STRONG GLUTES: The Muscle You Aren't Working

Your glutes are perhaps the most powerful collection of muscles in your body. Which means weak glutes negatively impact your entire muscular system.

Use this plan to activate your glutes and maximize your body's potential. In weeks you'll increase lower-body strength, decrease your injury risk, and burn more fat.

The Warmup
Before you improve glute functioning, you need to address your limited flexibility. If you tend to sit all day, the front of your hips may be extremely stiff. Begin each glute workout with the kneeling hip flexor stretch in order to help loosen your hips and maximize your lower-body performance.

Kneel on your left knee, tighten your left gluteus maximus, and brace your abdominal muscles while keeping your back straight. (You should feel a slight stretch in the front of your left hip.) Then reach up with your left hand as high as you can and bend slightly to the right. Reach out and back with your right hand, and turn toward the right. Hold this stretch for 30 seconds. Do 4 reps, and then switch sides and repeat to stretch your right hip.

SEE EXERCISES

T-BAR BACK WORKOUT: The Old School Way!

Two machines mimic the T-bar row, one with a chest support and one without. Still, for the old-school among us, neither comes close to the sheer simple brilliance of tucking one end of a barbell in the corner, loading the other, taking a hand-over-hand grip and rowing your back muscles into sweet oblivion.

Main Area Targeted: midback (rhomboids, lats, teres major and minor, infraspinatus, middle and lower trapezius) 

Strengths: The T-bar’s slight edge comes in the placement of the weight directly underneath the torso and a more advantageous angle of attack. The angle of the body makes it easier to do correctly. T-Bar is excellent for thickness in the midback area.

DARK CHOCOLATE: Good for Love and Your Health!

Are you contemplating about giving your special love one some 'Dark Chocolate' for Valentine's Day, because he lives a healthy lifestyle?  Don't worry!  Dark chocolate has recently been discovered to have a number of healthy benefits. While eating dark chocolate can lead to health benefits remember that chocolate is also high in fat. So, a small box of Dark Chocolate is fine. Here are some benefits:

1) Dark Chocolate is Good is for Your Heart

Studies show that eating a small amount of dark chocolate two or three times each week can help lower your blood pressure. Dark chocolate improves blood flow and may help prevent the formation of blood clots. Eating dark chocolate may also prevent arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). 

2) Dark Chocolate is Good is for Your Brain  

Dark chocolate increases blood flow to the brain as well as to the heart, so it can help improve cognitive function. Dark chocolate also helps reduce your risk of stroke. Dark chocolate also contains several chemical compounds that have a positive effect on your mood and cognitive health.

THE PUSH UP! The Godfather of the chest workout

The PUSH-UP is the Godfather of the chest workout. It’s been around forever and believe it or not…it’s evolving. Why? Because it works and there’s never just a single way to do any exercise.

The push-up—like any type of press or pull—requires the use of several muscle groups working on concert. But unlike some of its barbell or dumbbell counter-parts, the push-up calls several smaller muscle groups—which work as stabilizers —into play. Your abs, serratus, lower back, hip flexors and rotator cuffs all reap the benefits of a well-executed set of push-ups, even though your pecs are the main target. And strengthening that supporting cast will only help you on your bigger moves for your chest like heavy incline presses.