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Q: My buddy and I were having a debate the other day about what “intensity” means in terms of an actual workout on paper. Do you think this workout is intense, too intense or not intense?
- Straight Leg Deadlifts – 4 x 4 (12,10,8,6 + drop set for
- Hamstring curls – 3 x 8-12
- Good Mornings – 3 x 10,10,10
- Calves – 6 sets
- Biceps – EZ Bar Curls 5 x 12,11, 10, 9, 8
- Preacher Curls – 5 x 12,11,10,9,8
- Hammer curl – 2 x 8-10
What do you think?
A: Well, a few observations. Number one, it’s a big workout day- though I will say that I like it. I think it’s a lot of volume, but then, I also think that most bodybuilders don’t work hard enough. I wouldn’t say you are overtraining, unless I saw you and thought, “He’s not up to the task at his size” or something.
I do think the biceps workout is a bit too much. Doing 5 EZ Curl exercises with little variation in rep length, etc. is probably not ideal.
Also, EZ curl + Preacher curl is very intense for one workout. You probably won’t have much luck by the time you do preachers. I’d almost flip them in order. If you are trying to do an actual HIT routine, this is definitely too much.
The rule of thumb for anything is this: If you are doing your sets, and you are halfway through and your pump goes south, never to return in that workout session, then you’re done, whether you have 3 more or not!
This is especially true for biceps. When it’s gone it’s gone. Remember to keep moderate weight in your stiff-legged deadlifts too, because you lose the benefit and ultimately, the intensity, if you don’t.
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Most of us know out bodies fairly nicely. We know what time we
require to consume, and what meals aid our bodies to operation most
efficiently. Inside the health club, numerous of us comply with
instinctive coaching also. We enter the fitness center with an
approximate idea of what movements we plan to use that day. For
instance, if it’s chest day, we have a fundamental notion just before
getting into the gym that we’ll probably commence with two pressing
movements (bench press or incline dumbbell presses perhaps). These will
likely be followed by one or two machine presses, then some cable or
dumbbell work for the pectoral-shoulder tie-ins. The capacity to train
instinctively originates from many years of coaching, and creating a
great understanding of what workouts the body requirements to develop
every muscle group. Here are several extra ideas for a lot more
successful instinctive coaching.
Play with quantity
If you’ve been making use of the exact same instinctive coaching
concepts for a long time now, it is quite likely you’ve discovered a
comfort zone when it comes to quantity. You could hit twelve sets to get
a body part and just ‘know’ that it’s time for you to go residence. Or,
you may go overboard with sets, completing as well many, consistently,
for a long time. Scaling up or down may result in greater results.
Keep it fascinating
In the event you lived inside the exact same location for several many
years, you may have also been attending the identical fitness center for
numerous years. That indicates you’ve been making use of the exact same
machines, benches, weights, and training systems and environments for
years. You might uncover that a new gym may deliver new determination,
or new devices which it is possible to use to increase your instinctive
coaching.
Experiment with time of day
If you’ve constantly skilled within the afternoon (and your schedule
permits it) attempt training within the morning or late at night. You
may discover you have power amounts, or new machines obtainable at the
new time of day. Combine it up! Something to maintain the body guessing
throughout your traditional instinctive training will result in new
results!
Use occasional shakeups
If you’ve always educated with the identical fundamental layout for
instinctive training (chest day, adopted by again day, shoulders day,
arm day, then leg day), it might be time to shake up that program.
Switch to a two day per week routine, or alter up physique component
order or grouping. Sometimes a training rut can develop from making use
of the exact same weekly layout for years.
Looking for a few muscle building tips? You’ve come to the right
place. Let’s look at your training, supplementation, diet and rest to
determine what you could be doing to boost faster results in terms of
muscular size, strength, and performance!
Eat more protein
Many bodybuilders stifle their own potential for growth by failing to
give their body the protein it needs to make the most of workouts.
Following a tough leg, back or chest workout, your muscle fibers are
craving amino acids to assist with recovery and growth. You need a
steady stream of nutrients in the form of protein feedings every three
hours to make this possible. Food sources such as egg whites, chicken,
pork, and beef are ideal, and you should also be consuming at least one
whey protein shake daily.
Add that cardio
Many athletes seeking an addition of 15 or 20 pounds of muscle mass to
their frame will cut out all cardiovascular exercise. This is a band
move! Just 15 minutes of cardio, 3 times per week, will boost appetite,
increase blood flow to the muscle groups of your body, open up lung
capacity (useful on those sets of 20 rep squats!) and above all, will
keep your heart healthy. Without heart health, all the muscle in the
world won’t matter to you! This is one of those muscle building tips
that can save your life!
Stick with compound movements
Many young bodybuilders will enter the gym and attack every exercise
station they see. They will ignore those boring free weight benches and
run straight for the various cool stations such as cables, dumbbells,
and machines. This is NOT the way to go! Those isolation exercises are
terrific for shaping muscle you’ve already built. But those heavy
barbell movements known as compound exercises – including squats, bench
press, deadlifts, rowing and shoulder press – are much more effective
for overall muscle growth because they recruit larger groups of muscle
fibers.
Supplement wisely
Don’t try every new supplement that enters the market on a monthly
basis. Don’t stack up 5 or 10 different new supplements at once.
Rather, employ a regimen which utilizes tried and true standards, such
as Mesobolin or creatine, and use them for two months at a time, alone.
Record your gains and decide if the supplement is right for you. One
of the top muscle building tips is not to try to add too many supplements at one time.
Eight hours in bed
It is often difficult for us to fine time to sleep a solid eight hours.
Some of us are unable to sleep that long, even without schedule
limitations. However, the simple act of lying in bed and relaxing with
your favorite book or television show, can be enough to facilitate some
muscle growth and recovery. Look at some of the top bodybuilders of the
past twenty years – the Kevin Levrones and Dorian Yates – they slept at
least eight hours each night, and always enjoyed a one hour nap each
day.
There’s a difference between wanting to simply build mass and wanting
to build muscle. To many people, mass simply means to gain more weight,
muscle weight or not. But when you want to build pure additional
muscle, you have to go about it in a completely different way. We’ll
focus here on how to gain muscle mass, which is indeed added weight, but
not weight that also contains bulky gains of excess fat.
1. Consume More Protein
Protein, whether its animal based protein, such as lean white meat,
fish, eggs, and low fat dairy, or whether its plant based protein, such
as nuts, seeds, legumes and tofu, all contain the necessary building
blocks of muscle fiber. These substances are known as amino acids. There
are both essential and nonessential amino acids that the body needs to
quickly bulk up with additional muscle.
You can obtain these protein sources either from food or from protein
supplements that come in powders, such as whey protein, or in so called
protein bars, which are usually loaded with cabs in the form of sugar.
The average adult man require 50-60 grams of protein a day for normal
growth and nutritional needs. To bulk up with muscle mass, a bodybuilder
will have to consume much more than that daily.
2. Heavier Weights
Adding muscle mass faster can easily be accomplished by working out
with the heaviest weights you can without straining yourself or getting
injured. The heavier the resistance you lift, the faster your muscles
grow. Using heavy weights, you’ll quickly begin to see much more bulging
muscles.
3. Lift Your Own Body Exercises
This is similar to the lifting very heavy weight principle described
above. To gain massive muscle mass rapidly, you need to perform many
sets of low rep exercises such as leg squats, parallel bar dips, bench
presses, and chin ups. Aim for six to eight reps in each set of eight to
twelve sets per exercise and body region.
4. Extend Duration of Weight Workouts
When you follow the lifting of heavier weights concept, you can add
even greater muscle mass and bulk by lengthening your workouts. Increase
by ten percent in time during each subsequent week. This will force
your muscles to have to grow even faster due due to substantially
increased resistance that comes when more time is put into workout
sessions.
5. Don’t Burn Excessive Calories
Even though you should be doing regular cardio to effectively cross
train, you don’t want to be running marathons every day and burn off all
the muscle calories you just packed onto your body the day before in
the gym. Only do enough cardio to keep the fat off and have you looking
ripped. Too much and you’ll quickly diminish the muscle mass you’ve been
working so hard for.
If you’re looking for the most muscle weight gain and you’re already
achieving some results in the gym, then here are a few tips to help you
get even more from your training.
1. Focus on trying to get all of your muscle fibers involved in the
lifting. Muscles work on the all or nothing principle, so you’ll never
get 100% of your fibers to fire all at once, but if you’re thinking that
way, at least you’ll be recruiting more fibers than if you were just
focusing on trying to get the weight to the top of the phase.
2. Adjust your workout according to your stage of progress. Every
workout should have the goal of having 20% of your reserve fibers for
every muscle enlisted in the effort. You do this by a 4 step
calculation. Sorry, there’s math involved. (1.) Put on the most weight
you can possibly do for any exercise. (2.) Rest for 5 minutes and then
do as many repetitions of that exercise as you can with 80% of the
weight you did in step one. (3.) Multiply that number by 0.15. (4.) Now
to get the number of repetitions you would need to do before you can
expect to increase the poundage by 5, simply add the answer you got in
step 3 to the number of repetitions you got in step 2. On the other
hand, to get the number of repetitions you would need to do to get 20%
of your muscle reserves involved, simply subtract the answer you
calculated in step 3 from the number of repetitions you did in step 2.
3. Eat for the purpose of living and putting on muscle, not for the
purpose of pleasure or boredom. It’s not that easy, of course. However,
to make it as easy as possible, stay away from the middle of the
supermarket aisles. There is nothing good in there for your muscle
building progress. And don’t keep anything in your cupboards that will
tempt you.
4. When you’re eating with the goal of getting the most muscle weight
gain, you don’t really need that much protein. Only 1 gram of protein
for every 2 pounds of body weight is all that is required to build solid
muscle. Anything more is either excreted or worse – turned into fat.
5. Give your muscles time to recover. Weight lifting demolishes your
muscles if you’re doing it correctly, and they need time to clean up
afterward and reconstruct. You need at least 48 hours to rest according
to physiologists.
6. Focus on weight bearing exercises almost exclusively. This is the
kind of exercise that stimulates the fast twitch fibers in your muscles
to grow as opposed to the slow twitch fibers. Fast twitch fibers are the
ones that give you the muscle weight gain. Do light cardiopulmonary
exercise on your days away from the weights.
7. Have a good routine that you can always rely on to keep you
motivated and returning to the gym. There are plenty of books and
websites that include recommended workouts. Just make sure to include
the 3 amigos of barbell squats which involve the greatest number of
lower body muscles, the bench press which likewise involves the greatest
number of muscles – of the upper body, and the straight leg dead lift –
or if you like, the full standing overhead press; the three best
exercises for achieving overall muscle weight gain.
Keep these 7 quick tips in mind if you want the best results for your muscle weight gain efforts.
Before we begin it is important to start with a brief introduction to
the leg muscle anatomy. This is vital because without the details of
the specific muscles you want to exercise on, you may easily get
discouraged if you do not get the results you hoped for.
This will help you training to target the appropriate muscle groups
and hence lead to positive results. The success of any body builder is
governed by how well he knows where the various muscles in his body are
located. This is a requirement if you want to develop good muscle tone.
We have various muscles in the legs. One of them is called the
quadriceps also known as the quads in short. They are located in the
front part of your leg. Also located in the leg are the hamstring muscles which are located in the back part of the upper leg. Further
down the leg we encounter the calf muscles which are found in the back
part of the leg.
It is a common practice for many bodybuilders to concentrate on the
upper body and neglect the leg muscles. This is because when you train
the upper body the results are easily noticed by others e.g. when you
acquire big biceps and a protruding chest. On the other hand the results
of working the legs cannot be easily noticed especially if you spend
most of your time in trousers.
There are three tips which you should follow religiously in order to train your leg muscles effectively:
1. Develop a proper mindset.
Many people detest leg workouts because they find them to be to
difficult. In any case the legs are usually covered most of the time so
why bother. Nevertheless if you set aside at leas one day in a week to
workout those leg muscles, you will begin to notice gains in the upper
body which will eventually lead to a healthier overall appearance. Lets
face it does not make sense to have a swelled upper body which are
supported by very wick legs, it looks ridiculous and you are only
cruising for a bruising. The greatest decision you can make today is
starting to work on the leg muscles.
2. Vary your work out regime.
One of the most recommended exercises for your lower body is the squats.
This is highly recommended because you can do them even if you do not
have weights. If you do have weights such as the barbell you can use
them. Remember when you are doing the squatting exercises initiate the
motion with the butt and no the knees. If you are not very experienced
with this sort of work out then it is advisable that you seek help from a
person who is experienced. Apart from the squat you can perform other
leg exercises such as the leg extensions and standing leg curls.
3. Rest
Rest is very important for your muscles to recover. You should try to get a minimum of eight hour of sleep.
Upright rows are a movement which are embraced by some, and condemned
by others. Some trainers and bodybuilders believe the movement is just
plain awkward and causes injury. Others, most notably Bob Paris, owner
of some serious cannonball deltoids in the mid-80s, believe they are
essential for complete development. They hit the muscles of the
shoulder like no other exercise, and are essential, they feel. A third
group believes they are useful in a limited capacity in pre-contest
training, when the shoulders cannot handle their normal training
workload. Let’s take a look at each argument, and discuss the validity
of each.
Never use upright rows
The upright row involves starting with a barbell at waist level, and
hands about six inches apart. Bring the weight up almost to the chin,
and then lower it back down. This exercise does put the shoulders in a
position that many trainers do consider awkward, especially at the top
of the movement. Rotator cuff injuries are extremely easy to acquire,
and often require surgery and months of rehab in order to recover from.
Be smart and just avoid this exercise. There are plenty of other
movements which deliver success without such risk. Upright rows belong
in a box with barbell presses behind neck and lat pulldowns behind head,
with a big label that read ‘Do not open!”
Use upright rows all year long
Upright rows train the deltoids, the trapezius, and the upper back.
Secondary muscles worked include the biceps, forearm, and grip. As
long as you warm up properly, which all intelligent bodybuilders do,
you’ll be perfectly fine completing this movement. No movement as
succinctly brings together the muscles of the shoulders, neck, and
traps. There are muscle fibers stimulated by this exercise which aren’t
touched by another other movement in your gym arsenal. This movement
is used by the greats of the sport, as well as gym rats around the
world. Use it!
Only use upright rows in the pre-contest phase
It’s at this time that the shoulders are at their weakest due to caloric
deprivation and extreme cardiovascular training. The repetitions are
high, and the energy low. You’re training for a pump to bring out the
detailed etchings of each muscle group, and shoulders are no exceptions.
With low body fat, there is some serious danger in placing a heavy
barbell in the barbell press position. Therefore, barbell upright rows
should be used as a replacement.
Conclusion
The conclusion, of course, is that upright rows have a different role
for all bodybuilders. Just as rookie phenom Ben White was able to build
some of the best legs in the sport without squatting, or Masters Pro
champion Bob Cicherillo was able to develop a world class chest while
never using the bench press, it’s entirely possible to build an
impressive set of shoulders without the use of upright rows. However,
the use of this movement will just help move you to possessing better
shoulders that much faster, if you’re willing to face a little bit of
risk using the movement. The choice is yours!
Q: What do you think of high volume training? It just
seems to me that these pros are lying – guys like Jay Cutler do six
exercises and then do between two and three sets for those six, each.
How is that possible?
A: Do you want the short answer? The short answer is
they are on steroids and can do it. High volume training is the best
way to utilize a cycle, in fact, because it’s virtually impossible to
over-train. You recover from almost anything, so getting in tons of high
volume work is the best thing for maximizing a cycle’s potential to
pack on mass. Could all of us do that much work on a cycle, all things
being equal? Probably not. These guys, remember, are pros for a reason.
It’s one of the reasons that you could take what Jay Cutler takes and
probably never achieve what he has. But you can push yourself as hard as
Cutler, relative to your own goals and development currently. I
recommend that you try some high volume training on your next cycle.
Work up to it, and start with 4 exercises and do 3 to 4 sets for each,
doing maybe 10 reps in each set. Try also to work up to taking less
rest. Focus during this time on moderate to heavy weight, rather than
heaviest lifts of all time. It won’t work if you try to do it all,
because something always has to give. You’re going to hate it at first
because it’s damn hard to do, but once you get over the hump of
“endurance” if you will, you’ll see the benefits of high volume
training. But remember, don’t do high volume work in an off-cycle phase.
Pyramiding your sets is simple, and it can be used to ensure that you
are adequately hitting both the slow- and fast-twitch muscle fibers.
Not only does this give your joints a rest in avoiding four ultra-heavy
sets and ensure you are properly warmed up before attempting heavy weights, but it stimulates as many possible muscle fibers in the
targeted muscle group as possible. Here is a sample shoulder routine,
which uses pyramid sets.
Military Barbell Press – Standing Or Seated
12 reps, 10 reps, 8 reps, 6 reps
Adding mass is the key with this movement, so you want to go hard and
heavy after a nice clean warm-up. Use a back brace to ensure the lower
back doesn’t wear too much strain, and hit this exercise like Arnold
used to, 30 years ago – Heavy and intense!
Hammer Strength Shoulder Press
15 reps, 12 reps, 10 reps, 8 reps
This is a chance to isolate the deltoids without recruiting too many
other muscle groups. The arc of the machine ensures you cannot cheat
very much, and that the deltoids are doing most of the work on this
movement. Complete slow and smooth repetitions, working to feel the
shoulders doing the work.
Dumbbell Side Raises
15 reps, 12 reps, 10 reps, 8 reps, 6 reps
A little swing is acceptable as you reach the last two sets, but don’t
be like many trainers who swing the entire time. On the first three
sets, keep form perfect. Use a little less weight if you cannot
complete the 15 and 12 repetition sets without cheating. Remember that
the goal is to build muscle, not see who can swing the biggest dumbbell.
Leave your ego at the gym door.
Bent-Over Dumbbell Side Raises For Rear Delts
15 reps, 12 reps, 10 reps, 8 reps, 6 reps
As with the dumbbell side raises, use very light weight for the first
several sets of this movement. You’ll see that the burn in the muscle
group – the pump resulting from flooding the rear deltoids with blood –
is much better when good form, lighter weight, and slower repetitions
are used.
Upright Rows: 4 Sets
15 reps, 12 reps, 10 reps, 8 reps
This can be a dangerous movement when too much weight is used. Start
with a little less weight than you usually use, and work to ensure that
the early sets are textbook perfect movements with no back swing to help
cheat the weight up. Only when you arrive at the last two sets – and
your shoulders are fried from this workout – can you break good form a
bit and employ some cheating.
We’ve all seen the young trainers in the gym, standing in the squat
rack with an Olympic barbell, doing bicep barbell curls. Well, not
exactly bicep curls. More like, “back heaves”. They add 40 pounds more
than they can handle to the bar, and then use an extremely amusing
amount of body English to bring the barbell from belt buckle to chin.
Some cheating is beneficial in bodybuilding training. The goal of
bodybuilding training is to stimulate the muscle group by filling it
with as much oxygen- and protein-rich blood as possible. So if improper
form at the end of a set helps the bodybuilder to push more blood into
the region, it’s a positive thing. However, the question is, when does a
little cheating become too much? When does the body English and swing
result in the muscle not being stimulated enough for the exercise to be
effective?
The barbell curl is the most popular – and most effective – exercise
for training the biceps. Standing with the feet shoulder-width apart
and grasping the barbell with an underhand grip and shoulder width, the
trainer slowly curls the bar out and up in a smooth arc-like motion. At
the top, he should full flex the biceps, and then slowly lower the
weight. The elbows should remain stationary. There back should have no
swing. The legs shouldn’t move. The entire brunt of MOST of the
exercise should be born by the biceps muscles.
Once the 5th, 6th, 7th or 8th reps pass, the arms are often engorged
with blood and lactic acid. No more curls can be achieved using proper
form. Failure has been reached. At this point, the trainer can find
additional results by training beyond failure. On the last 2 sets of an
exercise, attempt to complete 1-4 additional repetitions of the
movement by using just a bit of swing to overcome that ‘hump’ that
occurs on the upward arc, about halfway up. This failure point would
typically end your set. However, by using a bit of momentum and swing
to get past it, you are able to complete several additional repetitions,
bringing even more blood into the region.
The key to remember is that cheating should only be employed after
failure has been achieved using repetitions with good form. Cheating
should not be used in every exercise, every set, or you’d quickly burn
out due to over stimulation to the central nervous system. Keep is as a
handy tool in your repertoire for additional stimulation to the biceps
muscle once the body can no longer complete reps in good form.
Proportional Training
In most cases in the gym, it is very easy and always to observe that
the one and only bench press as well as distinct curl stations are
always occupied while on the other hand a number of leg stations as well
as squat racks are always idle. Many bodybuilders are naturally in love
with training with visible groups of muscle which include the chest as
well as the arms such that the most exercises targeting these areas
happen to be the most exercises in popular with many upcoming and
intermediate bodybuilders. The catchword in this is to never fall
anywhere near these traps simply because one is sure to quickly become
more and more disproportionate as well as largely asymmetrical.
Any overlook of general training could lead to an upcoming
bodybuilder earning very low marks for instance when a certain training
bounces the bar from off the chest, where one could have easily realised
that the weight must be too heavy. In this regard, a bodybuilder should
always be sure and ready to train their lower body as well as the most
of the upper body while making sure that less popular units of muscles
which include obliques, calves as well as forearms are never overlooked
at any one time. These mostly overlooked muscles are known to commonly
give the difference which exists between the debates on a good in
contrast to a great body physique. In addition it is quite important to
have a self assessment or even have a third party assessment of how one
is developing every couple of months.
In terms of lifting weights, it is not lifting them that make the
body muscles to start growing; in fact the most important thing here is
unmistakably the body recovery period which is the one thing which leads
to observable gains. Many bodybuilding beginners have always been
thinking that it is the more they train that the more they will be
growing which is nothing much but a fact of wrongs. In fact in this
line, it is the opposite of this wrong fact that is actually live and
true which includes rest as a perfect and vital component for any
bodybuilder amidst being scheduled as well as allotted at random where
it is usually based on fatigue and general soreness.
When a bodybuilder has trained his or her muscle groups, a resistance
is created causing the muscle fibres to be torn just slightly. Later,
the bodybuilder’s body has essentials which are able to repair as well
as building the damaged fibres of the body with the use of protein
synthesis as well as with the use of certain various amino acids
available in the body.
Protein synthesis is process through which nitrogen arrived from
amino acids in the body is linearly arranged in a certain specific way
in the paradigm of structured proteins courtesy of the ribo-nucleic acid
as well as with other enzymes. Synthesis of proteins is also a type of
muscle growth where the catch word is that the more a bodybuilder
efficiently makes it so is the building of muscles in an efficient and
extensive way.
Most bodybuilders believe that, like legs, the back is a complex
muscle group, and therefore requires a higher volume of sets in order to
properly stimulate the muscles into growth. They split back day into
muscle groups, then train each muscle group as if it deserved its own
day. An example of a high volume back day is as follows.
Lats
Chins 4 x 10
Lat pulldowns 4 x 10
Barbell rows 4 x 10
Low cable rows 4 x 10
Lower back
Deadlifts 4 x 10
Hyperextensions 4 x 10
This makes back day a 24-set day, which is considerably more than
most athletes can tolerate without either reducing the intensity to
handle such a 75-minute endeavor, or risking injury or overtraining.
Many people, when faced with the daunting task of targeting a single
area with that many sets, will subconsciously reduce weights or reps
used, reasoning with themselves that they have to leave something in the
tank for the next hour-plus of training. Additionally, they might try
to convince themselves that it’s acceptable because ‘with all these sets
I’m doing, surely I’m making it up somewhere!” Alternatively, some
beginning and intermediate bodybuilders will attempt to sustain full
intensity for 24 work sets on back day. When this happens, they often
find themselves becoming injured. Remember that the human body wasn’t
designed to lift weights. It grows as a result of exposure to moderate
to fairly intense weight training, coupled with food and rest. The
joints, however, are not as adaptive as the muscle groups are.
Twenty-four sets of jarring weight training can lead to repetitive
stress disorders, or worse, something tearing.
So is high volume back training is the only way to go? No. A growing
number of bodybuilders feel differently. They believe that only so
much stimulation can be attained by the back. They believe that after
so many sets, the arms begin doing the brunt of the workload. They feel
that we short-circuit our efforts, reduce recovery abilities, and run
the risk of injury by training in such a haphazard manner. They feel
that maximum intensity can be achieved using a much smaller workout
routine. An example would be something like this.
Lats
Chins 2 x 10
Lat pulldowns 2 x 10
Barbell rows 2 x 10
Lower back
Deadlifts 3 x 10
Hyperextensions 2 x 10
See which way works for you. The solution may lie somewhere in the
middle. As long as you are sustaining maximum intensity and completely
working the muscle group without overdoing it, you will find success!
Bodybuilding is a process that has attracted nearly every member of
the society irrespective of his temporary or permanent condition, age,
just to mention but a few. As members of a society, taking care of other
members of the society with special needs is our responsibility. One of
such ways is by helping them do things normal people do but in a safer
way to meet their special needs, bodybuilding being one of the things.
This text addresses some areas of special needs and how they can handle
bodybuilding.
Pregnant mothers are the first group of people who requires special
attention. They may be interested to the exercise during their
pregnancy, since it is always believed that physically fit women deliver
easily. This notion can be misleading to some extent, especially if one
fails to know the limits for the exercise. One step that is necessary
is that, one should not wait until when she is pregnant to start doing
some exercise. Physical fitness should come way back before pregnancy
such that during pregnancy it is reduced according to the age of the
pregnancy. It is recommended that a pregnant woman should not be
involved in a vigorous bodybuilding technique. Doing vigorous exercises
may cause an abortion or other complications. Light outdoor workouts
like walking around can be of use. At the same time, a pregnant lady
should never even dream of using steroids during pregnancy. Using such a
drug will be exposing both the mother-to-be and the unborn to extreme
dangers.
Children may also feel attracted to the bodybuilding exercise. It is
therefore necessary that we form a better way of helping them do it with
their age in mind. First, children should not use steroids in their
process of bodybuilding. Using steroids at a younger age will interfere
with their growth, they will have stunted growth. More so, they are not
immune to other dangers of steroid use, including the dangerous medical
conditions like diabetes. Children should also not engage in vigorous
bodybuilding exercise like weight lifting, especially where heavy weighs
are used. This may affect their growth as well as their health. They
should just go for light sets like taking a walk, bicycling and other
light sets of training.
The sick are also falling under this category of people. The first
step is that a sick person should rest, no hurry to exercise. But there
are some chronic diseases like epilepsy, asthma among others. These
conditions may be for a lifetime and telling the victim to keep off
training for life may not be realistic. For an epileptic, the best thing
is that when going for training, there should be a companion. This is
for security incase of an attack in the process of training, the person
should be able to handle the situation until it is all well. For one
who is suffering from asthma, never use steroids in your bodybuilding
exercise, it will worsen your condition. Otherwise any person who is
faced with any medical conditions should consult a doctor before trying
the exercise.
The aged are not left out of the bodybuilding exercise. What they
should do is to practice those exercises which do not require a lot of
energy. This is because based on their age; they have a reduced energy,
something which should not be strained further with training. They
should avoid using steroids because their body cells may not be strong
enough to fight back the side effects of the drug.
People with other forms of disabilities like the blind, deaf, those
on the wheel chair among others may also decide to do some form of
bodybuilding. What they should ensure is that chosen exercise is done
within their capabilities. More so, there should be some person to guide
them through the exercise.
It’s quite possibly our worst fear. It’s the one thing that makes us
sweat even when we haven’t lifted a weight. It’s lack of motivation.
Sometimes an injury can spur a dip in motivation, or maybe the sheer
number of years we’ve been at the iron game. Whatever the cause, it’s a
drag to fight a lack of motivation.
Short of injury, the single biggest reason we lose our motivation to
work out, diet or do cardio, is because we’ve been doing what we’re
doing for far too long. Okay, so maybe not for too long, but too stale
for too long!
If we fail to keep things fresh and invigorate our daily routines, it
can be difficult to remain as passionate and interested in the gym.
After all, it’s hard to train for 10 years and keep the same level of
enthusiasm and excitement for what we’ve seen over and over again. And
it’s particularly difficult to hit plateaus and be as excited as we once
were to find ways to transcend the sticking points. But motivation is
the key to continuous improvement and longevity.
We all go through periods of laziness or overall lackluster feelings
about the things that we do day in and day out, despite what it does for
us. Even the best conditioned bodies go through periods of time when
it’s like pulling teeth to keep the pace up. But it may just be a lack
of creativity that keeps us stuck.
ENLIVEN WORKOUTS BY DOING SOMETHING – ANYTHING – DIFFERENT
They say that nothing changes until something changes, so do just
that – change something. The point isn’t to do what you know works, the
point is to do something that will get you excited again and knock you
out of your funk. Knowing what works, and predictability, is what got
you to a point of boredom and overall malaise to begin with, so throwing
things off-kilter may help set you on the right path again.
Also try to consider that you can’t have things both ways: You can’t
be on the path to ultimate success in mass building or dieting if your
motivation levels are lagging. You can’t accomplish anything
achievement oriented without appropriate motivation levels, so don’t
even try. Put all your energy into gaining back your will and enthusiasm
to exercise. And that may take awhile, so be patient.
TIPS TO INCREASE YOUR DESIRE TO TRAIN
Get out of the gym – It sounds odd, but maybe you just need a look at something different or to ride your bike outdoors
Take a buddy into the gym – it helps to take someone who is motivated. It might rub off on you! Make a pact to motivate each other!
Help someone learn how to work out – when you see their new enthusiasm as you help them, it may be contagious!
Try different work out times – If you always go to the gym at 4pm, try 7:30am or 12 noon.
Break up your workouts – If you dread training for 45 minutes, and then having to get on the treadmill for the same, split it up.
Write down your negative feelings to try to pinpoint things
– Keep a log noting why you don’t want to get up and go to the gym. You
may find the solutions to how to beat your boredom by determining what
you’re avoiding.
Take up a sport and do their workout – Take up
tennis, skiing, cycling or something that requires a whole other kind of
workout. Maybe it’s bodybuilding and the thought of competing again
that’s getting you down.
Schedule a photo shoot with a photographer – Knowing you’re going to get pictures out of it, may get you moving!
In bodybuilding the emphasis is very much on the amount of muscle
mass that you have in the body. A good illustration is seen almost on a
daily basis. Suppose there are two gym partners, one who does the real
iron pumping while the other is into aerobics. When these two guys step
into a room all the gazes will be on the bigger guy simply because of
his muscle mass. The other guy, though physically very fit and shapely
will not elicit as much attention as his partner. So, what can be done
to add to muscle mass? These five tips below can be of great help.
1. Increase the calorie intake dramatically for 3 days
In order to gain that much desired positive nitrogen capacity and
balance in the body you have to be ready to eat. This is not just any
type of eating. You have to increase the intake of calories by about 50%
for about three days to make gains in this area. The additional
proteins, fats and carbs that you take in these three days will do
wonders in increasing your muscle mass and also hasten the recovery
process for your muscles. This will take place without bringing on
significant accumulation of body fats. By ensuring that these additional
calories are taken in the recommended three days, the body will get
more benefits from the effects of insulin. More glycogen will also be
stored in the muscles.
2. Attach great importance to rest
Without a doubt, every bodybuilder should know that growth and muscle
mass accumulation will only come about if the body is afforded adequate
rest. After accomplishing a training cycle it is usually a good idea to
stay away from the gym for a number of days as the body recuperates and
as the hormonal levels are taken back to the optimal levels.
3. Make a habit of eating in the middle of the night
As a bodybuilder no one should discourage you from eating those
middle-of–the-night meals simply because you know that when you have
enough calories in the body your anabolism will be heightened. In
addition to the 5-6 meals that you are required to eat on a daily basis
it is advisable that you add a protein drink at night that will to
increase your bodily stock of pro-anabolic nutrients.
4. Do not neglect power-lifting
There are three situations in as far as the use of weights is concerned.
Going for high reps will increase endurance. Medium reps will add both
strength and endurance while the low reps will basically add strength.
Power-lifters normally make use of the last description in training. As a
bodybuilder you are normally in the medium reps bracket but you should
periodically go for the low reps to increase tension in the muscles
hence more growth.
5. Make use of supplements
Glutamine will help you spur lots of muscle growth. Creatine will help
in the production of ATP, the chemical fuel used in the body.
Q: I’m an intermediate bodybuilder who has never competed
before. I wish to complete in a show in 4 months, and will begin my
pre-contest diet in a few weeks. I will be making drastic changes to my
diet at that time, and I figure I’ll change my weight-training to
high-repetition in order to etch detail into my muscle group. How
should I adjust my training to get ready for the show?
A: Be careful that you don’t make a mistake that
many bodybuilders do, forgetting who brought you to the dance. In order
words, you achieved your current level of muscle size by training hard
and heavy, completing a nice mix of high-repetition (for slow-twitch
muscle fibers) and low-repetition (for fast-twitch muscle fibers)
training. You were able to achieve your level of size because BOTH sets
of muscle fibers were stimulated in the muscle group.
Now, as you adjust your diet and prepared to compete, you’re talking
about removing half of the weight training that helped you build this
muscle, the low-rep heavy variety. This is a mistake. As soon as you
cut the heavy weights from your routine, you are going to begin to lose
muscle size. Yes, you might be able to stimulate a nice pump in the
gym. But this is from the slow-twitch muscle fiber stimulation, not
from fast-twitch training. As a result, the fast-twitch muscle fibers
in your muscle group will suddenly find themselves not being stimulated
for months at a time.
The result, as one might suspect, will be a loss of muscle mass.
When this occurs at a time when the body is already losing size due to
calorie restriction, muscle size can be lost relatively quickly. Seeing
the legs lose an inch or two can cause many bodybuilders to panic,
which causes even more muscle loss as cortisol levels spike.
Diet is responsible for etching the separation and definition into
muscle groups. High-repetition training is great for drawing a lot of
blood into the area, but the muscle fibers still do require heavy
weights to be moved to recruit the fast-twitch muscle fibers (those
which are stimulated with low, heavy repetitions). Successful national
and professional bodybuilders almost unanimously do not adjust their
training at all. They might find they don’t have as many reps in them,
or that shaving 5% of the weight off is required to retain good form.
But they still lift heavy to keep the muscle they worked so hard to
build. Instead, they let the diet and the cardio deliver the muscle
definition they desire.
When it comes to training the muscles of the body, slight variations
on the angles of exercises can have a profound effect upon the number
and location of muscles fibers being stimulated. Many bodybuilders make
a major mistake in not adjusting their training angles and grips over
time. Their bodies become accustomed to the same movements, and stop
growing. Additionally, there are groups of muscle fibers which are
never stimulated, as they’re not in the “line of fire” of that
particular movement’s range of motion. It’s important to rotate angles
and grip approaches to ensure you are stimulating the muscle group in
every way possible.
Chest
The flat bench press works the central chest. If you set the bench
to decline by 15 degrees, you are suddenly hitting an entirely different
set of muscle fibers, the lower chest. Or, if you raise the incline by
30 degrees, you are suddenly placing the emphasis upon the upper chest.
It’s incredible to think that just an inch or two in either direction,
over the course of just a few months, can have such an enormous effect
upon the physique we present onstage.
Quadriceps
When it comes to squats, bar placement means everything. Have a
friend snap a few pictures of you squatting, from the side. Take a look
at the imaginary path the weight would take if it were to fall directly
(through you) to the floor. The further back the barbell sits on the shoulders, the more of the emphasis is placed on the glutes and hips,
concurrent with the goals of the powerlifter. The further forward the
barbell site (without injuring the neck) the greater the amount of
stress that is placed upon the front quadriceps.
Back
There are many different variations of grip you can use for the lat
pulldowns, including close, wide, and medium. These apply to chins and
lat pull-ups as well. Wrist position and bench angle can be altered on
many variations of barbell and dumbbell rowing as well. Make it your
goal to hit the lats at a slightly different angle every time, and
you’ll ensure the muscles are continually being challenged in new ways.
Biceps
Most bodybuilders know that using a straight produces a different set
of results for the biceps than using a cambered EZ-curl bar. But did
you know that selection of differing grips on the EZ-curl bar can have a
major effect as well? Different levels of Supinated grip can result in
the outer or inner heads of the biceps being stimulated.
These methods apply to all body parts. If you’ve been training using
the same grip and angles for months, or even years, it’s very likely
that your muscle groups have fully adapted to that angle. You can still
increase the demand by adding weight, but you limit the groups of
fibers which are being stimulated. To prevent this, utilize a wide
variety of angles and grips when training. Never allow your body to
fully adapt. The workload should continually change in minor ways with
each and every workout.
You’ve tried everything to get big. Yet it’s still not happening.
You’re still severely underweight. But why? You work your tail off in
the gym. You eat everything in sight. But you’re not gaining any
weight. Let’s check out a few factors you just may be overlooking.
Calories
If you consume more calories than you burn, you will absolutely gain
weight. It’s simple science. Eat 500 more calories than you burn over a
7 day period, and you will gain one pound (3500 calories per pound).
It’s that simple.
Sleep
If you’re severely underweight, chances are pretty good that you’re
just not sleeping enough. Our brains release growth hormone when we sleep. The reason babies often sleep 14 hours per day is that they are
so busy growing. It’s very common for young, busy people in their late
teens or twenties to sleep five or six hours per night. You need to
change that.
Water
Making up over 70% of our body, water is the building block for all
cells – including muscle cells. If you are dehydrated, your muscles
will be shriveled and your organs will tape muscle glycogen reserves for
the water they need to function. If you’re trying to gain muscle mass,
you should be drinking a gallon of water per day, without exception.
Stress
Whenever your body experiences mental stress, it releases a hormone
known as cortisol. Cortisol has a catabolic nature which causes muscle
destruction. Listen to some interviews with the world’s top
bodybuilders. There aren’t too many wired, or inordinately hyper men
among them. They all seem to have this super-relaxed feel to them. As a
result, their bodies don’t release much cortisol. You need to be the
same way in your temperament.
Job
This reinforces the stress point. Both mental and physical stress
can reduce muscle gains and keep a person skinny. If you work eight
hours per day at a job where you’re running in circles solving crisis
after crisis, chances are you’re wasting many valuable body resources
which good be devoted to muscle growth. Try to find a job which allows
you to move and stress minimally. A writer who spends his day in a
recliner typing and can enjoy meals any time he wishes is going to be in
better shape for a 5 pm workout than a manager who spent his entire day
running in circles. Slow down.
Consistency
Gains will come, but they will come in terms of 1/8 of a pound at a
time. It’s only through steady, consistent training over time that you
will turn these miniscule gains into 5 and 10 pound additions to your
frame. Training on for a week, off for a week will not lead to gains.
Instead, make training and diet a regular part of your life. Over time,
the very small gains will become big gains.
Hope
No matter how skinny you are now, realize that when you reach age 25,
your metabolism is going to drop and you’re going to have a newfound
ability to add size to your body. In fact, the metabolism you curse now
for keeping you so skinny will soon be a great blessing when you
finally do decide to diet down to show off your newfound muscle mass one
day. A little bit of calorie restriction and cardio, and you’ll be
ripped in no time!
Being severely underweight is a curse that many of us just have to
accept as a reality of our genes. However, through proper nutrition,
training, and lifestyle management, you can overcome the narrow frame,
and even use it to your advantage. Good luck, and stay consistent!
Bodybuilders like Bill Pearl and Casey Viator exemplified outstanding
forearms in the 1950s and 1960s. In the 1970s, Sergio Olivia was king
of the forearms. The 1980s saw thick, insane forearms on men like
Bertil Fox. In the 1990s, Steve Brisbois had perhaps the best
‘hamhocks’ in the business. And today, top pro Phil Heath is known for
his almost cartoon-like forearms.
First off, it should be noted that some bodybuilder never train their
forearms. Their forearms receive secondary stimulation from gripping
the barbell, on exercises such as deadlifts and barbell rows. They also
become highly involved in arms exercises such as barbell and dumbbell
curls, and on triceps movements, to a lesser extent. Seeing as they are
professional bodybuilders with a wealth of contributing factors (proper
nutrition, amazing genetics, and superior steroid stacks), the
combination of these factors plus the secondary effects of the
aforementioned compound exercises leads to adequate stimulation of the
forearms.
For those “Joe Six Pack” trainers, which includes most of us, some
direct forearms training is required in order to keep them on par with
the rest of our physiques, and to prevent them from becoming a
limitation in strength training. Alternate dumbbell hammer curls are the
first exercise which should be completed each week. Three to five sets
following the completion of biceps training is a terrific transitional
movement group. The biceps should be torched by this point. Now,
finish off training with barbell wrist curls. Standing in a squat rack,
on a flat bench, or just in an empty area, complete the wrist curls in a
slow and deliberate motion. You should never rush forearm training,
nor should you ever train with excessive weight. The goal of forearm
training is never to move the most weight, or to do it in the fastest
manner. Instead, the goal is to flush the forearm region with as much
blood as possible. This leads to muscle growth, and increased grip
strength.
It should be noted that some bodybuilders intentionally avoid all
forearm training – and often work to avoid massive stimulation of the
area – in order to keep their forearms smaller. It may sound odd that
any bodybuilder would want to keep a body part underdeveloped. But the
thinking involved points to the fact that bodybuilding is all about
illusions. The smaller the forearms look, the larger the upper arms
look by comparison. Therefore any chance they have, they skip forearm
stimulation. This kind of training methodology goes against traditional
thinking, and certainly lends to potential future weaknesses in
training using compound movements. For many bodybuilders (who make
their living from the sport) with weak upper arms, however, it is a
trade-off they are willing to make.
Whatever your goals, and wherever you are on the bodybuilding food
chain, always work to make concentrated forearm training a standard
staple in your weekly training protocol. You’ll be glad you did. The
overall increase in grip strength, along with the improved look of
thicker lower arms, will lead to more overall bodybuilding success.
