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.

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Deciding the workout schedule that will build up a body is not generalized. Bodybuilding workouts that work for some people are found useless with others. There are always arguments on the workout routines that are followed by different people. But all these arguments are correct and they are just opinions. A personalized bodybuilding workout program will only help you to build your body.

When you consider the food that is taken for weight loss people debate on carbohydrates. One group argues that you have to completely cut out carbohydrates to loose weight. They justify that carbohydrate foods are rich in calories and when you cut down the intake of calories you will loose weight. You also have to cut down protein and fat as they are also rich in calories. The other group argues that cutting out carbohydrates is not at all needed to reduce weight. They say that there are good and bad resources of carbohydrates and if you choose the good one you will be benefited.

Food items like potatoes, white rice, white bread, white cereals, ice creams and soft drinks contain carbohydrates alone and they don’t have any other nutrition. These food items must be avoided and they are all white in color. Foods like brown rice, sweet potatoes, whole grain bread, apples, broccoli and pasta all contain good carbohydrates and they are highly nutritious for the body. So when you want to reduce weight you can cut down the bad carbohydrates from your diet and move on to the good carbohydrate foods.

Muscle building can help you in many ways. It will reduce the fat and will build up muscles making you stringer and better. However you need to determine your routine with the advice of an expert trainer so that you don’t get yourself hurt while doing your exercises.

You must follow the body building routine steadily so that you build up the muscles in the positive way. A good routine for you will build up muscle mass, maintain the health of the bones, improve your metabolic rate and will ease your mobility. Doing body building in the right way can help you a lot.

Even if you are a skinny person at the beginning, you can still build your muscles. A skinny person can show off his muscles more than a person on the fatter side but the basic means to reach this goal is exercise and the right diet.

A beginner may initially be scared to death to even enter a gym, he may feel like feeling giddy or sick at the sight of a gym itself, but this is not true, it’s just a condition which affects many beginners, so you shouldn’t be scared and give up. You can’t achieve anything in life if you get scared and getting scared is not good for your future and you can’t progress in any aspect of your life if you get scared.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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You know, Most people focus so much on the big “show off” muscles like chest and biceps , that they get kind of blind to the fact that there are other “problem muscles” people struggle with.One common problem is “skinny calves“.

People tend to ignore the calves probably more than any other muscle group because most of bodybuilders are simply trying to pack on mass and let’s face it… …calf presses aren’t a big “mass builder” exercise, you know?

However, working the calves is important in order to maintain “balance” in how you look when you lean out for the summer. So whether you are gearing up for the summer like me, or you’re just cursed with “skinny calves”, here’s why it’s so hard to develop them…and how to do it the right way…

Why “traditional calf training” doesn’t work

All you really need to know is that your calves are your body’s “brakes”, and are best trained in this capacity. In other words, when your calves are going through an eccentric motion such as the “down” phase of a calf press. The problem with traditional calf exercises is that the amount of weight that you can handle during this phase is much more than what your calves can handle in the “concentric” phase, when you’re lifting the weight up. This means that the most important phase of calf exercises don’t get enough heavy weight to let them stimulate muscle fiber growth effectively.

Now, here’s the Solution to skinny calves

The secret to building your calves is to lift heavy with both legs during the concentric phases (the “up” movement”). But then when you’re lowering the weight (or your body), you want to take all of the stress off of one of your legs while the other calf handles the entire weight for a slow, steady descent through the eccentric phase. Once you’ve reached the bottom of the movement (after a 4 second descent), you use both legs again to bring the weight back up to the “up” position and let the same leg handle the weight down again. Continue for 6-8 reps on one side (until failure), and then immediately work the other calf in the same fashion. Use this method for all calf exercise options and I promise you that switching to this type of training for your calves will blow away the results you get from using both legs for these exercises.

If you like to recieve tips like this and more delevered to your e-mail inbox. just sign for our Ezine here Free bodybuilding Ezine

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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% [?]

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% [?]

Teenage bodybuilding is on the rise today. Many teenagers have signed up at their local gyms to see if they can enhance their appearance and their athletic abilities with the use of a bodybuilding workout program. So, the popularity of teenage bodybuilding leaves many parents wondering what risks and benefits may be involved for their kids.

The benefits of teenage bodybuilding:
First and foremost, muscle building exercise gets teens moving. It pulls them away from the television, the computer or the video games and gives them the opportunity to develop strong and healthy bodies. However, it is important that those involved in teenage bodybuilding understand how to workout safely and what their own limitations are.

As with adults, when teens first start a bodybuilding workout program, it’s best to work with a trained professional who can help construct a safe and effective routine that will produce results quickly. Once involved in the sport of bodybuilding, many teen athletes will develop the dedication and discipline that is required to excel in any sport. Teenage bodybuilding also helps to improve confidence levels, self-esteem and work ethics.

Physical benefits that accompany teenage bodybuilding include increased muscular strength and endurance, increased kinesthetic awareness, stronger bones and a reduced risk for weight related illnesses such as high blood pressure and diabetes.

The mental and physical benefits of teenage bodybuilding will continue to payoff long after these athletes have matured into adults. As with most sports, bodybuilding gives teens a focus and it empowers them to better themselves through their own efforts.

The risks of teenage bodybuilding:
For many years, one of the greatest concerns for teenage bodybuilding was that putting growing bodies under the strain of heavy weights over and over would cause premature closure of the growth plates resulting in stunted growth. This theory has never been proven, and if teenage bodybuilding is done properly, under the supervision of trained adults, the chances of any injuries occurring are greatly reduced.

Another concern in the sport of teenage bodybuilding is the improper or illegal use of bodybuilding supplements. The most obvious concern is teen’s exposure to or use of illegal steroids. As athletes get more involved in teenage bodybuilding, they start to look for more ways to build muscle fast. If they have access to steroids, there is always a concern that they will disregard the dangers of steroid use for the chance to enhance their appearance faster. Additional concerns are for the improper use of legal bodybuilding supplements. Again, supplement advertisers are good at what they do, making their supplement lines seem like a critical component in bodybuilding nutrition. There are supplements that teens can safely take if they follow instructions carefully; however, it is always best for young athletes to fuel their workouts with whole foods and vitamins.

The bottom line to weighing the risks and benefits of teenage bodybuilding, as with any sport, is that with proper training and supervision bodybuilding can be a safe and effective way for teens to improve physical health and mental strength. There are safety issues inherent to any sport; however, adult participation and athlete education go a long way in minimizing the risks.

Popularity: 1% [?]

For many years, female bodybuilding was considered taboo – the sport of bodybuilding was considered a male sport.  It was rare to find female bodybuilders who trained their bodies at the same level of intensity as their male counterparts.  This is no longer the case.  Today, male and female bodybuilding requires very similar diet and training regiments to produce lean, muscular physiques.  While diet and training considerations are similar among male and female athletes, there are some considerations that are specific just to female bodybuilding.

The first consideration for female bodybuilding specifically is the use of testosterone bodybuilding supplements to assist in muscle growth.  Women who are highly competitive in the sport may begin to consider testosterone supplementation.  It is important that they understand the effects these supplements can have on the body as a whole and the risks that may be associated with taking them.  Many women who take testosterone supplements will notice an increase in facial hair and body hair, a deepening of their voices and acne outbreaks on their backs, faces and chests.  There may also be hormonal imbalances that lead to depression, fatigue and mood swings.  In the world of competitive female bodybuilding it is critical that athletes do their research and fully understand the benefits and risks of all of the female bodybuilding supplements they choose to take, especially those that are testosterone boosters.  It is generally wise for all athletes to stick to organic bodybuilding supplements to compliment their bodybuilding nutrition plans in order to avoid complications that can arise from the use of steroids of HGH.

The female bodybuilding nutrition plan is similar to that of the male bodybuilding nutrition plan, but there are some special considerations that women have to keep in mind.  The most obvious is the difference in calorie intake throughout each day.  Women generally weigh less than men and don’t need the same amount of protein or calories to fuel their muscles.  Caloric intake should be designate based on bodyweight, not gender.  Additionally, women tend to have a tougher time shedding fat than men do.  For this reason, many female bodybuilders consume fewer fat grams than their male counterparts, and may incorporate additional cardiovascular training into their workout plans.

Athletes in the sport of male or female bodybuilding must understand the capabilities of their own bodies.  Understanding the impacts of diet, exercise and supplementation on individual physiques will enable athletes to make smart choices in order to achieve their bodybuilding goals.  The bottom line is to train hard, eat clean a make educated choices about organic bodybuilding supplements and, regardless of your gender, you will achieve the lean and muscular physique you desire.

Popularity: 8% [?]

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)

Popularity: 1% [?]

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)

Popularity: 61% [?]

To defeat your skinny genetics you need to play with different rules. This is one of the main statements Vince stands by in many different topics regarding skinny guys. Vince focus in this article on one of the main training technique most skinny guys forget about (i.e. strength training). Vince explains the six main reasons skinny guys should focus on strength training. After that he give you his 12 weeks strength training program for skinny guys “The 1 + 1 Skinny Guy Strength Program”. I suggest you give it a try and see the results yourself.

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.

Defeat Your Skinny Genetics and Own 2010 : The 1 +1 Skinny Guy Transformation

Program

By Vince Delmonte

It happens every year. The New Year comes and every scrawny twerp on the planet swears this is going to be the year that he slaps on an extra 20 pounds of muscle. But if you didn’t pack it on successfully last year, what makes you think this year is going to be any different? Seriously?

Did you spend hours in the gym with no results? Did you spend the last year blindly following the muscle magazines only to look the same as you do now? Did you spend the year filling your body with mysterious supplements that only make you sick? Did you watch your friends train less than you but get twice as big? Sound familiar doesn’t it? I thought so. So the question is, how are we going to get a different result? The answer is simple. By doing something differently. Would you agree the best way to get the same thing is to do the same thing? And would you agree that the best way to get a different result is to do something different? Give me a amen if you have decided that 2008 is going to be different. Give me a amen-hallelujah if you are prepared to be a different person and prepared to do something different this year. Commit to having your best year, and I’ll take care of you, providing you with the best skinny guy transformation program.

My Own Skinny Guy Experience

Trust me, I know. I was a skinny beanpole all through high school and university and gained the nickname Skinny Vinny. I gawked at my room mates how displayed copious amounts of rock-hard brawn on there frame. I was inspired by the spectacular ‘before and after’ pictures in bodybuilding magazines. I read every piece of bodybuilding literature I could, got misguided by a slew of personal trainers, experimented with every legal supplement I could purchase, but despite my efforts, my 12 week pictures looked nothing like the supplement advertisements. The cruel scale needle stayed the same like it was cast in stone. Perhaps I was doomed to be skinny for life…

Skinny Guys Must Play By A Different Set Of Rules

As a weight training enthusiast, figuring out the most effective workout routine can become an endless source of confusion and frustration. Every single fitness expert and magazine has a different training theory or training angle which becomes more confusing than a trip for Jessica Simpson at Home Depot!

Most skinny guys end up using routines designed and touted by those freaky monsters seen in the hardcore rags who have more than a little chemistry lab going on inside of them. Programs that include hitting the gym more than five times a week, focusing on 1-2 exercises per workout, 12-24 sets per exercise and overemphasizing isolation-type exercises. None of these components of a program helps improve the underlying foundation of a hardgainers success. Training to get bigger and more muscular, that is – your best body ever, must revolve around getting stronger and I mean really, really stronger. Increasing your strength remains the rock-solid foundation for defeating your skinny genetics and getting a head-turning physique for 2008.

Since the vast array of exercise machines came on the market, along with infomercials, instant result programs, and fancy dressed supplement ads, people are no longer willing to spend the time in the gym to build the solid strength foundation that is critical for long-term progress. Since you’ve read this far, you won’t be making that mistake this year!

Six Reasons Skinny Guys Must Focus On The Forgotten Factor: Strength

How many people do you see with skinny arms that can curl 135 pounds? How many people do you see with no chest who bench press 275 pounds? How many people do you see with massive upper girdles that can dead lift 315 pounds? How many people do you see with chop-stick legs who can squat 400 pounds?I would say – not many. There are many more reasons why strength training will help you defeat your muscle unfriendly genes and get the body you deserve this year but I think you get the point. If ever in doubt, just take a look at the biggest guys in your gym. I bet they are lifting 3-4 more times the weight as you!

The 1 + 1 Skinny Guy Strength Program

Cardiovascular and Flexibility Training Tips

Take The Challenge

Give the 1 + 1 Skinny Guy Strength Program a honest effort for the next 12 weeks and commit to making 2008 the year that you defeat your skinny genetics and build a body you can be proud of without spending any more time in the gym than you have to. Believe that you can do it. It can be done and it will!

More about the Author Vince Delmonte

Popularity: 1% [?]

If you want to become a body builder either by profession or for passion you have to employ a personal body building trainer to achieve your goal in the right way. You can see faster results and your efforts can be regularized if you have a professional trainer to design a bodybuilding workout progrom for you.

Many body building enthusiasts think that employing a personal trainer will cost a lot of money but it is not true. You don’t want a celebrity trainer but you want a person who is professional who can understand your limits and fame your training to meet your goals. There are many trainers calling them professional and you can employ one of them but you should know what qualities must be present in a trainer to help you in your goals.

Basically you have to look for a trainer who is certified to train people. This certification will not talk about their efficiency but you can understand that the person is serious about giving training and he has gone to classes to gather more information. You can also check if the trainer has obtained a degree in the exercising area. This will show that he is very serious about his profession. These degrees and certifications are just starting points but you have many other important things to check out.

Your trainer must be interested in your health and welfare. The trainer should advice you to see your doctor to get his advice even before you start muscle building. If you have health complications that inhibit you from body building then you must not take this profession. Your trainer should at least ask you if you have visited your doctor.

Your personal trainer should understand your limitations and your goals. Bodybuilding workout regime depends on an individual and your trainer should understand your goals and what you expect him to do for you. You should have a good communication with your trainer and you both must be in sync to get along with the body building workout program. You must explain your commitment and how much time you can devote to body building so that your trainer can frame your program accordingly.

A professional trainer will take more care about you. He will advise you about your diet and he will take care that you sleep adequately. Diet and rest is very important for a body builder and your trainer must motivate you to reach your body building goals. More than these your personal trainer should take care of your health and should be able to advise you properly when you are injured. Also look for trainers who have updated information in the body building industry so that they can use the latest technologies to help you build your body efficiently in the most natural way without any harmful side effects.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Post Workout nutrition is the most important muscle building meal . Because of its critical timing.A proper post workout meal will increase your muscle gains and improve your recovery time. This Article from our expert Sean Nalewanyj will highlight the main benefits of Post-workout nutrition and why do you need it. Plus a description of the ideal post workout meal.

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)

Catapult Your Muscle Gains With

Proper Post-Workout Nutrition

By Sean Nalewanyj

The post-workout period is without a doubt the most critical time to take advantage of proper muscle-building nutrition.

We’ll define the post workout period as the 3 hours that immediately follows an intense workout. It is during this time when the body is most primed for nutrient absorption and the muscles will literally act like a sponge, soaking up everything you present them with.

By feeding your body with the proper nutrients from both whole foods and supplements during this all-too important time frame you will greatly increase your muscle gains and improve your recovery time.

Let’s take a quick look at what needs to be accomplished after an intense workout:

1) Muscle breakdown must be minimized and the body must be put back into an anabolic, muscle-building state.

2) Blood sugar and glycogen levels must be restored.

3) Free radicals must be neutralized.

4) The muscles must be fed with proper nutrients to facilitate recovery and growth.

This can be accomplished by consuming 2 special “post-workout meals”.

The first meal should be consumed entirely in liquid form. Your body is in a high state of stress, literally starving for nutrients, and you need to replenish this imbalance in the fastest way possible. A liquid meal will be digested quicker than any other and will allow your body to start rebuilding itself immediately.

This post-workout shake should ideally contain the following:

1) 30-40 grams of whey protein.

2) 70-80 grams of simple sugar. (Dextrose is a great sugar to use)

3) 5 grams of creatine.

4) 5-10 grams of glutamine. (Optional)

All of these ingredients should be mixed in water and consumed within half an hour of completing your workout. I would also suggest taking a high-potency multivitamin along with the shake. This simple liquid meal will go a long way in accelerating the muscle growth process and helping you to recover.

About 45 minutes to an hour after your post-workout shake, you should consume your second post-workout meal, which should come from whole foods. This meal should be rich in protein and high glycemic carbohydrates.

High glycemic carbohydrates are those that are broken down rapidly into the bloodstream. Some examples include, potatoes, white rice or rice cakes. Here are a couple of examples of what your second post-workout meal might look like:

1) 6oz steak, 1 potato, 1 glass of orange juice

2) 1 can of tuna, 100g rice cakes, 1 glass of grapefruit juice

This meal will continue to provide your starving muscles with the nutrients they require in order to synthesize new muscle tissue and restore glycogen levels.

After this second meal there is still about 2 hours or so to take advantage of as best you can. Your goal in this 3-hour window is to consume as much high quality protein and high glycemic carbohydrates as you can.

Most lifters highly underestimate the value of the post-workout period and hinder their gains as a result. One of the biggest mistakes you could possibly make would be to ignore the value of this 3-hour period and to slack off on your protein and carb intake.

Treat the post-workout period with respect and prepare for a noticeable boost in your muscle size and strength gains.

There are also 3 other highly important times throughout the day to pay special attention to the foods and supplements that you consume. Visit MuscleGainTruthto find out what they are, and how to properly approach these periods for the best possible results.

Lear more about the author Sean Nalewanyj

(see our Full Muscle Gain Truth Review)

Popularity: 37% [?]

Working out is very important when it comes to building your body.  That is, getting the build that you want, including those well-toned pecs and well-defined biceps.  However, how can you make the most out of working out?  Well, here are a few tips for you to make use of.   When you start body building, it will be helpful to first sit and think about your goals.  What do you want to get out of the bodybuilding workout program?  This will be the first thing your fitness instructor or personal trainer will ask you, even before you start your workouts.  Pause and think, “What are my goals?”  It is important to remember that we all start to work out for different reasons, depending on our personal needs and wants.  Usually, we go for a workout for the following reasons: getting rid of those body bulges and trimming down the body fat, gaining more muscle, developing your muscles by increasing its striations and definition or recovering from an injury.

So, before you even start doing some workouts with your muscle and fitness instructor or personal trainer, communication is the key towards your success.  You have to tell your personal trainer exactly what results you want to achieve through your sessions.  Being specific is the key, avoid statements that are vague and generalized.  This way, you both can work together to reach your goals to your satisfaction and afterwards, you can measure your performance in relation to your goal.

Now, to the unpracticed eye, the bodybuilding workouts that are done sometimes seem random.  They all seem to blend together and do not seem to have a particular purpose.   However, these workouts are anything but random.  A good workout plan is built with a specific goal in mind, for a specific body or person.  It is composed of a set of workouts that target specified areas of the body and are put together in a certain order, with a set number of minutes per workout.  This is sometime you and your training should talk about  before starting your workout.

It is important to have a workout plan.  As the saying goes, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.  Doing exercises at random and using whatever exercise machine is available will not give you the results you want.  You may even injure yourself during your workouts.

There are so many body building workouts to choose from.  When building your workout plan, you should also try to experiment so that you are able to build a workout set that is best for you.  Again, communicating with your trainer will help yield the best result

Popularity: 8% [?]