Best Way To Build Muscle

Archive for September, 2009

If you want to be a body builder then you have to think about what it is you want from body building. Just like as a body builder will tell you will have to define your muscles, you will have to define your goals as a body builder.

You may want to lose body fat, but that is not telling enough. How much body fat do you actually want or need to lose? You may say that you want to make your muscles bigger, but this again is just too vague a statement. Which muscles do you want to work, and how big do you want them to get? Body builders are successful because they achieved by setting clearly defined goals. You have to know what your purpose is within body building.

Unless you know your purpose, you will go about natural body building in the wrong way and you will probably never accomplish anything within body building as a sport. However, if you know that you want a six-pack — which is a common first goal for bodybuilders — you know that you will ultimately need to work out those muscles. You must be aware that you have to reduce the fat surrounding those muscles first so that the six-pack can actually be seen. You will then have a goal, and you know what you need to do to achieve it, which is the best starting point for any new body builder..

Other professional body builders will more than likely suggest that you start by writing down the measurements that you hope to attain and also what you have at the moment, before you start body building. You should write down the measurements that you want for your chest, waist, thighs, calves, arms, and forearms. This is a clearly defined goal, but please make sure that the goal you have set yourself is a realistic one, there is no point making yourself disappointed.

It may also be a good idea to set short term goals for yourself rather than ones that could potentially take years, and make sure to review those goals every three or four weeks. You should also write down an action plan for achieving your short-term goals, and make sure that your short-term goals are in matter with your long-term goals.

One of the worst places to get fat is your belly. Stomach fat is something that is hard to get rid of. If you are looking for ways on reducing stomach fat, there are a few steps that you can take towards this goal. Remember, each step does take handwork as well as determination. Make sure that you stay focused while you do your daily plan. Once you get the ball rolling, the stomach fat is simply going to melt off.

People are always on the go and always looking to save time. This is why most people never see the full potential of their kitchen. Instead of staying in and cooking a healthy meal, we choose to run through the drive thru for fast food. This is what is actually killing us and making us fat. Instead of this greasy food, why not feed your body with actual food? Go to the store and pick out some fruits and vegetables.

Exercising is literally a sport these days. Once you get hooked onto the gym, you will never want to leave. The gym is a great place to get in shape and meet come new friends. Take a cycling class or get with a personal trainer. This is a very important tool to have. If you can afford the membership, make sure you take advantage of this.

If you would prefer to workout from home, there is a wide variety of DVDs that will help you along the way. Take a close look at some of the six pack ab workouts. These will not only reduce the stomach fat, it will tone your abs as well! The best thing about working out is the muscle that you gain and the fat that you lose.

Supplements will also help to get rid of some of that belly fat. Before you start any type of workout regimen, why not clean out your system first? A nice detoxification supplement will allow you to do just that. Once the supplement has done its job, you can lose abs fat super fast!

If you are thinking about taking a supplement you need to talk to your doctor first. It is always important to know what you are taking before you actually take it. There could be some various health risks involved, or your body may not be able to process the pills. Find out which ones would work for you.

Before you make any decisions, make sure you do a little bit of research. Look into what you are doing that is bad for your body. From there, look at the steps that you can take towards reducing stomach fat when doing your stomach exercise. Knowing what is going to work best for you are going to be most important in this process.

Reducing stomach fat is going to take a lot of work. There is no magic pill that you can take before bed and wake up with flat abs. If you truly want to get healthy, change your diet and get into better shape. This will not only allow you to be healthy, but it will enable you to be happy.

It has been said that the size of the shoulders especially from a male perspective are a measure of our strength.. Possessing large broad shoulders can give a image of power and is probably the first muscle group to be noticed.With this in mind the shoulder exercises tend to get a lot of attention in the gym which can make the shoulders vulnerable to injury.. Because of the risk of injury it is extremely important to get the shoulders fully warmed up before any workout and to limit the use of overhead presses. It is very easy to carried away and injure your shoulder (as I have found on a few occasions) and this can limit your ability to work your whole upper body.

So keeping that in mind for big shoulders or if just need to shape and tone then in my opinion are the 4 best:

Standing Dumbbell Overhead Press – Used by many people, this exercise is a great way of exercising you shoulders. With this exercise, you will stand with your feet about hip width apart. Lift each of your arms, until the weight reaches the level of your ears ,whilst keeping your elbows bent . Breathe in when the weight is over your head and then breathe out as you slowly lower them.Keep good posture and your head straight throughout the entire exercise.

Lateral Raise – With this exercise, you will stand with your feet about hip width apart. Raise both your arms against your sides whilst maintaining a firm grip on each individual dumbbell with either hand. Ensure that your elbows are slightly bent. Slowly lower the weights, and repeat.
 
Front Raise – Because of the demanding nature of this exercise, it is advised that you perform it with lighter weights. To begin, you will need to set your feet at hips length whilst holding a dumbbell in each of your hands. Slowly raise the dumbbells outward in front of you while you exhale, and hold for a count of one at shoulder level. Slowly lower, and inhale.

 Reverse Fly – The reverse fly targets the rear of the deltoid and again should be approached with caution.. My preference is to use a bench that can be adjusted to a 60-degree incline position. Hold a set of light dumbbells and lie prone on the bench. With your chest supported by the bench, raise the DB’s up and out to your sides.. From an elevated position your body should form a letter Y pattern. Looking from above your position your arms and body should form a Y shape. On the raising the weights the shoulder blades should move towards each other. Along with the rear deltoid muscles this exercise works your rhomboids and the middle section of your traps..  

A good shoulder workout includes exercises that focus on all the muscles in the deltoid to reduce the risk of injury and maintain a balanced appearance. With regard to reps and sets stick with a routine that you can perform safely with proper technique. If good form cannot be maintained then lighten the weight.

There are many reasons that people want to know how to get bigger biceps. For the majority of people a day at work involves wearing a tie. This of course means that only your biceps are really visible. Maybe this is one of the reasons why people are fascinated with getting huge biceps. It seems strange then that plenty of people seem to be able to build up big pectoral and shoulder muscles yet struggle with the bicep muscle.

Are you making this bicep muscle growth inhibiting mistake too?

Shifting heavy weight is what makes your muscles grow. The heavier the weight you lift the greater the strength you will have and so it follows the more muscle mass you will have. However if the bicep muscle is isolated individually it is not easy to shift a great deal of weight. This then makes it more difficult to stimulate muscle growth. In short people are using the wrong exercises to stack muscle on their biceps.

So why do bodybuilders train with concentration curls?

Well, concentration curls are not a mass building exercise they are used for shaping already large muscles. If you have no mass on your guns then you have very little to shape therefore quit doing these type of exercises for good!

OK then, what exercises should I be doing for biceps?

Experiment with underhand grip pullups, bent over rows and indeed any other multi-joint back exercise as these allow you to shift much heavier weight which is exactly what you need to do to in order to build bicep mass. These exercises all utilise much heavier weight. Yes, that is very true due largely to the fact that they stress the biceps whilst also hitting the back muscles. What is more did you ever see anyone with massive biceps but small back muscles? No, large bicep mass is linked to having large back muscles.

So, in short stick to the major compound back exercises and maybe standard barbell curls and you will give yourself the best chance of increasing your biceps size! Keep the concentration curls for a day when you do have big guns.

So if you want to build up muscles on your biceps train your back hard, eat lots and rest plenty! Indeed if you want to know how to gain weight for skinny guys the above recommendations still apply but you will need to make doubly sure you are eating plenty of calories, now go for it!

Do the abdominal cruncher appliances you see on TV work is a frequently asked question. Yes and no is, surprisingly, the answer to that question. I know this is not particularly useful but let me explain. This is the key on how to get a ripped body. What these ab cruncher machines do is actually exercise the abdominal muscles. These machines enable you to exercise the different aspects of the abdominal muscles. The result is that the abs will become more toned and will get bigger in size. It is unlikely, however, that you will get a set of lean, rippling abs from working out with these machines alone. The reason is that the abs are hidden from view by a layer of fat tissue. This needs to be removed in order to see those lovely abs. Programs such as vince delmonte training work on these ideas.

Ab cruncher machines will not get rid of this fat focally over the abs. It is for the same reason why doing hundreds and thousands of sit ups will not get rid of belly fat. In order to do this you have to get rid of fat globally all over the body by a combination of lowering calorie intake and burning calories.

Adding an aerobic exercise regime to your exercise program is the best way to burn off those excess calories. Also, exercises such as those that require the large muscles of the body such as the quads are good at burning calories. The quadriceps is the big muscles that lies at the top, on front of the thigh. Squats exercises exercise this particular group of muscles. As they are big they produce a lot of heat and burn many calories and so are particularly good for losing weight. Exercising these muscles also stimulate the production of growth hormone which further increases muscle growth, which is an additional benefit when developing those abs. Swimming, running and cycling are particularly common aerobic exercises. Performing these exercises over a longer duration of time are ideal for burning fat. Indeed, on the machines in a lot of gyms you will often find they have a fat burning mode which will help keep you at an ideal steady pace.

Used on their own these machines will not get you a set of visible abdominal muscles. You have to do fat busting aerobic exercises as well. Great abdominal muscle development can be had in as soon as twelve weeks if you stick to this advice consistently.

cosmetic skin care + making – Lots of makeup and cosmetic products contain collagen. Collagen is the compound in your skin that makes it look full and fresh. As you age, your body stops producing collagen on its own. At about 25 years of age, the body stops producing collagen nearly entirely, which is why your skin will start to sag at least a little by the time you are in your early thirties.

In an effort to prevent this sagging and the resulting hollow look, cosmetics manufacturers produce a large number of products that contain collagen and components that are intended to instigate collagen production. However, there are certain factors that impact how effective – if at all – any topical collagen treatment will be. Know what to look for so that you can get the best effects out of your collagen treatments.

Here are some important things to know about collagen treatments that will help you select the best one for you:

* Collagen comes in many “sizes” - When you inject collagen into your body, it does not matter what “size” the collagen particles are. However, if you want your skin to absorb collagen topically then you need small collagen particles. Look for products that actually indicate that the collagen in them is sized for easy absorption.

* Check the other ingredients - Anti-oxidants and a variety of protein complexes (mostly proprietary) can be used to help collagen penetrate the skin more effectively. While you may not be able to pinpoint an exact ingredient that will help this occur, a product will generally say if it contains any of these complexes for easier absorption and the manufacturer’s website should show clinical trials’ results in order to verify the efficacy of their patented complexes.

* Collagen stimulation and Collagen treatments are not the same - Some collagen treatments are actually intended to jumpstart your body’s own collagen production rather than increasing your current supply. These lotions can be effective and are a more natural alternative than collagen treatments, but they do not act as quickly and are not the same thing as collagen treatments at all.

* Keep an eye out for retinol - Retinol or retin-A comes from vitamin A and is a proven anti-aging factor. However, some people react very poorly… to read the rest of this article, access http://beautyctr.com/193/making-cosmetic-collagen-treatments-work-for-you/

First of all when you’re looking to build your chest, you want to make sure that you target your body’s fast-twitch muscle fibers, because they have the most potential to grow.

You do that by exercising for strength and explosive power. Use heavier weights and fewer reps and try to explode on the lifting phase of the exercise. Ever notice how big the power lifters and strong men get? They don’t get that way by working on light weight and high reps.

Some people will disagree with me on this one, but it works for me. The Best Chest Exercise is the WEIGHTED DIP… no contest! Why? It’s very simple, doing dips (and pushups) is the only chest exercise in which you move your body through space, instead of moving the weight through space. .

This is a critical concept to understand, because, moving your body through space (instead of moving a weight through space) is more challenging to your central nervous system, which amplifies your brain-to-muscle connections and this causes you to recruit more muscle in every exercise.

Now, you’ll work your triceps tremendously when doing a WEIGHTED DIP as well, but you’re also working your chest at the same time. You’ll need a dip belt to do these (or a simple strap or jump rope will do the job), and you’ll have to work your way up to a decent weight, but by the time you’re doing 8 reps with a 100 lbs on the dip belt, you’ll see the improvement in your chest size and strength like no other exercise.

Push-ups are next on the agenda, and because you need to hold a plank while you’re doing them, they also work your core stability.

Also, there are so many variants of the PUSHUP that are even more explosive. One of those is the MEDICINE-BALL ARCHBISHOP PUSH-UP; a long name, but this exercise works.

What you do is put 3 to 5 medicine balls in a semicircle, then get in the push-up position and put both hands on the ball to the far right; your chest should be over the ball and your feet must stay anchored throughout this exercise.

Now, move your left hand to the ball at the left and do a push-up, then bring your right hand to that ball. You want to continue moving left, doing push ups until you get to the last ball on the left. Then work your way back across the balls. That’s one rep.

The reason why you want to use the medicine ball is, when you put your hands on a ball, the inherent instability forces your core to work 20% harder than when you do a regular push-up, so this exercise trains your abs and hips to remain stable longer.

You’ll also want to do WEIGHTED PUSH-UPS, in which your workout partner puts a weight on your back, between your shoulder blades and then do a superset with LYING CABLE FLIES… and be sure to hold the contraction at the top of the exercise for three seconds, and then take 5-seconds to lower your arms back to the starting position.

Keep your form strict and clean to both prevent injury and to keep from cheating. But, It is acceptable to cheat and heave ho on the last couple of reps.

Resistance bands will also work very well for both resisted push-ups and dips. They don’t require a partner, travel easily and won’t ding the floor. For pushups, just put the band behind your back. you can put it on your lower back to work your core more or up around your shoulder blades. Now put your hands into the band loop and pin it to the floor and go to town. If it’s to loose at the bottom of the stroke, just put a loose overhand knot in the center of the band and you’re set.

For dips, drape the band around the back of your neck so it comes down the front of your shoulders and then place your hands in the band and grab on to the dip bar and have a field day.

The band can also be used to assist both of these exercises should you not have the strength, initially , to do them.

We only put the bench press last on this list because it is the first you normally think of and we wanted to give you some other ideas. And it is not as functional as the others because you are not moving your body through space. Keep variety in your workouts to keep your body growing and to keep from getting board.

Keep in mind that you can do the bench either, flat, incline or decline and you can use barbells or dumbbells.

The human lower body is made up of parts like your quadriceps, your calves and the popular hamstring. Everyone appreciates the sight of well formed legs. In the gym, people now spend long hours paying sole attention to the development of their legs. Sadly most of their enthusiasm is misguided as 45 minutes should be the optimal period used in any workout.Exceeding this time frame will only just be a waste of your time. Instead of rewarding your efforts, once this time elapses the effects of your workout are no longer beneficial. What happens is that you have no more fuel, so your body has to search for fuel in other places. And its first source of call usually is to burn of the muscle which you have built. To this end, experts encourage you to stick to a 45 minute time frame, with your routines carried out every 3 days.

When you go the gym, hit your muscles hard, and then eat as soon as possible. You need to eat a healthy supply of protein within 90 minutes after you finish your workout in order for effective recovery to begin. By delaying for more than 90 minutes your body, which would have run out of normal fuel , will begin to convert your muscles to fuel. The results? You end up loosing muscle instead of gaining.

For the best results in developing your lower body, the following leg exercises can be used

Squats – The benefits of this exercise lies in the fact that it effectively works your hamstrings, quadriceps and buttocks.It is actually the only other exercise that is needed for great leg muscles. The positioning of this exercise calls for your feet spread at about width length, bent knees, a tightened stomach as relaxed shoulders. Ensure that your head and neck remains erect as well as your back. Gradually bend until your knees have formed a 90 degree angle. In the event that you are unable to complete the entire depression, just aim to go as low as you possibly can. It is important that you avoid leaning forward during the routine. This is because,by doing so, you will put too much force on your knees. This ultimately can result in injuries on your lower back and knee joints. This is why it is essential that your entire frame remains straight. Slowly lower your frame, as if you intend on sitting on something behind you. Hold for a count of one, and then slowly raise back up. Avoid allowing your knees exceed your toes. Depending on how many reps you intend, continue repeating the process until the number is reached . 

Romanian Deadlift – If you want to target the hamstrings and glutes more effectively then a great leg exercise is the romanian deadlift..To perform this exercise properly use either a barbell or dumbbell with a little wider than shoulder width grip..Make sure the knees are slightly bent and push back your hips maintaining a straight back . Push your hips forward to slowly raise the bar making sure your back remains completely straight.  Focus on keeping this movement controlled.  Arms are to be kept straight.  As you stand up fully then lower the bar again pushing back the hips and bending the knees.At the start of this movement breathe in deeply.You should keep your breath in as the bar is lowered then exhale on the upward movement. I would advise starting with light weights and seek professional advice if your still not sure. .

Calve Raises – These exercises will require that you adopt the following position—feet spread at shoulder length and hands rested on your hips. Keep your head and neck straight, and focus on maintaining good posture throughout the exercise. Gradually rise on your heels, until your calf muscles feel taunt. Squeeze after a one count and then, just as slowly drop your frame. Do this until you have exhausted the stated number of reps.

From reading these routines, it is obvious to see that leg exercises can be difficult, however you should at all times be mindful of your movement. Toning the muscle in your legs should not be a problem just as long as you do not overdo it, eat directly before and after your workouts, and lift a reasonable amount of weight.

Workout on cardio machines are great way to burn your body fat and improving stamina and cardiovascular health. These exercises not only help to burn body fat fast it will also strengthen your heart and lungs and thus reducing your chances of getting high blood pressure, stroke and heart diseases. Regular cardio exercises can also reduce bad cholesterol and raise the level of good cholesterol.

But do you think you are getting the most benefits out of your cardio machine workouts? Are you getting the desired benefits out of your cardio workout routines?

You probably are not if you just go to the gym and workout by yourself without the help of personal fitness trainers to show you the correct methods, therefore might not catch yourself doing some mistakes when exercising on cardio machines.

So lets take a look at the most common cardio workout machines and the mistakes many people do when using them during their workouts.

Thes eare some common mistakes when doing exercise on cardio machines:-

• Step up stair climber – This is perhaps the most common mistake for not getting the most out of the step up stair climber machine. Many exercising on this machine rest too much of their arm on the railing. When you are doing this, your bodyweight will rest now on the railings and thus making your workout less intense.

• Treadmill – The treadmill is perhaps the most popular cardio workout machine in the gym. A careful look at the people in the gym tells me that many treadmill users run too much up and downs. Mistake like that will wear out your ankle and knee joints over some period of time. The best method is to take nice long, smooth and porposeful strides during your cardio exercise routine.

• Stationery Bike – When exercising on the stationery bike, do adjust the height of the seat to a comfortable level. I do not get why many users on stationery gikes adjust their seats either too high or too low. I mean, why be uncomfortable when exercising when you can be comfortable.

When you adjust your seat low, you can put too much strain on your spine and knees. If it would be too high, your butt will shake from side to side. So besides not getting the best from your cardio workout on the stationery bike because your body weight will be involved when you peddle, you will also look weird. That is so silly cardio workout mistake right?

Another common mistake is that I often see stationery bikers reading a book when exercising. That can tell you that they might be doing the exercise routines on very low intensity levels. Hey, howtell me how can a low cardio exercise routine help your heart and lung work effectively?

• Elliptical Trainer – This is also another bewildering common cardio workout mistake. You use the eliptical trainer machine to achieve good cardiovascular health and tone your body right? So why can you see many people using the eliptical trainer at high speed? So what is the mistake? The mistake can be that they have set the resistance level too low.

When you are not able to break out sweat, you probably are not getting the best out of your cardio exercise routines. You can see that there are no wonders why pwople are not losing weight, burning fat, improving hearth health even when they are exercising on regular basis?

Now you know all about the cardio machine mistakes and how to avoid them, so get out to the next gym and see how your results will improve. In a very short time, you will see your body toning up nicely, improvement on your cardio health being felt and visibly losing excess body fat.

How to prevent breast cancer is on every woman’s mind. Many women die each year because of breast cancer. There has been millions of dollars spent on research trying to find new ways to treat and cure this cancer. Naturally, the best way of staying safe is to try to take every step possible to prevent breast cancer.

Omega 3 fatty acids and breast cancer prevention go hand in hand according to a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The results aren’t conclusive as of yet, but many more studies have come out also indicating this connection. Omega 3 fatty acids are naturally found in fish oil and flax oil. They contain anti-inflammatory compounds and contribute to your hearts overall health. The anti-inflammatory nature of this compound could be what helps to prevent breast cancer.

Generally, the omega 3s in your diet come from either fish or flax seeds. Most people don’t eat enough of these foods, so they have a moderate omega 3 deficiency. This can be truly harmful in some aspects of your health. This can create serious cardiovascular problems or depression. Plus, it can totally mess with your immune system making you more susceptible to auto-immune issues, diabetes and migraines.

The auto-immune issue is where the researchers think that omega 3s can also help with breast cancer prevention. An anti-inflammatory agent could really help to calm down those cells that have gone “haywire”. Cancer could be avoided if the cell doesn’t get the chance to actually start dividing uncontrollably.

Most people trying to prevent cancer will start taking a daily omega 3 supplement. At the very least they are contributing to a variety of facets of their health like heart health and memory function. Its better to be prepared and take omega 3 supplements, while the research is still going on on whether or not it will actually help prevent breast cancer.