You wouldn’t have thought that these to two things would ever be mentioned in the same sentence, much less analyzed in a bodybuilding article, but we did. You might not have realized it, but this could be affecting you as well. Take a look at our latest article:
I’m pretty sure that if you’re reading this site your main goal when picking up a weight when you participate in your workout program is to build muscle mass naturally and gain weight fast. However, there are many good “side effects” that come from consistently lifting weights. As a matter of fact, so good that they’ll help you live longer.
According to the Archives of Internal Medicine you’ll lower your risk of dying from heart disease if you take naps regularly to go hand in hand with the rest and recuperation you’re supposed to give your body from the workouts. In fact, the percentage you’ll lower this risk is by 37 percent! You see, it’s not just about the big pecs and ripped abs!
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked this question. Many hardgainers feel that they can gain weight or build muscle mass by taking “extra vitamins”. Well, can you or can’t you? To answer this question take step back and think about it. When it comes to eating to gain weight what have I always said is the bottom line? Eating extra protein? No. Upping your fiber? No. Making sure you get your monusaturated fats or fish oils? No. In order to give your body the nutrients it needs to put on muscle mass and gain weight in the form of lean tissue the bottom line is and always will be overall calories. So, what you need is to eat an amount of calories that will allow your muscles to recover, recuperate, and grow.
So, how many calories are in vitamins? None. Zero. Nada. Vitamins are one thing, and calories are another. Yet, they are not one and the same. Vitamins help certain body functions, but they aren’t calories. So, you can take all of the multi-vitamins in the world but you won’t gain one ounce of muscle mass or gain any weight because they aren’t calories…period. So, to answer the question, will taking extra vitamins allow you to put on some size and bulk up?…….only food will.
Sure, you’ve heard it a thousand times, “You need to get your sleep so that your body can recover and you can gain weight and build muscle mass”. However, a recent article no sleep and muscle building in IronMan magazine provided some hard hitting and concrete studies that really hit home with this information.
In the article of the magazine it said “Lack of sleep interferes with testosterone even more. In a study published last year, 12 healthy men…had their testosterone levels monitored after a night of sleep. The less sleep the men got, the lower their testosterone…A study of young men found that sleeping during either the day or night led to more testosterone release. When young men are deprived of sleep, their testosterone levels plummet rapidly…A lack of REM sleep appears to have a particularly potent blunting effect on testosterone release”.
So, hurry up and get to sleep if you want to keep the muscle building, weight gain wheels in motion.
According to a recent research column in Muscular Development magazine, and I quote, “Bud Winter, the legendary track coach of Olympic athletes such as John Powell, Lee Evans, Tommy Smith, and John Carlos, used to to give his athletes “Bud Winter super pills” to improve performance. Winter claimed the pills helped his athletes run faster, even though they were made from sugar. They were nothing more than placebos that worked by the power of suggestion…..Placebos show the importance of positive thinking for success in bodybuilding and sports”.
As I’ve always written, many, of not most supplements aimed at muscle building and gaining weight, such as shakes, pills, powders, and bars, are not what will help you build and gain muscular weight. The big factors in accomplishing this will always be having the right workout routine and eating the correct amount of calories, week in and week out. How many people do you yourself know that takes every bodybuilding supplement known to man, yet don’t ever seem to gain any weight, or build any more muscle mass? What about prisoners? They don’t take any of those nutritional supplements, yet they’re bigger than your average gym rat? Kind of makes you wonder, doesn’t it?
Many popular workout routines and programs have been taking mainstream gyms and exercise enthusiasts by storm. But when it comes to pure muscle building or gaining weight, are certain regimens efficient, such as Pilates? Sure, Pilates may enhance your stretching capacity or your range of motion, aka ROM. However, just because you can stretch further or hold a position for longer periods of time doesn’t necessarily mean that it will stimulate muscular growth and development.
In order to cause hypertrophy in your muscles you have to cause certain things to happen during your workout program. Things such as tension, time under tension, intensity, muscle flow, lactic acid accumulation, etc.,must all take place to cause your muscles to become physically bigger. Does your current Pilates routine cause these mechanisms to go into motion to help you with your muscle building / weight gain goals?
Are you sick and tired of begging your child to get off the couch and get some exercise? Take comfort, because you are not alone. You must set the example first and hope your child will follow. Be assertive and take away your child’s video games and anything else that keeps them stuck in the house.
You should look into taking some healthy exercise classes with your child. Kickboxing and karate classes are a great workout. Moms and daughters may enjoy a dance class or another type of exercise class. Other great options that a lot of communities offer for groups of people are volleyball, swimming, and tennis matches. Use your imagination and do not forget to ask your child what they would enjoy.
Use this time with your child as a time to get to know them better. You may be surprised how comfortable your child is talking to you when you are both participating alongside each other. Not only are these affordable ways to get out of the house, they are extremely important to your child’s health and your relationship with your child.
Oh yeah. Your beloved high protein, low carb diet could be giving you the exact results you don’t want. If you’re reading this site than for sure you main goal in body building is muscle building and gaining weight. You’ll want to read this article to find out why and how:
Many fitness enthusiasts believe that the only muscle group that you can successfully work out everyday are your abs. In order to keep up the motivation to complete an ab workout every single day, you will want to add variety to keep your workout fresh. With a little creativity, and a thorough knowledge of what does and does not work for you, will make it simple to create a variety of workouts.
The actual workout will be the first aspect to vary. From day to day, change whether your workout is on machines or not. Try creating themed ab workouts. Challenge yourself to do an entire workout of ab exercises while standing. Another day, you could attempt to do only yoga-style ab exercises. Yet another option is to mix up circuits, and move from one exercise to another in varying order. For even more variety, pepper in non-ab work to lengthen the total overall ab workout.
There are also other ways to vary your ab workout. Music is a great way to add variety and affect the pace of your ab workout. Different locations can also bring a new and motivating feel to your ab workout. If you need a strong dose of motivation, consider planning an ab workout with a competitive friend, which may be just the push your ab workout needs. Lastly, consider rewarding yourself after a particularly good workout or a number of successful, consecutive workouts.