Archive for October, 2008

Weight Training Programs, How to Get Huge Biceps

Friday, October 31st, 2008

by Ricardo d Argence

In the gym, the arms are more worked out, then the chest or other parts of the body. Since guys want the sleeves of their shirts to fit a little tighter, they will work them to death. It feeds them a sensation of assurance and the females apparently like a guy with large guns coming out of his shirt.

The bicep runs up and down your shoulder muscle and it’s the muscle that is attached to the elbow, this muscle we will be working out today.

Barbell or EZ-curl bar standing curls are the most basic exercises. Try to stand with either a straight bar or EZ-curl bar with your feet shoulder width apart. You need to take an underhand grip about shoulder width apart also. I recommend you use a mirror to make sure wrists, elbows and shoulders are always properly positioned in a straight line through out the move.

A great was to start is with the bar full extended then raise the bar up to your chin by curling your arms up but keep your elbows still. To reach maximum contraction, flex your biceps at the peak of the movement. You must keep your wrist locked all the time otherwise if you let your wrist bend, this can easily hurt you. This is the main exercise for building mass in the biceps. Put this exercise at the beginning of your routine, using heavy weights. Its best to always warm up with a lightweight for one or two sets before going heavy.

Doing standing dumbbell curls alternatively on each arm allows you to lift heavier weights and become stronger. This is a good exercise that will really add to the rounded shape that you want in your biceps.

The same movement is used as in bar curls except for one little variation. When the movement is at its peak, take your pinky finger and raise it up above your thumb. Try practicing it with no resistance. This is what will give you that extra peak that all the pros have. It may be hard, but when your showing off to your buddies, it’ll give your guns that extra mass.

If you really want to isolate the muscles in your arms and give them a real workout, try the Preacher Bench Curls with an EZ-Bar. You will notice you aren”t as strong as you would like to be in this exercise if you are isolating your biceps. If the first two sets of reps have been completed properly, you will feel muscle fatigue.

Place your chest against the bench and let your arms hang over the angled cushion. Grab the EZ curl bar with an underhand grip. Curl the weight up and contract your biceps as hard as you can. Lower slowly, being careful not to let the bar stress your elbows at the bottom of the movement. This is a great exercise that will place added stress on your lower biceps area.

The above program is only part of an overall fitness plan, you can visit my site if you want to know more about it.

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Do’s and Dont’s of Muscle Building for Beginners

Friday, October 31st, 2008

by Ricardo d Argence

There are many techniques and routines that you can use to build your muscle mass, if indeed you perform them properly while paying attention to your daily food and water intake. Of course, you also have to make sure that you are taking proper care of yourself and you muscles by resting and recovering from all your hard work. However, there are also many other issues that you should not do, as these things can cause your body harm or provide you with an unwanted unbalance in your physique.

Always have a plan for your bodybuilding workout. Begin by equipping yourself with an adequate notebook and a trustworthy pen. Keep this training journal handy and up to date. While writing down where you’re at now, write down your goals for the future, and how you’re going to get there.

Make sure to clearly outline your workout to fulfill your strategy.

To help prevent you from missing scheduled workouts keep a journal and calendar of your training. It’s very important never fail to your scheduled workouts when you are a bodybuilder. Keeping a diet plan and recording your measurements will help you track your progress when it comes to keeping up with your diet.

You may want to include your diet plan in your training journal or you may wish to keep another journal especially for your diet. Your diet is vital when you want to burn fat and build muscles, so make sure you are consuming what you should when you should to achieve your desired results. Remember you cannot starve yourself and build muscle.

There are various bodybuilding products available on the market. You should know to not buy into the marketing hype as most likely the claims are bogus. It is best stick with tried and proven methods to reach your intended goal. Otherwise, you may just be wasting your time and your money.

Challenging yourself everyday with techniques will help you grow muscles, however when you are not experiencing continual growth you should consider other options. Your muscle growth will plateau if you are doing the same things every week, as it satisfies the effort you put into it. By adding just a bit more weight each time, You can push yourself to surpass previous workouts.

You also need the proper amount of rest and recovery. Get plenty of restful sleep to recover from muscle inflammation and soreness by resting more often.

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Secrets to Natural Bodybuilding, Alcohol Kills Your Muscle Gain

Thursday, October 30th, 2008

by Ricardo d Argence

Alcohol really affects the muscle growth process and in the next few lines I am going to tell you why.

Too much alcohol will almost definitely have a significant negative impact on your muscle-building results. Alcohol is far more harmful than most people think, and it’s very important that you understand how this drug is affecting your progress.

It negatively affects protein synthesis. Protein is made by the joining of amino acids to form complete proteins. The problem becomes obvious when you realize that your muscles, which are composed of mostly protein, work less when alcohol is consumed in large amounts.

Alcohol reduces the amount of testosterone in the body and raises the body’s estrogen level. Testosterone is the most important muscle-building hormone in your body. However much a person lifts weights, their testosterone levels limit their peak muscle mass. Higher free testosterone levels will help you burn fat and build huge muscles.

Alcohol causes dehydration. The kidneys must filter very large amounts of water in order to break down the alcohol, and this can result in severe dehydration within the body. Water plays an absolutely crucial role in the muscle-building process, and being even slightly dehydrated is a recipe for disaster. The muscles alone are comprised of 70% water.

Significant vitamins such as A, C, B, Calcium and several others are depleted quickly when you drink alcohol. Natural supplements keep your bodies running correctly and much of this is related to muscular development and maintaining such.

Alcohol can actually be quite fattening with its 7 empty calories per gram. Drinking can also mess with the Kreb’s Cycle, which is critical to burning more fat.

Alcohol consumption affects the quality of your sleep, more so when you consume the alcohol during the hours you normally sleep. Obviously, a good night’s sleep each night is crucial to the development of muscle mass. You must also get in enough rest and recovery or your efforts will be thwarted.

It’s important to have fun in life, but too much fun can lead to problems. If you’re serious about achieving significant muscle-building results, you definitely need to monitor your intake of alcohol and make sure that you are consuming it in moderation.

Don’t be afraid to go out and have a good time once in a while, just make sure to keep your drinking nights infrequent and properly nourish yourself to lessen its effects.

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Ways To Improve Your Muscle Gain

Wednesday, October 29th, 2008

by Jason Storm

There are a lot of people that are using a lot of their time to work out and still are not able to get the body they are desiring. Others have found a way that works alright but still have the feeling that it could be better. If you fit into one of these groups - read on.

There are definitely ways to go about your time at the gym that will make the results come much easier. In this article I will examine some of the things you can do to get the muscle gain you are looking for.

There are a lot of mistakes that people do that make them work much harder than they need to. The most common are: -To not use weights that are enough heavy -To do more reps than they should -To spend to long hours at the gym -To not let the muscles rest long enough in between their work outs

First of all, the weights. They should be heavy. Make sure that you wouldn’t be able to make one more lift after your last rep, this is how heavy they should be. If this is not the case your body will not be triggered to produce much more muscle tissue and you will not be able to see your muscles grow.

Using light weight often lead to people making tons of reps instead, feeling that it is easy and thinking that if they lift 50 times they will see more gain. This is not the best way to work out. To do fewer reps with heavy weights will give you the best results. For most muscle groups 3 sets of 6-8 reps is a good number and make sure that the resting time between your sets are less than 1 minute. Remember fewer reps means that you have made your muscles work out the best.

Some people think that the more time they spend at the gym, the more muscles they will gain. This is simply not true. The energy that’s stored in your body in form of carbohydrates lasts for no longer than 45 minutes while working out. After that, you body might use the protein in your muscles to get the energy it needs to be able to perform. Make it a habit to spend only 30-45 minutes each session.

You also want to make sure that you let each muscle group you have been working out rest for 2 days until you work them again. This ensures that they will be able to build up the muscle tissue properly.

These few things are basic knowledge that is important to have when you want to gain muscles properly. This builds a stable base and from there you can experiment with different exercises and find the ones that works best for you.

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Trampoline Exercises - A Healthy And Fun Workout

Friday, October 24th, 2008

by Ned DAgostino

Sure you can drive down just about any neighborhood street and find kids having a great time jumping on a trampoline, but don’t make the mistake of thinking that this is simply a kid’s toy. The fact is that adults are quickly learning that trampolines are not only fun, but that trampoline exercises are a great way to get fit.

Let’s face it, most exercise routines quickly become boring. That’s why it’s difficult to stay with them for any length of time. Trampolines on the other hand are fun. Plus you will lose weight and tone your muscles without buying tons of additional equipment.

Trampoline exercises are beneficial because they provide a healthy cardiovascular workout. Similar to jogging on a treadmill or running around a track, your heart pumps faster and your vital organs become stronger. You’ll lose weight faster because your metabolism goes up. You’ll have more endurance because your blood flow increases, ridding your body of harmful toxins.

The constant jumping motion will quickly tone your leg muscles. And if you want to target your back muscles, you can do this by keeping your legs straight as you jump. You can even work your arms by swinging them every time your feet hit. And for increased strength and resistance, putting a small dumbbell in your hands or weights on your ankles will help. However it’s recommended that you only add the extra weight after you’ve been exercising for a while.

People with back problems often find trampoline exercises helpful. The jumping motion tends to release strain or tension that may be building up. And these exercises are low impact, which means you’re not putting any additional stress on your muscles or joints. If you’ve been jogging but find that the constant pounding is causing pain in your knees, ankles or back, a trampoline is a great substitute. This is even more beneficial if you are just getting back into exercise after a leg injury.

And it’s your body weight being used to tone and strengthen muscles, no additional weight is needed.

It’s been proven many times over that exercise is crucial at any age. Senior citizens can benefit from a trampoline as well. Just 20 minutes each day will give you a great workout without straining muscles, bones and joints.

Look, if you spend some time every night watching the television, your favorite movie DVD’s or listening to music, why not do it while jumping on a trampoline? You’ll burn those unwanted calories, give your muscles a great workout, and increase your lung capacity. Simply put, you’ll be more healthy for it.

And because you’ll be having fun, there’s also a better chance you’ll stay with your workout program for a much longer time.

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