Drum Hill Fitness

Group boxing class is starting back up Saturday mornings at 11am in April. Ask Ryan or stop at the front desk for more details.

...Travis Webb

The human muscle system is a continuous network of muscle throughout your entire body. There are muscles of different sizes, shapes and functions. All of which allowing us to move from place to place and perform daily functions. Your metabolism is greatly affected by how much muscle you have and how active you are being.

A simple way of thinking about how muscle works is this. Muscles are made up of cells, these cells need fuel to function. If you have a lot of fuel (body fat) in your body you need more muscle in order to burn that fuel. The more you move around, the more fuel the muscle cells need to keep you moving. Therefore the more muscle you have and the more you move the more fuel you will burn.

To gain muscle throughout your body evenly it’s important to develop a full body workout routine that can be performed throughout the week. Each muscle group should be worked on a regular basis to promote balance and even strength gains. This will also allow for more body fat reduction in problem areas such as your mid section. Weight training will help to promote muscle growth or maintenance. Cardio will ask your existing muscle to function more. Do your best to make a balance of both and you will see more results from your metabolism.

...By Travis Webb

One of the main features of any gym is the dumbbells and barbells. Each piece of equipment can be used by either hands or two depending on the exercise. Dumbbells are primarily used with one handed exercises. Barbells are primarily use two hands and can be found with either fixed weights or plate additions. The barbell can also be found as a straight bar or EZ bar. The main feature of both the dumbbell and barbell is the concept of “dead weight,” so it is very similar to using objects of day to day life. Along with explaining the concepts of dumbbells and barbells, I will briefly explain how to keep your joints safe while using them in exercise.

We all have dominant hands and dominant feet, so it makes perfect sense that you would favor one side of your body over the other in exercise. Normally your dominant side will take the majority of the load in any exercise, this means that as you get stronger an imbalance may start to form. Imbalances normally lead to discomfort. One of the uses of dumbbells is to find whether or not one side of your body is stronger than the other. If one side is stronger than the other all you have to do is continue working out at the same weight range until the other side catches up.

Barbells can allow for more stability in an exercise than dumbbells and you can lift more weight. You are able to focus all of your effort on one point rather than two; this makes it easier to balance. When it is easier to balance it is also easier to lift more weight. While using plates on a barbell always make sure to put the clips on the ends that keep the plates in a fixed position.

You can basically use dumbbells or barbells in the same exercise; it just depends on how much weight you are lifting. Whether its chest presses, rows, bicep curls or squats, using the correct weight will protect your joints. Also a basic rule is never extent any joint all the way while holding weight. No matter what the exercise may be, extending your arms or legs all the way is not a good idea! Always keep a slight bend in your joints while exercising and you will be less susceptible to injury.

Join with a Friend and Get Started with No Money out of Pocket for You and Give Your friend a Free Month.

When you join with a friend at Best Fitness of Drum Hill until the end of January you will pay nothing and your friend will only pay one month down.

See Club for details.