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Posts Tagged ‘bodybuilding’

The key to body building for beginners is to perform Compound Exercises with perfect form and get your diet right. I can’t stress this enough, and to work up in weight incrementally.

You can probably lift more than the weight you should begin with, but the key is to do the exercises consistently.

Patience and self control are very important aspects to get results even though you are just starting with the program; don’t lose hope when you don’t see immediate results.

Compound workouts are done for muscle strength and build up, when you have reached the desired level for this, the following workouts would be isolation exercises.

Compound exercises are ones in which at least two joints are used to do the exercise movement, so for chest & triceps, you’ll want to do DIPS or BENCH PRESS, for lats and biceps you’ll want to do PULLUPS or LAT BAR PULL DOWN, for legs… it’s SQUATS and then DEADLIFT (which also hits your lower back).

For your shoulder & triceps, you’ll wan to do MILITARY PRESS, CLEAN & JERKS or SQUAT PRESSES.

CALF WORK, because of the unique nature of that muscle group, requires the intensity of CALF RAISES & DONKEY PRESSES which only work one joint, so they tend to be an isolation exercise.

Repetitions and sets must also be considered after laying down the plans for the structure of the exercises.

It’s suggested that beginning bodybuilders, for the first two weeks do light weights and high reps to get your muscles primed for the growth phase, so you want to start with 1 or 2 sets and work your way up to 4 or 5 sets of 12 to 15 reps (this includes your warm-up sets).

Then you’ll want to swap out exercises, so if you’ve been doing WEIGHTED DIPS it’s time for BENCH PRESS, and you’ll want to raise the weight maybe 15 or 20% and do less sets and less reps (say 2 or 3 sets of 6 to 8 reps), stay on this course for two weeks, then it’s it time to bring the weight back down and do 4 or 5 sets of 10 to 12 reps for one week, then you can jump up in weight from the heavy phase, but do less reps and sets.

The key element here is to a) switch up the routine so your body has to constantly adapt b) build strength and mass by alternating what intensity of weights you pump. Basically, this means that you should perform a heavy set once a week and keep the remaining ones light but with more repetitions to shed off more calories, develop strength and stamina.
Once you’ve been on the compound exercise cycle for about 6 weeks, you can start to slowly work in isolation exercises, these are exercises that use one joint to move the weight.

For example, do the barbell or PREACHER CURL, instead DUMBBELL CURLS. You want to do the FRENCH PRESS instead of ONE-ARM TRICEP PRESSES, LEG EXTENSIONS instead of LEG PRESSES, and so on. After getting the form and structure that you want, adapting more unusual exercises won’t be a problem. Although it’s nearly impossible to do “spot work,” you can eke out specific gains by alternating your routine and the reps/sets combinations.

For instance, when doing EZ-BAR BICEP CURLS, instead of doing 4 or 5 sets of 12 to 15 reps, do two sets of 21s; 21s for BICEP CURLS are when you do 7 reps of vertical to 90 degrees, then 7 reps of 90 degrees to the full contraction, and then finally 7 reps of the full motion… all without a break. That’s a burn that you won’t forget, and it’s a great way to shock you muscles if you’ve reach a plateau.

The discipline required to stay on the right course, even though it might not be “sexy” in the beginning is the key to making the progressive gains that you want.

Also, getting more than enough rest and eating right, actually eating more than ever have before.

Your diet is the most important thing whether you’re first starting out or a seasoned pro. Eating the right foods will help speed up the positive results the same way a wrong diet will only ruin the total effect of the program.

Let me leave you with one more thought. Top trainers have often said that until you can perform bodyweight exercises, you have no business lifting weights.

For that reason, you may want to start out doing bodyweight exercises.

Maybe you have experienced this before whereby you have decided to improve your health and fitness and in the first instance you feel really motivated. Maybe you sat and watched an inspiring film that prompted you to do something, perhaps a friend of yours you hadn’t seen for a while turned up having lost a lot of weight or having gained a good deal of muscle mass or perhaps you were simply fed up of feeling unhealthy. Whatever the reason you started exercising and continued to do so for a few weeks.

However after a while your motivation decreased, you got busy at work, you got tired of making the effort or the results weren’t as good as you’d hoped for and you unconsciously quit your healthy exercise lifestyle. If that all sounds familiar then here are a few easy ways to help regain and sustain your motivation for a healthier lifestyle: 

Try setting an enjoyable goal. For example, consider planning out a mountain biking/kayaking/hiking trip in an amazing area of the earth like the the Canadian Rockies, The Andes or The Alps. Immediately then you have an exciting rewarding and motivating goal to target. You should try to be in the best physical shape possible so that you may enjoy your trip as much as possible. If your trip is in 5 montsh time then you can plan a realistic schedule with your fitness goals in mind.

Optin to take part in a local area event. Is there a local fun run, half marathon or something else similar, I’ll bet there is, gte online and find out. Work towards one of these events as a goal to aim for. consider telling a friend of yours so they can come and support you on the actual day and support you in the mean time. 

Take up a sport or hobby, this doesn’t have to be an ultra serious thing just a light hearted game of soccer or hockey at the weekends but it gives you an easy and enjoyable way to monitor your fitness levels. Of course the initial couple of sessions may be very taxing but you will soon notice an improvement and start to look and feel better.

Visualise. Ok this might sound a bit odd at first but try and find a bit of time each day to sit and visualise in your minds eye exactly how you wish to feel and look. Doing this sends a powerful mesage to your sub conscious about what decisions you should be making during your day. Keep doing this and your behaviour will automatically alter to reflect your goals and lead you towards your visualised goals. This works by the way, nearly all top sportsmen use this in some form or other.

Involve family, friends and even your pet dog. Getting more people involved makes it less likely for you to get bored and lose motivation. You are a great deal less likely to be lazy and be inactive at home if your mates are phoning and texting you to get you to go to join them.

Educate yourself. Be curious find out about how to build muscle up, find out how to get a 6 pack, find out how to shed pounds, find out what muscle building nutrition you need for no nonsense muscle building and so on. By growing your knowledge you are quite probably going to improve the rate that your fitness levels will increase which will then serve to increase your motivation more.

Don’t compare yourself to others. No matter who you are there is always going to be someone bigger stronger fitter, leaner sexier or whatever. Acknowledge this fact and realise that we all travel through this life process each from our own different perspectives. Pay more attention to how you feel than to anything else, if you feel good then you are likely getting healthier.

So, with those tips in mind go hit the gym and do whatever it is that you enjoy doing to keep fit, build lean muscle mass or whatever else you want to do, you can do it, just keep it fun. The following is highly recommended for lean muslc growth burn the fat build the muscle book.

Weightlifting has it’s own equipments for workouts and routines as various sports and activities. One is the weightlifting belt…
The efficiency of weightlifting belts is definitely subject to controversies, and opinions about safety remain very divided. One main problem is that weightlifting belts allow athletes to lift more than they should. Another criticism against belts is that they back muscles responsible for body stability and the gripping muscles of the forearms don’t get the same stimulation and lose during training. In some other people’s opinion, weightlifting belts prevent health problems associated with training and increase the body stability. Normally, they prevent injuries to the back and the spinal cord by taking over some of the pressure.

Although amateurs imitate the trend and use belts too, they could be pretty efficient in competition. The belt keeps the spine in a good posture while lifting the weights and the soft tissues remain protected, nevertheless, a problem may appear with extensive usage. The short and long term impact of extensive usage of weightlifting belts should not be neglected either. These equipment items can increase the intra-abdominal pressure beyond accepted levels. While the intestinal muscles are protected against injury, hypertension may appear due to belt tightness.

The weightlifting belts are available in various designs, allowing adjustments to the pressure level and the body height. The weightlifting belts designed for power lifting are more special than the rest as they have to provide a superior kind of protection. Usually made of leather, such belts are braced by neoprene. You may find out which belt fits you best by talking to a fitness expert who can recommend an item to match your physiognomy and your training objectives. Besides leather and neoprene, weightlifting belts are also made of nylon or cotton, and may be padded or not padded. As for the sizes available, they range from XS and S to XL and XXL.

Besides safety, weightlifting belts do very little to improve the athletes’ performance. And despite the common belief that they help one train better, studies debunk this myth. Studies conducted at the Albany Medical Center, N.Y., reported almost no difference between the group of weightlifters who wore belts and the group who didn’t. Even without the much emphasized back protection provided by the belt, the back muscles have better chances of developing and increasing in strength. Even so, wearing weightlifting belts helps amateurs a lot, on the one condition that they not be worn extensively.

Let us discuss some bodybuilding myths. While it is good to take advice from others, you should be careful where you get your advice from. There are new sites coming online related to building muscle all the time and you need to understand that some of the advice is flat out wrong. We will go over four myths so that you will stay on track with your goals of how to build muscle fast.

Myth – Bodybuilding will make you slow. Years ago bodybuilders were looked at as muscle bound. Packing on some muscle can cause you to be quicker. When you are moving your body and running and jumping, your muscles are involved. Your muscles will supply more force, the stronger they are.

Myth – Getting a pump is what builds muscle. This feeling of pumped up is when the muscles get filled with blood. You actually look and feel bigger. This feeling and the way you appear after a workout does not mean that you stimulated your muscles to grow. Lifting more weight or more reps than you did in your previous workout is how to gain muscle mass.

Myth – Perfect form is always important. Good technique is important but not to the point of going crazy about it. Don’t be a machine and think you have to move exactly like you saw in a body building book. Don’t be afraid to use a bit of momentum. For example, if you are doing barbell curls, some books will have you stand so straight it is ridiculous. It is not natural. Think of what is natural for your body. It is not natural to stand straight and look ahead while curling a weight. I little body momentum is fine and actually helpful to not injuring yourself.

Myth – You must feel the burn. This lactic acid inside your muscles causes this burning sensation. Higher reps will give you this burn as opposed to lower reps. Keep your reps in the range from 5-7 for best muscle gains. Forget the pump and concentrate on lifting heavier when doing your bodybuilding workouts.

We will discuss some common mistakes in bodybuilding concerning diet. We will discuss what to do about these mistakes.

Not giving one diet enough time – Don’t expect to change your diet and then make great gains in a matter of a week. It can take 3 weeks for your body to get used to your new diet. Think of your diet as helping your bodybuilding workouts, not a means to an end in itself. Meaning, if you have a perfect diet, that alone won’t do it. The laws of muscle building still apply. You will have to lift weight and recover before your muscles will grow. And this takes time. So don’t keep on changing your diet because you are not getting quick results.

Not counting calories – This applies most to those competing in bodybuilding. If this is your job or you just want to be the best you can be when competing, then you must track everything. This includes tracking your food intake. Carbs, fats and proteins. You might not be meeting your bodybuilding goals because you are not eating the right amount of carbs, fat or protein.

Relying on supplements too much – Supplements are just that. They supplement your diet and it is your diet and training with rest, which will give you your success for packing on muscle.

Inconsistent eating – You need to be consistent in how often and how much you eat. Stick to your plan and don’t alter it. Missing meals is going to hurt your goal of muscle growth. You made the plan for a reason, now stick with it.

Judging success by your Scale – If you are trying to trim down your fat, don’t just rely on the scale. Scales are deceiving as you can lose muscle and think you are on the right track or gain muscle mass and think you did not lose fat.

Body building or muscle mass building may be daunting as a novice. Supplied beneath are a few points that could assist you get in body building, and into your 1st physical fitness club:

Look for advice. There’s no sense attempting to ascertain everything yourself while beginning in BodyBuilding. Make some time to speak to other people who are more knowledgeable, and find out what you could by them. While utilizing new equipment or a brand-new exercise it’s as well always a fine idea to speak to a person, to assure that you do not become hurt.

Slumber – while exercising for the 1st time it’s crucial to see to it that your body is having the sleep that it demands. This will generally be greater than what you were taking before!
Diet – even as crucial as rest it is crucial to assure that your diet keeps up with your exercising. This does not just mean consuming a lot, it means consuming better food. Look on your body as an car. The more you drive an auto, the more fire you demand to put into it. You need to assure that you are putting the right fire in your car also, to guarantee that it will ride consistently and perform to specification.

Set Goals – Set goals that are possible. Inaccessible goals just prepare yourself up for failure. Look at it one step at a time, and relish your success the whole way up the ladder. Whether it is added 10pounds to your bench press or merely arriving to the gym three days a week, you want to set up goals, otherwise it is simple for your muscle building workouts to get brushed aside once life gets busy.

Envision Success – it is crucial to envision yourself succeeding before you even start exercising. This successful mindset will lead you to new stages in your training and will set up yourself ahead for success!

Be smart about entering bodybuilding to guarantee that you will accomplish success both mentally and physically.

When starting out in your muscle building workouts, you will want to find a good routine fit for you. So what will work best for you? Lets look at ways you can tell if a routine will work and work for you.

First, you want to make sure that whatever routine you might follow, it has gotten results for those that have subscribed to its teachings.

You need a routine that is progressive in its training advice. Meaning, you want to keep progressively overloading your muscles with heavier weight as you get stronger.

Recovering between workouts is something that is very important and should not be pushed aside. Your body needs recovery in order to be ready to lift heavy for the next workout. The routine you are looking at should mention rest as a necessary factor of gaining muscle. Your muscles actually grow when they are resting.

Is the routine right for you specifically? Maybe because of health reasons a routine that is considered high intensity might be too much for you to handle. If you are someone that does not want to go to the max in your training, then high intensity training might not be for you.

Although high intensity training is the fastest way for muscle mass building, you might not be willing to take your mind to the limit and go to failure at each workout. It might be too much stress for you. The good thing though, is that you can go to the gym less often with high intensity training.

There are routines that call for more volume in their training program. These routines have you lifting lighter weights for more sets and reps. Now someone else might find this taxing on them as they have to concentrate for longer periods of time in their training. So find what works best for you, not only physically but mentally.

Why would your muscles stop growing when you are still doing muscle building workouts. Let’s look at some reasons that your muscles do not continue to grow and what you can do to reverse this.

Intense body building training breaks down your muscles. You might be training harder than you should be or more often than you should be. Train each body part once or twice per week only.

You need proper rest in order to have your muscles grow. Sleep is when your muscles grow bigger. Lack of sleep can negate your hard workouts and make them useless.

The same applies to how long you are training. Don’t spend more than 1 hour in the gym working out. That is one hour total for the day, not per body part. Your level of Cortisol increases after 45 minutes. This is a hormone that has been known to kill muscle cells.

Besides being unhealthy, drinking can cause your muscles to break down.

By not changing your bodybuilding schedule, your body can get used to your workouts and stop growing. Change up the order of the exercises or change to different exercises every couple of months.

When you want to gain muscle fast, your goal is to increase the weight gradually that you lift. Or increase the reps you do. Not doing this will have a negative affect on your results.

Eating enough protein is important to your muscle growth. There are those that state that 1 gram of protein is enough per bodyweight when trying to pack on size. Protein shakes and bars will help if you can not eat enough.

These reason listed above can be responsible for your lack of muscle weight gain. In the right circumstances, your body will grow but you need to make sure you are training properly, eating properly and getting enough rest.

You don’t have to be a fanatic about this unless this is your full time job. Living to eat enough protein and training hard every workout regardless of how you feel may not be something you want to do but follow this as best you can to get bigger in the fastest possible time.

When it comes to training bodybuilding and gaining muscle, there are a lot of different theories. If you are a beginner, it is hard to know what the best way to gain muscle mass to your body is. We will discuss some good starting points.

Compound Exercises – Your focus should be with compound exercises. These are exercises that hit more than one muscle group at a time. For example, the squat, dead lift, bench press are all compound lifts. These exercises give you the ability to lift the most weight and thereby stimulate more muscle fibers.

Track your Progress – Write everything down. You want to lift heavier weights as the weeks go by. You need to keep track of your progress and focus on increasing your strength. Sounds simple but not recording your workouts can cause you to forget from week to week how much you were lifting and how many reps you did.

Do not over train – Many people think that performing more reps and more sets is the way to go in their bodybuilding workouts. They believe that if they train more often and longer they will get better results. Your muscles do not grow while you are training them. They grow when they are resting. You need to allow the proper recovery for you body as a whole as well as the individual muscles.

Eat often – Professional body builders have been known to eat up to 10 times per day. They space out meals, eat small amounts and eat often. You should shoot for 5-7 meals per day. You want to keep your muscles in an anabolic state and eating every 2-3 hours that you are awake will help you with this. When you do not eat often your body goes into a catabolic state and breaks down the muscles you have.

They say there are many ways to skin a cat. There are also many ways on how to build muscle fast. The issue is which is the quickest and which way develops usable strength while also building muscle.

For those of us who are trying to pack on some muscle in the quickest way possible, high intensity training is a tried and true form of bodybuilding training.

Our goal is to lift the most weights, while doing relatively low to medium reps, resting and getting the proper nutrition. Don’t do too many sets and exercises. Train each body part about once per week and get plenty of rest and the proper nutrition while lifting heavy on the basics exercises. Exercises like the bench press, dips, squats, dead lifts and bicep curls. 

Train your chest with triceps and shoulders and your back with biceps. Basically, separate your pushing and pulling movements to different days. This is because you do not want to overwork your muscles. If you are bench pressing one day and then you work your triceps a couple of days later, your triceps might get overworked. This is because they were already worked while doing bench presses.

I believe dead lifts are a great upper body exercise that also hits the legs. Some have trouble dead lifting, due to back issues. There is another way. Stand inside a trap bar to do deadlights. It is easier on my back and it might be on yours as well. I believe more and more lifters are coming back to this bar as it is a more natural feeling. At least for some of us.

Try doing only one or two sets for each exercise and only one or two exercises per body part.  You might be surprised that this abbreviated training works wonders. Learn more about how to build muscle fast .