Blog | Focus You Strength Academy

07Nov 2017 by BR Srinivasan

What are the best exercises to lose belly fat?

The fastest way to reduce Excess Belly Fat, Rapidly, is through: 1) Nutritional Intervention (this is the MOST IMPORTANT) 2) Lead an Active Lifestyle 3) Manage Stress Well I am cutting and pasting (mostly) here, from my own response on a very Similar Query, a short while back... Assuming you do not suffer from dysfunctions such as Thyroid and such, here are some of the reasons for Excess Fat to accumulate in your Belly (and hip/thigh) areas. 1) Sedentary kind of Work and Lifestyle 2) Losing a lot of Muscle Mass 3) Reduced Metabolism 4) UnHealthy Eating Habits The Sedentary Work and Life Style leads to a lot of issues, such as loss of muscle mass, which in turn also contributes to your body's reduced Metabolism. Which in turn means…

06Nov 2017 by BR Srinivasan

In order to increase your maximum bench press, should you bench close to your max or just do less weight for gradually more reps?

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Increasing your Bench Press will mean that you are able to Bench more weights and/or Bench More Reps or both. We discuss some basics here, to facilitate understanding about how this works. Bench More Weights (Intensity) You will need to get Stronger. Assuming you are a relative Newbie, the BEST and EASIEST way to do this, is through Linear Progression. This means thatfFor every session at the Gym, you need to Increase Weight Gradually and Consistently. For the Bench Press and for the (Overhead) Press, these Increases are Little (like 1 or 2 kilograms every workout) AND, after a VERY SHORT TIME, you will need to lower the increases to even less (0.5 kgs, 0.25 kgs etc). The way this works is through General Adaption Syndrome that your body goes…

26Oct 2017 by BR Srinivasan

What is muscle quality?

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Two things you usually look for in muscles (especially, Skeletal Muscles): 1) Strength 2) Hypertrophy (Size) You could (up to a point) increase Strength without much if any, increase in Size. But, increase in Size is eventually going to happen. Also, Hypertrophy (Increase in Size) does not Necessarily translate into Strength. Two kinds of Hypertrophy... Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy (build-up of Sarcoplasmic Fluid in the muscles, give them their Increased Size), does not in itself, translate to any meaningful increase in Strength. For instance, if you use low weights and high reps (6, 8 and more repetitions) in your exercises, you will end up with this kind of (Sarcoplasmic) Hypertrophy. Certainly will be stronger than a person with Sedentary Lifestyle. However.... The other kind of Hypertrophy is MyoFibrillar Hypertrophy. Here, there are…

26Oct 2017 by BR Srinivasan

Does Whey protein which body builders use, have any side effects on one’s body? Is it safe to take one scoop everyday after working out?

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Whey Protein is an Extremely Good Source of Protein. What's more...the Bio Availability (how much gets absorbed by your body), is one of the highest. It is Particularly helpful for Vegetarians/Vegans, whose sources of Protein are usually not the best, in terms of Quality (Bio Availability, as discussed above, is not too great) and Quantity of Protein. Unless you have Lactose Intolerance, you shouldn't experience any significantly bad side effects, from Whey Protein. ---------- However, the issue really is about Who the Manufacturer/Brand of Whey Protein is and what else do they add to their "Whey Protein" Product. (Non)Reliability of Food Labels You would tend to think that Manufacturers will list ALL ingredients on the Food Label truthfully. Well, sometimes (actually, Often times), they do leave out some ingredients from…

24Oct 2017 by BR Srinivasan

Apart from running, what are some ways to reduce belly fat rapidly?

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The fastest way to reduce Excess Belly Fat, Rapidly, is through Nutritional Intervention. Assuming you do not suffer from dysfunctions such as Thyroid and such, here are some of the reasons for Excess Fat to accumulate in your Belly (and hip/thigh) areas. 1) Sedentary kind of Work and Lifestyle 2) Losing a lot of Muscle Mass 3) Reduced Metabolism 4) UnHealthy Eating Habits The Sedentary Work and Life Style leads to a lot of issues, such as loss of muscle mass, which in turn also contributes to your body's reduced Metabolism. Which in turn means more Fat Storage. Unhealthy Eating Habits and Unhealthy Fat Gain around Belly Areas, also contribute to many issues...such as Leptin Resistance, Insulin Resistance and eventually to diseases such as Diabetes. The above is a VERY…

20Oct 2017 by BR Srinivasan

What should a person consume when suffering with high sugar?

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The reason a person suffers from High Sugar is primarily due to the fact that he/she is not able to produce Insulin (no Insulin or at-least, not enough Insulin) and/or the fact that his body is resistant to Insulin. What is Blood Sugar? ------------------———- If we backtrack a couple of steps. When we eat, food gets digested and gets converted and aborbed as Sugar (Glucose) into our blood. This is Blood Sugar. Beta Cells in our Pancreas, sensing this, then produce adequate amounts of Insulin. Insulin is required for our Cells to absorb thr Sugar from Blood. This is subsequently used as Fuel. After this, Blood Sugar levels return to normal. The Beta Cells then Stop/Reduce production of Insulin, (according the Blood Sugar Levels). Why High Blood Sugar in Diabetics:…

20Oct 2017 by BR Srinivasan

What is a good way to test if the bar is at the spine of the scapula while Squatting?

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Keep your palms as close as your possibly can. Before you take the bar out of the Rack, Position it on your back, like a High Bar Squat. Then, Roll Your Back up slowly, while fully in contact with the Bar. You can FEEL the bar get into a SLOT. The bar is then held between your Traps and your Deltoids...this is the Correct Position. Also, as you are performing the Squat (I assume of course, that you are doing Low Bar Back Squats), if the bar moves up during the set, you have set it up higher than it should be. If the bar rolls down, during the set, you then, had it set up lower than it should be. If it stays in place, you have it setup…

19Oct 2017 by BR Srinivasan

What are some exercises for getting rid of belly fat?

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Remember, you CANNOT out-exercise a Bad Diet. So, NUTRITION is the MOST IMPORTANT aspect. You can definitely reduce your Extra Belly Fat, just with Nutritional Intervention. My advise: Do NOT Skip any Meals Do NOT SKIP BREAKFAST (Yes, it is IMPORTANT…so, kind of repeating this) Leave a 4–5 hour Gap Between MEALS … NO SNACKING Whatsoever Ensure that you eat a Good Amount of Quality Protein with EVERY MEAL. Ensure that you eat a Good Amount of Quality Protein with your Breakfast (Again, yes, Emphasizing this) Eat your Dinner by 6 pm-7 pm. That is, try to complete your dinner, 4–5 hours before hitting the bed. DO NOT SNACK ON ANYTHING until your Breakfast the next morning. By ANYTHING, we mean ANYTHING (no peanuts, no milk, no apple…nothing). Other than…

19Oct 2017 by BR Srinivasan

Should you deadlift daily?

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No. Some points that will help you understand. Rest and Recovery is as much (if not more) important for you to get stronger, (and fitter and bigger.) You don’t not get Stronger in the Gym. It’s what happens Afterwards that gets you Strong (and fit…) So, proper Rest and Recover, as well as Proper Nutrition is of the Utmost Importance. How much times you will Deadlift and how much, will depend upon what your present status is (how much weight you have been Deadlifting in the past and how much weight you are deadlifting now). However, under NO Circumstances, should you deadlift daily. (You just should NOT DL daily). Hope this helps…

18Oct 2017 by BR Srinivasan

How can I develop mental sharpness and stamina?

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This is a question that needs to be looked at from different angles. You are bestowed with a certain amount of Intelligence and you are Special…well, just like everyone else is. Some things to Ponder about: Most of the times, we are bothered by things, over which we exercise little or no control. Do the things that give you pleasure and that you are good at. Don’t get sucked into something which you do not have the aptitude or the interest for. Let’s say, you don’t like Electrical Engineering as much as Mechanical Engineering, but are forced to Study EE, because that’s the only Engineering Branch of Study you could get admitted to, in a particular College. You might get into a Job due to an increased pay…even though, the…