Who Is Joe Weider?

Josef E. "Joe" Weider was born on November 29, 1922 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He is the Canadian co-founder of the International Federation of Bodybuilders (IFBB) together with his brother Ben Weider. Joe Weider also created Mr. Olympia and Ms. Olympia. What few people know is that Joe Weider started his empire with just $7 at the tender age of 17. He built barbells out of car axles and wheels. Later he became a manufacturer of gym exercise equipment and one of the first people ever to focus on nutrition as a part of bodybuilding. His line of nutritional supplements is one of the most recognized across the world.

Joe Weider introduced the mental approach to working out. He never claimed to be an innovator. He always said he took different elements from different sources and synthesized them into bodybuilding. To sum it up, Weider is one of the first that put together and introduced a series of training principles that successful bodybuilders use today:

1. Pre-Exhaustion Training
2. Pyramiding
3. Super sets
4. Muscle Priority Training
5. Set System Training
6. Instinctive Training
7. Giant Sets
8. Tri-Sets
9. Staggered Sets
10. Compound Sets

We have a lot to thank Weider. Without him bodybuilding would not have been the way we know it today!

Home or Regular Gym Workout?

Going into bodybuilding or fitness is a great choice and you should do it! You do not necessarily need to put on huge amounts of muscle. Actually, you have two choices to think about: you can either train in a gym or workout at home (if you have the needed fitness or bodybuilding equipment). We have advantages and disadvantages to both choices so we should analyze them.

When going to a regular gym you will enter a more motivational environment and you end up being able to socialize with more individuals. Also, if you need help, you can get the training you will require as gyms do have instructors. The equipment is also better, you do have more space to train in most cases and you will not be required to invest a lot of money up front. All you would need to pay is a fixed amount to train each month. On the other hand you will be faced with less privacy and you will not be able to train whenever you want to. Fitness and bodybuilding gyms do come with an opening and closing time. Music choice is also not up to you (unless you carry an mp3 player with you) and you might end up needing to wait for your turn as the needed equipment could be occupied. You can also be faced with distractions in your workout because of talking with other individuals in the gym.

When dealing with a home gym, the biggest advantage we can think about stands in the higher privacy it brings combined with the fact that your home gym is opened 24 hours a day. Music choice is all up to you and your equipment will never be occupied (unless you train with a friend which could be fun and even recommended). You will not pay for a membership each month and concentration in workouts is definitely higher. On the other hand, you will not socialize and we do tend to workout at lower intensities when we do not have a training partner. This means it will be less motivating and you might also not get the needed help when required in difficult last repetitions in those hard sets. In most cases a home gym also means less equipment and limited workout space. You will also need to invest more money in purchasing what you need when compared with the fixed amount paid on a monthly gym membership.

These are the main advantages and disadvantages of home or regular gyms. It is up to you to choose what best suits your needs and decide. You can also use your imagination and work around some of the problems highlighted above.

Used Refurbished Fitness Equipment

It is quite expensive to open a gym these days and you will need a lot of money to do so! A lot of people give up on this although they should know that there are a lot of ways that you can save money and still be able to open that gym. If you are on a tight budget you can make compromises and one of the best stands in using used refurbished fitness equipment. Few people actually realize the amount of money they can save by simply not purchasing new equipment. The problem is that you might think that the equipment on sale is not of high quality but you are actually mistaken. Refurbished fitness equipment means that the items are fixed and work properly and saying used simply means that they were used in the past. It is kind of like a used car, it is just fitness equipment for people that can not afford to go for new and expensive models.

You have a lot of possibilities when going for purchasing used refurbished fitness equipment as there are dozens of stores that are specialized in this and even special web sites available for you to order. The only thing you will need to be aware of stands in shipment and handling. It is the one factor that can make you go over the budget but if you pay attention that will not happen! Stop dreaming about a gym and research used refurbished fitness equipment! You can find refurbished treadmills, ellipticals, stair climbers, exercise bikes and even free weights. Start researching and save some money!

Recommended Fitness in Milano

I normally don’t do this, you know, talk about a certain product, or company, or something, and make it look as if I actually create them publicity, but this is something that it’s worth being written about. If you are a business man (or woman) or just a tourist (with lots of money) and you go to Milano and don’t want to miss your exercise routine, then a great place to work out is the Club 10 Fitness and Beauty Center. Inaugurated in April 1996, the Club 10 Fitness & Beauty Center covers today an area of 1,000 square meters and offers its guests a fully equipped and relaxing oasis. A bright and elegant beauty area was added less than five years later (in February 2001) in which the prestigious Kanebo line of products and the healing Hot Stone Massage were introduced. When talking about fitness Milano this club has what it needs.

The breathtaking Club 10 Fitness & Beauty Center on the top floor of the Hotel “Principe di Savoia” in Milano, one of the Dorchester Collection, solidified its state-of-the-art ranking at the beginning of 2004, when it acquired the latest in exercise equipment and added new parquet flooring. The new equipment is the latest generation machines from Technogym. Basically, you have the option for a clean exercise between excite, that is for cardiovascular and multi-sensorial training and selection for muscular exercises. Another novelty of the Club 10 Fitness & Beauty Center is the Pancafit: a new scientific method created to resolve articulation and muscular problems, to gently re-balance body posture and help you regain elasticity and well-being. It is rarely used and in Milano it is not that popular except here.

This relaxing oasis of psychological and physical well-being consists of a wide gym, a heated 60-square-metre swimming pool, a hydro-massage, a sauna, a Turkish bath and a wraparound terrace, as well as an open air solarium. In addition to the wonderful view from the terrace and the fitness centre, you will find comfortable mahogany-paneled locker rooms, marble showers and massage and beauty rooms. The Club 10 Fitness & Beauty Center has thought of everything, from sporting goods (shoes and clothes) to beauty treatments (facial/body) from the finest cosmetic companies, such as Kanebo, Thalgo and Comfort Zone. Of course, they are all natural products.

Every guest of the Hotel Principe di Savoia can use the swimming pool, the hydro massage, the sauna, the Turkish bath and the gym of the Club 10 Fitness & Beauty Center so we are not only talking about fitness in Milano here. The center is also open to external clients, with opening hours planned to meet the needs of people with limited free time. What else can be said? If you are hell bent on not missing your exercises routine, and have money, lots of money, and are in Milano, this is the place for you.