Most people who exercise do so for two main reasons – to lose weight or to build muscle. Sometimes these can be done concurrently. In order to lose weight people do cardio exercises which help in shedding the fat. They also focus on burning more calories than they are consuming. Building muscle is a bit more complicated because it requires eating and exercising in the right way. A lot of lean men and women fail to build muscle because they think it is as simple as lifting some weights and waiting for the results. Building muscle takes hard work, consistency, and most of all knowledge on how exactly you can pack on the muscles.
So here are 8 tips to get you started on your bulking journey.
1. Eat Enough
As you work on increasing the size of your muscles you must provide your body with enough food to support this growth. It is important to consume enough calories to ensure that you are taking in more calories than you are burning. A calorie deficiency leads to weight loss so aim for the opposite. Taking in more calories leads to weight gain and when coupled with weight-training this will result in muscle growth.(more…)
Dexter Jackson, also known by his cool name “The Blade” is a legendary bodybuilder and is known for his perfect body symmetry and conditioning.
Dexter has won multiple titles namely Mr. Olympia, Arnold Classic, and New York Pro. He has also won 28 IFBB professional bodybuilding awards to set a unique world record.
With only about 10 weeks left for Olympia 2018, The Blade has hit the gym hard and has been extensively doing chest workout.
Dexter started with incline bench barbell press and worked up his way to flat bench presses. He also did one other variant of bench presses.
The next exercise was Incline-Bench DB Flyes and Hammer Strength Incline Machine following that. He did some core exercises to finish off the routine and took some supplements to help recovery from the workouts and repair his muscles.(more…)
A human body is made up of different physical parts that come together to form a complex system. All these body parts will not be able to function if they are not facilitated by certain chemical bodies such as enzymes and hormones. These chemical bodies exist both in males and females and allow the body to perform various different functions. There are growth hormones, sexual hormones, and reproductive hormones among many others. The hormonal activity in a human body within itself is a very complicated one. It is important that the hormone level is maintained at a certain level in order for your body to be able to perform its functions normally.
The prep is completed, and the hard work is done. The last twelve to sixteen weeks of your prep have been tough, but you can congratulate yourself for making it this far. The final stage of your preparation is like the icing on the cake of your physique. These eight tips will ensure that you make the most out of your time under the stage lights and the watchful eyes of the judges.
#1 Practice Posing
Posing is not just some easy-to-learn technique that can be mastered in the last few days before you step on stage. You should be posing at least two to three times a week. Get yourself a partner that can critique your posing and help you with adjustments to your posture and stance.
Nootropic, or “brain booster supplements”, are gaining more and more popularity these days. As we have realized over the last decade, caffeine included in pre-workouts, or taken in the form of coffee or energy drinks have a profound benefit on our workouts. We notice greater focus, drive, intensity and endurance where we should be feeling fatigue and defeat. Caffeine is just one of many “brain boosting” supplements that will help to make you into a machine in the gym.
These nootropics have tremendous benefits both in and out of the gym. By enhancing your cognitive function you will experience greater mental performance, memory, have increased focus and superior energy. While you may not think that mental function is important for lifting weights, just remember that most lifters will tell you that creating the mind-to-muscle connection is crucial to busting through plateaus and pushing it to the next level. (more…)
Hard work, proper training, and appropriate diet remain crucial for athletes willing to gain muscles, and it is difficult to succeed in sports without having these qualities. At the same time, various muscle growth enhancers, such as steroids or HGH, are becoming more and more popular among men and women who want to increase their muscle strength.
Among them, human growth hormone, or HGH, is one of the most widespread and arguably efficacious ways to help gain muscle mass. In this article, we will review the cases for and against HGH for bodybuilding and will conclude whether growth hormone should be used by athletes for muscle growth.
What is HGH?
HGH is a common abbreviation for human growth hormone, also known as somatropin. This hormone controls the processes of cell growth and regeneration in the human body. That is why it is undeniably crucial for our healthy and consistent development. Although the pituitary gland produces natural growth hormone sufficient for most people, some people can suffer from growth hormone deficiency.
One of the biggest mistakes you can make when attempting to gain muscle is to imitate your favorite professional bodybuilder.
If you’ve seen the magazines: Flex, Iron Man, Muscular Development, etc…, you’ve seen the pro bodybuilding routines. These guys train one body part a day, 10 exercises for each muscle group, 6 sets per exercise, 12-20 reps per set, and they put together brutal 6 days per week workout routines, sometimes with 2-a-days.
What they don’t tell you, is that routines written by professional bodybuilders are not going to work for you if you are not either a pro bodybuilder yourself, or an unemployed, juiced up, genetic freak. If you follow these routines, you will overtrain faster than Arnold shows his bare ass in a Terminator movie. At least you will learn how NOT to train, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.
My Experience Training Like a Pro
I wish someone told me all these things before I started on some ridiculous pro routine when I was 16. This guy had me using ramps, training 6 days a week, once a day for two weeks then twice a day for four weeks, and focusing completely on machines, cables, and leg presses instead of squats.
What a complete waste of 6 months that was. When I finally confronted a personal trainer about my sore body and lack of progress, he ripped up my routine and set me straight. Thanks Ted!
Here are 10 reasons why you should not train like a professional bodybuilder:
If you’re looking for muscle gain, you probably think that devoting more hours to the gym is your best bet. But you’re wrong. Your diet is also responsible for a high percentage of your progress, but it is not always the key to getting out of a training rut.
If you’re looking for the real secret to achieving the muscle development you want, it’s simple – get more sleep. That’s right. Sleep is likely the missing piece to your training regimen.
In fact, according to research, it just may be the most important component of your regimen as it helps to increase muscular strength and size and promote efficient recovery.
Muscle gain is not just about what you do in the gym. Although you can’t just eat your way to a dream body, your nutrition can enhance and help you on your journey to a leaner and a more muscular body. If you want to gain muscle faster, add these five foods to your shopping basket.
Meat – Beef and chicken
Protein is of course what your muscles are made of and it shouldn’t come as a surprise then that meat is good for muscle gain. Different meats are the easiest way to eat vast quantities of meat and protein isn’t the only thing going for them – meat also comes back with essential nutrients and vitamins.
The two best meats to opt for include beef and chicken. Lean beef is full of iron and zinc, which are essential for a healthy body. Furthermore, lean beef has a high level of amino acid, which will work together with insulin to promote and boost muscle growth.
You should also opt for chicken (if you’re also trying to cut, get rid of the skin) when looking for high quality protein. Chicken can help with bone health, which is a crucial part of muscle growth. Chicken can easily be spiced with different mixtures to make it taste delicious and ensure you’re not eating the same tasting food every day. (more…)
Beta alanine is a non-essential amino acid. This means that it’s produced by our body (in the liver) and it isn’t therefore essential to include it in our diet. However, weight lifters and body builders can, and do, benefit from taking it in supplement form to top up the levels naturally present in their bodies. It’s also naturally present in high protein foods such as meat and fish.
How does beta alanine work?
Most amino acids are the building blocks of protein, which helps give us a lean body. However, beta alanine does not help towards building protein, instead, along with histidine it is converted into carnosine which the body uses to increase stamina, improve strength and help build muscle. So, for more stamina, strength and muscle building, more beta alanine and therefore more carnosine is advantageous.
As we exercise, lactic acid builds up in our muscles, causing the pH to lower, in turn causing fatigue and the eventual end of our workout. Carnosine helps eliminate lactic acid and other by-products of intense physical exercise, and regulates the pH of the muscles allowing us to work out for longer. It also helps reduce post exercise recovery time, allowing for more rewarding workouts in quicker succession.(more…)
Simultaneously lose fat and gain muscle. Can it be done?
Generally speaking, bodybuilders and certain athletes find themselves going through two training and dieting phases each year: bulking and cutting. For bodybuilders, bulking is a joyous time of the year as they get to basically eat a selection of nice tasting foods, which whilst being healthy for the most part, still are made up of slightly unhealthier choices, with plenty of cheat meals thrown in for good measure.
When bulking, the idea is to build up a calorie surplus so that you basically consume more calories than you’re able to burn off.
This is primarily how muscle mass is grown. Whilst bulking however, it is important bodybuilders still keep an eye on their daily macros because if they consume too many calories, not only will they build muscle, they’ll also find themselves gaining a fair amount of fat in the process, and that is not ideal.
The second phase, they find themselves in, is one which is enjoyable, yet difficult and stressful at the same time – cutting, or fitness cutting as it is sometimes referred to as. At Project Swole we like to refer to this cutting phrase as a shred, as in Project Shred.
The idea behind fitness cutting is that they attempt to lose as much fat as possible, whilst maintaining or building as much lean muscle mass as possible. When fitness cutting, a bodybuilder’s primary goal is to become as lean, defined, vascular, and shredded as possible. If these sound like your goals, take a look at our handy fitness cutting guide outlining everything you need to know.(more…)
For years athletes, movie stars, and gym rats have been falling in love with performance enhancing products to get stronger, faster, or bigger. Bodybuilders in particular love the kinds of results that these products provide them with but there are some serious drawbacks to prohormones, which usually forces people to turn to real anabolic steroids.
Most people who want to build serious muscle mass often resort to using such oral or injectable steroid products as testosterone, trenbolone, anadrol, anavar, winstrol etc. If you’re interested cycling these types of substances, you’re going to want to finish this article. Going into a cycle without proper knowledge wastes money, time, and can make you really sick.
The Pros and Cons
Please note that all of the products discussed in this article and more, can be found at one of the better online resourced based on online reviews and word of mouth. The SteroidsFax anabolic steroid website is one of the best places to get these products, but be careful as most steroids are not legal in many countries. Check your country’s laws and postal restrictions to find out more. (more…)
A right turn can always lead you to the destination quicker and safely. This is the best thing about knowing what is best for you. When it comes to body building and physique there is no doubt about the significance of using the right medication.
There are several people who you might have heard suffered serious side effect and it caused then issues. All of this can be avoided with proper care and the perfect use of right products that help your demands. Mass gains are hard to come by if no particular attention is paid to nutrition and supplementation.
Use the best
Trenbolone is quite popular among gym goers for the unique ability of the product to deliver massive gains. It is one of the most effective injectable forms of anabolic drug that have given many a body builders their dream physique. Trenbolone is banned in many countries as the abuse has led to tipping point and there is only one legal way. (more…)
Your legs are the foundation of your physique. With their bulging tear drops, incision-like cuts, and shredded striations, prize leg development can win you a contest. Lagging leg development can also lose you a contest. Additionally, having strong legs makes it that much easier to develop a strong upper body. Here are 6 mistakes most athletes make when training their legs. These tips apply both to active bodybuilders and newbies, so pay attention!
The Top 6 Leg Training Mistakes
Not Training Legs At All
A lot of people completely avoid leg training. Why? Personally, I find it hard to understand. But there’s obviously a reason why they do; theories are they already have some preconceived notion that their legs are developed beyond what they are in actuality, or they see leg training as “hard”.
It’s true that leg training can be painful, and you generally are sore afterwards, but many bodybuilders grow to love that soreness, as with other muscles. Avoiding leg training is a critical mistake, and you can’t build a house without a foundation.
The problem with most rotational movements is that they produce shearing forces on your lumbar spine. One of the foundations of biomechanics is that you don’t place your spine into a simultaneous state of rotation, flexion, and side bending, and you especially don’t add an external load.
This eliminates a number of popular abdominal exercises such as dumbbell side bends and the twisting abdominal machine. Exercises like the Russian twist should be performed with care, making sure that the trunk is flexed rather than the spine.
There is a quick and easy solution to the inherent problems with twisting exercises – don’t twist.
A wonderful, inspirational video by Arnold Schwarzenegger – powerlifter, bodybuilder, actor, ‘governator’, and millionaire. This is the man who walked the walk well before he ever started talking the talk.
“Just remember, you can’t climb the ladder of success with your hands in your pockets.”
The original purpose of this video was as a graduation speech at USC. Someone took 5 of the most important minutes of this speech and added subtitles, which you can view below.
Six Rules on How to Be Successful
Trust yourself
Break some rules
Don’t be afraid to fail
Ignore the naysayers
Work like hell
Give something back
You can also view the full 25 minute video and video transcript here: 6 Rules for Success
Deciding which nutritional supplements to take is a challenge for most people. The sports nutrition market is currently so over saturated in most categories that it makes it very difficult to discern which products actually work, which ones taste good, and/or provide the best value for money. It’s silly to go out uninformed and drop $50+ dollars on a single product and get a nasty surprise if the quality isn’t up to par.
JackedPack solves this problem by taking guesswork out of the equation. For under $10/month, subscribers receive a monthly box of new samples from the best brands in sports nutrition delivered right to their door. This way members can test a wide variety of products ranging from standard supplement categories like pre-workouts, protein powders, fat burners etc. to unique items like protein cookies and breads. As they like to say,
“It’s like Christmas for meatheads every month!”
If members enjoy the samples, they can buy the full size items through JackedPack at a great discount.
The guys at JackedPack are also building a likable brand with a great sense of humor that comes through on their online content, workout articles, and monthly product descriptions.
Team JackedPack will be contributing some content to Project Swole in the coming months so check them out at www.JackedPack.com and use the promo code SWOLE to get 50% off your first month.
Connect with JackedPack on Facebook and Twitter, but always place your order through the links here at Project Swole so JackedPack will know that Swole sent you!
I received my first JackedPack the other day. Took some pictures. I’ll post a review shortly when I have a chance to go through it and try a couple things.
Want big arms? Want lean, shredded arms? Then don’t make any of these arm training mistakes. Here are 6 great arm training tips for bodybuilders, fitness athletes, sports athletes, and newbies alike. Forget the myths, stop the mistakes, and train your arms proper!
Are you in the market to gain muscle?
Building some hardcore muscle—without gaining fat along with it—is easier than you might think.
Here are some tips to start building muscle today.
Pump Up With Protein
Because muscle fibers are made up of many different proteins, protein is the #1 necessary ingredient to build muscle.
One study found participants who ate 20 grams protein every 3 hours significantly increased muscle building potential, compared with those who ate 40 g every 6 hours. [1] So, eating good amounts of protein throughout the day feeds muscles and keeps them raring to go.
The ideal daily protein intake is about 1 g protein per pound body weight. [2] So, a 200-pound man should eat about 200 g protein a day. Of course, this differs depending on individual needs.
The best high protein foods to eat are chicken, turkey, fish, lean beef, eggs, beans, nuts, milk, and cheese. [2]
Many bodybuilders also use protein supplements, which provide a heavy dose of pure protein. Whey protein powder is generally the best choice because it has high protein content and lots of muscle-building branched chain amino acids. [3]
Be careful, though. Protein shouldn’t make up more than 30% of your caloric intake. Too much protein increases risk of kidney problems, dehydration, and other issues. [4]
In the eternal quest to perfect your body, a lot of methods and training regimens will only let you down. However, if you want to build muscle like a pro, hypertrophy training is one of the most effective methods.
When it comes to building muscle mass and strength fast, hypertrophy training can give you results in almost half the time that other strength training regimens take.
This kind of efficiency is what makes hypertrophy training so popular among body builders, but it is important know a few tips and tricks first.
Here are five tips for building muscle with hypertrophy training.
