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This article has been written by Richard Knight, a ?former skinny guy? and weight gain consultant. Richard teaches other ?Average Joes? step by step how to build lean muscle mass in 28 days FLAT with his own weight gain system. Get his FREE tips today. www.skinny2massive.com
December 9, 2007
Could 90% of all of us be wrong when it comes to strength training and flexibility?
How many times have you seen the guy doing all the weight on the squats stretching after a workout?
Tell me, you’ve seen the same people in your gym year after year. You know who does the best bench. You probably know who’s a cardio king or queen. You can count on one hand the number of people who do legs.
But can you even point out a single person who incorporates any type of flexibility into their routines?
Personally I know around 100 people at my gym. Yet I can only count 2 people … a couple of people … that faithfully incorporates flexibility into their routines.
Fact is…
Weight training can increase or decrease flexibility depending on a few factors. It doesn’t just depend on how the exercise is done but how much weight is used and the ROM (range of motion). Adaptations from beginners to advanced athletes varies and that will affect flexibility as well.
But let’s suppose…
You use relativity light weights and go thru a full ROM. In this case you will be able to increase and maintain your flexibility!
But what if you are trying to build muscle and increasing the number of sets and weight?
As you start to increase the number of reps, sets and especially weight, you weight training could result in a loss of flexibility. There are two reasons for this:
1- When you start doing very heavy weights, you rarely if ever go thru a full ROM because of the loss in mechanical advantage.
2- Using heavy weights can bring about something called residual tonus in the muscles. When tonus is sufficiently strong, it can cause the muscles to stay in a shortened state long after the workout.
But even if you were to concentrate on doing a full ROM with heavy weights, there are facts like sets and repetitions that come into play. The more work you do, you will find that one the last set of an exercise, your ROM decreases.
Fatigue starts to set in and the muscles can tighten from the amount of work being done making it very difficult to achieve a full ROM on every rep. The more work you end up doing, the greater the chance a decrease in flexibility can occur.
For all these reasons…
If you engage in heavy or intense weight training sessions, you should supplement them with stretching, preferably after the workout and active in nature. This will help ensure you regain the normal ROM for those joints involved.
This becomes even more important if you have done any types of exercises where the spine is involved in a weight bearing movement where joints and discs could become compacted. Like holding the weights on the shoulders or overhead.
Let’s say you do some multiple sets of a bicep curl. You could do a straight arm hang on a high bar to regain the the straight arm position. For the lower back, hanging is also very beneficial.
Keep in mind that if you are stretching between sets (squats/deadlifts/bicep curls) that isn’t for flexibility but to regain the full ROM you had prior to that exercise.
After your workouts, you should engage in an overall body flexibility program (it could just be 5 minutes) to regain ROM and reduce the effects of muscle tonus.
Copyright 2006 Marc David
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Depending on a few factors like how the exercise is done, the amount of weight used and the ROM at the time of the exercise, weight training can increase or decrease your flexibility. To learn more about factors that affect your workouts and bust the myths around building muscle and burning fat, take a look at the Beginner’s Guide to Fitness and Bodybuilding (now includes meal plans).
http://www.beginning-bodybuilding.com
November 15, 2007
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Besides the above mentioned ingredients, Liquid Logic Banana Coconut also contains: Citric Acid, Potassium Benzoate (retards spoilage), Potassium Sorbate (retards spoilage), Natural Polysccharide Fiber, Green Tea Extract, Ginkgo Biloba Leaf, Siberian Ginseng Root and Grape Seed Extract. This carefully dosed combination of useful nutrients flavored with a delicious taste of banana and coconut makes out of Liquid Logic Banana Coconut one of the best liquid vitamins available on the market.
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October 20, 2007
Gyms are great. They offer their users the latest and greatest exercise gadgetry, well lighted spaces, wall-to-wall mirrors, and strategically placed TVs you can watch if you get tired of staring at yourself sweating.
For some people, gyms are also a place to meet folks and to enjoy camaraderie with fellow fitness buffs and fitness seekers. There are people there to spot you on difficult or potentially risky exercises, or to give you advice on the best ways to flatten a tummy or build bulging biceps.
If you can afford the fee–and, more importantly, if you have the commitment to actually go on a regular basis–by all means, join a gym.
I always advise my own clients, though, to begin their weight training program at home. There are several reasons for this:
- Beginners, especially, are often self-conscious working out in front of others–particularly if those others happen to be better toned or more chiseled than they. This is not often a problem in one’s own home (where you can even close the blinds if need be!).
- At home, you can exercise practically any time of day or night. No need to forgo a workout because the gym is closed or it’s inconvenient to get up and out the door to drive there.
- Starting a workout program at home offers an inexpensive way to give weight training a tryout before committing deeply to it.
Although I happen to think that weight training is good for everyone, I know, realistically, that some individuals just aren’t going to stick with it for more than a few weeks at most. It’s better not to sign a gym membership contract until you know you’re in it for the long haul.
Now, if you’re just beginning weight training, and you’re going to do it at home, please don’t rush out and spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on equipment. You can easily embark on your new workout adventure for less than a hundred bucks. I recommend the following:
- A set of dumbbells. For most people in average condition, a good starter set would consist of two 10-pound and two 15-pound weights, with perhaps a couple of 25-pound weights to grow into. If you feel yourself to be weaker or less fit than average, you could get a couple of 5- or 8- pounders as well and use these lighter weights as you accustom yourself to the exercises.
- An exercise bench. A basic bench (non-adjustable) will serve you fine, but if you can spring for it, get one that lets you vary the angle of the back piece. Some of the best exercises to help you rapidly build muscles require that your body be inclined while you perform them.
- An exercise mat. On a recent visit to a Target store I found 6 different "exercise mats" and another 8 "yoga mats" (which will also work for our purposes). Try to find one that will accommodate your entire length when lying stretched out on it. It should also be reasonably comfortable. You won’t be using the mat for your weights workout, but rather for doing supplementary exercises such as abdominal crunches and leg raises.
If you find yourself taking to weight training and decide you want to make it a regular part of your life for a long time to come, then–and only then–you can look at purchasing additional equipment, such as heavier dumbbells, barbells or a cable weight machine. Some people, of course, end up going all out and building an actual gym in their home.
Nevertheless, the basic equipment as outlined above should meet your workout needs for the first few months–and possibly for much longer.
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Denny Waldarmo is a fitness coach who writes on exercise and diet topics. He is a proponent of weight training, particularly the system taught in ‘The Truth About Building Muscle.’ Denny’s eye-opening review of this program is available on his web site: http://www.Solid-Gold.info/truth-about-building-muscle.html.
October 1, 2007
Building muscles mass is an easy task to achieve as long as you are armed with the correct information and knowledge. Building mass faster, which you thought is impossible, is never far from reality.
There are too many trainers and bodybuilders that make the fatal mistake of working out too much. They think, the longer they workout the bigger muscle mass they get.
Even if you want to build up that muscle mass quickly, strength training and weight training for long hours is not that necessary. However, for those hard gainers who are in strength training programs, to gain muscle mass quickly cannot be that detrimental.
In fact, you should never train longer than an hour or half a day according to many bodybuilding experts. There are even instances that you may even lose too much weight doing long workouts and too much time performing weightlifting.
The correct way of gaining muscle mass should be a proper strength training program with three days a week sessions with at least an hour of weightlifting and bodybuilding exercises.
It is important to work on your muscles intensely and focus yourself on getting stronger. You should not be caught up on various bodybuilding programs that allow you to do long hours of working out and lifting. The risk of acquiring injuries is also at high risk.
There are many ways on how to gain muscle mass the proper way. We are not talking here with intensity strength training but a proper way of training to failure that is very efficient to building muscle mass.
Here are some suggested tips:
1. Using a bench press, continue your exercise against the immovable heavy weight for 20 to 30 seconds. For most hard trainers, they do the wrong way of starting again with the rep and being stuck at the bottom. The weight is dropped against the safety pins.
2. Using the barbell curls, perform a grinding halt about two or three inches into the rep. when the arms a slightly bent, you have realized that you cannot perform the rep but perform a pull on the bar as long as your strength can.
3. In a bodybuilding exercise, squatting is very effective. It is considered as the perfect exercise in building muscle mass. While others do intense trainings and bodybuilding diet program for muscle building, an effective squat program can be an effective exercise for muscle building.
4. After your warm ups and performing your squat routines, you may lift weight that you normally perform. Do 10 reps and rest for a while, you add another 20 reps to have a more efficient and intense weightlifting exercise.
5. Since squatting is the most challenging muscle building routine exercise, you need to maximize all the weight that you can handle. The squat is also the toughest mental exercise after the physical training exercises that you perform.
These muscle building tips are very effective ways to gain muscle mass quickly. They can be important factors to for your weight training program and eventually seeing your muscle mass develop and improve quickly. Weight lifting is also even more effective for individuals who go through a weight loss program than those who are dieting and doing aerobic exercises.
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Dave Poon is an accomplished writer who specializes in the latest in Fitness and Health. For more information regarding Build Muscle Mass please drop by at http://www.malemusclebodybuilding.com/
September 21, 2007
One major concept that everyone seems to be confusing now-a-days is muscle fatigue versus muscle power, in search for techniques that will allow you to build and gain muscle weight.
When your main goal is to gain as much muscle weight as possible, you have to know exactly which of the two ‘factors’ you are training for, either to ‘fatigue’ the muscle, closely related to ‘pumping’ and ‘burning’ it, or to use ‘power’, meaning lifting as much weight as possible, regardless of getting a pump or not.
There is a major difference between taking a set to failure (which you should be doing on your ‘real sets’) because of fatigue, or reaching failure because of having no more strength, or power, in the muscle to continue to lift the weight.
I’m sure you have experienced doing a high-rep set and quitting because the pain and burning (’fatigue’) just got too much to support.
However, deep down inside you knew that you still had enough strength to actually complete another 2 or 3 reps.
On the other hand, I’m sure you’ve also done sets that no matter how much effort you put into it, no matter if every vein in your body was popping out because of the strain, you just could not complete one more rep because you simply had no more strength left.
If it’s fatigue that causes you to stop a set, all you are going to be building is muscle endurance.
That’s fine and dandy if you’re training to climb mountains or chop logs for 8 hours straight.
All fatiguing a muscle does is fill it with stale blood, without any oxygen, and forms lactic acid and other waste products??.all of which do nothing for building muscle mass and gaining weight!
But if you want to build and gain muscle mass, what should stop you from continuing a set is that you have no more stength / power in the muscle.
That will build strength, and as a result, forces more fibers to come into play, to work, and is what will cause overload in the muscle…………all factors that lead to bigger and stronger muscles.
Period.
You can go on ahead and get all the pump and burn you want, but if it’s big muscles you’re after, you need to train for stronger muscles.
To illustrate: you can do 100 push ups and get a real good pump and burn, fatiguing the muscle in the chest.
But what do you think is going to give you a bigger chest……100 push ups, or lifting 315 pounds for 13 reps??
Remember, if you want to gain muscle weight, train for power, not fatigue.
Copyright 2006 Jonathan Perez
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How did a Cleveland Firefighter discover how to gain over 40 pounds of muscle weight WITHOUT using any supplements, no special diet, eating very low protein, and working out only 2 hours a week? Jonathan Perez has created the *ultimate* guide - ‘From Skinny To Muscular!…..How To Gain Muscle Eating Any Foods You Want, Using No Supplements Whatsoever, and Performing Only 2 Special Sets Per Week Per Muscle’
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September 11, 2007
I read recently that over $100 million dollars worth of creatine was sold the past year in the united states alone. With all the hype and attention given to creatine of late there has also been much misinformation almost to the point where now the popularity is reversing in the face of people not knowing whether it is actually a valid supplement or not!
Here are a few creatine facts that you might already know about but should DEFINITELY know about.
Creatine fact #1
Creatine a natural compound. Yes creatine occurs naturally in the human body and in nature. It is not a laboratory generated chemical despite the fact that some variations and extensions of regular creatine that are laboratory created do exist. In its natural form it is called creatine monohydrate and is found in high protein foods like meat or fish.
Creatine fact #2
Loading on creatine is not totally necessary. While bodybuilders in particular have touted the benefits of ‘loading’ up on creatine by taking large quantities of the supplement in the initial stages, research indicates that a period of loading not necessarily any more effective than normal creatine supplementation.
Creatine fact #3
Creatine does not give you more energy when taken before a workout. For creatine to effect the body in particular the muscle tissue, it has to be saturated with the substance (either from loading or long term use) so a shot of creatine before workout will not increase energy. Consistent usage however increases the levels of phosphocreatine which stimulates the muscles ultimate energy source called ATP and boosts energy levels particularly at an intramuscular level.
Creatine fact #4
There are no side effects to creatine monohydrate supplementation. Despite numerous studies into the so called dangers of creatine, not one study has thus far provided conclusive evidence regarding any effects of any kind as a result of creatine taking. Cramps? False. Dehydration? Nope. Reacts with caffeine? Hearsay. Stomach discomfort? None that you wouldn’t have had anyway.
Creatine fact #5
Creatine super supplements are rarely more effective and are overpriced. Outside the normal creatine monohydrate pure supplement, many more expensive variations have popped up promising faster creatine absorbtion and faster results because of an increased concentration of glucose that stimulates insulin production in the body. This one is actually true. However the exact same effect can be achieved by simply taking creatine in water with sugar, sugar cubes or glucose tablets.
I hope these creatine facts have been useful in your choice as to whether to pursue creatine supplementation or not.
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Gary Stephens is a bodybuilding writer and runs an informational site on creatine and creatine supplementation for athletes. For more information please see http://www.creatine1.com
With the popularity of creatine powder ever increasing, many variations of the product have come on to the market offering different benefits, different effects and not to mention at a different price tag. One of the main such variations is called creatine serum.
Creatine serum is really just a fancy word for creatine monohydrate in liquid form, or liquid creatine. The compounds are essentially the same apart from variations from manufacturer to manufacturer but there are growing differences in opinion regarding the effectiveness of the new creatine serum to the original creatine powder.
The main benefit of creatine serum was that it is said to be absorbed more quickly into the muscle tissue than normal creatine because in liquid it is already closer to being broken down. However scientific tests have shown to be that this is not generally the case although theory does suggest it. In reality the rate of absorbtion does not increase enough with creatine serum for it to count as a comperhensive benefit of using it over the powder.
Also rumour has begun that when taking creatine serum rather than creatine powder the user can skip the loading phase. The idea of the loading phase of creatine was to super saturate the muscles with the compound then take smaller amounts after wards just to maintain that balance. Obviously the way the creatine is taken doesn’t change the need for this process to be followed so this is another myth about creatine serum that can be put down to hearsay.
There is even a proper concern in regards to taking creatine serum that when the creatine monohydrate is in liquid form it becomes partly reduced to a substance called creatinine which is useless for the muscles. One study found recently that there was actually a lesser concentration of creatine monohydrate in liquid creatine serum for exactly this reason that part of it inevitably breaks down into creatinine.
A big part of your choice in selecting which to use should be which is easier to take. I know for some people, particularly in the loading phase, taking 5 doses a day and having to get out the spoon and mix a teaspoon with water every few hours is too time consuming and can cause them through laziness to miss doses and hence lessen the effect of the substance. So test it out and find out which works best for you.
Ultimately creatine has outstanding benefits whether taken in creatine serum or powdered form. Furthermore, while it may or may not be able to be absorbed faster into the muslces, ultimately it will not result in any significant changes to your results either muscle gain wise, energy wise, or fat loss wise.
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Gary Stephens is a bodybuilding writer and runs an informational website on creatine and creatine monohydrate supplementation.
For more information please see creatine
Don’t get me wrong I’m not going to play the devil’s advocate and come out and tell you that creatine monohydrate is actually awful and cancer causing and to avoid taking it for the sake of your life because such statements simply can’t be made. Study after study has now proven the effectiveness of creatine in assisting athletic performance in many ways and supplement junkies and health professionals are alike are recommending it to their best friends.
While the benefits and potential outcomes of creatine monohydrate are touted by every supplement salesman around, much less is said about the other side of creatine, potential side effects, health complications, and do’s and don’ts fly much less under the radar even though they are things that need to be known by anyone considering the now popular form of supplementation.
In its essence creatine as we all know by now is a naturally occuring compound and so has no dire effects under any circumstances to any human body. What I mean by the other side of creatine are things like:
Side effects of Creatine Monohydrate and Caffeine?
Some articles have suggested a relationship between creatine and caffeine that bears negative side effects. Actually being a misinterpretation, what was stated in a scientific study was that creatine absorbtion into muscle tissue may have been slowed down by the presence of caffeine in the bloodstream. Scientists have since discovered that creatine can be just as easily absorbed in the presence of caffeine as any substance and that the results of the original study may have been influenced by any number of other factors.
Will I get cramps as a side effect while taking creatine monohydrate?
Many studies have looked into the effects of muscle cramping during a creatine cycle with varying results. However, general knowledge and common sense provides a scientifically and now accepted reason for this. One of the ways creatine works is to super hydrate the muscles making them repair and recover more easily and be more prepared for a continual workload. This means that extra water must be consumed when taking creatine to compensate for the action of the supplement. If not enough water is taken and the body and muscles become dehydrated, cramps will occur, whether in the presence of creatine or not. So if cramps do occur during creatine monohydrate supplementation it is not a side effect of the product itself, merely a side effect of being dehydrated!
Creatine monohydrate and Stomach Discomfort side effects?
Because creatine particularly in its monohydrate form is particularly concentrated, some users report having stomach discomfort if they happen to take creatine doses too close together during the initial ‘loading’ phase. Of course this is easily solved by spacing your creatine doses appropriately or reducing the doses if they become a burden on your stomach, everyone is different.
These are the main concerns people have towards creatine, all of which as you can see are either minor concerns or the result of hearsay. In mine as in the opinion of many, the benefits of creatine monohydrate far outweigh any supposed side effects people may have invented.
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Gary Stephens is a bodybuilding writer and authority on supplementation and runs an informational website on creatine, specifically creatine monohydrate.
For more information please see creatine
September 1, 2007
Are you that scrawny teen in class? Do other guys pick on you as you’re smaller? Well, as an alternative to turning into one of the senseless nut jobs who run out and grab the first handgun they can acquire; why not try out weight training for beginners? With this approach you can get pumped up and be the biggest teenager in the neighborhood. Just imagine how improved you’ll be in just a few months. Not just will this build up your self-confidence levels, but it will also make an impression on all the ladies. Oh, and of course there’s that fitness issue. Pumping iron is immense for your body and muscles. So are you prepared to be taught some fundamental weight training for beginners? All you require to get started is a simple weight set and suitable bench or a community gym to join.
When it comes down to weight training for beginners, I know the score. I had spent the majority of my life in martial arts for the reason that it’s merely what I love. On the other hand, a few years ago I decided to take up weight training for beginners. I all of a sudden just decided I needed to be bigger. I mean come on, I’m around 6′1” and I was weighing in at 160 pounds. That’s somewhat slender I would say. All the same I decided to begin my new routine. So in addition to my martial arts, I began pumping iron. I started with the fundamentals, which for us guys tends to be our upper-bodies. I wanted to get my arms and chest bigger. As apposed to joining a gymnasium, I took the purchasing route. I figured if I’m going to make a go of this, I ought to now go ahead and purchase the equipment. This is cheaper in the long term if you ask me. So with a good quality weight bench, a pair of dumbbells and a weight set, I was geared up to get started. My weight training for beginners gradually became more advanced.
Next I began taking in extra protein. I accomplished this due to the fashionable whey protein mixes that are sold universally nowadays. In addition to your standard three meals a day, this will without doubt help you bulk up. Currently I weigh a stable 170 pounds, which I’m satisfied with, and it all began with weight training for beginners. If you are fascinated in finding out more on the subjec, all you require is your computer. Jump online and sort through a large number of free tips and information on weight training and a array of other fitness regimes.
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Mitch Hampson is a successful Webmaster and publisher of Weight Training Exercise so if you would like more information on this subject please checkout his website at http://www.bodbuild.info
This article is shareware. Give this article away for free on your site, or include it as part of any paid
package as long as the entire article is left intact including all live links. Copyright ? 2006 Mitchell
Hampson
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