Best Way To Build Muscle

Posts Tagged ‘build muscle up’

Depending on where you look there is a lot of great information out there on how to build muscle up. However here a re a few tips that you may not have heard before but can certainly help you in term of building muscle up. Here they are:

Try drinking green tea. This can inhibit the enzyme that inhibits nor-epinephrine which mean that you should experience raised levels of this muscle building metabolic hormone which can also aid in weight loss. It is also full of anti-oxidants and can help significantly in terms of post workout recovery and also general health.

Consume healthy fats. These are critical to the safe functioning of many part sof the body such as the heart, brain, energy production and hormone regulation. Oily fish, natural peanut butter, avocado and oily dressings are all excellent sources of this.

Eat casein protein. This particular protein is released more slowly in to the body as it takes time to ingest it properly. This is excellent if you eat it before going to sleep as your body can make use of it throughout the night for growth and repair.

Take on board at least 20 grams of protein as soon as you wake up. As soon as you awake have a protein shake. This will put a stop to the catabolic state of your body that you may have been in during your sleep and give you a good start on hitting your protein target for the day.

Try using dropsets for those bodyparts that you have difficulty making grow. This technique is very intense and can be used to stimulate growth effectively in any weaker areas that you struggle to grow. Simply do your set as normal and when you have squeezed out your last rep reduce the weight by 10 percent and do more reps, then reduce the weight once more. Continue repeating this process as many times as you can bear but the next day you are likely to experience significant muscle soreness and a tremendous burn at the time.

Take on board lots of water. It is important not to under estimate the positive benefits of reminaing well hydrated during the day. water is very important for a great deal of chemical reactions in the body especially muscle building reactions.

Continue learning as much as you can. there are a wide variety of ways to make your muscles grow. try different things see what works for you and what doesn’t and take the best.

So, by applying some of the above weight gain tips you should be able to build up muscle even faster than before. Good luck.

Most people are aware nowadays of the most common guidelines to build muscle up fast so here we are going to focus on a few of the more overlooked pieces of advice that are gauranteed to put you on the fast track to muscle mass.

1) Do not workout for more than 45 minutes at once. This is because training for long periods of time causes the body to release a hormone called cortisol. This hormone induces the body to ignore carbohydrate and fat stores as a form of energy and uses the bodys muscle sinstead. Of this is not what you want to be doing. Also the level of testosterone, which is the bodies muscle building hormone drops at around the 45 minute to one hour mark. This double combination will stop muscle growth in its tracks. So, lift weights, train hard and then get out the gym as soon as you can. Corisol levels are also considerably lower when you are at rest sleeping so getting plenty of sleep will aid you in muscle growth.

2) Do the squat exercise and then do some more. This is the greatest exercise for allround muscle mass but you don’t often see people doing it in the gym? Not too frequently. This exercise is truly a total body movement that needs maximum effort from the entire leg muscles, back and also the upper body muscles in terms of maintaining balance of the body, holding the bar and maintiaining correct posture throughout. It obviously creates huge quad muscles but also your back muscles are stressed a great deal and it is also a great response to the how to get big biceps question too as they also work hard to help keep the bar steady, if you don’t believe me, then try it at least. You can also shift a huge amount of weight doing the squat which is another reason it is great for building muscle. What is more it has a unique and powerful systemic effect and uses the aerobic system a lot. the deadlift is the only exercise that comes anywhere close to the squat which you can use if you struggle with squats.

3) As regards building muscle up less is most definitly more. Most people struggle to eat enough calories to put on muscle. To build muscle up a surplus amount of calories are required to build muscle up. If you train hard you then need to consume a lot of calories. Some people never do this and therefore they’ll never gain muscle no matter how much or often they pump iron. Whilst eating more calories is part of the solution reducing the amount of training you do will also reduce the amount of calories you require. As previously mentioned workouts that last 45 intense minutes are more than enough and many people will make better gains in even shorter workouts. You might also want to do some aerobic workouts to maintain good general health which I agree with but don’t do a lot because this style of workout will again decrease that amount of calories available for muscle building.

If you have not previously been doing any of these three things then put these weight gain tips into action starting today and I am sure that you will see the difference very soon.

Spending hours in the gym to build muscle up and not making progress? Brilliant news! There is a real cahce that just this one oversight is stopping you from building muscle up fast. The knowledge of this can significantly increase your ability to build muscle up. For most begiiner bodybuilders and some intermediate trainers this is a little known secret that will help them immensly.

So precisely what is this well kept secret? A new amazing routine or something?

No certainly not. It has been ignored by many a weightrainer even though it has been known about for a long time.

What actually is cortisol?

Cortisol is a human hormone secreted throughout the day and produced in response to weight training or other types of stress. Levels of cortisol decrease steadily througout the day so are lowest in the evening.

What does it do?

Well it enhances your short term memory, aids in regulation of blood sugar levels and helps detox the liver. However it can increase blood pressure and reduce bone density if your cortisol levels are excessive, although this is not normal. However critically it does diminish muscle because it aids in the body using muscle for energy rather than fat. It is for this reason that bodybuilders should keep their workouts down to an hour at most. After this time period they will actually be restricting their growth!

Here are a few guidelines to ensure that you are not wasting your time trying to build muscle up:

1) limit your cardio workouts, too much cardio causes the body to release cortisol which as explained is not what we need.

2) Try to not drink too much caffeine as this can also cause corisol levels to rise.

3) Keep your workouts down to one hour in the gym. Stay focussed wear headphones if you need to avoid talking to people.

4) Chill out an take it easy as cortisol is produced in response to stres.

5) Eat small regular meals because infrequent meals make the body think it is starving and will thus try and use uneccesary muscle for energy before using fat reserves by releasing more cortisol.

6) Sleep. This is when your cortisol levels are lowest and your muscle building hormones highest so aim for 8 hours if possible.

With those building muscle tips in mind you should be able to give your workouts a great boost and help you to build up muscle more efficiently.

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!

Holding down two jobs, meetings to get too, kids to pick up from school and so on there are so many distractions, pressures and time constraints that if we are not careful can only lead to one thing… not sufficient time to organise your meals. As far as muscle building nutrition goes that is the ultimate crime. The main reason is that it can lead to eating junk fast food.

Fast food is exactly what you don’t want to eat to build muscle up. Too much fat and very little nutrient value combined with little in the way of decent energy providing nutrition. So, how is it possible to not go to fast food joints when you have all of these limiting time constraints and how cane we eat properly if we do go there?

Here are a few golden rules for eating at fast food restaurants in order to build muscle up:

Avoid the apparently good value for money drink and fries. A portion of medium fries can get up to as much as 400 calories with around 20 grams of fat and the drink we are looking at around 200 calories with bags of sugary content!

Always select the grilled option. You can save around 80 calories coming mostly from fat by eating a McDonald’s grilled chicken sandwich as opposed to a premium crispy chicken. A simple choice but often overlooked.

Make sure you skip the dessert. At a fast food joint there are a huge array of dugary snacks in store for you that if you really must have a sugary item then keep it down to a kiddies portion size.

Make sure you restrict your use of those extra sauces. A good deal of these is that many of these are high in fat content with very little muscle building nutrition content. You know what I am talking about, those little packets of mayonnaise, tartar sauce and so on. Do yourself a service and give it a miss.

What can I eat if a fast food joint really is the only option?

If you want to build muscle food that you could eat at McDonalds would be:

For the bulk of your dinner/lunch a Premium Grilled Chicken Sandwich will yield you with 420 calories, 10 grams of fat, 51grams of carbohydrates and 32 grams of protein. A Honey Mustard Snack Wrap (Grilled) would yield 260 calories, 9g fat, 27g carbs and 18g of protein. The Asian Salad Grilled Chicken would give you 390 calories, 12.5g fat, 38g carbs, 33g protein with the low fat Sesame Ginger Dressing. Probably the best option is the Caesar Salad Grilled Chicken that provides 220 calories, 6g fat, 12g carbs and 30g of protein.

If however you reside in Australia the choices might look slightly different as follows:
A Lean Beef Burger: 250 calories, 8g fat, 25g carbs, 18g protein or a Herb Fusion Chicken Salad: 100 calories, 2g fat, 3g carbs 20g protein.

A decent breakfast selection would be: 12 grams of fat, 300 calories, 30g carbs and 18 grams of protein. Possibly a Sausage Burrito including 300 calories, 16g fat, 26g carbs, 12grams of protein or If you are looking for just a snack then how about the Fruit ‘n Yogurt Parfait which beaks down into 160 calories, 2g fat, 31g carbs, 4g protein.

I hope that gives you some idea of exactly how you can eat relatively healthily even at a fast food joint if you make the correct choices. Of course it would be better to allocate some time for planning decent meals throughout the week but if you can’t do this then the above selections should be a good guide and on some level help you burn the fat feed the muscle.

The goal of the majority of gym users is to build muscle and to lose fat simultaneously. Often a newbie to bodybuilding will say that their goals is to build muscle and burn fat. here we shall discuss whether or not this is doable or not.

So, is it actually possible to build muscle up and burn fat?

Well the answer to that is, yes. However there is a but and that is so as it is a very awkward thing to do. If you desire to build muscle whilst burning fat you are going to have to figure out precisely how many calories you need to eat and then eat exactly that amount.

Why do we have to do that? The reason we have to do that is because if you want to gain only muscle and no fat you have to consume just enough calories to support muscle growth but not so many that you will have too much excess calories that get stored as fat.

Can I find out what the number of calories to do that is?

yes you may although bear in mind that these calculations are based on assumptions from data based on the general population. this means that they are frequently not that accurate as most people do not conform to the norm, especially in terms of the rate of their bodies metabolism which greatly influences the number of calories you need to eat. Simply search in google ‘ Katch-McArdle muscle building nutrition formula’ if you want to figure out this number.

Is there an easier way than this?

Yes, in fact however you will find it far easier to burn fat and build muscle in a two step process. this would mean that you would take around 3-6 months in a bulking up phase and then follow this with 3-6 monthS trying to get rid of excess fat. This is then followed by a ripping and losing body fay period of around another 3-6 months.

This way is a lot easier because losing weight and gaining muscle are actually opposites so by attempting to do just one of these at a time you stand a much better chance of succeeding. This is one of the best weight gain tips around.

Whilst you may still wish to work out how many calories you should be eating as a minimum you requirement to build muscle up you do not have to worry about going over this amount thus making it easier to achieve. If you take on to little amount of calories then you may lose fat but you are never gong to build muscle, so overall a two step plan is much more effective and reliable.

At the end of the day you can use either approach and achieve the same results however most experienced bodybuilders will tell you that the two step approach is the simplest and easiest to get fast results with. One excellent program entitled burn the fat feed the muscle can be found here which guides you through the entire above process.

Developing good habits is crucial to build muscle up on a long term basis. It is highly important to be consistently doing the right things if you want to keep building muscle. Unfortunately often people get into bad habits without thinking about the danger they are risking or about how much they are adversely affecting their progress. Here we have outlined the top 7 worst muscle building habits and included a few build muscles tips too:

1) The worst of all! Taking steroids, this is dangerous for a whole variety of reasons take your pick from any of the following: different coloured spots on the body, acne, swelling of the legs and feet, bad smelling breath and yellowing of the skin, dizziness, trembling, nausea, vomiting, mood swings, premature balding, aching joints, liver damage, high blood pressure, palpitations, cardiovascular disease and reduction of your final adult height.should you need more reason not to use steroids then take a look at these: pain on urination, testicular shrinkage, impotence, breast development and even sterility. Enough said.

2) Trying to lift weight that is too heavy. Ok, attempting to better your training partner is fun but be very careful. Lifting too much weight can cause you to lose form and increase the chances of injury and won’t help you build muscles quickly. If you are unable to lift or lower the weight under complete control or if you have to use momentum to do so then you need to lower the weight.

3) Taking on board too much protein. The average adult should be taking on board 0.8-1 gram of protein/kilo of bodyweight/day and a muscle building athlete ought not to take on board more than 1.7 grams per kilo of bodyweight. Consuming more protein than this increases your chances of getting osteoporosis and also it could lead to irreversible damage of your kidneys. Also your risk of heart disease is increased because a by product of protein metabolism homo-cysteine can cause damage to your heart over time!

4) Using stimulants like ephedrine has potentially dangerous side effects such as heart attack, heart palpitations, and stroke. Whilst these are not banned you ought to exercise extreme caution and would be better off not using them altogether. you may wish to give the much less dangerous caffeine pills a try. If you have any doubts at all make sure you ask a health care specialist.

5) Some people seem to think that training on an empty stomach will make them burn off more fat. However energy comes from carbohydrate so if you haven’t eaten you will probably have little energy and your workout will not be very effective. You will be unable to lift more than your previous best and you will probably be left shaking, jittery and even dizzy after your workout possibly due to low blood sugar levels. rather than this have a small meal 30 – 60 minutes prior to training that includes fruits, vegetables and so on.

6) Neglecting to warm up and stretch sufficiently.Getting your body ready for exercise is essentail in order to prevent injuries like muscle tears and ligament strains, it also improves your range of motion, performance, and posture. It takes as little as 10 minutes to do a proper warm up and it is a very worthy investment. 

7) Not keeping a training diary. Without this how are you supposed to know if your training program is working or not? How are you able to monitor your increases in strength. Using a training log is simple, easy and very motivating. Why are you not using one.

OK, bear in mind the above points and make changes if you have to but mainly use your common sense and think about the long term.

What exactly is a superset?

A superset is when two exercises are performed back to back with no break in between. The chosen exercises need to be hitting opposite muscle groups. For example a set of squats immediately followed by hamstring curlstricep or a set of tricep press downs followed by barbell curls.

Why perform Supersets?

First off they are probably a nice change from what you have been previously doing. They will provide a different style of stress on your muscles and therefore act as a new trigger for muscle growth. After removing the pause between exercises you will be distracted a lot less easily. Also after completing a superset you will probably experience a powerful muscle pump as the muscles are literally being flooded full of oxygenated blood to help keep up with the muscles demands which is a great feeling. Overall they are a great way to build muscle up fast. 

Doing supersets prevents you from cooling down to quickly and keeps your heart rate higher creating an almost aerobic workout too. Another fantastic thing about supersets is that they provide your training session with great variety, excitment and challenge.

What supersets can I try?

The following combinations are some of my favourite and provide a tough but satisfying workout: Bent bar curl/lying tricep extension, Dumbbell incline press/dumbbell pullover/seated lat row, Leg extension/leg curl/calf raise, Dumbbell alternate curl/overhead tricep extension, Bench press/wide grip pulldown, Chins/dips/rope tuck, Steep dumbbell shoulder press/sidearm lateral raise,

What tips can you give me when doing them?

Well, make ure you perform them with good technique. It is very easy to get carried away and start losing your form. This is particularly true as you will be jumping from one exercise to another very quickly and also due to the fact that you will be out of breathe even more than usual. Maintaining good form will both minimise the risk of injury but also ensure you hit the correct muscle group.

Anything else I should know in order to build muscle now with supersets?

With the increased intensity of supersets it may be wise to cut the volume slightly and shoot for just a couple of supersets however if your fitness and energy levels are good by all means do more. use a different superset each workout between your regular sets to avoid wearing yourself out.

It should also go without saying that you will have to continue to eat a lot of quality build muscle food, we all know muscle comes from excess calories so keep eating quality foods and also make sure you keep your water intake high. Finally, overtraining is the number one reason for slow muscle growth so take this into account. Working out twice a week will be plenty for the majority of people and that is probably more than enough for hard gainers. Ok, with those points in mind why not give supersets a try in your attempts to build muscle up. I guarantee you will not be disappointed!

Developing good habits is crucial to build muscle up on a long term basis. It is essential to be doing the right things to build muscle as a matter of course in order to build muscle up continuously. Unfortunately there are bad habits that many people pick up on the way that are limiting their muscle building progress. Here we have outlined the top 7 worst muscle building habits and included a few build muscles tips too:

1) The worst of all! Steroid usage is potentially harmful for many proven reasons such as:different coloured spots on the body, acne, swelling of the legs and feet, bad smelling breath and yellowing of the skin, dizziness, trembling, nausea, vomiting, liver damage, mood swings, premature balding, high blood pressure, palpitations, aching joints, cardiovascular disease and reduction of your final adult height. If you want even more reason not to take steroids how about: testicular shrinkage, impotence, pain on urination, breast development and even sterility. I’m sure that is all that needs to be said.

2) Trying to lift too much weight. Ok, attempting to better your training partner is fun but be very careful. Lifting too much weight can cause you to lose form and increase the chances of injury and won’t help you build muscles quickly. If you are unable to lift or lower the weight under complete control or if you have to use momentum to do so then you need to lower the weight.

3) Taking on board too much protein. The average individual ought to be consuming 0.8-1 gram of protein/kilo of bodyweight/day and a hard training bodybuilder should not take on board more than 1.7 grams/kilo of bodyweight. Consuming more protein than this increase the likelihod of getting osteoporosis and also it could lead to irreversible kidney damage. Also homo-cysteine, a by-product of protein metabolism is a risk factor for heart disease so be careful!

4) Taking stimulants such as ephedrine has dangerous side effects including heart palpitations, heart attack and stroke. Whilst these are not banned you should exercise extreme caution and even better don’t use them. you may give caffeine pills a go as they are much less dangerous. If you have any doubts at all make sure you ask a health care specialist.

5) Some people believe that working out on an empty stomach will help them burn fat. However energy comes from carbohydrate so if you haven’t eaten recently you will in all likelihood have minimal energy and your training session will not be particularly effective. You will not be able to lift more than your previous personal best and you will most likely be left jittery, shaking and even dizzy after your training session possibly due to low blood sugar levels. Instead 30-60 minutes before your workout have a small meal with food such as vegetable rice and pasta.

6) Not stretching or warming up properly.Getting your body ready for exercise is essentail in order to prevent injuries like muscle tears and strains, what’s more it enhances your range of motion, flexibility, performance, and posture. Only 10 minutes needs to be allocated for the warm up and this is a very wise useage of your time. 

7) Not keeping a training diary. Without this how do you intend to monitor your progress? How can you keep a track on your personal best lifts. Keeping a training log is easy to do and very motivating. Why do you not keep one.

OK, so the main thing to do to ensure good bodybuilding habits is to use your common sense and take heed of the above guidelines and you ought to be ab;e to enjoy your workouts and get great results.

What is a Superset?

A superset is when two exercises are donw tih no rest interval in between. The muscle groups that need to be selected have to be opposiing eachother. For example a set of benchpressing followed by bent over rows.

Why do Supersets?

First of all they are a break from the normal type of weight training you may have grown used to. They will provide a different style of stress on your muscles and therefore act as a new trigger for muscle growth. After removing the pause between exercises you will be distracted a lot less easily. Also after completing a superset you will probably experience a powerful muscle pump as the muscles are literally being flooded full of oxygenated blood to help keep up with the muscles demands which is a great feeling. Overall they are a great way to build muscle up fast. 

Doing supersets prevents you from cooling down to quickly and keeps your heart rate higher creating an almost aerobic workout too. Another fantastic thing about supersets is that they provide your training session with great variety, excitment and challenge.

What supersets should I try?

The following combinations are some of my favourite and provide a tough but satisfying workout: Bent bar curl/lying tricep extension, Dumbbell incline press/dumbbell pullover/seated lat row, Leg extension/leg curl/calf raise, Dumbbell alternate curl/overhead tricep extension, Bench press/wide grip pulldown, Chins/dips/rope tuck, Steep dumbbell shoulder press/sidearm lateral raise,

What tips can you give me when doing them?

Well, make sure that you keep strict form through the exercises. It is all to easy to get carried away with it and start using sloppy form. This even more the case now as you are likely to be a lot more out of breathe then usual and you will be changing from one exercise to a different one very quickly. Keeping good form will prevent injury and ensure the muscles you want to hit will be trained properly.

Anything else I should know in order to build muscle now with supersets?

With the added intensity of supersets you will not want to be doing too many in one session, although this depends on your level of fitness. use a different superset every workout between your normal sets to prevent yourself from becoming worn out.

It should also go without saying that you will have to continue to eat a lot of quality build muscle food, we all know muscle comes from excess calories so keep eating quality foods and also make sure you keep your water intake high. Finally, overtraining is the number one reason for slow muscle growth so take this into account. Training each muscle group twice a week will be plenty for most people and for hard gainers even once a week maybe enough. Ok then, why not go ahead and build muscle up with supersets just make sure you bear the above guidance in mind. I can pretty much garauntee you won’t be disappointed!