ght (c) 2009 Steve Hochman

As an Orange County Instructor, I know that “bodybuilding” is an individual effort that requires each person their own dedication, discipline, and determination to train by themselves at any time and ways needed. Each person is responsible for their own actions, such as the choice of what foods to eat or not, what supplements to take and what degree of consistency a person will dedicate to training.

I have been doing training and coaching for many years and in the process have created guidelines that are suitable for anyone no matter what stage of training they are in. Although each of us differs in physiological system, there is some commonality that will assist anyone in attaining his or her physique goals. These are my hypertrophy tips.

Tip # 1: Compound movements – include military, leg, or bench presses, squats, dead lifts, dips, upright rows, stiff dead lifts, and many more physical movements as the bases for your physique exercises. Isolation and machine training can also help if done with these movements.

Tip # 2: Intense but brief training – Intense weight training is the right way to build muscle but it should be done briefly so that the muscle will not be over trained. The training should be completed within an hour or less than an hour to give muscle enough time to recover.

Tip # 3: Train and rest – When you do the training for two consecutive days, take the whole third day to rest so the muscle will have the best results you wanted. You can also try every other day workout muscle training. The muscle grows at the gym but it grows more when you rest.

Tip # 4: Protein for the muscle – Muscles need protein in building and repairing muscle tissues. It is essential to eat foods rich in protein. Weight gain may be blocked when daily protein intake is not enough. 1 gram of protein for each pound of body weight is usually enough for trainees but for professional body builders, they consume daily 1.5 to 2 grams per pound of body weight for faster gains.

The protein intake should be proportioned to 5 to 7 daily meals so the body will have available amino acids throughout the day’s workout. Among the sources of protein are fish, chicken, turkey, red meat, cottage cheese, eggs, buffalo, venison, ostrich, milk, and whey.

Tip # 5: Post work out nutrition – After a hard and intense workout, the body, especially the muscle, would crave for protein and carbohydrates. To help the muscle grow stronger and larger, grab this perfect time to give what it wants. For protein rich, post work out nutrition, prepare a shake that contains 30 to 50 grams of protein and 60 to 100 grams of carbohydrates.

The primary option for protein source for the post work out is the whey; it is not only high in protein, it is also the kind of protein that is easy to absorb. The carbohydrates should also be easy to absorb so that it could penetrate the insulin level of the body.

Insulin is the key factor in bringing carbohydrates and amino acid to the cells of the muscles. For fast-acting carbohydrates with high insulin level, the best source is the dextrose or the maltodextrin powder. You can mix it with whey for a good tasting shake and best work out nutrition. The body would still ask for more proteins, so after an hour or two prepare a meal with protein and carbohydrates. This post workout nutrition will help the muscle to gain more.

Tip # 6: Right supplements – To make progress in your workout, supplements may help you in one way or another. You have to know first which supplements are right for your muscle. There are 3 supplements that can be useful and must be included in the list of trainees. The first one is the protein powder. Whey is the best source of protein; it is not only good as post workout nutrition but also as supplements for the muscle building. Casein, whey, and egg albumin when blended together can be a best source of protein. Take it before bedtime or at any time in between regular meals.

The second supplement is creatine. Its benefits and efficiency has been scientifically proven. Use of it can increase strength, nitrogen retention, cell development, and lactic acid buffering.

The third supplement is the glutamine. More glutamine can enhance immunity and resistance, add storage of glycogen, produce more glutathione for antioxidants of the body, improves gut health, cell development, and release of natural growth hormone.

Before starting a program, follow these tips below to bolster your chances of success.

Desire – Desire is the basis that drives you in the direction to achieving your fitness goals. It is what excites you to push your self through those intense workouts. You have to want to focus all your energy on attaining your goal.

Faith - In order to be succesful one must ensure that he or she truly believes and envisions their success. Among other important factors such as nutrition and effective training, faith in one’s own abilities is key to success.  

Journal Keeping - Write your goals down in a journal, and update it as you progress. Note down any setbacks you may have as well as the success of your program. This allows you to keep things in perspective, and stay focused on your ultimate goal.

Asses Your Current Fitness Level -  Although it may be painful to face the reality of your current situation, it is the first step in your journey to success. Weigh yourself, measure your waist, and test your strength as you can monitor your progress.

Set A Deadline - Set realistic deadlines for when you wish to achieve your goals.

Identify People Or Organizations To Assist You - Much like the saying “you are what you eat”, those who you surround yourself with have great impact on your success. Chose a workout buddy who is as motivated as you are, or they will just hinder your results.

Devise A Plan - Success can only be achieved by setting a clear path in which you intend to take. Make nutrition as well as weight training schedule so you know what to eat what exercises to do each day.  

Create A Mental Image – Imagine what you will look like once you achieve your goal.

Resolve Never To Give Up- Never give up! Look at it this way, if you quit, you will most definitely never reach your goals. If you keep going, you allow for success. Remember that hard work always pays off. Just hand in there!

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For the longest time, women who were not introduced properly to the bodybuilding lifestyle have had difficulty in making weight training a part of their daily routine. The “She Hulk” image has been one of the more durable myths that continue to frighten women from trying even lifting small weights.

The myths

The following are the most common of myths when it comes to women and bodybuilding.

1. You will turn into a “She Hulk” when you lift weights- this could not be farther from the truth. Natural weight lifting coupled with a healthy diet of nutritive foods with little of the bad stuff like saturated fats would give you a sexy body, not a monstrous one. Often this image is the result of watching too much television. Professional bodybuilders for one, are known for using synthetic testosterone to boost their muscle production. Though unfortunate, this is fairly common practice.

Women should remember that women with massive physiques often used artificial methods to gain muscle mass. These combinations are called “cutting stacks” and are composed of synthetic forms of estrogen and testosterone. Some even use illegal steroids, such as those that are used for horses that have been bred to race.

2. Weight training in general can cause the breasts to grow- though this might be a positive thing to look forward to, the answer is unfortunately no. Bust size depends largely on the amount of body fat you have- the more fat, the more tissue going into the woman’s chest area. When exercise becomes more intense, there might even be a chance that your breast size will decrease, because the distribution of fat is automatically balanced by the human body.

3. Immediately, fat converts to lean muscle during weight training- this myth, though it might be something that could encourage other women to pursue their own goals through a bodybuilding lifestyle, is still a myth. Perhaps a clarification is in order here.

Fats are excess forms of energy stored in the body. The body can handle almost double its weight in fats, however, this does not mean that it does not do damage when excess levels of fat are present.

Exercise burns the fat, and reduces its different manifestations through the body: belly fat is one form of stored fat, chest fat is another, and so on. Exercise does not turn fat into muscle. Muscle, like body fats are already there. Exercise and weight training simply develops what is already there and reduces what is not needed by body.

4. Immediately stopping weight training causes all the hard-earned muscles to revert back to fat- still another myth. There is a chance that the muscles would again be covered in a layer of fat due to prolonged inactivity. But the muscle will not turn into fat.

This myth has been circulating for a long time due to the fact that people who have once engaged in weight training and stopped look like polar opposites of themselves after they’ve stopped training.

The important thing to realize here is that you have complete command of your lean muscle mass, as long as you engage in the right kinds of exercises.

A perfect abs bodybuilding routine is needed to shape ones belly beautifully. However, this is just one aspect out of three. To reach the goal of a crunchy six pack one has to consider the two others as well: cardio training and nutrition.

Cardio Training and a healthy nutrition are essential because without a low body fat percentage, the muscles will just not be visible. An effective abs bodybuilding routine may sculpt a nice six pack but what’s the point when all the hard work is hidden under a flabby layer of belly fat?

There are two ways to decrease the body fat percentage:

Burn more calories. This is the main motivation to invest time in cardio training. Good ways to burn fat are: jogging, swimming, aerobic, nordic walking, cycling. Two to four sessions per week with one hour each will burn between 1200 and 2400 kcal per week! This sums up to 4800 to 7600 kcal additionally burned every month. Eat less calories. This does not necessarily mean to eat less food. With a healthier nutrition containing less sugar and fat can often make your body feel fuller faster without having to eat that much. There are many other ways to trick your body. For example, eating a low calorie soup or drinking a glass of water before a meal, will actually help to become fuller and eating less calories as a result of it.

The third requirement for crunchy six packs is — finally — a proven abs bodybuilding workout routine. There are a number of ebooks available for direct download that share the experience of some of the best bodybuilders of our time.

There are various muscle building supplements available in the market but many are just gimmicks and hyped about. The best method or technique to choose a supplement is to find out whether it has scientific support and the feedback of the people who have used them. It is always advisable to choose a supplement which combines and works with the natural hormones of your body to help you reach your goal.

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Diet supplements should be selected which have high protein content and some amount of good fat. They should prepare the body and provide the power and stamina for workouts for building muscle mass. Also the supplements should help the body to recover from post workout damages. You need to find out which exact body building supplements help you to achieve your goals and which are just hype. You also need to know how to optimize the muscle building nutrition to get the most lean muscle mass gains or maximize the anabolic response and minimize gaining body fat.

There are various books on this subject including free e-books available on line which guide you to get the best muscle building and fitness supplements. You need to be very careful before selecting the supplement and need to keep certain things in mind. You need to know which supplements to use to maximize muscle building in minimum time. Know where to get discount supplements and save money. Learn how to save your supplement bill and get more by paying the same price. Know what to look for before buying a supplement. There are various articles published in magazines which provide you this information. Books like Body for Life Book by Bill Phillips, Bodybuilding Nutrition by Mandy Tanny, Natural Bodybuilding by John Hansen, all provide you with the required information complete body building from what supplements to choose to what exercises to adopt.

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Many of the supplements industry do not give serious thought before producing supplements or think of improving them. They think that people will buy anything that they produce whether or not they are effective. Thus one has to be very careful before spending so much money on supplements because half the time they are not effective. Supplements are basically produced keeping in mind to raise your growth hormone and testosterone. Supplements are available in various forms like Protein, Meal & Weight Gain Powders, Testosterone & Growth Hormone Boosters, Carbohydrate Polymers, Fat Burners & Metabolize rs, Muscle Cell Volumisers including Creatine and Nitric Oxide, Amino Acids, Anti-Estrogens, Isoflavones, Vitamins & Minerals, Nutritional Bars, Energy Gels & Electrolyte Drinks. There are various international brands who produce these like International brands such as Redbak, Dymatize Nutrition, Muscletech, Body Science, BSN, Ladybird, Optimum Nutrition, AST, Body Ripped, Ultimate Nutrition, MRM, Biotest, Maxs, Bronx, Isatori, Universal Nutrition, Gen-Tec, Vital Strength, Aussie Bodies, Musashi, Muscle Asylum Project, Ultimate Nutrition.

Before selecting the right supplements one needs to find out which are legal and which are not and regularly check for updates on these supplements. Also do keep in mind to check the new products which are coming in the market and make comparison study on the basis of how effective they are with the existing ones.

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You should first know that no amount of physical activity can give you your desired body if it is not coupled with bodybuilding nutrition and a total body workout. Actually, it is the bodybuilding nutrition that is the most vital factor in building the best body.

Women’s Weight Training Myth #1 – Weight training makes you bulky.

Due to the fact that women do not and cannot naturally produce as much testosterone (one of the main hormones responsible for increasing muscle size) as males do, it is impossible for a woman to gain huge amounts of muscle mass. Unfortunately, the image that may come to your mind is that of professional female bodybuilders. Most of these women, unfortunately, use anabolic steroids (synthetic testosterone) along with other drugs in order to achieve that high degree of muscularity.

In addition, most also have good genetics coupled with an unbelievable work ethic that enable them to gain muscle quickly when they spend hours in the gym lifting very heavy weights. Believe me when I say that they do not look like that by accident. Women who conduct weight training without the use of steroids get the firm and fit cellulite-free looking body that you see in most fitness/figure shows these days.

Women’s Weight Training Myth #2 – Exercise increases your chest size.

Sorry girls. Womens breasts are composed mostly of fatty tissue. Therefore, it is impossible to increase breast size through weight training. As a matter of fact, if you go below 12 percent body fat (which I do not recommend doing), your breast size will decrease. Weight training does increase the size of the back, so this misconception probably comes from confusing an increase in back size with an increase in cup size. The only way to increase your breast size is by gaining fat or getting breast implants

Womens Weight Training Myth #3 – Weight training makes you stiff and musclebound.

If you perform all exercises through their full range of motion, flexibility will increase. Exercises like flyes, stiff-legged deadlifts, dumbbell presses, and chin-ups stretch the muscle in the bottom range of the movement. Therefore, by performing these exercises correctly, your stretching capabilities will increase.

Women’s Weight Training Myth #4 – If you stop weight training your muscles turn into fat.

This is like saying that gold can turn into brass. Muscle and fat are two totally different types of tissue. What happens many times is that when people decide to go off their weight training programs they start losing muscle due to inactivity (use it or lose it) and they also usually drop the diet as well. Therefore bad eating habits combined with the fact that their metabolism is lower due to inactivity, and lower degrees of muscle mass, give the impression that the subjects muscle is being turned into fat while in reality what is happening is that muscle is being lost and fat is being accumulated.

Women’s Weight Training Myth #5 – Weight training turns fat into muscle.

More alchemy. This is the equivalent of saying that you can turn any metal into gold; don’t we wish! The way a body transformation occurs is by gaining muscle through weight training and losing fat through aerobics and diet simultaneously. Again, muscle and fat are very different types of tissue. We cannot turn one into the other.

Women’s Weight Training Myth #6 – As long as you exercise you can eat anything that you want.

How I wish this were true also! However, this could not be further from the truth. Our individual metabolism determines how many calories we burn at rest and while we exercise. If we eat more calories than we burn on a consistent basis, our bodies will accumulate these extra calories as fat regardless of the amount of exercise that we do. This myth may have been created by people with such high metabolic rates (hardgainers) that no matter how much they eat or what they eat, they rarely meet or exceed the amount of calories that they burn in one day unless they put their mind to doing so. Therefore, their weight either remains stable or goes down.

Women’s Weight Training Myth #7 – Women only need to do cardio and if they decide to lift weights, they should be very light.

First of all, if you only did cardio then muscle and fat would be burned for fuel. One needs to do weights in order to get the muscle building machine going and thus prevent any loss of muscle tissue. Women that only concentrate on cardio will have a very hard time achieving the look that they want. As far as the lifting of very light weights, this is just more nonsense. Muscle responds to resistance and if the resistance is too light, then there will be no reason for the body to change.

Women Should Train Hard Myth #8

I have trained with girls that train as hard as I do and they look nothing but feminine. If you want to look great, don’t be afraid to pick up the weights and lift hard!

If you are looking to for a diet plan that can mold to fit your need, then Atkins diet plan is perfect for you. By using the Atkins Diet, you can lose weight by enjoying much of the food you like.

Atkins nutrition bars are available now-a-days. Atkins nutrition bar are delicious and nutritious. Atkins nutrition bars are lower in carbohydrate. The low carbohydrate Atkins nut-bar supports the Atkins diet. Atkins Advantage bars are delicious and nutritious protein bars. Atkins Apple breakfast bars are much fewer in carbohydrate. Atkins blueberry and cinnamon bun bars are the only flavors that don’t have sugar alcohols. Some Atkins nutrition bars with apple, strawberry and chocolate flavors contain maltitol. The flavored whey protein or protein bars taste good.

You can make your own Atkins nutrition bars. Atkins nutritional bar contains protein powder and a binding agent to hold it together. The most basic protein mixture is simply protein powder combined with natural peanut or other nut butter.

The basic ingredient of Atkins nutrition bar is flour. You need not use regular flour. But instead take large flake oats, or other type of unprocessed grain flake. Grind it fine grainy flour using food processor. The next ingredient you need to prepare Atkins nutrition bar is protein powder. You can use protein powder of whatever flavor you prefer. Vanilla flavor tastes well. The final ingredient you need to prepare Atkins nutrition bar is peanut or nut butter. Nut butter gives the bars a more interesting taste. Mix all these ingredients in 1:1:1 ratio such that the mixture holds itself together, like cookie dough, without being excessively thick. You can also add other food items which Atkins diet recommends in order to get a different texture.

You need food processor, wax paper, rolling pin, cookie sheet or shallow square/ rectangular roasting or cake pan, and the essential ingredients in order to prepare Atkins nutrition bars.

The basic process of preparing Atkins diet is as follows: Grind the grain in the food processor to get the required flour. Dump in the protein powder to the flour and whiz the mixture in the food processor so that the flour and protein powder are well mixed. Add the peanut or other nut butter to the mixture of flour and protein powder. Blend the total mixture until the mixture has the texture of cookie dough and holds its shape when pressed together. Spread wax paper on the cookie sheet or in the roasting or cake pan. Put the prepared dough mixture on the wax paper. Cover it with another sheet of wax paper and roll or pat it out into the desired thickness. You can also press it into the roasting or cake pan with your hands, and then cover it with another sheet of wax paper. When properly frozen, remove and cut into bars of desired size. Wrap each bar in wax paper. Keep the bars in the freezer until just before eating.    

You can also add any kind of fruit puree or a banana to give a moister, chewier texture to the bars. You can also add applesauce to add moisture and to hold things together. You can also grind dry spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg, and nuts or seeds such as pumpkin or sunflower seeds with the flour you use. Walnuts and pumpkin seeds add omega-3s, and Brazil nuts add selenium which is an antioxidant. You can also add dried fruits.

If you’ve decided to get into bodybuilding, it’s important to remember that the right bodybuilding routine is crucial for best results. Just like the bodybuilders who design them, bodybuilding routines are also equally different in many ways. The best bodybuilding routine is ideally the one that achieves the maximum result in the minimum amount of time.

It’s a common mistake for rookie bodybuilders to think that they can attain a physique like that of a certain Mr. Schwarzenegger by simply renting a copy of “Pumping Iron” and imitating Arnold move for move.

Now, borrowing bodybuilding techniques from a world-class bodybuilder is fine, however, expecting those same techniques to give you a sculpted body within ten months is really just building castles in the air.

Here are three fundamentals of bodybuilding routines that work which you should keep in mind when choosing a workout routine for yourself.

Fundamental #1 of Bodybuilding Routines That Work: No such thing as One Routine Fits All

When it comes to bodybuilding, what works for one individual doesn’t ever work for the other. You can see this by spending sometime observing builders at your local gym and you will realize that each one of them is performing separate exercises for different rep counts and with different weights in order to tone, sculpt or build different body parts. Experienced bodybuilders have all found their routines through a basic trial and error process and so shall you if you proceed diligently.

Fundamental #2 of Bodybuilding Routines That Work: Different Strokes for Different Muscle Folks

In order to choose a bodybuilding routine that actually works for you, make sure to pick one that suits your body type. There are three basic body types as far as gaining muscle mass is concerned. These are Endomorphs, Ectomorphs and Mesomorphs:

Those with the Endomorph body type are able to easily build muscle mass but are also prone to putting on weight. This type has to watch their diet carefully and need some amount of cardio in their workout routine as well.

Ectomorphs on the other hand are of the tall, thin and lean body type with long, slim limbs. Ectomorphs don’t put on weight or muscle mass easily and need to eat the right kind of food to increase their calorie and protein intake. They must also weight train to a great extent instead of cardio in order to sculpt a good body.

The final body type is Mesomorphs and those with this kind of body type are extremely lucky since they don’t put on weight easily and are also able to gain muscle mass fast. If you fall in this category, do not change the amount of food you eat, only eat healthier and start bodybuilding immediately.

Fundamental #3 of Bodybuilding Routines That Work: Change is the Name of The Bodybuilding Game

Finally, if you do find a bodybuilding routine that works amazingly well for more than three months, then chances are that you will probably have to add some variations as you go along, doing what’s necessary to get the desired results as well as adding or removing exercises to build different muscle groups and parts of your body.

To conclude, no bodybuilding routine that works is complete without the right kind of nutrition. And also no bodybuilding routine includes workout sessions longer than 75 minutes or more than 5 sessions per week. If you push your body beyond its limit, you must be ready to face the consequences such as injury and long recuperation periods. This is why it’s especially important to choose and follow a bodybuilding routine under the watchful eye of a professional natural body builder or trainer.

Apart from that, keep the above-mentioned bodybuilding fundamentals in mind to find the perfect bodybuilding routine that works for you and before long you will be well on your way to attaining that dream body you’ve always wanted.

To some it’s no more than a bunch of macho men trying to flatter their already over-hyped egos. To others it’s the ultimate of sports, requiring dedication, persistence, and knowledge. Despite it’s growing popularity, bodybuilding is still considered by many to be an obscure sport offering few redeeming qualities. It’s too bad such archaic beliefs still exist as few forms of exercise offer the benefits of working out with weights.

Increasing muscle size and strength!

The most obvious benefit of bodybuilding is an increase in muscular size and strength. Working out with weights causes the muscles to grown in size and vastly increase in strength. Most forms of exercise are limited in this as there is no increase in resistance over time. Once the muscles become adapted to your bodyweight, they quickly plateau. Weight training on the other hand allows you to increase the resistance as the muscles get bigger and stronger.

Stronger bones!

Besides strengthening muscles, weight training also stimulates the body’s bones to absorb minerals, thus making them stronger. Weight training is now recommended to older people as a way to combat osteoporosis.

Fat loss too!

One of the unknown benefits of bodybuilding is its effects on metabolism and fat loss. For decades women have been told that the key to fat loss is aerobics. But it’s now known that the real key to losing fat is boosting your metabolism. Aerobics is very limited in its effects on metabolism. Working out with weights, however, produces what’s called an afterburn. This means your metabolism is revved up and will keep burning calories even after you leave the gym. How many sports can accomplish this?

And for athletes!

For those who doubt the physical benefits of weight lifting look no further than professional and college sports’ teams. Virtually all teams have strength coaches these days. By following a well-rounded bodybuilding routine, athletes not only perform better but are less susceptible to injuries.

Feeling good about yourself!

Besides its many physical benefits, bodybuilding has numerous other great qualities. As painful as strength training can sometimes feel, there is nothing more satisfying than the feeling after a good solid work-out. Bigger and stronger muscles and joints can have a dramatic impact on posture and a leaner physique tends to make everyone feel better about their appearance. The end result is improved self-esteem and increased self-confidence.

Knowledge is Power

It takes more than lifting heavy weights to build a great physique. You have to know how to lift, when to lift, and what exercises. Simply following the training routine of some professional bodybuilder is not the best approach. In fact such training may only set you back. Many such individuals are loaded up on steroids and other performance enhancing drugs. While these substances do allow bodybuilders to train harder and longer, such compounds are illegal and may cause severe side effects. Your goal in bodybuilding should be to develop a great looking physique that is also healthy. You should be thinking long-term health not short-term fix.

Besides training you also must be informed about what foods to put into your body. If you eat like crap you’ll look like crap. Sound nutrition is just as important as bench pressing or squatting. You wouldn’t put junk fuel into a high-performance racecar, so why put nutritional garbage into your body? You have to eat good to look good.

Closely related to nutrition is supplementation. All the best bodybuilders take supplements. Food supplements will help you build bigger, stronger, and leaner muscles, in a shorter period of time. But as with training and eating, there is much misinformation on supplementation floating around these days. You want to only buy the best bodybuilding supplements from reputable manufacturers. Don’t just buy the cheapest supplements. Do some research and make an intelligent choice.