Posts Tagged ‘muscles’
Sunday, January 27th, 2019
Incorporating more muscle training into your life can be beneficial, and there are numerous reasons you might want to build up your body mass. While it may be a great goal to have, it can sometimes be hard to know where to start. Learning how to balance your diet and exercise plans with the correct supplement intake is crucial for safe and successful mass building. Here are five steps you can take to begin building your body mass in the most effective way.
1. Set Goals
Building up your muscular strength and size is a process. While it can be good to jump right in and get started, it is also vital that you take some time to set goals. Not only can goals give you a way to track your progress, but they can also help you to keep things in perspective. You shouldn’t expect instant results, but you should also be able to enjoy the progress you’re making along the way. Goals help you to keep centered on the end results you want while still being able to identify improvement as it happens.
2. Plan Your Diet
Building up your body mass can require some changes in your eating habits. Incorporating a healthy amount of protein can be one of the most important things you can do. While it’s important not to overdo it, protein can act as the building blocks for your muscles and getting enough of it can make a notable difference in the results you get from working out. You may also need to eat more than you have been normally in order to give your body the nutrients it needs to power you through your workouts and recoveries.
3. Create a Workout Routine
It can be a well-known fact that weightlifting is generally the exercise of choice for individuals interested in building up mass, but there can be a lot of different elements of a good muscle building workout to consider. You should plan a workout that pushes you to be stronger and capable of lifting more. The number of times you repeat a movement and the amount of weight involved should be designed to push you to new levels of strength without causing injury. Keep in mind that recovery time can be just as important as the workout itself and that overdoing it during training can cause more harm than good to your muscles and joints.
4. Consider Using Supplements
While not meant to be used in place of exercise and good nutrition, supplements can be one more tool for you to use in your journey towards increased strength and toning. Depending on your personal level of health, there are different options for supplements that can be better suited for you. Protein supplements, as well as vitamins and minerals, can all be worthwhile considerations. You should always make sure that any supplements you use are safe and that you only consume them in healthy amounts.
5. Do Personalized Research
The most successful mass building plans should be catered to fit you as an individual. You can do further research into the different aspects of mass building online. There can be a lot of good information available such as this 30 Day guide to mass building. The more knowledge you are equipped with going in, the better prepared you can be to succeed at meeting your goals.
Reaching Your Preferred Mass
Like any worthwhile goal, building up muscle mass can require commitment. While it takes dedication of both time and energy, you should find that reaching your preferred level of muscle mass is a great reward that can make it more than worth the work. By using the steps above and balancing the different aspects involved with healthy body mass increase you should find that you are on the track to success.
Tags: build muscle, exercise, fitness, gain muscle, muscle building, muscle gains, muscles
Posted in Bodybuilding, Fitness Tips | No Comments »
Thursday, November 17th, 2016
Creatine is the most researched and well understood training supplement. Creatine is also one of the most widely used, and trusted, sports nutrition supplements for weight trainers wanting to maximize muscle mass.
Creatine helps increase the speed and force of muscle fibres and helps them repair more quickly and scientific studies have found that taking a regular creatine supplement increases the reserves of creatine in muscle fibres. This means that the benefits of creatine supplements could be further reaching than just being used as a sports supplement.
Catabolic muscle wastage, cachexia and sarcopenia
If you’re suffering from a catabolic wasting condition where your muscles are starting to decrease considerably in size (muscle atrophy), then creatine supplements could help you. The term ‘catabolic’ refers to the breakdown of muscle tissue, and is the opposite of the term ‘anabolic’ which means the building up of muscle tissue.
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Tags: atrophy, cachexia, catabolism, creatine, muscle, muscles, sarcopenia, Supplements
Posted in Medical, Nutrition Tip, Supplements | No Comments »
Tuesday, August 9th, 2016
How to avoid dreaded muscle cramps!
A muscle cramp can be a serious buzzkill when you are dialed in on a workout. Or worse, they can be an unwanted and painful wake up call in the middle of the night. So how can you prevent these awful knots in your muscles from occurring? While proper hydration and sleep are important factors, your nutrition habits can have a huge impact on preventing cramps.
Foods rich in potassium, sodium, magnesium, Vitamin D, and calcium help your muscles function properly and prevent muscle cramps. Potassium is an electrolyte that your body sweats out when you exercise. Lack of potassium is one of the leading causes of muscle cramping. Those taking diuretic supplements have higher tendencies for potassium deficiencies and should be especially aware of their intake efforts.
Sodium is another important electrolyte your body needs for optimum performance. While too much sodium can be a problem, most people forget to make sure they have enough when exercising. You lose it quickly when you sweat and need to make sure you’re replenishing these levels or you may experience harsh side effects like nausea and vomiting.
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Tags: cramping, cramps, Diet, exercise, fitness, food, muscle, muscle cramps, muscles
Posted in Diet, Injuries, Nutrition Tip, Sports | No Comments »
Wednesday, August 28th, 2013
Today we talk about testosterone, which is the “male hormone” in the human body. It may be hard to believe, but the hormone is present in both men and women’s body, so everyone has it.
This article will cover the following key points: correlations between behavior and testosterone, the psychological effects on the human mind, the internal and external changes in both men and women, a series of myths and reality facts and of course, a series of conclusions.
This will not be a post designed to sell any supplements. My purpose is not to defend steroids or testosterone boosters, not to bash them. These are the facts. This is the truth.
Testosterone and Behavior
In terms of behavior, there are some who believe high testosterone levels can cause aggressiveness and irrationality. But the truth is that, like any other hormone found in the human body, it influences our brain activity. This particular hormone intensifies the brain activity and the adrenaline levels in our body, so we become more and more agitated and we lose track of our peaceful calm side.
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Tags: aging, build muscle, libido, muscle gains, muscles, steroids, Supplements, test, testosterone
Posted in Bodybuilding Myths, Medical, Research, Supplements | 1 Comment »
Monday, June 17th, 2013
Here’s a pretty cool infographic about building a bigger chest. I really enjoy infographics and I’m hoping you do too.
How to Get a Bigger Chest
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.
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Tags: chest, exericse, fitness, muscles, pecs, pectorals, Weight Training, weightlifting
Posted in Bodybuilding, Fitness Tips, Weight Training | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 29th, 2013
What are the best carbs to help you build muscle or lose fat?
More than often, you’ll get this response: “Stay away from simple carbs and focus on complex carbohydrates, since they digest slowly and provide your body with a constant stream of energy”.
I can’t tell you how many “fitness-experts” give this response to their clients on a regular basis. Of course it seems to make sense, but there is actually some science suggesting otherwise.
Many people believe that as long as a carbohydrate digests slowly, it should keep your blood sugar stable and make it less likely for you to gain fat.
But the truth of the matter is that structuring your nutrition program around “slow-digesting carbohydrates” is actually not an effective way to get the nutrition you need.
There are actually 4 primary reasons why this is the case. Let’s go ahead and take a closer look…
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Tags: build muscle, carbohydrates, carbs, food, gain muscle, muscle, muscle gains, muscles, nutrition, workout
Posted in Diet, Nutrition Tip | 3 Comments »
Saturday, February 23rd, 2013
Gaining weight and gaining lean muscle are two entirely different things. While increasing the amount you eat will almost certainly lead to you putting on weight, it will not automatically ensure that you gain lean, aesthetically pleasing muscle mass.
In order to effectively build muscle, you need to combine the right physical exercise with the right fuel for that physical exercise. It is, therefore, vitally important to pay attention to the nutrients you put into your body and to understand the role that carbohydrates play in the muscle building process.
Physical Activity and the Role of Carbohydrates
In order to build the lean muscle you desire, you need to engage in resistance training which specifically targets the major muscle groups in the body. Examples of these types of exercises include barbell curls, bench presses and squats. It is best to avoid working the same muscle groups in consecutive days and working out three to four times a week is ideal.
In order to perform efficiently, you also need to provide your body with the right kind of energy. Although proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals all combine to provide different things, carbohydrates in particular play a large role in muscle building.
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Tags: build muscle, carbohydrates, carbs, food, gain muscle, muscle, muscle gains, muscles, nutrition, workout
Posted in Diet, Nutrition Tip | No Comments »
Saturday, February 2nd, 2013
Diet = 75% of Progress
Regardless of your fitness goals, your diet plays an important role in achieving the levels of physical strength, muscle tone, and overall health and fitness you desire. And since most of us have specific results in mind, it’s a good idea to spend just as much time and effort working out a targeted diet as working out at the gym.
For example, the dietary needs of a bodybuilder are very different than those of a person running a marathon. So if you’re looking to build muscle and your exercise regimen doesn’t seem to be delivered to your satisfaction, perhaps it’s time to do a little research and discover which foods will ensure optimum results in concert with your weight lifting efforts. In addition to food, you can use several testosterone products to build muscle faster too.
For today we will focus on nutrition. Here are a few foods that are sure to help you pack on the right kind of pounds.
You might think that any high-calorie foods will be sufficient when it comes to bulking up, but this is not true. Some will add fat as well as muscle, or only fat, and that’s definitely not what you’re looking for.
What you really need are foods that will repair and build your muscles as you add greater amounts of weight to your lifting routine, and your best bet is to use a combination of foods that make a complete and balanced diet that is nonetheless high in certain nutrients. You’ll need plenty of protein to build and maintain muscle, as well as carbs to replace all the calories you’re burning, but you’ll also need fruits, vegetables, and fats (yes, fats) to keep your body healthy and functioning properly.
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Tags: bodybuilder, bodybuilding, eating, food, health, healthy, meals, muscle, muscles, nutrition
Posted in Diet, Nutrition Tip | No Comments »
Friday, August 3rd, 2012
Q: What is D-Aspartic Acid?
A: The Supplement Behind Testosterone Boosters
D-Aspartic Acid is a vital ingredient contained in a lot of testosterone boosters, commonly used by body builders and athletes seeking to build muscle mass. We know that to develop muscle it takes a routine of weightlifting and a proper diet, but not all body types will develop muscle the same.
Different Body Types
Individuals classified as ectomorphs, or thin body types, do not easily pack on the muscle mass due to their lean builds. These individuals will not naturally develop the sculpted results that the fuller mesomorph and endomorph body types will easily achieve. When additional diet and workouts are no longer contributing to getting the additional gains in the gym, supplements may be the best option to promote faster and more developed body results.
There are numerous muscle building supplements on the market, but it is important to research the products before taking them.
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Tags: aging, Boost Testosterone, build muscle, build muscles, D-Aspartic Acid, fitness, men, muscle, muscle growth, muscles, testosterone
Posted in Supplements | No Comments »
Thursday, August 2nd, 2012
Here’s a sweet graphic of Christian Bale’s tranformations throughout the years. Think of him what you may, he has total control of his body when it comes to gaining and losing body weight. He’s never been super jacked, but I’m willing to bet 80% of the US population would like to have his Batman Begins body.
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.
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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:
The Dark Knight Rises tees
Bane tees
Tags: batman, Christian Bale, muscles
Posted in Bodybuilding, Celebrity, Question of the Week | No Comments »
Monday, August 15th, 2011
Eat Right, Train Right and You Can Have it All
A couple days ago I posted the first 5 reasons you are not gaining weight. Here are 5 more reasons you are not gaining weight. Check out the first article if you missed it: 10 Reasons You Are Not Gaining Weight Part 1
Peep these second 5 five items in my list of 10 possible ways you could be sabotaging your muscle building plan.
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Too Much Cardio
To lose fat while maintaining muscle, you’ll want to stick to 2, thirty minute HIIT sessions; and 1, forty five minute endurance session in a week. Adding HIIT like that will help you to elevate your metabolism, which increases fat loss, and will keep cortisol levels in check to preserve existing muscle mass. The HIIT should be a max sprint for an interval of 30-60 seconds, followed by a light jog interval for twice the length of your sprint interval (60-120 seconds).
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Tags: bodybuilding, exercise, fitness, gain mass, gain muscle, mistakes, muscle, muscle building, muscles, strength, tips
Posted in Bodybuilding, Fitness Tips, Weight Training | 6 Comments »
Friday, August 12th, 2011
Attention Hard Gainers and Dudes Who Want to Gain 10 lbs of Solid Muscle!
You use protein shakes. You eat lots of food. You workout like a maniac. Yet you still weigh 50 pounds less than your goal weight. Sick of skinny wrists and stick figure calves? Stop making the mistakes that compromise your weight gain strategies.
There are several components that go into a proper weight gain cycle. Nutrition is most important, exercise is next, and lifestyle can make or break you. Today we will cover some nutrition mistakes you might be making. Fix them today so you can gain muscle tomorrow!
Here are the first 5 points in my list of 10 mistakes you could be making to sabotage your weight gain.
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Tags: bodybuilding, exercise, fitness, gain mass, gain muscle, mistakes, muscle, muscle building, muscles, strength, tips
Posted in Bodybuilding, Diet, Fitness Tips, Nutrition Tip | 6 Comments »
