Below is an article contributed by Mike Geary, the founder of TruthAboutAbs.com.  I thought this was an important topic to share with you because the reality is that most people simply don’t realize how dangerous their excess abdominal fat really is to their health.

The Hidden Dangers of Your Excess Abdominal Fat – It’s More Serious Than a Vanity Issue!

by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer

Did you know that the vast majority of people in this day and age have excess abdominal fat? The first thing that most people think of is that their extra abdominal fat is simply ugly, is covering up their abs from being visible, and makes them self conscious about showing off their body.

However, what most people don’t realize is that excess abdominal fat in particular, is not only ugly, but is also a dangerous risk factor to your health. Scientific research has clearly demonstrated that although it is unhealthy in general to have excess body fat throughout your body, it is also particularly dangerous to have excess abdominal fat.

There are two types of fat that you have in your abdominal area. The first type that covers up your abs from being visible is called subcutaneous fat and lies directly beneath the skin and on top of the abdominal muscles.

The second type of fat that you have in your abdominal area is called visceral fat, and that lies deeper in the abdomen beneath your muscle and surrounding your organs. Visceral fat also plays a role in giving certain men that “beer belly” appearance where their abdomen protrudes excessively but at the same time, also feels sort of hard if you push on it.

Both subcutaneous fat and visceral fat in the abdominal area are serious health risk factors, but science has shown that having excessive visceral fat is even more dangerous than subcutaneous fat. Both of them greatly increase the risk your risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, sleep apnea, various forms of cancer, and other degenerative diseases.

Part of the reason visceral fat is particularly dangerous is that it apparently releases more inflammatory molecules into your body on a consistent basis.

If you care about the quality of your life and your loved ones, reducing your abdominal fat should be one of your TOP priorities! There’s just no way around it. Besides, a side-effect of finally getting rid of all of that excessive ugly abdominal fat is that your stomach will flatten out, and if you lose enough stomach fat, you will be able to visibly see those sexy six pack abs that everyone wants.

So what gets rid of extra abdominal fat? Is there actually a REAL solution beyond all of the gimmicks and hype that you see in ads and on commercials for “miracle” fat loss products?

The first thing you must understand is that there is absolutely NO quick fix solution. There are no pills or supplements of any sort that will help you lose your abdominal fat faster. Also, none of the gimmicky ab rockers, rollers, or ab belts will help get rid of abdominal fat either. You can’t spot reduce your stomach fat by using any of these worthless contraptions. It simply doesn’t work that way.

The ONLY solution to consistently lose your abdominal fat and keep it off for good is to combine a sound nutritious diet full of unprocessed natural foods with a properly designed strategic exercise program that stimulates the necessary hormonal and metabolic response within your body. Both your food intake as well as your training program are important if you are to get this right.

I’ve actually even seen a particular study that divided thousands of participants into a diet-only group and an exercise/diet group. While both groups in this study made good progress, the diet-only group lost significantly LESS abdominal fat than the diet & exercise combined group.

Now the important thing to realize is that just any old exercise program will not necessarily do the trick. The majority of people that attempt getting into a good exercise routine are NOT working out effectively enough to really stimulate the loss of stubborn abdominal fat. I see this everyday at the gym.

Most people will do your typical boring ineffective cardio routines, throw in a little outdated body-part style weight training, and pump away with some crunches and side bends, and think that they are doing something useful for reducing their abdominal fat. Then they become frustrated after weeks or months of no results and wonder where they went wrong.

Well, the good news is that I’ve spent over a decade researching this topic, analyzing the science, and applying it “in the trenches” with myself as well as thousands of my clients from all over the world to see what works to really stimulate abdominal fat loss.

The entire solution… all of the nutritional strategies, as well as training sequences, exercise combinations, and more have all been compiled in my Truth About Six Pack Abs Program.
Keep in mind that the point of this whole program is NOT abdominal exercises (that is only a very small portion of it). The main point of this program is showing you the absolute most effective strategies for losing your stubborn abdominal fat, so you can get rid of that dangerous health risk, as well as get a flatter more defined midsection.

If you follow the guidelines, you WILL lose your belly fat that has been plaguing you for years. This is not guesswork… it is a proven system that works time and time again for all of my clients on every corner of the globe that actually apply the information I teach. If you apply it, the results will come. It’s really that simple.

The only reason most people fail in their fitness goals is that they have good intentions at first to adopt a new lifestyle, yet after a few weeks or months, they abandon their good intentions and slip right back into their old bad habits that gave them the excess body fat in the first place.

I want to help you succeed in finally getting rid of that extra abdominal fat that is not only UGLY, but also DANGEROUS.

Don’t waste another day allowing that nasty abdominal fat to kill your confidence as well as contribute to your risk for MAJOR diseases.

Get the solution to rid yourself for life of this problem at…

http://www.truthaboutabs.com

Train hard, eat right, and enjoy life!

Popularity: 28% [?]

Are you a beginner bodybuilder. How can you really tell?. This article will let you know. In case you are a bodybuilding beginner this will teach you how to build you foundation to building muscle fast

Sean’s program, The Truth About Building Muscle, is a detailed plan of attack for quickly gaining the muscle mass you want. He covers the entire body in depth, from the chest and back all the way down to the calves. It is an excellent program and highly recommended.

Bodybuilding Beginners:

Build Your Foundation First!

By Sean Nalewanyj

Let me ask you…

Have you packed on at least a good 15-25 pounds of clean, muscular body weight since you began your muscle building program?

Are you moving poundages on your squat, deadlift, bench press, row (and every other major compound exercise) that all feel substantially heavy for your body?

Have you added at least a couple of inches or more to all of your major muscle groups?

Are your clothes fitting significantly tighter? Are your friends and family noticing measurable changes in your physique? Are you generally beginning to gain a reputation as a muscular guy that people aspire to look like?

If you didn’t easily answer “yes” to all of the questions I just outlined above, then worrying about the smaller details of your physique is quite simply a waste of time at this point.

As a well known muscle building author, I receive all sorts of emails every single day from aspiring natural bodybuilders around the world. They’ll ask me questions such as…

“What can I do to target my inner chest?”

“Which exercise is best to build up the lower biceps?”

“My rear delts are lagging behind my front delts. What should I do?”

If you’re still in your bodybuilding “youth” and don’t already have a considerable amount of muscle mass to show for your efforts, I would strongly suggest taking these types of questions and eliminating them from your mind until you do.

Why?

It’s because diverting your focus onto these small and trivial issues will only serve to distract you from the most important and immediate task at hand.

And what is the most important and immediate task a hand?

It is to pack as much raw muscle size and strength onto your frame as humanly possible!

That’s right; forget about the nitty-gritty details of whether your biceps match your triceps or whether your chest is on par with your back. These are issues that you can worry about later on, but until you’ve thickened up your entire body as a whole to a significant degree, it’s simply not worth worrying about.

If you’re still a beginner and have been training consistently for less than a year, then stop obsessing over the details. Instead, place all of your focus on the most basic and obvious issues at hand…

Get yourself onto a sensible, rational weight training schedule and stick to it religiously.

Write down every single workout that you perform and place every ounce of energy you can muster on adding as much weight to the bar on a consistent basis as you possibly can.

Grind out all of the biggest, most difficult compound exercises and blast through those discomfort zones with passion and intensity.

Get yourself into the kitchen and pack in at least 5 or 6 properly balanced muscle building meals every day of the week, every week of the month and every month of the year.

Drink your water, get your rest and take your supplements whenever necessary.

In other words: PAY YOUR DUES FIRST!

If you’re in this for the long haul (and you should be, as there are no temporary fixes to be had here), then get yourself on to the most efficient path possible. And the most efficient path possible is the one that focuses on the fundamentals first and the details later.

This is the mentality you need to bring to your bodybuilding program. Just as you wouldn’t attempt a complex guitar solo without learning basic chord shapes first, you also should not attempt to fine-tune and balance out your physique until you have a considerable amount of foundational muscle to work with first.

Building muscle is not rocket-science, but it is a task that requires consistent willpower and determination. And until you’ve been “in the trenches” and have earned yourself an impressive and muscular body…

Stop over-analyzing… Stop obsessing… Stop spreading out your focus onto every single minute issue that pops up…

Get into the gym and TRAIN!

Lear more about the author Sean Nalewanyj

Popularity: 1% [?]

Six pack abs is what all guys are after even if they are not after huge muscles in general. Everybody wants to shrink the waistline, lose body fat, and eliminate lower back pain. Vince provides you with a step by step program to develop the abs definition. The first step is to expose the lies, myths and rumors related to six-pack abs development. No worries, Vince does that too in this article. I hope this would help you build the abs of your dreams.

Vince’s program, No-Nonsense Muscle Building, makes you a master in muscle building dieting, training and all other factors. It also has a version for females (Body Sculpting for women). This version addresses the concerns of the females and helps them build the fitness model body they want. Great stuff and highly recommended for those serious about making a dramatic change in there physique.

How To Get Razor Sharp Abs Abdominal Exercise Program

By Vince Delmonte

If you could sculpt one body part to perfection for next summer, what would it be? Let me guess – six pack abs! I don’t know anybody who does not want to shrink their waistline, lose body fat, eliminate lower back pain and develop a jaw-dropping set of rock-hard six-pack abs. Building eye-popping abdominals is not the hardest thing to achieve in the world but it’s definitely not the easiest either.

Before you can start learning how to get six-pack abs and discover the truth about what it really takes to build a beach-worthy abdominal section, you must first expose the lies, myths and rumors. Before we talk about how to get six-pack abs, the right way, we must re-program your hard drive and empty the trash can of garbage you have been fed.
Because of all this hyped-up and misguided information – even among so-called ‘fitness experts’ – you should be skeptical of all abdominal training equimpment and programs. Let’s first eliminate the top four ways not to get a six-pack:
Learning how to get a six-pack does not require expensive workout equipment promoted through obnoxious infomercials. You can’t flick on the TV anymore without seeing two new abdominal exercise machines being promoted at once. There are so many of them that if you get suckered into these ‘ab workout’ gimmicks, you will be broke quicker than Ben Johnson sprints the 100 meter dash! And get this: Of the $520 million dollars a year spent on exercise equipment, abdominal machines get a $208 million dollar piece of the pie!
Learning how to get a six-pack does not require thousands or even hundreds of crunches a day. So much for the Brittany Spears ab workout! Crunches are decent but totally overused and associated with more being better. Crunches are a very general exercise, and general exercises get general results. Excessive floor crunches shorten the abdominal wall, pull your head forward and emphasize poor posture. They also involve a very low level of stimulation which neglects adequate muscle-fiber recruitment.
Learning how to get a six-pack does not involve starvation diets. Starvation diets starve the muscle when you should be feeding the muscle instead. Guess what happens when you starve your body? Your metabolism shuts down out of survival and causes your body to store fat. Your body must get energy from somewhere, so guess what gets sacrificed? That’s right, your precious muscle which is, in fact, responsible for maintaining a high metabolism. Starve your muscle – great logic!

Learning how to get a six-pack does not require fat-burning pills. What did the last weight loss pill you bought do for you? The same thing the next one is going to do – nothing! Except give you a thinner wallet but not a thinner waist line. The entire concept of taking pills to ‘burn fat’ is built on a sandy foundation and misleading because diet pills only treat the symptoms and not the root cause. Without focusing on the root problems of a flabby mid-section, like poor nutrition, a crazy lifestyle and improper training, you will just end up where you started – farther away from having a six-pack for summer instead of closer.

Just Because You’re Skinny Does Not Mean You Will Have A Six-Pack

The volume of interest I receive from skinny guys who wish to build their mid-sections is more than enough evidence to disprove the false reality of “I should be able to ’see’ my abs if I have low body fat.” I’m sure you know of a friend who is completely scrawny, yet, without a shirt on he, has zero abdominal definition! To me that would be salt on an open wound.

Abdominals Are A Muscle, Too!

You want your arms to be bigger, your shoulders to be broader and your chest to be fuller, correct? And what is the solution to making these muscle groups increase in size? High intensity weight training, overload, consistency and a healthy surplus of calories. Starting to sound familiar?

The same goes for your abdominal. Your abdominals are a muscle group that requires the same formula and attention and are not any different from other muscle groups. For some reason many consider abdominals to be a ’special’ body part that requires a different set of rules and a completely different formula for training. Abdominals were not given a ’secret code’ to crack. To get thick, dense abs – the ones that ‘pop’ out – you must train them with intensity and overload. Here are some practical tips you can apply to your program so that you can be the ‘man’ or ‘gal’ at your gym with a ripped and muscular six-pack. Then I will provide a sample program!

Prioritize By Sequence

If your abs are your worse body part, then why do you keep training them last, at the end of your workout? Which muscles group will receive the highest priority when you train? The ones done at the start of your workout or the ones done at the end of the workout? Of course, the exercises done at the start of the workout while you have the most energy and focus. If abdominals are the muscle group you wish to prioritize, then don’t be afraid to disagree with the ‘experts’ who say “Never train your abdominals first because you’ll weaken your core muscles for the rest of your workout…”. I completely disagree with this and often reply, “Show me the evidence.” The typical response is “Nobody does abdominals first…”. That is pure BS. This just supports the notion that many people who work out don’t ever question what they hear or do. They want to be spoon-fed answers and follow the trends of others without thinking for themselves. I ALWAYS train abdominals first in a workout if they need the highest attention.

Prioritize By Frequency

What’s going to receive better results? A muscle group that is trained one time a week or two times a week (assuming you recovered prior to the second workout commencing)? Of course, the muscle that is trained 2x a week. The more stimulus on a muscle, the more growth. That is why professional athletes are professional athletes. They have conditioned their bodies to such a high amount of stress that they are able to train more frequently.

How often you train your abdominals is based on the inverse relationship of intensity and volume. The harder you train your abs, the more rest they need. The less intense you train your abs, the more frequently you can train them! If your goal is rehab or injury prevention, then you will be able to train them often with more frequent and lower loads. If your goal is to make your abs more muscular and dense, then a higher load and less frequency would be ideal. If your goal is maintenance, then a medium load and frequency would be ideal. Refer to this table:

If building a sexy six-pack is on your ‘to do’ list for 2008, then start training abdominals 2-4x a week. I will teach you in a moment how to split your abdominals up into two different days based on movement.

Your Genetics and Abdominals

Right now some of you can see a perfectly set of staggered abs that are wide and thick and separated by a line down the middle.  Some of you have the classic four-pack which is four big abs with a smooth lower section.  Some of you have tiny cubicle boxes sitting high on your abdominal wall.  Some of you have the picture perfect eight-pack that makes people’s jaws drop.

Like every muscle group, all you can do is train them as heavy and hard as possible and hope your genetics take care of the rest. You can’t change the shape or alignment or separation of your abs.  You can’t move them around and place them where you want them.  Your genetics will affect to which degree they “pop” out and to which degree they stay smoother or flatter.

The good news is that abdominals are abdominals and when your body fat levels are around 5-7% you are guaranteed to impress people, including yourself, with a set of hot-looking abs.  Even though genetics play a huge role in how they look, it’s important to know how to train them to make them look their best.

Divide Your Abdominals into Two Separate Workouts for Best Results

To train your abdominals safely and effectively you must know the basic movement patterns of your abs and train them within all sub-categories:

• Truck Flexion (upper abs)

• Hip Flexion (lower abs)

• Rotation (obliques)

• Lateral Flexion (obliques)

The majority of books and articles you have read revolve the bulk of the ab exercises around the trunk flexion that is better known as ‘upper ab’ exercises. A full sit up is a perfect example of this.

Bill Starr in his 1976 classic ‘The Strongest Shall Survive’ wrote that the abdominals “…can be strengthened in a wide variety of ways. Sit-ups of all types, leg raises, truck rotation movements all involve the abdominal muscles to a different degree…”

I wouldn’t be surprised if the abdominal program you are following right now is based on one movement – trunk flexion. I am guessing that your primary goal is actually to have a well-defined and sculpted six-pack, so I have provided a sample abdominal program to break it up into a four day program:

Even though you are training each movement twice per week, you will perform different exercises for each workout.

Use a Variety Of Functional Exercises

The Top 3 Hip Flexion Exercises:

1.   Lying Hip Raise

2.   Incline Hip Raise

3.   Hanging Hip Raise

The Top 3 Trunk Flexion Exercises:

1.   Swiss Ball Crunch

2. Weighted Swiss Ball Crunches

3. Weighted Cable Crunches

The Top 3 Rotation Exercises:

1.   Russian Twist

2.   Weighted Russian Twist

3.   Weighted Cable Crossover

The Top 3 Lateral Flexion Exercises:

1.   Lateral Flexion on back extension machine

2.   Lateral Flexion with medicine ball over head

Lateral Flexion with medicine ball and twist

Each of these exercises progresses from basic to intermediate to advanced. I suggest you master the first exercise of each before commencing to the next.

Razor Sharp Abdominal Workout 1:

Hip Flexion and Trunk Flexion

Perform this workout at least two times a week separated by at least 48 hours rest.  You should experience a deep muscle soreness after each one of these workouts.  Focus on using a load that causes failure within 8-12 reps and then move to the next exercise.  This is a non-stop circuit.  Rest 1-2 minutes and repeat until you reach 4 sets total.

Razor Sharp Abdominal Workout 2:

Trunk Rotation and Lateral Flexion

Perform this workout at least two times a week separated by at least 48 hours rest.  You should experience a deep muscle soreness after each one of these workouts.  Focus on using a load that causes failure within 8-12 reps and then move to the next exercise.  This is a non-stop circuit.  Rest 1-2 minutes and repeat until you reach 4 sets total. 

Conclusion

As said earlier, buiding razor sharp abs is not the easiest task in the work but nor is it the hardest. The above abdominal exercises will help you build a deeply separated and evenly placed set of abs in little time. The truth is that if you can’t see your abs, then the best exercise for your abs will be better diet.

More about the Author Vince Delmonte

Popularity: 29% [?]

The most powerful muscle building tools you can use. Are tracking tools which can be as simple as a pen and a paper or fancy as computer software. The bottom line is you need to know where are you exactly to be able to plan where you want to be and how to get there. I hope you enjoy this article.

Sean’s program, The Truth About Building Muscle, is a detailed plan of attack for quickly gaining the muscle mass you want. He covers the entire body in depth, from the chest and back all the way down to the calves. It is an excellent program and highly recommended.

The Most Powerful Muscle-Building

Tool Available

By Sean Nalewanyj

The muscle-building debates will never end.

The endless arguments over how an effective muscle-building program should be structured will most likely continue until the end of time. Just scour the Internet message boards, flip through any muscle magazine or talk to the sales rep at your local supplement store. No matter who you talk to or what you read, it seems that everyone is an expert these days.

If everyone is an expert, confident in their own ideas and beliefs, how can the average beginner possibly know who to listen to? He or she is instantly confronted with endless questions that seem to have no clear-cut answer.

How many days should I train per week? How many sets should I perform for each muscle group? What type of rep range should I be using? What are the most effective exercises for stimulating muscle growth? How long should my workouts last?

Believe me, there are answers to these important questions, and if you are willing to put in the time and effort you will most definitely find them. But that’s not what this article is about.

You see, amidst all of the confusion and endless debating, the majority of lifters end up losing sight of the big picture. Beyond all of the specific workout principles, such as rep range and exercise selection, remains one crucial principle, a principle that lies at the very heart of the muscle growth process.

If this principle is not given full attention, or even worse, completely ignored, building muscle becomes next to impossible.

The bottom line is that muscles grow as they adapt to stress. When you go to the gym and lift weights, you create “micro-tears” within the muscle tissue. Your body perceives this as a potential threat to its survival and reacts accordingly by increasing the size and strength of the muscle fibers in order to protect against a possible future “attack”.

Therefore, in order to continually increase the size and strength of the muscles, you must focus on progressing each week on all of your exercises by either lifting slightly more weight or performing an extra rep or two. In doing this, your body will continue to adapt and grow to the ever-increasing stress.

Building muscle is all about building strength!

So what is the most powerful muscle-building tool available?

Quite simply, it is a pen and a piece of paper!

The specifics of building muscle are important to understand and implement, but regardless of what style of training you’re currently using the ultimate deciding factor between success and failure is progression.

You can sit around all day obsessing over specific principles, but the bottom line is that if you aren’t getting stronger every week, you absolutely will not be getting any bigger.

Examine your training approach closely. If you haven’t been paying laser-like attention to the amount of weight you’ve been using, the number of reps you’ve been performing, and then striving with every ounce of your energy to improve upon those numbers each week, you are completely ignoring the very foundation of the muscle growth process.

If you want to see the best gains in muscle mass and strength that you possibly can, a pen and a piece of paper is the most important tool you could possibly have in your arsenal.

Once you’ve accepted and implemented this basic rule of building muscle, you can then move on and learn about the specific principles of how to structure an effective workout

Lear more about the author Sean Nalewanyj

Popularity: 21% [?]

Well, it is happening:

Swine flu is beginning to really take hold.

Not just in the United States, but all over the world.

But that’s not the scary part…

———–>  click.to.watch <—

… the scary part is the fact that being obese OR overweight has now been directly linked to DYING from the swine flu.

My friend Jon Benson put together a 5-minute video that documents these findings.

This is freee for you to view — and you owe it to yourself to check it out.

Go here –

———–>  click.to.watch <—

Folks, we have to get a grip on this.

And believe it or not, it starts in your kitchen.

Watch the video to find out what to do.

Thanks.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Is the pump necassaryfor gaining muscle? Will more muscle makes you slower?How important is perfect form?or not? all these questions and more and the truth and the myths around them are revealed in this article. enjoy

Sean’s program, The Truth About Building Muscle, is a detailed plan of attack for quickly gaining the muscle mass you want. He covers the entire body in depth, from the chest and back all the way down to the calves. It is an excellent program and highly recommended.

4 Fatal Muscle-Building Myths Revealed

By Sean Nalewanyj

If you’re serious about making a solid commitment to a muscle-building program, you need to be very careful of who you take advice from. Bodybuilding and fitness is literally a multi-billion dollar industry with new websites popping up every single day.

Many of the so-called “experts” out there really don’t have a clue of what they’re talking about and are only motivated by pushing expensive pills, powders and “miracle programs” on you that you don’t really need.

If you don’t watch your step you may end up falling for some fatal muscle-building pitfalls that will literally destroy your gains.

In this article I’m going to expose 4 very common muscle-building myths in order to keep you on the proper path to the mind-blowing muscle and strength gains you deserve.

Myth #1: In order to build muscle, you must achieve a “pump” during your workout. The greater the pump you achieve, the more muscle you will build.

For those of you who are just starting out, a “pump” is the feeling that you get as blood becomes trapped inside the muscle tissue when you train with weights. The muscles will swell up and leave your body feeling bigger, tighter, stronger and more powerful.

While a pump does feel fantastic, it has very little, if anything to do with properly stimulating your muscles to grow.

A pump is simply the result of increased bloodflow to the muscle tissue and is certainly not indicative of a successful workout. A successful workout should only be gauged by the concept of progression. If you were able to lift more weight or perform more reps than you did in the previous week, then you did your job.

Myth #2: Building muscle will cause you to become slower and less flexible.

Contrary to what you may think, building a significant amount of lean muscle mass will actually speed you up rather than slow you down.

Muscles are responsible for every movement that your body makes, from running to jumping to throwing. The bottom line is that the stronger a muscle is, the more force it can apply.

Having stronger, more muscular legs means increased foot speed, just as having stronger and more muscular shoulders means the ability to throw farther.

Myth #3: You must always use perfect, textbook form on all exercises.

While using good form in the gym is always important, obsessing over perfect form is an entirely different matter. If you are always attempting to perform every exercise using flawless, textbook form, you will actually increase your chances of injury and simultaneously decrease the total amount of muscle stimulation you can achieve.

It’s very important that you always move naturally when you exercise. This could mean adding a very slight sway in your back when you perform bicep curls, or using a tiny bit of body momentum when executing barbell rows.

Myth #4: If you want your muscles to grow you must “feel the burn!”

This is another huge misconception in the gym. The “burning” sensation that results from intense weight training is simply the result of lactic acid (a metabolic waste product) that is secreted inside the muscle tissue as you exercise.

Increased levels of lactic acid have nothing to do with muscle growth and may actually slow down your gains rather than speed them up. You can limit lactic acid production by training in a lower rep range of 5-7, rather than the traditional range of 12 and above.

Lear more about the author Sean Nalewanyj

Popularity: 26% [?]

The best muscle building vitamin . Yes there is such a thing not all vitamins are equal when it comes to building muscle or just gaining more strength . This Article from our expert Sean Nalewanyj will highlight the main reasons to have enough of this vitamin. oh by the way it is vitamin C..

Sean’s program, The Truth About Building Muscle, is a detailed plan of attack for quickly gaining the muscle mass you want. He covers the entire body in depth, from the chest and back all the way down to the calves. It is an excellent program and highly recommended.(see our Full Muscle Gain Truth Review)

A Bodybuilder’s Most Valuable Vitamin:
Are You Getting Enough?

By Sean Nalewanyj

Everybody knows that consuming sufficient amounts of vitamins through their diet is an important way to maintain overall health and to keep the muscle building and fat burning processes functioning optimally.

If you are deficient in just a single vitamin, it can potentially have negative effects on literally thousands of different processes within your body.

While every individual vitamin plays an important role in the overall picture, there is one that definitely stands out among the rest… especially when it comes to the specific needs of a hard training bodybuilder.

I’m talking about the water-soluble Vitamin C; the one vitamin that no serious lifter should be short on.

Here are 6 ways in which sufficient Vitamin C intake will benefit you both in and out of the gym…

1) It is a powerful antioxidant.

When oxygen combines with other compounds as a result of intense exercise and natural bodily processes, it can form what are known as “free radicals”. Free radicals are metabolic waste products that attack cells, mutate cell membranes and that have also been linked with many diseases such as cancer and diabetes.

Antioxidants battle against free radicals by either preventing their formation in the first place, or by latching on and neutralizing their effects. Through its effects as an antioxidant, Vitamin C protects the body from free radical damage.

2) It suppresses cortisol production.

Cortisol is a powerful catabolic hormone that is triggered as a result of stress, both from your workouts and from everyday life. Cortisol stimulates the breakdown of muscle tissue for use as energy, increases fat storage (particularly in the abdominal area), impairs nutrient transport into the muscles and inhibits muscle recovery in between workouts.

Vitamin C appears to have a measurable impact on reducing cortisol secretion in the body.

3) It assists in the formation of steroid hormones.

One of the major limiting factors that determines how much muscle a person can build is their natural anabolic hormone levels. Vitamin C assists in the formation of these hormones.

4) It enhances the absorption of iron.

Iron is what allows oxygen to bind to hemoglobin in the blood, which is then delivered to the muscles to enhance performance. Low iron levels will decrease the amount of weight you are able to lift in the gym and how long you are able to maintain a high level of intensity during your workouts.

5) It increases the integrity of the immune system.

Those following an intense training program should always be concerned with keeping their immune system functioning at optimal levels. This will help you to prevent sickness and to maintain top levels of performance throughout the week.

6) It reduces muscle soreness.

When taken close to workouts, Vitamin C has been shown to reduce muscle soreness in the days following a training session. While this doesn’t really have any direct positive physiological implications, it can be beneficial for those who would prefer to eliminate that deep aching that is usually felt in the muscles following a hard workout.
It should be clear by now that consuming adequate amounts of Vitamin C each day is an important part of maximizing the results from your program, whether your goal is to build muscle or to burn fat.

The recommend daily allowance for Vitamin C is just 60mg, however, this is a guideline set out for average everyday individuals and not for hard training athletes. Those who are following an intense muscle building and/or fat burning program will obviously require far higher amounts.

On the flipside, there are those who recommend taking “mega doses” of Vitamin C. Although Vitamin C is water-soluble (meaning the body can simply flush out an excess through the sweat and urine), mega-dosing is not natural to our biochemistry and could possibly interrupt other important bodily functions.

All things considered, I would recommend consuming Vitamin C in supplemental form in the range of 500mg-1500mg daily, spread out over 2-3 doses.

Try taking one dose in the morning, and another with your pre-workout meal. Most multivitamins will contain a small dose of Vitamin C in the range of 50-200mg, so purchasing a separate Vitamin C supplement is usually the best way to go.

You can also bump up your daily Vitamin C intake by increasing your consumption of natural foods such as tomatoes, apples, oranges and red/green peppers.

While you probably aren’t going to notice any immediate effects to your bottom line progress as a simple result of Vitamin C supplementation, it still can and should be part of an effective overall plan that will maximize your results over the long term.

Lear more about the author Sean Nalewanyj

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Multivitamins are considered to be essential bodybuilding and fat loss supplements . At least I think so . There is a debate regarding multivitamins. So I decide to present to you the opinion of one of our experts Sean Nalewanyj and his reasoning regarding multivitamins.

Sean’s program, The Truth About Building Muscle, is a detailed plan of attack for quickly gaining the muscle mass you want. He covers the entire body in depth, from the chest and back all the way down to the calves. It is an excellent program and highly recommended.

Multivitamins: A Necessary Muscle-Building Supplement Or A Waste Of Cash?

By Sean Nalewanyj

One of the most currently debated issues in the supplement industry is in relation to the consumption of multivitamins and the role that they play in enhancing overall health both in and out of the gym.

Can bodybuilders benefit by supplementing with extra vitamins and minerals? Let’s review some basic biology as well as the function of each specific vitamin in order to find the answer…

In the grand scheme of things, your body is basically one giant mass of chemical reactions. Each of these individual reactions is fueled by small proteins called enzymes, which work by lowering the amount of energy that is needed for a specific reaction to occur.

Enzymes require the use of a “co-enzyme” which alters its shape and allows it to perform its job properly. Co-enzymes are also referred to as vitamins.

So when it all comes down it, vitamins are needed to fuel the thousands of chemical reactions going on within your body at all times. Not only does this play an important role in overall metabolism and body health, but it also plays a vital part in the muscle-building process.

Here is a list of the major vitamins and the ways in which they will aid you both in and out of the gym…

Vitamin A – Is crucial to the process of protein synthesis where individual amino acids are combined to form new muscle tissue. It also helps the body to produce glycogen, the stored form of carbohydrates within the body.

Vitamin B1 – Also known as “thiamine” and is heavily involved in protein metabolism as well as the production of hemoglobin which helps to carry oxygen around the body.

Vitamin B2 - Also known as “riboflavin” and aids in the fat burning process as well as helping the body to produce energy from carbohydrates.

Vitamin B3 – Also known as “niacin” and increases vasodilation within the muscle tissue, helping you to appear fuller and more vascular.

Vitamin B6 – Also known as “pyridoxine” and is very important because of its effect on protein digestion. Muscle-building diets require larger than normal amounts of protein, and this means that your body needs a higher amount of vitamin B6 than the average Joe.

Vitamin B12 – Also known as “cobalamin”, vitamin b12 ensures that the brain and muscle tissue are communicating efficiently and this has a direct effect on muscle growth and coordination.

Biotin – Helps the body metabolize amino acids and produce energy during workouts.

Vitamin C – Heavily involved in amino acid metabolism and the formation of collagen. Collagen is found in your connective tissue and keeps your joints strong and healthy. Vitamin C also plays a role in the production of steroid hormones in the body and also enhances the absorption of iron. On top of all of this, vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant which flushes out free radicals and prevents damage to your body cells.

Vitamin D – Helps the body to absorb calcium and phosphorus more efficiently. Calcium is very important during muscle contractions and also helps to maintain strong bones and joints. Phosphorus is involved in the synthesis of ATP, the usable form of energy within the body.

Vitamin E – A very powerful antioxidant which helps to hunt out and neutralize free radicals. This will help to flush out many of the natural metabolic waste products your body produces and maintain the health of your cell membranes.

As you can clearly see above, vitamins play a very important role when it comes to building muscle and gaining strength. Hard training bodybuilders certainly require higher amounts of these vitamins than the average sedentary Joe, as these vitamins are depleted during intense sessions in the gym.

In addition, a calorie-dense diet requires a higher intake of vitamins to aid in the digestion process. In fact, being deficient in just one vitamin can literally affect thousands of small process within the body.

So, are multivitamins necessary for bodybuilders?

Absolutely!

From protein synthesis to energy metabolism to digestion to vasodilation, multivitamins should be an important part of any effective supplementation plan.

Lear more about the author Sean Nalewanyj

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Testosterone is the most important muscle building hormone in your body and is one of the limiting factors that determines how much muscle you can ultimately build. don’t just dream about building muscle. This Article from our expert Sean Nalewanyj will highlight the main benefits of increased testosterone levels and will provide you with easy tips tp boost your Testosterone levels naturally

Sean’s program, The Truth About Building Muscle, is a detailed plan of attack for quickly gaining the muscle mass you want. He covers the entire body in depth, from the chest and back all the way down to the calves. It is an excellent program and highly recommended.(see our Full Muscle Gain Truth Review)

10 Simple Steps To Skyrocket Your

Natural Testosterone Production

By Sean Nalewanyj

I

If there is one substance that could be considered the “holy grail” of muscle growth, testosterone would be it.

Quite simply, testosterone is the most important muscle-building hormone in your body and is one of the limiting factors that determines how much muscle you can ultimately build.

Here is just a small handful of the many amazing benefits that increased testosterone levels will provide you with…

- Increased muscle size and strength.

- Decreased body fat levels.

- Increased sex drive and sexual endurance.

- Improved mood.

- Decreased levels of “bad” cholesterol.

Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? Well it is, and in this article I’m going to outline 10 simple steps to naturally raise your testosterone levels and achieve all of these incredible benefits. While these steps will not result in “steroid-like” muscle gains, they will definitely contribute to your overall bottomline results…

1) Use compound exercises as the cornerstone of your workouts. I’m talking about the basic, bread-and-butter lifts such as squats, deadlifts, bench presses, rows, chin-ups, dips, lunges and military presses. These exercises will place your muscles under the greatest amount of stress in the gym and will force your body to increase testosterone production.

2) Always train with 100% effort and intensity. If you want to see real muscle gains, you must be willing to push yourself to the limit in the gym. Again, greater muscular stress in the gym translates to higher testosterone output.

3) Train your legs equally as hard as your upper body. As you may already be aware, intense leg training can actually stimulate growth in your chest, back and arms. This is due in part to the increase in testosterone that leg training induces.

4) Increase your EFA consumption. Essential Fatty Acids from sources such as peanuts, avocadoes, fish and healthy oils like flax seed, olive and canola are a great way to naturally boost testosterone levels.

5) Reduce your intake of soy. Soy protein raises the body’s levels of estrogen (the main female hormone) and this has a direct negative effect on testosterone levels.

6) Limit your consumption of alcohol. Alcohol has been shown to have quite a dramatic effect on testosterone levels, so try to limit your “binge drinking” nights and keep your alcohol consumption in moderation.

7) Increase your dietary intake of cruciferous vegetables. Broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, turnips, cabbage and brussel sprouts have all been shown to dramatically reduce estrogen levels, thereby raising testosterone.

Lower your daily stress levels. Being overly stressed stimulates the release of “cortisol”, a highly catabolic hormone that will cause your testosterone levels to plummet.

9) Increase your sexual activity. Sexual stimulation causes the body to increase the production of oxytocin which increases endorphin production (the “feel-good” chemical), and this also raises testosterone.

10) Make sure to get adequate sleep every night. A lack of sleep contributes to cortisol production, and this will lower your testosterone levels.

Start implementing these techniques on a consistent basis and you should experience a noticeable increase in your muscle size and strength gains.

To learn more insider techniques for building a powerful, muscular body, I would strongly suggest paying a visit to MuscleGainTruth

Lear more about the author Sean Nalewanyj

(see our Full Muscle Gain Truth Review)

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Superset Training is an essential part in any muscle building program. unfortantly it is easy to get it wrong . This article by Jeff Anderson -the Author of Optimum Anabolics (see the full Optimum Anabolics Review)- will explain the right way to do superset training.

Idiotic Mistakes Using Superset Training To Build Muscle!

By Jeff Anderson

By now you should know that “superset” training is the best training method for any fitness goal, whether you want to build muscle or burn fat.

Unfortunately, I see WAAAAAY too many people using this technique incorrectly…and it’s time to set the record straight!

By now you should know that “superset” training (where you perform one exercise back-to-back with another exercise) is NOT just an “advanced” training technique for the gym.

It’s actually the best training method for any fitness goal, whether you want to build muscle or burn fat.

Unfortunately, I see WAAAAAY too many people using this technique incorrectly…and it’s time to set the record straight!

Here’s the deal…

Your muscles have 7 “types” of fibers which can be broken down into 2 “main” types (fast-twitch and slow-twitch)

And each set of fibers has it’s own purpose…AND it’s own preference for how it likes to be trained.

Depending upon your goal, you’ll want to train a bit differently.

You see, slow-twitch muscles are used mostly for endurance activities and prefer to be trained with lower weights and higher repetitions.

On the other hand, your fast-twitch muscles are the ones you use for strength and power and like heavy weights with lower reps.

But since both types have the ability to grow, you’ll want to attack BOTH in your workouts.

That means higher reps and lower weights for your slow-twitch muscles and lower reps and higher weight for your fast-twitch muscles.

Here’s an example of how to train your chest for size…

(And then I have a little “suprise” that blows any method you’ve EVER seen out of the water!

But first…

Superset For Bigger Muscles

Exercises Used:

Superset Incline Dumbbell Press with Pushups

Execution:

With an incline bench at about 30 degrees, knock out a HEAVY set of about 4-6 reps.

Then IMMEDIATELY after you’re done, get on the floor and do as many pushups as you can do before crashing to the ground in a pile of your own drool!

Here’s why it works…

By hitting your muscles with that heavy compound exercise set first, you blast away at your fast-twitch fibers.

But then you come in and really destroy your “slow-twitchers” by extending your set with a massive “pump” that fills your chest up with blood and muscle-building hormones and nutrients!

But this is NOTHING compared to the method I can show you at my website Advanced Mass Building. There show you the 5 BIGGEST MISTAKES most guys make when it comes to their mass routines. I promise you…you’re making at least ONE of them! But don’t worry…I also show you how to solve every one of these problems and how to jumpstart new gains like never before.

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Training Plateau is when you reach the point that no more progress is possible (at least it feels that way)don’t just dream about building muscle when you hit the plateau . You just need to take action to continue your progress. By that I mean the right type of effort .This Article from our expert Sean Nalewanyj will highlight the fundamental reasons for reaching the plateau and how to overcome this situation and continue your muscle building journey.

Sean’s program, The Truth About Building Muscle, is a detailed plan of attack for quickly gaining the muscle mass you want. He covers the entire body in depth, from the chest and back all the way down to the calves. It is an excellent program and highly recommended.(see our Full Muscle Gain Truth Review)

If You’ve Hit A Training Plateau, Read This

By Sean Nalewanyj

We’ve all experienced it at one time or another…

Our training programs are running smoothly, and with each week that passes we’re successfully adding more weight to the bar, more pounds to the scale and more muscle size and thickness to our bodies. Then, all of a sudden and without warning, those gains come to a screeching halt and our muscle building and strength gaining progress is stopped dead in its tracks. In the bodybuilding world, this is referred to as a “plateau”. The very idea of this would send shivers up the spine of any serious trainee, as this plateau essentially means that despite our best efforts in the gym and in the kitchen, no additional progress can be made. What does a typical lifter do in response to this? They immediately begin haphazardly switching up their training routine in an effort to “shock” their muscles into new growth… They change their exercises and rep ranges… And they implement new “advanced techniques” such as forced reps, negatives and static holds in an effort to break through the plateau into new levels of growth. STOP! While exercise variety can sometimes be a reasonable option here, these plateaus exist as a result of far more fundamental reasons. They usually have nothing to do with the repeated use of the same workout. In the majority of cases, training plateaus are simply the result of overtraining. All we have to do is review some basic physiology in order to see why this is the case… When we train intensely in the gym, we are damaging our muscles. Each set that we perform digs a “hole” into the body’s recovery ability. When we leave the gym, the body then uses rest and nutrients in order to rebuild the damaged muscle and to fill up this hole.

Once the muscles have been remodeled back to their previous state, the body will then compensate by building additional muscle mass as an adaptive response to the stress.

So far, so good, right? Here’s the critical factor that you need to keep in mind… As you become stronger and add more and more weight to the bar on your exercises, the overall stress and resulting “hole” that is dug into the body’s recovery ability continually increases.

The advanced lifter who is bench pressing 300 pounds for 6 reps is placing his muscles and body under far more overall stress than the beginner who is benching 125 pounds.

What does this have to do with plateaus? Everything! If you are consistently adding more weight to the bar and pushing your body to higher and higher levels of stress each week, you MUST compensate for the increase in stress by reducing your training volume and frequency. If the stress from each individual set is constantly on the upward climb yet you are still performing the same number of sets and training days, your body will inevitably be pushed beyond its ability to properly recover in between workouts. Improper recovery means that the muscle is not given an adequate amount of time to remodel and to increase its size and strength further.

This is why your gains slow down and eventually stop; it’s because every time your body is about to compensate by increasing the size and strength of the muscles, you interrupt the process by placing them under more stress and digging a new hole into recovery.

If the hole never gets filled, you never progress forward, and you keep yourself on the plateau. How crystal clear and obvious is that? As you become more advanced, you must train less often and with fewer sets! Training intensity and volume are DIRECTLY related, and are part of a balanced equation that determines your progress. As one variable increases, the other MUST decrease. So to all of you out there who are “stuck” on this weight training plateau… Regulate your volume and frequency! Decrease the number of sets that you perform for each muscle group slightly, and consider inserting an additional rest day in between workouts. If by doing this you begin coming back to the gym stronger than you were before, you’ll know for sure that you were previously overtraining. A slight reduction in volume and frequency is usually all that is needed in order to make steady, uninterrupted progress in muscle size and strength.

Instead of panicking and reaching for the latest Muscle Mag for a new “ground breaking” routine, simply understand that the body has a finite amount of recovery ability and that as you grow stronger, you use up more of it on each individual set.

Reduce the volume slightly, consider inserting an additional rest day, and that is most likely all you’ll need to blast yourself through the plateau and into a new phase of growth.

Lear more about the author Sean Nalewanyj

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This article is about one single exercise that would have the greatest impact on your muscle gain . No you guesses wrong it is not the bench press . It is the old good Deadlift . Yes the deadlift is the best exercise to develop your entire body. Sean Explains that in details just keep reading

Sean’s program, The Truth About Building Muscle, is a detailed plan of attack for quickly gaining the muscle mass you want. He covers the entire body in depth, from the chest and back all the way down to the calves. It is an excellent program and highly recommended.

The King Of All Upper Body Exercis

By Sean Nalewanyj

Okay, so you’re looking to pack on some serious muscle mass, right?

You want to build a ripped, rock-solid physique that demands respect and turns heads everywhere you go, correct?

Good.

In this article I’m going to talk to you about one single exercise that will help you to achieve that powerful body quicker than you ever thought possible.

No, it’s not a bench press or a barbell curl.

It doesn’t involve cables or chrome machines.

You won’t need a swiss ball or any other fancy gym gadgets.

All you need is a good old-fashioned barbell and a flat surface. Load the bar with as much weight as you can handle and pick it up off the ground while keeping your back straight.

Sounds simple enough, right?

I’m talking, of course, about the undisputed king of all upper body exercises: the deadlift.

If you’re looking to pile as much lean muscle mass onto your frame as humanly possibly in the shortest period of time, the deadlift is your best friend in the entire world.

That’s the good news.

The bad news is that deadlifts are without a doubt one of the most painful and discomforting exercises you will ever come across.

When performed properly, they’ll leave you lightheaded, nauseous, gasping for air and will temporarily have you wishing that you hadn’t come to the gym in the first place. But if it’s serious results that you’re after, this is the price you must pay.

The deadlift will work you from finger to neck to toe. It is a raw, basic power movement and will literally stress every single muscle in your entire body to some degree. The main areas of stimulation are the back (lower and upper) and thighs, but once you start deadlifting on a consistent basis you’ll see gains just about everywhere.

The high intensity nature of this basic lift will also force your body to secrete higher amounts of powerful anabolic substances such as testosterone and growth hormone. This causes what is known as a “spill over effect”, and will result in new, total body size and strength gains.

For example, after a few weeks of heavy deadlifting you should notice that your other lifts, such as the bench press and barbell row, will suddenly increase.

There a few different variations of the deadlift, but in this article we’ll focus on the basic, standard bent-legged version. Let’s go over the proper technique…

Position your feet about shoulder-width apart and grip the bar with your hands just outside your legs. You can either hold the bar with an overhand grip or with one palm facing in and one palm facing out. Choose whatever grip is most comfortable for you.

Start the movement in a squatted position with the bar close to your shins. With your back flat, abs tight and head looking up, lift the weight off of the ground by driving upward with your legs. Pull the weight up until you are in a standing position. Now lower the weight back down by following the same path as when you lifted it.

Rest the plates on the ground briefly, regroup, take a deep breath and pull the weight back up again. Continue the lift until your legs reach muscular failure or until your form starts to slip.

Maintaining proper form is of high importance when performing deadlifts. You should be able to handle a reasonable amount of weight here, and this increases your chance of injury. The most important thing to remember is to keep your back flat at all times and to keep the weight close to your body. Keep your abs tight as well as this will minimize the stress on your lower back.

Practice this lift with light weight in order to get the form down before you start going heavy. You may also find it useful to use lifting straps when performing deadlifts, as this will prevent your grip from giving out before the rest of your body does.

I recommend performing deadlifts once a week for 1-2 all-out sets.

How many reps should you perform for each set?

Well, deadlifts are such an incredibly effective exercise that they’ll work no matter what rep range you use. My suggestion is to stay in the range of 5-7, but some people go as high as 20. Experiment and see what works best for you.

Treat your deadlifts with respect, and be prepared for the gains of your life.

Lear more about the author Sean Nalewanyj

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Fitness model body is desired by most if not all women, but women usually avoid the training that would give them the results and the body they desire. The truth is gaining few pounds of muscles would give them those results. This avoidance to training towards gaining muscle is cause by the fear of bulking up (i.e. gain too much muscle). Vince explains in this article that there is nothing to fear and how your hormone levels will keep you feminine. Also he explains the basic training and nutrition practice to achieve that body you aim for.

Vince’s program, No-Nonsense Muscle Building, makes you a master in muscle building dieting, training and all other factors. It also has a version for females (Body Sculpting for women). This version addresses the concerns of the females and helps them build the fitness model body they want. Great stuff and highly reccomended for those serious about making a dramatic change in there physique.

How To Look Like A Female Fitness Model

By Vince Delmonte

Do you pass by the magazine stands in the store and envy the bodies of the cover models? More and more women today are coveting this body type; strong and muscular while still being feminine. Gone are the days where strong women are seen as too masculine and unattractive. The female fitness body is here to stay.

Now, curves are back so long as they are created with muscle mass and have a softer appearance. Hot celebrities such as Jessica Biel and Jessica Alba are now gracing the covers showing off their new curves. What’s more is that these women are garnering a great deal of male attraction – much more than their thinner counterparts such as Lindsay Lohan or Victoria Beckham. Luckily, if you make some smart changes to your workout program you can get yourself on the road to looking like the next female fitness model, maybe even covermodel!

First things first. Pink Weights.

If you want to add sexy curves to your body, you need not be afraid of heavier weights. Don’t worry, you are not going to bulk up and begin bearing resemblance to Vin Diesel, as women simply do not have the testosterone in their bodies to be able to do this. In fact, in a very good situation, assuming sound training and great nutrition, a woman would be lucky to put on about half a pound of muscle mass per month. Not quite as scary as you thought right? And that is assuming everything is done right… many will experience a slower rate yet.

The problem with pink weights is that for most of you, they aren’t challenging! You’d be surprised at how strong you already are if you’d just push yourself that little extra bit. So next time you’re in the gym, pick up a ten pound dumbbell or if you’re really ambitious, go for fifteen. You’ll start noticing your body changing more in the next few weeks than in the last few years you’ve spent slaying away on the stairmaster. Weights have the power to completely transform your body. They will make you a smaller, yet curvier version of your body now. Don’t be alarmed at your scale weight though as upon weight training your body weight may go up. Relax however, because one pound of muscle takes up much less space on your body than one pound of bodyfat does, therefore you may weigh more, but you will look smaller.

Next comes cardio.

Women have this tendency to just gravitate towards the cardio section of the gym. Whether it is the best place to check out the men lifting or it feels safer to them, whatever the reason, they go there and stay there – for hours at a time.

This is something that has to change. Think about how many hours of your life you’ve spent on that treadmill, stairmaster or elliptical machine. Do you really look that much different because of it? I’m guessing probably not. Not only that, but how many of you put in your hour while watching TV or reading your favourite magazine? This is probably a good indicator that you aren’t quite working as hard as you could be. The truth of the matter is that your body will quickly adapt to all that cardio training that you are doing. So while before you might have burned a hundred calories running a mile, now you are only burning 80. Unless you continually add more and more time to get the same calorie burn, it is going to stop being an effective fat loss tool. And when you’re already doing six hours a week, who really wants to spend MORE time doing cardio? The secret is changing the format of your cardio from that of a comfortable steady-state session to one that’s composed of high intensity intervals that will really kick you out of your comfort zone – and blast away body fat as well. This is by far a more productive form of cardio to be doing so rather than wasting another hour of your life not really getting anywhere, next time you’re in the gym for cardio, do twenty minutes, alternating thirty seconds going as hard as you possibly can with a minute and a half at a much easier pace to recover. It will be hard – I warn you. Stick with it for one month however and you will be extremely happy you did.

Now. Bring on the carbs.

Have you grown a love-hate relationship with carbohydrates? You love the way they taste but don’t like the number they’re doing to your waist. Understandable – many women feel this way.

The key thing to remember with carbohydrates is that they are not necessarily ‘evil’, so long as the portion size you eat remains under control and you are timing them properly. To have carbohydrates working most effectively for you, it is critical that you time them before and after your workouts. This is when your muscles are going to need the energy and will rapidly soak them up! So if you’re craving a bagel, have at it, but enjoy it right after you’ve finished a hard lifting session, as described above.

Get rid of your fat phobia.

One critical thing that many women do not understand is that in order to lose fat, they must eat fat. Women in particular actually tend to do better on a higher fat diet than males do. This has to do with their hormonal make-up and the way their body functions and responds to various macronutrient levels.

How many times have you reached for the cookies on the shelves, solely because they were ‘fat-free’ so you thought they’d be a safe dieting food? This was a terrible mistake. When you remove the fat out of products, often times manufacturers will begin to add in extra sugar to make up for the taste. Newsflash. Extra sugar sends insulin levels skyrocketing and guess what insulin is? The fat storage hormone. So, what you need to do is try and minimize the amount of insulin surges you create throughout the day, while staying within your total calorie budget. Do this and you will have your best defence against warding off both hunger and fat gain. Now, guess which macronutrient has the least effect on insulin levels? That’s right dietary fat. So do not be so scared of consuming fat in your diet. It will help you deal with hunger and help your food taste better. Ideally you should be aiming to get no less than 25-30% of your calories coming from a combination of healthy fats (fish oil is particularly important).

Work Those Glutes

Finally, the one body part that most women usually will say they want to improve upon is their glutes. That curvy, sexy backside appearance tops the list of many gymgoers and in order to achieve this you are going to have to be doing the right exercises.

Concentrate on adding heavy-weight lunges, one legged squats, hamstring curls and ass-to-the-ground squats into your program. These are your fast track to a great behind. You can do all the cardio you want to try and get it, but unfortunately, all that might do is make you a smaller version of your exact same self. If you want to change the way you look, then you need to change the way you train. So next time you pass by one of those covermodels and start dreaming about what it would be like to have that body – make it a reality for you. Many women are capable of making great improvements to their bodies if they would just stop with the training methods they are currently using and get on ones that are much more in tune with their goals.

More about the Author Vince Delmonte

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Skinny guys, hard gainer and many other labels just describe the guys with extremely high metabolism who face little luck gaining some mass. If this description fits you some how don’t worry Vince will give you valuable information and tips to help you overcome this problem. Vince shows you how this is not your fault. In the end Vince will give you some action steps that would show you results in few weeks.

Vince’s program, No-Nonsense Muscle Building, makes you a master in muscle building dieting, training and all other factors. It also has a version for females (Body Sculpting for women). This version addresses the concerns of the females and helps them build the fitness model body they want. Great stuff and highly reccomended for those serious about making a dramatic change in there physique.

The Skinny Guy’s Guide To Gaining Weight

By Vince Delmonte

How would you like to learn how to gain weight fast? If the title of this article caught your attention, there is a good chance you are sick and tired of not seeing the weight on the scale budge. Most likely you just got home from the Mandarin buffet and still can’t budge the scale. You could live on McDonald’s and Pizza Delight and your Ferrari style metabolism would simply burn it off. In a world that is obsessed with losing weight – you are interested in gaining weight!

Are You Sick and Tired Of People Telling You How To Gain Weight?

It probably sounds like this:

“All you have to do is eat, eat, and eat some more to gain weight…”

“Weight gain is just a matter of eating…”

“You just gotta overload your metabolism to gain weight fast…”

“You can’t build a house without the bricks and mortar for gaining weight…”

Don’t throw me to the wolves quite yet. There is certainly truth to these statements and some of these analogies can prove quite powerful. I think I’m even guilty of preaching a few! But the problem with this advice is that it’s usually followed up with the same old regurgitated blah, blah, blah advice that only tellsyou what to do and does not reveal real-world, practical how-to action-steps.

If you are someone who has struggled their entire life, trying to pack on extra muscle mass and still consider yourself underweight, then you are not alone. I was once skinny and underweight myself…

People, predispositioned to skinniness, are commonly referred to as “hard gainers.” This is the cool way to label your scrawny frame despite the fact that your body turns into a Number 2 pencil when you wear yellow!

It’s Not Totally Your Fault You’re Skinny

In the skinny guy’s defense, the reality is that you have been cursed with traits like Lamborghini-type metabolism, giraffe like limbs, and the strength of a senior citizen. You have to fight with every bone in your body to do something about your small frame and to keep up to your male buddies who seem to grow muscle just by sneezing – those muscle freaks piss me off just as much you!

Even though you might think your genetic deficiencies have sentenced you to a life of frailty and surprised looks when you tell others you lift weights, I am living proof that hard gainers with very ‘muscle-unfriendly genes’ can fight back against their genetics and gain muscle weight. I defeated my skinny genetics just after college and I am about to show you four tips that helped me climb from a 149 pound weakling to a rock hard 190 pounds in six months.

Trust me, no body has worse genetics for building muscle and gaining weight than an ex-long distance runner who abused his body with 60-80 miles of running a week (for over 10 years).

Skinny Guys Must Play By A Different Set Of Rules

If you are underweight, than your first step to gaining weight is to understand that you must play by a different set up rules. I have said this before and will say it again,

“Taking advice from someone who can gain muscle weight easilyis like taking money advice from someone who inherited a fortune or is making money illegally.”

You must think outside the box and give up the excuse of being a “hard gainer.” It is time to stop listening to all the naysayers who have told you that is impossible to gain weight because of your genetics. Regardless of what you have been led to believe, you do have the potential to build an impressive physique that turns heads and even intimidates!

If you have read this far, I am guessing you are ready to longer resemble a microphone stand! You are prepared to overload your metabolism for muscle growth, to ensure you are never referred to as ‘underweight’ or ’skinny’ ever again. Start following these simple steps and don’t be surprised if you gain an extra ten pounds of muscle weight in the next four weeks.

Simple How To Gain Weight Action Steps To Start Growing Like A Skyscraper!

1. Double It Up

One of the most practical steps you can take is to double whatever you are currently eating in the kitchen right now. If you are eating one chicken breast per meal, then cook up two. If you are only eating two slices of bread, then make it four. If you are eating one handful of nuts, then make it two. If you are using only two scoops of protein powder, then make it four.

Most likely you are only a few dozen meals short of filling out your underdeveloped body parts and attracting the attention of that sexy girl at your gym. I assume you are already in the kitchen and have the food out. So would you agree, you really have no good excuse not to shovel down a greater percentage of calories by doubling it up?

2. Live Your Life Around Food

Sure, you know that you must eat every 2-3 hours, but how well do you execute? Set your clock on a countdown timer to go off every 2 and ½ hours so that you reinforce the habit of eating literally not a second late for each meal! Don’t turn off the damn beeper until you start chowing down.

Ensure you are eating your first meal within 15-30 minutes of waking up – absolutely no later. This first meal of the day should always consist of REAL food to flood your body with quality nutrients. I question anybody’s commitment to gaining weight if they are too lazy to wake up 15 minutes earlier to eat a real meal.

Lastly, don’t be surprised if you are not gaining weight if you do not find yourself spending more time preparing food, more time eating food and more time cleaning your kitchen. You should notice you are spending more time in the grocery store and you should also notice a larger grocery bill each week!

3. Use BIG Eating Equipment

If you want to bulk, then you have to eat like Hulk. Do you think Hulk eats out of a small plate, or a small bowel, or a small cup? If you are aiming to get big and huge, you are going to require large amounts of food, most likely close to double of what you are currently eating.

So get BIG eating equipment! Get a BIG cup, get a BIG bowel, and get a BIG plate. Surround yourself with BIG. Most of the time hard gainers are nothing more than “under eaters.” If you struggle to complete a meal, then a bigger serving on a bigger plate will look small!

4. Never Train Hungry

How many times have you woken up, whipped up a protein shake and than headed off to the gym? Or maybe you had a long afternoon and missed a few meals and then attempted a weight training workout after work?

I thought this was common sense to avoid, until a few of my skinny clients confessed that they were showing up for their workouts having only eaten a piece of fruit and some crackers within the entire day!

After dropping the 45-pound plate on my foot out of shock, they reassured me: they were not hungry. I sometimes screamed back, “Yeah, that’s because your metabolism is in starvation mode and shut right down, you skinny pencil neck!”

I understand that training in the morning is the only time for some, however, I recommend to aim for a minimum of at least three solid meals in your system prior to training. Or eat the biggest meal of your day immediately after your AM workout. Would you take your car out on a long trip with a half empty fuel tank? Not unless you wanted the car to die and you push it the rest of the way. So why would you take your body through a grueling training session on an empty stomach?

5. Eat Nutrient Dense Foods

Focus on caloric-rich foods that are loaded with nutrients.  Avoid foods with empty calories, which means there is little or no nutrient value in the calories you are eating.  Why would you consume a 500-calorie plus meal that is loaded with fat and sugar which does nothing but make you feel sluggish and soft?  Instead, eat a high caloric meal loaded with slow releasing carbohydrates,  proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals and fiber.    Here are some of the best choices:

Carbohydrates – Oatmeal, rice, breads, yams beans, potatoes, fruits and veggies.

Proteins – Steak, chicken, lean beef, cottage cheese, whole milk, eggs and salmon.

Fats – Olive oil, flax oil, avocados, nuts and peanut butter.

Extras (high calorie cheat food) – Ice cream, raisins, dried fruit and trail mix.

6. Drink A Carb And Protein Drink While You Workout

How hard is to sip on a calorie-rich drink during your weight training sessions?  Simply mix up a 2:1 ratio of carbohydrate to protein with one liter of water and you instantly have a few extra hundred calories per day.  Now have an extra workout drink before your workout and extra workout drink after your workout and that’s easily an extra one pound per week.  Only use this technique if you are weight training at a very high intensity.

7.  Live the motto, “Never Stop Eating”

Did I hear you say, “But I’ll throw up if I eat all day?”  Maybe… Is it necessary?  Of course not.  But this is a part of pushing your body’s threshold.  Don’t worry, you will get used to it and your body will require more food as you gain more muscle on your body and your metabolism increases.  Just think that if you are not eating, then you are not growing, and if you are not growing then you are staying the same.  Is that what you want?

Conclusion

There you have it and as I promised, learning how to gain weight fast is quite simple.  Executing is a whole different story.  It will really come down to how truly committed you are to defeating your skinny genetics and gaining the muscular body you deserve!

Here is my promise to you. You have the ability to gain at least another ten pounds of solid weight in the next four weeks by simply applying the advice above. If you are truly committed to your goals of gaining muscle weight and no longer being known as underweight, then I believe you will rise to the challenge and take action! Are you with me?

More about the Author Vince Delmonte

Popularity: 1% [?]

This article is about one very common Question among bodybuilders. The issue of gaining muscle without gaining fat. Most bodybuilders go through a ( Bulking phase) where they gain significant amont of muscle and some body fat. Whether or no it is possible to do it while maintaining the body fat levels. This article may have the answer.

Sean’s program, The Truth About Building Muscle, is a detailed plan of attack for quickly gaining the muscle mass you want. He covers the entire body in depth, from the chest and back all the way down to the calves. It is an excellent program and highly recommended.

Is It Possible To Build Muscle Without Gaining Fat?

By Sean Nalewanyj

If you’re like 99% of the bodybuilding population out there, your ultimate goal is simple: an impressively muscular physique with razor-sharp definition to match.

You want to be huge, and you want to be shredded as well.

Because of the strong desire for this “ideal body”, most people eagerly dive into their programs headfirst. They don’t want the results to come slowly and gradually; they want to get from point A to point B as quickly as they possibly can and with as little work as is needed. Everyone is motivated to bulk up, but at the same time are afraid of putting on excess body fat.

Let me clear this up right here…

If you want to add a significant amount of muscle to your frame over as short a period of time as you can, you will always end up gaining some extra body fat along with it.

This is simply the nature of the entire process and if you really want to travel a significant way in the “bulking” direction, you have to be willing to accept this.

In order to gain muscle size, you must consume a surplus of calories in order to support protein synthesis. However, there is no way to divert 100% of this caloric surplus towards muscle growth. A certain amount of it will always end up as stored body fat.

If you want to make dramatic changes to your appearance over the shortest period of time, it is always best to focus on gaining size for a set period of time, followed by focusing on losing body fat for a set period of time.

Since your levels of muscle mass play such a large role in determining your basal metabolic rate, it will always be far easier to melt off body fat once you’ve built up your muscle size to a significant degree. This is why beginning with a bulking phase is almost always the most efficient route.

Based on what we’ve covered so far, the goal of a bulking phase is simple: build as much muscle size as possible while minimizing body fat gains. Your goal during a bulking phase is never to LOSE body fat; it’s only to gain as little as possible.

This can be accomplished in 3 main ways…

1) Use a precise caloric surplus.

There exists such a thing as “optimal nutrition”, but there is no such thing as “super nutrition”. A caloric surplus is required to fuel muscle growth, but haphazardly cramming more food down your throat beyond what is necessary to build muscle tissue will simply cause you to gain more fat.

The generally accepted caloric surplus for supporting muscle growth is 15-20% more calories than is needed to maintain your weight. If you are consuming a caloric amount within this range, there is no need to go any higher.

2) Pay attention to your food choices.

The vast majority of your food intake should be coming from lean, high quality proteins, natural/high fiber carbohydrates and healthy/unsaturated fats.

Rather than aimlessly chowing down on every food item in sight, make sure that you’re sticking to lean protein sources, keeping blood sugar levels stable through proper carbohydrate choices, and avoiding high amounts of saturated fats.

3) Implement cardio sessions.

There’s no need to go overboard here, but implementing 2-3 cardio sessions throughout the week is another way to cut down on fat gains during a bulking cycle. Stick to high intensity/low duration forms in the range of 10-20 minutes, as these types of sessions do not cause the same degree of muscle loss as longer duration forms do.

Once you’ve gained an amount of muscle size that you’re happy with (and this is totally up to the individual), you can then shift into a fat loss cycle and focus on stripping off body fat while maintaining muscle size.

However, just keep in mind that while bulking up, gaining some body fat is inevitable and the trick is simply to minimize it rather than totally avoid it.

Lear more about the author Sean Nalewanyj

Popularity: 8% [?]

Build muscle while you sleep: don’t just dream about building muscle. This Article from our expert Sean Nalewanyj will highlight the main reasons to have enough sleep to develop your body muscular physique. And the dangers of the lack of sleep to your muscle building goals.

Sean’s program, The Truth About Building Muscle, is a detailed plan of attack for quickly gaining the muscle mass you want. He covers the entire body in depth, from the chest and back all the way down to the calves. It is an excellent program and highly recommended.(see our Full Muscle Gain Truth Review)

4 Reasons Why Sleep Deprivation Will Inhibit Your Muscle Gains

By Sean Nalewanyj

It may seem like a trivial issue that could be easily overlooked, but giving your body a proper sleep every night really is an important step in setting the wheels for maximum muscle growth into motion.

If you really want to see the most dramatic changes in your body over the shortest period of time possible, a restful, quality sleep every single night is a must.

What makes a proper sleep so important?

Well, let’s simply take a look at what happens when you DON’T get a proper sleep each night…

1) Mental focus will decline. One of the biggest problems with sleep deprivation is the effect that it will have on your mental state. Studies have shown that just a single night with insufficient rest will have a significant negative impact on your mental focus and willingness to perform difficult tasks. Putting forth an all-out effort every time you enter the gym is one of the primary keys to building muscle fast, and in order to do so you must remain mentally sharp at all times. 2) Physical performance will suffer. Not only will sleep deprivation have a negative impact on your state of mind, but it will also have physical consequences as well. Without a proper sleep, your strength levels will decrease and you’ll end up using less weight and/or performing fewer reps than you would normally be capable of. Your bottom line muscle gains are ultimately determined by the steady increases in poundage that you are able to make on all of your exercises, and keeping your strength at top levels is critical in achieving this as quickly as possible. 3) Recovery will be interrupted. As you are probably already aware, your muscles do not actually grow while you are IN the gym. Rather, they grow while you are OUT of the gym eating and resting.

The time that you spend sleeping is one of the primary periods where the recovery and remodeling of damaged muscle tissue takes place. Not only do your muscles require recovery time, but your central nervous system, joints and immune system need rest too.

4) Hormone levels will be compromised. Depriving your body of sleep will have a negative impact on some of the most important muscle building and fat burning hormones circulating in your body. I’m talking specifically about cortisol, testosterone, growth hormone and insulin.

Simply put, sleep deprivation has a negative impact on every single one of them…

a) Cortisol – A catabolic stress hormone that increases abdominal fat storage and stimulates the breakdown of muscle tissue for use as energy. Studies have shown that insufficient sleep will cause the body to release higher amounts of this hormone.

b) Testosterone – The most important hormone when it comes to building muscle. The higher your levels of testosterone, the more muscle you can build. Sleep deprivation measurably lowers testosterone levels.

c) Growth Hormone – Regenerates the body and plays a large role in building and maintaining muscle. The time that you sleep is also the time when your body experiences a natural surge in growth hormone levels. If you fail to get a proper rest at night this hormonal surge will be compromised.

d) Insulin – Responsible for the uptake of important nutrients into your body cells. Sleep deprivation can result in an increase in your body’s insulin resistance levels. This means that your body will have to release higher-than-normal amounts of this hormone to compensate. This can lead to excess fat storage, diabetes or heart disease. So, just how much sleep is enough? As with most things, it’s certainly an individual factor and varies from person to person. As a general guideline though, I would recommend that everyone out there strive to get a minimum of 8 hours of sleep every single night. If you feel that you require more than that, sleep for 9 hours or for even longer if you need to. The bottom line is to get enough sleep each night so that you feel 100% rested and energized throughout the day. If you regularly feel fatigued and sluggish, then increasing your sleeping time is a must. In terms of building muscle size and strength, proper amounts of sleep will:

- Increase your mental focus and energy

- Improve your strength – Allow for proper recovery in between workouts – Lower cortisol levels – Increase testosterone – Raise growth hormone levels – Decrease insulin resistance That should be plenty of incentive right there to start paying close attention to how much sleep you’re getting each night. See you in the morning!

Lear more about the author Sean Nalewanyj

(see our Full Muscle Gain Truth Review)

Popularity: 45% [?]

Is Protein Powder really necessary? Does it really work? How much do I need? What kind should I take? What is the best? These are the common questions when it comes to any supplement. In our case this the protein powder Vince gives you the basic knowledge you need so that you have a clue what to look for next time you go protein shopping. Vince also besides answering those basic questions he talks about the difference between protein from whole food and the protein powder. In the ends he talks about the different types of protein powder like whey protein, casein protein and soy protein along with a simple guide to help you choose according to your needs.

Vince’s program, No-Nonsense Muscle Building, makes you a master in muscle building dieting, training and all other factors. It also has a version for females (Body Sculpting for women). This version addresses the concerns of the females and helps them build the fitness model body they want. Great stuff and highly reccomended for those serious about making a dramatic change in there physique.

Skinny Guy’s Guide To Protein Powder

By Vince Delmonte

So what do you really need to know about protein powder? After all, as a skinny guy or beginner to the whole bodybuilding scene you simply want to know a few answers. Is protein powder necessary? Does it really work? How much do I need? What kind should I take? What is the best? And finally, will any of these answers make a difference when it comes to getting jacked and attracting the ladies?

This article is not meant for you if you want to learn the science behind the ion-exchanged, cross-mutaed, isotopically labeled protein tracers blah blah blah. In this article, I will strip away all the hype, science and confusion that surrounds protein powder. By the time you are through this article and put it to memory, you will become the resident protein powder expert and amaze your friends the next time you visit the sport nutrition store. No more 2-hour shopping trips for protein powder because you don’t really have a clue what to look for!

So, although protein supplements are not an absolute requirement for gaining mass, I have yet to meet any person able to get 400 grams of protein per day from cooking food. If your protein intake is greater than 200 grams per day I will suggest a protein powder – it will make your life a lot easier.

In addition, dollar for dollar, protein powders and meal replacement drinks tend to be more cost effective than whole food. Don’t get me wrong, though. Protein powders are still supplements in my book. Supplement means an addition to the diet. I emphasize this because the focus of any diet should be food. Whole food is often preferable to powders because it can offer a whole spectrum of nutrients that powders cannot.

Most of your dietary protein should come from meat, fish, poultry and eggs. However getting all your protein from whole food is not always practical or convenient, especially if you have to eat 6 or more times a day to get your required intake. I will stress to you, for optimal muscle gains, that you should limit yourself to a maximum of three per day or 40 % of your meals. To some this might sound like going ‘overboard’ and I would not disagree.

The bottom line is that both food and supplements are necessary to achieve a complete nutritional balance as well as the desired level of protein intake, especially if you’re not a big fan of cooking. And I assume that over 95% of you reading this do not have a personal maid at home cooking all your meals while you sit around waiting for your next meal. Do not make the fatal mistake of thinking protein powders can take the place of a solid training and nutrition program.

Does protein powder really work and are they healthy?

I get this question emailed to me almost everyday. I just showed how it ‘works’ as a supplement to help you hit your supplemental protein mark but you are probably still wandering, ‘Yeah, but is protein powder going to help me get muscular or is it a scam?” A better question would be, “Does protein really work?” and the obvious answer is ‘yes.’ You are fully aware that protein is composed of building blocks called amino acids which performs a variety of functions in the body such as build and maintain healthy muscles when combined with diet and exercise. Protein also:

Support red blood cell production

Boost your immune system

Keep your hair, fingernails, and skin healthy

However, not all protein powder is created equal. Most protein powder contains an array of questionable ingredients such as aspartame, saccharin, fructose and artificial colors. It’s interesting to note how unhealthy most of these protein powders actually are. Look for a protein powder with natural ingredients rather than products that are sweetened with chemicals and made with ingredients that are certainly not going to create an environment for muscle growth and fat burning.

Also avoid products with refined carbohydrates such as fructose, sucrose or brown rice syrup. Make sure that the product is made from a reputable company that is genuinely interested in good health. Unfortunately supplement manufacturers will continue to meet the demands of bodybuilding consumers with unknown crappy products because we buy it and it is cheaper for them to create. Do your homework by seeking out unbiased reviews, investigating the companies history, and reputation. And then make a decision and take responsibility!

In the past one of my criteria for a healthy protein product was that it was great tasting and that it should mix easily. Most protein powders mix quite easily, even with a spoon, however I was disappointed to discover that taste will inevitably be sacrificed for a safe and healthy product. I can live with this. You see, once a product is removed of all artificial chemical sweeteners such as aspartame or sucralose, and simple sugars it is left almost tasteless and sometimes even gross.

How much protein powder do I need?

A better question would be, “How much pure protein do I need to achieve my goals?”

Protein is an extremely important macro nutrient and should be eaten frequently throughout the day. I recommend at least 1 to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass. This means that if you are 150 pounds and 10% body fat (150 x 0.10 = 15 lbs of fat leaving 135 lbs of lean mass), you will require at least 135 to approximately 205 grams of protein per day.

I recommend that protein powder be used primarily for your pre-workout, workout and post-workout shake. This is when liquid food is more advantageous over whole food since it has a faster absorption rate.

I do not recommend protein powder do be used for meal replacements for more than two meals. Here is what a typical day might look like:

Meal 1 (breakfast) – whole food

Meal 2 (mid morning) – liquid protein meal

Meal 3 (lunch) – whole food

Meal 4 (mid afternoon) whole food

Meal 5 (pre and post workout) liquid protein meal

Meal 6 (dinner) whole food

Meal 7 (before bed) whole food

What kind of protein powder should I use?

Before deciding which protein powder is necessary, here is a short protein primer to help you make sense of the thousands of different protein powders from which to choose:

WHEY PROTEIN makes up 20% of total milk protein. Whey is recognized for its excellent amino acid profile, high cysteine content, rapid digestion, and interesting variety of peptides. Since it is very quickly digested the best time to consume it is before your workout, during your workout or immediately after your workout. These would be considered the phase in the day where you need energy the most and when your body is in anabolic state.

CASEIN PROTEIN makes up 80% of total milk protein. Casein is recognized for its excellent amino acid profile, slow digestion and interesting variety of peptides. Since casein is slowly digested into your bloodstream, don’t use it during workouts or after workouts – you need a fast absorbing protein at these times. Instead, use a casein protein for all other times outside the pre and post workout window.

SOY PROTEIN is the most controversial of all protein types. While the soy groupies have gone to great lengths to label soy as a super food with magical effects, there is also a good amount of research that suggests soy protein may be contraindicated in many situations. BECAUSE OF ALL THE CONFUSION, IN MY PERSONAL OPINION, I SUGGEST AVOIDING SOY PROTEIN ALTOGETHER AND STICKING TO THE OTHER TYPES LISTED.

Protein Blends are generally a combination of several types of protein blends such as whey protein concentrate, whey protein isolate, egg protein, casein protein, and soy protein.

Why would you want a blend anyway? You will receive the full spectrum of proteins and you will receive varying rates of absorption from the different types of protein. Using a blend will create an anabolic environment from the whey and an anti-catabolic environment from the casein – use this kind at any time of the day but NOT before a workout or after a workout.

Whey hydrolysates (also known as hydrolyzed whey protein, and are also called peptides), are powerful proteins that are more quickly absorbed; more so than any other form, since your body prefers peptides to whole proteins. Hydrolysates are produced through very low heat, low acid and mild enzymatic filtration processes, (those highest in the essential and the branched chain amino acids) and are potentially the most anabolic for short-term protein synthesis such as the the pre-workout and post-workout window.

Whey Protein Versus Whey Isolate:

Most whey protein powders that stock the supplement shelves are made up of whey concentrate and mixed in with a small portion of whey isolate. Comparing the two, whey protein isolate is more expensive than whey protein concentrate because it has a higher quality (more pure) and a higher BV (biological value). Whey protein isolate contains more protein and less fat and lactose per serving. Most whey protein isolates contain 90-98% protein while whey concentrates contain 70-85% protein.

Whey protein isolate is the highest yield of protein currently available that comes from milk. Because of its chemical properties it is the easiest to absorb into your system. Obviously with its high concentration, it appears that an isolate protein would be the obvious choice instead of a concentrate. However, this is an individual decision because the isolate is more expensive, and just because it is purer does not guarantee that it will help build bigger muscles. Its extra concentration may not justify its extra cost.

SO WHAT IS THE BOTTOM LINE? WHICH SHOULD YOU CHOOSE?

For the Pre-workout and Post-workout phases, as long as whey hydrolysate is the first or second ingredient on the supplement label then there is probably not enough in the product to influence protein synthesis to reap the optimal benefits. As stated, whey isolates are also a very extremely high quality whey and for maximal anabolism isolates should be combined with whey hydrolysates for only the pre-workout and post-workout phases of your program. The inclusion of small amounts of whey concentrates will not harm you but this should not be the first ingredient on the tub of protein powder.

IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR THE STRONGEST PROTEIN POWDER TO EXPLOIT YOUR FULL GROWTH POTENTIAL DURING THE GROWTH AND RECOVERY PHASES (ANY TIME OTHER THAN PRE AND POST WORKOUT PERIOD) THEN USE A BLEND.

You will receive the full spectrum of proteins and you will receive varying rates of absorption from the different types of protein. Using a blend will create an anabolic environment from the whey and an anti-catabolic environment from the casein.

Conclusion

I hope this article familiarized you with the basics of protein powder and gave you a foundation to work from when deciding on your next order. Don’t get caught up in the hype and start becoming a more educated consumer when you take your next trip to the nutrition store. Now you can tell the sales rep exactly what you are looking for instead of starring blankly at the shelves without a clue!

Oh yeah, protein powder will help you get more jacked and attract the ladies but it’s not going to do it in a ‘ultra short period of time’ with the simple addition to your diet.

More about the Author Vince Delmonte

Popularity: 51% [?]

Overtaining!! yes Over-training is a serious issue amongst bodybuilders.Too much training and you can destroy your weight gain process. This article will explain the The Effects of Over-training on the Nervous System , Hormone Levels and Immune System. Also it will highlight the proper training and nutrition to avoid it.

Vince’s program, No-Nonsense Muscle Building, makes you a master in muscle building dieting, training and all other factors. It also has a version for females (Body Sculpting for women). This version addresses the concerns of the females and helps them build the fitness model body they want. Great stuff and highly recommended for those serious about making a dramatic change in there physique.

How to Avoid Over-training to Maximize Muscle Growth

By Vince Delmonte

Almost anyone that’s picked up a set of weights has or will experience symptoms of over-training at one point in there muscle building program. Over-training can lead to serious injury, chronic fatigue, and even muscle loss.

Over-training is very common amongst athletes and particularly bodybuilders, since they figure that training as much as possible is the fastest way to massive muscle gains.

This couldn’t be any further from the truth however…

Training too much, or at too high of an intensity will lead to over-training.

Now this doesn’t mean you don’t have to put plenty of effort in to see some decent results… Whether you are a bodybuilder, athlete, or just someone that wants to add some additional mass to your frame, you need to train hard and be consistent-that’s a given. In order to get the most out of your genetics, you have to progressively overload the muscles by increasing the weight and / or intensity of each weight training workout.

The problem is however, that many of us increase the intensity of our workouts or get insufficient amounts of rest, or even worse, a combination of both. The trick is finding the right balance between workout volume and intensity, and rest and recovery. And that is exactly what I’ll cover in this article.

The Effects of Over-Training on Bodybuilders

First, let’s take a look at some of the effects of over-training and how one can prevent over-training from happening in the first place.

The Effects of Over-training on the Nervous System

Over-training effects both the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems in the following negative ways:

If you are experiencing more than one of the symptoms outlined above, you may be in a state of over-training, and should evaluate your routine as soon as possible.

The Effects of Over-training on Hormone Levels

Many studies have indicated that over-training negatively effects the levels of hormones, as well as the hormone response in the body. Since hormones play such an important role in the muscle building process, this can have a detrimental effect on your training progress.

Over-training has been show to:

The Effects of Over-training on the Immune System

perhaps one of the most alarming repercussions of over-training is it’s negative impact on the immune system-you’re bodies first defense against harmful viruses and bacteria.

Over-training can drastically decrease the levels of antibodies and lymphocytes in your body, making you much more susceptible to illness. Simply put, this means that if you are in a state of over-training, you are much more likely to get sick. Since you will have to skip workouts while you are sick, your muscle building progress will slow considerably.

The Effects of Over-training on the Metabolic System

Here is a list of how over-training can effect the metabolic system. These symptoms are the ones that are most commonly discussed, and are ones we can’t ignore:

So you must get the point by now… Over-training effects the entire body, and can seriously impact the results of your muscle building program.

Now let’s take a look at the different types of over-training, and what we can do to prevent it.

Is it Worse to Over-Train With Cardio or Weight Training?

Any form of over-training is a bad thing, however, I’ve personally experienced both types of over-training and can honestly say that over-training in the weight room is much worse, and much more prevalent than over-training through cardiovascular training.

Here are some of the reasons why:

I personally believe that only competitive athletes such as swimmers, runners and bikers run a serious risk of reaching a state of cardiovascular over-training, since there are often training for two or more hours daily.

The bottom line is that it is much easier for the average person to over-train while weight training than while cardiovascular training, and I think the effects can be more serious.

How do I Determine if I’m Over-training?

Determining if you’re currently over-training is fairly simple. If you’re in tune with your body, you can often see the signs of over-training before they get serious. If you are losing interest in workouts, are having trouble sleeping, and feel weak and irritable, you may be in a state of over-training and should take a week or more off.

If you are experiencing two or more of the symptoms outlined earlier in the article, this should raise a red flag.

Another variable you can use to determine if you are over-training is by tracking the performance of your workouts.

Has your physical performance improved compared to your last workout?

For example, let’s say last workout you were able to perform 8 pull-ups using your body-weight, but were only able to perform 6 pull-ups the following week. This means that you have not “out done” your previous workout, have not fully recovered, and therefore are likely over-training. You nave to re-asses your program and make modifications so that you see progress every workout.

How Can I Prevent Over-training?

n order to avoid over-training, you need to take a multi-facited approach. Determining the correct training volume and intensity, eating the right foods, and getting the right amount of rest and recovery must all be taken in to consideration. Now let’s take a look at each of those factors in more detail.

Correct Training Volume

Determining the correct training volume can be difficult, especially when you are first starting out. You have to determine how much weight to lift, how many repetitions and set to perform for every single workout.

You need to use your own judgment in this case, based on your recovery ability and your recovery methods. Remember that the goal is that you improve every single workout, and if this isn’t happening, you have to decrease the intensity of your workouts.

This is where many people go wrong though. You begin your workout and realize that you have not fully recovered. You can either continue to train at a lower intensity than the previous workout, or skip the workout entirely.

As hard as it may be, skipping the workout is the right way to go. Just turn around and go home! Your body is telling you that it needs more rest, and you must listen to it!

There is no point in training at a lower intensity, further breaking down the muscle tissue. By doing this you will increase your risk of injury, and make it harder for your body to fully recovery for your next training session.

Proper Nutrition

Your diet plays a huge role in your muscle building program. It helps regulate hormone levels, provides energy, and provides the raw building blocks that are used to create new tissue.

Here are some dietary recommendations that will limit the chance of over-training:

Rest & Recovery

Rest and recovery is essential when it comes to avoiding over-training. Make sure that you get at least 7 hours of sleep each night, and that you are on a consistent schedule. As for recovery time, it’s important that you have days off between weight training workouts. Try to have one rest day between weight training workouts, and never train the same muscle groups on consecutive days.

Lear more about the author Vince Delmonte

Popularity: 23% [?]

Wide and thick back is an essential part in a great muscular Physique. Most people are misguided when it comes to building a wide back many. Some people may even neglect this body part which is a mistake. This Article from our expert Sean Nalewanyj will highlight the main keys in developing a thick wide muscular back

Sean’s program, The Truth About Building Muscle, is a detailed plan of attack for quickly gaining the muscle mass you want. He covers the entire body in depth, from the chest and back all the way down to the calves. It is an excellent program and highly recommended.(see our Full Muscle Gain Truth Review)

4 Simple Keys To Developing

A Wide, Muscular Back

By Sean Nalewanyj

It never ceases to amaze me how incredibly misguided the vast majority of the population is in the gym. Everyone is desperate for that wide, powerful and muscular physique, yet very few understand how to properly channel their efforts to get there.

For most aspiring lifters, it’s all about building a huge chest and arms. Week after week they slave away on endless sets of bench presses and barbell curls in search of the rippling muscle gains they want so badly.

Not surprisingly, those gains never appear in any significant form.

While a well developed chest and arms is clearly an important part of any complete physique, the truth is that these muscles only play a small role when compared to a much larger, much more intricate muscle group that most people severely neglect in their training programs.

I am, of course, talking about the major muscles of the back: the lats, traps, spinal erectors, rhomboids and lower back.

It’s obvious why most lifters neglect these all-too-important muscles…

1) The back is not a “showy” muscle and you can’t see it in the mirror.

2) Back training is far more stressful and taxing to the body than chest or arm training.

3) Most lifters are simply unaware of how important the development of these muscles really is.

Allow me to let you in on a little secret…

If you want to appear as wide, thick and powerful as you possibly can, nothing will allow you to achieve this goal faster than a well developed back.

In fact, 70% of your upper body muscle mass resides in this area!

Nothing can replace the upper body thickening effect of big, bulging lats and a set of wide, tall trapezius muscles.

Please, get up off that bench press and put down that EZ-curl bar for just a moment and let me share a simple, step-by-step workout that you can use to build the muscular back you so desperately need.

There are 4 major movements that you must perform to properly develop your back…

1) Deadlifts

I cannot possibly stress the importance of this lift enough. There is not a single exercise out there that can even come close to matching the effectiveness of a basic, bent-legged barbell deadlift.

The deadlift will work you from finger to neck to toe and is irreplaceable in developing strong, thick back muscles. The deadlift will stimulate growth throughout the entire back complex and should be the cornerstone of your routine.

2) A vertical pulling movement

These exercises mainly target the lat muscles and will help you to attain that wide, v-tapered look from behind. Examples of vertical pulling movements are chin-ups (overhand or underhand), lat pulldowns and v-bar pulldowns.

To get the most bang for your buck I recommend a basic overhand chin-up. This is the bread and butter of vertical pulling movements and will stimulate growth in the lats like no other exercise.

3) A horizontal pulling movement

Otherwise referred to as “rows”, horizontal pulling movements place their emphasis on the upper/middle portion of the back and also stimulate the lats. There are a ton of different rowing movements to choose from: bent over barbell rows, dumbbell rows, seated machine rows and cable rows just to name a few.

For maximum results, stick to a basic freeweight rowing movement. I usually recommend bent over barbell rows, but bent over dumbbell rows are an acceptable choice as well.

4) A shrugging movement

While not quite as important as the above mentioned lifts, a shrugging movement should still be performed at the end of the workout to target the upper traps and develop that mountainous, diamond-shaped look from behind. A basic barbell or dumbbell shrug will do the trick.

Okay, let’s put it all together…

Deadlifts – 2 sets of 5 to 7 reps

Overhand Chin-Ups – 2 sets of 5 to 7 reps

Bent Over Barbell Rows – 2 sets of 5 to 7 reps

Barbell Shrugs – 2 Sets of 10 to 12 reps

For optimal gains in back size and strength, the above routine is ideal.

It may not seem like a lot, but as long as you take every set to muscular failure and focus on quality rather than quantity, this routine provides more than enough stimulation for maximum back growth. I’ve used this same routine for many years and continue to see steady progress in both back size and strength.

Make sure to keep a written record of every workout that you perform, and focus each week on increasing either the weight that you lift or the number of reps that you perform within the given rep range.

Perform this workout once per week with full effort and I guarantee that your upper body will appear thicker, wider and more muscular than ever before.

…What about specific routines for the chest? What about the biceps, triceps and shoulders? How about the thighs, calves and abs?

For specific training information on each of these body parts make sure to visit MuscleGainTruth and find out how you can finally get the rock-solid muscle gains you deserve without spending endless hours in the gym.

Lear more about the author Sean Nalewanyj

(see our Full Muscle Gain Truth Review)

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Chest, Back , Shoulders, Biceps ,Tricepses, etc …. Most of us have one or more muscle groups that we wish we can improve. This Article from our expert Sean Nalewanyj will highlight the basics for training each muscle group. Trust me when I tell you the basics will pack on muscle to your frame faster than you expect.

Sean’s program, The Truth About Building Muscle, is a detailed plan of attack for quickly gaining the muscle mass you want. He covers the entire body in depth, from the chest and back all the way down to the calves. It is an excellent program and highly recommended.(see our Full Muscle Gain Truth Review)

Quick & Easy Tips For Building

Each Major Muscle Group

By Sean Nalewanyj

With so much hyped up information and bogus “breakthrough” exercise methods popping up all the time, most lifters seem to have lost sight of the basics.

While the basics may not be as flashy and exciting as what most of the “other guys” out there promote, they’ll pack raw muscle size and strength on to your body faster than any other method you’ll come across.

In this article I am simply going to list each major muscle group on the body, along with some basic tips for building that muscle as quickly and efficiently as possible. Nothing “revolutionary” or “innovative” here… Just the bare-bones truth about building muscle fast.

Let’s get right to it…

Chest

If you want to get the most bang for your buck and develop your chest as quickly as possible, then forget about flye movements such as the pec-deck, dumbbell flyes or cable crossovers. Instead, place all of your focus on the big basic pressing exercises such as barbell presses, dumbbell presses and wide-grip dips.

If you want to include a few flye movements here and there at the end of your chest workout then that’s fine, but your primary focus should be on consistently increasing the poundage on all of your compound pressing exercises.

Back

Use bent-legged barbell deadlifts as your primary back-developing exercise. There is simply no other lift out there that will pack more raw muscle size and strength onto your back and your entire body than the basic barbell deadlift.

It is extremely challenging and uncomfortable to perform, but the rewards are well worth it. It will work you from finger to neck to toe, and if you haven’t been deadlifting up to this point, be prepared for some serious gains once you start.

Shoulders

Laterals raises are fine to include to isolate the medial head of the shoulder, but the meat and potatoes of any effective shoulder training routine is based on a compound overhead press.

Either perform a standing or seated military press with a barbell, or an overhead press using dumbbells. This should be the first exercise in your shoulder routine, with side laterals being performed at the end.

The front and rear heads of the shoulder receive plenty of stimulation during your chest and back exercises and therefore do not need to be specifically isolated.

Biceps

Cut down on your training volume and understand that the majority of your bicep growth is actually a product of hard and intense back training. Heavy chin-ups, pulldowns and rows all provide plenty of stimulation for the biceps, and direct curling movements are far less important than most people think.

Including a few sets of direct bicep work is still recommended, but going too far overboard can easily over train them and will actually slow down your bicep growth rather than speed it up.

Triceps

The same thing goes for triceps as well. Any time you perform a compound chest pressing exercise or an overhead shoulder press, your triceps will be heavily stimulated. Because of this, performing direct tricep isolation exercises should be done so cautiously and with only a small number of sets to prevent over-working them.

Abs

Since spot reduction is impossible and you cannot target fat loss from specific areas of the body, stop placing so much emphasis on the idea of achieving “6-pack abs” through the use of direct abdominal exercises.

Attaining defined and sculpted abs is mostly a product of your bottom line body fat percentage, and has very little to do with specific training techniques. Include a few sets of direct ab work for the sake of strengthening your core and building up the abdominal muscles themselves, but performing endless sets of situps and crunches is nothing more than a waste of time.

Quads

If you aren’t performing a basic barbell squat as the cornerstone of your leg training routine, you’re missing out big time!

Squats are by far the most effective lower body exercise in existence, and by a good margin. Not only do squats provide serious stimulation for the muscles of the legs, but because they force the body to secrete greater amounts of powerful anabolic hormones (such as testosterone and growth hormone) they will increase your upper body size as well.

As the saying goes, “you ain’t squat ‘till you squat!”

Hamstrings

Leg curls should be included in your hamstring training routine, but the real secret to a massive set of “leg biceps” is the stiff-legged deadlift.

You can perform SLDL’s using a barbell or dumbbells, and not only will they pack size onto your hamstrings faster than any other lift out there, but they will strengthen your lower back and add size to your upper back as well.

Calves

If you really want those stubborn calves to respond, then stop worrying so much about “feeling the burn”, and instead focus on truly training your calves to the point of muscular failure.

Rather than slapping on an arbitrary amount of weight and pumping out 20-30 reps until it starts to hurt, load up as much weight as you can possibly handle for 8-12 high quality reps. Execute each rep in a slow and deliberate manner, squeezing at the top and using a full range of motion until you cannot perform another rep despite your best efforts to do so.

Lear more about the author Sean Nalewanyj

(see our Full Muscle Gain Truth Review)

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