12 Exercises You Are Not Doing!

One-Arm Cable Serratus Crunches (Serratus, Obliques)

Position yourself under a high pulley with a single handle attachment. Hold the handle next to your ear and crunch your body in to one side using only your serratus and intercostals to pull you down.

Stiff-Arm Lat Pulldowns (Lats)

Grab a wide bar attached to a lat pulldown machine slightly wider than shoulder width with thumbs over the bar. Bend slightly at the waist and without bending the elbows pull the bar down in an arc in front of you until it hits your thighs.

Weighted Bench Dips (Triceps)

Space two flat benches about 36” apart. Sit on one with your hands at your sides, holding the edge of the bench. Place your feet on the other bench. Have a partner put a 45-pound plate on your lap to test your strength. If you can perform 15 reps try two plates the next set. Smaller plates could be added as well. Make sure your partner is on hand to prevent the plates from sliding and to strip them off as you begin to fail.

Spider Curls (Biceps)

Lie face down on an elevated bench (assuming your gym doesn’t have a spider bench, which is a pretty safe assumption) with your arms hanging over one end. Pick up either a dumbbell, a pair of dumbbells, or a barbell and curl it up. This is similar to a preacher curl, but instead of your upper arms being at a 45º angle to the floor, they are perpendicular to it.

Reverse Leg Curls (Hamstrings)

Kneel on the seat of a lat machine with your ankles hooked under the knee restraints. Hold a bar or broomstick at one end with the other securely touching the floor at a right angle (for support). Keeping your body rigid, lower yourself towards the floor, using only your biceps femoris muscles. Once your torso is parallel with the floor, raise yourself back up until it’s again perpendicular to the floor.

One-Arm Bar Raises (Forearms)

Grasp an empty bar weighing between 10 and 25 pounds a few inches off from its center line. Let your arm hang at your side with one end of the bar touching the floor in front of you. Raise the end off the floor using only your forearm strength, until it’s parallel to the floor. This targets the brachioradialis. To hit the wrist flexors, reverse where you grip the bar and the movement itself.

Sprint Raises (Shoulders)

Grab a pair of dumbbells lighter than what you would use for laterals. Bend at the hips and knees as if you were crouching down to begin a race. With your torso at a 45º angle pick up the dumbbells. With elbows slightly bent raise one to the front and the other to the rear simultaneously. Imagine you are sprinting as you swing the dumbells in opposite directions, using no momentum, only your front and rear delts to move them.

Good Mornings (Lower Back)

Place a relatively light barbell across your shoulders as if you were going to squat. Bend at the hips, lowering your torso forward until it is nearly parallel with the floor before coming back up. Be careful not to let the bar roll onto your neck by pulling it down into the nook between your traps and shoulders.

Drag Curls (Biceps)

Grab a barbell with hands at shoulder width. Drag it up along your body as high as you can while pulling your elbows straight back. Hold at the top for a second and squeeze the biceps. This is a great movement for finishing off a biceps workout.

Palms-Up High Laterals (Shoulders)

The starting position is with a dumbbell in each hand, arms out to your sides, parallel to the floor, at what’s basically the top of a traditional lateral raise. Raise the dumbbells to a point just short of vertical above your head and lower to start position.

Cross Bench Pullovers (Lats, Intercostals, Triceps)

Place a dumbbell on one end of a bench. Squat down next to the bench and place your shoulders on it at its centerline. Hoist the dumbbell to arms length. With a slight bend of the elbows lower the dumbbell behind your head stopping just before it hits the floor and raise it again, making usre to keep your hips down and breathing deeply with each rep.

The Importance of Creatine for Bodybuilder

Competitive bodybuilders across the globe know that creatine is a key substance used for muscle development. As an often misunderstood chemical and supplement, the average fitness fan might be deterred from trying creatine. This is particularly true because contradictory information about creatine can make it difficult to distinguish exactly what it is and how it might be important to your health.

Natural Creatine Cycle
The liver, kidneys and pancreas naturally produce the amino acid creatine, which is converted into phosphocreatine during normal metabolic processes and then stored in the muscle cells. Natural creatine aids in the production of the primary energy source for muscle called adenosine triphosphate or ATP. During muscle movement short spurts of ATP is released into the muscle cells and metabolizes down into adenosine diphosphate, or ADP. The ADP is what actually gives muscle the power to contract and transfer energy from cell to cell. Creatine acts as a reservation system for ATP and replenishes muscle cells immediately after the breakdown into ADP. The more creatine in the body, the quicker ATP reloads the muscle cells.
The constant, rapid regeneration of the creatine cycle plays a markedly important role in normal muscular health, acting as a shuttle of sorts for constant muscle energy. Naturally low levels of creatine or inefficient creatine transport at any point in the creatine cycle can result in muscle wasting, weakness and fatigue. Factors contributing to low levels of creatine include: genetic deficiency disorders impacting the proper synthesis of creatine in the body, kidney disease that causes complications in creatine transport and chronic overuse of supplements that desensitizes the body from producing its own natural creatine stores.

Creatine and Muscle Building
When it comes to building muscle mass, creatine is the pinnacle performance supplement. Clinical studies confirm that creatine supplements used in conjunction with routine strength training exercise not only amplifies muscle size but also increases muscle strength. The key in its effects is to combine creatine with working out, not to take creatine and expect that your muscles will automatically explode without doing any work.
Creatine supplements produce these positive effects by inducing muscle cell swelling through water retention. Essentially, the supplement allows for greater hydration of the muscle cells and in turn this produces the appearance of bigger, fuller muscles. The muscle building benefits do not end there. As an amino acid, which is the building block of protein needed for muscle growth, creatine stimulates muscle protein synthesis to maximize the protein supplied to the muscle cells for sustaining bulking gains. Creatine itself is not the cause of massive muscle bulk. It serves as an avenue for activating your muscles to receive all the chemicals needed to achieve a powerful pump, and with persistence this will cause muscle gain. Once you stop using creatine supplements, the muscle built from regular strength training, will remain. What changes in ceasing creatine use is the amount of water retained in your muscle cells. It is for this reason that taking creatine supplements causes weight gain because it is water weight that you gain.
Sources, Doses, Adverse Effects
Several precursor amino acids natural in the body promote creatine synthesis but this typically can only occur if your dietary habits support the production of the precursor amino acids. A diet plentiful in animal-based proteins enhances the generation of extra creatine fuel for the muscles. However, the quickest and most efficient means for producing extra creatine in the body comes from supplemental sources.
Supplemental creatine in the form of creatine monohydrate, is the most commonly used and researched variety for muscle building. It comes as a powder, liquid, capsule or chewable supplement as well as an additive in sports drinks or energy bars. Dosing of the creatine supplement varies but a typical load for improving exercise performance involves taking 5 grams at a time, four times daily for two to seven days in a row. After loading, take a lower dose at 2 grams daily, to maintain its beneficial effects on muscle bulking.
Your body will only absorb a certain amount of supplemental creatine. During the loading phase, creatine levels reach a saturation point. Once that saturation point is achieved, taking doses higher than recommended for longer than recommended can cause adverse effects.
Side effects of creatine use include: muscle cramping, dehydration, diarrhea or nausea. If you have any form of kidney disease, taking creatine supplements is not suggested because you kidneys cannot properly filter out the byproduct creatinine, produced during the metabolic break down of creatine. Creatine supplements are legal and generally recognized as safe. However, the safety and effectiveness of long term use has not been clinically established and research is ongoing.

cheers fellas!!

Want Bigger Arms?

You Want Bigger Arms? Read This And Make It So!

In gyms everywhere, you will see people doing bicep curls after bicep curls. If someone were to ask them to show their muscles, they will most likely flex their biceps. How about you? Well, since you are reading this article, then you must have known that to own huge muscular arms, you must focus on your triceps.

Do you know why? It is because your triceps is 2/3 the size of your arm. Just imagine, your bicep is only 30% while your triceps takes up 60%. So if you are neglecting your triceps, you are neglecting 60% of your arms while working on the miniscule 30% called the biceps. Of course you still need to work on your biceps for that well rounded balanced muscular look.

Furthermore, since your triceps are involved in many other body building exercises such as military presses, bench presses and many other exercises, having strong triceps will help you to lift heavier in those other exercises and thus will be encouraging further muscular growth in other body parts.
Your triceps consist of three main muscle whereas your biceps has only 2, the their respective names begins with tri and bi. That is another reason why your triceps should be bigger.

Triceps Exercise Form:
So you have been training your triceps but do not see good results. It could possibly be due to your movement during your reps where the exercises are not performed to its full range of motion. You see, the mass concentration of triceps muscles is at the top of the arm and therefore you have to stretch your arms beyond what you feel that is natural in order to reach the deep fibers of your triceps muscles.

On top of that your form must be strict with minimum elbow movements when performing triceps exercises like skull crushes and triceps extensions. These exercises reach deep into your triceps muscles when you do it with full range of movement.

Tricep exercises like close grip bench press, diamond pushups and cable push-downs do not give you that range of movement as the range of these exercises are limited. This is not to say that you don’t do these exercises, just concentrate on them less.
So in order to build big huge triceps, you must feel the pull of your triceps muscles when the weight is at its lowest position before pulling them back.
So you still want those big muscular arms? Then do not forget to work on your triceps hard and do it in good form.

Cheers fellas!!

Add 1inch to your arms in 3 workouts!!

Every man desires bigger arms! There is no bodypart that says “big & powerful” as clearly & obviously as a huge pair of python arms.
I get a ton of e-mail from guys keen to maximize their arm training. I have created optimized routines for lots of but in case you need a ‘quick & dirty’ method that delivers high intensity overload & results that you have never experienced before… here it is.
The Huge Hurdle
First I must tell you the largest hurdle most people face when keen to increase their workout intensity & their progress in the gym. This first step results from the fact…yes fact…that over 90% of the regular trainees in your gym are overtraining. & five times your body is in an overtrained condition no method can help you.
The first priority of your body is to fully recover. Then, & only then, will it go to work generating new muscle. So step one of my Add One Inch to your Arms Workout is to take five weeks off all strength training! I can listen to the groans now. “But I “need” to work out 3 times a week.” No you don’t. More likely you have turned a love of the gym in to a too-frequent training schedule. Hey, if I liked getting my hair cut it would not help me to go to a barber 3 times a week. Growth takes time. That is a fact you need to face in case you need to train rationally.
So in case you lack the mental toughness to handle the above hurdle, you might as well cease reading this. This method won’t do anything for guys in an overtrained state. These are the blokes who haven’t added any size to their arms in months. But they train over someone else. See the connection? The exception, of work, is for guys beginning out & for guys who understand training frequency & have adjusted their training days to compensate for their ever-increasing intensity of workouts. Those brilliant people can do this workout today.
The Workout
Years ago I conducted a study to measure the relative intensity of all the common arm exercises. (& other bodypart exercises, incidentally.) This brief editorial won’t permit the space to explain all that was measured & analyzed so I’ll give you the conclusions. These exercises will add the most muscle to your biceps, triceps & forearms. Guaranteed.

Seated Biceps Curl: Sit on a bench & rest a barbell in your lap. Take a shoulder-width underhand grip on the bar & curl it upward toward your chin. Use a weight that is so heavy you can only perform four reps. This exercise lets you make use of more weight than you normally would because the seated position limits the range of motion. Try to curl 150% of your normal biceps curl weight. Perform one set of four reps, rest 30 seconds then increase the weight 10% & perform as lots of reps as you can.

Close-Grip Bench Press: Do yourself a huge favor & perform this exercise in a power rack or on a smith machine. Limit the range of motion to the top third of your range. By limiting the range of motion it is possible for you to to hoist a much heavier weight & it is that huge weight – not the range of motion – that triggers new muscle growth. Grip the bar along with your hands spaced about two inches apart & contract your triceps to lift the bar off the support & to full extension. Use a weight that is so heavy you can only perform four reps. Again, with this restricted range you ought to be able to make use of at least 50% more weight than normal. Perform one set of four reps, rest 30 seconds then increase the weight 10% & perform as lots of reps as you can.

Forearms tend to be neglected in most workouts but these five exercises are wonderful at generating an awesome intensity of overload to these highly visible & impressive muscles.
Seated Wrist Curls: These are performed from the same position as the biceps exercise, above. With an underhand grip on a barbell, rest your wrists on your knees so your hands extend beyond your knees. Permit the weight of the bar to force your wrist toward the floor. Use your forearm muscles to power the weight back up. Perform one set of four reps, rest 30 seconds then increase the weight 10% & perform as lots of reps as you can.
Wrist Curls Behind the Back: These are performed by holding a barbell behind your back along with your palms facing backward. It helps to have the bar on a rack to start or to have a training partner place the bar in your hands. The heavy bar will naturally hang down & your wrists will be in a relaxed position. Use your forearm muscles to power the weight up by bending your wrists. You can use much more weight on this exercise than you think you can. Go heavy. Don’t fret about getting a full range of motion. Perform one set of four reps, rest 30 seconds then increase the weight 10% & perform as lots of reps as you can.
Each time you perform the three exercises in this arm workout try to increase your weights by 15-25%. Doing the same workout each time gets you nowhere. It is all about making progress. Progress drives new muscle growth.





Perform the above workout five times over the next twelve days. Avoid any other arm training in the work of this time. You can also train your other muscle groups & you can perform all the low intensity aerobics you need in the work of this time. But keep in mind, in case you started this program in an overtrained condition you won’t see results.
Done the exact way described, this method will add new muscle strength & very significant size to even the most developed arms.

Have a great workout fellas!

March 18, 2012

8 Weeks to Bigger, Better Shoulders

Try these shoulder exercises if you want to add serious size to your shoulders! Remember to consult your doctor before starting any diet and exercise plan.

If you’re serious about training, you’ll want to build the widest and thickest shoulders your frame can carry. With huge, rock-hard shoulders, you’ll never have to wear several layers to look big again, not to mention your waist will look smaller too. But how do you
go about building the shoulders of a true champion? To assist you in your ultimate quest for shoulder size, we’ve put together a training routine composed of some classic, gym-proven shoulder exercises that can help you get where you want to be.

The 8-Week Superior Routine for Shoulder Exercises

The following routine consists of two different shoulder exercises workouts that, when combined, can help you achieve results! Both shoulder exercises workouts contain compound movements designed to build tremendous strength and mass on the entire shoulder girdle. Each workout also contains isolation movements to carve fine lines on the individual heads of the deltoids, for that pumped competition look. For eight weeks, you’ll alternate between each shoulder exercises workout and train shoulders only once a week. For example, you’ll start with Workout 1 in the first week, and you’ll do Workout 2 in the following week. This routine can be as intense as you want to make it. To dial up the intensity, just cut your rest between sets from one minute to 30 seconds.
As with any shoulder exercises routine, it’s essential to stretch and warm up before your workout. Your first set should be a warm-up set with lighter weight. You can work towards progressively heavier weight for the other working sets. Just make sure you concentrate on proper form. After eight weeks, you’ll take a much-needed week off from training shoulders. This will allow time for growth and recovery. You’ll then be ready to resume training again with renewed vigor and all-out intensity.
Instructions: Your first set for each shoulder exercise is a warm-up with lighter weight, followed by two intense working sets with progressively heavier weight. Take a 30-second to one minute break after each set. Once you’ve finished all working sets for a particular shoulder exercise, you can challenge yourself with the next musclebuilding exercise.

Shoulder Exercises: Workout 1	Shoulder Exercises: Workout 2
Dumbell Shoulder Presses 3 sets of 8 to 10 repetitions	Dumbell Front Raises 3 sets of 10 to 15 repetitions
Upright Rows 3 sets of 8 to 10 repetitions	Bent-Over Lateral Raises 3 sets of 10 to 15 repetitions
Dumbell Lateral Raises 3 sets of 10 to 15 repetitions	Smith Machine Presses 3 sets of 8 to 10 repetitions

Dumbell Shoulder Presses

Muscles Worked: Deltoids, upper trapezius, serratus anterior, and triceps
Position: Sit on a bench with your back straight, holding two dumbells just above shoulder level with your palms facing forward.
Start: Press the dumbells straight up until the two dumbells are nearly touching over your head.
Finish: Complete the exercise by returning the dumbells back to the starting position.
Tip: To keep tension on the deltoids, avoid locking your elbows at the top of the movements.

Upright Rows

Muscles Worked: Deltoids, trapezius, biceps
Position: Stand with your feet slightly spread, holding a barbell with
an overhand grip just in front of your thighs.
Start: Keeping the barbell close to your body, raise it to chin level.
Finish: Complete the exercise by returning the barbell back to the starting position.
Tip: Raise your elbows as high as possible at the top of the movement. This exercise can also be performed using the lower pulley on a cable stack.

Dumbell Lateral Raises

Muscles Worked: Deltoids (especially the medial [side] deltoids)
Position: Stand straight and grasp the dumbells with your palms facing toward each other. Rest the dumbells just in front of your thighs and spread your feet slightly.
Start: Raise the dumbells out to your sides until they reach shoulder level.
Finish: Complete the exercise by lowering the dumbells back to the starting position.
Tip: Use manageable weight for this exercise. Your elbows should be slightly bent.

Dumbell Front Raises

Muscles Worked: Deltoids (especially the anterior [front] deltoids)
Position: Stand straight with your feet slightly apart, holding the dumbells with an overhand grip just in front of your thighs.
Start: Using one arm at a time, raise a dumbell out in front of you to shoulder level.
Finish: Complete the exercise by lowering the dumbell under control back to the starting position. Repeat with the opposite side.
Tip: Keep your back straight during the exercise. Use manageable weight and avoid throwing the weight up with your entire body.

Bent-Over Lateral Raises

Muscles Worked: Deltoids (especially the posterior [rear] deltoids), trapezius
Position: Stand bent at the waist with your knees slightly spread. Grasp the dumbells with your palms facing inward and your elbows slightly bent.
Start: Raise the dumbells out to your sides.
Finish: Return the dumbells back to the starting position.
Tip: At the highest point in the movement, squeeze your shoulder blades together. Even though you are bent at the waist, keep your back straight.

Smith Machine Presses

Muscles Worked: Deltoids, triceps, upper pectorals, serratus anterior
Position: Sit on a bench positioned under the bar of the Smith machine. Keep your back straight and grip the barbell with your palms facing forward.
Start: Press the barbell straight up.
Finish: Complete the exercise by returning the barbell back to the starting position.
Tip: To keep tension on the deltoids, avoid locking your elbows at the end position.
With this solid shoulder exercises routine, you’ll be on your way to wide, muscular shoulders. Of course, you’ll need to train with high intensity, include cardio, and get plenty of rest for the very best results. Also, you’ll need a protein-packed nutrition plan that’s moderate in carbs and low in fat.

Cheers fellas!!

6 Exercises To Build Your 6 Pack

 

Whether it is out at the beach, on stage at a physique competition, or any other public place where bodies are dressed scantily clad, the physiques that stand out among all the rest are those that posses rock-hard wash board abdominal muscles. When they come across shirtless bodies, the first place our eyes are instantly drawn to is the abdomen. After-all, the abdominal muscles are the middle piece of the whole body & are a major indication of top level fitness & conditioning.

 

Chad Shaw: The Abdominal Muscles Are The Center Piece Of The Entire Body And Are A Major Indication Of Top Level Fitness And Conditioning.

Achieving 6-pack abs is a multifaceted effort that requires consistency in clean eating, cardiovascular training, and of course a well devised weight training regimen that includes some effective stomach shredding, fat torching exercises. Many people seem to be at a loss when it comes to selecting the most effective exercises to sculpt their 6-pack, so I’m going to take the guess work out of this problem and list for you the 6 best exercises to help you obtain your 6-pack for summer. 

Exercise 1. Cable Crunches

Purpose: To develop the upper and lower Rectus abdominis.
Execution: Attach a rope to an overhead pulley. Grasp each end of the rope, one end in each hand. Kneel down, holding the rope in front of your forehead, bend and curl your torso downward, rounding your back and moving your head towards your knees while feeling your abdominal muscles crunch together. Keep squeezing your ab muscles at the end of the movement for about 3 seconds, then release and slowly return to the starting position.

 Exercise 2. V-Sit With Weighted-Medicine Ball Twist

Purpose: To shape and develop the External obliques, Intercostals, and Pectineus.
Execution: Sit on the floor while holding a medicine ball between your hands and your feet out in front of you. Bend your knees slightly and lift your feet so that they are suspended slightly off the ground while at the same time keeping your ankles together. Lean back so that your torso is approximately 45 degrees to the floor.

Hold the medicine ball out straight out from your chest with your arms slightly bent and then twist your torso over to one side as far as you can, bringing the medicine ball towards the floor on that side of your body, pause for a moment, then twist your torso in the opposite direction as far as you can while bringing the medicine ball towards the floor on that side of your body. Repeat this movement over, alternating side to side until you reach failure. 

Exercise 3. Hanging Knee Raises 

Purpose: To shape and develop the lower Rectus abdominis.
Execution: If available, secure your arms in arm harnesses attached to the chin up bar, or if you have no arm harnesses, then grasp the chin up bar using an over-hand grip. Allow your body to hang straight down keeping your feet together.
Next, curl your knees up towards your chest while keeping your legs together. Once your curled your knees up as high as you can, pause for a couple seconds while squeezing your lower abdominals, then slowly lower your feet back towards the floor as your legs straighten out again, bringing you back to the starting position.

 Exercise 4. V-Ins Or Seated Leg Tucks 

Purpose: To develop the upper and lower Rectus abdominis.
Execution: Sit crosswise on a bench holding on to the sides for support. Slightly raise your legs and bend your knees and lean backward at about a 45 degree angle. Using a scissor like movement, curl your upper body toward your pelvis, while rounding your back, and simultaneously lift your knees up towards your head, making your body look like a V shape (hence the name V-ins.)
Feel your upper and lower abdominals crunch together as your pelvis and rib cage squeeze together. From this position, lower your knees and torso back to the starting position.

 Exercise 5. Roll-Ins With Stability Ball 

Purpose: To shape and develop the lower Rectus abdominis.
Execution: Begin by lying on top of a stability ball with your belly facing down and using your hands, walk your body over the top of the stability ball while keeping your body straight until just the tops of your feet are facing down on the very top of the stability ball.

Exercise Ball Pull-In

At this point you will be in a push up position with your arms straight and your abdominals pulled in. Next, using your abdominal muscles, tuck your knees up towards your chest as the ball rolls in the same direction with the tops of your feet planted on top of the ball. Once you’ve brought your knees and the ball as far up towards your chest as you can, pause for 1 second and then slowly straighten your legs back out and return the ball to the starting position.

Exercise 6. Machine Crunches 

Purpose:
To shape and develop the upper and lower Rectus abdominis.
Execution:
Some bodybuilders feel that using machines to train abdominals is an inferior approach to abdominal training, however, many great body builders swear by machines for maximum results. I personally am a big fan of the ab crunch machines that are designed with the gripping handles positioned upwards on both sides of the head. Even the legendary Charles Glass often uses ab crunch machines to train clients. Which-ever variation of ab crunch machine you decide to use, the important thing to remember is that you need to concentrate on squeezing your rib cage and pelvis together as your abdominals contract.

Ab Crunch Machine

Perform your repetitions nice and slow and really focus on feeling your abdominals burn as they work. If you are unable to achieve this sensation, then the particular machine your using may not be suited for your individual needs.

cheers fellas'

Ways to Eat for Gaining in the Right Spots

1. You do want to count calories.
   When your goal is building mass in the right places, while keeping trim in others, calorie counting is crucial. If you eat too little you’ll begin to lose muscle, and if you eat too much you’ll grow in your waistline as well as in your shoulders. Determining the proper amount of calories to encourage development of lean muscle, and discourage excess weight where you want to stay ripped can be a bit tricky. For most men, your aim should be for between 16-20 calories per pound of body weight. To get started, go with 18 calories per pound which ends up being around 3200 calories per day for a 180lb guy, and keep an eye on how you’re progressing. If it seems that you’re not gaining as much muscle as you would like, but your abs are crazy-defined, then increase the calories to 20. Likewise, if you determine that 18 is adding too much bulk around your waist, then knock it back to 16.
2. Get in all your necessary protein.
   It’s necessary because it provides amino acids, and they are the literal building blocks of muscle. The recommended daily allowance (RDA) of protein is less than half a gram per pound for a typical person. Research shows that more active individuals – athletes, those who work at strenuous jobs, for example – require double that amount, and for people who are especially interested in strength and muscle, such as bodybuilders, at least 1 gram of protein per pound, per day should be consumed.
3. It’s okay if you get the shakes.
   There are two specific times during the day that whole food proteins should be avoided – 30 minutes before, and 30 minutes after working out. The logic behind this particular tip is that whole food proteins take too long to digest to be beneficial in these important periods of muscle growth, and what your body needs instead are protein sources that digest quickly. Whey protein powder is a great option. It provides the amino acids needed to prevent muscle damage, and create energy for your workout, and also facilitates muscle growth after your workout. Try having a whey protein shake with 20 grams of protein before, and another shake with 40 grams of protein, after – both within the 30 minute window of time.
4. Be smart about carbs.
   It’s true that carbohydrates are essential when building mass, but consuming too many is counterproductive. You’ll want to play it safe with carbs, and the best way to do that is to keep them on the low side. You want to keep insulin levels stable so that you will be burning fat all during the day as well as building lean muscle, so focus on getting less than 2 grams of carbs per pound of body weight. 1.5 grams per pound is a good number for the 180 pound guy.
5. Slow and steady.
   When you select the type of carbs you’re going to consume, go for those which are low on the glycemic index as often as possible. Whole grain products, brown rice, etc. are good choices because they digest slowly, and this is also excellent for keeping insulin levels from spiking.
6. Post-workout carbs.
   Within the 30 minute window we discussed above, after you’ve finished a workout, forget the slow carbs and consume fast digesting carbs which are high on the glycemic index, as this is a time when creating an insulin spike is actually a good thing. The only time that having high insulin levels will work in your favor is directly after a high-intensity workout. Any other time a spike in insulin will slow your bodies ability to burn fat. Post-workout, the insulin increases muscle growth and moves the glucose from the high GI carbs into your muscles.
7. Forget the low-fat diet.
   It’s tempting to eat a very low-fat diet when you’re trying to keep your midsection tight, but ignore the temptation. Around 30% of your total daily calories should be provided by fat, and unlike the recommendations made for the more sedentary members of the population, about 5%-10% of your fat intake should be saturated fat. Studies show that diets which are high in both monounsaturated, and saturated fats tend to maintain levels of testosterone much better than low-fat diets. Keeping testosterone at optimal levels is very important to building muscle mass.
8. Many small meals.
   Are the bodybuilders friend. Eating throughout the day helps you stay lean and build muscle as it provides all of the necessary calories and also keeps your metabolism stoked and burning fat. Try to consume meals that are close to the same size every 2-3 hours. Include quality protein and those good low GI carbs in each meal, and aim for between 6 and a maximum of 8 meals per day.
9. Don’t forget a bedtime snack.
   When you’re sleeping, your body is fasting for 8 or however many hours you’re typically down each night. During this time amino acids are pulled from muscle fibers in order to fuel your brain. For a person who is working to increase muscle this is something to be avoided if possible – and that doesn’t mean you should get less sleep, it means that eating the proper foods right before bed is important. Again, the low GI carbs and healthy proteins are your best bets. These food choices will help to slow digestion and provide a steady supply of amino acids for fuel so your body won’t have to look to your muscle tissue to obtain them. Snacks such as cottage cheese or peanut butter are both ideal.
10. Supplements used properly.
    Can assist your bodies natural functions that we’ve been discussing up to this point. You’ll want to use the following stacks:
• 3-5 grams of Arginine in the morning before breakfast/30-60 minutes before working out/30-60 minutes before bed.
• 3-5 grams of Creatine with pre and post workout meals.
• 1-2 grams of Beta-Alanine with pre and post workout meals.
• 5-10 grams of branched-chain amino acids with breakfast, and with your last meal of the day.
• ZMA supplement that contains around 30mg of zinc, 450mg of magnesium, and 10mg of B6 one hour before bed.

       keep lookin fit fellas'

1.