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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Post-Workout Meal For Building Muscle Mass

Home  »  Weight Gain Diets  »  Post-Workout Meal For Building Muscle Mass By John Blackwood, NSCA CPT   |  Comments

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If the first step in packing on muscle mass is having a solid muscle building workout plan, the second step is putting together a smart post-workout meal. Don’t ever let yourself think that you’ve finished your job the minute you step foot out of the gym.

If the truth is told, you’re far from finished. At that very minute, you’ve just caused yourself to lose muscle. Yes, that’s right – lose muscle. Not making much sense?

Let me explain. Each time you step foot in the gym and lift heavy weights, you’re tearing your muscle tissues down. You’re exposing them to an overloading stress that they aren’t able to handle. As such, they tear and become broken.

So in order to build more muscle now, since getting stronger and larger, not weaker and smaller is your goal, you need to provide the second element in the equation – food.

Without food, your muscles stay in that broken down state and you will find you’re getting weaker over time.

So now that you hopefully realize the importance of the post workout meal, let’s look at what it must consist of in order for you to gain as much muscle as possible.

The very first thing that you’ll want to consider is the calorie and macronutrient make-up of that post workout meal. This refers to how much energy you’re supplying your body and what mix of nutrients.

This is going to vary slightly depending on your current body weight, how quickly you want to build muscle, how high your daily calorie intake is, and how long your workout session is.

The longer the workout, the faster you want to gain weight, and the higher your daily calorie requirement is, the more food you’ll want to consume.

For most guys who are training intensely, anywhere from 400-600 calories tends to work well. Keep in mind that about an hour after your post-workout meal, you’ll want to follow it with another solid meal to really consolidate the nutritional process during this post-workout period.

For the first post-workout meal, you want to aim for high protein, high carb selections. Avoid fat at all costs. Fat during this time is only going to slow the delivery of the nutrients into the muscle cells and is certainly not what you want.

On average you should be taking anywhere from 30-50 grams of protein and then the remainder should come from carbs. This will work out to around 50-100 grams depending on your total calorie requirement of that meal.

Looking at the food choices that should make up your post-workout meal, choose a fast digesting protein along with a fast digesting carb.

While the goal throughout the day is to keep blood sugar levels stable, immediately after your workout you actually want to spike your blood sugar levels up.

Why?

Simply because by doing so, you’ll create a high release of the hormone insulin, which will drive both the amino acids and glucose straight into the muscle cells. This is an ideal situation for muscle growth.

So smart food choices would include whey isolate protein powder, white fish, or egg whites for protein. Smart carb choices would include foods such as white bread, white bagels, sugary cereals, dextrose, or maltodextrin.

Some people often use fruit for their post-workout meal and while this will contain some simple sugars, it also contains fructose which won’t go into the muscle cells. So all in all it’s not most ideal. The best case scenario is 100% pure glucose since that is what will re-saturate muscle glycogen levels the fastest.

Most guys do find that using a protein/carb shake works slightly better for their post-workout meal as opposed to whole food sources, so they’ll choose to combine whey protein powder with a powdered form of carb such as dextrose, waxy maize, or maltodextrin. If you can’t get a hold of those, Gatorade powder will also work great.

Now we must talk about timing. Some guys do get very caught up in thinking that if they don’t consume their post-workout shake within 2 seconds of being out of the gym, they’re going to really hinder their results.

While timing is definitely important, there’s no need to take it to this extreme. Generally speaking, the sooner you can get that shake in the better. But, if you need to have a quick 5-minute shower first, that’s fine.

As long as you get your post-workout meal in within 15-30 minutes, you’ll be on top of the game. Don’t stress yourself out over this as that stress is likely to cause more harm than the delayed interval of the meal.

Finally, the last thing that you might want to think about when looking at your post-workout meal is additional supplements that you can add to take your muscle-building progress one step further.

It’s no secret that many guys will see slightly better muscle building results when certain supplements are added, so by making the most of this, you can accelerate your mass gains.

Two very smart supplements to add during the post-workout meal or shake is creatine and glutamine. These are both recovery-oriented supplements that will help prepare you for the next time you enter the gym.

Always remember that the main mission of that post workout meal is to speed up the recovery process so that you can get back into the gym again and train sooner.

Creatine will restore the higher energy precursor that will help fuel every single muscle contraction you perform and glutamine will ensure that your immune system is strong and ready to carry out the muscle tissue regeneration process.

Both of these can easily be added to your shake, or if you’re having solid food, you can just take these with some water or juice.

So there you have the in’s and out’s of a smart post-workout meal. If you want to see the best results from your training program, getting this in order will be vital to success.

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Human Growth Hormone Releasers - How Do They Help Promote Muscle Development?

When you think of growth hormone releasers, the first thing that probably comes to mind is HGH pills like HyperGH 14x. These products are said to work by helping your body to grow its lean muscle mass quickly and efficiently. They are used as a supplement to your workouts and you will not gain muscle mass if you do not put the work into the process.

It doesn't matter how old you are when you begin using growth hormone releasers, as these products are known even to improve health of men later on in life. Remember that studies have shown certain pills can actually help improve your health, rather than hinder it -- these pills are not an allopathic medication; they are a nutritional supplement that promotes the release of Growth Hormone. In the end, you have the choice to select a growth hormone releaser to supplement your diet and help you tone your muscles without the use of any illegal products, as this will help your overall levels of fitness and health.

If you are looking to purchase any kind of HGH pills, you should first look at the benefits that these items will provide for you. Just like anything else, some of these products can harm you if not taken properly. And some of the better hormone releasers, such as HyperGH 14x, are said to work well because they help you reduce your body fat percentage and increase your muscle mass in a natural way.

These pills do not pump extra HGH into your system, but rather help your body to produce more naturally, leading to healthy muscle gains. It is dangerous to rely on synthetic HGH for muscle gain because it can cause health problems in the future. By getting your body to produce additional growth hormone, however, you do not have to worry about these drawbacks.

Supplements like HyperGH 14x can also help you to recover from a workout, as they allow your muscles to return to their previous state at a quicker pace. Whenever you workout heavily, you will end up with tiny tears in your muscle fibers from the weight that you have lifted.

In order for your body to grow, you must wait for those tears to heal. The tears heel by generating additional muscle fibers, which is why your muscles grow. HGH pills can help this muscle fiber regenerate at a faster pace, which means that you need less time in between your workouts. In the end, this can allow you to gain results in as little as six weeks, without taking any illegal supplements.

Exercise also causes your body to produce growth hormone, although people produce this at different rates. Those who find themselves producing the hormone at low rates often look to HGH pills to help them out. The problem is that synthetic HGH can be harmful and once you begin seeing the results, people often find it difficult to stop.

Products like HyperGH 14x, however, are not synthetic, as they simply help your body to produce more of the hormone on its own. This is perfect for those who are willing to put the work in, but simply want their bodies to respond and recover faster.

HyperGH 14x is safe for men of all ages and unlike anabolic steroids or synthetic HGH pills, it is completely legal. If you want to get better results when working out without taking drugs, a natural growth hormone releaser is probably right up your alley.

Christian Spears has written an excellent HyperGH 14x article. You can also read his HyperGH 14x Reviews post here.

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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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The Facts About Muscle And Fat

It would be safe to say that most people, at one time or another have wondered how long, and with how much intensity they would have to train in order to turn all their unwanted body fat into sexy muscle?

And, on the flip-side, when they stop training, how long before that precious muscle turns back into fat?

These are some of the questions I hear all of the time. In fact, questions like these have been asked so often that I've come to realize that there is quite a lack of knowledge, or perhaps understanding is a better word, relating to how training actually affects someone's body composition.

In order to answer these pressing questions, I want to take the time and explain the different roles of muscle and body fat.

I want to share some common statements that are used by many people, and then, I will try to give you the straight-up, honest truth about why those statements don't make sense, and why they should be taken out of your "wellness vocabulary."

Let's start with the most common one of all:

"If I workout, I will be able to turn my fat into muscle."

First things first, muscle and fat are two distinctly different types of tissues. Therefore, it is physically impossible to change muscle into fat, or vise-versa. The best way to think about fat is that it is a mass of cells which can do any of three things. They can remain together as a mass and remain at rest, they can grow and divide as more calories are taken in and turned into fat, or they can shrink in size if and when those fat-converted calories are burned off by some form of physical activity. That's it! That's all that fat can do.

Muscle, on the other hand is a very different type of tissue. Muscle cells, also known as "fibers" cannot grow in terms of their numbers, like fat can. Each of us has a pre-determined number of muscle fibers in our body. These fibers, however, can be stimulated and grow individually, therefore giving us larger, more defined muscles overall.

"I'm going to lose my fat before I start gaining muscle."

For a long time now, people have thought that losing fat and gaining muscle were two totally separate things that could never be done effectively at the same time. Well my friends, times have changed, well, not really, actually attitudes have changed, and there is now a much better understanding about how these two things actually work.

That's exactly the reason why many fitness professionals (myself included) now agree that doing BOTH an effective fat-burn, along with a muscle-gain in the SAME workout is truly the best way to get the results you want, fast! After all, if you lost all of your body fat first, before attempting to add any lean muscle, first, it would take you a very long time to get into shape, and also, you would be so weak from all of your "fat-burning" efforts, that you probably wouldn't have the strength to pick up a dumbbell! If you want to start losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time, you need to start doing a complete wellness program that incorporates dynamic training and functional nutrition.

If you remember nothing else from this article, remember this statement: "The more lean muscle you have on your body, the more fat you will burn, no matter what activity you are doing."

"I just want to target the fat on my [belly] [hips] [butt] that's all."

Targeting specific areas of fat, or "spot-training" as it is so commonly called is, in a word, a MYTH! If you remember back in my first point, fat cells all work together as a large mass, and it's impossible to know where they are going to end up sitting on your body. This is determined by how much and where your body decides it needs extra fat stored. You have absolutely no control over this, so please stop thinking that you do. When this fact finally sinks in for people, that's when they start to get the results they want, because they aren't fighting a losing battle against fat. They're attacking fat as a whole and creating a situation where fat is not permitted to grow.

The great thing about muscles on the other hand, is that they can be targeted specifically, and therefore be made more or less pronounced, depending on how much or how little work is done on them from a training standpoint. Use this strategy to your advantage when planning your workouts!

"I'm working out, so I can eat whatever I want."

This final statement is something that I hear far too often. People enter into a training program with this mis-conception that the work they are doing will magically cancel out any and all of their poor eating habits! This statement is as full of bologna as the people who believe it to be true. Don't be one of those people. Listen, all you have to remember is that if you continually burn off more calories than you consume, you will be in a "calorie deficit." And, if you are using quality, dynamic strength training to burn those calories, then the stuff you're losing will almost certainly be body fat! Remember that it's impossible to out-train a bad diet!

It really is that simple! So don't get caught up in believing false statements about losing fat and gaining muscle! Our bodies have been the same for thousands of years, and the way they work is also the same. There's no miracle drug, or shake or workout that will bring you results overnight, or while you sleep.

The FACT is that if you work hard, and put forth an honest effort to eat well, and stay motivated to see your results, you WILL succeed!

Now, go and get it done!

My Name is Dale Bateman. For over 10 years, I've been helping ordinary people (like you and me) achieve their fat loss goals with my common sense approach to health and wellness. I truly believe that long term fat loss can only be mastered by incorporating what I call my three components of fat loss.

These are Fitness, Nutrition and Motivation. Without all three components, you are setting yourself up for failure. Each week, my blog features a brand new, original post dealing with one of these three components. Also, you can sign up for my free weekly newsletter and free 5 week e-course, "5 S.T.E.P.S. to Losing Your First 5 Pounds."

So if you're looking for common sense strategies for losing fat and achieving optimal health and wellness, please visit my blog today: http://losethefatforlife.com/

Thank you.

Dale Bateman

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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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Building Muscle In Your Sleep (Importance Of Proper Rest)

Home  »  Weight Gain Programs  »  Building Muscle In Your Sleep (Importance Of Proper Rest) By Sean Nalewanyj   |  Comments

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The benefits of a proper sleep for building muscle, burning fat, and gaining strength...

It doesn't sound super exciting at first, but I promise, after you understand why sleep and rest is a key component to your muscle building and weight gain program you'll be glad you know.

If you want to experience the most explosive muscle gains in the shortest time possible, then a good nights sleep really is an important factor. What makes sleep so important? Well, lets look at what happens when you don't get a good nights sleep each night.

One of the biggest problems with sleep deprivation is the effect it will have on your mental state. Studies show that even a single night of insufficient rest will have a negative effect on your mental sharpness and on your willingness to perform difficult tasks.

Putting fourth a good hard effort every time you enter the gym is very important when it comes to transforming your body so you must remain mentally sharp at all times.

Your bottom line muscle gains are ultimately determined by the small steady increases you're able to make in all of your major exercises from week to week and keeping your strength at top level is critical to achieving this as quickly as possible.
As you probably already know, your muscles don't grow in the gym... They grow while you're out of the gym resting and eating. The time you spend sleeping is one of the critical periods where the repair of damaged muscle tissue takes place. If you deprive your body of sleep, you'll deprive the recovery process as well.
Depriving your body of sleep actually has a negative impact on some of the most important muscle building hormones circulating through your body. Specifically, testosterone, growth hormone, and cortisol. Simply put, sleep deprivation has a negative impact on every single one of them.

It will lower testosterone levels which is going to decrease muscle growth. It will decrease growth hormone levels which is going to decrease fat loss. And it's going to increase cortisol levels which will increase fat storage and encourage muscle breakdown.

So how much sleep is enough to maximize your results? You should aim to get at least 8 hours of high-quality sleep each night. And if you need more sleep then by all means, take it!

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Best Supplements For Muscle Gain - Which Ones Actually Work?

Home  »  Weight Gain Supplements  »  Best Supplements For Muscle Gain - Which Ones Actually Work? By Carl Lewis, CPT   |  Comments

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After you’ve taken the time to get your workout and diet in order, the next step in gaining muscle mass quickly is assessing which are the best supplements for muscle gain.

Before you head into your local supplement shop and pick up whatever seems to promise the best of results, there are a number of things that you need to take into account.

First, think about what your muscle building diet is like. Could you be suffering from any nutritional deficiencies? If so, that’s the first thing to take care of. Nothing will work better than all around good nutrition for building muscle!

Then once that’s in place, next you want to think about what you most struggle with and what supplement might be able to help you get around this. Low energy? There’s a supplement for that.

Poor recovery? Again, you can get the help you need. Suffering from lower testosterone levels? Supplements can help.

As long as you have a clear idea in your mind what it is you want and have realistic expectations, you will see great results from your chosen products.

Let’s give you a quick run-down of the best supplements for muscle gain to get you started.

First on our list of the best supplements for muscle gain is creatine. Creatine is one of the most commonly recognized products out there and for good reason – it works.

Those who are involved in intense weight lifting activities will notice a big difference when they add creatine into the mix. Creatine is going to provide the precursor to the high energy molecule referred to as ATP, which powers you through each and every rep that you perform.

If your natural creatine stores get depleted, your workout intensity is going to come to a halt so this is an instant way to increase how much work you can perform in every session you do.

If recovery is what you’re battling with, glutamine is the top muscle building supplement to turn to. Glutamine is a specific amino acid that’s going to play a key role in the immune response and help you recovery faster after every session in the gym.

One thing that many people overlook as they go about their muscle building program is that it’s not just the workouts that are taxing their body, but daily stressors as well. If you have a stressful job or are in a relationship that’s causing much heartache or tension, that will influence how quickly you’re able to recover from your intense workout sessions.

Even if it’s not physical stress, stress is stress and will drain your recovery reserves.

Glutamine keeps your immune system as strong as possible so you have a maximum reserve for recovery each day.

Moving along, another of the best supplements for muscle gain to help enhance your focus and drive in the gym is nitric oxide. Most people best know this supplement as the one to give you the ‘muscle pump’.

Take this product and when you walk into the gym, you’re going to feel fuller and more powerful than ever. This can serve to provide incredible motivation on its own, so that in fact could bring about better results as well.

Nitric oxide will serve to increase the dilation of blood vessels in the muscle cells, which means you’ll reduce the chances of fatigue during your set and be able to get a higher rate of nutrient delivery.

This means more intense sets in the gym and a faster recovery as well.

Most people who are involved in muscle building already realize that testosterone is one of the key hormones that’s necessary to build significant size. This is the hormone that clearly differentiates males from females and why females don’t pack on nearly the same amount of muscle as a man does.

But, not all men have high testosterone. Various factors can influence your natural testosterone levels such as age, a poor diet, stress, as well as lack of sleep or overtraining, so doing everything possible to keep your levels high is a must.

Tribulus is one of the best muscle building supplements to help out with this. By adding this to your mass building workout, you should notice a faster rate of muscle growth and also be able to train more frequently.

Along with a strong immune system, having sufficient testosterone levels will also enhance recovery ability.

Finally, last but not least, a few other of the best muscle building supplements that you should definitely consider picking up is a high quality whey protein powder as well as some fish oil. While these won’t claim to help you pack on 10 pounds overnight for instance, they are still a must-have for gaining muscle mass as quickly as possible.

If you fail to meet your protein needs, you simply will not grow. It’s as plain as that – protein is what supplies the building blocks for that new muscle tissue. Since most people don’t have time to be in the kitchen cooking up six chicken breasts a day, protein powder makes meeting your daily protein requirement much easier.

Plus, it’s specially formulated to digest very quickly in the body, so is ideal for taking immediately after a workout.

Fish oil on the other hand will offer a wealth of benefits, mostly aimed at improving your overall health, but it’s also great for increasing your insulin sensitivity.

This will play a key role in making sure the extra calories you eat are shuttled towards the muscle cells rather than stored in the body fat cells for long term energy. It’s definitely a must if you want to stay lean while you build muscle mass.

So there you have the best supplements for muscle gain that you need to know about. By choosing these rather than the overly hyped up products that are likely to just waste your money, you can feel good knowing you made an informed decision.

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Three Muscle Building Techniques

The most important topic when it comes to changing the shape of your body is nutrition. You've probably heard cheesy sayings like "A little on the lips, forever on the hips" and "You are what you eat." Well, that's because it's true. No matter how hard you work out, if you're diet is wrong, you're not going to get the results you want. If you ask any professional bodybuilder or fitness model, they're going to tell you the same thing. So the topic I'm going to discuss here is nutrabolism.

Nutrabolism means optimizing nutrition to increase muscle growth without adding fat. You've probably heard a lot of talk about the importance of protein, and it's true that protein is very important. But it's easy to make sure you're getting enough protein. What people don't talk about enough is carbohydrate intake. So keeping that in mind, here are three of the most advanced muscle building techniques.

1. Carbohydrate Capitalization. What this means is that you need to eat your carbohydrates at the right time of day so they're not wasted. Extra carbohydrates turn into fat, but if you eat the majority of them around your workout, you can use the energy the provide immediately and not have them going to waste the rest of the day. In fact, you should probably consume about 70% of your daily carbohydrates pre and post workout. The other 30% of your carbohydrates are best eaten at breakfast.

2. Somatofy Your Nutrition. This means changing your nutrition based on your body type. You've probably heard that there are three basic body types: ectomorph, mesomorph and endomorph. There are actually many more body types that fall between these on the spectrum, and nutritionists are only now beginning to understand how these body types react to nutrients and carbohydrates. But for simplicity's sake, we'll focus on the three main body types.

The Ectomorph. People with this body type are long, lanky and skinny. They typically have thin bones and have a very hard time putting muscle. If that sounds like you, you'll need to take advantage of high-glycemic carbohydrates not just during your workout window, but throughout the day. Doing this will help you to fill out your clothes and change your body faster.
The Endomorph. People with this body type tend to be shorter and thicker and put on fat very easily. If this is you, then you need to do the opposite and avoid high-glycemic carbohydrates and instead focus on complex carbohydrates and eat the vast majority of them before and after your workout.
The Mesomorph. These people tend to be of average height and thickness. If that's you, count yourself lucky because it will be much easier to build a great physique. Your main focus should be on protein and having 70% of your carbs (both simple and complex) around your workout.

3. Change Your Nutrition Based On Your Weight Training Program. This is one of the most common mistakes. Many people follow a meal plan that doesn't take into account the time of day they workout. There are some people who get most of their carbs in the morning and do their workout at night. This type of behavior is going to make muscle growth a slow and frustrating process. It's important to have meals prepared for right before and after you workout, no matter what time of day it is.

Hopefully these three tips will help you out. For now, you should start measuring your results. Take a pen and an index card to the gym so you can keep track of how much weight and how many reps you're able to do on each machine. It's not exact, but over time it will give you an idea of whether your plan is working. And if it's not, make adjustments. Good luck!

To learn more about proper bodybuilding nutrition, visit The Muscle Maximizer.

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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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Men Often Ask: How Can I Gain Muscle?

Are you one of the men who ask this question? Do you want to lose fat and add muscle?

There are four things that you need to do to gain muscle and reduce your body fat.

They are:

• Motivation

• Good Nutrition

• Cardio

• Lift Weights

Let's talk about each of these four areas so you fully understand what you need to do and how to do it.

The first is Motivation. Your motivation is the key to success. What do you want to achieve from a workout routine? Do you want to gain muscle? Are you trying to reduce excess fat from your body and become fit and healthy? Are you trying to please your wife or girlfriend or want to attract a girlfriend?

What other burning questions can you ask yourself that will give the motivation to help you to achieve your workout goals?

Whatever your reason for wanting to know how I can gain muscle it has to be strong enough to support you through the long haul. If your motivation isn't strong enough you will fail. You will need a support system to help you maintain your motivation throughout all of your efforts to gain muscle and reduce fat.

Write down your reasons and put them somewhere you can see them every day to keep them on your mind.

The second is Good Nutrition. Rock hard bodies are made in the kitchen and not the gym. If you're drinking a 2 liter of cola and eating a bag of potato chips every night you have no chance of achieving your goal. You must make the necessary changes to your diet.

You may feel that this is hard to do but, once you clean up your diet of junk food and eat lean and healthy you will feel the difference so much that you will not want to go back to junk foods.

This means a balanced diet of lean protein, good carbs and, lots of fruits and vegetables. It doesn't have to be boring; you don't even have to reduce your total calories a lot. In fact as you gain muscle you may have to increase your calories to sustain the muscles that you are building.

The third is Cardio. Now everybody has the impression of cardio of as standing on a treadmill and running for three hours. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Cardio doesn't have to be boring. You can vary the type of cardio you do each day. A good 20 minute cardio workout could be walking fast, a light jog, swimming, biking or you could use a treadmill or some other aerobic machine. The key is to mix up what you do for cardio so it doesn't become routine and exercises different muscle groups.

The fourth is Lifting Weights. This is where you can gain the muscle you desire and increase your metabolism.

When it comes to lifting weights you don't need to start with heavy weights and try to impress your friends with how much you can lift. In fact that's the worst thing you can do. What you need to do is to lift a comfortable amount of weight that you can do three sets of 8 to 12 reps.

You can increase the weight when you are comfortable with it and not straining to do the exercises at that increased weight.

I want to tell you that you can answer the question, "how can I gain muscle?" Do it by following a plan. But if you don't have a strong enough "why" you want to gain muscle, it will be difficult to succeed.

So make sure before you begin any workout system you have a strong enough "why" to sustain your effort to succeed. Exercise the most important muscle first, your brain! Write down your reasons why you want to gain muscles and keep it where you can see it often.

I have created a seven part eCourse that will give you all the detailed information you will need to answer the question "How Can I Gain Muscle"?

So take action now and find out how you can gain muscle, sign-up now at my website http://www.mensfitnessexercise.com/

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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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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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