There is a common belief in the mainstream, that for maximum (or even effective fat loss) you need to do some form of regular cardio to lose fat. This is simply wrong of course because many people have just dieted to lose fat, without any form of excercise. Of course this is a bodybuilding site, therefore dieting only is not ideal, since it doesn’t preserve muscle that well.
The next decision when going on a cutting phase, is whether or not cardio is even necessary? Weight training is actually more effective than low intensity cardio. Then there is HIIT cardio, which is much tougher to do, but is about as effective as weight training for fat loss. You would still have to do weight training for either form of cardio, to help preserve lean muscle preservation and strength.
Let’s get one thing straight: The cornerstone of a championship physique is nutrition. Without proper food intake, you can never realize your full genetic and physique potential. For whatever reason, most bodybuilders tend to neglect the importance of healthy eating. They may feel that proper nutrition is not that important, or they use the excuse that they don’t have time to eat properly. Yet when these guys don’t make any significant progress in muscular growth or strength, they automatically blame their training routines.
To compound the problem, the next erroneous step many bodybuilders make is to add extra sets and reps to their workouts. Doing so is like throwing a weighted vest to a drowning man.
This is a very usefull chart of calories burned per hour during various activities. Remember that these are only guidelines, your lean muscle percentage, skill and fitness level will alter your expenditure. Amazing to see that you use 2 to 3 times as much calories for any activity if you weight 122 kg compared to 44 kg.
Acne, a problem that many bodybuilders have to deal with. You have a great body, but because off all the nutrition your acne has been increasing. This article shows you the few different ways of curing and treating acne.
Non inflammatory acne is easier to treat than inflammatory acne. For black heads and whiteheads you can do the following:
Using a honey mask over the face once or twice a week has anti-bacterial agents which help fight infections and heal blemishes. You should also wash your face at least twice a day; Once in the day time and once at night preferably before bed time. And it’s also recommended that you use a special sulfur based acne soap for efficient cleansing.
Include a type of chromium in your daily diet. Chromium is known to heal infections on the skin. Read the rest of this entry »
Thou Shall Fail: I used to do 8-12 reps for all of my sets, even if I had it in me to do another rep or two. Now I rep it out until I can’t possible do another, and only then do I put the weights down
Thou Shall Think Wide: I’ve always been good at close-grip upright rows, but lately I’ve changed my grip. Now I take a wider grip on the bar because the wider you go, the more the middle delt is involved. The move is much harder than you’d think, and very humbling: I can do 225 pounds for the close-grip row, but I’m lucky if I can get 90-100 pounds for the wide-grip row.
Thou Shall Strap in: I use straps for my shrugs and upright rows because I don’t want to lose my grip with fairly heavy weights. I have pretty small joints, and my grip gives out long before the target muscle does. For example, I like to shrug with about 500 pounds on the barbell-without the straps my hands unravel a couple reps into the set.
Thou Shall Keep it Fresh: I never do the same workout twice. I change my exercises, the order, and the reps and sets. I also integrate machines into my workout, and do drop sets and forced reps to keep my body guessing and keep making progress. When your body adapts to a particular routine or exercise scheme, it’s time to make changes.
I’m sure you’ve heard the expression: ‘you are what you eat’ and that is true to a certain extent. If you overeat, you’ll become fat. If you under eat, you’ll become skinny. But, if you eat a burger once in a while - you will not become a burger (not even once in a while.)
In bodybuilding, there seems to be a huge aversion to eating any fast food. My thinking is that some people just take it too seriously, and will sacrifice even the good stuff in life - like a bucket of KFC and a McDonalds once in a while - for fear of losing progress or just on principle. Bully for them. Read the rest of this entry »
Estrogen is considered a dirty word among bodybuilders, especially those looking for chemical enhancement with steroids. Estrogen is considered a “female hormone” and therefore is thought that it should be reduced dramatically. Bodybuilders will often take aromotose inhibitors or SERMs in order to reduce the effect of estrogen in the body while taking testosterone.While reducing estrogen can help against prostate problems, bloat, gyno risk, and female fat pattern gain, it also plays a role in your muscle gains. For this reason, one must be careful to not reduce it too low.
For years, doctors have routinely reminded their patients to lower high cholesterol levels. Now, a new study suggests that having cholesterol levels that are too low might actually lead to a reduction in muscle gain during exercise.High cholesterol is linked to coronary heart disease and an increased risk of heart attack.
But the study, conducted by researchers at Texas A&M University, finds that the most impressive gains in muscle strength were achieved by study participants who had the highest cholesterol levels, rather than the lowest. Read the rest of this entry »
Bodybuilders have used Trenbolone and have found themselves developing gyno even though it doesn’t convert to estrogen. Gyno, also known as gynecomastia ( male breast growth), is often considered to be the result of estrogen. However, Tren has the unique ability to cause gyno without actually producing estrogen.
Bodybuilding is the sport of developing muscle fibers through the combination of weight training, increased caloric intake, and rest. Competitive bodybuilders display their physiques to a panel of judges, who assign points.
The sport is not to be confused with strongman competition or powerlifting, where emphasis is on actual physical strength, or with Olympic weightlifting, where emphasis is equally split between strength and technique. Read the rest of this entry »
Here are nine tips, for building muscle. These could help you!
Workout at least 3 times a week.
Stick to compound lifts such as barbell squats, bench press, power cleans, deadlifts.
Workout for only 45-60 minutes.
Make sure you get atleast 7-8 hours of sleep every night.
No alcohol. Or at least keep it to a minimum.
Try to stay away from junk foods and fast food joints. Or atleast keep it in moderation.
Getting some protein powder would be beneficial.
Practice perfect form while lifting. That means, no arching your back during bench press, or using alot of body english during dumbbell curls, keep your back straight, you get my drift.
And another thing thats going to help you gain muscle mass, is eat high calorie/high carb foods, but at the same time stay away from junk foods. Eat lean sources of protein from meats, vegetables, milk, and what not.
One of the most popular exercises in serious gyms is the dumbbell row. It’s an easy lift and works the large muscles of the upper body, producing far less lower-back discomfort than a barbell row.
The dumbbell row works the large latissimus dorsi muscles of the midback; the teres major, or upper lats; the middle and lower trapezius; the rhomboids and the rear delts, as well as the biceps, brachialis, brachioradialis and gripping muscles. The lats, upper lats and rear delts pull the upper arm backward. The middle and lower trapezius and rhomboids pull the shoulder blades close to the spine. The biceps, brachialis and brachioradials muscles of the arm bend, or flex, the elbow. So, as you can see, rowing motions target a significant amount of muscle mass.
America’s Dexter Jackson strikes a back pose during the 2007 IFBB Australian Bodybuilding Grand Prix in Melbourne
More and more the biggest challenge my clients face is sticking to their nutritional plan while on the road. Therefore in this article, I’ve compiled a list of my top 10 favorite strategies for maintaining your nutritional discipline when traveling.
Strategy #1 — Location, Location, Location
If you’re planning to take to the road for sport or for business, your first item of business is this—ensure that everything you need is in close proximity to where you’ll be working or playing. Location is key.
So let’s say you’re going to a week long conference at the Indiana Convention Centre and RCA Dome. Well first, get on the internet and find all the hotels nearest the Convention Centre. Next, give these hotels a call to find out where the nearest grocery stores, restaurants and gyms are located. Pick the hotel with the best combination of nearby resources. This way, even if you don’t get a rental car, you can easily walk or cab to your fitness and nutritional havens.
Skip this strategy and you’re giving yourself big excuses to skip workouts, miss meals, and make poor food selections while on the road.
HGH - Human Growth Hormone and Endorphins increase when you laugh - Improved autoimmune response and reduced Cortisol levels
Laughing is good for you, it increases endorphins by 27 percent and HGH by 87 percent said a study from Loma Linda University. Lee S. Berk, who is from the Department of Health Promotion and Education, School of Public Health and Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Loma Linda University, first presented the results of this study of laughter at the American Physiological Society session at Experimental Biology 2006. Read the rest of this entry »
Eugene
