Tag: build muscle

2 Mandatory Steps To Six Pack Abs

First off, I want to mention that, for most people, getting six pack abs is not an easy task. It requires dedication, but it is possible! Below is a general 2-step guide that, if followed religiously for 3 months, will produce results.

2 Mandatory Steps To Six Pack Abs

Step 1: Nutrition

This is the single most important part of the puzzle, hands down. You can have the most impressive set of abs, but if they’re covered with a layer of fat, you won’t see them! Break up your day with 5 or 6 mini-meals because this jump starts your metabolism. And stop eating the food that is preventing results: white bread, loads of pasta, soda, candy, fast food, hydrogenated oils, sugars and fructose corn syrup.

Instead, replace them with foods that will help you reach your goal: oatmeal, olive oil, whole grain breads, fruits, vegetables, nuts, eggs, natural peanut butter, chicken, fish, protein and water. Be realistic- you’ll slip here and there, but make a conscious effort to radically improve your eating habits because getting a six pack will be impossible if you don’t.

Step 2: Exercise

You need to concern yourself with 3 different exercises: cardio, weightlifting and ab exercises. And aim to workout 3- 4 times a week.

The cardio you do can be anything: walking, running, biking, swimming….whichever cardio you don’t mind doing so that you’ll stick with it. Aim for 30-45 minutes, a minimum of 2 times a week.

Weightlifting is important because 3 pounds of added muscle burns as many calories as a 1 mile jog…and this is while you’re just sitting around! Aim for 30-45 minutes, a minimum of 2 times a week. If you’re confused as to what exercises to do for each body part, check out out the following website. It features professional bodybuilders, but the information is great and can be used by anyone.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.htm

The last exercise you need to incorporate into your workout is ab exercises. Aim to work your abs a minimum of 3 times a week. There are a ton of different ab exercises you can do so try to find 3 or so that you enjoy doing so you can mix it up. A good database of different ab exercises is:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exername.php?MainMuscle=Abdominals

Tip: mix up your workout routine every 2 weeks to keep your body guessing and changing. Add or take away different weight or ab exercises, or at the very least, vary the weight, reps or form of cardio you do.

Well, there you have it. Follow the above for 3 months religiously, and while results will vary from person to person, you will experience improvement.

It will take dedication on your part, but imagine the feeling you’ll get when you look in the mirror and like what you see!

 

Related Articles you may like:

Quick Ab Blaster Workout

Top 5 Six-pack mistakes!

Top 4 Ways the Mind Can Influence Your Muscle Growth!

Top 4 ways the mind can influence your muscle growth

I don’t want you to get the wrong impression here. Just thinking about something doesn’t manifest itself into a physical object, especially when building muscle. Work must be put in to build up progress in some tangible form.

From the title of this article though, you can probably tell that there will be some information that can be used for your benefit; Right here, right now, today. I want to dive deep into a subject that doesn’t really get much attention aside from watching bodybuilding motivational videos before a workout.

It may sound somewhat complicated, but believe me, it really isn’t.

I want to dissect the mind completely from a physical standpoint and an emotional standpoint that will leave you feeling more pumped and excited than you’ve ever been to step foot in the gym and annihilate the weights.

“…Even perfect nutrition and training will only get you so far. The rest is made up with the mind.”

Many times the mind will get shoved aside by the bigger bullies of bodybuilding today. At the front of the pack you have your nutrition, which is the clear foundation of any noticeable physique. Next is your training. Everything from intensity, duration, sets, reps, rest periods, tempo and technique are used to maximally help increase your muscle size. This is like a broken record. We’ve all heard this stuff on repeat.

If you’ve been lifting consistently and have experienced the great benefits of strength and muscular adaptation, then you probably already know what works best for you. But I’m here to tell you today that even perfect nutrition and training will only get you so far. The rest is made up with the mind.

Before we dive into the pool of your muscle-building potential though, I want to emphasize that even if you think you’ve reached your limit with muscle gains and you’ve absolutely used all of your available resources, then think again! This is not the time to be held back by limiting beliefs.

If you are truly serious about your results in and out of the gym, you need to first come to terms with your physical mind. Let’s get after it shall we?

Neuromuscular Shaping

I’m guessing you haven’t heard of this term before.  Put simply, it just means that the mind and the working muscle need to develop a better relationship to perform optimally. It is your goal as a bodybuilder to “shape” your muscles into whatever you want them to look like. Traditionally, this just meant training that muscle a bit more or tweaking your diet to increase growth.

Now, that’s only part of the equation. You’re missing a huge piece of the muscle-building pie my friend! You’ve done more exercises, you’ve increased the resistance, you’ve changed your routine, but when was the last time you mentally recruited more muscle fibers?

This isn’t a simple question to answer, so I’ll have you figure it out for yourself. Here’s an analogy I like to use a lot when referring to neuromuscular shaping:

Suppose your goal is to climb a mountain that you’ve never climbed before. In fact, neither has anyone else. There are no trails or easy ways to the top. Your only option is to forge your own path until you reach the peak. The first trip is the hardest, and takes a long time to finally reach your destination, but somehow you get there. It’s a long walk back down but you try to follow the same path that you took.

So now that you’ve climbed it once, do you think it would be easier to climb it a second time? After all, you made your own trail in the first round. All you have to do is trace your steps back up the mountain again, right?

Let’s suppose that you did this same routine every day for a year, or 5 years, or even 10 years? How do you think your trail would look after all that? I’d say it would be pretty easy to get to the top with a clear trail to navigate, wouldn’t you?

You see, we are trying to shape and direct the neuromuscular pathways to your muscles. In order for a muscle to contract, it must first receive a signal from the brain to do so. When this same signal is repeatedly sent back and forth between the mind and muscle over time (climbing the mountain), MORE neuromuscular pathways are created to enhance the strength of the contraction. It’s safe to say that this is an exciting piece of information to have, especially when your main goal is to add some serious mass to your frame!

I want you to practice some of this “mind-muscle” connection on yourself…

From a sitting position on your chair or bench that you’re on right now, try to mindfully contract your hamstring on the right side WITHOUT contracting the quadriceps. Be sure to place one of your hands on top of the quad to make sure it doesn’t move.

How did it go? Did it work?

More often than not, if the hamstrings aren’t developed correctly, the signal from your brain will make its way down your leg but will not have a CLEAR path to dictate what muscle should contract; therefore the signal is sent to the stronger muscle of the two, the quadriceps!

Now try repeating this signal over and over again to the same right hamstring, and see what happens…

Are you able to contract it without the quadriceps moving? It’s funny how this system works and it really makes all the difference with how much muscle is stimulated during exercise. This same concept can be applied to every major muscle of the body.

Once a thorough neuromuscular connection has been established to your major muscles, it’s time to put them to the test.

 Imagery

This concept can be extremely profound and powerful when done correctly. The best part is that research even backs it up; mentally performing an exercise in your mind will directly enhance how much power output your body produces once performed in real life.

When I learned this concept for the first time, it was like I struck pure gold. I was doing what no one else was doing and I was getting better results because of it. Here’s some research from a blog of the muscle-building master himself, Charles Poliquin:

“For example, one study had novice weightlifters imagine that they were performing a bicep curl exercise three times a week for eight weeks. The participants did not actually do any bicep curls or any other elbow flexion training during that time. However, they still gained strength in both the elbow flexors and extensors (44 and 32 percent increase in strength, respectively). A second study found that college athletes who performed visualization before strength training had more confidence and lifted more weight in a leg press exercise than they had done before without imagery.”

I’d say this is a pretty significant piece to your muscle-building puzzle. From an application standpoint during your training and even before your training, try these techniques:

  1. Use internal imagery to practice your main core lifts in your mind before you even set foot in the gym. Using a bench press as an example, this would involve you thinking about loading up the bar with new weight, sitting down on the bench, getting your back position down into the pad, getting a perfect grip on the bar, lifting it, and performing every single rep in your mind as clear as you possibly can – feeling your chest contract and release each time.
  2. Use external imagery to imagine watching yourself perform this same movement but from a spotters position or a coaches position. Having a birds-eye-view can give extra motivation and willpower to complete the set from a different point of view.

Having a Compelling Purpose

Here’s a question for you:

What is your reason to build muscle? More specifically, what is your purpose for working so hard in and out of the gym? Someone with a weak mental capacity would answer this question by saying, “I want to build more muscle and get ripped.”

Dig deeper guys!

You want to build muscle because…?

There is ALWAYS an underlying reason that you do the things that you do. For me, my reasons are a few things: I lift to release aggression (my form of therapy), I lift to feel more dominant when around other males, and more importantly, I lift because it is my passion – the feeling, the sacrifice and all the rewards that come with it.

From my example you should be able to figure out what your own “purpose” is for wanting to build muscle. If you don’t’ have a clear purpose then you are only walking blindly towards your cherished finish line.

“Purpose has a direct correlation with motivation. A lack of motivation will always point back to an unclear or unsatisfied purpose.”

Once your reasons are made clear for building up some serious mass, it’s time to tap into the best part of the mental picture…unleashing your inner BEAST!

I Am Powerful Beyond Measure

I want you to adopt this mindset right now. You’ve already proven yourself by making it this far, you’ve shown that you truly want more muscle, so go get it!

It is during this mindset “phase” that the true “you” comes out. There’s no time to mess around anymore.

When you reach inside and are able to harness the most powerful part of yourself, your potential to build real muscle becomes unlimited. To get to this mental state, it requires complete concentration on the task at hand. Whatever it takes to block out the distractions of the gym atmosphere, then I advise you to do it.

I haven’t known many guys that have the ability to reach this “monk-like” state when working out. However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t do it yourself.

And the best part?

This process is entirely up to you. If praying or meditation works to block out the world then do that. If you need loud music in your ears then listen to that to get you amped up.

The only way that I can truly describe this “state” is being in a completely different world once the headphones go in. My mind tells me I am powerful beyond measure before I even pick up a weight.

Don’t make the mistake of being inconsistent. The more you practice this principle day-in and day-out, the easier it will be to control the amount of generated power produced.

Conclusion

The mind has always been at the core of building muscle. Most often than not though, the importance of having a strong mind is overshadowed by being strong physically. Sure, there is a genetic potential about how much muscle you can build naturally, but I doubt that you’ve hit that point yet. If you’ve truly accepted that you’ve tried everything in order to build new mass then that’s your opinion. But for those of you who are willing to strengthen up your mind today, you will undoubtedly see the amazing muscle-building potential that you can reach for tomorrow.

 

-Mitch Muller

(Your Mindset and Muscle Coach)

CPT/CEO – MindsetFitness.net

 

Sources: Poliquin, Charles (Oct 2012) “Tip 459: Use Mental Imagery Before Workouts To Improve Performance.”http://www.charlespoliquin.com/Blog/tabid/130/EntryId/1623/Tip-459-Use-Mental-Imagery-Before-Workouts-To-Improve-Performance.aspx

Why Can’t You Gain Weight? (Part 2)

why can't you gain weight?

In part 1, I touched on general weight gain rules and reasons why you can’t gain weight. Now it’s time to get into workout specifics…

Here’s the link to Part 1 if you haven’t read it yet!

Why Can’t You Gain Weight? Continued…

4. Stop listening to every ridiculous piece of advice you hear in the gym or read on a message board.

Recently a client of mine informed me that someone in the gym stated that he was training all wrong and he needed to train 5-6 days a week, and aim for more reps during his workout. Somewhere in the range of 15-20 reps per set.

The person giving the advice was quite confident about his recommendations, and he had an impressive physique that typically elevates him to the elusive “listen to me if you want to look like me” level in the gym. He was bigger than my client, so even though my client’s “intellectual” mind knows that advice is absurd; his “unrealistic dreamer” mind took this information very seriously. So seriously that he changed his program and didn’t inform me until a week or so later. This particular person had been making great progress on his current program, yet he allowed this one person’s comment to overshadow that progress and convince him that his program was inadequate. This is a mistake and it showed in his lack of further progress.

In addition, don’t judge the validity of what a person says by how they look. Just because the guy is huge doesn’t mean he is spewing pertinent advice for you. Many people that have big physiques are big despite of their training, not because of it. I know some huge guys that know very little about training and dieting correctly. They can do whatever and still gain muscle; unfortunately we are not that way, so we much approach things in a more intelligent way.

5. Workout Infrequently

This is the most difficult concept for many to grasp simply because it involves less action, instead of more. When we get motivated and start a new program, it’s natural to want to do something. We want to train and train and train. Thinking all along that the more you train, the more muscle you will build. Unfortunately, this could not be farther from the truth.

More training does not equal more muscle growth. Understand that the purpose of weight training is to stimulate muscle growth. That takes very little time. Once that has been done, the muscle needs to be repaired and new muscle needs to be built. That only happens when you are resting. You do not build muscle in the gym, you build muscle when resting! If you never give your body any essential “non active” time, when will it have a chance to build muscle? Think about that.

Now, add in the fact that you have a difficult time gaining weight and the importance of rest increases. Individuals who are naturally thin and have difficulty building muscle tend to require less training and more rest.

6. Focus on Multi-Jointed Lifts

Multi-jointed exercises are those that stimulate the most amounts of muscle fibers. Unlike isolation exercises which only work individual muscles, multi-jointed lifts work many different muscle groups simultaneously. For those needing to gain weight, this is ideal because these lifts put your body under the most amount of stress. This is the stress that will shock your nervous system and cause the greatest release of muscle building hormones. This results in increased muscle gain all over the body.

You can still do some isolation work; however it should not be the focus of your workouts, and should only come after your multi-jointed lifting is complete.

7. Focus on Using Free Weights

Free weights are preferred over machines for many reasons, but most importantly because they allow the stimulation of certain supporting muscle groups when training. Stimulating these stabilizer and synergistic muscles will allow you go get stronger, and ultimately build more muscle faster. Yes, some can most likely still build large amounts of muscle using machines, but why make it more difficult if you already have a difficult time gaining weight?

8. Lift a weight that is challenging for you

Building mass involves lifting relatively heavy weight. This is necessary because the muscle fibers that cause the most amount of muscle size growth (called Type IIB) are best stimulated by the lifting of heavy weight. A heavy weight as one that only allows you to perform 4-8 reps before your muscles fail.

Using a lighter weight and doing more reps can stimulate some Type IIB fibers, but again if you have a difficult time gaining weight, why make it more difficult? You need to try and stimulate as many as you can with the use of heavy weights.

9. Focus more on the eccentric portion of the exercise.

When you lift a weight, it can be divided into three distinct periods. The positive, the negative and midpoint. The concentric or “positive” motion usually involves the initial push or effort when you begin the rep. The midpoint is signaled by a short pause before reversing and returning to the starting position. The eccentric, or “negative” portion of each lift is characterized by your resistance against then natural pull of the weight.

For example, when doing push-ups, the positive motion is the actual pushing up motion. Once you have pushed all the way up, you hit the mid point. The negative motion begins when you start to lower yourself back down. Most would simply lower themselves as fast as they pushed up, but I recommend extending and slowing down this portion. Slowing down the eccentric part of the lift will help to stimulate more muscle growth. It actually activates more of the Type IIB fibers mentioned about in Rule 7.

10. Keep your workout short but intense.

Your goal should be to get in, stimulate your muscles and then get out as quickly as possible. It is not necessary to do large amounts of exercisers per body part trying to target every muscle and hit every “angle”. This should only be a concern of someone with an already developed, mature physique who is trying to improve weak areas.

If you have no pecs, don’t concern yourself with trying to target inner, outer, upper, lower or whatever. Just work your chest. You should do no more than 2-3 exercises per body part. That’s it. Doing more than that won’t build more muscle, faster. In fact it could possibly lead to muscle loss. Long training sessions cause catabolic hormone levels to rise dramatically. Catabolic hormones are responsible for breaking down muscle tissue resulting in MUSCLE LOSS. While at the same time, long training sessions suppress the hormones that actually build muscle.

If you don’t want to lose muscle during your workouts, I suggest limiting your sessions to no more than 60-75 minutes MAXIMUM. Less if you can.

11. Limit your aerobic activity and training

Honestly, I do not do any aerobic activity when I am trying to gain weight. This is mainly because it interferes with the important “non-active” time my body needs for muscle building and recovery. I do understand that people have lives and other activities that they don’t want to give up, so it must be kept to a minimum. It won’t hurt your progress as long as you don’t over do it. If you find that you are doing more aerobic activity weight training, that’s overdoing it.

I also don’t recommend it because people tend do it for the wrong reasons. Many start aerobic activity because they believe it will help them to lose fat. While that is true, it won’t do so on a high calorie mass diet. To lose fat, you need to be eating fewer calories.

12. Don’t program hop

Here’s how it usually happens. You’ve just read about a new exercise or workout that is supposed to pack on the mass. Now, even though you had already started another training program a few weeks ago, you are tired of it and really want to start this routine instead because it sounds better.

I call these people, “program hoppers”. They are very enthusiastic when starting a new program, but they never follow it long enough to actually see any results. They are easily distracted and love to drop whatever they may be doing to follow the latest “hot” workout or exercise.

My advice is don’t do it. This is a bad habit that never leads to a positive outcome. Understand that it takes time for any program to work. To be successful, you must follow your program consistently. Yes, there are many different training methods and interesting routines out there, but you can’t do them all at the same time and jumping around won’t allow enough time for any of them to actually be effective for you. Pick one that is focused on your current goal and stick with it. There will be plenty of time to try the others later, but NOT NOW.

Article attributed to Anthony Ellis, fastmusclegain.com

 

 

Why Can’t You Gain Weight? (Part 1)

why can't you gain weight

Why Can’t You Gain Weight? (Part 1)

Though there may be many reasons why you may be thin, the most apparent reason is because of your genetics. If your parents are naturally thin or have a small body frame, then you will most likely have the same small body type. So why can’t you gain weight even with genetic setbacks?

To some degree, your size can also be controlled by your metabolism. If you have a difficult time gaining weight of any kind (fat or muscle) then you most likely have a fast metabolism. That simply means that your body burns calories at a faster than normal rate. You must take this into account whenever you are considering a particular diet or training program. Is it geared towards someone with your metabolism and goal?

Now as you know, there are many ways to train. Hundreds, thousands even. Some work and some do not, but for the specific goal of gaining weight, there are a few UNIVERSAL things that all skinny guys must do.

Though much of the information I cover here is not as “magical” as you may like, I consider these rules to be the basics with regard to weight gain. These are not all of the answers, but they are definite elements that MUST be addressed in any successful weight gain program.

You should be able to easily integrate these rules into your current program to make it more suitable for your particular body and goals.

GENERAL RULES

1. Get the proper information that pertains to your SPECIFIC condition and goals.

The first big problem I find in most people is the lack of correct information. Yes you are motivated and doing things, but your effort is wasted on incorrect dieting and training information. Basically, skinny guys are taking advice from people who have never had a weight gain problem. Want to know how to gain weight? Then find someone who has walked your shoes; someone who has been where you are.

2. Set a specific goal and create a plan of attack.

If you were to drive cross country to another city, would you just start driving randomly, or would you plan a route that would get you quickly and efficiently?

Think of your plan as a road map and your goal as your destination. Without a plan and a specific goal you will be without focus and can easily get lost or side tracked. This happens more often than you know. I see many people in the gym just doing whatever, or just eating whatever — no plan or specific goal. They wonder why they don’t make progress. They have no focus.

Having a specific program to follow allows you to take action each day. This action is focused on specifically getting you to your destination quickly. There is no thinking, debating or guessing. You just do it. A specific plan provides necessary daily structure that not only keeps you on the road moving forward, it also helps to develop good eating and training habits that will benefit you long after you have reached your destination.

3. Have confidence in yourself and belief in what you are doing.

Let’s face it; we live in a cruel world. Hate and jealously are everywhere. For most people who begin a fitness program to improve themselves, getting started will be half the battle. The other half will be staying motivated throughout the constant onslaught of negativity from others. A few negative words can do serious damage if you allow it.

The most insulting things you hear may be from friends, co-workers and acquaintances at the gym. People hate change. It makes them insecure, because they suddenly discover there’s more to you than they were probably willing to admit. They fear that you may actually achieve your goal. It makes them look less “superior”.

Once you have begun your plan, you must have faith and believe in what you are doing. Stay focused and avoid overly critical or negative people. If you have to, keep your business to yourself. When I first began my program, I stopped talking about what I was doing because I got tired of hearing things like “you can’t do that”, “that’s impossible”, “you’re wasting your time and money”. Funny thing is, now those people are constantly bugging me for advice.

It’s your life. It’s your body. It’s your dream. Don’t allow your success or failure to rest in the hands of others.

In Part 2 of this article, I will cover your workout rules and guidelines to MAKE SURE you gain muscle.