December 16, 2009
There are different types of muscle fibers that are in each muscle. When all types of muscle fibers are exercised the muscle gets stronger. For some specific exercise combinations that use all types of muscle fiber, this article on a workout plan. Fast twitch and slow twitch are the two main fiber categories, and fast twitch fibers are further categorized as Type A and Type B. Nearly all of muscles consist of about half fast twitch and half slow twitch fibers. An exercise program that works the entire muscle - both fiber types - builds more muscle.
The fiber that uses anearobic energy is the fast twitch fiber, it is required for short bursts of strength or energy. Anaerobic means they work using the energy stored in your body. The neurons in fast twitch muscle fibers fire more rapidly, so the fibers fatigue more rapidly, than slow twitch fibers. Sprinters use fast twitch muscles because they use a lot of power for a very short time.
Type A fast twitch muscles are considered transitional fibers, using both aerobic and anaerobic energy to create energy. These muscle fibers are used for activities that are relatively short, but not at full speed. Only anaerobic metabolism is used by Type B fast twitch muscle fibers. Type B fast twitch muscle fibers have a contraction rate faster than any other muscle fibers so they fatigue quickly. You will use your Type B fast twitch muscle fibers when you require a lot of energy really fast.
Slow twitch muscle fibers are aerobic. These fibers contract slower and do not produce a lot of strength, but they are also slow to fatigue so they can work for an extended period. Energy for these muscles is provided by oxygen rich blood transported to them through the many capillaries running through the fibers. Low intensity exercises executed over a long period use slow twitch muscle fibers. Some examples are marathon running, an extended bike ride or hiking in the mountains.
Your strength training workout should exercise all three types of muscle fibers so you can have the energy you want for whatever type of exercise you choose to do. You can find reviews of programs that adhere to this principal at Turbulence Training Review and No Nonsense Muscle Building Review. There are a lot of programs out there, but next I’ll give you some ideas on how to train each muscle type - you could easily make up your own program.
Choose an exercise that requires maximum effort for a very short time to train your fast twitch type B muscle fibers which are completely anaerobic. Sprint at full speed or lift a weight that you can only do one repetition to fatigue. Lower the intensity and increase the time to work your fast twitch Type A muscles - run fast but do not sprint for 20 minutes or lift a weight that you can do 6 - 10 reps to fatigue. When you train for endurance you are strengthening slow twitch muscles. Training for endurance means running longer, swimming a lot of laps or lifting weights low enough so you can do 3 sets of 6 - 10 reps. This training is necessary to build the entire muscle even though it will take more time than the training for fast twitch muscles.
November 15, 2009
People who are new to natural body building, may be looking at those pictures of the body builders in the competition and just simply cannot wait to get there themselves. They will ultimately look for any shortcuts possible and available. Taking these short cuts will harm your body building efforts in the long run, they are best to be avoided and at all costs as well. Of course there are safe ways to quicken the process of muscle building program and these ways are safe but still take a lot longer than the dangerous short cuts, thats why so many resort to the dangerous short cuts.
The worst thing you could ever do as a short cut is to start taking steroids. Steroids will make you much, much bigger than you were before and in a shorter period of time. Be aware though that taking steroids will have serious health problems and consequences attached to the use of steroids. Steroids also have what could be unwanted side effects for certain people. Take for example, if you are male, and you begin to take steroids to bulk up quicker, it will not take too long before you become sterile, you will be impotent, you may find you are growing breasts, and you find that your testicles have become very small. All of these things are very serious and permanent, once you start there is no going back.
The good and healthy shortcuts to take, however, are the ones that involve the body builder taking what is known as bodybuilding supplements. Taking the various vitamin and mineral supplements will help you to bulk up much faster. Having a nutritious diet, a specific diet for body builders, and eating six times per day will also help you to see improvements much faster.
Another healthy short cut is to not over train. You may be thinking that if you train more, you will get bigger in less time. This simply is not true. Muscles will not grow at all while you are actually working out, they will grow while they are resting, sleeping and therefore repairing. If you do not believe this statement, overtrain for a couple of weeks. Then for the next couple of weeks, do not overtrain yourself, and then you will see which method gets the best results. You can also do this in reverse to view the results.
July 13, 2009
With so much hype around these days i thought it would be interesting to take a look at how people build muscle and if there are really any muscle gaining secrets that you need to know?
We all know that if you workout regularly enough at the gym then you will be successfull at building bigger muscles, right?
Well it may not be quite as straight forward as that, the type of workout you do must be designed for a specific purpose and to achieve the results required.
For example, if you are training for a sport that requires great stamina your workouts will include a higher number of reps with lighter weight or resistance involved. You would probably not want to develop muscles that are too large as this can lead to a faster burn out time.
If however it is greater strength and larger muscle mass that is important, then your best workout will consist of a smaller number of sets and reps, but using larger weights and resistance.
People often do not understand that you do not actually put on muscle in the gym, this could be considered one of the “secrets” to gaining muscle. What really happens during your exercise schedule is that the muscle tissue is damaged and it is in between this, on your rest days, when the damage is repaired and the muscles regrow stronger and larger.
When thought about like this it becomes clear that your workout routine must include the correct exercises and adequate rest periods.
Diet and nutrition will also play a major part in the success of any muscle building program, making sure you have sufficient proteins, carbohydrates and other nutrients will ensure that your muscle repair and growth is maximised.
These are just a few of the “secrets” that can determine the success of any muscle building program, you can find out more about muscle gaining secrets here.
July 12, 2009
It is necessary for those of us who are regular bodybuilding enthusiasts to pay special attention to the muscle group’s structure as well as function while training. Though it is possible to get good results from simply performing muscle building exercises, it would nevertheless be of greater benefit to you to first understand the basics of bodybuilding anatomy and then proceed to build up an impressive physique.
If you use your knowledge about your muscle group’s structure as well as function to properly train, you will obtain the maximum from your endeavors and thus maximize the body’s strength as well as get larger and more powerful muscles. In addition, if you know your muscle building anatomy well such as understanding your muscle anatomy you will know clearly what the muscle appears as, and thus realize how the muscle’s work while you are bodybuilding.
Five Regions That Can Be Individually Exercised
There are basically five regions in the body for which different sets of bodybuilding workout can be used on each region, and these five regions comprise the arms and shoulders, back, chest as well as abdominal and legs. These regions are an integral part of the bodybuilding anatomy and when exercising the arms and shoulders there are four main muscle groups involved.
You can use the forearms to lift as well as lower weights as well as provide grip strength. For the biceps, you can use the traditional curl, while the triceps are often left underdeveloped, but are used for straightening of the elbow.
Deltoids are the main shoulder muscles and they can best be exercised by using dumbbell arm presses. Another part that is used and which forms an integral part of bodybuilding anatomy is the back, which if it is well developed, will be of vital importance for professional bodybuilders who can use a combination of lat lifts, dead lifts as well as rows for building up the back.
Another part of the bodybuilding anatomy that must be worked on is the chest region in which the main muscles are called the pectorals, which are muscles that need to be developed using traditional bench presses as well as dumbbell flies.
The other bodybuilding anatomy region that needs to be developed is the leg, which has three muscle groups including the calf, quadriceps as well as hamstrings in the upper leg. These three muscle groups can be worked with the help of machine lifts as well as by doing squats as well as lunges.
The final bodybuilding anatomy region that you need to work on is the abdominal region, which is centrally located on the body and is of great importance to developing the muscles properly for core strength as well as for letting the body rest as also to get the right appearance which is necessary during bodybuilding competitions.