Summer Look Training starts Today!

My good friends running bike and ski shops in the north woods of Wisconsin have a term called the 'brown zone.' It's that dead spot in the seasonal changes where it's just too cold and wet for a lot of us to enjoy cycling, and there isn't enough snow on the trails for good skiing. The trees are dormant and the ground is mostly brown.

While die-hards will bunny suit up to get into the saddle, or strap on the outback skis in search of snow-crust skiing, they're also missing out on the best time of the year to train indoors. And that, my friends, is right now!

For starters, now's the time to start working on that summer body. Work begins right now on muscular development becomes apparent when you loose those last few more pounds of body fat with increased Spring and Summer cardio effort.

And the best way to do that is with strict range of motion resistance training.

In fact, one of the more common mistakes I see in the gyms is incomplete range of motion exercise. People get too hung up on the volume of weights, and end up jerking and throwing the weight through a shortened range of motion. And, as a result, they do, in fact, develop shorter muscle fibers than the disciplined lifter who exercises good form by moving the resistance fluidly through it's complete range of motion.

It takes focus and some practice, but if you're looking for a long, lean and toned muscular look, focus on a complete range of motion, use smooth controlled muscle contractions, and be sure to keep good overall body posture throughout the exercise.

Then, when the weather finally does warm up, and you get get outside for extended periods of additional cardio to pull off a few more pounds, the emerging muscle tissue is beautifully developed and will emerge in good form.