Tag: Muscle Mass

Categories
Weight Loss Exercise

Effective Steps to Building Muscle



I found this article at Virtual trainer.com. There is a link at the bottom of the page for the site but I thought I would let you know about it here. These are sometimes obvious but great tips for building muscle.

When you think of building muscle you tend to think of huge freaky physiques that you see in the some of the muscle mags. The years and hours of hard work these men and women have put into training their bodies to achieve these types of results is inspirational. Maybe YOU also want build massive muscles, or maybe you want to increase muscle but without getting as muscular as that. You can! There are different stages of building muscle which is what I am going to talk about today.

Building Muscle for Toning

You can build muscle for muscle tone. Using lighter weights and more repetitions you can achieve a toned appearance without bulking up. If building Muscle for Body Shaping and Sculpting your weights will need to be slightly heavier for some body parts yet lighter for others. Being able to transform your current body type by using resistance or weight training is exciting and possible.

Body Building / BIG Muscle Mass

To create large amounts of muscle growth you need to damage the muscle to a certain extreme for your muscles to respond, repair and grow into strong, healthy muscles. Using heavy weights damages the muscle sufficiently to create this type of muscle damage.

Technorati Tags Related to this story , , .

Training to Build Muscle


This varies on your goals of what you want your body to look like. Using a program that is suited to your body type and goals is very important when trying to build muscle of any kind. Don’t expect to reach your goals by just turning up at a gym and messing around with a few weights and hoping for the best. If you want maximum results from your training program then you should get yourself a training program that will get you long-term effective results.

Eating to Build Muscle

This depends on what your goals are. If you are wanting to build huge muscles you will need to consume more calories. You will need a healthy eating program which includes all of the food groups. You will also need to make sure you have sufficient protein and carbohydrates to help you get through your training and for healthy repair of your muscles. If you were still wanting to build lean muscle and aren’t too keen on too much muscle size then you may want to reduce your calories and fat and arrange your diet to fit in with your fat burning training goals. If light toning and fat loss is what you are after then you will once again also need to carefully watch your calorie and fat intake, while still ensuring that your body gets sufficient nutrition. No matter what your training goals are never starve yourself. Regular meals through out the day are very important.

Starting Your Muscle Building Program

1. You don’t need a lot of equipment, even dumbbells on their own are great to start with.
2. Make sure you have a program to follow that suits your needs and gives you sufficient instructions on how to perform your exercises.
3. When performing your exercises keep your knees slightly bent, your back straight and your tummy firm, even when you are performing seated exercises you need to make sure you have good posture.
4. Don’t swing your weights about. If you are finding that you are swinging your body around to lift your weights then you should lower the weights until you are ready to advance.
5. Perform your exercises correctly. If, as I mentioned above, that you have to swing your body or your weights around then you are probably more likely to be giving your lower back a crappy workout rather than the body part you thought you were training. Don’t waste precious training time by not using good form while training.
6. Always keep a water bottle near by so have easy access to fluids while training. This will keep you from dehydrating.
7. Make sure you perform a warm up before training and cool down after wards. While your muscles are still warm, after your cool down, you may like to perform your stretches.
8. Sleep! You need to have sufficient sleep to ensure your body has time to repair itself and recover from your days training and general activities.
9. Organise your eating plan ahead of time so that you can have your meals on hand. This will help prevent you from consuming junk as well as keeping up with regular meal times.
10. Protein. You will need sufficient protein intake in your diet to help supplement your muscle development. Protein shakes are fantastic for this. For more info on this read my “article” on protein.

A few words before I go……
I hope this article has given you a better idea of what is involved in Building Muscle. You need to choose what you really want to gain from your training programs and then seek out a program that suits those goals. If you’re keen to get started on a training program that is suited to your body type and goals then feel free to visit my site: http://www.virtualfitnesstrainer.com

Happy Training!

Yours in fun, health and fitness
Mandy Gibbons
http://www.virtualfitnesstrainer.com

Persons who are of good health, suspect of their health or are aware of any conditions, physical deficiencies or diseases should always consult a physician before undertaking any eating or exercise program. Mandy Gibbons,Virtual Fitness Trainer, www.virtualfitnesstrainer.com.au and www.virtualfitnesstrainer.com disclaims any liability or loss in connection with the above program or advice given in this article

Related Blogs

  • Related Blogs on Body Parts
  • Related Blogs on Building Muscle
Categories
Weight Loss Exercise

Body Building At Home: Can It Be Done?


So can you do body building at home? That is, can you effectively work and build all of the necessary muscles to have a toned, sculpted and overall big muscular body without all of the specialized equipment that you will find at a gym?

Of course, you could set up a home gym with your own equipment and then there would be no problem following a routine for body building at home. But let’s assume that you do not and cannot have a fully equipped home gym. What are the bare essentials that you need for effective body building?

Unfortunately you are not going to be able to do body building at home successfully with no equipment at all. There is no way that you can hope to build serious muscle mass without some weights.

Dumbbells are cheap and easy to store in the smallest apartment or dorm room. If you really do not even have the money for those – for example if you are a teen with no job and a tiny allowance – then you could start out by using plastic water bottles, the kind that you can easily grip in the middle. However, you will soon want to move up in the weights, so plan on saving your allowance or asking for a set of dumbbells for your next birthday, Christmas or as a random gift from any family member who is feeling generous.

Hint: you will find that family members are much more likely to buy stuff for you if they can see that you are going to use it and get the value out of it. If you ask before you even start working out, they may say no automatically. If you ask after you have been working out regularly for a month, the answer may be very different.

The next thing that you will need is a flat/incline adjustable bench. This will cost you a little more and it takes up more storage space too but it greatly increases the number of exercises that you can do. The bottom line is that an adjustable bench is going to be essential if you plan on doing any serious body building at home.


Finally, a barbell with a set of barbell weights completes the basic equipment. You can manage with either dumbbells or a barbell, you do not strictly need both, but if you have the space and a few more dollars this can add variety to your workout.

Your workout can then include bench press exercises with and without weights, and the full range of dumbbell or barbell exercises (rows, curls, extensions and raises). Be sure to plan your routine so that you are covering different muscle groups each time. Do not work out every day but have two or three rest days in the week.

So how long will it take before you see results? It would be great if we could bulk up overnight, but that simply does not happen. Be patient, keep to your routine as you planned it for body building at home and you should start to see results in a couple of weeks.

Categories
Weight Loss Exercise

Beginner Bodybuilding Workouts: Setting Your Goals


There are plenty of beginner bodybuilding workouts available online but which is the best? The answer depends on your situation – not just your current state of body fitness, but what you want to achieve.

Most beginner bodybuilders are impatient to get started and skip the most important step – setting goals. As a result, they soon lose focus and motivation. The first burst of energy that starts us on the road to building a great body soon fades away, especially since most beginners quickly wear themselves thin by overtraining. If you do not have clear goals to keep up your motivation at this point, you can easily lose your way.

So take some time right now to write down your goals. Like any goals that you might set in work or life, your goals in bodybuilding should be S.M.A.R.T. – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely. Let’s look at what each of these means in terms of bodybuilding workouts.

1. Specific

A specific goal is one that clearly says what you want to accomplish, along with how, when and where you will do it. ‘Get a great body’ is not a specific goal. ‘Go to the gym 4 days a week after work and train to build muscle mass’ is a more specific goal.

Even better, say exactly which muscles you will work on which days, and note down your routine. The routine for your bodybuilding workouts will change as you make progress but the overall goal of going to the gym 4 days a week to build muscle mass will remain the same.


2. Measurable

When you are working toward goals, it is very important to have some way to measure your progress.

If your goal is going to the gym for bodybuilding workouts 4 days a week, you can easily track that in a diary. But with a goal like ‘get a great body’, there is nothing to measure. So if you want to set goals in terms of the physical result, do it in terms of inches gained or weight that you can lift.

3. Attainable

It is important to know when you have reached your goal. That way you can plan a reward or celebration, have a sense of achievement and start thinking about your next bodybuilding workouts goal.

This means that the goal itself, as well as your progress toward it, must be something that you can measure and know whether or not you have achieved. So your goal is to go to the gym 4 days a week – but for how long? The rest of your life? If you think that way, you will never be able to congratulate yourself on having achieved the goal. A month would be good for a beginner. Then set a new goal.

4. Realistic

Your goal needs to be something that it is possible for you to attain in a reasonable period of time. Remember that goals can change. You do not need to start out with the goal of winning the Mr. Universe contest. If contests are your thing, start with winning your division in a local contest. However, if you believe you can win Mr. Universe, then go for that. It is all a matter of believing you can do it.

5. Timely

Whatever type of goal you set, it is good to give it a timeframe. Are you going for this year’s contest, next year’s or two years from now? Be specific about how much time you have to achieve your goal, and you will be set for success in any of the beginner bodybuilding workouts that you choose.

Related Blogs