To help you shed those extra pounds—and keep them off—without starving yourself, ditching your social life, or eating only at odd times of the day, we talked to experienced nutritionists for real-world advice you can actually live with, day in and day out. We’ll tell you how to focus on the delicious foods you can add to your diet, why you should be eating more often (yes!), the fat loss benefits of more sleep, and how even taking a few deep breaths can put you on a successful path to weight loss.

Eat More Consciously

Forget diet denial: Try adding foods to your diet instead of subtracting them.

Add in healthy goodies you really love, like deep-red cherries, juicy grapes, or crunchy snow peas. Slip those favorite fruits into your bag lunch and breakfast cereal; add the veggies into soups, stews, and sauces.

A recent study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that paying attention while eating can aid weight loss efforts while distracted eating can lead to a long-term increase in food consumption.

Eat Spicy Foods

It can actually help you cut back on calories. That’s because the compound capsaicin, a compound found in jalapeno and cayenne peppers, may (slightly) increase your body’s release of stress hormones such as adrenaline, which can speed up your metabolism and your ability to burn calories. What’s more, eating hot peppers may help slow you down as you eat, since you’re less likely to wolfed ow that spicy plate o’spaghetti (and stay more mindful of when you’re full).

Lighten the Foods You Already Love

One of the easiest ways to cut back without feeling denied is to switch to lower-calorie versions of the foods you crave. A pizza tastes just as good with reduced-fat cheese, and when you garnish low-fat ice cream with your favorite toppers, who notices those missing calories?

And while you’re trimming fat calories, keep an eye on boosting fiber, suggests registered dietitian Elaine Magee, RD, MPH, author of Tell Me What to Eat If I Suffer From Heart Disease and Food Synergy.

Fiber helps you feel satisfied longer, so while you lighten family favorites, you can easily amp up the fiber by adding a cup of whole wheat flour to your pizza dough, or toss a handful of red bell peppers on the pie.

Don’t forget to lighten the drinks going with that meal. Try switching from high-calorie favorites to diet soda or light beer, or maybe add a spritz of seltzer to your wine.

Hate low-cal drinks? Mix your preferred drinks with a splash of the low-cal option, then increase the ratio as your taste buds adjust. And don’t forget to keep pouring that ultimate beverage, says Magee: water!

Size Matters

Eating less without feeling denied is as close as your dinnerware.

That’s because while a small portion served on a large plate can leave you craving more, a smaller plate gives the visual signal that you already have more.

“People go by physical cues,” when they eat, Grotto tells WebMD. We know we’ve had enough because we see the bottom of our bowl or plate. “A smaller plate full of food just feels more satisfying than a large plate with that same amount of food on it.”

And don’t forget smaller bowls, cups, and spoons. For example, try savoring a bowl of ice cream with a baby spoon. Not only does the pleasure last longer, but your body has time to register the food you’ve eaten.

Get Smaller Plates

According to Carolyn Brown, MS RD of Foodtrainers, the bigger your plate, the bigger your meal. Why? While smaller plates make food servings appear significantly larger, larger plates make food appear smaller, which can lead to overeating. In one study, campers who were given larger bowls served themselves and consumed 16 percent more cereal than those given smaller bowls. Swapping dinner for salad plates will help you eat more reasonable portions, which can help the pounds fly off your frame! To kick even more calories to the curb, use small red plates.

Use the Half-Plate Rule

Fill at least half of your lunch and dinner plate with vegetables. Vegetables are nutrient-dense, high in satiating fiber, and low in calories, making then ideal weight loss tools, says registered dietitian Danielle Omar. “By eating the veggie half of your plate before anything else, you will take the edge off your hunger, eat less overall calories, and still feel full and satisfied. Keep eating this way and the pounds will painlessly melt away.”

Make Dinner a Buffet

When you place heaping bowls of food on the table, over-eating is inevitable. Don’t believe it? A study in the journal Obesity found that when food is served family-style, people consume 35 percent more over the course of their meal. Instead, keep food on the stove or counter and spoon it out onto plates from there. When going back for seconds requires leaving the table, people tend consider their hunger levels more carefully. And serving healthier dishes can, of course, help too.

Don’t Sleep With The Tv On

Exposure to light at night doesn’t just interrupt your chances of a great night’s sleep, it may also result in weight gain, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology. As crazy as it may seem, study subjects who slept in the darkest rooms were 21 percent less likely to be obese than those sleeping in the lightest rooms. The takeaway here is a simple one: Turn off the TV and toss your nightlight.

Go Walking

Walking when the weather’s nice is a super-easy way to keep fit, says Diane Virginias, a certified nursing assistant from New York. “I enjoy the seasons,” she says, adding that even when she’s short on time she’ll go out for a few minutes. “Even a five minute walk is a five minute walk.”

No sidewalks in your neighborhood? Try these tips for slipping in more steps:

• Trade your power mower for a push version.
• Park your car at the back of the lot.
• Get out of the office building and enjoy walking meetings.
• Sweep the drive or rake the leaves instead of using a leaf-blower.
• Get off the bus a few stops earlier.
• Hike the mall, being sure to hit all the levels.
• Take the stairs every chance you get.
• Sign up for charity walks.
• Crank the music and get your heart rate up the next time you mop or vacuum.

It all adds up. If you walk twice a day for 10 minutes and try a few of these tips, you may find yourself with a low-impact, 30-minute workout easily tucked under your belt.

Beware Of Health Halos

Do you consider products from specialty supermarkets to be healthier than those from other grocery stores? Or do you think that dishes from organic restaurants are all waistline friendly? If you answered yes to either of these questions, you could be derailing your weight loss efforts. When people guess the number of calories in a sandwich coming from a “healthy” restaurant, they estimate that it has, on average, 35 percent fewer calories than they do when it comes from an “unhealthy” restaurant, according to a study in the Journal of Consumer Research. Remember that the next time you reach for that package of Whole Foods’ Organic Fruit & Nut Granola. One cup of this “healthy” product contains almost 500 calories.

Rise & Shine

Rise and shine, sleeping beauty! You’re already a stunner–you don’t need extra beauty sleep–and the extra hours can make it difficult to get rid of that fat belly. According to researchers, late sleepers—those who wake up around 10:45 a.m.—consume 248 more calories a day, half as many fruits and vegetables and twice the amount fast food than those who set their alarm earlier. If these findings sound troubling but you’re so not a morning person, set your alarm clock 15 minutes earlier each day until you’re getting out of bed at a more reasonable hour.

Let In the Cold

Simply blasting the air conditioner or turning down the heat in winter may help attack belly fat while we sleep, according to a study published in the journal Diabetes. How? Colder temperatures subtly enhance the effectiveness of our stores of brown fat—fat keeps you warm by helping you burn through the fat stored in your belly. Participants spent a few weeks sleeping in bedrooms with varying

Temperatures: a neutral 75 degrees, a cool 66 degrees, and a balmy 81 degrees. After four weeks of sleeping at 66 degrees, the subjects had almost doubled their volumes of brown fat.

Tap Into Your Emotions

In a 2015 Orlando Health survey of more than a thousand respondents, the majority cited their inability to stay consistent with a diet or exercise plan as their primary barriers to weight loss success. Sounds normal, but here’s the kicker: Only 1 in 10 of the survey respondents noted their psychological well-being as part of the equation—and it’s likely why nearly two out of three people who lose five percent of their total weight gain it all back. Yikes! To unlock the door to weight loss success and stop emotional eating, try keeping a journal that tracks your food choices and current mood. Then look for unhealthy patterns, which can help you recognize specific emotional connections you have with food. Once you’re more aware of these connections, it will be easier to adopt healthier eating patterns. Do you always reach for something sugary when you’re stressed or devour fries when you’re sad? Instead, try more productive ways to cope, like going for a quick 5-minute walk or texting a friend.

Delay Your Drink

Dining out can kill your hard earned weight loss wins—and so can boozing too hard. To stay on track with your better-body goals, kill two birds with one stone by ordering your glass of wine or cocktail near the end of your meal. That way, the sweetness can go with dinner, but also act as a low-cal dessert.

Go For Full-Fat

A new report from the Credit Suisse Research Institute found that more and more of us are choosing whole-fat foods over skim, lite, fat-free or other modern monikers of leanness. And while many health organizations like the American Heart Association still want us to cut down on fat—particularly saturated fat—this full-fat trend may be a healthy rebellion against those decades-old credos, according to recent studies. In fact, people who eat a lot of high-fat dairy products actually have the lowest incidence of diabetes, according to a 2015 study of 26,930 people in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Those who ate a lot of low-fat dairy products, on the other hand, had the highest incidence. So what’s the best way to join the full-fat revolution? Eat This, Not That! polled some of the country’s top nutrition experts and asked for their favorite full-fat fat burners.

Go To Bed Early

Looking for the easiest possible way to lose weight? Grab your pjs early and log some extra Zzz’s! According to researchers, getting eight and a half hours of shut-eye each night can drop cravings for junk food a whopping 62 percent and decrease overall appetite by 14 percent! Mayo Clinic researchers note similar findings: In their study, adults who slept an hour and twenty minutes less than a control group consumed an average of 549 additional calories daily. That’s more calories than you’ll find in a Big Mac!

Open the Blinds

Instead of dragging yourself through the dark to the coffee pot when your alarm goes off, open all the blinds! Studies show that people who get direct exposure to sunlight in the mornings between 8 am and noon reduce their risk of weight gain, regardless of how much they eat. Researchers think it’s because the morning sun helps to synchronize your metabolism so you burn fat more efficiently.

Use Self Check Out

Is your obsession with Reese’s and Pringles derailing your weight loss efforts? It might be if you’re not using the self-checkout kiosks at the grocery store. Let us explain: According to a study by IHL Consulting Group, impulse purchases dipped 32.1 percent for women—and 16.7 percent for men—when they were the ones to scan their items and swipe their credit card. Although not all impulse buys are bad for your belly, a whopping 80 percent of candy and 61 percent of salty-snack purchases are unplanned.

Dim the Lights

Have trouble eating reasonable-sized portions? Try dimming the lights and cueing up some soft music. According to a study published in Psychological Reports, soft lighting and music leads noshers to eat less and enjoy their food more. That’s what we call a win-win.

Know Your Limits with Salt

When it comes by buying snacks, a “low sodium” product has to be 140mg or less per serving — so if you’re REALLY in a bind, you can follow that guideline for what to put in your card.

Lose It Today, Keep It Off Tomorrow

Finally, be patient. While cultivating that virtue isn’t exactly painless, it may help to know that keeping weight off generally gets easier over time.

That’s the result of a study published in Obesity Research, where researchers found that for people who had lost at least 30 pounds — and kept it off for at least two years — maintaining that weight loss required less effort as time went on.

So if you crave the results reported by successful “losers” like these — improved self-confidence, a boost in mood, and better health — cultivate patience. You may find your way to sweet (and nearly painless) weight loss success.

The post The Complete List of Weight Loss Tips appeared first on Fitness Dreaming.

Eating less and moving more are the basics of weight loss that lasts. For some people, weight loss pills may help.

You’ll still need to focus on diet and exercise while taking these pills, and they’re not for everyone.

Who Can Benefit From Weight Loss Pills?

Weight loss pills aren’t for everyone. According to guidelines released by the Endocrine Society in January 2015, these pharmaceuticals are appropriate only for people who qualify as obese, meaning they have a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher. Pills might also be helpful for people who are merely overweight (with a BMI of 27 or higher) but who also have health conditions brought on by their extra pounds, such as high blood pressure or heart disease.

The benefit of these medications is that they help move weight loss along more quickly than diet and exercise alone, thus encouraging patients to stick to their lifestyle changes, Jin said.

“It’s a good mental effect,” she said.

Patients who are prescribed these pills are monitored closely. If they don’t lose at least 5 percent of their body weight after three months of use, they should discontinue using the pills, according to the Endocrine Society. Weight loss benefits continue only as long as the pills are taken, so users also need to develop healthy habits.

“Because all medications inherently have more risks than diet and exercise do, pharmacologic therapy should be used only in patients in whom the benefit justifies the risk,” the society concluded.

Weight Loss Pills

Garcinia Cambogia Extract

Garcinia cambogia became popular worldwide after being featured on the Dr. Oz show in 2012.

It is a small, green fruit, shaped like a pumpkin.

The skin of the fruit contains hydroxycitric acid (HCA). This is the active ingredient in garcinia cambogia extract, which is marketed as a diet pill.

Hydroxycut

Hydroxycut has been around for more than a decade, and is currently one of the most popular weight loss supplements in the world.

There are several different types, but the most common one is simply called “Hydroxycut.”

Caffeine

Caffeine is the most commonly consumed psychoactive substance in the world (6).

It is found naturally in coffee, green tea and dark chocolate, and added to many processed foods and beverages.

Caffeine is a well known metabolism booster, and is often added to commercial weight loss supplements.

Orlistat (Alli)

Orlistat is a pharmaceutical drug, sold over-the-counter under the name Alli, and under prescription as Xenical.

Raspberry Ketones

Raspberry ketone is a substance found in raspberries, which is responsible for their distinct smell.

A synthetic version of raspberry ketones is sold as a weight loss supplement.

Green Coffee Bean Extract

Green coffee beans are simply normal coffee beans that haven’t been roasted.

They contain two substances believed to help with weight loss, caffeine and chlorogenic acid.

Glucomannan

Glucomannan is a type of fiber found in the roots of the elephant yam, also called konjac.

Meratrim

Meratrim is a relative newcomer on the diet pill market.

It is a combination of two plant extracts that may change the metabolism of fat cells.

Green Tea Extract

Green tea extract is a popular ingredient in many weight loss supplements.

This is because numerous studies have shown the main antioxidant in it, EGCG, to aid fat burning.

Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA)

Conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA, has been a popular fat loss supplement for years.

It is one of the “healthier” trans fats, and is found naturally in some fatty animal foods like cheese and butter.

Forskolin

Forskolin is an extract from a plant in the mint family, claimed to be effective for losing weight.

Bitter Orange / Synephrine

A type of orange called bitter orange contains the compound synephrine.

Synephrine is related to ephedrine, which used to be a popular ingredient in various weight loss pill formulations.

However, ephedrine has since been banned as a weight loss ingredient by the FDA because of serious side effects.

The post List of Most Popular Weight Loss Pills appeared first on Fitness Dreaming.

What you eat, how you exercise, the amount of sleep you get, and what you supplement all play a role in building muscle. Just keep in mind, supplements are nowhere near as important as diet, exercise, and sleep. Those three are your foundation. Without supplements, you’ll still build plenty of muscle, assuming your exercise routine is consistent, your diet is healthy and contains enough protein, and you get enough quality sleep. Supplements are just the icing on the cake. They’ll help you push yourself a little harder.

Beta-Alanine

This is a naturally occurring non-essential amino acid that comes into the body through foods that are rich in protein such as poultry. The performance enhancement in beta-alanine (BA) is due to its ability to increase intra-muscular levels of carnosine. This increase in beta-alanine through supplementation suggests carnosine levels are raised by over 60% in as quickly as four weeks.

Beta-Ecdysterone

Beta-ecdysterone is a phytochemical found in plants such as spinach, where its main function is to protect the plant from insects. Russian scientists discovered many years ago that beta-ecdysterone has anabolic properties. In fact, it’s similar in structure to hormones found in insects and crustaceans. Yet beta-ecdysterone doesn’t behave like a hormone in the body, but rather works by stimulating protein synthesis and therefore muscle growth. Anecdotal reports suggest that it’s very effective for producing increases in both muscle size and strength.

Branched-Chain Amino Acid (BCAA)

Another common supplement that weight trainers and bodybuilders turn to are branched-chained amino acids (BCAAs) to improve workout results. Of the 20 amino acids in the body, three are referred to as BCAAs: leucine, isoleucine, and valine. These are the key amino acids that stimulate protein synthesis and help regulate protein metabolism.

The body uses BCAAs to help muscles recover. Like a whey protein supplement, BCAAs drive nutrients to the muscle tissue, allowing for improved workout recovery. In the muscle, BCAAs serve as an energy source during exercise, so taking a supplement can help restore the same nutrients lost during intense exercise. This supplement also reduces pain from muscle fatigue and improves metabolic recovery.

Caffeine

It’s pick-me-up in your morning brew blocking the brain chemicals associated with sleep. It also causes your heart to beat faster, opens your airways, and increases muscle blood flow.

Research published in the “Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research” showed that taking caffeine before resistance training improves the total number of reps done and overall strength. It essentially gives you the oomph to train harder.

Creatine

Creatine is a naturally occurring substance within our muscle cells, primarily around the skeletal muscle tissue where approximately 95 percent of the body’s creatine supply can be found. The remainder is stored throughout the rest of the body.

This naturally occurring metabolite has been reproduced as creatine monohydrate for dietary supplement purposes. It’s used for cellular energy production and modulation.

Carnitine

Besides being a popular fat-loss supplement, carnitine is now known to enhance muscle growth through a number of mechanisms, all of which are supported by clinical research. For one, carnitine can increase blood flow to muscles, which means it provides similar benefits to NO boosters. It also increases testosterone levels postworkout and the amount of T receptors inside muscle cells, which allows more testosterone to stimulate more growth. In addition, carnitine supplements have been found to increase levels of IGF-1. Add all these benefits together and you have the potential to gain enormous amounts of muscle.

Casein Protein Powder

The other milk protein, casein, squeaks in just under whey. Casein has always played second fiddle due to its very slow digestion rate, yet this makes it ideal as a pre-bedtime snack because it prevents catabolism while you sleep by emptying slowly and steadily. Casein also makes you feel less full, which makes it a great snack for those who want to pack on muscle mass. And new research finds that casein gives whey a run for its money – when it’s taken postworkout, casein boosts muscle protein synthesis much like whey does. It’s even suggested that a whey and casein protein shake taken after training increases muscle growth better than either protein taken alone.

Energy Supplements

Getting more energy to train will obviously help you work harder in the gym, helping your muscles grow. The trouble is that plenty of energy supplements can leave you jitterier than the junkie Jesse Pinkman from “Breaking Bad.”

Energy supps can often also cause weight loss. To make sure your supplement regimen isn’t working against your brawn-building goals, you should stick to the supplements listed.

Fish Oil

This supplement has accrued a lot competition since people caught on to its benefits. Despite all the other competing supplements such as krill oil, chia oil, and flaxseeds, fish oil is still the top choice.

The unique fatty acid is rich in omega-3 vitamins, and helps strengthen your cells’ membranes, reduce inflammation, and increase blood flow to your brain. These are important recovery aids that will help you repair the damage done to your muscles when training. And the faster you can recover the faster you’ll be able to go hard again the next day.

Glutamine

Glutamine is touted for its ability to slow muscle-tissue breakdown during intensive exercise which may improve strength thresholds and elevated endurance. Those weight training will find that they can lift heavier weights for longer periods and train more often. Pushing the limits of the muscles inspires the body to produce greater lean muscle to compensate.

Growth Hormone Supplements

Your body naturally produces growth hormone, and, as the name implies, it’s responsible for cell growth and regeneration. It gradually declines with age, transforming your Zac Efron face into a George Clooney.

Without GH, you won’t build muscle. Supplementing with it does the same as testosterone boosters, increasing your levels to their highest natural peak.

High Molecular-Weight Carbs (Vitargo)

Molecular weight is a term that refers to the mass of one molecule of a substance. Therefore, high molecular-weight carbs (HMCs) are essentially made up of very large, heavy molecules. HMCs such as the patented Vitargo brand are typically made from waxy maize (corn) starch. What makes these carbs so special is their ability to rapidly pass through the stomach to the intestines where they can be absorbed and enter the blood. Research shows that HMCs pass through the stomach at a rate almost 100% faster than sports drinks. This is important after exercise because consuming carbs at this time blunts cortisol levels, prevents muscle breakdown and raises insulin levels to help promote muscle growth and replenish muscle glycogen levels.

Hormonal Supplements

Hormones are the 2 a.m. phone call, the hand-delivered letter, or the email marked urgent. They carry messages that demand your body take instant action. And supplements can gear these hormones toward gaining more muscle.

The two main hormones are testosterone and growth hormone. Yes, messing about with synthetic versions of these hormones is what got Ben Johnson and Arnie into hot water, but you can increase your levels to their highest natural concentrations without running the risk of handcuffs or a hospital visit.

Nitric Oxide Boosters

Nitric oxide (NO) is a molecule found throughout the body that’s involved in multiple processes. The one that bodybuilders are most interested in is its ability to dilate blood vessels, which allows more blood flow to the muscles for enhanced delivery of oxygen, nutrients, anabolic hormones and water (blood is mostly water). This gives you more energy during your workout, an enhanced muscle pump, and better muscle recovery and growth after the workout. NO boosters don’t provide NO, but rather the amino acid arginine, which is readily converted to NO in the body. Research has found that subjects who were given arginine increased muscle strength and growth and lost body fat.

Testosterone Boosters

Testosterone occurs naturally in your body and bumps up your muscle mass by improving muscle-protein synthesis.

Fortunately if you’re between the ages of 18 and 35, testosterone boosters probably won’t create too much difference because your body already produces enough of its own.

Even if you’re older, these supplements won’t put your testosterone levels through the roof, but they will put your body in a position to increase your testosterone to its highest natural levels.

Whey Protein

Your muscles break down during exercise and remodel when they repair. Research found that this remodeling process is accelerated by as much as 33 percent when people drink a whey protein shake directly after exercise. That’s not enough evidence to suggest protein shakes work better than salmon steaks—it only means that they can work just as well.

Shakes are a valuable asset if you aren’t a heartbeat away from your kitchen and are traveling home or going back to work. Your approach should be to drink a protein shake directly after training, then have a high-protein meal at least 60 minutes afterward.

ZMA

ZMA is a combination of zinc, magnesium aspartate and vitamin B6. It’s an important supplement because hard-training athletes such as bodybuilders are often deficient in these critical minerals, which are important for maintaining hormone levels and aiding sleep (essential for recovery). Intense training can compromise levels of testosterone and IGF-1. In fact, one study found that athletes who took ZMA significantly increased their levels of testosterone and IGF-1 during eight weeks of training, while those who took a placebo experienced a drop in both T and IGF-1. Naturally, boosting testosterone and IGF-1 can make huge impacts on muscle gains.

The post Complete List of Muscle Building Supplement appeared first on Fitness Dreaming.

There is often a lot of confusion about just what routine to follow when trying to build muscle. There are several options that people can choose from and just about all of them will work.

For anyone looking to pack on some serious muscle mass, one of the top priorities will be to determine what the best bodybuilding workout to follow is. There are a wide range of different workouts available, so choosing the one that will suit your needs best is important.

The real question is which one will work best for you and your starting point. Let’s cover the most common routines out there today and describe the category requirements so that you can make an informed decision on which program will suit you best.

It’s also essential that you understand which factors contribute the most to gaining lean muscle mass. A program that utilizes these principles will often fare better than one that doesn’t.

Let’s take a brief look at some of the more popular bodybuilding workout set-ups and identify the pros and cons of each.

Five Workouts That Build Muscle and Mass Fast

Workout 1

Barbell Chest Press: Do 4 sets of 6-8 reps

Then rest 2 minutes

Barbell Row: 4 sets, 8-10 reps

Rest 2 minutes

Decline Dumbbell Chest Press: 4 sets, 6-8 reps

Rest 2 minutes

Weighted Pullup: 4 sets, to failure

Rest 2 minutes

— Tim McComsey, R.D., N.A.S.M. trymfit.com

Workout 2

Do 10 Sets of 10 with 1 minute rest in between sets

Incline DB Bench Press with 75% of your max

10 Sets of 10 with 1 minute rest between sets

BB Bench Press with 75% of your max

10 Sets of 10 with 1 minute rest between sets

Machine Chest Flye with 75% of your max

— Christopher Power, A.C.E., B.F.S. cpowerfitness.com

Workout 3

Take 45-60 seconds rest between each set

Dumbbell Chest Press: Do 3-4 sets of 6-8 reps

Pullup: 3-4 sets, to failure

Barbell Squat: 3-4 sets, 6-8 reps

Barbell Shoulder Press: 3-4 sets, 6-8 reps

Dip: 4 sets, 8-10 reps

— Rob Smith, Fit –> Life

Workout 4

For this workout, perform each circuit three times. Then rest one minute in-between exercises. Make sure to rest two minutes in-between sets.

Circuit 1

Deadlift: 8 reps

Bench Press: 12 reps ***

Circuit 2

Barbell Reverse Lunge: 8 reps

Seated Close Grip Row: 12 reps

Circuit 3

Lat Pulldown: x 10 reps

Seated Barbell Shoulder Press: 10 reps

Circuit 4

Barbell Biceps Curl: 12 reps

Barbell Skull Crusher: x 12 reps ***

***complete as a dropset.

—  Jason Martuscello, C.S.C.S., A.C.S.M., N.S.C.A., I.S.S.N., FuelTheMovement

Workout 5

For this workout, complete three sets of each exercise with 60-90 seconds rest in-between sets.

Barbell Squat: 10 reps

Bench Press: 8 reps

Barbell Bentover Row: 8 reps

Barbell Overhead Press: 10 reps

Dumbbell Curl: 12 reps

Dumbbell Overhead Extension: 12 reps

—  Johnny Johnson, N.A.S.M., HUMANFITPROJECT

Best Muscle Building Workout Plan

The 5 X 5 Program

The five-by-five program is one that is quite popular among those who are looking to gain a high amount of strength and muscle mass.

Pros

One of the biggest advantages of this set-up is going to be an increased frequency of training. Since you will stimulate so many muscle fibers every other day, you will see a very high release of testosterone, promoting a good degree of muscle mass growth.

Cons

The drawback to this program is that it’s one that a beginner likely shouldn’t jump into as it will be intense and could lead to overtraining if you’re not careful. It’s best to have a 3-6 month lifting history behind you so you can be sure your body is ready for this stress load.

German Volume Training

The next higher volume muscle-building program is German Volume Training. This one is quite similar to the 5 x 5 program in that it too is going to call for a higher set number, but it differs in that it takes the rep ranges much higher to ten reps for each set.

Pros

For someone who has some training behind them, this type of workout can allow you to build muscle mass at an incredibly high pace provided you’re following a proper nutritional protocol with it as well.

Cons

Similar to the 5 x 5, if you’re planning on doing a lot of additional activity with this program – sports training, cardio, or otherwise, you may run into some problems. Typically you will need to reduce everything else you’re doing so the body can have enough time to recover and progress … be sure you factor this in as well.

The Fst-7 Training Program

The third type of volume training program that’s catching on rather rapidly is the FST-7 Training Program. This training program doesn’t specifically lay out all the exercises you need to perform in a given session nor does it specifically state that you must divide the body up into a certain protocol (upper body and lower body or chest/back, legs and shoulder for example), but rather gives you guidelines as to what you should be doing on the last exercise for each body part worked that session.

Pros

The pros to this program beside the obvious (better fascia health) are that it still allows for a great deal of flexibility on your part with overall structural design.

Cons

Potentially the one con you may see with this approach is, if you struggle with recovery, you may not be able to work out as frequently as you’re accustomed after performing this protocol. After time you will likely find that your body adapts, so try not to abandon the program too quickly if this is in fact what you find.

Upper/Lower Split Training

Moving on, the fourth type of workout to think about is an upper/lower body split. This set-up is typically performed on a two on, one off schedule and allows you to hit each muscle group twice per week.

Pros

The pro to this type of workout program is that it is a good option for beginners weight lifters looking to build mass. Since it still allows enough rest over the entire week and breaks the body up so each workout is slightly less stressful, it’s a good place to start.

Cons

Because this type of bodybuilding program is so versatile, there really aren’t a great deal of cons with it. You can change it around a great deal to meet whatever your individual needs are, making sure you get what you’re looking for from your workout program.

Full Body Workouts

Lastly we come to full-body workouts. The 5 x 5 program could also be considered a full-body workout program to a degree, since you work almost all the major muscle groups with the three exercises you choose. But, true full-body programs will provide one direct exercise for each muscle group – quads, hamstrings, chest, back and shoulders (arms are worked when doing chest and back).

Pros

One big pro of this program is again that it can be appropriate for a beginner, provided they use a lower total set number for each exercise and watch the volume.

Cons

One main con of the full-body workout program is that it’s not as good if you’re looking to specialize in a certain body part since you have to perform some exercises for each body part in the same session.

Keep these four different types of workouts in mind as you make the decision which will be the best bodybuilding workout program for you.

Keep in mind that you can and should switch programs after so long to keep experiencing results and avoid a plateau so don’t think that once you choose one program, it’s written in stone that’s the workout program you have to follow for a long period of time.

Some Tips to Building Muscle

Mass building, like fat loss, has to be done at the exclusion of everything else

A guy with 14-inch arms will sometimes ask me about a mass building program, but worry to death about his “six pack” (meth addicts have six packs, for the record), his cardio, his “game,” and about five other things. Once you get 16-18 inch arms, I’ll allow you to worry about all those other things.

You need to spend time under the bar

You have to find ways to load your body and move the weights for up to several minutes without releasing the load (putting the bar down or resting on a machine). This program is going to be based on this insight.

Eat

You are now going to stop worrying about every calorie as if you were a college cheerleader. On a mass-gaining program, you must eat. When I put on forty pounds in four months my freshman year in college, I used to eat some sandwiches before dinner so “I wouldn’t be so hungry during dinner.” Think Shark Week when you sit down to eat and warn the others at the table not to reach across your plate. Likewise, peri-workout nutrition is imperative.

You must master resting

I know there’s this urge to do this and that and this after every workout, but for a mass building program, you have to accept that cardio consists of changing channels with the remote. If you don’t sleep eight-plus hours a night, it’s going to impact your mass gains. Many famous bodybuilders have advocated the “muscle nap,” a long nap in the afternoon to simply gain muscle. Remember, you grow while you rest. Pick-up basketball games are not rest!

Bulking programs have very few movements

Well, let’s put it this way: Good bulking programs have few movements. When I had my most success with mass building, the number of movements I use is always around seven or eight, total. Learn to love them.

You need to get some reps in

Although people have gained amazing mass on lower reps (1-5), the load needed to gain mass on a low-rep program is difficult for most people (and mortals). So, until you can handle a 400-pound bench, a 500-pound squat, and a 600-pound deadlift, you’re going to need reps to bulk up. There’s something magical about mass gains around the 5-10 rep range and the last century of strength enthusiasts will bear this out, too.

Never do fewer than ten reps in the back squat

There are people that can ignore this advice (powerlifters mainly), but for the bulk of the population this is wise advice. Each and every time you load up the bar on your back, get ten reps in. It gives you your needed time under load and it seems to stimulate the whole body, along with the appetite!

Nail your rest periods

Few beginners know the answer to the question, “How long do you rest between sets?” The correct answer is, “It depends.” An advanced lifter might take a year to recover from a record lift while a new lifter is recharged and ready to go literally seconds after doing a machine movement. For mass building, think “around” three minutes for the squat and bench and 90 seconds for the other movements. Again, your mileage may vary.

Leave one or two in the tank

In nonlifter’s terms, always finish a set knowing you could have done a few more reps. We all love the images from Pumping Iron with all the forced reps, but for most guys who need mass, well, you just aren’t there yet. It’s better to get an additional set or two than it is to roast on exercise.

Pamper yourself (sort of)

This is definitely old school advice, but “save yourself” on a building program. Wear extra clothes so your body doesn’t have to use resources to stay warm. Park closer. Find shorter routes to everything. Sit more. Remember, this isn’t a lifetime plan but a short, focused, fiery attempt to gain mass.

The post Gym Workout Plan for Muscle Building appeared first on Fitness Dreaming.

Building muscle requires an increase in calories; that is, to gain weight you must eat more calories than you burn each day. But if you go overboard and eat too much, you’ll kick-start the fat-storing process. So the key is to eat just enough to facilitate the muscle-gaining process but not so much that you’ll add fat along with it.

Muscle Building Foods

Apples

The specific polyphenols in apples help to increase muscle strength and prevent muscle fatigue, allowing you to train harder for longer.

Beef

Beef is important for building lean muscle due to its protein content, cholesterol, zinc, B vitamins and iron content.

Beets

A good source of betaine, also known as trimethylglycine, this nutrient not only enhances liver and joint repair, but also has been shown in clinical research to increase muscle strength and power.

Brown Rice

A slow-digesting whole grain that provides you longer-lasting energy throughout the day, and during workouts. Brown rice also can help boost your growth hormone (GH) levels, which are critical for encouraging lean muscle growth, fat loss and strength gains.

Cantaloupe

Due to it’s relatively low fructose content, this melon is one of the few fruits that is actually a fast-digesting carb. That makes it a good carb to have first thing in the morning after a long night of fasting and one of the few good fruits to eat after workouts.

Cottage Cheese

Rich in casein protein, cottage cheese is a great go-to protein source, especially before bed.

Eggs

Eggs are known as the perfect protein, but their ability to boost lean muscle and strength gains isn’t due to just the protein alone. It gets a lot of help from the yolks, where the cholesterol is found.

Ezekial 4:9 Bread

Ezekiel bread is made from organic sprouted whole grains. Because it contains grains and legumes, the bread is a complete protein, which means it contains all nine of the amino acids your body can’t produce on its own – the ones needed for lean muscle growth.

Fruits and Vegetables

Fruits and vegetables are a rich source of antioxidants, which are essential for the healthy functioning of your immune system. They also provide tons of other nutrients, such as vitamin C, vitamin E, and beta-carotene. Finally, your body requires the fiber these fruits and vegetables provide to aid in proper digestion and nutrient uptake.

Greek Yogurt

Like plain yogurt, Greek yogurt starts from the same source: milk. Greek yogurt, however, has more protein (a whopping 20 g per cup) and fewer carbs (9 g per cup) than regular yogurt (16 g protein, 16 g carbs per cup).

Milk

Contains both whey and casein and is rich in the amino acid glutamine. Organic milk has about 70% more omega-3 fatty acids than conventional milk.

Oatmeal

Oatmeal is an great source of carbohydrates due to both its low glycemic index (GI) value and the fact it is minimally processed.

Skinless Chicken

Like beef, chicken is an excellent source of high quality protein, which is important for muscle maintenance and repair, bone health, and weight maintenance. And of course, there are so many ways you can cook and prepare chicken. Go down to the store and you can easily find chicken meat cut into single serving sizes that can be seasoned and quickly cooked.

Spinach

A good source of glutamine, the amino acid that is important for lean muscle growth.

Tuna and Other Fish

Fish are high in protein, low in fat, and rich in omega-3 fatty acids. The omega-3s are essential because they aid in fat loss and ensure the proper function of your body processes, such as your metabolism.

Quinoa

A complete protein in addition to being a slow-digesting carb, quinoa has been linked with an increase in insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) levels, an important factor associated with lean muscle and strength gains.

Wonka Pixy Stix

These contain dextrose, meaning this carb doesn’t even need to be digested – it literally goes straight into your bloodstream, getting those carbs straight to your muscles for the fastest recovery possible after workouts.

Wheat Germ

Rich in zinc, iron, selenium, potassium and B vitamins, high in fiber and protein, with a good amount of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), arginine and glutamine.

Whey Protein

There is a reason why whey protein supplements are the most popular supplement in the fitness industry: they provide a fast and convenient source of protein at an affordable price. Bodybuilders normally use them when they wake up, right after their workout, and mixed with some of their meals. For the rest of us, a scoop in our shakers right after our workouts can be very effective for muscle mass gains. It’s important that you still get high quality protein from whole foods, and use whey protein as a boost.

Whole Grains

Whole grains digest more efficiently and provide more nutrients than refined grains. This promotes sustained energy levels and overall health. In particular, brown rice can help boost your growth hormone levels, which are critical for encouraging lean muscle growth, fat loss, and strength gains.

Diet Plan Examples

These are examples of the types of diet plans you should follow when you want to build muscle without gaining fat.

Meal 1: 8 a.m.

10 egg whites

1¼ cups oatmeal (dry measure) or 11⁄2 raisin bagels

8 oz. orange juice or 1 cup mixed fruit

Meal Totals: 669 calories, 58 g protein, 93 g carbs, 7 g fat

Meal 2: 11 a.m.

8 oz. chicken breast

1 small to medium potato*

Meal Totals: 409 calories, 56 g protein, 37 g carbs, 3 g fat

Meal 3: 1 p.m.

Whey protein shake (2 scoops)

6-8 rice cakes*

Meal Totals: 450 calories, 48 g protein, 58 g carbs, 2 g fat

Meal 4 (post-workout): 3 p.m.

8 oz. turkey breast

2-3 cups cooked pasta or white rice*

1 whole-grain roll**

Meal Totals: 1,096 calories, 78 g protein, 177 g carbs, 4 g fat

Meal 5: 6 p.m.

8 oz. ground beef (95% lean)

1 slice low-fat cheese

2 slices whole-grain bread

1 piece fruit**

Meal Totals: 593 calories, 59 g protein, 57 g carbs, 13 g fa

Meal 6: 9 p.m.

Whey protein shake (2 scoops)

Meal Totals: 170 calories, 40 g protein, 2 g carbs, 0 g fat

Meal Totals: 669 calories, 58 g protein, 93 g carbs, 7 g fat

Daily Totals: 3,387 calories, 339 g protein, 424 g carbs, 29 g fat

* If you have a hard time staying lean, eat the smaller portion of carbs at this meal.

** Optional. If you start the plan and find you’re adding bodyfat, drop this menu item.

The post Muscle Building Diet Plan appeared first on Fitness Dreaming.

When it comes to the human body, nothing says strength and power quite like a pumped, muscular chest. But swollen, rock-hard pecs can be notoriously difficult to develop, particularly if you’re one of those ectomorph types who have trouble putting on weight. No matter your body type however, you can indeed build a sculpted, powerful chest with a well-designed chest workout protocol.

How do you train your chest efficiently for maximum growth? In this post I’ll explain you which mistakes you must avoid to build a bigger chest and the right method to increase your chest size.

Chest Exercises

Barbell Bench Press

You can generate the most power with barbell lifts, so the standard barbell bench allows you to move the most weight. It’s also an easier lift to control than pressing with heavy dumbbells. The exercise is easy to spot and relatively easy to learn (if not master), There are plenty of bench-press programs you can follow to increase your strength.

Flat Bench Dumbbell Press

With dumbbells, each side of your body must work independently, which recruits more stabilizer muscles; dumbbells are harder to control than a barbell. Dumbbells also allow for a longer range of motion than the barbell bench press, both at the bottom and top of the movement. Flat dumbbell presses allow you to hoist a fairly heavy weight, and they make for a good alternative if you’ve been stuck on the barbell bench for ages.

Low-Incline Barbell Bench Press

Many benches are fixed at a very steep angle, which requires a larger contribution from the front delts than the chest to move the weight. If possible, go for a less-steep incline to hit the upper pecs without as much stress on the delts. You can also easily do low-incline benches with an adjustable bench on the Smith machine.

Machine Decline Press

Some machines, like Hammer Strength, allow you to move each arm independently, which is a great feature on chest day. Besides doing a machine decline press straight on, you can sit sideways on the apparatus and press across your body one arm at a time, which delivers a completely different feel than when you sit straight-on.

Seated Machine Chest Press

Free-weight pressing moves on a flat bench are great, but the machine press has some unique benefits. For one, it’s easier to slow down the repetition, both in the concentric and eccentric phases. Stack-loaded machines are also great for quickly doing dropsets.

Incline Dumbbell Press

Dumbbell presses make everybody’s top 10 list, but with an adjustable bench you can do a number of things you can’t with a fixed bench. Our favorite: changing the angle of the incline from one set to the next, or from one workout to the next. Hitting a muscle from varying degrees of incline angles builds it more thoroughly.

Dips for Chest

First off, make sure you’re doing dips that emphasize the pecs: Put your feet up behind you, lean forward as far as possible, and allow your elbows to flare out as you dip. Chest dips are a great spotter-free alternative to the decline press.

Incline Bench Cable Fly

Not many single-joint exercises made the list, but this is one of our favorites. It’s an effective move to isolate the pecs after completing your multijoint exercises. Cables allow for continuous tension throughout the exercise’s full range of motion. If you’ve got a good chest pump going, nothing beats looking back at yourself in the mirror as you squeeze out a few more reps.

Incline Dumbbell Pull-Over

Forget flat-bench pull-overs; the incline version puts your chest fibers under tension for a longer range of motion! Just sit back against a bench inclined to about 45 degrees and make sure the dumbbell clears the top. Make sure you keep this a single-joint movement; don’t bend or extend at the elbows.

Pec-Deck Machine

Chest flyes are hard for many trainees to learn with dumbbells or cables because the arms need to be locked in a slightly bent position for the duration of the exercise. Luckily, the pec deck simplifies things because it allows you to work in only one pathway. So, this exercise is a great movement teacher, and you can go for a great pump without having to balance any weights.

Elevated Pushup

Holding a dumbbell in each hand, get into pushup position. Raise your legs behind you onto a bench. Keeping your abs braced and your body in a straight line, squeeze your shoulder blades together as you lower your body until your chest is an inch above the floor. Press back up three-quarters of the way, then lower into the next rep.

Top 7 Chest Building Mistakes

Overtraining

To the aesthetically minded, there are few things more important than a thick, rounded chest. As a result, many people’s routines involve training the chest with a higher volume, frequency or intensity than any other body part. More is not better; BETTER is better.

Excessive Shoulder Rotation

On Mondays, or “National Chest Training Day,” as some people call it, the bench presses and chest machines are typically filled with eager trainees. Because of this bum-rush to the bench press and improper technique, you will likely see a young guy spending more time rubbing his shoulder than under the barbell. A chest press seems like an easy movement to perform, but there are a few things you need to be aware of if you don’t want your shoulders to resemble a log after it’s been through a wood-chipper.

Too Much Bench Pressing

Unless you are training for maximum strength (particularly powerlifting), there isn’t a good reason to focus on bench pressing. To people focused on aesthetics, the bench press is just another chest exercise, and maybe not the greatest.

Neglecting Full Range of Motion

I don’t do a lot of isolation movements, but I have started to realize there can be benefits from things like cable crossovers even for a powerlifter. When I was bodybuilding, nothing seemed to set my chest on fire like a crossover. When I made the leap to the dark side and started strongman and powerlifting, I almost entirely cut out isolation movements and focused on heavy compound lifts. In powerlifting, the objective is to reduce the range of motion; that’s not the case for bodybuilding. Despite this, I regularly see guys limit their range of motion because they’re trying to work weights that are too heavy.

Compound First

The normal chest-enhancing protocol probably looks like this: your obligatory flat barbell presses, followed by an incline or decline hammer strength press, and then finished with a flye. This will work well for most people, most of the time. However, when I get a client who is tall, has narrow shoulders, and long arms, asking about his chest being outpaced by shoulder and arm development, I tend not to go that direction. If you aren’t most people, or if you desire chest specialization, the pre-exhaustion technique may be just what the trainer ordered!

Focusing On the Positive

This is another area where strength trainers differ from bodybuilders. Heavy, slow negatives aren’t usually considered the best thing for maximum strength gain, but they are wonderful for stimulating muscle growth. There is a reason nearly every bodybuilding program out there instructs you to take the eccentric portion of an exercise slowly.

Tips to Build a Bigger Chest

The key to increasing the size of your chest muscles is to eat more and get stronger. Build a foundation before you even think of adding isolation exercises.

Eat More

Your chest will never be big if you’re underweight. Check the minimum weights for your height. To gain weight: eat every 3 hours and focus on calorie dense foods.

Do Heavy Compounds

Free weight compound exercises like the Squat, Deadlift, Bench Press and Overhead Press are the fastest way to build overall strength & bulk. Do them often & heavy.

Train Your Legs

Squats & Deadlifts help chest growth by increasing the release of muscle building hormones like Testosterone and Growth Hormone. Get stronger at them. Read 5 reasons to train your legs.

Rest

Your muscles grow when they rest, not when you train them. Train your chest maximum 2x/week. Eat your calories so your chest gets the nutrients it needs to recover and grow bigger.

Lift Fast

Lifting fast recruits more muscle fibers and lets you use more weight, which stimulates chest growth. Lift as fast as you can on the way up with good technique. Way down under control but not slow.

Use Proper Technique

A partial bench press doesn’t work your chest through a full range of motion. Touch your shirt on the way down, lock your elbows at the top. Lower the weight if you have to.

Set Realistic Goals

Even if you train and eat exactly like your idol, you’ll never get the same muscle shape. Developing your muscles is training and diet. But the shape of your muscles is genetics.

Be Patient

Especially if you’re still a teen. Your body is still developing. You won’t get the chest development of a 30y old if you’re only 15. Build the foundation and be patient. Your chest will change as you get older.

The post Best Way to Build Chest Muscle with Chest Exercises appeared first on Fitness Dreaming.

Big chest muscles, 6-pack abs, big biceps & triceps. That’s what most people want. Here’s how to build bigger arms and increase biceps & triceps size.

Workout Basics

Train One or Two Times per Week

Many people think that working out every day builds bigger muscles, but muscle mass is actually built during resting days between workout sessions. Your muscles grow stronger as they recover between lifting sessions, enabling you to gradually lift more and more weight. If you don’t give your muscles time to rest, particularly your arm muscles, you risk overtraining them and delaying the results you want to achieve.

Train in 30-Minute Sessions

For the same reason, you should only train one or two times per week and each training session should only last about half an hour. Your arm muscles are easier to injure than other muscles in the body, and training for over half an hour per session greatly increases the risk that you’ll get hurt. Short, intense training sessions are your best bet for building arm mass.

Train As Hard As You Can

Lift the heaviest weights you are able to lift and make your training sessions as high-intensity as possible. Muscle-builders call this “training to failure,” because it means lifting weights that are heavy enough to cause you to “fail,” or be unable to complete the exercise after a few reps. As your arms grow stronger, and you find that the weight you’ve been lifting is no longer as difficult, add more weight.

Use Proper Form

Get the maximum benefit from your workouts and avoid injury by using the correct form when you lift weights.

Work Out Your Whole Body

It’s healthier to strengthen all of your muscles with compound exercises than to focus only on building arm mass. If you don’t work out your legs and core, you’ll end up with big arms and a lower body that isn’t as muscular.

Biceps

We all know that the biceps are the show muscle for your physique. When someone asks you to show your muscles, 9 times out of 10 you flex your biceps.

It is great to have well developed biceps, but make sure you don’t forget to train the rest of your muscles in the upper and lower arm with the same volume and intensity as you do your biceps.

Many beginners fall into that trap and create terrible imbalances in their arms. Even the great Arnold Schwarzenegger admits he trained his biceps harder and more often than his triceps in the beginning. This built an imbalance that took him years to balance back out.

Dumbbell Curl

Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and hold between a 5 to 25-pound dumbbells in each hand hanging in front of your hips with palms facing upward. Bend your left arm upward to a 90-degree angle so that your forearm is parallel to the floor, and hold it in place. Keep both elbows close to your ribs throughout the exercise. Curl your right hand upward toward your shoulder and then lower back down to the start position with 8 reps. Switch sides for another 8 reps and then curl both sides simultaneously for 8 reps of double curl.

Pull-ups

Pull-ups are popular in many fitness circles, and will target your back muscles, along with your biceps. They should be a shoe-in for any muscle-building workout.

Forearms

Forearm Plank

Get into a push-up position with forearms flat onto the floor and make sure your spine forms a straight line with your legs. Focus your weight to shift onto your forearms and toes with your elbows horizontally aligned beneath your shoulders. Hold for 20 seconds with a slow inhale through the nose and exhale out the mouth. Don’t press your tongue to the roof of your mouth. Rest with knees bent onto the floor for 20 seconds, then repeat 6 times.

Triceps

Chair Dips

Sit on the edge of your chair with your feet flat on the floor. Place your hands on either side of the front of the chair next to your thighs. Bend your elbows into a 90-degree angle and lower yourself to the floor with your feet firmly planted in place. Then lift your body by straightening your arms and raising yourself into start position for 8 repetitions (reps).

Hover Rotation

Lie down flat on your back. Move your arms back and lean on them with your palms facing down. Raise your hips up to form a straight line with your toes pointing slightly. Stay for 8 counts. Roll your body onto the side, resting your weight on the right arm and extend the left arm straight up to the ceiling. Maintain a straight line again with your hips vertical to the groups and hold for 8 counts. Roll back into double arm position with your body in a straight line and hold for 8 counts then roll onto your left arm to support your body, extend right arm into the air, and align hips vertical to the ground for 8 counts.

Triangle Push-Up

Move into a plank position with your hands flat on the floor beneath your chest. Spread your fingers and turn your hands in so that the index fingers and thumbs form a triangle without touching. Make sure the spine forms a straight line with the legs and spread feet shoulder width apart. Bend elbows into a 45-degree angle outward to the side as you lower your chest toward the floor. Press upward and repeat with 12 reps.

Tricep Extension

Hold between a 5- to 25-pound weight in your right hand with right leg leaned back into a staggered position. Lower into a lunge and keep knees bent in a 90-degree angle with left arm resting on your front thigh. Extend your right arm straight back and lower it back into a 90-degree angle with 12 reps. Repeat on the left side.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

The number 1 mistake is doing endless biceps curls & triceps extensions to build bigger arms. This works at the advanced level, but for beginners it’s inefficient and counterproductive.

Curls & Extensions

Beginners need compound exercises to build overall muscle mass, not isolation exercises. First big picture, then the details.

Overtraining Your Arms

Arms are small muscles which you hit on all exercises. You can’t train them 5x/week. Muscles grow when they rest.

Neglecting Other Muscles

This will get you out of proportion. Your arms will be too big compared to the rest of your body and you’ll look funny.

Not Eating Enough Food

You’ll never get 18″ biceps if you only weigh 120lbs at 6′. You must gain weight to build bigger arms.

The post The Best Way to Build Arm Muscle appeared first on Fitness Dreaming.

There’s a fine line between overtraining your legs and not training them hard enough. And not surprisingly, most of us fall into one of the two camps. First you have the guy who spends 45 minutes doing squats at the power rack before moving on to the rest of his hard-hitting, 90-minute quad workout. Then you have someone who thinks a sufficient lower-body routine consists of a machine-only session in which he hardly breaks a sweat.

“Most guys don’t realize that their leg training should probably be more middle of the road,” says Hollywood-based trainer Gunnar Peterson, CSCS. “They either try to do a pro bodybuilder workout once a week and end up hobbled like James Caan in Misery or do a leg extension/curl combo every three days and think they’ve trained legs. But you really should find a middle ground between the two so you train your legs with decent intensity twice a week.

Building Legs Muscle

Building thick, strong legs does not come easy. So how do guys like Branch Warren and Mustafa Mohammad build such huge, freaky legs? Guys like Branch and Mustafa already have incredible genes in the first place which contributes to their amazing leg growth – as do heavy training and various shocking methods.

Their workouts would often leave the average trainee dripping in a pile of sweat afterwards. Their levels of intensity have elevated them to the top in terms of leg development. On the other end of the spectrum, there are too many people who don’t even train legs in the first place. Then there are those who show up to a leg workout scared of putting that 200 lb bar on their back. When you show up to a leg workout, you should think of it as an opportunity for growth of your entire body – not as a reason for being scared.

Anatomy

Before we discuss the best way to build leg muscle, let’s look at their anatomy.

Upper Leg

The upper leg (thigh) is comprised of the quadriceps, the hamstrings, and the glutes as the main muscle groups

Quads

The quadriceps consists of the rectus femoris, the vastus lateralis, the vastus intermedius, and the vastus medialis. The quads are responsible for extending your leg, which is also known as adduction.

The vastus medialis is the teardrop muscle that bodybuilders develop quite well. It can be trained the best with unilateral (one-legged) exercises such as split squats and lunges and it also responds very well to squatting past parallel.

Hamstrings

The hamstrings, or biceps femoris, are the muscle group that makes up the back of your thighs. The hamstrings are responsible for flexing the leg, which is also known as abduction.

The hamstrings are comprised of a long and short head, very similar to the biceps. Most exercises that hit the hamstrings, except for leg curls, will hit the glutes (Gluteus Maximus and Minimus) as well.

The hamstrings can be trained in a variety of ways – including Snatch-Grip and Stiff-Legged Deadlifts, Leg Curls, and Glute-Ham Raises. Make sure that you train your hamstrings as much as you train your quadriceps to ensure a healthy balance of leg development.

Glutes

The glutes (Gluteus Maximus and Minimus) are activated in almost all leg exercises and are one the strongest muscle groups in the body. Developing your glutes will go a long way for increases in strength.

Lower Legs

Calves

The calves make up most of the lower leg and consist of the Gastrocnemius and Soleus. Standing calf raises target the Gastrocnemius and seated calf raises target the Soleus. Another item to note is that the Gastrocnemius is primarily fast-twitch while the Soleus is primarily slow-twitch.

I personally don’t train calves until late in the off-season but having a big set calves can be very impressive for a bodybuilder to say the least. If you do enough running and/or Plyometrics, however, you should be fine in terms of calf development.

Best Muscle-Building Leg Exercises

Squat (High and Low Bar)

Squats are king because they’re simply the most challenging leg movement you can do, especially when loaded appropriately. They work all the lower-body musculature (we’re counting glutes), and have been shown to spike muscle-building hormone release. In fact, we even know that squatting before doing curls has been shown to significantly improve arm strength!

Front Squat

Some individuals find that squats build their butts well, but they really need help building their quads. If that’s you, try front squats! By shifting the bar from the back to the front of the body, even just 6-8 inches, you change the relative amount of muscle loading that occurs. Front squats emphasize the quads over the glutes and hams, which means you’ll sacrifice some of the load.

Olympic Lifts: Snatch and Power Clean

Movements like snatches and power cleans take some serious dedication and technique to master, but they can be unrivaled when you are trying to improve jumping power or squat strength. In fact, one scientific study found a nearly 18-percent greater improvement in squat 1RM after following an Olympic-based program compared to a traditional powerlifting program.

Deadlift

Deadlifts and deadlift variations like sumo are considered whole-body exercises, specifically for the posterior chain, which includes the hamstrings and glutes. But there is quad activation in this movement as well, mainly observed in the sumo deadlift.

Bulgarian Split Squat

This one is deceptively difficult, partly because of balance and partly because you’re training one side at a time. The Bulgarian split squat is essentially a split squat, but your rear leg is elevated, which forces the front leg to pick up more of the workload. Try it on a Smith machine if you find it difficult to balance the weight.

Hack Squat

Machine exercises don’t rank high on our list, because they control the pathway for you, meaning stabilizing muscles take a back seat. In addition, the hormone boost they generate just doesn’t compare to their free-weight brethren. That’s one reason to do them later in your leg-training session, when your thighs are already fatigued.

Dumbbell Lunge

Like all the movements listed thus far, multijoint lunges require hip and knee extension, which gives you the stimulus for the thighs and glutes. They can be done standing in place, or stepping forward or backward—decide for yourself which subtle variation you prefer. You can also choose between a barbell and dumbbells.

Leg Press

For those of you hoping leg presses could replace squats in your leg workout, the divide between the two movements can’t be overstated. Because the leg press recruits less muscle mass than squats, it simply doesn’t generate the same degree of testosterone release.Nor is the body position here particularly functional, unless your log cabin collapses and your only way out is pushing the timber forward.

Romanian Deadlift

This upper hamstrings/glute exercise is unlike most others because you can really overload it. Plus, most hamstring routines focus on leg-curl movements, which center around the knee joint, but this one works from the hip joint. It’s vastly underutilized in most trainees’ workouts, another reason we believe it’s a good fit.

Machine Squat

For newcomers to squatting, the machine squat offers a degree of safety while learning the movement pattern. (Goblet squats are great for beginners as well.) Machine movements also work well when done later in your workout, when your legs are fried and you need an assist with balancing the weight. If you’re advanced and using this as your squat of choice, you’re probably not choosing the right version of the movement. You’ve been warned!

Build Leg Muscles Tips

Skip Cardio

Doing a lot of cardio exercise actually tends to make the legs thinner. The leg muscles get long and lean instead of large and bulky. Doing a lot of cardio also takes away from energy you could be focusing on weight training, which is the key to building leg muscles.

Train 2 to 3 Times a Week

Many people think that to build muscle you have to train every day, but that’s not the case. Muscles get stronger when they get small “breaks” in training, and get stronger when they build up again during REST days. So don’t exercise the same muscle groups two consecutive days. Rotate muscle groups so you’re training your arms, back, chest, and other areas on the days you aren’t working out your legs.

Work Out Hard

Make your leg workouts count. They shouldn’t last more than 30 minutes, but those 30 minutes shouldn’t feel comfortable. You want to go all in and maximize the workout, putting a lot of pressure on your muscles so that they break down and build back up stronger.

Do Explosive Reps

Each rep should be done explosively and with force, rather than slowly. Bodybuilders have found that working out explosively – quickly and with some force – helps muscles build up faster and bigger. Get through your reps as fast as possible. Time yourself to see how fast you do them, and work toward getting through your routine more quickly as the weeks pass.

Get Plenty of Rest between Workouts

Muscles get stronger during the time between workouts, when the fibers heal and strengthen. That’s why it’s mandatory to get plenty of sleep every night when you’re training heavily. On the days when you don’t work out, let yourself rest. Don’t go on a 10-mile hike or bike all day long – it’s okay to put your feet up and relax.

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When it comes to your body, knowledge is power. Literally. The better you understand your muscles and what they’re capable of, the more you can do with them, whether you’re acing a serve or turning heads at the pub.

But when there are about 650 muscles, and millions of individual fibers, to get intimate with, it’s more than a little daunting. So we’re going to keep it simple. Here’s the least you need to know to get the most from your muscles.

Resistance Training

If you start getting bigger, it is most likely because you are also eating more. You may put on a little lean mass, but it should not cause you to outgrow your pants. In fact, if you clearly know what foods are acceptable, watching your nutrition, and doing resistance training, you should be getting smaller and leaner.

Resistance training has some proven benefits:

• Improved muscle strength and tone
• Weight management
• Prevention and control of health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and arthritis
• Pain management
• Improved mobility and balance
• Improved posture
• Decreased risk of injury
• Increased bone density and strength
• Reduced body fat
• Boosted metabolism
• Improved sleep patterns
• Increased self-esteem
• Enhanced performance of everyday tasks

A Little Cardio Training

It is well known to those of us in the industry that excessive cardio (meaning more than 45 minutes steady state or 30 minutes of high intensity interval training) is too much for the average person.

After this amount of time, your body will start to become catabolic, which means it starts to eat muscle for fuel instead of food recently eaten and fat stores.

Strength Training Tips

Lift Weights for At Least 30 Minutes 3 Days A Week

You can use machines, free weights, TRX bands, weightlifting classes or a combination of these choices.

Take Breaks between Weightlifting Days

Do your weightlifting sessions every other day to give your muscles time to rebuild and strengthen.

Aim for Muscle Fatigue

The best results will happen when you push your muscles until they can no longer do the lift or exercise on the last step. You will tear and rebuild a leaner physique with this method.

Perform 1 Repetition Every 2 Seconds

This timing seems to be more effective than 1 rep every 4 seconds.

Rest for 1 Minute or Less between Sets

You can rest for longer between different exercises, but studies have shown that short rest times, especially with light weights, are better.

Drink Plenty of Water

You should aim for 16 oz. (0.47l) of water per every half an hour of a hard workout. Muscles that are hydrated perform better and you will get more out of your workout.

5 Nutrition Secrets For Gaining Lean Muscle Fast!

How Many Carbs Should You Eat?

Carbohydrates are the main source of fuel for our bodies… if you don’t consume enough, your body will break down muscle for amino acids it can convert into glucose. Glycogen is the stored form of Carbohydrates in the body, and under normal circumstances, the body can store about 400 grams at a time.

When Should You Eat Carbs?

The primary times to consume carbohydrates to take advantage of its protein sparing/anabolic capabilities is in the morning as soon as you wake up (because you haven’t eaten for at least 6-8 hours and cortisol levels are elevated) as well as post workout (high glycemic carbohydrates after exercise causes insulin to spike which pulls amino acids from the blood and delivers them to muscle tissue).

How Do You Make Use Of The Glycemic Index?

In general, lower GI foods are usually things like whole wheat bread, oatmeal, or anything else fibrous. High GI foods are usually those containing high amounts of sugar (regular soda, fruit juices, and fat-free yogurt, anything high in sugar). There is no evidence that sugar will make you fat (the concern is about total carbohydrates for the day and not necessarily glycemic index), but if you are trying to lose fat, the spike in insulin will prevent weight loss and the rush of sugar could cause you to “crash”.

Why Shouldn’t We Avoid Fats?

Most notable of the effects of healthy fats is reducing inflammation, increasing heart health, and lowering blood cholesterol. The fats you should be looking for are poly and mono-unsaturated fats, they are never solid at room temperature (ex: butter vs. olive oil). An easy way to up your dietary fats is to buy some peanut butter and eat your chicken breasts/ turkey sandwich with oil and vinegar for flavor.

In a study done in the Journal of Applied Physiology they found that serum levels of testosterone were elevated following exercise with subjects who consumed a diet that was relatively high in fat.

It is also well known that moderate amounts of fat while dieting for a contest are all a natural bodybuilder can do (outside of high intensity exercise of course) to make sure cortisol (a catabolic stress hormone) doesn’t completely evaporate testosterone. Just be wary of the fact that high amounts of saturated fats increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

So How Much Should We Eat?

If you’re a hard gainer, and you’ve tried eating like there’s no tomorrow but to no avail; you can easily increase your calorie intake by adding in more fats into your diet (remember, fat is 9 calories per gram as opposed to the 4 calories per gram of protein or carbs).

Conclusion

If you can follow these guidelines for your bodyweight, sleep 7-8 hours a night, and lift at a high intensity with a different workout every 2-3 weeks you should be able to put on muscle over time.

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One of the most frustrating elements of fitness is that it can be very difficult to gain a significant amount of muscle mass. We’re not talking about being a bodybuilder here, but 5-10lbs of new muscle would be a welcome addition to the physiques of most gym goers, at least on an aesthetic level.

5 Factors That Affect How Fast You Build Muscle

Training Age

Your training age is how long you’ve been lifting weights.  If you’re a newbie, you will be able to gain more muscle faster than if you’ve been lifting for many years.

Hormonal Profile

The amount of testosterone and other muscle building hormones in your body can vary because your lifting regimen does not help elicit a testosterone response (i.e. not lifting legs, or not lifting heavy enough), or your body simply doesn’t produce as much testosterone…which brings me to the next variable.

Genetics

There is a concept of a genetic bell curve, which I discussed in the maximum muscle potential article.  To summarize, some men are naturally inclined to build a lot of muscle because of factors such as hormonal balance, or the thickness of their frames whereas others have trouble building much muscle no matter how hard they try.  Most people of course by definition (roughly 68%) are genetically average.

Muscle Memory

If you are 180lb then you decided to train for a marathon, you may lose a solid 20lb of muscle. So how long will it take you to gain back those 20lb of muscle back? Answer: Not long at all. Maybe only a 1-2 months, because your body has a mechanism for restoring the previous homeostasis, which is often referred to as “muscle memory”.

Supplements

Heavy duty supplements like steroids, or other potentially harmful, performance enhancing substances that can help you build muscle much faster, but I’m assuming you are far too smart to do that!  Other less dangerous, but still potentially harmful substances like Creatine can aid in muscle growth as well.

Beginner’s Guide to Build Muscle Fast

• Lift heavy things, progressively lifting heavier things.
• Specifically include squats and deadlifts and compound movements – they target the muscle building triggers in your entire body.
• Read through our whole Strength 101 series.
• Sleep as much as you can.
• Eat more calories, especially on training days (with plenty of protein and carbs, and vegetables).
• Repeat month after month after month.
• When in doubt, eat more than you think.
• If you put on too much fat, cut back on calories/carbs on non-training days.

Top Tips to Gain Muscle

Training

You should be keeping whichever program you are doing to no more than 1 hour of duration. Be sure that you are focusing on keeping the intensity high rather than making the workout drag on.

Eating Habit

Your body is pre-programmed with your genetic disposition. And in your case, you have a very fast metabolism that digests and burns calories quickly. Focus on having 5-6 calorie-dense meals a day spaced 2-3 hours apart so that your body is constantly being provided with something to metabolize and build muscle.

Supplements

You have to understand, a supplement is exactly as the name implies…A SUPPLEMENT. It is not going to make or break your gains in the gym. The only supplements that we recommend are protein powder and perhaps some Gatorade after workouts.

Take It Easy

Learn to relax a bit more and try to limit activity outside of the gym as much as possible when outside of the gym so that your energy is put forth to good use.

Caloric Surplus

Most people think they are eating a lot and you just may be. But no matter what you are eating, if you are not gaining, you are not eating enough. Most times, you should re-evaluate your diet as well and focus on more calorie dense foods. But you need to eat more if you are not gaining.

Also, when changing your body composition, you will need to ‘force’ things a little bit. Your body doesn’t want to change and it doesn’t care to gain weight. You need to ‘coax’ it along and yes at times it may be a little uncomfortable.

Progression

As mentioned above, your workouts should really be under an hour if even that. But the main take home principle is to make sure you are progressing at a workout. It’s so simply yet so many people screw it up. They put in more volume and more until their workouts are at about 2 hours.

Repetition Range

I would suggest changing the rep range every 4-6 weeks to avoid plateaus. Changing the repetition range will make your body adapt to the new stress causing you to gain weight in the form of muscle.

Working Out to Gain Muscle

Start With Basic Strength Training

Most workouts for your major body parts should start with basic, multi-joint strength training exercises that allow you to lift more weight overall, such as the bench presses for chest, overhead presses for deltoids, barbell rows for back and squats for legs.

Go All In

Doing high-intensity workouts is the key to building muscle. Light workouts, even if they’re long, don’t go nearly as far to produce the right conditions for your muscles to break down and rebuild. Plan on doing 30-45 minute session 3-4 times per week (every other day).

Lift Explosively

Lift the weight quickly but lower slowly.

Use Proper Form

To develop precise technique, do every rep with good form. Beginners, strive to keep the rep target inside your strength capabilities. Find the right groove for each exercise. Don’t train to failure when you’re just starting out.

Alternate Muscle Groups

You don’t want to work out the same groups with every workout, or you’ll end up damaging your muscles. Rotate muscle groups so that each time you work out, you’re putting in an intense hour working on a different group.

Avoid Plateaus

If you do the same thing over and over each time you work out, you’re not going to make progress. You need to be adding weight, and when you plateau with the new weight, switching up your exercises.

Rest between Workouts

For someone with a fast metabolism, the rest period is almost as important as the workouts. Your body needs time to build muscle without burning a lot of calories doing other activities.

Develop the Mind-Muscle Connection

Research confirms that tuning in to the mind-muscle connection can optimize your results in the gym. Instead of focusing on your day, or the blonde next to you, strive to get into a muscle-building mindset to help increase gains.

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