Gaining Muscle: The Go To Guide For The Bare Beginner!

Firstly, the decision you've made to change your life for the better through bodybuilding is a very important one. Stick with this journey and you'll learn countless lessons, experience more hapinness than you ever thought you would from just going to the gym. You'll realize why fitness fanatics exist and their reason for loving being active so much! I want to congratulate you for taking this step; it certainly is the right one.

This article will be short and easy to understand; think of it as your cheat sheet to muscle building success that will leave your friends wondering what you're doing right. It's okay for that the gym be fun the first few times you step inside it; after all, look at all the new shiny things inside. But what you need to understand first is that training starts in the mind first; your attitude will dictate your progress throughout your training journey. That is the first gem of knowledge I will give to you; let that sink in very deeply. I've seen people who fail lifting a heavy weight simply because they believe that they do not possess the strength to do it, they've been beaten before they even started! You have to believe that you have all the tools necessary to have an impressive physique.

Regularly read over this article; print it out if you have to, just never lose sight of what you want. Inside you is the potential for greatness if you'd just stick with this for long enough. Below are tips that will help you tremendously, read them carefully:

• Nutrition - This point is bolded and mentioned first because it is one of the BIGGEST factors for muscle growth that most beginners. What you put into your body you get it; it's really that simple. I don't mean eating so called 'healthy' foods all the time, I mean making space in your diet for the things you enjoy eating while still building muscle (which is very possible). The first step is calculating your macro-nutrient requirements (This will determine the number of protein, carbohydrate and fats you must take in per day for either growth, maintenance or fat loss, there are many calculators available on the internet) and planning your diet accordingly. Stick to it; and watch the amazing changes your physique goes through.
• Proper form - Good form is holding yourself strictly to the prescribed way of performing an exercise. To many beginners focus on just lifting the weight instead of properly training their muscle. It may not be cool to hold very light dumbbells in a crowded gym, but anybody who became muscular understands this principle and will not ridicule you for it. There's a saying "You have to ride a few ponies before you can run with the bulls", don't get caught up in whats popular just do what is right for you.
• Attitude - If you step into the gym thinking "Oh this really sucks, I'd rather be at home right now", then get out of the gym. Seriously, just go home. If you want to be successful in this, know exactly why you are there: Work hard to improve yourself and give it the best you've got. If you don't have this attitude just go home.
• Compound lifts - The big five exercises, when done with good form (for safety reasons), will yield great muscle gains for you within the first few months or even weeks. These are squats, deadlifts, overhead press, bench press and bent over barbell rows; focusing on these lifts brings strength and shape to your muscles because they use multiple joints and therefore many muscles in the movement. Single joint exercises (curls, for example) have their place in your program, but building a program around them is not using your time or energy optimally for muscle growth.

Don't be discouraged by the people who make fun of you for making this decision; everybody who is heavily invested in the fitness lifestyle know and understand one simple truth: The people who try to bring you down are already below you; there's no need to look down when you're climbing up! I wish you all the best, you've made the right choice.

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Addiction Solutions: The Way To Beat Any Addiction!

I know how the endless spiral downward feels; and I choose the word 'endless' very deliberately because there is no end to the depths that you allow yourself to fall. The feeling that you're literally being driven by a force greater than yourself; your thoughts drown in negativity and craving.

The fact that you can 'see' these cravings and emotions, means that you are SEPERATE from them! You are not your craving; you are not your addiction, anxiety or fear! If you were, you wouldn't be able to consciously acknowledge them. Can you comprehend what this means for you? It means that you have power over them; you hold the power to give these emotions and feelings life, but you also hold the key to pulling them out by their roots, draining them of all growth.

You have built a belief in your mind that whatever it is that you're addicted to is somehow sustaining your existence. You're using it as a crutch in order to survive. You must understand that it is a CHOICE to feel this way, and that you can CHOOSE to feel another way!

This starts in one place: your soul. This isn't a religious article, don't be fooled by my words. The soul is where your thoughts and emotions mesh together to cultivate feeling which propels a certain belief. Take advantage of this law of life; the fact that you can change your current circumstances almost instantaneously through the power of meshing thought and emotion to propel a favourable idea. An idea where you have realized your potential in life, filled with feeling is unstoppable by any known force on this earth. Change your beliefs about yourself, monitor your thoughts carefully because it is your thoughts that led you to where you are now in life. Your thoughts dictate your life because often enough they're met with emotion; whether positive or negatve determines the manifestation in reality. Your soul is literally the most precious thing you have and when you treat it well, you can overcome any obstacle, including your addiction.

It must also be said that thinking about not doing something, for example "I will not smoke today" still counts as you thinking about smoking. Your mind does not recognize the 'not' or any kind of negative word. It only skims through important key words. So a better thing to think about all day is "Today, I will make a success of any endeavour I choose", as it is clear and to the point; and most of all, it is completely positive and success orientated.

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Forearm Training: Effective Tips For Explosive Growth!

Forearms, shmorearms right? Wrong! Jokes aside, neglecting your forearms whether it is a result of laziness or simply not including it in our programs is a mistake that begins at the beginner level and carries itself through to advanced intermediate trainers (perhaps even a few pro's but these are few and far between). 
The major mistake trainers make is assuming that nobody believes that forearms can 'Wow' people, they see it as a muscle group with less 'glamour potential' than the other body parts. Some would place their calves higher on the scale of priorities than forearms. This is logic that I do not really understand: If one loves upperbody training so much, it follows logically that forearm training would be catered for. Powerful forearms allow you to grip heavy weight and in doing so permit you to complete exercises optimally. I'm sure that most trainers have been in a situation where they were holding a weight, completing an exercise, when their forearms began to burn and eventually causing you to rest. The notion of training forearms flashes through the mind then is discarded in a non-chalant fashion.
In summary, here are the common reasons for neglecting forearm training:

• Wrong attitude - If you hold the belief that forearm training is not important; then it is blatantly obvious that you won't spend time training them. Treat all body parts equally; an impressive physique is a puzzle to put together, one part is not more important than another.
• Neglecting time - Instead of using the last 20 minutes training forearms (Which if done effectively, all you need!), most trainers opt to complete more sets for their primary muscle group being trained that day or even use it to train their abdominals.
• Ineffective methods - As mentioned in my Calf Training article, the calves and forearms are shockingly similar. The forearms are used in ALL upper body movements, which means they are used to being worked at a very high frequency. Even daily, when at home or at work; picking things up, shaking hands, cooking, cleaning, typing, drinking, eating -- your forearms are working! You therefore cannot expect them to grow if you train them in a fashion that is similar to these activities.

While difficult to grow, the forearms have an enormous capacity for both growth and glamour. Here are practical tips that can be implemented from your next workout:

• Working the flexors and extensors - The forearms are composed of two muscles; the flexors and extensors. Their names betray their functions, but I'll explain anyway: The flexors are used to flex the forearm, that is when your palm is faced toward the ceiling and is as close to your elbow as possible without bending your arm. The extensors are used to extend the forearm, they are stimulated when your palms face the floor and your knuckles are as close to your elbow as possible without bending your arms.
• Squeeze! - Doing light weights for many reps may feel like you're getting a good forearm workout; but the truth is that when you're doing over 15 repetitions for an exercise you are working your endurance muscle fibers(type 1a). Opt for a heavy, but managable weight; one where you can complete a full range of motion. Once at the top of the movement(where the back side of your hand is parallel to the floor, for flexors. For extensors, the back of your hands should be parallel with your shoulders if seated and the ceiling, if standing.) hold the weight there for 5 seconds before bringing it down, slowly and deliberately, to the starting position.
• Explode up, slow down - Your forearms are powerful muscles. You can utilize this power to move the weight powerfully to the top of the movement and once there; using that same power to slow the weight down on the way back to the starting position.

Having powerful forearms allow your other lifts to increase as it may well be the weak link in your physique and thus may impede your progress if not taken care of correctly.

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Killer Traps Training: Tips For Impressive Traps!

The trapezius (traps for short) are muscles that when well developed, can show dedication and maturity in your physique that few other muscles can. Whether striking poses for the camera or simply walking around in a T-shirt, well built traps are a huge indicator of a man who has spent many hours in the gym. This is not to say however, that if your traps are under developed that people won't still get that impression of you, however it does form part of the puzzle that is a complete physique.
Like the calf muscles, the traps are involved as secondary muscles in many exercises and daily movements. Whether pulling or pushing, your traps are involved to some degree, acting as stabiliser muscles. So, just like the calf muscles, they need to be taken through a complete and deliberate range of motion with a little twist added to it. Many people make the mistake of doing their shrugging exercises with an 'up and down' kind of movement where you hold the weights in your hands and bring your shoulders as close to your ears as possible. While this motion certain does offer some work to the trapezius muscles, it is not optimal.
Here are some tips to add size to your traps:

• Alternating heavy and light weight - The traps respond well to direct work with stimulus it isn't used to in your other lifts. Doing a heavy set of dumbbell or barbell shrugs for only a few reps is beneficial because it helps to boost the capacity for strength in your traps. Doing lighter weights allows you to go for a long, drawn out squeeze at the top of the movement; aiding you in making sure that the traps are properly trained by the end of the workout.
• Full range of motion - As mentioned earlier, people mistakenly use the standard 'up and down' motion for shrugs to build their traps. The optimal way to shrug would be to have your hands and shoulders completely lowered, squeezing your shoulder blades together and then proceeding to bring the weight as high as you can get it while stopping to squeeze at the top. You will experience an incredible amount of pain, but that's how you know it is working.
• Heavy deadlifts - Deadlifts done with proper form will go a long way in developing not only impressive trapezius muscles but also a thick, strong back.

These are tips that you can incorporate from your next workout onwards. They are easy to implement and to understand but they produce fantastic results! In a few weeks, watch the way your traps become thicker and fuller; no matter what the occasion!

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The First Step To Greatness: Take Responsibility

The easiest and most travelled road to mediocrity or failure lies in blame. When you play the blame game, you're always betting against yourself; nothing good comes of wasting your precious energy on thinking about your unfair circumstances. It is very easy to fall into that cycle of thinking: attempting something, failing at it, giving up, blaming everything but yourself, becoming bitter; then repeating the cycle on a new task. In many ways it is similar to depression because it is a very skewed way of doing things; you live your life on a crutch because subconsciously, you've already convinced yourself that you do not have what it takes to win.

Taking the path your life takes into your own hands requires courage and not everybody takes advantage of the courage inside themselves. Everybody has this courage, this belief that they are worth more than they are now; but they allow fear to turn that great flame into a dying ember. Too many people out there are living their lives by going through the motions, simply passing through; doing things in such a mundane way because that's the way they believe they have to live in order to make a living. If you're living in such a way; your world is without colour or purpose. Dare to be different! Separate yourself from your 'friends' who don't believe in you; they don't deserve your friendship. Make a decision to take responsibility for every action you take from this point onward; after every hour ask yourself if it was truly well spent or if you could have changed something. This is exactly how you begin to move forward! You've turned the 'Autopilot' switch on your life to 'Off' and now you're the one in control, you'll begin to see your actions as those that have value (those that add to your wisdom or bring you closer to your goals or simply just joy) and those that do not.

You have but one life to live and it is very short, each chapter seems endless until you look back one day and its over. That is exactly how you know that most of the decisions you made were not conscious and deliberate, full of purpose and life; but rather a mindless afterthought because your thoughts were probably stuck in the 'what ifs' of the future. If there is anything to take away from this article it is this: from today onward, make every hour a deliberate act on your part. Then watch how you'll feel a burning need to constantly improve yourself.

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Calf Training: Effective Tips To Get Your Calves Growing!

The calves and forearms are muscles that have two things in common: They're difficult to stimulate growth in and people frequently omit training them altogether. While they may be seen as 'less impressive' than other muscle groups, neglect in training them takes away from the overall aesthetic quality of your physique. You see this all the time on the internet and people love to bring others down because of this flaw. "Oh, look he doesn't train legs." or "Wow, someone skips leg day." These are a few examples of the things people say either on the internet or in reality, which may not even be true! Calves are notoriously difficult to bring up to par, even in the professional bodybuilders. But to the lay man, small calves equate to a factor to point out and ridicule.

I understand your frustration and sometimes outright embarrassment on this issue; people can be very cruel and it may affect you mentally at times. You must realize that, yes, your calves may be falling behind but you can rectify it and see results in as little as 6 weeks with hard work and dedication. It will be painful and very uncomfortable for the days that follow your calf training, but since you're taking the time to read this article, you must want it badly enough to go through these challenges.

Here are two common reasons why calf growth stops:

• Laziness - Trainers adopt an apathetic attitude toward calf training because they hide behind the excuse that they can wear long pants most of the time. They do the minimum number of sets and reps, sometimes even skip a few and then claim that their calves have been trained.
• Ineffective training - Your calves are used so regularly that they become somewhat immune to whatever new stresses you put it through. This is only because you don't understand how to train them properly!

Calves may not be glamorous muscles to train, but once you have developed them fully it becomes a wonderful achievement for you. Here are some tips to get your calves growing:

• Intensity - Imagine yourself training your favourite muscle, whatever that may be. It is probably your best, most prominent muscle group because of the focus and attention you give it! Apply that same intensity to your calf training, treat it as you would your favourite muscle and see the difference it makes. With your favourite muscle, you can always squeeze in one more heavy set or rep; do the same for your calves.
• Stretch reps - When you walk or run, your feet are parallel to the floor before contracting. That is exactly what they're used to doing which means that they'll respond poorly to exercises that operate only in this range of motion. When you step on the seated or standing calf raise machine, make sure that your starting position is when your heels are as close to the floor as possible. From there, complete the motion by slowly bringing the weight up until your heels are well past being parallel to the floor.
• Slow down - Take a full 10 seconds to bring the weight from the top of the movement to the bottom, then hold it at the bottom for 5 seconds before bringing the muscle to full contraction; also taking 10 seconds to do so. Doing this for each repetition is unlike anything your calves have ever experienced, and it will tell you that by giving a very painful burn. This is exactly what you want!

Calf training is very difficult to stick with unless you find the motivation to see it through. The pain barrier is something many people struggle with, but persistence is key when it comes to bridging the gap between your calves and other muscle groups.

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The Importance Of Nutrition: Quick Tips On Pre And Post Workout Nutrition

Every trainer should view nutrition as coal to a coal train; without it your results will stall, your frustration will grow and it will becomes more likely that you will give up your muscle building journey. There are no definite rules that apply to everybody when it comes to nutrition, only guidelines because peoples bodies react differently to any kind of stimulus you subject it to. There are only two rules cast in stone for everybody: Consuming more calories than you expend results in weight gain while consuming a smaller number than you expend results in weight loss.
However, that will be discussed in greater detail in another article. The focus of this article is around nutrition before and after your workout which can have a great impact on your results.
Pre workout nutrition should be taken with the goal in mind that it should fuel your workouts. When eating a small banana or fruit as your sole source of nutrition before heading off to the gym, you should ask yourself: "Is this really enough to sustain me? Will I have the energy I need to outperform my last workout?". Proper nutrition before your workout allows all you cylinders to be completely full before you begin firing! Intense workouts where you beat your last personal record, go for longer, out-rep your training partner or your last attempt at that same exercise should be your goal. Eating properly beforehand allows you to feel stronger and more energetic in the gym which leads to greater gains.
Here are some quick tips on pre workout nutrition:

• Keep it liquid if you're pressed for time - Throw your foods into a blender and make a shake if you're under time constraints. Liquids digest much more easily than solid foods thus making them a great alternative if you don't have time to cook a meal. Your shake should include a combination of protein and carbohydrate (I would recommend oats and a scoop of whey protein). It is also very low in fat which is ideal before a workout.
• Leave time for meals - Eating a full sized meal right before a workout is detrimental to your results because blood rushes to your digestive system in order to process the foods you've just eaten instead of pooling into your muscles. If you have ever trained on a full or partially full stomach, you will have noticed that you feel lethargic and that your pump is sub par. This is not to say that you cannot eat meals before a workout, by all means eat a carbohydrate and protein combination meal (keep fats very low as amounts over 10g can blunt the release of muscle building hormones) but leave an hour and a half to two and a half hours for that meal to digest before hitting the weight room. 

Magazines have popularized post workout nutrition but the belief held by people is slightly skewed on this matter. The notion of this wonderful, esoteric '30 minute anabolic window' has snuck up on the beginner and even intermediate trainer. While eating protein after a workout has been researched and proven to increase muscle protein synthesis, there is no magical time threshold that the protein has to be consumed in to encourage muscle gain. There are also those who advocate taking dextrose or some other kind of simple sugar to spike insulin after a workout; this is also wrong because it has been shown that it has absolutely no effect on protein synthesis.
Here are some quick tips to optimize your post workout nutrition for greater results:

• Consume a combination of protein and carbohydrate - Eating protein after a workout has been shown to increase muscle protein synthesis. However, for optimal results, eating a combination of carbohyrdates and protein has the largest impact on protein synthesis. I recommend having whey protein as it digests much faster than solid food but this doesn't make a massive difference to your results.
• Keep it  liquid - Again, this allows your body to digest these nutrients much more quickly allowing your body to shuttle these nutrients to your damaged muscles.

These tips are simple and can be implemented right from your next workout. It is crucial to realize the importance of nutrition when on a journey to build an impressive physique, it is literally the driving force behind your results.

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