Ectomorph Workout: How To Build Muscle Mass For Skinny Guys

Home  »  Weight Training Programs  »  Ectomorph Workout: How To Build Muscle Mass For Skinny Guys By Dan Merrell, CPT   |  Comments

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If you would classify yourself as a “hardgainer” or “ectomorph” (otherwise known as a skinny guy), it’s vital that you put together a specific ectomorph workout that is going to get you the results you’re looking for.

By far, the single biggest reason why most skinny guys never see the results they’re looking for is simply because they don’t have the right workout plan in place for their body.

There is a huge difference between what it takes an average male to build muscle and what it takes you, the skinny guy. The minute you get this through your head and stop looking at all the newsstand magazine workouts is the minute you finally start moving in the right direction to success.

Until then, you’re just going to continue to spin your wheels in the gym and you may in fact get even thinner than you are now.

By understanding what must be in place in a proper ectomorph workout however, you can finally begin to get the body that you’re dreaming of.

Let’s give you the low-down on a proper ectomorph workout.

For most guys, the general approach to building muscle goes something along the lines of ‘the more, the better’. They think if they do one exercise for biceps, two will be better. If they perform three sets of squats, six will yield faster results.

But for you, the skinny guy, volume is your enemy. Due to your natural body type and your ultra-fast metabolic rate, the more volume you do, the more time you’re going to need to recover. It would literally take you a week or longer to recover from the typical bodybuilding workout you find in most muscle building magazines.

So your goal for your workouts is to significantly cut the volume. Basically, get in, go hard, get out. That should be your mantra. Lower volume means performing 4-6 exercises per workout, and doing 3-4 sets per exercise.

That’s it. As hard as it may be to believe that this will actually build muscle faster than a high-volume workout. Trust me, for your body type this is what will yield superior results.

Now with this reduced volume, you really want to keep the intensity up. This is also one of the keys to your success. If you go into the gym and perform 5 exercises where you put in a mediocre effort, you won’t see any progress.

You really need to push yourself. This is part of that ‘get in, go hard’ mantra. If the ‘go hard’ is missing, you might maintain your muscle, but you won’t build more muscle.

High intensity for you means lifting as heavy of a weight as possible. You’ll want to keep the rep ranges on the lower end of the scale, close to 5-8 reps per set and make sure that you’re lifting a weight that will have you fully fatigued by the time you reach your last rep.

If you aren’t, then it’s time to increase the weight for your very next set. Just remember that increased weight should never mean you sacrifice on proper form. Do that and you’ll just wind up injured and then you really won’t be growing.

Form is a must and once that’s in check, load on as much weight as possible while staying within the 5-8 rep range.

Moving along, the next element of success when putting together an ectomorph workout is exercise selection. You often see muscular guys in the gym doing all their ‘pump’ work. This includes moves such as bicep curls, hammer curls, barbell curls, tricep press downs, tricep kickbacks, lateral raises, and so on. Basically, movements that draw a high amount of blood into small muscles which makes them look larger.

Remember, while this may look amazing while they’re in the gym, it doesn’t last.

Instead, since you do have your limited recovery ability, you need to perform exercises that really count. That means doing movements that work as many muscle groups at once as possible. This is what will ensure that you’re able to hit every single muscle group in the body effectively and still maintain that 4-6 exercises per session range.

Smart choices include squats, deadlifts, the leg press, step-ups, lunges, bench press, incline bench press, push-ups, shoulder press, bent over rows, horizontal rows, and pull-ups.

Choose your exercises from this list only and you’ll start packing on more muscle mass pretty fast.

Finally, the last element that must be discussed with regards to building yourself an effective ectomorph workout is cardio training. Many guys often think that cardio should be added to their workout because it’ll help them stay leaner as they go about the process.

There are two main things for you to consider here.

First, do you need to worry about staying lean? I’m 99% confident you don’t. In fact, if you take a good look at yourself in the mirror right now, you’ll find that you’re almost already too lean. A burger may actually do you some good.

Ectomorphs by nature don’t put on weight very easily – fat or muscle. So staying lean shouldn’t be your main concern. At least not right now.

Second, even if fat gain was an issue, this is much better controlled through your diet than through cardio training. Guys who are doing cardio during a bulking phase should really re-evaluate their approach. Exercise in general is going to tax recovery reserves and if their muscles are broken down from the gym, what’s that cardio doing to them?

It certainly isn’t allowing them to build themselves back up stronger.

So the same thing goes for you. If you’re in the gym performing cardio, you’re not only decreasing your recovery rate (which is already lower than normal), but you’re also burning up precious calories that could have gone towards building muscle mass.

You can do one or two 20-minute sessions per week just to keep your heart healthy but keep this to a brisk walk only. Nothing more intense as it will simply work against you.

So there you have the must-know tips for designing an ectomorph workout. If you make sure that you get these in place then you can finally start seeing the progress from your workouts in the build of a more muscular body.

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Following A Weight Gain Program To Bulk Up And Build Muscle Mass

If you’re a skinny guy and you want to pack on muscle mass, then this video will outline what to look for when choosing a weight gain program.

There are certain things that all successful weight gain programs have in common…

Gaining weight and building muscle means you’ll need to hit the gym. 3 days a week is optimal for the best results.

Contrary to what most guys think, going to the gym 5 or 6 days a week is actually COUNTERPRODUCTIVE!

I don’t have time in this video to explain all the details of why this is, but you can check out the article on weight training programs to build lean muscle to see what a good weight training program looks like.

Believe it or not, 90% of your effort to gain weight will be focused on your diet.

The reason is because if you work out 3 days a week for an hour each, that’s 3 hours of weight training per week. The rest of your effort will be focused on eating and resting.

Your weight gain program should include a specific diet for you to follow and tell you WHY you are following this diet so you can customize it and eat food that you like.

The program should also give you specific details about your weight gain diet that will maximize your muscle gains.

For example, do you know the difference between getting your protein from chicken vs. cottage cheese?

What’s the difference? Cottage cheese contains casein protein, which your body will absorb at a slower rate…

This kind of protein is good to eat at night before you go to bed, because the protein will be released slowly throughout the night, keeping your body in an anabolic state LONGER and allowing you to gain weight faster.

Your weight gain program should educate you about supplements that work… and supplements that DON’T WORK.

Fact is, there are only a handful of supplements that will help you get results. Do you know which ones they are, or are you getting sucked into the hype?

I’ll tell you there’s no magic supplement that is going to automatically pack on muscle for you. At most, supplements will account for 5% of your muscle gains.

Rest is a very underrated component of most weight gain programs. Probably because it’s not “sexy” or complicated so people tend to overlook it.

The fact is, rest is when all the magic happens. It’s when your muscles grow. You don’t get bigger when you are working out in the gym. Your body grows and you gain weight as you’re resting.

So keep that in mind. Your program should go into detail about how much rest is necessary, what kind of rest you need, when to take breaks from the gym, etc.

If you’re not tracking your results then you don’t know how effective your weight gain program is.

If you step on the scale and it says you gained 5 pounds that’s great! But do you know how much of that is FAT and how much is MUSCLE?

You should use a workout log, body fat calipers, and a scale to track your progress.

In case you still haven’t found a good weight gain program yet, that’s no problem… Check out the Weight Gain Blueprint program.

Yep, that’s my weight gain program… The same one I used to pack on 38 pounds of muscle in just 19 weeks. It works. Give it a try, then come back and leave a comment and tell me how much weight you’ve gained after you use it.

Discover the 7 biggest mistakes you’re making right now that are actually keeping you skinny...

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How Long Does It Take To Build Muscle?

Home  »  Weight Gain Programs  »  How Long Does It Take To Build Muscle? By Daniel Cage, CPT   |  Comments

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If you're looking to pack on muscle mass, one thing that you may start to question after a while is how long does it take to build muscle? What's the maximum amount of muscle that you could gain if you did absolutely everything correctly?

Many guys often become very distraught when they just aren't seeing the rate of muscle gains that they thought they would from their weight-training program. They wonder if they're perhaps doing something incorrectly.

Maybe they aren't doing the right exercises in the gym or perhaps their diet just isn't up to par.

While both of these factors definitely will influence the results that you see with your muscle-building program, it's important to take some additional factors into account.

Whenever you ask the question, "how long does it take to build muscle," you really must evaluate your own situation personally. Each and every person will build muscle at a slightly different speed, so evaluating your own characteristics will help you set a goal that's realistic for your own body.

Let's take a look at the factors that answer this burning question, "how long does it take to build muscle?"

The very first element to take a look at when figuring out how quickly you'll be able to build muscle is what your past training history is. If you're someone who has been in the gym for years already, you're going to be building muscle at a much slower rate than someone who has never picked up a weight in their life.

Generally speaking, the more experience you have behind you, assuming you were using a properly planned workout program, the slower size gains will be.

Likewise, the more muscle you've already gained in the past, the slower additional muscle is going to come on.

If you were to keep building muscle at the same rate as you continued on about your program, we'd have gigantic 400-pound men walking around.

There comes a point where muscle mass gains will be incredibly slow as you reach close to your genetic potential.

The second factor to consider in terms of how quickly you can build muscle is what your body type is. If you're someone who's naturally skinny (an ectomorph), you're going to see slower muscle gain results compared to someone who easily adds muscle without a problem.

These various body types are referred to as ectomorphs, endomorphs, and mesomorphs, and by learning which body type you have, you'll be in a position to set some clear expectations.

Ectomorphs may only be able to add a pound or two of dry muscle per month while a mesomorph who is in the beginning of his muscle building career may double or even triple that in some instances.

Keep in mind when I say 1 – 2 pounds of muscle per month I'm talking about "dry muscle." The TRUTH is, with the right weight gain program, it's possible to gain more like 8 pounds of solid muscle weight per month if you include the water and glycogen weight that the new muscle tissue holds.

Endomorphs have a higher tendency to gain body fat, so while you may see the same weight gain as you would for a mesomorph, not all of it will be lean muscle tissue.

For this reason, many guys who have this body type tend to approach muscle building slower to avoid putting on excess body fat in the process.

The next thing that you also need to consider is your dietary adherence. You can really only build muscle as fast as you can eat. Stated another way, if you aren't eating more calories than you need to maintain your body weight, it's not going to matter what you do in the gym, you won't see results.

Food is an absolute must to pack on more muscle mass, so generally speaking the more you eat the faster you gain.

Realize though, that there are limitations to this. If you sit around all day long and shove too much food down your throat, you'll gain a high amount of muscle, but you'll also be gaining too much additional body fat.

Since your body can only gain so much muscle each day, excess calories consumed beyond that point will be converted to body fat.

But, by making sure you are eating enough, you can maximize your muscle gain.

You're overall recovery rate is the next thing that you'll want to consider. How fast you recover from any given gym workout is going to dictate how quickly you can get back into the gym and train once again.

If it takes you two to three days to recover fully from a workout session, this means that your overall rate of progress may be slower.

The more frequently you can train, assuming that you are in a recovered state, the faster muscle will be built.

Doing whatever you can to maximize recovery rates such as getting enough sleep, eating well, and supplementing with glutamine will all help move you in the right direction.

Finally, you also need to think about your hormonal level. Generally, guys who are in their early to late twenties will have the highest level of testosterone present in their system at this time, so are in the prime muscle building years, so to speak.

If you're already in your 30's or entering your 40's, this doesn't mean you can't still get good results, but your muscle building hormone profile will have shifted so it may be slower moving.

Understanding this and adjusting expectations accordingly will be important.

So there you have the main things to note about your question, "how long does it take to build muscle?" Most people training properly can build 1 - 2 pounds of dry muscle mass per month at the start of their weight gain program and as they advance onwards, rates of ½ pound to one pound become more appropriate.

Keep in mind you may see more weight gain than this amount (up to 2 - 3 pounds per week) due to additional muscle glycogen, water, and any extra fat added in the process, but this is a good estimate for the amount of raw muscle tissue that will be added if you're following a high-quality weight gain program.

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Build Bigger Biceps and Show Off Those Arms

Building bigger biceps is one of the more popular areas that bodybuilders like to concentrate on.

As with other areas of the body such as the abs, back, chest, and legs the abs have specific bodybuilding exercises to promote building muscle in the biceps.

Arm Exercises

There are three main parts of your arm:

*The biceps (often called "guns" by body builders).

*The triceps (which are on the opposite side of your biceps on your upper arms).

*Forearms and wrists.

Here are some arm exercises that will help you build muscle:

FOR THE TRICEPS:

*Tricep Dips - You will need a bench do this exercise. Stand in front of the bench lower your body and put your hands slightly more than shoulder width apart on the edge of bench behind you. Now straighten out your arms and keep a little bend in your elbows. Now slowly bend your elbows and lower your body down towards the floor until your arms are at about a 90° angle, be sure to keep your back close to the bench. Then slowly press off of your hands and push yourself straight back up to the starting position. Repeat

*Tricep Cable Push Downs - You will need a cable set up to do this exercise. Face the high pulley and grab the cable T-bar attachment with an overhand narrow grip. Extend your arms down and then return until your forearm is close to upper arm. Repeat

* Close Grip Bench Press - Lie down on a bench and grasp barbell from the rack with a shoulder with grip. Lower the weight to your chest with elbows close to body. Push the barbell back up until your arms are straight. Repeat. Note the grip can be slightly narrower than shoulder width but not too close.

FOR THE BICEPS:

*Dumbbell Curl - Grab the dumbbell on a preacher bench. With arm bent and palm facing shoulder, place back of arm down on pad. Lower dumbbell until arm is fully extended. Raise dumbbell until forearm is vertical. Repeat and continue with opposite arm

*Preacher Curl - again sit on the preacher bench, placing back of arms on pad. Grasp the curl bar with shoulder width underhand grip. Raise bar until your forearms are vertical. Lower barbel Angel arms are fully extended out. Repeat.

FOR FOREARMS AND WRISTS

*Farmers Carry - Start with a set of dumbbells placed on each side that are about 2/3 of your dead lift max. Reach down and with your chin up grip the barbells and raise them till you reach a standing position. You will now walk with the dumbbells about 100 feet to complete a rep

*Wrist curl - Sit on a bench and hold the dumbbell underhand grip and rest your forearm on your thigh beyond your knee. Let the dumbbell roll out of your hand down your fingers. Then raise the dumbbell up by gripping and pointing your knuckles up high as you can. Lower and repeat.

These exercises will not only shape your biceps but will also increase the strength of your grip. This will help you with your heavier exercises when you need that added grip.

For complete information on what diet aids help men lose weight and build muscle instead of flab I have created a seven day eCourse that will get you started at http://www.mensfitnessexercise.com/.

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10 Ways on How to Get Ripped Fast, Build Muscle, and Get Results

#1 30 Minutes Of Cardio Or Less#2 Drink protein supplements#3 Changes, changes, and more changes!#4 Complete full-body training#5 Tear / Repair#6 One Pound = One Gram of Protein#7 One word - stretch#8 Eat regularly#9 Less is more#10 Full Body or Split#11 (Bonus) 500 More Calories

You don't want to do too much cardio. Limit it. Keep it to two days of lighter jogging and no more than 30 minutes per session. Build your workout around a nutrition plan that involves a high-protein, high-carbohydrate meal about an hour beforehand and then a protein shake to follow that you can slowly sip throughout your workout. Post-workout, mix a new drink and throw it down quick. Alter, change, settle, refine, and repeat! You want to keep your body guessing. Every four-to-six weeks, change the number of reps, your rest time, the exercises you perform, your regular routine, etc. You want to keep your brain guessing. The more muscles involved = the greater the hormone release you'll get from training. These hormone releases is what's going to keep stimulating your muscle growth ALL DAY LONG.

Ensuring that your training is safe and balanced by hitting each muscle group with roughly the same volume also helps avoid serious injury. A regular person's ideal intake of sleep is anywhere from five to nine hours. You don't want to overdo it. Weightlifting, bodybuilding, etc. - it's all about tearing the muscle and repairing the muscle. Tear, repair. Tear, repair. That's how we get big. Keep training down to four sessions per week and give your body the time it needs to rebuild itself. You may use this time to mentally prepare yourself for your next session. Aim to take in one gram of protein per pound of body weight EVERY DAY.

Any kind of stretching will keep you feeling lose and flexible, prevent injury and aid in recovery. You should be scarfing down five to six small meals per day. Keep that fuel coming, particularly the carbs and the protein. These will keep the calorie intake up to help build that muscle AND it'll help keep your metabolism high to help you lose fat. Do no more than 20 sets per muscle group. As a matter of fact, try to keep it as close to 12 sets as you can. Limit reps to between 6 and 12 per set for the most growth. Limit your workouts to 45 minutes, keep those weights heavy and lift, lift, lift! The best results from your workout will come from training all your muscle groups in a single workout or by concentrating on the upper body in one session and then the lower body in another. Concentrate on lifts that use multiple muscle groups at once like squats, deadlifts, rows, and presses. You got to start reading the labels to get an idea of what your calorie intake is. Find that number and add 500 to it.

Another great resource: http://www.buildmusclesystem.com

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Interval Training to Build Muscle and Lose Fat

Interval training or High Intensity Training (HIT) Is a way to lose fat and build muscle at the same time.

Many people are concerned that if they pursue a workout program like this they will build too much muscle and look like a body builder, though some will want this look.

By using Interval Training you can build muscle and you will look more shaped and well toned. So even if you gain some weight from building muscle you will improve the look of your body and have more energy from the increase in your metabolism. Increasing your metabolism is the key to lose fat and keep it off.

So get the fear of building muscle out of your mind and instead realize that building muscle is an important key increasing your metabolism and to lose fat even if you do not want to get bulked up like a body builder.

So what kind workouts should you do to lose fat and increase your metabolism?

That's where Interval training or High Intensity Training come in. The best part is that it can be done anywhere and requires no equipment except a towel. This is a dirty little secret the fitness industry doesn't want you to know.

Interval training is doing a set 8 to 10 different exercises for you whole body in 20 or 30 minutes total time. You will do each exercise at the highest intensity possible for 30 seconds and then rest for about 15 seconds and then resume the high intensity part again until you have completed that exercise. You will rest again and the go on to the next exercise.

This will recharge you enough to be able to push hard again in the next intense interval. With this system you will not be continuously counting the minutes that you have to chug along at the same boring pace but moving from a period of intense training looking forward to the next break so that you can rest for the next intense interval. This will make your workout more beneficial to you but it will seem to go by faster for you.

Remember each exercise will take only about two or three minutes at the most to complete and you will rest and go on to the next one until you have completed all of the exercises in the workout program.

This type of exercise is great because it is over fast and will not slow down your metabolism like the grinding pounding cardio of running, or biking will do. You won't look like an emaciated marathon runner either.

The best part is that you are exercising your whole body not just your legs or your upper body like many traditional flat lose weight workouts. This will Burn fat, and build muscle in all the right places.

But remember that no matter how good your workouts are they will do you no good if you do not do them consistently. You must do your workouts at least 3 to 4 times per week to achieve your goals. I know this is much easier said than done. But there are some tricks that can make working out much easier.

You must have a fat loss workout that you can do at home. There will always be times when you cannot go to a gym. Just by eliminating your drive time to the gym you'll be saving a lot of the time so you can work out at home.

For complete information on what diet aids help men lose weight and build muscle instead of flab I have created a seven day eCourse that will get you started at http://www.mensfitnessexercise.com/.

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5 Easy Rules on How to Build Muscle Fast Naturally

Plenty of you could have seen numerous muscle development instructions, reviews and discussions, though you still remain baffled and struggle to acquire an attractive physique quickly. You have tested out numerous exercise plans, and have burned right through your pockets, still, none showed results. And so, you're merely through them all and it looks like acquiring that muscled and great figure is probably just some fantasy. Nevertheless do not stop trying; we're intending to change your mental outlook on how to get started properly. In this short article, we will provide you with distinct and uncomplicated information on how to build muscle fast naturally.

Rule #1: Never Overwork Your Body
Plenty of folks are very capable of gaining a good physique. Some even achieve this effortlessly. However, when your innate gene structure fails to enable a quick alteration, and improvement, due to weight lifting, then there is certainly no requirement for you to replicate those enormous and intensive courses that promises to undertake results right away. Your body system really demands time to help you adjust to this type of stress. It would be advisable to condition your muscles first. The key reason conditioning is relevant is mainly because these muscles are, at present, flimsy and frail- and would likely be damaged quickly. Thus, it would be much better to establish a superior, and firm, base to begin with- so that you can veer away from injuring your muscles even further.

Rule #2: Permit Regular Advancement within Your Exercise Regimen.
One more warranted rule to consider, regarding how to build muscle fast naturally, will be to execute a regular, and a progressive form of workout routine. Though it may be suggested to never overwork your muscles, it's really crucial not to allow your entire system to become overly lax either. As an alternative, on every occasion, you need to start a different procedure. You should steadily enhance the frequency, and degree of intensity, within your workout exercises.

In reality, if you need to continuously boost muscle proportion consistently, you must give your entire body a new, and improved stimulus. As time passes, if completed correctly, your muscle tissues will definitely rebuild itself- according to the certain amount of stress in which they are being exposed under. However, when your muscles have already grown accustomed with the weight training it is subjected to, it will no longer improve and bolster further. Hence, your muscles will reach its saturation point and stay dormant. Therefore, you ought to increase the exercise routine, as necessary, in order for your muscles to readjust according to a certain degree of stress. As a result, improved muscle size density, along with vitality, will be achieved.

Rule #3: Continue to Keep a Record to Monitor Your Progress
This could appear quite pointless; however, attempting to keep a routine journal will allow you to keep track of how well you are going along with your planned workout routine, and thus tracking your progress, or lack thereof for that matter. It assists to ascertain all those sections which need further improvement. By doing this, it is possible to organize your training. You will be able to map out holes in your workout, and alter it into a more efficiently designed routine, and therefore assuring ideal effects.

Rule #4: Ingest More and Eat only Healthy Foods
If perhaps you're that determined to gain muscle mass quickly, in that case, you're quite likely to burn fats. To make certain that your system will surely have the adequate energy to last throughout your planned day-to-day activities in creating well toned muscles, it's always best to consume more of those high-quality diet meals, and less of the junk foods.

Make a plan for your diet program and create certainty that it contains food with a lot of protein, since this is very important in able to construct a well-toned body. Varieties of superb sources, of essential proteins, are: legumes, chicken breast, nuts, lean meat and fish. Likewise, be certain that the food you consume contains the proper quantities of dietary fat and carbohydrates to help you increase your stamina.

Keep away from oil-soaked dishes, since it will surely generate unhealthy fat storage in the body, and will result in several ailments. Oatmeal, brown-grain rice, pasta, fish oil and nuts, are just a few of the amazing types of meal sources that happens to be both vibrant and satisfying. Above all, these food groups provide nourishment to keep you going throughout those intensive exercise routine and workouts.

Rule #5: Perform an Overall Training Routine
Last and definitely not the least, building muscles fast, and naturally, will require you to commit yourself to an entire system of exercise routine. The perfect strategy to make it happen is to execute compound workout routines since they usually target a multitude of muscle groups as contrary to isolation exercises that aims to strengthen only one muscle group. By doing this, with additional muscular tissues getting built up, your progress will be noticeably swifter. The three composite exercise routines that are primarily needed to perform every single workout are: squats, bench presses and dead-lifts.

Keeping in mind these 5 Rules, and committing yourself to your training, assures you that you will get the result you are aiming for, and that is to gain a tremendous amount of bulk in your muscles- in the least amount of time possible. Follow the rules and pointers provided for you here in this article, and you will have that desired muscle mass, and perfectly chiseled body, in no time!

These tips guarantee results as you seek to gain additional knowledge on how to build muscle fast. Questions will cease as you find the answers to satisfy every bit of inquiry. Realize these tips and commit to a new you. now! See awesome and realistic results on how to build muscle fast naturally.

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Eating Protein To Gain Weight And Build Muscle

Home  »  Weight Gain Diets  »  Eating Protein To Gain Weight And Build Muscle By John Blackwood, NSCA CPT   |  Comments

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While the most common subject we hear about in terms of health and fitness is weight LOSS, there are more than a few people who are looking to actually GAIN weight. For the most part, these are men, and the weight they want to gain is muscle. In this case, using a high-protein diet to gain weight is essensial.

What guy doesn’t want a ripped six-pack and set of "massive guns" when he takes off his shirt at the beach? Yep, putting on muscle is a goal for many guys (and some girls) and using protein to gain weight is one of the best ways to make it happen.

In case you missed the lesson from your schooling, protein is the key ingredient for the production of muscle. Your muscles not only use protein to grow, but they use it to repair tissue after strenuous workouts that actually break tissue down. In fact, it is the constant activity of breaking down tissue during weight training workouts and repairing it that causes it to grow. If you don’t have enough protein present in your regular diet it will be difficult if not impossible to gain muscle now matter how much you workout.

Most weight training professionals use a simple formula for getting enough protein in order to gain muscle weight: 1.5 - 2 grams of protein for every 1 pound of body weight. So, if you weigh 175 pounds, you should eat 262.5 grams - 350 grams of protein every day. Now, this is certainly more than the average person needs to maintain healthy muscle mass, but if you are looking at packing on some muscle, then you need to pack on the protein consumption as well.

Getting a decent amount of protein in your diet is fairly easy for most of us. Lean beef is one of the best sources and we as a country consume it in high quantity. Meat is particularly great for gaining muscle weight as it is also a concentrated source of creatine which has been shown to help build muscle as well. Other sources of course include fish, chicken, beans, and of course eggs. While choosing foods that contain protein is easy, getting ENOUGH of it to build serious muscle can be difficult.

Trying to get as much as 350 grams of protein per day (or even more if you weight more than 175) can be quite the challenge but there are plenty of high quality protein supplements on the market to help add to your daily intake.

The most common protein supplement is protein powder. These powders, available at your local health food store or at online health food and supplement retailers, can give you all the protein you need in a day just from drinking a few servings. It is important to pay attention to the ingredients, however, because choosing a high calorie sugar laden version may certainly help you gain weight, but not the kind you want! Opting for an easily digestible protein powder such as whey and choosing one that is low in calories and sugar can be a great way to supplement your protein intake and make it easier to meet your daily protein requirements.

So, there you have it. Protein can certainly help you gain weight and is absolutely necessary if you want that weight to be muscle. Use the formula of 1.5 - 2 grams of protein for every 1 pound of body weight, consume high quality protein, and perform weight training regularly and you will be well on your way to building serious quality muscle weight.

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The Easiest and Quickest Way on How to Build Muscle Fast

Having problems on how to build your muscles fast? When it comes to building an unbelievable body structure, and regulating the muscular building of your body, you don't have to rely on the often exaggerated fabrications of some unscrupulous salesman. As an alternative to wasting your money in buying pills, and numerous supplements to achieve great posture, you must use the tried and tested method in which a lot of people have attained their desired results of a great body.

During intense workouts, you will definitely need a great amount of strength and effort to see results, such as that of an incredible body builder. There are some muscle programs that are proper and fitting in building your muscles fast, but have you made up your mind as to which one suits you best? Keep reading.

You need to run through a massive workout regimen in order to build muscles that are really outstanding. Enrolling yourself in a workout program will need much effort and commitment. There are also some supplementary techniques and rules that will help you build muscle fast as- you expected.

Rest and recovery are often disregarded for training programs. In this matter, they have excluded the one of the most important aspect on building muscles quickly. Before undergoing any training, you have to determine your rate of recovery- for that enables you to know how quickly you can gain your strength back. Thus, this aspect will precisely help you understand better on how your body reacts to training while building muscles. After a very hard training, resting for a while will let you regain the energy you have exerted. You can also look in the internet for possible weight-training workouts that will suit you best.

You may also think about asking for some information about losing fat preferably by consulting your local (or personal) physician. If your doctor suggests that you take cardiovascular training, then it would be easier for you to build muscle in no time, as you will be burning fat to unravel those cut muscles. Cardiovascular training is the most adequate way of removing unhealthy fats in your body. This will allow you to attain your dream body figure over minimal amount of time.

Healthy diet is one of the most important key that plays the part on how to build muscle fast. The right frequency and consumption of appropriate food is absolutely the most ideal aspect in order to build muscle fast naturally. You must plan on having a proper eating pattern for best results of your training workout.

This is the basic part wherein you have to correspond to the amount of calories you consume, contrary to the amount of calories you burn. Also, be very aware of the types of food you consume. A healthy diet guide, ideally traced by a physician or a nutritionist, will definitely provide the information you need to develop a successful eating plan.

Gradual change is the key in any given dietary plan. The human body is designed to work according to its capacity. The types of food consumed will determine whether your body can perform well, or lack energy during a workout session. You must give your body enough time to adjust thus gradual lifting is advisable.

These are just a few of the easiest and quickest ways on how to build muscle fast naturally. With the right kind of mind-set and the commitment in following these recommendations- no doubt, your dream of having a superb body will be within your grasp in no time!

These are the easiest and the quickest ways on how to guarantee fast results as you seek to gain additional knowledge on how to build muscle fast. Questions will cease as you find the answers to satisfy every bit of inquiry, thus helping you realize these tips and commit to a new you. now! See awesome and realistic results on easiest way to build muscle fast.

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Eating Fat To Gain Weight And Build Muscle

Home  »  Weight Gain Diets  »  Eating Fat To Gain Weight And Build Muscle By John Blackwood, NSCA CPT   |  Comments

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For those who are looking to gain weight, more importantly build muscle; they usually look to the obvious choice for food... protein. After all, protein builds muscle so it makes obvious sense to add it to every meal.

Because of this connection between protein and muscle and the thought process that eating fat is bad, many people trying to gain lean muscle would never think of using fat to gain weight. In fact, most people assume that eating a low fat diet is the only way to go, but, is this really the right thing to do?

The short answer is no. You see, the body needs a variety of sources of energy to operate at optimal levels. Focusing on a high protein and low or no fat diet takes away some of the benefits that fat provides the body and can actually hinder the body from gaining muscle.

Fats are responsible for keeping the hormone producing glands in your body active including the most famous one for muscle building, testosterone. Limit your fat, limit your testosterone production... Doesn’t sound like a good formula for building muscle, huh?

Ok, so fats are important in our diet and using fat to gain weight may not be such a bad idea after all, but, you might be asking yourself what KINDS of fats are good to eat? That is a good question as well and the answer there is, ALL OF THEM!

Well, all of them in moderation that is. You see, every type of fat actually plays a role in some type of bodily function. Let’s take a look at the 3 types of fats, what each does, and what types of foods they are contained in:

We all know saturated fats. These are the ENEMY! These types of fats are extremely dangerous because while they are the ones responsible for doing the most damage, they are also the ones that taste the best!

Foods that contain saturated fats are whole milk, beef, and ham among others. The liver produces cholesterol from saturated fat to eating lots of it can greatly raise your LDL (or BAD) cholesterol level. However, since saturated fats DO play a role in building muscle, using saturated fat to gain weight might be crucial, but just limit your intake and don’t go overboard with it.

Some sources of saturated fat include: Red meatCheeseIce creamButterVegitable oils
These are your oils... fish oil, sunflower oil, corn oil, flaxseed oil. They are known as essential because your body cannot produce them and you must get them through your diet. These fats can actually help raise your HDL (or GOOD cholesterol levels). In addition, the fish oil Omega-3 fatty acid is crucial for building muscle in that it repairs tissue.

Some sources of polyunsaturated fat (EFA’s) include: Salmon (and other fish)Sunflower seedsSoybeansFlaxseed oilFish oil
These are the oils that come from vegetable and nut sources. Again, these fats can have a positive impact on your cholesterol levels.

Some sources of monounsaturated include: AlmondsPeanutsCashewsOlive oilCanola oilAvocadosThe benefits of using fats in your diet to gain weight is far and wide, from boosting natural hormone levels such as testosterone, to transporting vitamins throughout your body, to even helping with the digestion of protein. Focus on the good ones, limit the bad ones, and you can be successful using fat to gain weight.

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Eating Carbohydrates To Gain Weight And Build Muscle

Home  »  Weight Gain Diets  »  Eating Carbohydrates To Gain Weight And Build Muscle By John Blackwood, NSCA CPT   |  Comments

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If you are looking to pack on some pounds of serious muscle weight, chances are carbohydrates aren’t the first thing you think of when it comes to building muscle. You’re probably thinking about eating more protein though... After all, protein is what builds muscle, right?

Many people think eating too many carbohydrates leads just causes you to get fat, and it’s just the lean protein you really want. The fact is, carbohydrates play a huge rule in building muscle and depleting them from your diet may stop your muscle building plans altogether.

Now, before you run out and grab a box of chocolate chip cookies, let’s dig a little deeper. You see, carbohydrates are the body’s main source of energy. When your body is depleted of carbohydrates, it needs to look for additional sources.

If you are working out intensely, you will NEED some carbs in your body in order to have the energy to work out hard enough to build muscle. If you do go on a low or no carb diet, your body WILL figure out a way to get the energy it needs, however. When your body needs energy and there are no carbohydrate sources, it simply begins to breakdown protein and use it for fuel instead. This is called muscle catabolism and you want to avoid it at all costs.

So, by lowering the amount of carbohydrates in your body, you are not only robbing it of its main fuel source, you are also forcing the body to use protein for energy which you need to help you build and maintain muscle. You can see how this can lead to a negative downward spiral and push you far away from your weight gain goals.

Now that you know you need them, lets look at what KIND of carbohydrates you should be eating to help support your muscle building goals. Carbohydrates can more easily be described as sugars. The kind we get the most of and that are truly bad for us are what is known as simple sugars. These are things such as fruit juices, cookies, cakes, candies, etc. They contain empty calories and will most likely be stored as fat because the sugars enter your bloodstream quickly and cause a spike in blood sugar levels.

If your body does not use this sugar quickly, (If you’re not doing some kind of physical activity soon after you eat them) it will likely be stored as fat. It is best to limit these kind of carbohydrates severely. Many people see no harm in drinking fruit juice but those sugar calories add up quickly as well.

Next we have complex carbohydrates. Brown rice, pasta, potatoes and whole grains fall into this category. These are the carbs you want to stick to for the most part as they will help fuel your workouts. These sugars are released slowly into your bloodstream and provide a steady supply of energy over a long period of time without causing the insulin spike that leads to fat storage.

The final category is the fiber filled carbohydrates. These include such foods as corn, black beans, and broccoli among others. These foods are fantastic in that they help keep your digestive system regular and healthy. Take care to stay around 10 grams of fiber per 1000 calories consumed… Too much more than that could block your body’s absorption of vital macronutrients.

Gaining muscle weight is a team effort. It is not just protein that runs the show, but a combination of nutrients. Don’t skip carbohydrates if you are looking to build muscle, but instead, choose the high quality carb sources that can help fuel your workouts and keep your body operating optimally.

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The Safe And Effective Way To Build Your Muscles Fast

Growth Hormones or GH is a peptide hormone that stimulates growth, cell reproduction and regeneration in humans and other animals. GH is a 191-amino acid, single-chain polypeptide that is synthesized, stored, and secreted by the somatotroph cells within the lateral wings of the anterior pituitary gland. The term somatropin refers to growth hormone produced by recombinant DNA and is abbreviated to HGH.

Human Growth Hormone is synthesized and secreted from the anterior pituitary gland in a pulsatile manner throughout the day; the usual surges of secretion occur at 3- to 5-hour intervals. The plasma concentration of growth hormones during these peaks may range from 5 to 45 ng/mL. The largest and most predictable of these growth hormone peaks occurs about an hour after onset of sleep.

There are a number of factors that are known to affect HGH secretion such as the age, gender, diet, exercise, stress, and other hormones that are present on an individual. Young adolescents commonly secrete HGH at the rate of about 700 µg per day, while adults secrete HGH at the rate of about 400 µg per day. This just shows that the production of natural HGH in the body decreases with age,

When the body produces too much GH it can cause pituitary tumor and when the produces little GH it can cause GHD or Growth Hormone Deficiency that can result to growth failure. Growth Hormones are highly needed by the body for different vital functions so it good that people with low level of GH or with GHD (Growth Hormone Deficiency) must take GH Supplement or GH Stack.

GH Stack is a growth hormone supplement that can be use to increase the body's energy level which will then allows you to perform well in exercise and other activities. It can help in making the bones stronger and makes the skin more thicker and youthful looking. It will also boost the body's immune system thus making your body stronger in fighting different kinds of diseases. It can also helps in lowering the LDL level or bad cholesterol level in the body that will result in having a greater cardiac output. It can lower the blood pressure and it will also improve the kidney function. It allows your eyes to have sharper vision and helps you to have better memory. It is good in eliminating unwanted fats and it can enhance the body's capability to heal wounds and also the re-growth of the different body organs such as the heart, liver, kidneys, spleen and others that usually shrink with age.

GH Stack is beneficial to body builders since it can increases protein synthesis, increases utilization of fatty acids, increases amino acid transport across cell membranes, increases lipolysis, increases availability of glucose and amino acids, increases collagen synthesis, stimulates cartilage growth, increases retention of nitrogen, sodium, potassium, and phosphorus, increases renal plasma flow, promotes compensatory renal hypertrophy, decreases glucose utilization, decreases glycogen synthesis. GH Stack is highly recommended supplement for body builders since this will ensure them fast and safe muscle building and proper fat loss.

Kenneth Levenstein is an online publisher of health related websites. Click the links for more information on human growth supplements and where to buy growth supplements.

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Tips on How to Build Muscle Fast: 5 Must-Have Tips to Quick Muscle Development

Physical transformation with the right set of exercises, balanced and healthy diet, mixed in with adequate rest, will definitely get you that dream body you wish for. However, doing modification and enhancement to you boy requires the proper cultivation of mind, commitment and drive. Though you have the tips on how to build muscle fast, without the proper mind set, physical transformation will only be a thing in the head.

1. Eat Healthy and Well-Balanced Foods

Nutrition must be achieved in its highest level for better assurance on muscle growth. Recoil from eating foods that are processed, oily and greasy. These foods don't give your body the nutrients needed for muscle development. You have to pick the right kinds of foods rich in proteins, carbohydrates, fats and vitamins. These nutrients are what you need to promote optimum muscle development. The nutrients that your muscles need should perform maintenance, repair and building of new muscle tissues. Protein is the key nutrient to make all these possible. For strength and energy supply, you can count on the right levels of carbohydrates and vitamins. Eating healthy and well-balanced foods also takes concern on eating at least 4-6 meals daily and drinking 3-4 liters of water per day.

2. Work with Free Weights First

Free weights like barbells and dumbbells allow ease of movement instead of restricting them. Using barbells and dumbbells allow your body and muscles to gain strength, endurance, power and increase muscle size.

3. Uses of Compound Exercises

One of the most important tips on how to build muscle fast is to pursue exercises that focus on two or more muscle groups. These are known as compound exercises. Samples of compound exercises are squats, pull-ups, push-ups and abdominal crunches. These target different muscles in the body, and all at the same time.

4. Rest and Sleep Well

Muscle building facilitates outcomes if your body and muscles are well-rested and relaxed. Enough sleep and relaxation promotes maintenance, repair and building of muscle tissues essential to smooth the progress of muscle growth. If your muscles and body are tired there will be no room for your muscles to work its ways to muscle development. Overtraining and over exercise won't progress effects on muscle development but instead introduce injuries and damage.

5. Record Your Progress

Monitor your progress. List your daily work out. Keep track of all your exercise activities. Having a record of your progress can help you modify factors that do not work well for you.

Absorb and practice these new ideas on how to build muscle fast. These 5 must-have tips on how to build muscle fast will surely guide you towards the right direction when it comes to muscle building. These will be your sure-fire trick to faster muscle development. In no time, you will see your body transform into this well-structured physique that will surely make everyone's jaw drop.

These are the easiest and the quickest ways on how to guarantee fast results as you seek to gain additional knowledge on how to build muscle fast. Questions will cease as you find the answers to satisfy every bit of inquiry, thus helping you realize these tips and commit to a new you. now! See awesome and realistic results on tips on how to build muscle fast.

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How Do I Build Muscle Fast?

Whether you are skinny and still in high school or overweight and middle-aged, learning the most effective ways to build muscle will guarantee that your time is not wasted and progress comes fast. The following tips will answer the question, "How can I build muscle fast?"

Nutrition

Building muscle is a process that requires sufficient protein intake as well as a calorie surplus. If you are eating 10,000 calories a day, but no protein, you will fail to build muscle. Likewise, if you are eating 400 grams of protein, but are in a calorie deficit, you will also fail to build muscle. Adequate nutrition that builds muscle fast requires sufficient calories as well as protein so that you can recover effectively from your workouts. An easy way to figure protein intake is to take your bodyweight in pounds and multiply it by 1.5. This is your minimum protein intake in grams. A 200 pound male would then take in 300 grams of protein per day. Along with this, a sufficient amount of carbohydrates (which are also necessary for the muscle-building process) and essential fats (which aid in recovery) must be consumed to continue the mass-building process.

Training

Diet is necessary for muscle gaining purposes, but training is PARAMOUNT! A solid training regimen that builds muscle quickly will utilize major muscle groups together in an intense effort. This means that big, compound movements that allow the lifter to handle more of a load will provide the best results, especially when they are done for all out effort. A squat, for example, will utilize virtually every muscle in the body when done correctly. This allows a greater load to be handled, which in turn yields a greater systemic stress on the musculature of the body. There is a direct correlation with the effort produced in a workout and testosterone released post workout. More testosterone equals more growth and bigger exercises equals more testosterone.

Exercise Selection

Put away the concentration curls and upgrade to bigger, whole body exercises. You asked, "how do I build muscle fast?", and I'm telling you, with big weights. The most important time in your training is the time spent doing presses, squats, deadlifts, rows, or any other movement that requires multiple muscles to be used at once. Isolation work is always last, without exception. Focus on adding pounds to your deadlift and I promise that you will also add pounds to your frame.

Recovery

Don't over do it! Many ambitious youngsters try to be the 'super athlete' and wind up burning themselves out. Gaining mass requires a short, all out burst of effort followed by adequate rest. Your training sessions should be short (60-90 minutes) and done between 3 and 5 days a week. The time spent between these sessions should be dedicated to recovering so you can attack your next workout. Remember, bodybuilders can't moonlight as marathon runners. If there are sport-specific skills that must be maintained, work them in during your training session.

Post Workout

There exists a 30 minute window post-workout where any nutrition you consume will be utilized towards muscle gain at an exponentially greater rate than any other time of day. Immediately following a workout take a post-workout shake that contains a 1:4 ratio of protein to fast-acting-carbohydrates. Ideally, this would be around 30 grams of protein to 120 grams of carbohydrates. The fast acting carbs will cause a spike in your blood sugar which, in turn, causes a spike in insulin levels. Insulin is the most anabolic hormone in the body, more so than testosterone!! And because your metabolism is running so high from the vicious weight training session you just had, these carbohydrates won't be converted to bodyfat.

Supplementation

Many supplements on the market are worthless and cause little more than a placebo effect. Any pre-workout supplement can be replaced by a cup of iced coffee with some sugar. There are a few, however that are worth a second look. Creatine, when taken properly, spurs fast gains in muscularity as well as almost immediate gains in strength and endurance. Some have said, 'it's just water weight!'. Well, guess what? Muscle is mostly water! The fact is that taking creatine will add size to your arms and allow you to move more weight. Sounds like it's a pretty useful supplement to me! Whey protein is simply another a tool to augment your daily protein intake. Whey is made from milk, and is a quality substance that is easily taken. Taking in 300 grams of beef, chicken, and tuna protein is not easy. Whey makes it easy. It doesn't need to be designer brand. A 5 pound tub should cost no more than $45 and should be gone in a week. Fish Oil is an excellent natural anti-inflammatory, which is necessary for fast recovery and keeping your joints healthy.

If you are diligent in these steps, you are on your way to becoming a force to be reckoned with! Remember to prioritize: getting your training protocol solid is the most important thing. Then worry about your diet. Supplements, while helpful, are a distant third on the totem pole.

If you are committed to becoming strong and muscular on a level unseen by elite athletes, take the first step by consulting the best training program around. Follow the link below for a free preview.
http://www.benchpress405.com/

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Can you build your body without a gym?

There lies the fact that we mostly know that acquiring a dream shape is impossible without a gym. The place where I come from in India has a slight different story to appear. Most of you know about Slum-dog Millionaire-the Oscar winning movie. In our area, people from slum and tribal places boast of having a well toned physique, much better in shape than the urban Joe. In certain cases I have seen labours and rickshaw-pullers having 6 pack abs.
What happens is that the concerned people are never actually putting in much effort to build up their bodies and many give up way too soon before results start coming in. We are constantly exposed to commercials for exercise equipment and gadgets, we have slowly over time become convinced that the only way to get in shape is to buy something and get to work using it. Our ancestors have been keeping their bodies in shape for far longer than companies have been around trying to sell us products to help us get there. Obesity is what normal people resort to these days. You can either be a couch potato trying to attain a round shaped body or you can have that lean physique up your sleeves. Joining Expensive gyms in your area might not yield you any result unless you put up your fight to the maximum and dedicate yourself.

There are hundreds of free hand exercises available which really helps out. You can start with stretching on the morning for example. One of the most famous is the triceps workout by dipping.
You can go for pull ups Or push ups, most of them are free hand exercises. Though you might not be able to build yourself like Jay Cutler, you can surely attain shapes like Matthew McConaughey(Remember My Earlier Post, Click here) or close. You will find certain videos in YouTube if you search the term free hand workouts.

And finally, you might try simply walking to places that you normally use your car to reach. Walking is just as good as jogging so long as you go far enough, and it’s a lot less stress on the knees. Consider walking to work even if it is close by, that way you can even contribute to Environment Protection. The destination does not matter, as long as you get yourself out there and get your feet moving.

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The Best Way To Build Muscle For Skinny Guys

Home  »  How To Build Muscle  »  The Best Way To Build Muscle For Skinny Guys By Jay Olsen   |  Comments

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Factors That Determine The Best Way To Gain Weight For You:
If you're wondering what the best way to build muscle is, it's important that you don't adopt a one-size-fits-all mindset. While it's definitely true that certain types of muscle building programs and approaches will tend to produce better results than others, what's not true is that there's one best way to build muscle for everyone.

Rather, you need to take into account a few different factors that are going to help you assess what the way to build muscle really is for your body type.

What works most ideally for one person may be disastrous when used by another, so it's really a matter of learning your own body and then choosing amongst the productive methods to get the best results possible for your time invested.

Let's have a look at a few of the top considerations that you need to know about when searching for the best way to build muscle.

The very first thing that you need to look at when thinking about what will be your quickest route to success is what type of body you have.

Are you an ectomorph who really struggles to pack on any lean muscle size period? Well if you're on this website, then chances are, that describes you.

Or, are you an endomorph who tends to put on more body fat than lean muscle mass as you go about trying to bulk up?

Both of these two body types will require entirely different strategies in terms of building quality lean muscle mass, so this needs to be taken into account.

If you put an endomorph on an ectomorph's routine, you'd just end up seeing your pant size grow significantly.

Assess your body type and then look for training strategies to match.

If you're an ectomorph (A typical skinny guy who has trouble gaining weight) then you'll need to follow a weight gain program like this.

The next thing that you need to think about is what your gym preference is. Are you someone who likes to workout four to five days a week?

Or, are you a minimalist with a busy lifestyle who can only find time to get into the gym two or three times per week for 30-40 minutes per session?

Depending on your workout preferences, this will also dictate what the best way to build muscle mass will be for you.

Those who are short on time might want to think about using a full body muscle building program as these will be best catered towards making the most of every single second spent in the gym.

Those who have more overall time to dedicate to building muscle may want to use an upper/lower split workout routine with some additional isolation exercises added in to further enhance muscle tone and definition.

Both types of programs can work great when used properly - but you have to use them consistently if you want to see results.

If you know ahead of time that there's no way you're getting to the gym four days per week, it doesn't matter how great of a set-up you have going on, it's not going to be the best way to build muscle for you.

Keep your personal preferences in mind at all times as that will dictate your adherence rate and at the end of the day, adherence is really what determines the rate of success you see. Let's be honest, if you can't stick to the program you won't see results, right?

The next thing that you need to take into account is what your current fitness level is. Beginners will require a very different type of workout program to generate more lean muscle mass compared to someone who is much more advanced.

By the time you get to the advanced stages a generic, straightforward "bulking" routine just won't cut it as your body is too used to the weight lifting stimulus.

At that point, in order to figure out your best way to build muscle, you're going to need to investigate advanced techniques such as supersets, drop sets, and pyramiding sets. Each of these is going to shock the muscles with something totally new and innovative so that you can move along faster to reach your end goal.

For the beginner, on the other hand, who is brand new to weight lifting, those techniques will just overwhelm you and won't produce the best results anyway as you don't have the strength base behind you that you really need.

For the beginner just starting out, a more straightforward type of approach where you're performing a number of compound movements and lifting as heavy of a weight as possible will be much more ideal.

Beginners typically grow muscle the best by sticking with the basics and just focusing on adding more and more weight to the bar.

So once you've figured out the best way to build muscle for your personal needs, you need to put that into action. Before you do anything at all you'll need a specific muscle building program for yourself so that there's never any guessing as to what you should be doing when you enter the gym.

You can gather all the information yourself and try and create your own muscle-building plan… Or you can take the shortcut and use a muscle-building plan that's proven to work.

Set out your workout times in your day planner as well so that nothing comes in and crowds it out of your day, potentially reducing the benefits that you see.

Then in addition to your workout, make sure that you also get a good muscle building diet plan together as well. Having the diet to go along with the workout program is like the icing on the cake and is what will ensure that you actually see the mass gain results you want from your workout efforts.

Both diet and workout really do go hand in hand because the diet is what will supply the materials that the body needs after the workout is completed in order to generate more lean muscle mass and build yourself back up stronger than you ever were before.

So there you have some of the most important things to take into consideration as you come up with the best way to build muscle for yourself. By identifying what your body needs and responds best to, you can structure your workout program exactly in a manner that will yield you top results.

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Build Muscles Without Lifting Weights in 5 Easy Ways

Building muscles can stem from different reasons. Some people want to become healthier while others want to do just simple workouts to build strong body muscles. Others prefer using bulky gym equipment or weights while the rest do not. Whatever reasons there are, building muscles without using weights is as important and as achievable as weight lifting muscle building routines.

1. Shoulder stretch

This exercise will target both the shoulders and the chest muscles. To do this, a bar or any similar tool is needed. Stand firmly on the ground with your feet close to each other and grab the tool or bar with a wider grip than the shoulder width. Then left it all the way towards the back of the head at the same time as pulling the abs inwards. Return to the primary position and repeat until necessary.

2. Using exercise ball

This form of body building exercise uses stress balls or exercise balls to target the chest. Place both your knees next to the ball along with one elbow on top of it. Using your free hand on the floor, lower your body like when doing push up. Be in this position for 30 seconds at most before switching to the next arm.

3. Workout bench

Targeting the triceps, shoulders, and chest, this body building exercise uses either a workout bench or ball. Place your own feet on top of the bench or ball, whatever your preference is, and place the hands on the floor. Now, try to lower your body slowly all the way towards the ground so that the chest almost touches the floor. Then force yourself back up again. Through this exercise, abdominal body muscles will be tightened as well.

4. Chin up

Aims at the biceps, forearms, and the back; this body building exercises needs you to grab either a bar or something similar while lifting up your body so that the chin goes by the bar without completely touching it. One can try to do this as many times as necessary.

5. Body building the abs

Place your hands and elbows on the floor while keeping your body straight just like when doing a position for push up. Now, try to push the butt as far as you are able to without moving your feet and arms all at the same time. Return to the first position slowly and repeat as desired.
These exercises will do wonders when done on a regular basis. Weight lifting is not always needed to build body muscles. Achieving a figure like that of body builders may be a difficult dream. But through the five body building routines stated above, getting a leaner body than before is highly possible.

Apply these important tips on how to build muscle. Later on, you will see clear results on how weight lifting is not that necessary for body building.

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How To Build Solid Muscle

How is Muscle Built?

Building muscle is basically an adaption process which happens in the body. During a weight training session, your micro fibers within the muscles are torn due to the excessive strain which is being placed on the muscle while you lift the weight. This is the reason why you experience soreness the day after a weight training session. During the resting phase, your muscle fibers are repaired, built and become stronger with the aid of protein. This is why it is essential that you include protein in the diet for maximum muscle mass gains. Without protein, the muscles will not be able to repair themself and instead of growing, they may actually become smaller due to the muscle breaking itself down to extract protein in order to heal itself properly. Protein usually comes from animal type products but is also found in many other types of food. The best sources of protein which I personally recommend are fish, meat, eggs and whey.

The Adaption Process

After weight training for some months, you may find it difficult to become sore the next day after a weight training session. This is because the body gets used to the constant strain which it is always being placed under and therefore the fibers become more stubborn and harder to tear. It is important to vary your weight lifting routine in order to shock the body and create maximum muscle fiber tear. This can be achieved by giving your workouts some variety. Super sets are a great way to shock the body into growth by giving the muscles maximum fiber tear. A super set is when you perform a set, and then perform another set on a different exercise immediately after, with no rest in between. For example you may perform 10 reps of front lateral raises, followed by 10 sets of side lateral raises immediately after. You can also vary super sets for an even more intense workout by performing 3 or even 4 lots of super sets. Drop sets are similar to a super set but instead of immediately performing another exercise, you stay with the same exercise and drop the weight or increase it. For example you may start on 100 kilograms, perform 10 reps, move down to 80 kilograms, perform 10 reps and so on.

Building muscle requires serious dedication and motivation. If you lack either of these I am afraid muscle building may not work for you. Make sure that your diet is in check and you lift heavy and I assure you that you will be gaining solid muscle in no time!

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The Best Way To Gain Weight, Bulk Up, And Build Muscle

Home  »  Weight Gain Programs  »  The Best Way To Gain Weight, Bulk Up, And Build Muscle By Carlos DeFlavia   |  Comments

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You’ve set the goal: now is the time that you’re finally going to obtain that muscular body that you’ve been wanting for so long. As such, you’re starting to do your research to find the best way to gain weight that will help you pack on quality lean muscle mass as quickly as possible.

With so many muscle building programs and diets out there, it can be hard to decide which is worth your time and which is just going to waste it.

How do you know what the best way to gain weight is? Is there just one most effective method?

Let’s take a look at a few of the factors that you should know about when looking for the best way to gain weight.

The very first thing that you absolutely must do if you’re going to figure out the best way to gain weight is to take into account what your body type is. Simply put, each and every person is going to react slightly differently to any given muscle building plan.

If you’re an ectomorph (skinny guy) for instance and can’t seem to gain weight no matter what you try, you would not do well on an incredibly high volume weight training program. Chances are, that would just cause you to lose weight. Not quite what you’re looking for. Rather, you need a muscle building program created specifically for hardgainers.

On the other hand, if you’re a mesomorph who’s been building muscle for quite some time and are now looking to take your body to the next level, the best way to gain weight for you will be a plan that incorporates a variety of advanced training techniques such as drop sets, supersets, and so on.

Lastly, if you’re someone who’s a strong endomorph and has a clear tendency to gain body fat, for you, the best way to gain weight will be a slower and steady approach. If you use a very high calorie surplus in effort to build muscle fast, you may just end up gaining a high degree of unwanted body fat.

Your metabolism tends to run slower and as such, you must keep your calorie intake in check. Your weight lifting program should also likely incorporate a bit of cardio training as well to help burn off any excess calories should you start to gain body fat.

The next thing that you have to look at when you’re trying to gain weight is the diet that you’re using. You absolutely must have a higher calorie diet if you want to build muscle mass. How high those calories are will depend on your metabolic rate and body type as mentioned above, but you do need that surplus if you hope to have success. If it’s not there, you won’t be getting any larger.

You can’t build something out of nothing, so food needs to be coming in.

Additionally, you’ll want to take in ample protein with each meal and snack you eat along with higher doses of carbohydrates around the workout period.

Some people strongly feel that the best way to gain weight is by overloading on carbs before and after the workout when you’re most anabolic and then focusing on protein and fat based meals later on in the day. This can be a very effective strategy for maximizing recovery from your workouts while also improving the chances that you stay lean as you go about the process.

Just make sure that whatever weight gain program you use to bulk up does include a diet plan as well. If it doesn’t, you’ve left out half the equation.

The next step in finding the best way to gain weight is thinking about the various workout splits that you can do. This ranges from a full body approach to an upper/lower split body approach, to finally a body part workout program where you just work one or two muscles each day.

For most people, the best way to gain weight will be either with the full body workout performed three times per week or the upper/lower split set-up.

These options allow for a higher frequency of training each muscle per week, which is one of the most important requirements for good muscle growth.

The body part split doesn’t allow for this, so that’s its big drawback. Additionally, since you’ll be performing so many compound lifts when doing a full body workout or an upper/lower set-up, you’ll also be releasing the greatest amount of anabolic hormones as well.

This further enhances your chances of seeing muscle size increases.

Finally, the full body workout along with the upper/lower split program allows for three to four days off in total each week to recover, which is more than the body part split does.

Since you only grow if you’re recovered, that’s one element that can’t be overlooked. Always remember, when you’re in the gym, you’re breaking your muscle tissues down. It’s only when you’re out of the gym that you’re body is working to build them back up so you come back bigger and stronger.

So at the end of the day, what is the best way to gain weight? Well, it all boils down to this:

You need to use a program that’s most suited for your body type! So if you’re a hardgainer, or ectomorph who wants to add muscle mass, you should NOT be following the same workout plan as an endomorph or a mesomorph.

Instead, you should be using a customized weight gain program for hardgainers.

Remember that you will need an overloading stimulus to be in place (weight lifting), plenty of rest, and good nutrition for any size gains to occur.

On top of that, other key elements that you want to seek out (as they will help you gain weight faster) are the use of compound exercises in the program, the use of heavier weights in the 5-10 rep range, and enough rest days off each week to prevent overtraining and allow full recovery to take place.

If you can get all of those things in order along with the higher calorie diet and appropriate macronutrient (carbohydrates, proteins, and fats) level, you’ll be well on your way to building the muscular body you want.

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How Long Does It Take To Build Muscle?

Home  »  Weight Gain Programs  »  How Long Does It Take To Build Muscle? By Daniel Cage, CPT   |  Comments

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If you're looking to pack on muscle mass, one thing that you may start to question after a while is how long does it take to build muscle? What's the maximum amount of muscle that you could gain if you did absolutely everything correctly?

Many guys often become very distraught when they just aren't seeing the rate of muscle gains that they thought they would from their weight-training program. They wonder if they're perhaps doing something incorrectly.

Maybe they aren't doing the right exercises in the gym or perhaps their diet just isn't up to par.

While both of these factors definitely will influence the results that you see with your muscle-building program, it's important to take some additional factors into account.

Whenever you ask the question, "how long does it take to build muscle," you really must evaluate your own situation personally. Each and every person will build muscle at a slightly different speed, so evaluating your own characteristics will help you set a goal that's realistic for your own body.

Let's take a look at the factors that answer this burning question, "how long does it take to build muscle?"

The very first element to take a look at when figuring out how quickly you'll be able to build muscle is what your past training history is. If you're someone who has been in the gym for years already, you're going to be building muscle at a much slower rate than someone who has never picked up a weight in their life.

Generally speaking, the more experience you have behind you, assuming you were using a properly planned workout program, the slower size gains will be.

Likewise, the more muscle you've already gained in the past, the slower additional muscle is going to come on.

If you were to keep building muscle at the same rate as you continued on about your program, we'd have gigantic 400-pound men walking around.

There comes a point where muscle mass gains will be incredibly slow as you reach close to your genetic potential.

The second factor to consider in terms of how quickly you can build muscle is what your body type is. If you're someone who's naturally skinny (an ectomorph), you're going to see slower muscle gain results compared to someone who easily adds muscle without a problem.

These various body types are referred to as ectomorphs, endomorphs, and mesomorphs, and by learning which body type you have, you'll be in a position to set some clear expectations.

Ectomorphs may only be able to add a pound or two of dry muscle per month while a mesomorph who is in the beginning of his muscle building career may double or even triple that in some instances.

Keep in mind when I say 1 – 2 pounds of muscle per month I'm talking about "dry muscle." The TRUTH is, with the right weight gain program, it's possible to gain more like 8 pounds of solid muscle weight per month if you include the water and glycogen weight that the new muscle tissue holds.

Endomorphs have a higher tendency to gain body fat, so while you may see the same weight gain as you would for a mesomorph, not all of it will be lean muscle tissue.

For this reason, many guys who have this body type tend to approach muscle building slower to avoid putting on excess body fat in the process.

The next thing that you also need to consider is your dietary adherence. You can really only build muscle as fast as you can eat. Stated another way, if you aren't eating more calories than you need to maintain your body weight, it's not going to matter what you do in the gym, you won't see results.

Food is an absolute must to pack on more muscle mass, so generally speaking the more you eat the faster you gain.

Realize though, that there are limitations to this. If you sit around all day long and shove too much food down your throat, you'll gain a high amount of muscle, but you'll also be gaining too much additional body fat.

Since your body can only gain so much muscle each day, excess calories consumed beyond that point will be converted to body fat.

But, by making sure you are eating enough, you can maximize your muscle gain.

You're overall recovery rate is the next thing that you'll want to consider. How fast you recover from any given gym workout is going to dictate how quickly you can get back into the gym and train once again.

If it takes you two to three days to recover fully from a workout session, this means that your overall rate of progress may be slower.

The more frequently you can train, assuming that you are in a recovered state, the faster muscle will be built.

Doing whatever you can to maximize recovery rates such as getting enough sleep, eating well, and supplementing with glutamine will all help move you in the right direction.

Finally, you also need to think about your hormonal level. Generally, guys who are in their early to late twenties will have the highest level of testosterone present in their system at this time, so are in the prime muscle building years, so to speak.

If you're already in your 30's or entering your 40's, this doesn't mean you can't still get good results, but your muscle building hormone profile will have shifted so it may be slower moving.

Understanding this and adjusting expectations accordingly will be important.

So there you have the main things to note about your question, "how long does it take to build muscle?" Most people training properly can build 1 - 2 pounds of dry muscle mass per month at the start of their weight gain program and as they advance onwards, rates of ½ pound to one pound become more appropriate.

Keep in mind you may see more weight gain than this amount (up to 2 - 3 pounds per week) due to additional muscle glycogen, water, and any extra fat added in the process, but this is a good estimate for the amount of raw muscle tissue that will be added if you're following a high-quality weight gain program.

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