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Posts Tagged ‘bodybuilding’

Develop Muscular Pecs

August 23rd, 2009

Most guys want to have big, masculine pecs that they can show off and be proud of. Unfortunately, getting those impressive pecs can be a lot harder than you may realize. There are a lot of mistakes or blunders, that may prevent you from building these pecs you dream of. Here are a few of the common ones that you should learn to avoid.

1. The first mistake that most guys make is simply overworking themselves. They think that the quickest way to build up their pecs is just to lift as much as they can as quickly as they can. The truth is that this provides almost no results and only damages the body.

You must remember to always work out in moderation. The reality is that it’s more important that you have a quality workout, rather than one that’s just about quantity. Typically, it’s best to do more reps than it is to add extra resistance, but doing too many reps can also be harmful to you, so pace yourself.

2. The second common blunder that prevents guys from getting muscular pecs is focusing solely on bench pressing. There are some people that believe bench pressing is the foundation for building the pectorals, but this is belief is not accurate.

The reason for this, is because bench pressing builds the entire upper body, so trying to concentrate on just the pecs is virtually impossible with this exercise. However, if you include flys and inclined bench presses, you can help to isolate the pecs and increase their bulk.

3. A third common blunder that’s often made, has to do with an individual’s diet. Some guys don’t realize that their diet may be preventing them from building up their muscles the way they should. A diet that is rich in proteins is very essential if you plan to build up your muscle mass and achieve strong pecs.

4. The last error but the most common is not to follow a proven training program.

About the Author:

Jason Coleman Fitness , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Bodybuilding Tips, Avoid Overtraining if You Want to See Results

July 5th, 2009

It seems that you are trying to get yourself in shape. It’s likely that you’re spending hours in the gym doing intense weight lifting. If you’re not, then it’s probably true that you’re not going to get the results you want and you’ll need to step up.

Remember that if you want to see the results that are so important to you, you need to avoid overtraining. Overtraining is something that occurs if you work to hard. You are not going to give your body the rest that it needs and you’ll find that weightlifting sessions that go too far are going to hold you back rather than push you forward.

To understand overtraining, you first have to understand that when you are “building” muscle, you’re actually breaking muscle down. You’re not building the muscle in the gym, really. Instead, what you’re doing is breaking down muscle in the gym and producing tiny injuries in the muscle that then must heal and repair.

When the rips in your muscles heal, remember that they are going to get more tissue coming and filling in the tears, and this tissue will be tougher and stronger than the tissue used to be. This is the process that actually lets you build muscle.

When you overtrain, you’re not giving your body the rest it needs in between workouts to properly build and repair. What this means is that you’re actually preventing muscle from building.

What are the symptoms of overtraining and how can you recognize if you are doing it? Catching yourself before it gets out of hand is essential.

First of all, when you are overtraining, you will be working really hard, but you won’t be building much if any muscle. That’s the first thing you’ll probably notice. If you keep going with overtraining, though, you’re probably going to notice other symptoms, too.

Your testosterone levels will go down. If you don’t let yourself recover between your workout sessions, your testosterone level is going to drop.

You might also notice that you are going to put on more fat. This might seem somehow unfair, but it is true. As you work out, you will be breaking down muscle, not letting it heal and increasing the levels of cortisol in your body. Cortisol is a stress hormone that makes your body hang on to its fat.

You might find yourself getting sick more often and much more easily than usual. When you overtrain, your immune system reacts by becoming weaker. So if you find yourself getting colds and flu more easily, slow down. A good bodybuilding regimen should make you less susceptible to colds and flu, not more so.

Are you losing muscle mass? When you overtrain, your muscles are going to suffer for it as much as any other part of you. Remember that you are training to get results. Essentially, a good bodybuilding regimen is going to be ideal when you want to avoid the symptoms that go with muscle loss while still getting the body that you want.

Now that we have identified the problem, let’s look at the solution. First, remember that you are going to need rest and nutrition. When you do one day of weigh training, follow it up with a day of rest.

It’s a good idea to do some light cardio on your “rest” days, but the big point here is that you should be resting your muscles from heavy-duty lifting. They need time to recover and to repair.

Finally, good nutrition is important, too. Your body can’t rebuild itself unless it’s got the tools do so. That means that nutrition is just as important as rest is. Opt for good, lean proteins, fruits and vegetables, and whole grains. If you do this, you should see results in no time, and you should feel much better, too.

About the Author:

Ricardo d Argence Fitness , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Building Muscles Like a Pro, Helpful Tips

June 17th, 2009

Among the best bodybuilding tips about how to build muscles is to begin bodybuilding at a young age. Starting off young and keeping to a regular workout routine and eating a healthy diet, drinking plenty of water and taking any nutritional supplements you need.

You’ll also need to make morning workouts a part of your routine; this will increase your metabolic rate for the whole day. This helps you to burn off fat and even increase muscle mass all day long. You’ll have to be committed to reaching your body building goals and remember never to take the claims developed by the marketers of nutritional supplements at face value. You should also remember that this is all about you and your fitness goals; don’t compare yourself to other bodybuilders.

Building muscles with body building is about more than what you do in your routine or even how. Being successful as a bodybuilder also requires understanding why these steps will bring you closer to your goals.

One of the very best bodybuilding tips is to always perform your muscle building exercises properly. While it’s good to vary your routine from time to time, don’t change your routine too often; your body takes a little time to adapt to a new routine and start gaining the benefits.

So, you have to do something repeatedly in order to experience the change or growth of muscles. Growing and maintaining your muscles will a lot take time, patience and steady repetitious sessions or applications.

Sometimes you will find that a certain routine will stop producing results for you; when you come to a plateau, then it’s time to change things up and begin using a new workout plan ” this should result in continued muscle growth. Stay with your bodybuilding routines, but only until they stop helping you to build muscles and improve your muscle tone.

Keeping things simple means achieving your goal by sticking to the basics. Since there are so many products such as workout programs, supplements, pills, training methods and theories out there you will have to use your best judgment before believing any claims.

Keep yourself focused and motivated by using healthy and straightforward values. Speaking of supplements, yes you do need them to get all your necessary nutrients and vitamins. You need protein, creatine and various multivitamins when you are a bodybuilder. They aid in recovering from your intense daily workouts.

To build muscle quickly, you’ll want to incorporate compound exercises into your routine; as well as isolation exercises to increase your endurance and heavy weight training to build mass and get your body to produce the hormones which help you get towards your goals. Use weights heavy enough to help you build new muscle tissue, but don’t overdo things.

Diet is one of the most important elements of any bodybuilding routine. To keep your muscles growing over the long term, your body needs the right nutritional balance; the wrong diet can actually lead to a reduction in muscle mass!

Something to keep in mind is that every pound of body weight lost is about 60% muscle and 40% fat, so remember to get adequate caloric intake. Cardio workouts burn off calories, but don’t do them every day ” alternate a day of cardio training with a day of weight training for the best results.

Your body needs to rest and recover in between weight training to keep inflammation under control and keep building muscle over the long term.

About the Author:

Ricardo d Argence Fitness , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Foundation Of Protein Supplements: Protein Sources

June 2nd, 2009

Protein is an essential nutrient for the body, especially for the muscles. The general recommendation is an intake of around .3 grams of protein for each pound a person weighs. For athletes and bodybuilders, though, the requirement is higher because the body is working harder and demands more. The recommendation jumps from .3 to 1.25 grams for this group of people.

The total amount of protein intake is important, but equally important are the sources. Most people are able to get enough protein from their diet; but many athletes require supplements to meet their daily requirements for this nutrient. Protein supplements are usually made from four different sources. Each of these sources are different and athletes should choose according to their needs.

The four protein sources common in protein supplements are whey, soy, casein and egg. While some protein supplements are made from just one source, most often there will be protein from two of these sources in a given protein supplement.

Whey protein comes from milk. It is the most common choice in protein supplements. This type of protein is made up of nonessential and essential amino acids. Essential amino acids are not made by the body naturally and must come through diet. The body takes well to whey protein and will use it easily and safely. The only concern about whey protein is that it is not safe for those with a milk allergy or who are lactose intolerant. Concentrated whey protein is most often preferred as it more available and less expensive. Concentrated forms contain anywhere from 30 to 85% protein. The isolate forms will have about 90%, but are more expensive and harder to find. Whey protein helps to boost the immune system, provides amino acids and helps for quick muscle recovery and prevents muscle breakdown.

Soy protein is derived from soy flour. This is the most complete vegetable protein known and like whey protein, there are isolates and concentrated forms available; isolates are higher in protein but more expensive. Easily digestible, soy protein is suitable for everyone except for the small number of people who are allergic to soy. Soy protein can be added to foods easily and is beneficial in lowering blood cholesterol.

Egg protein comes from egg whites. It is fat free and very high in protein. It contains all the essential amino acids and is completely absorbed by the body. It is considered the best protein source. It should not be used by people who have egg allergies.

Casein is another protein derived from milk. Casein protein is digested more slowly than whey, which makes it a protein often combined with other, more quickly digester proteins. Casein protein is ideal for adding to pre-workout meals or before bed. As with whey protein, those with milk allergies should avoid casein protein.

When you’re shopping for protein supplements, always read the label to make sure that the protein sources used are suitable for your needs and that you can safely ingest. Protein supplements can be a great thing ” but make sure you choose well.

About the Author:

Mike Johnson Supplements , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Follow these steps to jump start your body’s fat burning ability. Commit yourself to a fitter body.

May 9th, 2009

Eat more frequent but lighter meals. Eating smaller meals causes a lesser insulin response. The smaller insulin response means the calories will be less likely to be stored as fat.

Get more filtered water into your body throughout the day. Clean water helps your tissues move out the bad toxins that interfere with proper bodily functions. Improving your internals should help stimulate your fat burning capability as well.

Increase the ratio of protein in your meals. Protein requires more energy to digest. Protein also elicits a much smaller insulin response than easily digestible processed carbohydrate dense foods.

Go out of your way. Stop taking elevators and escalators. Start parking near the back of the parking lot when you go shopping. The little things really begin to add up. Burning an extra hundred or so calories per day could add up to one pound of extra fat in a month.

Make it easier on yourself to eat healthy foods instead of junk snacks. One of the easiest times to screw up is when you feel hungry unexpectedly. Then you search for something to satisfy you quickly and end up eating bad food. Keep some healthy snacks around to snack on.

Even though many fast food restaurants have improved their food quality significantly, it is still sometimes difficult to always choose the healthy food option once you are ordering. So, if this represents you, then you might think about completely banning the fast food chains form your diet all together.

If you have a choice of steamed or raw vegetables, choose the raw ones. There are many benefits to eating raw vegetables. These vegetables help with practically every major bodily function. They will certainly help keep your body repaired and ready to burn fat efficiently.

Think about organizing your favorite healthy recipes into a book or series of books. Then, instead of dwelling on what to eat, you can simply refer to the book that has a ton of healthy foods that taste good also.

Tomorrow morning as soon as you get out of bed, make it a point to do some really simple stretching and breathing. It should help wake you up as well as get your blood flowing. Getting your metabolism started as early as possible should help in the fat burning process.

Find a way to enhance your sleep quality even just a little bit. The amount of growth hormone your body releases is linked to the quality of your sleep. Subtle improvements here can add up over time. This is a commonly overlooked method of getting an increase in metabolism.

The intensity of your exercise routine is more important in factoring how much fat you burn than the length of time the workout is. An intense workout will continue incinerating fat calories for a long time after your workout is over.

Don’t underestimate the power of a picture to help you reach your goals. Set aside a few moments each day or every other day to look at yourself in the bedroom mirror. Just imagine how great you are going to look and feel once you have reached your fat loss goals.

Spice up your leisure time activities by regaining a little of your youth. Think of fun things you can do to pass the time that require some kind of physical activity. There are probably a number of things you did as a child that you could still do today if you made time to.

About the Author:

Mike Mardtelling Nutrition , , , , , , , , ,

Supplements are no shortcuts when it comes to muscle building

March 21st, 2009

I’ve become a big fan of setting goals, and there are a few important concepts I think we all should keep in mind. One of the things I learned is that you should break a goal into smaller goals which are easier to achieve. You should also identify your obstacles in advance and make a plan to overcome them. Perhaps the most important concept when it comes to setting goals, however, is the ability to think in terms of future consequences and long-term results.

When I look back on my successes and failures in life, I noticed a trend which is a little bit disturbing. Too many times I’ve focused on short term results. If a new project wasn’t yielding significant progress immediately, I would pretty much eliminate it right away. I gave up on many worthwhile projects easily, because I got bored or distracted. I suppose that many people are like me and tend to abandon a goal very quickly. You may be wondering what the connection is with strength training or muscle building.

I hope you see the relevance to weight training. Instead of focusing on immediate results, you have to be in this for the long haul. Instead of focusing on supplements, you must learn the foundations of muscle building. I’ve explained in other articles that supplements are not necessary (and usually not even helpful) when it comes to muscle building.

In order to better understand this, it’s helpful to look into the psychology behind muscle building supplements. That is, it’s helpful to understand why people purchase them.

Unfortunately, it seems that human nature is to look for a shortcut or silver bullet that will give us the results that we want without the hard work. This is absolutely relevant to bodybuilding supplements, because most trainees are looking for an easy way out instead of focusing on the fundamentals. If you try to look for a muscle building supplement to do all the work for you, you really are wasting your time and money. When you think about how simple (although not easy) natural weightlifting methods are, it really is unnecessary to focus on supplements. It all comes back to self discipline and trying to achieve a goal slowly over time.

Most people don’t want to believe that muscle building supplements are not really necessary, but it’s true. They’re not going to help you unless you’re an advance trainee who has already optimized his workouts and nutrition plan.

Looking for the easy way out will almost certainly leave you disappointed and probably leave your wallet significantly lighter.

I hope you’re not disappointed if you’re expecting to find some magical secret for delivering bodybuilding results. The truth is that there really aren’t that many secrets out there. The real secret is that most people are not willing to practice due diligence and go through the hard work to achieve their goals. Simply sticking to it, otherwise known as persistence, is far more valuable than any muscle building pill you could buy. I know, it’s not as seductive or eye catching, but getting back to the fundamentals is the key to success.

About the Author:

Jon Cardozo Supplements , , , , , , , , , ,