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Lifting And Diet For Effective Weight Loss

July 29, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

If you’re like the average American male, your body retains your excess calories as fatty tissues. Why? Eating large burgers, fries, and liters of soda is not exactly healthy. Watching NFL or NBA doesn’t exactly count as exercise either. You lack physical activity and diet control. Here comes the bad news, most of these fat cells are deposited in your gut and upper body resulting in protruding stomachs and flabby arms. Not exactly Brad Pitt-like. Diets and weight loss are necessary if you want to circumvent these scary effects.

Most Recommended Tips for Lifting And Diet For Effective Weight Loss http://www.dietbuzzer.com/blog/category/protein-diets

However, following programs on diets and weight loss are not enough if you want a rock-hard or at least, a well-defined physique. What you need to do is to combine a well-balanced diet (think vitamins, proteins, and carbs) with resistance training. It’s not at all difficult, but commitment is necessary if you want to achieve your dream body. First, consult your doctor for a whole body check-up because resistance training can aggravate past injuries such as fractures or back injuries. The sooner you know what to avoid, the better your program would be. Second, identify what muscle groups you want to develop. It’s not a pretty sight to have a muscled upper body and skinny legs. Third, enroll yourself in a gym with proper equipment and team up with a trainer/fitness instructor you feel comfortable enough to work with. It is important to talk to him about fitness goals, lifestyle, and your over-all health. He might even prescribe a procedure about your diets and weight loss that would be suitable for your lifestyle.

Most Recommended Tips for Lifting And Diet For Effective Weight Loss http://www.dietbuzzer.com/blog/category/protein-diets

Diets and weight loss experts usually recommend building muscle in order to lose weight. The thing to remember always is your RMR; this measures how fast your metabolism works (read: burns calories) at rest. It is important to get your RMR past this level for you to effectively use body fuel. This is why you have to lift weights. As you lift weights, the body tends to develop more muscle or leaner mass. Muscle burns body fuel or calories even at rest; so the more muscle you have, the faster the pounds are shed. Another key factor is progression. Soon your body would start to get accustomed to the weights you lift. Hence, you use less effort and energy which staggers the whole weight loss process. The right weight for you is the weight which you can’t lift for over 12 reps. It is also advised to increase the weights every one or two weeks.

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Filed Under: Weight training Tagged With: Diet, Effective, Lifting, Loss, Weight

Why Weight Lifting Is An Exercise That Delivers Top Health Benefits

July 29, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Why Weight Lifting Is An Exercise That Delivers Top Health Benefits

By Vince DelMonte

While some individuals are strictly interested in obtaining muscle for aesthetics, for most people, this isn’t an interest. Instead, you’re more interested in knowing what health benefits weight lifting will have for you…

Far too many people overlook the many health and fitness benefits that weight training has to offer, and because of this, experience problems down the road with their body such as decreased bone density, a slowed metabolic rate, increased stress levels and other negative consequences that are associated with constant stress.

Increased Bone Density

Weight lifting, being one of the best weight bearing exercises you can do, will increase your bone density and help ward off osteoporosis or stress fractures in the future.

Many people think running is the best exercise for increasing bone density, but this isn’t necessarily true. If the truth is told, running actually promotes muscle breakdown in the body, while weight lifting, being an anabolic process, helps to promote the building of tissues.

Therefore, weight lifting is going to be much better at preserving your bone mass, not to mention it’s far less impact than going for an hour run.

Decreased Frequency of Injuries

When you strength train, not only are your muscles going to get stronger, but you’ll also work the ligaments and tendons that are connecting bones, muscles, and other tissues, thus reducing the chance they become injured when participating in other physical activities.

If you’ve ever been injured, you know just how frustrating this can be. In about 80% of all injury cases, the injury is a direct result of a tendon, ligament, or muscle not being strong enough when a stressful force is applied.

Since weight training will really hit all those deep tendons and ligaments, it’s the best injury prevention out there.

Reduction of Health Related Risks

Numerous studies have demonstrated that regular weight training can have a positive effect on health by showing reductions in the rate of insulin resistance, blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer.
If you couple a solid weight training program then with a well-thought out diet, you’ll be putting your best foot forward at warding off these chronic problems

Prevention of Fat Gain

The more you weight lift, the higher your metabolism will be, thus the more food you can eat while maintaining your weight. If that isn’t good news for your future and the fight against body fat, I’m not sure what is.

Now, with all of this said, one big problem many people run into is the thinking pattern that using a muscle building program will make you big and bulky.

This is most certainly not the case.

Let’s look at an analogy to gain an understanding of this.

Pretend you have two teams and each are going to try and build a house using the exact same building technique.

One team is given 10,000 bricks to construct this house, and the second team is given only 1,000 bricks.

Who’s going to build the bigger house?

The choice should be obvious – team one since they have more bricks to build it with.
Now, think of those bricks as being the calories you put into your body. Unless you’re supplying enough calories, you aren’t going to build really big muscles. This is precisely what makes bodybuilders look like bodybuilders.

It’s not just about the way they train, but more about the way they eat (if you’ve ever had a teenage son in the growing process in your house, you likely know just how much food must be consumed when growing at rapid rates).

Whether it’s growing in height during puberty or trying to build bigger muscles later on, calories must be supplied for this growth process to take place.

You can’t build a house out of nothing. Likewise, you can workout all you want, but if those building blocks – in the form of amino acids, carbohydrates, and dietary fats are not there, you aren’t going to see too much muscle growth.

So, don’t get caught thinking that just because you add weight lifting to your workouts, you’re going to develop large bulky muscles. If you control your diet, this simply will not happen.
So, hopefully it is clear now that just because you’re weight lifting, it does not mean you will end up with bulky muscles as a result. Many people make this incorrect assumption – but it really is the diet that makes all the difference in how this weight lifting will shape your body.
When you make the decision to work with me using my 6-Pack Ab Quest program, I’ll take you through the weight lifting and ab techniques that will provide maximum results with minimal effort on your part (why spend more time in the gym than you have to?), as well as provide you with meal plans that are custom designed to ensure you get the best results from your training without the muscle bulk – in fact, the plans are formulated to help you shed the fat so you look leaner and more defined.

Not choosing to include weight training as part of your current workout program is without-a-doubt the biggest mistake you could make as far as your long-term health and fitness level is concerned. Don’t let this exercise pass you by any longer.
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I thank you for taking the time to read this short report and I sincerely hope you take action
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© 2003-2010 World Marketing Media, Inc.

JanuszJanulis
© 2003-2010 World Marketing Media, Inc.

Filed Under: Weight training programs Tagged With: Delivers, Exercise., Lifting, That, Weight

Consuming the Right Weight Lifting Supplements

July 26, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Weight lifting is practiced by bodybuilders to develop size, strength and power in their muscles. However, it is not enough to just do weight lifting, it may be necessary to take supplements as well.

Bodybuilders need to adhere to 3 synergistic principles in order to continuously build muscles. These principles should be incorporated into a weight training program that will permit you to steadily develop.

These principles are: practicing intelligent weight training; using quality nutrition in a smart way; and resting adequately. Many weight lifters, bodybuilders and athletes have used these principles for years
with discernible effects.

If you are having trouble gaining muscle despite following the right weight training practices and resting well, chances are you haven’t been feeding your body the right amount and kind of nutrients.

You must steadily increase your calorie intake to produce a caloric surplus which will fuel your growth in size and strength.

The most important meal is breakfast since you need extra calories in your system that early in your schedule, before you start working out.

It would help if you actually had eaten 2 solid meals before going to the gym. Your muscles need more glycogen running through your bloodstream for strength.

It is also important to consume the top five favorite supplements of bodybuilders. These can be consumed throughout the year. These supplements are: protein powder, creatine, greens, Essential Fatty Acids,
and multivitamins.

Of course, whether or not you take supplements, you must still consume a healthy well balanced diet. However, it is best if you subscribe to a healthy diet and quality supplementation.

Protein powder is important because it is a very convenient method of consuming extra protein at less cost. A weight training practicioner should consume a minimum of 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight
daily.

You can see that drinking several protein drinks throughout the day is easier than eating huge amounts of food just to bring in that much protein into your body.

Creatine is known to improve protein synthesis and decrease protein breakdown. The aftereffects are an increase in lean muscle mass, higher performance levels during high-intensity exercise, boosting energy levels, and hastening recovery rates.

Creatine is a natural product that can be found in many foods though for convenience weight training practicioners should take supplements.

Phytonutrients are antioxidants that are found in greens. Examples of these phytonutrients are carotenoids, polyphenols and chlorophyll. Phytonutrients are important since they shield the body from free radical damage.

Greens therefore bolster the immune system of the body, while detoxifying and nourishing it. One serving of greens supplements amounts to around 8-10 servings of fruits and vegetables.

Essential Fatty Acids can be described as good fats. These good fats are actually long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids produced from oleic,
linoleic, and linolenic acids.

These help counter aging, and are beneficial for circulatory function, soft and smooth skin, adequate brain function, digestive support and building the immune system.

However, these are necessary fats that the human body fails to synthesize, and should be consumed orally.

For some people, getting their Daily Recommended Values for vitamins and minerals is easy since their diet is adequate. However, for others it might not be so easy since their diet lacks certain vital nutrients.

Thus, multivitamin supplements are necessary to avoid problems like nerve damage, weakened bones, or heart disease.

Dave Poon is an accomplished writer who specializes in
the latest in Fitness and Health. For more information
regarding Weight Lifting Supplements please drop by at http://www.malemusclebodybuilding.com/

Filed Under: Weight training programs Tagged With: Consuming, Lifting, Right, Supplements, Weight

Weight Lifting Bench Press Strength Building Equipment

July 26, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Barbell Type Press

The lift usually begins with the individual on his back on the bench. Both feet should be flat on the floor or on the bench itself. The lifter grasps the barbell with both hands equidistant from the weight and lowers the weight to the chest and then raises it again. At full extension, the arms are straight up and the elbows are locked. The back and buttocks remain in contact with the bench and the shoulders blades are squeezed to provide further stability.

Change of Angle

The flat bench is the best known and is the generic position. By changing the angle of a bench itself, additional muscle groups can be incorporated into the development of your chest, shoulders and arms. The term “bench press” usually refers to this lifting position. In the flat position, the knees may be opened up, the feet placed on the bench rather than the floor.

An incline bench press lowers the pelvic region and elevates the shoulders. This type of exercise routine works the deltoid muscles and the upper portion of your chest. A decline bench press lifts the pelvis and lowers the head and shoulders. The purpose of the decline press is to work the lower portion of the chest and the deltoids.

Safety Considerations

There are a number of serious injuries that can be caused by improper positions of the hands or other parts of the body. Torn ligaments, cracked ribs, elbow and wrist sprains are all potential injuries. Another typical injury is that of a torn rotater cup. The novice lifter should use a spotter to provide help in lifting until the muscle patterns are established.

Technology in the equipment design has made it possible to add difficulty to the weight lifting bench press. Chains and bands can be lengthened or tightened so that the lifter must push harder to achieve the full extension at the top of the lift. The lifter may use these equipment advances when doing serious training for some type of power lift competition.

Cost benefit advantage and efficiency are the two major concerns of people that wish to buy weight benchWebsite with a well accomplished store and vast inventory of products could be the one point solution in finding quality benches for weight lifting bench press.

Filed Under: Weight training Tagged With: Bench, Building, Equipment, Lifting, Press, Strength, Weight

Women amp Weight Lifting Unnatural Enemies

July 25, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Part of my warm-up routine at the gym involves asking my girlfriend if she might like to get off the elliptical machine and lift weights with me. “No way,” she answers invariably, “I don’t want to get big.” I never really gave her response much thought until recently, when I began to see it as part of a larger pattern- I have a number of female friends, and every one of them avoids the weight room like I avoid chick flicks and shoe stores. Oh, they all go to the gym- but not a single one would pick up a weight unless her life depended on it.

The more I thought about it, however, the less profound this trend seemed; ever since the early days of Muscle Beach, the weight room has been synonymous with grunting, muscle-bound guys and their perfectly-shaped and sometimes frightening female counterparts- not exactly an inviting place for the casual-exercising woman. I’m even frightened by some of the people in the weight room, and I’m not a small guy. But if you take the intimidation factor out of the equation, most women my age still refuse to do any type of weight training. I decided that I needed to dig deeper to find the root of the problem.

I thought hard about my girlfriend’s response- it seemed to me that her only objection to lifting weights was that she wanted to remain bulk-free. I didn’t blame her for that, but I also knew that she didn’t really understand how much work it takes to build any kind of muscle. Being somewhat of an amateur bodybuilder, muscle gain is my top priority at the gym, and I focus just about all of my free time and energy on it outside of the gym. I eat five meals a day, taking in almost 3000 calories in an effort to pack on the pounds, as well as training 5 or more days a week. Any gains I see are slow and small, and if I ever decided I was getting too big, I could easily tone down my training and eating. Aside from occasionally polishing off a pint of Ben & Jerry’s, my girlfriend eats next to nothing, and she’s certainly not the one grunting to push out that last rep at the bench press station.

Normally I wouldn’t care that my girlfriend didn’t want to do something I liked- she can do, or not do, anything she pleases- but what upsets me is that she’s depriving herself of a great form of exercise without a great reason for it. Weight training has been proven to have all sorts of positive effects on your body- it increases your metabolism and elevates your body’s levels of euphoria-inducing endorphins. It also improves strength and bone density- not to mention that it helps you to look and feel great. Even running or doing other cardiovascular activities will not give you the same kind of benefits that weight training can. There really is no reason not to train with weights if you’re going to do any sort of exercise.

I have since sat down with my girlfriend and assured her that lifting weights would not turn her into the next Chyna. After a long talk and a little bit of pleading, I convinced her to lift with me at the gym the next day. She was initially very reluctant, but she eventually got a feel for the different exercises, and is now into the habit of lifting a little bit in every workout. She reports to me constantly how much better she feels, and regrets not getting started with weights sooner. She has since lost weight and gained some great muscle tone. All her friends notice a difference in her, too, and sure enough, they’ve all started their own weight training programs.

Now when we’re at the gym, my girlfriend bugs me to get off the treadmill and lift with her! With my girlfriend swearing by weights, I consider my own mission accomplished. I know that weight training may not appeal to everyone, but to any skeptics out there, I urge you to try it for a few months and see the huge change it can bring to your body, your attitude, and yourself. You won’t regret it!

Aaron Vasquez is a fitness enthusiast, amateur bodybuilder, and aspiring web designer. You can check out the collaboration of Aaron’s interests at his website, Gyms Near You

Filed Under: Weight training programs Tagged With: Enemies, Lifting, Unnatural, Weight, Women

Weight Lifting Books… The Deciding Factors In Choosing Them

July 24, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

When looking for a good weight lifting book you need to understand the certain factors first. Bodybuilding can protect you from devastating fractures in several ways. Weight training, when done properly will increase your lean muscle.

Lifting

Lifting weights is probably the best medicine to enhance you’re health. Lifting weights is an effective way to burn calories because increasing muscle mass may help to increase your metabolic rate. Lifting weights doesn’t burn many calories, but it does rev up your metabolism. These principles must be organized in a weight lifting program that allows you to grow consistently and build muscle. Smart weight lifting, intelligent nutrition and quality rest are the real keys to optimal weight training and building muscle.

If you can get these elements down in an organized, well balanced bodybuilding program, you’ll be well on your way to building muscle and the body you’ve always wanted. A good weight lifting book helps immensly as well.

Training

Training on the lifts helps gain the strength and stability required in many other sports. Training on the lifts (or partial lifts) helps gain the speed and fitness required in many other sports.

Arnold Schwarzenegger achieved all this through hard training for SIX long years. Muscular adaptation is specific to the demand placed upon the body through weight lifting routines or weightlifting training programs.

Over-training can also lead to injuries and long-term soreness. There should be a definite training goal in mind. Without sufficient calories and nutritional supply, even the best and most carefully put together training program and exercises won’t work. There should be a definite training goal in mind.

Body Dynamics

A powerful chest is something everybody recognizes. Almost anybody can improve his/her chest by lifting weights with only the smallest bit of know-how. But, the one body part which shows through our clothes, the body part that’s testament to all our hard work, regardless of what we’re wearing is a strong, V-shaped back.

The shoulders are among the most difficult of body parts to train. Shoulder trainees need to use a variety of weight training exercises combined with correct body positioning, and the latter is where a lot of people miss the shoulder boat. There are plenty of hardgainers out there who have trouble developing their arms, back, or chest, but for some reason, I’ve never met anybody who can’t get their legs to grow.

Exercises

There are of course many sites and discussions about weight lifting exercises on the internet for more experienced hard-core body builders, but very few seem to cover the basics of weight lifting exercises as well as the more in-depth information. It’s very important that beginning weight lifters and body builders as well, receive an accurate description of all weight lifting exercises and what they can expect once they start working out. Weight Lifting Books: “Proper weight lifting will help anyone regardless of age to be able to build up and shape up muscles & improve muscular endurance. An increase in your lean muscle due to consistently performing weight lifting exercises will help you to improve your metabolism.

If you don’t use the proper weight lifting exercises in the proper manner and use these same exercises to maintain or improve your lean muscle you will lose more than one-half pound of muscle every year of your life after about age 25. So unless you use safe and effective weight lifting exercises your muscles will gradually decrease in size and strength over a period of years resulting in poor health, poor physical appearance, low energy levels etc. Hopefully this gives you some good information on the basics of training exercises develop a massive, strong and visually appealing physique that you’ve always wanted.

Steve Gwillim’s R.I.P.P.E.D. Bodybuilding Weight Trianing Program and weight lifting Book: http://www.rippedweighttraining.com/

You will find truckloads more of muscle gain tips in his manual then you ever thought possible.

Body building Weight Training Program

Unleash The Peak Performance Caged In You!

Filed Under: Weight training exercises Tagged With: books, Choosing, Deciding, Factors, Lifting, Weight

Weight lifting isn’t just for meatheads

July 23, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

We have all seen them. The huge guys at the gym, lifting huge stacks of plates and grunting and sweating like their head is about to explode. Their arms are busting out of their shirts and their legs look like they belong to a horse…a muscular horse. Who wants to look like that? This is one of the main reasons that some people, although they want to lost weight and look great, refuse to lift weights. They are scared that picking up the heavy iron will turn them into hulking behemoths that can’t put their arms down by their side. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Lifting weights will not turn you into a bodybuilder overnight. Getting the kind of muscle you see on those big boys in the gym takes years (10-15) of work, incredibly long workouts, and sometimes, a little “help” from a not so natural source…if you get my drift. For most of us, adding weight training into our exercise regimen will do exactly what we want it to. Weight training will help you to lose weight, get in shape, and look better at the beach. You see, for every ounce of muscle you build, your body will speed up its own internal fat burning process. The more muscle you build, the more fat you were burn. Now, muscle DOES weigh more than fat, but don’t let that scare you. I mean, what do you really care about, how much you weight, or what you look like with your shirt off? That is the real test if improving your physique is high on your priority list. Most of us just want to watch the scales and see the pounds come pouring off, but when you are regularly training with weights, this oftentimes does not happen. As you are burning fat, you are building muscle, so your weight may stay the same, but your body may look drastically different. Your clothes will fit better, the people at the office will start to look at your differently and when beach time comes, you will be the first to rip off your shirt!

So, how do you get started with a good weight training program? The last thing you want to do is hit the gym and start blasting out arm curls with absolutely no idea of what you are doing. Weight training is serious business and can be very dangerous. One wrong move and you could wind up lying in bed for 6 months watching your body slip into worse shape than before you started. A solid rule of thumb when beginning to work with weights is to partner up with someone who knows what they are doing. This could be a friend who has lots of experience or better yet, a personal trainer. A qualified personal trainer can walk you through a step by step process of building an effective weight training program that will help you to reach your goals while avoiding injury along the way.

So the next time you think about lifting weights, you may not conjure a vision of a well oiled massive figure posing in tiny trunks; you may see yourself, ripped, in shape, and looking fantastic thanks to your weight training program.

http://www.MrFatLoss.com , aka, Emile Jarreau is 31 year veteran fitness professional and co-owner of M2FitnessPros.com in Long Beach, California. Also having 19 years of bodybuilding and figure coaching and previous NPC judging experience, he specializes in fat loss and all its aspects and freely shares online resources to the world.

Filed Under: Weight training programs Tagged With: isn’t, Just, Lifting, meatheads, Weight

Why Weight Lifting Is An Exercise That Delivers Top Health Benefits

July 20, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

While some people are very interested in building muscle for aesthetics, for most people, this isn’t an interest. Instead, their’re more interested in knowing what health benefits weight lifting will have for them…

There are so many people who overlook the many health and fitness benefits that weight training has to offer, and because of this, they experience problems down the road with their body such as decreased bone density, a slowed metabolic rate, increased stress levels and other negative consequences that are associated with constant stress.

Weight lifting, is undoubtedly one of the best weight bearing exercises you can do, it will increase your bone density and help ward off osteoporosis or stress fractures in the future.

Far too many people think running is the best exercise for increasing bone density, but this isn’t always true. Let truth be told, running actually promotes muscle breakdown in the body, while weight lifting, being an anabolic process, helps to promote the building of tissues.

So therefore, weight lifting is going to be much better at preserving your bone mass, not to mention it’s far less impact than going for an hour run.

Strength train, will not only going to get your muscles stronger, but you’ll also work the ligaments and tendons that are connecting bones, muscles, and other tissues, which in turns, reduce the chance they will become injured when participating in other physical activities.

So, if you would like to learn more

You know just how frustrating injuries can be. In about 80% of all injury cases, the injury is a direct result of a tendon, ligament, or muscle not being strong enough when a stressful force is applied.

Since weight training will really hit all those deep tendons and ligaments, it’s surely the best injury prevention out there.

Quite alot of studies have demonstrated that regular weight training can have a positive effect on health by showing reductions in the rate of insulin resistance, blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer. If you combine a solid weight training program and with a well-thought out diet, you’ll be putting your best foot forward at warding off these chronic problems

In fact, the more you weight lift, the higher your metabolism will be, thus the more food you can eat while maintaining your weight. If that isn’t good news for your future and the fight against body fat, I’m not sure what is.

Now, with all of this said, one big problem many people misconception is that using a muscle building program will make you big and bulky. This is most certainly not true.

Let me give you an analogy to get you to understand this.

Pretend you have two teams and each are going to try and build a house using the exact same building technique. One team is given 10,000 bricks to construct this house, and the second team is given only 1,000 bricks.

Who’s going to build the bigger house?

It’s not so much about the way they train, but more importantly it”s about the way they eat (if you’ve ever had a teenage son in the growing process in your house, you likely know just how much food must be consumed when growing at rapid rates).

Whether it’s growing in height during puberty or trying to build bigger muscles later on, calories must be supplied for this growth process to take place.

Obviously, you can’t build a house out of nothing. Likewise, you can workout all you want, but if those building blocks – in the form of amino acids, carbohydrates, and dietary fats are not there, you aren’t going to see too much muscle growth.

So, don’t believe that just because you add weight lifting to your workouts, you’re going to develop large bulky muscles. If you control your diet, this simply will not happen. So, hopefully it is clear now that just because you’re weight lifting, it does not mean you will end up with bulky muscles as a result. Most people make this incorrect assumption – but it really is the diet that makes all the difference in how this weight lifting will shape your body.

Not including weight training as part of your current workout program is without-a-doubt the biggest mistake you could make as far as your long-term health and fitness level is concerned. Don’t let this exercise pass you by any longer. Take the dare. Take Action.

So if you would like to know more, just click here.

To find out more about Weight Lifting and Building Muscles, just visit http://www.secretdietsolutions.com/muscles

Filed Under: Weight training programs Tagged With: Delivers, Exercise., Lifting, That, Weight

Weight Lifting Plateaus…and How to Avoid Getting on One

July 19, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

You have recently discovered the wonderful world of weight lifting. Just down the street from your home is a wonderful gym that is open twenty-four hours a day to accommodate the long hours you spend at your place of employment. For the first six months you have were working through a fat-loss/muscle mass gain program devised for you by the trainer at the gym. Your BMI (body-mass-index) has shown a dramatic drop and the girth of your upper arm has increased substantially during this period. Then …Wham!…for the last month you have been unable to post a substantial change in any of your goals you set when you started. My friend, you are experiencing your first exposure to a weight lifting “plateau”. Your body has quit responding positively to the challenger you are giving it and something needs to change.

The biggest effect of a plateau is that it will kill your motivation. If this is allowed then you have wasted those last few months as well as those coming as you still fail to achieve your goals. You have hit this plateau because your muscles have become accustomed to the workload you demand and they just do not need to grow to get by. It is time for your weight training program to experience its own growth…it is time for a change. Experienced bodybuilders incorporate changes into their routines before reaching a plateau and it is this change that allows them continued growth.

This is a good time to review the three essentials to increasing muscle mass. You first must stress the muscle through an exercise routine. This stress is accomplished by constantly demanding more and more from a muscle group until it reaches a limit. If your exercises do not make this demand then they need to be changes. Alter the amount of weight you lift in order to achieve this limit. Remember, you no longer want your body accustomed to a routine but you want to “raise the bar” until you achieve the desired effect.

Your workout should be strenuous enough that your body screams for a break. Rest is of utmost necessity when working to improve muscle mass. Upper arm curls, bench presses or squats; it does not matter. When you fatigue a muscle group through any lifting technique it is imperative that you allow time for recuperation. This allows the muscle to grow into the demands that have been made and <u>come back for more</u>! So if you are not getting needed rest (sleep!) you should increase time allotted for this purpose. You will not be able to bypass this plateau until you change your rest cycles.

Now is the time to talk about those skinless chicken breasts and plates of sirloin steak. Nutritious food is the key for muscle growth. A proper diet is simple to design and implement and should be of primary concern to your workout programs. When you reach a plateau and no longer are able to log any improvements then you should redesign your menus. More protein? Maybe more carbohydrates? Is it possible that your fat intake is not where it should be? Any of these can affect your ability to gain muscle mass when working through your program.

So do not be afraid of reaching a plateau in your weight training life. The best way to bypass a plateau is to not get there in the first place. Educate yourself early in your bodybuilding career and constantly change your methods to keep you growing. However it you do reach a plateau there is still plenty of time for education that will help you work your way out of the situation.

glchandler is an early senior (62) who is attempting to live his words and get on with life. Although disabled approximately eight years I have decided I do wish to live longer and better. Hope to see you around the gym! A few favorites include Escape Your Shape and Turbulence Training as well as No Nonsense Method To Shape Your Body

Filed Under: Weight training programs Tagged With: Avoid, Getting, Lifting, Plateaus...and, Weight

Is Stretching The Least Important Weight Lifting Method For Avoiding Muscle Injuries

July 17, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Stretching has long been touted as the most effective muscle injury prevention mechanism available, and thus is used by bodybuilders around the world prior to weight lifting workout sessions to reduce the risk of muscle strains and tears. Much time is spent performing various types of stretches depending upon which muscle group is focused upon, and there is no doubt that increasing flexibility can allow for superior range of motion during weight training exercises, and also can reduce the incidence of various muscle injuries.

Yet, despite the benefits of stretching, for the bodybuilder who is hoisting heavy poundage during weight training sessions, there is a far more effective injury prevention technique that can be performed in addition to, or even in lieu of stretching, and is neglected by far too many bodybuilders. Warm up sets are, by far, the most potent weight lifting workout injury prevention method, as they prepare a muscle for pending stress, and when implemented properly within a weight lifting workout plan, they can prevent the pain and discomfort that often surfaces in joints and muscles.

We all know that fully depressing the gas pedal on an automobile shortly after starting the engine can cause great damage, as the oil has yet to circulate properly through the various chambers of the engine, and operating a vehicle at full power when engine temperature has yet to rise will increase the chances for wear, tear and potential engine failure, and although we all apply this to our car by way of an engine warm up period, many bodybuilders neglect to use the same logic on their own body, which responds similar to an automobile in such circumstances, except instead of waiting for oil to circulate through the engine compartments and allowing engine temperature to rise, we are attempting to increase blood flow into the muscle vessels so that they are prepared to handle heavy weights during an intense bodybuilding session. By doing so, the muscles, like an automobile engine, are in essence lubricated, preparing them for intense stress that follows, but when warm up sets are neglected, the muscles are performing at maximum capacity from a cold state, and can easily experience injuries ranging in severity from minor muscle strains to major tears.

Many bodybuilders may fear that performing warm ups will adversely impact the actual weight used during a workout set, but this is not only a false notion, but surprisingly to many, the opposite is true, meaning that by performing warms ups properly, the muscle are actually able to lift greater amounts of weight during a workout set than if they were attempting to perform the weight training exercise absent any warm up efforts, which makes this concept much more plausible to those who wish to maximize muscle building results. But even if warm ups were not to offer this significant benefit, the injury prevention capability itself is extremely important to any bodybuilder who has a long term vision, as other than improper weight lifting and bodybuilding diet techniques creating disappointing progress, the next likely reason why most bodybuilders never achieve desired muscle building results is due to a string of injuries derailing consistency, and one reason why this occurs is that far too many bodybuilders neglect proper warm up sets for each weight lifting exercise.

A friend of mine decided to experiment with some weight training exercises in my basement, and he expressed interest in testing his strength on the squat, so I urged him to warm up prior to doing so, but he ignored my advice, and within several reps, he suffered an agonizing lower back injury. As he and so many have proven, warm ups are one of the most important and often neglected keys to maximum muscle building, but make sure not to select warm up weights that are excessive, otherwise you will adversely impact your actual weight lifting workout sets, but you must also avoid selecting weights that are too light, as this will not properly prepare a muscle for pending workout stress. The correct balance has you using a weight that does not cause any fatigue whatsoever, but which properly stimulates blood flow to the muscle groups being trained, and you must make sure to always engage in warm ups for each weight training exercise, as there is no total body warm up method that substitutes for performing each specific weight lifting movement with lighter weights. Warm ups should not extend your workout session length by a significant margin since such sets do not require that you rest for longer than is necessary to change weight on the bar.

Francesco Castano authors the www.MuscleNOW.com web site, which is a diet and weight training program teaching the exact techniques for building muscle mass without supplements or drugs. He also authors the www.FatVanish.com site, teaching exactly how to lose fat without supplements.

Filed Under: Weight training exercises Tagged With: Important, Least, Lifting, Method, Stretching, Weight

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