Latest Muscle Building Articles

Can Women Build Big Muscles? Why Women Can't Build Big Muscles Easily.

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 07:29:47 -0700

Why Is It Difficult For Women To Build Big Muscles

"I don't want to workout lifting weights because I don't want to build big muscles " or "I just do aerobics and sit ups to lose weight because if I lift weights, I may build muscle and looked like a man."

Ladies. Have you made these comments before? Awww... c'mon ladies, if you have ever uttered these words, you have just done a terrible disservice to yourself and are missing out on many great benefits that working out with weights can give you. Have you ever pointed to your belly or butt and sweetly proclaimed, "I want lose weight here." So managed to convince yourself that sweating profusely is the answer to a slim and beautiful body and you hit the gym day in and day out just to sweat off your tummy or butt fats!

So you peddle away on your stationary bike in the gym just like little hamsters or frantically stepping away on the step up machine and then you woefully do crunches after crunches in the hope of having a flat belly and a well rounded shapely butt not realizing that there is no such thing as spot reduction.

You never even bother take a look at the weight lifting machines or the free weights lying everywhere in the gym not to say even touching those weights. Gosh. This terrible myth of building big muscles on women is creating so much fear in women causing them never to train with weights at their detriment.

Ladies! If you are listening, I want to say this loud and clear. There is no way women will build big huge muscles unless you are on special supplementation and specially designed training system. Some of those muscle bound ladies you have seen may even be taking steroids which are banned and obviously harmful. Never never touch steroids to build muscles.

So the, why is it difficult for women to build big muscles? Well, it is simply because you do not have enough of testosterone, a male hormone that encourages your muscles to grow. In fact, women have ten to thirty times less of bodybuilding hormones, testosterone than their male counterparts. Women who accept the myth that they will build big muscles if they workout with weights will miss out on all of the benefits that weightlifting and bodybuilding can offer. This myth is so ingrained in women's psyche that even after explaining the facts to my women clients, they are still afraid to lift weights. So will women who lift weights in their workouts build more muscle tissue? Yes, of course, but it will not be those big huge muscles like those of bodybuilders. Your muscles will just tone your body shape resulting in a tight, firm, healthy, attractive and desirable body. The body shape that is ever so sexy and healthy. Yes, you may have noticed an increase in weight when you step on a scale. This is because muscles weigh more than fat. Thus, as you increase your muscle tissue, your weight will increase but your fats will be reduced giving you a well toned sexy body which most women can only dream of.

Muscle burn calories naturally even when you are sleeping. In fact, research has shown that for each kilo of muscle you build, you will burn 70-100 more calories per day. So, if you gain 2 kilos of muscle and lose 2 kilos of fat, you will burn about 75 more calories per kilo, which equates to burning 150 additional calories per day, which translates into 4200 additional calories per month and ultimately results in a fat or weight loss of 7-8 kilos a year without doing anything! One kilo is 2.2 pounds. Doesn't that sound great?

Another reason that women should do weightlifting is the benefit it can have on your bones. Weight training is a powerful preventive action against osteoporosis, a disease caused by porous bone and low bone density. Women have a much higher risk than men to suffer from osteoporosis. In fact, most women will suffer from this disease as they age. Those plagued with osteoporosis have an increased susceptibility to fractures. These fractures can even be fatal. So, women should exercise with weight to strengthen and increase bone density. Research has shown that six months of weightlifting may increase bone mineral density by as much as 15 percent. As you increase your muscle tissue, your bones must adapt to accommodate this increase in your muscle mass. So your bones respond by increasing in density. The result? You will own a stronger skeletal structure and a reduced risk for osteoporosis.

So, don't completely swear off weightlifting fearing that training with weights will build big muscles and turn you into an Incredible Hulk! You won't and you can't. Period.

OK girls, the weights are over there. Let's lift them now! Have the last laugh when your girl friends tell you that they don't want to lift weights and yet watching you transform your body that will make heads turn when you are in your bikini.

Personal Trainer to boost your training

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 03:23:45 -0700

We all go to a fitness club for one reason or another, whether it is simply to keep fit and in good physical conditions or to loose weight. But finding the right equipment to use and getting the right fitness programme is not always so straight forward, and this is where a personal trainer might be useful.

Even if they can sometimes be expensive to use, personal trainers know exactly which equipment in your gym is best for and can really help you decide which machines to use and which parts of your body they will work on. For that reason, using a personal trainer, even only once or twice will get you into the right tracks to achieve your goals in the best possible way. You can then decide on an appropriate training programme to follow. So if you mainly want to loose weight, book a few sessions with a trainer to establish a training programme and find more on which machines to use and also on how to use them properly. The same goes if you want to build up muscles on a particular area of your body or improve your endurance.

Using a personal trainer is also useful when you do not think you can keep your motivation and stick to a regular practice at your fitness club. In this case, using a personal trainer will help you stay motivated and push you to achieve your goals even when you are not too into it or a bit lazy. A personal trainer can provide a solid structure and help you develop the proper lifestyle to stay into a consistent training programme.

You can find personal trainers nearly everywhere, whether you go to a Manchester gym or in any other place in the UK. On top of that, you can if you want get a personal trainer at home if you do not have the possibility to go to a fitness club. It will probably cost you more than going to the gym and book your sessions with the personal trainer available there but it is a great way of doing some workout. Because the trainer will come to you, you cannot say that you were not able to go to the gym or anything like that as the gym will go to you. It is also a good way of making sure you stick to your programme as doing some workout at home is not always easy in term of motivation.

Muscle Building To Lose Weight

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Muscle building also helps a person in the process of weight loss and weight loss is important because many symptoms and ailments take place because of over weight or obesity. Diseases like cancer, diabetes, hyper tension, depression and many more occurs because of over weight or obesity. Therefore, muscle building is a way to lose weight, since a person with the aim to gain muscle paves a way to lose weight, too. Muscle building requires a person to adapt many healthy and fit habits in his or her life. First and foremost, a person should plan a diet or make an eating plan, which should be balanced and include all the food groups. For example, it is mandatory that the diet have food components like protein, carbohydrate, vitamins, nutrients, minerals, fat etc. Muscle building is a program or routine that requires a person to eat healthy and eat the right quantity and quality of food. The most important food components required by a person to exist in his or her body is protein and carbohydrate. Protein is the most important component, because protein is the building block of all the muscle and the main ingredient of muscle building. Protein has the component named amino acids that is the most important part of muscle building. Therefore, a person to build muscle must get the intake of food rich in protein content, for example, poultry products like chicken and egg, milk and yogurt, meat and fish. And especially, if the meat is from a lean part, it'll have less fat content. The second and another important food group for muscle building is carbohydrate. Carbohydrate is required and needed by the body, especially if he or she is in a vigorous exercising or work out routines, as carbohydrate produces energy and stamina. So, food intake is necessary just 2 hours before the exercise routine. Because, this will produce the energy that the body requires. So a person should take food rich in carbohydrate too, like pulses, whole grain, pastas, brown rice and etc. But the most important aspect of muscle building is doing proper and regular workouts and exercises. But before doing the muscle building exercise a person should do some warm up exercises like walking, jogging or running, jumping the ropes etc. By doing all the warm up exercises, the body is prepared to do the vigorous exercise and work outs and also the required heat is produced, to balance the body heat. There are many muscle building exercises, like crunches, squats, flyes, bench presses, weightlifting and doing work outs by using weights. A person should gradually increase the weights in succession of reps and then slowly and carefully increase the exercising rate. Do not over do the muscle building training and get proper instruction before doing the work out by a professionally trained person, so as to avoid accidents and harmful consequences.

The Ultimate Fat Burning Techniques For Bodybuilders

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Bodybuilding is not just about accumulating body mass but specifically, building compact muscles. Development of muscle fibers basically involves two bodily processes: accumulation of additional protein derived nutrients to facilitate the ever increasing demand for energy in workouts and the conversion of fats into both energy and fibers. Ten percent of the calories a body burns in a day is to process the nutrients consumed. Human muscle cells burn calories relatively faster than they burns fat cells. This essentially means that the more muscles a body builder develops, the more calories he can burn. When a body builder deprives the body the essential calories while engaging in demanding workouts, the body automatically slows down the metabolism so as to conserve fuel. If aerobics are incorporated in bodybuilding, they boost fat combustion for a maximum duration of an hour. Therefore, body builders don't have to exercise to burn their calories because any kind of movement like walking, climbing heights or mowing the lawn adds up to fat burning incentive. This helps reduce unnecessary body weight to save up "space" for compact muscles. The body composition of a body builder is the best indicator of fitness than body weight, since at the very basic, muscle tissues are heavier than the fat tissues. The successful conversion of fat to muscle fiber, bodybuilders alter the essential composition and shape of their body. But fat is not all bad in the body. Concentrated fat molecules are known to slow down the digestion process. This helps maintain a constant energy supply to the body, without feeling hungry at odd times or between meals. Fat is a very crucial constituent of all cell membranes. It assists in absorbing digested vitamins A, D, E and K. The body builder needs these four vitamins for better vision, firm and rigid bones, a healthy heart and effective blood clotting ability, respectively. There are some right kinds of fats like monounsaturated fats and omega3 fatty acids. These fats are risk-free. The key for any builder is eating the right types of fat and to ensure that he doesn't eat more fat than his body needs. The number of grams of fat that should be consumed can be calculated by multiplying the number of calories you consumed daily by the overall percentage of calories essentially from fats that are preferred in the diet divided by nine. A good example of such a calculation is for a person who consumes roughly 1800 calories while the percentage of calories derived from fat in the preferred diet is about 30% or .3. Thus such a bodybuilder can eat 60 grams of fat. For those body builders with more fat in their frames than necessary, they should eat a healthy breakfast, then eat small and frequent meals throughout the day and then improve their workouts to constitute aerobics. Incidentally, this will also help add more muscle. This in turn improves the efficiency fat combustion useful in toning the body, because the more muscle you have, the quicker you burn fat. The body builder's quickest way to shape up is incorporating strength and toning exercises alternated with aerobic exercises.

The Truth About Training Your Chest

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0700

A massive chest is definitely one to admire. Many people are crazy about increasing the sizes of their chests. The inexperienced among this lot slave for hours on end with numerous cable crossover workouts and long hours on the bench press all in a bid to develop strong and full pectoral muscles. Given that the chest is a flashy set of muscles much like the biceps and triceps it is vital that the right techniques are taught to the eager bodybuilders. For one to develop the barrel-chested look there will be no other road to success other than pumping iron dedicatedly while keeping to the rudimentary rules of the art. The chest area is composed of the pectoralis minor and the pectoralis major. To exercise these muscles effectively you will have to use both fly and press motions. The fly motions do have their place in building these muscles but the majority of the success will come from the pressing motions. Your aim once you grasp this concept should be to muster as much weight as you can in these motions. The more muscle that you can stimulate the greater the reward. The best training methods as such will remain to be the heavy duty moves i.e. the wide grip dips, barbell presses and dumbbell presses. Make use of the crossover cable drills albeit in a small way. The heavy-duty moves will give you what you require. There is no other way to get the chest muscle to look fabulous, stick to your presses, eat well, train progressively and you will be amazed at the results in time. Some of the best workout methods for these muscles include the barbell bench presses (declined, inclined or flat). These are great compound workouts that will work wonders for your chest area. The decline press movement will act on the outer region of the chest while the inclined motions will work on the chest's upper regions. The flat motions will work both of these regions in equal measure. The dumbbell presses (declined, inclined or flat) are also very effective for the chest area. Dumbbells are more advantageous than the barbells because they allow you to make more natural motions with your shoulders and as such there are limited chances of injury. Some other great types of workouts for your chest are the dips. They are often neglected but those who stick to the basics know their benefit. To do effective dips just make sure that your grip is adequately wide and that you try to lean forward so as to take away the effort from your triceps straight to the pectoral area. You can also add the dumbbell flyes. This can be an effective training method but should be used conservatively. The motions involved isolate the chest and there is a limited extent to which progressive overloads can be done. Save these for last as it is more important for you to spend more strength on the more effective presses that have been discussed above.

Simple Exercises That Bodybuilders Benefit From

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Although contemporary bodybuilding has developed to be a complex and highly specialized sport, there are some basic exercises that characterize any body building exercise session. What defers among deferent bodybuiders is the severity and or weight size used during these basic exercises. Each exercise involves one part of the body, though most end up incorporating the whole body. The basic body building exercises include the following six: 1. The Back The bodybuilder's back is often ignored despite being the biggest and most extensive muscle in the body. The back is basically divided into the upper, the lower and the sides. To build the upper back, the best exercises are the lateral pull downs alternated with seated pulley rows. To build the lower back frequent superman stretches are adequate. Superman stretches should be done lying down on the stomach while the hands and the legs are stretched out straight. Finally, to consistently build the sides of the back to the extent in which they adopt a V-shape, chins and pull downs are the most optimal exercises. 2. The Arms The exercises involving and developing the arms can be grouped into 3 distinct areas: the biceps, the forearms and the triceps. Body exercises for building the biceps are mainly curls. On the other hand, the triceps are generally the biggest muscles in the arm and yet often one of the least exercised muscles in the athlete's body. To build power and compact triceps, bodybuilders should adopt regular triceps pushdowns and lying extensions in the training schedule. Dips are very good triceps building exercises, which doubles up as chest exercises as well. To build and develop the forearms, regular wrist curls exercises are adequate 3. The Chest Regarded as the most crucial and even attractive body part if well developed, the chest is often the most worked during exercises. Chest exercises are prime and favorite concerns for all bodybuilders. A human chest has two basic parts, called the higher and lower chest. To develop muscles on both parts of the chest, bench presses are the best exercises. However, athletes should adopt variations to the bench press exercises. The best variations are the flat bench presses, alternated by the incline press and decline press work. A well coordinated set of these presses develop muscles in the uppers and lower chest. Another useful exercise to develop the chest muscles is the fly. 4. The Shoulders In bodybuilding, shoulders often are the most difficult and unpleasant muscles to exercise or train. However persistent exercises especially shoulder presses and shoulder shrugs, helps remove this dominant rigidity. While doing the shrugs athletes should use progressive heavy weights so as to help the shoulders in developing packed muscle rims. 5. The Legs A body builder's legs have 3 distinct muscles namely: calves, quadriceps and hamstrings. To build the quadriceps, speed squats are the best and simplest exercises. To build packed hamstrings, leg curls combined with stiff-legged dead lifts are adequate. The calves can best be exercised by calf raises while the athlete is both standing and sitting. 6. The Abs Abs are the single body parts that take the longest time to build. Packed abs are best built by squeezing exercises. However, muscle gains on the upper abs mostly result from crunches. For the lower abs, rhythmic pelvic tilts are very effective while quick far reaching side bends develop the sides or what is commonly called the obliques.

Proven Ways You Can Put On Muscle Mass

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0700

There is only one way to grow your muscles bigger and stronger. All other techniques are based on this golden rule. This fundamental rule is basically concerned with a progressively increased overload in training. The argument behind this rule is that the body will basically grow in response to the stress that is placed on it. The muscles increase in size as they try to ready themselves for future increases in the amount of stress that will be put on them. For this reason the muscles will hardly ever grow if you are just pegged on a static amount of overload week in week out. If you do this then the body will get complacent (or enter into a plateau stage) and no development will be observable. The best way is therefore to increase the overload gradually, nothing too drastic or abrupt lest one incurs injury. To increase the overload you need to increase the resistance in your weight training. Alternatively you can increase the amount of work that you are putting into the exercise. One of the best ways to grow the muscles is by doing fewer reps that are more effective. As you increase the resistance, reduce the amount of reps and increase the resting time between each consecutive set. This will in effect help you to stimulate some new muscle groups that will be brought into the fray and contribute to the overall growth of the particular muscle group. The best number of reps to help in the gaining of muscle mass is often 4-6. There is a conflicting observation about fewer reps that is sort of unfounded. Some people say that fewer reps are responsible for the susceptibility to injury. This is hardly so because as the resistance is being increased the body is not being overstressed in trying to meet the training demand. The muscles are gradually introduced to the new load and they adapt in time without exposure to weight related injuries. The muscles become stronger as a result. Lower reps are by far the most effective ways to train the muscles. There is no need to concentrate on lighter loads and high reps. This will achieve nothing for the muscles. The effect cannot be compared with one which involves fewer but more intense reps. Further, if you can make as many as ten reps of any given exercise then without a doubt the exercise is too easy for you. This brings in the issue of how to determine the best weight to use in training. The first weeks in the gym should be sort of a trial and error period. Test yourself with a range of weights and you will find out the best load for your purposes. One quick way to test this is to count the number of reps that you can do with each weight. If for a particular weight you can only do four reps chances are the weight is too heavy for you. Weights that afford you more than six reps are way too light.

Post Cycle: Coming Down From Steroids

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The main reason as to why the body of a human being stops the production of testosterone at its usual normal levels in the usage of steroids is basically due to the fact that it takes a while to adjust to lack of the hormone testosterone in the body. In normal terms this is what many refer to the use of steroid as being 'addicting'. Most of the time in the use of steroids, it becomes so easy to literally go back to the use of steroids than to tackle the steroids side effects. However if athletes and other user of steroids do take the right precautions the problem of dealing with steroid addiction would be dealt with a person manifesting least side effects possible as well as a significance loss of performance being possible. This happens if some things are kept in mind by any sportsman who uses steroids including any other person who is under steroid addiction. Planning Freedom from steroids takes planning for any substance user who is after coming off steroids. It will be ill advised to just develop fear simply because the body has just entered a catabolic phase that has included a much undesired decrease in body mass and in general body strength as well as a fall in the desire to work out or train. Steroids should really be reduced very slowly for a period of two to four weeks but should depend on the general body strength of the person under steroids and also the steroid strength under use. In addition, steroids users who are addicted should try to make sure they have controlled the level of production of other defined types of hormones that are in the body also. This is well done by the substance user by advising the user to strictly take a drug regime that should include clomid, HCG and also anti-estrogen drugs. Another important thing is for the substance abuser to knowingly alter his/her food nutrition. One of these ways is to decrease around a quarter as well as a third of calories for several days but to make sure the protein intake is not altered that much. Also, exercise instances should be decreased simply because the human body would not have been prepared for the maintenance of the right and same level of training while trying to drop the process of leaving the steroid slavery. All in all, coming off steroids is mostly out of choice and a substance abuser should know what really works for him or her. Specific advice should be obtained from a doctor with a thorough physical examination being carried out from ones physician or care provider. Also visiting a trainer dealing with issues related to steroid use may be of help as the trainer would know how to carry out the proper therapy. The answer basically lies with consulting the best qualified physician for a proper diagnosis as well as for answers before embarking on this important journey leaving the steroid land of captivity.

How To Gain A Lot Of Muscle Fast

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The million dollar question that many people ask has to do with trying to find out what the fastest way to gain muscle is. The right answer to this question should reflect the best way to increase the muscle mass and not the easiest way to do so. First of all, the right training techniques need to be employed if success is to be achieved on this front. The right training techniques will ensure that the largest muscles in the body are trained effectively and this will most certainly lead to a general growth of all the other muscle groups. The best way to train these muscles is by adopting the compound exercise routines such as the squats, the leg presses and the dead lifts. This is just how the body works. There is no need therefore to concentrate efforts on the minor muscles like the triceps and the biceps. Work hard on the more difficult exercises and concentrate on the big muscle groups like the quads, chest and back muscles. The smaller muscles will grow as a result of being incorporated in the said workouts. The mechanism of the body muscles is that they do not work in isolation. An effort that is put on the large muscle groups will be felt even in the smaller muscles. If the larger muscle groups are worked upon and a demand for increased food intake is realized, the effects of the increased intake will be felt throughout the body. Training the large muscle groups helps you to create an anabolic environment that is most suitable for muscle development. As mentioned, the muscles work in unison and not in isolation. The anabolic effects will thus be felt on all the muscle groups. Attaching importance to the need for enough water and protein Secondly, fast gains in the muscle mass are achieved through the proper intake of both water and proteins. Make a point of ensuring that you also take enough carbohydrates because they will fuel your bodybuilding effort and help in the conservation of glycogen that is critical in muscle development. Water is one commodity that you can hardly train without. The saying that water is life really strikes home when you think about it in this context. The body is composed of 70% water. The muscles are made up of the same amount of water with the rest of the composition being largely protein. These facts underlie the importance of water in your diet. Water is necessary for the body because it helps in the flushing out of waste products produced during exercise. Water facilitates the transportation of these substances out of the body and thus plays a major role in taking off pressure from the renal system. Water is the main mode of transporting nutrients to the locations where they are required in the body. All the helpful amino acids and other nutrients are transported in this way. Last but not least, water helps keep the muscles looking full and vascular.

How Dumbbells Are The Secret To Bodybuilding Success

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Of the most common equipment used for bodybuilding, dumbbells are the commonest. They are cheap, small in size and thus convenient for home gym, and are on the whole the single most useful tools in developing voluminous and compact muscles. All you need to start packing the muscles is the dumbbells or a pair of them with alternate weight, a chair or an exercise mat or just a carpeted area. The workout should be at least twenty minutes, for two non-consecutive days in a week. The drill ought to be a multiple of four repetitions on each side. The first two exercises should be done standing up straight, while holding two dumbbells at the sides. Then squat keeping the feet a little distance apart. Gradually bend the knees to a minimal angle, ensuring that the knees do not extend beyond the toes. This should be followed by a pause when the thighs are nearest to the floor. Complete the cycle by slowly rising to the starting stature and position. Move to the next level of building tough muscles by taking a long and firm step forward with the right foot while keeping the right thigh parallel to the floor surface and the left knee pointing directly at the floor. Always ensure that the right knee extends beyond the toes. The cycle is completed by returning to the starting position before repeat it fully with the left foot for a good measure. The body builder's shoulders can be exercised by standing while holding two dumbbells at the shoulder level, then lifting them straight above the head until the arms are extended to the farthest they can go. These lifts should be repeated after a pause and always returning to original position gradually. The all time favorite body building exercise using dumbbells is called the dumbbells roll. To use the roll, stand beside a firm chair with the right foot placed in front of the left one and a single dumbbell held in the left hand. Use the right hand to support yourself on the chair as you bend over slowly and drop the left hand downwards towards the floor. Complete the cycle by pulling up the dumbbell gradually until it is safely nested under the side. Another of the favorite dumbbells body building exercises is the triceps stretch. This is done while standing with a single dumbbell in both hands and the arms held straight up over the head. The first motion is bending the elbows to gradually lower both the dumbbells backwards. Always ensure the elbows are not moving either forward or backward before you lower the dumbbells until the forearms are almost parallel to the floor surface. Then pause before lifting both the dumbbells back to the initial position. Bodybuilding most often starts with a crave to develop powerful looking biceps. To achieve this, dumbbells come in handy especially to do the biceps roll. The roll is done while standing with elbows bent downwards on the sides and a dumbbell held in both hands. Gradually raise the left hand's dumbbell by curling the elbow until the bicep muscle is maximally contracted and the lower the dumbbells gradually. The roll should be repeated with alternate arm.