Category: Articles
Tell me which guy doesn’t right? As you walk through many gyms you will always see guys trying to pump those bi’s. Let’s face it if you are body building, working the biceps is always going to be part of your routine. The key is knowing how to hit it. For growth you got to be looking at more compound movements. Standing barbell curls will always give you a good pump and help increase size over time. You also need to have a mix of isolation exercises to give your bi’s more shape and definition. 
If there’s 4 bicep exercises you can do to increase mass and strengh it’s the
Of course there are many others but the 4 mentioned should give get your biceps to start screaming. Short intense workouts are always going to produce better results than long workouts that put no pressure on the muscles.
So next time you walk into your gym before a biceps workout, plan ahead and think how you will get your arms to grow and become more defined. It’s all about building muscle and not wasting time!
We all stress at times. Whether it’s stress because of work, money, relationships or just the daily things you need to get done, there are always things that can get us down. How many times you hear someone say, “there’s no point stressing about it, it won’t change anything”. What stress can change is your eating habits and by that we mean dependency on comfort foods. Many females hit the chocolates hard in times of feeling down and men can down pints of beer after a hard stressful day at work.
Unfortunately, ‘fat deposits’ accumulated from a poor diet doesn’t know that you were stressed out. A bad diet will almost always lead to excess weight gain. There are some alternative ways to get your mind off stressful eating. The article points out to some useful ways to get your mind occupied. How do you deal with stress? Do you just turn to food, any sort of comfort food?
Whether it’s body building or making money or pretty much anything in life, we are always looking for short cuts. Whether it’s the latest supplement that can shred fat in a matter of days or some money making plan that can give us high returns, we want fast and instant.
The fact is people forget going back to basics. In terms of getting that perfect physique, they often lose sight and focus with all the flashy distractions around them. They stop thinking about the fundamental things such as diet, exercise and general way of living. For example, instead of thinking about the next diet pill why don’t you consider lowering your stress levels and eating clean?
Stress has been linked to weight gain time and time again and for good reason. When your body is reacting to stressful situations you immediately think of ways to help you feel better. A lot of people turn to food and drink. The outcome is body fat that just won’t shift. Instead of drinking soda and other beverages try to stick to just water? As hard as this sounds, the results are a better body weight and hydration.
Putting on muscle and body building as a whole is a way of living. It relies on discipline, action and mastering the basics. You need to master your diet, training regimen and your mind to get where you want to be.
Blessed with genetics don’t mean squat, unless you put in the work and effort. I got the man himself, Jay Cutler 4 times Mr Olympia vying to go for his 5th title in 2012 with some chest workout. Jay is a true example of pushing yourself to the limits and beyond. Getting his pro card at the age of 23, yes that’s right and not a typo is just some of the things that sets this powerhouse apart.
Turning to his chest, Jay explains to MD “When I was younger, my chest was by far my worst body part, and even now I still don’t consider it to be totally up to par with everything else on me.” I hear you screaming, are you kidding me? Guys that’s the level of intensity and dedication Jay shows, never settling for anything less. What do you settle for?
As I always say, it’s all about the pump and not the weight. Can you feel your muscles working or your ego? Here’s something you should take away from reading this post.
Don’t worry about how much weight Jay uses, or even how much weight you use. Do try to become stronger, but only if your form is good, you are handling the weight on your own and not relying on a spotter to assist you, and you are feeling the muscle working. Otherwise, all the weight in the world means jack shit. There are plenty of idiots out there throwing around a lot of weight who have no physique to show for it, despite considering themselves bodybuilders. If Mr. Olympia isn’t worried about being the strongest guy around, why should you?
The following is the chest routine as promised with some pictures of in my opinion the body builder of the decade. Think about it, in the last 10 years of Mr Olympia who else has become champion 4 times and runner up the last 6 times?
Images Courtesy of Muscular Development Magazine
Okay every time some one talks to you about meal plans, you probably start yawning? I don’t blame you, it’s not exactly the exciting part of getting healthy. Besides most of the meal plans consist of basic foods that taste like well…. baby food?
I have met body builders who eat really bland food, and don’t really care about taste. It doesn’t always have to be this way. You can spice things up, experiment with new ingredients all the while keeping a count on calories and eating clean. There are meal plans that you can check out depending on what you are looking to do.
Eating clean is too important to ignore. A crappy diet means, a waste of your time and an increase in your waistline! Besides gym memberships don’t come cheap right? So all you are doing is pretty much standing still when it comes to progress if not going backwards.
Eating full fat cheese is not bad for you or having some mayonnaise. It all comes down to when you eat and of course the quantity. Here’s something to think about, if you are looking to pack on some serious size, is eating large heavy 3 square meals better or eating small meals throughout the day the right way to go? Drop me your thoughts!
It’s one of the most common type of workouts you will see, guys in the gym day in day out trying to work their guns. Having large, solid arms is what it’s all about, but are you seeing gains? Here’s one simple question….do you know the triceps makes up two thirds of your overall arm size? Having swollen biceps and flat tri’s will not look right on anyone.
There’s a lot of things you can do to make your arms grow. Change up your routine, rep range, and workout angles. Of course you will want to eat well with a optimum level of protein each meal.
Don’t just do the same bi or tri workout every time you hit the gym. If you become predictable in your training, so will your progress! Keep the muscles guessing and they will grow. Getting a quality muscle pump is important and remember it’s not wise to go to failure all the time. Like I said, mix it up, sometimes get the muscles to fail and sometimes lift heavier just doing 2-5 reps. This will help in gaining size.
If you are looking to build muscle and quality size, Jim Stoppani has just released his 12 week short cut to size program. This program focuses on building muscle and gaining overall strength. His knowledge, experience and overall background makes him someone you can listen to and get some great advice from. The 12 week program is for men and women looking to put on muscle.
Here’s what Jim says about his program….
My 12-Week “Shortcut to Size” distills everything I’ve learned about muscle growth into one program. It’s science-backed, gym-tested and Jim-approved for men and women, beginner and advanced. If you want to build muscle and strength, this program is for you.
In the program you will learn about periodization which allows you to change your training at certain times for the best results. You will also learn about micro cycles where your training rep range and weights change weekly.
You can directly view the training program as an ebook courtesy of bodybuilding.com by clicking on the image link below.
Jim gives you all that you need for a total workout plan. You get info on nutrition, supplements, and even his workout playlist. This program will help you connect all the dots. How to eat for growth to best ways to do certain exercises. For example, during phase 1, week 1 you will learn how to do cable overhead triceps extensions whilst fully stretching the triceps. The program is packed with useful advice on how to really make the muscle work during each exercise and rep.
This program is like having a personal trainer at your disposal. If you want results, maybe it’s time you looked at the 12 week short cut program. Thank you Jim!
Images Courtesy of Bodybuilding.com & MuscleandFitness.com
Hey, if you are just starting out body building, it can seem a little confusing on what to do, who to listen to etc. You probably see people in the gym give all sorts of advice, a lot of which is total BULL! Get advice from people that seem to know what they are doing, or have the physique you want. It’s usually the one’s that don’t talk much and concentrate on their workouts. One of the first things you can do is educate yourself. Educate yourself on proper diet, when to eat, how often to eat, how to lift weights CORRECTLY, what your goals are etc.
A lot of people who have been working out for a numbers of months and even years just don’t seem to get the right results. It’s simply because their foundations are not there. They are either lacking in diet discipline, or just leading a lifestyle that does not fit with body building. I use the word lifestyle, because body building is a full time commitment. It’s not just something you do for an hour or two a day. I found a good bodybuilding beginners guide that is useful and to the point. It highlights 9 important points to consider as a newbie body builder.
One of the most important points that a beginner can take is to keep a track of everything. Have a diary or notepad and jot down what you ate, how many calories consisting of carbs, protein and healthy fats you consumed in the day, what exercises you did and check whether progression is being made. Anyone can go to the gym and lift some weights or use a treadmill, but folks body building is much more than that!
Image Courtesy of Muscle-munch.com
If you looking to gain more chest muscle mass then maybe it’s time for you to look a little more into your routine? Are you simply hitting the gym and lifting barbell bench presses and anything barbell? Ever thought about using good ol’ dumbells? If you want to stack some size, dumbell presses are awesome for pounding the chest! It’s not about leaving barbell chest movements altogether instead, mix and match. If you are going to do the flat barbell bench press, then for incline use dumbells?
Most of you guys and gal’s probably know this already, but it’s really for the newbie amongst you. Dumbbells make you work the chest harder as you need to balance the weights during movement. You can also take the dumbbells lower to get an overall stretch in the pectorals. You can incorporate dumbbell movements by doing flat, incline, decline presses. You can also do dumbbell fly’s. There are different angles you can use to work the chest using dumbbells.
Using dumbbells doesn’t mean you need to go heavy. You can do lighter weights to begin with and move onto heavier ones to get that pump! As long as you make the muscles work, think of it as consistent progression.
John Gregory in Bodybuildingblog, talks about how you can benefit with dumbbells during your chest routine. It’s all about progression folks. You need to keep the muscles guessing and growing!
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