You can only build muscle if your body is in the correct anabolic balance to allow growth to take place. Intensive exercise is clearly an important part of the muscle building process but achieving the maximum muscle mass depends on putting the building blocks in place. This is achieved through sound nutritional practices so you need to be aware of the following anabolic enhancing principles:
1. Protein is the basic raw material needed to build muscle. Protein supplies the amino acids that the body uses to repair and build muscle following intensive exercise. Aim to consume 1 to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight each day from food like beef, fish, poultry, eggs, milk and whey. Spread the load over at least six meals to derive the optimum benefit and avoid overloading the liver.
2. Carbohydrates are needed to energize the muscle building process. Carbohydrates stimulate the release of insulin which pushes the amino acids into muscle cells to begin the process of repair. The body uses carbohydrates as a source of energy - consume too little and the body will steal protein that would otherwise be used for repairing and building muscle. Aim to consume 1.5 to 2 grams of carbohydrate per pound of body weight each day from foods like potatoes, pasta, rice, vegetables and whole wheat bread.
3. Boost your calories. Unless your main aim is to reduce fat you need a positive caloric balance if you want to build muscle. Make sure that your daily calorie intake is 10% higher than your energy expenditure for daily maintenance and that the calories are acquired from a diet characterized by a ratio of 50% carbohydrates, 40% proteins and 10% fat.
4. Get plenty of rest both in terms of adequate rest days between training sessions and sufficient sleep. Your muscles won’t grow if you don’t build adequate recovery time into your training program. Similarly, you can only optimize your body’s levels of testosterone and growth hormone if you spend enough time sleeping.
5. Consume quality supplements to support a sound nutritious diet. For most people it should be enough to add whey protein, creatine and l-glutamine to your daily diet.
6. Don’t overdo the aerobic exercise. Your aim is to increase muscle mass therefore you don’t want to burn excessive calories that could be utilized for bulking up.
7. Drink plenty of water. Failure to drink sufficient quantities of water will lead to dehydration and adversely affect your muscle mass. Don’t forget that muscle is 70% water so a generous intake will maintain muscle volume and help growth.
Rick Mitchell has written numerous articles aimed at helping athletes, from beginners to advanced, understand how to build muscle and increase strength. He has also developed several supporting web resources including Muscle Building Tips
Strength training has a lot of advantages for women, and particularly for women aged 35 to 40 and older. By the age of 40, women generally begin to lose bone density and muscle mass. One study at Tufts University, designed by the author of ‘Strong Women Stay Young’, Miriam Nelson PH.D, found that instead of losing bone density and muscle mass, the women were 15 to 20 years younger after one year of weight training. They gained bone density, and their strength tests matched women who were in their 30’s and 40’s.
These women didn’t diet, but they did end up looking slimmer. Some lost 1 or 2 dress sizes, and they all replaced fat with muscle. Because muscle weighs more than fat, this is the reason they looked slimmer, though the scales may not have changed much.
The women in this study were all post menopausal, and some of their ages were in the 50’s and 60’s. They made some remarkable changes in their lives as they got stronger. One woman described going rollerblading with her children. Another went canoeing with her husband. More than any pills or potions, strength training gave these women back a youthfulness some didn’t even have to that degree in the first place.
The women in this study used leg weights and free hand weights that were adjustible in their strength training program. They started at a level they were able to - even if this was the lightest weights available. They didn’t buy lots of expensive equipment or home gyms, and many of these can be bought second hand with a little research locally. As they developed their strength, they invested in heavier weights.
For the strap on ankle weights, they started with 1 to 3 kilograms in each cuff. The suggested ankle cuffs hold up to 10 kilograms each. The dumbells they used for their arms were adjustable, and they started with 1 or 2 kilograms. The only other equipment they needed was a chair, somewhere to store the weights, and a towel. Because you’re working out in your own home you don’t need to buy expensive or flashy gym clothes, or worry about feeling the odd one out.
The workout itself is in the book, Stong Women Stay Young. It covers a range of basic exercises that don’t take up too much time, which is suggested you do twice a week. Each session takes about 40 minutes including warming up and cooling down.
Tips for women working out with weights at home
* Make sure the area you’re working in doesn’t have rugs, electrical cords, toys and other items that you can trip over
* Keep your pets and young children away from this area whilst you’re working out
* If you’re using a chair when you do exercises, make sure it’s on a carpet that won’t slide around. If you don’t have carpet, put the chair against the wall so it stays stable
* If you have problems with your back, you’ll need to be careful when you’re carrying your free weights around. Take a few trips to carry things if you have to move them in or out of a storage area. And make sure you lift them properly by bending your knees and moving slowly.
* It helps to keep the weights you’re not currently using in their container. That way they can’t be knocked off by curious children.
* If you’re using leg weights, don’t walk around with them on. It could affect your balance. And if you trip on something, you are more likely to injure yourself than normal
* Keep the telephone off the hook, and the cellphone off. That way if someone rings you won’t be interrupted
* Make sure you have some drinking water nearby in case you get thirsty.
* Don’t drink any alcohol, even a little bit, less than a couple of hours before you exercise
* Try and make sure you haven’t just eaten a meal before you work out. But by the same token, make sure you’re not starving! If you’re really hungry, you could become light headed or dizzy when you work out.
* Don’t forget to warm up!
* If you’re using weights, try doing them in front of a mirror so you can check your posture. You’ll get more out of the exercise, and work the right muscles. Sometimes our posture becomes so habitual we don’t realize it’s not quite right until we see it
* If you’re using weights, a good posture means you’re chin is down slightly, so that it’s aligned with your neck. Your neck is in line with your spine, shoulders are straight and not stiff, back is straight, and your knees are not locked or bent. Your pelvis should be tucked under a little
* When using weights, do the lifts slowly. This really works the muscles instead of letting the motion do the work for you.
* Make sure you pause for a count between lifting the weight up, and lowering it
* Don’t hold your breath whilst you’re lifting wights. Given that we’re contracting muscles, sometimes we unconsciously hold our breaths at the same time. Remember to breath, but don’t go the other extreme and hyperventilate!
References: Miriam Nelson and Sarah Wernick, Strong Women Stay Young (Lothian)
Rebecca Prescott runs the website: http://www.articlehealthandfitness.com For more articles on fitness, click here. For articles on activities like running and walking, click here.
In the pursuit of your physical goals you must always be receptive to education. If an opportunity to improve your training presents itself grasp it, learn it and apply it. Sometimes it is huge change such as a brand new training program other times it is a subtle concept like the one I will discuss today.
Once you have taken your physique to a respectable level you need to pay attention to these sort of details to fine tune the various areas of your body you consider to be sub-par. There will be sections of your body that lag compared to your dominant muscle groups. Therefore you must devise strategies to create symmetry and balance throughout. This will make you stand out from the crowd.
By adjusting something as basic as the hand grip on a dumbbell you can perfect the execution of an exercise. This will increase the specificity of the movement, which means the target muscle will be stimulated to its full potential. That is an unstoppable step forward.
I won’t go through the full exercise technique descriptions as they are fully explained at http://www.globalweighttraining.com. Only the hand grip adjustments will be discussed.
The Exercises…
1. ALL DUMBBELL LATERAL RAISE MOVEMENTS
Change - Hold the back of the dumbbell so that the little finger is against the outside plate. Let the front of the dumbbell rotate forwards slightly as you lift it.
Result - The lateral deltoid (side of the shoulder) will move into a position where it will become the prime mover. This will reduce the involvement of the anterior deltoid (front of the shoulder) and broaden your shoulders.
2. ALL DUMBBELL CHEST PRESS MOVEMENTS
Change - Hold the inside of the dumbbell so that the thumb is against the inside plate.
Result - The dumbbell will tilt outwards slightly aligning the wrist and hand into a safe and comfortable position.
3. ALL DUMBBELL SHOULDER PRESS MOVEMENTS
Change - Hold the inside of the dumbbell so that the thumb is against the inside plate.
Result - The dumbbell will tilt outwards slightly aligning the wrist and hand into a safe and comfortable position.
4. ALL DUMBBELL BICEP CURL MOVEMENTS (DOES NOT INCLUDE HAMMER CURLS)
Change - With palms facing up hold the inside of the dumbbell so that the little finger is against the inside plate. Let the thumb and dumbbell rotate outwards.
Result - The biceps will move into their position of greatest contraction. This will cause the greatest amount of muscle fiber innervation building peak and volume.
Experiment with these techniques for the greatest results in your training. For any more information contact us at http://www.globalweighttraining.com where your questions are important to us and will be answered as soon as possible. Train hard and smart!
Joey Sheather, the head trainer at Global Weight Training,
has a degree in Sports Science, is a certified personal trainer, and has helped
both beginners and experienced pros achieve their physical goals faster than
they ever thought possible. For a free 10-part mini-course on ‘The 10 Essential
Steps For Getting The Most Out Of Your Workouts’ visit:
http://www.globalweighttraining.com
Have you ever heard a bodybuilder say, “You need to work your legs to build your arms”? While there is in fact quite a lot of truth to this advice, it also hints at a solution to break through training plateaus and pack on muscle when you’re a hard gainer. This article explains how to use exercise to anabolically “prime” your body to boost workout gains and offer a natural alternative to the use of dangerous and illegal steroids.
Exercise and adaptation responses
Most serious bodybuilders and exercisers will have experienced the frustration of training plateaus - that is the more they work out, the harder it is to make gains in muscle size and strength. Why is this? To put it very simply, the reason is that the once wide window of adaptation when beginning a workout routine for the first time has now shrunk several fold.
Weights and exercise intensities that used to stimulate muscle size and strength no longer have the same effect. Under natural (non-steroid/drug enhanced) development conditions, the human body places restrictions on adaptation to ensure survival and balance or homeostasis.
It would appear that the solution to this problem would be to increase the body’s anabolic hormone response to allow for further adapation however, the “natural regulation” process frustrates many bodybuilders and causes many to look to steroids for a solution.
Exercise and the anabolic hormone response
In an earlier article on our website we discussed the interaction of bodybuilding-type exercises and the hormonal responses associated with them. Anabolic steroids we explained are responsible not only for “building up” and enlarging various types of tissue such as muscle and bone but also for directly increasing strength, which indirectly leads to further gains in muscle size. In the same article, we mentioned that anabolic hormone response can be manipulated with exercise.
According to the NSCA – the world’s leading authority on strength and conditioning, manipulating one or a combination of the following factors can naturally boost testosterone levels:
· Exercises that use large muscle groups
· Exercises that use heavy resistance (85-95% 1RM)
· Moderate to high exercise volume (multiple exercises/sets)
· Short rest periods between exercises (< 60 sec)
Similarly, it is possible to increase Human Growth Hormone (HGH) and its associated growth factors such as Insulin-like Growth Factor I (IGF-I) by manipulating one or a combination of the following factors:
· Exercises that generate higher lactate levels
· Exercises that require a high total work (e.g. 3 x 10 RM)
· Short rest periods between exercises (< 60 sec)
· Power output is a key factor in anabolic hormone responses
Power output is a measure of the ability to perform work in a set period of time or alternatively, the ability to generate force at a particular speed. High muscle power output would then be an indication of the ability to perform a high level of (muscle) work in a short period of time.
Now if we take this concept and apply it to the above-mentioned factors, it is clear that total muscle power output is one of the primary factors contributing to the testosterone and HGH/IGF-I response during resistance exercise.
So exercises such as heavy squats and deadlifts that target the very large, powerful muscles of the legs (quads, hamstrings and glutes) and back (erector spinea) are ideally suited for “anabolic priming.”
How does this type of exercise create a more anabolic environment in the body?
The following are some of the suspected mechanisms leading to the increased anabolic state:
· Since control of anabolic hormone release is directly dependent on the hypothalamic-pituitary axis (the link between the hypothalamus and pituitary gland), it is possible that intense physical exercise/stress itself may stimulate increased concentrations either directly or indirectly
· Fluid shifts from the blood into the cells during intense exercise may concentrate hormone levels with no actual increase in secretion levels
· Venous pooling of blood (muscle “pump”) in the exercised muscle may increase hormone concentrations by reducing clearance and degradation in organs like the liver. It is also suspected that retention of blood in the veins of the exercised muscle may increase the time of exposure and the likelihood of the hormone binding with its specific receptor in muscle tissue
· Sarcolemmas (membranes surrounding muscles) of involved muscles are mechanically sensitized (stretched) from force generation stress and made more permeable to available anabolic hormones and growth factors
What is the suggested protocol for using exercise as an anabolic primer?
A good way for a bodybuilder to take advantage of the body’s natural anabolic priming system is to perform a combined upper and lower body routine. In other words, upper and lower body exercises are performed in the same workout session.
This type of routine can, for example be performed 2 – 3 times per week to separate any upper/lower body split programs. On the split days, you can still choose to perform just the “priming exercises” before exercising the arms and back for example.
The hormone “spike “ induced from the exercising of the large muscles of the legs early in the routine creates a greatly boosted anabolic environment for exercising the smaller, less powerful muscles of the upper body like the chest and arms. Increases in testosterone will also boost strength levels via increased motor nerve activity which will in turn, allow for more exercise-induced muscle damage and muscle growth (ideal for “hard arm size gainers”).
So to anabolically prime your body, try performing the following:
Begin your weightlifting session with 3 - 4 sets of deadlifts or squats at 85 – 95% of your 1 RM (if you don’t know your 1 RM, aim for 2 – 6 repetitions)
· Rest no longer than 60 seconds between sets
· Perform your traditional combined upper body/lower body routine or split routine as normal
· Drink a carbohydrate and protein mix drink during and after your routine as this has shown to boost IGF-I levels
In closing, this article has briefly explained the concept of “anabolic priming” using exercise. It is suggested that you experiment with other exercises that will have the same effect as squats and deadlifts to avoid boredom and ensure a varied training stimulus and sufficient anabolic response.
David Petersen is a Personal Trainer/Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and the owner and founder of B.O.S.S. Fitness Inc. based in Oldsmar, Florida. More articles and information can be found at http://www.bossfitness.com
NOTE: You’re free to republish this article on your website, in your newsletter, in your e-book or in other publications provided the article is reproduced in its entirety, including this note, author information and all LIVE website links as above.
First off I want to mention that, for most people, getting six pack abs is not an easy task. It requires serious dedication, but it is possible! If were blessed with naturally low body fat and good muscle definition, enjoy it! Otherwise, below is a general 2-step guide that, if followed religiously for 3 months, will produce results.
Step 1: Nutrition
This is the single most important part of the puzzle, hands down. You can have the most impressive set of abs, but if they’re covered with a layer of fat, you won’t see them! Break up your day with 5 or 6 mini-meals because this jump starts your metabolism. And stop eating the food that is preventing results: white bread, loads of pasta, soda, candy, fast food, hydrogenated oils, sugars and fructose corn syrup.
Instead, replace them with foods that will help you reach your goal: oatmeal, olive oil, whole grain breads, fruits, vegetables, nuts, peanut butter, chicken, fish, protein and water. Be realistic- you’ll slip here and there, but make a conscious effort to radically improve your eating habits because getting a six pack will be impossible if you don’t.
Step 2: Exercise
You need to concern yourself with 3 different exercises: cardio, weightlifting and ab exercises. And aim to workout no less than 4 times a week.
The cardio you do can be anything: walking, running, biking, swimming….whichever cardio you don’t mind doing so that you’ll stick with it. Aim for 30-45 minutes, a minimum of 2 times a week.
Weightlifting is important because 3 pounds of added muscle burns as many calories as a 1 mile jog…and this is while you’re just sitting around! Aim for 30-45 minutes, a minimum of 2 times a week. If you’re confused as to what exercises to do for each body part, check out out the following website. It features professional bodybuilders, but the information is great and can be used by anyone.
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.htm
The last exercise you need to incorporate into your workout is ab exercises. Aim to work your abs a minimum of 3 times a week. There are a ton of different ab exercises you can do so try to find 3 or so that you enjoy doing so you can mix it up. A good database of different ab exercises is:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exername.php?MainMuscle=Abdominals
Well, there you have it. Follow the above for 3 months religiously, and while results will vary from person to person, you will experience improvement. It will take serious dedication on your part, but imagine the feeling you’ll get when you look in the mirror and like what you see.
Ryan Cote is the owner of http://www.SimpleHealth123.com, a leading health and wellness resource. Come visit and download his free health and wellness e-mail course, 4 Days to Better Health.
All About Abs
What You Really Need to Know About Abdominals: Two Key Concepts You Must Meet to Let Out the 6 Pack
Introduction - Understanding the Abdominals
Congratulations!
You are about to learn about a region of the body that almost everybody wants but somehow the secrets escape them. The weight loss industry may be a billion dollar a year market but a close second is all the late night infomercials about abs, 6 packs, 6 second abs and how to get ready for the beach and show off that region.
When it comes to abdominal training there are two basic areas of confusion. First, the myth exists that a ’specific’ region exists like the ‘lower abdominals.’ Many people will claim their upper ab region is developing just fine but the lower abs are not responding to training. They are looking for a magic lower ab exercise that will target that region. If you do a search for any muscular images of the abdominals, it’s clear that the rectus abdominus (a long winded name for the abs) is just a single muscle running from the sternum to the pelvis. These ‘lower abdominals’ simply don’t exist.
The reason the lower region seems to be less responsive to training is that it is a natural fat storage area! Simply put, your entire ab region is probably responding to overall training but the lower region is simply not showing because it is covered up by a layer of fat. That area just happens to be the place that fat is the last to go. Very simply, the lower abdominal area is benefiting from your crunches and reverse crunches. The problem is, you just can’t see it!
TEST: If you don’t believe this then try this simple test: lie down on the floor in a typical crunch position. Place one hand on your lower abdominal area and the other on your upper abdominal area. Now perform a slowing crunching movement. You will feel both areas contract simultaneously as you curl up.
The second area of confusion revolves around exercise selection. Almost everybody still continues to perform hanging leg raises, knee-ups or similar exercises in an attempt to target the ‘lower abs.’ While these exercises do affect the abdominal area, they are not the best selection.
It’s easy to clear up this exercise selection confusion if you understand the differences between the hip-flexion and trunk-flexion. A muscle called the psoas and related muscles (this is located deep against the spine) are responsible for hip-flexion while your abdominals are responsible for trunk-flexion.
Hip Flexion: Occurs when your lift your knee (or knees) towards your chest. For example, when you do a hanging knee-up, you will feel a burning sensation in the lower abdominal region (this alone convinces most people it’s working that area). What is actually happening is the psoas is being stressed. You’ll never be lean enough to see this muscle! Of course the abdominals are involved in this exercise for stabilization but it’s not the primary muscle and so it’s not the most effective. Other concerns revolve around the psoas being overworked that can lead to back problems.
Trunk Flexion: Occurs when you perform an exercise where the pelvis and sternum approach each other during the movement. At this point, you are in a state of maximal trunk flexion. Going any further and you’ll engage the psoas muscle and you will be using hip-flexion (like in a full sit-up). When you train your abdominals you need to flex (or contact) your trunk.
FACT: For effective abdominal training, stick with trunk flexion movements (crunches and reverse crunches).
This series will focus on trunk flexion exercises so that tension is directly on the abdominals as that is the primary muscle we want to work. [Other muscles involved in stabilization will be involved but will not be the primary focus.]
That’s all! The abdominals are just a muscle like everything else. There’s nothing special about them that makes them any harder to obtain or develop then any other muscle group. Still, there are thousands of messages on community forums and fitness gurus everywhere get hundreds of messages a day regarding this. Not to mention the countless ab technology products that appear in stores every year promising a faster, easier way to get ripped abs. The purpose of this report is to tell you exactly step-by- step what you need to do to get ripped abdominals.
The Myths of Ripped Abdominals: - Countless crunches - Working them out every day - Strange machines or dangerous exercises - Fad diets - Fat burner pills - Marathon cardio sessions - Targeting lower and upper regions
The Secret of Ripped Abdominals: - Low percentage of body fat - Having the muscle to show
Did I just blow the end of the story for you? Hopefully not.
Key Concept #1: You Must Have a Low Percentage of Body Fat For starters, if you have a layer of body fat covering the region, you will never be able to show the abs. For men, this is the LAST place the fat will disappear from which makes it the hardest body part to show.
You “get abs” from reducing your body fat and you reduce body fat mostly through diet and cardio..
And yet, somehow this concept escapes people. In order for the abs to show proudly, you must have a low percentage of body fat! There’s really not a whole lot more to it.
Men: 10% or lower Women: 15% or lower
Why is that so difficult for most people?
Simple. In order to get your body fat that low you must be absolutely focused on your diet and fat burning metabolism. 99% of people (including myself) are not as perfect on the diet as to burn off our natural body fat stores. So in order to get rid of that last layer, you must burn off the last remaining body fat stores. And to do that you must have great nutrition habits (above and beyond just being active).
Key Concept #2: You Must Have Abs to Show
First off…
If you are 110 lbs and just skin and bones and 3% body fat but no muscle really, then it’s not a surprise why your abs aren’t popping out every time you take off your shirt. There are a few people I’ve run across that are well below the 10% body fat limit and yet they are puzzled when their abdominals don’t show. That’s almost as easy as 1+1. You MUST have abs to show!
You can have a low body fat percentage but if you don’t have anything to show, you’ll just see a flat stomach (which is good) but no definition and certain no ‘packs.’ There are also individuals who have 15% body fat but their abs are so developed they can show off a 4-pack. While they don’t have that low of a body fat percentage to classify as ‘ripped’ they do have great development and certainly the muscle is there. Just think what it might look like on them if they were to be 10% or lower?!
That’s where ab exercises come into play. Performing key abdominal exercises is a key to developing the trunk region to the fullest. Many people are looking for the illusive lower ab exercise or performing exercises they believe to target a certain region but are really working the wrong muscle. Having abs is as simple as doing the right core exercises. That will be part of the 6 months of ab training at the end of this series.
Now that you understand some key concepts in order to get the abs to show, let’s figure out how to eliminate that annoying layer of fat around them…
Stay tuned for Part 2 that will discuss why nutrition is 90% or More of Your Success.
Copyright 2006 Marc David
If you can’t wait, the Beginner’s Guide to Abdominal Training is just one bonus book in the Beginner’s Guide to Fitness and Bodybuilding http://www.beginning-bodybuilding.com
Bodybuilding is much more than massive men and women standing in front of a crowd flexing and posing. I can say it works because I do it myself. But it requires hard work and dicipline along with access to the right kind of equipment.
The important thing with bodybuilding is to consume between 25-50 grams of protein (depending on your needs) every three hours. It can be hard and grueling, but through hard work and perseverance you can reach your physical goals. Success requires staying inspired and sometimes giving your bodybuilding plan a tune-up. With bodybuilding, not everybody has the same resources or reputation of an Arnold Schwarzenegger or Jim Lorimer, but their success should perhaps convince some that trying a little harder might be a good idea.
If I were you I’d worry more about my bodyfat percentage than my body mass index (BMI). Consider that there are many wildly different theories and beliefs about bodybuilding, even among so-called experts, but I personally feel the BMI is more important. Do some research online and make your own bodybuilding decisions, knowing that what works for one may not be best for another.
It’s important to know that some knowledge of muscle-anatomy is essential, as it will help you know where to focus your efforts for maximum return. Knowing that should help motivate you to learn more about the various muscles.
Think about how to effectively pursue your musclebuilding goal. With bodybuilding, it helps to have a workout partner ready to slip plates off the bar or move the pin in a machine weight stack. Going it alone can be dangerous, because if there is an accident (a weight slips off or you put too much weight on the bar), there is no one around to help you. Unless, of course, you have access to machine weights that do not require manually adding or removing weight on a bar.
An interesting statistic about bodybuilding is that one out of two Americans will die of Cardiovascular disease – which in most cases could have been prevented through proper diet and excercise. That being said, make sure you keep refined sugars and hydrogenated fats down to a minimum or, preferably, none.
So many people talk about how slow their metabolism is and why they need to start taking the latest supplement, yet they don’t even understand how the human metabolism works. Since bodybuilding involves high-intensity, explosive-type effort, it makes sense for bodybuilders to make sure that their stores of creatine are full. It’s also important that you get the right breakdown of protein, fats, and carbs for your specific body type.
So often I hear people say, “I can’t afford to take time out of my busy schedule to lift weights!” Considering the progress you can make with less than 1 hour three days a week, that’s hard to believe. So now it’s time to buckle down and get serious about bodybuilding. No more excuses! I hope you can take from this a little insight into what I believe is the best method of getting it done. If not, then no hard feelings.
Don’t forget to check out popular message boards to get inside information and ideas on hundreds of bodybuilding subjects. You can also post questions (and answers if you have them), plus read what hundreds of bodybuilders think. It’s an invaluable source for bodybuilders.
With bodybuilding, take some time to relax and regroup yourself between sets. Also, be sure and increase the amount of weight you lift on a regular basis so your strength continually grows.
Bodybuilding may not be easy at first, but you’d be surprised at what you can accomplish with a little dedication. Stick with it and focus on making small improvements overtime. In the end you will realize that the perfect bodybuilder is you.
Harold Campbell is a hard working bodybuilder who has accomplished much in the field.
If there is one thing that cripples bodybuilders, athletes and all health enthusiasts more than anything else, it’s their lack of respect for their own minds. We can all be guilty of losing focus or motivation from time to time. We all struggle with negative thoughts and images that tear us down or seek to rob us of our dreams and aspirations. The problem is that most of us accept and own those thoughts and so they become our reality. I will not in this short article get into all of the science behind conscious/subconscious mechanisms, instead simply try to open up your mind to the possibilities to what you can achieve if you take the time to shape your thoughts.
How many times have you embarked on a diet or workout plan only to find that you never reached the mark you set for yourself? You ate the chicken and broccoli for weeks and then all of sudden you’re at the McDonalds and you hate yourself for it. You may have started out with all of the right intentions and still you embraced nothing but failure. You may have even begun with a strong sense of willpower. Nevertheless, in the end it really didn’t matter because you never did what you said you would do. Well, here’s why you may have failed? Success is not found in willpower.
If you believe that sheer willpower will carry through an ongoing diet filled with foods that have no taste, then I applaud you. If you believe that willpower can take you through grueling workout after grueling workout for months on end as you pursue 3-4% body fat for an upcoming bodybuilding contest, then you are the exception to the rule. Most will find that willpower alone is not enduring and is only short-term. Your willpower requires conscious focus and energy if it is going to lead your actions on a daily basis. Unfortunately, you will eventually become drained and lose the focal point of your willpower. This happens because extraneous things tug at your heart, mind and life causing your emotions to lead you back to wherever you found comfort in the past. The result: another diet or workout bites the dust.
If willpower is not the answer, then what is? The answer is this: you must take greater control over your mind and not allow it to take control over you. I’m not talking about your conscious mind, but rather the subconscious. It has been said that the subconscious mind is like the “quarterback” of your life. Your conscious mind takes data and ideas and is the rational part of your thought process. It takes ideas and then it compares, determines and chooses what it believes is the best choice. However, the subconscious is the part of the mind that is responsible for storing data (loading memory), for habitual behavior (habits), and also for reflexive and autonomic functions such as breathing and circulation.
The subconscious does not have the ability to compare, reason or determine anything. It is solely deductive in nature and operates much like a computer. Moreover, just like your computer, it is there to serve you. What you put into it is what you will get out of it. But you must be active and aggressive with it. Hypnosis is one way of accessing the subconscious mind with positive affirmations and convictions. Another way to penetrate the subconscious is through repetition. Remember, everything that you see, hear, read or say repetitively is filtered through your subconscious which will then shape your habits. Now you can see why it’s so hard to stay on a diet as you sit in front of the TV being bombarded by fast-food commercials. Next thing that you know you’re in your car on the way to Burger King.
The key to victory is to take control over your thoughts and in particular, your subconscious mind. How can you shape the subconscious? Three things can be done immediately.
1. You must speak positive words into your heart and mind repetitively.
In other words, you must tell yourself over and over again that you can do what you want and that you will. You must tell yourself that you’re doing these things because you want to and not because you have to. It must be continuous and throughout the course of an entire day and night. You must hear your voice speaking the words. For instance, “I want to eat what is healthy (speak specific foods). I like those foods. They taste good and make me feel strong and lean. I’m lean and ripped. My muscles are full and striated.”
2. You must see what you want.
This is important and goes hand-in-hand with speaking the words into your heart and mind. You must see the body that you want. You must see yourself working out with power and strength. You must visualize yourself with the muscle you want. You must see the foods that will help you and see your desire to want to eat them. Once again, because you want to not because you have to.
I have practiced the two above principles with mind-motivational conditioning techniques on clients while in the midst of working out and the results have been astonishing. I have witnessed clients lift weights 40-50 lbs heavier than they were able to budge before the affirmations and meditations were practiced. This all took place in a matter of minutes. That shows you the power of the mind.
3. Change your surroundings and your habits will change.
One of the best ways to impact your subconscious is to surround yourself with things that will influence you towards your goals. Buy only the foods that support you. Watch and listen to things that are positive and empowering. Read, read, and read. Turn off the TV and read!
I can’t articulate with words how incredible it is to engage in mind-motivational conditioning. Imagine not having to diet because you don’t want to eat what doesn’t fit your regimen. It’s that easy if you’re willing to practice it.
Tony DiCostanzo is a Certified Personal Fitness Trainer (NFPT-CPT) and the Founder of DreamBodies Body & Life Transformation System. With over 20 years of practical experience in the field of health & Fitness, Tony is also a coach and motivational speaker who has inspired many through his lectures and seminars. http://www.dreambodies.net
I see it every day. Young bucks come into gym in their high school years and train and make astounding gains and begin to think about bodybuilding. Testosterone is at its peak during these years and just seems they can’t get enough of the gym or the results they are achieving. By the time the senior year rolls around, they are at their peak physically. It came so easily, it seems, that development will stay forever.
However life begins to change after high school. College starts in the fall or perhaps you start a full time job. Distractions are everywhere. Many football, baseball and wrestling jocks of high school no longer shine above their college competition and most do not continue disciplined organized sports that once brought you to the gym in the first place.
Besides not playing the sports, studies are now more time consuming. The food is all you can eat at the student cafeteria and, well, beer parties are everywhere. This is the most fun ever, you think. By the time Thanksgiving rolls around, no time was found for the gym and you are well on way to the freshman fifteen. That is the fifteen pounds of smoothing fat that you picked up during the first year on your own away from home. Bodybuilding was but a memory back home.
Spring rolls around and you are back home for the summer. But wow have you changed? Heavier, smoother and where did those muscles go? You return to the gym for the summer to get in shape. You find it is next to impossible to return the body to its former ripped state much less building up this summer.
My point here guys, bodybuilding is not for the weak willed. If you want to continue to be in shape you must plan the discipline of working out if you are going to have the better body. Bodybuilding is tough. Don’t kid yourself. If it was easy everyone would be in shape.
So what should you do? Well if you are college bound do the following:
-During campus visit check out the gym facilities. Determine if the equipment is suitable to meet your bodybuilding needs.
-Do your campus visit during the normal school year to get a feel for the people that are going. Is the gym too crowded (undersized for the campus)? What is the attitude of those training, motivational or passively active.
-How close is the gym to the living quarters? Is it convenient?
-What are the food choices at the cafeteria? Can I get the high protein foods? Is food overly processed? What are the off campus choices?
Now I am not saying that you make your college selection based solely upon the gym facilities but it should be a factor if you are serious about your training.
-Finally once you arrive at college, review your class schedule. Then clearly plan a workout time along with your study and class time. If you have to put a routine in the morning, just do it.
-Settle into a routine and stick to it.
-Don’t stay up so late. You need your rest to recover from workouts and besides late nights will cause you to want to sleep through that morning routine.
-Lay off alcohol. It’s catabolic; meaning it works to strip your muscles off. It acts on the body the opposite of steroids. It’s bad news. It will take you places you don’t want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay and cost you more than you can imagine.
-Eat right. Do I need to say more?
-Read a bodybuilding magazine periodically to keep your focus.
-Hang out with those that are in the gym. They are a better influence in keeping you disciplined.
Okay there you have it. Stay with your training and your freshman fifteen will be MUSCLE not flab!
Scott Jameson is a bodybuilder and trainer for over 30 years. He has a passion for bodybuilding and helping other achieve this success. He regularly applies the techniques in this article. See more of his articles at http://www.bodybuildingprogramzone.com
If you want to more information on a Bodybuilding Program - Check out the Zone, the site with a passion for you to succeed.
This article may reproduced on your website provided you acknowledge Scott Jameson as the author and must show link to http://www.bodybuildingprogramzone.com
Summer is on the horizon, and the time has come to kick back and relax under the sun. It’s time for beach days, barbecues and pool parties, and for any serious weightlifter these activities also mean one thing: it’s time for the shirts to come off and to showcase that rock-solid physique they’ve been working on all year. No one wants to be walking around with a soft, smooth and flabby body, and for the next month or two, all of those serious lifters will be shifting into “get ripped” mode.
How do they usually go about this?
They lighten up the weights and perform higher reps.
This has always been a widely accepted method of “cutting down” and if you ask most trainers in the gym they’ll tell you that “heavy weights bulk up the muscle and lighter weights define the muscle”.
Do you want to know the reality behind the “light weight and high reps” method of obtaining a ripped and defined physique?
It is completely, totally and utterly DEAD WRONG.
It couldn’t be farther from the truth. In fact, there is no logical basis for this way of training whatsoever, and whoever dreamt up this downright ridiculous way of thinking has caused the vast majority of lifters to waste their time and impede their progress in the gym.
Let me clear this up once and for all: you CANNOT spot reduce. In other words, it is physically impossible to target fat loss from a specific area on your body. Performing bench presses with light resistance and high repetitions will not magically burn fat off of your chest or cause it to appear harder and more defined.
Every single time you wrap your hands around a barbell, dumbbell or cable, your goal is to stimulate as much muscle growth as you possibly can. There are no special, secret weightlifting exercises that will “define” your muscles or cause them to become more “ripped”.
Training with weights builds muscle mass, end of story.
So how exactly do you “define” a muscle?
The only way to “define” a muscle is by lowering your body fat level in order to make your muscles more visible. Body fat reduction can be achieved in two ways:
1) Modify your diet.
You should lower your overall caloric intake to around 15x your bodyweight and focus on consuming smaller meals more frequently throughout the day. This will keep your metabolism naturally raised at all times and will keep your body in a constant fat burning state. Limit your intake of saturated fats and simple sugars, and focus instead on consuming lean sources of protein and low glycemic carbohydrates. It is also very important to keep your water intake high at a level of around 0.6 ounces per pound of bodyweight.
2) Perform proper cardio workouts.
Let go of the traditional method of moderate intensity cardio in 30-45 minute durations. If you want to maximize your body’s fat burning capacity and also minimize the muscle loss that inevitably accompanies a fat burning cycle, focus on shorter cardio workouts performed at a high level of intensity. These types of workouts will shoot your resting metabolism through the roof and will allow you to burn maximum amounts of fat even when you are at rest. I recommend 3-5 high intensity cardio sessions per week, spaced at least 8 hours away from your weight workouts.
That’s all there is to it, folks. Take the notion of “light weight and higher reps” and throw it right out the window, down the street and around the corner. Following this misguided method will only cause you to lose muscle mass and strength, and will not assist you in burning fat or defining your physique.
All you need to do to mold those rock-solid muscles for the summer time is this:
1) Train with heavy weights and low repetitions to build maximum muscle mass.
2) Modify your diet and implement cardio workouts to eliminate body fat and create visibly harder and more defined muscles.
End of story.
I’ll see you at the beach!
Sean Nalewanyj is a bodybuilding expert, fitness author and writer of top-selling Internet Bodybuilding E-Book: The Truth About Building Muscle. Learn the honest truth about building maximum muscle in minimum time by visiting his website: www.MuscleGainTruth.com/
