Monday Muscle - How I Blasted My Arms Past The 18 INCH Mark Without Drugs!

Picture this! You embark on a new training regime focused specifically on building your arms. You follow the best nutritional practices, train like a maniac, and in just over two months you add just over an inch to each arm. Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it?

While up until a few months ago I would have been a bit skeptical myself until I experienced the above scenario firsthand. That’s right! After 18 years of training, thousands of hours in the gym and hundreds of training routines I finally discovered the secrets to building truly impressive guns.

Build biceps to be proud of

Let’s qualify a few things first. I have logged over 20,000 hours in the gym training people as well as I have written one of the most popular natural bodybuilding books of all time Freaky Big Naturally. I have won 5 divisional titles in 4 different weight classes including 4 overall trophies and a National Championship.

I have had the good fortune to train with some of the worlds’ best coaches and on occasion rubbed shoulders with many of the legends of bodybuilding such as Franco Columbu, Frank Zane, Larry Scott, Lou Ferrigno, and many of the champs of today.

Now you would think after all this I would really know how to build arms to be proud of but the fact is… I DIDN’T!!!

You see although I have learned how to build a great physique even though being “genetically challenged”, my arms always lagged behind the rest of my physique. I tried all the strategies, philosophies, and training styles possible. I bombed, blasted, and fried my arms every possible way I could. Although my arms did look good and were above average they still had never reached the sleeve busting, jaw dropping, stove pipes that every trainee desires.

Now I am not one to quit and even though I had been at it for 18 years I was not about to give up. I knew there had to be a way to increase the size of my arms, without resorting to the use of steroids or other drugs. Fortunately, I finally cracked the code on building massive guns to be proud of. Here’s how I did it.

First since I’ve tried everything I decided to do the exact opposite of whatever one else is doing. That meant instead of training 4-5 times a week to build size. I decided to train 6 times a week.

Since so many people are following low volume high intensity routines (and getting nowhere fast) I decided I am going to do mega-volume with moderate intensity. That’s right I stopped training to failure completely and I dramatically increased the amount of sets I was doing for my arms directly and indirectly.

How many sets? How about 30-40 sets per workout?

Target your biceps directly & indirectly

How many reps? I kept my reps in the 6-10 range per set.

NO drop sets, forced reps, negatives, partials, or anything else.

How many times per week? I did two full arm workouts per week plus I hit the arms indirectly on the other days when I trained shoulders and legs on two days and chest and back on the other two days. So my arms got trained every single day!!!

Because I was hitting the gym with so much frequency and volume it would be impossible to train to failure. So I would just train each set until the last rep seemed tough but it was certainly not an all out effort.

Needless to say the routine worked like gangbusters. Every workout I kept adding weight to the bar or reps to each exercise. I did the same exercises each workout for a whole month and then I switched the exercise to a new set on the next month.

What happened?

I packed on over 12 pounds of muscle and 1 inch on each arm. My left bicep (the bigger of my arms) measured 18 inches cold. The right one is a little smaller and I am working hard on blasting that one over the 18 inch mark as well. Even so these measurements are not too bad for a guy who barely makes 5’8” and weighs 205lbs.

Finally, people are expressing positive comments about my arms. The comments used to be “if you could only bring up your arms you would look great”. Boy after 18 years it’s great to hear. Wow look at how thick your arms are!

I also want to add that I followed a very specific diet protocol during this training. Each day I consumed about 1800 calories.

Quality nutrition is also important

And once per week on my non-training day I consumed about 6000 calories. This way I could stay lean without adding fat while I got bigger and stronger.

Here’s the really shocking fact that has most seasoned veterans of the gym stunned and mystified. I only consumed between 50-80 grams of protein per day. However almost all of this protein came from live protein sources such as Hemp protein.

So there you have it. It is possible to build 18 arms without drugs. I have done it and you can too. Remember don’t let anyone steal your dreams.

Wade McNutt

Natural National Bodybuilding Champion

IFBB Mr. Universe Competitor

Wade McNutt is a Natural National Bodybuilding Champion and an IFBB Mr. Universe World Champion. He combined the secrets of Eastern Yoga Masters with, scientific, muscle building to produce a revolutionary new health system, called Freaky Big Naturally, find out more athttp://www.freakybignatural.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Wade_McNutt/40585

Fat Loss Friday - The Elements Of An Easy Simple Dinner

Preparing an undoubtedly great yet easy dinner is not any different from showcasing a musical presentation. It is pretty simple to decide what you will take as the day goes down. However, the toughest part creeps in when you have to decide how to prepare and present the meal.

Dinner choices are sometimes hard

Easy dinner recipes are easy only when they are not demanding in terms of time and energy. The following are elements of the ideal dinner: 

Weight
As most nutritionists advise, dinner ought to be the lightest meal of the day. Even so, you must appreciate the reality that it is one of your major meals. Hence, it is expected that there is something heavy. If the meal centers on cheese or its substitutes, you will want to provide something lighter. For example, fresh vegetable salad will be just fine. This does not however mean that you have to endure the taste of boring salads. You can dress the meal with vinegar or mix some ingredients that contrast in texture with your main meal. 

Flavor, color and texture
There is a reason why there exist multiple flavors of most natural products. For example, the ancient cuisines are available as herbs, sauces, seasonings and other combinations. Note that every kind of food has some form flavor that simply perfects the meal. For instance, ginger, apricots and pice nuts are known to supplement Moroccan-style core dishes. You simply need to vary your flavors in order for the meal to be satisfying and not monotonous over time! Remember flavor is basically the main component of a simple dinner that dictates how well you will eat.

Easy dinner recipes do not have to be so plain that you do not enjoy eating. It should have multiple textures ranging from crunchy to crispy and smooth feels on one plate. This is appealing to the eye and one of the ways to be certain that your meal incorporates several nutrients. 

Simple yet nutritious 

No one eats with their eyes closed. You could have diverse textures on your plate with a single color. Such a dinner meal, though simple can be quite boring. You will want to mix white, brown, green and red on one plate. With these multiple colors, you are able to maintain an appetite and simply eat healthily by taking smaller quantities of each component. 

Simplicity of preparation
As mentioned earlier, every easy meal must be economical on time and energy. You do not want to lose your sanity in the kitchen by spending several hours preparing a meal. Often, simple meals are salted and dressed with fresh herbs. They are practically the perfect definition of having simple, sweet and healthy meals.

Cooking methodology
You cannot have a healthy lifestyle unless you have sufficient time for everything. You need to coordinate the cooking to ensure it is simple. It is vital to save time, oven space and energy. For example, if you have to boil some water or grains, you can maximize it by warming some of your dressed greens with it. The trick here is to maximize on resources while minimizing others.

Article Source: Vikram Kumar http://www.eArticlesOnline.com

Wednesday Video - Body On A Budget

Good nutrition is an absolute must. Duh. However eating good is expensive right? Well it doesn't have to be as long as you make the right choices.

In this video, Lee Hayward explains how to go about shopping for good, nutritious food - on a budget

(note - although aimed at body-builders the same principles apply if you are trying to get lean)

10 perfect muscle building foods for men and women (6 - 10)

Building muscle is important in a quest for a slimmer, healthier body. Every pound of muscle burns up an extra 50 calories just to maintain itself. Fat requires none! Therefore to maintain that muscle you need quality, nutritious food.

Today we look at the second part of the 10 best foods to build and maintain muscle

6) Lean Beef

For decades beef has remained at the top of the list of best muscles building foods for good reason! Beef contains a muscles building cocktail of protein packed with essential amino acids, B-vitamins, and creatine. Beef also contains a mixture of saturated fat, which can support healthy testosterone levels, and monounsaturated fat, for heart health. As an added benefit research from the University of Melbourne, shows that people who eat more red meat report feeling lower levels of anxiety and stress

7) Rotisserie Chicken

Rotisserie chicken should be your go-to of these muscle food options. Available at almost all supermarkets rotisserie chickens provide you with readily available ready-to-eat high quality protein. Have one or two breast or mix and match light and dark meat whichever fits your diet.

8) Lentils

Lentils should be your secret mass building weapon. One cup of cooked lentils contains 18 grams of protein and 40 grams of slow digesting quality carbohydrates. They are also very inexpensive and have a long shelf-life. They cook up in just 10 minutes and can be added mixed in with brown rice, sprinkled over a salad or eaten as a standalone side dish.

9) Wild Salmon

Salmon contains both high quality protein and the long chain omega-3 fats EPA and DHA. These omega-3 fats are most well known for their ability to improve heart health but they also inhibit muscle breakdown while increasing the anabolic capacity of amino acids. If you don’t like eating fish then make sure to take a fish oil supplement to reap these benefits. And, just because your fish is fatty doesn't mean your body will be, too. Salmon makes our list of the fatty foods that will help you lose weight.

10) Fermented Dairy Products

Fermented dairy products like kefir are a little-known muscle-building magic bullet. Kefir is the perfect addition to any muscle-building blender bomb, providing distinct nutritional advantages over water or regular milk. If you usually use water in your shakes, 1 cup of kefir will add 150 calories to your diet. Compared to regular milk, kefir will allow your meal to be more easily digested due to the presence of probiotics (up to 10 billion good bacteria per cup). These healthy bacteria will help keep your digestive track running at peak condition so it can breakdown and assimilate maximum amount of calories and nutrients from your meals.

Courtesy of Men's Fitness

Putting The Healthy Routine In Cruise Control

When one of your main concerns is improving your health, the toughest hurdles to get over will likely be changing the amounts of food you eat and getting a consistent form of exercise.

Even though these aspects of the weight loss process may not seem terribly difficult, understand that the number one reason why people fail in achieving their health and fitness goal is that they're not willing to stick with a daily calorie amount that is appropriate for their body and workout regularly.

This is why in order to get your healthy routine to a point where it's basically worry-free and in cruise control, you have to get your entire day running smoothly from morning to night.

Unfortunately one of the easiest things to do is to overeat. It's so simple especially when we're faced with numerous eating moments each and every day, meaning there are many opportunities to take in too many calories. This is especially true if you've become accustomed to eating a certain amount of food at meals.

Think about your current eating trends and what you regularly eat. How often do you go out and eat at restaurants or fast food spots? Do you drink a lot of sugary beverages such as soda, juice, or energy drinks? Do you usually snack while watching television, reading a book, or other leisure type activity? Do you find yourself often feeling stuffed after a meal and a lethargic feeling causes you to want to take a nap?

Your answers to these questions should give you an idea of what may need to be altered if you want to have success losing weight in a natural, healthy manner. If you are determined to succeed with this endeavor and are willing to make some actual changes, you will achieve your goal through your consistent effort.

Therefore in order to get your healthy routine into cruise control, you need to get your entire day up to speed. What does that actually entail?

It means the decisions you make during the day from the moment you wake up until you go to sleep should have your health as the top priority. In order to get into cruise control, not only do your three main meals of the day need to be monitored for their content and size, but also those sneaky snacks that pop up a few times every day.

As surprising as it sounds, snacks can sometimes end up totaling two or even three times the amount of calories of a regular meal if self-control is not maintained. This is something you definitely do not want to happen for it will limit your weight loss progress.

Ideally, you want each eating moment to be nutritious and appropriately portioned so that by the end of the day you will have a calorie total that is healthy for you. Try to create a daily habit, a routine that will guide you from one eating moment to the next.

Don't get fancy with breakfast, just keep it simple with a whole grain cereal with fat-free milk, a half of whole wheat bagel with peanut butter and honey, or an egg white omelette with mushrooms, spinach, olives, and a pinch of mozzarella cheese. Also be sure not to ruin that breakfast with drinks like orange juice or cranberry juice. You just don't need that glass of 250+ calories and sugar. Stick with water, black coffee, or other 0 calorie tea/beverage.

Next, get in the habit of packing nutritious snacks for work so you don't have to rely on vending machine Snicker bars and sodas. Simple snacks in Ziploc bags are easily tossed in along with your lunch so you can eat nutritious the entire time you're away from home. Try almonds with raisins, yogurt with granola, all fruits, rice cakes, granola bars, or carrots and celery sticks.

Be sure not to forget a travel lunch too in your weekly healthy routine! Leftovers make wonderful simple meals to go that literally take no additional effort to prepare. Not only will you save a ton of money over the year by not needing to buy lunch but you will have much better control over the portion size of the meal.

If there are no leftovers to take to work, try to keep food on hand that's easy to put together to make simple meals to go. Stock whole wheat bread and wraps at home so you can toss in tuna, or lunch meat, with lettuce, tomato, and mustard on the days when there are no leftovers. Frozen Lean Cuisines and Weight Watchers meals at $2 dollars each are another option if you have access to a microwave while away at work.

Dinner will likely be the last hurdle you'll need to overcome so that your day ends as a healthy, nutritious one. Be open to try new things in the kitchen. You'll literally find thousands of healthy dinner recipes in minutes if you put the Internet to work for you.

Look for simple yet appealing meals to try at home. Don't forget to cook a little bit extra so you have lunch leftovers or enough to make a different meal the following day. Plastic travel containers are a healthy individuals best friend so make sure you have a good stock in various sizes.

Once you've finished your last meal of the day try not to eat anymore and dump extra calories into your system before bedtime. If you absolutely cannot deal with hunger cravings that may arise towards the end of the day, try a large glass of water and a carrot stick. You may be really surprised at how filling that simple 50 calorie snack can quench a hunger craving while at the same time not ruin an entire day of healthy nutrition which a giant ice cream sundae would do at this moment.

Always keep in mind the importance of your healthy routine and hopefully you will make the right decisions with the choices you're faced with everyday.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gregory_L_Gomez