Find Out Why Bodybuilding Supplements May Not Be Necessary

To supplement or not to supplement – that is the question on more bodybuilder’s lips than ever before. Are they safe? Have you ever wondered what works and what doesn't?
Lets have a look at the basics.

There are various reasons why athletes may be interested in supplementation.
Concern about getting adequate nutrients from our food supply.
Suspicion of pharmaceuticals.
Belief that diet alone will not achieve optimal nutrition.

Supplements include the following:
Vitamins
Minerals
Amino Acids
Herbs

The concerning thing about supplements is that anything classified as a dietary supplement is not required to meet any FDA or other standards! Think about that! there are no regulations in place that guarantee the safety or purity of something sold as a supplement.

They are also not made to meet the similar safety requirements as prescription drugs or any other manufacturing standards. They are not required to meet product potency or purity ratings and are not required to prove the effectiveness of any health claim that is made.

Studies suggest that a number of supplements may deliver on advertising claims. However, trainees are spending large sums of money on products that have little or no proven usefulness.
Personally I find the use of supplements over rated, and as with strength training, supplementation asks the same question, "If a little is good then maybe more has to be better".

Supplementation and steroids started to proliferate when volume strength training became the training system of the day. Young strength trainees slaving in the gym for five to six days a week was seen as normal. All this without making any progress or putting on any size whatsoever.

They then turned to the latest supplement or steroid thinking that this is the magic bullet to put on that added muscle when all the time they were just plain "Overtraining".

The cold hard facts are that the majority of the regular trainees in your gym are overtraining. The sad reality is that the type of training that you find in bodybuilding books and magazines (and used by the stars) are irrelevant to the majority of the population and has a high failure rate.
If more bodybuilders started using more infrequent, short, high intensity weight training sessions, followed by the required amount of time to recover and become stronger…
"Most of the Muscle building supplements and steroids available today would
not be needed".

The bottom line on weight gain supplements:
Before taking a supplement try to make modifications to your diet that might achieve the same goals.
Only choose products that show the amount of active ingredients on the label that are required.
Be aware that "natural" does not mean ‘safe’.
Some herbal supplements may have unpleasant side effects.

Listed below are some popular bodybuilding supplements available on the market today:

Creatine monohydrate:
Creatine was first introduced to the market place some eight years ago and has since become the most popular bodybuilding supplement of all time.
Creatine is said to significantly increase lean muscle mass, improve performance, increase energy levels and speed up recovery rates.
Creatine also stimulates the uptake of amino acids in the proteins, which means that the more that it's used the more muscle that may be grown.
Dosage: A loading phase of 20grams a day for the first five days then a maintenance phase of 5grams a day from then on.

Whey Protein isolate:
The highest yield of protein currently available and is extracted from milk. This is another popular supplement for athletes and bodybuilders because of its high proportion of amino acids.
It is supposed to be high in potassium, which is essential
for muscle growth and is an antioxidant and a good immune system builder.
Dosage: 20gms - 100gms a day.

Tribulus Terrestris:
Tribulus terrestris is a plant that grows in many tropical and moderate areas of the world and is very rich in chemical compounds such as saponins, flavonoids and alkaloids.
Tribulus terrestris is supposedly a testosterone enhancer and increases sex drives in both men and women.
Dosage as per bottle.

Glutamine:
Is a non-essential amino acid, which makes up to 60% of the amino acids in the bodies muscles. Glutamine containing products are protein shakes and good quality protein powders; it can also be added to protein shakes for added potency.
Dosage: 5grams to 15 grams per day.

So there you have it, a supplement is something added to the diet to make up for a nutritional deficiency or imbalance, they are not intended to substitute for eating a balanced diet. If they are to be taken at all they should only be used to supplement the diet and not replace it.

For more muscle building articles please visit http://www.build-your-body.net/

Thanks and God Bless

Easy Steps To Avoiding Gym Rage

Have you heard about this recently? Many of us go through this at our local gym or fitness centre on a regular basis and are become increasingly frustrated. It usually starts as a group of trainees chat away their experiences of the day on a bench or at a piece of equipment for fifteen minutes while you are waiting to use it.
Or someone is standing directly in front of the barbell rack doing tiny lateral raises when you want to get at the really big weights. Or casuals using equipment favoured by the regulars and often looked at like pieces of personal furniture for their own use.
All this builds up stress especially between the months of January and April when the newcomers hit the gyms and fitness centres in an attempt to lose the weight gained over the Christmas and New Year period.
In trying to realise their New Years resolutions they overcrowd the aerobics area and take over the weight room leaving weights lying around and causing queues for equipment. Regulars of the gym experience these problems and tempers start to flare in a phenomenon becoming known as "Gym Rage".
During this testing time, all gym-goers, both new and experienced and the employees of the fitness clubs know that the newcomers usually only last until April and after that their good intentions run out. To help you through this stressful time have a look at and follow some of the hints below:
1. Stand at the back of the aerobics class when you first start, as you will usually find the hard-core regulars will be down the front.
2. Their are no rules that govern how many members a gym can sign up, causing some fitness centres to become overcrowded with everybody wanting to use them in the morning and afternoon on their way to and from work. So try to plan your visit to the gym a little earlier than usual or later in the day or evening. There is only one effective way to beat the January to April rush and that is to workout out late at night after 7.00pm
3. Talking on your cell phone whilst you are working out, this will tie up a machine or piece of equipment for a long time causing problems. It’s recommended that you turn off your cell phone whilst at the gym.
4. Don't hog the machines; try not to go over the time limits set on the particular machine you are using. If there is a time limit please stick to it. The thing that annoys most people is the way people sit on a machine knocking out set after set. By performing one set to muscular failure and moving on will free up the machines for use by the next person.
5. Wipe the machines down after use, try not to leave your sweat on the piece of equipment you have just used, use a towel to separate yourself from the machine while you make use of it and wipe it down thoroughly after use.
6. Don't drop the weights onto the ground and don’t clang them loudly as this is very off-putting to the other members. Make sure you return the weights to there correct place on the racks when you're finished with them even though you might have found them lying on the floor.
7. One thing you don't want to do is constantly ask people if they've finished using a machine when they're obviously still exercising on it. If anything the trainee will try to sit on it longer just to annoy you. Be patient; don't interrupt them while they are lifting, wait until they finish their set first.
8. A gym isn't a social club don’t stand around in large groups chatting especially if you have a machine in use, do your talking in the locker room or at reception.
9. Don’t leave your towel or other personal items lying around on a bench or piece of equipment if you are not using it. Leave your training space as clean as the way you found it. If the equipment is unattended for more than five minutes go ahead and use it, but be prepared to share also, let people work in with you if the difference in weight is not too large. Leave enough space around you so that other people can approach the weight rack and get the equipment they need.
10. Don’t scream when you are going for that personal best lift, remember that the others around you are concentrating on their own work out to and don't need to hear you screaming out for attention. Exhaling loudly as you contract the muscles during your set is fine.
11. Don’t hog the water fountain, only take a few mouthfuls of water and then move away, don’t fill up your huge water bottle with cold water and leave warm drinking water for the rest of the members.
12. Follow the gyms code of conduct usually seen on the walls of the gym or fitness centre, if trainees are not following the code report it to management don’t take it into your own hands.

Do yourself a favour and put these simple steps to use the next time you are in the gym and you will be in for a much more pleasant experience.

For more muscle building articles please visit http://www.build-your-body.net

Thanks and God Bless!

Discover The Truth About Eating Too Much Protein

Lets face it protein is an essential nutrient, and is vital to your health and is used to build muscles, skin, hair and nails. However, many people put their health at risk by eating too much of it.
The typical American diet already provides plenty of protein and there is no point in adding any more, unlike fat cells, there is no place in the body to store protein so the excess is eliminated or is seen as fat rather than muscle.
So what you need to do is to consume just enough protein to allow your muscles to be healthy, perform work and grow. But how much is just enough?
You only use protein for about 15% of your energy use, the majority of energy comes from fats and carbohydrates. Exercising doesn’t necessarily mean that you require more protein but more carbohydrates to stop your body breaking down protein and using that for energy.
Try to make sure that 70% of your protein comes from sources such as meat, fish, eggs or poultry. The complete protein provided by these foods combines with incomplete protein consumed from other food sources. So your body makes the best of all the protein that you consume.
If you are consuming too much protein, you are probably consuming too many calories over your maintenance levels and this will show as an increase in your body fat levels.
And with the advent of the latest fad high protein diets, not enough carbohydrates are being consumed so the protein is converted to glucose and not converted into muscle growth.
What is needed for muscle growth is not more protein but high intensity strength training with the required amount of time for rest and recovery between sessions.
Because that major bodybuilding star you saw in the latest magazine requires 300 grams of protein a day doesn't mean that you have to. What he won't tell you is that taking Steroids is behind his muscle gains and not his diet.
High intensity strength training and not food stimulates muscle growth
Consuming excessive amounts of protein is not only bad for your liver and kidneys but also promotes vitamin and mineral deficiencies. It is also linked to osteoporosis and some forms of cancer.
One way to overcome the need to eat large quantities of protein is to increase the consumption of protein in stages until a maximum efficiency point is reached and then to drastically reduce it again. This obliges the body to over-compensate by increasing the efficiency for the absorption of protein into the body.
An example of a Protein Loading diet is found below.

Week One


Breakfast: Poached egg on toast, cereal with fruit and milk.

Snack: Fruit and protein shake.

Lunch: Chicken, potato, and vegetables. Fresh fruit salad.

Snack: Nuts, fruit, and biscuits with cheese.

Dinner: Fish any style, rice, vegetables, bread, and salad.

Week Two

Breakfast: Two poached eggs on toast, cereal with fruit salad and milk.

Snack: Nuts, fruit, protein shake.

Lunch: Chicken with potatoes and vegetables (any style)

Snack: Nuts, fruit, biscuits with cheese.

Dinner: Roast Beef with vegetables, brown rice, whole meal bread.


Week Three


Breakfast: Three eggs any style on toast, cereal with fruit and milk.

Snack: Nuts, fruit, and protein shake.

Lunch: Turkey with potatoes and vegetables, brown rice, whole meal bread.

Snack: Nuts, fruit, protein shake.

Dinner: ½ Chicken, potatoes, veggies, brown rice, whole meal bread.

Before Bed: Protein shake.


Week Four


Breakfast: Four eggs any style on toast, cereal with fruit and milk.

Snack: Nuts, fruit, protein shake.

Lunch: Spaghetti with meat sauce, potatoes, brown rice, whole meal bread.

Snack: Nuts, fruit, protein shake.

Dinner: Roast Pork, potatoes, brown rice, whole meal bread.

Before Bed: Protein shake.


After week four of this protein loading diet, move from the max intake of protein to the lowest. So in the fifth week go back to week one menu, in the sixth week, week two menu and so on.


Make no mistake about it this protein loading diet provides a balance of protein, fats and carbohydrates and combined with high intensity strength training will be very effective in increasing muscular bodyweight without the need to ingest large quantities of protein.


For more articles please visit: http://www.build-your-body.net

Thanks and God Bless!
Lee Harris
Build-Your-Body.net

Carbohydrates: What You Must Know

This scares me to death, every day you walk down the street it is becoming more and more apparent that the average person is becoming larger and this trend has escalated over recent years. Why are they getting fatter? Here are some reasons...

1. Less incidental activity
2. Automated and computerized lifestyle
3. Longer working hours and less leisure
4. Increased consumption of processed foods
5. Our food servings are larger than ever

Being overweight, or obese, has now moved from a social nuisance and domestic embarrassment to an official disease. The American Heart Association has announced obesity is a major risk for heart disease.

Obesity itself has become a major and dangerous epidemic. More than 70% of US adults are overweight and that figure is rapidly increasing.

What do most people do to rid their body of unwanted fat? They diet! Dieting is now a trillion dollar industry and just about every month a new diet is announced. If you do have weight problems how do you find a diet that is safe, effective and sustainable?

What you do is try to find a diet that includes a variety of foods that you can live with
comfortably. You have to take a long-term view and include plenty of exercise. A good diet is one that supplies all of the essential vitamins and minerals, and is not high in fat or protein.

Research on people, who have successfully lost a lot of weight and kept it off long term, shows that the vast majority succeeded by consuming a low fat diet high in fibre coupled with strength training and cardiovascular activity.

Be wary of diets that:

1. Ban a specific food group
2. Promise a quick fix
3. Replace a balanced meal with a drink or a snack bar
4. Make recommendations based on single studies
5. Make recommendations to help sell a single product

Excess weight does not appear overnight and nor will it disappear overnight! In fact the faster you lose weight, the more likely you are to pile the pounds back on. Seek out a program that will help you maintain long-term body fat losses by providing attainable solutions such as a program that promotes lifestyle changes, healthy eating and regular exercise.

Regular exercise is important (i.e. strength training) as it burns fat, boosts your

metabolism and also increases your energy levels. Dietary changes can lead to initial
weight loss, but this is only for the short term. Exercise is essential for maintaining weight loss for the long term.

Now let’s take a closer look at what food is made up of and then you will have a good idea of what to look for in your daily eating plan. Firstly we need a wide range of nutrients to perform various functions for a healthy life.

These nutrients include carbohydrates, proteins and fat and are all present in the food we eat on a daily basis.

The foods containing these nutrients are cereals, legumes, nuts, vegetables, fruits, milk products and flesh foods (fish, meat and poultry).

We need all these nutrients to live and thrive and since we receive them through the food we eat, our food must be well balanced and in the proper proportions. Food is a fuel; the body requires this fuel for energy, which is measured in fats, carbohydrate and protein.

Each of these nutrients provides different amounts of energy and these are measured in calories.

Nutrient Calories per Gram

Carbohydrate 4
Protein 4
Fat 9

Let’s look at carbohydrates first, carbohydrates supply energy for our body, they provide fibre for the prevention of disease and taste and texture to food. They are found in cereals, potatoes, fruits and vegetables.

They come in two basic forms, simple and complex. Simple carbs are easily identified by their taste and are sweet. Complex carbs, such as potatoes are pleasant to the taste buds, but are not sweet.

They are then divided into two groups, high fibre and low fibre.

High-fibre foods are the healthiest choices for nutrition and the intake of these foods is associated with a lower incidence of cancer and diabetes. Carbohydrates supply the sort of calories easily burned during cardiovascular exercise.

They are often wrongly feared and considered fattening, but the most important factor in weight control is balancing the energy (calories) consumed.
Please remember:

Energy In is more than Energy Out = Weight gain
Energy In is equal to Energy Out = Weight maintenance
Energy In is less than Energy Out = Weight loss
Different foods affect the ability to exercise at different levels. High levels of exercise
(cardio and strength training) require carbohydrate as a fuel source; at lower levels it is fat.

A lack of carbohydrate in the diet will lead to fatigue, the inability to exercise
effectively, and excess fat consumption. When our food is digested, carbohydrates are broken down into simple sugars.

These sugars are absorbed by the body and used by the muscles or stored as glycogen in the muscles and liver. As our glycogen storage capacity is limited, carbohydrate needs to be continually topped up by the foods we eat.

But the body has an unlimited storage capacity for fat!

The average person is extremely vulnerable to fad diets and extreme dieting behaviours. The low carbohydrate diet is one of the latest eating plans to hit the streets. This current diet craze is very popular but there are safer and more effective methods based on scientific research, to reduce body fat levels.

Low carbohydrate dieting is simply wrong.

Why is this? Just as a car runs better on a certain fuel, so does the human body.
Unfortunately the latest low-carbohydrate fad diets are not the fuel mix the human body was designed to run on.

Carbohydrates contain 4 calories per gram, whereas fats contain 9 calories per gram. For weight loss, the priority is to decrease total calorie intake. Reducing the amount of fat in the diet will make the biggest difference in reducing total daily calorie intake and hence weight loss.

Carbohydrate intake is not fattening, excess calorie intake is fattening.

If you aren't having enough carbohydrates in your diet you will experience:

 Fatigue due to low blood sugar levels inadequate intake of vitamins and minerals
 Low fibre intake, which may affect bowel movements
 'Bad’ breath due to the breakdown products of fats (called ketones)

The bottom line for carbohydrates and weight loss is to:

 Try to balance carbohydrate intake with activity levels
 Maintain energy levels by eating carbohydrate rich foods on a regular basis
 Carbohydrate rich foods are normally low in fat and nutrient-rich

A real weight loss program includes all the food groups, strength training, and low-level aerobics, a slight decrease in your daily calorie levels and a program that can be followed for life.

In conclusion try to achieve a balanced diet, eating a balanced variety of foods will help you to feel great every day, ensure better long-term health and improve weight control.

For more muscle building articles please visit: http://www.build-your-body.net

Thanks and God Bless!
Lee Harris
Build-Your-Body.net

A Guide To Positive Imaging For Weight Loss

Have you ever imagined how visualization can play an important part in losing weight and maintaining a healthy lifestyle that keeps it off. Losing weight can be difficult for many people who use fad diets and pills to achieve their weight loss goals without letting their mind help in the process.

Visualization is a powerful technique that can help you make lasting lifestyle changes. Just by "day dreaming", you can significantly improve your chances in achieving your goals.

Visualization is a great weight loss tool and its as simple as visualizing your body as you want your body to look like. This mental image of yourself is then transferred to your subconscious mind, which in turn starts to work on your body, shaping it in accordance with your mental image thus reducing your weight.

This means that if you program your subconscious with a mental image of yourself as a slimmer person, through persistence your mind will accept this and aid your body to conform to this mental image.

Once your mind is programmed with the proper mental images, it will start to work in assisting you to losing weight. I can’t stress enough how important it is for you to believe in your visualization goals. You have to let go of past dieting failures and refuse to entertain any negative images that come into your mind.

If you can visualize your body at its perfect weight and proportions, the subconscious mind will work to make it become a reality. It will then begin to positively reinforce your body into aiding the metabolism and eating habits. Programming your mind into believing that you can lose weight, and to visualize yourself at your ideal weight is of the greatest importance.

Try to think of a different image of yourself, then let your subconscious do the work for you. If you think of your own body fat and being out of shape all the time, then the subconscious mind will find ways to make it so.

The subconscious looks after all of all your vital functions, it is the cause of all your good and bad habits, and also regulates muscle (the muscles are controlled by the subconscious) and body-fat composition on the body, and the latter is the one we are most interested in.

So please try to visualize your body as lean as you would like, and your mind will work on that image. The mind can be a great partner in losing weight.


Getting Rid of Bad Nutritional Habits

A bad habit is like second nature and is acquired over a long period of time. Bad habits are programmed into the subconscious and “will power” alone will not get rid of it. Many try using all sorts of different ways to break it but without success.

Obesity is the result of bad nutritional habits and some of the causes are boredom, stress, tension and different complexes. Food becomes the substitution for these causes and before too long, obesity sets in. Most people become concerned that they’re obese, eat more and a vicious cycle is established.

The only way for lasting permanent weight loss is to break these bad habits and replace them with positive new ones, and the only way to do this is with visualization. Visualization puts you in charge of your subconscious where all these bad programs are stored.

All the will power in the world is not going to break these bad habits unless one has the help of their subconscious.


Relaxation

Relaxation the best way to reach the sub-conscious and will slow down the mind, turn off the exterior world so as to tune in to one’s inner self. The best times for these sessions are in the morning and late at night right, just before going to sleep.

Try performing two sessions, one in the afternoon (primary) and the other before going to sleep (secondary) but once a day is quite sufficient. Sessions usually last 20 minutes, which isn’t time consuming especially when taking in the benefits received.

When you begin your relaxation sessions, make sure you won’t be disturbed - lock the door, take the phone off the hook and loosen all clothing. Now find a comfortable position, whether it is lying down or sitting in a comfortable chair.

Sitting may be preferable as you may fall asleep if you become too comfortable. You want to be conscious and not asleep in order to tap into your sub-conscious mind.

Try to exhale all the air from your lungs completely and then breathing in through the nose. Take ten seconds to fill the lungs with air (not to capacity, but comfortable) hold for ten seconds and then exhale slowly through the nose for another ten seconds.

Each one of these breathing cycles should last for 30 seconds, complete five cycles and after each cycle you will be feeling more and more relaxed.

If you are sitting, open your eyes and look straight ahead. If you are lying down, open your eyes and stare at the ceiling. After a few minutes, slowly close your eyes.

Having reaching this calm relaxed state start your visualizations. Put together images that power your emotions. Make them alive and colourful. Make the scenes as real as possible and imagine yourself as slim and toned the way you will look after successful weight loss.

Picture yourself ten weeks from now on the beach, walking briskly and confidently to your favourite spot, your breathing is normal and relaxed. You smile to yourself; you could keep walking like this for miles without feeling fatigued.

You lay your towel out and begin to take your clothes off revealing a firm, toned, well conditioned body. You have just bought a brand new swimming suit which just weeks before would have been lying in your closet waiting to be used.

Glancing around you notice the beach is busy, you catch the eye of someone of the opposite sex, they smile at you and you smile back. You walk confidently to the water and swim a couple of hundred yards with no problem or fatigue.

Or try this:

Visualize your family and friends complimenting you about how good your body looks and how slim you look. Try to view the scene as it is happening this instant - in the present, not in the future.

Using these visualizations you can construct in your mind any scene that desire. See yourself exercising, socializing, in the company of friends. Try and hear people complimenting you about your slim new body, and watch their admiring glances. Make the mental image as real as possible.

1. Remember set a goal for your ideal weight
2. You must want to lose weight
3. Visualize yourself at your ideal weight
4. Use positive images at every opportunity


Now that you are armed with this information practice these sessions on a daily basis and over a period of ten weeks you’ll be on your way to become a happier and leaner person.

For more muscle building articles please visit: http://www.build-your-body.net

Thanks and God Bless!

A Guide To Muscle Gain Visualization

Have you ever imagined how visualization can play an important part in gaining weight and maintaining a healthy lifestyle? Gaining muscle can be difficult for many people who don’t use their minds to help in the process.

Visualization is a powerful technique that can help you make lasting lifestyle changes. Just by "day dreaming", you can significantly improve your chances in achieving your goals.

Visualization is a great weight gain tool and its as simple as visualizing your body as you want your body to look like. This mental image of yourself is then transferred to your subconscious mind, which in turn starts to work on your body, shaping it in accordance with your mental image.

This means that if you program your subconscious with a mental image of yourself as a more muscular person, through persistence your mind will accept this and aid your body to conform to this mental image.

Once your mind is programmed with the proper mental images, it will start to work in assisting you to gain muscle. I can't stress enough how important it is for you to believe in your visualization goals. You have to let go of your past failures and refuse to entertain any negative images that come into your mind.

If you can visualize your body at its perfect proportions, the subconscious mind will work to make it become a reality. It will then begin to positively reinforce your body into aiding the metabolism and eating habits.

Programming your mind into believing that you can gain weight, and to visualize yourself with your perfect proportions is of the greatest importance.

Try to think of a different image of yourself, then let your subconscious do the work for you. If you think of your body as being out of shape all the time, then the subconscious mind will find ways to make it so.

The sub-conscious looks after all of all your vital functions, it is the cause of all your good and bad habits, and also regulates the muscles of the body (The muscles are controlled by the sub-conscious) and body-fat composition on the body.

Try to visualize your body as lean and as muscular as you would like, and your mind will work on that image. The mind can be a great partner in gaining muscle.

Relaxation

Relaxation the best way to reach the sub-conscious and will slow down the mind, turn off the exterior world so as to tune in to one's inner self. The best times for these sessions are in the morning and late at night right, just before going to sleep.

Perform two sessions, one in the afternoon (Primary) and the other before going to sleep (Secondary) but once a day is quite sufficient. Sessions usually last 20 minutes, which isn't time consuming especially when taking in the benefits received.

When you begin your relaxation sessions, make sure you won't be disturbed - lock the door, take the phone off the hook and loosen all clothing. Now find a comfortable position, whether it is lying down or sitting in a comfortable chair.

Sitting may be preferable as you may fall asleep if you become too comfortable. You want to be conscious and not asleep in order to tap into your sub-conscious mind.

Try to exhale all the air from your lungs completely and then breathing in through the nose. Take ten seconds to fill the lungs with air (not to capacity, but comfortable) hold for ten seconds and then exhale slowly through the nose for another ten seconds.

Each one of these breathing cycles should last for 30 seconds, complete five cycles and after each cycle you will be feeling more and more relaxed.

Having reaching this calm relaxed state, start your visualizations. Put together images that power your emotions. Make them alive and colourful. Make the scenes as real as possible and imagine yourself as muscular and toned as possible.

Picture yourself ten weeks from now on the beach, walking briskly and confidently to your favourite spot, your breathing is normal and relaxed. You smile to yourself; you could keep walking like this for miles without feeling fatigued.

You lay your towel out and begin to take your clothes off revealing a muscular, toned, well conditioned body. You have just bought a brand new swimming suit which just weeks before would have been lying in your closet waiting to be used.

Glancing around you notice the beach is busy, you catch the eye of someone of the opposite sex, they smile at you and you smile back. You walk confidently to the water and swim a couple of hundred yards with no problem or fatigue.

Or try this:

Visualize your family and friends complimenting you about how good your body looks. Try to view the scene as it is happening this instant - in the present, not in the future.

Using these visualizations you can construct in your mind any scene that desire. See yourself exercising, socializing, in the company of friends. Try and hear people complimenting you about your new muscular body, and watch their admiring glances. Make the mental image as real as possible.

1. Remember set a goal for your ideal weight.
2. You must want to gain weight.
3. Visualize yourself at your ideal weight.
4. Use positive images at every opportunity.

Now that you are armed with this information practice these sessions on a daily basis and over a period of ten weeks you’ll be on your way to become a happier, leaner and more muscular person.

For more articles please visit: http://www.build-your-body.net

Thanks and God Bless!

6 Simple Steps To Catapult Your Muscle Gains

What if I were to tell you that throughout the years there has been a growth of strength training techniques that have no scientific proof to back them up. Well there are hundreds of them, do yourself a favour, have a look at the facts presented in this outline of muscle gain principles and make up your own mind.

Below you will find the Scientific Guidelines for strength training that have always been around for a long time but not followed by many main stream training systems these days.

1. Limited Energy Level

A strength-training program should be short and simple as you only have a limited amount of energy per training session.

Scientific studies reveal that blood sugar levels (energy) start to deplete after 30 mins, so exercise selection and the time taken to perform them is crucial.

What you should be aiming for is stimulating as many muscle fibres in the shortest period of time available.

Your blood sugar levels deplete after high intensity training (usually between 20 - 30 minutes) and remember that you need energy to recuperate after the workout.

The trick is to give yourself a high intensity workout before your blood sugar level depletes, and then you will have given your body the exercise that it requires to gain the maximum amount of muscle possible.


2. Progressive Overload

Progressive Overload is the main exercise principle you need to be aware of in order to get the results that you're after with strength training.

The two most important points are:

 Complete your exercise with perfect technique
 Push to total failure when doing a set and overload the weight on the bar progressively. (Overload your targeted muscles to beyond what there used to)

Basically this means that when the body is stressed by high intensity training beyond its normal demands, the body will adapt to these new demands of improved strength.

When I say "normal demands," I mean what level of stress/strength your body is used to now.

An example: The set that you performed last week using the same technique and weight, your body will now have adapted to. If you stay at this level your muscles will not become stronger or bigger, so this is where the Progressive Overload plays a major part.

Once your muscles have adapted to a particular weight then it'll be time to overload them further (add more weight, speed, repetitions). You'll need to keep on repeating this process of overload if you want to become stronger.

Remember to always use ‘Good Technique’ Technique must never be sacrificed for extra load.


3. Training Frequency

The sad reality is that the popular high volume type of training that you find in bodybuilding books and magazines (and used by the stars) is irrelevant to the majority of the population and has a shocking failure rate.

What is good for Joe Star is probably not good for you. Everybody has different genetics; most of us have poor genetics and are not taking steroids like the stars.

The only way the majority of us can make any gains at all is to perform short intense workouts followed by long periods of rest so that we don't overtrain.


4. Over-Compensation

Many studies conducted around the world have shown clearly that recuperation from strength training requires far more rest time than previously thought.

Infrequent, short, high intensity weight training sessions, followed by the required amount of time to recover and become stronger is necessary for you to increase your functional muscle.

Here's what you need to do - allow your body enough recuperation time for over compensation to take place, so that the muscles can adjust to their new strength and growth.


5. Exercise selection for intensity

I can't stress enough of how exercise selection is absolutely crucial. There are only a few exercises that you really need to perform. These exercises consist of multi-joint movements.

These particular exercises are far superior to that of isolation exercises (working 1 muscle group at a time) because you are required to use more muscles from every muscle group.

By using these exercises your whole body will be worked hard.

6. Visualization

Over my 20 years in the industry, I've noticed that this area is by far the most neglected by mainstream health and fitness professionals...

Most books or courses concentrate on the physical side of muscle gain or fat loss and completely neglect the mental side of things.

By training your mental state as well as your physical body you can even further progress in muscle growth.


Now that you know these strength-training principles put them to the test straight away and stop wasting your time in the gym.

For more articles please visit: http://www.build-your-body.net

Thanks and God Bless!

4 Sure-Fire Tips For Effective Weight Loss

Are you just plain fed up because you haven't lost weight for a long time now on that latest fad diet, well please stop! Don't even think about trying another diet, because it will only produce the same results as you have already seen before.

Have a look at the four sure fire tips found below that are based on "Scientific Principles" that have always been around, but are not followed by the majority of weight loss programs you see these days.

So let’s have a look:

1. Increasing Your Metabolism

In order to produce Sustained, Permanent and Long-Term Weight Loss, it's imperative that you boost your metabolism. And the most effective way to raise your metabolism is to have a greater proportion of functional muscle on your body.

The only way to build this lean muscle so you can raise your metabolism is through "Strength Training". There's no other method that works wonders on the Metabolism like Strength Training.

By performing Strength Training, you'll effectively increase the amount of functional lean muscle on your body so that your metabolism will elevate.

After a Strength Training session your body will undergo a significant increase or "Spike" in Metabolism, which will allow you to burn much more fat then you were able to before.

2. It's All About Lean Muscle

"The amount of fat the body can burn is directly related to the more lean muscle your body can hold."

If your muscle system can sustain more energy and use this energy significantly when performing strength training, then it will be able to burn off the calories you eat and the excess fat on your body.

In other words, if your muscles become stronger and can hold more energy then you should be able to release this energy more efficiently to increase your metabolism, and to burn off excess calories that you have eaten.

Once we can build more lean muscle through our own strength, then our bodies will become more efficient at burning fat.

It's also the amount of lean muscle on your body that makes you look good Once you burn off the excess fat from your body, the lean muscle underneath your skin will be exposed making you look healthy, energetic, and well toned.

3. Decrease Your Daily Calories

For years now, we have been told to use dieting to rid the excess fat from our bodies.

The trouble with this concept is that the low calorie restricted diet would throw the body into starvation mode, with the body holding onto the fat and using precious muscle tissue for energy.

This would then lower the metabolism causing greater muscle loss and when the diet is broken the unwanted fat would not only return but actually increase because to the lowered metabolism.

The way around this is to cut your daily calorie intake by a small amount of calories only. This will stop any starvation mechanisms from clicking in. You can do this by making up a seven day eating plan and writing down every thing you eat for the week, and then work out the calories you have eaten with a calorie counter. Divide this figure by seven and you have your daily calorie value.

Decrease daily calorie value by a couple of hundred calories per day and no more. This will generate slow weight loss and the majority will be fat loss only. The daily calories should be consumed during the day with small frequent meals.

4. Fast Walking Burns Fat

All you need to do now is incorporate "Fast Walking" into your weight loss program to hasten the burning of excess fat.

Not only is fast walking better much easier on the hips, but it also produces a greater percentage of fat loss as opposed to jogging or running.

Here are some of the benefits of Fast Walking.

 Easy to Perform
 Most Conventional
 All Natural Body Movement
 Doesn't Cause Injuries
 Can Be Done Anywhere
 The Best Minimal Effort Exercise for Fat Loss

"I can't stress enough how Fast Walking is necessary in every weight loss program."


Your next step? To take what you have just learned and apply them to your weight daily weight loss regime.

For more articles and info go to: http://www.build-your-body.net

Thanks and God Bless!

Isolation Exercise Vs. Compound Exercise

There is one type of question that gets asked all of the time that shows that many people are missing the big picture regarding the benefits of strength training. This popular question usually goes something like this:
"What exercise can I do to isolate my _______ (insert your muscle of choice - abs, quads, biceps, triceps, etc)?"
It doesn't matter which muscle someone is asking about, they always seem to be asking how to 'isolate' it. My first response to this question is always - "Why in the world would you want to isolate it?"
The first thing to learn is that the body does not work well in muscle isolation. Rather, it works better in movements along a kinetic chain that is; large portions of the body assist other portions of the body in completing a complex movement. In fact, there really is no such thing as true muscle isolation. There is almost always a nearby muscle group that will assist in some way with whatever movement you are doing. However, this article compares attempting to 'isolate' body parts via single-joint exercises to the much more effective strategy of performing multi-joint complex movements.
When you attempt to 'isolate' muscles by performing single-joint exercises, you are actually creating a body that is non-functional and will be more prone to injury. Essentially, you are creating a body that is a compilation of body parts, instead of a powerful, functional unit that works together.
Now if you really want to end up hobbling around in a body bandaged up with joint problems, tendonitis, and excess body fat, then by all means, continue trying to 'isolate' body parts. On the other hand, if you would rather have a lean, muscular, injury-free, functional body that works as a complete powerful unit to perform complex movements (in athletics or even everyday tasks), then you need to shift your focus away from muscle isolation. Believe me, focusing on how well your body functions will give you the side effect of a body that looks even better than it would have if you focused on muscle isolation. For example, take a look at the physiques of any NFL running backs, wide receivers, or even world class sprinters. Trust me when I say that these guys pretty much NEVER train for muscle isolation (their strength coaches wouldn't be crazy enough to let them), yet they are absolutely ripped to shreds! Just look at guys like Maurice Green or Terrell Owens and tell me who wouldn't want a physique like those guys.
Another benefit to moving away from the 'muscle isolation' mindset to a more 'complex movement' mindset is that you will find it much easier to lose body fat. The reason is that by focusing more on multi-joint complex movements as opposed to single-joint muscle isolation, you not only burn a lot more calories during each workout, but you also increase your metabolic rate, and stimulate production of more fat burning and muscle building hormones like growth hormone and testosterone.
Let's look at an example. The machine leg extension is a single joint exercise that works mainly the quadriceps, can potentially cause knee joint instability in the long run, and doesn't even burn that many calories. On the other hand, exercises like squats, lunges, step-ups, and deadlifts are all multi-joint complex movements that work hundreds of muscles in the body (including the quadriceps) as a functional unit, create more stable and strong joints in the long run (when done properly), and also burn massive quantities of calories compared to the single-joint exercises.

For more articles and info go to: http://www.build-your-body.net

Thanks and God Bless!

The Right Way to Fail at Exercise

Did you know that most people fail at exercise? That isn't to say that we're doomed from the start, but that it's normal for many of us to abandon our fitness routines from time to time...sometimes for days and weeks, other times for months or years. The good news is that you're not alone and, even better, there's something you can do to make those fitness failures stepping stones to success. Your first step is figuring out what went wrong.

Why You Fail at Fitness
Planning your exercise schedule is great, isn't it? There's nothing like sitting down with your calendar and writing down all the workouts you'll do this week. Just thinking about it makes you feel good, doesn't it? But life has a way of getting in the way of those fitness goals. Maybe you have to work late or you catch a cold.
Maybe your child has soccer practice or you have unexpected guests. Whatever 'it' is, it will happen and, for many of us, that 'it' sends our exercise plans right out the window. You may recognize some of these other reasons you skip exercise:

1. Catching a cold, flu or other nasty bug
2. Pulled muscles, soreness or other injuries
3. Long work hours, busy schedules and social obligations
4. Life transitions like getting married, getting a new job, graduating or retiring
5. Having a baby
6. Feeling tired, low energy and not getting enough sleep
7. Burnout or overtraining
8. Boredom
9. Lack of results and confusion over how to reach goals
10. Travel

What's important to realize is this: you won't always be perfect at exercise and, even more important, you don't have to be. What you do want is to make your best effort and give yourself credit for what you achieve, even if it falls short of your original goal. To get yourself past those fitness failures, you have to stop the blame game and start taking some action. Join the Club!

Your first step in turning a failure around is to stop kicking yourself and realize you're not alone in this. We all skip workouts, eat more than we should and get off track from time to time. In fact, many of my successful personal training clients come to me in the middle of their own fitness failures, feeling guilty and frustrated.

Turn Your Failure Around
The truth is, you don't know whether something will work for you until you try it and that means risking failure. The good news is that, even if you do fail, you have just given yourself an opporunity to learn something about yourself as you find out where you went wrong and how you need to change what you're doing the next time around. These failures give you a chance to hone your technique, learn more about what you're trying to achieve and tweak your exercise routine until you get it right. You can't do that if you never try..

The problem is that we want to do everything right from the start, even if we've never done it before. But, you won't always get this exercise thing right the first time you try, so your only choice is to keep going despite your mistakes. If you find you've gotten out the habit of exercise, use these simple tips for getting back on track.

Get Back to Your Routine
No matter how long you've been away, your first step is to get back to some kind of exercise. Even the smallest exercise goal is a step in the right direction and can remind you of your commitment to getting healthy, losing weight, or whatever your goal might be. Start small and ease your way back into a regular routine, setting goals you know you can reach. Even if it's a 10-minute walk after dinner or before work, it's a signal to yourself that you want to stay active.

Be Prepared
Having everything you need to complete your workout is half the battle...getting started is often the hardest part of working out. If you have your clothes and gear ready to go, your workout planned, your bag packed and your snacks handy, you've taken away some of the reasons to skip your workout.

Be Flexible
Being prepared doesn't mean you'll never miss a workout.
But, you can increase your chances of getting some exercise in each day by being flexible. That means a willingness to change your plans as needed so that you can meet your other obligations while still moving your body. If you find you can't go to the gym because your boss asked you to work late, what could you do instead? Don't abandon exercise just because you can't get your planned workout in.

Stop Kicking Yourself
We all feel guilty when we mess up--skipping workouts, eating too much, etc. Guilt can be a great motivator, but it can also be a hindrance if you use it as an excuse to abandon your healthy lifestyle altogether. That 'why bother' attitude can keep you stuck in a self-defeating cycle so, instead of feeding on that guilt, use it to propel you forward. Realize that slipping back into old habits doesn't mean you're loser--we all need to go back to old behaviors to test them out, remember how it felt to be that sedentary person as opposed to the new, more active person we want to become.

Let Yourself Evolve
Don't be afraid to try a whole new approach to exercise. If you find yourself going back to old workouts again and again, even though they don't work in your current lifestyle, it's time to admit that workout program just doesn't work for you. Many of us approach exercise with ideas of what we should be doing rather than what we actually enjoy doing. Instead of forcing yourself into something you hate, why not allow yourself time to explore different options? Forget about what you should be doing, and find out what you want to be doing.

Forget Being Perfect
Making exercise a habit is a journey, not a destination. It's something you'll work on every day...some days you'll do everything right, other days you won't. Focus on what you can do today to reach your goals and stop reaching for perfection. You're human and are allowed to make mistakes.
The only difference between a person who fails at exercise and a person who succeeds comes down to never giving up. A successful exerciser isn't perfect but, rather, keeps trying despite mistakes and failures. The next time you slip up, skip the guilt and allow yourself to use that slip as a learning experience. Your mistakes have something to teach you, something that could be the key to your success.

For more articles and info go to: http://www.build-your-body.net


Thanks and God Bless!

Establishing GOALS!

1. Decide what you want to HAVE. What are your goals?
2. Decide what the necessary steps are, that you must DO to reach those goals.
3. Choose what you need to BE. What do you need to become in order to DO what is necessary to HAVE what you want?

If you are at all confused about this article, please re-read it, and again if necessary. You've really got to get this right so that you can succeed in anything you choose to do, including achieving any sort of success with your fitness goals.

Assuming you understand the concept I've just discussed, here are the ten most important steps of the 'HAVE' key:
1. Get out a note pad and pen. Let’s name the very top of the page Muscle and Fitness Goals.
2. Write the day and date just below the title.
3. Decide what your ultimate fitness goal is. When all is said and done, what is it that you really want to have out of your Muscle and Fitness regime? What is that end result that you're trying so hard to get? Write it down.
4. It's not enough to want just one thing, because you won't feel justified in doing something well if that's all there is to it. So let’s justify it.
Are there other benefits that you want your training program to achieve? This is the time to think. Just think about what you want.
For example, it could be to become more aerobically fit and lose weight, while increasing your lean muscle, increasing your confidence and building up your joints. Think of the benefits that you'd like to have as a result of your training routine, as well as the ultimate goal in '3' above. Write them down.
5. Take your time. Don't rush it. Just review what you've written so far. Is everything you want to 'HAVE' written in your note pad?
If so, great. If not, then continue to write your goals. Do this until you just can't think anymore, or until your head hurts.
6. Now just leave everything alone and go about your daily routine. Forget about what you've just written for a few days. Just give yourself a break. You can come back later on to your muscle and fitness Have key.
7. After a few days, I want you to look through what you've written. Some of you will only have a few lines done, while others may have written an essay. Either way is good. Just read it again.
8. Is there anything you'd like to add? If so, write it down. Any ideas that spring to mind write those down too. If you're satisfied with the end result - great.
9. Now it's time to re-write those goals. So move to a new page on your note pad and give it the same name again -- Muscle and Fitness Goals Refined. Then write the date just below that.
You need to shorten your goals so that they're specific and achievable by a certain time. At the same time they must have the essence of what you want to have achieved by the end of your training program. For example:
If one of your goals is to have lost weight. Then word it so that it's specific, time limited and has the essence of what you want to achieve. So you would write it like this:
"I am achieving a weight loss of 16lbs by January 25, 2007."
Or --
"I am increasing my arm size to 16 inches by January 25, 2007."
Get what I mean?
10. Now that you have written your goals, again, I want you to get a card. Let’s say 'Postcard' size. Again write the title: My Muscle and Fitness Goals and the date of starting your program.
Now write those specific goals onto your card. These are now ready to be a part of your training routine. Every time you're about to commence your training, just read those goals aloud.
As you do, see yourself perform those exercises. Feel your muscle work, your heart pump and how great it is to be achieving your goals.
I have got you to write your goals three times. Did you notice that?
Why?
Because I want you to --
* Establish those goals in you heart and in your mind.
* To be passionate about those goals that mean so much to you.
* To feel the benefits, as if you already have achieved your goals
* To see the benefits, as if you already have achieved them.
To conclude, follow these ten steps. Be patient. Be focused. And believe that this will help, even if you are doubtful. Where most people fail, is the point where they think negatively. As soon as you begin this negative thought process, you have damaged your chance of success on that occasion. If this happens, correct it immediately and continue.
Muscle and Fitness is the 'HAVE' key. There are still the 'BE' and 'DO' keys to go.

For more articles and info go to: http://www.build-your-body.net


Thanks and God Bless!