Muscle Body Tips

Know the Body Building Exercise Basics

Do you want to have defined and toned muscles? In order to get the best shape you desire, you have to know and keep a few body building exercise basics in mind.

Setting up your main goal is the first logical step as a bodybuilding beginner. You should be really decided if you want to be a real bodybuilder. Nonetheless there are many benefits you get when you undergo bodybuilding exercise trainings.

In bodybuilding, you may want to look good having a perfect body. Or you may want to stay physically fit and healthy. Just make sure that you do this for yourself and not for anyone else.

Nowadays, a high percentage of bodybuilding exercise programs are in demand because of the many participants who want to get better and look good. You may set specific goals up to what extent you want your body to progress and improve.

For beginners, here are some basic body building exercise tips in starting your body building program. Some of these methods are really basic but can help you a lot.

1. You have to know the basic methods that you will need in body building exercise. You can start up by increasing the weight and resistance slowly using weight workout machines. It is also advisable that you perform repetitions using more sets of equipments.

2. Move the resistance slower and lessen your rest in between sets and exercises. In this way you can slowly improve on building muscles and progress on your resistance training.

3. For the more advance method, you can perform an isolation bodybuilding exercise and continue with a compound repetitive movement.

4. Perform static holds to increase resistance with the hardest position of the range of your exercise motion. You can do a top position while exercising your leg extension muscles.

5. You may exercise partial rep in weak range position. You may perform a portion of the rep exercise where you are weakest.

6. Perform strip-set. Do this after you are through with your warm up exercises. You may perform three sets of back to back exercises with no rest while starting with the heaviest weight available.

7. Perform the full rep then followed by a half rep with the normal range of movements. You may return to your starting position to start of the next rep on a lat pull down position. Pull the second rep way below and resist weight back up on a half way position then pulling it again back down.

8. If you’re main goal is to tighten and tone your muscles, focus heavily on increasing reps. it is also efficient for your muscle toning if you lessen your rest and change the style of your exercise frequently.

As a final advice, the methods and steps mentioned are general and basics only. You may adapt and adjust to a different bodybuilding exercise for your personal goals and experience. For those who are in an advance body building exercise, you may challenge yourself to try a different method in 3 to 4 weeks or you may just stay with the basics.

There can be nothing more fulfilling than having a great body. Make sure that you live a healthy lifestyle to maintain that physically fit body. Start a body building exercise now.

The Rules of Protein Consumption for Muscle Growth

If you are like me, you enjoy hitting the gym really hard in order to make your muscles grow. I spend plenty of hours in the gym every week just for that reason. However, this is only one side of the equation. When it comes to building muscle, one thing is for certain, You need protein. Protein is essential in any muscle building plan. In fact, your muscles can’t grow without amino acids which are the building blocks of all proteins. They are used to replenish the damaged muscle tissue that is caused from strenuous exercise. The amount of protein and timing is very important when it comes to protein consumption.

The average bodybuilder will need atleast 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight every day for muscle growth to occur. You will hear many people argue about the exact amount ranging from 1 gram a day, to 2.5 grams a day. The general amount is 1 gram a day and should be sufficient. Anything over 40 grams of protein taken within a 2.5 hour period is liable to turn into fat since there is no more room in the muscles. .

This is why timing is important. 50% of your protein intake should come from whole food sources such as chicken, lean beef, turkey, egg whites, and other low fat high protein foods. The other 50% should come from protein shakes such as whey protein. Spreading it out throughout the day is the best option. Like mentioned before, you want to consistently feed the muscle rather than have it turn into fat. The best way to accomplish this is to have a shake first thing in the morning. This will help jump start your muscles after a long nights sleep. During sleep, your muscles go into a catabolic state, meaning that your body burns muscle due to low glycogen stores. It is best to spread your protein over 6 different times throughout the day.

Protein should also be taken in about 1 hour before a workout, and immediately after a workout. The other time is before bed. I reccomend drinking a casein protein shake, because it absorbs slower than whey protein which makes it ideal for a long nights sleep. Normally you want to intake protein every 2.5 to 3 hours. As long as you are getting 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight, you should be fine. This is not an option if you are looking to build quality muscle. This is a necessity! If you would like any more information on this, or any other weight lifting or fitness topics, or would like to purchase some protein supplements, visit www.halfhourfitness.com

The Ultimate Diet And Exercise Plan For Muscle Building

The ability of your muscles to sculpt depend on the training you have given to your body. This training involve consistency in your pursuit for a stunning and sculpted physique. As always, you may already know the two important tools you need to achieve this. Exercise and diet can make or break your goal of becoming a successful muscle or body builder. What type of meal program or plan and workout exercise do you schedule for yourself each week? Let’s consider them one by one.

The first area we will look at is your diet plan. When you are making plans for your diet, you should include fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. These nutrients in your food will complement your workout exercise. Now let’s us plan together a possible diet plan for you.

A typical Diet Plan for the day:

1. Breakfast: A cup of lemon juice; slice of toasted bread with boiled eggs; a cup of milk.

2. Lunch: A cup of coffee (no sugar), A banana, beef sandwich.

3. Supper: Sliced paw-paw or carrots, Cooked chicken with baked beans.

The diet above may not work for every athlete, it is just a typical diet plan that you may consider following. When you plan your diet make sure you include beans, eggs, milk, fish, beef, etc are all protein diets that help in building and development of the muscles.

Also consider poultry products for vitamins source. Food items like cheese, ice cream, yoghurt, skimmed milk. It was recently discovered that ice cream can help in reducing weight, especially when taken before bedtime. As for grains, you may want to include maize, wheat, spaghetti, white rice, bread and so on.

As for sugars, consider glucose, sucrose, maltose, fructose. Also include fresh vegetables in your diets such as pumpkin leaves, cucumber, carbage, garden egg etc.

Now let’s move in to the second aspect which is workout exercise. Your exercise plan should be structured like this:

Exercise Program: Stretches + Warm ups + Workouts + Cool downs Stretches should include leg, side, and back stretches. Other activities include torso and elbow lifts, forward bob, sidekicks, sit ups, flexor kicks, forward lunge, and so on.

There is no strict order in how you should exercise, you can choose any program that goes well with your body and system. Always be reminded that before real workouts, you have to start with stretches and warm ups, then you can now commence to cardio-workouts, resistance, endurance, and strength training.

Yet, you can still select from various other available full workout exercise. All depends on you, your plans and goals.

How to Create an At-Home Weight Training Program

If you’ve already heard about all of the benefits of starting a weight training program, you might be eager to get started. However, with all of the information that is available, it might seem difficult to know just where to start and how to gather the right information and equipment. Don’t worry, here’s what you need to know.

What level are you right now?

While you might think that weight training is as simple as picking up a few weights and getting started, it depends on the level of fitness that you already have. Most people that want to start an at home weight training program are beginners and will need to get a basic grasp on weight training before they get started.

If you’re more advanced, you might be able to jump right into lifting the dusty weights in your basement. Take the time to consider where you’re at - honestly. Overestimating your fitness level can lead to injuries that aren’t necessary.

What equipment will you need?

If you’re just getting started with weight training at home, you have a lot of options in terms of equipment. What you may want to do is start with the less expensive items to see if you will stick with a program before investing in larger pieces of fitness equipment.

A great way to begin a weight training regime is to invest in hand weights or even strength training bands. Both of these are inexpensive and can be found at a number of retailers. As you increase in your strength, you can purchase thicker bands or heavier weights.

What you’ll want to do is choose a weight or a band that you can lift, but one that makes you tired after about eight repetitions. When these repetitions begin to get easier, it’s time for you to buy another weight.

What do you need to do?

Creating an at home weight training program begins with the right exercise for all parts of your body. The body can be broken down into these sections:

- Upper = arms, back, shoulders, chest

- Lower = legs, buttocks, calves

- Abdominals

You will want to use exercises that target all of these body groups. Many exercises can be found online as well as in a number of fitness books and magazines. You don’t have to use a complete program that you find, but you can certainly find different exercises for different parts of your body.

You’ll want to strength train every other day if you want to do a full body workout at each session - more often if you’re only working out one part of the body a day. For example, if you’re working out upper body one day, you can work out the lower body the next day, etc.

You should try to perform the exercises to fatigue. Aim to rest for no more than a minute or two between sets.

Can you help me with some terms?

When you hear the words repetitions and sets, you might become confused. Add in supersetting and super slow training, and you’ll be sure to have your head spinning.

As a beginner, you just need to know that a repetition is the number of times that you lift the weight and a set is the group of repetitions. So, when you’re doing ten reps of an exercise and two sets, you’re actually doing twenty repetitions in total.

Starting an at home weight training program consists of these basic steps:

- Figure our your fitness level

- Buy the equipment

- Find a routine that works all your muscles

- Do it!

Copyright (c) 2006 Lynn VanDyke

How To Build Your Biceps

Biceps; the elusive muscle that seems to grow not at all with repeated weight-training why? How can I build my biceps and see the results? Many people try and focus strictly on exercises that are geared for the bicep muscle. Yet they see very little in the way of results after many weeks of strenuous working out. Where are they going wrong?

Biceps are not a muscle that can be trained independently. It is a part of a larger muscle mass and must be trained along with the other muscles in this group to develop properly. Wasting your time on repeated curls or hammering them will only frustrate you and your efforts to see well-defined biceps emerge in place of the ones you have now.

To effectively build your biceps, you need to focus on the entire upper body muscle group. You need to focus on building your back, your shoulders, your chest and even your upper legs to ultimately build the biceps and develop the muscle mass you desire.

While it is important to work all of these muscles, it is best to focus the biceps on the same day you focus on the back as the same muscles ultimately come into play. And all of the muscle groups will suffer if they are overworked; thus the need to stagger the days with exercises that work different muscles each day.

Ultimately, you do not want to work your biceps more than two to three times a week as any more than that can cause unnecessary muscle strain and be counter-productive to the overall muscle building that is desired.

Also, you want to begin with a weight that is sufficient for you to maintain the regiment to follow and no more. Starting with too much weight is just as counter-productive as starting with too little weight. Pace yourself and build the weight slowly and you will see the results you are seeking.

Generally speaking, it is not the number of reps that build the muscle, it is the endurance of the weight of the same. So ideally, you should not exceed three sets of six for any one exercise when working on the biceps.

Standing barbell curls followed by inclined dumb-bell curls are an excellent series of exercises done in the afore mentioned pattern to build the biceps.

These should be repeated until the weight no longer gives resistance to the muscle action and then the weight should be upped accordingly, progressing only to heavier weight when the new weight also no longer gives resistance to the muscle’s movements.

Natural Bodybuilding the Key to Endless Growth

In my 18 years plus in the iron game I am often asked what is the biggest secret to building a championship physique or at least a great body. The answer of course has a multitude of components but it boils down to a few basic truisms.

1. You need a systemized training program that evolves as your body evolves.

2. You need to follow a high quality nutrient dense diet

3. You need heart, discipline and a compelling REASON WHY.

In the first part to this series we will examine the first component the need to follow a systemized training program.

If you want to travel from New York to Los Angeles there are several ways to achieve this and several modes of transportation you can take. First and foremost you need to select the mode of transport such as walking, car, boat, train or airplane. Each mode of transport provides advantages and disadvantages as well as differences in cost as well as time taken to get to the destination.

If you have never made the trip and have no knowledge of the transport systems the best way to get to your destination would be to consult with individuals who have made the journey and select which modality meets your criteria of cost and time invested. Much time on the journey can be saved with planning your trip in advance as well as selecting the most cost effective method of transport. If your goal is to build a strong, well developed physique a little planning before hand can save you a lot of expense and headaches as well as ensuring you get to your destination.

Having the route planned out and the modality of transport is best left to a travel agent someone experienced in getting people to their destination. Likewise in building a great physique consulting with an expert coach will save you a great expense of time and money as well as providing you peace of mind. A great coach will provide you with a systemize scientifically proven training program for without a good program you have almost no chance of building a great physique.

Imagine trying to get from New York to LA without a road map, any mode of transport, or any knowledge of how to get there. As insane as this sounds many individuals that embark on this journey to build a great physique, with this type of mindset which pretty much guarantees failure. Of course there are a few rare individuals who have made the journey by following many trial and error methods to build there physique but in reality no wants to waste years and years following useless routines and getting discouraged. Every great athlete requires a coach to reach there ultimate potential as fast as possible.

The lack of planning and coaching has put bodybuilders at the mercy of slick marketing, pie in the sky supplements, and magazine mysticism that leaves bodybuilders desperate and frustrated. For some reason bodybuilders are so hooked on the “genetics is everything” that they consistently fall prey to giving less then there best effort leading to disillusionment and discouragement. Often times the individual takes steroids and other bodybuilding drugs to compensate for a poor routine found in a magazine or randomly selected exercises performed with terrible form. These individuals also tend to build belief systems that support the use of drugs to build the physique. This mentality is pervasive even at the pro-level and is a cancer to the science of building muscle. Basically once you take the drugs away most people have a terrible physique and an even worse state of physical and mental health.

For the Natural Bodybuilder Endless Growth is not only possible it is a certainty once the individual diligently follows a step-by-step sound training program. The best programs will be geared so the athlete trains the nervous system to handle increasingly challenging demands so that new neural pathways can be developed to build muscle. The body becomes it’s function is a great truism so you need to first develop strong neural drives to each muscle group to maximize it’s development.

The training routine also needs to take in account the development of muscle in strategic places which is first accomplished in the foundation phase. In the second phase of training particular attention is directed to smaller muscle groups to improve the shape, function and aesthetics of the physique. Usually accompanying this stage is a dietary regimen that strips away body fat to reveal the underlying musculature. This is a critical aspect to fully realize where one’s physical development is and where improvements need to be made.

The length of time of each phase depends on the maturity of the nervous system, goals of the individual, and body fat percentages. For most trainees these two stages should compromise approximately 1-3 years depending on how fast the individual responds to training and the continuity of the effort exerted. In reality most people take 3-5 years to get there nervous system to the high levels of training capacity in a given discipline.

Cycling back and forth between Foundation training for the structure and Innervation training for the aesthetics compromises the bulk of these stages until the individual get’s down to single digit body fat levels with a significant level of muscle mass. At this point a more complex routine is required as the body’s ability to adapt to training has significantly improved (See stages of training Freaky Big Naturally). Stricter attention to nutrition as well as advanced supplementation and serious psychological training is then required to overcome perceived limits in performance. This is where most trainees falter and there physical development halts. Intense effort is required to break past this barrier, and this takes incredible self discipline, and desire (Big Reason Why).

In this third and ongoing stage both foundation and innervation training are performed throughout workout regimens and training reflects constant change to maximize growth and overcome underdeveloped areas. Each month specialization on weak aspects is a must while maintaining or improving strong points. Arnold refers to this stage in Pumping Iron when he discusses how he overcame his weak points and now in order to increase one muscle in size he must change every part of his physique in order to accommodate this change. Of course few people will ever reach Arnold’s development but the implications are the same for every trainee when it comes to advanced workout design.

This long term healthy scientific approach to bodybuilding is far superior to training using drugs because without drugs the individual needs to first follow sound training science and sound nutritional advice. By building a solid base to your training and nutrition long term improvement is guaranteed and bodybuilding becomes a long term and continually improving pursuit.

Conversely, bodybuilders who use drugs to build their bodies quickly lose there gains once the drugs stop because of poor training and poor nutrition. Also the psychological dependence on drugs cause many top level Bodybuilders to become so depressed after they stop a cycle that their training and physique quickly degenerate thereafter. This loss of identity and false euphoria that drugs create can often lead to other more serious psychological/sociological problems. Natural bodybuilding is a far superior way to build every aspect of your physique as well as your mind and emotional state. Natural bodybuilding is a compliment to a productive and happy level not a detriment.

Many natural trainees continue to improve late into there life. I have personally witnessed people making gains in their 50’s, 60’s and even 70’s with consistent and applied scientific effort in Natural Bodybuilding. More importantly the long term benefits of Natural Bodybuilding far out weigh any short term illusionary gains that drug use provides…

In the next part of this article we will discuss the second part and most overlooked aspect of training; following a nutrient dense diet. Until then train hard, train smart and most of all train natural.

Wade McNutt http://www.freakybignatural.com is a Natural National Bodybuilding Champion and an IFBB Mr. Universe World Champion. He combined the secrets of Eastern Yoga Masters with, scientific, muscle building to produce a revolutionary new system called Freaky Big Naturally. Learn More at: http://www.freakybignatural.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Wade_McNutt

How to Build Muscle

The only way to build muscle or gain strength is to subject that muscle to an increased amount of overload. To continue making muscle mass gains, you must continue to increase the amount of overload you place on each muscle group over time.

This progressive increase in resistance is the only way to build muscle mass. The greater the amount of weight (overload) you place on a muscle, the larger that muscle will become, provided you get the proper nutrients needed for muscle growth to occur.

After all, what you’re doing is stressing the muscle, forcing it to respond by adding more muscle and strength. If you continually lift the same amount of weight, your muscles have no reason to get bigger or stronger.

It can already handle the weight you’re using. So to build muscle, you have to keep the muscle stressed, by forcing it to lift more weight.

There are 3 ways to increase the amount of resistance you place on a muscle:

1. Do more reps with the same amount of weight each time.

2. Do the same number of reps but use more weight

3. Use the same number of reps and same amount of weight, but shorten the rest periods in between sets.

The most common ways to add more resistance, in order to build muscle, is with the first 2… using more weight and/or doing more reps.

One of the easiest ways to increase the amount of weight you lift is to decrease the number of reps you do. You keep increasing the weight until you use a heavy enough weight so that you reach muscle failure between 4 and 8 reps.

When you increase the weight each set while performing the same number of reps, you want to go easy for the first few sets. They’re just warmups and will not really help to build muscle.

Only your last 2 heavy sets, the ones with max poundages, are the ones that build muscle. All other sets just help you get ready for these heavy sets.

Again, overloading a muscle group is the only way to gain muscle, increase its size, and tone. So, for your heavy sets, you want to reach the point of failure with low reps and heavy weight.

The more weight you use and the harder you work, the greater the muscle gains. This method is very intense, so you want to ensure proper rest and nutrition.

Overload will help you gain muscle indefinitely, as long as the environment for constant muscle growth is met. Again, it takes intense training, proper nutrition, and plenty of rest.

If one of these conditions is not met, you will not gain the muscle mass you could.

Now that you know what causes muscle gains to occur, you should be well prepared the next time you enter the gym to workout. You’ll know that merely lifting weights is not good enough.

If you can already handle a certain amount of weight, it would do you no good to keep lifting that weight. You would not build muscle that way, since your body can already handle it.

You have to keep getting better and stronger, by increasing the amount of weight you lift or the number of reps you do.

But be aware, this process takes time. Be committed to slow, constant growth and you’ll soon start to build muscle faster than you ever thought possible.

Let’s Start Weight Training

Are you that scrawny teen in class? Do other guys pick on you as you’re smaller? Well, as an alternative to turning into one of the senseless nut jobs who run out and grab the first handgun they can acquire; why not try out weight training for beginners? With this approach you can get pumped up and be the biggest teenager in the neighborhood. Just imagine how improved you’ll be in just a few months. Not just will this build up your self-confidence levels, but it will also make an impression on all the ladies. Oh, and of course there’s that fitness issue. Pumping iron is immense for your body and muscles. So are you prepared to be taught some fundamental weight training for beginners? All you require to get started is a simple weight set and suitable bench or a community gym to join.

When it comes down to weight training for beginners, I know the score. I had spent the majority of my life in martial arts for the reason that it’s merely what I love. On the other hand, a few years ago I decided to take up weight training for beginners. I all of a sudden just decided I needed to be bigger. I mean come on, I’m around 6′1” and I was weighing in at 160 pounds. That’s somewhat slender I would say. All the same I decided to begin my new routine. So in addition to my martial arts, I began pumping iron. I started with the fundamentals, which for us guys tends to be our upper-bodies. I wanted to get my arms and chest bigger. As apposed to joining a gymnasium, I took the purchasing route. I figured if I’m going to make a go of this, I ought to now go ahead and purchase the equipment. This is cheaper in the long term if you ask me. So with a good quality weight bench, a pair of dumbbells and a weight set, I was geared up to get started. My weight training for beginners gradually became more advanced.

Next I began taking in extra protein. I accomplished this due to the fashionable whey protein mixes that are sold universally nowadays. In addition to your standard three meals a day, this will without doubt help you bulk up. Currently I weigh a stable 170 pounds, which I’m satisfied with, and it all began with weight training for beginners. If you are fascinated in finding out more on the subjec, all you require is your computer. Jump online and sort through a large number of free tips and information on weight training and a array of other fitness regimes.

Wanted! Dead Or Alive! Debunking The Protein Myth!

Almost everyone knows that you require protein to build muscles. Bodybuilders research and consume more protein than any other athletes. Most bodybuilders today are looking to get the most amount of protein for the least amount of cost and ideally get the most effect. In a quest for muscle size, it’s easy to be confused and lured by slick advertising, celebrity endorsements or scientific studies that tell us how many grams of protein of what quality, we are consuming. The problem is the entire protein industry has overlooked some very important aspects of what constitutes a good protein and what constitutes a bad protein.

The confusion about protein availability became slightly more complex when scientists developed the Bioavailability Index (BV) and the Protein Efficiency Ratio (PER) index. These indexes were designed to show us that the amount of amino acids in each protein and how much we were getting and how efficient the protein was. Proteins were rated on this scale which in actuality has absolutely nothing to do with how much protein your muscles are absorbing. In fact, if your food is not electrically available (uncooked or unheated above 120 degrees) you are not getting any of the protein no matter what the score on the index. Heating proteins is the biggest problem with modern processed protein. Most animal proteins are cooked which also destroys the enzymes in protein we eat when we consume animal products. We’ll discuss this electrically available protein later in the article but consider this for a second.

Bill Pearl, one of the greatest body builders ever, used no drugs to build his physique and was a vegetarian. He states emphatically in his book “Keys to the Inner Universe” that live proteins are the key to success in building big muscles and that it is a myth that you need hundreds of grams of proteins in order to build a great body. Now Bill was 5′10 242 lbs way back in 1971 and he managed to build an incredible physique without massive amounts of protein. How did Bill achieve such incredible muscle size without eating several hundred grams of protein each day?

The answer is enzymes. Bill ate almost exclusively raw uncooked food in about an 80/20 ratio thus ensuring he did not use up his metabolic enzymes for digestion. One of the big reasons for the confusion about protein is that people don’t understand how heating denatures protein rendering the enzymes that are naturally occurring in food useless by cooking. If the protein is not utilizable by the body because it has been cooked the amino acids do not cross the intestinal barrier and therefore whatever the source of protein there is no nutritional value within the system. The undigested protein actually is converted into toxins by unfriendly bacteria in the colon such as E.Coli.

Researchers then came up with the idea that by creating protein isolates was the answer. The concept behind isolates, such as whey or milk protein isolates, is by isolating a particular amino acid one could achieve bigger growth through increased absorption. Initially this looks like it works. Almost every study shows that when the test subjects ingested the protein isolates the subjects gain body weight on the scale without a subsequent increase in fat. This lead to all kinds of misleading statements about protein and very few people have actually considered if the protein actually ended up building bigger muscles. In fact the weight gain was not an increase in muscle mass or fat mass it is merely an increase in intestinal bulk.

Upon further investigation one would determine that in actuality that protein never made it to the muscles and actually just compacted in a nice layer of the sludge inside the intestinal tract which contributed to the increase of poundage on the scales. As a matter of fact, these protein isolates are actually converted to toxins that lead to all sorts of disorders. The protein compressing inside the intestines leads to a condition called intestinal toxemia. Intestinal toxemia is the first cause of deficiency. It’s also the starting point for disease cultivation. So, in order for you to grow you have to get protein in your muscles not in your stuck in your digestive tract. So, what is the best protein to eat?

It is extremely important to consume only proteins that are available to the body electrically. Where do I get these electrically available proteins? It’s easy, electrically available proteins occur in nature. All fruits, vegetables, nuts, almost anything that grows has some protein in it, and this protein is already available to your body, it is electrically available. Live proteins that have not been cooked are the only proteins that maintain their electrical integrity and thereby are fully absorbed by the body.

The most anabolic proteins are bonded with some essential fatty acids that make the absorption of the protein better. Ultimately, essential fatty acids have the power to regulate all hormone functions in the body. Keep in mind that fat is essential to absorb protein and to create growth. One of the most overlooked aspects of protein absorption is essential fatty acids. Essential fatty acids, particularly the omega 6’s and the omega 3’s should be stacked in a 3 to 1 ratio. Almonds, flax and sunflower seeds as well as many other nuts finely ground are some of the best sources of protein you can consume.

Nature always ensures plenty of fiber content in high protein foods which is the exact opposite of man made isolates. Consider this; nature always puts fiber with all the proteins. The result is once these amino acids have transferred across the intestinal barrier the result is the left over fibrous protein residue which is easily deposited outside of the intestinal tract. Now how to find a high protein, high fiber, and electrically available live protein?

In part two of this article we show you what to look for when selecting a high protein, high fiber, electrically available live protein to accelerate your muscle building gains.

Wade McNutt http://www.freakybignatural.com is a Natural National Bodybuilding Champion and an IFBB Mr. Universe World Champion. He combined the secrets of Eastern Yoga Masters with, scientific, muscle building to produce a revolutionary new system called Freaky Big Naturally. Learn More at: http://www.freakybignatural.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Wade_McNutt

Power or Fatigue for More Muscle Mass?

One major concept that everyone seems to be confusing now-a-days is muscle fatigue versus muscle power, in search for techniques that will allow you to build and gain muscle weight.

When your main goal is to gain as much muscle weight as possible, you have to know exactly which of the two “factors” you are training for, either to “fatigue” the muscle, closely related to “pumping” and “burning” it, or to use “power”, meaning lifting as much weight as possible, regardless of getting a pump or not.

There is a major difference between taking a set to failure (which you should be doing on your “real sets”) because of fatigue, or reaching failure because of having no more strength, or power, in the muscle to continue to lift the weight.

I’m sure you have experienced doing a high-rep set and quitting because the pain and burning (”fatigue”) just got too much to support.

However, deep down inside you knew that you still had enough strength to actually complete another 2 or 3 reps.

On the other hand, I’m sure you’ve also done sets that no matter how much effort you put into it, no matter if every vein in your body was popping out because of the strain, you just could not complete one more rep because you simply had no more strength left.

If it’s fatigue that causes you to stop a set, all you are going to be building is muscle endurance.

That’s fine and dandy if you’re training to climb mountains or chop logs for 8 hours straight.

All fatiguing a muscle does is fill it with stale blood, without any oxygen, and forms lactic acid and other waste products…….all of which do nothing for building muscle mass and gaining weight!

But if you want to build and gain muscle mass, what should stop you from continuing a set is that you have no more stength / power in the muscle.

That will build strength, and as a result, forces more fibers to come into play, to work, and is what will cause overload in the muscle…………all factors that lead to bigger and stronger muscles.

Period.

You can go on ahead and get all the pump and burn you want, but if it’s big muscles you’re after, you need to train for stronger muscles.

To illustrate: you can do 100 push ups and get a real good pump and burn, fatiguing the muscle in the chest.

But what do you think is going to give you a bigger chest……100 push ups, or lifting 315 pounds for 13 reps??

Remember, if you want to gain muscle weight, train for power, not fatigue.

Copyright 2006 Jonathan Perez

Prohormones

The new approach to fat loss and muscle building!

Prohormones are precursor compounds that are converted by the body into anabolic hormones. In terms of muscle-building and fat loss effects, prohormones are similar to steroids, and will produce increases in muscle size and strength. And depending on the specific type, also have the capability to reduce body fat, increase sex drive, and boost training intensity levels.

Prohormones can be divided into three broad categories - the andro group, the 19-nor group, and the testosterone boosting group. The andro group are converted by the body into natural hormones, including testosterone. The 19-nors are converted by the body into numerous anabolic compounds including nandrolone. Nandrolone is one of the main ingredients in the popular anabolic steroid Deca-durabolin (nandrolone deconate). The third group of compounds don’t convert to testosterone or nandrolone. Instead they stimulate the body to naturally increase production of the male hormone for fat loss and muscle building. The most popular product in this category is the herb tribulus terrestrus.

Since prohormones became popular in the mid 1990’s, supplement manufacturers have been waging a “prohormone” war in their attempt to sway bodybuilders to the merits of their particular “best” prohormone. Like most over-the-counter supplements, the scientific evidence regarding the effectiveness of these products is mixed at best. Some studies suggest that these products will in fact increase testosterone or nandrolone levels, and therefore increase muscular size and strength. Other studies show no benefits.

The most popular prohormones currently available include:

1-androstenediol (1-AD)
4-androstenedione
4-androstenediol (4-AD)
5-androstenediol
19-norandrostenedione
19-norandrostenediol
1-androstenediol (1-AD)
Tribulus Terrestrus
Dehydroepiandrosterone, or DHEA

In terms of side effects, the “diols” seem to have less side effects than the “diones” as they show much less conversion to the female hormone estrogen. The diols seem to be more potent for fat loss and muscle building as well. Of course individual genetics often play a major role in how each compound will respond in an individual’s body.

The law
Prohormones were the legal alternative to steroids until the arrival of the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004. This draconian piece of legislation reclassified all similar drugs, with the exception of DHEA and tribulus products, as controlled drugs. While the odds of FDA agents raiding your house in search of these compounds might be remote, keep in mind that law enforcement types are always looking for “soft targets.” By this we mean otherwise law-abiding citizens who dabble in “gray area” products. Hardcore criminals are usually well-versed in how to keep from getting caught. But your average bodybuilder using these drugs is an easy target because he is not continuously looking over his shoulder. Our advice is to keep up to date on supplement legislation and if a supplement is illegal, avoid buying and using it

© Bob Howard 5/5/2006

Body Building Workout Techniques

Try and name a sport that you can participate in even if you are an old person. Chances are, you will have a hard time naming even one. But if you named bodybuilding, you are dead on right.

Bodybuilding is the art and science of developing the musculature of your body via certain kinds of physical exertion and diet whose end goal is to showcase the body for competitive exhibition. The most popular kind of bodybuilding exercise is weightlifting or weight training.

What makes bodybuilding so appealing is that it is a sport that everyone of any age can participate in. The only requirements are that one be in relatively good physical condition, has access to gym equipment, and can financially afford the lifestyle it demands.

What are the different types of bodybuilding workouts? Well, it depends first on whether your body type is that of an ectomorph, endomorph, or mesomorph.

An ectomorph is considered the slow gainer among bodybuilding types. He needs to slow down his hyper metabolism in order to gain muscle size and strength. This means his exercise routine should be severe enough to trigger muscle growth yet short enough to avoid nervous drain.

An endomorph, on the other hand, has a sluggish metabolism. He needs some kind of stimulating exercise every session in order to rev up his metabolism. Also, an endomorph should restrict his calorie intake due to an over-efficient digestive system that makes him gain weight easily.

The luckiest among the body types (as far as bodybuilding is concerned) is the mesomorph. A true mesomorph is able to gain muscle even with little effort on his part. Mesomorphs can be said to be gifted with muscle-building abilities, the Chosen People of bodybuilding.

No one belongs solely to one body type. Most people can be said to be a mixture of the three. However, one body type usually dominates a person’s build so that it is relatively easy to categorize bodybuilders.

Despite one’s body type, there are common techniques to follow when bodybuilding. These are:

1. Keep a training diary so that you can monitor your progress and determine what you should aim for in the future.

2. Pay attention when lifting any kind of weight to avoid injury. Carelessness is probably the foremost cause of injuries in bodybuilding.

3. Choose the types of exercises that can contract as many muscle fibers as possible during one set. This will maximize the effectiveness of the core repetitions which make up most of one’s training.

4. Warm up properly prior to doing any exercise to prevent injury.

5. Don’t change the technique of doing any exercise unless you know what you are doing. Experimenting is another cause of injury.

6. Don’t do those exercises which are known to cause tendon or joint damage.

7. Good exercise style prevents injury. So keep proper form while exercising.

8. Learn to distinguish between the pain caused by lactic acid build-up within the muscle, and the pain caused by a serious injury. Mistaking one for the other could cause you to keep exercising despite being injured, thereby worsening the injury. Rest if you are injured.

9. Practice stretching before working out. This also helps you ward off injuries.

Hopefully, these tips will help you enjoy participating in the sport of bodybuilding

Women Bodybuilding: Then & Now

Everyone has either heard of or is familiar with the sport of competitive bodybuilding. The female component, which is known as women bodybuilding, began in the late 1970s as women began to participate in competitions. Now, more than three decades later, women bodybuilding is a large part of the sport and has begun to garner the respect that it has strived for since it’s inception.

Although physique contests for women can actually be documented in the 1960s, they were little more than bikini contests. The first true women bodybuilding competition is regarded as the one held in Canton, Ohio in 1978. Promoted by Henry McGhee, the first United States Women’s National Physique Championship was the first competition where the entrants were judged solely on their muscularity as opposed to how well they looked in swimsuits.

By 1979, more women bodybuilding competitions were being held. The sport, however, did not possess a sanctioning body until 1980. Known as the National Physique Committee, this organization hosted the first women’s nationals and became the top amateur level competition for women bodybuilding in the United States. Additionally, 1980 marked the first Ms. Olympia competition, which is the most honored competition for women bodybuilding professionals.

As the sport continued to grow and increase in overall popularity, competitors found themselves needing to train harder and improve their overall muscular physique. By the 1980s, women bodybuilding was no longer a bikini contest or seeing who could pose in the highest heels. Now, it was becoming a popular sport with championship titles and increasing fan attendance.

With films that have been produced in honor of women bodybuilding competitions, coverage on major television networks and despite some controversies along the way, women bodybuilding has more than proven it’s ability to remain in the ranks of this popular sport. As further proof, the IFBB established a Hall of Fame in 1999, which would honor bodybuilding’s top athletes. To date, 14 women bodybuilding competitors have been inducted. Among them, Carla Dunlap, Cory Everson and Rachel McLish, Bev Francis, Lisa Lyon and Abbye Stockton, Kay Baxter, Diana Dennis, Kike Elomaa, Laura Combes, Lynn Conkwright, Ellen Van Maris, Stacy Bentley and Claudia Wilbourn.

In late 2004, the IFBB introduced a new rule that required women bodybuilding participants decrease their amount of muscularity by 20%, which is now referred to simply as the ‘20% rule.’ The rule applies to those whose physique requires the decrease. In 2005, another rule was introduced that would abolish the weight class system beginning with the 2005 Ms. Olympia.

In addition to women bodybuilding, there are two additional categories that are closely related and often held as part of the same event. The fitness competition includes a swimsuit round, along with a round that has the entrants judged on their performance in aerobics, dance or gymnastics. The second category is a figure competition, which is a newer format, and has the participants being judged exclusively on their symmetry and muscle tone. This category focuses less on muscle size than does women bodybuilding.

Although women bodybuilding has continued to grow in popularity, the prize money remains significantly less than is awarded to male bodybuilders.

Don’t Wait - Hit the Weights!

Despite the legitimate arguments put forward by researchers and fitness experts over the past decade about the benefits of weight training for women, the number of women who decide to venture over to the strength section is still quite low.

Most women who exercise tend to divide their time between cardio machines and aerobics’ classes. Rarely do they use any type of resistance training to challenge their bodies. But resistance training is not just limited to hoisting iron next to some 250-pound bodybuilder, or trying to figure out how to use intimidating machines. There are many options that can be explored. The key to developing total women’s fitness is a good combination of cardiovascular training and eating healthy to lose weight, and yes, weight training!

The Big Eight:
Although there are others, the following are the top eight reasons why women should incorporate some type of resistance training into their workouts.

Fat loss:
Most only see weight training for women as a means to build muscle mass. But did you know that weight training can also help you lose weight, specifically body fat? Although cardio burns more calories while you’re doing it, weight training burns more calories after you leave the gym. Weight training produces what’s called an “afterburn.” This means that your metabolism is revved up and you’ll be burning extra calories even when sitting down watching TV. Weight training also causes fat loss by building muscle; and since muscle needs calories to exist, the more muscle mass you have the higher your resting metabolic rate (called basal metabolism).

Bone builder:
“I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.” Comedians may joke about elderly women falling down and breaking hips but it’s no joking matter. As women age their bones become brittle because of less calcium deposition. The end result is a condition called osteoporosis. Weight training has been shown to combat this by stimulating the bones to absorb calcium and other bone-building minerals. Although weight training can’t completely stop osteoporosis, it can go a long ways in minimizing the effects.

Athletic performance:
Although it took decades for acceptance, most female athletes have strength coaches these days. Weight training has been proven to boost athletic performance as well as reduce the risk of injuries. It’s also one of the primary reasons why many female athletes are still competitive well into their 30’s and 40’s. Now we realize that most readers are probably not competitive athletes. But we are sure that many of you do engage in recreational sports. A regular weight training routine might not put you in the Olympics but it will definitely reduce your risk of injuries. It will also probably enable you to keep playing longer than if you just did cardio workouts.

Injury prevention:
Even though a healthy cardiovascular system is important, women’s fitness also means having strong muscles. Think about it, you use your muscles during every waking moment. Even sitting at a computer requires a contraction of your abdominals, lower back, and other core muscles. Most day-to-day injuries can be reduced if not prevented by regular strength training. That awkward step off the sidewalk, which before would lead to a nasty sprain, will be just a slight annoyance if you have the muscles in your lower leg and foot strengthened.

A healthy heart:
One of the enduring myths about weight training for women is that it doesn’t improve cardiovascular health. Well, it does, and if you keep your pace up, resting no more than 20 to 30 seconds between exercises, you’ll not only strengthen the muscles but stimulate your heart and lungs as well. In fact a fast-paced weight training circuit provides a more complete workout than cardio alone.

Diabetes Prevention:
Type II diabetes is becoming epidemic in Western society. Too much junk food and not enough exercise both contribute to obesity. Obesity in turn leads to Type II diabetes. To effectively prevent diabetes, women should employ various strategies to lose weight. Diabetes is characterized by an inability of the body to control blood sugar levels. There are numerous causes including under production of the sugar-controlling hormone, insulin, and decreased receptor sensitivity. Although all forms of exercise helps prevent diabetes, weight training is especially beneficial since muscles use glucose as their primary fuel source. Healthy muscles will burn sugar or store it as glycogen, thus reducing the amount that is stored as fat.

A mental boost:
Ask just about everyone who takes up weight training how they feel afterwards and they’ll say terrific. In fact many physicians and psychologists recommend weight training as a way to combat depression. Remember women’s fitness is both physical and mental. Weight training helps in both respects.

It’s fun!
Despite the reservations you may have about working out with weights, trust us, you’ll love it. Instead of staying on the same cardio machine for 25 or 30 minutes, weight training allows you perform many different movements during the same workout. They say that variety is the spice of life. Well weight training for women is a great way to spice up your workouts.

6 Pack Abs Workouts - Get a Six Pack of Washboard Abs

Although exercise is a part of the plan, diet is critical to achieving a low level of body fat and attaining a six pack of shredded abs. Concentrate on green and colorful, non starchy veggies for your main meals and snacks including some complex carbs such as yams and brown rice to round out the plate. Fruit is okay but keep it before noon and only 1 pc per day at most since the sugars in fruit can hinder your goals. Clean meats such as poultry and fish are a better choice for your proteins vs fattier choices. You should also consider protein shakes to help with the intake needed.

Cardiovascular work is your next concern. If you are in need of 20+ lbs of fat loss then you need to work up to 3-5 days of 45 mins moderate cardio work preferably jogging which is your most effective fat burner especially if you wish to see fast results. The appearance of a 6 packs or tummy lines is very finicky so these tips are crucial. You can decrease the cardio to 20 mins 3-5 times per week if you are already quite lean.

In order to make your abs protrude you need to thicken those squares with weighted ab exercises. Try this program for a month and see how you can tighten your mid section in now time by incorporating the suggestions above.

Warm up with 3×20 of the Bent Knee Abdominal Hip Raises making sure those hips flick up off the mat as seen in the clip. Also ensure you are pulling your belly button into your lower back during these exercises.

Next you would follow that with 3-4 sets of 12 Reverse Decline Crunches. You can see again how the hips flick up off the board. This is important to achieve but if you are unable to at first you keep it in mind and keep working at that. Watch to not speed on the down phase. If you can, hold the knees for a second or 2 at the top to really enhance the work.

Inverted Exercise Ball Leg Pull Ins is third and you do need some upper body strength but the good news is that this exercise combines to help strengthen the chest and arms while your abs do the work to pull in the ball. Take your time with this and do each rep with a count of 1, 2, 3 - 1, 2, 3, 4 on return. Breathing out during exertion will enhance the effect. Perform 3 x 10.

Fingers to Toes Abdominal Crunches are also known as V sits, you want to keep chest out, shoulders somewhat back and settled while reaching upward and making sure your arms and legs return at the same time. Work on being able to hold this at the top for a few seconds then repeat. 3×10 is to be done with this exercise.

To make this program well rounded you would want to add 2 oblique exercises and in many cases lower back but for this particular program I focused the time on frontal core. Elbow To Knee Oblique Crunches is a nice basic yet intense addition to round out the workout. 3 x10 should be done for this exercise.

Finishing this program is one of the most intense exercises on this page. Hanging Oblique Knee Raises are counted per side so if you have 10 you do 10 per side! You cannot throw your legs up or you will swing and make things harder so control is a must! 3×5-10 will most likely be all you can get done at this stage since we pre exhausted the middle area with all the above exercises.

Try this for a month then change your program again to focus on other weak areas. You can reintroduce this program or try a newer AB program later along the line since you want to change things at least every 4 weeks. Shapefit.com has an excellent arsenal of abdominal exercises to help you toward your goal of 6 pack abs.

Kris created ShapeFit.com to provide quality health and fitness information to people from all over the world. He has an extensive background in strength training, nutrition and wellness planning. ShapeFit.com currently provides over 2,000 pages of free health and fitness content to over 300,000 visitors every month. ShapeFit.com provides numerous diet and exercise articles on building lean muscle, burning body fat, increasing energy levels and living a healthy lifestyle. Some of the fitness tools include weight loss diets, muscle building workouts, and weight loss advice. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kris_Bierek

Nervous System Training Versus Body Part Training

It is important to understand the two different aspects of training that is involved when you are trying to build bigger muscles. The two aspects are your nervous system versus your body part training. Both need to be incorporated in a holistic routine in order to maximize growth. In this article, we are going to demonstrate briefly some of the things that you need to consider.

The first thing to consider when examining your routine is the training effect on the nervous system. With the beginning trainee, their nervous system’s capacity to handle intense exercise is quite limited. Therefore, it makes sense that the individual should be working on their nervous system capacity as opposed to body part training. Unfortunately, most athletes or beginning trainees make the mistake of trying to copy a cookie cutter routine out of the magazines or a routine of a professional bodybuilder.

The problem with following a pro’s routine is that the routine generally far exceeds the capacity of the individual’s ability to train. The individual quickly spirals into overtraining, gets discouraged, and sometimes quits training altogether. Not an inspiring success story, that is for sure. Why is it that a novice trainee or even an intermediate bodybuilder over trains when following a pro’s routine? All things being equal it is because the advanced athlete or pro’s nervous system capacity for work is much higher than the aspiring trainees. The professional has probably spent 10 years minimum increasing his body’s capacity for training.

So, what does nervous system training involve? Well specifically with the beginner, almost any type of training will work. This fact is one of the biggest reasons there is so much confusion in training modalities in the body building market. Typically, any training that you perform at first places demands that are so much higher than your regular nervous system output, some results inevitably occur.

Unfortunately, most athletes have incorporated a great deal of bad habits in this early training, which ultimately spells failure down the road. For best results over the short and long term the beginner and intermediate trainee should incorporate training that increases the nervous system’s capacity for training. So what does this nervous system training include?

Nervous system training typically involves training specific exercises through specific planes and motions with an eye on frequency, volume, and exercise selection. In other words, what is typically called multi-joint exercises are incorporated as the foundation of the training. These would be your classic exercises like squats, bent over rows, pull-downs, dips, benches; these sort of multi-joint exercises.

When system training, one should train groups of body parts together to maximize the overload for a specific area. In other words, you would train body parts such as chest, shoulders and triceps on one day; back, biceps on another day, and legs on another day. There are lots of different ways you can mix this up, depending on the amount of time you have available as well as how long you wish to work out and also at how fast you wish to progress.

Another consideration when training the nervous system is that one has to pay particular attention on the frequency of training. Generally, you need to keep the frequency relatively high. That means hitting the body parts a minimum of twice a week. In some cases, you can go as high as three times a week; once again, depending on how much volume, how intensely a person is training, and the nutrition levels of the athlete. Of course, with nervous system training, one has to build up gradually. So in a very new athlete, nervous system training might incorporate whole body training only three times per week.

As a person progresses and more volume can be handled, the body parts are typically split up. So on the three-day program, it would be maybe full body workouts; on a four-day, it would be maybe upper body and lower body. Afterwards, you would go to maybe a five or even six-day routine for the serious athlete. This allows a significantly higher frequency and also the ability to bomb body parts over and over again with varying rep ranges.

The other aspect of building a symmetrical physique to look at is individualized body part training. Size of course is not everything; especially in the body building world. One wants to have the physique look aesthetically pleasing as well as developing large muscles. So in body part training, the exercise selection becomes more isolated. Generally there is more volume of sets in a body part session and the body parts are trained less frequency. So to sum it up, you do more exercises, more volume in isolating particular body parts.

Typically at this more advanced stage, a person is looking to sculpt the physique, work on specific weak points, to balance the physique and to create a more symmetrical look. Also, this increases the separation and general appearance of each of the muscle groups. In body part training, typically the frequency that you hit a body part is much less than you would on nervous system training. So a body part might only get hit once a week, but that one session would be extremely intense, overloading that muscle in every possible manner and then moving on to the next body part on the following day. Typically in body part training, you would cycle more exercises through a rotation of maybe three, four or five weeks, going back and forth so that maximal development of every aspect of the physique is achieved.

Now in order to create balanced growth as well as size, one must alternate back and forth between the nervous system training and body part training. This is so that a person can achieve maximal growth as well as minimizing any detriments to the physique. Always, you have body parts that are growing better than others and so the isolation body part training can allow you to re-evaluate your weak points and overcome these inherent weaknesses in your physique. By doing so, we build not only a large body but also a symmetrical body. The question then arises; how do I know when and where to switch between nervous system training and body part training?

There is no set rule on this however; one must look at it from this point; typically, the more inexperienced a trainee is, the more time they need to spend on nervous system training. Most trainees will benefit from two or three years of primarily nervous system training. So for example, one might spend three to six months just on nervous system training alone and briefly switch to a body part training for maybe 12 weeks before going back to another nervous system training routine. You would repeat this for a year or so, and then gradually working more body part training sessions in with the nervous system training.

Another thing to consider is during nervous system training, calorie restrictions is definitely not recommended. An overload of nutrients and calories is required in order to maximize growth. Often times during nervous system, we are not so much concerned with the finer aspects of physiques or physique building. Therefore, you pile in the calories to keep as much anabolic activity occurring so that the maximum amount of growth is achieved.

After several years of cycling between training styles one would benefit by making the switch to body part training and incorporate a low calorie diet. This factors a couple of things; one, you strip down the layer of body fat that has been built to reveal what is really muscle. Most people overestimate how much muscle they have and underestimate how much fat and water they have on their physique. At this stage in the athlete’s career it is beneficial that a low calorie regimen be followed at least for 12-20 weeks per year. By doing this frequently, it allows an individual to see the imbalances in physiques and correct them. The other aspect too is that it also helps the athlete to lower the metabolic step point; therefore, the individual in the next nervous system training will not have to consume as much food as he/she would if were continually staying on the nervous system training protocol.

This of course arrives at the next aspect of the training equation. Whether training to failure or not training to failure. Unfortunately, there is a lot of myths about the whole failure and intensity aspect of training. Article after article bombards the beginning and advanced trainee alike about the importance of training to failure. People are thought if they do not train to failure, they are not training intense enough or that they are some kind of wimp. Of course this type of mentality has nothing to do with science and as a matter of fact, will almost guarantee that the athlete reach a stagnantation point.

Optimally, the trainee never goes to failure and here is a couple of the reasons why:

First, when an individual is training naturally, the model of training is significantly different than the athlete who is using drugs. Most articles are written about pro-athletes or top amateurs who are using an incredible amount of drugs and therefore, really distort the science behind training. Because of this massive use of drugs, they endocrine systems operate completely different than that of the natural trainee and they are able to recover from mega high intensity training sessions.

Unfortunately over time, this endocrine system overload creates an eventual catabolic condition. If you check out any of the pros after their career, you can see how much muscle they actually lose. It is quite shocking. Often times, because of this lop-sided aspect of the endocrine system overload, the athlete’s career is stopped short due to disease. I cannot tell you how many body builders careers have been ended prematurely due to massive influx of drugs which eventually led to some system failure.

So once again, going back to the failure question; a person should train their exercises so that the last rep on every set is challenging, but it is not an all out effort. Now in order to get the intensity up volume is the key. So lots of sets for lots of reps is far more efficient and be far effective than short training sessions with max intensity. The scientific term of course is work out efficiency, but really the scientific term is not important.

The second aspect that needs to be addressed her is destroying the one hour workout myth. Once again, magazines and articles perpetuate this idea that the 45 minutes to one hour is all the time a person needs to build big muscles. This of course borders on ridiculousness. If one looks at, for example in the real world, an athlete such as an Olympic speed skater, these athletes perform incredibly high amounts of volume and incredible high amounts of frequency. Not only that, their time under tension far exceeds what most body builder’s workouts do. One other factor is speed skaters are performing an extensive amount of overload each day and very seldom does that athlete go to failure. Yet, look at the results. Speed skaters have some of the most largely developed legs in the entire world. Right there is a real world example that indicates that failure is not required and that training a few hours a week to achieve maximum development is a myth. I have yet to see any athlete that has trained a few hours and matched the legs of the world’s top speed skaters.

Once again here is a real world example that goes back to natural training versus drug usage. Not exceeding the endocrine system’s capacity to recover is critical in natural training. This is easier achieved if you train lots of sets and quite frequently. Bill Pearl, one of the greatest bodybuilding champions of all time, was a big believer in this principle and he reached a weight of 242 pounds at a height of 5′10″. Keep in mind that Bill Pearl never used any drugs to build his physique. An even more impressive consideration is that his physique was built in a time where the emphasis was not on the legs. In actuality, Bill probably had a 265-pound physique if you accounted for the lack of leg development that was in vogue during the late 60’s and early 70’s.

So once again for maximum results, a person needs to destroy the one-hour workout myth. Now, in the optimal situation, of course the individual would cycle between the two systems for maximal growth. So let us review the key points to get you on track and in the growth zone.

To maximize the growth, you need to go to nervous system training, high volume, exercise-specific techniques that involve body parts grouped together.

Body part training is going to be relatively between two to three times per week. Volume is going to be high and never train to failure. Also, there is going to be a massive amount of nutrient factors and calories. Body part training is more isolated, it tends to be large amounts of volume and less frequency. Most people’s best results occur with training each body part one day per week in a 5 day or 6 day split.

Low calorie dieting is best performed during body part training to strip away fat to discover the weaknesses in the individual’s physique. Duration of this cycle should be 12-20 weeks. Thais training cycle is most often used for contest preparation and is too be combined with cardio sessions to maximize definition.

Of course there is a lot more details to training such as rep ranges, exercise selection, body part groupings, training splits etc. But first the individual needs to grasp the big picture. This is where and expert can save the athlete years of frustration.

Word to the wise no athlete has got to the top of there sport without professional expert advice. Don’t kid yourself into thinking that you can read a magazine or a bodybuilding book and then no everything to build a great body. Hire a top trainer today that has experience in building top quality physiques and practices what he/she preaches.

Wade McNutt http://www.freakybignatural.com is a Natural National Bodybuilding Champion and an IFBB Mr. Universe World Champion. He combined the secrets of Eastern Yoga Masters with, scientific, muscle building to produce a revolutionary new system called Freaky Big Naturally. Learn More at: http://www.freakybignatural.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Wade_McNutt

Weight Lifting Routine - How to Lift Like a Guy

Have you ever watched guys in the gym? Of course you have! We’ve all seen them strutting over to the squat rack or bench press and try to lift so much weight that we think their eyeballs might pop out of their heads from the strain. Although we may silently snicker at their obvious attempts to impress us with their brute strength, we can take away something very valuable from their approach to a weight lifting routine.

Guys generally have a “get it done and move on” attitude that they apply to most things in life including their weight lifting routine. Women, on the other hand, tend to dither around and analyze everything to the point of driving themselves mad. So how can we apply a guy’s easy going attitude to reap the maximum benefit for our own fitness goals?

Learn How to Lift like a Guy!

That’s right! Elbow your way over to the big free weights and dig in just like he does. While you might not be able to lift as much as your guy, you can certainly enjoy the two-fold benefit of lifting like a guy.

Benefit #1: More muscle mass and less body fat.

More muscle mass will use more calories at rest and that can equate to less overall body fat. Don’t worry about lifting heavy weights and becoming a muscle bound beast because women’s bodies simply don’t produce enough testosterone to create muscle mass on par with Hulk Hogan. Women bodybuilders with huge muscle mass are supporting that mass with anabolic steroids, so unless that’s the look you’re going for, it simply won’t be a problem. In the world of natural womens fitness, a weight lifting routine with emphasis on heavy weights will only result in less body fat and beautiful, sexy curves.

Benefit #2: Spend less time in the gym.

By applying the “get it done and move on” attitude to your weight lifting routine, you can reap maximum benefit in less time. Guys tend to go for compound exercises that work more than one body part at a time and they lift enough weight that their muscles fatigue in a shorter amount of time. The result? More muscle mass in less time! Pick a compound exercise and use enough weight that completing one set of 8 to 10 reps is a challenge. Rest for 30 to 60 seconds then try to do one more set of 8 to 10 reps. Don’t freak out if you can’t complete the entire second set. That only means that your muscles are sufficiently fatigued. Move on because you’re done with that exercise.

Ditch the wimpy pastel colored weights ladies! Grab some heavy weights and modify your weight lifting routine to include guy-style compound exercises. You’ll be amazed at the results if done regularly.

The Secrets To Achieving A Stunning Physique In Record Time

When you see people who have already sculpted their muscles and have beautiful appearance as a result, it is a sight worth beholding. While you may desire to be like these people, you may not be able to because wishing does not bring about reality, only action does. If you want a stunning physique, then you must be willing to put in whatever it takes to achieve it and be admired by others.

Hard work is the word used to describe the reality of a sculpted muscle. You will need to be committed and be able to follow through. Initially, the work will be difficult for you to accomplish but as time goes on with consistency and practice you will start feeling better. This is because your body is gradually adapting to the whole routine. This routine will be a regular dose of good diet and exercise. You will also notice obvious changes in your body such as reduction in weight, sculpturing, restoration of curves.

In the course of exercising and dieting, you will learn to set a balanced plan on these activities as you combine cardio-workouts, endurance, strength training, aerobics, etc. For the dieting plan, include proteins, fats, vitamins, carbohydrates, cholesterol and so on to make up for a balanced diet. You will need to know how each of these food components affect you as a muscle builder. You want to discover vital information as what quantity of each you need in your system to help you achieve your goal of building a stunning and sculpted appearance.

The work of fats in your body is that it absorbs all the vitamins such as A, D, E, & K. All of these vitamins can be obtained from fatty foods in the form of fat-soluble solution and from diary products. Fat produces acids in the body too. Such acids as linoleic, amino acids. These acids serve useful purposes in the body.

Carbohydrates is another food components that should be included in the diets. However, there should be small portion of this in your food as too much of it can cause obesity. Adequate use can be very positive as it provides energy and helps build insulin that combats diabetes.

Protein is also vital as this too produces amino acids in the body. But more importantly, it helps in the growth of body tissues and muscles and renews these tissues as they wear out. Various other components of the food is also necessary but you have to know what quantity of it you need to reach your goal.

Once the issue of dieting has been settled, you would want to go ahead with the normal exercise to fully sculpt your muscles. Concentrate on the whole muscles system instead of one part of the body.

In your workout exercise, include strength training as part of your routines. It will help you to fully advance in your muscle building activity by giving strength to the muscles. Watch your weights as you progress in your activity and make sure you maintain a particular weight. You can move on to other workout activity like resistance and endurance training to maximise your potential.

Natural Bodybuilding The Key To Endless Growth Part II

In the first part of this installment we examined how to build a road map to get to your destination. We talked about training the nervous system, innervation of specific body parts for symmetry, and advanced stage training.

In Part II we are going to examine the most common challenge bodybuilders face which is nutrition. Unfortunately there is so much confusion about what to eat, when to eat , how much to eat and on and on that it is almost impossible to sort out what to do. Also eating to grow is very different the eating to get shredded so the key point to remember is that your diet needs to evolve with your physique.

Consistency and self discipline on your eating is two biggest keys to long term success on whatever eating program that you are following. Bodybuilders who are successful always plan ahead and have meals prepared well in advance. If you don’t plan out your meals and have them with you at all times you will invariably fail in giving yourself the best possible gains. Hoping that restaurants, or friends or relatives will be serving “bodybuilding food” is unrealistic and leads to frustration as well as no progress.

Almost every person I have every met that could not gain weight or lose weight was simply because they did not prepare there food in advance. It sounds simple, and it is simple but few overlook this critical point. Don’t be one of those people who doesn’t prepare there meals in advance. In the Freaky Big Naturally training course there is a whole section on food prep to keep you on your eating program. I learned these food preparation and food avoidance skills over years of trial and error. Many people think that it is a matter of will power or won’t power but in reality it is simple preparation beforehand.

Here is a few simple rules to remember”

1. Always carry 1-2 meals with you more than you think you will need. This way any delays in your schedule will not throw your eating off.

2. Always eat before you go shopping, to the movies, or to other social occasions where non nutritious food will be served this way you will reduce any cravings for junk.

3. Prepare food in bulk and use Tupperware containers so that you can grab quick meals at any time. Also you will find it takes very little extra time to prepare 10 meals as it does one meal. This savings in time will actually make your life way more efficient and your eating plan easy to stick too.

4. Get off all artificial sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners cause cravings for sugar, mess up your metabolism and brain function, and may have negative effects on your overall health. Cut them out of your diet immediately and switch to Stevia, or Raw Honey for sweetening. NO Diet Sodas.

5. Drink plenty of water each day. Most often dehydration is misinterpreted as hunger. Slug back a liter of water 30 minutes before eating or when you feel hungry and you will see how it curbs appetite significantly.

6. Place nutritious snacks in you car, your office desk at your house basically everywhere that you spend a considerable amount of time. You will quickly develop the habit of eating healthy and junk foods will quickly lose there appeal.

7. Schedule a regular junk food meal once per week. This is a powerful lesson that starts building the will to understand delayed gratification. Every time you have a craving for junk food simply right it down and schedule to eat it on a set day. By the end of the week you can review the list and go eat those foods guilt free. Often times by the junk food day you won’t want the food or it won’t taste as good as you anticipated. Over time you will develop more control over your cravings and reduce negative guilt associations with food.

This list isn’t the be all and end all of eating but it gives you a start to work with.

Keep in mind that your eating program should evolve over time. Your body will naturally adjust from desiring different types of foods depending on a variety of factors such as season, nutrient levels, PH balance of the body, training demands, and conditioning levels to name a few.

Recording how food affects you as biofeedback is critical in understanding the powerful effects of food on your mood and your performance. Review your eating journal regularly so that you become aware of your patterns of eating as well developing awareness of how each food effects your body. Clients are always surprised at how much they can learn about food just by charting there eating patterns for a few months.

One final note is too remember you must master eating and training first before supplements can be effective. So many people try the other way around and wind up frustrated. No supplement can make up for a poor diet or poor training so vow to master these two facets first before wasting money on supplements. Once you master your diet than the right supplement at the right time can do wonders to improve performance but seldom does the supplement deliver when the diet is poor.

In the third part of this installment we will look at having a big reason why. The key to realizing your full physical potential.

Wade McNutt http://www.freakybignatural.com is a Natural National Bodybuilding Champion and an IFBB Mr. Universe World Champion. He combined the secrets of Eastern Yoga Masters with, scientific, muscle building to produce a revolutionary new system called Freaky Big Naturally. Learn More at: http://www.freakybignatural.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Wade_McNutt

Side Effects of Creatine Monohydrate Supplementation, Are They A Myth?

Don’t get me wrong I’m not going to play the devil’s advocate and come out and tell you that creatine monohydrate is actually awful and cancer causing and to avoid taking it for the sake of your life because such statements simply can’t be made. Study after study has now proven the effectiveness of creatine in assisting athletic performance in many ways and supplement junkies and health professionals are alike are recommending it to their best friends.

While the benefits and potential outcomes of creatine monohydrate are touted by every supplement salesman around, much less is said about the other side of creatine, potential side effects, health complications, and do’s and don’ts fly much less under the radar even though they are things that need to be known by anyone considering the now popular form of supplementation.

In its essence creatine as we all know by now is a naturally occuring compound and so has no dire effects under any circumstances to any human body. What I mean by the other side of creatine are things like:

Side effects of Creatine Monohydrate and Caffeine?

Some articles have suggested a relationship between creatine and caffeine that bears negative side effects. Actually being a misinterpretation, what was stated in a scientific study was that creatine absorbtion into muscle tissue may have been slowed down by the presence of caffeine in the bloodstream. Scientists have since discovered that creatine can be just as easily absorbed in the presence of caffeine as any substance and that the results of the original study may have been influenced by any number of other factors.

Will I get cramps as a side effect while taking creatine monohydrate?

Many studies have looked into the effects of muscle cramping during a creatine cycle with varying results. However, general knowledge and common sense provides a scientifically and now accepted reason for this. One of the ways creatine works is to super hydrate the muscles making them repair and recover more easily and be more prepared for a continual workload. This means that extra water must be consumed when taking creatine to compensate for the action of the supplement. If not enough water is taken and the body and muscles become dehydrated, cramps will occur, whether in the presence of creatine or not. So if cramps do occur during creatine monohydrate supplementation it is not a side effect of the product itself, merely a side effect of being dehydrated!

Creatine monohydrate and Stomach Discomfort side effects?

Because creatine particularly in its monohydrate form is particularly concentrated, some users report having stomach discomfort if they happen to take creatine doses too close together during the initial ‘loading’ phase. Of course this is easily solved by spacing your creatine doses appropriately or reducing the doses if they become a burden on your stomach, everyone is different.

These are the main concerns people have towards creatine, all of which as you can see are either minor concerns or the result of hearsay. In mine as in the opinion of many, the benefits of creatine monohydrate far outweigh any supposed side effects people may have invented.