Best Beginner's Bodybuilding Program

Body building or even just showing up at a gym can be intimidating for a beginner.
A lot of beginners bodybuilding problem of suffering in my father followed him in order to get a positive result of the Program is

in the article we will present a very important program in order to gain muscle in the nearest time.

 Monday:       Chest

 Tuesday:       Lesg and Abs

 Wednesday: Triceps

 Thursday:       Shoulders

 Friday:           Back  and  Biceps

 Saturday:      Off

Bodybuilding programs that you will find useful should involve not just exercises but also your diet, stretching, motivation and other changes in your lifestyle. Building up muscles is a big achievement and like all big achievements, you're going to have to make a few sacrifices to get them. Be aware that to perfectly adapt the program, your lifestyle will be changed immensely. Not only that but your energy will increase and your overall level of health as well.

Read More

4 Best Trapezius Exercises For Size and Strength

The traps rest at the top of the pyramid when it comes to your physique. A muscular trapezius is a great way to tell a weight lifter from somebody who does not lift.

If you increase the size of your traps, it will also increase the size of your neck (just in case you’re tired of being called “pencil neck”).

Even though many different exercises involve the upper traps, isolation exercises are usually better for hypertrophy (size increase) of any muscle, including the traps.


Exercise 1 Dumbbell Shrug

You can perform this using a straight Olympic bar, dumbbells, the diamond/hex/trap bar, or even cables. The type of weight you use doesn't matter, but how you perform the movement is what separates the men from the boys.

Obviously, I like the heavy volume approach. Picking the correct weight is the trick: let's say you can deadlift that bar 10 times but the 11th rep would be ridiculously taxing and almost unachievable. If this is the case, then I believe you have the correct weight.



Exercise 2 Upright Rows

Start by standing in a comfortable position with the weight in front of you resting in front of your thighs. Your palms should be facing you while holding the weight. Pull your hands up to your chin and keep your elbows laterally. Be careful to ensure that at the top position your elbows are higher than your hands so you work your trapezius and do not hurt yourself.

Exercise 3 Low-Cable Face Pull

Use a rope and attach it to the low part of a vertical adjustable cable rack. Stand about two feet from the attachment to get the correct angle for recruiting those traps. To use this exercise as a burner, don't pause or rest at the top—keep the movement constant. This will get tough, but dig deep and finish.


 Exercise 4 Behind The Back Barbell Shrugs

Stand in a comfortable position with the barbell behind your back. Grip barbell with palms facing up to the sky. Now shrug your shoulders to raise and lower the weight slowly.

Exercise 4 Behind The Back Barbell Shrugs

Stand in a comfortable position with the barbell behind your back. Grip barbell with palms facing up to the sky. Now shrug your shoulders to raise and lower the weight slowly. 

Read More

Best Food for Bodybuilders

Diet is one of the most often overlooked aspects of training, athletes don't always associate eating with getting the results that they are after from their workout sessions, but consuming the right nutrients from the best sources is a huge part of the equation.

 The greatest performance diets may seem complicated and fancy, but they are all built on a foundation of basic principles and simple foods. Eat the right ones, and your body will respond accordingly. If your current regimen doesn't include the following body-builders, beeline to the grocery store and stock up on them, stat. Bonus: They're also all pretty delicious.


Egg Whites

Show us a bodybuilder without egg whites in his diet, and we'll show you someone who's missing out on the best protein money can buy. Paired with oatmeal, an egg-white omelet can turn your breakfast into a power meal to fuel the rest of your day.

Fish

As far as a high quality protein, fish is pretty hard to beat. There are a wide variety of fish to choose from, many of which have a very high protein content and very low saturated fat. Fish are also high in the Omega three fatty acids that help to promote good heart health. Tuna, which is high in protein as well as iron and calcium, is very versatile and can easily be added to regular and pasta salads, is excellent in a sandwich, can be prepared in a casserole or serves as an excellent centerpiece to a meal in a filet.

 Nuts

I know what you're thinking - nuts are way too high in fat. Well some nuts are high in fat, but much of the fat that they contain is a "good" fat. Aside from being high in protein, many nuts have a host of other benefits like lowering cholesterol, keeping your heart healthy and potentially helping the fight against cancer.


 Fruit

Fruit has a place in just about everyone’s diet. For bulking, it provides a great source of antioxidants that can help you cope with the oxidative damage caused by high-volume or heavy training. Certain antioxidants in fruit may also help with insulin sensitivity. When a client wants to gain weight, I have him add fruit to his shakes for more calories.

“With respect to getting lean, I keep fruit in fat-loss diets longer than people might expect. Cutting carbs is key to losing fat, but more often than not, total carb content trumps the type of carbs. I first cut out grains and starches, and then—when weight loss plateaus—I remove tropical fruits, as they generally have a higher sugar content. Berries are the last to go, after which the client is left with eating protein, healthy fats, and green vegetables.


Fruit and vegetables for good health

Fruits and vegetables are low in fat, salt and sugar. They are a good source of dietary fibre. As part of a well-balanced, regular diet and a healthy, active lifestyle, a high intake of fruit and vegetables can help you to:

    Reduce obesity and maintain a healthy weight
    Lower your cholesterol
    Lower your blood pressure.

Types of vegetables

Vegetables are available in many varieties and can be classified into biological groups or ‘families’, including:

• Leafy green – lettuce, spinach and silverbeet
• Cruciferous – cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and broccoli
• Marrow – pumpkin, cucumber and zucchini
• Root – potato, sweet potato and yam
• Edible plant stem – celery and asparagus
• Allium – onion, garlic and shallot.

 Red Meat

Red Meat is a staple of many body builders' diets and can be an excellent source of protein an iron. The down side is that good quality cuts of red meat can be fairly expensive, and red meat as a whole contains a lot more fat than some of the other choices here that offer just as much protein and a good mix of other potential health benefits.
Getting enough protein in your diet is essential to your body's recovery and its ability to build muscle, so make sure that you are consuming enough protein for your size and your workload, but try to do so in a fashion that doesn't overload your diet with unnecessary fat. The lean sources of protein mentioned above will help you to truly reap the rewards of the long hours that you put in at the gym.

Read More

“Back” To Basics – Training The Back Slow, Heavy And Raw

Today’s commercial gyms are packed with all sorts of foo-foo machines delivering promises of full stretches, pumps and muscle blood engorgement, without having to balance a weight. Yes, these Hammer Strength and Nautilus machines can be useful at times for ‘finishing off’ the back after a tough training session. But most of the time, these exercises should only be the “icing” upon a cake of a workout built around the solid foundations of heavy iron lifting. Let’s look at a standard “first 2/3” of any back workout, and how it should look.

There are a number of exercises that have proven to be great for developing the back muscles. The question is, "What is the best back workout for building up the back muscles quickly?" Several of those most highly recommended are discussed below.

Deadlifts

Keep it simple, stupid (KISS). Pick up the weight, and put it down. Wear a back brace, warm up completely, and complete your reps slowly. With a nice mix of songs on your iPod, you should be able to take your sweet time and train completely without much trouble or rush. Five sets of slow and heavy deadlifts will torch your lower back and contribute to an overall body hormone release that will give you some new muscle quickly.

Barbell Rows

Here’s another slow and painful movement that almost nobody enjoys, most people avoid, but that deliver some terrific results for all involved. Whatever weight you’re using for the deadlifts, cut in 1/3, and start pulling. Five sets of slow and steady work while using a back brace should be ideal for you.

Horizontal Pulling Exercises

These exercises, oftentimes referred to as rows, include cable rows, seated machine rows, dumbbell rows, and bent-over barbell rows. They are excellent exercises for working the upper back, middle back, and the lats. It's tempting to use cable and machines for these exercises, but they should be avoided in favor of free-weight rowing exercises. Dumbbell rows and barbell rows are excellent choices to include in the best back workout.

Vertical Pulling Exercises

These exercises include recognized favorites underhand chin-ups, overhand chin-ups, and lateral pulldowns. The most effective of these pulling exercises has proven to be the basic wide grip overhand chin-ups, especially for building up your lats.

Shrugging Exercises

These exercises, which include barbell shrugs and dumbbell shrugs, are superb for working the often forgotten upper traps. These are usually performed at the end of a back workout routine, and should usually include a high number of repetitions.

Putting It All Together

Traditionally, the best back workouts include four exercises that are often grouped together into a routine that has proven for many to be excellent for building muscle mass very quickly.

* Wide Grip Overhand Chin-ups: Two sets of five to seven repetitions
* Deadlifts: Two sets of five to seven repetitions
* Bent-over Barbell Rows: Two sets of five to seven repetitions
* Barbell Shrugs: Two sets of ten to twelve repetitions
This routine, properly followed, will undoubtedly move you quickly toward building a strong powerful back with impressive lats and traps.

Read More

The 6 Top Exercises For Your Upper Body Workout at Home (Bigger Chest, Shoulders, Arms)

Many people want an effective workout they can use to build and tone the muscles in their upper body such as their biceps, triceps, abs, and back muscles. However, a lot of these people don't have any gym equipment so an upper body workout at home is necessary. If you want to build a bigger and more toned upper body without using any gym equipment then you should perform the following exercises as part of your upper body workout at home.


The Push Up

 The push up is one of the most basic exercises available but it is one of the best ways to work the upper body. This exercise will work all the important muscles in your upper body such as your triceps, chest, biceps, and abs. To perform push ups you must first place your body in a push up position on the floor. You should then bend your elbows slowly and lower body into a push up. Your abs should be tight while your elbows make a 90 degree angle. You should then push yourself back into the starting position and repeat this process 15 more times.


Push-Up Variation the Grappler

This is the simplest variation to perform. Pull one knee to your chest at the top of each Push-Up. Keep your back straight and tighten your core throughout the movement.

Push Up Variation The Corkscrew

The Corkscrew is one of the most complicated and difficult Push-Up variations. It challenges your chest and triceps beyond what the other exercises offer, while your core is forced to stabilize and resist rotation.



Pull Ups

 Pull ups is an exercise that work the shoulders and biceps in your upper body. You can make a homemade pull up bar to use for this exercise. The first thing you need to do is grab a hold of the pull up bar with your hands positioned about shoulder width apart and your palms facing the opposite direction from you. Now pull yourself upward until your chin is over the bar and to complete the exercise you will need to slowly move to the hanging position.

Dumbbell Rows

 Dumbbell rows will work and tone the back, forearm, and bicep muscles. To perform this exercise you will need some dumbbells. Start off by bending over and you can support your lower back by placing your hand and knee on a bench. Now all you have to do is pull the dumbbell to your chest area slowly.
 

Bicep Curls


 Position a pair of dumbbells in your hands with your palms facing upward. Now use a complete range of motion to take the weight from your shoulders to your hips by bending and straightening the elbows. You must make sure you don't swing the weight.

 

Read More

10 Things You Can Do To Lose Fat Without Even Trying

There are many ways to lose a lot of weight fast.

However, most of them will make you hungry and unsatisfied.

If you don’t have iron willpower, then hunger will cause you to give up on these plans quickly.

1. Eat smaller more frequent meals - not only is your metabolism boosted every time you eat something, your body can more efficiently process smaller meals. Instead of having 3 large meals in a day, try to break them up into 5 or 6 smaller meals.

2. Drink more water - regular water intake helps to flush away waste products in the body. Get at least six to eight 8 oz. glasses per day. An easy way to do this is to keep a water bottle handy and drink from it frequently.

3. Be inefficient - do you need to go to the kitchen to get a couple of things? Break it up into two trips even if you can do it in one. Being inefficient like this can easily double your activity level, burning calories without even trying.

4. Eat more protein - foods high in protein include chicken, fish, eggs, dairy, beans, lean red meats, etc. Your body burns more calories processing protein than either carbohydrates or fats. Protein also helps to support your muscle tissue, which burns calories all day long!

5. Eat more fiber - fiber is very filling. By eating more fiber rich food you will find yourself full sooner. This feeling of fullness will last a long time as well.
6. Don't let yourself get hungry - when you get hungry you will have a much greater tendency to overeat when you do finally get something to eat. As well, because your body is starting to go into starvation mode, it will be much more likely to hold onto whatever you give it.

7. Order small portions at restaurants - it's tough to order small french fries when "supersizing" your order is such a great "value." Take note, however, your real savings will occur in the calories that don't end up on your backside.

8. Take the stairs instead of the elevator - any time you can add in a little more physical activity, do it. This doesn't mean you need to slog up 20 flights of stairs. Even a flight or two done regularly will add up.

 9. Wait 20 minutes between servings - your brain takes at least 20 minutes to register that you're full. By waiting that long, you'll give your brain a chance to realize that you don't really need any more food.

10. Cheat on your diet - one thing I always make my clients promise is that they will cheat on their diet. The only thing I ask that they do is to cheat ONLY when they have planned to cheat. By planning when you are going to eat the foods you crave, you take back control of your eating habits.

This way you no longer "give in" to your cravings. You "reward yourself" for sticking to proper nutritional habits. Do this once or twice a week and you will feel far more in control and have better healthy eating habits.

In conclusion, if you follow even a few of these 10 easy tips in the long term, you will certainly notice a difference in your overall weight and health.

Read More

How much can you bench press?

Grip the bar firmly and tuck your chin into your upper chest, when you are ready to lower the bar inhale and expand your chest and belly, this How much can you bench press? If you have been working out for any length of time you have certainly heard this question. The bench press is the ego exercise. You can add poundage to your max squat, dead lift, shoulder press, etc. But for some reason it doesn’t give you the same satisfaction as adding poundage to your max bench press.

In this article I am going to outline some great tips on improving your bench press technique and how to lift heavier weight when testing your one rep max bench press.

To increase your Bench Press poundage you do not concentrate on strict isolation, but rather on developing power in the muscles. That means that you must use your entire body to lift the weight.

Position yourself on the bench and try to arch the back as much as possible while keeping the shoulders, head, and butt on the bench. This position will lessen the distance the bar must travel and will also allow the legs to drive the shoulders into the bench for much greater power. Your feet should be flat on the floor, shoulder width apart. Grab the bar just a bit wider then shoulder width. Tighten your entire body and squeeze your shoulder blades together behind you. Then you flex your butt and press your feet into the floor.

Get a spotter to help you lift the weight off the rack. You will waste energy and make it harder to get in the right position if you lift the weight off the rack by yourself.
 will help you generate more power. As you lower the bar keep your elbows tucked so that your upper arms are at a 45 degree angles to the sides of your body. Do not let your upper arms go straight out to the sides because it will place too much strain on your shoulder joints and reduce your power.

Lower the bar to the point where your chest and abdominals meet. Keep the bar directly over your wrists and elbows. As soon as the bar touches your body, you need to generate as much thrust and energy as you can, to power the bar back up.

Exhale as you lift the weight up. Push the bar up in a straight line. Keep your chest and shoulders tight, keep your elbows tucked, and focus on benching with the triceps. Once you lift the bar off your chest straighten out the arms using the triceps to lock out the rep. 

 Finding Your One-Rep Max

To determine your 1 rep max you should not train for 48 hours. You should also perform the test before you do any other exercise. If you try and test your 1 rep max after a hard workout you will not be able to lift maximum weight. You need to warm up properly before lifting, this will help to increase your strength and prevent injury. Start off by doing 5 minutes of light cardio (stationary bike, treadmill, jogging in place, etc.). Then do the following stretching and warm up exercises.

Arm circles:
Keep your arms straight and perform arm circles forwards and backwards. Do 15-20 circles in each direction.

Push ups:
Do a couple sets of push ups (do 20-30 total reps, i.e. 2 sets of 15 reps). Do not work too hard, you only want to get the blood flowing and warm up your joints.

Arm rotation for the rotator cuff:
Warm up your shoulder joints by standing with your arms straight out to the sides, bend your elbows so they are at 90 degree angles. Rotate your arms so that your forearms point up and then rotate your arms so that your forearms point out in front. Do 20-30 rotations.

Rear dumbbell flyes:
Hold a pair of light dumbbells and bend over at the waist. Keeping your back parallel to the floor, move just your arms and lift the dumbbells to the back in a fly motion. Really focus on squeezing the back of your shoulders together as you lift the dumbbells. Do 3 sets of 15-20 reps.

Here's how to determine your 1 rep max.

(Note: make sure to have an experienced spotter handy just in case you need help lifting the barbell.)

Do a couple of light sets for 5 reps. (do not wear your self out with too many reps)

Rest 2 minutes.

Increase the weight and do a set of 3 reps.

Rest 2 minutes.

Increase the weight and do another set of 3 reps.

Rest 3 minutes.

Increase the weight and do a single rep.

If you fail to lift the weight, rest 3 minutes, reduce the weight, and try to do a single rep again. If you succeeded in lifting the weight, rest 3 minutes, increase the weight, and try to do a single rep again. Keep repeating this process until you have found the maximum weight that you can lift for a single rep.

Read More

How Do I Get Six Pack Abs ? 4 Mistakes You Should Avoid

If you are working out to develop six pack abs then you need to be aware of the three biggest mistakes described in this article and avoid them at all cost!

First, you need to understand the difference between getting six pack abs and simply losing body fat. Getting six pack abs is a all about having extremely low levels of body fat. For men this is around 8% and for women around 15%. Training and eating to get body fat levels this low is much different than someone who just starts a diet and wants to lose 20-30lbs.

If you are just trying to lose a lot of weight, then making small changes to your diet will help you make a lot of progress very fast. For example, if you were to only drink water, unsweetened iced tea, and green tea, then you will not be consuming any calories from beverages. For someone who just wants to lose weight, a small modification such as this can make a big difference.

For someone who wants to get six pack abs, the process is much more detailed. Here are 4 mistakes that most people make when they try to develop six pack abs.

1: Fat burning pills only work until your body becomes used to them and they are dangerous. Anytime you use something to synthetically increase your heart rate and your metabolism, you're asking for trouble. These so called fat burning pills work for awhile, but the minute you stop taking them the weight melts back onto your stomach. When you use a chemical to enhance your body, your pushing it past it's natural ability. Why would you want to take something that is unapproved by the FDA and keeps your heart racing? No one really knows the lingering affects anyways, so stick with natural weight loss.

2: They try to do too many crunches and ab exercises.

While crunches and other ab exercises will help to build a stronger core, they will not help you get down to a low level of body fat. Trying to use endless reps of ab exercises simply does not build enough muscle or work your body hard enough to burn significant calories.

The myth of "spot" reduction is where a lot of people get caught up. The concept of spot reduction basically states that if you want to lose fat in a certain part of the body you should work the muscle underneath it. Our bodies do not store fat in one specific place, therefore you cannot lose fat in one specific place either.

I guarantee you will never see someone who has six pack abs in the front and is flabby around the rest of their midsection. If spot reduction actually worked this is what would happen. In the real world however, you need to focus on losing body fat all over in order to developing six pack abs.

3: Trying to use infomercial ab gimmicks

When you see an advertisement for an "miracle" piece of ab equipment, the people who are using them usually have great bodies, low body fat, and a great six pack. However I can guarantee you one thing, and that is they did not get that way to using one single piece of abdominal exercise equipment.

Like we just talked about with why lots of crunches do not help you get six pack abs, the same holds true for any ab crunch machine or anything else you see on an advertisement.

This all goes back to the false concept that working the abs with lots of exercises will directly lead to a six pack. All the people who have the best abs got them by exercising their whole body and by adhering to a very strict diet. Not by using some ab crunch gimmick for "two easy payments of $29.95." Six Pack Abs Mistake #3: Eating too many calories.

4: Read the labels on the foods you prepare. Many times the healthy foods we eat are actually disguised junk. Look for high sodium content and high fructose corn syrup. They can make you pack on pound ultra fast. Anything that ends with the three letters ose is sugar in some shape or form.

Avoiding these 4 mistakes will help you burn fat faster and preserve your health for your journey through life. Flattening your stomach and shrinking your waistline is possible, but you should always choose the natural methods for weight reduction.

 

Read More

How To Tighten Loose Abdominal Skin After Weight Loss ?

Regarding loose skin after large weight losses, here's what I can tell you:

1. Skin is incredibly elastic. Just look at what women go through during pregnancy. Skin has the ability to expand and contract back to normal to a remarkable degree.

2. Elasticity of skin tends to decrease with age. Wrinkling and loss of elasticity is partly the consequence of aging (genetic factors) and also a result of environmental factors such as oxidative stress, excessive sun exposure, and nutritional deficiency. The environmental parts you can fix, the genetics and age part, you cannot. Advice: Get moving and change the things you have control over... Be realistic and don't worry about those things you don't have control over.

3. How much your skin will return to its former tautness therefore, depends partly on age. The older you get, the more an extremely large weight loss can leave loose skin that will not return to normal

4. How long someone carries extra weight has a lot to do with how much the skin will become taut after the weight loss: For example, compare a 9 month pregnancy with 9 years carrying 100 excess pounds.

5. How much weight was carried has a lot to do with how much the skin will resume a tight appearance. Your skin can only be stretched so much and be expected to "snap back" one hundred percent.

6. How fast the weight was gained also has a lot to do with how much the skin will resume a tight appearance. Your skin can only be stretched so quickly and be expected to "snap back."

7. How fast weight is lost also has a lot to do with how much the skin will tighten up. Rapid weight loss doesn't allow the skin time to slowly resume to normal. (yet another reason to lose fat slowly; 1-2 pounds per week, 3 pounds at the most if you have a lot of weight to lose, and even then, only if you are measuring body fat and you’re certain it's fat you’re losing).

8. There are exceptions to all of the above; i.e, people who gained and then lost incredible amounts of weight quickly at age 50 or 60, and their skin returned 100% to normal.

9. There are many creams advertised as having the ability to restore the tightness of your skin. None work – at least not in a noticeable, measurable way – and especially if you have a LOT of loose skin. Don't waste your money.

10. If you’re considering surgical skin removal, consult a physician for advice, because this is not a minor operation, but keep in mind that your plastic surgeon may be making his BMW payments with your abdominoplasty money. (Surgery may be recommended in situations where it's not 100% necessary). Surgery should be left as the ABSOLUTE FINAL option in extreme cases.

11. Give your skin time. Your skin will get tighter as your body fat gets lower. I've seen and heard of many cases where the skin gradually tightened up, at least partially, after a one or two year period where the weight loss was maintained and exercise continued.

12. Know your body fat percentage before even THINKING about surgery. Loose skin is one thing, but still having body fat is another. Be honest with yourself and do that by taking your body fat measurement. This can be done with skinfold calipers or a variety of other devices (calipers might not be the best option for those with large folds of loose skin. Look into impedance analysis, underwater weighing, DEXA or Bod Pod).

Suppose for example, a man drops from 35% body fat all the way down to 20%. He should be congratulated, but I would tell him, "Don't bitch about loose skin, your body fat is still high. Press onward and keep getting leaner.”

Average body fat for men is in the mid teens (16% or so) Good body fat for men is 10-12%, and single digits is extremely lean (men shouldn’t expect to look “ripped” with 100% tight skin on the abs unless they have single digit body fat, and women low teens).

Except in extreme cases, you are very unlikely to see someone with loose skin who has very low body fat. It's quite remarkable how much your skin can tighten up and literally start to “cling” to your abdominal muscles once your body fat goes from “average” to "excellent." Someone with legitimate single digit body fat and a ton of loose skin is a rare sight.

So... the key to getting tighter skin is to lose more body fat, up to the point where your body composition rating is BETTER than average (in the “good” to “great” category, not just "okay"). Only AFTER you reach your long term body fat percentage goal should you give thought to "excess skin removal." At that point, admittedly, there are bound to be a few isolated cases where surgery is necessary if you can’t live with the amount of loose skin remaining.

However, unless you are really, really lean, it's difficult to get a clear picture of what is loose skin, what is just remaining body fat and how much further the skin will tighten up when the rest of the fat is lost.

Read More

The Top 6 Most Effective Abdominal Exercises

 If you had to pick one part of your body that you would change, what would it be? For many of us the answer is our stomachs. We all want to have ripped abs to complement our Greek god-like physique, but oftentimes the workouts we do are ineffective and merely slow the growth of our belly fat at best. Sound familiar.

The truth is that many people are strongly motivated to lose weight, bulk up, and have a physically fit body, but the reason why they don't is because the exercises that they are doing are not good enough. Luckily, there are abdominal exercises which are proven to be extremely effective in developing core muscle strength, and most of them do not require any sort of equipment at all.



1) Hanging Leg-Raises

A strenuous exercise, the hanging leg raise is a product of true gymnasts. All you need is a chin-up bar or equivalent setup. Grab the bar with an overhand grip about shoulder width apart, and while bending your knees raise your hips and curl your back as you bring your thighs to your chest. Lower slowly, and repeat.

2) Fat-Bar Holds

 Again with a chin-up bar or equivalent, hold onto the bar with an overhand grip and hang with your arms and body completely straight. Hang for as long as possible until you can't hold on any longer, then rest for a minute and repeat. Remember you want to improve your strength, so aim to hang for a longer amount of time during each rep.

3) Overhead Reverse Lunge

All you need for this exercise is a light barbell or long wooden pole or equivalent. Hold the bar high above your head with arms straight, and step backward with one leg and slowly lower your body until your knee is bent at a right angle. Do multiple sets of 15-20 reps with rests in between.

4) Leg Raises

 While lying on your back extend your legs and raise them off the floor to the highest degree while keeps your knees only slightly bent. Slowly bring your legs back down towards the ground, at about 6 inches from the ground, curl your legs towards your chest. Repeat 15-20 times.

5) Planks

While in push-up position, bring your arms in close to your chest, elbows tucked in and fists up near your face. Raise your body up off the ground and maintain a straight "plank-like" posture for 60 seconds. Only your toes and forearms should be touching the ground. After each rep, switch positions. Flip over and have your back towards the ground and chest pointing skyward, again only your feet and forearms should be touching. Keep your back straight and hold position for 60 seconds.


6) Bottoms Up

This is a combo of two different exercises, the reverse crunch and the hip raise, which are both great exercises in their own right. If this movement becomes too easy, get rid of the knee bend and instead keep your legs straight. Perform a leg raise from straight out up to 90 degrees, and then transition into raising your butt off the ground.

These 6 simple exercises can be done in your house or outside which makes them convenient. Also, remember that these abdominal exercises must be executed with proper form. Don't push yourself to do more reps or an extra set of an exercise if you feel like your are unable to do it properly; you'll just end up hurting your body more than helping it

Read More

A Beginner’s Guide for Female bodybuilding

Strength training seeks to make a stronger you, while bodybuilding kicks the goal up several notches -- to make your body a visual statement of rippling muscle and taut sinew. You can become a female bodybuilder and still maintain your femininity and appeal, as demonstrated by bodybuilding icons such as Rachel McLish and Marissa Rivero, successful actresses and beautiful models. To get started, you need mainly to commit to an initial three months of dedicated work, as well as planning and tracking your progress.

If you are a novice in the field of bodybuilding then you are at the right place. The following article will help in informing you about the basics of bodybuilding. The most important thing that novices in the field should consider is the nutrition provided to the body during the entire period when female bodybuilderscarry out the activities for bodybuilding.
Following is the basic breakdown of nutrition that one should consider during the entire workout regime. Most foods contain the following breakdown of nutrients i.e. proteins, carbs, and fats.


1.  Protein

Muscles are primarily made up of proteins and so they constitute the primary component of the diet recommended to bodybuilders. Female bodybuilders are recommended to consume 1-1.5g of protein per lb of their bodyweight. The quantities might increase with an individual personal body demands.

Since the past many years there has been a debate that high protein diets are quite dangerous to a person’s body versus that high amount of protein helps in building muscles. Supporters of the former say that high protein diets create a placebo effect as consumption of high amounts of proteins need a lot of water and are thus dangerous to the body. The simple answer to this problem is to drink more water with the consumption of every protein diet. Excessive proteins are thought to be harmful to kidneys. The solution to this problem is the same i.e. drinking huge amounts of water to flush out the toxins and wastes out of the kidneys.

2.  Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are quite complicated as compared to protein as their sources are different. Following is a basic breakdown of these

    Slow-Digesting Carbohydrates

This includes wild rice, oats, beans, and fruits. These slow digesting carbohydrates are good for most people as the body digests them slowly, thus providing the body with continuous energy required for most physical activities. People having a slow body metabolism tend to gain fat when their insulin levels suddenly rises due to the intake of diets high in carbohydrates. These carbs prevent the sudden rise in levels of insulin and thus prevents the accumulation of fats.

•     Fast-Digesting Carbs: these are mostly man made carbs like white bread, white rice, bagels, cold cereals, and fruit juices. These hit the blood stream and produce a sudden rise in levels of insulin. Such a spike is generally required post-workout and not at other times of the day and so their use should be restricted.

    Fat 

Most females into the sport of bodybuilding are scared of consuming fats in their diets and thus fail to develop good muscles. However the fact is just like other two components fats too are essential for the body.  All you need to do is to consume the right type of fats that will help you gain muscle mass.

Read More

8 Best Exercises to Develop a Mighty Chest Fast

 Pressing heavy weights is the fastest way to build a huge chest. Forget about peck deck flyes, cable crossovers, etc. Perform the following 8 press exercises to get excellent and quick results.

Pushups

 The conventional pushup is one of the best exercises to build chest muscle fast. Do it with an absolutely straight body with buttocks clenched, abs braced, and elbows tucked in. Don't sag or get into an A frame. You can increase the difficulty level by strapping weights on your back.

 Flat dumbbell press

 Lie down on your back on a flat bench, hold two heavy dumbbells with palms facing in, and tuck in your elbows. Squeezing the dumbbells tightly, press them up in a straight line without wobbling and under complete control.

Incline dumbbell press

 Lie on an incline bench set at 30 degrees and perform the dumbbell press as explained in the above paragraph. This exercise works the upper pecs and gives your chest a wholesome look rather than a droopy pecs look.

Dumbbell floor press

 This one is also very similar to the flat dumbbell press. Here, you lie down on the floor instead of using a bench. Follow the same instructions. If you have a weak lower back, keep your knees bent with feet flat on the floor. Else, keep them straight.

Bench press

 Lie down on the bench, arch your back and retract your shoulder blades. Get hold of the bar and perform presses with elbows 45 degrees to the sides of your body. Make sure you plant your feet firmly into the ground for good stability.

Incline bench press

 This is similar to the bench press, the only difference is you lie on an incline bench instead of a flat bench. Set the incline between 30 and 45 degrees. You'll see that this exercise uses more of your upper chest and prevents the droopy pec look, which is why it should be a part of all muscle building programs.

Barbell floor press

 Again, perform the same exercise but on the floor. This is a very good exercise for improving overall upper body strength.

Close Grip Incline Barbell Bench Press

This exercise work on the same principle like the Squeeze Press, although it’s harder to implement but its worth it for the variation which is the key to upper chest muscle growth, don’t bring your hands too close, a 10 inches space between your hands its close enough.

Read More

Tips for Female Bodybuilding

 Females wanting to get an attractive body by practicing the most popular sport of the world i.e. natural female bodybuilding need to know some essential facts about female bodybuilding. Knowing these will help them to work in the correct direction and will help them achieve the right kind of body in a limited period of time. This will also prevent them from resorting to the use of drugs and steroids, which not only lead to overbuilding muscles, but also harm the internal system.
The first step in this direction is to take care of your diet. Take your daily diet to the next level. Accept the fact that consuming the diet patterns of an average person will not work if you want to make your body attractive by natural female bodybuilding. After a workout your muscles need to relax and recuperate. The process of muscle repair is a day and night task that continues for about 48hrs after the workout is over. Your body needs to get a constant flow of proteins. So make sure that you consume small protein rich meals every two to three hours. Missing out enough protein will leave your muscles in an unrepaired state and they will not be able to develop properly.

Considerations

According to The American Council on Exercise, not all females have equal capacities for gaining muscle. Genetics play a key role. For example, females who have a mesomorphic body structure, which features natural muscularity, have an advantage over ectomorps and endomorphs. Also, some females have higher levels of testosterone than others, which gives them an advantage in developing muscle. Despite these genetic differences, most women will experience a 20 to 40 percent increase in strength after several months of strength training, states The American Council on Exercise.

Cardio Exercise

Females, in general, carry a higher percentage of body fat than men. To be a successful bodybuilder, it is important to reduce your body fat, especially directly under your skin. Consequently, you should focus on frequent sessions of low to moderate aerobic exercise. During aerobic exercise, the greatest percentage of calories burned are from fat. Female bodybuilders should perform 35 to 45 minutes of aerobic exercise, five days a week. To determine the intensity of your aerobic exercise, you need to determine your target heart rate zone. Your training zone is determined by subtracting your age from 220, and multiplying the result by between 50 to 85 percent. For very low intensity training, your heart rate should be kept closer to the 50 percent level for at least 20 minutes. For very high intensity training, your heart rate should be closer to the 85 percent level.


Diet

According to muscleandstrength.com, females who are trying to lose fat and develop a lean, strong body, should follow a low carbohydrate diet. Women tend to burn a higher ratio of fat to carbs than men, states muscleandstrength.com. Protein is necessary to develop muscle and should be consumed in small meals throughout the day. The protein you consume should have all nine essential amino acids. Examples of complete proteins are meat, fish, poultry, egg whites, soy and whey. Each small meal should also contain monosaturated fats such as salmon, olives, most nuts and avocados. The carbohydrates you consume, in limited amounts, should be complex carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates provide you with sustained energy. Examples of complex carbohydrates are fruit, vegetables, whole grain pasta, and beans.

Training

According to muscleandstrength.com, women should not weight train much differently than men. Instead of using light weights and performing 15 to 20 repetitions, you should lift relatively heavy weights, and keep your repetitions to between six and 12. Your focus should be on using mostly free weights, and performing compound exercises. Compound exercises utilize both your prime mover muscle and stabilizer muscles to execute the lift. Examples of compound exercises are squats, dead lifts, lunges, incline bench press, upright rows and overhead presses. It is also important to get enough rest while you are training, as muscle growth and repair occurs during rest.
Sponsored Links

Read More

6 Slimming Exercises for Women

It is true that when you control your diet, you will lose some of those fats in your belly. However, you will achieve that slim waist only if you compliment your diet with the right kind of exercise.

Simply exercising on your stationary bike for hours is not enough. Long, slow cardio sessions are not the ideal work out for a slimmer waist. Doing crunches until you can’t stand up straight is also not enough to have a slim waist.  Ab-focused exercises like the popular crunch isolate the abs but fail to hit the muscles that run up your side (the obliques) and the deep, ‘corset’ muscles of the abdomen (the transversus abdominis or TVA).

 1. Skipping Jump Rope

When it comes to effective (and fun) slimming exercises for women, a skipping rope is a great way to cast off unwanted calories. The range of motions raises your metabolic rate substantially, while forcing you to tighten your core for a double whammy of effective fat-busting. As you get better with your jump rope, try throwing in a few more complex movements and twists so that you get as many muscle groups as possible involved.

2. Hip Thrusts

Another ideal, but often overlooked option in slimming exercises for women, is the hip thrust. Hip thrusts, when combined with bridge movements help to target the muscles of your lower back and your glutes at the same time, strengthening your mid-section. This is a great way to narrow down your waist, and make your curves even more appealing.

3. Ski Twists

Jumping jacks might be a bit boring for some, but they are they are great flab burners.  Other than jumping jack, try to use ski twists. With the key twist exercise, you’re jumping as you would with jumping jacks, but this time you’re keeping your feet together and twisting at the hips rather than throwing the arms. Simply jump and twist to the left, then back to the centre, then twist right and back to the centre. This exercise works the rotary function of the body’s core while simultaneously burning calories. It’s a great variation for cardio lovers and a bit more interesting than the plain old jumping jack!


4. Bike Crunches

Bike crunches offer two different workouts. The first is a cardio burn that raises your heart rate for an effective weight-loss routine, and the second is an ab-burn that cuts away excess inches around the waist. Bicycle crunches as slimming exercises for women have been found to be more effective than any other core exercise at building your abs.

5. Swiss Ball Roll outs

Last but not least, take planking to the next level with Swiss ball roll outs. While there are many variations of the Swiss roll out, the basic motion starts with your hands on an exercise ball. Hold your plank position, and roll the ball forwards, maintaining your position for about three seconds before returning to the starting position. This back-and-forth motion will be a fantastic way to improve your core by stressing the abs and lower back muscles.

6.  Bicycle Crunches

You get two workouts with bicycle crunches — a cardio hit and an ab burn. By alternating a knee raise and torso twist, you can generate momentum that gets your heart pumping at a faster rate. The lower body/upper body action means you’re hitting the entire abdominal wall. Bicycle crunches have been shown to fire the abs to a greater degree than virtually any other core exercise.

Read More

Whats Your Body Type?

Yep, there are more than ones body types. I'm sure you've noticed it too. The ones who, even if they eat whatever they want, never gain a pound, and others who exercise like there's no tomorrow and STILL manage to gain weight. Well that's a key thing when it comes to training your body. You have to train for your body type, or else your actions may not be doing anything good! There are 2 bodytypes: ectomorphic, mesomorphic & endomorphic. To find out what type of body you have, think back to your teen years and try to remember what your body looked like before age began rearing it's ugly head. So let's get to each body type shall we?!

The Ectomorph

The ectomorph is usually very thin. This person has a hard time gaining weight of any kind. So it takes longer for them and takes much more work to gain muscle. Most people with this body types are models or endurance athletes and such.

So what does an Ectomorph have to do to gain weight? Well the first thing is he has to start eating more calories. Not by eating larger meals, but by eating lots ( around 6 ) of smaller meals throughout the day. Look at the foods your eating now and add to them or seek foods wich have a higher number of calories.

Exercise wise, the Ectoporph needs to limit his activities outside of weight lifting. If your looking to build muscle, almost all your energy needs to be focused on weight lifting. Since you burn energy faster than others, using that energy for other activities will mean less for your muscles to grow. Use a low number of reps and heavy weights. You'll probaly need to rest more too, Maybe every 48 hours. You should also be concentrating on doing compound exercises, like bench presses, deadlifts, exercises that target the most muscles at once.

The Mesomorph

These are what I'd call the "normal" physique. They're average in weight and have the ability to either easily gain weight or loose it. They can mostly eat whatever they want without it affecting their appearance.

They should try and eat a healthy, balanced diet. But they should train regularly if they want to keep their physique. If they're not carefull, they might gain unwanted fat. They should do weight training 2-3 times a week and aerobics either daily or on their off days, when they don't weight train.

Mesomorphs are lucky, they have alot of freedom as to what they can get away with. But they should still be carefull.

The Endomorph

These people are rounder and "soft". They have a hard time loosing weight but can gain muscle pretty easily. Diet and exercise are the 2 most important thing for this body type.

The first thing they should do is eat smaller meals, 6 times a day. By spacing your meals by 2-3 hours each, what you do is you speed up your metabolism. But never eat 2 carbohydrate snacks back to back, since this promotes the accumulation of fat. Because your body will become accustomed to carbohydrates and use them to burn energy, when your goal is to make it use up fat. One important part of your diet is to eat the major part of yoru calories, especially carbohydrates, in the morning and then eat your proteins during the rest of the day, that way, your body burns off the calories and keeps the proteins to build your muscles. A good rule is to decide when you'll go to sleep and then count back 3-4 hours. This should be the time of your last meal. You do this to limit you intake of calories so you don't gain fat. And also, drink water, and lots of it! You body will need it to get rid of the byproducts and waste toxins from the change your making. Your diet should have alot of fruits & whole grain. Eat foods you love though, or you'll then be tempted to eat junk and thus making your efforts pretty useless. be strong !

Exercising is an important part of the plan. Endomorphs should start by incorporating some aerobics to their daily routine. Gradually step it up until you do at least 30 mins of aerobics 5-7 days a week. Yeah, that's alot, but that's a sacrifice your going to have to make if you want to look good. After that, the next step is to add some weight training to your routine. 2-3 days a week every 2 days should be enough. Start by doing the major compound exercises, like those suggested fro ectomorphs. You can add isolation exercises to tone parts of your body that you desire though. The aerobics will burn the calories and the weight training wil add the muscle and toning to your body.

Read More

Calorie Density for Muscular Immensity

The secret to packing on pounds of solid muscle mass is simple: For the most part, the types of foods you eat on a muscle-gaining program are the same ones you should eat all the time, whether you want to lose, gain or maintain - you just need to eat more of them. "Just eat more" is easier said than done, however. It seems like you're constantly shopping, cooking and eating. Sometimes preparing food and eating it can seem like a full time job! One way to make gaining weight and forcing down all that food less of a chore is to choose foods (or supplements) with a HIGHER CALORIE DENSITY. By doing so, you can get more calories in the same amount of food.

All proteins and all carbohydrates have 4 calories per gram and all fats have 9 calories per gram, but not all foods have the same number of calories per unit of volume. Let me explain:

Imagine for a moment, two measuring cups (the kind you have in your kitchen) and notice the amount of space in each container. Got it? Now visualize the two cups side by side; one filled with chopped cucumber and one filled with raisins. Each cup now contains exactly the same VOLUME of food, right? But did you know that the cup of raisins has 37 times more calories? That's right! The cup of cucumbers contains 14 calories, while the cup of raisins contains 520 calories. If cucumbers and raisins both have four calories per gram, then how could this be? The answer has to do with calorie density. The cucumbers have a lower calorie density because they have a higher fiber and water content. The calories in the raisins are more "concentrated."

And that's the secret to getting enough calories to gain weight: choose calorie-concentrated foods.

If you learn which foods are nutrition dense and calorie dense, you can use this information to help you gain lean weight more easily than ever before.

Fibrous carbohydrates and vegetables such as lettuce, asparagus, cucumber and broccoli have very low calorie densities because your body can't absorb the caloric content of fiber. That makes veggies an excellent choice when you want to lose body fat. Before competitions, bodybuilders usually reduce or remove high calorie simple sugars and starches from their diets and replace them with fibrous carbohydrates. (Goodbye bagels and pasta, hello broccoli and asparagus!)

On the other side of the coin, the low calorie density of most vegetables is the very reason that they don't help you gain weight. Think about it; you would have to eat a wheelbarrow full of lettuce, cucumbers or spinach before you consumed enough calories to make the scale budge at all! It's wise to always include vegetables in your diet (because they're good for you), but you won't get enough calories to gain weight from veggies alone; you have to eat lots of high density foods or you'll be fighting an uphill battle.

So now let's look at some "calorie-dense" foods that can help you pack on the pounds:

Simple carbohydrates such as fruit have higher calorie densities than vegetables because simple carbs are more concentrated and have less fiber. Fruit juice is even more concentrated than the fruit itself. A medium sized orange contains about 60 calories. A glass of orange juice has about 160 calories. Fruit and fruit juice, therefore, make great additions to a weight-gaining program.

Taken to the extreme, concentrating and refining carbohydrates results in empty calorie products like white sugar and white bread. Although these are calorie dense foods, they have little or no nutritional value. Don't add nutritionally void foods to your diet just for the sake of more calories - it's the quality and nutritional value of the calories you want, not just the quantity. You should look for foods that are high in calories that are unrefined and as close to their natural form as possible (the way they came out of the ground).

Complex carbohydrates (starches) such as whole grains, pasta, cereals, beans, yams, potatoes and rice also have higher calorie densities than fibrous carbs. A typical restaurant sized serving of pasta contains 800-1000 calories. Obviously, pasta and other complex carbohydrates are great foods for gaining weight.

Ok, now that you know what carbs to eat, let's talk about fat. Fat can also have a major impact on the calorie content of foods. Fats have more than twice as many calories per gram than carbohydrates or protein (9 calories per gram vs. 4 calories per gram), so foods that are 100% fat have the most calories per volume. Olive oil, which is pure fat, contains 1920 calories per cup. Any food that has a lot of fat in it will have a high calorie density. Peanut butter, for example, has 1600 calories per cup; Cashews have 780 calories per cup.

I'm not suggesting that you start devouring French fries, cheeseburgers and sausage every day for the sake of gaining weight - if you do, you'll gain weight all right - right on your belly or backside! Your diet should always be low in fat (15-25% of your total calories), but not all fats are bad. It's the saturated fats like fried foods, butter and tropical oils that you should avoid.

In small amounts, unsaturated, "healthy" fats are not only good for you, but they can help you gain weight more quickly than if you didn't eat any fat at all. Just one tablespoon of flaxseed oil and two tablespoons of peanut butter would add nearly 500 calories to your daily diet and you'd hardly notice that any extra food was added.

Protein foods that contain some fat will also be higher in calories. 4 oz of Chinook salmon has 262 calories and 15 grams of (good) fat; 4 oz of Haddock has 137 calories and only 1 gram of fat. Because of the higher calories and the essential fatty acids (good fats), cold water fish like Salmon are another great addition to a weight gain program.

The best proteins for gaining muscle are the lean ones like chicken, lean beef, egg whites, turkey and fish. Lean cuts of red meat like round or flank steak are excellent for gaining weight. Avoid fatty cuts of beef, as well as pork, sausage, bacon and whole milk products because they contain large amounts of artery-clogging, unhealthy saturated fat.

I'm a huge believer in always choosing whole foods over supplements whenever possible. However, it's not easy to eat whole foods 5 or 6 times per day if you have a busy schedule. If you have a hard time getting enough calories from food, then you should consider using a weight gain or meal replacement product because drinking your calories is a lot easier than eating them.

Meal replacements are usually powdered products that you mix with water, milk or juice. You can also increase the calories further by adding peanut butter, flax oil, fruit or your other favorite ingredient and mixing up the whole concoction in a blender.

Don't just blindly follow the instructions on the container. One thing that most people don't realize is that you need to customize your supplement intake to your exact calorie needs. Just because the package says there are "1000 calories per serving" doesn't mean that's how many you need. Adjust the serving size to fit your own diet.

For example, if you need 3000 calories to gain weight, that breaks down into five 600-calorie meals or six 500-calorie meals. There's no need to shovel down 1000 calories at a time just because the label says so - that's only going to make you fat.

Some products were designed as meal replacements for fat loss programs. These usually come in individual serving packets, they have about 280-300 calories per serving and they contain more protein than carbohydrates; this way, they fit into the guidelines of a low carbohydrate, high protein, fat burning diet. These products are not as cost-effective when you're trying to gain weight. 300 calories is not enough for mass-building meal. If you decide to use this type of product for weight gain, you'll need to mix it with a calorie containing liquid like juice or skim milk to bring the calories up to 500-700 (or whatever your diet calls for).

When you want to gain muscle, you'd be better off choosing a product that was specifically designed for that purpose. These "weight gainers" are much more concentrated in calories and contain more carbohydrates.

Using mostly carbs (sugars) and skimping on the protein is a dirty trick that supplement companies use to make a product cheap to manufacture. Read the labels carefully and avoid any product that is mostly sugar with very little protein. A good product will have approximately one part protein for every two parts of carbohydrates and small amounts of fat. For example, a drink mix with 40 grams of protein, 80 grams of carbs, and 2 grams of fat would provide almost 500 calories. If you wanted even more calories, you could mix the powder in skim milk or juice instead of water.

So, let's summarize your strategy for quickly and easily adding more calories to your diet:

1. Continue to eat the same healthy foods you always eat, but simply eat more of them.

2. Choose foods with a higher calorie density. You could eat broccoli and salad until your face hurts from chewing so much, but you still won't get enough calories.

3. Eat plenty of starchy carbohydrates including whole grains & cereals, pasta, potatoes, yams, beans, rice and oatmeal.

4. Don't be afraid of adding a little bit of fat. Keep your diet low in fat overall, but add in some of the healthy "good" fats (such as flax oil, olive oil, or a couple tablespoons of peanut butter) and you'll gain weight more quickly.

5. Just because you're trying to gain weight doesn't mean you have a license to eat anything you want. Go for nutritional value as well as calorie density; avoid saturated fats, sugar and processed junk foods.

6. If you can't seem to get enough calories from food, then a meal replacement or weight gainer supplement can make your life a lot easier. Adjust the serving size to fit your calorie needs and make sure the product has a good protein to carb ratio.

7. Don't be afraid to drink a lot of your calories in the form of low fat/skim milk, juice or supplements/shakes.

Well, that's it! Follow these strategies diligently and you'll gain pounds solid muscular weight more easily than you ever have before without having to chain yourself to the refrigerator!

Read More

Top 5 Tips for Women To Develop Lean Muscle Tone

Every day thousands of women worldwide are looking at ways to improve their fitness levels; partly for health reasons and partly for looks.

When it comes to looking more toned, this can achieved by building muscle tone. By making your muscles stronger and leaner they become much more aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

But how is muscle tone achieved, especially for women?

I’m sure we are all aware women’s bodies are genetically different to men’s in many ways so how women physically build muscle tone is also a little different.

Generally speaking, muscle tone improves when the muscle fibers become larger, which is usually the result of regular weight training. A key point to remember is muscle weighs more than fat so don’t be alarmed if the numbers on your scales increase a little if you are doing resistance training on a regular basis.

Here are the top 5 ways for women to build lean toned eye appealing muscle and improve your overall appearance.

1. More Repetitions When Weight Training

When you are training with weights you need to increase the number of repetitions that you are doing to stretch your muscles even more. A good workout routine would be to lift a reasonable weight for six to twelve repetition sessions.

2. Eat More Protein

Women can also get good body tone by eating a healthy and balanced diet. This includes eating a good amount of protein regardless of whether you are exercising or not. Protein is basically the building blocks for muscles. The more you have the more you can build your muscles. Protein is also fills you up so you'll feel fuller for longer and help you snack less between meals.

3. Reduce Carbohydrates

Even though carbohydrates are a necessary part of a healthy diet, you want to cut down the amount you eat if you are trying to build lean muscle tone. This is not saying to cut them out completely as they help your body release insulin, which is needed for energy and to help with muscle repair.

4. Eat More Vegetables

Eating vegetables are part of a healthy diet. Vegetables are typically low in calories and take a lot of energy to eat and digest. This helps with building muscle tone, particularly if they are eaten raw or just slightly cooked.

5. Limit Your Cardio Exercises

If you're concentrating on building a lean body tone then you need to limit the amount of cardio exercise you do. For example, long distance running actually encourages muscle wastage. Instead of stopping all cardio workouts, you can still build muscle tone by including very short bursts of high intensity runs or cycle workouts.

Read More

Best 4 Benefits of Dumbbell and Bodyweight Exercises For Women

There has been a revolutionary change in women in the past century. They have become very busy. They, on one hand have full time jobs and on the other hand raise a family. It is not at all mandatory to join some gym or perform long workouts for fitness. Despite the busy schedule you can build your body to a perfect shape. You can have your own workouts at home and you just need to have is a pair of dumbbell and your own body weight. A few important benefits of dumbbell and body weight work out routines for women are mentioned below:

In this article, I’ll tell you exactly how you can benefit  of Dumbbell

 Benefit 1: Get a Slimmer and Tighter Stomach

Dumbbell & body-weight exercises are usually found to be compound and multi-joint movements. These movements concentrate more on your abdomen than on endless crunches and sit-ups. Never rely exclusively on crunches and sit-ups for a slimmer and tighter belly.

Benefit 2: Save Lot of Money

You need not waste your time and money on a personal trainer, gym memberships, or on expensive equipment. All you need to do is to learn how to train with dumbbell and body weight exercises. Therefore, it is needless for you to spend as much as $50 per session on a good personal trainer and $400 per year on a gym membership.

Benefit 3: No More Excuses

With yourself well trained, imagine being able to work out wherever it is possible for you. If you find a recess in between the meetings in your office, you can have a quick body weight circuit. Even before your breakfast also, you can get a half an hour work out. It is very comfortable to have a body weight and dumbbell exercises literally anywhere and anytime depending on your choice.

Benefit 4: Get Better Results

You can force your body to work hard on learning how to do the super intense workouts. It is all about how hard your workout is and not how long you workout. An hour long, low intense workout yields poor results than a fifteen minute super high intense workout. So, train your body to have super intense workouts for good results.

Read More

The 5 Best Most Effective Abdominal Exercises

It’s hard to miss the fact that six-pack abs are huge all over the US (and even globally). For the common man and woman, we salivate over tight abs in the media on stars like Beyonce and Hugh Jackman. As a whole, society has placed a certain sex appeal and mystique on the truly toned abs that can’t be shaken. People want to have and want to see washboard abs.

There are great uses for a strong midsection beyond just showing off the body though. While it’s a great way to attract a member of the opposite sex it serves a certain purpose for professional and other serious athletes.

A powerful set of abs is responsible for maintaining stability in your center, protecting your organs and your spine while providing the strength to move large amounts of weight. If you want to be able to muscle around massive amounts of weight with getting crushed, then you need to have a strong central core and training your body with the top 5 abs exercises is the right way to go.

 1) Hanging Leg-Raises: A strenuous exercise, the hanging leg raise is a product of true gymnasts. All you need is a chin-up bar or equivalent setup. Grab the bar with an overhand grip about shoulder width apart, and while bending your knees raise your hips and curl your back as you bring your thighs to your chest. Lower slowly, and repeat.

2) Fat-Bar Holds: Again with a chin-up bar or equivalent, hold onto the bar with an overhand grip and hang with your arms and body completely straight. Hang for as long as possible until you can't hold on any longer, then rest for a minute and repeat. Remember you want to improve your strength, so aim to hang for a longer amount of time during each rep.

3) Overhead Reverse Lunge: All you need for this exercise is a light barbell or long wooden pole or equivalent. Hold the bar high above your head with arms straight, and step backward with one leg and slowly lower your body until your knee is bent at a right angle. Do multiple sets of 15-20 reps with rests in between.

4) Leg Raises: While lying on your back extend your legs and raise them off the floor to the highest degree while keeps your knees only slightly bent. Slowly bring your legs back down towards the ground, at about 6 inches from the ground, curl your legs towards your chest. Repeat 15-20 times.

5) Planks: While in push-up position, bring your arms in close to your chest, elbows tucked in and fists up near your face. Raise your body up off the ground and maintain a straight "plank-like" posture for 60 seconds. Only your toes and forearms should be touching the ground. After each rep, switch positions. Flip over and have your back towards the ground and chest pointing skyward, again only your feet and forearms should be touching. Keep your back straight and hold position for 60 seconds.

These 5 simple exercises can be done in your house or outside which makes them convenient. Also, remember that these abdominal exercises must be executed with proper form. Don't push yourself to do more reps or an extra set of an exercise if you feel like your are unable to do it properly; you'll just end up hurting your body more than helping it.

Read More