Monday Muscle - 4 Secret Muscle Building Principles They Don't Want You to Know

The desire to gain muscle and lose fat is common.

The people who actually achieve an uncommon body are few and far between. Fortunately, whether you want to start a new muscle building workout routine or improve the one you're already on, knowledge is power.

The more you know about how your body works the better off you'll be.

Interestingly, there are some keys to building muscle or muscle building principles that, once you know them, can help you build a new body, literally.

The smartest and best way to build muscle is to discover the truth about how your body works so that you'll be in control of how it looks.

That fact is, you are an artist.

You can actually choose to mold, create and shape your body into any shape you want.

Your tools? Instead of a paint brush or clay, you have a fork and heavy resistances.

Progressive Overload

To build muscle overload them safely

The overload principle states that the neuromuscular system must be placed under stress in order to achieve adaptations such as the building of muscle and connective tissue. Specifically, "progressive overload" is a systematic and gradual increase in the demands placed on the muscles and systems of the body. This increase in demand, if supported nutritionally, will result in the strengthening of the body as an entire unit. This is one of the most fundamental principles of body building, muscle building and strength training.

Muscular Hypertrophy

When a specific muscle group is overloaded (or over stressed) with heavy resistance, among the many adaptations, the body responds by building more muscle. This is known as muscular hypertrophy. Hypertrophy is an increase in muscle mass. This increase in muscle mass is always coupled with an increase in strength. Hypertrophy is a one of the many natural by products of a progressive overload resistance training program.

Specificity Principle

The term specificity, as applied to body building and muscle building, is the idea that the body will respond to the specific demands placed on it. If the body is trained like a cross country runner, it will respond to those demands and become more efficient at running cross country.

If the body is trained like a body builder, it will respond to those demands in a specific way and become better at building muscle.

The principle of specificity in athletic training and muscle building requires the training mode to reflect the desired outcome.

Mechanical Advantage

Learn about where levers are

The human body is composed of many different systems. For people that want to build muscle and who understand the overload principle, it makes sense that if you know more about where levers occur in the muscular and skeletal system you'll be better equipped to place stress and demand on the body exactly where you want to and where to eliminate it, if necessary.

The more you know about how the human body works the better you'll be at controlling its function and appearance - at will, if you choose. The application of the muscle building principles of progressive overload, hypertrophy and leverage are three terms that will help you build muscle fast.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Curtis_J_Ludlow/108202

Fat Loss Friday - How to stop regaining the weight you lost

You Don't Have To Regain Weight-Top 10 To Avoid

As many weight loss surgery post-operative patients know, it is possible to regain weight after having weight loss surgery. If you aren't a weight loss surgery patient, the same applies to you too. A nutritious, active lifestyle is the key to losing weight AND maintaining your weight loss regardless of how you do it. Learn the Top 10 reasons how to do it. Follow the opposite of the Top 10, you can have weight loss success.



It is possible to regain weight after having weight loss surgery. After you've achieved your weight loss, many post-operative patients think they are done and slip back to old habits. Whether you lose weight through weight loss surgery, work with a weight loss coach or do it on your own, you can regain lost weight. A new, healthy lifestyle is the key to lose weight and keep it off.

Here's the Top 10 reasons how to do it:

10. Don't exercise.

9. Don't bother drinking water.

Water is essential to keep the weight off

8. Drink alcohol, soda and fruit juice.

7. Grazing throughout your day.

6. Eat mostly carbs in your meal, especially sugary, refined carbs.

5. Ignore taking your vitamins or take them whenever convenient and if you remember.

4. Protein first? Eat protein after you eat your mostly carb-heavy meals only if there's room.

3. Don't bother keeping a food and exercise journal.

2. Don't get support either by a support group, online support, or your own weight loss coach.

And the number 1 way:

1. Thinking you are cured, your surgery will do all the work in maintaining your weight loss, and never have to be concerned about emotional eating or food issues ever again.

Losing weight is a process. We didn't gain our weight overnight and it won't come off overnight either. Keep this list and refer to it. You can maximize your weight loss and the rate that you lose. When we make the decision to have surgery and lose weight, we want it NOW.

Rather than focus strictly on the number on the scale, appreciate all the positive changes you're making. When you reach your desired weight, you will have experienced all sorts of little and big "wins" along the way. By following the Top 10, you'll no longer need a seat belt extender, you'll be able to zip up jackets, wear your jeans you haven't worn in years, you'll have more energy, you'll be able to participate in activities that would have exhausted you before, and many more that will be special and unique to you. Losing weight can be a wonderful adventure and journey with many wins along the way.

The process of losing weight is to change your habits. You need to discard the old habits that made you heavy in the first place and replace them with new, healthy habits. The above Top 10 are the best habits you can incorporate into your life. Habits are learned behaviors. Unhealthy habits caused us to become overweight or obese. You can relearn new, healthy habits that will allow you to lose weight and maintain it. I've never maintained any weight that I lost before. How did I do it? I did it by following the Top 10. You can too.



Source: Cathy Wilson from ArticlesFactory.com

Wednesday Video - Where does your burned fat go?

It's one of those great mysteries - When you burn fat, where does it go? Many people, even some doctors, think it’s just “burned up.” But that’s not possible! So what actually happens?

In this short video find out where your fat really goes!

Monday Muscle - Muscle Building Diet Advice For Men Who Want To Gain Mass

If you are planning to add muscle mass to your body then you certainly need a better muscle building diet plan along with a proper exercise routine. Most men who want to increase their muscles always look for shortcuts such as use of steroids and supplements. Instead of using such harmful shortcuts, you can follow a healthy muscle building diet that can help you to quickly gain muscle mass naturally in few weeks.

This type of diet plan should consist of proper amount of proteins, carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, minerals along with natural and healthy supplements. Combine this healthy diet plan with proper muscle building exercises to get a perfect sculpted body in few months.

Tips to follow for the right muscle building diet:

1) Start eating foods containing healthy calories If you are too skinny and do not have enough muscle strength then you definitely need to increase the intake of daily calories through your diet.

Look for food with healthy calories

This does not mean that you should eat any type of junk food and highly processed food items to increase the calorie intake. This only indicates that you should start eating the foods that provides high dose of natural and healthy calories to your body. You should at least consume 500 to 1,000 calories per day if you really want to gain muscle mass naturally.

2) Add lean proteins to your daily diet We all know that proteins are the basic building blocks of human muscles. So more you eat the foods with high proteins, better it is for your body to gain natural muscle mass. Proteins also expedite the process of natural muscle growth, maintain the growth of the muscles and repair any damaged tissues faster. The best natural sources of lean proteins are fish, eggs, chicken, tofu, legumes and low fat dairy products such as milk and butter.

3) Eat complex carbohydrates through your diet It is important that you avoid eating foods containing simple carbohydrates such as white bread, pasta, etc. These simple carbohydrates are harmful for the natural growth of our muscles and they only help to increase the body fat. Instead, you can eat the foods such as whole grains, oatmeal, cereals, brown rice, wheat bread, etc. to increase the intake of complex carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates usually enhance our metabolic processes and increase the energy needed to fuel the process of natural muscle building.

4) Take natural healthy supplements For some people, it gets very difficult to increase their muscles mass even after consistently following a right muscle building diet plan and exercise routine.

The right supplements can help

Such people can safely take natural health supplements such as creatine and whey proteins. These natural health supplements are usually very safe to take after your regular workouts. They enhance your muscle power and increase the overall performance of your muscles. But just like all other supplements, it is important that you consult with your doctor before trying out these natural health supplements.

Follow this natural muscle building diet plan along with regular bodybuilding workouts to increase your muscle mass in few months.



Read more: Muscle Building Diet Advice For Men Who Want To Gain Mass http://www.sooperarticles.com/health-fitness-articles/general-health-articles/muscle-building-diet-advice-men-who-want-gain-mass-897010.html#ixzz45Sepuso5

Fat Loss Friday - Increasing Protein Intake: Same Weight Loss, Less Muscle Loss

For many, weight loss is an important component of lower back pain treatment. Whether the cause of your back pain is muscular or spinal, excess weight puts greater loads on the lumbar spine and musculature, increasing incidence of pain and injury. Along with an active lifestyle, a strong core and a well-rounded diet, maintaining a healthy weight helps your back stay healthy.

When losing weight to help relieve back pain, it's important to make sure the weight you're losing is fat weight and not muscle weight. Muscle loss in the core can lead to poor posture, improper body mechanics and spinal instability.

Exercise is important to keep the weight off

Exercising as part of weight loss will help you both lose weight and maintain muscle, but a new study suggests that adding more protein to your diet in conjunction with exercise will help maintain muscle better than exercise alone.

Researchers analyzed three groups of participants: one which received the daily recommended amount of protein, one that received twice as much and a final group that received three times the daily recommended amount. Participants were fed these amounts for 10 days prior to dieting, then embarked on a 3-week period of regimented dieting and exercising, the only difference being protein intake between the groups.

Researchers found that all participants lost almost the same amount of weight in 3 weeks - 7 pounds - regardless of protein intake. Those who ate more than the recommended daily requirement of protein saw no difference in muscle use of protein between the 10-day pre-diet period and the diet period, while those who received the recommended amount saw a decrease in protein use by muscles. The high-protein dieters lost less muscle and more fat than the control group.

See more on this study at http://www.fasebj.org/content/27/9/3837.

The results of this study suggest that dieters can lose the same amount of weight but have less of that weight be muscle and more of it be fat if they up their intake of protein,

Protein can be delicious these days

although results plateau once you hit double the recommended amount; to ensure you're eating a balanced diet rich in other healthy food groups, then, it's likely best to keep your intake no higher than double your recommended amount.

If you have a health condition and are trying to lose weight, it's best to consult with a dietician or other health professional to ensure that your specific nutritional needs are being met.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Amee_LaTour/1290690

Wednesday Video - Man Boobs | How To Treat, Manage and Eliminate Gynecomastia

In this video men's style, grooming, fitness and lifestyle expert, Aaron Marino of http://www.iamalpham.com http://www.aaronmarino.comhttp://www.peteandpedro.com, talks about how to treat, manage and elimnate gynecomastia. Man boobs are an embarrassing situation but this video will break down why man boobs happen and the different treatment options out there to get rid of or eliminate your man boobs. 

Monday Muscle - Skinny Guys - Here's the #1 Ingredient for Muscle Growth (Part 2)

A couple years ago, I spent a summer as a personal trainer for a really slender college kid who had recently experienced a near brush with death. This young guy had the unfortunate habit of internalizing an enormous amount of stress when faced with his academic workload, especially during finals. There's nothing unusual about that - right? Well, except for the fact that when he would get stressed (which was nearly all of the time), he'd stop eating. This combination of semi-starvation and adrenaline-inducing stress had eventually led him to having a devastating ulcer. When the ulcer opened up like a flood gate one day, he ended up hospitalized after being lucky that the severe internal bleeding didn't kill him.

Needless to say, he needed a lot of mind training before muscle training could reap benefits. The doctors found him so deficient of protein, he needed a daily iron supplement just to get his levels of this vital mineral up to par.

Quality protein sources are key

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that protein deficiency is about as conducive to muscle growth as doing uphill sommersaults to escape a tsunami. Steady intake of high quality protein is essential to muscle growth. Iron, present in meat, is important for adequate energy levels. If we didn't first improve his mindset toward healthy eating, none of the physical training would have amounted to even a few ounces of muscle gain.

So what's my point in sharing this story with you? Well, in my first article aimed at skinny guys, I really drove home the fact that stuffing down mega calories and haphazardly tossing weights around will rarely lead to mesomorphic nirvana. My point was that without having an optimal muscle breakdown/recuperation routine and schedule, all the calorie gorging one could partake in would just cause undue stress to the body and little or no muscle weight.

However, eating too little and too sporadically is detrimental as well. If you train like a tiger and eat like a bird, an optimal training/recuperation system will fail to deliver maximum results. In order to steadily gain muscle, you need to eat four to six meals a day consisting of 30 to 40 grams of protein per meal. You must also eat enough carbohydrates to fuel your daily activity energy expenditures while having a few grams left over for the energy requirements of muscle recuperation. This is not such a tall order. However, it can be somewhat daunting for those who have an aversion to eating like the young man I was training a couple summers ago.

So how many carbohydrate calories above your daily expenditure do you need for gaining muscle? Studies have shown that we need no more than two or three hundred above what would keep us at our present body mass.

Carbohydrates are important as well

That's about equivalent to eating a whopping three bananas or a couple bowls of oatmeal. Of course, you'd be best off by adding those few hundred extra carb calories evenly throughout your day. A meal every three hours with 40 grams of protein and 50 grams of additional carbohydrates is enough to put muscle on anyone, considering they've got the #1 key to muscle growth covered.

If this sounds inadequate, consider what I've done in the six weeks prior to this writing. I decided to get as ripped and low in body fat as I could. I reduced my calories and increased my activity until I was definitely burning more calories than I was consuming. Making sure to ingest enough protein, I ate a hefty 40 grams (at least) during each of my five daily meals. Not only did I NOT lose any muscle or strength - I gained more. I actually built muscle while restricting my calorie intake.

That's the power of obtaining the optimum muscle breakdown/recuperation routine and schedule. With a few caveats (like eating enough protein), it remains the number one key to muscle growth.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Scott_Abbett/91209