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Cardio: From easy questions on how much you should do, to the harder ones like how much will actually burn fat, guys have long-hated cardio but have also seen it as a necessary evil. So, with the help of certified personal trainer Raphael Konforti, MS, we've compiled the biggest myths and cut out all the BS by debunking the half-truths and old non-truths. And maybe, just maybe, cardio won't seem so bad at the end of it. You can thank us later. Before we get into the myths, let’s get a few basics straight. For the uninitiated, cardio is moving the body in order to increase the heart rate. How much cardio should you do? Great question! Konforti advises "Anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes is effective at producing results and the focus should not only be on the amount but also the quality and intensity." He went on to tell us that you should strive to do cardio at least twice a week to stay healthy and in shape. To see noticeable improvement, aim for at least 3-4 sessions ...

You want a strong and defined back but no matter how much you workout, your back is still the size of a light post. Sound like you? Not for much longer, my friend. Here are five mistakes you’re probably making with your back training, and how you can correct them for newfound muscle mass. 1. Not Mixing Things Up You’ve probably been taught that the best way to build a huge back is through the deadlift. There is only one problem: It doesn’t work for everyone – and it’s not working for you. If you’ve read this far, you likely need to switch things up and get a little freaky with your back training. Here's how: a) Add New Exercises Ever heard of a Reeves deadlift? It is a great exercise that not only tests your lats and upper back, but your arm and hand strength as well. The Reeves deadlift is not that different from a classic deadlift. However, the Reeves Row – a modified version of it – is. And it is great for getting that back width. Load the bar with lighter plate...

“Great, when can I start? I forgot to mention, I train in my basement and only have a barbell and weight plates.“ I paused for a moment, leaning back in my chair and pondering the possibilities. Every other online client of mine owns a combination of tools -- barbells, kettlebells, dumbbells and bands -- or has access to a gym, but not Todd. Instead, Todd is an entrepreneur, working out of his spare bedroom and crushing workouts three to four days a week at home. He’s old-school. No thrills, no gimmicks -- just the tools he needs to build a healthy, strong, and athletic body. And while training with a variety of equipment is more popular, most men miss the boat and never get strong by playing with too many exercises and techniques. What they really need is more barbell training – weight-training in its purest form. Master this tool and you’ll have all the strength, power, and muscle you could ever ask for. Bow to the Barbell Barbell Training Allows the Highest Workloads Prog...

If you want to start off your day on the right foot, it’s a good idea to get in a workout right off the bat when you wake up. Why? Not only does it help jumpstart your morning, but it can also give you the energy you need to help tackle meetings, conference calls or the endless string of emails stacking up in your inbox. We know what you’re thinking. Ain’t nobody got time for that in the morning. But what if there was something quick and effective you could do right in your own bedroom or living room? We chatted with Amanda Butler , instructor at The Fhitting Room in New York City, who came up with this 12-minute high intensity routine that will spike your heart rate and get your muscles working. “This workout has short intervals—only 30 seconds—for each exercise, so your goal is to get as many reps as possible in those quick thirty seconds, says Butler. “You need to push yourself and max out your effort. Ready to rock? Think of it as your morning cup of Joe. 12-Minute Mo...

It’s brutal. It’s ugly. And it’s the truth. You know how you’ve been struggling to lose fat since high school? Well, your genetics could be to blame – just like you always thought. Let me explain… You know that mate of yours who stays lean no matter how many beers he drinks? When he decides to drop 10 pounds, he finds some free diet program online and strips the weight off in a few weeks. But you down a single low-carb beer and grow a spare tire. It sucks, doesn’t it? But there is a reason for it, and science is starting to reveal the perils of a slow metabolism. More importantly, it's also starting to show you ways to defeat your fat kid genes once and for all. 1. Something About Your Saliva? Researchers recently found a correlation between obesity and a person’s ability to make amylase, an enzyme that helps break down starch (carbohydrates) in your mouth. The gene responsible for the production of amylase, AMY1, varies in number from person to person. The more o...

Running 100 miles is hard, and you need to be strong, but doing a muscle-up may be harder. I didn't even know what a muscle-up was a year ago. This super tough pull-up variation aligns itself next to other pure strength-testing bodyweight exercises such as the flag, handstand push-up and pistol squat. All of these bodyweight exercises test your strength at inhumane levels. I had run 100 miles, but could not perform even one rep of any of these exercises. My obsession with push-ups, pull-ups and dips started early on in life. These three basic exercises are like the trinity of bodyweight strength training, and with them alone, a person can be strong. Of course, there is more involved in pure strength. Even though I have never had any interest in lifting weights or hitting the gym, I have a rabid interest in getting stronger. Getty Images As a rock climber and serious boulderer, strength was my focus for many years. I spent day after day training to climb stronger. Weights were not ...

Bodyweight training offers excessive benefits to those with the patience to master it. There’s better neuromuscular connections, a high strength to weight ratio, and an extraordinary ability to move your body through space. You can also build an impressive physique. It requires precise attention to detail and a well laid out plan, but bodyweight training is a great way to build a tremendous amount of strength and mass when executed properly. For proof, look at high-level gymnasts. By utilising intelligent progressions and adding in volume over time, gymnasts are able to build incredible amounts of strength while crafting an impressive physique in the process. Progressions For most of us, adding weight to the barbell or dumbbells is the main way to progress in our training. It stands to reason that if you can squat 315 for 10 reps, you’re going to be a more muscular human than when you were only able to squat 225 for 10 reps or 135 for 5 reps. With bodyweight training, since you’...

Since the early days of Atari, sports have always been a mainstay in the worldwide gamescape. As games evolved, the link to sports became more literal and game play suddenly had the potential to help you get a workout. If Nintendo’s mid-80s innovation the Power Pad was the Model T of fitness videos games, the Lamborghinis of fitness games have officially arrived—and we’re not talking about interactive yoga either. This newest generation of immersive games not only stimulate your senses, they help you burn plenty of calories along the way. Here are a few innovative games across three sports -- running, cycling, and rowing -- you need to know about. Zombies, Run! If a slimmer waist and longer life aren’t motivation enough to run that extra mile, how about a horde of hungry zombies chasing after you? Zombies, Run! is an app that lays out an intense -- albeit creepy -- storyline where you are a runner headed toward toward the last surviving human base following the zombie apocalyp...

Baby steps will get you there, unless you’re frustrated with the slow pace of change and give up, in which case, screw baby steps, because strong and steady can win the race. In regards to weight loss, I used to always preach the tortoise over the hare approach, saying that the hare sprints fast out of the gate, gets 50 yards and says, “Screw it. Too hard. I quit. Instead, I would say, be a tortoise. Go slow, because slow progress is still progress. Alas, life is not always so black and white where fast weight loss = bad and slow weight loss = good. Sometimes, there is a reason to go fast. We have to of course place some limits on what is “fast, as you don’t want to end up like one of those Biggest Loser basket cases. There is fast, and then there is the epically stupid approach to weight loss; TV show weight loss almost always qualifies as the latter. Slow weight loss seems logical, and it does work for a lot of people, because it minimises suffering. You change a little and...

As amazing as running can feel, thousands of steps on the same roads (or, even worse, a treadmill without a TV) day after day can be a bore. Seasoned and successful runners keep their training fresh and avoid running ruts. This is how it's done. 1. Change Your View Michael Wardian has represented the USA at the 50K and 100K World Championships and has a 2:17:49 marathon personal record. Wardian regularly takes first place in all race distances. He races a lot — 47 times in 2014 — while managing to avoid running ruts. “I love running in new areas and try to 'get lost' at least a few times a month. I just go out the door with no set schedule, plan or route and just pick an amount of time and run. This strategy has allowed me to discover cool paths, parks, neighbourhoods, restaurants, shortcuts and routes that I would never have noticed, he says. Kent Keeler, an accomplished runner from Niagara Falls, Ontario, has been able to bounce out of running ruts with variability....

It pays to be efficient with your workouts. Doing more work in less time has a ton of benefits including being leaner, having a better base of cardio, and yes, being able to break out into a sprint without feeling like you want to pass out. That’s why combination moves have become extremely popular recently both in many workout routines and in bootcamp-style classes. But what is a combination exercise? Great question. Check out the definitions before we get started. Combination Exercise – A move that blends two or more exercises together with the same weight, eg., dumbbell deadlift with curl or walking dumbbell lunge with side raises. Compound Exercise – Any exercise that uses more than one muscle group, eg pull-ups or squats. Isolation Exercise – Any exercise that uses just one muscle group or moves through only one joint, eg., biceps curls or triceps push-downs. Exercise Complex – A series of exercises done in order often without putting the weight down, eg., barbell fr...

Kenny Santucci, a certified personal trainer (NASM, CPP, TRX, Kettlebell), CrossFit and triathlon coach, is leaving all the nice guy crap in the locker room. He is here to help you – but it starts with someone finally telling you, "you're doing it wrong." You want to break your back? Go into the gym and play tough guy with the deadlift. Yes, the deadlift is a top-of-the-food-chain total body workout . Yes, it can look badass if you stack a load of heavy plates onto the barbell. But, dude, if you look like you're doing twerklifts, that's the first sign that you're headed for a heating pad, then a bag of ice. Shooting your ass straight up first is a glaring indicator that you didn't set up well. A bad set-up leads to rounding your back. Rounding your back leads to the hospital. Get it? Rounding your back is like running across a busy street during rush hour. You’re gonna get laid out. Don’t be that guy. Nope, shh, shh, shh just don't. It's tha...

When it comes to getting fit, it's normal to have problem areas. For some, it’s the lower abs. For others, it’s the chest. And just because men don’t have breasts doesn't mean they can’t suffer from sagging and a less-than-desirable accumulation of fatty tissue around the pectorals. Now, before trying to max out on your bench press to get rid of those moobs (man boobs), ask yourself: “Do I want the chest of the guy grunting in the gym while pressing up 120kg for 10 reps? Unless you’re looking to be the next Mr. Universe, you don’t need all that weight to get a sculpted chest. Plus, many guys make the huge mistake of overdoing the bench press without paying any attention to their back and shoulders. Luckily, we caught up with Chris Ryan , CSCS, NSCA-CPT and Trainer on US TV show STRONG , to tell us the secret to get your chest to look, well, more like this: "Sculpting a great looking chest is about building a proper foundation through the back and shoulders fi...

The guys that like to run are not the ones that you see most often at the gym. And the guys that like to lift talk about running like it’s some sort of filthy curse word. But when workouts get tough and people are spread out on the floor lying in a crime scene sweat outline, someone always leaves the gym saying, “Man, my endurance sucks. It is popular to lift heavy these days. It’s also popular to workout hard and fast, tossing high intensity workouts into your program that involve short burst of hard efforts. But ask those guys to run a mile and you’re met with either a death stare or the look of a kid on his way to the principal’s office. But it doesn’t need to be this way. It is possible to lift heavy stuff and work on your stamina. You can have it all. Chris Hinshaw , renowned endurance coach that has worked with the best CrossFit athletes in the world, from former champs Rich Froning and Camille LeBlanc-Bazinet to last year’s champions Ben Smith and Karin Davidsdo...

You’ve been going to the gym long enough. You don’t need to waste money on a trainer whom you're paying by the hour to count your reps. You’ve got your headphones on. You’re crushing it. Except for that nagging pain in your shoulder. Come to think of it, your knee has been acting up. Whatever. You gotta make gains. But you know those people who keep staring at you from across the gym? They're not admiring your physique. They're cringing. And it's about time someone says something to you before you break your body apart. Kenny Santucci, a certified personal trainer (NASM, CPP, TRX, Kettlebell), CrossFit and triathlon coach, is that man. He’s leaving all the nice guy crap in the locker room. He is here to help you — but it starts with someone finally telling you, "you're doing it wrong." So you’re squatting 500 pounds? That’s cool. Are you squatting below parallel? Are your knees on fire? Is your back about to bust wide open? Yeah, you in the...

There’s always – always – a dude at the gym who makes everyone’s blood boil. And we want to make sure that dude isn’t you. Just ask yourself, is this dude me? And if you’re unsure, the answer is yes. Stop what you’re doing immediately. You’re doing it wrong. The Chalk Toss Dude King James has an epic pre-game ritual where he covers his hands in chalk and tosses it in the air like a giant cloud of smoke. Kevin Garnett employed a similar pre-game technique. Even Michael Jordan had a pre-game chalk toss. But here’s what I can guarantee you: NONE of them are doing that in the gym. And if they are, they should immediately be handed a mop and slapped. Or slapped with a mop. The chalk is for your hands. Not for the floor or for your clothes and certainly not to choke everyone around you to death. Related: The Best Arm Workout You Never Knew About The Sweaty Dude Sweating is good. We know this. It stops your body from overheating, ditches unwanted toxins and kills bacteria. B...

It doesn’t matter how hard you work in the gym. All the sit-ups, crunches, leg raises, planks and core-stabilising exercises – all the stuff that makes your stomach burn like crazy – it doesn’t matter. You’ll never ditch that last, stubborn-ass layer of fat until your eating routine changes. The truth: all those killer ab exercises are helping but if you want a chiselled midsection now – like, right now before next weekend’s trip to the beach, according to renowned trainer Steve Hess, the strength and conditioning coach for the NBA’s Denver Nuggets, there are a few things you can do to get this show on the road ASAP. And, of course, it starts in the kitchen. These aren’t secrets. There is no secret to six-pack abs. Cue the framework for getting your abs to pop – finally. 1. Balance When And How You Utilise Carbohydrates Rejoice, for you do not have to give up carbs . Hess says use carbohydrates with proteins and healthy fats to fuel and replenish your body after ...