Everyone knows the children’s song about the leg bone being connected to the hip bone, but how many people really take it to heart? Obviously, everyone knows that the leg bone does in fact attach to the hip bone; that’s not the point. Probably not many people really stop to think about how related and interconnected the parts of the human body really are. In an illustration of this point, the back and stomach muscles are all affected by one another as they form a girdle around the lower torso. It stands to reason, then, that your posture affects how your tummy looks, and the strength of your stomach muscles affects your posture.

Stand Up Straight

This first step to losing a belly is to stand and sit up straight. This actually has a few different effects. First of all, slouching accentuates belly fat, so simply sitting up will make you appear slimmer. Second, proper posture help improves the strength of your back, which of course makes it easier to maintain proper posture longer. Third, poor posture leads to back pain, which makes stomach exercises difficult. Having good posture will make it easier for you to work out your stomach muscles and whittle down that belly. Lastly, a nice straight posture enhances blood flow throughout the body, particularly to the legs and lower back, both of which are involved in many stomach exercises. So, if you are trying to lose a belly, the first step is to simply sit and stand up as straight as possible as often as possible. Do that, and you are already on your way!
Back Extension

For the reader familiar with the crunchless crunch, this move will seem similar but backwards. For this exercise, you will need to start by lying on your stomach with your forehead on the floor. You may use a mat or towel to cushion your pelvis and head. Position your arms by your sides, palms up. Contract your back muscles to lift your torso off the floor. Hold the contraction briefly, then release and slowly lower your torso back down to the floor. Repeat for an entire set.

The next part of this exercise begins by extended your arms out above your head (picture a superhero flying through the air). Now lift your legs off the floor simultaneously while keeping your head and arms held in place. Try to imagine your legs growing longer as you are lifting them up. Hold your legs up briefly, then slowly lower them back to the floor.

Doing these two things will help you strengthen your back and correct your posture, which are great first steps to losing an unwanted belly. You will also want to continue working on your back muscles and other core muscles, such as the transverse and rectus abdominus. Stomach exercises that work the core will help you straighten up your posture, lose belly fat, and gain muscle tone in both your back and tummy. As with any workout routine, be sure to consult a professional before beginning and always warm up properly to avoid injury.

Over the years, the strategies used to train the abdominals have changed and varied even to opposing extremes. There was a time that abdominal training was all about attending the gym regularly and doing a couple of sit ups irrespective of dieting, was the in thing among those desiring packed, chiseled abs. today, a few sets of sit-ups and or leg raises will do little in getting you the abs to match a supreme torso. You have to understand that times have changed; diets are fat too fatty, nutrients too scarce and junk food too popular.

Those sit ups that used to work wonders will today help little if the diet is not in line with the abdominal training objectives. Whether or not you are training the abs as part of the overall body building program or if you are in the gym only for the ultimate definition and leaning of the abs, the procedural requirements will be much the same. The program you adopt and dedicate for abs training

The overriding myth that the more of abs exercises that you perform in a workout is directly proportional to what you get is as redundant as it is futile. A thousand crunches a day is not the right way to go in getting your abs ripped. What to do is lean out your diet since the abs layout and definition has one great enemy in body fat. Then get into a body-fat loss program.

For as long as the abs are covered in body fat, a notorious deposit area of body fat, then the workout training targeting the abs will all be in vain. A cardio program is enough to get you on the fat loss program, with two weekly sessions dedicated for weight exercises too. Remember, as you burn body fat, you must also ensure that you are getting none of it in, for it will not bring desired results if you eat as much fats as you are burning. So get on low or no fat diets, then hit the gym.

After a while and the body fat has dropped considerably, initiate forty minutes of abs training that incorporates two or three exercises. Believe it or not, a single set of crutches, sit up and leg pushes is adequate for every workout session. Single sets when complemented with dieting sense, consistency and exercise form, will get the abs on the right track. Gear up your determination and persistence and it will take less than three months to get the abs ripped.

After the six-cut abs are achieved, the lean abdomen perfectly chiseled and toughened, do not go back to the mess of body fat or else you will loose out those abs to the deposits. Remember that you can loose the perfect set of abs packs in a shorter duration than you built them. It is important that you maintain the abs workout training, progress to other areas of the body and keep a healthy lifestyle. When this is done, you will never have to go through the procedure again, starting from zero.

antastic article from Mel Siff – taken from his Yahoo group, which still has enormous amounts of valid information its archives – check it out at health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Supertraining/ or just grab the highlights at melsiff.com and then search through the various categories in the column on the left.

Milk advertisements have so long proclaimed that milk is a healthy food, that

it is a “complete food”, that it provides an excellent source of calcium, and

that one should drink it for preventing osteoporosis that most people believe

all of this to be true. On one side, we have been exposed to endless TV

commercials with healthy-looking people displaying parts of their faces

smothered with milk, and parents have come to believe the dairy industry

marketing claims to such as extent that most children are forced to drink

milk or have it on their morning cereals. Bodybuilders and many athletes

have been convinced that various milk derivatives such as whey serve as an

unrivalled source of highly concentrated protein.

On the other side, from the anti-milk lobby, we have heard that milk

consumption is associated with a great increase in the incidence of allergy,

stomach disorders, heart disease, cancer and various other diseases.

Who is correct? Can we really accept the biased proof of the healthful

aspects of milk from the huge dairy industry with its vested interests

everywhere? Equally well, can we trust that the anti-milk activists have not

grossly exaggerated the dangers of milk? Haven’t many of us, especially in

the strength and sporting world consumed huge quantities of milk since our

earliest years, without any obvious ill-effects? Isn’t the greater incidence

of heart disease and allergy among those who drink milk not due to other

possible factors?

As a dedicated and passionate milk product lover, I was convinced for much of

my life that the anti-milk lobbyists were way off track and were probably a

bunch of skinny runts who never drank large quantities of milk to help in

their quest for size and strength. However, more recently I began to

discover that both factions may be correct. Yes, milk may be both good and

bad for you, whether you are “lactose intolerant” or not!

My first clues came when I noticed how differently I responded to drinking

raw milk and pasteurised milk back in S Africa, then later when I drank milk

in the USA. I always found that certified raw milk tasted better, was very

easily digested even in large volume, and never putrefied when left

unrefrigerated, but simply became pleasantly sour, like a good yoghurt. I

simply could not understand why I consistently could not tolerate milk in

amounts greater than a cupful in the USA, until I noticed that the milk that

I drank in S Africa separated into a thick creamy layer at the top, unlike

the far less palatable milk in the USA. Then I noticed that all the milk

that I bought in the USA was “homogenized” and also found out that the

pasteurization process here may not be carried out under the same heating

conditions as my sources in S Africa.

I also noted that the milk here does not and cannot go sour, but putrefies

and becomes impossible to drink after a few days out of the refrigerator,

suggesting that it contains none of the natural bacteria which allow it to

become sour and palatable.

My feint suspicions grew far stronger that milk of itself may not be the

problem. Instead the way in which it is prepared may be the real problem, as

is the case with all other foods. That would explain quite simply why and

others have responded so differently to raw milk, pasteurised milk and

*pasteurised and homogenized* milk – clearly the processing involved must be

playing a central role in the whole affair. That should be not at all

surprising, since we all know that other foods can be overcooked, dried out

when reheating after storage in the refrigerator, become tough by poor

preparation or marinating, taste very different when microwaved compared with

roasted, and so forth. Often the digestibility can also be profoundly

affected by the manner of preparation. Why should milk be any different?

Before I go any further, here are some technical details about pasteurisation

and homogenization:

Now, the major rationale behind pasteurisation is that it eliminates the risk

of contracting TB (tuberculosis), but the statistics have never shown that

pasteurised milk is any safer than certified raw milk. On the contrary,

studies have shown that pasteurised milk often contains a percentage of pus

from the cow’s udders (at least it is pasteurised!).

If one wishes to use certified raw milk in many States in the USA, you just

do not have that freedom of choice, because it is often legislated against on

the grounds of health risk. I cannot begin to understand or accept this

reasoning at all, because if the milk is certified, then it is TESTED for any

harmful bacteria. On the other hand, every single batch of pasteurised milk

is not tested, but merely ASSUMED to be bacteria-free after its heat

treatment. In the light of this, legislation against the sale of certified,

tested raw milk is illogical and suspect.

To help you understand more about the pros and cons of milk consumption, here

is a random collection of resources presenting myths and facts about milk in

its various forms:

———–

Review of book Cohen “Milk the Deadly Poison”

Enter Robert Cohen, with rich experience in biological research and a risk

taker-one of his pursuits is mountain climbing. …….. Cohen divulged his

suspicions that the FDA’s approval of the bovine growth hormone represented

not only collusion between Monsanto and the FDA, but a cover-up of epic

proportions by the scientific establishment. His three-year fact-finding

journey proved him chillingly right.

Reading this book, you will learn that milk contributes to heart disease and

increases your risk of breast cancer. You will learn that milk is a poor

source of calcium and why, and that milk is a prime cause of allergies and

much more. You will learn that milk can even kill your infant.

Cohen doesn’t expect you to accept these shocking findings on faith. He

takes you by the hand as he uncovers layers of scientific fraud perpetuated

by the FDA, with assistance from JAMA, Science News, and even the Cadillac of

scientific publications, Science. In digging for scientific facts, Cohen

found that the web of deception concerning the bovine growth hormone involved

not only key players- FDA and Monsanto -but reached members of Congress as

well as a respected medical authority turned Monsanto lobbyist. At times

this book reads like a detective story…….

——–

The Effect of Processed Milk on Calves

I am a retired Veterinarian; I doctored horses and cattle for 25 years and

then I did only the Small Animals. The article I read in Discover Magazine

on milk brought back many memories. When the farmers kept a milk cow on the

farm to feed the weaner calves, there were few digestive problems. But when

no dairy cows were available they went to the local store and got “Store

Bought” milk for the calves to drink. Soon the calves died with diarrhea. I

thought milk was milk but I soon found out that the Pasteurized and

Homogenized milk could not be digested by these calves. Homogenization broke

the fat globule into such a small bit that it wouldn’t curd in the stomach

and passed directly into the small intestine where it created severe

inflammation. I called it toxic enteritis. I learned to treat these cases

with Goats milk which has the largest fat globule of any milk found on the

farm. The calves made a quick recovery if the patient hadn’t gotten too

debilitated.

I too drank a lot of milk when we milked cows on the farm. I never had any

adverse effects from drinking a quart or more at one time. When I went on to

college and I was using “store bought milk” I got so I drank very little milk

and what I did drink reacted in my system like a poison. I was told I was

allergic to milk. Now 50 years later, a friend, who has a milk cow out in

the country, asked me if I could use some milk. I accepted and for three

years now I can drink milk like I did when I lived on the farm. I have no

adverse side effects. This milk is raw milk, also not Homogenized. The only

other question I have to answer has to do with the effect pasteurization has

on the natural enzymes. The destruction of these during the pasteurization

process could effect the digestibility of milk.

—–

Myths and Deceptions about Raw Milk:

Research and Other Articles on Raw Milk:

The Crime against Raw Milk

The Dangers of Processed Milk:

Milk – The Perfect Food?

———

MILK DECREASES HEART ATTACKS?



——

Top Ten Reasons why Milk is not the Perfect food:

1. It’s a great source of unwanted antibiotics.

2. Ditto for recombinant bovine growth hormone.

3. Eighty percent or more of the world’s people are lactose-sensitive or

-intolerant.

4. The homogenization process (which allows the fat to stay in suspension, so

that the cream, for example, doesn’t rise to the top) makes the fat and the

cholesterol more subject to oxidation (and therefore free-radical

generation).

5. The nations that consume the most milk also, incidentally, have the

highest rates of oesteoporosis.

6. The top 10 reasons why you should drink it have been brought to you by the

dairy industry, not by independent assessors.

7. It is very high in phosphorus, which is a calcium antagonist, so the

calcium in it is not particularly well absorbed.

8. The calcium-magnesium ratio is not particularly good.

9. It is one of the top allergens, probably the number one allergen for

children, and it is filled with (milk) sugar.

10. Calcium is not as well absorbed in the absence of some fat; hence skim

milk is an even worse choice…..

———

FDA Cover-up about certain aspects of Milk Industry

——–

This and many other sources have convinced me that the effects of milk on the

body are very significantly altered by pasteurisation and homogenization, and

that the understanding of and consumption of milk simply on the basis of its

macronutrient and micronutrient analysis can be seriously misleading. It is

high time that the public were educated about the difference between safe

certified raw milk and the highly processed product that they buy from the

average supermarket. It would appear that many of the adverse side-effects

of milk consumption, even with a full fat content, have far more to do with

the aggressive processing of the product than any inherent ‘unhealthiness’.

One of the most crucial aspects of improving your overall performance if you’re a baseball player is core strength training. Advanced core strength techniques will help you improve your overall balance, as well as reduce the chances of getting an injury while swinging, pitching, and throwing. These advanced core strength training tips can help you to become a great power hitter and help you to stay healthy and have a long lasting career.

The core is more than just your abdominals. You have to come to grips with this before you can develop an effective core strength training program. Many define the core as all muscle groups from your groin to your shoulders, including your chest.

Another alternative to exercise the body core is by using the exercise ball. The simplest way to do it is by sitting on the exercise ball which will engage the core muscles. A more extreme exercise is by kneeling beside the ball while the hands on the ball and then rolling forward.

A proper abs workout should be able to most effectively work out the entire mid-section and core, in minimal amount of time with no risk of injuries. Finding such an exercise is very difficult but here are some things you should focus on when planning your core workout.

You should also talk to your doctor about being ready for strength training when you are recovering from surgery, have had no physical exercise

whatsoever prior to your upcoming strength training plans, are pregnant or had given birth less than three months ago.

Core strength is simply about having a strong core muscle group. If your core muscles are weak your body will not work as effectively as it could, resulting in poor posture and injuries to the knees, back and shoulders. By developing your core strength you are not only going to improve your posture (and look much better for it!), decrease the risk of injury but you will also improve your balance and stability. Even when you are only standing on the board you are engaging your core muscles, so think how much you use your core muscles when twisting, turning and rotating on your surfboard out on the waves.

Once a trainee understands optimal muscle balance, serious progress occurs. The muscles and connective tissues of the midsection are the most important for our body function. They serve to protect our vital organs and allow us to move through unpredictable patterns. In short, the more core strength you have, the more movement, stability, and mobility you will have.

Okay, now let’s talk about working the lower back muscles on the ball. The same issues hold true when comparing back extensions on the floor and back extensions on the ball. You have less range of motion on the floor, so you may not achieve the same improvement in strength.

Your upper body is made up of your arms, shoulders, upper back, neck and chest. You can work with free weights or machines to target these specific body parts. The bench press is one obvious method for targeting your chest muscle.

Read About bodybuilding supplements Also Read About benefits of cardiotraining and strength training benefits

It’s fairly obvious that no two humans beings are exactly the same, thus it should come as no surprise that different people need to train in different ways and have different bodybuilding routines. One of the primary factors that will help you become a successful bodybuilder is to understand your own body, to realize what your limits are and to appreciate how your body will react under stress. Therefore in order to make the most of your bodybuilding routines and workouts you must know your body type and understand how it will affect your training.

Scientists have developed a body type classification system based on a number of factors and everybody falls into one of the following three categories (you may fall in-between, as these are quite generalized): endomorph, mesomorph and ectomorph. Once you have established your body type, you can them adjust your bodybuilding routine, training program and lifestyle accordingly. You should also speak to your doctor to get their advice before you start training and to get a check up.

The first category we shall look at is the endomorph body type. Endomorphs usually find it really quite easy to gain muscle mass, but also they find it very easy to put on weight. Thus having a great deal of self discipline is required to control your diet if you’re to be a successful bodybuilder. A great tip for endomorphs is to eat 6 small meals at regular intervals throughout the day to ward off hunger and snacking on junk food. Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated and don’t eat anything for at least a few hours before going to bed to facilitate fat loss. Endomorphs tend not to have too much difficultly putting on muscle mass, however if you want good definition in your muscles you’ll need to do plenty of cardiovascular training such as running. Doing this should increase your muscular definition by burning off excess fat. If you can, do your cardio training after your weights to burn off even more fat.

The next category we shall look at is the ectomorph body type. These are people who are generally tall, thin and have long arms and legs; they naturally have virtually no fat. Most ectomorphs often find themselves in endurance sports such as x-country running or athletics (high jump), however they can and do also become professional bodybuilders. The main thing that ectomorphs need to do is to start eating more of the right healthy foods, thus increasing the calorie intake to put on weight and build muscle. They should focus on weight training as opposed to cardio vascular training and train to failure so you can’t lift the last weight of a set. Make sure that you’re lifting weights at least 3-4 days a week, with a rest day between sessions to allow optimum recovery and muscle growth.

The final category are the mesomorphs, which fall in between the other two categories and are often the envy of the other two body types, as mesomorphs find it easy to build muscle and keep off fat. However, this can often lead to a false sense of security as having this mindset leads to missed training sessions, which eventually catches up with them. If you are a mesomorph just starting bodybuilding, don’t change the amount you eat, but eat healthier and make sure you are eating enough protein to facilitate muscle growth. Mix up your training sessions to incorporate both full body work out sessions and those to target specific muscle groups to improve definition.

It doesn’t matter what your body type is if you want to be a successful bodybuilder, just adjust your training routines and your eating habits accordingly. Be dedicated and passionate and you will achieve your goals.

For advanced bodybuilders in today’s age of “mass at all costs” attitude and prevalence of insulin, growth hormone, and more, the waistline is the most dangerous area of the body. Look at any professional bodybuilding stage – Three quarters of the men onstage are facing the battle of the bulge when it comes to the waistline. Even at 3% body fat, they still possess a bulging belly. Why?

A large waistline is very often the byproduct of the heavy food, training, and steroid regimens required to compete at 220, 240, or 250+ pounds. It’s inevitable that the waistline will grow as the arms, legs, chest, back, and shoulders grow. A major key to bodybuilding success, then, is to minimize the negative appearance of a large waistline.

For advanced competitive bodybuilders, abdominal training should be done minimally throughout the year. I know, this might sound odd to those folks who have started their workouts with ten or twenty minutes of abdominal training for the last ten years. But a thick midsection – even if it is muscle – detracts from the width of the shoulders, the thickness of the legs, and the overall “v-taper” of a good bodybuilder.

You will need an initial base of strength in order to protect the midsection from a hernia or other injury when training back or legs. If you’ve been training for years, chances are, you already have this. If not, doing 2 to 4 sets for upper abs (crunches) and 2 sets for lower abs (lying leg raises) are more than enough to provide this strength base. Use low intensity, low reps when completing these exercises.

Abdominal cuts are largely a result of dieting. You will want to do some abdominal training in the last four weeks before a bodybuilding competition, but aside from that, training them year-round will result in a heavily muscled midsection which, while terrific for core strength and balance, does detract from the goal of classical bodybuilding aesthetics. A standard four-week abdominal training routine would look like this:

-3 Sets Machine Crunches

-3 Sets Hanging Leg Raises

-2 Sets Lightweight Twisting Rope Crunches

This might not seem like much, but you must recall that the goal of the pre-contest diet is not to muscle up the abdominals, but to shape them so that the other body parts are featured more prominently. Diet should remove the body fat. Training should shape the abdominals. Your presentation should emphasize your larger muscle groups. Keep your waistline tight, and bodybuilding success will follow!

When first starting out in the world of bodybuilding it can feel like there is a huge mountain to climb that to some may feel insurmountable but there are several steps that can assist bodybuilding beginners.

Diet is one of the most important aspects of bodybuilding and therefore it is very important for beginners to know what they should be including in their diet.

A proper bodybuilding diet generally consists of 40% carbohydrates, 40% proteins and 20% healthy fats. This balance in your diet is designed to lose body fat while adding on muscle.

The body’s main source of energy comes from carbohydrates and on the bodybuilding diet these carbohydrates should come mainly from complex carbohydrates like oatmeal, brown rice and sweet potatoes. These should be eaten in combination with fibrous sources like green beans and broccoli.

Proteins are the building blocks of the body’s tissues, and are therefore extremely important for bodybuilders. As a beginner in bodybuilding, the proteins that you should focus on are chicken, turkey, tuna and lean red meats.

Fats are what the body uses for the manufacture of hormones. Fats also lubricate joints, help with brain function and should mainly come from menstruated and polyunsaturated sources. Extra virgin olive oil and flax seen oil should be the main source of fats in the bodybuilding for beginner’s diet.

When it comes to the proper work out for beginning bodybuilders, a lot of mistakes are made. Many beginners believe that they can immediately start using the routines used by professional bodybuilders, when they should instead be focusing on using a routine geared for their own level.

This routine consists mainly on exercises that use a pair of dumbbells and a bench and should be done on 3 non consecutive days a week.

Perform the following exercises, doing 2 sets of 10-12 reps with one minute of rest time in between the sets, moving up to 3 sets of each after 4 weeks.

75 Degree Incline Dumbbell Bench Press, Dumbbell Bench Press, One Arm Rows, Dumbbell Pullovers, Bent Over Lateral Raises, Dumbbell Upright Rows, Dumbbell Curls, Overhead Triceps Extensions, Leg Extensions, Dumbbell Squats, Dumbbell Lunges (Press with heels), Lying Leg Curls and Calf Raises

Use the days that you are not doing you weight training to do cardio workouts of about 20-30 minutes and add in 4 sets of leg raises and Swiss ball crunches in order to tone and define you abdominals.

In order to get the most out of this weight training routine you need to ease it in as you are beginning the bodybuilding for beginner’s diet.

ght (c) 2009 Jason Kozma

There is one exercise that just about everyone can agree is hard to replace; Squats. The squat is the most fundamental exercise and most used movement in life. Its practicality and ability to build massive amounts of strength and muscle through out the body have given it the name “The King of Exercises”. The squat is famous for developing the Quadriceps and Glute muscles, but it also offers great benefits and development to the Hamstrings, Calf, Abdominals, Feet (when done barefoot), and the entire length and width of the Back.

The execution of the exercise is very simple when just looking at it, but when performing the movement there are many details that must be taken into consideration. The feet should be flat on the floor, with even distribution of weight between the heel and the ball of the foot during eccentric muscle action. In order to reach a range of motion beyond parallel, individuals without sufficient ankle flexibility may try putting a flat board beneath the heels to artificially improve their flexibility. Similarly, a wedge shaped board may be used, allowing the entire foot to remain in contact with a single surface, improving stability over the first technique. Both methods are short-term fixes and require that regular stretching and a full range of motion be employed to maintain and increase flexibility to the desired levels with the ultimate aim that the board’s use be eliminated. In the sport of weightlifting, a specifically designed shoe, that has a heel elevated by an encased wooden block, is commonly worn. Some experts discourage the use of a board or heel, however, because it may lead to a breakdown of proper form. In any squat, even one performed without these depth-increasing aids, the lifter should take care to exert force from the heel of the foot and not from the toes during concentric muscle contraction in order to maintain balance and keep the focus on the muscles of the thigh.

To avoid the chance of getting stuck under the bar, heavy barbell squats are best performed either inside a power cage or in the presence of one or more spotters, who can help to safely return the barbell to the squat rack at the end of the set if the lifter is unable to do so. A smith machine can also be used, though the movement is less natural than with a bar, does not provide adequate stabilizer muscle development and may lead to joint problems.

The squat has a number of variants, some of which can be combined (e.g. a dumbbell split squat):

* In the Squat or Powerlifting Squat, the bar is held anywhere over the back of the neck, within the rules, and feet placed wherever the lifter chooses for the squat for what is best for him.

* In the back squat, a barbell is held across the upper back.

* In the front squat, the weight (usually a barbell) is held in front of the body across the clavicles and deltoids in either an Olympic grip, as is used in weightlifting, or with the arms crossed and hands placed on top of the barbell.

* In the Olympic Squat, the bar is placed for a front squat or back squat position. front squat with a clean grip and back squat with a high-bar position. On both occasions the feet placed roughly in clean receiving position. The lift is done up to a weight of 25 % greater than the athletes clean and jerk on both lifts (for a professional, others may differ.) and the style is designed to only benefit Olympic weightlifting.

Developing cut, huge biceps is something most men strive for.  After all, big arms look good and make you feel strong.  In order to get bigger biceps as fast as possible, you need to understand and incorporate several bodybuilding secrets into your routine.

Workout

There are several pitfalls you need to avoid in order to develop the arms you want.  First, make sure the weights you use are heavy.  Your goal is low-repetition, high-intensity workouts a few times a week.  You do not want to blow yourself out working the same muscles every single day; that idea is a sure-fire way to failure.  Instead, work your biceps and arms in such a way that they are tired and then give them at least three days of rest.   

When you work out, vary your routine.  Your body will get used to the same exercises performed in the same order.  Mix up dumbbell curls, flies, and presses with skullcrushers, hammer curls, and preacher curls.  There are hundreds of exercises out there, all of which are effective.  Continually rotate between a few of them to maximize your results.

Diet

Want ripped biceps?  Then you need to eat lots of high-quality foods.  Exercise is only half the equation.  When you break your muscles down during a workout, they need essential things like protein to rebuild themselves stronger and bigger.  Make sure you are eating sufficient calories to promote muscle growth – 1 lb of muscle is approximately 3,500 calories, so aim to eat at least 500 calories a day above your normal intake.  

Stick to good foods that are high omega-3 fatty acids and protein.  This list includes red meat (a great source of iron), tuna (a great source of protein), pasta, rice, and leafy greens like spinach (another great source of iron).  Milk is a great source of calcium and calories.  Nuts can provide essential fatty acids, calories, and protein.  Cottage cheese helps prevent muscle breakdown through its high glutamine content.  Eggs, chicken, and turkey are rich in the amino acids, protein, and healthy fats your body needs to get ripped.

Make sure to drink a lot of water throughout the day.  Your body needs to stay hydrated, particularly when you begin a tough workout regime.  Eat smaller meals more often.  5 – 6 meals per day stimulate your metabolism and promote muscle growth.

These simple tips will help you get the bigger, more ripped arms you’ve always wanted.

Supplements

Lastly, utilizing nutritional supplements, such as nitric oxide and l-arginine can help your body rapidly develop and build muscle in targeted areas. Nitric oxide can help you improve your stamina and strength, in addition to widening the blood vessels allowing for more oxygen to reach your muscles allowing faster muscle growth. Any good workout routine can be aided with the help of a nitric oxide supplement.

There is nothing less appealing than having your belly hang over your belt.  Hence there is nothing more appealing then having a flat stomach.  Especially as you age.  Fair or not, it is the physical characteristic that immediately indicates your life style and it’s no surprise that it’s #1 on every body’s hit list. So how do middle aged folks get the “washboard” look?

As with younger people it boils down to nutrition and ab work.  What’s different is the TYPE of ab work.  Nutrition is the easier understood but harder to do aspect. Simply stated, stay away from high carb foods as much as possible (especially after 4:00 pm), keep sugar intake as low as possible (all the time), and minimize your alcohol intake (which is comprised of 100% sugars and carbs).  The sugar and carbs, especially in large concentrated amounts, tells your body to store the excess for a rainy day.  For most people in general and older people in particular, that will be in the mid-section.  Bye-bye washboard.  As has been said a million times by everybody, abs won’t show through a layer of fat. 

If you want to do sit ups, crunches, leg raises, Swiss ball crunches, use a roman chair or any other ab work you can.  But what do all these have in common?  What areas do all these miss, that middle aged people in particular need?  Answers: Contracting or tightening the abdominal muscles and “love handle” work.  One basic exercise, done in a variety of ways will handle both requirements.  The plank.  It’s better for older people because it takes all stress off the spine and neck.

My Ab Routine:

1)  Assume the basic push up position, keeping a very flat back. Alternately raise each leg off the floor ONE inch and hold for 10 seconds, without allowing any other movement and keeping perfect form. Do at least 8 reps/leg.  Your entire core section is contracted during every second of this movement (which is 2 ½ minutes long for 8 reps).

2)  Repeat above except this time after you raise your leg ONE inch, during the 10 seconds it’s elevated, swing the leg out (toe pointing down) like your trying to touch the wall next to you.  Keep the leg straight (no knee bending) and always ONE inch off the floor.

3)  Side planks.  You look like a cross on its side.  Start with the arm towards the floor bent so your on your elbow. Your legs are stacked.  Try and raise your hip upwards 3-4 inches, hold for 2-3 seconds and repeat.  Do 8 reps. Change arms and do the other side.

4)  Side plank, this time arm to the floor is straight, keeping your hand directly below your shoulder. Keep you body as straight as possible (like a cross on its side) and raise your top leg as high as possible.  Hold for 2-3 seconds, then lower it.  Do 8 reps do the other side.

That’s it.  In 15 minutes of work your entire mid-section will have been continuously contracted, which is all you need to develop your abdominal muscles at middle age.