Monday Muscle - Muscle Memory, Going Back to Muscle Building

Some people can't do something without motivation. Most first time gym goers quit because of fatigue, laziness, time constraints, injury, or some other silly excuse. Stop dreaming of a super soldier serum.

Use motivational images

Captain America is a just a comic book super hero. It's not impossible but we're far from that kind of technology.

Don't worry. I quit several times since I was teenager. The important thing is the willingness to keep coming back.

Some, people can't take the challenge of lifting weights for self-improvement. They grow big for a few months and then stop. Most never go back to the gym but there are a brave few who decide to go back.

And that, is the purpose of this topic. One should never fear going back to the gym to get bigger and do the same thing in the same amount of time over and over again. This, my friend, is something you don't need to experience because of muscle memory.

So what exactly is muscle memory? Muscle memory is man's retention in the memory of movement stored trough repetitive motor tasks. Muscles become accustomed to certain type of movement. It's when you try something like riding a bike for the first time and then learn from a series of trial and error. And then, after a few years of not riding a bike, you try using one, and then you don't fall. It's because your mind still knows exactly how to balance your body in a bike.

So when exactly muscle memory helpful for us bodybuilders?

Remember the rule that progress is needed to gain bigger muscles? Muscle memory is very helpful for people who quit bodybuilding but decided to bulk-up again. Muscle memory allows bodybuilders to immediately return to their old physique faster than when they first tried.

Muscle memory let's you lift weights easier too. When the body does the same thing over and over, like doing squats, dead-lifts and other exercises, the body automatically adjusts to the act. Doing it feels like you don't need to think about proper form anymore. The act becomes second nature to your body. This means you can lift more weight. More weight means bigger muscles!

I've had my share of quitting too.

The important thing is not quitting

I already gave all kinds of excuses. I've already quit several times since my teenage years. But I kept coming back. And every time I came back I became better and better. This should be the same to most people who have already quit. It's never too late to start building muscles again. You never know what would happen next. You might be the next Mr. Olympia. You might become a fitness coach. You might even be the next boyfriend of your dream girl. Or you can just be a better person and feel good about yourself.

Just take one step further. All it takes is that courage to try something again. This time, things are easier than your first.

It's because of muscle memory.

Remember that!




Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Elnel_Andrew_Nagoy_Roque/1119156

Monday Muscle - Simple Ways To Overcome Muscle Building Plateaus

When there is a thing which is going to be the single most disheartening issue which you will deal with in your fitness career, muscle building plateaus are it. Things are all going great - you are working hard, making huge strength gains, and appearing more muscular each day. You feel just as if you are on top of the planet. And then, almost everything stops. You no longer are generating the gains you used to as well as you have even began to lose weight rather than gain weight.

Building muscle is more than just lifting weights

When this describes your position, then congratulations, you have just came into the muscle building plateau. This is something which happens from time to time in any fitness program unless you are especially performing things to avoid it and luckily, can be beat with a bit of careful planning. Unfortunately though, many people get stuck at this time and eventually just wind up tossing in the towel. If you desire to avoid permitting this happen to you, then read on since the following sneaky hints will help you outsmart that plateau as well as get back on track to noticing the outcomes you deserve.

Take a training break. 

Have a break? How could that be? That's very likely what most of you are pondering. If you're not discovering improvement, why on earth should you cease working out entirely? The scientific explanation for this is mainly because oftentimes, the main reason you are not seeing improvement is mainly because you are near to becoming overtrained.

Yes, maybe you have been maintaining fine post-workout nutrition as well as making certain you get a minimum of one day off weekly to rest, but typically this is just not sufficient. As the months pass by the fatigue accumulates and eventually the body just needs a full solid week off.

Have that week off and observe. You would be surprised at what might just happen. Many people discover that following a scheduled rest week they come back stronger compared to when they left off and then their old personal bests stay in the dust as they progress onwards.

Re-evaluate your workout split. 

Take the time to plan 

Another good way to conquer the muscle building plateaus is to re-evaluate your workout split. You must ideally be changing your exercise routine around once every 4-6 weeks so when it has been a while since you have done so, now's definitely the right time. If you are carrying out a complete training session, take into consideration an upper/lower split instead. Or, when you are performing a body part split, try out that complete workout at this time. Supplying your muscles this new scenario to deal with usually gets them sitting upright and reacting once more



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Monday Muscle - Personal Fitness Trainers

Aspects To Consider When Choosing A Personal Fitness Trainer

Choosing the right Personal Fitness Trainer you are going to work with is a very important decision. There are scores of trainers in the market each armed with a bagful of qualifications yet not all of them offer the same quality of training. You have to learn to filter out the best and most suitable fitness trainers by using these simple guidelines.

Relevant experiences and qualifications

Personal fitness trainers have relevant experience and good qualifications to their credit. However there are some operators who may want to dupe you with their forged certificates and false assurances. Here is how you should judge the authenticity of personal trainers.

Relevant experience

Ask directly to see the physical evidence of the certifications. Don’t believe anything only on the basis of words. Look for certificates and papers pertaining to their professional qualifications.

When it comes to experience ask for references and phone numbers of previous clients the personal fitness trainers have worked with. Don’t trust anybody who feigns an excuse for not providing references. If you have a trusted friend or colleague who is well acquainted with the fitness industry, you can take along that person while selecting a personal trainer.

Traits of the perfect personal trainer

Personal Fitness Trainers are usually quite adaptable to the varied needs of their clients. However, here are a few things to check for when you are judging the compatibility of a specific trainer.

Personal Trainers

Are the payment modes and the fees structure compatible to your budget? Will your trainer offer discounts if you take him on for a long period of time or refer him to other interested parties? Is the personal fitness trainer okay with offering you a free trial session before you commit?

Does the trainer fit in with your schedule? Is he/she recommending a medical check-up before you embark on the fitness regime? (The answer should always be yes). Can the fitness trainer offer diet and nutrition advice as well as psychological mentoring?

The answers to these questions will give you a fair idea about how well the personal trainer will fit in with your needs.

How compatible are you with your trainer?

Suppose you find a trainer who has tones of experience, a great resume, perfect physique and yet comes within your budget? There is just one small problem. You just don’t like the guy. Should you hire him anyways? The answer is a definite “no”.

It’s very important to be compatible with the person who is going to guide you along the path of fitness. After all you will have to listen to the instructions of your Personal Fitness Trainer and also let him/her share your personal space (especially if you are training in your home gym).

Find a trainer who listens to your concerns patiently, answers your questions correctly and respects the sanctity and privacy of your home. Remember, your fitness training session will only work if you are in a comfortable footing with your Personal Fitness Trainer .

http://www.articlewheel.com/article/1054/aspects-to-consider-when-choosing-a-personal-fitness-trainer-broadbeach.html

Wednesday Video - Do You Really Need A Post Workout Shake?

Muscle Myth #2

Do You Really Need A Post Workout Shake? 

You see it all the time - those people in the gym who have just finished their workout routine and head straight to the juice bar (if your gym is fancy enough to have one!) or, like my gym, start to get their shake ready to chug down.

Why is this? This video has the explanation

Monday Muscle - Considerations when Choosing the Best Bodybuilding Gym for you

Having a well toned physique is not an easy task today. It needs lots of efforts, dedication and determination from one’s side especially with an efficient Bodybuilding gym program. However, this is not enough. Once you have decided, and commit yourself to work out to retain a great body, finding a gym that actually complements your needs and requirements is very essential. For this, it is important to remember certain factors that are vital for achieving a great perfect personality.

· Location: Location has a great role to play in achieving the health related goals of any individual. Nobody would ever wish to drive or travel for more than an hour to reach the location of gym therefore you must ascertain that the gym you choose is in close proximity to your living area. Gyms in shorter distances keeps reminding one of the regular exercises that one definitely needs to follow in the daily routine.

· Membership plans: Plans vary greatly in any gym you go therefore, be sure that the one you opt for goes in with your budget limit as well as health and fitness goals.

Membership plans

Many make fake promises and try to trap customers with exciting offers and plans so, make certain to go through the printed notes on rules and regulations about the gym and its several different membership plans. Make sure that it does not include any sought of additional hidden costs that might add up in the latter half of the membership plans.

· Opening hours: This is again another crucial consideration. Since, everyone is quite busy with their daily schedules and work plans; it becomes difficult to manage special time and that too in accordance with the timings for your gym. Therefore, to avoid this collision and imbalance, be sure to go for one that has enough flexibility to adjust your timings, or is open for long hours to accommodate your busy schedule. Therefore, consider this before finalizing the decision.

· Gym type: Choosing the gym type is an important consideration for females. If you are a woman or any female, you must take into account this factor and avoid being stared by a whole lot of people in the gym. Going to ladies-only gym can be the better option for such people.

· Budget: Make certain to choose one that does not burn a hole in your pocket. Search thoroughly over the web world and find one that is within the means and is highly affordable to achieve the fitness goals.

Treadmill

Achieving health related goals in important therefore, you can just trust any of the service provider in your region. You definitely have to seek for professional health and gym trainers that have sufficient training, experience and expertise in fulfilling the targets of the clients.

While choosing the gym trainer, make sure to ask for accreditations, his educational background for better results. If he has sufficient knowledge and experience in this field you can ensure perfect advice from bodybuilding supplement supplies to a balanced diet or to a perfect exercise that is necessary for your type of body. Therefore, be sure to get started with a professional team only.


By Bittu kumar

Monday Muscle - 5 Things You Can Do Before Training

Are you getting the most out of your workout session, even if you're not training with a personal trainer? Your time is precious, and you have to know that what you do at the gym is effective and is optimizing that time and effort you invest. Work smarter, not harder, to achieve the stronger, leaner and more flexible body you want. And you can only do this by completing these 5 things before you work out. Each tip is designed to get you burning more calories, increase your capacity to build muscle and improve cardiovascular fitness.

1. Be hydrated. Drink sufficient water at 2-3 hours before you exercise.

Of course you should always keep your body well-hydrated no matter if you exercise or not, but consume a little more a couple of hours before hitting the gym. This will help your body improve the circulation of nutrients, which can have a positive affect on your ability to maximize your physical state and decrease your recovery.

2. Eat well the day before, specifically if you have low blood pressure. The last thing you need to happen is to experience that crash during your work out. You know, when you just hit that brick wall and simply cannot move any longer. Eating well prevents this from happening, so you can remain at peak performance.

3. Don't eat right before your workout. Food that's just been delivered to your stomach needs energy to digest, meaning you'll be diverting precious energy to your stomach instead of your game. It's bad for gastro-intestinal health and makes it harder to workout, plus the valsalva maneuver is compromised. If you eat anything, keep it to a light snack (e.g. banana) and eat it an hour minimum beforehand.

4. De-stress and mentally get yourself ready. Take time to relax, particularly if you're emerging from a busy or stressful environment. A positive frame of mind is crucial, especially because a negative one can tap energy from your nerves-- it should be used on your workout!

5. A little coffee won't hurt, and it may even help you to perform better. Charles Poliquin, an Olympic Strength Trainer,

recommends taking a caffeine supplement about 45 minutes before you start exercising. Research has found that it may also help you burn fat better.

While every one has their things they do to get driven to work out, these tips have all been provided as a way to optimize the results you achieve from your workout.

Now what are you waiting for? Get your sweats on and hit the gym!

Article by Mike Landon.
Article source: http://www.articlewheel.com/article/139/5-things-you-can-do-before-training.html

The 4 Set Workout

You have a life to live, you're pressed for time and the gym is way down on your "to do" list. However you need to get in your exercise otherwise that will be another day gone. So what do you do?

It doesn't have to be this way. What if I told you that in just 15 minutes you can get a whole body workout done and be in and out and be getting on with the rest of your day?

Don't believe me? Try this workout for when you are truly pressed for time (you can use machines to save time loading up weights)

First just do a general warm up on the stationary cycle, treadmill, elliptical climber - anything that gets your heart rate up and limbers your body. then we move onto the workout itself.

Exercise 1

Squats - 1 set of 12 to 15 reps. These work the legs (quadriceps, hamstrings & calves), the buttocks, the lower back muscles and to a lesser extent the abdominals

Exercise 2

Deadlift - 1 set of 6 to 9 reps. These work all the major muscles of the body from top to toe

Exercise 3

Incline bench press - 1 set of 8 to 12 reps. These work the chest (pectorals), shoulders (deltoids) and triceps (back of the arm)

Exercise 4

Chin ups or pulldowns - 1 set of 8 to 12 reps. These work the back muscles (lattisimus), biceps and to a lesser extent the shoulders

So there you have it - a complete full body workout that can easily be squeezed into a busy day. You can even drop the deadlifts if needed as the muscles are worked with the other exercises.

Foods That Help Burn Body Fat

The mere mention of the word fat is enough a cause to send shivers down the spine of most women. Fat according to the Oxford advanced learners dictionary refers to a natural oily substance occurring in animal bodies, especially when deposited as a layer under the skin or around certain organs. The body requires fat as a major energy source. If fat is the supplier of the energy required by the body, why are most people obsessed with lowering its content in the body? This is solely because of its high caloric content thus justifying the fact that there is a direct relationship between the amount of fat consumed and the chances of getting obese.

In order to curb the extremities of the effect of fat, most people opt to burn them. Burning them yes, but how? Most people opt for the gym as the first choice in their quest to burn the fat. This however is not a good method because of the inconsistency of our daily schedules and in turn leads to a number of absconded sessions whose effect is more harmful. It is in this aspect that fat burning foods come into play.

Most people tend to forget that diet is an important element of life. A person may miss gym sessions but can he miss food for even two consecutive days? Definitely no! Here is where fat burning foods aid since they are easy to use. These foods are divided into three major categories: fruits, vegetables and spices, and dairy products. Not all foods belonging to these categories are fat burning. However, these foods must have fat burning properties, be readily available, easy to prepare, versatile and enjoyable be incorporated into one’s diet with ease.

Fruits

These fruits are rich in or contain vitamin C to stimulate carnitine amino acids which in turn accelerate the body’s capacity to burn stored fat. Vitamin C dilutes fats thereby rendering them less effective as well as assisting in flushing the fats out of the body. Citrus fruits dominate this category ranging from lemons, grapefruit, guavas, papaya, oranges, limes, tomatoes and tangerines to watermelons, apples and blueberries.

Vegetables and spices

Chilies contain capsaicin, a thermogenic food known for fast-tracking the metabolism process. Others include: cabbages which inhibit the conversion process of sugar and carbohydrates into fat thereby facilitating weight loss; garlic and onions which minimizes cholesterol and unhealthy fats through a sulfur compound with anti-bacterial properties; curry leaves which reduces fat and toxin deposits in the body by flushing them out; cardamom which functions like chilies; broccoli which is a zero fat vegetable high in fiber as well as green tea and asparagus that is high in antioxidants but low on calories. Other vegetables and spices include spinach, Brussels sprouts, mustard greens and spinach.

Dairy products

These products are rich in the mineral calcium which is essential in the burning of body fats. The use of dairy products like milk, cheese and yoghurt is more result oriented compared to calcium supplements as proved by various case studies. Other dairy based products used include: coconut milk necessary in the breakdown of unwanted body fats; and almond butter and milk.

Other fat burning foods are cereals such as brown rice and whole grain bread among others. Animal meat particularly lean chicken and fish meat (specifically trout, tuna and salmon) are also efficient.

In conclusion, fat burning foods forms the easiest and cheapest method of burning fat with regards to time and energy consumption.

By Geoffrey Moni
Article Source: http://www.streetarticles.com/weight-loss/foods-that-help-burn-body-fat

Five Tips that Help You Find Time for Exercise

Only about 30 percent of adult Americans report that they have regular physical activity during their leisure time; and about 40 percent of Americans say that they don’t have leisure-time at all, to do the physical activities.

All in common agree on the fact that regular exercises help the person in terms of health and long life. But, most of the people do not focus on exercise. The most common reason people give for this is that they, “do not have the time”.

Lack of awareness also puts regular exercise at a lower priority. This article may help you change your priorities and find time for exercise.

Tips to find time for exercise

1. Wake up early

If you wake up early, you will be adding more time to your day. This provides you the opportunity to find time to do exercise. It’s not really hard to wake up a little early that you are used to. It is little bit hard until you get habituated. Afterwards once you feel the difference and the gain you will have more of a reason to continue waking early and doing exercise. There are many benefits in waking up early and doing exercise – you will feel more energetic and fresh for sure.

2. Limit your time spending on TV & Online

Track the time you spend on TV, online & mobile games for a few days. Then you will come to know how much time you are spending on those things. Then, try to limit the time you are spending on TV & online, for example: if you are spending 3 hours, reduce by 1 hour and assign that to exercise. You don’t really need to sacrifice your joy anyway.

3. Cut down low priority things from daily and allot that time for exercise

For most people who cannot find time, it is not really about time, it’s about the priority they are giving to exercise. If you feel that exercise is more important and shouldn’t be avoided, then you can adjust the time for it. Make the list of things you do daily. Divide the items into following 2 categories:

Important things that are highly essential to you (Job, Family)

Enjoyment/Less Important Activities (Movies, Parties)


Try to include exercise in the list of important things. Then, you will automatically find time for exercise.

4. Stay motivated by the benefits

Motivation is the best way to find time to do something. You might know that exercise has many benefits. Always keep in mind that the exercise will protect you from many health issues, keeps your body in shape and boost your brain power. Once you start doing exercise regularly, you will get motivated by the changes in the body. All you have to do is, go to gym regularly and maintain the motivation and fitness cycle.

5. Socialize at Gym

This is one of the best passive motivation to find time for exercise. We don’t need any motivation to spend time with friends. Find some friends at gym. As you do workouts with friends, you can enjoy the workouts without feeling it as hard. This also motivates you to go to gym regularly, to meet friends.

Hope the above tips will help you manage time to do exercise. If you still do not get motivation to find time to exercise, read the following quote by Edward Stanley, a British statesman – “Those who think they have no time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness”. Take this quote and paste it somewhere in your room, for sometimes fear motivates better than anything else.

Article source: http://largearticle.com 04.04.2015 · Posted in Health