Great Concepts for Helping Your Muscles with Your Mind

By Pat Barker

The net is full of posts that advise on you which exercises to do and ways to eat however there is one element that can really make the difference, which is how you cope psychologically with tough, physical training. There are quite a few techniques and strategies that can actually help you.

The first question that you need to ask yourself, which could potentially save you months of aggravation is "Who am I doing this for?" If you are doing it for others because you are hoping to attract a girlfriend, or because the magazines tell you that you should look different, then do not even worry about getting your sports gear together. Stay home. Watch a good movie with some pals and enjoy life. Bodybuilding is not something you need to do for other people besides yourself. It is difficult, you would hate it and you would stop after 3 months if you are doing it for others. Rather diet and then choose a sport that you really enjoy.If your abdominals are not sculpted, if you are happy and content, then who cares.

Bodybuilding is like meditation. You should really enjoy the intensity of the obstacle and the battle between inner strength and muscle strength. The weights can be one of the most satisfying disciplines you can ever take on if you are truly a warrior at heart. So, if you really appreciate weight lifting and you see the terrific body as an added bonus for your effort, then you are in the right place.



You must make sure that you are setting reasonable objectives for yourself. You cannot expect remain focused and dedicated if you do not have something precise and measurable to go on. Sit down with your fitness instructor and truthfully ask him to tell you which muscles need to be worked on. Ask him to provide you with a fundamental workout and targeted workouts for those muscle groups. Measure the muscles you are specifically focused on and measure them once again every 2 weeks. Seeing the outcomes on the tape measure is truly a fantastic aid for staying focused.

Muscle building is a singular sport, and that's precisely why you need a training friend! Honestly, there are few things that can help you make it through a set as much as a bit of healthy competition and support between pals. If you don't have buddies from outside the fitness center that are truly eager about bodybuilding, you can attempt make friends with someone un-partnered that goes to the gym on the same days as you. People prefer to train with a partner however are occasionally just too timid to ask. Instead of approaching somebody and asking them point blank if they want to be your partner, simply ask that individual if they can help you for one certain set and you will do the same for them. This will get you speaking and if you hit it off, the relationship will take off of its own accord.

Deep down you understand this can't be real because it goes against the laws of nature, but you still want to believe it. What is harmful is not only the waste of money, but also the mental anxiety you go through between the ups and downs of thinking you are going to have an extraordinary body within three weeks and the dissatisfaction of realizing this will not take place.

Nutrition and appropriate training will get you where you wish to be. But to obtain the muscles, you need to primarily work on your mind.

About the Author:

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Foods That Build Muscle - Breakfast

You've undoubtedly heard it said before, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. When you're trying to build lean muscle, the foods you consume become even more important. This piece will focus on what foods you can consume for this critical meal that will give you the results you want.

Too many people who are trying to build muscle follow what I consider unrealistic nutritional guidelines. Nutrition is the critical component for seeing the results you want from your works outs. The best workout regiment in the world won't expose your six pack abs unless you're giving your body the nutritional intake it requires to build lean quality muscle. For you to experience any results, or long term results, you must follow a nutritional regiment that is realistic and doable.

A realistic nutritional regiment will be something you can commit to over the course of time. It must consist of foods you enjoy eating, food that are readily available and it must not require expertise in the kitchen to put together. If any of these three elements are missing, you're chances of straying away from your nutritional plan increases. You will only build muscle from a nutritional regiment you can actually follow.


I'm not suggesting you slack off on what you and only eat the foods you enjoy eating. Building muscle is about making the right food choices, which for most means making modifications in what they decide to eat, but does not have to mean eating only vegetables or cutting out entire food groups!

Here are a list of what I consider muscle building staples, foods you should have on you at all times for your breakfast options:

- Eggs/Egg whites
- Oatmeal
- Skim or low fat milk
- Turkey Bacon
- Cinnamon
- Cereal
- Protien Shake
- Fruit
- Potatoes
- Waffels

At first glance you might be surprised I have some of the foods listed here that I do. Good! I want to be clear that eating to build muscle doesn't mean you have to starve your self by not eating carbs or eating foods you don't like. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Balance is key here. This is the meal that will get your day started so its important to have the right combination of proteins, carbohydrates and fats. I don't believe in calorie counting either. It doesn't fit into my requirement of something that is sustainable and realistic. Most importantly, counting calories misses the point. If you're giving your body the right kind of foods to build muscle, you can consume without worrying so much about the quantity.

Generally speaking my breakfast consists of 3-4 scrambled eggs (1 yoke and three whites), 3 strips of turkey bacon, one pack of instant oatmeal, a glass of skim milk and my omega-3 supplement.
Remember building muscle is a simple process, don't overcomplicate it.

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How To Build Maximum Muscle In Minimum Time

By Howe Russ

Most folks at the gym would like to discover how to build muscle as quickly and effectively as possible. Today's post will teach you how to get a six pack in 3 minutes per day and also how to apply the same rules to build other areas of the body in double quick time.

Thanks to the discovery of HIIT, the days where people used to spend over 2 hours per day in the gym should be long gone. However, many are still stuck in that mentality. If that's you, then you are about to open a door to a whole new world of training. []

The levels of variety and intensity are the two most important factors within any solid training program. Variety simply means challenging the body in ways it's not used to. You could simply swap low reps for high reps, or perform exercises in a different order than usual.

Most gym users hit a plateau due to a lack of variety within their program. This comes from doing a program that works initially and provides good results, causing the gym user to want to stick to it, only to find that results begin to slow down over time. It doesn't mean you are no longer working hard in the gym, it simply means your body has adapted to your program, it knows what to expect.

So the first step here is to ensure you never repeat the exact same workout from this point forwards. Even if the changes are quite small, they will still generate fresh progress.

A lot of people misunderstand the meaning of the word intensity. They often presume it means working out really quickly, sacrificing form and technique for speed. This is not the case. Intensity means keeping your heart rate elevated. There are numerous fat loss benefits to doing this, as well as other benefits too. Your actual exercise is still performed slowly and controlled throughout, getting the absolute most out of each contraction you do. Intensity comes into play when you drop the weights at the end of each set. Rather than sitting there talking to other gym users while you wait for your next set to begin, watch the clock. After just thirty seconds, begin the next set.

The two main reasons fitness enthusiasts hit plateaus are a lack of intensity and variety. If you can get one, or even both, in check then you will notice a new batch of results in next to no time.

To put this into context with a routine designed to focus on your abdominal area, try this simple but brutal workout today: []

* Sit Up

* Plank Push Up

* Elevated Plank

It might look easy on paper, but it is not to be underestimated. Try moving from exercise-to-exercise with 30 seconds on each movement and no rest at all. Take a 60 second breather at the end of the circuit and then start over. Two rounds would only take 3 minutes, but it will really test your fitness levels.

Learning how to build muscle isn't rocket science, despite the many myths which surround the topic. The simple workout given here will teach you the basics of how to get a six pack in 3 minutes with a quick blast of high intensity circuit training. Try applying these methods to other body parts when you perform your next workout and you'll notice how much the difficulty increases.

About the Author:

More: The new guide from Russ Howe PTI shows how to get a six pack in 3 minutes each day in your own home. If you're serious about learning how to build muscle quickly , grab his free walk through instruction guide.

Do You Need Pre-Workout Supplements To Build Muscle?

By Russ Howe

If you pick up any fitness magazine giving advice on how to build muscle fast one of the first things you will notice is the frequency of adverts for pre-workout supplements. Today we are going to look at how necessary these products actually are, to help you to determine whether they are worth your money.

Just like any other business, it's all about money. The sales talk and marketing pitches are what make the supplement industry go around and that's why you will often see claims of ridiculous results with every new product on the market.

The basic principles of getting bigger have remained largely unchanged over the last twenty five years.

It is very, very easy to get lost in the world of bodybuilding supplements and so many fitness enthusiasts get caught up in the craze of buying the latest powders and shakes to enhance their results, but so few see returns to warrant the massive expenditure they are making.

So, what is a pre-workout supplement actually designed to do for you?

Despite all of the scientific claims and references you might see on the flashy packaging, the actual job of a pre-workout supplement is really simple. It's there to get your body pumped up before you hit the weights.

How are you supposed to know which one is the best with all of the choices available to you?

In order to stop yourself getting sucked in by the hype of every 'next big thing' to hit the supplement market you simply need to learn the basic ingredients and you'll know what to look for the next time you see a product making bold statements about it's capabilities.

Pre-workout supplements usually contain a big serving of N.O. boosters or caffeine, designed to ramp up your energy levels immediately before you hit the gym. The products often claim that they will increase your ability to experience muscular hypertrophy but in reality they do this indirectly. By increasing your energy, they are hoping you will be able to lift heavier weights or train with more intensity than usual, therefore increasing hypertrophy as a result. You're still doing the work, it is not a miracle pill.

You have undoubtedly already seen the products which claim that they will give you skin splitting workouts and increase your raw power by over 250%.... The sad fact of the matter is, however, they have very little scientific research to back up their claims. Testing a particulal pre-workout supplement can become a case of trial and error, with something really pumping up one individual yet having very little effect on another.

Our body adapts, of course, so you generally have to change pre-workout supplement every three months otherwise you will notice it has less impact each time you take it. Since the discovery of creatine monohydrate products in the late 1980's, the bodybuilding industry has been set on finding the next big breakthrough. Pre-workout supplements are not 100% necessary in order to get results. If you want to know how to build muscle, you can certainly do it without taking one of these before you hit the gym.

About the Author:

About the author: Russ Howe PTI is a popular fitness coach. See how to build muscle with our free video guide giving the 5 steps to a more powerful body and creatine.

What Most Forget About To Build Muscle

Introduction:

With the huge span of fitness topics out there from nutrition to stretching it is easy to forget some of the fundamental elements that enable a person to really build muscle. This article will deal with the challenge you face every time you step inside that gym... the challenge of pushing limits. Before you read on let me just say that while no one is expected to break fitness barriers every single day (in fact trying to would prove bad for you) it is essential to build upon strength. In this article we will be discussing periodization training and how to best use it.

Periodization: Manipulating Your Muscles

So first things first, what exactly is periodization? Periodization is a concept developed and best represented by an author by the name of Tudor Bompa. It deals with a training program that has been around since Greek Olympic times; however, it has been often improvised into the style we hear about today. 
Periodization has to do with decreasing and increasing volume (reps x sets) and intensity (percentage of weight lifted based on a 1 rep max). This method is all about maximizing recovery of particular muscle fibers.


Another way to think about periodization is to think of it like cross-training except just for lifting weights. You sort of "cross-train" your muscles by changing the volume and intensity and by doing this you make sure that all muscle fibers are worked thoroughly at some point during the training process without idling becoming used to your workout.

Periodization Stage 1:

It is best to build a strong foundation of muscle endurance and fitness before lifting any really heavy weights. To do this you will have to weight lift using more volume. Usually a template of 4 sets with 10 repetitions will do nicely, and do about 65-70% of your maximum lifting capacity with whatever exercise you choose. Without this first stage it will be much more difficult to lift at full capacity and build strength fully in later stages.

Periodization Stage 2:

After about 4-5 weeks of this hypertrophy (high repetition) stage you will be moving on to a more intensive weight lifting stage. This will include heavier weights as well as fewer repetitions. During this second phase it is time to start building strength and power, usually an intensity of 80-90% of lifting capacity for each exercise. Do exercises of 4-5 sets with 6-8 repetitions.

One of my favorite training routines to merge into my workouts is the 5x5 (5 sets, 5 repetitions). This is a great repetition and set range for stage two. The main thing to remember when on this part of your training cycle is to struggle with the heavy weight but still manage to complete most or all sets.

Periodization Stage 3:

So it's been a couple of months now and you are seeing the fruits of your labor provided you eat right and get enough recovery and now it's time to see how much you can lift. This phase is all about lifting as much weight as possible. This phase typically has a set range of 5-6 with repetition range of 3-4.

During this stage it is important to be very "explosive" with your lifts and this means doing them quickly and correctly. The explosive aspect of this phase will involve muscle fibers you have yet to really work. By doing this you will help increase the effectiveness that the neurons in your body have at controlling your muscles. So if you do a sport this is a very good phase for increasing functional strength.

Great! But Then What?

The important thing is to keep changing the way you work your muscles. After the third stage you should go back to doing something like stage one. The way this works is that now you'll be able to lift more weight than when you started stage one. So once you restart at stage one, your 65-70% lifting capacity will now be greater.

Don't Forget Recovery!

Even if you make a great workout program and follow it exactly, it could still get you nowhere if you do not recover properly. Recovery is extremely important to gaining muscle. Why? Because it is truly the only time you CAN gain muscle. When you lift you are actually breaking down muscle, not building it.

There are many factors that involve recovery and that is a subject for another article.

If you find this article interesting or just want to learn more about the author check out this page: http://www.squidoo.com/fitness-through-the-eyes-of-a-swimmer

Let me help you achieve your fitness goals!

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How To Build Muscle Fast Without Weights

The major mistake you might make if you want to grow muscle is to follow an exercise regimen in a muscle building magazine. Nearly all of the guys you see on these papers are on anabolic steroids or these individuals have a naturally blessed mesomorph edge which permits these individuals to improve muscle sooner than typical societies like you and me. Following are the tips to build muscles without weight fast.
Three key points you need to grow muscle:

Do Heavy Weight Lifting

When you lift weighty items, components of your muscles will breakdown, and then reconstruct them better and healthier as compared to what they had been earlier. It doesn't mean gong to the gym and start using big weights. You must continue the best exercise routines as well.

A very effective exercise for building muscle mass is mixture lifts. Now i want to introduce you things like deadlifts, mass rows, pushups, the seat press and many more.

I watch many people in the exercise center banging out all types of isolated physical workouts which is a foolish MISTAKE! I continuously see them performing limitless dumbbell locks, triceps exercise, lower-leg postponements, etc. These types of workouts Will Never make the quick muscle expansion which you desire.

Eat Big To Grow Big

Listen, actually I don't mind the quantity of exercises you possibly did, how much weight you deadlifted, or the number of barbells you raised. If you are not consuming passable calories you definitely will not build muscle mass. Food is the best source that your muscles require to be superior. The most vital activity for bodybuilding is the right exercise and diet plan.

What quantity of food is enough for mass building? To start, you must eat calories at least 20 times a day. For example, if your weight is 132 pounds, you'd need to consume at least 2640 calories every day to start building your muscle mass.

Let me tell one more thing, a person who has to do physical work all day needs more calories to build muscle mass. We can take the example of construction worker who has to do labor during the day; he needs to consume more calories than an office worker who sits all day.

Sound sleep

Relaxation and a free mind is always important for good health, so without rest, the ability to grow muscle mass will slow down. Why? Because our muscle tissue builds whenever we are relaxing! They Do Not improve in the fitness center though we are using weights. Actually, when you lift heavy things you are really tiring down the muscle threads. Simply put, you need seven to eight hours of sleep every night for good health and also to build muscle without using weights fast.

If you want to learn more visit HOW TO BUILD MUSCLE FAST where you will get the most useful advice on muscle building. Be sure to visit www.aiaangola.com website today!

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