March 26, 2009
Tired of looking in the mirror and not seeing the superman that you want to be? Do you crave to have the Hollywood hunk abs and biceps? Most of us do, but the entire process of getting muscles is simply strenuous. Hollywood actors have all the time in the world to bulk up and have an army of trainers and experts to help them, and this could cost an arm and a leg. But even with those aspects gaining muscle is not going to happen if there is no determination.
For one thing, it’s undeniably extremely hard to gain muscles; there is no doubt about it. You have to invest a lot of time and patience. You must have full commitment to meet your goal. But aside from just going under a rigorous training program, there are certainly numerous aspects one must consider. All of these aspects together can help make a program effective and let you achieve your goal at the fastest time possible.
Here are the three essential steps in those aspects which can greatly determine the success a person will have in gaining muscles.
A) Have proper diet - Many people misinterpret the word “diet.” A lot of them think that diet equates to starving one’s self. A diet means that a person, depending on his goal, has the proper and correct food intake. If you are thinking of gaining muscle and weight, then eating more calories than what you would be expecting to burn when you have an extensive workout would be necessary to fuel the growth of muscles. You will need to have a balanced intake of protein, soy and fats. A nutritionist or dietitian will be able to help you know what is good for you.
B) Develop a strength training program – Muscles are built when they are regularly pushed to the limit. Perpetual couch potatoes don’t build muscles, they grow guts. You must develop a strength training program which would make you lift weights that you won’t be able to easily lift. This should go on until you progress to heavier weights. Your muscle will react to the heavy lifting and will grow to compensate for the needed strength to lift the heavy weights. As you move on to heavier weights, the muscle will continually grow for strength compensation.
C) Have sufficient rest – Contrary to popular belief, your muscles don’t grow while your lifting weights, they grow when they are resting. As you work out, your muscles are strained and flexed to their limit, especially if you lift the proper weights. When you go to sleep, the damaged muscles will be repaired by the body and this is time when they grow. 8 hours of sleep daily is the minimum requirement for proper muscle growth.
Some of the people add medications and supplements which can augument growth of muscles. Be sure that muscle growth agents are safe and legal for you as now a days many of them are available in the market.
So there it is the three basic essentials one would need to follow in gaining muscle. Commit to these basics and you will see that all your efforts will not go to waste. Now get off that couch and start pumping iron.
March 21, 2009
A well balanced diet and the proper workout regimen always work hand in hand in gaining muscle. If you are going for a well sculpted body with fine cuts and muscle definition, then you need to lose all the unwanted body fats in your body. This doesn’t mean though that you have to starve yourself, on the contrary, you need to eat more, more of the types of food that can increase your metabolism.
Dieting is not just about eating small amount of food, it’s more about having the proper eating habits. Remember the food pyramid? It is all about having knowledge about your diet that what to take more and what to take less. Eat plenty of whole grains, vegetables, and fruits. Limit your intake of fatty and sugary foods. But in gaining muscle, you need to have the proper amount of calories which will help fuel muscle growth and development. So preparing a special diet is in order. Getting the services of a dietitian or nutritionist can help you a lot.
At first you may think that you are not losing weight fast enough. But if your goal is gaining muscle, then losing weight is not as fast as it would be when working out for the purpose of losing weight alone. This is because in a lose weight and gain muscle program, your weight reduction in body fat will be appended by the weight gain of muscle growth. It is a good thing because your weight will not be due to accumulation of body fat but will represent the muscles you have developed.
Increasing your metabolism is essential in your workout as this is the process that boosts and generates energy for the body to help in developing your muscles. Because you have developed a good diet, you will be able to tweak the maximum efficiency of your body in order to produce energy which is required during work outs. Even all your normal activities like walking, sleeping, breathing and plain sitting require energy, so imagine how much would be needed when working out strenuously?
For gaining muscle, you will indeed be working out strenuously. You will be doing lots of strength training and weight lifting. Heavy weights will greatly help you in developing muscles. This can get very tiring though, so you really have to be determined in keeping up with your program. A professional trainer will be able to provide you a specialized strength training that will be able to maximize your training time.
Your attitude towards developing yourself will also make a big impact. You must be persistent and patient. Muscles don’t grow overnight. In fact, you won’t really be able to notice them in the first few weeks. But don’t be discouraged, just stick with your program. The body and muscle pains you feel after working out is a clear sign that what you’re doing is working. Feel the burn.
Therefore there it is, the basics in losing weight and gaining muscle. It’s not just about breaking a sweat, its all about laser targeting all the aspects involved. A good diet (proper eating habits), and a rigid strength training and workout regimen, will definitely set you on the road to losing weight, gaining muscle, and basically bring out a better looking and healthier you.
March 13, 2009
More than having a spectacular looking chest muscles, a bulging biceps and triceps combo, most people would definitely want a well toned and sculpted six pack abs. The problem though is that the stomach muscles is one of the most difficult to develop. Well not really, they are developed as the same rate as the other muscles are, but, because body fat can also be very difficult to get rid off in that area, for stomach muscles to easily be seen, you first have to get rid of your body fat in that area.
There are so many body builders who get easily discouraged because after all their hard work they are not able to see any developments. Little do they know, their stomach muscles are already progressing, but they are not able to see the progress as there are fats covering the muscles in that area. Most of them would just get discouraged and abandon the idea. So what needs to be done then? First things first, one must not be easily discouraged, you may already have great looking abs underneath all your stomach fats, so the common thing to do is to get rid of the fats to make them show.
What you need to do to eliminate fat is to do some hard hitting cardio exercises to eliminate the fat and sweat them all away. To do this, you must go in a diet, no, I’m not saying starving yourself, all you need to do is to burn away all the calories you ingest. So even if you pig out, it’s okay all you need to do is to burn them all away, that is if you’re willing to do cardio exercises half of the day.
So to avoid this predicament, keep away from foods heaping with saturated fats. A diet of pizzas, burgers and processed meat will do you no wonders, that is if your goal is setting the record for the heaviest person on the whole world or the fastest weight gain in a year.
Some of the best cardio exercises you can do won’t even cost you a cent. The point here is to get your heart rate running at full nitro mode. Swimming, biking, running and maybe going up and down on the stairs fast can easily help in achieving your target. Anything that can make you sweat and get your heart rate pumping will do the job. Doing this for about 15 to 30 minutes each day will show significant results. In no time at all, you will be burning body fat in no time at all.
Cardio exercises though will only work if you already have developed abs. So if you don’t, you should integrate exercises that will shock your stomach muscles to develop. Crunches in different forms would be ideal. Avoid doing the same exercises everyday as the muscles may get accustomed to them and just adapt to them inhibiting muscle growth. On one day work around your center muscles, the other day work on the side muscles.
Also try to increase the intensity of your workout. Use weights if possible. This is so that the muscles don’t easily get accustomed to the exercise and make it comfortable with the process.
February 24, 2009
High school, most of us have many happy memories about it. Many of our most memorable experiences come from this carefree moment in our lives. And as each student prepare for this time of their lives, they also discover the joy of meeting the opposite sex. Teenage boys for one will do most anything to create a good impression and one of them is having a well chiseled body. This is when most teenage boys would think about working out and lifting weights.
Think about the time when you where a teenager? Do you continually compare muscle gain with some of your friends? It was that then and it is still that way now. In fact, it is more prevalent today as more teenage boys are becoming more conscious of their bodies. There is simply no denying it; gaining muscle is the in thing.
As a parent, it is wise to support this mentality, not only will your teenage son be able have a healthier body, they will also develop self confidence. The problem is, some boys would go take the easier route. They would take steroids or whatever to help facilitate the fastest way in gaining muscle; this will not help them at all, especially in the determination and motivation department. Parents are considerably accountable for showing the appropriate way to increase muscles to their teenage children .
The best way to gain muscles would always be the tried and tested means, the proper diet and a rigorous and painstaking weight lifting workout regimen. A proper diet will be determined if your son is overweight or underweight. In the first scenario, your kid should lose weight first and eliminate body fat. Muscle building will follow suit after at least a significant weight loss is experienced.
This diet would mean eliminating fats and calories; just enough should remain for fueling muscle growth. In the latter, it is the opposite, a skinny kid should eat more but should have the proper intake so that body fat is not created, rigorous strength training should be done simultaneously to build up bulk, mostly of muscles.
It is not advisable to immediately push a teenage boy into a full intense workout as their body is still developing. They should be gradually introduced in the program to allow their body to adjust. Make sure also that they have sufficient rest as teenage boys are a bundle of energy. Redirecting this energy in a well planned workout program will allow them to maximize the use of their energy.
Most importantly though it is the attitude that should be set first before embarking on a gaining muscle journey. Teenage boys are easily distracted and they can easily forget that they are working on a goal. They must be determined to finish what they will be starting. With full commitment, they will be able to achieve success in gaining muscle in no time at all.
These are just some of the things one must consider when starting a program of gaining muscle. There are lots more, but most importantly, it is all about discipline. Having a healthy and great looking body works wonders to a person, especially to a teenage boy. On this fruitful journey nothing is there quite like the present time to keep the first step. So there you go.