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

Growth hormone, aka HGH, is found naturally within the body. Some of its roles are the increase of using fat as fuel, which leads to more muscular definition, as well as increased muscle building and quality weight gain.

Researchers at Loughborough University, which is located in England, found that growth hormone levels in sprint-trained athletes reached 25 times their resting levels around 30 minutes after they completed, get this, a 30 second all-out, super-high intensity sprint. Pretty interesting.

I remember reading about this same finding, perhaps by some other university, many years ago in a bodybuilding magazine. Interesting indeed, but I honestly don’t know if an all-out 30 second sprint is actually going to make a significant difference in the amount of weight you gain or muscle you build. Sure, the sprint was found to raise your growth hormone levels 25 times higher than normal……BUT is this still enough to cause a visible change. Is 25 times more than normal enough, or does the body require 100’s of times above normal.

Test and see.

Alli is the latest body fat lowering drug, aka Xenical, that many are placing the hearts and souls on to keep their fat levels at bay while they try to gain weight and build muscle mass. Well, check out my latest article to discover the truth about this over the counter medication:

Alli - Does It Help Keep Your Muscles Visible?

According to GetBig, there have been some new, major signings of two of the most popular competitive bodybuilders joining new muscle building magazines.

First off, Dexter Jackson, who’s on a hot streak of winning the last 3 professional shows, has left Muscular Development, where he was at for several years, and has gone over to Flex magazine. This is somewhat surprising to some, knowing the immense popularity of Muscular Development, but I wonder, just wonder, him leaving MD has anything to do with the rumor going around that Muscle Tech supplements will no longer have an ad relationship with MD. We all know that Dexter is sponsored by Muscle Tech. Could the two have correlation???

Second, Lee Priest will be apparently leaving MuscleMag International and will be going back to Muscular Development. Very interesting, seeing as how that ended pretty ugly the last time around.

Regardless, us muscle building fans are simply happy that they will be somewhere, regardless of what magazine. Keep up the good work, gents!

MH has written in a recent column some very interesting information regarding good old butter. It mentions that most of the fat is composed of palmitic and stearic acids. Research shows these saturated fatty acids either have no effect on your cholesterol or actually improve it.

Well, take a further look at some of these facts and figures:

1 pat of butter contains just 36 calories, and the fat it provides helps you feel full longer

Butter is one of the top sources of CLA, a natural fat that’s been shown to fight cancer

Studies show the fat in butter improves your body’s ability to absorb vitamins A, E, D, and K.

All’s I got to say is “Can ya please pass the butter?!”

Now a days, anything that’s “white” or “refined” is instantly labeled as being bad for muscular definition and quality weight gain, when it comes to bodybuilding / fitness nutrition. For example, white bread, white potatoes, etc. One of the main reasons for this is because they feel that anything white and refined causes huge spikes in your insulin levels, which many feel helps store body fat.

Well, according to a column in Men’s Health, white potatoes and sweet potatoes have complementary nutritional differences; one isn’t necessarily better than the other. For instance, sweet potatoes have more fiber and vitamin A, but white potatoes are higher in essential minerals, such as iron, magnesium, and potassiu.

As for the scam known as the Glycemic Index, sweet potatoes are lower on the scale, but baked white potatoes typically aren’t eaten without cheese, sour cream, or butter. These toppings contain fat, which lowers the glycemic index of a meal.

The form in which you consume a potato, continues to report the column, for instance, a whole baked potato versus a processed potato that’s used to make chips, is more important than if it’s a white potato or sweet potato.

So much for the whole “white / refined” bashing!

One of the biggest selling muscle building supplements known as ZMA is nothing but a good way to burn a deep hole in your wallet. If you are using it thinking it’s helping you build muscle mass and gain weight by raising your natural testosterone levels, you need to read my latest article:

ZMA Won’t Help You Build Muscle!

Dexter Jackson, fresh off of a third Arnold Classic win, has taken the crown once again at this year’s Australian Pro. Dex once again brought his incredible display of sinew, muscular definition, and mass…..all with awesome symmetry. The rest of the results are as follows:

Melvin Anthony finished second, while Moe Elmoussawi (third), Toney Freeman (fourth), Troy Alves (fifth) and Ronnie Rockel (sixth) rounded out the top six.

Sun exposure increases levels of hormones called melanocortins, which cause the skin to darken, otherwise known as tanning. These hormones work with leptin to control appetite while helping to increase the signals that stimulate fat burning in your cells. There is plenty of evidence from animal studies and laboratory work that supports these effects.

Now, just because building muscle mass or gaining weight is your primary goal, that doesn’t mean that you are going to throw muscle definition, aka “cuts”, to the wind. Although right now you may be focusing on getting physically bigger in mass / size, you don’t want to turn into a “chubykins” either. So, building muscle while maintaining low levels of body fat are a must.

According to the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, the key to which exercise, between the bench press or the pushups, is better for isolating the chest, lies in your hand position. A recent study revealed that for both exercises the triceps are more active with a narrow hand position. The pectoralis major, on the other hand, is more active with a narrow hand position for pushups only. During a bench press the pectoralis major is more active with a wide grip. By changing your grip on the bench press you’ll change the emphasis from one muscle to the other.

I feel that the more you isolate a particular muscle that you’re trying to build, the more likely you are to develop it. So if muscle building and weight gain is what you’re after, isolate, isolate, isolate!