Monday, 24 February 2014

body makes man perfect

Introduction

Are you satisfied with your current workout and nutritional progress. Do you see progress each and every week? Have you tried various training and nutritional programs and only find yourself tired, overtrained and no further ahead then when you started?

If you answered yes to either of the first two questions or can't relate to the last, then you've either just started training or your part of a very small minority. The fact is most people have grown to accept the fact that growth is either very slow or non-existent, maintenance instead of progress becomes the goal. This just doesn't have to be. Lack a good sound knowledge is the culprit. In the following series, I'll try and address all of the variables that effect progress. I'll discuss training, nutrition, supplementation and other topics. I'll help you develop a blue print for Bodybuilding success for Real people and Real Life Results.

The topic we'll discuss in this first series will be TRAINING. This could quite possibly be the most abused and misunderstood area in all of Bodybuilding. There is more bogus information floating around out there than there are McDonald's. Almost everyone overtrains. In the following paragraphs, I will outline a workout that will seem unrealistic and definitely out of the norm in comparison to mostly all of today's workout programs. However, if you opt to follow it and give it a try, you'll see results like you've never seen before. You'll actually begin making progress immediately and your goal will no longer be just maintenance. So keep an open mind and get ready to absorb some of the best workout information you've ever been given.

Basic Workout Principles & Information

All exercises should be performed with perfect form at a slow to moderate complete 'fuel' speed. You should always maintain complete control over the weight or machine.
At the fully contracted point of any movement, you should stop the movement dead and hold the weight for a full second. This is called a 'static connection' and it should be performed on every rep of every set of every exercise.
All sets are performed to complete failure.
Rep Ranges:

Light Sets: 6-8 Reps (For warm up purposes only)
Moderate Sets: 4-6 Reps (For warm up purposes only)
Heavy Sets: 6-10 Reps (There are your complete failure sets)
Intensity and Form are the two key factors.
Take 1 full days rest in-between workouts, occasionally you may need 2 days rest.
Light Aerobics is the only type of Aerobics you should do if you opt to do Aerobics. Light Aerobics would consist of the Life Cycle on level 1, the treadmill at 3 - 3.8 mph or walking at 3 - 3.8 mph. Your Aerobic sessions should be no longer than 25 - 45 minutes long. If you do light Aerobics on a training day, do so after your workout.
Switch Around Exercises Regularly: In other words, on chest day, don't always do the same exercise. One week, use a flat bench; another week use the incline bench. Rotate all your exercises for all your body parts on a regular basis. This works best on a two or three week rotation. It will help to keep from hitting sticking points, and it will help to keep your routine from getting boring.
Record your workout in a notebook or journal. You will continue to get bigger and stronger everyday. Guaranteed!!!
Warm up enough to avoid any injuries prior to the start of your workout, but don't turn your warm up into a workout.
Your weight training time should be 20 - 30 minutes per workout or 2 hours max per week.
With this training approach, there is no need to hit abdominals separately. They get stimulated each and every workout, and any more would be blatantly overtraining them. Plus hitting abdominals directly tends to create a thickness around the waist that isn't aesthetically appealing.

The Workout

Workout #1: Chest & Triceps

Chest (1 Super Set): Perform two warm up sets of bent arm flies. The first set should be very light and the second should be moderate (approximately 60% of the weight you'll use for your all out set). For the Super Set, choose either Flat Bench Flies, Incline Flies or Seated Fly Machine Flies (whichever one you warmed up with) and work 1 set to absolute failure. Immediately super set to either the Flat Bench Press, Incline Bench Press, or the Decline Bench Press, and with a narrow grip (shoulder width), perform 1 set to failure with your shoulders and elbows flared parallel.

This is the only exercise you'll do for chest. When you've completed this set, your chest will be completely stimulated. Any further movements or exercises would be considered overtraining and will eat into your recovery time.

Triceps (1 Drop Set): Choose 1 Triceps exercise. Pick a weight you feel you'll be able to perform 6 - 10 perfect reps, and work 1 set to failure. Immediately drop the weight by 50% and continue to work to complete failure. As with all sets, you should work every set to failure, however when you are able to perform 10 reps or more on any set, you should increase the amount of weight you are using at the next workout. In other words, for all exercises and set, 10 repetitions should be your graduating point. Just remember to always work every set to failure regardless of the rep count.

Now take one full days rest!

Workout #2: Hamstrings & Quads

Hamstrings (1 Drop Set): Choose one hamstring exercise. Perform two warm up sets. The first should be very light and the second should be moderate (approximately 60% of the weight you'll use on your all out set.) Next, pick a weight you'll be able to perform 6 - 10 perfect repetitions and work to failure. Immediately, drop the weight by 50% and continue to work to complete failure. That's all you need to do for hamstrings. Any zip you may have left in your hamstring you'll need for your compound quadriceps set. Just remember to write everything down and follow all the basic principles.

Quads (1 Super Set): For quads, you'll always super set using the leg extension first, followed by one compound exercise (either leg press, squats, hack squats, or smith machine squats). The idea is to pre-exhaust the quads with the leg extension, and then you'll be positive its your quads reaching failure first on your compound exercise, and not your glutes, back or other muscle groups. This is the main principle behind every super set in this entire workout. You should perform one light to moderate set of leg extensions and the compound exercise of your choice before you begin your all out set. Good luck, this one's a killer.

Now take one full days rest!

Workout #3: Calves & Shoulders

Calves (1 Drop Set): Choose one calve exercise. Do two warm up sets. The first warm up set should be very light. The second warm up set should be moderate (approximately 60% of the weight you'll use on your all out set). Next, choose a weight you can perform 6 - 10 repetitions with perfect form and work to failure. Immediately, drop the weight by 50% and work to complete failure. The purpose of drop sets here and throughout the workout is to stimulate every muscle fiber possible without overtraining. Believe it or not, your calves are finished.

Shoulders (1 Super set and 1 Set to Failure): For shoulders, your going to train your front and side delts first with a super set, and then you'll do one straight set to failure for your rear delts. Before starting, choose one type of lateral raise and choose one type of compound overhead pressing movement (like the Seated Frontal Barbell, or Dumbbell Presses). Warm up by doing one light to moderate set of each. Choose a weight for lateral raise that you can perform 6 - 10 perfect repetitions and work to failure. Immediately super set to the compound pressing movement and work to complete failure. You've completed front and side delts. Rest about 1 - 2 minutes, then choose a read delt raise, either machine or dumbbell. Perform one straight set to complete failure. Congratulations, you've completed your shoulders. They should be pumped and fried.

Now take one full days rest.

Workout #4: Back & Biceps

Back (3 Straight Sets, Includes Traps): The reasoning behind doing only straight sets for back is simple. The back is a large muscle group and to work it, you must recruit a lot of arm, in particular bicep help. Therefore, you most drop sets and super sets will guarantee bicep failure but won't guarantee total back failure. The answer to attacking the back is carefully thought out straight set pulldown. Perform two warm up sets before beginning your all out set. The first warm up set should be very light. The second warm up set should be moderate (approximately 60% of the weight you'll use on your all out set). Next, perform one straight set to complete failure. You should be able to perform 6 - 10 repetitions.

Your next back exercise will either be a bent over reverse grip row or a machine row. Choose one. Perform one straight set of 6 - 10 repetitions to complete failure. Form is of the utmost importance and you should also be very aware of holding your static contraction for at least one second on every rep.

The final back exercise is the shrug for your traps. Choose either cable, dumbbell, barbell or machine shrugs. One light warm up set is advised on this exercise. Once you've completed your warm up, perform one straight set of 6 - 10 perfect repetitions to complete failure. Your back is finished.

Biceps (1 Drop Set): By this point, your biceps should be somewhat pre-exhausted from your back workout. Choose one bicep exercise and perform one set of 6 - 10 perfect repetitions to complete failure. Immediately drop the weight by 50% and finish the biceps off by working to complete failure. Your biceps are finished, they should feel like they're about to blow through your skin.

Take one to two days off (Judged by how you feel).

Summary

This workout is based on the 'more is not better' philosophy. High intensity, low volume, and increased rest are the principles behind this workout. Any and all who've tried it have experienced success. Bodybuilding doesn't have to be a long and tedious process which yields little and slow gains. With this type of workout, you'll begin making progress as early as day one. Dorian Yates, Mike Mentzer, Arthur Jones and others have all written and talked about similar programs. Give this workout a try. I'm sure you'll see size and strength increases like you've never seen before. Add good nutrition, rest and supplementation (all of which we'll talk about in future issues) to the program, and your progress could be infinite. Until next time, training intense and smart, and drink your Critical Mass as soon as your done training.

10 Ways To Gut Out Your Gut!

by Mike Roussell, Ph.D. Apr 28, 2005

10. Take Measurements

You'll never reach your destination if you don't know your starting point. A great place to begin .

This will allow you to set accurate goals and measure progress. The most accurate (and available) method of measuring body fat percent is the skin-fold method.

This is a simple process that only requires a scale, a bodyfat caliper, and an equation. If you don't have body fat calipers, then take girth measurements—waist, hips, chest, arms, etc. Don't just rely on the scale. The more information you have on your body, the better you will be able to see and analyze your progress.

9. Eat 5-6 Meals Each Day

You've probably heard this countless times before but it just can't be stressed enough. Eating 5-6 meals containing protein, carbohydrate, and healthy fat each day is key, regardless of your training goals.

To begin, if you are looking to drop some body fat, then eating more often allows you to better manage your insulin levels for increased fat burning. Controlling insulin levels when dieting is critical as insulin is the body's most potent blocker of lipolysis (i.e. liberation of stored fat to be used as energy).

Another added benefit of controlling insulin levels is consistent energy levels; your blood sugar won't rise and crash throughout the day. Purposefully spreading the traditional "three square meals" into 5-6 smaller meals will allow you to increase your fat-burning ability while at the same time providing your body with nutrients required to build muscle.

8. Train With Weights 3-4 Times A Week

Lifting weights is an essential part of developing a lean physique. Not only will weight training boost you metabolic rate for extended periods of time, it will help you build muscle (which will allow you to burn more calories just sitting around!).

Let's say you love lifting weights. You might ask, "Why just 3-4 times a week? Professional bodybuilders lift 5-6 days a week double sessions!"

When you are dieting, you are in a calorie-deficient state. This will put your body in a compromised position where you will have limited recovery capabilities. 3-4 sessions of intense training sessions are perfect for most people to stimulate their muscles and metabolism without beating themselves into the ground (or worse a state of overtraining).

Lifting weights is an essential part of developing a lean physique.

7. Don't Overdue The Cardio

A lot of people go cardio crazy when trying to lose body fat. The days of getting on the bike or treadmill for 40-60 minutes 5-6 times per week are done! If burning body fat and building muscle is your goal, shorter, more-intense interval-based cardio sessions are the way to go.

Cardiovascular activity performed in a high intensity interval fashion (high intensity is a term relative to your personal fitness level) has been shown to burn more calories than the old school 40-minute cardio sessions.

This means you'll burn more fat, in less time. If you have been doing longer cardio, don't quickly jump into this higher-intensity cardio.

Give your body time to adjust over several weeks by slowly replacing the interval sessions for the longer sessions. Most people find that 3-4 interval sessions give them better results than 6+ traditional longer cardio sessions.

6. Plan Your Meals The Night Before

This one has made all the difference in my personal fitness journey. Not only does it make eating multiple meals per day easier, but it changes your focus during the day from creating a nutrition plan to executing one.

You have enough going on during the day that you don't need to be worrying about where your next meal will come from and how you can make it fit perfectly into your plan. Eliminate the added stress, plan the night before, and just follow your roadmap during the day.

Eliminate added stress by planning your meals the night before.

5. Drink Green Tea

Ever since the FDA put the clamps down on Ephedra, supplement companies have been searching for a replacement. The winner is ... Green Tea extract. While it is not as effective as Ephedra, it is the best thing most companies have to work with.

The compound within green tea that contains the metabolic enhancing effects is a polyphenol called EGCG. To make a long story short, scientific studies have shown EGCG to produce a thermogenic effect (increased rate at which calories are burned as heat) in the body.

Another interesting feature that makes green tea more attractive to dieters comes from a 2004 study published in Life Science. Researchers found that green tea was a potent inhibitor of fatty acid synthase (FAS).

As you may be able to deduce by the name, this is an enzyme in your body responsible for synthesizing fatty acids. The last thing you want your body to do when you are trying to lose fat is to synthesize fat.

You don't have to supplement with green tea extract either, you can get the same result by simply drinking a pot of green tea each day (3-5 cups). In addition, green tea is a great substitute and much better for you than diet soft drinks.

But remember green tea is naturally caffeinated which is perfect (Mother Nature knows best right?) as the combination of EGCG and caffiene is best for eliciting fat loss.

4. Get Rid Of Bad Friends And Bad Food

Don't let your environment sabotage your weight-loss efforts. If you are trying to eat healthy foods you can not have the freezer stocked with Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream and the cupboards full of BBQ potato chips.

As it gets to be later at night you know you'll be tempted. Don't set yourself up for temptation and failure; create an environment where you can't fail! It can be simple, if the food isn't in your house, then you won't eat it. So, throw out the junk, high sugar, over-processed high-fat foods!

The same goes for your friends. If you are constantly being scoffed at and joked about because you choose to have a grilled salmon salad instead of buffalo wings, or because you asked the waiter to bring you steamed broccoli instead of french fries – get new friends! Find people that are supportive of your fitness goals and the behaviors that they require.

3. Drink Lots Of Water

Water is essential to life and a healthy body. Dehydration will wreak havoc on you and your fitness goals. If you are dehydrated your body cannot function at its optimal level. For example, your muscles will lose strength, you won't burn fat as quickly, and you'll feel tired and fatigued.

A 2003 study entitled 'Water-Induced Thermogenesis' was published by the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. It was stated that drinking 2 Liters of water spread throughout the day burned up to 100 extra calories (the equivalent of running a mile).

If you are dehydrated your body cannot function at its optimal level.

2. Take Time Off To Rest And Recover

Fat loss training and dieting is mentally draining. That is why you need to take extra care of yourself. Extra stretching and foam rolling, epson salt baths, going to bed an hour early, and/or taking a magnesium supplement prior to bed are all simple ways that you can help accelerate your recovery (and progress).

One of my favorite sayings is: "Physiology trumps diet." This means that if your body chemistry and physiology is off, you won't be able to maximize your fat loss. Trying to lose weight is no excuse for being unhealthy and it will in fact hinder your progress. Rest, recover, and you'll lose more weight.

1. Apply The Previous Nine Rules

It is important that you realize that the statement "Knowledge is Power" is false! Applied knowledge with passion and consistent persistence is power! The chances are you know everything that you have to do to achieve your best body but you're not applying your knowledge.

Why? I don't know; we all have our reasons. What's your reason? Whatever it is ... get over it! Dare to be amazing! Achieve your best body!

Now take a second and look at the list ... do you actively embrace all the guidelines on the list? What is your body fat situation? I can guarantee that there is a direct correlation between how many things on the list you don't do and the amount of excess body fat you carry around every day. Am I right? Your body fat percentage reflects your lifestyle. That is the truest statement around.

You may also look at the list and think, "Mike, I've heard all these things before. I wanted you to write about the secret to reducing bodyfat." I'm sorry to say there is no secret and you've probably heard about each of my top 10 concepts before.

The key is application! Don't pick and choose which of the 10 things you are going to apply to your life and then complain when you don't receive the results you want.

Thursday, 13 February 2014

5 Common mistakes holding your abs hostage

It doesn’t matter if you are a professional athlete or a beginner, you can make mistakes in a process of developing muscles. Nobody has a warranty from making mistakes. But the thing you can do is to minimize your mistakes by learning from them.

For sure, training your abs you avoid carbs and exercise in a gym, but it’s not enough. If you still make mistakes in workout routine, you will hold your abs hostage.

Mistake 1. Training abs every day.

Abs muscle is just one of the muscles in your body, and you should treat it like all other muscles. The point here is that all muscles in your body need time to recover after a hard workout, and abs can’t be an exception. If yesterday you did your max, and now you feel not so exhausted and you are ready for the new height, it doesn’t mean you should do it. Your muscles need recovery and time to grow, so give them some rest.

Mistake 2. Performing only isolation ab exercises.

Doing isolation exercises is not enough. Don’t forget about compound exercises as well. You can perform deadlifts, squats and overhead presses to engage in the workout every part of your muscle.

Mistake 3. Not keeping a diet.

You can’t get ripped abs, if you don’t keep a diet. That’s so simple. To have visible abs you have to lower body fat percentage. You can do thousands of exercises, but if you don’t keep a diet, you’ll never get the six-pack.

Mistake 4. Focusing only on abs.

Your abs muscles are just a part of the area you have to develop. Don’t forget about exercises on lower back and training abs in more than just one angle.

Mistake 5. Focusing on crunches.

No doubts, crunches are good for your abs, but there are plenty of exercises which are better and more effective than traditional crunches. Don’t be stick to some definite exercises and be creative.

Top exercises to get big and strong shoulders.

If you want to look strong as a stone, you have to build not only a massive back, but also to increase the size of your shoulders. But the main problem is that many beginners start training their shoulders too much, being obsessed about it. They perform too many moves and they are stupid in choosing exercises. As a result, they don’t pay attention to balancing of exercises. They get injuries, and they don’t achieve the initial aims.

To get big and strong shoulders, warm up your shoulders by performing usual barbell shrugs. It’s a mass-building exercise, which will help to develop your traps and shoulders.

Shoulder press will be a great workout to develop the strength of your shoulder muscles. There are few variations you can perform such as the front barbell press, behind the neck barbell press and Arnold dumbbell press.

You can also perform Back flyes with bands.

1. Run a band around a stationary post like that of a squat rack.

2. Grab the band by the handles and stand back so that the tension in the band rises.

3. Extend and lift the arms straight in front of you. Tip: Your arms should be straight and parallel to the floor while perpendicular to your torso. Your feet should be firmly planted on the floor spread at shoulder width. This will be your starting position.

4. As you exhale, move your arms to the sides and back. Keep your arms extended and parallel to the floor. Continue the movement, until the arms are extended to your sides.5. After a pause, go back to the original position as you inhale.

6. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

And don’t forget to do Circus bell to get the additional strength.

1. The circus bell is an oversized dumbbell with a thick handle. Begin with the dumbbell between your feet, and grip the handle with both hands.

2. Clean the dumbbell by extending through your hips and knees to deliver the implement to the desired shoulder, letting go with the extra hand.

3. Ensure that you get one of the dumbbell heads behind the shoulder to keep from being thrown off balance. To raise it overhead, dip by flexing the knees, and the drive upwards as you extend the dumbbell overhead, leaning slightly away from it as you do so.

4. Carefully guide the bell back to the floor, keeping it under control as much as possible. It is best to perform this event on a thick rubber mat to prevent damage to the floor.

Stay fit on the road

If you have to travel after few days and don’t want to destroy your diet and training regime, you can continue exercising and keeping a healthy lifestyle. Don’t worry. Lack of equipment is not an excuse for being lazy and neglecting working out.

Some hotels have gyms, so that you can easily use all the necessary for your trainings equipment. If you are going to stay not in a hotel, but in some hostel or apartment, you can find a local gym nearby.

But it’s not always going to work. If you don’t have time or access to go to the gym, just use the facilities you have. As soon as you enter a new room, check out everything what you’ve got.

It might be just a small area, which has nothing to do with a gym, but it still has some facilities for you to keep your workout regime. At least you can do simple push-ups.One of the best exercises in your case is squatting. Squats work the entire body, with emphasis on the legs, back and glutes. To add some resistance to your exercise, you can use your usual suitcase. Place it on your back, out front to emphasize your quads and abs, or high overhead target your spinal erectors and shoulders.

For getting more strength, do the home version of the Romanian dead lift. Just pick a heavy object off the ground and do reps from the top down, working on your hamstrings, glutes and low back.

You will be surprised, but you can use just usual hotel towels for stretching your muscles. To perform the shoulder stretch, simply hold the towel overhead with your arms fully extended, tugging slightly at the edges. Roll the towel out in front, over your head, and behind your back.

Make your warm up fun and exciting!

If you started exercising wishing to get a great body, it doesn’t mean your work outs and warm ups must be boring. No doubts, it’s a serious issue, and you are so aimed to achieve the success, but there is no need to be too serious about this. Come on, you are not an old man. You still can have fun during exercising. Just don’t forget about safety and don’t try to use whatever you see in your home or a gym. There is no need for extra risk or injuries.

To keep your warm ups dynamic and energetic, you can perform such exercises as forward lunge, lateral squat, hand walk, or arm circles. It will also be a good decision to do a warm-up set of such balanced exercises as single-leg dead lifts and bent-over rows.

Some fitness experts say that jumping rope is one of the best tools for a fun and interesting warm-up. A little jump rope session will help to burn fat and keep body temperature up. If you can’t do it for long time, just start with what you can do. You are not in hurry, you have time for improvements.

Many people also choose yoga for their warm ups. Yoga is one of the best stretches you can even imagine. It will make your muscles more flexible and will help to prepare for a great workout. You can perform such stretches as Downward Facing Dog, Child’s Pose or Warrior Pose.

Be creative. Choose different warm ups and activities and make your warm up fun and exciting!

Be a perfect training partner

When you go to a gym and find a training partner, it doesn’t mean your partner is the only one who must help and support. You will also be a training partner for him, and you will be partially responsible for his progress and results. It’s a team work. He is going to support you, and you MUST do your best to motivate and support him.

Being a good partner in a gym is not about showing up and being such a cool guy in front of others. Being a good partner is being a best friend in the gym friendship.

If you want to be a perfect training partner, first rule for you to keep is never be late for workouts.

Your buddy relies on you, and you can betray him and make him feel down just because you can’t keep time. Make sure you are on time, and it’s even better to be few minutes earlier to show that you are the person he can count on.

Don’t be that kind of people, who are always offended by criticism. We all are not perfect and can make mistakes. Just keep in mind, that your partner is not willing to insult you. He just wants you to develop your skills and be the best. Learn from the criticism you hear.

If you truly want to help your training partner, you must know what the motivation is. If you just know the goals of your partner, it’s nothing. To be really helpful, you should know reasons your buddy follow and how to make him even more motivated. Always remind your partner why he is doing these exercises and what goals he will achieve, if he keeps doing his best.

Turn off your cell phone, not to be disturbed by the outside world, always stay positive and enthusiastic and be for your training partner the best friend in the gym.