Posts Tagged ‘Weight Lifting’

Think putting yourself on a muscle building diet has to be a painful process? Whether your goal is fat loss or muscle building, getting proper nutrition is at least 80% of the game. If you don’t have that figured out, you are going to be a long time away from seeing results.

The good news is that your tastebuds don’t have to suffer if you don’t want them to. There are plenty of ways to get in your proper nutrition while keeping things interesting. If you think gaining muscle means suffering through can of tuna after can of tuna or pounding back a protein shake as fast as humanly possible, you need to think again.  Read more... (1539 words, estimated 6:09 mins reading time)

Muscle building is a continuum. There is no “end” to it. You can always build more muscle than you have. What makes this really challenging is that the process by which you efficiently build muscle changes as you move through the continuum. Beginning lifters should use different training parameters than professionals. A further complicating factor is that your body is a variable as well. How do you account for that?For example your body type makes a huge difference in the type of training you should do. So as you can see finding that right mix becomes very difficult. This is one of the reasons that I struggle with the “Programs” that so many offer. I would never suggest that anybodies program doesn’t work. Of course it did for them. That’s why they offer it up to you. But with all the variables at play will they work for you? Very possibly. Or not.The point is you have to know how muscle works, how it is built and then given your body type, goals, experience and many other things, try different techniques until you find some that work for you and that you enjoy doing. My guess is that it will be some of this and some of that.But one of the greatest challenges you will face is the one of age. That is one variable that will stand everything else on its head. You see a professional at 30 will HAVE to train differently at 50, all else equal. Now THAT becomes challenging. When something has been working, possibly for years, doesn’t anymore what are you to do? I am not talking about plateau busting, this isn’t that simple. No I am talking about the two biggest factors (possibly) in muscle building, your definition of 100% effort for a workout and your recovery time. Granted these variables change gradually but they also change dramatically. At 50 gone are the two a day splits and blasting chest 3 times a week. Actually these have been gone for a while, but you get my point. So how do you teach an old dog new tricks?Square 1. If you’ve been paying attention, I am not about “programs”. Knowledge is King! As I write this Greg Norman at 53 years old, is leading the British Open Golf Tournament, beating every other player in the world (except Tiger who isn’t playing). This includes the best in the world that’s half his age. You think Norman prepared for this event the same way he did when he was 30(and won it)? You think his routine at the event is the same now as it was then? Now he probably won’t win, but he doesn’t need to. He’s made his point already. At his age, at this point in his career, what he needs to be successful and how he got there are DIFFERENT then when he was 30. So how do you find the right weight lifting routine for muscle building at 50? The same way you would at 30. Learn what works for you. Now.

I first started muscle building with solo routines of weight lifting exercises. I did not foresee the series of events that strengthened the bond I now have with my son

On my 49th birthday I came to a unsettling conclusion. I was totally and hopelessly out of shape. My back was sore every day and tendinitis was attacking my hands and arms. My appearance was horrible and my mood worse. Every day was the same. Antidepressants and talks with a therapist didn’t help. Oh yeah, and libido, forget it.  Read more... (786 words, estimated 3:09 mins reading time)

Next to “how many reps should I be doing”, “how often should I train” is the most often asked question in gyms by the people who are trying to be serious about building muscle. And for good reason. It is probably the least understood and most complex ingredient to a muscle building plan. It might also be the most important. Here is the answer.The first thing you must know is that muscle building is a continuum and therefore by definition you are never “done”. Hence where along the time line continuum are you, because that is the first variable that makes this a complex situation. The second variable is the related mass continuum. Muscle is a very metabolically active tissue. It takes a lot of work for your body to maintain it. Therefore the more muscle you have, the more it needs to be trained. The old “use it or lose it” philosophy. But you aren’t trying to simply not LOSE it you are trying to ADD to it, which now becomes the third variable. So as you can see the answer to how often to train can become quite complex very quickly. But there are some general guidelines that can help most people become more efficient at muscle building.The first is, if you are a beginning lifter (depending on age this is someone lifting for less than 6 months, 20 something’s and teenagers 3 months), train your whole body in each workout and try and do this every other day for 3 sessions then take two days in a row off. Secondly, if you have a base of lifting (not a beginner as defined above), stop training your whole body in each workout. Instead divide your sessions into 4 groups, legs, back, chest and shoulders. Train each of these twice a week, doing two groups at a time. Now you are at 4 training sessions every 7 days instead of 3.Thirdly, after plateauing, break arms out as a fifth group and train each group 3 times a week, doing 3 groups in each workout. This means each of your training sessions will be longer than before and there will be 5 workouts every 7 days. If this starts to sound like a lot of training, you are right. Remember, the more muscle you have the more it has to be trained to grow. Obviously, regardless of your level never isolate the same body part on consecutive days. Don’t work your chest two days in a row, for example. Fit abdominal work in as many days as you would like. For most people this is a body part that can’t be over trained. For advanced lifters, abs becomes the sixth group and gets trained 3 times a week like any other muscle group. Now you can see why professional bodybuilders have split sessions daily and train, basically every day. You can also see why “how often should I workout to build muscle” is a very complex question and really is unique to everyone.

Building more muscle on your body, as well as losing all of that unwanted and unnecessary body fat is a dream of millions of people all over the world.
However, how many people actually go through the process of muscle building? Not many.
Whether it is that you are not able to take time out of your day to focus on your appearance, or if you’re just flat out too lazy to handle the rigorous work out sessions, most people come up with enough excuses to avoid the importance of a healthy, muscular body appearance.
The truth of the matter is, simply, it is not as hard as it may seem.
Keeping yourself in shape is a very important aspect of life that is most commonly forgotten about, especially in times of today where it is cheaper to spend money on fattening foods than it is on health items.
However, if you get enough motivation to give it a try, you will quickly feel better about yourself, gaining more confidence, strength, and performing just as you have always thought of doing.
It is very important to feel strongly and highly about yourself, especially when it comes to your physical appearance; it will increase your mood as well as your standards and gain an over all better lifestyle for yourself by eating healthily and adequately without feeling regretful about it.
Although muscle building will not happen in a single night, dedication to your goals will in turn pay off.
When you are comfortable with the way you look, and satisfied with your results, you don’t have to continue working out and building up your muscle for the end of time.
Once you have achieved your image of the ideal body, it will make it easier for you to maintain this perception and keep up with your goals more easily.
This applies with everything; conquering one single goal of overcoming your physical appearance will indefinitely better your outlook on completing other kinds of goals.
There are endless results to gaining more muscle and increasing the look of your physical appearance.
A little known fact about working out to gain muscles, is the decrease in the risk of having osteoporosis.
This is because your great cholesterol intake will overcome your bad cholesterol intake.
On top of this, your risk of heart diseases will also be reduced, as well as kidney failure and other such things having to do with your cholesterol intake.
In addition, you will also become stronger. You can now achieve things that you couldn’t before conquer.
For example, while you may not have been able to lift a piece of furniture before, now you can see yourself rearranging your entire living room!
Finally, the given: your physical appearance will now thrive, looking better than ever before and at the same time, losing your unnecessary body fat that was never appealing to you.
Some people may consider muscle building to lead to a better, more enjoyable, and overall free kind of life. Strength is key in society.
More times than not, you will someone who is having trouble making it up the stairs, or who pants and stops for a break after jogging across the street, or playing with their children;
This is not how we were meant to live. We were meant to enjoy our lives, while we had a life to live and taking care of our bodies is fundamental to this.
Muscle building helps people to function easily and accurately, making everything a breeze.
Your body will be enhanced, and your appeal will be heightened, making it easier for you to be happier with your own life than you were before.

Everywhere you look, it’s either the best supplements to get ripped, or top foods to max muscle gains – it seems like eating to boost health and performance simultaneously isn’t important, isn’t possible or it’s simply too boring to talk about.

 

Don’t become another victim to eating just for looks and performance.  It’s very important to eat the right foods for the right reasons, and staying healthy is definitely one of those reasons.  Remember, if you aren’t healthy, everything you’re working towards, and all the training you’ve done means nothing. 

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I have found when corresponding with many gym goers and fitness enthusiasts, that there is a massive disconnect in what they say and practice depending on the day of the week 

 

These are people who train hard, eat right and do all things they’re supposed to do to the point that they’re on auto pilot, soaring towards their goal.  Then, something strange happens.  One day, usually on the weekend, all of these habits seem to walk to the back of the plane, kick open the emergency exit door, and jump out without a second thought.  Read more... (1476 words, estimated 5:54 mins reading time)

Some of the biggest excuses I hear about healthy eating, be it for health reasons, or to lose weight or gain muscle are  – “healthy food doesn’t taste good,” (which is a serious problem because if your food doesn’t taste good, it’s very unlikely you’ll stick to the plan) “it takes too long to prepare healthy food”, and, “it’s too complicated.”  These excuses are usually the result of thinking you need to slave over a hot stove preparing 6 course meals all day long.  Nothing could be further from the truth.

 

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One of the most popular strength magazines from the golden era of strength training, the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s, was called “Strength and Health.”  If you’re fortunate enough to get your hands on a copy and read through it, you’ll notice that there’s an emphasis on developing total strength, not only of the muscles, but the heart, lungs, tendons, everything.  They also focused on developing optimal health. 

 

Strength and Health wasn’t the only publication with the word Health in the title.  In fact, the thinking of the time was that health was one of, if not the main reason for developing superior physical capabilities.  The thought of developing superior strength without superior health would have been laughable.  Unfortunately, that isn’t the case today.  Read more... (756 words, estimated 3:01 mins reading time)