Whether you are a weight lifter or weight lifting is part of your cross training regimen for your main choice of exercise, then you know just how rewarding and addictive the pursuit of growing stronger can be. If you are reading this article then that means you are thinking about or have decided that you want to start increasing your abilities in the weight room. This is a great thing to do! Lifting weights can increase your muscle mass and decrease your fat stores, which increases your metabolism and makes you healthier in general.
You can not improve your gains at a rapid pace because you might risk injury which would completely defeat the point of your goals. Instead, you should focus on steadily improving your lift over time. Here are some tips on how to do just that.
The human body requires a good balance of hormones in order for everything to function properly. One of those is, naturally, testosterone. It is known as the primary male sex hormone, but producing sperm is not its only purpose. The importance of testosterone for maintaining good health, particularly in middle-aged and older males, should not be ignored.
Most people who exercise do so for two main reasons – to lose weight or to build muscle. Sometimes these can be done concurrently. In order to lose weight people do cardio exercises which help in shedding the fat. They also focus on burning more calories than they are consuming. Building muscle is a bit more complicated because it requires eating and exercising in the right way. A lot of lean men and women fail to build muscle because they think it is as simple as lifting some weights and waiting for the results. Building muscle takes hard work, consistency, and most of all knowledge on how exactly you can pack on the muscles.
So here are 8 tips to get you started on your bulking journey.
1. Eat Enough
As you work on increasing the size of your muscles you must provide your body with enough food to support this growth. It is important to consume enough calories to ensure that you are taking in more calories than you are burning. A calorie deficiency leads to weight loss so aim for the opposite. Taking in more calories leads to weight gain and when coupled with weight-training this will result in muscle growth.(more…)
Creatine is a substance that is naturally manufactured by the body. It is a nitrogenous organic acid that is considered to be the energy source for muscles. Identified in 1832, creatine is now one of the most commonly used supplements by those who practice sports, especially bodybuilding.
Creatine supplements are especially appreciated for their positive effects in increasing performance for intensive training sports, maximizing workouts in general and offering an advantage in anaerobic athletic contests. At Project Swole our personal experience using creatine is increased strength for max effort training and increased stamina for short duration anaerobic activity (sprinting, higher rep training, Olympic lifting). (more…)
The results of Chris Hemsworth’s Thor workout are clear for all to see in the media. As the film and the actor remain subject to a great deal of interest, many news and entertainment outlets continue sharing the best traits of Thor. But how did the Australian achieve his impressive physique in time for his work on the fantasy-action film?
It was ex-Navy SEAL Duffy Gaver who trained Hemsworth, and pushed the actor to gain 20lb for the role. Gaver devised an eight week exercise plan, which he split into two.
During the first four weeks, there was a careful focus on helping Hemsworth gain the level of strength appropriate for the God of Sky and Thunder. The second four weeks were dedicated to fat loss…
Creatine is the most researched and well understood training supplement. Creatine is also one of the most widely used, and trusted, sports nutrition supplements for weight trainers wanting to maximize muscle mass.
Creatine helps increase the speed and force of muscle fibres and helps them repair more quickly and scientific studies have found that taking a regular creatine supplement increases the reserves of creatine in muscle fibres. This means that the benefits of creatine supplements could be further reaching than just being used as a sports supplement.
Catabolic muscle wastage, cachexia and sarcopenia
If you’re suffering from a catabolic wasting condition where your muscles are starting to decrease considerably in size (muscle atrophy), then creatine supplements could help you. The term ‘catabolic’ refers to the breakdown of muscle tissue, and is the opposite of the term ‘anabolic’ which means the building up of muscle tissue. (more…)
A muscle cramp can be a serious buzzkill when you are dialed in on a workout. Or worse, they can be an unwanted and painful wake up call in the middle of the night. So how can you prevent these awful knots in your muscles from occurring? While proper hydration and sleep are important factors, your nutrition habits can have a huge impact on preventing cramps. Foods rich in potassium, sodium, magnesium, Vitamin D, and calcium help your muscles function properly and prevent muscle cramps. Potassium is an electrolyte that your body sweats out when you exercise. Lack of potassium is one of the leading causes of muscle cramping. Those taking diuretic supplements have higher tendencies for potassium deficiencies and should be especially aware of their intake efforts.
Sodium is another important electrolyte your body needs for optimum performance. While too much sodium can be a problem, most people forget to make sure they have enough when exercising. You lose it quickly when you sweat and need to make sure you’re replenishing these levels or you may experience harsh side effects like nausea and vomiting. (more…)
Aside from opting for the right weight lifting strategies, what you consume before and after a workout is the most important piece of the muscle growth puzzle.
Get this: you can lift as hard you can, sweat as much as you can and spending endless hours in the gym, but as long as you don’t provide your body with the right stuff—diet-wise—your hard work will be futile.
Therefore, if you don’t want to compromise your hard effort and really seek to pile on the muscles faster and more efficiently, here are the diet guidelines you need to live by.
It starts with protein
Yes you know it. Every gym-rat out there is well aware of the importance of protein in muscle growth and proper recovery. If you’re protein-deficient, you won’t achieve any muscle growth no matter how committed you’re or how hard you push yourself in the gym.
Most studies and experts recommend shooting for at least 2g per kilo of bodyweight of protein. This amount may vary from one gym-rat to the next. But the harder you lift and push yourself in the gym, the more protein you’re going to need.
What are the best carbs to help you build muscle or lose fat? More than often, you’ll get this response: “Stay away from simple carbs and focus on complex carbohydrates, since they digest slowly and provide your body with a constant stream of energy”.
I can’t tell you how many “fitness-experts” give this response to their clients on a regular basis. Of course it seems to make sense, but there is actually some science suggesting otherwise.
Many people believe that as long as a carbohydrate digests slowly, it should keep your blood sugar stable and make it less likely for you to gain fat.
But the truth of the matter is that structuring your nutrition program around “slow-digesting carbohydrates” is actually not an effective way to get the nutrition you need.
There are actually 4 primary reasons why this is the case. Let’s go ahead and take a closer look…
Gaining weight and gaining lean muscle are two entirely different things. While increasing the amount you eat will almost certainly lead to you putting on weight, it will not automatically ensure that you gain lean, aesthetically pleasing muscle mass.
In order to effectively build muscle, you need to combine the right physical exercise with the right fuel for that physical exercise. It is, therefore, vitally important to pay attention to the nutrients you put into your body and to understand the role that carbohydrates play in the muscle building process.
Physical Activity and the Role of Carbohydrates
In order to build the lean muscle you desire, you need to engage in resistance training which specifically targets the major muscle groups in the body. Examples of these types of exercises include barbell curls, bench presses and squats. It is best to avoid working the same muscle groups in consecutive days and working out three to four times a week is ideal.
In order to perform efficiently, you also need to provide your body with the right kind of energy. Although proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals all combine to provide different things, carbohydrates in particular play a large role in muscle building.
Regardless of your fitness goals, your diet plays an important role in achieving the levels of physical strength, muscle tone, and overall health and fitness you desire. And since most of us have specific results in mind, it’s a good idea to spend just as much time and effort working out a targeted diet as working out at the gym.
For example, the dietary needs of a bodybuilder are very different than those of a person running a marathon. So if you’re looking to build muscle and your exercise regimen doesn’t seem to be delivered to your satisfaction, perhaps it’s time to do a little research and discover which foods will ensure optimum results in concert with your weight lifting efforts. In addition to food, you can use several testosterone products to build muscle faster too.
For today we will focus on nutrition. Here are a few foods that are sure to help you pack on the right kind of pounds.
You might think that any high-calorie foods will be sufficient when it comes to bulking up, but this is not true. Some will add fat as well as muscle, or only fat, and that’s definitely not what you’re looking for.
What you really need are foods that will repair and build your muscles as you add greater amounts of weight to your lifting routine, and your best bet is to use a combination of foods that make a complete and balanced diet that is nonetheless high in certain nutrients. You’ll need plenty of protein to build and maintain muscle, as well as carbs to replace all the calories you’re burning, but you’ll also need fruits, vegetables, and fats (yes, fats) to keep your body healthy and functioning properly.
Whether you’re bulking up, trimming down, or just trying to adopt a lifestyle that will ensure optimum health and fitness, you may have found that you’re having trouble getting the results you crave or that your new routine leaves you tired, achy, and wondering why you started in the first place. In many cases, this is due to the fact that you have drastically changed your diet, your level of physical activity, or both without stopping to consider how these changes might affect the way your body functions.
Getting All Your Desired Nutrients
It could be that you are now missing out on vital nutrients needed to help you reach your goals, achieve peak performance levels, and feel your best. At this point you might consider supplements as a way to get the protein, vitamins, or other nutrients required to balance out your new regimen. However, supplements can be expensive, and you might not be able to fit everything you need into your limited budget. So if you want to avoid spending a fortune, here are a few options to help you meet all of your needs.
D-Aspartic Acid is a vital ingredient contained in a lot of testosterone boosters, commonly used by body builders and athletes seeking to build muscle mass. We know that to develop muscle it takes a routine of weightlifting and a proper diet, but not all body types will develop muscle the same.
Different Body Types
Individuals classified as ectomorphs, or thin body types, do not easily pack on the muscle mass due to their lean builds. These individuals will not naturally develop the sculpted results that the fuller mesomorph and endomorph body types will easily achieve. When additional diet and workouts are no longer contributing to getting the additional gains in the gym, supplements may be the best option to promote faster and more developed body results.
There are numerous muscle building supplements on the market, but it is important to research the products before taking them.
First a quote, then an excerpt from Henry Rollins’ The Iron
“Strength is the product of struggle, you must do what others don’t to achieve what others won’t.”
“Through the years, I have combined meditation, action, and the Iron into a single strength. I believe that when the body is strong, the mind thinks strong thoughts. Time spent away from the Iron makes my mind degenerate. I wallow in a thick depression. My body shuts down my mind.
The Iron is the best antidepressant I have ever found. There is no better way to fight weakness than with strength. Once the mind and body have been awakened to their true potential, it’s impossible to turn back.
The Iron never lies to you. You can walk outside and listen to all kinds of talk, get told that you’re a god or a total bastard. The Iron will always kick you the real deal. The Iron is the great reference point, the all-knowing perspective giver. Always there like a beacon in the pitch black. I have found the Iron to be my greatest friend. It never freaks out on me, never runs. Friends may come and go. But two hundred pounds is always two hundred pounds.”
For those who still don’t believe Werewolf Muscle Training works, here is more support of my theory that increased frequency combined with stopping short of fatigue, produces equal if not better results that training a muscle once a week for an hour, with a ton of volume, going to failure on most sets.
The central nervous system is extremely important for performance, and should be stimulated aggressively and frequently, but should not often be fatigued. This also helps explain why you can train muscles when they’re sore… it works just as long as the CNS has recovered.
In this video you will find Christian Thibaudeau from T-Nation. He is way stronger than you or I, and he is just about as ripped as I could ever hope to be. A true inspiration.
A lot has been made about the importance of protein in building muscle, but more could be said about the importance of fruits and vegetables in this regard. The fact of the matter is that fruits and vegetables contain a lot of important vitamins and minerals that facilitate muscle growth.
Vitamin C
One of these vitamins important to muscle growth which is often times overlooked is Vitamin C. Vitamin C is found in fresh fruits and vegetables such as oranges, pineapples, grapefruit, cabbage, broccoli, okra and spinach to name a few.
Vitamin C speeds up recovery of your muscles after an intense workout, and prevents injuries and inflammations that might keep one away from the gym.
During weightlifting your body is placed under a tremendous amount of stress, but Vitamin C present in fruits and vegetables help to boost your immune system to fight against possible infections and muscle damage.
Another great benefit from Vitamin C is the reduction of cortisol levels. Cortisol is a hormone produced when the body undergoes extreme stress like weightlifting, and is responsible for the breakdown of muscle tissue. Therefore, the less cortisol your body produces the better.
A couple days ago I posted the first 5 reasons you are not gaining weight. Here are 5 more reasons you are not gaining weight. Check out the first article if you missed it: 10 Reasons You Are Not Gaining Weight Part 1 Peep these second 5 five items in my list of 10 possible ways you could be sabotaging your muscle building plan.
Too Much Cardio
To lose fat while maintaining muscle, you’ll want to stick to 2, thirty minute HIIT sessions; and 1, forty five minute endurance session in a week. Adding HIIT like that will help you to elevate your metabolism, which increases fat loss, and will keep cortisol levels in check to preserve existing muscle mass. The HIIT should be a max sprint for an interval of 30-60 seconds, followed by a light jog interval for twice the length of your sprint interval (60-120 seconds). (more…)
Attention Hard Gainers and Dudes Who Want to Gain 10 lbs of Solid Muscle!
You use protein shakes. You eat lots of food. You workout like a maniac. Yet you still weigh 50 pounds less than your goal weight. Sick of skinny wrists and stick figure calves? Stop making the mistakes that compromise your weight gain strategies.
There are several components that go into a proper weight gain cycle. Nutrition is most important, exercise is next, and lifestyle can make or break you. Today we will cover some nutrition mistakes you might be making. Fix them today so you can gain muscle tomorrow! Here are the first 5 points in my list of 10 mistakes you could be making to sabotage your weight gain. (more…)
It’s not this easy, but these 10 basic tips will get you started in your quest to accomplish your strength and bodybuilding goals.
The basics have always and will always work best. You can build a core workout routine with just squats, deads, bench, overhead press, pull ups / chin ups, dips, and situps. Rows and curls can be added as needed.
Find what works best for you and keep doing it until it no longer works. Start with the basics, optimize for your personal needs, repeat until you plateau.
As long as you are making progress, stick with your routine. No need to change workout routines every month just because you don’t want to plateau. If your routine is working, stick with it UNTIL you plateau.
Strength is greater than bulk. If you are strong you have nothing to prove and it is easy to get bigger. If you are big it’s tough to get stronger and strong guys will tell you “well, at least you LOOK strong.”
Three months is the minimum trial length before you can pass judgement. Six months is even better. What I’m saying is, you need to stick with a plan for 3-6 months before you can say it does or doesn’t work.
Free weights rule.
Excuses will hold you back for your entire life if you let them. Stop making excuses, stop reading and researching, stop thinking. Just do it!
You will become your environment. If you want to be weak and small, surround yourself with weak and small. If you want to be big and strong, hang with those guys, ask questions, and take advice from those who have accomplished what you want to accomplish.
You have to really want what you think you want. If you REALLY wanted to be strong, you’d be strong by now. So change your mindset today. If you really want to be something, you have to want it more than anything else.
Eat to grow. You have to eat if you want to get stronger. You have to eat if you want to get bigger. If you’re not getting bigger or stronger, eat more food. Especially protein.
Plyos, Olympic Lifts, and Dynamic Efforts are not the Only Ways to Increase Speed and Power
Strength coaches around the world prescribe plyometrics and Olympic lifts to increase force production – to build speed and power. Powerlifters around the world utilize dynamic effort lifts – box squats, speed deads, board presses – to increase their speed and power.
We can all learn A LOT from those methods, but there is one constituent of force development that the above methods don’t take into account. Consider reversal and/or starting strength, acceleration, and stretch reflex actions of the muscles that act as the antagonists to the primary sports movement.
