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10 Quick Tips to Build Mass

2010-07-08T23:17:00.001-07:00

Muscle mass is the straw that stirs the drink in the sport of bodybuilding. Talk all you want about symmetry, shape and definition, but in the final analysis, muscle mass is the defining element of a physique. The mass building equation has three components: a correct diet strategy, hardcore training and high tech supplementation. It;s not rocket science, but there are tricks to it, nonetheless. To save you time and trouble, I've complied 10 tips to jump start anabolism and create a positive nitrogen balance - to pack on muscle mass, you need to take in more nitrogen via protein and training than you excrete through the natural metabolic process.

1. Emphasize the Negative

Muscle growth is the logical byproduct of muscle contraction. Much emphasis is placed on the concentric phase of a lift where the muscle shortens as it contracts. But the stretching of the muscle during the eccentric, or negative, phase where the muscle lengthens while maintaining tension can directly cause muscle hypertrophy, too. Emphasizing the negative is an easy technique to overload muscles and promote radical gains in mass.

2. Eat Fish

Fish containing higher amounts of fat - salmon, for instance - provide us with the ever popular omega-3 fatty acids. Why is this important? The omega-3s make the muscle more sensitive to insulin; hence, they fuel glycogen storage and amino acid entry into muscles while also preserving glutamine stores.

3. Increase Sodium Intake

I'm not kidding. Sodium is an essential mineral that is an absolute must for muscle growth. Sodium has a bad rap because it can cause water retention - anathema to contest ready bodybuilders. On the plus side, sodium enhances carbohydrate storage and amino acid absorption while also improving the muscle's responsiveness to insulin.

4. Stop All Aerobics

Aerobic exercise has a detrimental effect on mass building. Aerobics interfere with strength gains and recovery while burning up valuable glycogen and branched chain amino acids (BCAA). Adding mass is the best way to upgrade your resting metabolic rate (RMR); is the RMR is elevated, more calories are burned and it is easier to stay lean.

5. Lift Explosively

The amount of force a muscle generates is proportional to the amount of muscle growth you'll be able to create. Force is defined as mass (the weight you use) multiplied by acceleration (the speed at which you push a weight against resistance). To generate more force, then, progressively increase your poundages while lifting explosively - in this context, you actually increase speed during the second half of the rep.

6. Dramatically increase your calories for three days

You will never achieve a positive nitrogen balance with a low calorie diet. It takes raw materials - carbs, protein and fats - to build new muscle mass and support recovery. Increasing your calories by 50% (from 3,0000 to 4,500 per day, for instance) for three days can spur growth while adding little if any bodyfat. The key is to limit the increased calories to a designated three day period; you'll be able to stimulate growth by improving muscle sensitivity to insulin and by providing more carbs for glycogen storage. If you are in a overtrained state - and if you're not gaining any new muscle mass, this is probably the case - the additional calories will promote anabolism before fat storage is able to kick in. That's why you want to limit the 50% increase to a three day period. After that time, return to your typical intake of daily calories; you'll have stimulated new growth without adding unwanted fat.

7. Rest

Many bodybuilders are unable to pack on mass because they are always training and, therefore, always recovering from those grueling workouts. Taking a couple of days off can restore glycogen, increase anabolism and allow hormonal indexes such as testosterone and cortisol to return to optimal levels.

8. Eat in the Middle of the Night

Anabolism depends on an excess of calories. As you are well aware, bodybuilders eat four to six times per day to increase the absorption of nutrients and to provide a steady influx of carbs, protein and fat. Expanding on the four to six meals per day plan is to include a protein drink in the middle of the night that can encourage additional growth. Glutamine EFX, providing 30 grams of protein and carbs along with the 'big three' (see tip #10), is a good option for this late at night infusion of nutrients.

9. Increase Strength Through Powerlifting

Your muscles respond to training in three ways. When you train with high reps (more than 15), there is an increase in endurance with no substantive improvement in size or strength. The six to twelve rep range - the range that all big bodybuilders rely on - promotes an increase in both size and strength. Powerlifters generally stay with low reps, two to four per set, which supplements strength with slight variances in size. However, if you set aside one week of training to pile on the weights with low reps the subsequent improvement in strength will make you stronger when you return to the six to twelve rep routine. Here's the formula: More strength equals more tension on the muscle equals more growth.

10. Supplement with the Big Three:
Glutamine, Creatine and BCAA

Glutamine is known as the immunity amino. If you are overly stressed from dieting or training, the immune system kicks in, releasing glutamine into the bloodstream. Having low levels of glutamine will inhibit muscle growth - that's why supplementing with glutamine is important.
Creatine is associate with added power and the ability to produce more adenosine triphosphate (ATP) - the chemical fuel source for training and growth. Supplementing with creatine allows bodybuilders to raise creatine levels in the muscle - therefore enhancing strength and ATP - without the unwanted fat that you'd be saddled with by getting all your creatine exclusively from food.
Branched chain amino acids act as a handy fuel source when glycogen stores are low. Adding BCAA to your nutritional program will increase your nitrogen balance while preventing the dreaded catabolic state that derives from overtraining or overdieting.

Alternatives to the Flat Bench Press

2010-03-19T05:43:00.001-07:00

It seems like a lesson on bench pressing consists more of the "don’ts" than the "do's."

Don't bounce. Don't squirm. Don't arch. Don't hold your breath.

Well, don't worry.

Once you've decided the most important element of working out - to get your butt into the gym and just 'do' it - you've already won half the battle.

So, here are a few different bench press variations that you should 'do' - a few alternatives that will help you to develop the ever-important pectoralis major.

Dumbbell bench presses

These can be performed at the three various settings: the flat bench version, the decline version, and the incline version. The main benefit of dumbbell presses, as opposed to barbell presses, is the increased range of motion. You're able to drop your elbows beneath your torso for a more extensive stretch during the negative portion of the exercise. Then, at the point of contraction, you are able to do something that you cannot do with barbell presses. You can add a slight twist, turning your palms inward, providing for a more intense and stimulating contraction.

Smith machine bench presses

The chief benefit of this exercise is that it allows you to concentrate solely on form. Because of the machine regulating the motion, you're not performing a circus-like balancing act during the activity. Straight up and straight down is exactly where the bar will go. And for this reason, the Smith machine is a good tool if you like performing the excruciatingly slow negatives, allowing for the pectorals to tear up considerably during the bar's descent. If you find difficulty in keeping your back straight on the bench, it's okay to lift your legs off the floor during the exercise.

Seated machine presses

Once again, this machine, in which the range of motion is a horizontal one as opposed to a vertical one, will allow you to stress your attention on attaining the proper form. While some will contend that you cannot pack on mass with such a machine, many experts will suggest otherwise. Also, on the seated bench press machine, you won't be inclined to arch your back while struggling through the range of motion.

Push-Ups

Make these a part of your own, personal basic training. These are great to couple in with another exercise, say dumbbell flyes. At the end of your set of flyes, try putting your feet up on a bench, and then your hands on another bench. Crank out a set of push-ups and your chest will really feel it. To hit the upper portion of your chest, put your hands onto the floor while leaving your feet on a bench. These do not necessarily have to be performed as part of a super set. Push-ups, especially in high quantities, are also a great exercise for toning the chest.

Train with Passion.

10 Tummy Flattening Tips

2010-03-11T21:01:00.000-08:00

Here's a quick quide you can follow to help flatten your stomach. Print this list out and post it somewhere in your house where you'll see it.

1. Walk/jog for 30 minutes at least 3 times per week to boost your metabolism in order to burn that fat.

2. Eat a small handful of almonds (at least 6) every morning. Almonds are one of the healthiest snacks you can eat and the protein is good for burning fat.

3. Purchase a Pilates DVD and do the exercises at least 2-3 times per week. Pilates works on toning your entire body with concentration on your powerhouse (middle section) and will improve your flexibility.

4. Add fiber to your diet and cut down your intake of the bad carbs. Foods such as white bread, pastas, potatoes, and white rice should be limited. Eat brown rice and whole wheat bread instead. To get that needed fiber increase your intake of fresh fruits and vegetables (especially the leafy green ones).

5. Drink skim milk instead of whole milk. Keep your dairy intake at a minimum because these products often cause bloating and gas.

6. Perform proper crunches at least 3 times a week to train your abs. Avoid sit-ups because they really do very little to firm your stomach. Sit-ups work your hip flexors more than anything else.

7. Drink plenty of water. You should be drinking 6 to 8 glasses per day. Not only will it help fill you up so you eat less, but it aids in digestion.

8. Stop eating within 3 hours of bedtime. If you have to munch on something, eat a small portion of vegetables or fruit. Not eating late can make a huge difference.

9. Eat smaller meals more often instead of 2-3 big meals per day to keep from having that bloated look and feeling. Eating more meals actually kicks up your metabolism.

10. Take a break from healthy eating once in a while and treat yourself to your favorite dessert. If you completely deprive yourself of the foods you love you'll run the risk of going back to your bad eating habits. Moderation is the key.

Just remember that slow and steady wins the race when it comes to slimming your waistline and flattening your stomach. There's no such thing as losing your stomach fast. You have to work at it daily and remain consistent with your diet and exercise.

If you remember nothing else, remember this: A flat stomach comes with TOTAL BODY FITNESS - not just from spot toning your stomach with crunches.

5 Reasons You're Not Building Muscle

2010-02-15T21:03:00.000-08:00

Sick of pumping out sets and not seeing that Adonis in the mirror? You’re not alone. “The gym drop-out rate increases when people don’t see results,” says Robin Gargrave, a personal trainer. To ensure your gym card doesn’t become a bookmark, and you do see that new man in the mirror, follow this two-step plan: First, you’ll stop making the classic workout blunders that are stopping your body in its tracks. Then you’ll start squeezing the maximum possible results from every gym minute with the world’s most effective workout. Best of all, it’s only three exercises, three times a week.

1 YOU FINISH YOUR REPS
Fast, heavy lifting uses more of the fibres with the most growth potential, but you tire fast – in 15 minutes or less. Then, you’re left struggling with weaker fibres. There are two warning signs: (1) The speed of your reps slows, and (2) you shorten your range of motion. At this point, it’s better to end the set than keep going with compromised speed or form. It seems like an “off for a sit in the steam room” cop out, but stopping early works if you don’t make mistake No. 5.

2 YOU DO TOO MANY REPS
As a beginner, you’ll gain more strength using 60 per cent of your 1-rep max, a weight you can raise for 15 to 20 reps. But gym regulars need 80 per cent of their 1-rep max to boost strength, a weight you can lift for eight reps per set. Do you really use weights in that range? If you do multiple sets of 8 to 10 reps, you don’t. The trouble is, even the Arnies among us can’t lift near-max weights on every exercise of every workout. Fortunately, there’s a loophole if you don’t make mistake No. 3.

3 YOU LIFT TOO SLOWLY
Traditional wisdom says you should lift weights slowly. “Control” is essential for good form but “slow” is holding you back. The faster you lift, the better the results. Fast lifts activate the muscle fibres with the most growth potential, plus they crank up your heart rate and metabolism. Anything worth lifting is better lifted fast. Lifting fast gives you the same growth with less weight. And though you should lower slower than you lift, don’t stress about the tempo; just return to the start without shifting your body out of alignment.

4 YOU DO TOO MANY EXERCISES
Forget exercises that work muscles in isolation. Each session you’ll now do (see The World’s Most Effective Workout) is built around
one lower-body exercise and two upper-body exercises, one for pushing and one for pulling. These will work all your muscles in combination. By working your larger muscle groups, you’ll burn a lot more calories.

5 YOU DON’T TAKE ENOUGH BREAKS
Every muscle rule book has targets for a fixed number of sets and reps, but avoiding mistake No. 1 means you won’t always hit them.
Instead, focus on total reps and let the sets take care of themselves. If your workout specifies 5 sets of 5 reps, 25 is your total – it doesn’t matter how many sets it takes to get there. Taking more sets means you get more from those reps because you’re doing more work with your biggest, strongest muscle fibres.

THE PAY-OFF
“After two months on this programme, the average 75kg man should add 7kg of muscle,” says strength and conditioning coach Nick Grantham. “The first month’s gains may be more modest. But then, you’ll balloon. Take at least 3 litres of water and 4,000 calories a day, including about 110g of lean protein.”

Easy Way Gym Home

2009-12-16T19:40:00.001-08:00

Six Minutes

Six minutes. That’s precisely the amount of time it takes to make a fresh pot of coffee or sit through the commercials between “Seinfeld” re-runs.

Six minutes out of your day. All you need is a level floor.

Start this torture session just as the end credits begin to roll. A few Sprint, Bell Atlantic, and Burger King commercials later, Jerry should be starting in with the monologue that kicks off the ensuing episode. And by then, your midsection should be burning like charcoal.

At Home

Contrary to what many believe, abdominal workouts do not need to be done in the gym. Your abs don’t need to be tormented through the hi-tech apparatuses or by the squeaky cable machines.

In fact, the best abdominal workouts you can possibly get are right in your own home.

Variation

However, the key to making your self-crafted ab workout turn your jelly belly into a blazing six-pack is the big ‘V’. Variation.

Blending a number of different motions and exercises with all sorts of variations in motion, speed, and resistance can shock your midsection into the washboard of your desire.

First, wear light clothing that will make you more agile, allowing your movements to be steady and flowing.

Start Wtih Crunches

Plop down on the floor and take a deep breath. Prepare yourself mentally. This ab workout will consist of one long, continuous set with no breaks in between various movements. Maintaining constant strain on your abs is the key here.

Start with basic crunches. You can either place your hands behind your head or leave them by your sides. However, do not pull your head up with your hands. Bend your knees so that your feet remain flat on the floor. Slowly allow your shoulders to raise off the floor without using your back whatsoever. Begin with 50 slow, strict repetitions before adding in a twist.

A Russian twist, that is. Raising your shoulders off the ground, slowly twist your torso from side to side. You want your right elbow turning toward your left knee and your left elbow twisting toward your right knee. These will seriously burn so try 20 of these with a strict form.

Jump right into leg raises. Extend your legs in front of you, making sure that your feet do not touch the floor. You want to start with them together, about six inches off the floor, before raising them so that your legs form a 45-degree angle. Feel your rectus abdominis tear throughout the 25 repetitions that you crank out.

More Crunches

Whip right back into a set of crunches. Except this time, try them with your legs straight, extended flat out across the floor. While you’re doing these crunches, pretend that an imaginary string is pulling your upper torso off the floor. Make the 50 repetitions flow while the abs grind.

Without hesitation, fling your legs into the air and take on a set of pikes. Your arms are out straight, pointing toward the floor, as you raise your shoulders in an attempt to touch your toes. All the while, your buttocks are lifting slightly off the floor. As you lower your shoulders to the floor, your legs come down again, into a bend position on the floor. No sooner do they touch that you’re beginning the next repetition and the motion flows through 25 agonizing reps.

On the last rep, leave your legs straight up in the air so your toes are pointing toward the ceiling. Crank out 30 crunches to intensify the burn. If you face difficulty in maintaining that 90-degree angle at your hips, slightly lower your legs to the floor.

Then, cut through those abs with some scissors. Lower your legs so that they’re 12 inches off the floor and lock your arms behind your head. Lifting your right shoulder off the floor, twist your torso just as your opposite leg – or left knee – bend into your right elbow. Immediately lower your knee and shoulder and then twist your left elbow toward your right knee. Try doing 25 of these before lowering your shoulders to the mat for the final exercise of the workout.

Even More...Crunches

This will be another set of 50 basic crunches, just like the set that you began the workout with. Exercise slow, strict reps as the burn spreads like wild fire.

The final rep will leave you feeling like you narrowly escape a blazing building in one piece.

But here’s a warning: for the next half-hour, you may be doubled over, holding onto your tummy, putting out the flames. And for once, Jerry Seinfeld’s hilarious one-liners will have nothing to do with it.

Train with Passion.

Top Ten Muscle Building Tips

2009-11-27T06:46:00.001-08:00

When training for muscle gain, there are many factors that can affect your progress. Apply my ten tips listed below and you will move forward in your quest to pile on pounds of lean muscle mass.
10. Sleep – This may sound like a strange one to start with, but there are a few reasons why sleep can affect muscle building. If you are not getting enough sleep at night you are seriously affecting the amount of energy that you will have during your workouts, slowing down your results. Also while you are sleeping, your muscles are repairing any damage that will have incurred during your previous workout. This repairing and strengthening of the muscle fibres is how you get bigger. You should be aiming for eight to ten hours of sleep every night.

9. Eat enough good fats – Good fats you say?! Surely I should be avoiding fatty foods?! To an extent you should, but there are different types of fats out there. Firstly there are the bad ones, these are the saturated fats. These fats are found in egg yolks, cheese, butter, meat fat, etc. They lead to an increase in cholesterol in the blood, they should be avoided as much as possible. Then there are the good fats, the polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. These contain essential fatty acids, such as omega 3. The body needs these for many important maintenance functions, including keeping joints healthy and promoting growth. The body does not produce these EFA's naturally, so you need to get them from your food. Excellent sources of these ‘good fats' include certain nuts, fish and olive oil.

8. Carb up! – When trying to build muscle mass you need huge amounts of energy for training to your optimum level. You body should be getting its required energy from carbohydrates in your diet. Like fats, there are good and bad carbs. It is the complex carbohydrates that you should be consuming. These should come from foods like brown rice, wholemeal pasta and potatoes. Try to avoid simple carbs from ready meals and other such processed foods. Eat a banana ten minutes before a workout, so your body has a source of energy for your workout.

7. Plan and log your workouts – You should have a plan of your weekly workout laid out well in advance of entering the gym. You shouldn't go into a training session blind, not knowing what body part you are going to train or what exercises you are going to do. If you go and throw a few exercises together at random, with no structure or aim you will never get to where you want to be. Keep a log of your workouts as well, so you know what weight you have lifted a how many repetitions and sets you have performed. The reason for this is next on the list…

6. Proper form and muscle isolation – For every exercise, you should be concentrating on completing the movement with proper form. The exercise should be primarily working the muscle that is being targeted. For example if you are performing a bicep curl the focus should be on using the biceps to lift the weight. You should not be leaning back, using your back muscle or legs to lift a heavier weight. Lift as heavy weight as you can, while still performing the exercise with good form and in a controlled movement. This will also reduce the risk of injury.

5. Progressive resistance – To get bigger you need to continually increase the amount of weight you are lifting (monitor this using a workout log, see number seven on the list!). When you lift a heavy weight, you are putting stress on your muscles, tearing the small fibres within. The muscle fibres will then repair themselves stronger so they can perform the task that damaged them without the damage reoccurring. To build muscle mass you need to be continuously repeating this process, increasing the weight you are lifting, so your muscle fibres are being broken down and repairing stronger and stronger each time. Aim to add 5lbs on the weight each workout.

4. Get your Protein – Your muscles need protein to grow, if you are not getting enough protein you will not grow to your full potential. A good guide line for protein intake is 0.8 to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of lean body weight. Good sources of protein are chicken, turkey, lean beef steak and egg whites. The majority of your protein should be coming from food, but you can increase your protein intake through protein shakes if you desire. I must point out that protein shakes are not a must, I prefer to get my protein from natural food sources. Protein drinks are good if you have a busy lifestyle or for convenience after a workout.

3. Get enough calories – To grow your body needs to consume more calories than it is using up. You should be consuming roughly an extra 500 calories above your maintenance level. For example if you eat 2500 calories and stay at the same weight, you should be consuming 3000 calories to build muscle. If you are not getting bigger this is the first place you should look.

2. Rest – You need to allow each muscle time to recover and repair before you work it again. Training one body part every day is not a good idea. Not resting your muscles enough will lead to overtraining, and may even start to reverse your muscle growth. Allow enough rest time for each muscle by using split routines, with adequate rest for each muscle.

1. Lift heavy! – Finally just to get the point across, to get big you need to lift big! One piece of advice I would give to you though, is don't look at what other people around you are lifting. Lift what is big for you personally, and build on that. If you start trying to lift the same as someone else in the gym who is twice your size, or who has bad form, it will lead to you losing the form in your exercises and will reduce your results.

That is a brief run through my top ten list of things you should be doing if you are trying to build muscle mass. I have listed these points from 10 down to 1, but they are all important factors you should be considering and should not necessary be looked at in that order for importance.

Best Supplements For Fat Loss

2009-09-04T19:14:00.000-07:00

“How can I lose my belly?”
“What do I need to do to get my abs to show?”
“I can’t seem to lose that little bit of fat around my navel – what can I do?”
The subject of fat loss spawns more questions than any other. You need some fats. Don’t let your fat intake drop below 15 to 20%, no matter what you do to diet.

There are a number of products and supplements on the market that promise weight loss. Some work and some don’t, and some give you unbelievable results. Some products will work for one group of people and not for another. Fitness and subsequent fat-loss is a three-edged sword: weight training, aerobics and nutrition. One is not more important than the other.

Tips For Beginning Fat Loss
1. Take decisive action
2. Walking is a fantastic way for a beginner to commence a cardio program
3. Concentrate on basics first – don’t get bogged down with details
4. Know your calories
5. Make fitness a way of life, and never, ever give it up
6. Get a personal trainer, coach or adviser
7. Become a member of a fitness center if you can, but a set of dumbbells are more than enough to get you started
8. Weight training is not optional – it’s mandatory!

Before we get into what supplements can help you with fat loss, keep in mind that you have to do some kind of cardio exercise, since you must always burn more calories than you consume in order to get good results. Also, remember that good nutrition also plays a very important role. That said, here are some excellent supplements for fat loss:
1. Ephedrine/Caffeine/Aspirin (E/C/A Stack)
2. Guggul
3. L-Carnitine
4. Yohimbe
5. Chromium
6. Hydroxycitric acid
7. Soy protein

You can easily develop a case of “information overload” trying to work out which fat loss supplements are best for you, with so many to choose from. There are several different types of weight loss supplements including the following:
• All-in-one thermogenics
• Ephedra-free fat burners with caffeine
• Stimulant-free fat burners
• Carb blockers
• Fat blockers
• Thyroid hormone increasers
• Transdermal fat loss gels

Fat Loss Combos
The products: Cytodyne NRG Xenadrine and Syntrax Guggulbolic Extreme
Why it works: Xenadrine NRG provides a constant supply of energy-promoting herbs and amino acids that sustain your body’s natural fat burning capacity. Guggulbolic has been shown in studies to radically boost the rate of fat loss by increasing thyroid hormone levels.

The Products: Cytodyne Taraxatone and ANSI Thermo Hydroxadrine Ephedrine-Free
Why it works: Cytodyne Taraxatone is a great diuretic, and Thermo Hydroxadrine EF is one of the most effective fat burners ever developed.

The products: MaHuang, Guarana or Kola, and White Willow
Why it works: the items in this combination have been studied more than any other natural ingredients and have time and again demonstrated their effectiveness for promoting thermogenesis.

Important Tools For Burning Fat
One approach to reducing body fat entails increasing the conversion of fat to heat. Certain tea extracts have compounds called catechins (such as green tea and Oolong tea), which, along with caffeine, burn fat for energy. The problem is the dosage used in most of the research studies where people lost appreciable weight was very high: 1600 mg a day. Still it’s fairly effective in smaller doses of 50-200 mg a day. As crazy as it sounds, calcium also promotes fat loss. Animal studies have demonstrated a reduction in body fat by 26 to 39 percent from higher calcium diets.

InStone is action megastar Sylvester Stallone’s line of performance supplements. InStone’s fat burner offering is called LeanFire, and it contains a combination of green tea and caffeine. One word of caution … there is a LOT of caffeine in this product. The good news is that a serving size is 3 capsules, and that by cutting back the dosage to a single capsule, you can effectively judge your tolerance for this product, and thus reduce the probability of caffeine-induced side effects.

Triax or Triacana is a drug originally from Europe called Triac. It is a rapidly metabolized form of the T-3 hormone, which is produced by the thyroid gland. In the 1970’s the use of this supplement spread like wildfire in fitness centers across the country because of its capacity to speed up the metabolism. With Triacana, even in the offseason you can increase your food intake and put on muscle without additional fat. This is possible because Triac causes the thyroid gland to produce more thyroid hormone, putting the body in a hypermetabolic state.

Reduce Cortisol to Burn Fat
Cortisol is an anxiety hormone manufactured by the adrenal glands, which when produced in excess, decreases muscle mass and helps in depositing body fat. Here are some cortisol reducing strategies:
1. Take your Vitamin C
2. Take Glutamine
3. Take Phosphatidylserine
4. Reduce stress
5. Don’t train for more than one hour with weights
6. Don’t overdo cardio
7. Get eight hours of sleep every night

Finally, don’t forget that you should never lower your fat consumption from food too much. If you don’t eat enough fat, your body begins to cling to its fat stores and will eventually go into starvation mode. So go ahead and give your body a little fat. Essential fatty acids are more than valuable in your diet to help you lose weight effectively.

4 Easy Tips to Pack On Muscle

2009-09-04T19:10:00.000-07:00

What is the best method to pack on muscle mass? Begin by working out 2-4 days per week. Try to keep repetition range to about 4-12, and rest time between sets should be approximately 2-3 minutes. The best way to build lean muscle mass while burning fat is to perform cardio, either before or after a workout. It is best to do cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, although it may be inconvenient.

The steps outlined below are easy, and they will help you pack on quality muscle fast.

1. Eat more often. As a bodybuilder, you require more grub than the average Joe. So think five, six or even seven small meals per day. It might sound like lots of calories, but that is precisely what you could do with at the moment. Don’t go crazy eating everything and anything in sight. You’ll just gain a bunch of soft, useless fat instead of muscle if you eat too much junk food.

A good rule of thumb is if man made it, then don’t eat it. If that isn’t enough information for you, then check with a qualified nutritionist, or do free research online. Make sure any professional you pay is properly credentialed. If you do the research yourself, don’t believe what you find if that site is clearly more interested in your cash than in your physical condition.

Here are some tips that you should find useful:
• Take multivitamins daily
• Never go hungry – eat every 2½ to 3 hours
• Make an effort to eat two meals prior to working out – training on an empty stomach is not a good idea as it can cause side effects such as dizziness and does not lead to as much fat loss as eating breakfast and a mid-morning meal before working out does.
• Always eat breakfast – or else you will bring your metabolism down which will lead to you storing more body fat.
• Become familiar with Glycemic Index of foods.
• Add 3-5 grams of cinnamon to meals as it helps process insulin better, and add lemon juice or vinegar to foods to reduce their Glycemic Index.
• Eat fewer carbohydrates overall and more protein and fat.
• Eat as much raw fruit and vegetables as possible. Be careful not to overcook vegetables, as you will kill vital enzymes that are needed for digestion and lower their nutritional value by destroying vitamins and minerals.
• Eat fresh fruits, but no more than 1-3 portions a day, as excessive fructose turns to body fat if not burned off. Avoid tropical fruits, as they are high on the Glycemic Index.
• Include sources of protein with all meals as it helps with digestion and increases metabolic rate to keep body fat levels low. Rotate protein sources, as you will become allergic if you use the same sources all the time.
• Take fish oils with every meal. This can result in 3-6 pounds of weight loss in a month, as they increase the utilization of fat stores and decrease fat storage.

2. Supplement with the big three: Glutamine, Creatine and BCAA. Glutamine is known as the immunity amino. Creatine is linked with added power and the capacity to create more adenisone triphosphate (ATP) – the chemical energy resource for training and growth. Branched chain amino acids act as a useful energy source when glycogen stores are low.

Another very important supplement is water: at least one gallon or 0.6 to 0.7 ounces per pound of bodyweight per day while training. To make sure you drink enough water, every day fill a one-gallon milk jug and put it in the fridge. Pour yourself some whenever you want water, and at the end of the day, if the milk jug is empty you’ll know you have hydrated yourself throughout the day.

3. Work out hard. Intensity is the element that creates muscle. Use a weight that you can really lift to pump out some good, clean reps with strict form. Get your spotter to assist you with some additional reps. Have your spotter spot you until he/she gets tired, if you can get used to the “Pain of the Growth Zone.” The intensity of this type of training is tremendous!

Want to get huge? You will have to use high intensity techniques built into your weight lifting routine. In order to generate quality muscle growth you need to damage the muscle to a certain extent for it to respond, repair and grow. You definitely won’t build large muscles by using light weights and high repetitions. Lift hard and heavy. Only very heavy weights damage the muscle adequately for growth.

4. Rest. A muscle will not need to be worked more than once a week if done well and intensely. You may actually get fewer results if you train a muscle group directly more than once a week. Muscles need rest and recovery time in order to grow and get stronger. They will not get the required rest if you are training them all the time.

When a muscle cell is stressed intensely it causes damage to its internal elements, protein filaments shatter and glycogen storage chains break down rapidly. When the stress stops the cell has the time to recuperate, replace and fix the cell back to the pre-stressed state. After this recovery the cell will overcompensate for its stress by adding more elements to its structures, more protein filaments, glycogen stores and increased enzymes for energy production.

In addition to packing on muscle, strength training strengthens and conditions the musculoskeletal system, improving muscle tone and endurance. These improvements have a great influence on our physical performance, metabolic efficiency, physical appearance and risk of injury. Research shows that unless we strength train often, we will lose more than one half-pound of muscle every year of our lives after age 25.

How To Build Muscle Fast

2009-08-11T01:55:00.000-07:00

If you want to build muscle fast there are a few very important factors you need to be aware of. First of all, if you have less than Herculean genetics you need to be sure to avoid overtraining. There are several different ways to do this which are listed below.

Don’t do more than 12-15 sets per workout.
Don’t train for longer than an hour.
Don’t train more than four days per week; three days is even better.
Don’t train for more than 8-12 weeks without taking a week off.
Don’t train with 90% or above your one rep max for more than three weeks in a row.

Those are a few of the easiest ways to avoid overtraining. Heeding that advice will definitely help you build muscle fast.

Productive mass building workouts are centered on one concept and one concept only; progressive overload. You have to consistently get stronger and lift more weight and do more reps if you ever want to get bigger. Doing the same thing repeatedly will get you absolutely nowhere and is a complete waste of your time.

Also, you need to be sure that you are using big, compound exercises like squats, deadlifts and chin ups with heavy weights. Don’t waste your time with isolation exercises and pumping techniques that do nothing to help you build muscle fast.

Next, you need to be sure your diet is in order. This means that you are eating copious amounts of food every 2-3 hours. Going longer than this without a meal will impede your progress and you will never get huge. You should be focusing on organic whole foods such as grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds for the majority of your calories. The rest of your intake should be made up of clean sources of protein like eggs and fish.

Another thing that will help you build muscle fast is paying the utmost attention to your recovery. You should be getting as much rest as possible which includes sleeping a minimum of eight hours per night and hopefully even taking a short nap during the day. Another thing that can boost your recovery ability is regular massage. This can be a real massage from a masseuse or just a simple self massage with a foam roller or tennis ball. Either way you do it will help tremendously, just be sure to do it.

Although most people overlook its importance, stretching is another crucially important component of a good muscle building program. Stretching can help tight muscles grow more efficiently and can even help prevent injuries in certain instances. If you don’t do any stretching now, I highly recommend that you start. You will be pleasantly surprised by the results, I’m sure.

Building Muscle Fast Summary

If you follow the tips above you will build muscle fast; perhaps faster than you ever imagined. I have provided the information, now it’s up to you to use it.

Five Fat Loss Mistakes

2009-07-19T01:03:00.001-07:00

Straight to it. Here are five of the biggest fat loss mess-ups that I see men and women doing everyday...fix these, and you'll lose fat.

1) Not having back up.

Trying to lose fat without social support is the wrong way to go about this. Ideally, you'd have your doctor, an RD, a trainer, your workout partner, your spouse, your workmates, and your friends all behind you. Research shows that you'll benefit most from a health professional (i.e. a trainer) and a workout partner that is also successful. Get those two people on your team first, and then work on the rest of the group.

2) Not using a structured program

If you ever go into the gym and wonder what you are going to do first, you're already wasting your time - even before you choose. Get a plan, know what you have to do, stick to it, and see it through. That way, no wasted time wandering around the gym deciding where to start.

3) Not changing your workout after 4 weeks.

That's the longest you should go on one program. If it's been 6-months, give your head a shake. If it hasn't worked yet, why do you think it's magically going to start now. Change it up frequently. You'll get more results and you'll have more fun.

4) Not realizing your results will come from nutrition more than they will from training.

You want to lose fat? You have to eat right for fat loss. You can't train like an animal and then eat junk and expect to lose fat. No program is that good. None. Diet beats training everytime, like scissors beats paper. Eat whole, natural foods in 6 smaller meals each day. Get lots of fiber, lots of protein, lots of vegetables. Eat healthy fats, avoid trans fats. Drink lots of water and tea. So simple, so effective. Eat for energy, not for gluttony.

5) Not knowing when to quit.

I get emails everyday from readers asking if they can add even more cardio and more lifting to their current workout plans. After all, if some is good, more training must be better?

Listen, you have to draw the line somewhere. You can't keep adding more and more exercise. First, there is diminishing returns from each additional set you do, and from extra cardio. Second, your body can breakdown fast from too much work, particularly when you are dieting. Overtraining and low calories go together like oil and water. Neither of these combos will make your engine run optimally.

And finally, focus on quality over quantity. The "volume approach to fat loss" from the 1980's (characterized by lots of cardio and lots of carbs) didn't work. For good reason. Stick to high quality nutrition, and high-quality training.

The only thing that matters is results. Not muscle soreness, not feeling exhausted after each workout, and not feeling deprived of food.

Quality work and quality food for a better body.

The Six Simple Steps to Fat Loss Success for Beginners

2009-07-19T01:01:00.000-07:00

For beginners, getting into fitness can be intimidating and confusing. But it doesn't have to be that way. In fact, getting fit is one of the most straightforward tasks you’ll attempt in the New Year.

Fortunately, reaching your fitness goals requires only two things; discipline (that’s up to you) and a set of simple guidelines (which I am happy to provide).

1 and 2 ) Full Physical Examination and Fitness Assessment

First, you should arrange for a full physical examination from your physician. This is mandatory for people that have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, or are obese. Once you have your doctor’s approval to begin a fitness program, you should schedule a fitness assessment with a health professional at your gym.

While both of these are incredibly annoying, they are essential to your success and well-being. The benefits of a doctor’s visit are obvious, particularly if you have one or more of the previously mentioned conditions but it also allows you and your doctor to discuss your lifestyle. Preventative medicine is far better than reactive medicine. Make your doctor part of your fat loss and health-building team along with the health professionals at your gym.

The real benefits of the fitness assessment aren’t finding out how much body fat you have or how many minutes you can last on the treadmill, but rather getting a better understanding of your strengths and weaknesses. If you want to avoid injury and actually achieve your goals this year, get to know your strengths and weaknesses.

3) Walk - Don't Run!

The next secret is to walk, don’t run, to fitness success. If you want to pick up your University running workouts where you left them 10 years ago, that’s fine. But I guarantee you won’t last 10 days. And then it will be a dreary 355 days until you’re ready to try exercise again.

The hidden benefit of a good fitness assessment is that it will actually serve as a nice introductory workout to your return to fitness. It will buffer your delusions of fitness grandeur from the reality of what your body actually can do. After the fitness assessment teaches your body a lesson and awakens your muscles from their winter slumber, only then will you realize your limits that you must respect in subsequent workouts.

4) Goal Setting

Goal-setting is the fourth secret to success (and not just in fitness, but in any area of life). It is much more effective to commit to a set of specific short-term and long-term goals than it is to routinely hope for weight loss each year.

Set realistic goals and remember to train within your limits. If you are currently sedentary and haven’t exercised in months (or years), don’t begin an advanced training program. Start with a conservative beginner program. Your belly wasn't’ built in a day, and neither will be lost overnight.

Limit your initial workouts to 1 set per muscle group. In week 2, you should be ready to add another set. And if you want to build up to 3 sets, then do so in week 3. Slowly increase the weight and stay within your desired repetition range. At no time should you be too sore to function. And runners should also heed this advice. Too much running will guarantee shin splints in the early going. Avoid running on back to back days for the first two weeks and keep the distance short. Sore muscles are guaranteed when you lift. So keep the volume low.

And now for 2 super secrets that will help keep you committed and consistent with your workouts and will finally help you lose fat for good.

5) Build a Social Support Team

First, build your social support team. Social support is the #1 factor for success for women in fitness programs, and is important for men as well. Support can come from your spouse, brother or sister, child, mom or dad, friend, neighbor, co-worker, personal trainer, or lifestyle coach. Don’t try to go it alone. People respond better when they report to a person instead of a machine.

6) Nutrition

You also need to know that nutrition is the second most important factor for success in fat loss programs. That’s why you don’t need to train like a world-class athlete when you are starting to lose fat. Most of the fat you’ll lose in the early going is because you have chosen to make better nutritional choices. And if you don’t make better nutritional choices, even the best exercise program in the world isn’t going to help you achieve your fat loss goals.

Nutrition is a lot simpler than you think. Don't over think things. See a nutritionist or listen to what your mother told you as a kid. Food choices should contain a large nutrient-to-calorie ratio. Dr. Phil (yes that Dr. Phil) calls this “High-Response Cost, High-Yield Nutrition”. And follow this rule: Don't eat foods with added sugar or high-fructose corn syrup, but make sure to log your nutritional intake. This is a free website that allows you to track your calories, protein, carbohydrates, and fat.

source :24hrfitness.com

The Best Method for Burning Belly Fast

2009-07-19T00:58:00.000-07:00

I often get asked, "What's the best way to burn fat and lose my belly?"

People want to know if aerobics is better than strength training, or if traditional cardio exercise is better than intervals.

Well, to say I've done them all would be an understatement.

With over 15 years experience helping others, training myself, training for sports, spending countless hours in the gym, AND actually conducting laboratory research studies on different exercise methods, I'm pretty confident in knowing what works and what does not.

But first of all, I want to frame my responses. I'm going to talk about what works for people that have a limited amount of time to exercise, mostly because I expect your readers don't have 90 minutes per day to devote to a workout, unlike the typical audience of a fitness magazine.

That's why there is a huge disconnect between some of the information found in magazines and the ability of the reader to apply it to their lives.

We just don't have 6-8 hours per week for exercise, nor do we need it. If you're a triathlete, you might need that, but not someone that just wants to lose fat and gain muscle.

Having said all that, the bottom line for getting a better body is...

The Best Methods for Burning Belly Fat

Use bodyweight exercises to warm-up, strength training supersets to build muscle, and then finish your workout with interval training to burn fat in a short amount of time. I've structured my system so that you are in and out of the gym in 45 minutes, three times per week.

You'll do 5 minutes of bodyweight exercises to warm-up. This is a much more efficient approach than spending 5 minutes walking on a treadmill, which really doesn't prepare you for anything except more walking on a treadmill.

Perform a Strenght Training Superset

Then we move into the strength training supersets, where we use two exercises performed back to back with minimum rest between each. This cuts our workout time, while still giving us maximum results. We only need 20 minutes for this, and we'll use basic exercises, and sometimes even more bodyweight exercises, depending on the client's goal for muscle building.

And finally, we'll do 18 minutes of interval training. A warm-up, followed by six short intervals at the appropriate fitness level for the client, interspersed with short periods of low-intensity recovery. Finish with a cool-down. And that's the workout. Again, about 45 minutes total.

Compare that to what most people do, which is run, jog, cycle or use the cardio machines for 45 minutes straight. Sure, that will burn calories, but it doesn't build a better body.

In fact, there are a few "dark sides" to long slow cardio, including less-than-optimal results, the potential for overuse injuries, and it is an inefficient form of exercise. If you only have 30-45 minutes for your workout and you spend it all on a cardio machine, when are you going to train the rest of your muscles and sculpt a better body?

So the best way to burn belly fat is with a combination of strength training and interval training. It's fast, it works, and it's fun!

source : 24hrfitness.com

Top 5 Fat Burning Tips

2009-07-19T00:56:00.001-07:00

Here are 5 fat loss tips for beginner and advanced readers.

1) No liquid calories (with the exception of a post-workout drink).

Get rid of all the juices, the sodas, and the sports drinks. Liquid sugar is the last thing you need when you are trying to lose fat.

You must also limit your alcohol intake - especially if you are adding mix to drinks...that is a double calorie bomb! A single "Jackand Coke" is over 200 calories (100 calories from booze and 100 calories from mix).

2) No fast food.

Do not eat at fast food restaurants. Even if you choose what you think is healthy, remember this:

Fast food restaurants are all about profit.

And in order to profit while giving you cheap, quick, and easy to prepare foods, the quality of the food ingredients will be poor - especially the protein.

Now you might have read that you can still make healthy choices at fast food restaurants. But you know what, that's just politically-correct opinion. If it's fast food, it's poor food.

Walking into a burger joint and grabbing a chicken breast on a white bread bun with a piece of old lettuce and a half-green, half-pink tomato is "barely" healthy eating.

The politically-incorrect truth is that it's going to take time and effort to eat properly. You will have to plan, shop, and prepare healthy meals. You will have to spend time cleaning, cutting, and cooking your food. That's the truth.

But believe me, it will taste so much better than fast food, and healthy eating will make you more alert. Eating fast food will make you feel terrible, and will make you want to have an afternoon nap at your desk.

Make one small improvement to your nutrition everyday for the rest of your life.

3) Eat more fruits and vegetables.

If you are eating 2 servings per day, then go up to 4 servings per day by the end of the week. And even if you think you are doing great by having 5 servings per day, you still need to double that (take 2-3 weeks to work your way up to 10 servings per day).

Stick with fiber-rich fruits and vegetables - organic if possible.

4) Eat 1oz of almonds or walnuts per day (1/2 oz in the AM, and the other half in the afternoon).

Most nuts are roasted in oils (possible source of trans fats), so stick to natural or dry-roasted nuts.

Don't panic...this small amount of nuts won't make you fat, but will fill you up and help you lose weight.

5) Be consistent with your workouts.

And make sure the workouts are efficient and effective. To make it easy for you to follow, stick with the Turbulence Training fat burning workout system.

It doesn't matter if you train in the morning before or after breakfast, or at night before or after dinner, or at 1pm on days when the moon is in line with Saturn...don't worry about the details, just train consistently.

6) BONUS TIP: Go for a walk after lunch or dinner (or anytime you eat a big meal). Research shows this will help you control your cholesterol and triglycerides, plus any movement is better than sitting around watching the TV and snacking.

Improve your lifestyle everyday,

source :24hrfitness.com

How To Increase Your Metabolism

2009-07-19T00:54:00.000-07:00

The Metabolism is Your Fat Loss Foundation

You cut calories and you exercise. You do exactly what the articles say - Your calories out are greater than your calories in. You should be losing fat. But if you aren’t, perhaps you’re still not paying attention to an often forgotten factor of fat loss - your metabolism.

Your metabolism is a measure of how many calories you are burning each day. But did you know that the food, exercise, and lifestyle choices you make every day have a significant impact on your metabolism? For example, if you starve yourself (instead of following a sensible fat-loss eating plan) your metabolism will slow down. If your metabolism slows down, it means your calories out will be less. And that means no more fat loss, and possibly even continued fat gain.

So for every day that you continue to slow your metabolism with unhealthy lifestyle choices, you get further and further away from fat loss. To help, I’ve put together a list of the top 10 ways to maximize your metabolism, so that you’ll burn as many calories as possible each day so that you can finally lose the fat. For the exact workouts and nutrition plan to help you lose the maximum amount of fat in as little time as possible, visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Increase Your Metabolism - Tip 1 - Avoid Starvation!

Don’t starve yourself!
Cutting calories too much is one of the worst things you can do to your body. Starving yourself actually causes you to lose much more water weight and muscle than fat. Use fitday.com to find out your daily calorie intake.

Increase Your Metabolism - Tip 2 - Small Meals

Eat 6-8 small meals per day with an emphasis on lean proteins, fruits, and vegetables.
You have to have a nutrition plan, so spend a couple hours on a day off preparing as much food as you can for the upcoming week.

Increase Your Metabolism - Tip 3 - Breakfast

Eat breakfast. You have to make this meal part of your daily metabolism-boosting plan. At the very least, eat a lean protein, drink some Green Tea, and consume a fiber-rich fruit to get your fat loss day started right.

Increase Your Metabolism - Tip 4 - Healthy Fats

Eat healthy fats. Sources of healthy fats included nuts, fish, olive oil, and flax oil. I consume 10 grams of fish oil per day. Replace all processed carbohydrates in your diet with almonds. For example, if you currently eat a small bag of pretzels as a mid-afternoon snack, eat almonds instead (eating the same number of total calories).

Increase Your Metabolism - Tip 5 - Quality Foods

Eat high quality foods that will help you control your blood sugar levels, insulin levels, and energy levels. Insulin management will help you lose fat and prevent you form gaining fat. Controlling your hormone levels is the #1 neglected factor in fat loss programs.

Increase Your Metabolism - Tip 6 - Protein Intake

Eat 1.14g of protein per pound of lean body mass.
If you don’t know your lean body mass, then simply eat 1g of protein per pound of body weight. But if possible, stick to the lean body mass recommendation, as that eliminates excess fat mass when calculating protein needs.

Increase Your Metabolism - Tip 7 - Avoid Alcohol

Don’t drink alcohol.
Alcohol intake can quickly add hundreds of calories and alcohol prevents fat burning. Alcohol intake can also reduce testosterone levels, a big no-no for men looking to get lean.

Increase Your Metabolism - Tip 8 - Green Tea and Water

Drink Green Tea and water.
While I don’t believe that either of these will increase your metabolism, I do believe that they help prevent decreases in metabolism. Not too mention, these are your 2 healthiest beverage options.

Increase Your Metabolism - Tip 9 - Sleep Schedule

Stick to a consistent sleep schedule.
Don’t stay up all night, and if possible, avoid working afternoon and overnight shifts. If you must work shiftwork, stick to the rest of these principles as strongly as possible.

Increase Your Metabolism - Tip 10 - Strength Training

Use the strength training with moderately heavy weights (that allow you to complete 8 perfect reps per set) and interval training for the most efficient and effective metabolism boosting workout.

Increasing Your Metabolism Summary

If your metabolism has slowed down due to improper dieting or lifestyle, then follow these tips to help you get back on track to lose fat and gain muscle. Once you correct your metabolism, you will be on the road to losing the fat for good. Just in time for summer.

source : 24hrfitness.com

Run the Right Way

2009-07-16T22:53:00.001-07:00

In any sport, optimizing your form will lead to better performance and fewer injuries. That is especially true in running, says Tim Hilden, a trainer and physical therapist at the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine in Boulder, Colo. Protect you muscles and joints and become a more efficient runner with his tips:

1.) Lighten Up
Running "hard," or striking your feet on the ground with maximum force, increases the levels of force sent through the body. This can cause new injuries—or worsen existing conditions—creating an uncomfortable running experience. To run more lightly, concentrate on softening the sound your foot makes when it hits the ground.

2.) Watch the Lean
Leaning too far forward increases the load to the front of your knee and limits proper arm movement, which can slow you down. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and lean forward at the ankles until your weight just shifts to the balls of your feet. This is your ideal running angle.

3.) Use Your Arms to Drive Your Legs
Your upper and lower body should always be in sync. Just watch elite sprinters. Move your arms briskly when you run, and your legs will perform at their best. You'll also burn more calories.

4.) Watch Your Cadence
Keep a brisk rhythm. Your muscles will end up being better engaged, and you'll actually use less effort, allowing you to go farther. Focus on making each step quicker without going faster and shortening the amount of time that your foot is in contact with the ground.

5.) Check Your Gait
If you experience any kind of pain, something is wrong. Even if you don't hurt, there may be flaws in your gait that can be corrected. Work on your form, invest in some new shoes, and if that still doesn't help, go see an expert at a running specialty shop who can evaluate you professionally.

Get Stronger Now

2009-07-10T01:38:00.000-07:00

Strength is the foundation of nearly all physique and performance goals. When you're strong, you more easily gain muscle size, lose fat, run faster, hit harder, play longer, and move more living room furniture for your wife. We've rounded up 10 no-questions-asked tips to help you make everything in your life feel just a little bit lighter.

1.) Own the "big four."

The squat, deadlift, bench press, and shoulder press are the best strength-building exercises, period. The chinup and row are great moves too, but don't make them the focus of your workout — they can be assistance lifts to complement the bench and shoulder press, keeping your pulling muscles in balance with the pressing ones.

2.) Use barbells first.

Forget all the fad equipment. The barbell is king, the dumbbell is queen, and everything else is a court jester — it may have its place, but it's not essential. Start your workouts with barbell exercises, such as the "big four," as described above. Barbells let you load a lot of weight, and lifting heavy is the first step toward getting stronger. Once your heaviest strength exercises are out of the way, you can move on to dumbbell and body-weight training.

3.) Keep it simple.

Some trainers make their clients lift with a certain rep speed, like three seconds up, one second down. But know this: There's no need to count anything but reps during a set. Simply focus on raising and lowering your weights in a controlled manner, pausing for a one-second count at the top of the lift. Using an arbitrary tempo can lessen tension on your muscles or force you to use varying amounts of weight, slowing your progress. The only way to be sure you're getting stronger is if your loads consistently increase.

4.) Maintain a log.

Write down your exercises, sets, reps, and the fate of each workout. Keep track of your best lifts and the most reps you've done with a certain weight on an exercise. Constantly strive to improve those numbers.

5.) Don't overdo it.

Try to stick to three or four lifts per workout. Keeping your workouts short helps you take advantage of hormonal surges. When you do too many exercises in a session, at least some of them get done half-assed. All you need is one main lift per workout (one of the big four), one or two assistance lifts (for keeping the body in balance and further strengthening the muscles that perform the main lift), and then core or specialty work at the end (ab exercises or some forearm or calf moves, depending on your goals). Doing any more lessens your results.

6.) Think five.

You should rotate many different rep ranges in your workouts, but sets of five seem to offer the best blend of muscle size and strength gains. If you're pushing through one of the big four moves, you'll find that your form often breaks down after five anyway.

7.) Add weights slowly.

The main reason people plateau and stop gaining strength is that they go too heavy for too long. Abandon your ego and do your main lifts using 10% less than the most weight you can lift for the given rep range. Increase the weight each session — but by no more than 10 pounds — and stick with the same lifts. You'll rarely plateau again.

8.) Take to the hills.

Cardio is a must if you want to be lean and healthy, but long-distance running or cycling increases levels of hormones that break down muscle tissue. To get stronger while getting leaner, do cardio in short, intense bursts. Go to a moderately steep hill and sprint to the top, then walk back down. When you're ready, sprint again. In your first workout, do only half as many sprints as you think you could. In your next workout, do two more sprints than you did the first time. Continue adding two sprints to your workouts until you can't improve anymore. Then do sets of sprints.

9.) Balance your training.

Whatever you do for one side of the body, you must do for the other side. Follow that rule in your workouts and you should be able to avoid injury and muscle imbalances. If you're doing squats (mainly a quad exercise), also do Romanian deadlifts (which hit the hamstrings hard). Your chest exercises should be balanced with back-training lifts. You don't necessarily have to do your balance work in the same session, but it should be done in the same week. In general, follow a ratio of two-to-one between your pulling-and-pushing movements. So if you bench-press on Monday (and most of the world seems to), you can do chinups on Tuesday and bent-over lateral raises on Thursday, for example. Every other pressing exercise you do should follow this formula.

10.) Do it right.

Form is key.You may think you know how to perform the big four, but you could probably get more out of them. Here are some quick pointers for each one.

Squat: Begin the squat by pushing your hips back as far as you can. Keep your lower back arched and you should feel a stretch in your hamstrings. When your hips are bent, begin bending your knees and squatting low. This is what you need to squat maximal weight.

Deadlift: Use the same stance you would to perform a jump — your legs should be narrowly placed. When you bend down to grab the bar, keep your hips down and your back straight, with your shoulders directly over your knees.

Bench Press: Start with your head off the bench. Keeping your feet steady, grab the bar and pull your body up off the bench and forward, so that when your butt comes down on the bench your lower back is very arched. Squeeze your shoulder blades together. Your range of motion should be significantly shorter for stronger pressing.

Shoulder press: Flare your lats when the bar is at shoulder level. It will allow you to use more weight.

source : www.mensfitness.com

Hard Core

2009-07-10T01:32:00.000-07:00

You hear a lot of foul language in the gym. (Admit it - that's one of the reasons you like going.) But there's one four-letter word that should make you cringe whenever it comes up. That word is core. And the reason it's so obscene is because most of the time, people throw the term around carelessly, without knowing what it really means. Think you're in the clear? If you just said, "I know what the core is - it's your abs and lower back," go wash your mouth out with soap. Then come back and finish this article, in which you'll learn about the body's many cores and how to train each of them.

THE CENTER OF STRENGTH

Anyone who's hired a trainer, browsed the fitness department at Sears,or stumbled onto an infomercial while searching for Saturday morning cartoons knows one of his cores by now. For the last 10 years or more,"core training" - exercise involving the abs and lower back has been one of the most hyped trends in fitness, and for good reason. "The most important structure in the body's communication system is the spinal cord," says Juan Carlos Santana, C.S.C.S., director of the Institute of Human Performance in Boca Raton, Fla. "But it's housed by the most unstable structure in the body -the spinal column." In order for the body to move at all, it must first stabilize that structure. "Therefore," says Santana, "we are limited in the force we can generate - in any activity - by our ability to stabilize the lower back and pelvic region."

Meaning, in order to condition your whole body, you need to perform exercises that strengthen the area surrounding the spine - namely, the abs and lower back. Yes, banging out a set of Swiss-ball crunches can be a part of that training, but it's only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to true core conditioning.

CORE CONCEPT

SStability training has been going on for eons,but its modern incarnation dates back roughly 25 years. Physical therapists in San Francisco discovered that having their patients train in unstable yet controlled positions (such as on a Swiss ball or balancing on one leg) could alleviate back problems. The concept later became part of the "functional fitness" craze of the '90s, in which more sport- and lifestyle-specific training methods began to replace old-school lifting programs. (In other words, people began to see weight training for health and performance as more than just bench presses and biceps curls.)

In both cases, the training focused on knocking the body off balance so that the central nervous system (the organizer of all your body's muscle activity) would be forced to recruit more muscle fibers to complete the task at hand. Which means when you do Swiss-ball crunches, for example, you're not only training your rectus abdominus (the six-pack muscles), you're training your brain to activate all the other muscles that help keep you on that ball - including your internal and external obliques, transverse abdominus, quadratus lumborum (in your lower back), and many other small but important supportive muscles for your spine.

Once the central nervous system has learned to recruit all those additional muscle fibers (ones that wouldn't necessarily be activated during a traditional crunch), it can put them to use in other exercises and activities- not only helping improve your performance on the Swiss-ball crunch but making your abs pop as well. Essentially, this means that training your body to stabilize itself leads to an overall heightened communication between your brain and muscles, which can lead to a greater capability to build muscle and burn fat, faster recovery times, and greater sports skills with a reduced risk for injury.

source : www.mensfitness.com

101 Ways to Lose Your Gut

2009-07-09T04:30:00.000-07:00

Spend more of each day burning fat than you do storing it, and over time, you'll bury your belly forever.

The average man's body houses 43.2 pounds of fat. And at any one moment, that number is either increasing or decreasing—it's never stagnant. Spend more of each day burning fat than you do storing it, and over time, you'll bury your belly forever. Sound simple? It is. You see, there's no single secret formula for losing fat. In fact, find 100 successful losers and they'll give you 100 different ways to win the battle of the bulge. But we did them one better. On the following pages, you'll find 101 tips designed to help you lose your love handles, bust your gut, and define your abs. Simply incorporate three or four into your life every day, and you'll finish off your fat easier and faster than you ever imagined possible.

Eat more protein.

About 25%-30% of the calories in each gram of protein are burned in digestion, compared to only 6%-8% of the calories in carbs. Do the math: You save 41 calories every time you substitute 50 grams of protein for an equal amount of carbs. Read labels. Avoid foods with "high-fructose corn syrup" in the ingredients list. Since 1971, consumption of this sugar substitute—which is used to sweeten soda, commercial baked goods, and even condiments—has increased more than 350% in the U.S., paralleling the rise in obesity.

Get off your ass.

Do every exercise standing instead of sitting. "You'll expend up to 30% more calories," says Joe Stankowski, C.P.T. The solution for the bench press? Dips.

Mix up your movements.

When you lift, perform supersets in which you alternate between sets of lower-body and upper-body exercises. That way, your lower body rests while your upper body is working. "This allows you to work your muscles maximally with very little downtime between sets for a faster, more effective workout," says Craig Ballantyne

Exercise blind.

When you're using the elliptical trainer, try letting go of the handles and closing your eyes. (Be careful!) Without the visual feedback, your core muscles will have to work harder to keep you balanced, burning more calories.

Embrace yardwork.

View any type of physical activity—even those you try to avoid, such as mowing the lawn—as a chance to burn fat and condition your body. (Just make sure you use a push mower.)

Snack on dill pickles.

They have one calorie per slice.

Take larger steps.

When using the stair climber, skip one out of every five steps. Then take one large step to get back to your normal walking pattern. This step recruits additional muscle, upping fat loss, says Cameron McGarr, C.S.C.S.

Rent motivation.

Once a week, watch a movie that inspires you to exercise. Examples: Rocky (for the gym), American Flyers (for cycling), Hoosiers (for team sports), and Chariots of Fire and Without Limits (both for running).

Break a record.

Challenge yourself to run farther in the same amount of time—even if it's just one-tenth of a mile—every single workout. This ensures you're always burning more calories from one workout to the next.

Smash your dinner plates.

And buy smaller ones. That way, even if you fill your plate to capacity, you're ultimately eating less than what you would likely pile on your existing platters.

Cut carbs.

Yes, you've heard it a zillion times. The reason: It works. In just one of many recent studies, a Journal of Nutrition report found that men who reduced their carb intake to just 8% of their daily calories lost seven pounds of fat and gained two pounds of muscle in six weeks.

Lift first, then run.

By doing cardio after you've lifted—when you're already tired—the same speed or intensity will have a greater effect than had you done it beforehand, says McGarr.

Change directions.

Try this interval-training trick on the elliptical trainer: Ride for 30 seconds as fast as you can, then immediately reverse your direction and ride for 30 additional seconds just as fast in the opposite direction. Rest 60 seconds and repeat. The force of stopping your momentum, as well as going from a dead stop to full speed twice in the same interval, will give your fat-burning efforts a massive boost, says MF training adviser Alwyn Cosgrove, C.S.C.S.

Fill up on high-fiber foods.

Consider them "good carbs." Their bulk takes up space in your stomach, helping you feel full and eat less. The top fiber food: beans, which contain 8 grams per 1/2 cup. Research shows that guys who added 12 grams of fiber a day to their diet lost a quarter of an inch from their love handles, without otherwise modifying their diet.

Top your salad with vinaigrette dressing.

Studies show that acidic foods such as vinegar and lemon juice work like lighter fluid in your body's fat incinerator, increasing carb combustion 20%-40%. Researchers believe the acids blunt insulin spikes and slow the rate at which food empties from your stomach. Fermented foods like pickles and yogurt are also good sour options.

Don't skip meals.

Not eating for long periods of time puts your body into a catabolic state, meaning it starts to break down muscle tissue fo energy— and conserves fat.

Try the VersaClimber.

The more vertical you are when doing cardio, the more calories you burn.
Don't be a couch potato. If you're a TV junkie, add up the number of hours you watch right now, and cut out all reruns—even if there's an episode of Seinfeld on you've never seen. Spend the time you save on your feet: outdoors or in the gym.

Hit the weights.

If you're lazy, it's not as bad as you think—just 10 minutes a day of lifting, three days a week, will help. Harvard research shows that 30 minutes of weight training per week has a greater reduction on waist size than almost any other variable.

Pass on the potatoes.

In any form—mashed and baked, as well as French fries and potato chips. They raise levels of insulin in the blood, triggering your body to stop burning—and start storing—fat. (Sweet potatoes are acceptable; they have more nutrients and fiber.)

Eat your biggest meal of the day after you lift.

It takes calories to digest food. And researchers at the University of Nevada found that it takes 73% more calories to process that food after a weight-training session than if you hadn't worked out at all.

Chug H20 before a meal.

The water will take up room in your stomach, making you feel more full and reducing your appetite, says Christopher Mohr, M.S., R.D.

Request substitutions.

Any time your restaurant entree comes with a side of pasta, potatoes, or rice, ask for vegetables instead, says Jeff Volek, Ph.D., R.D. (Your server will be more than happy to accommodate you.)
Join a league. That is, sign up for a sport such as softball, soccer, or even kickball. It'll automatically schedule exercise sessions into your week, and because you're part of a team, you'll have peer pressure that'll ensure you keep showing up.

Break between scoops.

That is, if you can't live without ice cream, cake, or other calorie-laden desserts, go ahead and have one scoop (about 1/2 cup) or one small slice. Then, if you still want more, wait 20 minutes. Typically, you'll find that while you wait, hormones kick in and trigger a feeling of fullness, reducing desire for that second serving.

Brush your teeth more often.

In a recent Japanese study of 14,000 people, researchers found that men who brushed their teeth frequently were leaner than men who did not. Thank that minty-fresh flavor, which may make you less likely to snack between meals.

Eat an unbalanced diet.

"By cycling your calorie intake so that you eat less calories one day and more the next, you'll keep your metabolism on its toes," says Volek. And that'll ensure you keep burning fat at a high rate. The key: Shoot for an average of 2,000 calories a day over a week's time.

Dial up an incline.

When you run outside, you apply force to the ground and propel your body weight forward all by yourself. When you run on a treadmill, the belt helps you. To counteract this, always walk or run on at least a 1% incline, the treadmill grade an English study found is nearly equivalent to outside running.

Stick to no-calorie drinks.

That means coffee, tea, diet soda, mixes such as Crystal Light and, of course, water.

Have breakfast every day.

Research from Harvard and Boston's Children's Hospital shows that obesity rates are 35%-50% lower in people who eat breakfast regularly, compared with folks who don't. Nutritionists believe a.m. meals help regulate insulin levels and hunger, so you're less likely to overeat throughout the reminder of the day.

Avoid foods that come in a bag or box.

Typically, these are highly processed carbs—foods that quickly raise blood-sugar levels and shut down your body's ability to burn fat.

Snack between meals.

This not only keeps you from being ravenous—and overeating—at lunch and dinner, it forces your body to process food all day long, which keeps your metabolism stoked.

Buy a TiVo.

And only watch the shows you record. By fast-forwarding through the commercials, and watching only the shows you care enough to set a season pass for, you can cut your TV viewing—and the amount of time you spend on the couch—by more than a third.

Load up on yogurt.

When researchers at the University of Tennessee put a group of volunteers on one of two diets—one high in calcium and one not—and cut each group's calorie intake by 500 calories, they found that the people getting calcium lost twice as much weight (an average of 13 pounds) compared with people on the standard diet. Study author Michael Zemel, Ph.D., believes extra calcium helps the body burn more—and store less—fat.

Order appetizers.

And avoid the bread bowl at all costs. If you're ravenous when you sit down to eat at a restaurant, immediately order a side salad, or a meat- or vegetable-only appetizer, rather than be tempted by these bottomless —and fattening—freebies.

Pop peanuts.

Nuts have a very high satiety power—meaning they make you feel fuller after eating than many other foods. And even though they're high in calories, those calories appear to be processed differently in the body. University of Michigan researchers found that men who added 500 calories' worth of peanuts a day to their diet gained no excess weight at all.

Track your calories.

You could do it in a journal, but we know that's never going to happen. Instead, do it on the Web, at a site like fitday.com. Just create a free account, plug in the amounts of food you're eating throughout the day, and let the software tell you exactly how good—or bad—you're being.

Do sprint intervals.

Interspersing short, all-out sprints with brief periods of rest is the most effective form of cardio for fat loss, says Stankowski. Try a 2-to-1 "work-to-rest" ratio. That is, sprint two times longer than you rest. So if you run a 150-yard sprint—a good distance to start with—in 20 seconds, rest 10 seconds, then repeat 3-7 times.

Check your mood.

The desire to snack may not be due to hunger at all, but rather the result of loneliness, depression, or anxiety. "Emotional eating is at the core of bad eating choices," says N.Y.C. psychotherapist Elizabeth Fagan, C.S.W. If you often find yourself eating when you feel down, or if you feel happier after a meal, that may signify a problem.

Shop for one.

If you have to buy cookies, chips, or other processed junk foods, buy the single-serving package—rather than the large, family-style bag. That way, when you eat the whole package—and let's be honest, you know you will—you'll at last have done a lot less damage to your waistline.

Find inspiration.

Take a digital picture of yourself, shirtless, in all your fat, naked splendor. Then use a photo-editing program on your computer to erase your love handles and create your own digital "after" shot. (You can also take a Polaroid of yourself in front of a black background and use a Magic Marker to thin down your waist.) Post the pictures somewhere you'll see them often, like on the fridge or in your office at work.

Go the distance.

Perform intervals for a designated distance rather than a designated time. Otherwise, you'll be running shorter sprints as you get tired, reducing the number of calories you burn, says McGarr.

Cheat once a week.

Use the meal as a reward for a week's worth of hard work, or the completion of a project you've been dreading. "It's OK for people to blow one meal a week without feeling guilty," says James W. Anderson, M.D., director of the Metabolic Research Group at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. "If you follow a healthy diet 95% of the time, you can relax and enjoy yourself the other 5% of the time without gaining weight," he says.

Row to the sky.

Every time you complete 10 reps on the rowing machine, lift the handles straight up over your head—without bending your elbows—for two consecutive repetitions before returning to normal rowing form. This works your shoulders and back harder, as well as your legs, since they have to produce more power in order to give you the momentum to perform the move, says McGarr.

Avoid white bread.

When Tufts University researchers studied the waistlines and diets of 459 people, they found that even in men of similar age and activity level, those who ate white bread frequently weighed more than those who didn't. "The calories from white bread and refined grains just seem to settle at the waistline more than calories from other foods," says Katherine Tucker, Ph.D., the study author.

Keep an eye on portion sizes.

"Most people who have been lean their whole lives have a much better understanding of proper portion size than people who are overweight," says Deborah Riebe, Ph.D., a professor in the department of kinesiology at the University of Rhode Island. "If they go out to eat, they're much more likely to ask for a doggie bag right away or to leave food on their plate rather than cleaning it up," she says.

Never forbid yourself a favorite food.

Here's a shocker: When a group of U.K. researchers told 30 women to avoid chocolate, then packed them into a room filled with the stuff, the women were much more likely to sneak a bite than individuals who hadn't been given the order. Blame the allure of the forbidden: The more you tell yourself you can't eat something you love, the more you're going to want it.

Outdo yourself.

When you exercise on the rowing machine, try this interval workout: Row for 60 seconds, note the distance on the machine, then rest 60 seconds. Repeat, only this time, row for 55 seconds and try to match or better your distance from the first time. Rest 55 seconds, then repeat, reducing the time to 50 seconds. Continue until you can't beat your original distance.

Sneak extra activity into your day.

Pace around your office while talking on the phone; run into the bank to cash your check instead of using the drive-thru. When researchers at the Mayo Clinic fed a group of volunteers an extra 1,000 calories a day over the course of eight weeks, they found sedentary individuals gained eight times more weight than those who fidgeted a lot during the day.

Turn off The Late Show after the monologue.

Or give up the morning visit with Matt and Katie—whatever it takes to grab a few more minutes of sleep each day. When researchers at the University of Chicago studied men who were sleep-deprived, they found that after just a few days, their bodies had a much harder time processing glucose in the blood—a problem common in overweight diabetics. When the individuals returned to a more normal seven to eight hours of sleep a night, however, their metabolisms returned to normal.

Buy some new blinds.

And maybe a new mattress, because it's not just the amount of time you spend sleeping that keeps you lean, it's also the quality of your sleep. Fat cells in your body produce a hormone called leptin that helps the body keep track of how much potential energy (i.e. fat) it has stored. But leptin is only produced during certain stages of sleep. Miss out on those stages because you're not resting soundly enough, and you'll disturb levels of the hormone, leaving your body with no real idea of its energy reserves. Consequently, you'll end up storing calories rather than burning them.

Don't starve yourself.

"Under normal conditions, humans absorb only about 80% of the nutrients from the food they eat," says A. Roberto Frisancho, Ph.D., a weight-loss researcher at the University of Michigan. But, he says, when the body is deprived of nourishment, it becomes a super-efficient machine, pulling what nutrients it can from whatever food is consumed. Start eating again normally and your body may not catch up; instead it will continue to store food as fat.

Eat more slowly.

"It can take 12 minutes or longer for the signal that you've started to eat to make its way to your brain," says Mark S. Gold, M.D., of the McKnight Brain Institute at the University of Florida. Quick tips: Sip some water between every bite of food you eat, or at least eat more meals with friends or family members. You'll be more likely to talk and therefore to eat more slowly.

Floss twice a day.

When researchers in Brazil studied 13,000 people over a three-year period, they found that men with the highest levels of inflammatory agents in their body were also the most likely to gain weight. And periodontal disease, which is caused by poor oral health care, is one of the most common sources of inflammation. Brushing twice a day, flossing, and making regular trips to the dentist are the best ways to prevent the disease. Hate flossing? Studies show that a dose of Listerine may be just as effective at reducing levels of inflammatory bacteria within the mouth.

Step on the scale at least once a day.

"If there's one thing that comes up over and over with the thousands of patients enrolled in the National Weight Control Registry, it's weighing yourself every day on a scale," says Rena Wing, Ph.D., founder of the registry, which tracks more than 4,500 men and women who have lost an average of 20 pounds or more and kept it off for at least six years. "Don't obsess over the number," she says, "but at least keep track of the general range of what you weigh so you can catch small changes as they occur and take corrective measures immediately."