10) standing hill-climbs (crank up the resistance until your speed is around 60rpm) followed by 2 minute recoveries (RPE 5-6/10), again out of the saddle. 

So there you go: a decent exercise bike workout that will get your heart pumping!

Thank for reading, please subscribe and like (we will like and subscribe back) . Thanks again and peace! 

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Abs 25 Challenge

Welcome to 5.14 Fitness,






This post is going out on as slightly different wave to previous posts, it is part of a new series that I am beginning full of challenges and workouts. This one is a workout challenge designed to improve ab power, six pack definition and muscular endurance.  It is essentially a test to see how many reps of standard sit-ups in multiples of 25; hence the name. 


So lets jump right into the work out.




1 set (25 seconds rest between each set of reps- each bullet point-)

• 100 sit ups
• 75 sit ups
• 50 sit ups
• 25 sit ups

According to how many full sets of each workout depends the participants level of ability:

• 1 set = novice
• 2 sets = beginner
• 3 sets = intermediate
• 5 sets = expert
• 5+ sets= bodybuilder

This workout is a great way to really work your abdominals generally in one big workout, I have been doing this for about 2 weeks now and I am already loving the results. My upper/middle abs in particular are where I have been feeling the most work happening, and I can physically feel a loss of belly fat in that region therefore an improvement in definition.




However, I would not advise to complete this workout more than twice a week, as it offers you little in variation, but it could accompany the general ab workout or the belly fat buster due to a deeper variety in exercises that tone and work different areas in a similar region or area. I would do it  simply for something different to ensure your abs stay worked and do not get used to or familiar with a certain routine that they do not adjust to find that workout easy or to stop them from getting weaker as they are not being challenged.



So guys thanks for a fantastic week, please share this with your friends, following is returned, if you have not already add it to your blogger reading list, any plus ones or comments are also welcomed, thanks for reading more posts coming soon, so please come again-work hard and peace!


Jason

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My Gym Routine

Welcome 5.14 Fitness,




As you probably know due to friends contact, I have a free gym membership and a lot of you have been asking me what I do when I get there. This post will cover what I do, but remember they to my age, size and tailored to achieve my goals, which are size and performance based- in arms primarily.

 Warm-Up

• Bench 20kg 10 reps 5 sets 30 seconds rest
• Bicep Curls 7kg 25 reps 3 sets 30 seconds rest
• Chin-Ups 10 reps 3 sets 1 minute rest
• Pull Down Cable 50kg 15 reps 3 sets 30 seconds rest
• Push Up Cable 50kg 15 reps  3 sets  30 seconds rest

This is not what I call a gently warm up but one that you do to  get your muscles going at a high intensity without finding it too strenuous or difficult. I personally prefer to do more work on high sets, lower weights and lots of reps. This is because it is a greater way of burning fat, giving muscles greater definition and keeping fibres pure- presenting you with stronger arms but are smaller as they have less fat. I also often say how good it is to do lower weight sometimes as it increases strength ( see other posts for details) so this is a good way to fit this in.

Work Out    

• Bench 40kg 10 reps 5 sets 1 minute rest
• Bicep Curls 12kg 5 reps 5 sets 30 seconds rest
• Free Weights Chest 14kg 5 reps 5 sets 30 seconds rest
• Chin-Ups 15 reps 5 sets 1 minute rest
• Leg Lift Cable 40kg 15 reps 5 sets 1 minute rest
• Pull Down Cable 70kg 15 reps 5 sets 1 minute rest
• Push Up Cable 70kg 15 reps  5 sets  1 minute  rest

I really do not like to spend too long in the gym as after a while I can start to feel damage being done to my body and I will ache for the rest of the day. So around an hour is great for me as it allows me to get my stuff done and not take too long. I much prefer weight free training as it is a lot safer and easier to do, however it is much quicker to use weights as they get results far faster, so they need to be done in reality. But do not over light or get carried away. I go gym for an hour 4 times a week, so my body has time to recover.

Hope this helps, had a really useful week full of lessons and information. Please read again, check out other posts, some comments plus ones etc., would be nice and any following is returned (you can also add the blog to your reading list and follow that way so please do so it is much appreciated)- work hard and peace!






Jason



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Burn Fat Increase Definition

Welcome to 5.14 Fitness,


Last post a wrote about a ideas on how to loose weight, however todays post is linked to this very closely and will give you a routine that I have been working on that you can follow. As well as this I will provide reasons why these will help and what ones to go for depending on what you are trying to aim for.


Weight loss- Flat Belly


So I have been told my posts have not been that relatable for the average woman that is just trying to loose a few pounds or gain a few curves- fair enough, well here is the routine for you, but guys do not feel put off this workout can will help you as well. These are guidelines and reps are always shown as the highest and lowest recommended amounts. This routine should be completed everyday for at least a month and to see the best results three months.

• Jogging 1-5 mile- every day.
• Sit ups (5 sets of 10-25 reps)
• Press-ups either (3 sets of 3-20 full ones) or (3 sets of 5-30 half press-ups)
• Star jumps (3 sets of 10-30)
• Squats (3 sets of 5-25)
• High Knees (1 set of 30secs-2mins)
• Step ups (3 sets of 25-50)
• Stretching to be performed in morning and before sleep

This workout is absolutely great for losing fat, it is packed with cardio and low rep activities that will get better definition rather than building new muscles. It will also increase stamina and general movement towards performing in sport. DO NOT FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE TO DO THESE EXERCISES ONE AFTER ANOTHER, they should be completed everyday but allow your self a break between exercises or if you do not have time just do it later no problem. Aim for about 30 seconds rest maximum between sets as they will provide best results.


Half press-ups are ones performed whilst on your knees, if you have not done press-ups before or simply cannot do them (it can take time) this is a great way to start working up to the full ones and giving you and idea of form and how to do them. These are the best way to get rid of the dreaded bingo wings, which so many are paranoid about, as they are low rep lots of sets so breaking down the fat in the target area.
 For the jogging, if you cannot do this for weather, it hurts or whatever reason try to find a substitute for this such as swimming (a third of normal distance) or cycling (three times normal distance).
The sit-ups will be more on burning belly rather than building abdominals, it will target the bulging gut rather than getting you those six pack abs, as the routine is too low sets and reps, you probably can still get there it will just take a lot longer and you are working your way through fat primarily instead of pushing muscle through.
The leg exercises will also burn fat in the leg area as well as helping with definition and giving you the desired curves for the ladies. This will be targeting all the loose skin that collects at the back of the legs and helping to tighten it out. 


Do not rush straight through the rep levels, continue on the low reps for a while before you even consider to add more in, make sure you have it mastered and are finding it easy, after all this is not a routine for muscle building which will add to size and weight- not what we want here!


Hope this helps, please read again, thanks for reading, please do all the usual stuff and check out other posts etc.  all following is returned- work hard and peace!


Jason

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Leg Builder (weight free)

Welcome to 5.14 Fitness,


This post will be on the importance of working legs and a good (weight free) workout/routine that I find really effective. By legs I am talking about the two main areas of muscle in this body section:
thighs and calves.
If we are trying to build size we will find that our thighs will develop a lot quicker and a lot easier, this is by doing your squats or lunges you are strengthening your quadriceps. This is just the one muscle and it is already very large and strong as you have to use it every day. So even after a workout they are used- to a much less intense extent, which is the ideal warm down and will help build size. Calves on the other hand consist of lots of smaller muscles (the main ones we see are the gastrocnemius and the soleus) but as there are more and it is much denser, you have to work a lot harder to see similar results. It is the same as eating one big hollow chocolate egg with one big wrapper or lots of smaller eggs thicker eggs with less wrapper; to collect the same amount of wrapping it would require you to eat a lot more smaller eggs and this will also fill you up more, making it harder.


So moving on to a workout, this one is new to me as well, it was recommended to me by a friend so I will tell you later how I am finding it.


1 set is equal to:

• 25 squats
• 25 lunges (either side)
• 25 step ups (either side)

30 seconds rest between each set and do 3 sets- try to be as explosive as possible to get best results!

Really hopes this helps, thanks for reading please view again, do all the usual stuff- work hard and peace!


Jason

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New arm muscle builder (basic)

Welcome to 5.14 Fitness,




Today I shall be sharing one of the new workouts I have designed, this one in particular will be focusing on arms primarily but also a bit on chest.
Similar to the General Ab Workout, it is a workout that focuses on all types of goals; therefore improving all: definition, strength and endurance on the particular body parts- arms and chest.
It is a pyramid workout- one where you start off with low reps and gradually build up-, this type of work out I found excellent for improving results and strengthening muscles, so all those who want to put on size listen up.
I would recommend  performing the routine at least every other day in order to achieve any real results, it is not particularly long; it will last roughly 10 minutes so it is not asking for too much attention. It requires no equipment other than a place to do tricep dips from. Complete at a maximum intensity with 25seconds rest between sets.

Overall Arm Builder:

Set 1

• press-ups 15 reps
• tricep dips 15 reps
• leg curls right 15 reps
• leg curls left 15 reps
• triangle centred press-ups 15 reps

rest


Set 2

• press-ups 20 reps
• tricep dips 20 reps
• leg curls right 20 reps
• leg curls left 20 reps
• triangle centred press-ups 20 reps

rest


Set 3

• press-ups 25 reps
• tricep dips 25 reps
• leg curls right 25 reps
• leg curls left 25 reps
• triangle centred press-ups 25 reps

rest


I will experiment and get others to try this out with different variations before I post a more detailed and advanced version of this workout along this the levels of experience.


Thanks for reading, expect more posts soon, please read again and do all the stuff, you know what it is by now (if your new check out older posts)- train hard and peace!


Jason

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Press Ups

Hey,


Just wanted to make a quick post on an exercise that I feel not only works for performance but if completed correctly can add some size and great definition: the press up! I do at least one set of a 55 reps (each hold worth 2 seconds)of these a day, this is because they really help with performance and as you are not lighting heavy weights it is not affecting your development. Furthermore it is an exercise that can be completed absolutely anywhere as all you need is yourself.
I know what your thinking "55 push ups! Sounds like a lot" Well truth be told, it is! This is a feat that took over a year of working up to; I started doing 25 and once I found it easy (normally after a week) I would add on another 5 reps and I would build up. These heavy reps improve strength and gradually add size.
In addition to my heavy reps, I also do lesser reps normally about 25. I do these to improve my form and to increase the percentage of weight that my target muscles receive. To elaborate, when I push heavy my  target muscles (triceps and biceps) may struggle to cope and end up spreading the load to other muscles that I am not trying to work. So my arms may only take 60% of the load and other muscles make up the other 40%. Therefore by doing lower reps I increase the percentage of weight on my target muscles. So I could do 100 reps but if my muscles only receive 50% of this, and I can do 75 reps but my arms receive 90% of this (as I find it easier) it will be more effective to do the 75 reps. To conclude, by doing low reps I increase the effectiveness of a workout, so when I do push for higher reps, I work my target muscles as much as possible.


Hope this helps guys, train hard,


Jason  

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