Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Bodybuilding Workout - A Bodybuilding Workout to Build Muscle

Bodybuilding workouts are widely practiced by both men and women all over the world. A bodybuilder's exercise routines, sets and repetitions comprise a bodybuilding workout. These exercises are done at a specific schedule and for a specific number of repetitions to develop a certain group of muscles. The most common reason for starting on a bodybuilding workout routine is to achieve a well defined and more muscular body. Bodybuilding can be considered a sport, and as with all over sport related activities, bodybuilding workouts come with risks.

A bodybuilding workout can be composed of a variety of exercises that focus on a variety of things: to improve one's muscular balance, to enhance muscle tone, or to increase the amount of muscle.

No matter the purpose for the bodybuilding workout routine, one rule that should be adhered to when training is to make sure that you do not overdo it. Overdoing a bodybuilding workout can cause adverse effects that may ! be detrimental to one's fitness goals as well as to one's overall health. For on thing, overtraining can cause the extreme development of muscles, which may be ok for the present, but will eventually cause problems in the long run as too much muscle growth can overstretch the skin; stretch marks and even flabby skin may develop especially if you stop exercising.

Another adverse consequence that may occur if you overdo your bodybuilding workout is the possibility of gaining too much weight once you stop exercising. This can also happen once you stop following the diet that goes with a bodybuilding workout.

To avoid damaging your body when engaging in bodybuilding workout routines, you should learn to exercise moderately and do so under the supervision of an expert or an instructor. While on a bodybuilding workout routine, you should also follow the diet that was set up to go with the workout. If you do stop exercising, try to at least stick to the diet to avoid g! aining weight. You should also try to exercise on a regular ba! sis, not to develop more muscle, but to maintain the condition of your body. Quitting your bodybuilding workout suddenly can cause you to gain a lot more weight.

It is important to remember that once your body gets used to a certain type of exercise, it can become quite hard for your body to adjust to a more sluggish lifestyle. Anything done in excess, even exercise, can cause harm. With this, try to avoid taking your bodybuilding workout to a very high level and practice with a certified instructor; this way, you avoid any injuries and any possible side effects that may occur in the future.

To learn everything about Bodybuilding Workouts and techniques to use to stack on pounds of lean muscle mass in just weeks, simply visit Bodybuilding Guru at http://www.bodybuilding-guru.com

!

John Stevens
Bodybuilding Champion

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Weight Loss

How To Combine Mixed Martial Arts And Bodybuilding

Mixed martial arts (MMA) is very popular these days among men trying to get in shape while learning to defend themselves. Many bodybuilders are discovering the sport and like the idea of getting in shape while learning to fight better. Likewise, many MMA fighters are discovering the benefits of weight training to help in the fighting ring.

It should be noted that you could never really become highly advanced in both bodybuilding and MMA simultaneously. They require different energy expenditures and food/training protocols. But you can become a pretty good bodybuilder, employing MMA as a cardio technique to help you lose body fat while working to reach your bodybuilding goals. You'll look good, and be able to handle yourself as well.

Training

You'll want to select one goal to come first - even if it's only a "1" and "1A" sort of arrangement. Set your three bodybuilding days on the calendar. Set your three martial arts days on the calendar. Make them indep! endent events - try to avoid adding weight training to MMA routines, and fighting to your weight training days.

Diet

Eat like a bodybuilder, but include additional carbs BEFORE your MMA workouts, and proteins AFTERWARDS in order to account for the additional strains you are putting on your body. Remember to include a great deal of clean, slow burning carbs for recovery. Also a nice casein protein blend at night will be of great help to heal your body.

Recovery

If you are training as a bodybuilder 3-4 days per week, and as a fighter 3-4 days a week, your body is taking quite a beating, literally. Your central nervous system (CNS) is likely working very hard to recover from the heavy pounding of weight training, and the reflexive and striking nature of MMA fighting.

MMA and Bodybuilder are a unique marriage that is beginning to become a popular hybrid in sports today. See if it's right for you! Just remember to train moderately, eat correctly, an! d get plenty of rest.

Dane Fletcher is the world's most ! prolific bodybuilding and fitness expert and is currently the executive editor for http://www.BodybuildingToday.com

If you are looking for more bodybuilding tips or information on weight training, or supplementation, please visit www.BodybuildingToday.com, the bodybuilding and fitness authority site with hundreds of articles available FREE to help you meet your goals.

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Fast Weight Loss

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Weight Belts For Bodybuilding -An Ongoing Controversy

Bodybuilding is an exercise program that does much more for the body than just build up muscle and physique. Bodybuilding also strengthens the ligaments and tendons, the skeletal system, and burns more calories due to the increased metabolic rate of the body. Using weight belts for bodybuilding exercise workouts is quite common, but it is also a controversial practice. There are two opposing schools of thought amongst weightlifters and bodybuilders.

Those who advocate the use of weight belts for bodybuilding believe that a weight lifting belt will protect the lumbar portion of the spinal column. There are also many who categorically do not believe in the use of weight belts for bodybuilding. They think weight belts give individuals a false sense of security, and they cannot take the place of strong, functional core and trunk muscles.

Weight Lifting Belts - What Are They?

A weight belt is rigid and generally made from leather, but also can be made out of ! high-strength, durable nylon. A weight lifting belt is fastened around the bodybuilder's waist and secured in they same fashion as a normal belt. The part of the belt that crosses the small of the back is usually about six inches high.

The Pros Of Weight Belts For Bodybuilding

Bodybuilders who favour the use of a weight lifting belt during their bodybuilding workouts believe that the weight lifting belt will protect the lumbar portion of the spinal column from needless injury. They also believe that the thickness and width of the belt spanning the lower back can prevent injury to the all important back muscles.

Another benefit attributed to the weight lifting belts is that the stiffness of the belt acts as a reminder to the individual not to arch or bend their back when lifting. Bodybuilders who arch their back when lifting weights risk permanent damage to the spine. For power lifters undertaking maneuvers such as squats and clean and jerk, the added suppo! rt of a weight belt provides extra protection for the small of! the bac k.

The Cons of Weight Belts For Bodybuilding

Bodybuilders opposed to the use of weight belts for bodybuilding believe that a weight belt cannot take the place of a strong, fully functioning core of trunk muscles. Weight belts can give the individual a false sense of security and safety, allowing poor form to creep into their workouts. They further argue that wearing of the belt causes needless pressure on the abdomen, which can increase the bodybuilder's blood pressure.

They also believe that the use of a weight lifting belt is counterproductive in building up the muscles of the lower back. Dependence on belt can weaken the small of the back rather than allow for its strengthening, which is one of the major reasons for taking up weightlifting or bodybuilding. In a study of 50 male weightlifters done at Albany Medical Center in Albany, NY, researchers discovered that men not using weightlifting belts had more abdominal and back strength than the men who did ! use weight belts.

In conclusion, whether you believe weight belts for bodybuilding are beneficial or not, you should check with your physician before starting any program. Following your doctor's advice for your exercise and health safety is paramount, and always remember, no matter what your level of fitness, make sure you lift weights with caution.

Jean Littman is a health and fitness enthusiast and co-owner of BodyBuilderWeb.com which provides quality tools and resources on bodybuilding, gaining muscle and losing fat.

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Weight Loss Diet

Monday, October 29, 2007

Pre Workout Tips

The hardest part of getting in shape or bodybuilding is being consistent and going to the gym regularly. So how does one fix this problem, and make it easier to get off the sofa? Well the answer is actually very simple, you have start a pre workout routine. The reason a pre workout routine works so well is because you forget all the reasons you cannot go. Okay so how do I start a pre workout routine? Very simple! Most people who are serious about working out or bodybuilding tend to take some form of pre workout supplement, and these supplements take about 30min to kick in or take effect. So during this 30min window why not do a routine that gets you pump mentally to workout.

For example I always brew a strong cup of coffee before my workouts and while I wait for the coffee to brew I crank my favorite music and get my supplements ready and pack my gym bag. So by the time My coffee is ready I have everything ready and I have been getting pump from my favourite music, ! then I normally drink the coffee while cranking the tunes even louder. Once my coffee is finished I am flying so high on caffeine and from the music that nothing could stop me from going to the gym. It is like the point of no return, you are all revved up and if you don't go you will explode.

This is just my pre workout routing and everyone has to find what works for them. The point of any pre workout routine is to get you ready for a great workout and to get you pumped for the gym, even on the days that you don't feel like going to the gym. You will know when you have the right pre workout bodybuilding routing because you will start to notice that you never miss a workout and that your workouts have increased in intensity.

Bodybuilding

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play games online

Not Learning How To Bench, Squat And Deadlift Properly

Do you know how to REALLY squat, bench press, and deadlift? Seriously this is not a trick question. The simple answer is either a yes or a no. Be honest. If the answer is no, then it is simply impossible to create a strong and muscular physique with that genuine 'look of power' that simply cannot be achieved through any other means. The reality is that you see very few people these days in your average gym perform ALL of these lifts.

Sure the bench press is the archetypical gym rat exercise that everyone in society seems to care about but the reality is around only 5% maybe even less of guys in the gym squat and/or deadlift. Of those that do, only a fraction of those really know how to do these absolute cornerstones of progress properly with a decent weight. Guess what, that's also the exact percentage of guys in the gym with real strength and quality physiques! Ok so what do we mean by properly and with a decent weight? Well since the 'big three' come from the worl! d of powerlifting, it's a good place to start.

The rules for powerlifting are very clear; a legal squat must go to a depth where the thigh is parallel with the ground. Now how many squats do you see in the gym that get to this depth? Not many. How many with a solid weight? A tiny fraction. Depending where you train, you may not see one for years on end. And the masses wonder why they don't get results.

Proper depth in the squat is the key that unlocks real results. Going to a legal powerlifting depth allows you to power up much heavier weights as you use the full potential of not just your front thigh muscles (quads) but also the rear thigh muscles (hamstrings) and buttocks (glutes). You develop massive amounts of balanced, functional power as your muscles learn to work together as a cohesive unit. This also saves you massive amounts of time because in all likelihood you can ditch all the frivolous and potentially injury causing leg exercises such as extensions ! and hamstring curls. The powerlifting bench press is a little ! differen t in that in striving to lift the most weight, the technique is changed from being a chest exercise into a triceps, leg and back exercise. However, the lessons we can take are that of shoulder stability, control and a full range of motion. When you are going for maximum weights, stability and control are key. Go to any gym and you will see a multitude of guys merrily benching away but 80% - maybe even more have a key technique flaw that if corrected, in the long run would lead them to surpass their numbers and start driving up some impressive weights.

The simple fact of the matter is that in the short-term pursuit of more weight, the vast majority of guys will allow their shoulder blades to rise from the bench so they can use the front shoulder muscle (deltoid) to aid with the lift. When you know this, it's plain to see as you clearly observe that their chests are sinking and/or their shoulder muscle lifting above the level of the chest when lying down. This is also th! e number one cause of guys plateauing in their chest development - they are simply not hitting the chest muscle. The other thing that you will see, is the bar being brought down to all sorts of interesting levels. Some people's ranges are so short they are laughable. Others are really just short changing themselves consistently with ¾ reps because they want to simply have more weight on the bar. Of course there are various reasons when you may want to alter the range of motion for the bench press, but there is a BIG difference between a serious lifter doing it for a clearly defined and specific purpose versus someone wanting to ego lift more. Like the squat, full range equals full results.

Finally the deadlift. I often wonder if it's just the name that scares people into thinking they will hurt their back. The reality is that by doing this lift with a decent weight you will strengthen your back and with a supporting musculature so much that you will have massive reser! ves of strength and stability for every other exercise. The le! sson fro m those that do it best is technique. There is NOTHING to fear from this lift at all with proper technique. Your body is very well designed to pick up a heavy barbell off the floor. The leverage and mechanics of your body will handle the load just fine when you learn to use them correctly. Here's a reality check for you, if elderly females can be shown how to perform this lift safely and effectively, virtually anyone can deadlift - it's that simple.

So if your "big 3" are lacking how do you improve them? In order to get them to the level that you need them to be, you need more than an exercise chart and a 'simple demonstration' from someone who has never taken their lifts to a decent weight. This is because whilst the lifts are basic on the surface, there are many subtle aspects to them that only become apparent on the journey towards decent weights. These include many equipment set-ups, mental factors and small technique refinements that can only be passed on from som! eone who has done it all before.

For example, there is a very simple equipment reason on the squat that cause the vast majority of guys to get stuck at around 80-90kg (175-200lbs) as well as never being able to get proper depth (we demonstrate this clearly in the Ultimate Body System). Unless someone who knows why tells you what it is, you may get stuck there forever like a lot of guys do. I have seen people stuck there puzzled for years on end with the same weight wondering why it seems impossible to go any heavier safely to proper depth. Learn from someone who knows. - Learn and prosper from Ultimate Body Success.

Ben Kong is the author and co-creator of Ultimate Body Success - The Impossible To fail, Total Lifestyle System For Creating Your Best Body Ever.

Ultimate Body Success is dedicated to helping you finally understand that long lasting, body transformation is only possible when you understand how the body really works - only then can you trigger i! t's very own natural system for creating your best body ever. ! While th ere are no short-cuts, this is THE EASIEST WAY.

Click the link now to find out once and for all how to profoundly transform your body beyond belief.

http://www.ultimatebodysuccess.com

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About Weight Loss Diets

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Why Bodybuilding Is For Women Too

Female bodybuilding enthusiasts have been told for a long time that "women do not belong in bodybuilding." Many argued it was a man's sport. Many women also believed that it was not feminine to lift weights. They did not want to "bulk up" like men and wanted to keep their body in proportion. After a long time, women bodybuilders are now taken seriously. The attitude of women in bodybuilding is changing.

A large number of women today are breaking out of this stereotype. They are taking up bodybuilding and fitness training at advanced professional levels. All sorts of different body types are taking part in regular bodybuilding competitions around the country. Young and old alike are discovering they will still be feminine, beautiful, fit and in great shape all at once. They are not taking "no" for an answer.

Women often hesitate taking up bodybuilding because they are afraid of looking like a man. This could not be further from the truth. Women, no matter how m! uch bulk they manage to put on their bodies, will never look like a man due to different structures, hormones and genetics. Many women bodybuilders are beautiful women with defined tones and maintain their soft bodies. Exercising consciously with a well defined goal will guarantee the type of toned muscular body they are seeking. Women must stop comparing themselves to men in the bodybuilding arena. Also, comparing themselves with other women can lead to a false sense of not being bulked up enough. You are who you are for a reason.

Many men find muscular, toned women quite attractive. The self confidence a woman puts forth is catching on in the bodybuilding world. Women can boost their level of confidence to a very large extent by applying bodybuilding skills. Do not worry about the different statures between men and women. The woman's body will never become as big as a man's bulky muscles.

Many women tell us they feel more confident and more in control than eve! r before due to the bodybuilding efforts they have slowly refi! ned over the years.

Tall or thin, slight or bigger boned, does not make a difference in results reaped from bodybuilding. Bodybuilding is not the same thing for everyone. Different bodies react to stresses and weights in a different way. Genetics will play a role in the bulking of muscles. Smaller framed women will start out with lower weights. This will guarantee they do not get hurt when done correctly. Larger framed women can start at medium weights. They too should perform correct exercise with the weights to avoid injury.

You will find a great impact in the bodybuilding niche no matter what your goals or final objectives you defined. Amateurs to professionals, the bodybuilding circle of people are known to help each other for the common good. The contests are in good spirit and many of the contest winners personally know and train with the others.

The days are over when women bodybuilding is considered a lesser sport. Respect is earned now by many women bodybu! ilders in every aspect of the sport. Women are taking charge of their bodies, celebrating their successes and proving the female body builds muscles beautifully. Go forth women and lift!

Finally exposed! Women, we blow the lid off of the bodybuilding and supplement industry to reveal the honest and unbiased truth about gaining strength, building muscle and melting away unwanted body fat. For a limited time, get the free mini-course ($30 value) "Bonehead Bodybuilding Blunders" Click here => http://www.ProvenFitness.com/muscles

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Alternative Medicine Articles!

Building Fitness Requires Muscle And Nutrition

If people are at all aware of what is going on around them, then they also have heard that building fitness in their body is an important way to assure good health, even as they move through the aging process.

However, there still is a common misunderstanding that people have about being skinny and equating this to being in good physical condition.

The incorrectness of this thought was recently illustrated on a popular television show which features celebrities learning how to do ballroom dances. One of the contestants was a model, who fit the media "ideal" of how a healthy woman should look.

But, the first thing her dance instructor discovered was that under the svelte exterior there was no muscle tone. The first thing he attempted to do was to help her in building fitness and strength.

In order for the body to start building fitness, the best place to start is to build the strength of the musculoskeletal system by toning and firming the muscles.

Many people do this by utilizing home exercise equipment because of the convenience and time savings they enjoy by having such equipment quickly available to them.

Strength training with the use of weight equipment and free weights can also be very beneficial in building fitness levels. It is muscle that gives the body strength to carry out the necessary tasks in an ordinary day, so increasing muscle strength even slightly can make everyday undertakings easier.

Also, it is muscle that gives shape and definition to the body, meaning that good muscle tone adds to the overall attractiveness of a person.

Building fitness in the physical body can be undertaken by simply increasing the amount of activity you get on a daily basis. This can be something as simple as adding 20 minutes of walking per day, or can also include a strenuous workout on commercial fitness equipment.

The experts say that the best thing to do in building overall fitness is to us! e a combination of exercises. For example, you might want to e! ngage in a brisk walk one day and then the next day make use of weight equipment or some abdominal exercise equipment.

Experts also say that one of the biggest problems people have with sticking to a fitness routine that will help in building fitness, is encountering boredom. This is one reason why it is good to vary the fitness activities in which you engage.

If you rotate your workouts by doing something different each day, such as walking one day, weight lifting the next day, swimming the following day, using Bowflex home gyms the day after that and continuing to rotate through various activities, you are less likely to become disinterested and quit your exercise endeavors.

Rotating through a variety of different fitness activities is also advantageous in helping to train your muscles while building fitness.

If you do the very same exercise every single day, your muscles become accustomed to the routine and you start to experience diminishing effects.

Giving your muscles different tasks to tackle each day helps to keep them developing to meet the changing demands put on them.

Another aspect of building fitness that many people try to overlook, or outright avoid, is in the area of diet. And, diet does not only include the restriction of some foods, but also means giving your body proper nutrition by means of eating good quality foods.

Natural and organic foods will help to strengthen the body. Good nutrition combined with regular home fitness exercise routines will make you stronger and healthier overall.

A whole world of information about building fitness eagerly awaits you from Mike Selvon portal. We appreciate your feedback at our home gym fitness equipment blog.

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About Weight Loss Programs

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Building Muscle For Sexual Attraction

Building muscle is the one of the most easy and overlooked ways to achieve sexual attraction. Even if you are not a so-called "good looking" individual, that can all change with a muscled up body. You may not be able to change facial features, but everyone can develop a muscular body which is a surefire way to become sexually attractive. Here's how to go about it:

1. You need to lift weights. Forget about just doing push ups or sit ups, you need to hit the weights at least 2-3 times a week, and you need to train seriously with a program in order to get results. Weightlifting works, and you will get the results, you just need to follow a program and stick with it.

2. If you have added fat you need to shed, do some cardiovascular exercise after your weightlifting. Think of it as first building the muscle and then shedding the fat. Cardiovascular exercise can simply be walking at a steady pace on the treadmill for 20-30 minutes.

3. Eat or drink protein. Pro! tein is the key to building muscle fast and effectively. Think of it as "feeding your muscles". First you work them in the gym, then you need to feed them so they will grow. Seek out lean forms of protein such as lean steak, chicken breasts, egg whites, and tuna. You can also make a simple whey protein drink (adding 1 or 2 scoops of whey protein to a glass of water). This will easily give you the added protein you need to build up your muscles.

I've discovered a program that reveals the quickest and easiest way to build muscle. It's on my blog at http://gaining-muscle.blogspot.com/

All the guesswork is removed, and all you have to do is follow the program to achieve muscular results in a matter of weeks. Check out http://gaining-muscle.blogspot.com/ and thanks for reading.

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Fast Weight Loss

Eating For Muscle Gain

In order to gain muscle you have to feed your muscles the right kinds of food at the right times throughout the day. Eating every 3 hours is ideal for the quickest muscle growth to occur. Eating lean protein as your base for each meal is also ideal for quick, effective muscle growth. Supplementing a protein shake as one of your meals in the mid morning and mid afternoon is an easy way to get in your protein needs for muscle growth.

Combined with a 3 day a week weightlifting program, you can achieve great muscle gains in the shortest amount of time possible.

Here's an eating program to build muscle.

Morning: 3-6 egg whites, 2 yolks, wheat toast, banana.

Mid morning: Protein shake (2 scoops of whey protein mixed in juice or water)

Lunch: Tuna fish or Turkey meat sandwich on wheat bread. One apple.

Mid afternoon: Protein shake (2 scoops of whey protein in juice or water)

Dinner: 1-2 Chicken breasts or a lean steak. 1-2 cups of brocco! li or mixed vegetables. Baked potato. Green salad with nuts.

Late night (3 hours after dinner) : Egg omelet (5 egg whites, 1-2 yolks)

Additional feedings: Post workout you should consume a protein shake consisting of 1-2 scoops of protein powder and a large juice.

Your calorie intake should be based on your weight. A common approach to finding out caloric intake is multiplying 12 by your bodyweight. If desired results are not achieved, times 15 by your bodyweight.

Protein sources should consist of lean meats such as steak, chicken, tuna and turkey. Also whey protein shakes and egg whites are great sources of protein.

For a complete get big muscle program which will pack on major muscle in only a matter of weeks, see http://gaining-muscle.blogspot.com/

I've discovered this to be the best program on the net for gaining size and strength in the most quickest time possible. See htt! p://gain ing-muscle.blogspot.com/ and thanks for reading.

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Weight Loss Diet

Friday, October 26, 2007

What Are Decent Weights?

Continuing on from the previous installment, technique on the 'big 3' - squat, bench and deadlift is paramount but of course there is the small matter of how much weight you should be aspiring to lift. The truth is that on these major lifts you CAN and with application WILL lift much more weight than you ever imagined.

Despite all the advances at the cutting edge, the state of the average modern gym trainee is actually often a step backwards from fifty years ago or even a hundred years ago. Granted back then, far less people trained, however the average results in terms of strength, power and muscular development of those that trained would be impressive by today's standards. These days we can often get too fancy and forget that effort and dedication will see us further than the latest wonder supplement. The reason it is useful for us to look so far back is for some sort of benchmark that we can use to gauge what is a 'decent' weight in our own training. Whilst powe! r lifting informs our technique, it is a highly specialised sport that more often than not uses special support equipment to maximise lifts. As such it is not the best benchmark for what the average all around trainee who may engage in a number of other physical activities or sports and have different goals - notably physique orientated as opposed to piling the most weight possible on the bar.

By going back at least 50 years, we are also comparing ourselves to trainees in a time where sports technology was far less advanced and thus a better measure of what should be eminently achievable with effort alone. In fact with the technological advantages available to us now, the various benchmarks are a VERY realistic target indeed. In 1939 Bob Hoffman a pioneer in weight training devised a set of standards for excellent (Gold) very good (Silver) and good lifts (Bronze) in dozens of exercises. These were set for ANY average all round trainee to achieve, not a lifting special! ist. Whilst the list is very extensive and adjusts for various! body we ights, the Gold standard for the squat in general is a little over double body weight, the bench press around one and a half times body weight and the deadlift around two and a half times body weight.

In the power lifting world these are not huge numbers but you will rarely see these sorts of numbers being put up by guys in the gym. The few guys that do will have the physiques to show for it. The critical thing though is this: The reason the average trainee doesn't is not because they CAN'T. It's because they've never been told that they CAN - or for that matter...never correctly shown how! But don't be alarmed...Ultimate Body Success will inspire you so you can and show you exactly how as well.

Ben Kong is the author and co-creator of Ultimate Body Success - The Impossible To fail, Total Lifestyle System For Creating Your Best Body Ever.

Ultimate Body Success is dedicated to helping you finally understand that long lasting, body transformation is only poss! ible when you understand how the body really works - only then can you trigger it's very own natural system for creating your best body ever. While there are no short-cuts, this is THE EASIEST WAY.

Click the link now to find out once and for all how to profoundly transform your body beyond belief.

http://www.ultimatebodysuccess.com

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Forex Trading. Currency Trading Articles.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Build Big Muscles - 3 Secret Tips for Success

If you want build big muscles, there is enough information out there to drive you insane. Whether its magazines, books, tapes, videos or the internet, everyone is trying to tell you how to build big muscles.

Let me clarify the basic steps for you which everyone agrees on:

Tip 1 - get the reps right to build big muscles. Many people think that doing many reps, say 20, in a set means bigger muscles. Or they think that putting on the maximum weight they can do and doing only one lift, maybe two, will be enough. This couldn't be further from the truth.

You should aim to do between eight and twelve reps per set. And this means that the last rep in each set should be the last that you can manage - if you can go one further, then you need to increase the weight slightly. Out of ten reps, it is those last two that make all the difference so make them really count!

Tip 2 - eat more protein to build big muscles. Your body needs protein so that after a good w! orkout when you are feeling sore all over, your body has the materials that it needs to repair the worn muscles. So, if the body can better repair the muscles, they will get much bigger more quickly.

Tip 3 - warm up and stretch before lifting. This point is often neglected but is very important. You can warm up by doing a few minutes on a bike or some skipping. You don't need to work up any more than a light sweat but you will be much more supple and your muscles more ready for action. Equally, stretch the muscle groups so that they don't fail when you go for those last two reps. Without doing both, you risk huge setbacks from injuries that take weeks to recover from. If you are regularly injured, your gains will be lost and you will have no chance to build big muscles.

Warming up and doing stretches is boring, but you must do it!

Fed up of being skinny or fat? Build big muscles that will attract the chicks, guaranteed! Click here to discover the secrets th! at a sma ll muscled weed used to become a bodybuilding chick magnet!

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Weight Loss Blog

How To Increase Your Appetite To Gain Muscle

Those that have a hard time gaining muscle most of the time think that it has something to do with their workout routine or their supplementation. After they've been lifting weights for a while without seeing any muscle building results, they immediately think that they must be on the wrong bodybuilding program.

They start to add in all kinds of techniques that they read in some bodybuilding magazine or website. They start to add in supersets, forced reps, negatives, giant sets, heavier weights, static contractions, stretch overload, so on and so forth. Or they'll begin to add more exercises, sets, frequency, etc.

Or, they'll run to the nearest supplement store or internet site and begin to pour their hard-earned money on testosterone boosters, prohormones, weight gainers, protein bars / shakes, pre-workout / post-workout drinks, creatine, NO2, glutamine, branch chain amino acids, etc., etc.

Yet, after all of that extra effort, time, and money spent, the! y still are getting the same muscle gaining results..........nothing!

Wanna know why?

Because they fail to look at the number one factor on how to gain muscle .........eating more calories. That is 99% of the time the problem, not their training or supplementation.

And I love it when I hear someone complain that "no matter what they do they can't gain any muscle mass". But when asked how many calories or food their eating, it is always, and I mean always, not enough, even though they swear up and down that they do.

Sure, they think their eating a lot of food, and they may be doing so a day here and a day there. But when you look at how they eat over the course of several months, you'll see that they are eating like a bird, and that's why they look like one.

Trust me, I know what it feels like. A lack of an appetite is what kept me from gaining muscle mass naturally for years on end.

Well, here are a few tips and tricks to increase your na! tural appetite so that you can actually start to eat enough to! grow, e ven though you may be fooling yourself into thinking you already are (but hey, regardless of what your stomach may be telling you, if you haven't gained any significant amount of muscle in a while, it's time to look in the mirror).

First, avoid eating foods that are very acidic, like carrots, orange juice, tomatoes, lemons, limes, and other citrus fruits......since a high level of acid tells the brain to slow digestion down, which will result in a lot of food just sitting in your stomach, killing your appetite.

Second, don't eat too much protein, since this releases certain hormones that also tell your brain to slow digestion down.

Third, don't eat a lot of foods that contain a lot of sodium, like frozen foods and canned soup. Again, sodium also tells the body to slow digestion down, and, again, taking away your appetite.

And, avoid a lot of fiber, since fiber stretches the intestines, bloats you, and fools the brain into thinking you're "full".

Did you know that simply eating more food isn't enough to gain muscle without body fat? Check out more tips and tricks on gaining weight at: http://www.fromskinnytomuscular.com/wordpress/does-stretching-help-or-hurt-you-gain-muscle/

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Weight Loss Supplements

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

How To Lose Weight And Gain Muscle At The Same Time

You are probably one of the many that is trying to figure out how to lose weight and gain muscle. The way most exercises are structured it seems as though it is impossible to achieve both with out exercising for hours each day. I am sure that you have also spent time on the internet trying to find the answer to the problem. I already know that most sites on the internet tell you that really is not possible, they actually want you to think it is impossible. Honestly, it isn't impossible. You can build muscle and loose weight.

Most people that are overweight are already struggling and the fact that experts make it seem impossible to achieve both does not help the fact. I am sure that you have contemplated using a "magic diet pill" to help get the weight off quickly and start building muscle. While some of them way work, they are very short term and also carry side effects that are less then healthy.

The fact that there doesn't seem to be a middle ground where yo! u are able to achieve your goal of being trim and toned many people just give up and walk away. You really don't need to do that.

I am sure that you are like most people and know that cardio exercises are the best way to loose weight but they really don't help build muscle. I am equally as sure that you already know that they best way to build muscle is to do strength training exercises such as weight lifting. If only there was a way to get both of those results without "killing" ourselves with hours of exercise.

Well, maybe a few simple tips on jump starting your fat burning potential will help:

1. Eat the right pre-workout snack at the right time. Making sure that you are consuming a low carb protein bar approximately 90 minutes prior to your workout helps you burn more calories which then speeds up weight loss. It is vital that you do this 90 minutes before your workout and not one minute later.

2. Nose breathe - while it seems insane, breathing t! hrough your nose instead of your mouth will help stabilize you! r heart rate. This allows you to work our longer and burn more calories, hence speeding up weight loss.

3. Do you cardio exercises last. The fact is that our bodies take 15 minutes to warm up and burn fat. So if you are working out for 30 minutes, your body is really only benefiting from the second half of that workout. So do strength training first so that body is already warmed up and then finish with a little cardio.

These are only a few tips to help speed up the weight loss factor to get you on the path to lose weight and gain muscle. This is not enough though to help you achieve your goals. There are programs out there though that can benefit you. These programs will help end your frustration and help you get attain the results you are looking for. I have provided a few links for you so that you can get started today and stop the searching for the answer. I am giving you the answer.

Gary Holdon is a writer and internet publisher. Read his popular articl! es about weight loss plans and workout programs.

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Home Based Business Articles

What Key Bodybuilding Factor Beats Supplements?

Bodybuilding supplements have the ability to augment muscle growth and enhance workouts when proper knowledge is applied.

Vitamins and minerals that occur naturally in good foods provide effective muscle building supplements. Artificial supplements are on the rise in the bodybuilding market as a way to speed up the results. Some potentially damaging effects are possible to bodybuilders if they try to gain spectacular results in a short period of time.

Cell-Tech(tm) is a leading contender in the bodybuilding supplement market. Added to a protein shake, this supplement tries to enhance creatine in a body. After a strenuous workout, this supplement claims to replace the exhausted burnt out cell mass.

A supplement also replenishes sugar that is burned up during a bodybuilding workout. The immediate surge in insulin after ingestion of a supplement may prevent you from feeling the after affects of exhaustion and fatigue after a hard workout. This will allow yo! u to continue with the daily activities as normal.

The KEY factor in a bodybuilding routine is not necessarily external supplements. It is internal motivation. Many goals and dreams are zapped due to lack of internal motivation. Giving up when the going gets tough is all too common in bodybuilding. A disciplined schedule is a must if you are determined to build up your muscle mass. Lifting weights regularly would be as effective as consuming steroids if the discipline is maintained.

The natural method of bodybuilding, weightlifting, is a far better choice going forward for muscle growth. Make sure your doctor is in agreement with a new weightlifting program. After they clear you, the bodybuilding routine is less dangerous than other means of getting bigger.

Variety is also key to the bodybuilding routine. Not only will your mood be better and you will feel less bored but the muscles themselves will not get in a rut. Muscles will adjust to the same routine ! and stop the great growth after a period of time.

A mult! i-vitami n pill taken daily is an excellent way for your body to absorb vitamins and minerals in general. These are natural supplements taken to enhance the weightlifting routine and provide nutrients to your body.

Good fats in the right proportion are great for your body. Flax oil and good fats are in peanut butter. Taken moderately, these are necessary for muscle building on all levels.

Paramount to all techniques and advice going forward is the need to follow a strict, disciplined diet chart. A nutrition plan for food must be on hand. Avoid large splurge meals and invest in small ones spread out more evenly over the day. This will allow your body to increase its metabolism and burn fat quicker.

In order to achieve the maximum benefit in bodybuilding, consider integrating caloric cycles into the daily routine. To lose weight, have a high caloric intake for three days and a low intake for two days. An optimal bodybuilding diet would have the right proportion of the! following components i.e., carbohydrates at 40%, proteins at 40% and fats at 20%.

The body itself becomes the best supplement going forward. It is highly efficient with muscle cells undergoing division and multiplication in this very natural and unique process. Adding the proper vitamins and minerals via foods is the key healthy approach to bodybuilding and muscle mass gain.

Therefore, traditional bodybuilding, weightlifting and exercise become the preferred supplement in many ways. Think natural, think lean, think now and start soon.

Finally exposed! We blow the lid off of the bodybuilding and supplement industry to reveal the honest and unbiased truth about gaining strength, building muscle and melting away unwanted body fat. For a limited time, get the free mini-course ($30 value) "Bonehead Bodybuilding Blunders" Click here => http://www.ProvenFitness.com/muscles

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About Weight Loss

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Lifting Weights at Home

Now that fall is in full swing and the baseball playoffs are winding down most of our exercise is going to need to take place indoors instead of the outdoors that it is so easy to do in the summertime. There are of course two kinds of exercise, weights and cardio.

First I want to apologize in advance to any hardcore weightlifters here. Most of this stuff is a bit of a review for you.

Sometimes I think that everyone of course lifts weights on at least a weekly basis. Of course this is not fair as most people, although well meaning, have never lifted weights in their life and are not about to join a gym to start lifting weights this week.

The simple fact is that the more muscle that you have the more calories that you body will need to burn in order to maintain your weight. This fact alone should make any person looking to lose weight to start looking at the gyms that they drive by.

The simple fact is that if you have never lifted weights just think ! of this time between now and the beginning of the New Year as the best time to start warming up to the idea of lifting weights. If you start lifting some kinds of weights at home then you can get stronger, build muscle mass and when the new year comes with all of the gyms giving great deals to join you will have a better idea if you want to join a real gym or not.

First of all I think that it is easy enough to get some light weights that you can start lifting with at home. Either look in the classifieds in your local paper or go to the local pawn shop or used sporting goods place and get some 5, 10, and 15 pounds dumbbells, women can probably get away with 2.5, 3, and 5 pound weights to start with.

So what if you have no weights at home? First of all are all of the regular calisthenics that we all know. You can do things like push-ups for your chest, shoulders and triceps, lunges for your legs, and sit-ups for your abs.

If you would like to start doing wei! ghts proper then you have many options. Look around the kitche! n and yo u probably have some heavy bottles or cans that you can do bicep curls with, you have kitchen chairs that you can do front laterals with. There are many options and if you look around I am sure that you can improvise with what you already have.

Now that you have started thinking about doing weights you will need to get some more details on what to do an when. It is time for you to read how to build muscle and the internets best diet plan.

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About Weight Loss Programs

How To Build Muscles - 3 Killer Tips For Success

How to build muscles? It's a question that many of us have - for instance, many skinny guys work out like crazy but don't seem to build muscle. Once you know how to build muscles, the execution of it is the least hard part. Here I share with you X killer tips for building muscles.

Tip 1 - Eat more protein as a percentage of your diet. Protein is necessary to repair the muscles (more on this in Tip 2) and increase the muscle mass. A good way of doing this is via protein shakes. Some people don't want to use protein shakes because they feel that they are not "natural" but they are perfectly healthy and, if you prefer, just drink these shakes whilst you are building muscle and return to a more "natural" diet afterwards during your period of maintenance.

Tip 2 - Work to failure. What this means is that your last repetition of each set should be your absolute last where you can do no more without a small rest period. You cannot learn how to build muscles without ex! periencing this "last rep". It may hurt and your muscles may ache but that is a good thing! In fact, if you don't feel sore after a workout then you are simply not trying hard enough! The "damage" done to your muscles during a good workout and the subsequent repair by the body with the assistance of high protein are what increases the muscle mass.

Tip 3 - Work different muscle sets on different days. You can work out every day but alternate muscle groups each day so that the sore muscles from the previous day's workout are allowed a period of one day's rest to recover. You will find that this is the optimum way to work the muscle groups.

Dying to know how to build muscles? See the evidence of how a skinny guy became a bodybuilder! Click here to learn his secret method for how to build muscles.

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play games online

Monday, October 22, 2007

Muscle Builder Program

Getting started on your Muscle Building Workout:

Muscle builder program Step 1. Decide exactly the days you will exercise, the days you rest, the exercises you perform and your rest periods.
To Build Muscle exercise 3-4 days a week. Not more. The sample Workout section will give you 3,4 and 5 day workout plans. The Exercises section will provide you with the best Exercises by body part and tips on how to do them correctly.

2. Warm up and Stretch.
Warming up and Stretching are crucial to an intense muscle workout and to prevent injuries.Warming up your body pumps fresh oxygen-rich blood to your muscles helping them prevent overstress thereby avoiding injuries and also flushes the waste products of muscle metabolism namely Lactic acid. Cardio and Calisthenics are excellent as a warm up. Stretching helps increase range of motion, makes training safer and makes your body incredible flexible.

3. Proper Breathing

It will help you lift better ! and more. Simple tip. Exhale while you exert.

4. Masive arms.
Training biceps after doing your back routine and training your triceps after a chest workout are antiquated training concepts. For example, when one does a full back workout, there's plenty of residual fatigue in the elbow flexors from all the chins, rows and pulldown exercises that drastically reduce the training poundages in all curling exercises, thus falling short of optimal loading for the elbow flexors. At this point, you are using loads that fall short of the optimal training zone for overloading properly the contractile proteins. I strongly suggest that in order to improve the strength and size of your upper arms, they should be trained alone as a training unit. That leads us to point number two.

5.Progressive Muscular Resistance = Muscular Growth.
Again the adaptation skill of your body and mind comes into picture. Your body grows only in response to progressive stimuli. Keep up your! intensity level and add at least 5 lb to major muscle exercis! es and 2 .5 lb to minor muscle exercises every 1-2 weeks. If you keep performing the same weights every time you will stop to grow.

6. Every Workout Plan works but nothing works forever.
All your life your body have been adapting to any new stress it encounters and it does the same with Weight Training. After a period of 3-4 weeks your gains will drop as your body gets adjusted to the exercises. Keep adding a few new exercises so that your body never gets in the comfort zone.

7. To gain arm strength, pause between reps.
Too often, trainees fail to make mass gains in their upper arms because their strength in biceps and triceps exercises has been stagnating for awhile. But, there is another way out. Research by Canadian exercise physiologists has shown that for a given submaximal force of contraction, motor unit activation is greater for repeated (intermittent) than for sustained contractions. Pausing between reps helps offset the oxygen debt associated with susta! ined contractions by various mechanisms, one of which is allowing the removal of waste products from the muscle cell that block the optimal neural drive. This type of intra-set rest allows for the recruitment of higher threshold motor units, which is essential for strength gains. Make sure these pauses are no more than 15 seconds in length and are taken where muscles can rest, such as when your arms are outstretched. If you have a high fast-twitch make-up, I recommend going toward 10-15-second breaks between reps, provided you do not do more than six reps total per set. If you are leaning more toward having a slow-twitch fiber make-up, pausing three seconds between reps should suffice, provided you do not do more than 12 reps total per set.

Muscle builder program Step 8. Avoid Overtraining and Under training at all costs.
Most of us are guilty of Under eating and overtraining. To avoid this follow the nutrition plan and monitor progress. To avoid overtraining take! a 1 week break every 8 weeks. In that week you can perform ot! her spor ts like swimming, tennis or whatever you like. But give your body a break.

Patience and Persistence is the bottom line.

These tips work wonders only if you let them. The best plans in the world are not even worth the paper they are written over if they are not executed.

Once you get started measure your progress every 2 weeks. Increase Calories and/or intensity {add more weight and perform more reps.}

A symple fitness instructor with diploma

Muscle builder program

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About Weight Loss Programs

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Training for Muscle Tone Instead of Muscle Mass

The key to muscle mass is a high enough volume of lifts to induce a bit of damage to the muscles. After the muscle is damaged it is important to rest that muscle enough for a full recovery. Ideally when that muscle is recovered, it will be slightly bigger. Over time this builds a larger muscle. The key to muscle tone is to do less volume of sets, but work out more frequently.

How Many Sets Do You Need to Do For Muscle Tone?

Remember, your goal for muscle tone is to avoid damaging the muscles. If you get sore the following day, back off a bit the next time that you work those same muscles. I like to do 3-4 sets of anywhere between 3-10 reps for muscle tone. I chose 2 exercises per body part.

How Many Reps in Each Set?

Very few people understand how effective low reps are for muscle tone. Low reps create harder contractions and over time, your muscle will display better tone. Feel free to include medium to high reps, but make sure you d! on't neglect heavier low rep training as well. Gaining strength at a low body fat level is a great way to look ripped!

Make Sure and Work the Muscles Often When Going for Tone!

This is an overlooked tip that will quickly accelerate your ability to increase tone in a worked muscle. Muscle tone is basically the partial contraction of a muscle in a relaxed state, so your muscles are contacting a bit on their own even when you are completely relaxed. The way to increase this is to contract you muscles hard (workout) on a frequent basis. Again...you want to avoid muscle damage, otherwise you will over-train the muscle if you work it soon. Another problem with working a damaged muscle it that it won't contract as hard, so the workout will have less toning benefits.

Do NOT Train to Failure or Use Forced Reps When Going for Muscle Tone

If you do a set to failure you are essentially "training your muscle to fail". This induces a large amount of ! damage, which is great for muscle mass but bad for muscle tone! . Traini ng for tone is similar to training for strength. Elite power-lifters rarely train to failure for the reason stated above. The problem is that your muscle will not contract as hard the following set. You want hard contractions when going for tone, so don't train to failure and don't even think of doing forced reps.

Here is Common Mass Building Split Routine

The "3 day split" is a common routine for muscle mass because it works well. A 3 day split simply means that all the muscles in your body are worked in 3 different workouts. So what a lot of people do is work chest, shoulders, and triceps on one day...back and biceps on another day...and legs and abs on the third day. The great thing here is that since you are working only a few body parts in each workout, you can focus on blitzing each muscle group. You can really do a high volume of lifts for each muscle group which is the key to mass.

The 2 Day Split Muscle Tone Workout Routine

Sinc! e you want to work each muscle group more often when going for tone, you should try to split you workout over two days instead of three. The great thing here is that you don't need much recovery time when you don't damage the muscles.

Note: So you should have a good idea on how to setup a great workout routine. Remember, if you are going for tone, keep the volume of lifting low and work each muscle frequently. Since your time in the weight room should be brief, spend the extra time hitting cardio hard to burn off all that excess body fat to reveal your toned muscles.

About the Author: Rusty Moore is a trainer who gives advice to men and women who want a body that attracts the opposite sex. Don't train to be bulky! Learn the http://fitnessblackbook.com/category/six-pack-abs secrets of Hollywood's finest and get lean and sexy instead. Visit his site today...http://www.fitnessblac! kbook.co m

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Health & Fitness, Medicine for you

Saturday, October 20, 2007

How to Get Abs of Iron - Fast

Powerful abs look hot. There is no two ways about it. A good looking set of abs is a marvelous center piece on a muscular body. Nice developed delts and big guns are somehow not legitimate if the tummy has some fat on it or a pouch. Somehow without those rock hard abs of steel, the muscular body is seen more "gross" (less refined) on a guy and simply fat on a girl, even if other body parts are well developed.

Everyone wants nice looking abs. The question is how to get those abs of steel fast. Then it's just a matter of maintenance.

The answer is simple. It's a two pronged approach.

Apply crunches and sit ups to increase the size and thickness of the abdominals. By enlarging this large muscle group we do something very important. It is well known that muscle burns more calories. A bigger muscle, burns a bigger amount of calories even at resting rate. An extra pound of raw lean muscle will on average burn 10 calories extra per day, so if you doubled the si! ze of your abdominal muscles and added 10 pounds of raw lean ab muscle, you will be burning an extra 100 calories a day than you do now, at resting rate.

This, of course, makes the second part of the process easier. We restrict calorie intake, eating special foods. Proteins. Also we employ a cardio program in an effort to burn off fat and reduce our over all fat levels. (Spot weight loss just on your tummy is a myth)

You can easily start dropping 4 pounds a week this way simply because your body burns a lot more calories just functioning. Also any cardio you do, the calories burned are multiplied by the new raw lean muscle you have gained. Within a month, almost anybody can look like a fitness model and have those abs of steel.

If you would like to get a six pack in 23 days or less, buy The "Abs In 23 Days" training program. You can learn more about this award winning, abdominal pumping, fat stripping product by clicking HERE

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Calories Weight Loss

The Skinny Guy's-Gal's Guide To Building A Six-Pack

Ironic, isn't it? Since when did skinny guys have a hard time getting a six-pack? Are not all skinny guys like 2.1% body fat and less than 150 pounds soaking wet? Why in the world would a skinny guy need an article on how to get a six-pack? Isn't that why skinny guys are afraid to bulk up - because they are paranoid about losing their treasured abdominals? I asked the same thing until this question almost earned it's own email account!

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

Abdominals Are A Muscle, Too!

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

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

Prioritize By Sequence

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

Prioritize By Frequency

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

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

Purpose Frequency Intensity Volume Reps
Injury Prevention 5-7x a week Low 1-4 sets 20-30
Hypertrophy 4x a week High 6-12 sets 8-12
Maintenanc! e 2-3x a week Medium 3-6 sets 10-20

If building a sexy s! ix-pack is on your 'to do' list for 2007, then start training abdominals 2-4x a week. I will teach you in a moment how to split your abdominals up into two different days based on movement.

Divide Your Abdominals Into Two Separate Workouts

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

• Truck Flexion (upper abs)
• Hip Flexion (lower abs)
• Rotation (obliques)
• Lateral Flexion (obliques)

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

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

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

A B C D
Trunk Flexion Rotation Trunk Flexion Rotation
Hip Flexion Lateral Flexion Hip Flexion Lateral Flexion

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

Use A Variety Of Functional Exercises

The Top 3 Hip Flexion Exercises:

Lying Hip Raise
Incline Hip Raise
Hanging Hip Raise

The Top 3 Trunk Flexion Exercises:

Swiss Ball Crunch
Weighted Swiss Ball CruncH
Weighted Cable Crunches

The Top 3 Rotation Exercises:

Russian Twist
Weighted Russian Twist
Weighted Cable Crossover

The Top 3 Lateral Flexion Exercises:

Lateral ! Flexion on back extension machine
Lateral Flexion with me! dicine b all over head
Lateral Flexion with medicine ball and twist

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

Conclusion

You now have all the tools and resources you require to start building a set of eye-popping abdominals. Customize your own abdominal workout and post it in the Article Comments Forum for others to compare and learn from.

Nic Roberts

Read More:
http://www.learnhowtobuildmuscle.com

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About Weight Loss Programs

Friday, October 19, 2007

The Three Powerful Hormones That Decide The Fate Of Your Muscle Building Program

Hormones are gatekeepers of body functions, they regulate most of the body processes. Excess or deficiency of any hormone can have a lot of impact on your body. Any imbalance in hormones results in a side effect. e.g. acne is widely attributed to hormonal imbalances.

Muscle building is no exception. Here too hormones act as gatekeepers. There are hormones that simulate muscle growth while some other simulate breakage of muscle tissues. Your muscle building success depends a lot on how you manage these hormones. Below is a list three of the critical hormones and the role they play in muscle building.

1) Cortisol

This hormone has following two important functions

    1) Increasing abdominal fat storage
    2) Stimulates the breakdown of muscle tissue.

This hormone is released if you are workout time is extended beyond the one hour mark or if you are not taking proper rest. This hormone results in breaking up of muscle tissues. So, d! on't extend your workouts beyond the one hour mark. It will not bring any benefit.

2) Testosterone

This is the hormone found in most steroids. Increased quantity of this hormone results in more muscle growth. if you are following a muscle building program than make sure that all the while you have higher testosterone. Higher levels of testosterone will result in more muscle development. Again, improper rest or incomplete sleep decreases the testosterone levels in your body.

3) Growth Hormones

The name itself indicates the functions of growth hormones. They regenerate the body and play a vital role in muscle development. The body increases the production of growth hormones during rest and sleep.

One important conclusion from the above is the need of proper rest. All the above hormones are controlled or produced by your body while you sleep. So while depriving yourself of sleep may result in more production of cortisol that will inc! rease the muscle breakage, taking proper sleep will result in ! more pro duction of testosterone and growth hormones that bring in the necessary muscle gain.

Nick Clipton

These ideas are the basics of any muscle building program and are critical to your success or failure. The two most recommended muscle building programs are muscle gain truth and the musclehead. If you want more information on muscle building programs you can read this review of muscle building programs.

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Thursday, October 18, 2007

How to Get Abs in a Month

Ever found yourself with your hand on your belly, wondering what it would take to transform that belly into a set of rock hard abs? Often it's easier just to dream. But sometimes. Sometimes its simpler just to put in the work, get it over with and get what you want....isn't it? Sure it is. This article shows you how to get abs in a month!

When you press into your belly, and feel how spongy and soft it is, often you may feel disappointed until you remember you are not tensing your muscles. Relieved, you tense those abs hiding under a fleshy outer skin and sure enough there is a reasonably hard wall of muscle there. Cool.

But you look up at the TV and see a couple of fitness models and it strikes you quite plainly, that your hard abs and their hard abs LOOK different. It is little consolation to know you have abs just like they do. Virtually the same. But yours are hidden under some spongy flesh and theirs is defined and tight looking.

So defining this we ! realize something new. Abs are not about the actual muscles but the presentation. You have the same muscles as the fitness models but when you take your shirt off at the beach, no members of the opposite sex even pay attention. When they take their shirt off, everyone looks right?

What's the difference? What's the confusion? The difference is the quality, texture and thickness of the skin covering your abs and theirs. That area of skin on a fitness models abs is thin, supple and taught across their abs. Yours may be loose, flabby and thick filled with engorged fat cells.

It is this area of skin you must work on and not the actual muscles underneath!

Drop 4 pounds a week for a month and watch how cool your abs start to look!

If you would like to get a six pack in 23 days or less, buy The "Abs In 23 Days" training program. You can learn more about this award winning, abdominal pumping, fat stripping product by clicking HERE.

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About Weight Loss

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Diet Plan For Building Muscle Mass

If you are already reading this article, it means you have your head on right. For most people, building muscle is a real struggle because they simple don't know how to eat properly. In this article, I'm going to outline the basics of a proper diet plan for those looking to build muscle mass. It's not rocket science, but if you don't have it right from the beginning, you are fighting an uphill battle.

The first thing you need to worry about is how much you eat. If you do not eat enough, you will not gain any weight and that is not what you're after, is it If you are the type of person who has always been skinny, you can get away with eating as much as you like. If you are one of these people and you do put on a little bit of weight, then you will lose the fat a lot quicker than you gained it.

On the other hand, if you are a person who gains weight easy, but finds it hard to make lean gains, you have to be a lot more careful with how you go about your diet. I f! it into this category and when I first began weight training, I weighed around 77kg and was eating around 2200 calories a day. This allowed me to gain lean muscle, without putting on loads of lard too.

The second thing you need to worry about and this is just as important as how much you eat, is what you actually eat. Eating lots of hamburgers will make you put on weight, but not the kind of weight you want. So you need to be smart. Of course, if you are one of those people who finds it really hard to gain any sort of weight at all, then you don't have to worry quite so much. You can eat just about anything and not worry about getting really fat and bloated.

But if you're not one of those people, listen up. You want to restrict yourself to eating only quality foods. I've written an entire article on this topic, but I'm just going to list the main foods you should be eating down below.

As far as proteins go, you want to be eating lots of chicken breast, tur! key breast, lean cuts of steak, tuna is also fantastic, just a! bout any fish is also good and protein shakes can be helpful if you are low on time.

Carbohydrates. You obviously want to be eating lots of good, healthy vegetables. Stay clear of sugary, processed carbs like white bread and white rice. Instead, stick to wholesome foods like wholemeal bread, pita bread, oats, brown rice, etc etc.

And fats, well, I love eating peanut butter because it tastes great and is also good for you too. Other nuts are also great, like walnuts, almonds and good old peanuts. Just be careful about the amount of nuts you're actually eating. Fat is very calorie dense, so it's easy to over indulge.

So there you go, a quick and easy guide to creating the perfect diet guide for building muscle mass. Make sure you read over and understand all of what has been written.

Sean writes muscle building articles. If you are looking to buy a self study body building books and need up to date reviews, about bodybuilding then visit the site http://www.undercovermuscle.com

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Articles about Women s Interests.

Mistakes Are The Key

Today, I started training again for the first time in three months. I am 16 years old and have been playing sports since I was 5. I got involved in martial arts when I was 8 and have been weight training since I was 14. There have been times when I've been more motivated than Rocky, and there has been times when I've been lazier than fat bastard. Although, for the majority of my life I have been in good shape and continue to pursue higher levels of fitness and expression of my body.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, a great inspiration of mine, once said "Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength." The truth is many people don't train for many reasons and most people who do start training end up quitting in a month or two, losing all the desire they had to begin with. I believe the most widespread reason that physical activity is overlooked is simply due to the fact th! at people believe that have better things to spend their time on.

Whether it be working, studying or socializing. Physical activity is an important part of a balanced lifestyle. You don't have to be jacked like Arnold Schwarzenegger, you don't have to be an Olympic athlete, and you don't have to be the heavy weight champion of the world. But I guarantee to you that being physically active will increase your productivity in every other area of your life. Not to mention the obvious benefits of longevity increased energy and focus.

So whether or not you want to be a bodybuilding champion or a professional athlete remember this: the lessons you learn in the gym, in the arena, or on the court will be carried over to all other parts of your life. It will teach you some of the most important lessons that you will ever learn; the lesson of perseverance and discipline.

www.idiotfitness.com - Weight loss program isn't working for you and you don't know why? I do.

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Travel Tips

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Your Muscle Building Program

How many times have you or one of your friends joined a health club with the best of intentions, only to go religiously for a week or two and then...you know the rest.

The problem with working out is that, well, it requires working. Pick up a muscle magazine and look at a "muscle building program". If that ain't enough to scare you out of the gym I don't know what would. Fortunately, its not as hard as they make it out to be.

The bodybuilding world has done more to improve nutrition science in the last 50 years than science has. However, the problem with getting your information from a Mr. Olympia is they have also helped the pharmaceutical sciences too.

Any muscle building program that was conceived by one of these elite champion bodybuilders is of little or no use to the average guy who doesn't carry around bottles of various liquids and a few needles. Besides, who has the time for such a ridiculous workout?

Fortunately, many are starting to come! around to the truth about any muscle building program. The fact is, your body only builds muscle while you are resting. Nobody ever put on a pound of muscle while working out.

You have just learned the secret to a successful muscle building program. You must allow yourself enough time to recover fully so your body can actually produce the new muscle you are asking it to make.

If only I had know then what I know now, I could have saved myself thousands of wasted hours in the gym. I could have saved thousands more on hi potency food pills known as supplements.

My muscle building program has gone from four very intense workouts a week, down to one short workout with only five exercises. And I get more out each workout because my body has time to fully recover and build the muscle I requested a few days earlier.

Whether you want to build some new muscle of lose some old fat, you need a new age muscle building program. More is not always better.

Al! is a life long weight lifter who was very disturbed when he f! ound out that supplement makers were writing their own reviews in their own magazines. He sought, and found, a better way to build muscle. Just quit working so hard at it! With a little common sense and a dose of skepticism, you can build yourself the perfect muscle building program.

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My Weight Lifting Advice

This page is for anybody who needs a couple pointers on how to lift weights. First off, if you are a beginner do not be afraid to step into the weight room. I know some guys you feel embarrassed because they cannot lift a lot, and they feel more advanced lifters will look down on them. Most of the time people are more then welcome to give advice or help you out with a lift, and besides everybody has to start somewhere.

Before you attempt lifting any weight you need to get a proper stretch in. This is a must or otherwise you are more than likely going to hurt yourself. Now most experts would advise getting in a long, deep stretch, and that is definitely the best way to go. But I must admit that I only take about a minute or two and get in a light stretch and that usually works for me. You just got to know how your body feels, and certain factors like age, can determine if you need to stretch longer. Never skip this step!

Once you are done stretching you can get! to the good part, lifting. Depending on how many days you lift you are going to be working different muscles a different day. I personally work out five days a week, Monday through Friday, so I will be going through a week of lifting for me. For some people five days might be a little too much for them, and it might be a good idea to take a day off in the middle of the week to get some rest. Once you start lifting consistently you will be able to get a feel for how much and how long you can lift. I would say that an hour is a good estimate, but some workouts will take longer and some will be shorter.

Mondays I work the triceps and chest muscle groups, and repeat that again on Thursday. Tuesday I work the biceps and back muscles, and then repeat them again on Friday. Wednesday I work my shoulders and sometimes I will work my legs. Each day I also try to get a run in, and do an ab workout. Now I have heard different views on whether you should work triceps and chest to! gether, and biceps and back together, or you should work trice! ps and b ack together, and biceps and chest together. Im not sure if it really makes that big a difference either way, but the way I see it is when you work your chest you usually are working your triceps, and the same with biceps and back, so you might as well work them together on the same day. I am not going to go through specific exercises here, you can learn about exercises through my newsletter.

As with any lift you want to go through the exercises with the right motions, otherwise you can seriously hurt yourself. I will give you a few tips on how the correct lift should be. First, anytime you are performing the lift you want to take the correct breaths. You should exhale when pushing or pulling, and inhale when you are relaxing. Oxygen needs to be brought to the muscles so if you are not breathing correctly you are going to tire easy. Second, you should extend your arms and bring them back as far as you can when doing exercises such as pull-downs or dumb-bell rows. For b! ench you should push the bar all the way till the arms are extended and bring the bar down til you touch your chest. When performing a lift on a bench you never want your butt to lift off the bench, and if you can try to keep your lower back down as well. When you touch your chest with the bar do not bounce if off your chest. You want to slowly bring it down to the point you barely touch your chest. Bouncing the bar off your chest can seriously injure you. With any lift you want to do it in a nice slow, and steady motion. Doing the exercise fast and wild can injure you, and it is not the best way to gain muscle.

Now everyone has different goals when you step into the weight room. Most of them consist of getting stronger, bigger, or more toned. There are different reps and sets you need to do depending on what your goal is. If you want to get stronger you want to do less reps, but more weight. For example, when you are bench pressing your sets might look like this: 10 ! reps, 8 reps, 6 reps, 4 reps, and finally 2 reps. Each time yo! ur weigh t should be increasing, and on the last set you should struggle to get it twice otherwise you need to move up. If you want to get bigger you can do a set such as 4 X 6 reps ( each example is for the bench press). Each set around the same weight, but you can move up the weight each time if you like. And if you want to get more toned do high reps, low weight. The set can be 15 reps, 12 reps, and 10 reps, but you can switch it up to however you like such as 3 X 12 reps. Personally, I will switch up between all three different combinations. Usually I will work out a month of each different set before switching.

My name is Mike Kleinick, I am 21 years old and I currently go to Illinois State University.

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Fast Weight Loss

Monday, October 15, 2007

Bulk Up Muscle and Gain Weight Through Diet and Exercise

If you want to know how to gain weight and bulk up muscle, then be prepared to revised some of your ideas on what dieting really is. It is not just a matter of eating less in order to lose weight, but also of eating to gain weight. And what you eat is not necessarily chocolate cake, but it could be!

There is no difference between losing weight and gaining weight other than the amount of exercise you carry out, or, to put it more scientifically, how many calories you burn. Many people don't believe in calorie counting, but something has to be counted to measure the energy you take in and that you use up in exercise. Whether it is calories or any other energy measurement doesn't matter, so I will call them calories.

If you eat more calories that you use in exercise, you put on weight. If you eat less calories than you use in exercise you lose weight. If you want to lose weight then do the latter, and do the former if you want to gain weight. There is not getting! away from that basic equation, irrespective of how you calculate your energy intake and usage, or whether you eat sausages and an Atkins diet, or lettuce and a rabbit diet, or even chocolate cake on a chocolate cake diet. It makes absolutely no difference. It is cast in stone!

So eat your sausages and bacon, or eat your lettuce and carrots, and enjoy your chocolate cake with ice cream or snails. If you want to gain weight and bulk up muscle you have to eat more calories than you use, and that's a lot of carrots! Especially when you have to work those muscles very hard that you want to develop, and use up your calorie intake that way. Recommended foods for building muscle are high protein foods such as chicken and steak, and also fat if you want, but you have to work a bit harder to use up the fat calories. Chocolate cake will take a long time, but you can do it.

Also, make sure that you have a good intake of the chemicals needed for your metabolism, such as L-c! arnetine and Coenzyme Q10 that enable you to convert fats to e! nergy, a nd you will find it easier to make your goals. However, the whole equation rests on energy in and energy out. Take in calories, and then work the muscles you want to build up. That increases the blood flow through those muscle tissues, and builds them up by creating more muscle tissue.

The muscle tissue will be increased by the amount of energy you take in over what you use in exercise, and the paradox is that if you exercise too much, you will first build up the muscle tissue, and then remove it because it will be needed to provide the energy, or calories, for the excess exercise. When the body needs calories for exercise, it will first use up what is provided form the normal diet. When it has used that up it will use up the energy stored in liver's glycogen reserves and then start using muscle tissue.

That is why you have to take supplements while body building: because your normal food sources are providing insufficient calories for the muscle mass you are try! ing to build up. The secret of body building, and bulking up your muscle weight is to make sure that you are taking in the calories needed for all that heavy anaerobic exercise you are carrying out. Anaerobic exercise uses fat deposits and calorie intake to provide energy for the muscle building process, while aerobics strengthen the cardiovascular system and the lungs.

There are many arguments as to what diet should be followed when building muscle bulk: high protein, complex carbohydrates, or whatever. The end result is that it doesn't matter too much. You have to take in more calories than you use in your exercising to gain weight, and must exercise your muscles while using up these calories to bulk up muscle.

That is the start and the end of the calorie intake-usage equation whether you eat chicken or chocolate cake and ice cream. I know which I prefer, but I also know what is quickest!

If you want to find out more about how to bulk up muscle mass and ! gain weight so as to avoid being that 7 stone weakling, then v! isit Pet e's web page Gain Weight Online where you will be given the information you need to get you started down the road to a perfect muscular body.

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