Nothing girlie about squat's

Squats are one of the best lower body exercises you can do. Why? One reason is that squats are multi-joint exercises which target all the muscles of the hips, glutes and thighs. This version, which requires no weights or equipment (other than a chair) is great for beginners, for anyone with knee problems or for those who are overweight and need a bit more support. It's also great for anyone wanting to add more functionality into their lives because it mimics the movements we do each time we sit down or stand up.

Dirrell, and the new......

At the age of 25, Dirrell is a four year pro. A switch hitting, and naturally gifted left hander, Dirrell was an amateur standout and 2004 Olympic bronze medalist. Possessing exceptional athleticism and tremendous amateur experience, he is one of boxing's elite young prospects.

Dirrell has quieted critics who claim that he lacks fundamentals by incorporating new training methods and a strength and conditioning coach into his training camp.

In preparation for the Super Six World Boxing Classic, Dirrell has moved his training camp to a secluded area of Big Bear, Calif., instead of his native Flint, Mich. Dirrell is under the watchful eye of his grandfather and manager Leon Lawson, Sr. He is trained by Lawson and Leon Lawson, Jr.

In His Own Words"My heart is going 100 miles per hour. It is beating like hell. I have this tingling feeling. I had that same feeling at the Olympic Games each time I entered the ring. I know it is my time. It is my time to shine.

"I love being the underdog. I am going to be in the finals. I guarantee you I'll be there."

What's In it for DirrellWith Hollywood looks, an illuminating smile, and a magnetic personality, Dirrell has the stuff of a transcendental star. The Super Six is the perfect vehicle to establish him as such. But while en route, he'll have to prove he can overcome a challenging jump in class.

Lean, Sexy, and Hard! Weight Training for Women.

1. If you want to be lean, sexy, and hard, you should train with weights.

A desirable female physique is one that can be achieved by moving some serious iron in the weight room! But what about all the talk about weight training making women big and bulky? First, it is physiologically impossible for you as a woman to put on large amounts of muscle mass; you're body's hormonal makeup is not one that will allow you to do so. God never intended for women to look like men (go figure), so he made the chemistry of each gender's respective bodies different. Regardless of how you train, how often you train, how much protein you eat, etc, your not going to even come close to the big, bulky physique of a female bodybuilder. Science tells us this, not me.

2. If you want to be lean, sexy, and hard, you should train HEAVY.

Yeah, I know what they told you, lighten the load and go for the burn-- bull sh#@. To comprehend why this is indeed nonsense, we have to understand a few things about muscle tone in general. There are two types of muscle tone; myogenic and neurogenic. Don’t get thrown off by the science; the first simply refers to your muscle tone at rest. It is affected by the density of your muscles; the greater the density of your muscles, the harder and firmer you will appear. Heavy training increases your myogenic tone through the hypertrophy (growth) of the contractile proteins myosin and actin (myosin and actin are by far the most dense components of skeletal muscle). Training in higher rep ranges promotes more sarcoplasmic (fluid) hypertrophy, as does steady state cardio (treadmill) which in turn yields a "softer" pumped look. If you want to be hard, firm, tight, etc, the latter is certainly not the way to go

3. If you want to be lean, sexy, and hard, you should train with compound, multi-joint movements.

Forget the butt blaster, forget leg extensions and leg curls, and forget "muscle sculpting" with Susie the hyperactive personal trainer. If you want to sport a hard body, you better start training heavy. Big, compound movements such as the deadlift and the squat are superior to machine, isolation-type movements for hardening up your thighs and butt as they allow you to use maximal weight while training a number of muscle groups simultaneously. Another benefit obtained by performing multi-joint compound movements is increased confidence. With strength comes confidence.

In Closing, Remember this!

It's not important that you move big weights; what is important is that you are selecting and lifting loads that are heavy for you. Over time, you will get stronger and the poundage you can handle will increase. So, for you as a female trainee, a "heavy" load can be defined as a weight that you can lift in good form for 3-6 repetitions.

Super Six Boxing Classic

One of the many charms of the Super Six World Boxing Classic is that no matter how you match the six tournament entrants, you end up with a fascinating and potentially exciting bout. Evidence of that are the two fights that will kick things off on Saturday, Oct. 17. Two former middleweight champs square off in Berlin, Germany, when American Jermain Taylor travels across the pond to take on Germany's Arthur Abraham. Then, in Nottinghham, England, hometown hero Carl Froch defends his WBC title against young American Andre Dirrell.

Ultimate fighter fitness.

Looking to get more muscle on cardio days? Time to push a little harder. It will pay in the last round of your next fight or even in the gym.

1) HEAVY BAG PUNCH-OUT
On the heavy bag, punch as hard and as often as possible for 30 seconds. Take a 30-second break and repeat this 10 times.

2) TABATA SPEED BAG
While working with the speed bag, punch as quickly as possible for two minutes. Take a two-minute rest and then repeat this five times.

3) I CAN'T DO NO MORE
With a weight vest, perform as many pullups as possible in a row. At failure, do pushups. When you hit your limit, hop on the bar and begin pullups again. Repeat until you can do no more of either.

Does your conditioning cost you?

In addition to superior fitness levels, and lightening-fast speed, boxing success requires tremendous power output. Power - the force or energy used to do work - in and of itself, will lend a degree of robustness to any of the main boxing punches and, in turn, increase the chances of landing the fight game's holy grail: the knockout punch.

The generating of maximal power through any punch, will certainly tell ones opponent they mean business, and this will have a profound psychological effect in terms of fazing "the enemy". Indeed, developing power will also help to enhance speed and anaerobic fitness.

Speed will improve as muscles become used to pushing out heavier weights (the cornerstone of any power routine), which translates to a faster punch when the comparatively infinitesimally light, 10-14 ounce gloves are laced on.

Anaerobic fitness, the fitness system which uses carbohydrates to generate short-term, high intensity work, will improve as muscles become adept at sustaining an all-out effort, due to greater lactic-acid-handling abilities (lactic-acid is a by-product of anaerobic metabolism and will prematurely curtail a sustained effort if it cannot be processed efficiently).

If the muscles, which are, after all, conduits for all movement in the boxing ring, cannot function optimally, meaning they cannot generate speed and power, and last the distance, boxing success will be severely impeded. Power, therefore, is a key ingredient in any boxing program. To develop optimal, specific, power for boxing purposes, one needs to pick the right exercises and execute them correctly.

In theory, any weight movement, performed correctly and with enough resistance, will enhance the power translatable to boxing. However, greater success will come from using movements which lend themselves to the generating of force (pushing type movements for example), and which replicate actual boxing techniques or motions the arms will make during the extension phase of the punch.

Vitamin D improves our health—if we get enough.

Stronger bones, a better immune system, protection from some cancers, lower blood pressure, clearer skin, and a healthier brain. These are just a few of the apparent benefits of the strangest of vitamins—vitamin D. Unlike all other vitamins, vitamin D is made by our bodies, but it requires sunshine.

The problem is, we’re just not getting as much sun as we used to or enough to make the vitamin D our bodies need. We spend too much time indoors, and when we do go outdoors, we’re using sunblock, which blocks the ultraviolet rays that create vitamin D.

Our skin is an amazing organ that automatically regulates the amount of vitamin D it produces, and it naturally won’t produce too much. If you spent a day at the beach, your skin would produce about 10,000 IU (international units) of vitamin D3. That’s about the maximum daily production by your skin. Based on the existing research and an equal measure of common sense, here’s an approach to make sure you’re protected and getting enough vitamin D:

• Get your vitamin D from a combination of food, sunshine, and supplements.

• Spend less time indoors and more time outdoors.

• When you’re out in direct sunshine, use sunblock, especially on areas that have already had ample sun exposure, like your face, ears, neck, chest, arms, and hands. Always try to avoid getting a sunburn, children especially. It’s okay to get 10 to 15 minutes of sun daily before you apply sunblock.

• Enjoy healthy foods that contribute to your vitamin D intake, like salmon, sardines, and other fish; and fortified dairy and soy milk products.

• Take a daily supplement of vitamin D3—around 1000 IU per day—depending on your needs.

• Get your blood level of vitamin D checked at your next physical. It should be between 30ng/ml and 100ng/ml.

To learn more about the health effects of vitamin D supplementation, the government has funded a $20 million study that has just begun. Both vitamin D and fish oil will be rigorously studied to see whether supplements can reduce your risk of cancer, heart disease, or stroke.

Katsidis, puts the lightweight division on notice.

In a clash for the vacant WBO interim lightweight title, Michael Katsidis (26-2, 21 KOs) pressured Vicente Escobedo (21-2, 13 KOs) for twelve rounds to claim 115-113, 118-110 win on two cards. Escobedo was ahead 116-112 on the third card.

The exercise ball helps athletes develop their explosive power skills.

The exercise ball helps athletes develop their explosive power skills.

Staying in shape is extremely important to many competitive athletes and casual athletes as well. Many exercises and exercise equipment have been created for the purpose of toning and maintaining the muscles used by athletes. One particular type of exercise equipment that many athletes find very important is the medicine ball. The medicine ball is sold in five to fifteen pound balls that are usually used during plyometric training.

The exercise ball helps athletes develop their explosive power skills and are commonly used by track and field athletes, boxers, baseball pitchers, basketball players, and football players. The medicine ball, also sometimes called the fitness ball or exercise ball, is round and usually the size of a basketball or volleyball. Athletes use a medicine ball for many different exercise routines. For example, boxers often use the medicine ball as a way to strengthen their abdomen which basketball players usually use the medicine ball to strengthen their arms or their chest.

Many athletes prefer the medicine ball because it is relatively small and does not take up a large amount of space. By staying is shape and using great athletic equipment such as the medicine ball, many athletes is able to perform at peek performance all year round.

Travis Kauffman, Mayweather-Marquez & Michael Katsidis. Big fight weekend!

Up-and-coming, undefeated heavyweight Travis Kauffman (18-0, 15 KOs) of Reading, Penn., has rendered unconscious his last eight opponents, but figures to get his sternest test to date when he faces confident, upset-minded, once-beaten Tony Grano (15-1-1, 12 KOs) of Hartford, Conn., in the 10-round main event tomorrow/Friday, Sept. 18, on ShoBox: The New Generation live on SHOWTIME (11 p.m. ET

After a retirement lasting 21 months, Floyd Mayweather Jr. returns to the ring on Saturday when he meets Juan Manuel Marquez in a catchweight PPV 12-rounder at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. No title is at stake in a bout made at 144 pounds, but the prize for the winner could be a blockbuster fight against Manny Pacquiao — always assuming Pacquiao can defeat Miguel Cotto on Nov. 14

In what could quite possibly be the fight of the night, Vicente Escobedo (21-1, 13 KO’s) will face the always-exciting Michael Katsidis (25-2, 21 KO’s) in what many perceive to be a knock down, drag out battle.

For Escobedo, this will be his first shot at a world title. Katsidis currently is the interim WBO lightweight champion but Escobedo is well prepared for this opportunity to fight on the biggest stage of his career thus far.

“Come Saturday night I am extremely happy that you will be seeing a new world champion against a great fighter like Michael Katsidis,” said Escobedo’s trainer Ignacio “Nacho” Beristain via translator.