Having great shoulders really makes you appear sleek and powerful. However, chest and back training does not suffice when attempting to build spectacular shoulders. You must train the shoulders directly, intensely, and often. Be attentive of these 6 common mistakes that people make when training shoulders.
Your chest is a large and complicated muscle. Considering its size you would think it would be easy to stimulate growth. Do some flat bench, another secondary movement, and your chest starts growing. Unfortunately the pecs are a much more muscle group area than that. In fact it is downright complex.
Training the pectoralis is a major puzzle to most bodybuilders, thinking a couple sets of bench press is all it takes, or going to the other extreme by dedicating a full day to 20 sets of different bench press variations. In this piece we would like to expose the answer to this puzzle by discussing the six most prevalent chest training errors and then providing tips to avoid them.
Read carefully; you will be surprised how many mistakes you are likely making.
Reprinted from the April online issue of IN THE ZONE, we drop in on IFBB Professional Bodybuilder, Mark Dugdale. In addition to being a bodybuilder, Mark is also a successful business owner (actually, he owns three), husband, father, and all around nice guy. Brought to you courtesy of Robert Kennedy Publications and Musclemag International.
Do you limit yourself by avoiding horizontal or vertical back movements? Did you know that your traps and lower back also need to be strengthened? Are you stuck on lat pull downs as your main back exercise? Can’t do a pull up?
Tsk, tsk, tsk…
Avoid these 6 common back training mistakes and you will have a much better chance of looking like Atlas and performing like an Olympian.
If you’re interested in bulking up, then you may be aware of the fact that you need to change your approach to both diet and exercise. Although the fitness portion won’t be easy, you probably know that you need to start a program of weight training that involves scheduled increases in order to gain muscle mass. On the diet front, however, you may not have a very good idea of how to go about bulking without gaining fat in the process.
If you’re cooking for someone whose goal is to bulk, all you need to worry about is making that healthy food taste great. While I don’t have to time type out all of my recipes today, here are at least some tips to get started.
You’ll almost certainly have to increase caloric intake, but it doesn’t take a genius to know that adding high-calorie foods isn’t enough; they have to be the right foods. Donuts and soda aren’t going to cut it, even if they can help you to more easily reach your caloric goals. For this reason, you need to create a fitness-friendly diet that delivers the nutritious balance required to help you create the bodybuilding physique you crave. Here are just a few tips for your kitchen that will have you cooking like a pro and help you to reach your goals in no time.
Aside from opting for the right weight lifting strategies, what you consume before and after a workout is the most important piece of the muscle growth puzzle.
Get this: you can lift as hard you can, sweat as much as you can and spending endless hours in the gym, but as long as you don’t provide your body with the right stuff—diet-wise—your hard work will be futile.
Therefore, if you don’t want to compromise your hard effort and really seek to pile on the muscles faster and more efficiently, here are the diet guidelines you need to live by.
It starts with protein
Yes you know it. Every gym-rat out there is well aware of the importance of protein in muscle growth and proper recovery. If you’re protein-deficient, you won’t achieve any muscle growth no matter how committed you’re or how hard you push yourself in the gym.
Most studies and experts recommend shooting for at least 2g per kilo of bodyweight of protein. This amount may vary from one gym-rat to the next. But the harder you lift and push yourself in the gym, the more protein you’re going to need.
Bodybuilders have some really inspirational and also some really funny quotes. Here are 3 of my favorites from Jacked Pack’s recent list of 25.
“Friends come and go, but 200 lbs is always 200lbs”
– Henry Rollins
Here’s a pretty cool infographic about building a bigger chest. I really enjoy infographics and I’m hoping you do too.
It’s a dream for every men to have a good looking chest and there are wide range of exercises that can performed in order to grow your chest. The infographic shares data about different exercises for bigger chest along with few workout tips.
For an additional list of best chest exercises, also check out my post about the top 5 best chest exercises.
If you’re a beginner, getting from point A to point Bodybuilding Pro is just as hard as learning to ride a bike blindfolded. Fortunately, there are many successful weightlifters willing to share the tricks of the trade.
Here are a few tips from the pros to get you started on creating your own envy-worthy body.
If You Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail
“Lack of planning” is among the top 10 reasons beginner bodybuilders fail to achieve their goals. Planning daily workouts takes time, dedication, and some exercise research. It’s definitely not the most exciting part of training. But you won’t build bulging biceps and washboard abs by sporadically visiting the gym and dinking around on random equipment.
A good plan — like those experienced builders follow — doesn’t have to be elaborate.
Here are 4 basic elements to get you started:
(more…)
If you have a million and one questions and just simply feel lost amongst all the information or simply don’t know where to start, then hopefully this article will be perfect for you. With good research combined with personal experience this article shall be the saving grace you have needed.
To achieve a well-shaped and curved butt it is important to know basic information on the anatomy of the glutes. The glutes are made up of three muscles, which all need to be targeted.
It was a witch hunt with no perceived end in sight. Late last year, exhausted from the protracted fight, Lance Armstrong declared he would no longer fight doping allegations. He was promptly stripped of his Tour de France titles and banned from cycling.
That was the end of that right? All that remained was speculation and conjecture. Then the Oprah interview happened. Not only did Armstrong confess to doping, his PED cocktails contained two of the most abused substances in sports.
Steroids and HGH are the best known and least understood performance enhancers in popular culture. Are the rewards so great they outweigh potential side effects and consequences?
Often used interchangeably, steroids and HGH are completely different compounds that have distinct effects on the body, each one carrying an array of advantages and disadvantages.
Everyone is nekkid, and both males and females represent, so matter your sexual preference, you’re gonna see it all. While theses photos are technically safe for work, I advise you to view them at your own discretion.
Inside you will find professional body builders, figure athletes, and Crossfitters. You will find army rangers, bikini competitors, personal trainers, and even a TV host.
These athletes are the best of the best, so don’t be envious, but do be inspired.
Click the link: Bodies of Work
Christian weighed as little as 55kg (121 lbs) for the Machinist, and as much as 90kg (198 lbs) for The Dark Knight Rises. He can be both ripped and bulky, depending on the role. I personally think it’s somewhat inspirational. Tom Hardy is pretty muscular too, check out his Bane character in The Dark Knight Rises.
After you check out the graphic, in the spirit of The Dark Knight Rises, which was a totally fricken awesome flick, vote for the best Batman movie ever.
 |
| Click the image to make it bigger. |
[poll id=”35″]
And finally, because you love Batman and The Dark Knight Rises so much, go buy some Batman t-shirts:
Here is a brilliant leg training article from the team at JackedPack. If you don’t know, JackedPack is a membership subscription service that sends you a monthly box of the samples of the best in sports nutrition supplements.
You can subscribe for 50% off your first month by using the coupon code SWOLE at checkout.
One of the best feelings in the world is when someone says to you, “Oh my gosh, are those Giant Sequoias or are those your legs?” We hope that all JackedPack members and non-members alike are able to experience the satisfaction and benefits of leg strength and size, and that’s why we’ve dedicated this post to giving our lower extremities the attention they deserve. We want everybody to be squatting school buses and deadlifting beached wales back into the ocean. We have included a stellar legs day workout that incorporates some awesome exercises that are sure to have people singing Sir Mix-A-Lot every time you walk in a room.
Do you want to gain mass super fast while staying lean enough to show off your 6-pack abs?
If so, then this Three Step Muscle Gain Plan is for you!
More often than not we see supplements focused on helping people, usually, women, lose weight. But men desire to be healthy and fit just like women, and some men also strive to become big, strong, fast, and powerful.
To that end I want to introduce a potent combination of supplements designed to maximize muscle building and maintain a low level of body fat.
Now I would like to introduce you to N.O. Xplode, Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass and Optimum Nutrition Whey Protein.
The combination of N.O. and whey protein will help you get the strong, powerful, lean, healthy body that you dream of. Hardgainers can choose the whey protein weight gainer Serious Mass, while mesomorphs and ectomorphs can opt for straight whey protein powder, which has fewer overall calories and carbs.
(more…) |
Nowadays, it seems everyone is after a toned midsection. Some people won’t even stop until they achieve shredded washboard abs. A six pack has come to be an important quest for many persons, however, many are misled as to the method to obtain it.
One common misconception is that cardiovascular exercise is the most important aspect of dialing in a six pack. Another misconception is that doing 1000 crunches a day is most important. Wrong on both accounts! Diet possibly plays the greatest role in obtaining a six pack. Let’s see why.
 |
Transitioning from bulking to cutting can be complicated. Most often, the transition is done improperly and we end up either losing precious muscle mass during a cut or gaining too much fat during a bulk. I’ve been there and so have you, don’t kid yourself.
When switching from cut to bulk, we might overestimate the rate at which we can gain muscle, which results from a lack of knowledge about the human physiological response to dieting. Some inexperienced bodybuilders might make an immediate switch from a strict diet to free eating, which results in the immediate reversal of any recent diet progress.
Of course strategies will differ dependent on the individual, but the basic concept should remain the same. You will have to accept that your first couple attempts at bulking will result in either very little muscle gain or unnecessary fat gain. It is all a matter of trial and error.
Let’s examine a couple different diet transition strategies.
For those who still don’t believe Werewolf Muscle Training works, here is more support of my theory that increased frequency combined with stopping short of fatigue, produces equal if not better results that training a muscle once a week for an hour, with a ton of volume, going to failure on most sets.
The central nervous system is extremely important for performance, and should be stimulated aggressively and frequently, but should not often be fatigued. This also helps explain why you can train muscles when they’re sore… it works just as long as the CNS has recovered.
In this video you will find Christian Thibaudeau from T-Nation. He is way stronger than you or I, and he is just about as ripped as I could ever hope to be. A true inspiration.
“Never Chase Fatigue, Chase Performance”
While navigating a fitness website or browsing through a fitness supplement store, you may notice various muscle building supplements. You may wonder whether any of these 10,000 products really work to build quality muscles and enhance strength, or will they merely flush into the toilet? The answer is both yes and no.
The answer is ‘No’ for people who do not have patience and want fast results while they opt for an unhealthy approach. However, the answer is ‘Yes’ for people who go for the right kind of supplement, use proper exercises and diet, and wait for weeks or sometimes months to see the result.
Fortunately, you have a couple of good supplements which guarantee good results. These supplements for fast muscle growth can deliver the desired result within a short span of time. These include Whey Protein, Nitric Oxide and Creatine. Which happens to be the right choice for you?
Have a look in detail about the three supplements given below:
 Health Benefits of Bodybuilding |
There are many reasons to build a stronger body that most people wouldn’t think of when they picture bodybuilding. Bodybuilding can be a very healthy hobby for both your mind and your body.
Despite the misconceptions of the general public, bodybuilding is not necessarily all about eating whey protein, lifting heavy weights, and oiled-up posing in a thong on a stage. There are a ton of great health benefits as well.
These are just some of the many unexpected benefits of bodybuilding:
