Are free weights such as dumbbells and barbells are more superior to weightlifting machines for building bigger muscles? Well, both free weights and weightlifting machines have its own pros and cons.

*Advantages of weightlifting machines

a) Excellent for beginners because it is not so intimidating and the range of motion is fixed, so a bodybuilding novice need not wonder whether he is lifting correctly to target a muscle group.

b) Easy to use as machines usually have instructions on them.

c) Safer – It won't drop on you in a middle of a lift.

d) Isolate your muscles so that you can rest your injured body part and yet able to workout other muscle part.

*Disadvantages of Weightlifting Machines

a) Increase injury risks since the range of motion is fixed and repeated workout will place tremendous stress on the same joints, tendons and muscles because you are lifting on a fixed pathway.

b) Because of its isolation of muscles, your workout hit only the targeted muscles with little involvement of supporting or synergistic thus your muscle gains will be slower and less balanced.

c) Since weight lifting machines have fixed configuration, your workout does not factor in your body frame and structure. Whether you have a big or small built, narrow or wide shoulders, you will be using the same pathway range of motion and width of grip. This will raise your chances of being injured as well as poorer muscle development.

*Advantages of free weights

a) More stabilizing muscles synergistic muscles are involved. So you are actually exercising more muscles and therefore will develop more muscle growth and strength.

b) Improve your balance and muscle coordination since you need to balance the weights during your lift and this call on many muscles to do so. So your muscle coordination and sense of balance will naturally improve.

c) Convenient and inexpensive since you need not join a gym and free weights are much less expensive than machines.

*Disadvantages of free weights

a) Increase injury risks if lifting with wrong form and technique.

b) Time consuming because you need to bring the weights from one area to another or physically taking time to adjust, add or decrease weights.

So which is better for building bigger and well balanced muscles? Yup, free weight takes the cake over weight lifting machines for building muscles faster and bigger. However, since both weightlifting machines and free weights have its own advantages and disadvantages, you can then weigh the pros and cons to use machines or free weights for your workouts or even a combination of both to suit your personal requirements.

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Anaerobic fitness is the force component of fitness in general, which also contains at least two other essential components: aerobic fitness (the part of cardio-vascular resistance) and joint mobility. Speed and skill are native qualities and they are not very relevant for the health state – which is the main concern in mass fitness, the one meant to keep the body in good shape.

The purpose of anaerobic training programs is developing the force, the fortifying of the body or the muscular mass. There are situations when only force or muscle fortifying is intended. The typical example for these situations is given by the sports organized in categories, in which physical force (with the interdiction of going over a certain limit of weight) is tested. Growth of muscular mass determines increase of force and fortifying of the skeletal muscles. In this case, the fitness programs are very similar to body building trainings, without being followed by the spectacular, yet dangerous changes, specific to body building.

The purpose of anaerobic fitness is uniform, balanced and harmonious development of all the muscles, without ignoring their functionality. This last idea is important for making a clear difference between fitness and the tendencies, many times narcissistic, manifested by body building practitioners. The sportsman who takes up fitness wants to be able to and is able to do something with his muscles, more than showing them in contests or in different other occasions and places (disco, swimming pool, clubs, etc.).

One of the important characteristics of anaerobic fitness trainings is the use of general programs, during which all or almost all the muscles are worked out in one training session. In body building the programs are divided and trainings are focused every time on one, two or at most three groups of muscles; while in fitness one training can be focused on a certain area, but it does not exclude the other muscles, which will benefit, directly or indirectly, of at most one exercise for each group of muscles. This way, the programs are not excessively long; they take an average of one hour and fifteen minutes; thus the catabolic faze is avoided; this usually appears in very long training sessions (two hours or even more).

Another modality of reducing the time of training is doing super-series whose object is to train two antagonistic groups of muscles (chest and back or biceps and triceps, etc.). Thus, for each group of muscles must be performed a series of exercises, without a break in between; the break is taken only at the end of this double effort. The programs can also contain triple series or even giant-series (more than three exercises one after the other). The intensity of the training can be considerably increased: many muscles can be trained in a short time.

The weekly frequency of the training remains the same (three sessions); so the aerobic phase can be covered in the free days. If only three or even two weekly sessions are possible, mixed programs can be adopted: after the anaerobic fitness, always done at the beginning of the session, 15-20 minutes of aerobic fitness are added for balancing the two phases (anaerobic and aerobic). In this case, also, training must not take longer than one hour and a half; otherwise the phase of catabolic processes is initiated – a phase in which muscles 'self-cannibalize'.

Anaerobic fitness is recommended to all somatic types, with specific differences of modality of training.

In the cases of ectomorphic and mezomorphic types, all the series (3 or 4) performed on the same machine must be finished, and then the machine and the group of muscles which is trained must be changed at the same time. This system is also called 'workshop training'.

In the case of the endomorphic type (the overweight), circuit training is preferred: the group of muscles trained is changed after every series and the whole circuit must be repeated three or four times. This type of training consumes more calories because an aerobic component is introduced by not having breaks between series and slightly increasing the cardiac frequency.

Growth of muscular mass through fitness programs can't exceed one weight category (5-6 kg), but they do not misbalance the other motion parameters.

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You can only build muscle if your body is in the correct anabolic balance to allow growth to take place. Intensive exercise is clearly an important part of the muscle building process but achieving the maximum muscle mass depends on putting the building blocks in place. This is achieved through sound nutritional practices so you need to be aware of the following anabolic enhancing principles:

1. Protein is the basic raw material needed to build muscle. Protein supplies the amino acids that the body uses to repair and build muscle following intensive exercise. Aim to consume 1 to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight each day from food like beef, fish, poultry, eggs, milk and whey. Spread the load over at least six meals to derive the optimum benefit and avoid overloading the liver.

2. Carbohydrates are needed to energize the muscle building process. Carbohydrates stimulate the release of insulin which pushes the amino acids into muscle cells to begin the process of repair. The body uses carbohydrates as a source of energy – consume too little and the body will steal protein that would otherwise be used for repairing and building muscle. Aim to consume 1.5 to 2 grams of carbohydrate per pound of body weight each day from foods like potatoes, pasta, rice, vegetables and whole wheat bread.

3. Boost your calories. Unless your main aim is to reduce fat you need a positive caloric balance if you want to build muscle. Make sure that your daily calorie intake is 10% higher than your energy expenditure for daily maintenance and that the calories are acquired from a diet characterized by a ratio of 50% carbohydrates, 40% proteins and 10% fat.

4. Get plenty of rest both in terms of adequate rest days between training sessions and sufficient sleep. Your muscles won't grow if you don't build adequate recovery time into your training program. Similarly, you can only optimize your body's levels of testosterone and growth hormone if you spend enough time sleeping.

5. Consume quality supplements to support a sound nutritious diet. For most people it should be enough to add whey protein, creatine and l-glutamine to your daily diet.

6. Don't overdo the aerobic exercise. Your aim is to increase muscle mass therefore you don't want to burn excessive calories that could be utilized for bulking up.

7. Drink plenty of water. Failure to drink sufficient quantities of water will lead to dehydration and adversely affect your muscle mass. Don't forget that muscle is 70% water so a generous intake will maintain muscle volume and help growth.

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Creatine is a naturally formed amino acid that is found in the human body, especially around the skeletal muscle. The human body generates Creatine naturally, partly from the diet we take and partly on its own. A healthy person has about 120g of Creatine, most of it being in the form of a compound called PCr. The body can store a maximum Creatine quantity of 0.3 g per one kilogram of body weight. The body produces about 2g of Creatine per day. The chief food sources of Creatine are fish and red meat. Half a pound of raw meat provides about 1g of Creatine for the body. Creatine that does not come from food is produced endogenously by the body from amino acids.

There are several benefits of Creatine. Creatine boosts anaerobic energy in the body. It provides instant energy to the body. It improves muscle strength and makes the muscle suitable for high-intensity, short duration exertion like weightlifting or sprinting. It is also found to speed up the recovery of energy. It delays fatigue significantly. It promotes lean-muscle mass and reduces muscle wasting in post-surgical patients. It is also believed to help heart patients by increasing their exercise capacity, reducing heart spasms and thus increasing heart function. Creatine is generally taken as a supplement by athletes who need heavy bursts of energy. Creatine acts as a catalyst to a special chemical reaction that occurs in the body when a person does high-intensity, short duration work. The body generates enough Creatine to accommodate such kind of a reaction. For additional exertion, Creatine has to be taken additionally through food or through other forms.

Creatine has become very popular among athletes because of its many benefits and very few side effects. The only side effect documented till now is weight gain. However, overdose of Creatine or use of Creatine over a long period of time may have some other side effects also, and tests are still being conducted to determine the effect of using Creatine in the long run. Creatine is available as a supplement like vitamin pills in the form of over-the-counter drugs. Creatine is categorized as a "dietary supplement" and can be purchased even without a prescription as per the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act. Then again, Creatine is not tested by the American FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and certain side effects like vomiting, diarrhea, and deep vein thromboses have been listed under a 1998 FDA report.

There are several Creatine supplement products in the market today. Creatine is available in capsule, chewable and powdered forms. One teaspoon of the powdered form contains 5g of Creatine monohydrate. The recommended dosage is 1-2 teaspoons with 8 ounces of water per day. Nevertheless, the dosage can vary depending on the body exertion. Athletes usually follow a dosage cycle comprising of loading and maintenance phases.

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Before wasting your money on a pile of bodybuilding supplements you really need to work out what you are hoping to achieve. Don't lose sight of the fact that sound nutrition forms the basis of any muscle building program and no amount of supplementation with the latest and greatest products will make up for bad eating habits. The bottom line is, bodybuilding supplements should be used IN ADDITION to regular food, not INSTEAD OF it.

Now that we've got that out of the way, let's go on to think about what supplements could be of use and this is something that can only be determined by your physical and performance goals. Don't make the mistake of copying your training partners or believing all the garbage spouted in magazine ads. Decide first what you want to achieve and then choose the supplements that will help you reach your goals.

To help you make an informed choice, the most popular and useful bodybuilding supplements available today are listed below, broadly divided into two goal-related categories.

Determined to build muscle? This cannot be achieved without dedication, sheer hard work and sound nutrition. With a solid foundation in place you can help the process along with supplements like creatine, whey protein, prohormones, testosterone boosters and amino acids.

Need to lose fat? There is no point in building awesome muscles if they're covered by layers of fat. Once again, the key to success is hard work but you can boost fat loss by using products from supplement categories that include fat burners, stimulant-free products, appetite suppressants and carb blockers.

Many more supplements are available to support your bodybuilding endeavors. These include energy boosters and products aimed at enhancing the condition of your mind and body. As we progress through this series of articles we'll look at each of these in turn.

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The chest area is one of the easist muscle groups for beginning bodybuilders to strengthen and develop. It consists of a large muscle (pectoralis major) to either side of the breastbone and a smaller muscle (pectoralis minor) underneath. The pecs are relatively easy to develop in the early stages simply because they can be trained intensively although care needs to be taken to work them from different angles to ensure full development.

For beginners, three safe but effective exercises are recommended:

1. Incline dumbbell press – 3 sets of 10-15 reps. When you feel comfortable with the mechanics involved in this exercise you can move on to using a barbell instead, remembering to maintain proper form.

2. Incline dumbbell flyes – 3 sets of 10-15 reps. Done properly, this exercise is good for inner and outer pecs.

3. Push-ups – 3 sets of 10-15 reps. Keep your body straight from head to knees and lower your body until your arms form right angles. Done properly, the old fashioned push-up still offers benefits to the chest muscles.

As with all exercises you need to take care in scheduling specific body parts. To begin with you should incorporate your chest exercises into a program similar to the one suggested below:

Day 1: Biceps, Back, Abs

Day 2: Hamstrings, Shoulders, Abs

Day 3: Quads, Forearms, Calves

Day 4: Triceps, Chest, Abs

For the first couple of weeks complete one set but then add one set each week to a maximum of three. At the end of three months you will be ready to move on to more intensive intermediate level exercises.

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