Deadlifts

You should be doing deadlifts. There is no way around it, if deadlifts aren't a part of your weight lifting routine then you aren't living up to your full potential. It is widely considered to be the most effective exercise for building mass in bodybuilding.

Most newbies shrug off deadlifts because they are worried about getting injured or aren't willing to put in the effort to learn the deaflift. It is a compound exercise, which means it works multiple muscle groups. Obviously, deadlifts are great at turning backs into cheese shredders, but they also work the legs! You will find that, especially when you first start doing deadlifts, your quads and hamstrings will be sore the next day. They can even transform your glutes!

If you have decided to add bulk to your body via deadlifts, you need to learn the proper form in order to maximize their effectiveness and prevent injury. You should start by doing two warm-up sets with light weight in order to get your muscles ready to lift. This is a major cog in the anti-injury machine. You can try out some back and leg stretches as well.

1. Check your ego at the door. You want to use a light starting weight in order to prevent injury.

2. Place the bar at your feet and lift it while keeping your back completely straight, Your back should be straight for the entirety of this exercise, rounding means you either aren't trying hard enough or you are trying to do too much weight. Keep the bar as close to your shins as possible when lifting it.

3. Once you have lifted the barbell to waist level, you want to straighten your shoulders and pull them back slightly. This works the upper back extremely effectively.

4. When lowering the bar make sure to keep it as close to your legs and shins as possible, all the while keeping your back straight.

5. I recommend implementing this into a bulking routine with other compound lifts. Do some research to find the ones that will add the most mass for you.

If done right, you can see more gains from the deadlift than any other exercise. It truly is the cornerstone of any bulking routine. It will add weight in all the right places and your posture will be as straight as a steel plank. Just remember, keep your back straight!

Traps Workout

In order to have effective trap workouts, you need to understand what traps are. This way you know where to focus your workouts and what muscles you are developing, building and strengthening. Basically, the trapezius muscles are located on the upper and mid areas of the back. These muscles include the upper, lower and middle portion.

The upper portion starts at the top of your neck and extends down to the lateral area of the collarbone. The mid portion starts at your cervical spine extending outward and attaching onto the shoulder blade. The lower portion starts along the thoracic vertebra and like the mid portion traps, this forms a triangular shape that ends at the shoulder blade. Here are a few trap workouts that can help you build strong traps. 

1. Seated row workout. Basically, this exercise targets all three portions of your trapezius muscles. You need dumbbells or resistance band for this. First, you need to sit on the floor. Extend your legs outward and make sure to keep an erect posture. Your abs should contract. Your neck should be straight and you have to pull your shoulders back. While holding the dumbbell or resistance band, you need to slowly pull your arms back and bend your elbows. You will have to move your elbows behind your back. Maintain this position and then repeat. Do 12 reps of this in 3 sets.


2. Overhead press. You will need barbells or dumbbells for this. To do this, you need to assume a standing position with your feet apart. Holding your dumbbells with your hands facing out, bend your elbows until your hands are in even position with your shoulders. Slowly, extend your elbows, pushing the dumbbells or barbells over your head. Hold this position and then lower the weights down. Do 12 reps of this in 3 sets.


3. Lateral Raise. You need an incline bench and dumbbells for this one. Lie face down with your chest and belly flat on the inclined bench. Holding dumbbells in each hand, allow your arms to hang down. Your palms should be facing in. Slowly extend you arms out. Your arms should be raised straight but keep your elbows soft. Bring your arms in position with your back. Hold this position for a second and then lower your arms. Do 12 reps of this in 3 sets.

These are effective trap workouts that will help you build strong and big traps in no time

How To Lift Weights Effectively

There are times where every beginning weightlifter will wonder if he is wasting his time or living up to his potential in the gym. Everyone wants to build muscle, but those who build the most muscle are the ones who are knowledgeable on all the aspects of training. Any seasoned lifter will tell you that in order to build muscle and bulk up effectively you have to have good form in all of your exercises.

1. First off, it should be noted that compound exercises are the most effective routines for building mass and bulking up. They are also considered supreme for building overall strength. Compound exercises work the body so much that human growth hormone levels are elevated and thus bulk increased. Your body will stack on the pounds. Just make sure that you have a good routine and diet in place.

2. It is relatively simple to practice good form for many isolation exercises like lat pull downs and tricep extensions. However, once you enter the realm of compound lifts, it becomes increasingly difficult to manage great form. A precursor to good form is research, check out animations in magazines and watch videos on YouTube. Being educated is the most important step!

3. Always use warm-up sets to hammer out any weaknesses in your form. Make sure you are in front of a mirror and able to see yourself for the duration of the set. Do not let yourself lose concentration and go sloppy at the end of a heavy set, this is when it matters the most!

4. Focus more during the eccentric part of the rep. The eccentric phase of any lift is the phase when the weight is being lowered. Essentially, it is traditionally viewed as the easy part of a rep. This has been called the number one mistake beginning body builders make. Put just as much effort into lowering the weight with good form as you do lifting the weight! This can really make a difference in your bench press efficiency.

5. It's not a bad idea to record your lifts on video for later analysis.

If you are seeing lackluster or minimal gains, make sure your form is in check. Your goal here should be perfection in every compound exercise. Cleaning up your form will also ensure that your muscles grow in a balanced manner. Proper form can also lower your injury risk significantly, especially during dead lifts and squats.

Training Like A Professional

Training Like a Pro- "Go Hard or Go Home".

There are two aspects to body building (1) The work you put in at the gym and (2) The work you put in out of the gym, (predominantly nutrition). In this article I will talk about the work you put in at the gym. I will talk about the work you put out of the gym and nutrition in another article because this is a whole other topic entirely, that deserves its own article.

Your average person and even your average fitness enthusiast does not quite realise the extent of the work body builders put in to their sport, and body building is a sport! Arguably the most competitive and demanding sport there is. (This will be discussed in another article).

Ok... I realise a lot of you reading this are thinking to yourself....." But I don't want to be a body builder". You don't have to become a "Body Builder" but you do have to train like one to obtain any commendable goals, e.g: body fat loss, increase in lean muscle etc. One could argue that anyone who trains with weights is a body builder, just the levels vary, just like in any other sport, if you train football 2-3 times a week then you are a footballer, maybe an amateur one, but you're still a footballer.

So you visit the gym 2-3 times a week because you want to achieve some kind of a goal? As long as this goal involves in some shape or form you wanting to modify and sculpt the image of your body then you will benefit from training like a pro... in and out of the gym.

When I say train like a pro I want to emphasise and clarify on a few points because of the general lack of knowledge people have in regards to body building....no disrespect intended.

Training like a pro doesn't mean living in the gym, taking steroids, reducing your body fat to extremely low percentages or looking like one of the pro's on the front page of Flex magazine for example. Although most people could never reach the amazing levels these athletes reach regardless of how many steroids they think they need to take. These athletes devote everything to obtain these levels of perfection and it drives me crazy when people put it down to steroid use.

No....training like a pro means having the right mental attitude, it means you need to be serious about your goals, it's more than an extra curriculum activity, it's like having a 2nd job, that's how serious you need to be.

You need to be willing to push yourself past your pain barriers, you need to venture into unknown terrotority, feel pains and burns you have never felt before. You need to be willing to swap those alcoholics beverages for mineral water. You need to be willing to ensure you get a minimum of 8 hours sleep a night. You need to be willing to follow a strict diet, buy food for a week in advance, then go home and prepare that food for the week to come.

You need to leave work, travel to the gym (a good gym! Again, another article another day) expend huge amounts of energy and sweat hurling heavy plates of iron in different directions around your body, whilst experiencing pains you will develop a love/hate relationship with. You then need to travel home, eat, prepare and cook your food for the next day AND get a minimum of 8 hours sleep to promote maximum muscle recovery.

Sound hard....? Yeah?!?.... Yeah your right... maybe you should make up an excuse and return to the ranks of the average Joes, resting for 2-3 minutes in between their regimented sets and yawning in between reps.

OR.... If you're like me, and it sounds like a challenge, maybe even fun (call me crazy) you could take a chance? If you want it bad enough you'll be excited by the challenge! You'll be excited by the huge task ahead. You'll probably fail the 1st few times, I did! But you'll get there in the end. Oh boy and when you do!... When you do, it will be worth it believe me!

You will start to notice girls looking at you in the gym, then you will start to notice guys and girls checking you out! Then it will start to happen outside of the gym.

You will be able to pick up girls easier, the quality of girls you pick up will increase also! Girls likewise for guys.

Sounds a bit farfetched? I'm talking from my own personal experiences and a couple of my close friends who put the hard in work with me and are reaping the fruits of their labour.

The reason is simple. Not everyone can do what you have achieved (When you achieve it that is!) You are the minority, you resemble strength, discipline, dedication.... it's in our nature, our DNA, women are attracted to the alpha male. Men are attracted to women who look healthy.

Once you start to see results and reap the fruits of your labour. That's when you become addicted! You'll be in the gym 4-5 times a week, you'll be eating clean, you won't even be tempted by junk food.

That's when you join the ranks of the elite, the ones whom are watched in the gym, and do not watch! Just be careful not to become arrogant! No one likes that. You now have a responsibility to help others....and they will ask, be sure to assist.

Go forth friend...Join the ranks of the Elite.

10 Steps to Successful Fat Loss

1. Think Fit and Healthy: Change in any area of life has to first start in the mind. You have to change the mind in order to change the body. The mindset is responsible for our habits, emotions, what we think of our bodies and our relationship with food. Our habits and emotions are responsible for shaping our bodies and health.

2. Make Realistic Eating Plans: Since 70-80% of your health and fitness results come from nutrition, our daily eating has to be realistic. The reason "diets" never work is because they are based on short-term goals that are unrealistic to maintain. We see all sorts of diet gimmicks in the media cookies, smoothies, bars and more. Most of these gimmicks are forms of meal replacements which restrict calories. The calorie deficit will definitely cause one to lose weight but it will not stay off. It is unrealistic to maintain the weight eating weight loss cookies and shakes. Real foods that are nutritionally dense are the only way to maintain a healthy body and weight. Find a knowledgable professional or purchase fitness magazines to get meal planning ideas.

3. Schedule Appointments for Exercise: I always find that planning both my meals and exercise is the best way for me to maintain a healthy lifestyle. It helps me to make better use of my time. I have a very busy schedule. If I just try to wing it when it comes to exercise and meals, it will not work well. I schedule my workouts at 5:00am before work and after work it is all about homework and dinner. Without this schedule, workouts will likely never happen.

4. Write It Down: I am a huge advocate for food and workout journals. It not only documents your food, workouts and emotions but it is a great reference source. Health and fitness journals also help to keep you on track by pre planning meals and workouts. I always recommend putting both your meal and workout plan on paper for at least a week in advance. You have a better chance of staying on schedule and avoiding impulse eating when things are planned.

5. Keep a list of non-food activities: Emotional eating causes some to have the wrong relationship with foods. Although we should enjoy what we eat, the primary reason for eating should be as a fuel source. Eating when stressed, happy, depressed, anxiety or boredom is not the right relationship with food. Find ways to redirect these emotions with non-food activities such as reading, going for walks or discussing your emotions with someone you trust.

6. Front load your calories: Eating more calories early in the day verses later in the evening will help you maintain healthy weight. Many people think that skipping breakfast is a way to lose weight. They skip breakfast then skimp on lunch only to overload late in the day. By evening they are so famished that they eat impulsively on the first thing they can find. This choice is usually not the best food option. Breakfast is important mainly because 1/3 of your daily nutrients come from this meal and it helps to maintain glucose levels. You also have more opportunities during the day to burn it off unlike overloading late in the day a couple of hours before bed.

7. Eat your favorite foods: Eating your favorite foods is easy if you find healthier versions. Even the less healthy versions is ok in moderation. The only things that should never be consumed and even out right avoided are those that are toxic or cause allergic reactions. I have learned to bake sugar-free snacks, reduced sugar candy and bake gluten-free breads and cakes. I love pizza and bake my own gluten-free pizza crust. Experimenting with healthy and creative meals is a passion of mine. What are your favorite foods? Experiment with your favorite dishes using healthier ingredients.

8. Eat slowly: Let's face it our hectic lives usually has most of us eating on the run which means eating very fast. It takes the body 20 minutes just to register fullness. This can lead to over eating and simply being out right stuffed. By eating slowly you savor every bite and won't overeat before your body tells you it is full.

9. Avoid temptation: If it is overly tempting, don't buy it, bring it in the house or even bring it in the car. An alcoholic does not buy or bring alcohol in the house. Neither should a person who has a weakness for Twinkies. If you eat more in front of the TV, plan a non - food activity. Don't even tempt yourself by sitting in front of it for too long. Read a book instead.

10. Make sleep a priority: Rest is highly important. This is a time for the body to recover. Without enough of it you will experience fatigue which hinders workouts and day-to-day activities. You may also experience increased hunger. Lack of sleep is stress on the body. When the body is under stress, the stress hormone cortisol is secreted into the blood stream at a higher rate. This is a big reason individuals under excess stress (physical or mental) tend to battle the bulge.

 

Six packs easily !!

Getting six pack abs is a real frustration. It's not an easy task to turn up your entire body into muscles and reshape it into six pack abs. For all those who desire to have a six pack abs and is not getting a real guideline over building it; I will probably let you know some easy and natural tips over developing and building six pack abs. Many of them don't know the exact ways of developing six pack abs, the end up complaining of getting no results even after trying out heavier exercises and lifting weights. Even though you spend hours together everyday working out determinately, you really need to know how to perform correct exercises in a correct way and what food habits to practice.

                                 

Remember guys Diet and Exercises go hand in hand. Both are really important in order to change the entire structure of your body and make it hard and muscular.

Diet and exercise are really essential and a basic factor in order to Get six packs abs. If you believe in going to gym and working out then believe you, me it will give you results but for a temporary period. So my suggestion is follow natural exercises and home cooked diet in order to get those muscles build up fast and remove all unwanted fats causing obstruction in your way of building six packs. Go on reading further and discover some useful guidelines.

Do exercises at home on a daily basis like, Leg Lifting, Upper and back Crunches, Incline sit-ups, Push ups and pull ups. Repeat these exercises for about 15 times. This will affect your upper and lower abs which will contribute a lot to build six pack abs.

Eating specific foods will really help you to burn your belly fats, which will then make your belly look muscular and it, I'll be easy to develop six packs. You should eat foods like Fish, Meat, apples, oranges, cereals; green vegetables, skimmed milk, etc.

Drink 5 glasses of water everyday

Perform cardio exercises. This will help your unwanted fats to be burned quickly. Cardio exercises can be done in your Gym, n your fitness class, etc. Riding a bicycle will also be an effective exercise in order to develop six packs.

Get the most of your Biceps workout

I love working out on my biceps, I find them to be one of the most responsive body parts for me. And the best thing about working out the biceps is that you really don't have to do too much to see good results. Some people think that doing set after set exercise after exercise is going to make the biceps grow, all they doing is over training them, remember they are only a small muscle group.

You can train the biceps twice a week but make sure they are fully recovered before doing so, if they are not fully recovered then do not train them.

Also don't forget that when working out the back muscle that you biceps are going to get a pre exhausted workout from that so plan your workouts so you get the best in each workout.

What I mean is if you train you back the day after you have just trained your biceps then you are not going to get the best out of your back workout, also you are going to be pre exhausting your biceps again, this not giving the biceps hardly any time to recover braking down the fibers in the biceps muscle again and leading to muscle loss rather than muscle growth.

Any way here is my best biceps workout so have a look give it a go and see what happens.

Remember stretch the biceps during the exercise at the bottom of the movement and between the exercise also squeeze the biceps at the top of the movement this is the best way of getting the most out of the workout.

1. Seated concentration curl on an incline bench, what most people do is twist the dumbbells as they bring the weight up I don't I like to keep the wrist in the same position from the bottom to the top of the exercise.

I start this exercise with two warm up sets of 15 reps, then increase the weight up until I can't do more than 7 reps for each set, then strip the weights off so my reps go up again but with no rest in-between the sets. You will probably end up doing about 8-9 sets in this one exercise but the pump is fantastic and you get the best of working the slow and fast twitch fibers. Also it is all over very quickly.

2. Seated hammer curls, staying in the seated incline position grab some dumbbells and start the exercise as it was started in the first movement this is going to hit the outer head of the biceps, the only difference from the first exercise is that there is no warm up sets.

3. Standing bent over concentration curl, Pick up a dumbbell that you can do at least 12 reps with and fins the workout with 2 sets this will hit the peak of the biceps.

Remember to stretch the biceps while doing the exercise at the bottom of the movement and squeeze at the top of each movement, this really is key to getting the biceps or any muscle to grow.