Health and Fitness

Building muscle without any fat gain is not realistic, but we can improve the muscle-to-fat ratio fairly easily. Certain people may claim that 100% lean gains are possible, but they are either blessed with a godlike metabolism, using drug intervention or are fine with gaining very slight amounts of muscle every year. OR! Quite possibly just full of male bovine excretions. Hint, hint.

My favourite tool in this matter is carbohydrate cycling and if you Google the term you will easily find several hundred guides on how to do this – and most of them are quite technical. Now, if you are a professional athlete or a body builder you are probably already used to calculate your daily energy requirements and dietary specifics with surgical precision, and the more technical guides would more than likely be right down your alley. This guide however is more of a lifestyle approach to carbohydrate cycling and involves no calorie counting, just basic knowledge and awareness.

Carbohydrate rich energy sources are anything like pasta, rice, potatoes, bread, cereal, certain fruit and vegetables and all sweet sugary goodness on the lolly and soft drink shelves. They will also be chucked into your pre and post-exercise drinks that I would assume you are having already. To cycle carbs effectively we need to have no two consecutive days look exactly the same (carbohydrate wise), and the simplest way to do this is to do your weight work on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Because naturally, you will have your workout shakes on those days as well as your heavier meals (or at least so you should). Then all you need to do is to make sure that you have fewer carbohydrates on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Aim to reduce them by roughly 25%, which means that if you had a total of two servings of cereal, four loafs of bread and eight servings of rice, you reduce it to cereal servings, three loafs of bread and six servings of rice. Roughly, because removing your exercise shakes on your off-days will take away some carbohydrates as well, but we are not being anal here.

More than 25% is fine as long as you don’t reduce your energy intake too much and thus impacting your weight gains. And yes, I know that Saturday and Sunday follow one and other, but weekends have a tendency to be varied anyway, with either Saturday or Sunday being slightly different (you know what I’m talking about).

I have found great success using this formula, but if your diet is not in order, carbohydrate cycling may still help you in some way, but certainly not a lot. You should always see to perfect your eating habits and the basics first, before you ever go technical – even with a lifestyle approach like this one.

Anders N W Lindgreen is a Certified Fitness Specialist. Visit his website for free articles and e-books featuring the unbiased truth on Personal Fitness Training and Corporate Health and Fitness.

written by Anders N W Lindgreen \\ tags: Building Muscle, Gain Muscle, Gain Weight, muscle building

How naturally big your muscles are is generally determined by the genes that you inherit. This doesn’t mean that you should resign yourself to the physique that you were born with. Through good dieting and an effective workout routine, any healthy person will be able to build and tone muscles, creating a healthier and more attractive body at the same time.

The most important muscle building tips to keep in mind are to include high quality proteins on your diet, exercising with both free weights and exercise machines, as well as allowing your muscles to recover after every 2nd or 3rd day of exercise.Remember to eat a balanced diet modified to incorporate added protein.

Carbohydrates ensure that you have a supply of energy that your body can utilize throughout the day. The added protein also helps to maintain energy levels by keeping your blood glucose levels stable. The body also uses a good amount of the protein and turns it into muscle. Breakfast is the most important meal of your day because it will supply you with added energy at the beginning of the day and kick-start your metabolism, allowing you to burn any unwanted fat quickly and more efficiently.

Just relying on protein from meats will be insufficient for your needs if you are looking to put on more muscle. You can supply your diet with additional protein through protein powders and protein bars that provide added amino acids that are essential for building muscle. One should not ignore the other components of a balanced diet however, such as fruits, vegetables and grains. Simply keep in mind though that there should be added focus on supplying the body with the protein that is needed to sustain growth and development of muscle

Working out with free weights and machines signals the brain that more muscle is needed to accommodate this new change in lifestyle. Generally speaking, by placing additional stress on existing muscles, you deceive your body into building more muscle to get stronger. Exercise machines are great for toning and strengthening muscles, but for most purposes free weights are more effective when incorporated into your muscle-building routine.

Remember to rest your body and muscles every 2nd or 3rd day. This is something that is especially important when you are just starting out with your muscle-building routine. A lot of people have a tendency to overwork themselves at the beginning and forget to allow their muscles to recover from the damage. Muscles risk injury when not allowed time to heal and grow. By resting your body after strenuous workouts, the body is able to grow muscle much more quickly.

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written by Jay Coleman \\ tags: bodybuilding, Building Muscle, Exercise, Gain Muscle, How to Build Muscle, muscle building, Weight Training, Workouts

Are you in the market for gain muscle secrets? For anyone who wants to look bigger and bulk up, chances are you could use a little help. There are a number of methods that will help you bulk up faster and this article will take a look at some of the easiest ones. They are all natural methods, but you will see results if you implement them.

Boosting your calories will certainly help with the bulking up. It can be tough to eat more if you’re not hungry, though, so you’ll need to make sure you choose your foods wisely. Read labels and make sure you are eating more calorie dense foods.

In addition to eating calorie dense foods, you ought to be eating several times a day. That means no more three big meals, but around 5-7 smaller ones. Basically, you’ll be feeding your body a steady stream of energy so you can keep up your energy levels.

Lower the amount of sets you do per session. It’s best to stick to the ideal range for building muscle, which is six to twelve sets at a time. While you can increase to 20, that’s pushing it and you’ll lower the effectiveness. Try to keep sessions to less than an hour, too.

Working with a controlled speed is also best. Slow reps will give you far more muscle growth than moving quickly. Heavier weights, when combined with slower movements will give you the desired results.

By doing very limited cardio, you’ll maximize the burning of fat, rather than muscle. This doesn’t actually grow muscles, but it does help them become more defined. Run for two or three minutes, jog for five, etc. This type of sprinting exercise is perfect for getting those fat levels down without harming the muscle tissue. Keep cardio to thirty minutes and don’t do more than two days a week.

Change things up often. This helps keep the muscles growing, since they don’t just get into the rhythm of one specific movement. You should change your routine on a regular basis, every month or so. This doesn’t have to be a major change, but something needs to be switched up. Doing this will also help prevent boredom with your routines.

Balance is the key to successful training. While you are working on biceps, for example, work out other areas of your body, as well. You’ll up the benefits of hormone release, without overworking a specific set of muscles. That can be insanely useful.

Don’t forget to stretch, since this will keep muscles from being injured and will help you stick to the routines you’ve selected. It’s easy to get fatigued which can cause you to give up your routine. You should also make sure that you take the time to recover from everything. It is vital that you get some sleep at night. 8 hours should be the goal on most nights.

There aren’t really any gain muscle secrets, as it were. These are all things that anyone can and should be doing. If you really want to bulk up, then you can work on eating frequently, varying your workouts and getting enough sleep.

Learn more about Gain Muscle Secrets. Stop by Sharon Taylor’s site where you can find out all about Gain Muscle Secrets and what it can do for you.

written by Sharon Taylor \\ tags: Gain Muscle, Gain Muscle Secrets, Grow Muscles, muscle building, Secrets to Gain Muscle

When you want to find some muscle building tips, pay attention to the type of genetics that you have. There is some advice that is generic for anyone wanting to build muscle. Other advice, however, will be specific to those people who are skinny and have trouble bulking up.

People who are generally skinny usually have the kinds of genetic structure that does not allow for easy muscle gain. It’s not that it is impossible. Your exercise regimen just needs to be approached more seriously than some other people need to do. You will need to create a program that takes your body type into consideration.

One thing that you need to do is to be sure you get lots of rest after working out. This is important for everyone, especially when exercising. But skinny people have faster metabolisms than others do. Therefore, they need to rest more after exercising so that their bodies have the energy needed to recover and build muscle.

You are also going to need more frequent meals. Good nutrition is necessary for building muscle, as are an adequate amount of calories. With a fast metabolism, you will need to put more care than most people into making sure you get all the calories you need.

One important way to help with your calorie and nutrition intake is to take protein supplements. Your body needs many elements to build muscle but protein is one of the most important. You can also eat other good quality protein foods such as fish and complex carbohydrates like pastas and rice.

When trying to build muscle, it is best for skinny people to not do aerobic exercise. Exercises of this type increase the metabolism which already works against you. It is also better to use the time between weight training sessions getting lots of rest.

Make sure that you push yourself so that you each workout is challenging. It is best if each session is short but intense. It can be helpful to work out with a friend, preferably who has the same problem that you do in building muscle. It can also be helpful to hire a trainer who can help motivate you as well as to develop a training program that is geared towards a skinny person bulking up.

Keep alternating your workout routine every few weeks so your muscles continue to be challenged. Also vary the number of reps you do so that you can target both slow twitch as well as fast twitch fibers. This will help you build muscle more effectively.

Do what you can to speed up and improve your recovery between workouts. Icing, epsom salt baths and massages can all help to do this. Make sure you are drinking lots of water and that your electrolyte balance is good.

Whether or not you are skinny, keeping track of your exercise results is important. Give yourself small goals that will challenge you but that you can reach. Keep a diary to record your diet and your workouts. Smaller goals keep you motivated. Also keep looking for new muscle building tips. There always are new discoveries being made.

If you would like an step by step muscle building program check out No Nonsense Muscle Building

written by Jay Coleman \\ tags: bodybuilding, build muscle, Diet, Exercises, Gain Muscle, Hardgainers, Mens Issues, muscle building, muscle building for skinny guys, Nutrition, six pack abs, Supplements Vitamins, weight lifting, Workout Routines, Workouts

You open a muscle building magazine, and this advert screams out at you, “Gain 10 pounds of muscle in 3 days.”.

A few before and after pictures as well as the massive musculature of the model grinning at you are almost enough to convince you.

Strategically placed phrases like “scientifically proven” and “the secret professionals use” will make you reach for your telephone and credit card.

But wait!

Gaining 10 pounds of muscle in 3 days is impossible.

There, I’ve put the truth out there for you.

Unless some space-age surgical procedure can artificially graft on additional muscles, it just isn’t possible.

Don’t believe the ads; I don’t care what they promise you.

All of these ads, magazines, and websites are nothing more than a multi-billion dollar scam and the perpetrators are the supplement industry.

This multi-billion dollar industry routinely puts out advertisements like this, accompanied by fake testimonials and flimsy research “proving” why their supplement is the best and telling you how it can help you gain 10 pounds of muscle over a short period of time.

In reality, it’s all a big scam.

While some of the supplements on the market are good, even those won’t allow you to gain 10 pounds of muscle in a few days.

Even the best supplements cannot replace hard work in the gym, and that’s the truth.

Whatever the claim is, if a supplement promises to help you gain 10 pounds of muscle or burn fat at thrice the normal rate, you should decide on how good the supplement is based on sound research and not phony testimonials.

Everyone would know about such a supplement and every trainer worth his salt would recommend this supplement, if it really did exist.

It is possible to gain 10 pounds of muscle, but not in 3 days.

Here’s how you can gain much more than 10 pounds of muscle: Go to the gym regularly, train all the parts of your body in a scientific manner, progressively overload your workouts, eat right, and get enough rest.

Supplements can also help you grow, but not in the way they promise in the ads.

Truthfully, only a handful of supplements out there can make you get better results.

When looking at these advertisements and testimonials, use common sense and take them with a pinch of salt, because most of the testimonials are inaccurate or scripted.

The “research” behind these claims, which “prove” how you can gain 10 pounds of muscle in a few days, is mostly faked or altered cleverly to lead you to believe that the tests were performed on humans.

In reality, though, the tests were probably performed on lab animals like rats and mice, and you can’t relate the data from this trumped-up research to humans.

Look for a reference from the research material, and cross check it on PubMed.

You’ll probably find that the research is horribly skewed or just doesn’t exist.

If you want to naturally gain 10 pounds of muscle in the fastest possible way, I can tell you the honest truth about how.

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written by Chris Morrison \\ tags: Big Muscles, bodybuilding, fitness, Gain Muscle, gain weight fast, get ripped, grow big, muscle building, Muscles