Growing up I was always the little guy. I was the little guy on the
playground in grade school. I was the little guy in high school. It
seemed like I would never grow, put on weight and end the life of being
skinny.
The odd thing was that I ate plenty of food. I ate three
big meals a day and even added a few snacks in between. Later though I
discovered that what I was eating was not going to help a skinny guy get
bigger.
My Monster Brother
Shortly after
high school, I was about 5'8 and weighed around 120 pounds. I was skinny
to say the least. Not only was I skinny, but I was sick of being
skinny.
As it turns out, my brother was an avid weightlifter. He
wasn't just any weightlifter either. He was a huge weightlifter. He was
about 5'8 and weighed almost 240 pounds... and it wasn't fat either.
I
sat down with my brother and asked him directly, how can a skinny guy
get bigger? Heck, by this point I didn't even know if it was possible.
Because up until this point nothing I tried had ever worked.
After
a little discussion, my brother promised me that it wasn't an
impossible task for me to grow in size and he had a workout plan that
could help any skinny guy get bigger.
The Workout
I
had gone to the gym plenty of times in high school. The problem was I
didn't go consistently, which is a must when trying to get bigger. Also,
I didn't know how to work out in terms of which exercises to do and how
often I should be working out, etc. This is where my brother's plan
really came into play.
The funny thing is that like a lot of
people, I had always assumed that in order to workout correctly, you had
to spend hours and hours in the gym every single day. Well, maybe
collectively you spent hours in the gym, but for a single workout you
only needed to spend approximately 50 minutes in the gym four times a
week.
The workout my brother gave me involved training two body
parts a day and four exercises per body part. For the most part each
exercise included a warm up set and three heavy sets. - This came to a
total of eight exercises.
As far as workout frequency, I was to
work out two days, take a day off and then workout two more days before
taking the last two days off. The body needs time to rest in order to
grow.
read more here / http://www.buildmuscle2016.blogspot.com
dimanche 3 avril 2016
samedi 2 avril 2016
Cycle Training - Pushing to a Peak
There's an old saying "Make haste slowly", the ironic thing is that
if you push, push, push your workouts each and every session, you will
drive yourself into a sticking point. There is a subtle difference
between going all out in your training every time and cycling your
efforts to complement your physical and nervous systems. With cycling,
you build up intensity to peak, and then you taper off and consolidate
your gains by demanding somewhat less from your workouts. All athletes
do this. It's a kind of controlled progress.
Any condition that you can maintain year in, year out is not a peak condition. Your body can not be pushed to peak condition, but then it must rest. The edge will inevitably go, but it can be recalled and superseded with a new thrust. Making haste slowly applies very much to bodybuilding. In fact, it is the fastest way of building good quality muscle.
Cycle training is usually practised by the older or more experienced bodybuilder, who may have an all-consuming, fanatical approach to workouts. Day after day of blitzing muscles just doesn't fit their temperament.
Gains in muscular size and strength can only be forced temporarily. Long-term gains must be coaxed, induced in an agreeable manner, by gentle persuasion. Few athletes or bodybuilder, are willing or able to strain to the limit continuously. I doubt that anyone really wants to do curls, or any other exercise, until they are blue in the face, not in a regular basis anyway. The mind rebels. It will not face such effort day after day. Bodybuilding progress, like progress in any other activity is irregular; it's full of peaks and troughs. Don't expect to make continuous progress. A bodybuilder should push for a while, back off, and then push again.
One thing everyone seems to agree upon is that you can't run your body at full throttle all the time. You either have to cycle your training intensity or take occasional lay-offs.
Some bodybuilders cycle their training from one day to another. In other words, they perform a light (less intense) workout every once in a while. With some, this method involves two heavy workouts and two light workouts every seven to eight days. Others may choose to "go light" once every two weeks or so. The number of light (active rest) workouts you allot yourself will depend on your metabolism, your rate of recuperation, and your tolerance for vigorous exercise.
The most common form of cycling your training, however, is to gradually build up your training poundages, number of exercises, and duration of workouts to peak for a particular contest, and then to rest up by changing your exercise habits and down-grading your training intensity.
Also, there is evidence to show that those who push their muscles to failure and beyond for long periods of time and without interruption may overstimulate their adrenal glands, which then respond to the unrelenting stress by dumping excessive amounts of hormone into the bloodstream. It's nice to have a huge flow of adrenaline to help you in an emergency where you may have run or fight for your life, but when this response is triggered too frequently, the adrenal glands become overtaxed and exhausted, with a resulting reduction in output. In short, you become lethargic, lose interest, and show all signs of what is known as the "over training syndrome".
read more here / http://www.buildmuscle2016.blogspot.com
Any condition that you can maintain year in, year out is not a peak condition. Your body can not be pushed to peak condition, but then it must rest. The edge will inevitably go, but it can be recalled and superseded with a new thrust. Making haste slowly applies very much to bodybuilding. In fact, it is the fastest way of building good quality muscle.
Cycle training is usually practised by the older or more experienced bodybuilder, who may have an all-consuming, fanatical approach to workouts. Day after day of blitzing muscles just doesn't fit their temperament.
Gains in muscular size and strength can only be forced temporarily. Long-term gains must be coaxed, induced in an agreeable manner, by gentle persuasion. Few athletes or bodybuilder, are willing or able to strain to the limit continuously. I doubt that anyone really wants to do curls, or any other exercise, until they are blue in the face, not in a regular basis anyway. The mind rebels. It will not face such effort day after day. Bodybuilding progress, like progress in any other activity is irregular; it's full of peaks and troughs. Don't expect to make continuous progress. A bodybuilder should push for a while, back off, and then push again.
One thing everyone seems to agree upon is that you can't run your body at full throttle all the time. You either have to cycle your training intensity or take occasional lay-offs.
Some bodybuilders cycle their training from one day to another. In other words, they perform a light (less intense) workout every once in a while. With some, this method involves two heavy workouts and two light workouts every seven to eight days. Others may choose to "go light" once every two weeks or so. The number of light (active rest) workouts you allot yourself will depend on your metabolism, your rate of recuperation, and your tolerance for vigorous exercise.
The most common form of cycling your training, however, is to gradually build up your training poundages, number of exercises, and duration of workouts to peak for a particular contest, and then to rest up by changing your exercise habits and down-grading your training intensity.
Also, there is evidence to show that those who push their muscles to failure and beyond for long periods of time and without interruption may overstimulate their adrenal glands, which then respond to the unrelenting stress by dumping excessive amounts of hormone into the bloodstream. It's nice to have a huge flow of adrenaline to help you in an emergency where you may have run or fight for your life, but when this response is triggered too frequently, the adrenal glands become overtaxed and exhausted, with a resulting reduction in output. In short, you become lethargic, lose interest, and show all signs of what is known as the "over training syndrome".
read more here / http://www.buildmuscle2016.blogspot.com
vendredi 1 avril 2016
Why Bulking Up Is A Bad Idea
When you set out to improve your physique, your mindset and how
you think about training and nutrition is everything. It is the single
most important thing that will determine the results you get. Making
changes in your thinking can often yield huge improvements in results.
One such change many guys can make is getting rid of the idea of
"bulking" up. For years, men have wanted to "bulk" up when trying to put
on muscle and add mass to their physiques. Unfortunately this has lead
to many guys putting on a lot of one thing, fat.
When I think of the word bulk, as far as building a physique goes, I think of some nondescript type of weight. It could be muscle, it could be fat, it could be water. When most guys think of bulking up, they don't have a clear cut picture of what the end result looks like in their mind. All they know is that the want the weight on the scale to go up and they want to look bigger. So as long as those two things are happening, they are accomplishing their goal. Even if most of the weight they are adding is fat and water.
If you are gaining large amounts of fat around your arms, chest, back and legs, technically you are going to appear bigger and weigh more but you are not building a better physique. Because they don't have a clear cut picture of what they want to look like, it easily can lead to lack of training intensity and a poor diet, neither of which lead to being more muscular but can lead to weighing more.
The solution? When trying to add mass to your physique you don't want to be thinking about bulking up but rather you want to muscle up. In other words, you want to think about adding muscle mass only. This will help create a clearer picture in your mind of what you want to look like. You will see yourself as looking more muscular and not just bigger (although having more muscle generally leads to being bigger). This will inevitably move you to do the things necessary to create that physique (intense workouts, quality nutrition, etc.). This may seem like a small change in thinking. However, it is extremely powerful in changing your results for the better and is a change that anyone should definitely make.
When I think of the word bulk, as far as building a physique goes, I think of some nondescript type of weight. It could be muscle, it could be fat, it could be water. When most guys think of bulking up, they don't have a clear cut picture of what the end result looks like in their mind. All they know is that the want the weight on the scale to go up and they want to look bigger. So as long as those two things are happening, they are accomplishing their goal. Even if most of the weight they are adding is fat and water.
If you are gaining large amounts of fat around your arms, chest, back and legs, technically you are going to appear bigger and weigh more but you are not building a better physique. Because they don't have a clear cut picture of what they want to look like, it easily can lead to lack of training intensity and a poor diet, neither of which lead to being more muscular but can lead to weighing more.
The solution? When trying to add mass to your physique you don't want to be thinking about bulking up but rather you want to muscle up. In other words, you want to think about adding muscle mass only. This will help create a clearer picture in your mind of what you want to look like. You will see yourself as looking more muscular and not just bigger (although having more muscle generally leads to being bigger). This will inevitably move you to do the things necessary to create that physique (intense workouts, quality nutrition, etc.). This may seem like a small change in thinking. However, it is extremely powerful in changing your results for the better and is a change that anyone should definitely make.
jeudi 31 mars 2016
Building Muscle - Setting Your Calorie Intake For Lean Muscle Mass Gain
If you have a goal to build more lean muscle mass, one step you
will want to take is to make sure you take into account your calorie
intake. While it's great to get to the gym and...
if you aren't fueling your body to build new muscle, you simply won't get very far.
So how does one go about building more lean muscle mass? Let's go over what you need to know about setting your calorie intake for lean mass gains...
Step One: Identify Your Maintenance Requirements. The very first thing you'll want to do is identify your maintenance needs. Basically, how many calories do you need in a given day to just maintain your body weight?
If you do not know this, it's time to start tracking your calories. Once you do, you'll have a place to start. Until you know how many calories you need daily to maintain your body weight, you will not know where to start from to start seeing muscle mass gains.
Step Two: Add 100 to 250 Calories Per Day To Your Eating Plan. The next step is to begin adding 100 to 250 calories per day, based on how quickly you want to build lean muscle mass. Keep in mind though adding more calories is not necessarily better.
Your body can only build so much muscle in a day, so any calories taken beyond this will just lead to excess fat gain.
Slow and steady is the name of this game. It takes roughly 3500 calories to gain one pound of body weight: something to keep in mind. For staying lean, you should aim to gain anywhere from 1 to 3 pounds per month. Males can err on the higher end of this range while females should err on the lower end.
Step Three: Monitor Your Progress. Once you have your new calorie intake figured out, it's time to get going. Begin eating at this level and monitor your progress.
If you aren't gaining at the weight you expected, adjust your calorie intake accordingly - either up or down.
Step Four: Re-Evaluate. Finally, you'll need to re-evaluate your calorie intake on a regular basis. Remember you may start hitting a plateau after you have gained some weight: this is the time you need to increase your calorie intake further. Constantly be adjusting so you can see ongoing results.
If you calculate your eating plan properly, you can rest assured you will be on track to building more lean muscle mass, transforming yourself in the process.
- focus on lifting heavy,
- doing all the strength training exercises you know are critical to success,
if you aren't fueling your body to build new muscle, you simply won't get very far.
So how does one go about building more lean muscle mass? Let's go over what you need to know about setting your calorie intake for lean mass gains...
Step One: Identify Your Maintenance Requirements. The very first thing you'll want to do is identify your maintenance needs. Basically, how many calories do you need in a given day to just maintain your body weight?
If you do not know this, it's time to start tracking your calories. Once you do, you'll have a place to start. Until you know how many calories you need daily to maintain your body weight, you will not know where to start from to start seeing muscle mass gains.
Step Two: Add 100 to 250 Calories Per Day To Your Eating Plan. The next step is to begin adding 100 to 250 calories per day, based on how quickly you want to build lean muscle mass. Keep in mind though adding more calories is not necessarily better.
Your body can only build so much muscle in a day, so any calories taken beyond this will just lead to excess fat gain.
Slow and steady is the name of this game. It takes roughly 3500 calories to gain one pound of body weight: something to keep in mind. For staying lean, you should aim to gain anywhere from 1 to 3 pounds per month. Males can err on the higher end of this range while females should err on the lower end.
Step Three: Monitor Your Progress. Once you have your new calorie intake figured out, it's time to get going. Begin eating at this level and monitor your progress.
If you aren't gaining at the weight you expected, adjust your calorie intake accordingly - either up or down.
Step Four: Re-Evaluate. Finally, you'll need to re-evaluate your calorie intake on a regular basis. Remember you may start hitting a plateau after you have gained some weight: this is the time you need to increase your calorie intake further. Constantly be adjusting so you can see ongoing results.
If you calculate your eating plan properly, you can rest assured you will be on track to building more lean muscle mass, transforming yourself in the process.
Although managing Type 2 diabetes can be very challenging, it is
not a condition you must just live with. Make simple changes to your
daily routine - include exercise to help lower both your blood sugar
levels and your weight.
mercredi 30 mars 2016
Building Muscle With Exercise Machines or Free Weights
If you are thinking about getting into shape, strength training is a good way to improve the different muscle groups in the body. There are loads of different machines that can help. You can either go to the gym or workout at home.
If you want to get the best workout it is good to know if exercise machines are better than free weights or vice versa. They both have advantages as well as disadvantages, so it is worthwhile figuring out what would fit your muscle building needs.
Today free weights such as dumbbells are often a single weight and made in one piece. However, barbells have a bar with weights that can be removed or added to the bar.
Barbells tend to be less expensive but can take some time away from your routine if you have to stop and add or replace weights.
When it comes to exercise machines, weight stack machines can either be single exercise or multiple. The multiple machine can be adjusted so you can perform a variety of exercises.
The good news about free weights is that they will be able to help you strengthen the entire body. The exercises are also fairly easy to perform.
With free weights you just need to stand while holding the weights. Since your muscles are involved in lifting the weight, your muscle strength is improved.
However, there is an advantage when using machines to train your muscles. They are easy to use and come with controls and guides that direct the resistance level.
You also don't need anyone to spot you which you should have when lifting barbells.
Also you can easily make adjustments on the machines making them very popular for at home workouts or at the gym.
With free weights there is a concern for safety. Performing a bench press with a barbell means that you could be trapped if you fail to complete the lift. Since this is possible, working out with someone is important.
You might also want to keep in mind the amount of control needed to stabilize your muscles. This is needed so that you don't injure your joints or muscles.
There are a number of resistance machines on the market and they all have different qualities. They are often designed for the typical user which means height, limb lengths and how much a person weighs.
You should know that the when exercising the motion is guided by the machine and not you. Often this means that the motion is not perfect for your limb length or your body size. The result could mean that you aren't getting the best form of exercise for the results you seek.
All in all it is a personal choice when it comes to choosing between free weights and exercise machines. However, free weights can be better for achieving stabilization of the muscles and as well there is freedom in your motions. Exercise machines on the other hand are easy to use.
Whatever form of exercise you decide to use to build your muscles, consider your fitness goals first and then decide. You might also consider doing a combination of both types of weighted exercises.
read more here / http://www.buildmuscle2016.blogspot.com
If you want to get the best workout it is good to know if exercise machines are better than free weights or vice versa. They both have advantages as well as disadvantages, so it is worthwhile figuring out what would fit your muscle building needs.
Today free weights such as dumbbells are often a single weight and made in one piece. However, barbells have a bar with weights that can be removed or added to the bar.
Barbells tend to be less expensive but can take some time away from your routine if you have to stop and add or replace weights.
When it comes to exercise machines, weight stack machines can either be single exercise or multiple. The multiple machine can be adjusted so you can perform a variety of exercises.
The good news about free weights is that they will be able to help you strengthen the entire body. The exercises are also fairly easy to perform.
With free weights you just need to stand while holding the weights. Since your muscles are involved in lifting the weight, your muscle strength is improved.
However, there is an advantage when using machines to train your muscles. They are easy to use and come with controls and guides that direct the resistance level.
You also don't need anyone to spot you which you should have when lifting barbells.
Also you can easily make adjustments on the machines making them very popular for at home workouts or at the gym.
With free weights there is a concern for safety. Performing a bench press with a barbell means that you could be trapped if you fail to complete the lift. Since this is possible, working out with someone is important.
You might also want to keep in mind the amount of control needed to stabilize your muscles. This is needed so that you don't injure your joints or muscles.
There are a number of resistance machines on the market and they all have different qualities. They are often designed for the typical user which means height, limb lengths and how much a person weighs.
You should know that the when exercising the motion is guided by the machine and not you. Often this means that the motion is not perfect for your limb length or your body size. The result could mean that you aren't getting the best form of exercise for the results you seek.
All in all it is a personal choice when it comes to choosing between free weights and exercise machines. However, free weights can be better for achieving stabilization of the muscles and as well there is freedom in your motions. Exercise machines on the other hand are easy to use.
Whatever form of exercise you decide to use to build your muscles, consider your fitness goals first and then decide. You might also consider doing a combination of both types of weighted exercises.
read more here / http://www.buildmuscle2016.blogspot.com
mardi 29 mars 2016
How Much Is Too Much Protein?
Everyone has the mindset where we believe that the more protein the
better right? But in this case, is more really better after a workout?
We have all been there when you've just finished a workout and the first
thing you know you're supposed to ingest is protein and lots of it! We
want to maximize our protein synthesis and build our lean muscle so we
believe that ingesting protein in large quantities will benefit us. I
mean, protein helps build muscle and ultimately that's what were aiming
for isn't it? I know I've gone home from the gym and had more than
enough protein to fill up two grown men because I thought that it would
give me the muscles I was yearning for however, new research shows that
too much protein could actually be bad for you.
There's a study called "Myofibrillar muscle protein synthesis rates subsequent to a meal in response to increasing doses of whey protein at rest and after resistance exercise" which states that 40 grams of protein after a workout is actually not beneficial whereas 20 grams seems to be the perfect amount. This study tested young men after a weight training workout with both 20 grams of protein and 40 grams. 40 grams of protein resulted in a stimulation of amino acid oxidation and ureagenesis which, in other words, didn't add any extra benefits however, the 20 gram protein intake did.
Let's back up for a minute and go over what protein really is. Proteins are large molecules made up of smaller molecules called amino acids. There are 20 different types of these acids used to make protein. When you eat protein, your body does a breakdown of these amino's and sends them where your body is in need of them the most. Protein's main job is to build, maintain and repair body tissues. Eating too much protein can have a major effect on your kidneys causing a whole list of issues so ladies and gentlemen, protein in moderation is key.
By not consuming too much protein, your body ultimately focuses on burning FAT for fuel instead of the excess protein you keep ingesting thinking your doing your body good when you're actually hindering it.
read more here / http://www.buildmuscle2016.blogspot.com
There's a study called "Myofibrillar muscle protein synthesis rates subsequent to a meal in response to increasing doses of whey protein at rest and after resistance exercise" which states that 40 grams of protein after a workout is actually not beneficial whereas 20 grams seems to be the perfect amount. This study tested young men after a weight training workout with both 20 grams of protein and 40 grams. 40 grams of protein resulted in a stimulation of amino acid oxidation and ureagenesis which, in other words, didn't add any extra benefits however, the 20 gram protein intake did.
Let's back up for a minute and go over what protein really is. Proteins are large molecules made up of smaller molecules called amino acids. There are 20 different types of these acids used to make protein. When you eat protein, your body does a breakdown of these amino's and sends them where your body is in need of them the most. Protein's main job is to build, maintain and repair body tissues. Eating too much protein can have a major effect on your kidneys causing a whole list of issues so ladies and gentlemen, protein in moderation is key.
By not consuming too much protein, your body ultimately focuses on burning FAT for fuel instead of the excess protein you keep ingesting thinking your doing your body good when you're actually hindering it.
read more here / http://www.buildmuscle2016.blogspot.com
samedi 26 mars 2016
5 Amazing Shoulder Workouts
Having those firm, rounded, toned shoulders is not the easiest task
in the world especially if you really don't know exactly what to do.
Being pregnant has completely changed my workout routine in what I can
and cannot do so I do a lot of high repetitions with low weight. To
achieve really rounded, defined shoulders you need to hit your deltoids,
upper trapezius, serratus anterior, rotator cuff muscles, and levator
scapulae. I have compiled a list of my favorite shoulder workouts to
help you get started on your quest for more defined shoulders so let's
get started.
1) Seated Shoulder Press
While being seated on a military press bench that is in an upright position, take a dumbbell in each hand and set in an upright position on your thighs. Lift each weight (one at a time is best) to shoulder height and with palms facing front, push the dumbbells upward over your head until they touch at the top.
2) Standing Dumbbell Fly
While standing, hold a dumbbell in each hand by your sides and swing the weights up a few inches without using your trap muscles to shrug.
3) Cable Face Pull
Using a rope handle to use at the cable station, put the cable all the way to the top and attach the handle. Holding the end of each rope, make sure palms are facing each other, and pull towards your forehead with your rear delts, and back fully activated. Hold this position for a few extra seconds and repeat.
4) One Armed Side Lateral Raises
Holding a dumbbell, position it in front of your pelvis with your elbow bent slightly. With your free hand, hold onto something such as the military bench for support and bend over with knees slightly bent. Raise your arm until it reaches shoulder height and then lower and repeat.
5) Front Plate Raise
Standing with your legs apart, hold onto the plate with both hands and raise until your arms are parallel to the ground. I do these with a ten pound plate and I do these slow and controlled to really feel my shoulders burn. Another tip for doing these raises is to not use your body to hoist the plate into the air taking the emphasis off the actual muscle your working out.
1) Seated Shoulder Press
While being seated on a military press bench that is in an upright position, take a dumbbell in each hand and set in an upright position on your thighs. Lift each weight (one at a time is best) to shoulder height and with palms facing front, push the dumbbells upward over your head until they touch at the top.
2) Standing Dumbbell Fly
While standing, hold a dumbbell in each hand by your sides and swing the weights up a few inches without using your trap muscles to shrug.
3) Cable Face Pull
Using a rope handle to use at the cable station, put the cable all the way to the top and attach the handle. Holding the end of each rope, make sure palms are facing each other, and pull towards your forehead with your rear delts, and back fully activated. Hold this position for a few extra seconds and repeat.
4) One Armed Side Lateral Raises
Holding a dumbbell, position it in front of your pelvis with your elbow bent slightly. With your free hand, hold onto something such as the military bench for support and bend over with knees slightly bent. Raise your arm until it reaches shoulder height and then lower and repeat.
5) Front Plate Raise
Standing with your legs apart, hold onto the plate with both hands and raise until your arms are parallel to the ground. I do these with a ten pound plate and I do these slow and controlled to really feel my shoulders burn. Another tip for doing these raises is to not use your body to hoist the plate into the air taking the emphasis off the actual muscle your working out.
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