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Gain Ripped & Huge Muscles Fast With A Drastic Bodybuilding Program
Huge Muscles Fast

How you workout can have a significant effect towards the amount of muscle you build. However, how you eat prior to and after your workout can have just as much of an effect on your body as the workout. Here are four muscle building tips to help you plan a diet accordingly.

1. High calories
While you are probably well aware of the amount of protein you need to be eating, it is equally important you consume a great deal of calories. If you do not take in enough calories, you are not going to grow. Depending on the shape you are in, you want to take your bodyweight and multiply it by 10.

2. Multiple meals
Instead of pigging out three meals a day, you want to spread it out over the course of the day into six meals. By eating smaller meals, your body will release insulin to lower your blood glucose levels. You want as much insulin as possible as insulin is the body’s most anabolic hormone.

3. Pre-workout meal
Prior to working out, you want to consume a meal consisting of slow burning carbohydrates like pasta and rice. The reason for this is because slow burning carbs take longer to convert into glucose resulting in the blood sugar levels remaining consistent. The result will be your body allowing you to train longer and harder.

4. Post-workout meal
Following your workout, you want a meal that is high in fast burning carbs and protein. Typically, you want to consume a protein shake that is accompanied by some form of sugar. 

When training, the way you eat in conjunction with your workout regimen can have a drastic effect on how you build muscle. Take the four muscle building tips in this article and apply them to your diet.

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It seems that you can’t pick up a paper or turn on the TV without hearing something about the current worldwide economic downturn. While the effects of this crisis are far-reaching, for those of us interested in muscle building and getting stronger it is even more pronounced. I doubt many will argue that the pursuit of more muscle mass and strength is a journey of excess.

To achieve your goals you need more weight, more sleep, and of course, more food. But with everyone tightening-up their budgets and with food prices already soaring well in advance of this latest economic downturn, we need to see what we can do to make our goals compatible with our paychecks.

First and foremost is to cut-out the unnecessary. Here are three places where you can trim some costs without sacrificing your gains.

1. Supplements
Sure, you may like that NO supplement or the high priced energy drinks, but wouldn’t a cup of coffee give you at least 90% of the benefit at a fraction of the cost? Or how about choosing regular old creatine monohydrate instead of creatine ethyl ester? In fact, you could probably get rid of pretty much every supplement you’re using, except for maybe a good protein powder and multi-vitamin, and not notice any measurable change in your progress.

2. Food
I know that eating organic is popular among those looking to gain muscle and be healthy, but you should be aware of what is important to buy organic and what is not. To make it simple, I would advise that most of your fruits and vegetables be organic, but things like grains and animal products are less important to buy organic. For animal products it is much more important to look for grass-fed sources of beef and dairy products then it is to look for organic sources. It is also a good idea to look for cheaper sources of protein since these are typically the most expensive items. Use the links below to find an article on this topic.

3. Gym
I am always amazed to find how many people have multiple gym memberships. In most cases this is completely unnecessary. In fact, if you have some basic equipment in your basement you might not need a gym membership at all! If you do need to keep your gym membership, consider opting for a longer contract that will give you a lower monthly rate or volunteering some of your time working at the front desk or cleaning the equipment in order to save on your membership costs. Not only will this help you save money, but it will force you to get to the gym more often!

Whatever you do, don’t let the current economic situation change your goals. If you are serious about building muscle then you will simply have to make a few more sacrifices to get there. Most importantly you need to re-evaluate what you are doing and stick with the basics, as this is what works time and time again. Figure out a budget and spend it on the things you know will make a difference: a scientific training program and high-quality food, not hype-laden supplements.

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Most renowned proverb says “Health is wealth”. More than the wealth that we earn the hale and healthy body is more precious treasure that cannot be stolen from you.  Healthy body does not mean lifting heavy weights and muscles bulging out everywhere. Having a toned body is nothing but a healthy body. Muscle building refers to gaining weight that is required for age and height.  Usually there is a chart maintained by the dieticians which shows the weight that is needed for a person of some particular height and age.

There are many ways in which one can build and maintain a strong body. One way is through food that we take. For muscle building people, need not take non vegetarian food or milk but they just need to take fresh vegetables and fruits to keep them healthy and strong.

One more efficient way of maintaining body weight or muscle building is through exercises and work outs. Again to gain normal weight people may not go for gym or take some protein powders but just need to do some simple exercises like running and jogging.  Work outs and training gives heavy load to the muscle cells and increases the synthesis of protein in the cells and increases the size by generating proteins.  Also when we do work outs and exercises the myofibrils in each cell would multiple and this will also increase the size of the muscle fiber.

Also the tissues or the connective cells surrounding the muscle fiber would starts thickening and gains size around the muscles increasing the size of the muscle when seen from outside. When we do exercises, the enzymes and energy storage muscle along with glycogen levels increases. This in turn increases the size of the muscles from outside showing the process of muscle building.

So you think you have heard everything there is to know about muscle building? If you have read everything, tried everything and heard everything about muscle building but still resemble the silouette of a Calvin Klien model instead of a buff fitness model than I promise these next three ‘little-known’ muscle building tips will accelerate your muscle gains immediately!

4. Never Train More Than 2 Days Consecqutively

But the bodybuilding magazines say to split up my program into 5 seperate days… Yes, I am more than familiar. I call these 5 day splits ‘drug programs.’ They treat your body simply as a ‘muscular system’ and neglect the other systems such as your central nervous system, hormonal system and immune system. Each of these systems have a unique part in muscle growth. Not to mention that these ‘drug programs’ only work if coupled with a few thousand dollars a month on drugs.

Just because you trained your chest on Monday does not mean your immune system, or hormonal system or central nervous system has FULLY recovered. What happens when you return to the gyn NOT FULLY recovered? Will you be able to lift more weight?

If you are not able to lift more weight than guess what happens to your level of fitness? It certainly will not go up because you will be depleting your energy reserves further into a deep, dark hole called ‘over-training.’ If you can not lift more weight or ‘out-do’ yourself from your previous workout than how do you expect to create any NEW muscle? It is literally impossible. Taking a full rest day every two days will minimize the chance of overtraining and ensure your energy reserves are replenished.

5. Go Home If You Are Not Stronger Than Last Workout

Multiple choice question:

Q. You train your chest on Monday and you averaged 4 sets of 8 with 225 pounds on bench press. This workout would be considered a personal best. Your following chest workout, let’s say five days later, you come to the gym with great anticipation to out-do your last workout. To your disappointment you discover that you can barely do 4 sets of 8 with 185 pounds this week. What happened?

A. Your body had not fully compensated from the previous workout and required a longer recovery period.

B. Who cares! You toughed it out and made the most of the workout.

C . Complain to the gym owner that his weight plates are messed up and you want a refund on your gym membership.

If you picked A than say hurray and pat yourself on the back. The rational decision would be to admit the recovery error, assess the factors that could of resulted from not fully recovering (did you take all your supplements, did you sleep enought, did you follow your nutrition plan etc) and plan for success next time. This is the ‘trial and error’ process.

The emotional and irrational trainee would take option B and slug it out. Consider what is actually happening when you take this approach to your workouts:

1) You will be using weights within your threshold so your muscles will simply laugh back at you because there is no new unaccumstomed stress on your muscles. Remember, your muscles only grow if you give them a reason to.

2) You will be training in the hole and prolong the period of time that it takes to come out of the hole and supercompensate.

3) You will have no new muscle to work with because you have not fully recovered or grown bigger so it will be literally impossible to lift more weight or more reps.

4) You will be using your precious energy reserves, that could be going towards building muscle, instead to fueling an useless workout.

5) You will lose motivation and grow frusturated and confused because of your lack of progress.

This is a very tough and mature training decision one must face. After commencing a workout, if you discover after a few sets that you are on tract for a crappy worout than I would suggest to drop the workout and go home. Plan to come back the next day. If your goals are to simply train to train, than you will probably not follow this rule. However, if your goal is to get huge muscles and pack inches of new muscle onto your frame than this is a critical training decision.

To ensure your trip to the gym does not go in complete vain – have a flexibility session to make use of the time and than try and pick up the cute receptionist phone number on your way out!

6. Find a mentor

What does this have to do with muscle building? Everything – finding a mentor can make all the difference in how much muscle you build! If you plan on becoming successful in the gym than surround yourself with someone who has already walked the path. Would you agree that the quickets way to achieve success is to find somone who has gone before you and done what you want to do – and model them.

So why do millions of fitness enthusiasts wander aimlessly following generic advice in text books, magazines or websites? Although these methods of learning can provide a theoretical perspective, they are absent in accountablity, a formal system, time and financial comittment and assessment of performance.

A wise mentor will guide you step-by-step of the way with a formal system that includes a higher level of comittment and accountablity on your part. You will be required to fulfill tasks, change habits, meet deadlines and perform at a higher level than you would without a mentor.

The premise of having a mentor is that he has been there and done that. He has walked in your shoes and will give you the appropriate advice in a timely fashion. If you do not perform and follow the advice than you are wasting the mentor’s time and he will ‘fire’ you! If you do perform and follow his advice than you will be successful and build the muscle you deserve in less time!

Serioulsly consider hiring a fitness coach, a personal trainer or anybody who has done what you wish to do and be prepared to elate the same results!

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Building muscle mass is not a luxury.It is a necessity!!

Chris

Whether you are a 20 year stallion or a 60 year housewife you will need muscle mass to confront small everyday challenges and fulfil your duties however humble might they be!

I consider strength training and muscle mass development as an absolute must for every man and woman of whatever age!

The reasons are firm:

-better physical appearance(any volunteers?),improved posture.

-better physical performance.

-enhanced self -confidence,self-esteem,self-worth!

-higher basal metabolic rate since muscle mass is much more metabolically active than fat!

-fat reduction usually accompanies muscle gain

-muscles are the engines of our body!With stronger engines we are bound to have a better performance in our work,common daily duties and chores,beloved hobbies and sports,sexual activities (I have just blushed scarlet!),etc.

With a more efficient powerhouse we can feel and be more alive!

-stronger and denser bones,stronger tendons and ligaments.Reduced danger for osteoporosis.

-improved cardiovascular health.Strength training has been found to help reduce Low Density Lipoprotein or LPL (the bad guy,what we call bad cholesterol).At the same time it is beneficial for the good guy:LDL

-lower blood pressure

-as we age-we won’t be young for ever,shall we?-muscle loss and body fat increase are inevitable consequences as long as we are not engaged in some kind of strength training. I strongly urge you to keep this in mind since years flow like water!

Muscle loss decreases life quality in a dramatic way!

I have a strong conviction that all people can enjoy a vibrant life until their very late years!But they will have to include strength training in their every day rituals!

-stronger muscles and joints will function as shock absorbers to prevent from injuries. This is critical for aged people

-improved balance ,stability and coordination

-strength trainining shows an inverse correlation with obesity.

As one can easily conclude strength training is not an option but a must!

Muscle development needs mainly two things:

- the right supportive nutrition

-an effective strength training program

Nutrition is a domain that many people ignore.Nutritional mistakes halt the progress towards muscle development for many fitness enthusiasts.
What’s more, nutrition is by far the most important parameter for novices at muscle building.These people could achieve spectacular results with only minor adjustments to their nutrition strategy and tactics!!

Muscle development and nutrition

1. If you need to gain some muscle mass your first concern is to create a slight caloric surplus.

Though,you will have to move very cautiously if you want to minimize the possibilities of fat storage.

Thus,while some fat gain is inevitable in this phase, you could control it by taking the appropriate measures:

-the caloric surplus should be slight

-the caloric surplus should be gradual :start with a 10% increase over your caloric maintenance level and make it bigger when and if you reach a plateau.

2. Meals frequency is of strategic importance.

Spread your daily caloric intake into 5-6 equivalent meals and try to eat every about 3 hours.Include a premium protein source in every meal otherwise your body might cannibalize its own muscle tissue!Some benefits of frequent eating-among many else-are:

-your metabolism is boosted into high gear

-you are never hungry and the danger to pig-out is minimal

-you have a constant flow of nutritional constituents and energy

-your blood sugar and insulin levels are kept under control

-there are less possibilities for fat storage

3. How much protein? For an average fitness enthusiast-who is actually the “target group” of my articles-2gr of premium source protein per kg of body weight will suffice.

If you are a bodybuilder you will definetely need more (but these articles are not addressed to bodybuilders anyway!)

4. Protein sources:just good plain food.Please refer to my article:”Fitness/exercise:nutrition to boost your results”.

I am a strong opponent of any kind of supplementation and a fervent advocate of feeding only on unprocessed,unrefined,natural foods!!

5. Supplementation:

I will put it explicitly: don’t be suckers!Don’t even touch the chemical,man-made supplements!

You can perfectly -and you should – receive all the necessary micronutrients from whole,real foods amply provided by mother nature.

A real food is something much more complex than the total of its constituents.It is a unique combination of nutrients which work synergistically to satisfy our nutritional needs in the most efficient and idoneous way.

You don’t have to part with your hard-earned money only to buy garbage that eventually will harm you!

Eat abundant quantities of vegetables and if you have some money to spare go for organics.

6. And what should my nutrition base be?

We have touched on this subject many times. Please take a look here:

FITNESS/EXERCISE:NUTRITION TO BOOST YOUR RESULTS

I will limit myself here to the biggest no-nos and yes-yes.

Supportive nutrition:biggest no-nos

-white flour

-table sugar

-high fructose corn syrup

-artificial sweeteners

-hydrogenated oils(trans fats)

-sodas and all typical sugary refreshments

-visible fat in red meats

-processed meats and fish that contain sodium nitrite.Also sausages,hot dogs and the like

- all candies and pastries

-white bread

-white pasta

-white rice

-fried oils

-margarin

-all foods that contain substantial amounts of monosodium glutamate

-all deep fried foods:French fries,potato chips,doughnuts etc.They are full with acrylamide and trans-fats

-all types of canned soups

-mayonnaise and similar oily condiments and dressings

-all commercial baked foods:biscuits,cookies,cakes,bagels,croissants etc.

Supportive nutrition:biggest yes-yes

-all kinds of vegetables in season.I eat broccoli nearly every day.

-all fruits but in moderation due to their high sugar content.Prefer to take your antioxidants from vegetables which are nutritionally denser

exceptions(you can eat more from these):cranberries and most types of berries,pomegranates

-whole eggs:you can eat at least two yolks/day.Yolk protein is really valuable.

Additionally yolk contains precious choline for your mind as well as lutein and zeaxanthin which can play a serious role in the prevention of macular degeneration.

Don’t buy into the myth of high cholesterol! This myth has been debunked from the findings of multiple studies.

Try to find omega-3 eggs.

-sunflower and pumpkin seeds(I keep a reservation for flax seeds)

- mixed raw nuts

-avocados(they belong to fruits!)

-extra virgin(cold pressed) olive oil

-turkey and chicken breasts

-low fat cottage cheese

-low fat plain yogurt with active live cultures.Avoid funny alternatives as frozen yogurt,yogurt with fruits and tons of artificial sweeteners etc.

If you have a creative imagination you can try endless combinations with yogurt,raw nuts,seeds,fresh or dried berries etc.

-wild fatty fish and especially the miraculous,humble sardines.

Sardines are a real food treasure: they contain omega -3 fatty acids, the much rare coenzyme Q10,selenium,calcium,phosphorus ,iron,potassium vitamin D and premium quality protein.

The best thing is that they contain practically zero mercury, a poison that has completely changed our tuna-eating habits.

6. In the third part of this comprehensive article on the appropriate nutrition for muscle building we recited very succintly and explicitly the big nutrition no-nos.

It’s much easier to fight an enemy if you can see him!

But what happens if the enemy is lurking in the durk seeking to devour on first chance your precious muscle earnings?

And-much worse-if he is disguised as a caring friend?

This is our subject for today!

Unhealthy foods disguised as healthy

6.1. Tuna fish:

I quote its name and my heart pains because tuna is -or better was-one of my most favourite dishes.Cheap,convenient,available everywhere and highly nutritional.
The big concern with tuna is its relatively high content in toxic mercury. Recent research both in Europe and in the USA have found mercury levels in tuna fish to be alarmingly high.

I suggest that you should do your own research because mercury levels differ from sea to sea and from kind to kind.Depending on your weight, check your safe consumption rate.

I have switched to sardines. Luckily in Greece they are abundant,cheap and of excellent quality.

Sardines practically contain zero mercury because of their small size and their short life. They are a gift from the sea for us.Humble but of inestimable value!

6.2. Protein bars or energy bars

While you can find few products with a decent quality and nutritional value ,most of them are mere rubbish.
They are full with table sugar,artificial sweeteners,high fructose corn syrup,highly processed soya protein isolate,hydrogenated oils(trans-fats) and the like!

Search very carefully in order to find bars of acceptable quality. Double check the labels!

Most producers market energy/protein bars as nutritionally sound alternatives of meals with real food.

Alas,this is far from the truth!

Unprocessed,unrefined,natural food is what our bodies really need and deserve!Our human engines need the right kind of quality fuel in order to function well and to their maximum potential.

Why eat a bar with added protein and fiber of questionable quality when we can have the real thing naturally packed with excellent quality protein while accompanied by tenths of indispensable micronutrients?

Keep protein or energy bars only for emergency situations and plan ahead so as these emergency situations should be kept to a minimum.Don’t use them to justify your lousy eating habits!!

6.3. Sports drinks:

Most sports drinks are nothing more than artificially colored,sugary water.

The only established fact with these products is that they bring crazy profits to their producers!

Ah,another one is that they make your wallet lighter!

Or is it the same thing?

It doesn’t stop to amaze me how easily,evidently sane people leave themselves to be deliberately misled!!

Is it a kind of collective paranoia the fact that we deny to discern the obvious , namely that we are overtly suckered?

Or is it our illogical,extravagant desire for quick and easy fixes?

In a future entry we will see simple recipes for nice,homemade sports drinks.

6.4. Breakfast cereals

Despite their pretentious and highly pompous claims many breakfast cereals are nothing else but well concealed cereal killers.

Those marketed more heavily have most often the poorer nutritional value.

The majority of the products :

-are based on refined grains and the quantity of fibers is minimal

-have excessive sugar content

-use fancy artificial colorings

-contain big amounts of salts(sodium)

-contain saturated or/and hydrogenated fats

Be very careful to select breakfast cereals of the proper quality. Leave taste aside and search for nutrition.They should be based on whole grains with minimal salt ,sugar and trans fats content.Don’t fall victims to the marketing hype!

6.5.Many fat free products:

To compensate for the lack of taste these products are loaded with sugar,high fructose corn syrup-brrrr!- or artificial sweeteners.

6.7. Many sugar free products:

They are packed with saturated fats or trans fats from hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils.

6.8. Commercially packaged fruit juices:

Though generally they won’t harm you,they have very little to offer you either. No fibers,very few vitamins and quite a lot of empty calories.

You can instead opt for homemade, freshly squeezed juices. By far the best option is to eat the whole fruit .

This will give you valuable fibers plus a satiety feeling.

In general try to avoid liquid calories.

6.9. Fruit smoothies:

Usually they won’t differ a lot from a milk shake,packed with sugars,fats and dead calories.

6.10. Liquid meal replacements:

Use them sparingly and only in case of emergency. One or two meals at the most per week. If you want real results go for real food!

Till now in this series of articles devoted to effective muscle building we saw :

- that muscle building concerns the general population and not only certain groups of people.We saw in other words that it is not a luxury but a real necessity.

-some strategic principles of supportive nutrition which we accepted as a very important determinant for proper muscle building.

-that supplementation is a real waste of money-at least for the ordinary fitness enthusiasts.

-the biggest nutrition no-nos

-the most important nutrition yes-yes

-and finally the top nutrition traps which are unhealthy foods disguised as healthy, usually for humble profit seeking reasons.

Now it is high time to speak about the training part of the equation.

Strategic principles of strength training

1. General axiom:aim for simplicity.Learn to appreciate the magnificence of simplicity.

2. Prefer free weights which can tax the totality of your muscles in the most appropriate way. A pair of adjustable dumbbells would be fine.

3. Keep your workouts short:20′-30′.But they should be really intense:decent loading of the muscles and minimal breaks.

4. Aim for three workouts per week.If it is hard for you, go at least for two and never for less.

5. Forget about split workouts.You are not a bodybuilder!Go for total body workouts.

6. The best range of repetitions if you want to build some muscle mass is 6-8 per set. So you will have to adjust your weights accordingly.

If you aim for strength development you should go for less.Conversely ,if you seek muscle endurance you should go for more repetitions.

Attention!:a big number of repetitions won’t bring muscle definition as many people erroneously thing.

Muscle definition is mostly a matter of low fat percentage.
Make sure that you read my article: “Muscle definition:the absolute article”.

7. Prefer to perform only compound/multijoint exercises which tax big muscle groups and more joints .These exercises are the best investment for your limited time.

The best movements are the classic ones: squats,lunges,deadlifts,presses and rows.

Things are simple and it’s contrary to our interests to make them seem more complex!

8.Don’t forget symmetry.If you train one group of muscles don’t forget to train the antagonists as well.

9. Don’t fall into the trap of overtraining.Balance quality with quantity.

10. Challenge yourself to brake some records.Excellent motivation indeed! You will need to coordinate body and mind. Make full exploitation of your most powerful weapon:your mind!

11. Pay due attention to the basics:excellent style,warm up and cooling down with some static stretching,blah blah blah..
..

12. Last but not least:if you are struggling to build muscle you will have to limit long ,strenuous cardio.Opt instead for short but real intense HIIT workouts.These workouts will help you save muscle while shedding fat.Sprints are excellent!

Conclusion

Lousy nutrition habits are a conspicuous violation of the muscle building laws.
Eat right ,train smart,watch your cardio ritual and muscle development will be a logical consequence!

Chris Strogilis

Around the Big12 Conference
Around the Big12 Conference

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Muscle Building Exercises

In an previously news story we looked at how repetitions contribute to the muscle building process, but is the position regarding sets just as simple cut? Unfortunately, the answer to that is no as a couple of experts feel one set to failure is sufficient, whereas others articulate which unusual sets are needed to ensure maximum muscle gains.

Research to date suggests that, when using six to eight repetitions to failure at 75-80% 1RM, there is tiny bit substantial difference between training providing single and multiple sets in terms of increasing either strength or muscle size.

Any small differences that have been recorded indicate that a single set completed to failure encourages strength gains but subsequent sets have a slightly greater impact on muscle size. What is clear is that the law of diminishing returns applies, so you have to question if the marginal improvements in size justify the extra time and effort expended.

Like everything else in life, bodybuilding does not remain static and several cutting edge experts have redefined the boundaries of achievement. Increasingly, serious athletes are using methods that extend the set beyond the point of failure. This involves forcing the muscle to perform more work despite having experienced failure in the previous rep.

In practice, you perform one last forced repetition with the help of a training partner. This obviously calls for great commitment and high motivation but the rewards include better mass gains thanks to the greater muscular overload. Such intensive training places additional importance on the need to lift with sound technique and to incorporate sufficient recovery time into your muscle building program. Start taking action to gain your muscles by Getting Your Muscle Building Exercises eBook now!