Blogging About The Truth To Gain Weight & Build Muscle Mass!

Energy drinks have got to be one of the biggest rip-offs around. Why do I say that? Well, in all reality, the ingredient in these drinks that actually provide any type of “pick me up” is good old caffeine. I don’t know about you, but I rather brew my own or buy a large cup of coffee for $1.50 than pay $3.00 for some sugary drink that simply laced with caffeine…..same effect.

However, a heads up if you still decide to use them:
Wayne State University researchers have discovered that these energy drinks raised blood pressure and heart rate. If you have any type of history of hear disease, or already suffer from hypertension (high blood pressure), you need to be careful. In this research they found that those that consumed 2 cans of a particular energy drink (they didn’t specify the serving size, which would have been nice!) for 7 days noticed a 9.6% raise in systolic blood pressure (the top number of a blood pressure reading), and a 7.8% increase in diastolic pressure (the bottom number of the blood pressure reading)……let’s just say that ain’t necessarily that good!

The official list of the bodybuilders that will be competing in the 2008 Arnold Classic being held in Columbus, Ohio on February 29th - March 2nd is out.

Here’s the list for the Mens competition:
Melvin Anthony
Gustavo Badell
Adorthus Cherry
Toney Freeman
Kai Greene
Deshaun Grimez
Phil Heath
David Henry
Dexter Jackson
Johnnie Jackson
Victor Martinez
Desmond Miller
Ronny Rockel
Silvio Samuel
Branch Warren

The list for Ms. International is as follows:
Lisa Aukland
Tracy Beckham
Dayana Cadeau
Tazzie Colomb
Iris Floyd Kyle
Kristy Hawkins
Rosemary Jennings
Debi Laszewski
Cathy LeFrancois
Mah-Ann Mendoza
Colette Nelson
Yaxeni Oriquen
Betty Pariso
Brenda Raganot
Annie Rivieccio
Antoinette Thompson
Betty Viana-Adkins

The women competing in the Fitness International are:
Regiane Da Silva
Tina Durkin
Bethany Gainey
Tracey Greenwood
Oksana Grishina
Jen Hendershott
Kimberly Klein
Julie Lohre
Tanya Merryman
Mindi O’brien
Julie Palmer
Stacy Simons

And the Figure International competitors are:
Sonia Adcock
Gina Aliotti
Paola Almerico
Catherine Andersen
Natalie Benson
Monica Brant-Peckham
Amy Fry
Bernadette Galvan
Jennifer Gates
Deborah Leung
Juliana Malacarne
Kristal Richardson
Chastity Slone
Brenda Marie Smith
Briana Tindall
Valerie Waugaman
Latisha Wilder
Nicole Wilkins

As always, this display of sheer muscle building mass, athleticism, beauty, and classic physiques will sure be an exciting highlight of the upcoming 2008 professional bodybuilding schedule!

The Weider / AMI company has been signing up new bodybuilders to endorse their muscle building supplments. Some of the new arrivals are Melvin Anthony and Tony Freeman. No longer with them are Darrem Charles and Troy Alves.

So it’s safe to assume that you’ll no longer see Tony and Melvin writing articles for Muscular Development magazine, or Darrem and Troy writing for Flex magazine and Muscle & Fitness magazine.

Regardless, all four of these gentlemen are some of the best bodybuilders in the entire world, so whichever magazine has their services is fortunate….and talk about all of four being class acts.

Are Continuous Sets Better For Muscle Building?

That’s the name of my latest article which is continuous the previous article discussing the hotly debated in the weight gym topic. Take a look at it to find out my personal thoughts on what is more effective for pure muscle building purposes and gaining weight naturally.

In Medicine Science Sports Exercise, 2007, it is stated that dehydration, or lack of enough water within the muscle tissues, lowers muscular endurance and raises the risk of injuries caused by overheating, such as heat stroke and heat exhaustion.

The problems lies in that the lower the amount of fluids flowing within the body the more difficult it becomes to regulate the body’s core temperature….all of which affect negatively the amount of force the muscle can generate. Also, it is less likely you’ll be able to create a nice, tight, muscle building pump, all of which will help you gain weight naturally.

Ever noticed how there are basically two completely different angles to approach how sets, amount of weight used, and rest in between sets is performed?

Some will keep the same weight throughout all sets, while resting as long as it takes to accomplish that, and others, regardless how much they have to drop in weight after each set is completed, will only rest for a very specific amount of time.

Well, which of the two methods are better if muscle building is what you seek?

Read the latest article I’ve just posted on this:
Are Continuous Sets Better For Muscle Building?

According to the February issue of MuscleMag International, a study conducted by the Depression and Clinical Research Program at Massachussetts General Hospital it was concluded that weight gain is a common side effect of antidepressants such as Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil.

Some other medications and bodybuilding supplements, such as steroids and antihistamines, can trigger hunger, causing some to overeat.

Again, even if you’re someone that your main goal is muscle building, it is of great importance that you keep body fat gains to a minimum if you don’t want to end up looking like a dough boy!

When it comes to muscle building and gaining quality weight, one of the most important hormones within the body that is directly responsible for this type of growth is none other than testosterone. This is one of the many reasons why it is one of the preferred substances used in bodybuilding and in anti-aging.

Well, researchers at the University of Cincinnati found that the higher your own stress and tension levels are, the lower your natural testosterone levels drop…which obviously isn’t a good thing. The found that there is a direct relationship between the two.

In one of the researches conducted, they noticed that animals that were removed from a stressful environment were able to build more muscle and lose weight faster than when in the tension-filled environment.

This is easier said than done in the real life, with so many pressures that are thrown at us daily, whether it be economic pressure, trying to keep up with the bills, health issues, problems within the family, school, college, etc…..all to which could have a negative impact on our own testosterone levels.

So if muscle building is your primary goal when it comes to your physique, keep you stress levels in check.

Ironman Magazine has some good information on getting some of your fiber from apples. Yes, I realize that fiber is an excellent nutrient to help you lose body fat because, to put it simply, it suppresses the appetite because of its long digestion time. But, even though your main objective may be muscle building, you still need to maintain the definition of your physique, which requires low body fat levels.

However, as the magazine states, apples are higher in fiber than many other fruits. One average-sized apple has 5 grams of fiber, and we need about 25 grams per day. So one apple gives you about 20% of your daily quota.

Again, muscle building or fat burning, you still need your fiber!

Flex magazine has given a very good explanation as to the difference between these two muscle building exercises. Basically, the overhand grip will allow you to use more weight and targets the outer head of the triceps muscle. The underhand grip forces you to use less weight, but better isolates the triceps because it takes the shoulders out of the equation. In addition, it targets slightly more the inner head of the triceps.

Now, my personal take is that neither is better or worse than the other. In my opinion, being that you need to train both the inner and outer head of the muscle, you should somehow incorporate both exercises in your muscle building workout routine.

Chinese Number 10 (NT), a hyped up dietary supplement aimed at burning body fat and suppressing our appetite, in research done at Louisiana State University, has been found to be nothing but garbage!

Yes, keeping low body fat levels during your muscle building phases is very important, but this substance isn’t going to get you there.

Check out the article here: Another Muscle Building / Weight Loss Supplement Bites The Dust