The Management Consulting Group

Testosterone Therapy is for those who have significantly low testosterone levels - this sounds simple. But this has more to it, as this therapy might not be helpful for all. You can’t take this therapy just for the heck of it. Go for it only when you need it and doctors are sure that this is going to help you. The only thing that you need to keep an eye on is the right time to go for the therapy. In most cases, patients don’t see a doctor on the right time as they fail to recognize the symptoms of low testosterone levels.

To start with frequent changing of moods is a great indicator of male andropause and subsequent low testosterone levels. After returning from office if you feel a stretch in your muscles or feel exhausted early in the morning, then you are sure to be short of testosterone hormones. You can go ahead to see a doctor for testosterone therapy. There is no need to feel that these are sure shot signs of low testosterone count, though, as these can be the result of other health problems too. Some men after 40 start having cracked voice, and lack of sexual drive. They can even fail to have solid erections and very low sexual drive.

Symptoms vary from person to person, but there are some symptoms which are commonly found. You can even experience heightened blood pressure and continuous sense of irritation. The most important suggestion here is to go for a diagnosis as soon as any of the symptoms surface, rather than waiting for the disease to take a toll on you. A thorough checkup reveals the exact condition and if needed, doctors would suggest testosterone therapy to make a difference. After all you have every right to enjoy life till the end.

WHY CAN’T YOU GAIN WEIGHT?

Though there may be many reasons why you may be thin, the most apparent reason is because of your genetics. If your parents are naturally thin or have a small body frame, then you will most likely have the same small body type.

To some degree, your size can also be controlled by your metabolism. If you have a difficult time gaining weight of any kind (fat or muscle) then you most likely have a fast metabolism. That simply means that your body burns calories at a faster than normal rate. You must take this into account whenever you are considering a particular diet or training program. Is it geared towards someone with your metabolism and goal?

Now as you know, there are many ways to train. Hundreds, thousands even. Some work and some do not, but for the specific goal of gaining weight, there are a few UNIVERSAL things that all skinny guys must do.

Though much of the information I cover here is not as “magical” as you may like, I consider these rules to be the basics with regard to weight gain. These are not all of the answers, but they are definite elements that MUST be addressed in any successful weight gain program.

You should be able to easily integrate these rules into your current program to make it more suitable for your particular body and goals.

GENERAL RULES

1.Get the proper information that pertains to your SPECIFIC condition and goals.

The first big problem I find in most people is the lack of correct information. Yes you are motivated and doing things, but your effort is wasted on incorrect dieting and training information. Basically, skinny guys are taking advice from people who have never had a weight gain problem. Want to know how to gain weight? Then find someone who has walked your shoes. Someone who has been where you are.

2.Set a specific goal and create a plan of attack.

If you were to drive cross country to another city, would you just start driving randomly, or would you plan a route that would get you quickly and efficiently?

Think of your plan as a road map and your goal as your destination. Without a plan and a specific goal you will be without focus and can easily get lost or side tracked. This happens more often than you know. I see many people in the gym just doing whatever, or just eating whatever — no plan or specific goal. They wonder why they don’t make progress. They have no focus.

Having a specific program to follow allows you to take action each day. This action is focused on specifically getting you to your destination quickly. There is no thinking, debating or guessing. You just do it. A specific plan provides necessary daily structure that not only keeps you on the road moving forward, it also helps to develop good eating and training habits that will benefit you long after you have reached your destination.

3.Have confidence in yourself and belief in what you are doing.

Let’s face it; we live in a cruel world. Hate and jealously is everywhere. For most people who begin a fitness program to improve themselves, getting started will be half the battle. The other half will be staying motivated throughout the constant onslaught of negativity from others. A few negative words can do serious damage if you allow it.

The most insulting things you hear may be from friends, co-workers and acquaintances at the gym. People hate change. It makes them insecure, because they suddenly discover there’s more to you than they were probably willing to admit. They fear that you may actually achieve your goal. It makes them look less “superior”.

Once you have begun your plan, you must have faith and believe in what you are doing. Stay focused and avoid overly critical or negative people. If you have to, keep your business to yourself. When I first began my program, I stopped talking about what I was doing because I got tired of hearing things like “you can’t do that”, “that’s impossible”, “you’re wasting your time and money”. Funny thing is, now those people are constantly bugging me for advice.

It’s your life. It’s your body. It’s your dream. Don’t allow your success or failure to rest in the hands of others.

WORKOUT RULES

4. Stop listening to every ridiculous piece of advice you hear in the gym or read on a message board.

Recently a client of mine informed me that someone in the gym stated that he was training all wrong and he needed to train 5-6 days a week, and aim for more reps during his workout. Somewhere in the range of 15-20 reps per set.

The person giving the advice was quite confident about his recommendations, and he had an impressive physique that typically elevates him to the elusive “listen to me if you want to look like me” level in the gym. He was bigger than my client, so even though my client’s “intellectual” mind knows that advice is absurd; his “unrealistic dreamer” mind took this information very seriously. So seriously that he changed his program and didn’t inform me until a week or so later. This particular person had been making great progress on his current program, yet he allowed this one person’s comment to overshadow that progress and convince him that his program was inadequate. This is a mistake and it showed in his lack of further progress.

In addition, don’t judge the validity of what a person says by how they look. Just because the guy is huge doesn’t mean he is spewing pertinent advice for you. Many people that have big physiques are big despite of their training, not because of it. I know some huge guys that know very little about training and dieting correctly. They can do whatever and still gain muscle; unfortunately we are not that way, so we much approach things in a more intelligent way.

5.Workout Infrequently

This is the most difficult concept for many to grasp simply because it involves less action, instead of more. When we get motivated and start a new program, it’s natural to want to do something. We want to train and train and train. Thinking all along that the more you train, the more muscle you will build. Unfortunately, this could not be farther from the truth.

More training does not equal more muscle growth. Understand that the purpose of weight training is to stimulate muscle growth. That takes very little time. Once that has been done, the muscle needs to be repaired and new muscle needs to be built. That only happens when you are resting. You do not build muscle in the gym, you build muscle when resting! If you never give your body any essential “non active” time, when will it have a chance to build muscle? Think about that.

Now, add in the fact that you have a difficult time gaining weight and the importance of rest increases. Individuals who are naturally thin and have difficulty building muscle tend to require less training and more rest.

6. Focus on Multi-Jointed Lifts

Multi-jointed exercises are those that stimulate the most amounts of muscle fibers. Unlike isolation exercises which only work individual muscles, multi-jointed lifts work many different muscle groups simultaneously. For those needing to gain weight, this is ideal because these lifts put your body under the most amount of stress. This is the stress that will shock your nervous system and cause the greatest release of muscle building hormones. This results in increased muscle gain all over the body.

You can still do some isolation work; however it should not be the focus of your workouts, and should only come after your multi-jointed lifting is complete.

7. Focus on Using Free Weights

Free weights are preferred over machines for many reasons, but most importantly because they allow the stimulation of certain supporting muscle groups when training. Stimulating these stabilizer and synergistic muscles will allow you go get stronger, and ultimately build more muscle faster. Yes, some can most likely still build large amounts of muscle using machines, but why make it more difficult if you already have a difficult time gaining weight?

8. Lift a weight that is challenging for you

Building mass involves lifting relatively heavy weight. This is necessary because the muscle fibers that cause the most amount of muscle size growth (called Type IIB) are best stimulated by the lifting of heavy weight. A heavy weight as one that only allows you to perform 4-8 reps before your muscles fail.

Using a lighter weight and doing more reps can stimulate some Type IIB fibers, but again if you have a difficult time gaining weight, why make it more difficult? You need to try and stimulate as many as you can with the use of heavy weights.

9. Focus more on the eccentric portion of the exercise.

When you lift a weight, it can be divided into three distinct periods. The positive, the negative and midpoint. The concentric or “positive” motion usually involves the initial push or effort when you begin the rep. The midpoint is signaled by a short pause before reversing and returning to the starting position. The eccentric, or “negative” portion of each lift is characterized by your resistance against then natural pull of the weight.

For example, when doing push-ups, the positive motion is the actual pushing up motion. Once you have pushed all the way up, you hit the mid point. The negative motion begins when you start to lower yourself back down. Most would simply lower themselves as fast as they pushed up, but I recommend extending and slowing down this portion. Slowing down the eccentric part of the lift will help to stimulate more muscle growth. It actually activates more of the Type IIB fibers mentioned about in Rule 7.

10. Keep your workout short but intense.

Your goal should be to get in, stimulate your muscles and then get out as quickly as possible. It is not necessary to do large amounts of exercisers per body part trying to target every muscle and hit every “angle”. This should only be a concern of someone with an already developed, mature physique who is trying to improve weak areas.

If you have no pec, don’t concern yourself with trying to target inner, outer, upper, lower or whatever. Just work your chest. You should do no more than 2-3 exercises per body part. That’s it. Doing more than that won’t build more muscle, faster. In fact it could possibly lead to muscle loss. Long training sessions cause catabolic hormone levels to rise dramatically. Catabolic hormones are responsible for breaking down muscle tissue resulting in MUSCLE LOSS. While at the same time, long training sessions suppress the hormones that actually build muscle.

If you don’t want to lose muscle during your workouts, I suggest limiting your sessions to no more than 60-75 minutes MAXIMUM. Less if you can.

11. Limit your aerobic activity and training

Honestly, I do not do any aerobic activity when I am trying to gain weight. This is mainly because it interferes with the important “non-active” time my body needs for muscle building and recovery. I do understand that people have lives and other activities that they don’t want to give up, so it must be kept to a minimum. It won’t hurt your progress as long as you don’t over do it. If you find that you are doing more aerobic activity weight training, that’s overdoing it.

I also don’t recommend it because people tend do it for the wrong reasons. Many start aerobic activity because they believe it will help them to lose fat. While that is true, it won’t do so on a high calorie mass diet. To lose fat, you need to be eating fewer calories.

12. Don’t program hop

Here’s how it usually happens. You’ve just read about a new exercise or workout that is supposed to pack on the mass. Now, even though you had already started another training program a few weeks ago, you are tired of it and really want to start this routine instead because it sounds better.

I call these people, “program hoppers”. They are very enthusiastic when starting a new program, but they never follow it long enough to actually see any results. They are easily distracted and love to drop whatever they may be doing to follow the latest “hot” workout or exercise.

My advice is don’t do it. This is a bad habit that never leads to a positive outcome. Understand that it takes time for any program to work. To be successful, you must follow your program consistently. Yes, there are many different training methods and interesting routines out there, but you can’t do them all at the same time and jumping around won’t allow enough time for any of them to actually be effective for you. Pick one that is focused on your current goal and stick with it. There will be plenty of time to try the others later, but NOT NOW.

EATING RULES

13. Eat more

This rule is pretty simple, but usually the one that is not done correctly. If weight gain is your goal, then you will need to eat more food. Period. In most cases, you will need to eat more than you are normally accustomed to.

One large problem that I had when starting out is I just had no appetite. I knew I needed to eat more, but I just did not want to. I had to force myself to eat at each meal. Thankfully, after about 2 weeks, my appetite grew. I was becoming hungry before each meal, and if I didn’t eat my meal at the normal time, my body knew it.

If you have this problem, you still must eat something, no matter how much. Start off making yourself eat something small like fruit every few hours. Then, as your appetite becomes more active, gradually move into more real food.

What this will do is gradually get your body accustomed eating at regular intervals. Eventually you will be hungry before each meal time.

When eating more, you will need to make sure that you are getting plenty of good quality protein. Protein is a nutrient that is essential for building muscle. Every meal that you eat should contain some form of protein. Meal Replacement Powders like Myoplex are excellent for this purpose. They enable you to eat large amounts of good quality protein in a very convenient manner.

14. Eat more often

In addition to eating more calories, you should also strive to eat more often throughout the day. Eating infrequently, or going long periods without eating, will cause your body to breakdown muscle tissue for the calories it needs. This is especially true for those with fast metabolisms.

Spreading your meals throughout the day will give you more manageable meal sizes, improve nutrient assimilation, and make sure that your body always has the calories it needs for muscle building and repair. I recommend eating a high protein meal every 3 hours. During normal waking hours, that usually equals about 6 meals.

Now, I know what you are saying, “I’m too busy to do this”, or “how can I do that with a full time job and school?” Don’t let the thought of this being too difficult keep you from doing it. It may seem very inconvenient at first, but once you get in the habit of doing it, it becomes second nature and you don’t have to give it much thought. Trust me, I’ve been doing it for years and do not feel that it’s limiting or time consuming.

15. Use Nutritional Supplements.

Before you buy any product, remember that supplements are not magic. Too many people think that just because you buy the latest product, it guarantees that you will automatically begin to pack on the pounds. The truth is that supplements are only there to enhance an already solid diet and workout program.

They can give you the extra edge by:

* Adding More Convenience: Using food supplements like Myoplex or Designer Protein help to eliminate the common problem of ‘not enough time’, by providing you with a quick, efficient way to get your required nutrients each day. They make eating large amounts of calories and protein easier for people with low appetites.

* Increasing Strength Levels: Products that contain Creatine, like Phosphagen HP or Cell-Tech enable you to swing the odds of gaining more weight in your favor by increasing your strength output. Creatine enables you to lift heavier weights, which will stimulate more muscle fibers and cause more muscle growth.

* Decreasing Recovery Time: Vitamin C is essential to prevent free radical damage, which is accelerated after the heavy trauma of weight training. It is also essential is helping to repair connective tissue. All of this helps decrease the amount of time you are sore.

* Enhancing Your Immune System: Weight training increases the body’s need for many minerals like magnesium and selenium. I always use a good multi-vitamin ensures that I am not deficient in any major essential vitamin or mineral. Deficiency symptoms include muscle weakness and suppression of the immune system, muscle cramping and fatigue.

I can honestly say that I could not have built the body I have today without the convenience and enhancements supplements provide. I simply don’t have the time or desire to do it any other way. This is a choice that you must decide for yourself. You will be spending your money on these products, so make sure that you know their place in your program.

IS THIS POSSIBLE?

Yes, but I have to be honest and say that from my experience, gaining weight is much more difficult than losing fat. Even if you are doing everything right, it will still be difficult because you are fighting against what your body naturally prefers. If you are naturally thin, building an impressive physique involves persistence and determination, but no matter what anyone says, it is well within your ability. Good luck and for more information on how to gain weight, be sure to check out my website at http://www.fastmusclegain.com

Former “skinny guy” Anthony Ellis is the author of Gaining Mass. The most widely used weight gain program in the world. This unique program designed to help people gain weight and build muscle, is currently being used in over 90 countries. For more information on how to gain weight and build muscle, check out his website at http://www.fastmusclegain.com

When you first begin weight training, your view and understanding of the bodybuilding process
is entirely different from those that have been around for a while.

I frequently get asked for training advice and what should be done when starting out. Well, the first thing I do is
turn the question around. Instead, I inquire about what they already know about building muscle.
The first thing to come up is obviously weight training and secondly they mention eating chicken and pasta or something.

While weight training is a fundamental aspect of bodybuilding, it by no means completes the equation.
The unfortunate thing is, if they had a better understanding of the importance of nutrition, results would come sooner
and the success rate would be higher.

Most of us, myself included, only learn this after months or even years of training.

You know that statistic that says nutrition counts for approximately 70 to 80 percent of bodybuilding success.
Well, this is so true. In fact it is as true as two and two are four.

Nutrition absolutely governs the type of results you’ll experience. What you put in you get out.

Now back to the issue as to why so many young people who start out with the intention of building muscle do not succeed.
It basically comes down to the fact that they do not have a firm grasp of what it takes to succeed.
Unfortunately this learning process takes time and requires consistency.

If you are new to the muscle building process, keeping the above two things in mind can assist you tremendously.

My advice is, train hard and eat right. If that does not work, come back and do it better next time.

Faseegh is a 24 year old guy who is passionate about building muscle. He has a website where he shares his views on
nutrition and training.
Visit http://www.basic-bodybuilding-workouts.com/bodybuilding-nutrition.html for more information on nutrition.

Recuperative massage

Trigger point therapy (fancy name for massage)is a common method for relieving chronic pain related to sports injuries.

It is the most important tool in any athlete’s tool box; you might be surprised how many old nagging injuries can be dealt with just very simple massage techniques.

But you need to do it the right way, the idea of massage is never to massage the pain area, instead the muscles surrounding it.

Specifically, you need to find spots that are tender for pressure.

These spots are so called trigger points, and massaging them can be a huge help to many musculoskeletal pain problems. (More information below)

Joint health Supplements

As we age joint cartilage starts to thin down and loose its elasticity.

This can eventually cause pain as the bare bones starts to rub on each others.

Nutrient called glucosamine can help to slow down this process and help to rebuild lost cartilage.

Many of my weightlifting friends use it successfully and have gained additional mileages to their training years through it.

I’m not talking about training with those pink dumbbells here, but real heavy training.

Aerobic exercise for cardiovascular health

If you like training and you want to enjoy it as long as possible, you better keep your heart in shape too.

Aerobic exercise, even though it hinders and limits the muscle building potential, becomes more important as we age, as it helps to promote heart health better than just lifting.

Stretching for proper movement patterns

Adding some extra stretching and joint mobility work to your training regime might be useful, especially if you aren’t doing exercises with full range of motion. - Some key muscle croups to stretch for proper lifting bio-mechanisms; glutes, hamstrings and psoas.

And always remember that you aren’t really stretching muscle, but rather tricking your brains to command your muscles to lengthen. (get them used to new range of motion, and new movement patterns), so don’t hinder this effect with overly painful stretches, but take it gentle instead.

Resources

Learn more about glucosamine supplements for joint health below.
Information on Glucosamine chondroitin sulfate

Also more information about trigger point therapy can be found through the above link.

If cardiovascular health is something that interests you might want to check out Natural supplements to lower cholesterol page

That’s about it.

Good training.

Karri Koivula

Okay here’s a subject that really gets my blood boiling. Bodybuilding is intended to be the creation of the perfect physique…right? That means that the chest, shoulders, legs, arms and back are suppose to be developed to their full potential while keeping the waist muscular but small. Some bodybuilders may have one genetically gifted part that has a tendency to be superior to another part. The normal goal is to emphasize the training of the weaker body part while curtailing training to the more responsive body part. This is done to obtain proportional muscle size. In achieving the perfect physique, the waist is meant to be small compared to upper body parts and the legs. The smaller the waist the more dramatic the surrounding muscles appear. The Back will look like a flared cobra’s head when attached to a tiny waist.

I remember the physiques of the past, Arnold, Bob Birdsong, Franco Columbo, Bob Paris and Frank Zane achieved this dynamic look. Darin Lannaghan, Bill Davey and Stan McQuay have produced this look in modern day bodybuilding though they may never be seen at the Arnold Classic Competition.

So What’s Changed?

In mid 80’s, Human Growth Hormone (HGH) and Insulin became popular drugs with professional bodybuilders. The net result, with these top level competitors, is the “Roid Gut”. Now days, we have bodybuilders sporting a 40-46″ waists. I am guessing, of course, since no competitor would dare share the mammoth size of their waistlines. If they did, I would bet they would shave the number down an inch or two. Unfortunately, the Roid Gut has a repulsive appearance contrary to the original intent of the sport. When Jay Cutler in his early years hit national prominence, his youthful physique still had the small waist. Today, Jay’s waist is absolutely gross. Sure he may weighs 270+ lbs, but also he sports a waist line of a sumo wrestler. Most of the top bodybuilders, Ronnie Coleman, Dorian Yates and Craig Titus, all exhibit this similar phenomenon. These competitors are simply meeting the expectation of what the judges are condoning and encouraging by accepting this look at as the “champion” physique.

I am writing this article to discourage the use of these drugs. They are sucking the lifeblood out of the Sport, destroying the potential aesthetics of the physique, and taking the bodybuilding back to the freak show era of the past. THIS SHOULD NOT BE!

HGH, “Huge Gut Hormone?”

Okay so what does HGH do to the body? In a normal person, HGH is produced by the body and causes the normal body growth process. The HGH drug was originally developed for children that exhibited stunted growth and were found to have a low production of this hormone. Doctors would administer HGH in small amounts to stimulate a normal growth pattern.

In a few people, HGH production is overactive (from birth) it can also create person of gigantic proportions. Andre the Giant had this condition. Robert Wadlow was another and he grew to be 7′11″. He had many health problems and died at a very early age.

If HGH is administered to an adult, muscle growth restarts. HGH is very different than steroids. HGH causes production of new cells. Steroids cause only the enlargement of existing cells. The new cell growth seems to target only with the soft tissues and rarely skeletal system. Unfortunately, not only are the muscles cells multiplying but so are the internal muscles like the intestines and heart. Furthermore, organs, like the liver, kidneys and pancreas are growing too. When the growth of these internal muscles and organs occur in a fixed chest cavity, there is only one direction for this extra mass to go and that is out the abdominal area. Starting to get the picture?

Insulin’s Additive Affect

Now what is insulin’s affect on the body? Insulin is a super steroid that funnels the nutrients and sugar into muscle. When combined with hard workouts, recovery is very quick. Properly taken, it drives cell growth better than any other steroid. However if you screw up in taking insulin at the wrong time or dosage, you can throw yourself into insulin shock and die. Also long term use can make you a diabetic, a condition that shortens life. When Insulin is combined with HGH, the muscles are set to make significant gains.

The downside of insulin is that it is also active in creating the storage of fat in the body in the event of starvation. These fat deposits are stored internally to body and not on the exterior muscles. This is wonderful for the bodybuilder’s appearance but not for this health. These fat deposits called visceral fat are found around the internal organs of the liver, pancreas, heart and kidneys. Couple this additional weight with growth of the internal muscles and organs and you have enough extra mass to create a really protruding Roid Gut.

“Side Bar” Story

Let me tell you one story that comes to mind back in the very early 80’s. Tim Belknap, then a great in the world of bodybuilding, announced that he was diabetic. I have no reason to doubt he was, but I am now convinced that Tim found the secret to using insulin to maximize his bodybuilding potential. During that era, Tim was by far the most vascular bodybuilder on the scene. I also notice, he had a semi-protruding waistline. At the time I felt sorry for Tim being handicapped with diabetes but admired that he had accomplish a world class physique under this condition. Now looking back, I am sure Tim was able to apply his insulin to his bodybuilding benefit.

You be the Judge

I am convinced that these “super heavy weight” competitors at 270+ lbs might really weigh 240 or so if you stripped the mass out of their guts. But then again they might only weigh 220 if they lost the additional muscularity as a result of these two drugs. Let’s return to the aesthetic builds of a few years past. I hope that even if judges don’t award the small waist competitor the winning trophy, you will agree, that creating a Roid Gut is neither attractive nor healthy!

Scott Jameson is a bodybuilder and trainer for over 30 years. He has a passion for bodybuilding and helping other achieve this success. He regularly applies the techniques in this article. See more of his articles at http://www.bodybuildingprogramzone.com

If you want to more information on a Bodybuilding Program - Check out the Zone, the site with a passion for you to succeed.

This article may reproduced on your website provided you acknowledge Scott Jameson as the author and must show link to http://www.bodybuildingprogramzone.com

If you clearly understand and apply the principles involved in natural bodybuilding, you will experience very rapid muscle gains. However, over a long term, eventually a ‘sticking point’ or plateau in your training may be reached. It is at this point in training that further muscle gains can sometimes appear almost impossible. Sticking points are almost always a direct result of overtraining. More often than not, this plateau can be overcome with a brief layoff.

The reasons for such a “plateau” in muscle gains can vary. Applying some of these simple strategies below should quickly produce further muscle gains. Most guys mistakenly assume, when reaching a plateau, that their maximum muscular potential has been reached. That is simply not the case. Your true potential is incredibly high. Very few guys come close to even “scratching” their limits.

Now. Taking a brief layoff, is the first recommendation when experiencing a sticking point in your training. After returning to regular training, if you are still unable to increase your muscle size, two further strategies can be applied to produce bigger and better gains.

Increasing the current resistance on the exercise you are stuck on can stimulate extra muscle growth. This increase should not exceed more than twenty percent. For example, if you are using 100 pounds in a barbell curl for ten repetitions, the weight should be increased to 120 pounds. Adjusting the weight like this, will more than likely reduce your performance ability to three or four repetitions. However, if you perform all sets with maximum intensity of effort, the number of repetitions you are able to perform will quickly increase to ten or more.

Sometimes, an increase of poundage is not safe, due to the current level of weight already being used. In such cases, adding extra weight can pose a threat to your safety. So instead. Replace the exercise with an alternative. The change of exercise need not be drastic. For example. If you have reached a plateau in the bench press, you could replace it with the incline dumbbell press. Or, parallel dips. The alternative exercise should be included in the routine for three to four weeks. After this period, the regular bench press can used once again. You should notice significant gains very quickly after doing so.

If you are still unable to increase your muscle gains after applying these strategies and taking a brief layoff, overtraining is usually the cause. Instead of having another layoff, the number of sets you perform and the frequency of your workouts should be reduced. Overtraining results from the amount of exercise performed. Level of intensity is never the cause.

To compensate for overtraining, the amount of exercise performed should be reduced by approximately thirty percent. If you are currently exercising three times a week, your frequency should be reduced to two times a week. If you are currently training with ten total sets in a workout, that number should be reduced to a total of seven. Look. I have never seen or heard of anyone who after applying these strategies failed to make further muscle gains. Any exceptions are usually due to poor nutritional habits or not training with enough intensity of effort. Period.

Trent Brook is the Author of “Huge Gains Fast - How to Get More Rock-Hard Muscle Mass In A Month Than You Now Get All Year. His “Huge Gains Fast” muscle building program is an easy-to-follow system so simple and understandable it’s fully explained to you in just 4 easy steps! The Revised Edition is now available online at his website, http://www.hugegainsfast.com

A consensus has arisen within the bodybuilding world over the past twenty years regarding the exact modes and procedures needed to become lean as humanly possible while retaining muscle mass. Across the nation and the world, bodybuilders are lifting weights, hitting aerobics and eating with discipline in order to melt body fat. While they might quibble over the content of the workout or the food selections, perhaps they’d argue over what was the superior cardio mode, what they wouldn’t argue about was the overall procedures.

The flat-out fact is that a radically lowered body fat percentage can be obtained by anyone who has maniacal discipline: they need to lift weights like a labor camp detainee and blast away at metabolism-elevating cardio with Big Ben regularity. They preplan every bite they eat. If you are that in control of self, environment and life-circumstance and can exert the requisite discipline and denial, you too can achieve a super-low body fat percentile. It requires that eating, exercise and rest are in perfect symmetrical proportion.

The procedures bodybuilders use to lose fat are the absolute best and most effective if the stated goal is to reduce body fat and retain or actually add muscle. To win at bodybuilding above all else, you must be lean. If you are not lean you are damned to nothingness and unless you posses less than a 10% body fat percentile (for a man) don’t even consider entering a local meet – you’d get blown into the weeds. In the bodybuilding world, it’s assumed everyone will be lean – otherwise they wouldn’t be there – the winners are determined by symmetry and muscle mass.

So how do all these bodybuilders routinely acquire 3-9% body fat percentiles – a degree of condition unreachable for all but the elite 25-years ago? It was a confluence of events. The fall of the Iron Curtain allowed all that bottled up information about training to filter westward: this was the start of the information revolution that culminated with the advent to the internet. A leanness quantum leap occurred when bodybuilders began systematically including cardio in the training regimen. It had been assumed cardio would ‘tear muscle down’ but in fact cardio not only burned extra calories but improved endurance thereby allowing the athletes to train harder, longer, more often. Aerobics resulted in a huge across-the-board improvement as intense cardio burns calories and the metabolism remains elevated hours afterward. Cardio timing tricks improved results.

Bodybuilders began using powerlifter training tactics to grow larger. When the bodybuilders began increasing calories to support the intense training and newly added cardio, a funny thing occurred: they didn’t get fat. They got larger. They got more muscular. Incongruously they also became leaner. They discovered that they could eat lots of calories as long as the calories were derived from approved food sources. The caloric consumption was spread over multiple meals eaten at even time intervals throughout the day. The top pros were eating 7,000 to 10,000 calories a day to support 270 to 320 pounds of “off-season” muscle mass. Dorian Yates told me he would whittle from 300-pounds to a contest ripped 260-pounds by imperceptibly reducing his calories from 6,000 a day to 3,500. He reduced gradually, taking 12-weeks to peak. If he dipped below 3,500 calories, hard-earned muscle would evaporate. At 290 Dorian could walk his twin Dobermans at top speed and achieve an 80% age-related heart rate. He was famous for lifting bar-bending poundage yet his food selections were surprisingly ‘normal’

Typical daily meal schedule – pre-competition phase

3,500 calories – 50% - 55% carbs, 30% protein, 15% - 20% fat

7am
Meal 1 500 grams oatmeal, 6 egg whites, 2 yolks, 2 slices whole wheat toast, banana

10am
Meal 2 mid-morning 40-grams of protein (powder mixed with water), 300-grams potato

1pm
Meal 3 200 grams chicken breast, 100 grams rice, 100 grams mixed vegetables

4pm
Meal 4 40 grams of protein, banana

6pm
Meal 5 post-workout 70 grams of carbohydrate powder, 30 grams of protein powder

7pm
Meal 6 200 grams of extra lean beef, 300 grams baked potato, 200 grams broccoli

10pm
Meal 7 40 grams of protein powder, 50 grams oatmeal

This is Dorian’s pre-competition cut diet (eating at his strictest) yet this menu seems hardly inhumane. The key is the type of foods, the timing of ingestion and the mixing of the various foods together. Everything within the diet is selected and prepared and placed for a specific reason.

For example; the first meal of the day is delayed until he completes his early morning cardio session. Glycogen, low coming off the sleep/fast cycle, exhausts itself and at that point body fat is mobilized to fuel the aerobic session. Once the cardio session is complete he replenishes depleted carb stores to curtail controlled catabolism. Throughout the day at equal time intervals he eats. Every two to three hours he refuels in some manner or fashion. He establishes and maintains continual anabolism. The meals are comprised of a protein portion, a fiber carb portion and a portion of starchy carbs. Fiber retards insulin released by starch carbs – protein does also to a lesser degree.

Dorian kept his fat consumption to a realistic (for a pro bodybuilder) 15 to 20% of total calories. He would train in the afternoon and as soon as his brutal training session was over he would re-supply his body with exactly what it needed in the form of a protein/carb shake. He wanted to retain as much of his awesome muscle mass as possible and not consume a single calorie more than necessary to do that! By hovering at the caloric balance point and using the caloric cost of exercise to create a negative energy balance, fat was systematically burned to cover caloric shortfall. He would keep this methodical regimentation up for 12 straight weeks, every single day, without a single break. In order to have his body fat level down to 2-3% on the day of competition, he would maintain a decent number of calories in the face of dramatically increased physical activity: more cardio, more lifting, longer session with poundage designed to etch and shape final muscular detail – the bulk building phase ended months ago.

This is all about melting the last vestiges of fat off the body without destroying mass. The razors edge. No room for error or momentary lapses in discipline – at this levels those who lapse end up 17th. He fuels himself with food throughout the day: he still eats fruit and beef and potatoes. Hardly gulag fare…this approach works: as attested by bodybuilders everywhere who are obtaining sub-10% body fat percentiles on a widespread basis using a similar template to the one used be The Diesel.

If you have the circumstance and the discipline, a mild version of this rigid approach might work wonders.

Marty Gallagher is a former fitness columnist for washingtonpost.com. He is also a former national and world champion powerlifter. Marty’s articles have been featured in Muscle Media, Muscle & Fitness, and Powerlifting USA magazines. His website, http://www.martygallagher.com, assimilates years of accumulated knowledge from the athletic elite and makes them accessible to the common person. The “Purposeful Primitive” way has been proven effective time after time after time for weight loss, increasing muscle tone, and complete physical transformation.

For competitive body builders to build bigger muscles faster is a constant temptation but for the average non competitive body builder there is another natural option – natural body building. True it is a much slower process but the long term gains far outweigh the adverse affects that even legal steroids may have on your body over an extended period of time.

Steroids are usually used for a short duration of say 6-8 weeks with a substantial period of time elapsing before starting on the next course of steroids. It is not recommended that anyone take steroids on a continuous basis. This on and off program tends to produce short term spikes in muscle mass and muscle strength.

The advantage of natural body building is a slower but steadier increase in muscle mass rather than the peaks and lows of those on steroids. I am sure many of you have seen or heard of the affects on a body builder who stops using steroids - Rapid loss of muscle bulk and strength. The affects of steroids are fairly short lived and can result in some dramatic changes to both physique and health of a body builder.

Natural body building results in a steadier and more constant performance rather than the often times spectacular ups and downs of steroid induced muscle bulk and strength performance.

When you achieve top results as a natural body builder you will be able to maintain your muscle bulk and strength for as long as you continue intense training without adverse affects on your general health.

You will not experience any dramatic muscle wasting that is many times seen in body builders when they stop using steroids. Loss of muscle bulk and strength are two of the most dreaded words for body builders. Natural body building will help most to avoid these pitfalls.

So why do people use steroids? Most of us are impatient creatures and want instant results so the steroid alternative is very attractive. Probably one of the most important factors that affect a person’s decision to use steroids or go the natural way is what is their reason for body building – is it just to look and feel better or are they in it for the competition.

So it is your call – you decide whether using legal steroids will benefit you and your objectives.

Or play it safe and go for the healthier, steadier natural body building program that will have longer term benefits for a healthier lifestyle – Its your choice.

Beth Black is webmaster for Keyword Articles a resource that lists groups of keyword targeted articles and also lists unique articles published by the webmaster. http://www.keyword-articles.info

Weightlifting is a sport with a long history. It was part of the first Olympic games held in 1896 and it is the only Olympic sport in which competitors use heavy weights. With time passing, weightlifting has developed into a body building technique as well. In fitness, weightlifting is also called weight training and is more popular with men than women.

Weightlifting in Competition

Weightlifting is a sport in which competitors are supposed to lift heavy weights. The sport is practised by both men and women. Weights are placed on steel barbells and they differ in color and heaviness.

There are two versions of weightlifting: the snatch, where competitors have to lift the barbell above their head in one single move, and the clean and jerk, where they first lift it up to their neck and then above their head. In both types of weightlifting, competitors have to keep the barbell above their head for a few seconds, while keeping their arms and legs still.

Weightlifters compete in eight series, depending on their body weight. There are three judges to decide whether the lift is successful or not. If a judge thinks it is successful, he shines a white light; if not, he shines a red light. If there are two white lights shining, the lift is considered a success. Prizes are usually given to competitors who have lifted the heaviest weight in snatch, clean and jerk and the two combined.

Weightlifting in Fitness

It was Hippocrates who first explained the principle of developing your muscles by weight training, when he said that what is used grows and what is not wastes away. Millions of men dreaming to develop their muscles are using weightlifting as a body building technique. If performed properly, weightlifting can provide important benefits to an individual’s health and well-being.

In fitness, weightlifting often involves lifting gradually increasing amounts of weight. This technique uses a wide variety of equipment to target different muscle groups. Some fitness trainers have adapted it to provide the positive effects of aerobic exercise. Weightlifting is part of the training program of many sportsmen.

As a muscle developing technique, weightlifting is based on the principle of gradual overload. Those who practice it overload their muscles by trying to lift at least as much weight as they are physically capable of. This way, the muscles respond by becoming larger and stronger. The procedure is repeated with heavier weights as the muscles strengthen. If not supervised, weightlifting can be quite risky, especially for beginners.

Generally, each exercise is repeated until the moment of muscular failure. Contrary to general belief, this is not the moment when the individual think he can no longer continue, but the first lift that fails because of inadequate muscle strength. While some fitness trainers agree with this principle, others claim that it leads to overtraining and that training to failure is suitable only for the last set of exercising.

Weightlifting can be a very effective work-out technique. You get to choose your exercises and the weights are adjusted to exhaust each muscle group after a certain number of repetitions. Moreover, unlike other exercises, weightlifting has a very high precision level, as the practitioner knows exactly when to stop.

Weightlifting has many other benefits. Both men and women can use it to improve their physical attractiveness. Men achieve this by growing their muscles, while women develop a firm, toned body. It also helps metabolism and increases fat loss. An interesting side effect of intense exercising is the rising level of serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine, which help with improving mood and overcoming depression. However, for some people, this can turn into almost an addiction, feeling an intense need to work out whenever they are in a bad mood.

See http://www.weightliftingnews.com for all the latest news and resources about weightlifting

Just like any part of the legs, the hamstrings muscle is an often neglected muscle group. Again, prior knowledge dramatically influences a person`s decision to train them. This article is going to look into the basics of the hamstring muscles and exercises that can be performed to make them look better. You are also going to learn why the hamstrings are the most prone to injury and common injuries that occur with having underdeveloped hamstrings.

The hamstrings are the muscles that run from behind and below your knees, to the backs of your thighs, to the bones that you use to sit down on. They consist of five major muscles. The psoas major and minor, and the iliacus all help with flexion and lateral roatation. The semitendinosus and semimembranosus both allow for extension, and the rectus femoris allows for flexion. It is very important that you learn the different sections that make up the hamstring muscles if you want to reach your maximum potential.

The hamstrings become active with the completion of knee flexion when the knees are extended or through the completion of hip extension when the knees are more flexed. Despite the importance of exercising your hamstrings, there are very few exercises that primarily emphasize the quadriceps muscle. The selection of exercises performed will depend on what type of equipment that is available to you. If you have no equipment, you can do bodyweight exercise such as bridges and flutter kicks. Since most of the exercises you perform target other muscle groups as well, you should train hamstrings on the same day as your quads and lower back to reduce the chance of overtraining. The best exercises for this type of split are the dumbbell lunges, romanian deadlift, and the stiff-legged dumbbell deadlift.

Underdevelopment of the hamstrings is the main cause of hamstring inflexibility and that is not the only problem associated with underdeveloped hammies. Tight hamstrings can cause poor posture and not allow you to bend over completely. Knee pain, torn cartilage in your knees, and wearing of cartilage behind your knee cap are also caused from tight hamstrings. For these reasons, it is very important that you stretch before and after your workout. Stretching is boring and very time consuming but the results are well worth it in the long run. Massage therapy is another good investment you should consider if you are currently suffering from tight hamstrings.

Every bodybuilder needs to train his or her hamstrings, but it`s very important that non-bodybuilders take care of their legs and at least go on a walk every now and then. To many people sit back thinking that the longer they complain about being overweight that the fat will just come off by itself. Right now is the best time to do something about it. How can you change tommorow if you can`t change today is a quote that I live by. You need to start making yourself better right now and the rewards will come with it tommorow. Until next time, later.

*http://www.exrx.net/Muscles/Hamstrings.html
*http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/hams.htm
*http://www.fitstep.com/Advanced/Anatomy/Hamstrings.htm
*http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.php?MainMuscle=Hamstrings
*http://www.somatics.com/hamstrings-and-knees.htm

MY SITE: http://www.clubbodybuilding.com