Top 8 Ways For Quickly Building Muscle Mass

by on October 14, 2010

1. Lift weights regularly

If you want to get a strong and muscular body and to build muscle mass quickly then lift weights on a regular basis. Barbells work the best and you must do them regularly. These include: Squats, Dead lifts, Overhead Press, Chin Ups, Dips, Bench Press and Military Press. You should perform 8-12 reps of any given exercise. This would emphatically build your muscle mass quickly.

2. Eat lots of nutritious foods

During the process of building muscle mass, you have to eat a good quantity of very nutritional foods. Protein is important! You should eat foods like boiled eggs, red meat, boiled chicken, boiled fish, and seafood, such as tuna, prawn, and salmon. You should round out your diet with hygienic vegetables, fruits, and nuts. The more proteins that you include in your diet the stronger and larger your muscles will get.

3. Do 30 minutes of brisk walking, jogging or running

During the program of building muscle mass, you should engage in physical activity like 30 minutes of brisk walking, jogging, or even sprinting. These are excellent exercises for getting your metabolism going and building your muscles in a stronger and faster way.

4. Drink 12 glasses of water daily

You should drink at least 12 glasses of water on a daily basis. The natural water eliminates the toxins from your body and this will help to make your muscles fit and strong.

5. Get plenty of sleep

Sleeping is very important during the process of building muscle mass. You should sleep for at least 8 hours or more a day. The more you sleep, the stronger your muscles will develop.

6. Relax

Don’t get worried at all. Try to rest for at least two days during the weekly building muscle mass program. You should make a plan to go on a picnic or travel to your favorite place. The more you relax between workouts the stronger your muscles will develop.

7. Listen to music

After finishing from your heavy building muscle mass exercises, listen to music. It will relax your muscles and your mind. You will start cheering up and you will develop a unique mental peace. Music is really a food for your soul. Nowadays, a lot of Hollywood film stars listen to music after doing a muscle-building workout. So learn to relax, listen to music to aid your muscle building and muscle relaxation too.

8. Dance for your muscles and soul

Dancing is a great way to loose and tone your body fat and to gain muscle fitness too. After finishing from a building muscle mass exercise, you should take time out for dancing. Dancing is in itself a great activity that builds and tones your body muscles quite strongly and smartly.

So, to gain muscle mass quickly and properly you need to follow a well laid out program. This program should include weight training, nutrition, and proper rest periods. When attempting to build muscles and mass you must think in practical terms and decide what works best for you and then follow it in a regular manner.

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Build Muscle Without Weights – What to Expect

by on October 14, 2010

I’ve always been impressed with the physiques of Military personnel and gymnasts, haven’t you? I mean, they many not be the biggest people with bulging muscles. But their lean, athletically muscular body both looks great and hints of high performance.

It is a shame most people think you need to lift weights to build an attractively muscular, strong, functional body. Bodyweight exercises also build muscle, and in my opinion, a more useful type of muscle than weight lifting alone.

Most Exercisers Think You Need To Lift Weights To Build Muscle

Let’s be honest… lifting weights is the best way to build muscle. But that doesn’t mean you can’t build muscle without weights. It just means if is best if you are looking to MAXIMIZE muscle size.

But maximizing your muscles is not necessarily the goal of all exercisers. I for one, don’t want the bulky, pumped up muscles of a bodybuilder. I prefer tight, solid muscle that is strong and powerful in moving my own body and weighted objects equally well.

The point is, who cares if weight lifting is the best for building muscle if it doesn’t fit your goals. After all, you don’t need a Ferrari to go to the corner store.

Military Calisthenics Builds Muscle Without Weights

If you’ve ever had the opportunity to see someone before and after they go through Basic Training, you’ll know what I’m talking about here. After a few months of Basic Training (which is predominantly bodyweight exercises), the new recruit is leaner, stronger and more musclular. You can see it in the way they carry themselves. And the great thing is, this is useful muscle and not just pumped up muscles.

Gymnasts Are An Example Of What Can Be Achieved With Bodyweight Exercises

If you are still in doubt that you can build muscle without weights, just take a look at a gymnast. Those muscles and fine physique are build by moving their own bodyweight around. And you have to be impressed with the level of strength, explosive power and physical ability they posses.

Many Former Weight Lifters Report More Functional Muscle

In my own experience teaching people to use bodyweight exercise, many men and women have said that they feel, look and perform better than they did when they just lifted weights. While their muscles might not be the biggest they’ve ever been, they are more useful. They are better suited for meeting the challenges of sport, work and life with excellence. (And really, isn’t that why you should be exercising in the first place?)

You can build muscle without weights. And while if might not build bigger muscles than weight lifting, I would argue it builds a better quality of muscle. Just try a bodyweight only program for a few months and you’ll see what I mean.

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The Best Food to Build Muscle

by on October 14, 2010

In order for your body to successfully build muscle you need to provide it with additional energy.

This energy source is the food that you consume. Those individuals very serious about being able to build muscle follow specific guidelines so that they get the most from their workouts.

Eating right also helps your body to heal after you have completed a work out.

As a result you will get more defined muscles in less time.

You will discover you need to intake more calories when you try to build muscle than before. Yet your body will be able to get what it needs from those additional calories.

Therefore you don’t have to worry about them leading to additional weight gain. You may be surprised to learn how much food a person eats as they work to build muscle.

Don’t deprive your body of what it needs or your hard work and efforts won’t generate the results you really want to see.

You will definitely need to increase your consumption of protein. There are quite a few different foods out there that will provide you with it.

Eggs are an excellent source of protein.

Most of the nutrition though is found in the yolk so the way you consume the eggs will make a difference. There are quite a few supplement drinks weight lifters make that include raw eggs for this reason.

Consuming more fish and skinless chicken will also provide you with more protein to build muscle.

Wild salmon contains large amounts of protein and Omega-3 so if you like it consume it at least once a week.

It is important to note that salmon that isn’t wild won’t offer you the same nutritional values.

Fresh berries are a great snack to help you refrain from being hungry between meals. They can also offset cravings for foods you shouldn’t consume such as sugar and chocolate.

These berries also are full of antioxidants which flush toxins from your body. That is a great way to help your body remain healthy overall.

Make sure you eat your greens if you want to build muscle the right way.

Broccoli, spinach, and lettuce will all help you from muscle loss.

Fresh fruits including apples also have antioxidants in them that make your body healthier and allows you to build muscle faster.

It is important to watch what you drink as well when you build muscle. Too many people don’t realize what all is in the drinks they consume. It can add up to plenty of sugar and plenty of caffeine over the course of the day.

Eliminate such drinks and replace them with plain water. This will help you flush toxins from your body as well as to stay hydrated.

A person sweats more when they are working out so make sure you replace those fluids.

If you get tired of plain water you can also consume green tea. It has plenty of antioxidants in it as well.

If you are trying to lose weight at the same time then this particular drink can help you to accomplish it.

Make sure you drink plenty to help with the proper digestion of foods too as you work to build muscle.

If you find it confusing to eat the right combination of foods as you build muscle you can get help.

There are personal trainers and dieticians with the skills necessary to help you plan menus and even to shop.

They can assist you with finding the foods that are right for your body. You will need to learn what certain ingredients are too so you can read the labels.

Being able to identify specifically what is found in certain types of foods will help you to consume the right foods as you build muscle.

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How Creatine Supplements Work

by on October 13, 2010

Most people have heard of creatine supplements at one time or another due to being probably the most popular and effective sports supplement on the market. It’s been shown to have an impact on size and strength many times over. Read on! You may find that it may be beneficial to you too.

A Brief History

Creatine was discovered in the human body in 1832, but hadn’t really been considered for use to aid athletic performance until the early 1990′s. By the mid-90′s, most professional athletes were supplementing with creatine.

Where Creatine Comes From

Creatine is a compound that is found naturally in the body, and about 95% of it is normally found in muscle tissue. It is a combination of the three amino acids glycine, arginine, and methionine.

About half of the creatine found in your body is made by the body, and the other half is taken from food. The foods that mainly contain creatine are red meat and fish, but not in such abundant amounts that you can raise the amount of creatine in your body just by adding a little of these foods to your diet. You would have to essentially gorge yourself with these foods to increase your creatine levels only marginally. As with most all supplementation, creatine is sold in order to make increasing your intake practical.

How Creatine Supplements Work

Why would you want to raise the creatine levels in your muscles? Why, I’m glad you asked. Taking creatine supplements has been shown to increase lean muscle mass, decrease lactic acid production, speed recovery during and after workouts, and decrease mental fatigue.

In order to understand how creatine does this, you first have to be familiar with a substance called Adenosine Tri-Phosphate, or ATP for short. ATP is basically the fuel that sits in your cells waiting to burn at a moments notice when your muscles need them. It is a molecule of adenine with three phosphate groups attached to it. When needed, the third phosphate group detaches, which produces energy for your muscles to work. The ATP is now ADP (Adenosine Di-Phosphate), and must wait for that third phosphate group to get reattached before is can produce energy again.

This is where creatine comes into play. After taking a creatine supplement, the body converts it into creatine phosphate, and stores that in muscle tissue. You are essentially keeping a ready supply of the phosphate group needed to convert ADP back into ATP. So as you lift weights, the energy that you’re burning is quickly being turned back into usable energy. This should allow you to lift a little more weight and recover more quickly than if you didn’t take the creatine supplement. End result, more muscle (assuming your workout and diet are in order).

The Importance of Water
Quick Answer: Real Important

One of the effects of creatine supplementation is that it holds onto a lot of water as it’s being stored in your muscles. This causes your muscle to look fuller most of the time. Many have noticed that after they work out their muscles are fuller and more defined due to the increased blood being pumped through the muscles for recovery purposes. Creatine supplementation tends to make muscles look like this much of the time due to the extra water being stored.

Due to this water holding characteristic of creatine, it is very important that anyone that supplements with creatine must drink plenty of water. This is normally noted on the packaging. If you aren’t mindful of staying adequately hydrated, dehydration may soon follow.

The muscle volumizing effect of creatine supplements should not be why you use it though. It’s not going to make you look ripped unless you already are ripped. Due to the explanation of the effects creatine supplementation has on your body above, you should realize that you only see its true benefits when supplementation is coupled with a good weight lifting routine. Creatine supplements are supposed to help you in the gym. It’s not a miracle supplement that you consume expecting drastic improvements to your physique. A workout plan must accompany it.

Added Benefit: Feel the Burn…much less
No Pain, No Gain? I don’t like the sound of that.

Creatine supplements will also help relieve the burning sensation you may feel while weight lifting. The burning you feel is a waste product of your muscles called lactic acid which is produced anytime your muscles work. Without getting too much into the biology of it all, the process of turning ADP back into ATP that creatine affords curbs this burning sensation since it is helping your muscles recover more quickly. This will allow you to do one or two more reps than you probably wouldn’t have normally been able to pull off.

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The 5 Best Fat Burning Diet Plans

by on October 13, 2010

Losing weight means combining the best fat burning diet with regular exercise to help burn off even more fat. When you combine the right foods with exercise, you can see the weight come off more easily than you ever thought. Here are some diets that can help you combine exercise and fat burning foods for effective weight loss.

The 5 Most Successful Fat Burning Diet Plans

1. Low Carbohydrate – Diets like Atkins and South Beach are effective because they help burn a large amount of belly fat in a short amount of time. The secret to this fat burning diet is that by not allowing your blood sugar level to spike, your body uses stored fat for energy.

Just remember to eat as wide a variety of foods as you’re allowed, load up on vegetables and don’t stay on the most restrictive phase of the diet too long.

2. Low Fat - Low fat diets can help burn fat for the simple reason that the fats we consume are typically more calorie dense than other calories. Therefore, if we lower the fat, we lower the calories we eat.

Just be careful when choosing foods that are labeled low fat or fat free. Sometimes food manufacturers add in extra sugar to compensate for the flavor lost when the fat is removed. The result is that you are consuming just as many calories, which won’t help you burn fat.

3. The White Diet – This fat burning diet is a modified version of the low carbohydrate diet, but is not quite as severe. You basically eliminate all white foods from your diet.

These include sugar, white flour, white rice and potatoes, and eat a moderate amount of the allowable foods, combined with regular exercise.

4. Low Calorie Diets – On a low calorie fat burning diet, you can eat virtually whatever you want, within your daily calorie limits.

Such fat burning diets are tried and true standbys, but they do require you to count calories every day. You’ll choose your calorie range based on your height, activity level and gender.

Even though you can eat anything on these diets, it’s still best to stick to lean meats, lots of vegetables and fruits as your mainstay, so that you don’t feel too hungry as you lose weight.

5. Very Low Calorie Diets – This fat burning diet is exactly like low calorie diets, except that the calorie limits are lower. We mention these separately because they have some important caveats. These diets are reserved for those who are very overweight and under the supervision of a doctor.

People who have only a moderate amount of weight to lose may actually slow their metabolism so much by drastically reducing their calories that they don’t lose any weight at all.
Remember to include some natural fat burning foods into your weight loss plan as well.

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