Use Superset To Build Big Muscles

If you have been lifting weights for sometime or have been reading bodybuilding magazines and journals, you would have probably heard of super setting. However, how often have you seen people super setting when weight lifting? If you did, did you notice those guys who were super setting were almost invariably the bigger boys. If you want to be big, then why didn't you superset like them since you have seen that super setting can help you build big muscles?

What is weight lifting superset? A superset is when you perform two exercises back to back with no rest in between the exercises. There are a few variations of superset such as, antagonistic muscle superset, pre-exhaustion superset and post exhaustion superset…..etc. We will discuss just these 3 of the more popular supersets in this article.

* Antagonistic Muscles Superset

An antagonistic super set is when you exercise opposite muscle group. Although they are opposite muscles, they actually support each muscle during your movements. For example, when you do dumb bell curls for your biceps, when you lower the dumb bells, your triceps are called into action as well. Similarly for the negative movement of a bench press, your back is working too like when you are doing the bent over row.

So for example of an antagonistic superset on your, say chest and back day, do a bench press routine then follow up with a bent over row or vice versa. That will be one superset. Rest for 2-3 minutes and then proceed with the second set and so on. This will work the muscles involved more deeply than mere straight sets.

* Pre-exhaustion Superset

In a pre-exhaustion superset, you work on the same muscle group with an isolation exercise and then follow up with a compound exercise without rest in between sets. For example, still on your chest and back day, you work out with dumb bell flyes (chest isolation exercise) then immediately thereafter with a bench press (chest compound exercise).

By performing with an isolation exercise first (flyes), you pre-exhuast the targeted muscles you are working on, which in this instance are your pectorals (pecs) and then hit your pecs hard again with a compound movement (bench press) that allows other muscles that are still fresh such as your deltoids and triceps to assist your pecs in the exercise.

* Post – Exhaustion Superset

Another version of super setting is the post-exhaustion method. It is the exact reverse of the pre-exhaustion. In other words, lift compound exercise first and then follow up with an isolation exercise for the same muscle group. It will allow you to lift heavier weight for the compound exercise because your targeted muscle group is not pre-exhausted yet.

Vary each of these various forms of superset every 2 – 3 months and watch your muscles explode with big massive muscle growth.


 

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What are the Best Six Pack Abs Exercises?

In the best effort of trying to tone and firm the abdominal muscles, people resort to different types of exercises. Ever since you were a child you were taught of the importance of exercise and its role in boosting your overall health condition. There is also a myriad of reference materials that speak highly of the tips and guidelines in achieving the much desired six pack abs.

Health and fitness articles never fall short of educating the people on how the exercises should be done and how the flatter tummy can be achieved. By carrying out the tips that you come across with, you will earn two types of benefits. First of all, your abdominal region will look great. Second, it will enhance the strength and endurance of your muscles.

Regular Exercise is still the Best

There are plenty of advertisements that present the efficacy of drugs and food supplements in giving shape to your abs. The truth is that they contain ingredients that may bring forth severe harm to your health. Above all these, going on with your regular workout still ranks as the best method in strengthening and compacting your abdominal muscles.

Good Nutrition Helps

Together with a regular set of workout exercises, eating healthy and natural foods play a major role. You should avoid those foods from the fast food chain and the processed ones because they will only fill your body with garbage and thus lead to an unhealthy state of your body. It is best to carefully choose the food that you eat.

Your Guide to Abdominal Exercise

The abdominal exercise must be conducted at least three up to five times in one week. You can make use of any kind of abdominal exercise. There are actually several types from which you may choose from but be sure to gauge your own physical abilities. It is not required that you perform everything so you must go on with whatever it is that suits you and make you comfortable. As you get used to your routine, that is the best time to increase or prolong the respective time duration.

Some of the abdominal exercises which you may perform include the vertical leg crunch, long arm crunch, reverse crunch, captain's chair exercise, basic or traditional abdominal crunch, crossover crunch, bicycle crunch exercise, hover exercise, half curl exercise, abs crunch on an exercise ball, alternating supermen, oblique crunch, v-shape crunch, frog leg crunch, and the seated oblique twists with the medicine ball.

You can find the instructions to all these exercises by logging on to different online websites and by reading the health and fitness materials. You may also opt to enroll for a membership program at any gym. Just make sure that you do your research first to make sure that your personal trainer is really guiding you towards the right path.

When you are working with your abs, you want to ensure that you are doing the right thing. It is important that you pay attention to the minutest instructions because all of these details are pertinent. Since you want to have those much envied six pack abs, it follows suit that you perform the right exercises that focus on trimming and strengthening the abdominal muscles.

Again, the secret to achieving it is by means of combining the cardiovascular, weightlifting training, abdominal exercises, and proper diet. Stick to this recipe and then you will soon discover a healthier and beautiful you.


 

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What You should Know about Six Pack Abs

There are different routines, solutions, and even formulas in getting that much desired six pack abs. This causes a lot of individuals to end up confused as to which to adhere to. Every now and then new exercises or diet recipes emerge. This usually disrupts the old routine that a person has been following and he commonly stops and then tries another one. The sad thing to note is that everything seems to be a never ending cycle. If you allow yourself to get tied up in this kind of system you will surely never find the best way on how to come up with your desired results.

What the Personal Trainers Say

As you get the chance to come across personal trainers, you are likely to be under the impression that they know what they are doing. They are more of giving you the hint that their fitness programs are truly effective and by simply religiously following it you will end up fit and perfect. The truth is that they don't know everything contrary to what they have been playing all along. They might know some short cuts or tips but above all, their real intention is to get money out of their services.

If you have been really dying to get the best abs all your life, you should do your own research and then discover a number of exercises along with the diet plans that experts generously share to the interested individuals.

You can Trust the Online Websites

There are several online websites that actually give you a ready made guideline on how to get the perfect abs. Experts are bighearted enough to provide a list of the myriad of workouts and diet regiments that are sure to improve your muscles. Of course, it will entail hard work and patience on your part but sooner or later, you can always expect a better outcome. Only time can tell when you will finally achieve all the glory as rooted from your personal efforts.

Athletes, models, and celebrities have made their own moves. They have concerted their time and effort in discovering the right way of achieving the noteworthy abs. Some of them have likewise taken their hard work at a higher level so that explains why they were able to get the results fast and easy. Hence, this should be the right kind of attitude.

Other Important Reminders

A firmer stomach is what people want. It is to be noted that you need a strict sense of discipline on your part. Another main reason that prompts people to work harder for a flatter tummy is because they want to look good and feel good especially as they face the opposite sex. While researching for the facts may be really easy, the thing is that building the firmer muscles take time. One can't achieve the final results in a wink of an eye.

You must be motivated by the right reason. You should also understand that not all body structures are the same. The shape of the body is in itself influenced by the genes. There are those who are simply genetically gifted while others are not.

Overall, the six pack abs is the body fat which has to be trimmed. The secret to achieving it is by means of having a game plan which you should religiously follow.


 

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What You Should Do To Have Six-pack Abs

As people age, metabolism begins to slow down. Deposits of fats also begin to develop in all over the wrong places giving that unpleasant physical look. In addition, as people get older, the more sedentary lifestyle becomes. This only means greater chances for fats to get stored and lesser activities to burn them. If you're lucky, your only problem can be your waistline having a slight bulge on the sides, which is more known as the love handles.

But if you're not, your problem goes beyond down to your tummy, also known as belly fats. For the men, they normally gain fats in the midsection. While for most women, it is worse as it will be all around and over the midsection, including the waists, tummy, and even around butt and thigh. That is when the clamor for having a flat tummy starts to nag women while six-pack abs becomes the most coveted goal for men. This is a good thing because it does not only make us look attractive. It also lessens risks to diseases related to excessive unwanted fats and calories.

But what do you do to lose fats, especially in the belly and the waists? Do you do painful workouts with hundreds of repetitions? Do you use those gadgets you see on television frequently advertised by infomercials? Or do you take diet pills and supplements to slim you down? Were they effective? Have you tried those spot reduction fat loss solutions?

What happened? Somehow, they managed to slim you down a bit. But never gave you realistic results, do they? Now, if you are not doing the right way to build toned muscles and six-pack abs, all these mentioned fat loss solutions may be effective but perhaps on temporary basis only. However, who wouldn't want a permanent one? Do permanent fat loss, flat tummy, and toned muscles even exist?

Is it Possible?

Yes, it is possible to keep off love handles and belly flab permanently, as long as you are doing the right thing.

How?

Some of those mentioned procedures and weight loss solutions may give effective results initially while others will never give results at all. But if you incorporate your efforts with regular weight training, proper cardiovascular exercises, and proper nutritional diet into your lifestyle, it is possible to keep those fats off your body and more importantly will be simpler to build a curvy waist and rock solid, killer abs.

What You Should Do?

Cardio exercises help a lot in burning fats faster while weight training is the right way to build muscles not only to your belly but on the overall muscle groups of your body. Furthermore, eating healthy and macronutrients-pack diet and avoiding starvation-diet programs will help provide the energy which is essential for your activities. Weight training, on the other hand, is essential to build and define those muscles. It will also help burn fats faster. With the added muscles, you increase your metabolism, you burn fats around the waist and belly, and most important of all, on all other parts of your body.

Doing the three essential moves may take quite a while before getting used to this new routine; however, effective results are going to be realistic for you. Not only that. When you start seeing visible results on your body, especially the six-pack abs, it will make you love your new routine even more until such time that you'll find yourself enjoying and appreciating your new attractive body and healthy lifestyle.


 

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The Ultimate Muscle Meal Plan

With this article, I just wanted to share with you one of my special muscle meal plans that I love. Surprisingly, it actually comes in the form of a salad, but it is killer!

I know the ladies will love this idea, but for all of you guys out there that think eating a salad makes you less of a man… Well, you haven't tried my ultimate "salad on roids" yet!

Keep in mind that this salad is not low in calories. It's not low in fat. It's not low in carbs.

And guess what…that's the whole point! It's not low in anything, but it sure as hell is HIGH in everything under the sun that's good for your body… just about every vitamin, mineral, antioxidant, and phytonutrient on the planet! And that means your body will receive all the nutrition it needs to maintain optimal hormonal balance, function at it's highest capacity, keep your appetite satisfied for hours, and prevent any unwanted cravings.

Keep in mind that last point… when you fill your body with all of the nutrients it needs on a daily basis, you pretty much totally eliminate cravings! This happens because your body is satisfied and doesn't need to crave any more food, because it has all of the nutrients it needs.

I've experienced this myself. Years ago, I used to crave sweets ALL THE TIME. But now that I eat the balanced diet that I do these days, I can't say that I've had a craving in at least 5 years! No joke.

Alright, here's the special muscle meal plan recipe:

The Ultimate Muscle Salad

approx 1-2 cups spinach leaves approx 1-2 cups mixed leaf lettuce shredded carrots 1/2 of a ripe avocado, diced 2 hard boiled eggs, diced (preferrably organic, cage free) 3 Tbsp chopped pecans 1/4 cup dried cranberries top with homemade dressing made of balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, and Udo's Choice Oil Blend (3/4 of total liquid should come from the vinegar)

Mix it all together and you've got one delicious and ridiculously nutritious salad. For an extra shot of antioxidants, wash it all down with some homemade iced green/white/oolong tea lightly sweetened with the natural sweetener Stevia or a little touch of raw honey.

Alright, now let's look at the approx macronutrient breakdown:

Prot: 23 g., Carbs: 48 g., Fiber: 12 g., Fat: 45 g., Calories: 650

Now before you throw your arms up in disgust and call me crazy for recommending such a high fat, high calorie meal, keep in mind to scale back the portion sizes for your own caloric goal. The portions above are simply the portions that I use considering that my maintenance caloric intake is around 3000 calories/day. If your maintenance is 2000 calories/day, then scale back the portions accordingly.

Also, I don't care about the high fat content of this meal… because every last gram of the fat in this meal is VERY healthy… from the pecans, the olive oil, the Udo's oil, the fresh avocado… and yes, even the fat from the eggs is good for you!

How about the carbs? Well, out of a total of 48 grams, you've got 12 grams of fiber. That's a pretty good ratio. Also, the healthy fats and protein in this meal will slow down the carbohydrate digestion, giving you a healthy glycemic response and steady controlled blood sugar.

Alright, so you're probably also wondering why there isn't a larger amount of protein. After all, protein is all the rage with bodybuilders, right. Well, actually 23 grams isn't too shabby, especially considering 14 grams of that comes from the highly bioavailable protein from the hard boiled eggs. Also consider that this meal has a whole lot of healthy fats, which increases the utilization of your protein. This happens because your body does not need to use your protein for energy, and can instead use it for muscle building or maintenance, and all of the other various functions that amino acids are needed for in the body.

Overall, with this meal plan, you've got a great mix of healthy fats, good fibrous carbs, quality protein, and a huge diversity of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other trace nutrients.


 

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Unleashing the Benefits of Six Pack Abs

Nearly thousands of people crave for the six pack abs. They want to exude the flat stomach which will always be worth looking at. Toning the muscles has been a primary goal of many so it is but natural to see people hit the gym on a regular basis. They care less about throwing off their money just so they will look physically fit and beautiful. Are you one of them? Are you also an exercise bug?

More than ever, the basis of a curvaceous body is that of possessing the toned and firm abdominal muscles. Women will not only look great in a bathing suit but the men as well will stand out without their tops. If you have devoted a fair amount of time in doing the crunches and the other stomach related exercises, you should expect other benefits as well apart from getting that perfect shape of a flat tummy. This article will give you a roundabout discussion of the benefits of working out your abdominal region.

You will have a more defined waist. Several people are deprived of the curves simply because the extra weight of the tummy covers the abs. The mid-section then sags so the waist somehow loses its own sparkle. Therefore, you don't only feel lumpy but you likewise lose your natural curves. In many cases, the belly fat turns the abdominal region into the biggest part of the body. As a result, you find it hard to fit into small sized clothes and you think that your self image is not at all attractive. However, with proper diet and exercise, you can bring back the curves of your waist.

You will achieve a good looking posture. With a flabby tummy comes around a bad posture. Your shoulders are sure to hunch over so you get to slouch when in a sitting position. Now the secret to achieving a great posture is that of strengthening and firming your mid-section. Your posture is after all the key to appearing more confident in standing, walking, and dealing with people.

You will benefit from good digestion. The digestive tract tends to compress if the abdominal muscles are overly layered. The food and the waste at the same time can't navigate through the digestive tract in the nick of time. The stomach exercise therefore boosts the proper functioning of the digestive system so that leads to a healthier you.

Get that much desired lower back pain relief. If your muscles in the stomach are strong enough, then you may find an improved health condition. It is a hard task for your lower back to support a posture that slouches. However, if you get a flatter tummy, you will be overjoyed because your lower back is never going to be burdened again.

Move it and move easily. Say goodbye to the hardships of getting out of bed or out of the chair. With a stronger set of abdominal muscles, you will find it easy to move around and get on with your routine.

Boost your self image. If you feel and look beautiful, you are obviously going to feel good about yourself.

Overall, the workout regimen that is meant to develop the six pack abs will increase your self worth. Work it out, achieve it, and be happy and contented!


 

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Top Tips on How to Get the Perfect Six Pack Abs

Who doesn't want to get the perfect abs? This is what every person in this planet absolutely wants to have. For sure you are one of the many who are in search of the fastest remedies and procedures that will allow you to earn the overly desired six pack abs. What methods have you tried so far? Have you encountered the worst yet? Most probably, the perfect and flat abs ranks as one of the most difficult parts of the body which may be developed.

In reality, the achievement of this kind of pack roots from several factors. It is then important that you work hard enough and manage to change your lifestyle as well as your own diet. Take note of the following tips that will aid you in keeping up with the transformations that you need.

Determine your own fitness level, needs, and changes in the current lifestyle. Let your personal trainer assist you in determining these factors.

Come up with a solid strength training plan. You can do this following any method. One is of course by means of working out with a personal trainer. As you enroll your membership in any of the reputed fitness gyms in your place, you will soon have the opportunity to hire your personal trainer. He will guide you towards the right way of trimming your abdominal muscles. Your training is likely to include the crunches, sit ups, and leg raises. On the other hand, you may do your own research if you mean to purchase the instructional videos of the related exercises.

Include weight training in your workout plan. This regimen manages to burn more fat and calories because it will entail more effort on your part.

Do aerobic or cardiovascular exercises. These types of exercises will work your heart by strengthening it and then burning the unwanted fats at the same time. The best things to do include swimming, running, dancing, or jumping rope.

Never fail to eat your breakfast. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It provides you with ample energy to get going for the entire day. Apart from this fact, it also stops you from binge eating any time of the day. If you skip breakfast, better take yogurt or any smoothie. Eat six small meals instead of three full meals and other extra meals in one day.

Avoid eating a hearty dinner and refrain from taking any food prior to turning in at night. This disrupts your metabolism and instead turn the supposed to be energy into the stored fats. Eat natural and whole foods that are basically rich in fiber.

Drink lots of water. It is important to keep your body hydrated because it helps in flushing out the toxins.

Be sure to flush out the food that you have taken within 24 hours. If you don't eliminate the solid waste out of your body, you are likely to get bloated.

You must understand that there is no shortcut to the six pack abs. You have to put together the variety of techniques in line with the abdominal exercises, changes in the lifestyle and diet, and the general fitness training. The reason for the importance of all these is due to the main fact that you need to keep a close watch of your health before you can actually work on trimming any part of your body.


 

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The Truth About Achieving A Ripped, Rock-Solid Chest

Everyone wants a huge chest, plain and simple. It is all too common to see inexperienced lifters slaving away on endless sets of bench presses and cable crossovers in search of full, thick pecs. The reality is that there is nothing complicated about building an impressive chest. The bottom line for huge chest gains is consistency, effort and steady progression in weight and repetitions.

The chest is made up of two main heads, the pectoralis major and the pectoralis minor. To stimulate the chest using weights you will be using one of two motions: a press or a flye. If you want the greatest bang for your buck from your chest workouts, the true gains lie in your pressing movements. Flyes may have their place from time to time, but nothing can compare to the overall anabolic effect of high intensity pressing movements. I'm talking about the basic, bread-and-butter lifts such as heavy barbell presses, dumbbell presses and wide-grip dips. Save the pec-deck and cable crossovers for the pencil necked geeks on the treadmill; real men train with real lifts.

Like I said before, building a thick and well-developed chest is fairly simple. There are no secrets, magic formulas or killer techniques that will "shock" your chest into massive growth. Stick to your basic presses, focus on overload and progression, and I promise that you will see impressive gains. Here are the most effective lifts for packing muscle onto the chest:

Flat/Incline/Decline Barbell Bench Press:

A standard barbell press is the meat and potatoes of any effective chest routine. This basic compound movement will allow you to handle the most weight through the given range of motion. The incline press will shift more of the stress to the upper region of the chest while the decline does the opposite, targeting the lower/outer region. The flat bench press works the upper and lower regions equally. I highly recommend a standard barbell press as a basic component of your chest routine.

Flat/Incline/Decline Dumbbell Press:

Dumbbell presses are another basic and highly effective movement for stimulating chest development. The main advantage that they have over the barbell is that they allow you to move through a more natural range of motion, helping to prevent shoulder injuries. They also prevent strength imbalances from occurring since one arm can't cheat for the other. The only drawback is that you are not able to handle as much weight. Overall, a standard dumbbell press is an awesome movement that allows for great chest stimulation.

Wide-Grip Dips:

An amazing movement for the chest that is often overlooked. Make sure to use a wider grip and lean forward to shift the stress from the triceps onto the pectorals. If pressing your own body weight is not sufficient then you can always add weight using a weight belt. Dips are an excellent compound movement for overall chest development.

Here are a couple sample chest routines:

1) Flat Barbell Bench Press: 2 x 5-7 Incline Dumbbell Press: 2 x 5-7 Wide-Grip Dips: 2 x 5-7

2) Incline Barbell Bench Press: 2 x 5-7 Wide-Grip Dips: 2 x 5-7 Flat Dumbbell Press: 2 x 5-7

All sets should stay within the 5-7 rep range and should be taken to complete muscular failure. Write down the details of each workout you perform and focus on progressing in either weight or reps from week to week. There is nothing more to it than that. Good luck!


 

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Three Things that will Work to Achieve Six-Pack Abs

It seems the media world has so many things that tell you will work when developing six-pack abs. But do they really work effectively? Now, carving out that six-pack is not a matter where you can simply take diet supplements or pills, work out on the abs, and then wake up one morning you got it visibly on your lower belly. It is about hard work, proper diet, and proper training.

There may be different suggestions when it comes to carving out that lovely six-pack, however, it is important to know what works or what does not before you get engaged in any program to ensure you are getting realistic and not imaginary results. Here are three things which will not give you immediate output but will help tremendously in achieving your goal of flat, sculpted abs.

Clean Up Your Diet

This is considerably the most important thing you should get control of before proceeding with other things to develop rock-hard, six-pack abs. Physical workout is vital but proper diet is crucial as you have to lose body fats so that the muscles will come out visibly. One problem with cleaning up diet is that there are so many confusions regarding what is a proper, nutritional diet that promotes fat reduction or what is not.

The media has created a circus with different versions of diet books and programs that it has become difficult which one to trust. But the most important thing in this case is to remember having a diet high in fiber contents, less in calories and simple carbohydrates, more on nutritional content that will help develop muscles, increase your metabolism and burn fats at the same time.

Work With Your Whole Body

Although your goal is to develop rock, solid muscles on your lower abdomen, it is not a good thing to do exercises specifically for abdominal muscles alone. It is vital that you work out on the whole of your body's group muscles as this is the way to have the most metabolic response in losing those stubborn body fats. Conversely, your workouts need not focus on the quantity but rather on the quality. High intensity workouts, with short break periods in between, will work best with the biggest muscle groups; which is in contrary to isolating specific small muscle regions by doing biceps, triceps, and calves.

Train Your Abdominal Muscles

When the fats around the belly are reduced, it would be easier to train your abs to develop muscles. Sit-ups and crunches are the usual abs exercises that many people do. They are great to those people who were really de-conditioned. However, if you are already undergoing a kind of training or workout, they would do little to improvement of your muscles around the belly for the reason that crunches and sit-ups produce little resistance. If you haven't been aware, resistance is the thing that actually works to tone and develop the muscles.

If you really want to carve out that six-pack, you have to train your abdominal muscles with a better stimulus. Meaning, you have to look for a kind of abs training with a great strength which will increase resistance to work specifically on the muscles around the abdomen. There are different resistance abs exercises which will work out with you to get that six-pack abs, so consider most properly when it is time for you to train your abdominal muscles.


 

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The Top 10 Muscle Building Facts You Need to Know!

Building muscle mass, especially that highly-desired lean muscle mass, is a task you have to do a little research and planning to achieve. Simply adding in a workout here and there won’t build lean muscle mass, and eating like most people won’t build impressive muscles nor showcase the ones you do build – instead they’d be hidden under mounting bodyfat.

There’s a lot more to it than can be covered in one blog post, but let’s look at some some general muscle-building facts that apply to us all…

The Top 10 Muscle Building Facts You Need to Know…

1. Building muscle has a lot to do with genetics.

If your parents are naturally thin or have a small body frame then most likely you will have the same traits. This doesn’t mean you have no chance of building a strong muscular body. It just means you are going to have to work harder to build impressive muscles – but chances are you won’t have to work as hard to keep lower bodyfat levels.

2. Your metabolism has an effect on your size.

If you have difficulty gaining weight whether it’s fat or muscle, then you most likely have a fast metabolism. Your body is burning calories faster than you are consuming them. Make sure you’re eating enough calories to feed your new muscles, while keeping the protein levels at or near the carbohydrate levels. If you have the opposite problem, a slower metabolism, you’ll find you build both bigger muscles and bodyfat easily – you’ll need to reduce the carbs & fats in your diet while keeping the protein levels higher.

In either case, you’ll want to pay a lot of attention to what you eat, when you eat it and how much you eat. Fortunately, online there’s a free meal planner you can use that even prints out your meal plan, your recipes and even your weekly or bi-weekly shopping list!

3. There is no universal weight training program that is going to get massive results for every individual person.

At first, the best way to find a program that works for you is to find someone who had the same type of body as you before and start walking their walk. But do your own research, learn about body composition, nutrition & exercise programs and develop your own plan with the help of your doctor and, if possible, a certified personal trainer. There are certainly standard exercises that will build muscle but there is more to building lean muscle mass than just lifting weights.

4. More training doesn’t always mean more muscle mass.

This is one of the most difficult concepts for many to grasp. The purpose of weight training is to stimulate muscle growth… that’s all. Once that has been done, your muscles need to repair and new muscle needs to be built which only happens when you are resting. Always keep in mind that your gym time is the stimulus for new muscles, but the muscles only build outside the gym based on proper nutrition and recovery time (rest & sleep).

5. Isolation exercises aren’t going to get you big fast.

The best exercises to put on the most amount of overall size are the multi-muscle exercises, better known in the fitness industry as compound exercises. These are exercises that require more than one muscle or muscle group to get the job done. These lifts put the most amount of stress on your body. This is the stress that will shock your nervous system into releasing the greatest amount of muscle building hormones.

6. Free weights build muscle faster.

Free weights are preferred over machines because they make your body work harder. They require greater concentration and allow the stimulation of supporting muscles. Machines may or may not be good for beginners to help with form and basic control, but limit the effectiveness of the exercise. It’s often said that ‘machine strength’ doesn’t translate into ‘real world strength’ because you’re not building all of the supporting muscles to go with that main muscle.

7. No Pain, No Gain? Ummm, Maybe, But…

Lifting the same weights over and over isn’t going to get you those big muscles you’re dreaming about. In fact it can do the exact opposite.

To build muscle you need to lift progressively heavier weights. Stay at the weight you’re at for any given exercise until you can finish all your sets fully while maintaining perfect exercise form, then step the weight up a small amount for your next workout. Don’t get hooked on the ‘numbers’ – far too many amateur bodybuilders let their ego drive their workouts and lift as heavy as possible, throwing proper form out the window. Not only does this not build bigger muscles, it increases your chance of injury tenfold or more.

8. Long training sessions are a NO-GO For Natural Athletes

The idea is to stimulate muscle growth, not necessarily to hit it from every angle possible. This is only a concern for developed body builders looking to tone muscle – and most of those that train this way are using pharmaceutical aids to recover & repair much more quickly than natural bodybuilders. Long training sessions cause catabolic hormone levels to rise dramatically. Catabolic hormones are responsible for breaking down muscle tissue resulting in MUSCLE LOSS. Your weight training sessions should go for no longer than 60-75 minutes maximum.

9. You don’t need aerobic activity to lose fat.

The time spent running or swimming is lost time for muscle building and muscle rebuilding & recovery. Building muscle is the fastest way to lose fat. Aerobic activities will help you lose fat but not so if you are on a high-calorie diet for building muscle.

Yes, you’ve heard over and over that aerobic exercise is tops for weight loss – but it’s simply not true. Aerobics is often referred to as ‘cardio’ for good reason – it’s one of the best ways to improve your cardioresperatory system and build endurance. But moderate cardio sessions an hour long only burn about 500 calories – you’d need to spend an hour a day at it for 7 days to burn off a single pound of fat (3500 calories). Meanwhile, you’d be taxing your system and energy reserves instead of letting them both relax and grow!

10. 3 square meals a day aren’t going to maximize your new muscle growth.

Eating is probably the most important part of muscle building. You need to eat more often and eat more protein. You should be eating roughly every 2 – 4 hours or about 5 – 6 meals per day. Spreading your meals throughout the day will improve protein & glucose assimilation, and make sure that your body always has the calories it needs for muscle building and repair.

It’s important to remember that your body cannot store protein – it clears your system in about 4 hours. So to maximize your lean muscle mass gains you need to take in more protein more often than once every 4 hours or there will be times when your body has no protein to feed your hungry muscles.

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