Learn The Truth About Abs - Health Guide

Proper Tempo Prescriptions for Fast Muscle Gain

2010-10-20T10:35:00.000-07:00

By Jason Ferruggia

I'm sure by now that many of you are familiar with the word tempo when it comes to training for fast muscle gain…Right?

No? Well, I wouldn’t feel left out or get too worried about it because it is a fairly useless concept. Tempo, in the training world, is the speed at which you perform your reps in a given set.

Therefore, the correct terminology should actually be “rep speed.” It is typically displayed in a three-digit code. The first number represents the eccentric or lowering (also called the “negative”) portion of the rep, the second number represents an isometric contraction or pause, if there is one, and the third number represents the concentric or lifting (“positive”) portion of the rep. For example, if you lowered the weight in three seconds, took a two-second pause, and then lifted it in one second, this would be represented by a 321 tempo. A 404 would mean that you lowered the weight in four seconds, did not pause, and then lifted it in four seconds. The concept of “tempo” was first brought to light back in the early 90’s. Plenty of people got suckered and jumped on the bandwagon. Since then, many trainers and strength coaches have written in great lengths about “tempo” and have suggested that different “tempos” induce different training effects. They have also suggested that “tempo” is something that should be manipulated frequently.

Here’s the truth…

Giving “tempo” prescriptions for mass building workouts and hoping that it will lead to fast muscle gain is a complete waste of time.

Changing the speed at which you perform your reps on a regular basis never lets you know if you are making progress or not. This is actually a great trick that some trainers use. They don't know how to get their clients stronger, so they just change the “tempo” and hope there is no way their clients will ever catch on to this ingenious little scheme. In January, you are benching with a rep speed of 505, and then in March, a 402 rep speed. Come June it's 323, etc., etc. Because the “tempo” keeps changing, so does the weight you’re able to use. But how do you know if you are ever getting stronger? It's just like using way too many exercises—there is just too much variety to keep track of. There are certain variables that need to remain constant in any experiment, and that's what your training program basically is-- an experiment. You are always testing what you are doing and you need to see if it's working, meaning that you’re getting bigger and stronger. If your bench goes up, is it because your “tempo” was different or did you really improve your strength? With varying rep speeds, you never really know. That is one of the major reasons why the “tempo” concept is completely useless.

So the next time you see a workout program with any kind of “tempo” prescription included in it, run the other way in a hurry; there far better ways to waste your time.

For more myth-busting information and to discover the real secrets of fast muscle gain, click HERE now.

Jason Ferruggia is a world famous fitness expert who is renowned for his ability to help people build muscle as fast as humanly possible. He is the head training adviser for Men’s Fitness Magazine where he also has his own monthly column dedicated to muscle building. For more How to Build Muscle Fast tips, check out http://www.musclegainingsecrets.com

How to Build Muscle Fast and Avoid Shoulder Injuries

2010-10-20T10:29:00.000-07:00

By Jason Ferruggia

Many moons ago when people asked me how to build muscle fast I told them that they had to squat, deadlift and bench press. That was before I injured my own shoulder and saw it happen to countless others. It happened again yesterday. My friend and ex training partner called and told me he tore his rotator cuff while benching heavy over the weekend. This did not come as shocking news. This bench press has been injuring shoulders and tearing pecs since the first time it was ever performed.

Back in the golden days of the Iron Game, when the military press was the main upper body exercise of choice, nobody ever heard of rotator cuff injuries or pec tears. It was only after the bench press achieved extreme popularity that shoulders and pecs started getting obliterated at record rates.

The bottom position of a heavy bench press puts your shoulders in a very vulnerable and dangerous position. Some people can tolerate this for decades. For others it will only take a few years. But sooner or later it’s bound to happen. It’s really not a question of if, but when. The flat bench press will eventually lead to some kind of shoulder problems or pec tear in the majority of lifters who do it heavy enough and long enough.

Like a lot of you, I have always been obsessed with learning more about how to build muscle fast, and the bench press has long been a staple in popular mass building programs. For years I proudly proclaimed it to be a great size and strength building lift and measure of upper body power. Nothing made me happier than helping one of my athletes add 50 pounds to his bench in the off season and watching him go to camp and destroy the competition.

But after 20 years in the game, having been witness to far too many injuries resulting from the flat bench press and getting my own shoulder cut open recently, I have finally had to look myself in the mirror and admit the truth that I have been hesitant to come to grips with for far too long…

Bench pressing sucks!

I have discussed this issue with many of the worlds top shoulder specialists in recent months and they are all in full agreement.

That’s not to say that you can never bench again. I know many of you will refuse to stop and I can relate to that mindset. If you get tested on the bench or compete in powerlifting, of course you have to do it. For the rest of you, who still love to press big weights and impress your friends and gym members I recommend you do so with extreme caution.

Make sure your technique is picture perfect and you bring the bar down to the right spot while properly activating your upper back and lat muscles. Secondly, don’t use the flat bench for more than 4-6 weeks without switching to a safer version of a barbell press like an incline or floor press.

The smartest route, however, is to get rid of this destructive exercise forever. There are far more effective movements that will build mind blowing strength and size in your chest, shoulders and triceps while saving you years of frustrating and costly injuries.

While the bench press is probably the most dangerous exercise most of you are doing on a regular basis, it is not the only harmful one. Unfortunately many of you are probably doing damage to other body parts without even realizing it.

To learn how to build muscle fast and to discover the most effective and safest exercises that will replace the bench press and many other useless movements, check out http://www.MuscleGainingSecrets.com/ today… before it’s too late.

Train smart,
Jason Ferruggia

Muscle Building Cardio Workout

2010-10-20T10:24:00.000-07:00

By Jason Ferruggia

My favorite muscle building cardio workout is to get up and go for a half hour walk before breakfast. I usually do this about four or five days per week and I do it for a few reasons. First of all, I do it for cardiovascular health. Too many people simply lift weights and ignore all the other components of fitness. I do it first thing in the morning because I know that if I start my day by checking email or doing some other sort of work the likelihood of me walking later in the day is very low. I get up and get it done immediately so it’s out of the way. Also, it increases my appetite and seems to stoke my metabolism for the day. This allows me to eat more with less likelihood of adding bodyfat. It also helps wake me up, clears my head, gives me time to think and packs my lungs full of fresh air, which is incredibly important during the winter when everyone around you is sick as a dog 24/7. I believe this is one of the many things I do that keeps me healthy.

There are a lot of hills in my neighborhood so it’s pretty easy to get the heart pumping. If you don’t live in a hilly area and are in decent shape you will probably need to wear a weighted vest or drag a sled. If you opt to wear a weight vest, which I do some mornings, depending on the route I take, be sure that you don’t get overzealous and add too much weight too soon. You have to remember that if you are walking for thirty minutes you are going to be taking a lot of steps. Each of those steps will add up to stress on your ankles, knees, hips and spine. So start with no more than ten pounds on the vest and try to keep the majority of the weight in the back instead of split evenly. Slowly, over time you can add a few pounds per week. Personally, I wouldn’t recommend ever adding more than 30 or 40 pounds to the vest if you are going to be walking for a half hour.

It should be noted that the more muscle mass you have the more calories you will burn when you walk. In fact, legendary bodybuilder and multiple time Mr. Olympia winner, Dorian Yates used walking as his only muscle building cardio workout to get him down to single digit bodyfat percentages before contests. That was because he carried nearly 300 pounds of muscle on his six foot frame. If you aren’t quite as jacked up as the Diesel, walking alone will probably never get you shredded. You are going to have to build more muscle or you are going to need some sprints and more intense methods to get the job done.

If you do decide to start walking on a regular basis for your muscle building cardio, please remember that one of the major benefits is getting outside and breathing heavy in the fresh air. Whatever you do, DO NOT walk on a treadmill. This is by far the most ridiculous invention in the history of the planet. There are roads, hills, sidewalks, woods, mountains and fields everywhere across the world. And there is no way that you can honestly tell me that you can’t find somewhere else to walk but on a treadmill.

Jason Ferruggia is a world famous fitness expert who is renowned for his ability to help people build muscle as fast as humanly possible. He has trained thousands of clients during his 14 years as a professional fitness coach, including more than 500 athletes from over 20 different sports. Jason has written hundreds of articles for numerous top rated training magazines and websites and has authored four fitness books. He is also the head training adviser for Men’s Fitness Magazine where he also has his own monthly column dedicated to muscle building. For more great muscle building information, please visit http://www.MuscleGainingSecrets.com

Change Your Mindset and You Will Build Muscle Fast

2010-10-20T10:21:00.000-07:00

By Jason Ferruggia

Let’s be honest. Everybody wants to improve the way they look. I don’t know of too many people that don’t want to build muscle fast or lose more fat in a hurry. It’s just human nature. You want to appeal to the opposite sex and command respect from you peers. Personally, I am obsessed with performance gains and train for strength and function first and foremost, but even I would be lying if I said I didn’t want to look better. We all do.

But wanting and doing are two entirely different things. Everyone wants to dramatically transform their physiques and make mind blowing gains, but how many people actually do? How many people do you know that build muscle fast and get absolutely jacked in the course of even a one year period? Very few. And do you know why? Because they don’t have the right mindset. Change your mindset and you will change your body. With the right mindset you can make gains in as little as 12 weeks that other guys don’t even make in 12 years!

People who have made unbelievable physical transformations first accepted the fact that it wasn’t going to be a walk in the park and they were willing to work for it and do whatever it took. That’s not to say that it takes an incredible amount of time. You don’t have to spend every waking hour in the gym. You can progress incredibly well in just a few short hours per week. But if you don’t possess the proper mindset and the determination to do whatever it takes during those three or four weekly hours of training you will never get anywhere.

We all have commitments and time restraints that prevent us from working out as much as we would like to. But lack of time never was and never will be an acceptable excuse. If you search hard enough and cut out the wasted hours of TV time and other useless nonsense, you will find that we all have two or three hours per week to dedicate to our health and to transforming our bodies. After all, what is more important in life than your health and your body? Very little if you ask me.

Guys like Arthur Saxon, Dorian Yates, Arnold, Bill Pearl, George Hackenshmidt and Ed Coan all had the never-say-die, take-no-prisoners attitude that is an absolute prerequisite of massive physical transformation. Bill Pearl found that he was so busy that he had to rise at 4am every day just to get his workouts in. But that’s what it took, so he did it happily.

It doesn’t require fancy machinery and a high tech gym, it doesn’t take a lot of time each week, it doesn’t take any over hyped, over priced supplements; but it does take hard work, dedication and a burning desire to be the best. If you think you are going to loaf through your workouts and make head turning changes to your physique you are simply lying to yourself.

Will be this be the day when you finally make the mindset change necessary to achieve greatness or will you just keep putting it off ‘til tomorrow?

For a simple to follow, step by step plan that will motivate you beyond your wildest dreams and finally help you build muscle fast and get in the best shape of your life, while spending less than three hours per week in the gym, check out http://www.MuscleGainingSecrets.com/ now.

Building Muscle with Bands and Chains

2010-10-20T10:16:00.000-07:00

By Jason Ferruggia

These days it’s very trendy to use bands and chains for building muscle and strength. Several years back, I got caught up using chains and bands with almost everyone in my gym. After a couple years of doing this I realized that nobody was progressing any faster than they were before. It occurred to me that what we were doing was overkill and from then on, I kept the chains and bands reserved for only the strongest members of my gym. Now I don’t use them at all (or at least in that sense).

The fact is that there is no need to use bands or chains unless you are extremely strong. If your max squat is 225, squatting with bands and chains isn’t going to do much for you in the way of building muscle or gaining strength. In fact, it will be detrimental to your progress. Tons of people have gotten inhumanly strong for decades without ever using bands or chains and plenty of guys continue to do so today.

Unless you are capable of doing a full back squat, all the way to ground with no belt and pristine technique with 500lbs, you have absolutely no business using bands or chains. These are advanced tools to pull out of the toolbox only at the times when you really need them. During your first several years of training all you need is a hammer and nail. Don’t search deeper in the toolbox for something you don’t need yet. If you get to 545lbs and plateau there for a while then maybe it’s time to pull out the chains and bands. But not before then. The problem is that when you incorporate advanced methods before you need them you miss out on the potential huge gains that they could provide later on down the road when you really need them.

So layoff the bands and chains until you are really advanced and stick with more tools for building muscle, at least until your strength levels are at the point where the entire gym stops to watch when you squat or deadlift.

Vegetarian Muscle Building Diet

2010-10-19T16:17:00.000-07:00

By Jason Ferruggia

One of the most frequent email requests I get is for a description of my vegetarian muscle building diet. Since there is such great interest in this topic I thought I would share it with you today.

Breakfast- My day always starts with a shake. This will normally consist of rice, pea or hemp protein, or some combination of the three. I blend 30-40 grams of protein in 8oz of organic coconut milk and 8-12 oz water. I also blend in a banana, mixed frozen berries, a tablespoon of cacao nibs, and 2 tablespoons maca powder, which is tremendous for increased testosterone production and virility. This shake is absolutely delicious.

Snack- Some time a few hours later, I will have a few tangerines and some pistachios/cashews or a couple apples with almond butter. The fresh ground almond butter from Whole Foods is one my favorite things and I could easily eat an entire container in one sitting. Sometimes for a treat at night I mix it with organic honey and kill the entire container, washing it down with a cup of hemp or almond milk.

I am big fan of high sodium intake for strength and energy production so I always have a few pickles every day and add sea salt to much of food.

Lunch- This usually consists of some kind of legumes or beans, which are a mainstay in any vegetarian muscle building diet, with organic brown rice or quinoa. I will sauté black beans with peppers, tomatoes, onions and garlic and mix that in with the rice. I top it with salsa and some fresh avocado. That is my Mexican style rice and beans. Sometimes I just mix the beans and rice or quinoa with marinara sauce. I always cook enough for two days.

I will sometimes have a salad with that or eat some raw veggies or mix some steamed kale or spinach into the whole thing.

Occasionally I will have a couple almond butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch. I have cut out peanuts and peanut butter completely due to the deadly toxins that they contain, along with wheat because of it’s inflammatory properties, so these are not eaten as much as they used to be. I get some brown rice bread for the times I do eat these.

Snack- Similar to above. When I’m not near food I always carry Raw Organic Food Bars with me and a variety of nuts. If I am home and have had fruit for my first snack I try to make this snack raw veggies and hummus along with a decent amount of nuts.

I also drink another shake some time during the day which is usually right after I train. It is similar to the shake above except that I don’t include the coconut milk or the cacao but I do use the maca powder. I blend a banana, almond milk, water, frozen spinach (you don’t taste the spinach at all so this is nowhere near as gross as it sounds) with Vega and some extra protein.

During my workouts I drink coconut water or regular water. And I try to drink at least a half gallon of water throughout the day out glass or my Sigg bottle and do my best to avoid plastic because of the estrogenic effects. I also drink a couple cups of green tea each day.

Dinner- I normally cook some kind of stew consisting of a large variety of vegetables and some kind of legumes. For example, the other day I got home and all that we had was squash, onions, spinach and garlic. I threw it all in a pot with vegetable broth, salt, pepper and yellow peas, which have 10 grams of protein per ¼ cup (you would have to eat a lot of meat to equal the protein in two cups of yellow peas). I let that cook for 2 hours and then mixed in some quinoa. It was absolutely delicious. Other times we will mix brown rice in with a variety of other veggies and lentils. If I was trying to get lean I would probably skip the brown rice. Adding potatoes (even just one) to the stews makes them creamier and even more delicious.

I severely limit my soy consumption because of it’s estrogenic effects but for the occasional cheat meal I will have some tofu with brown rice or some kind of meat substitue with brown rice pasta.

I also eat soy and wheat free veggie burgers one or two nights per week and always have a huge spinach salad mixed with tomatoes, broccoli, olives, peppers, onions, carrots, apples, berries, nuts, seeds, avocado, and whatever else I can fit in there. I top that with olive oil, Vega oil and balsamic vinegar.

Dessert- Occasionally, when I am going to cheat I will have some organic coconut milk ice cream. This is, obviously, made with coconut milk and not cows milk. It is delicious and pretty healthy. Coconut milk contains healthy MCT’s and has none of the dangers of cows milk. It is sweetened with organic agave syrup. I highly recommend it.

The only other cheat dessert that I will regularly eat is organic, dark chocolate. This has been shown to have a variety of health benefits. The brands I buy are those that support slave free, fair trade practices. These include Newman’s Own, The Endangered Species Chocolate Company and Green and Blacks.

So that’s my vegetarian muscle building diet. It’s very easy to follow, and a whole lot healthier than eating pounds of red meat and saturated fat.

How to Build Big Bigger Arms

2010-10-19T16:10:00.000-07:00

By Jason Ferruggia

Guns, jacks, pipes, hooks, pythons… Whatever you call them, the fact remains that most guys want bigger arms. While they are nowhere near as impressive as a big set of traps, you still don’t want to have an extra six inches of space in your shirt sleeves; that’s for sure. So the question is how to build bigger arms? The answer is not as simple as you might assume. If it were easy, you would see tons of guys walking around with 18 inch arms. But that simply isn’t the case.

It’s been said over and over again that in order to add an inch to your upper arms you need to gain ten pounds of bodyweight. This advice has become gospel and it seems that nearly everyone agrees with this these days. Real world evidence shows that this is not the case, however. Walk into any public gym on a Monday night at five o’clock and you will see quite a few skinny guys, weighing no more than 170 pounds, who are sporting decent sized arms.

Many of them probably have not gained more than 10 or 15 pounds total since they started training but they all have put more than an inch or two on their arms. This is because localized hypertrophy/ muscle growth will take place if enough volume is present, without a large increase in bodyweight. Look at the calves on soccer players or the forearms on mechanics. But this only happens up to a certain point.

So these young guys read in some magazine about how to build bigger arms and start by doing ten sets of arms two or three days a week. The volume is enough to elicit a growth response and they may even get a good eight weeks out of this and a quick two inches of arm growth in the absence of any significant weight gain. Seems to defy the ten pounds per inch rule, right?

But what happens after that? Where do they go from there? The gains will halt and there will be absolutely no more arm growth whatsoever unless they make some drastic changes. And that is the pitfall of high volume training- where can you go when you plateau? Add more volume? At what cost? How much volume can you add? If ten sets isn’t enough should you try twenty? And then thirty? And eventually a hundred?

There’s nowhere to go with this approach. Like I said, it’s great for some quick gains on your arms but isn’t a long term approach. Once you hit a plateau you have no choice but to start lifting heavier weights and eating more. More weight on the bar and more food on your plate is the fastest way to increase the size of any body part. All the fancy supersets, drop sets, tri sets, pre exhaustion, post exhaustion techniques in the world won’t help in the least if you are not doing those two very important things.

Beginners can train the arms three times per week and intermediate and advanced lifters seem to do better training them twice per week. Stick with big exercises like close grip chin ups, barbell curls, hammer curls, towel curls, dumbbell curls, parallel bar dips, close grip benches, and lockouts. You shouldn’t need more than 2-4 sets of biceps and triceps twice per week to achieve optimal growth, providing that you are always increasing your loads and steadily adding more calories to your diet. After a couple of heavy sets finish your arm workout by getting the biggest pump possible with one or two higher rep sets.

For more information on how to build bigger arms and increase the size of every other body part, check out http://www.MuscleGainingSecrets.com/ now.

Train hard,

Jason Ferruggia

How to Build Big Triceps

2010-10-19T16:04:00.000-07:00

By Jason Ferruggia

When people ask me how to build big triceps I respond with two simple words; “do dips.” Do dips and do a lot of them. Why, you ask? Have you seen the triceps development on male gymnasts lately? The dip is basically the only true triceps move they do and they are absolutely jacked with huge, thick, horseshoe triceps. Whenever you use your bodyweight for resistance or bodyweight plus additional resistance via a chin/dip belt or weight vest, you activate a much greater number of muscle fibers than you would if you simply used a machine. Machines do not recruit the smaller stabilizer muscles and do not force the muscles to contract naturally as they would in real life. Whenever possible you want to try to move your body instead of simply moving the arm or attachment on a machine. And although free weight exercises are very effective and a much better option than training on a machine, moving your own bod will always reign supreme when it comes to building muscle.

Dips can be performed on parallel bars or, if you are really strong, gymnastics rings. Be sure to squeeze the bars tightly, brace your abs as if you were about to be punched and lower yourself no lower than the point where your triceps are parallel with the ground. Going lower than that puts too much stress on the shoulders and getting the extra stretch is not worth the risk of an injury.

Dips can be performed three times per week as a beginner. After a few months of that I don’t think you will be confused about how to build big triceps anymore. When you get more advanced it is recommended to cut your dips down to twice per week. Although I used to love weighted dips and routinely had many of my clients perform them with numerous 45 pound plates strapped to their waists I have found, over the years, that there is simply too great a risk of injury with heavy weighted dips and now do not allow anyone in my gym to do dips with more than just one 45 pound plate. Anything beyond that seems to get too risky.

For intermediate lifters you could do one day heavy, where you add resistance to your weight belt, and one day light where you simply rep out with bodyweight. The two days should be about 72 hours apart. Once you get strong enough to do a 45 pound plate you will probably only want to use weighted dips as a rep exercise and not a heavy strength movement anymore.

To make dips more difficult without adding more weight, try doing them on gymnastics rings or on straps. You can also try holding your legs straight out directly in front of you as well. Either option will be very challenging and are great muscle builders.

Aside from dips, the next best muscle building exercise for the triceps is a reduced range of motion close grip bench press or some variation of it. The top half of the bench press really focuses the stress on the triceps which is why you want to limit the range when training simply to increase the size of your arms. To do this you can set pins in a power rack or have a partner hold a few two by fours on your chest. These are called board presses. Three, four and five boar presses are awesome for building huge triceps and should be incorporated into your routine on a regular basis. When you get too strong to go heavy on dips without risking a shoulder injury, make board presses your heavy triceps movement and dips your light triceps movement. Keep pushing up the weight and reps and pretty soon people will be asking you about how to build big triceps like yours.

Train hard,

Jason Ferruggia

How to Build Big Traps

2010-10-19T15:56:00.000-07:00

By Jason Ferruggia

When it comes to the question of how to build big traps the discussion starts and finishes with deadlifts. This incredible mass builder will pack huge slabs of beef on your traps faster than just about any other exercise there is. Just look at powerlifters and you will see that there is simply no way to avoid building huge traps when you do a lot of deadlifts.

While the deadlift is the king of trap building exercises, an argument could be made that Olympic lifts are equally as effective. I would tend to agree if not for the fact that Olympic lifts are harder to teach and learn than deadlifts are, which moves them down to second on the list. Everyone can do at least a partial range deadlift properly. Not everyone can clean or snatch properly.

Finally, you have shrugs. While it seems like a very simple and straight forward movement there is actually a great deal of confusion over how to build big traps with shrugs. Nobody seems to be able to agree on how they should be done. On one hand you have the camp that says you need to go as heavy as possible and do partial reps, just heaving the weight up. Then there’s the camp that says you need to go light and get a full range of motion, trying to get your shoulders as close to touching your ears as possible and hold it there for a second.

Who is right and who is wrong?

They both are.

To understand where the answer truly lies lets again take a look at the athletes with the biggest traps: power lifters and Olympic lifters.

Powerlifters have huge traps because of all the deadlifts they do. Deadlifts are heavy, period. There is no shrugging movement at all, in fact. Olympic lifters lift relatively lighter weights explosively and with a range of motion that does indeed have them bringing their traps to their ears.

Looking at these two groups, what does this tell us about shrugs and the proper way to do them?

Quite simply, what it tells us is that the best way to get huge traps is to deadlift and Olympic lift. Bottom line.

BUT… what if you can not do either of those exercises due to back or shoulder problems or just want more variety in your trap training routine? Then you have no choice but to shrug. Traps are the most important, intimidating and impressive bodypart there is and you can’t walk around with none.

So then, exactly how do you do shrugs and which camp is right? They both are. Sometimes you should go heavy for low reps, cheat the weight up and don’t worry about getting an extreme contraction at the top. Then on another day of the week go lighter for higher reps with a complete range of motion and exaggerated contraction and hold at the top.

Another option is to do both variations in one workout. You could start with a lighter weight, doing 10-12 reps, bringing your shoulders as high as they can go. With each set add more weight and work your way down to the point where you can only get five partial reps with a little cheat at the end. You could start with the heavier sets first and lighten them as you go.

Deadlifts and Olympic lifts should always be your first answer to the question of how to build big traps. But sometimes and in certain situations, shrugs can be very effective as well. Just make sure to go straight up and down and don’t roll your shoulders forwards and backwards; that’s for nitwits who don’t have a full understanding of how gravity works.

Be relentless,

Jason Ferruggia

How to Build Big Calves

2010-10-19T15:49:00.000-07:00

By Jason Ferruggia

How to build big calves… it’s a question that I pondered for many years as a kid, being born with calves like string beans. After much experimentation, what I finally realized was that high volume works great for calves. They are probably the hardest muscles to build. Just doing a few sets for them never did anything for me. Since I had no desire to train them and preferred to focus on strength, athleticism and bigger compound lifts they stayed that way for years.

The only time they finally responded was when I hit them with very high volume. I usually do this for about a month and then I am bored to tears and stop training calves again for another year. Also, you can't really tolerate the high volume loading for too long before you will start to develop some ankle/achilles problems. If you are an athlete and run or jump a lot, don't even consider doing high volume calf work. But if how to build big calves is a question that you obsess over, and you just want to get them jacked then you need to really increase your volume and frequency. I once put two inches on my calves in just over a month! Now, don't get me wrong, my calves are still nowhere near huge, but the point is you can add significant size to your calves if you really want to.

They were Arnold's worst bodypart and he dedicated all his time and effort to bringing them up. He even cut all of his pants off at the knee so he had to suffer the embarrassment of having his calves exposed wherever he went.

One option is to do a set of calves between every set of every exercise you do at each workout. Be sure to go heavy, get a good, deep stretch and hold it for a second (and up to ten seconds) at the bottom and get all the way up on your big toe at the top while flexing your calves hard. When you do standing calves your knees should be slightly bent on the way down and then locked out on the way up.

Another option is to start each workout (or each lower body day) with calves. One day per week would be heavy standing calf raises for 5-10 sets of 5-8 reps and the other day would be seated calf raises done for 4-5 sets of 15-30 reps.

You should also consider training the tibialis anterior muscles. These are the muscles that run down the front of your shin. Some people develop imbalances from too much ankle extension and not enough ankle flexion. When this happens and becomes a problem, the calves will not grow. So train these muscles by hanging your feet off the end of a bench and holding a dumbbell or DARD device between them and flexing your feet up toward you for a few sets of 10-20 reps, twice a week.

After you finish up with standing, seated and donkey calf raises and the tib raises, try doing farmers walks for up to five or even ten minutes while remaining on your toes the entire time. This will absolutely smoke your calves.

Finally, finish up your workouts with 10-20 minutes of jumping rope.

The above strategies should definitely get anyone’s calves to grow rapidly in a couple of months. Just be sure to ease into the extra volume slowly and gradually and take a step back if your ankles start to bother you.

If you are currently doing only 3-4 sets of calves twice per week you should slowly add a set or two at every workout until you get to about 10 or so. Ten hard, heavy sets plus the farmers walks and jumping rope should be more than enough for most people to add an inch or so in a month.

Now you know how to build big calves. For more information on adding size to the rest of your body check out http://www.MuscleGainingSecrets.com now.

Train hard,

Jason Ferruggia

300 Movie Fat Loss Workout for Men & Women

2010-10-18T10:17:00.000-07:00

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

The 300 movie workout is the talk of the fitness world. It's helped actors chisel Greek Statue bodies while causing weight loss and calorie burning for the rest of us.

The 300 workout is legendary, having been featured in Men's Health and on ESPN. Everyone's looking for the 300 workout on the 'Net. So I made mini-version of the workout for the average guy and gal, see those below.

But first, here's how the original 300 Workout goes...but don't try this at home...

a) Pullups - 25 reps
b) Deadlifts with 135lbs - 50 reps
c) Pushups - 50 reps
d) 24-inch Box jumps - 50 reps
e) Floor wipers - 50 reps
f) 1-arm Clean & Press with 36lbs Kettlebell - 50 reps
g) Pullups - 25 reps

And remember, there is NO scheduled rest between exercises.

Although eventually, you'll slow down.

I tried this workout last week and managed to get 'er done in only 19 minutes and 7 seconds. But what about a 300 workout for you?

Fortunately, this workout can easily be changed. Appropriate exercises can be subbed in, and we can drop the number of reps down to 100, 150, or 200 - still making for a total body challenge.

For example, you might do this 200-repetition workout - this is great for a man with moderate fitness:

5 Chinups
20 prisoner squats
20 pushups
100 Jumping Jacks
30 Bicycle Crunches
10 decline pushups
15 bodyweight inverted rows

Optionally, you could do 100 reps of rope jumping to finish off 300 total reps.

An intermediate woman could do a 150 rep workout:

5 Bodyweight Inverted Rows
10 Bodyweight Sumo Squats
15 bodyweight squats
15 Pushups (doing as many regular pushups, followed by kneeling)
50 jumping jacks
10 spiderman climbs
20 reverse lunges
25 bicycle crunches

Add in 50 rope skips for 200 total repetitions - or 150 skips for a full 300.

Tough, but fair. So you can do your own version of the 300 workout and build your own Greek God or Greek Goddess body. Work with a trainer to come up with other ideas. And always, train safe.

Don't train like this everyday. Just use one of these workouts once every other month as an extra challenge.

For your regular fat burning workouts, stick to the Turbulence Training workouts for men and women. You'll boost your metabolism, burn fat, and maximize your fitness so that you'll be ready for your very own 300 test day.

About the Author

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit Turbulence Training for Fat Loss

The 7-Day Weight Loss Detox

2010-10-18T10:11:00.000-07:00

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

Are you on a Detox diet? Everyone here in Toronto seems to be at one time or another...

Recently, one of my clients told me about his detox plans.

For 7 days of the year, he buys a detox kit and follows the
instructions to cut out all alcohol, caffeine, sugar, and refined
carbohydrates - all while taking some supplements to help
"detoxify" the liver and kidneys and extra fiber to help cleanse the colon.

Now I don't mind this client doing this, because he is a model client and follows a very healthy lifestyle all year round. At 40, his blood measures are very healthy, he lost a few pounds of body fat last year, and despite being in a high-stress financial job, he is a picture of great health.

Is the detox going to significantly improve his health? No, not really. And most of them aren't dangerous either, but a 7-day detox won't reverse 40 years or even 1 year of a poor lifestyle.

I'll admit, Detox diets might help kick-start your weight loss program, but just realize that they are not a quick fix to your health problems. The long-term fix is dumping the Western Lifestyle.

Besides, if you think you can actually remove all the toxins in your body, you are being fooled. It can never happen. Every breath you take, every move you make, you are creating waste products in your body.

And many toxins are fat-soluble - meaning they are stored in our fat cells for months, and slowly released over time. So you'll never truly detoxify...but enough of science class...

Just remember: 7 days of the cleanest living can't reverse 51 weeks of the Western Lifestyle - you have to make healthy living a full-time lifestyle. It is much better to spend all year avoiding as much crap as possible, than to try and sort it out in one week.

So let's take your new healthy lifestyle week-by-week with the 7-day fat loss plan.

Day 1

In today's Turbulence Training workout, choose an alternative form of interval cardio for this workout.

For example, if you are a beginner, and you have been doing only walking for cardio, try and use the elliptical machine or stairmaster today. This is called cross-training and helps avoid overuse injuries caused by doing the same thing over and over again when you aren't prepared for it. If you are advanced, try some of the bodyweight circuits in place of running or cycling intervals.

To do bodyweight circuits, pick 3 lower body and 3 upper body exercises, and alternate between them. Do 10 reps of a lower body exercise, then 10 reps of an upper body exercise, and so on.

Go through the 6 exercise circuit 3 times for a 15 minute session.

Day 2

Between Turbulence Training workouts, take a day off from the gym.

On your off days, your exercise requirement is just 30 minutes of fun activity. It can be traditional cardio, sports, or bodyweight exercise.

In addition, you need to clean out cupboards. Do NOT be afraid to throw out food - if it's garbage food, it's better in the trash bin than in your fat cells.

After you have cleaned out your pantry, prepare a healthy shopping list. Complete a 7-day food entry and identify your trouble spots. Then organize your shopping list to provide solutions to your eating problems.

Day 3

Back to your regularly scheduled Turbulence Training workout.

Since we've been inspired by the 300 Movie Workout lately, I want you to make a small change to your workout today and reduce the rest intervals between sets. For today only, take no more than 30 seconds rest between exercises. Get your workout done in record time. Do a full warm-up before training though, of course!

Day 4

Another off-day from the gym (whether you train at a mega-gym or in the comfort of your own home gym).

Choose an activity and have at least 30 minutes of fun. Yoga is great as well, to help reduce work-related stress.

In addition, let's make one more nutrition change. Today, I want you to eat one new fruit and one new vegetable. If you aren't already eating grapefruit, try one today and see how it helps fill
you up because it contains a lot of soluble fiber called pectin.

Add a new vegetable, such as steamed asparagus or broccoli to your dinner.

Day 5

Do your last Turbulence Training workout of the week today. I always like to slip in an extra superset on the last workout of the week. Pick your favorite biceps and triceps exercises and do them back to back for 3 supersets of 8 reps each.

Inject even more fun into your training & reward yourself for all of your hard work.

Day 6

For most of you, this will be the weekend. That means you should have extra time to check in with your social support group.

So why not meet up with a friend that is also trying to lose fat and/or build muscle and talk about what is working for you and where you are struggling. Essentially, its your fat loss mastermind group!

As part of your meeting, choose a fun activity that you both want to do for at least 30 minutes. Make this activity-based meeting a regular habit on the weekend.

Day 7

Get an early start on the day with 30 minutes of a fun activity - and yes, walking around shopping can count towards your 30 minutes of activity - and then prepare your meals for the rest of the week.

Plan, shop, & prepare for the week ahead. Make sure to include 1 new fruit and 1 new vegetable on your grocery list.

Getting this done early allows you to spend the rest of the day outdoors, or going to church and socializing with friends after, or spending the better part of the day with your family.

Remember that Turbulence Training is all about creating the optimal fat loss lifestyle - giving you more fat loss results in less workout time while freeing up your life to spend doing the things you love with the people you love in the body that you love!

Have a great week!

Weight Loss for Women At Home

2010-10-18T10:01:00.000-07:00

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

A woman's workout should consist of leg raises, biceps curls with soup cans, and triceps kickbacks with water bottles.

Can you believe that silliness?

Neither can I, but that is what passes for "professional fitness advice for women" these days.

I could see this info being accepted in the 1930's (maybe?), but in the year 2010? Please...

Does anyone really believe that biceps curls with water bottles is going to prepare women to carry their children to bed, a bag of heavy groceries in from the car, or swing a sledgehammer during home reno's?

No way. You need real-world workouts and fat loss advice. Not fluff.

Am I the only one that finds those types of recommendations disrespectful to the physical capabilities of women? You'd think that Linda Hamilton's chin-up scene in Terminator 2 would have turned the tide of female fitness, or perhaps Demi Moore's GI Jane.

I've watched women get fit fast at almost any age with Turbulence Training. In fact, we've had girls from 18 to 82 years young kickin' butt with Turbulence Training.

Today, I want to share the story of a classic "supermom", you know the mom with 3 active kids that has to drive them everywhere, eat on the run, and still find room for workouts. Her name is Brandy Kirton, and she'll show you how real women train, eat, and find the time to do it all with proper planning.

CB: Brandy, tell us about your past exercise and nutrition experiences. At what point did you find out about Turbulence Training and what persuaded you to start using it?

BK:
I started working out back on high school. I'm 30 now.

I became a personal trainer for a few years in my early 20's. So I learned a lot about nutrition and weight training. I have been in great shape and not so great shape in the last 10 years. I think I found Turbulence Training just surfing the web and decided to give it a try. I was desperate to lose weight after my 3rd kid.

CB: And how was this a change from what you had done in the past?

BK:
I was doing 30 minutes of cardio and then lifted for 30 mins 3 to 4 times a week. That was if I actually could make time.

I would not work out if I knew I couldn't get it all in. I would think, "What's the point of 20 mins?".

CB: What kind of results have you achieved with Turbulence Training? And is there anything else, besides the results, you love about the Turbulence Training programs?

BK:
I love how it changes every month so I never get bored. I also love that I have no excuse about not having time to fit it in.

My results have been great. I am getting toned up and consistently loosing inches. I also have a lot more energy.

CB: Do you workout at home or in a gym?

BK:
I have to work out at home. No time to get to a gym.

CB: Has Turbulence Training had a positive impact on your lifestyle?

BK:
Turbulence Training has made a huge impact on me. I don't feel like it takes up my whole day or get bored of the same thing day in and day out.

I feel strong and love the daily emails. It helps me stay motivated.

I work full time, have three kids 9, 5, and 11 months, and a husband. My older two kids play every sports so there really is no extra time.

I have to get up at 5:30 to work out before they wake up but its worth it. I feel great after I am done and no matter what happens that day I have already got my work out in which feels great.

CB: Do you have any social support? If so, how has this helped you?

BK:
My mom comes over in the mornings to work out with me. I need that accountability so that I don't sleep instead. Its hard to get up but I always feel so much better when I do.

CB: What are your daily obstacles and temptations that you have to avoid with respect to nutrition and training? And what strategies do you use?

BK:
With all the practices, games and running around I have to do its hard not to grab McDonald's with the kids.

I try to either bring food with me or wait until I get home. If I have to eat out I do try and find grilled chicken or subway.

CB: How do you plan your nutrition?

BK:
I have to go shopping on Sunday to stock up on all my healthy food. Otherwise I will eat whatever I can find which usually is not good for me.

CB: Thanks Brandy, keep up the great work.

****
The message is clear. Plan, prepare, commit, and be consistent.

Brandy didn't use any magic pills or potions to succeed, she simply found a great workout plan, and did what she had to do.

As a supermom, Brandy practically has to create time out of thin air in order to do her workout, but again, she knows what she has to do and she does it. She's committed. She has social support. She knows the correct options for eating on the run.

She has made the effort to plan for the obstacles (lack of time, workout motivation) that we all come across. And by doing that, she's cleared a simple path to success.

And she doesn't waste time in the gym with slow, boring cardio workouts. Instead, she sculpts her body in half the time with the Turbulence Training workouts.

Sincerely,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training

The 80-20 Fat Loss Rule

2010-10-18T09:54:00.000-07:00

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

What is Turbulence Training?

Turbulence training is my method of doing strength training and interval training in one workout. So that you get in and out of the gym whether it's your home gym or whether it's a commercial gym. You get your workout done in 45 minutes.

We start with a 5-minute bodyweight warm up and then we do strength training for 20 minutes, whether it's bodyweight training or dumbbells. Sometimes we use barbells but most people that I work with train at home so we just use dumbbells and bodyweight exercises - no fancy equipment needed.

Then we finish with 20 minutes of interval training. We are using the most efficient and effective training methods. The stuff that gets you the most results in the least amount of time. So we are not doing long, slow cardio sessions and we're not doing 5 or 6 day per week bodybuilding training programs.

It's like the old business principle - 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts - so why do endless amounts of cardio and redundant strength training exercises?

Do only what you need to do and then get out of the gym.

Don't live in the gym,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training

3 Best Bodyweight Exercises

2010-10-15T14:29:00.000-07:00

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

Here are 3 kick-butt bodyweight exercises you can do anytime, anywhere to burn fat, stay energized, and avoid overeating.

Bodyweight exercises help you burn fat shockingly fast, without any fancy equipment.

1) Any Single-Leg Exercise

The pistol (single-leg squat to the floor) is the most advanced 1-leg exercise. But you can also do assisted single-leg squats with a band, or onto a bench, or even with a Stability Ball between your back and the wall.

If you aren't ready for single-leg squats, you can use Bulgarian Split Squats, Reverse Lunges, regular split squats, or lying 1-leg hip bridges if you are a beginner.

2) Decline Push-ups

These are harder than normal pushups, thanks to your elevated feet. And in this position, you can still use a close-grip to fatigue your triceps, a "piked-hip position" to build your shoulders, or even the Spiderman leg motion to work on your abs.

3) Bodyweight Inverted Rows

I choose these over chinups and pullups because bodyweight rows let your chest rest, while your back is strengthened. It's the perfect compliment to a pushup.

Do 8-12 repetitions per exercise. Don't rest between exercises. Go through the circuit up to 3 times, resting 1 minute after each circuit.

For a once-per-month challenge, do each exercise to failure in your final round through the circuit.

Get in shape fast with Turbulence Training,
Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training

About the Author
Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com

How to Break Bad Habits

2010-10-15T14:25:00.000-07:00

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

We all have bad habits. Mine are checking email too frequently, being unorganized, and not always eating enough to fuel full recovery from my workouts.

Your bad habits might include too much snacking and cheating on your nutrition plan, coming up with excuses to skip exercise, or watching too much TV.

Bad habits are the reason we need coaches. One of my coaches is Lee Milteer, who gave me the exercises below, that I want you to go through to help you break your bad habits.

If you've been trying to lose fat and get lean by yourself, but with no luck, isn't it time to get professional help & social support?

It's hard to change. I know it. I battle against my bad habits all the time, just like you do everyday. But each day I also make an effort to overcome the bad habits, just as you should have a plan
in place to overcome your bad weight loss habits.

Don't let insecurity, fear of failure, or the fear of the unknown hold you back from making changes. Don't be a victim. "Give yourself PERMISSION to change," Lee says.

So let's take action. Print this post out. Now write down 3 excuses
you are using to avoid making the changes you need to succeed.

1.______________________________________________________________
2.______________________________________________________________
3.______________________________________________________________

How have these excuses affected your life? What have the excuses stopped you from achieving? Write down 3 very important things that you have missed out on because you've allowed yourself to make excuses.

1.______________________________________________________________
2.______________________________________________________________
3.______________________________________________________________

Now how do you feel when you fall victim to one of your self-sabotaging excuses?

______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

What benefits do you get from the excuse? Is it simply that you get to remain in your comfort zone? That's a big one for me. If I can convince myself that I need to check my email, then I get to remain in my comfort zone and avoid the hard work and fear of failure that comes with writing an article. Or is it the fear of the unknown that is holding you back? Write down 3 ways you benefit from making excuses.

1.______________________________________________________________
2.______________________________________________________________
3.______________________________________________________________

So now we both know why we've created our excuses - to avoid something. All we need to do now is find a way to overcome these bad habits. I want you to write down 3 behaviors you want to stop.

1.______________________________________________________________
2.______________________________________________________________
3.______________________________________________________________

Now write down why you end up doing it...were you bored, fearful, lazy, etc.

1.______________________________________________________________
2.______________________________________________________________
3.______________________________________________________________

Now give yourself the permission to change. "Envision the rewards you will get when you make the change to your life and habits," Lee tells us. Give yourself a powerful list of reasons for fixing the habit.

1.______________________________________________________________
2.______________________________________________________________
3.______________________________________________________________

Working on bad habits everyday will give you an incredible boost in self-esteem and confidence. With each small successful improvement you'll build confidence to take on the bigger, badder habits that are holding you back.

Remember, everyday we are a work in progress. You might have bad days, but as long as you make overall improvement each week and month - that is all that matters.

Lee also recommends charting your progress. I have said many times before that you need to keep records of your workouts and nutrition. Only then will you know what works and how much
improvement you have made.

And finally, get social support. Don't expect to do this alone.

One research study from Stanford University concluded social support was the #1 factor for success in an exercise program.

Get in shape for summer fast with Turbulence Training,
Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training

About the Author
Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Fat Burning Exercise Tips for Busy Parents & Professionals

2010-10-15T14:17:00.000-07:00

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

The great thing about strength training and intervals for fat burning is "efficiency". Because you are working harder, the signal to your body to change is stronger. You cut time when you increase intensity and you burn fat faster.

Now don't worry, I won't be asking you to do hill sprints tomorrow if you aren't exercising today.
For a beginner, we just do some slightly faster than normal walking intervals. For intermediate fitness levels, we'll pick up the pace about 20% compared to their normal cardio levels, but again, the work periods are much shorter.

The key is, you must shift to a slightly higher intensity in order to cut time from your workout. But the workout also goes faster, and much more importantly, you will get more results and better fitness from these methods.

It's easy to do these workouts first thing in the AM, at lunch, or after the kids go to bed. Plus, you can get a great workout at home with only a bench, dumbells, and an exercise ball. You don't need fancy machines or an expensive gym membership.

And another bonus, you only need three hard fat burning workouts per week. You don't have to be in the gym six days per week.

On your off days, it's important to stay active for at least 30 minutes, but these days should be unstructured and revolve around being active with your family or hobbies. Don't think of them as workout days, think of them as fat burning, stress reducing activity days.

About the Author
Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit Turbulence Training for Fat Loss

The Best Ways to Burn Belly Fat

2010-10-15T14:13:00.000-07:00

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

I often get asked, “What’s the best way to burn fat and lose my belly?” People want to know if aerobics is better than strength training, or if traditional cardio exercise is better than intervals.

Well, to say I've done them all would be an understatement.

With over 15 years experience helping others, training myself, training for sports, spending countless hours in the gym, AND actually conducting laboratory research studies on different exercise methods, I'm pretty confident in knowing what works and what does not.But first of all, I want to frame my responses. I'm going to talk about what works for people that have a limited amount of time to exercise, mostly because I expect your readers don't have 90 minutes per day to devote to a workout, unlike the typical audience of a fitness magazine.

That's why there is a huge disconnect between some of the information found in magazines and the ability of the reader to apply it to their lives.

We just don't have 6-8 hours per week for exercise, nor do we need it. If you're a triathlete, you might need that, but not someone that just wants to lose fat and gain muscle.

Having said all that, the bottom line for getting a better body is...

Use bodyweight exercises to warm-up, strength training supersets to build muscle, and then finish your workout with interval training to burn fat in a short amount of time. I've structured my system so that you are in and out of the gym in 45 minutes, three times per week.

You'll do 5 minutes of bodyweight exercises to warm-up. This is a much more efficient approach than spending 5 minutes walking on a treadmill, which really doesn't prepare you for anything except more walking on a treadmill.

Then we move into the strength training supersets, where we use two exercises performed back to back with minimum rest between each. This cuts our workout time, while still giving us maximum results. We only need 20 minutes for this, and we'll use basic exercises, and sometimes even more bodyweight exercises, depending on the client's goal for muscle building.

And finally, we'll do 18 minutes of interval training. A warm-up, followed by six short intervals at the appropriate fitness level for the client, interspersed with short periods of low-intensity recovery. Finish with a cool-down. And that's the workout. Again, about 45 minutes total.

Compare that to what most people do, which is run, jog, cycle or use the cardio machines for 45 minutes straight. Sure, that will burn calories, but it doesn't build a better body.

In fact, there are a few "dark sides" to long slow cardio, including less-than-optimal results, the potential for overuse injuries, and it is an inefficient form of exercise. If you only have 30-45 minutes for your workout and you spend it all on a cardio machine, when are you going to train the rest of your muscles and sculpt a better body?

So the best way to burn belly fat is with a combination of strength training and interval training. It’s fast, it works, and it’s fun!

About the Author
Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit Turbulence Training for Fat Loss

Fat Burning Bodyweight Circuit Exercises

2010-10-14T13:52:00.000-07:00

By Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

When you travel, you worry about missing your workouts and eating poorly...So you must plan ahead for both (apples and almonds for planes, trains, & automobiles)...and bodyweight circuits for "no-equipment fat burning".

And while I have bodyweight exercises that are just as hard as the bench press and barbell squat in one of my bodyweight workouts, today we'll focus on replacing intervals with bodyweight circuits.

To do a bodyweight circuit...

a) Pick 3 lower body exercises

b) Pick 3 upper body exercises

c) Alternate between a lower and upper body exercise without rest, till you are done all 6 exercises

d) Rest a minute

e) Repeat 2-3 more times until you are done 20 minutes

For example, this is a great circuit that doesn't need any equipment

1) Prisoner Squat (12 repetitions)
2) Elevated Pushups (8 reps per side)
3) Single-Leg Deadlift (10 reps per side)
4) Close-grip Pushups (As many reps as possible)
5) Jumping Jacks (30-60 reps)
6) Cross-Body Mountain Climber (12 reps per side)

Whew. That's pretty advanced...for a beginner, we'd slow it down like this and take some breaks between exercises...

1) Wall Squat (8 reps)
2) Kneeling Elevated Pushup (5 reps per side)
3) Lying 1-leg Hip Extension (8 reps per side)
4) Plank (30 second hold)
5) Jumping Jacks (5-10 reps)
6) Side Plank (15 second hold per side)

Safe travels, and of course, always check with your doctor before beginning a fat burning bodyweight circuit exercise program.

How to Lose Manboobs

2010-10-14T13:48:00.000-07:00

By Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

You don’t have to go through life with man boobs (otherwise known as male breasts). In fact, you can burn away chest fat and get rid of your manboobs forever with just three short, but intense workouts per week.

Getting rid of manboobs is as simple as getting rid of any other fat. You need to cut back on the junk, and fill up on the intensity. Turbulence Training is the fastest fat loss workout you can do at home. You don’t need fancy equipment or a gym membership (where you’ll be too embarrassed by your man boobs to go anyway).

Listen, women love a chiseled chest, but are turned off by the site of manboobs poking through a sweatshirt. That’s why I’ve put together a fat burning program that focuses on building muscle and blasting fat with all sorts of push-ups, chest exercises, and intervals. In fact, even the Turbulence Training abdominal workouts work the chest and help convert those man boobs back into a real man’s chest in just weeks.

You can gain muscle and lose fat with short workouts. You don’t need to be training 6 days per week or spending hundreds of dollars each month on fancy (but worthless) supplements.

Soon you’ll be the guy who is first to take his shirt off at the beach. No more hiding under sweats in the middle of July, or avoiding the water because you don’t want anyone to see your manboobs.

And no matter what anyone says, you don’t have to rely on surgery. Besides, that will leave ugly scars that will leave you just as self-conscious as when you had man boobs. The only fix is a permanent lifestyle change, thanks to the 3 short workouts per week of Turbulence Training. You’ll see changes in your man boobs, love handles, and arm definition within weeks, going from male breasts to ripped abs in the process.

Turbulence Training is not like all those other aerobic, slow cardio programs you’ve tried in the past that didn’t work. And it’s not a wimpy machine circuit that just ends up being a waste of your time. Instead, Turbulence Training is a unique exercise system that you can do in the comfort of your own home, so that no one at the gym can point or stare at your chest – at least not until they are staring with respect.

The fastest way, the safest way, and the only way to get rid of man boobs is with strength training and interval training. Combine that with Dr. Chris Mohr’s sensible nutrition guidelines, and you’ll have a new body, and a new chest in just weeks.

Sincerely,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training

Why Bodybuilders Hate Turbulence Training

2010-10-14T13:42:00.000-07:00

By Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

Bodybuilders are not a fan of Turbulence Training. I don't know why, but for some reason getting a workout done in less than 45 minutes really ticks them off.

I remember when I first tried out the Turbulence Training 2K3 workout from my TT for Fat Loss manual. It was in the dark and grungy downstairs weight room of System Fitness in the High Park area of Toronto - maybe you've even been there.

Anyways, that gym is full of bodybuilders. And hey, I have nothing against them, but they always gave me a hard time when I went in there and finished my super-sets and entire workout so fast they didn't even have time to finish training their biceps.

Perhaps you know how long and slow those bodybuilder isolation workouts are...well no one has time for those anymore.

But the bodybuilders would sit there with their weight belts on (why did they need a weight belt to do chest exercises?), sweatsuits, clown pants, and bloated bellies and just stare while I went through my workout and they talked for 5 minutes between sets.

But I still had a lot of fun doing the TT 2K3 workouts back then, way back in the winter of 2003. It truly is one of my favorite workouts - and it is one of the TT workouts that gets the most
positive feedback from TT clients.

You'll get an arm pump just as good as any bodybuilding lunk who spends THREE times as long doing all his isolation exercises. But you'll get the extra benefits of working your abs and boosting your metabolism with the total body exercises in the TT 2K3 program.

So don't believe the bodybuilders when they say you have to train a separate body part each day...because that doesn't work for people who live in the real world and have real commitments but still want to burn body fat and build muscle.

Go in there, and show them just how fast you can get a great workout with the TT2K3 workout from the Turbulence Training manual.

Click here to get Turbulence Training
==> http://www.turbulencetraining.com

You might even convert a few over from the dark side,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training

PS - Turbulence Training Beats Bodybuilding Programs for Men & Women

"I have been in love with Turbulence Training ever since I started. I am 6'3", 28/M and my starting weight/body fat% was 208 pounds and 18.4% body fat. The mix of weight training with the high intensity intervals is the perfect fitness program. I really didn't believe it would be difficult until I started it. WOW what a burn!! I have finished the TT2K3 and 2K4. In these 5 months, I have upped my dumbell press weight 30 lbs from using 60s to 75s. I can't wait to start TT2K5 next week and see where I can get my bench up to. After 22 weeks of TT, I am now down to 190 lbs and 10.8% body fat."
Nick Walters, New York, NY

"I've done just about everything from Turbo Jam, P90X, to trying to piece together my own workout, but didn't get the results I've seen with Turbulence Training. My problem has always been my legs. No matter what I tried I have never been able to reduce the size of my thighs. I've tried the numerous leg routines featured in countless women's fitness magazines, but nothing worked. But with Turbulence Training I began to notice that my thighs looked smoother and more toned. Even my calf muscles were a lot more shapely. And I started seeing these changes about three weeks into the program. And I got these result without killing myself. The workouts are efficient and a lot of fun. I recommend this program to any woman who is struggling to lose that stubborn lower body fat. It is truly a godsend. A heartfelt thank you."
Andrea Dunham

"Been using TT 4 years, love the newsletters. I use the 2K3 all thetime, started off with the original ages ago. I lost 35 pounds in around 2 years & i'm 38 years old!"
Michael Walker

Politically Incorrect Holiday Fat Loss Tips

2010-10-14T13:33:00.000-07:00

By Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

I was at a big event last week and was reminded how important it is to have strategies for this season of high-calorie parties and busy schedules. But I get ticked off by the tired old suggestions you find on the Internet or in magazines like Woman's World.

Often the suggestions are lack any substance, because the writers don't want to imply you actually have to make a sacrifice to succeed. They make fat loss sound easy, as if all you had to do was park at the far end of the parking lot and you'd burn all the calories from 5 shortbread cookies.

Well it doesn't work that way...So here are my politically incorrect, unique Turbulence Training strategies to help you keep off the holiday pounds.

By the way, I "borrowed" a few ideas from contestants in my Turbulence Training Transformation Contest. The Transformation is rocking with social support and success stories right now, even while the rest of the world struggles with weight gain, these TT users are losing fat over the holidays.

Click here to get started with Turbulence Training for Fat Loss:

==> http://www.turbulencetraining.com

Strategy #1 - Green Tea & Almonds

One of the most common tips you'll hear is to "fill up" before you go to a party where there will be lots of goodies.

Unfortunately, most people I talk to have no luck with this tip. Most people still go to a party and eat everything in sight.

But recently TT users have told me that having a cup of Green Tea and one ounce of almonds has helped them avoid holiday cravings better than anything ever before.

The fiber from the almonds reduces appetite while the small amount of caffeine from the Green Tea seems to increase mental alertness and keep you "energized" at the party.

Hopefully that might work for you...

Strategy #2 - Don't waste your time on any fancy cardio programs

Listen, the bottom line over the holiday season is that your success depends almost entirely on your nutrition.

You can't expect to hit the cardio confessional and burn off last night's 2000 calorie smorgasboard. That's a 4-hour workout. Instead, don't get into that situation in the first place.

Here are more nutrition tips:

- Focus on portion control (and if you have no discipline, forget

even trying to eat just one)

- Nix all drinks mixed with calorie-containing beverages, or better yet, just stop getting drunk. Period.

- Write down everything you eat to identify your problem spots. Then do whatever you need to do to eliminate your weaknesses. If you don't record your nutrition, chances are you'll miss big

opportunities to change your diet and lose fat.

Strategy #3 - Take care of yourself first.

My friend Holly Rigsby (of http://www.fityummymummy.com) is always reminding busy moms to take care of themselves first, and I think that suggestion applies at this time of year to everyone.

So take a deep breath. Ask yourself as you're running around to please everyone else, "Have you set aside time for yourself"

Be selfish. Make sure you have had some exercise time, some good nutrition, and some rest before overextending yourself and doing too much for other people when you haven't taken care of yourself and your goals first.

Strategy #4 - Get on a roll

This one comes from a TT Transformation contestant who is too busy losing fat to get off track over the holidays.

Don't procrastinate till January 1st. Get started now. Dozens of men and women are doing their Turbulence Training Transformations right now - through the heart of the holiday season.

They aren't waiting for Jan. 1st to show up. They are taking control now, and getting on a roll, and not letting anything (from work parties to peer pressure) get in their way.

Strategy #5 - Exercise in short bursts whenever you can

Don't be afraid to dance at your Christmas party. Don't worry, there is bound to be at least one worse dancer than you out on the floor. Have fun and get down!

On a more serious note, here's how to avoid falling off the fitness program during the busy holiday season.

Get your butt out of bed 15 minutes early so you can have 3 minutes to wake up and 12 minutes to do the December 2009 Turbulence Training 12-Minute Workouts.

Get this workout as part of your bonuses when you start using Turbulence Training today!

Stay healthy and fit over the holidays,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

Author, Turbulence Training

About the Author

Learn about the "Dark Side of Cardio" in the free report from Craig Ballantyne at www.TurbulenceTraining.com. Craig is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Why Cardio Doesn't Work for Fat Loss

2010-10-14T13:22:00.000-07:00

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

Cardio exercise is such a strange thing. In theory, it should work
so perfectly well for all men and women, but as anyone who has
tried it knows, the practicality of it just doesn't add up.

After all, some men and women do cardio 6 hours, 9 hours, or more per week, and still have belly fat to burn. On the other hand, it works just fine for others.

British researchers wanted to get more insight into this paradox, and studied 35 overweight men and women, who weren't previously exercising. (Reference: International Journal of Obesity 32: 177-184, 2008).

Subjects exercised 5 times per week for 12 weeks. That's a lot of
exercise, but it helped the subjects lose an average of 8.2 pounds, which is great - I was positively surprised by the results.

So cardio will work for some people, however, in my experience, it works best in young men, who need the help the least!

Back to the study, the variance in fat loss between individuals was huge. Check this out...

The best subject lost a staggering 32.3 pounds in 12 weeks, while the worst subject actually GAINED 3.74 pounds.

The scientists think they know where things went sour. They classified the subjects into 2 groups, called the "Compensators" and the "Non-compensators".

The Compensators were hungrier, and as a result consumed an extra 268 calories per day, all but wiping out their cardio efforts.

Therefore, the Compensators lost the least amount of weight, and scientists believe that was due to the huge "compensatory" increase in appetite experienced by this group.

Does your appetite increase when you do slow cardio? If it does, research shows it will ruin your cardio efforts.

So if your cardio program is not working for you, check your appetite and calorie intake to see if you are "compensating" for your efforts. If you are, you might be better off using a program
of high-intensity resistance and interval training (i.e. Turbulence Training) for your weight loss efforts.

As Australian Professor Steve Boucher has shown in research, interval training increases hormones called catecholamines. And increased catecholamines can reduce appetite, among other fat-burning benefits.

In the real world, few people lose 33 pounds after 12 weeks of cardio. Heck, few even achieve an average weight loss of 8 pounds with aerobic exercise.

So again, check your appetite, and consider giving high-intensity exercise a go for your next workout program.

Beat the curse of cardio with high-intensity Turbulence Training.

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training

About the Author

Learn about the "Dark Side of Cardio" in the free report from Craig Ballantyne at www.TurbulenceTraining.com. Craig is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Deadly Bodybuilding Myths You Don't Know (Part 2)

2010-10-12T12:47:00.000-07:00

By Vince DelMonte

Bodybuilding Myth #4

Low reps are for size and high reps are for cutting.
Your muscles do not have much personality – they are either growing, shrinking or staying the same.

If you want your muscle to grow then gradually force your muscles to do more work and outperform your last workout’s performance. If you are content with the size of your muscles right now then this is easy – just keep doing what you are doing. And to make the muscle smaller, this is even easier – simply do not train it.

You can not pick certain exercises to get a muscle 'cut' or make a muscle 'huge' - this theory holds no water. Muscle ‘cuts’ are a reflection of two criteria on the body: pure muscle size and low levels of body fat (in the single digits). So if you want to build massive muscles get ready to apply the fundamental principle of progressive overload. And if you wish to get 'cut' and 'ripped' be prepared to drop your body fat levels into the single digits.

Next time you hear someone say, “I just lift light weights to get toned,” then pat them on the back and point them in the direction of the cardio room as a better option. Light weights do not build muscle, period. They will burn calories and that's all. You’re better off maximizing your time by burning calories running or doing jumping jacks. And if you see someone with the goal to get bigger and they are a cardio junkie – grab their hand and lead them to the heavy weights.

Bodybuilding Myth #5

Monday is chest day, Tuesday is Leg day, Wednesday is Back day...

Splitting up a routine is preached like 'gospel' and is rarely on trial or questioned as the way to structure a muscle building routine.

And sure, splitting up a routine is fine and has some benefits BUT it is also the fastest way to over-train and burn out. Remember that you do not get stronger in the gym – you get stronger and bigger when you go home, rest, sleep, eat and FULLY recover.

To SUPERCOMPENSATE from your previous workout your muscles are not the only things that must experience a full recovery. Do not neglect the fact that you are taxing and depleting your central nervous system, hormonal system, and immune system – systems that, in fact, take longer than your muscles to recover.

Just because your muscles say, “OK we feel fine, let's train again,” you must still experience a FULL recovery prior to attempting to stimulate your muscles again for more muscle growth.

Consider this practical example. What is the best way to cure a sickness? By taking an entire bottle of aspirin in one sitting? Or taking smaller dosages at more frequent intervals? I hope you agreed with the second solution. So what is the best way to build muscle? Taking one huge dosage per muscle group per week? Or taking smaller and more frequent dosages on a muscle group?

Bodybuilding Myth #6

Shock’ your muscle and keep them ‘guessing.’

This has got to be one of the silliest and most misleading statements ever made (no hard feelings because in theory it can be convincing). Interestingly, the people who used to give me this advice must have been 'shocking' or 'tricking' their muscles the wrong way because they had no muscle mass on their bodies to back up that statement.

If you think about this myth long enough you might start to laugh. Do you think you can really change your exercises and training routine to 'surprise' your body and get a different reaction out of them?

Your muscles do not have outside eyes that reward you with new muscle growth if you 'confuse' them. Your muscles understand MOVEMENT and that's all – push, pull, curl, extend, contract or release – that's it. You can be lifting bags of sand or dead lifting 400 pounds and the action on your back is the same – your knees bend and your trunk flexes. So where is the shock? Why would your back muscles say, “Holy Macaroni Batman, you’re lifting with an Olympic bar and not sand bags anymore. Better pack on some muscle.”

Or maybe you can switch up the order of your routine by hitting a weak body part twice in the week. If you only train your arms once in the week and then 'strategically' throw arms in twice one week they will be 'confused' and 'shocked' into growing. Please! Your muscles operate on laws of science, not on laws of trickery.

Forget trying to shock, confuse, trick or ‘keep the muscle guessing.’ The only thing that will be shocked and confused is the person messing around with this theory who has no clue why their body has not changed in a month since they started this magic show.

Deadly Bodybuilding Myths You Don't Know (Part 1)

2010-10-12T12:44:00.000-07:00

By Vince DelMonte

There are so many unproven bodybuilding myths that are still around us. Would you believe me if I said you are being scammed out of 90% of the muscle growth you should be getting because you have been mislead and misinformed by one or all of these deadly bodybuilding myths. Here are the first three of six bodybuilding myths that must be dispelled!

Bodybuilding Myth #1

Train like a bodybuilder to become a bodybuilder.

This is the message screamed by the bodybuilding world. While this mantra may have inspired millions via popular bodybuilding magazines, it has also mislead millions by re-printing and rehashing irresponsible training nonsense that will wreak havoc on your body and make you just another one of the herd.

Imitating the training of the 'champion' bodybuilder is one of the most costly frauds in the exercise world because the 'instruction' from elite bodybuilders has no practical relevance for average people like you and me who are without gifted genetic potential and are drug-free.
The traditional 5-7 day splits, 5 exercises per muscle, 24 set chest routine is training suicide for the average trainee not spending a couple thousand dollars a week on special 'vitamins'. Not only are these magazines useless but they will cause injuries, over-training, and illness. The books and magazines will not tell you that the drugs and genetics were responsible for curing their problem of being a hard gainer. Supplements, 'better training', and more dedication are their 'secrets' so you are told.

Bodybuilding Myth #2

Train for the ‘holy’ pump.

The 'muscle pump' is described as putting your muscles under an extended period of constant tension. As your muscles stretch and contract they become gorged with blood which makes them feel tighter and fuller.

Getting a muscle pump is not necessarily what causes the muscle to grow – doing 100 reps with a light rep will create a huge pump – but does this make a muscle grow? Of course not!

Distance runners get a pump in their legs when they sprint uphill. Do they get big muscles? Heck no!

Most bodybuilders swear by the 'pump' and preach that you are shuttling more nutrients into the muscle – but is that what is really happening? Sure it feels great, like Arnold says in the unforgettable scene in Pumping Iron, but all that is occurring is a 'back-up' of blood. The blood is 'stuck' inside the muscle, which creates that worshiped tight and full look.

The blood that's backed up into the muscle has hit a dead end and has nowhere to go. If you had fresh new blood that would be great, but unfortunately you just have old, stale blood getting ready for a snooze. That will not help you gain weight or build muscle mass!

The pump that is built up by the blood in your muscles will usually occur after you repeat set after set, which results in the famous "burning" sensation known as lactic acid. Lactic acid forms in the absence of oxygen. Lactic acid is a WASTE product and does nothing to build muscle weight.

Now if you are lifting extremely heavy weights and achieving a pump then this is a very good indication that you are making the muscle fibers work fully. I would only use the pump as an indicator to reveal how well you are 'targeting' the working muscle. Not as you guide to mark your success.

Bodybuilding Myth #3

You MUST train until failure.

Training to 'failure' has probably received more debate, misinterpretation, and improper logic resulting in too much wasted effort. Going to failure– going to the point in a set where you are physically incapable of going just one more rep, hence you 'fail' - is preached as the most promised way to make continuous muscle gains. Interestingly, there is no activity outside the gym that demonstrates this 'going to failure' principle is as critical as bodybuilders have employed.

Growing up as a long distance runner I often stood by and watched the sprinters compete, and was astonished by their tremendous quadriceps and hamstring muscle. Yet I never remember watching any sprinter on my team train until failure, nor do I recall them ever sprinting through the finish line and collapsing. Yet they demonstrated a greater amount of muscular work in less time each time they practiced and raced.

Also, I will never forget the phenomenal muscularity of the construction workers I used to work with when I laid bricks and framed houses. Yet I never recall them carrying timber around the yard until they could not pick up one more 2 x 4. Nor do I remember the bricklayers moving the bricks around until they could not move them anymore. Both of these groups had incredible muscularity and were able to stimulate muscle growth without going to failure. So why do so many command that 'failure' is an absolute law for stimulating muscle growth when much evidence shows otherwise?

Improving your body’s sensitivity to the cold does not require you to go outside in the middle of winter with no clothes on prior to passing out. If you want to improve your tan, it isn’t necessary to subject your skin to the sun prior to the moment of blistering. If you want to improve your ability to hold your breath under water, do you need to go to the point just prior to losing consciousness?
Since your body’s primary function in life is to survive it will adapt only to the point where your body has sufficient defense to whatever element it is exposed. Similarly, when lifting weights your body will adapt to the intensity you have exposed it to over time while maintaining your recovery resources. As you can see, muscle growth stimulation operates on the same principle and does not require over killing your muscles’ absolute limit.

Learn How To Build Muscle In 4 Simple Steps

2010-10-12T12:35:00.000-07:00

By Vince DelMonte

Are you sick and tired of everyone telling you a different way to build muscle? Are you unhappy with how you look in the mirror? Are you frusturated with your slow progress in the gym? Are you ready to learn four simple steps that will teach you how to build muscle safely and effectively?

There is a good chance that you are not maximizing one of these four steps. Your problem and solution lies in correcting these essential steps before you have any chance of building a muscular and lean physique.

Get ready to learn how to build muscle in four simple steps, in less time, without any drugs and without bogus supplements.

Step #1

Committ to lifting weights at least three to four times per week. Your goal is to stimulate your muscles with resistance (stress) which results in your muscles growing bigger to avoid the stress from occuring again. Once you go home, let the muscle heal through nutrition and rest, it will grow bigger and you will repeat this process again. Ideally you should hit your muscles once every 72 hours so you could perform 2 upper body workouts per week and 2 lower body workouts per week.

Step #2

Focus on eating at least 5-7x a day with balanced meals from carbohydrates, proteins and fats. If your goal is to build muscle than you should be eating at least 15-18 x your current body weight. Your carbohydrates should equate about 45% of your intake, your proteins should equate about 35% of your intake and your fat should be the remaining 20% of your intake. You should focus on over half of those meals being solid whole food meals and the remainder can be liquid meal replacment shakes.

Step #3

You should focus on stretching at least half the amount that you lift weights. One of the biggest mistkakes I see is people training, training and training with out any stretching. Stretching helps restore normal length to the tissue and if you are constantly training, your muscle tissues will shorten and big to perform weaker and slower and have a higher incidence of injuries. So if you are lifting weights 4 hours in the week, at least an additional 2 hours should be dedicated to stretching. You must counteract the shortening of the muscle tissues that occurs with weights or else you are a injury screaming to happen.

Step #4

Avoid supplements that have not been around for longer than 3 years. I learned this phisophy from an Australian strength coach who recommended not trying any supplement until it has been around at least 3 years to pass the test of time. This will make your life much easier and help you avoid all the marketing hoopla in the latest fitness and bodybuilding magazine. If you follow this rule, you will discover only a small handful of supplements still standing. Here are the ones you should not go with out: a high quality multi-vitamin, fish oil capsules, powdered creatine and a protein powder. These products will cover your nutritional basis for health, healthy body composition, strength and muscle mass.

How To Look Like A Female Fitness Model

2010-10-12T12:25:00.000-07:00

By Vince DelMonte

Do you pass by the magazine stands in the store and envy the bodies of the cover models?

More and more women today are coveting this body type; strong and muscular while still being feminine. Gone are the days where strong women are seen as too masculine and unattractive.

The female fitness body is here to stay.

Now, curves are back so long as they are created with muscle mass and have a softer appearance. Hot celebrities such as Jessica Biel and Jessica Alba are now gracing the covers showing off their new curves. What's more is that these women are garnering a great deal of male attraction - much more than their thinner counterparts such as Lindsay Lohan or Victoria Beckham.

Luckily, if you make some smart changes to your workout program you can get yourself on the road to looking like the next female fitness model, maybe even covermodel!
First things first. Pink Weights.

If you want to add sexy curves to your body, you need not be afraid of heavier weights. Don't worry, you are not going to bulk up and begin bearing resemblance to Vin Diesel, as women simply do not have the testosterone in their bodies to be able to do this. In fact, in a very good situation, assuming sound training and great nutrition, a woman would be lucky to put on about half a pound of muscle mass per month. Not quite as scary as you thought right? And that is assuming everything is done right… many will experience a slower rate yet.

The problem with pink weights is that for most of you, they aren't challenging! You'd be surprised at how strong you already are if you'd just push yourself that little extra bit. So next time you're in the gym, pick up a ten pound dumbbell or if you're really ambitious, go for fifteen. You'll start noticing your body changing more in the next few weeks than in the last few years you've spent slaying away on the stairmaster.

Weights have the power to completely transform your body. They will make you a smaller, yet curvier version of your body now.

Don't be alarmed at your scale weight though as upon weight training your body weight may go up. Relax however, because one pound of muscle takes up much less space on your body than one pound of bodyfat does, therefore you may weigh more, but you will look smaller.

Next comes cardio.

Women have this tendency to just gravitate towards the cardio section of the gym. Whether it is the best place to check out the men lifting or it feels safer to them, whatever the reason, they go there and stay there - for hours at a time.

This is something that has to change. Think about how many hours of your life you've spent on that treadmill, stairmaster or elliptical machine. Do you really look that much different because of it? I'm guessing probably not.

Not only that, but how many of you put in your hour while watching TV or reading your favourite magazine? This is probably a good indicator that you aren't quite working as hard as you could be.

The truth of the matter is that your body will quickly adapt to all that cardio training that you are doing. So while before you might have burned a hundred calories running a mile, now you are only burning 80. Unless you continually add more and more time to get the same calorie burn, it is going to stop being an effective fat loss tool. And when you're already doing six hours a week, who really wants to spend MORE time doing cardio?

The secret is changing the format of your cardio from that of a comfortable steady-state session to one that's composed of high intensity intervals that will really kick you out of your comfort zone - and blast away body fat as well.

This is by far a more productive form of cardio to be doing so rather than wasting another hour of your life not really getting anywhere, next time you're in the gym for cardio, do twenty minutes, alternating thirty seconds going as hard as you possibly can with a minute and a half at a much easier pace to recover. It will be hard - I warn you. Stick with it for one month however and you will be extremely happy you did.

Now. Bring on the carbs.

Have you grown a love-hate relationship with carbohydrates? You love the way they taste but don't like the number they're doing to your waist. Understandable - many women feel this way.
The key thing to remember with carbohydrates is that they are not necessarily 'evil', so long as the portion size you eat remains under control and you are timing them properly. To have carbohydrates working most effectively for you, it is critical that you time them before and after your workouts. This is when your muscles are going to need the energy and will rapidly soak them up!

So if you're craving a bagel, have at it, but enjoy it right after you've finished a hard lifting session, as described above.

Get rid of your fat phobia.

One critical thing that many women do not understand is that in order to lose fat, they must eat fat. Women in particular actually tend to do better on a higher fat diet than males do. This has to do with their hormonal make-up and the way their body functions and responds to various macronutrient levels.

How many times have you reached for the cookies on the shelves, solely because they were 'fat-free' so you thought they'd be a safe dieting food? This was a terrible mistake.

When you remove the fat out of products, often times manufacturers will begin to add in extra sugar to make up for the taste. Newsflash. Extra sugar sends insulin levels skyrocketing and guess what insulin is? The fat storage hormone. So, what you need to do is try and minimize the amount of insulin surges you create throughout the day, while staying within your total calorie budget. Do this and you will have your best defence against warding off both hunger and fat gain.

Now, guess which macronutrient has the least effect on insulin levels? That's right - dietary fat.
So do not be so scared of consuming fat in your diet. It will help you deal with hunger and help your food taste better. Ideally you should be aiming to get no less than 25-30% of your calories coming from a combination of healthy fats (fish oil is particularly important).

Work Those Glutes

Finally, the one body part that most women usually will say they want to improve upon is their glutes. That curvy, sexy backside appearance tops the list of many gymgoers and in order to achieve this you are going to have to be doing the right exercises.

Concentrate on adding heavy-weight lunges, one legged squats, hamstring curls and ass-to-the-ground squats into your program. These are your fast track to a great behind. You can do all the cardio you want to try and get it, but unfortunately, all that might do is make you a smaller version of your exact same self. If you want to change the way you look, then you need to change the way you train.

So next time you pass by one of those covermodels and start dreaming about what it would be like to have that body - make it a reality for you. Many women are capable of making great improvements to their bodies if they would just stop with the training methods they are currently using and get on ones that are much more in tune with their goals.

Weight Lifting Rules For Skinny Runts

2010-10-12T12:09:00.000-07:00

By Vince DelMonte

You wake up in the morning and look in the mirror. Pleased with your appearance? If you more resemble the appearance of a long distance marathon runner than a world class sprinter, don’t worry, you aren't alone. You just need to start following these weight lifting rules.

There are quite a few guys who simply have trouble packing on the lean muscle mass. Whether their hormonal environment isn't quite as favorable or genetics was just out to get them at birth, one thing is for sure and that's that they need to follow a slightly different set of weight lifting methods than those who seem to grow muscle overnight.

Luckily for you, you're taking the time to do your research about weight lifting so you won't be destined to a life where it seems like a strong wind might knock you over.

First, one of the key factors that skinny guys need to remember is that they must avoid volume work at all costs.

Rule #1:

Get in the gym and get out! That should be your motto from this day forward. Repeat it. Breathe it. Live it. Weight lifting is a calorie expensive activity and you need all the calories you can get at this point. If you are burning it up in the gym every single day, how do you expect to grow? You won't.

You grow when you are resting and generally, the skinnier you are, the more rest you are going to need.

Now, that doesn't mean you should park it on the couch for a few days in between your workouts. It simply means that each weight lifting should not consist of set after set after set. Followed by a rest break to talk to that hot receptionist and then back to another twenty sets.

No, you're workouts need to consist of ten-twelve or fewer sets where you are pushing yourself to the MAX. There is no room for sissy, light-weight work in your weight lifting program.

Which brings us to Rule #2:

Ditch the isolated exercises. Who needs them? You certainly don't.

If your workouts normally include bicep curls, followed by tricep kickbacks, followed by leg extensions, followed by chest flys, followed by… you get the picture, you've got to change this pronto. Remember, you've only got so much time you are allowed to be in the gym for. Don't you want to get the biggest bang for your buck? Likely you do, so that means focusing on compound lifts only. This includes weight lifting exercises such as squats, bench presses, deadlifts, rows and military presses.

Become friends with those exercises and you will have new muscles in the picture soon enough. Toss the five day split program, get yourself on a good upper/lower or full body workout program and you have found the key to unleashing new muscle mass.

Now onto the next significant point. Cardio.

Rule # 3.

I know, I know, you want to be big, but you don’t want to be fat. Let's not worry about that at this point, because you and I both know you are a long ways from fat.

Gaining fat weight is going to be more a concept of diet than anything else so as long as you are being smart in the kitchen, you don't need to perform hours of cardio to remain lean. Cardio is just going to further burn off precious calories that could have gone towards building you new muscle mass. For you, calories are a hot commodity and should not be spent on the treadmill.

If you want to keep up some cardio for general health sake, fine, but limit this to two or three twenty minute sessions per week - TOPS. And make it low to moderate intensity as well. The only place you are to be intense is in the weight room.

This leads to rule #4.

REST! You've put in your effort at the gym, fed your body with some good food and now what? Plans to go out partying all night with your buddies? You might want to rethink that. While you definitely want to maintain your social life while trying to gain weight - and you should - it should not come at the sacrifice of sleep.

Sleep is primetime when it comes to your body repairing itself and growing stronger so short-circuit sleep and you are short-circuiting your results. Just don't do it. Period. It's that simple.

Get ready for rule #5.

Technique. Ever seen that guy in the gym who is hoisting so much weight on his barbell for barbell curls that it looks like he's got more momentum going on than the Gravitron at the fair? He's pretty much working every muscle in his body except his biceps. Not so beneficial. Not only that, but give him two weeks and a hundred bucks says he's out with back pain.

You must maintain proper form throughout your weight lifting, not only to prevent injuries but also to see the muscular gains you are looking for. If you cheat form, you are only cheating yourself. If you don't know what proper form is yet, book a session with a trainer or find yourself a spotter who can help you.

And now, bonus rule #6

Find a mentor. You want someone who's been there, done that. They used to be a skinny bastard just like you and they've managed to overcome the curse and now tip the scales and dominate the weight room. This guy will do wonders for your motivational levels. Don't feel like lifting? Have a good look at his body. You'll want to pick that weight up after that. Furthermore, he can let you in on some of his tried-and-true secrets that just might be key for you as well.

So to sum up your new approach to your weight lifting sessions - get in, train hard and with proper technique, get out, eat and rest. Repeat this process over a few months without getting distracted or becoming too much of a party animal and you will make this the year you change your dreaded skinny image.

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About the Author:

Vince DelMonte is the author of No Nonsense Muscle Building: Skinny Guy Secrets To Insane Muscle Gain found at http://www.VinceDelMonteFitness.com

He teaches skinny guys a new set of weight lifting rules, without supplements, drugs and training less than before.

© 2006-2008, Vince DelMonte Fitness. All rights in all media reserved. You may reprint this article so long as the article and author bio are reprinted intake and all links are made live. This article may never be sold individually or as part of a package.

The Female Athlete Triad: Could You Be At Risk?

2010-10-11T16:13:00.000-07:00

By Vince DelMonte

One major issue that many women who are getting serious about their workouts start to deal with is known as the female athlete triad.

The female athlete triad can affect a wide variety of individuals, from someone training for a rigorous competitive sport to someone who is simply trying to take their physique to a new level. Most commonly it is seen in activities that do place a high amount of focus on the image of the body, such as ballet, gymnastics, figure skating, and women’s fitness.

It’s important that you learn to recognize exactly what the female athlete triad consists of so that you are not only aware if you are already experiencing it but also, you learn what you can do to protect yourself from further damage taking place.

The Three Main Components
Of The Female Athlete Triad

The female athlete triad, like the name suggests, is composed of three big factors.

Amenorrhea can be defined as the cessation of the menstrual cycle, after it had previously been somewhat regular, for three or more months in a row.

While some women may just be irregular, the key here is that they are not getting periods at all. It can be slightly difficult to establish if this is your issue if you have always been irregular, but most often even those who are irregular will get at least one menstrual period of a three month cycle.

The second component of the female athlete triad is the presence of any one of the various eating disorders that are seen. This could be anorexia, bulimia, binge-eating disorder, or an unclassified disorder (unhealthy relationship with food). Remember to keep in mind here that one does not need to be fully starving themselves to have an eating disorder. You could simply be feeling extreme amounts of guilt after even a small detour from your diet and this could classify you as having an eating disorder or unhealthy relationship with food.

Then, the third factor in this condition is osteoporosis. This factor particularly, is very detrimental to the woman as it could set her up to experience an increased risk of stress fractures or broken bones for the rest of her life. Many women also start to remove dairy products from their diet as they believe it will cause weight gain and once again, this only further enhances the problem.

Additionally, this factor usually comes about because of the previous two factors.

What Causes The Female Athlete Triad

In terms of what causes this condition to develop, there have been many research studies that have tried to determine just this and unfortunately there isn’t once single precipitating factor, but rather, it’s a combination of factors that seem to be at play.

First, usually what causes the condition to strike is that the individual is not consuming enough total daily calories. This seems to be the most important part of the equation; therefore, if you are hoping to avoid the development of these problems, eating enough is your best preventative mechanism. As an easy general guideline, for weight loss, the lowest number of calories you consume should be ten times your body weight.

So for example, a female weighing 130 pounds would require a minimum of 1300 calories each day – and this is for maximum fat loss.

The second thing that needs to be looked at is the woman’s overall body composition. Women need so much fat on their bodies in order to function effectively. When there is a lack of total body fat, problems occur, particularly with the reproductive system – as seen with the loss of the periods.

Usually these two are interconnected as many times a woman is not taking in enough total calories will obviously have a lower body fat level.

Between the two though, total calories is more important as there are a select few who are able to maintain quite low body fat percentages, yet still avoid the development of this problem.

Why is this? It’s because they are eating enough calories to maintain their weight, their weight is just a lot of lean mass and little fat tissue.

Finally, the third reason that this condition can develop is because of overexercising. When a woman overdoes it in the gym or on the court/field, she is starting to place an inordinate amount of stress on her system, and both her CNS and reproductive system will respond in a negative way. Rest is very critical in any workout program and should be scheduled in regularly.

So, the three main points to watch out for are a loss of your periods, abnormal or unhealthy eating behaviors, and a workout schedule that allows you very little, if any rest at all.

If you are suffering from any of those, or a combination of them, you may want to speak to a professional (both medical and psychological), as all three are very interrelated, with the development of one often leading to the development of another.

If, on the other hand, you are already experiencing problems, then your first step is to cut back on the amount of exercise you are doing and your second step is to increase the amount of calories you are consuming. Increase the calories slightly slowly as this might be a scary process for you, aiming for a weekly increase of about 10% of your total current intake each week. This will also allow the metabolism to keep up with this increased amount of food and prevent you from gaining any weight in the process.

If you complete both of these objectives, you should find that slowly your body fat levels also become more regulated, which fixes the last issue of this disorder.

So, if this sounds like it could be a condition you are experiencing or are at risk of experiencing, be sure to have a good hard look at your training and eating habits. Your health should always be the number one priority, even if some of you would rather place looks as your main objective.

All About Fiber

2010-10-11T16:03:00.000-07:00

By Vince DelMonte

If you are trying to create a healthy diet for yourself, you cannot overlook the importance that fiber will play. The main benefits you'll receive from dietary fiber include improvements in the cardiovascular and digestive system along with providing a high degree of satiety.

Unfortunately, in today's world of over-consumption of processed foods, a high fiber diet is hard to come by. Here are the top facts about fiber you need to know.

Promotion Of A Healthy Digestive System

Fiber's primary role in the body is going to be to help promote a healthy digestive system. It does this by helping to keep the intestines in proper working order and prevent the accumulation of cholesterol along the lining.

Lowering Your Bad Cholesterol Levels

Another thing high fiber foods will do, is help to decrease the level of LDL cholesterol thatâ€™s seen in the blood. They do this by binding with the dietary cholesterol you take in while itâ€™s in the small intestine and then removing it from the body.

Therefore, a high fiber diet can be a very good defense against the heart disease.

Fiber And Weight Loss

Women who are consuming high fiber diets on a regular basis generally maintain a much lower weight than those who donâ€™t, simply because they typically consume fewer total calories as a result.

Because it takes fiber a long time to be digested by the body, this means you will stay feeling fuller longer than if you would have done without it.

Since it is your end of the day total calorie intake that determines weight gain or weight loss, this is absolutely essential for weight loss.

Getting Enough Fiber

It's recommended, when it comes to being sure you are getting enough fiber in your diet, to try and average 14 grams per 1000 calories you eat. Most women will have diets consisting between 1500 and 2000 calories, depending on your body weight and activity levels, so that will translate to 21-28 grams of fiber total.

Increase Your Intake Slowly

Be sure that if you have not been eating much fiber in your diet at all in the past few months, increase your intake slowly.

If you go from eating very little fiber a day to getting a very high dose, you will likely suffer from extreme digestive upset and will not feel well at all.

Try and increase the consumption over the period of a few weeks to ease this process.

Soluble Fiber

Soluble fiber is the type that plays the more predominant role in the lowering of bad cholesterol levels and is fully broken down the by the body. Sources to try and aim to consume include oat bran, oatmeal, beans, peas, rice bran, barley, and fruits.

Insoluble Fiber

Insoluble fiber, on the other hand is not digested by the body and rather, helps to slow down gastric emptying, causing that increased satiety effect discussed above. This is what will provide the biggest benefit when it comes to weight control for you.

Good sources of this type of fiber include whole-wheat breads, whole-wheat pasta, brown rice, wheat bran, cabbage, beets, carrots, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and the skin of apples.

So, be sure you do not overlook the importance of fiber in your diet. If you do get your consumption levels in line, you will most definitely notice a change in how you feel, and more than likely, a change in how you look as well.

Choosing A Gym - 10 Things To Look Out For

2010-10-11T15:55:00.000-07:00

By Vince DelMonte

Now that you've made the commitment to starting a workout program, the next step is choosing a gym that you will feel comfortable going to on a regular basis. If it isn't, chances are you aren't going to stick with any type of regular plan and will eventually just stop going altogether. By being sure your gym is a good fit for you, you help take yourself one step further to realizing your health and fitness goals.

Keep in mind that if a traditional gym isn’t for you, you can definitely set up a home gym where you can get complete workouts all in the privacy of where you live. There are a number of home gym systems out there that include all the equipment you need to perform all the key lifts that should be included in any workout program.

1. Location

Who really wants to spend twice as long driving to and from their gym as it takes them to do their workout? After a long day of work you are not going to want to spend a good hour fighting traffic, another hour working out, and then another half an hour driving home. Think about either choosing a gym that is located close to your house or else on the drive to or from work. This is a great option since if you have to pass by it every day, you’ll be reminded of the fact that you should be working out if you choose to skip it.

2. Membership Cost

Gym memberships can really vary in costs so it’s a good idea to shop around before making that final commitment. Also consider how long you are signing the contract for as this can vary too. Many gyms like to rope you in for years and if you aren’t quite sure it’s going to be a long-term arrangement, you’re better off finding something that is more short-term.

Additionally, if you can wait until around late summer or New Year to sign up, you will find that often many gyms will have special promotions going on at this time.

3. Membership Demographic

Another factor to consider is the membership demographic that goes to the gym. Some women will prefer going to an all-ladies gym as it increases their comfort factor. For others, a mixed gym is the perfect solution because half of the reason they go there is to socialize and perhaps even find a date.

Whatever your needs, make sure you enquire about this and take it into consideration.

4. Additional Benefits

You will want to ask if the gym offers any additional services or benefits along with your basic membership and if there is a fee for these. Such examples would be daycare services, physiotherapy, massage therapy, nutritional counselling, and fitness testing.

5. Operating Hours

Always be sure to check the hours of operation of the gym. If you are an early morning exerciser you will want to be sure they are able to cater to this preference. Additionally ask about their holiday policies. Many people enjoy working out on the holidays because it is a relaxed day for them when they can really get in a good workout. If you are looking forward to this and then go and find out the gym is closed, you are going to be more than disappointed. Similarly there are some people who prefer working out late at night so you need to be sure that if this is the case you will be able to do that.

6. Personal Training Services

Having some good, qualified personal trainers on hand is critical to helping you realize your full fitness potential. Even if you are fine with your program right now, consider that in a year down the road you might be plateauing and in need of a ‘check-up’ so to speak on your current regime.

Having the option available of knowledge staff cannot be stressed enough. Unfortunately many gyms hire almost anyone who has a basic interest in fitness, so be sure to enquire about the actual certifications these trainers hold.

7. Group Fitness Classes

Be sure to ask about all the various group fitness classes that are offered at the gym you are considering. Often, when boredom kicks in on your workout plan, this is just the thing to get you going again.

These days there are currently thousands of different fitness class styles available, so there is sure to be something that suites your interest.

When checking up on this, again inquire if there are any additional fees associated with it so you are prepared for when you go to sign up.

8. Cleanliness

One very important factor you want to look for is the cleanliness of the gym. You do not want to be working out on equipment that is not clean as gyms are a place where germs can be in high concentration. Also make sure they have towels and spray bottles in various places around the gym to clean up after workouts, and have a look at the bathrooms and change rooms to make sure they are up to your standards.

9. Type/Quality Of Equipment

Looking at the type and quality of the equipment offered in the gym is another thing you must factor in. If you prefer free weights, make sure there is a large number of dumbbells present because during rush hours, these could be hard to come by.

Likewise, if you prefer doing your weight training on guided machines, you’ll want to be sure they have enough variety that you can work all the necessary muscles on your body. If you find yourself doing a lot of cardio training as part of your workouts you will want to be sure there are ample machines available.

Nothing is more frustrating than getting to the gym after work to find out that there is not a single machine in sight available for you to use. Ask if they offer a sign-up list where you can write your name and time down to reserve a machine. This is a great solution that many gyms have now come up with to make sure their members can get their workouts in.

10. Cancellation Policy

Finally take a look at the gym's cancellation policy. If you sign up for a 3 year membership and then end up moving after a year due to work, are you going to be partially refunded? It will be a bad situation if they offer no refund or transfer membership.

Some gyms are good about this and some are not so you will have to weigh the likelihood of your cancelling among other things that are discussed above when making your decision.

So, be sure you are considering all of these essential factors when choosing gym. Overlooking just one could lead you to being less than happy with your workout facility and this could end up being the reason why you do not stick with your program.

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About the Author:

Vince DelMonte is the author of No Nonsense Muscle Building: Skinny Guy Secrets To Insane Muscle Gain found at http://www.VinceDelMonteFitness.com

He specializes in teaching skinny guys how to build muscle and gain weight quickly without drugs, supplements and training less than before.

Learning The Muscle Fiber Types

2010-10-06T11:32:00.000-07:00

By Vince DelMonte

Choosing the best type of workout program that will stimulate the muscle fiber type that will get you the results you’re looking for is extremely important.

Unfortunately, all body building programs are not created equally when speaking in terms of muscle fiber types.

While you can’t differentiate between muscle fibers from your outside appearance, on the inside of the muscle tissue body, there are three main different fibers present.

Type A Fast-Twitch Muscle Fibers

The first type of muscle fibers are known as Type A Fast Twitch and are responsible for the most forceful contractions generated, however, will fatigue the fastest.

For example, if you were to perform an all out set of 3 reps for bench press, you would predominately be using these type A muscle fibers.

They tend to have very large motor neurons and very low mitochondrial density. They also have a low oxidative capacity, meaning they will not be able to utilize oxygen very well. It is for this reason that they are not suited to endurance type of activities, because during these exercise variations, oxygen must be present in order to sustain the muscular contractions.

The major type of fuel that these muscle fibers are going to rely on is creatine phosphate and stored muscle glycogen (glucose). They will not utilize stored body fat at all due to the fact that they are only able to continually contract for between one and about 20 seconds.

Type B Fast-Twitch Muscle Fibers

The next muscle fiber is also classified as a fast twitch muscle fiber but not to the extent that type A are.

This muscle fiber type is mostly utilized in activities that are relatively short in duration, but are not at an all out pace.

For example, if you were to sprint 100 meters, you’ll be using mostly type A. If on the other hand, you are to do a running interval at about 80-90% of your max capacity for 30 seconds, this would utilize the type 2A more.

Some of the characteristics of the type B muscle fibers are that they still have a large motor neuron (not as large as Type A though), they are on the intermediate scale as far as being resistant to fatigue, and they have a high degree of mitochondrial density.

These muscle fiber types are also able to use oxygen to a great extent, as demonstrated by their higher resistance to fatigue and longer duration of contraction abilities.

Slow Twitch

Finally, the third type of muscle fiber that you have in your body is classified as slow-twitch.

This is the muscle fiber type you would use if you were to run a marathon or any other extended duration, medium-to-low intensity activity.

These muscle fibers have a very high ability to resist fatigue and have a large oxidative capacity.

They are also relatively slow to contract, therefore you cannot expect a great deal of force generation from these muscles, and thus, will not be intended for exercises requiring a high degree of power.

They are very high in terms of mitochondrial density and have a large number of capillaries running throughout their bodies. This is to enable sufficient oxygen to get to the muscle tissues so that they can carry on the extended duration of muscular work they are intended to do.

These are also the muscle fibers that will also rely more on fat as fuel, as opposed to strictly using carbohydrates or creatine phosphate.

Training The Muscle Fiber Types

So, now that you’re familiar with the three major classes of muscle fiber types, it’s time to recognize how you would train each effectively.

Since type A are your primary force generators, if you wish to get a higher performance from them you’ll need to train using exercises that require you to max out your effort for a short period of time.

Think sprinting at full speed, 1-5 rep sets for lifting, and any type of plyometric activities.

Next, to train your type B muscles fibers you’ll want to slightly decrease the force with which you are to contract while simultaneously increasing the time over which you contract ever so slightly.

For example, perform 30-45 intervals repeated ten times with about a minute or a minute and a half at a low to moderate pace. For your weight training activities, aim to target the 6-10 rep range to utilize the fact these muscle fibers have a higher oxidation ability.

Finally, to improve your slow twitch muscle fibers, think endurance. This type of fiber will usually require the greatest amount of time to train for improvement because you’ll want to focus on simply going ‘longer’.

If you’re a runner, try and run longer. If you’re a biker, bike longer. If you’re a swimmer, swim longer – you get the point.

This type of muscle has the ability to go for extended periods of time so this is exactly what you want to train it to do.

So, next time you are trying to sort out your training plan make sure to take the various muscle fiber types into consideration.

Doing so will allow you to make the most out of your training program so you get the exact results you’re looking for.

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About the Author:

Vince DelMonte is the author of No Nonsense Muscle Building: Skinny Guy Secrets To Insane Muscle Gain found at http://www.VinceDelMonteFitness.com

He specializes in helping you understand all the principles behind muscle fibers and gaining muscle and weight quickly without drugs, supplements and training less than before.

Adaptations To Sprint Training

2010-10-06T11:23:00.000-07:00

By Vince DelMonte

If you are looking to improve your physical conditioning, sprint training is one of the best ways to go about doing so.

Many individuals prefer sprint training because it takes a lot less time than traditional forms of cardio that have you going for thirty to sixty minutes at a time and there are a great number of benefits that will be seen when you do this more intense form of sprint training workout.

EPOC

One of the biggest benefits you’ll get from sprinting is the EPOC effects it creates. This is known as excess post-exercise oxygen consumption and is where the body will expend a great deal of calories returning the body back to its former state after the workout.

Because sprint training is so intense, this will contribute to a large calorie burn after you have finished the workout. To even further increase the EPOC that is seen, consider doing hill sprint training. Since this is even more intense in nature, it will further challenge your body.

Metabolic Adaptations

Next, when you perform a number of sprint training workouts, the body will upregulate its ability to produce enzymes that are going to work at increasing the storage capacity of the muscle for energy substrates such as ATP.

This then has the corresponding effect of allowing you to work out harder for a longer period of time without fatigue setting in. Note though that this occurs when you are working more on the aerobic side of things, so while it is intense, you are still utilizing oxygen.

If no oxygen is present, you will only be able to last 5-20 seconds, regardless of how well conditioned you are (the better condition you are though, the harder you will be able to work during that time).

Phosphate Metabolism

The next benefit you’ll get with sprint training is its effect on phosphate metabolism. Phosphate creatine stores comprise a major component of the body’s fuel source for muscular activity, so anything you can do to increase this is going to be beneficial.

Myokinase is an enzyme that is responsible for resynthesizing the energy from phosphate creatine, and with sprint training, it will increase its concentration within the muscle tissue by up to 20%.

Glycolysis

The next adaptation that will occur after you’ve been doing sprint training for a period of time is that of glycolysis. This is the primary form of metabolism used during a 10 second all out sprint and contributes between 55 and 75% towards energy production during exercise.

Phosphofructokinase (PFK), an enzyme that catalyses the phosphorylation of the glycolytic intermediate fructose 6-phosphate), has also been shown to increase when sprint training is performed, along with the enzymes of lactate dehydrogenase and glycogen phosphorylase (other enzymes responsible for the glycolysis system).

Intramuscular Buffering Capacity

Finally, the last adaptation that’s seen with sprint training is the buffering capacity of the muscle. During glycoglysis, various byproducts are created such as lactic acid, and when these accumulate, it causes the extreme feelings of fatigue in the muscle tissues.

This then forces you to stop exercising as the fatigue sets in and often will be the end of your workout.

Overtime, sprint training will increase your ability to buffer these byproducts so that you can then workout for a longer period of time while maintaining that intensity.

So, next time you’re debating about whether to do a sprint training session or a moderate paced cardio session lasting for 40 minutes or so, opt for the sprint session.

The benefits you’ll receive are far more numerous and fat loss will be kicked up a notch as an added benefit. Keep in mind that for these type of benefits to occur, you want your sprints to last somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 seconds to 40 seconds, with a work to rest ration of about 1:2. Repeat this process a total of 6 to 8 times and begin and end with a five minute warm-up and cool-down.

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About the Author:

Vince DelMonte is the author of No Nonsense Muscle Building: Skinny Guy Secrets To Insane Muscle Gain found at http://www.VinceDelMonteFitness.com

He specializes in teaching skinny guys how to build muscle and gain weight quickly by using the correct cardiovascular and weight lifting techniques.

Finding A Weight Loss Program That Works

2010-10-06T11:17:00.000-07:00

By Vince DelMonte

If you're currently on the search for weight loss programs, you'll need to consider a variety of things. All weight loss programs are not created equally; some will have a much higher rate of success than others.

Knowing exactly what to look for when searching for weight loss exercise programs will help enable you to make a decision that will get you the results you're looking for.

First, if you're like many people, you probably want a free weight loss program. The thing to keep in mind though is that these are free for a reason. They are targeted towards the general public and as such, give such broad suggestions that while it may work for one person, it will not work for you. For example, if you are a 200 pound man and the free weight loss programs you are finding are more geared towards a 140 pound woman; you can see why this would obviously be problematic.

The first thing to ask yourself when you see a weight loss diet program is how personalized is it. I'm sure you've heard the saying that "General programs produce general results," which is very true. The more personalized and targeted the solution is to your individual situation, the higher your chance of consistent weight loss.

Next, ask whether it allows for enough calories to keep you from completely starving. While it may be tempting to try a very low calorie approach to get the weight loss process over and done with, usually these end up backfiring on you, leaving you gaining more weight back after you go off them than you had when you first started. Your goal is to burn the fat, not starve the fat and the majority of weight loss programs force your metabolism to shut down which leads to muscle loss - a doubled edged sword contributing to greater fat storage on your body.

Another component that you'll want to factor in is exercise. A good weight loss exercise program will combine both cardiovascular training along with weight training. Those weight loss exercise programs that have you doing hours of cardio on end are not going to be all that beneficial at retaining your lean muscle tissue mass, nor time efficiency. Since, your lean muscle tissue is what keeps your metabolism the highest; it's what you really want to focus on the most.

Neglecting this aspect of your workout is a huge mistake and does not maximize the 24 hours in a day you have to burn fat.

Finally, keep in mind that any weight loss program you go on you should be maintainable in the long run. A program that you're only able to maintain in the very short term is likely to not be overly beneficial as if lifestyle changes are not made with regards to how you're eating; chances are that the weight will be back at some point in the near future. Your ultimate goal is a lifestyle change, not a temporary change.

So, if you want to get on a weight loss program that works, be sure to check out Your Six-Pack Quest. As you'll discover when you sign up for this plan you'll get 9 balanced meal plans, 84 days each, ranging from 1200 to 2800 calories. You have literally zero guess work because these plans include grocery lists, a wide variety of meals, tasty meals, and exact times to eat. Follow the plans to the letter and you'll have a ripped and sexy six pack 6 months tops.

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About the Author:

Vince DelMonte is the author of Your Six Pack Quest found at http://www.YourSixPackQuest.com

He specializes in helping chubby guys and gals how to lose weight without gimmicks, supplements or dieting.

© 2006-2008, Your Six Pack Quest All rights in all media reserved. You may reprint this article so long as the article and author bio are reprinted intake and all links are made live. This article may never be sold individually or as part of a package

How To Get Ripped Abs

2010-10-06T11:07:00.000-07:00

By Vince DelMonte

If getting ripped abs is on your list of priorities when it comes to your current fitness program, do not overlook the importance of your usual strength training activities. One of the biggest misconceptions about getting ripped abs is that you must spend hours doing ab work alone. Unfortunately this is furthest from the truth.

The real fact of the matter is that when you are lifting heavy during your squats, lunges, deadlifts, and the bench press, you will be using the ab muscles to a great degree. If they were not working, you would find yourself feeling unstable, and chances are, you would wind up injured.

The ab muscles are going to be called into play with every weight lifting exercise you do, so ensure proper form is being utilized during all workout sessions.

Furthermore, one of the major factors in developing ripped abs, is going to be getting your body fat level low enough for them to be seen clearly.

If you're not approaching close to single digits, chances are you may have great ab muscles, but you aren't going to see them when looking in the mirror.

Weight training exercises are one of the best ways to boost your metabolic rate, which will then help you burn off body fat all day long. Do keep in mind though that all weight lifting activities are not created equally. A heavy set of squats is going to ramp up the metabolism a great deal more than a set of bicep curls would for example.

To utilize this principle, try your best to program your weight lifting routine so that only core, compound lifts are included. This would be movements such as squats, lunges, deadlifts, bent over rows, shoulder presses, and the bench press.

Not only will this provide you with a far better whole body workout without wasting too much time on needless exercises, but it will also help you achieve that ripped abs look that you are going for.

Lastly, keep in mind that ripped abs and strong abs can mean different things. If you do a great deal of weighted abdominal work, you may actually cause your ab muscles to grow larger, thus giving you the appearance of a wider waist. Unless the body fat levels are not low again, you'll just end up looking bigger in the middle, rather than more defined.

So, in order to make this goal a reality for you, first focus on getting low enough body fat levels to get those abs showing. This can be accomplished through a solid lifting program and a clean diet. Then, if you are not happy with the shape of the ab muscles or the amount of ab muscle development, start focusing on doing more work focused on just this muscle group itself.

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About the Author:

Vince DelMonte is the author of Your Six Pack Quest found at http://www.YourSixPackQuest.com

He specializes in helping chubby guys and gals get six pack abs without gimmicks, supplements or dieting.

How To Lose Belly Fat

2010-10-06T11:02:00.000-07:00

By Vince DelMonte

Almost everyone wants to lose some excess fat on their body somewhere. For the vast majority, they're looking to lose belly fat and they want to lose belly fat fast! Whether you want to admit it or not, most of us spend far too many months of the year overeating and then scramble at the first sign of warm weather in order to remove what's accumulated over the time. Unfortunately, if you're trying to learn how to lose belly fat, it's not exactly a quick fix.

The problem most individuals run into is they overlook how difficult it can be to lose belly fat off their body. If the truth be told, a fat belly is probably one of the hardest areas to successfully remove because it's made up what is known as 'stubborn' fat.

You're body is actually physiologically slightly different when it comes to fat around the abdominal region. What's the reason for this? Primarily, it's the first place we tend to store fat and where body fat is needed for protection the most - to protect the organs and internal structures.

As such, your fat belly is going to do everything it can to hold onto it. Not a good situation in your quest to lose belly fat.

In order to outsmart this, you're going to have to work really hard. That's not to say it can't be done - it most certainly can, you just have to have realistic expectations about the time line you will achieve this goal over and how much effort you'll have to put in.

First things first, lets talk about exercise to lose belly fat. First, hit the weights. When lifting, be sure you are lifting as heavy as you possibly can, as this is what will ramp up your metabolism the highest. You want to shoot for the 6-10 rep range, as this is most appropriate for metabolic effects.

Second, get that cardio up there. Don't do hours on end though, focus on doing sprints. In fact, better yet is to sprint first, then do more steady state cardio afterwards. This will help to release the fatty acids from the tissue (mobilize them) and then burn them off during the steady state cardio. This type of set-up can be far more effective at getting that stubborn fat off your body than doing a typical cardio session is.

Lastly, check over that belly fat diet. Too many fat or carbohydrates calories will slow your progress, while protein, generally speaking will help due to the fact the body burns more calories just digesting it.

This can be taken too far though - there is no need to exceed 1.5 grams per pound of body weight, but keeping it up around that level is your best approach. Then, fill in the remainder of your calories with carbohydrates around the workout period and fat during the other times.

As long as you are patient with the process and continually push yourself in the gym, there is no reason why within time, you can't be sporting your own set of six-pack abs.

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About the Author:

Vince DelMonte is the author of Your Six Pack Quest found at http://www.YourSixPackQuest.com

He specializes in helping chubby guys and gals get six pack abs without gimmicks, supplements or dieting.

Does Hoodia Really Work For Fat Loss?

2010-10-04T13:27:00.000-07:00

By Vince DelMonte

If you are anxious to get fat loss going, you've likely looked into the diet supplement, Hoodia. Hoodia gordonii is a plant that was used in South Africa many years ago by hunters who would need to go for long durations of time without food and grows very slowly in harsh conditions and needs to be harvested for four to five years before it's ready.

But how well does Hoodia really work for fat loss? Many people turn to hoodia thinking it is the answer to all their prayers. Never hungry? Sounds like a dietary dream. After all, following a diet should be easy if you never have any feelings of hunger, shouldn't it?

Unfortunately, it isn't so simple.

First off, if you are a trying to get a lean, sexy midsection, not eating is the last thing you want to be doing. Sure, you definitely will need to eat less in order to lose body fat, but if you aren't eating enough, you'll actually just lose muscle rather than body fat. Since muscle tissue is your calorie burning engine, destroying it would be counterproductive to getting the results you want.

Who wants a slower metabolism at the end of the day? That'll just make further fat loss next to impossible.

If hoodia is affecting your natural hunger signals, it will be hard to get in the foods that you do need - the foods that will work with your body to lose the body fat while still keeping muscle tissue intact.

Secondly, you must understand that hoodia is not a thoroughly tested product and cannot be deemed safe. If you take enough of it, it can actually damage your metabolism, causing a variety of thyroid issues that will be stuck with you into the future. While fat loss and getting abs is important, you must do it a healthy way so that you don't do anything disrupting to your health.

Finally, hoodia diet pills are by no means a proper method to losing abdominal fat. In order to lose abdominal fat, you're going to have to find a method that will be sustainable over the long term. If you think that you're just going to skip eating for the years to come, you are very mistaken. You will not get the proper nutrients you need to sustain life, therefore, to put it bluntly, using hoodia as a means to help you maintain fat loss could very well put you in the hospital with severe malnutrition.

What you need is a diet that supplies all the nutrients you need, while still being affective with stomach fat loss. Then, you'll also need to make sure this diet is something you can work into your lifestyle so that your abs aren't going to be just covered up by more body fat again once you move off the diet.

The more time you waste chasing after gimmicky supplements that only hurt you in the long run, the more time you spend without the results you are after.

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About the Author:

Vince DelMonte is the author of Your Six Pack Quest found at http://www.YourSixPackQuest.com

He specializes in helping decipher the truths and myths about all the supplements such as hoodia that are marketed for helping you achieve a six pack.

Fat Loss For Idiots, Easy Ways To Lose Fat

2010-10-04T13:19:00.000-07:00

By Vince DelMonte

Are looking for a weight loss program that works? If so, you've probably seen the Fat Loss for Idiots program around, along with plenty of Fat Loss For Idiots Diet Reviews. What's this program about? It's touting to offer you a high rate of fat loss with minimal effort involved. Fat Loss For Idiots works on the claim that it is all about eating your foods in a certain manner throughout the day, while decreasing the attention that is paid to a proper exercise plan.

But how beneficial is Fat Loss For Idiots? Understanding some common dieting myths is important to determine whether this program is worth its salt. First, if you read their premise, they state that if you eat 2500 calories a day, your body will adapt and stop burning 2500 calories a day. Well sorry folks, but that just is not correct. If your body adapted to burning off however many calories a day you are eating, how do you think you got fat in the first place? Your body certainly did not adapt to those calories - what makes you think it will adapt to the ones this program tells you to eat?

The bottom line is that if you are looking for a smart way to lose fat, you will need to create a caloric deficit. Your Six Pack Quest does this. By reading through it, you will get access to a metabolic calculator to determine the optimal number of calories your body needs to guarantee fat loss, without feeling like you're starving. Sure, if you have been on a starvation diet, you will need to up the calories - and when you do, you'll find you do actually lose weight! But if you are currently eating thousands of calories, your body will not adapt to burning those off. You need an action plan that works - Your Six Pack Quest will lay it out for you in easy to understand terms that anyone can follow.

Next, when looking at the Fat Loss For Idiots program, they downgrade exercise stating that it doesn't 'matter' when it comes to gaining or losing weight. How can exercise not matter?! Study after study has shown that dieters who combine exercise with their dietary efforts show a much higher rate of fat loss, rather than a mixture of muscle and body fat. Do you know what happens when you lose both muscle and fat? Your metabolism slows down. So sure, you've lost weight but now your natural metabolic rate is slower meaning you have to eat less for the rest of your life! Is that something you want? A diet of rabbit food forever? Didn't think so.

Your Six Pack Quest will show you how to exercise productively, where you aren't spending hours in the gym, but you are getting results. Doing so will help you retain that crucial muscle mass, thus helping keep your metabolism revved and make maintaining your weight loss a piece of cake.

So, instead of falling for another gimmicky plan that promises rapid weight loss (they claim 9 pounds in 11 days - which will be mostly water anyway), opt for a plan that combines both a healthy, long-term way of eating with healthy exercise that doesn't feel like torture. Your Six Pack Quest offers meal plans just as Fat Loss For Idiots does, but it takes things one step further - you'll also receive detailed exercise descriptions and plans for a variety of exercise needs, a workout DVD, a virtual trainer, supplement information, along with continuous updates on all the latest on the research front related to fat loss. It really is an all inclusive program that will address all the factors that contribute to weight gain - not just diet alone. Remember, losing weight should be a lifestyle approach, not just changing what you put on your plate.

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About the Author:

Vince DelMonte is the author of Your Six Pack Quest found at http://www.YourSixPackQuest.com

He specializes in helping chubby guys and gals get six pack abs without gimmicks, supplements or dieting.

Finding The Best Ab Workouts

2010-10-04T13:05:00.000-07:00

By Vince DelMonte

When trying to achieve the illusive six pack, it' easy to get confused by all the "best ab workouts" available. You'll likely notice that there a multitude of ab workouts to choose from, so deciphering which ones will work the best can be tricky.

The thing to remember is that whenever you are trying to work your core, everything works, for a certain period of time. Everything from high reps, low reps, weighted work, bodyweight work, stability ball exercises, and BOSU ball exercises - it all works until your body adapts and says, "This is easy, I'm not going to change unless you give me a new reason to adapt."

Your ab training should be progressed from stable floor work with your body weight to a unstable surface with weighted work. Progressing to movements that will reduce your base of support as much as possible are the best ab workouts because they will fall into play all the muscles within the core, especially those really deep muscles that stable floor work can not target.

Such examples of floor ab exercises that would do this would be crunches, sit ups and leg raises. Eventually you want to do these same exercises against gravity, then a load and then on unstable surface like a stability ball. Body weight exercises like "front planks" and "side planks" should be the foundation of a core program and progressed to one arm planks in the frontal and side planes and then eventually on a stability ball or BOSU ball for further recruitment.

The best ab workouts to make your abs "pop" would be a variety of weighted movements. I'm sure you've skinny guys with a flat stomach but no "eye popping" abs, which is because they have not developed the actual abdominal muscle, just like every other body part. Part of getting nicely chiseled abs is going to be developing the muscles underneath the fat, and weighted ab crunches with cables or on a stability ball with a heavy dumbbell will do this best.

During all your ab workouts be sure to get a full stretch during the eccentric phase of your ab exercises. Going through an entire range of motion on the way up (if doing a crunch on the floor or ball) is not necessary, however, you should be "crunching" your upper abs onto your lower abs during each rep to maximize the burn, recruitment and full development.

The one weighted exercise you will not find in my programs is weighted side bends, as this could make you look wider in the waste, distracting from creating a lean image.

One concerning question most people have is regarding lower ab workouts, typically the most troubling spot. Yes, hip flexion (emphasis more so on lower abs) is important to perform and should be done first in the workout but the reality of the matter is that you cannot specifically separate your abs into upper and lower components. Whenever you perform any type of ab movement you should automatically be focusing on working both the upper and lower portion at the same time.

Good exercise to definitely direct a little more force into the lower area would be the progression of lying leg raises, lying leg raises on a incline and eventually hanging leg raises fully vertical. Lying leg raises on a stability pull is also an extremely challenging and advanced exercise to create razor sharp abdominals.

Finally, the last thing to consider is when you are going to perform your ab workout is training frequency. Again, generally speaking, the more the better assuming your abdominals have recovered. Whether you want to perform it at the end of your workout, before your workout, during your workout or on a day of it's own is up to you. My ab workouts incorporate all methods depending on if you are a beginner, intermediate or advanced. Some theories of that warn you not to start with abs is because abs work as a synergistic muscle for so many of the other exercises you'll do, if you pre-fatigue them before the start of the workout, you may not progress as much during the rest of your workout. I don't agree with this and if you're abs are your weakest link then they should be given first priority when you are the most fresh, the start of your workout.

Incorporating a specific ab workout is only a small part of the battle - diet, lifestyle and overall caloric expenditure through weight training and cardio are the true building blocks to creating a sexy and desired mid section.

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About the Author:

Vince DelMonte is the author of Your Six Pack Quest found at http://www.YourSixPackQuest.com

He provides chubby guys and gals with the best ab workouts to get a six pack without gimmicks, supplements or dieting.

The Best Ab Exercises

2010-10-04T12:56:00.000-07:00

By Vince DelMonte

When it comes to getting a solid six pack, doing the right ab exercises is crucial. You can spend hours doing needless sit-ups that aren't really going to have all that much benefit, much to your disappointment. Taking the time to choose smart ab exercises will save you not only gym time, but a great deal of frustration as well. In this article we will discuss the best lower ab exercises and the best home ab exercises as well.

The best movements for the abdominal muscles are going to be ones that reduce your overall stability. The reason for this is because this will require all your muscle tissues, even the ones deep within the core, to contract in order to maintain balance. When you perform regular sit-ups, for example, they are really only going to target the more superficial muscles; one that will still help, but not get you near the results you could be seeing.

So what ab exercises are ones that reduce your balance?

Basically, anything done on an unstable surface is going to get the job done. This would include movements such as walking across a balance beam, performing one leg squats, one arm shoulder presses, or bent over dumbbell rows standing on one leg and of course, utilizing an exercise ball for any laying abdominal movement you perform. Working on a BOSU ball and stability ball ab exercises are also excellent options. As long as you have a set of free weights and stability ball then these would qualify as your best home ab exercises as well.

By far the most effective lower ab exercises are hanging leg raises while you use your lower abs to rotate your pelvis which is the secret to performing this effectively. Lying leg raises, on a 45 degree incline and cable crunches are also rock hard ab exercises.

Another area you might want to venture into with your ab exercises are those that utilize heavy weights.

While this will not necessarily get you 'cut' so that all your individual muscles are showing - that takes having low levels of body fat, what weighted movements will do is help further build the muscle tissue and make your abs "pop".

The more muscle mass you have, the faster your metabolic rate will then be, so in an indirect way, that could in fact help you burn off excess body fat.

Furthermore, doing weighted movements will also increase your strength greatly, reducing the risk of injuries from any other type of exercise you may attempt. Weighted ball crunches with a stability ball on your chest is my favorite home ab exercises.

When choosing when to perform your ab exercises, if you are looking for performance, do them on a separate day from all your other work. Just like any muscle group, you want to be fresh when you do them.

If, on the other hand, you are more just doing them to help build some strength, but more to round out your exercise program, then you should be doing them at the end of your workout session.

This will prevent them from fatiguing early, because they are going to be predominately used in all the other lifts you perform (heavy squats for example).

In many cases this rule can be bent though. For example, if a client comes to me and their abs are the weakest muscle group then performing them at the end of the workout makes no sense because they will be pre fatigued from the workout and you will not be able to train them as intensely so prioritizing your abs at the start of the workout can become the exception in this case.

So, next time you are creating your workout and are picking out ab exercises, keep these points in mind. Having good dedication to performing these exercises on a regular basis and then following a clean diet based around raw vegetables and proteins are the two main components to developing that six-pack you're hoping for.

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About the Author:

Vince DelMonte is the author of Your Six Pack Quest found at http://www.YourSixPackQuest.com

He specializes in helping chubby guys and gals get six pack abs without gimmicks, supplements or dieting.

The Secret To 6 Pack Abs

2010-09-30T15:13:00.000-07:00

By Vince DelMonte

Everywhere you turn, someone's promising the next secret to getting 6 pack abs. Some of these so called 'secrets' have some degree of accuracy, while others, not so much. Deciphering which are the best methods to getting 6 pack abs is going to be critical to you having success with this goal.

The biggest area you need to focus on when trying to obtain 6 pack abs is going to be on your diet. Like it or not, the old saying that 'abs are made in the kitchen', is probably one of the most truthful statements in the fitness industry. If your diet isn't in line, your stomach is going to show it.

So, what should you be doing with your diet?

First, ensure you are getting enough protein. Not only is protein going to form the key building blocks you need to build muscle tissue, but it's also going to provide you with a better feeling of fullness than eating just carbohydrates alone would for example. Protein is more "expensive" than any other macronutrient meaning that your body will burn more calories breaking down protein compared to carbs and fats.

Next, don't be afraid of dietary fat that comes from primarily monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats such as olive oils, fish oils, a mix of nuts, natural peanut butter and avocado. While it's true that eating fat will increase your calories fast, as long as you keep it between 20-30% it can be one of the best things to get 6 pack abs fast. The important point here is that dietary fat helps keep your insulin level stable, which, when high enough can actually cause fat gain itself.

Furthermore, dietary fat will keep you feeling the fullest for the longest duration in time; longer than both protein or carbohydrates would. Interestingly, some diets high in fat can get you 6 pack abs fast because your body learns to metabolize fat for energy.

So, while you do need to watch it, be sure you are getting some in your diet.

Finally, when it comes to carbohydrate intake and getting 6 pack abs, you want to focus most of your carbohydrate intake around the post workout period.

Why?

The biggest reason for this is because this is when your body is going to need those carbohydrates the most and will really suck them up into the muscle tissue. When you eat them at this time, it is least likely that they will turn into body fat.

Additionally, consuming carbohydrates during this period will also help to aid with muscle recovery and repair, so that means less down time from the gym for you.

If getting 6 pack abs fast is your goal than each meal you should consist of 1-2 cups of raw vegetables to control insulin levels, improve absorption of your protein and flood your body with vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants.

So, if you are aiming to get 6 pack abs in the coming months, have a good hard look at your diet. That is the big secret that must not be overlooked if you are to succeed.

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About the Author:

Vince DelMonte is the author of Your Six Pack Quest found at http://www.YourSixPackQuest.com

He specializes in helping chubby guys and gals get six pack abs without gimmicks, supplements or dieting.

Protein Powder, The Skinny Guy's Guide To Protein Powder

2010-09-30T15:06:00.000-07:00

By Vince DelMonte

So what do you really need to know about protein powder? As a skinny guy or beginner to the whole bodybuilding scene you simply want to know a few answers. Is protein powder necessary? Does it really work? How much do I need? What kind should I take? What is the best? And finally, will any of these answers make a difference when it comes to getting jacked and attracting the ladies?

This article is not meant for you if you want to learn the science behind the ion-exchanged, cross-mutaed, isotopically labeled protein tracers - blah blah blah. In this article, I will strip away all the hype, science, and confusion that surrounds protein powder. By the time you are through with this article and put it to memory, you will become the resident protein powder expert and amaze your friends the next time you visit the sport nutrition store. No more 2-hour shopping trips for protein powder because you don't really have a clue what to look for!

Is Protein Powder really necessary?
So, although protein supplements are not an absolute requirement for gaining mass, I have yet to meet any person able to get 400 grams of protein per day from cooking food. If your protein intake is greater than 200 grams per day I will suggest a protein powder - it will make your life a lot easier.

In addition, dollar for dollar, protein powders and meal replacement drinks tend to be more cost effective than whole food. Don't get me wrong, though. Protein powders are still supplements in my book. Supplement means an addition to the diet. I emphasize this because the focus of any diet should be food. Whole food is often preferable to powders because it can offer a whole spectrum of nutrients that powders cannot.

Most of your dietary protein should come from meat, fish, poultry and eggs. However getting all your protein from whole food is not always practical or convenient, especially if you have to eat 6 or more times a day to get your required intake. I will stress to you, for optimal muscle gains, you should limit yourself to a maximum of three shakes per day or 40 % of your meals. To some this might even sound like it's going 'overboard' and I would not disagree.

The bottom line is that both food and supplements are necessary to achieve a complete nutritional balance as well as the desired level of protein intake, especially if you're not a big fan of cooking. And I assume that over 95% of you reading this do not have a personal maid at home cooking all your meals while you sit around waiting for your next meal. Do not make the fatal mistake of thinking protein powders can take the place of a solid training and nutrition program.

Does protein powder really work and are they healthy?

I get this question emailed to me almost every day. I just showed how it 'works' as a supplement to help you hit your supplemental protein mark but you are probably still wondering, 'Yeah, but is protein powder going to help me get muscular or is it a scam?" A better question would be, "Does protein really work?" and the obvious answer is 'yes.' You are fully aware that protein is composed of building blocks called amino acids, which performs a variety of functions in the body such as building and maintaining healthy muscles when combined with diet and exercise. Protein also:

Supports red blood cell production
Boosts your immune system
Keeps your hair, fingernails, and skin healthy

However, not all protein powder is created equal. Most protein powder contains an array of questionable ingredients such as aspartame, saccharin, fructose and artificial colors. It's interesting to note how unhealthy most of these protein powders actually are. Look for a protein powder with natural ingredients rather than products that are sweetened with chemicals and made with ingredients that are certainly not going to create an environment for muscle growth and fat burning.

Also avoid products with refined carbohydrates such as fructose, sucrose or brown rice syrup. Make sure that the product is made from a reputable company that is genuinely interested in good health. Unfortunately supplement manufacturers will continue to meet the demands of bodybuilding consumers with unknown crappy products because we buy it and it is cheaper for them to create. Do your homework by seeking out unbiased reviews, investigating the company’s history, and reputation. And then make a decision and take responsibility!

In the past one of my criteria for a healthy protein product was that it was great tasting and that it should mix easily. Most protein powders mix quite easily, even with a spoon, however I was disappointed to discover that taste will inevitably be sacrificed for a safe and healthy product. I can live with this. You see, once a product is removed of all artificial chemical sweeteners such as aspartame or sucralose, and simple sugars, it is left almost tasteless and sometimes even gross.

How much protein powder do I need?

A better question would be, "How much pure protein do I need to achieve my goals?"

Protein is an extremely important macro nutrient and should be eaten frequently throughout the day. I recommend at least 1 to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass. This means that if you are 150 pounds and 10% body fat (150 x 0.10 = 15 lbs of fat leaving 135 lbs of lean mass), you will require at least 135 to approximately 205 grams of protein per day.

I recommend that protein powder be used primarily for your pre-workout, workout and post-workout shake. This is when liquid food is more advantageous over whole food since it has a faster absorption rate.

I do not recommend protein powder do be used for meal replacements for more than two meals. Here is what a typical day might look like:

Meal 1 (breakfast) - whole food

Meal 2 (mid morning) - liquid protein meal

Meal 3 (lunch) - whole food

Meal 4 (mid afternoon) whole food

Meal 5 (pre and post workout) liquid protein meal

Meal 6 (dinner) whole food

Meal 7 (before bed) whole food

What kind of protein powder should I use?

Before deciding which protein powder is necessary, here is a short protein primer to help you make sense of the thousands of different protein powders from which to choose:

WHEY PROTEIN makes up 20% of total milk protein. Whey is recognized for its excellent amino acid profile, high cysteine content, rapid digestion, and interesting variety of peptides. Since it is very quickly digested the best time to consume it is before your workout, during your workout or immediately after your workout. These would be considered the phase in the day where you need energy the most and when your body is in anabolic state.

CASEIN PROTEIN makes up 80% of total milk protein. Casein is recognized for its excellent amino acid profile, slow digestive nature, and interesting variety of peptides. Since casein is slowly digested into your bloodstream, don't use it during workouts or after workouts - you need a fast absorbing protein at these times. Instead, use a casein protein for all other times outside the pre and post workout window.

SOY PROTEIN is the most controversial of all protein types. While the soy groupies have gone to great lengths to label soy as a super food with magical effects, there is also a good amount of research that suggests soy protein may be contraindicated in many situations. BECAUSE OF ALL THE CONFUSION, IN MY PERSONAL OPINION, I SUGGEST AVOIDING SOY PROTEIN ALTOGETHER AND STICKING TO THE OTHER TYPES LISTED.

Protein Blends are generally a combination of several types of protein blends such as whey protein concentrate, whey protein isolate, egg protein, casein protein, and soy protein.

Why would you want a blend anyway? You will receive the full spectrum of proteins and you will receive varying rates of absorption from the different types of protein. Using a blend will create an anabolic environment from the whey and an anti-catabolic environment from the casein - use this kind at any time of the day but NOT before or after a workout.

Whey hydrolysates (also known as hydrolyzed whey protein, and are also called peptides), are powerful proteins that are more quickly absorbed; more so than any other form, since your body prefers peptides to whole proteins. Hydrolysates are produced through very low heat, low acid and mild enzymatic filtration processes, (those highest in the essential and the branched chain amino acids) and are potentially the most anabolic for short-term protein synthesis such as the pre and post-workout window.

Whey Protein Versus Whey Isolate:

Most whey protein powders that stock the supplement shelves are made up of whey concentrate and mixed in with a small portion of whey isolate. Comparing the two, whey protein isolate is more expensive than whey protein concentrate because it has a higher quality (more pure) and a higher BV (biological value). Whey protein isolate contains more protein and less fat and lactose per serving. Most whey protein isolates contain 90-98% protein while whey concentrates contain 70-85% protein.

Whey protein isolate is the highest yield of protein currently available that comes from milk. Because of its chemical properties it is the easiest to absorb into your system. Obviously with its high concentration, it appears that an isolate protein would be the obvious choice instead of a concentrate. However, this is an individual decision because the isolate is more expensive, and just because it is purer does not guarantee that it will help build bigger muscles. Its extra concentration may not justify its extra cost.

SO WHAT IS THE BOTTOM LINE? WHICH SHOULD YOU CHOOSE?

For the Pre-workout and Post-workout phases, as long as whey hydrolysate is the first or second ingredient on the supplement label then there is probably not enough in the product to influence protein synthesis to reap the optimal benefits. As stated, whey isolates are also a extremely high quality whey and for maximal anabolism isolates should be combined with whey hydrolysates for only the pre-workout and post-workout phases of your program. The inclusion of small amounts of whey concentrates will not harm you but this should not be the first ingredient on the tub of protein powder.

IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR THE STRONGEST PROTEIN POWDER TO EXPLOIT YOUR FULL GROWTH POTENTIAL DURING THE GROWTH AND RECOVERY PHASES (ANY TIME OTHER THAN PRE AND POST WORKOUT PERIOD) THEN USE A BLEND.

You will receive the full spectrum of proteins and you will receive varying rates of absorption from the different types of protein. Using a blend will create an anabolic environment from the whey and an anti-catabolic environment from the casein.

Conclusion

I hope this article familiarized you with the basics of protein powder and gave you a foundation to work from when deciding on your next order. Don't get caught up in the hype and start becoming a more educated consumer when you take your next trip to the nutrition store. Now you can tell the sales rep exactly what you are looking for instead of staring blankly at the shelves without a clue!

Oh yeah, protein powder will help you get more jacked and attract the ladies, but it's not going to do it in a 'ultra short period of time' with the simple addition to your diet.

Why Weight Lifting Is An Exercise That Delivers Top Health Benefits

2010-09-30T14:47:00.000-07:00

By Vince DelMonte

While some individuals are strictly interested in obtaining muscle for aesthetics, for most people, this isn’t an interest. Instead, you’re more interested in knowing what health benefits weight lifting will have for you…

Far too many people overlook the many health and fitness benefits that weight training has to offer, and because of this, experience problems down the road with their body such as decreased bone density, a slowed metabolic rate, increased stress levels and other negative consequences that are associated with constant stress.

Increased Bone Density

Weight lifting, being one of the best weight bearing exercises you can do, will increase your bone density and help ward off osteoporosis or stress fractures in the future.

Many people think running is the best exercise for increasing bone density, but this isn’t necessarily true. If the truth is told, running actually promotes muscle breakdown in the body, while weight lifting, being an anabolic process, helps to promote the building of tissues.

Therefore, weight lifting is going to be much better at preserving your bone mass, not to mention it’s far less impact than going for an hour run.

Decreased Frequency of Injuries

When you strength train, not only are your muscles going to get stronger, but you’ll also work the ligaments and tendons that are connecting bones, muscles, and other tissues, thus reducing the chance they become injured when participating in other physical activities.

If you’ve ever been injured, you know just how frustrating this can be. In about 80% of all injury cases, the injury is a direct result of a tendon, ligament, or muscle not being strong enough when a stressful force is applied.

Since weight training will really hit all those deep tendons and ligaments, it’s the best injury prevention out there.

Reduction of Health Related Risks

Numerous studies have demonstrated that regular weight training can have a positive effect on health by showing reductions in the rate of insulin resistance, blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer.

If you couple a solid weight training program then with a well-thought out diet, you’ll be putting your best foot forward at warding off these chronic problems

Prevention of Fat Gain
The more you weight lift, the higher your metabolism will be, thus the more food you can eat while maintaining your weight. If that isn’t good news for your future and the fight against body fat, I’m not sure what is.

Now, with all of this said, one big problem many people run into is the thinking pattern that using a muscle building program will make you big and bulky.

This is most certainly not the case.

Let’s look at an analogy to gain an understanding of this.

Pretend you have two teams and each are going to try and build a house using the exact same building technique.

One team is given 10,000 bricks to construct this house, and the second team is given only 1,000 bricks.

Who’s going to build the bigger house?

The choice should be obvious – team one since they have more bricks to build it with.

Now, think of those bricks as being the calories you put into your body. Unless you’re supplying enough calories, you aren’t going to build really big muscles. This is precisely what makes bodybuilders look like bodybuilders.

It’s not just about the way they train, but more about the way they eat (if you’ve ever had a teenage son in the growing process in your house, you likely know just how much food must be consumed when growing at rapid rates).

Whether it’s growing in height during puberty or trying to build bigger muscles later on, calories must be supplied for this growth process to take place.

You can’t build a house out of nothing. Likewise, you can workout all you want, but if those building blocks – in the form of amino acids, carbohydrates, and dietary fats are not there, you aren’t going to see too much muscle growth.

So, don’t get caught thinking that just because you add weight lifting to your workouts, you’re going to develop large bulky muscles. If you control your diet, this simply will not happen.

So, hopefully it is clear now that just because you’re weight lifting, it does not mean you will end up with bulky muscles as a result. Many people make this incorrect assumption – but it really is the diet that makes all the difference in how this weight lifting will shape your body.

When you make the decision to work with me using my 6-Pack Ab Quest program, I’ll take you through the weight lifting and ab techniques that will provide maximum results with minimal effort on your part (why spend more time in the gym than you have to?), as well as provide you with meal plans that are custom designed to ensure you get the best results from your training without the muscle bulk – in fact, the plans are formulated to help you shed the fat so you look leaner and more defined.

Not choosing to include weight training as part of your current workout program is without-a-doubt the biggest mistake you could make as far as your long-term health and fitness level is concerned. Don’t let this exercise pass you by any longer.

How to Avoid Over-training to Maximize Muscle Growth

2010-09-30T14:21:00.000-07:00

By Vince DelMonte

Almost anyone that's picked up a set of weights has or will experience symptoms of over-training at one point in there muscle building program. Over-training can lead to serious injury, chronic fatigue, and even muscle loss.

Over-training is very common amongst athletes and particularly bodybuilders, since they figure that training as much as possible is the fastest way to massive muscle gains.

This couldn't be any further from the truth however...

Training too much, or at too high of an intensity will lead to over-training.

Now this doesn't mean you don't have to put plenty of effort in to see some decent results... Whether you are a bodybuilder, athlete, or just someone that wants to add some additional mass to your frame, you need to train hard and be consistent-that's a given. In order to get the most out of your genetics, you have to progressively overload the muscles by increasing the weight and / or intensity of each weight training workout.

The problem is however, that many of us increase the intensity of our workouts or get insufficient amounts of rest, or even worse, a combination of both. The trick is finding the right balance between workout volume and intensity, and rest and recovery. And that is exactly what I'll cover in this article.

The Effects of Over-Training on Bodybuilders

First, let's take a look at some of the effects of over-training and how one can prevent over-training from happening in the first place.

The Effects of Over-training on the Nervous System

Over-training effects both the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems in the following negative ways:

Higher resting heart rate
Weak appetite
High blood pressure
Weight loss
Trouble sleeping
Increased metabolic rate
Irritability
Early onset of fatigue

If you are experiencing more than one of the symptoms outlined above, you may be in a state of over-training, and should evaluate your routine as soon as possible.

The Effects of Over-training on Hormone Levels

Many studies have indicated that over-training negatively effects the levels of hormones, as well as the hormone response in the body. Since hormones play such an important role in the muscle building process, this can have a detrimental effect on your training progress.

Over-training has been shown to:

Decrease testosterone levels
Decrease thyroxine levels
Increase cortisol levels

The increase in cortisol levels along with the decrease in testosterone levels is a deadly combination, since this leads to protein tissue break down. This will ultimately lead to a loss of muscle tissue.

The Effects of Over-training on the Immune System

Perhaps one of the most alarming repercussions of over-training is it's negative impact on the immune system-you're bodies first defense against harmful viruses and bacteria.

Over-training can drastically decrease the levels of antibodies and lymphocytes in your body, making you much more susceptible to illness. Simply put, this means that if you are in a state of over-training, you are much more likely to get sick. Since you will have to skip workouts while you are sick, your muscle building progress will slow considerably.

The Effects of Over-training on the Metabolic System

Here is a list of how over-training can effect the metabolic system. These symptoms are the ones that are most commonly discussed, and are ones we can't ignore:

Micro tears in the muscle
Chronically depleted glycogen levels
Slow, weak muscle contractions
Depleted creatine phosphate stores
Excessive accumulation of lactic acid
Extreme DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness)
Tendon and connective tissue damage

So you must get the point by now... Over-training effects the entire body, and can seriously impact the results of your muscle building program.

Now let's take a look at the different types of over-training, and what we can do to prevent it.

Is it Worse to Over-Train With Cardio or Weight Training?

Any form of over-training is a bad thing, however, I've personally experienced both types of over-training and can honestly say that over-training in the weight room is much worse, and much more prevalent than over-training through cardiovascular training.

Here are some of the reasons why:

In order to grow, muscles must fully recover from their last workout, every workout. If you are over-training and work the muscles before they have fully recovered, you will break down the muscle tissue before it has rebuilt-making it impossible to build muscle!

Over-training with weights makes you more susceptible to nervous systems hormone and immune system issues, which all pose serious health risks.

It can lead beginners down the wrong path, perhaps wasting money on unnecessary supplements, or even worse, steroids.

I personally believe that only competitive athletes such as swimmers, runners and bikers run a serious risk of reaching a state of cardiovascular over-training, since there are often training for two or more hours daily.

The bottom line is that it is much easier for the average person to over-train while weight training than while cardiovascular training, and I think the effects can be more serious.

How do I Determine if I'm Over-training?

Determining if you're currently over-training is fairly simple. If you're in tune with your body, you can often see the signs of over-training before they get serious. If you are losing interest in workouts, are having trouble sleeping, and feel weak and irritable, you may be in a state of over-training and should take a week or more off.

If you are experiencing two or more of the symptoms outlined earlier in the article, this should raise a red flag.

Another variable you can use to determine if you are over-training is by tracking the performance of your workouts.

Has your physical performance improved compared to your last workout?

For example, let's say last workout you were able to perform 8 pull-ups using your body-weight, but were only able to perform 6 pull-ups the following week. This means that you have not "out done" your previous workout, have not fully recovered, and therefore are likely over-training. You nave to re-asses your program and make modifications so that you see progress every workout.

How Can I Prevent Over-training?

In order to avoid over-training, you need to take a multi-faceted approach.

Determining the correct training volume and intensity, eating the right foods, and getting the right amount of rest and recovery must all be taken in to consideration. Now let's take a look at each of those factors in more detail.

Correct Training Volume

Determining the correct training volume can be difficult, especially when you are first starting out. You have to determine how much weight to lift, how many repetitions and sets to perform for every single workout.

You need to use your own judgment in this case, based on your recovery ability and your recovery methods. Remember that the goal is that you improve every single workout, and if this isn't happening, you have to decrease the intensity of your workouts.

This is where many people go wrong though. You begin your workout and realize that you have not fully recovered. You can either continue to train at a lower intensity than the previous workout, or skip the workout entirely.

As hard as it may be, skipping the workout is the right way to go. Just turn around and go home! Your body is telling you that it needs more rest, and you must listen to it!

There is no point in training at a lower intensity, further breaking down the muscle tissue. By doing this you will increase your risk of injury, and make it harder for your body to fully recovery for your next training session.

Proper Nutrition

Your diet plays a huge role in your muscle building program. It helps regulate hormone levels, provides energy, and provides the raw building blocks that are used to create new tissue.

Here are some dietary recommendations that will limit the chance of over-training:

Do not skip breakfast. This is one of the most important meals of the day. Skipping breakfast is very catabolic, and can promote muscle loss.
Never let yourself get hungry. If you're trying to build muscle mass, you have to constantly feed your body quality foods so that it never has the chance to catabolize muscle tissue.
Unless you are trying to build muscle and lose fat, make sure you have eaten prior to your training session and are not hungry.
Have the largest meal of the day within an hour after your workout. Do this every single workout!
Consider taking proven supplements like creatine, and antioxidants to increase performance and fight free radicals.
Eat every 2-3 hours to ensure that your body remains in an anabolic state.
Keep glycogen levels at full capacity to inhibit muscle tissue breakdown.

Rest & Recovery

Rest and recovery is essential when it comes to avoiding over-training. Make sure that you get at least 7 hours of sleep each night, and that you are on a consistent schedule. As for recovery time, it's important that you have days off between weight training workouts. Try to have one rest day between weight training workouts, and never train the same muscle groups on consecutive days.