Drink water! That’s what you see all over the place when giving recommendations for eating to gain weight and building muscle. But, is it necessary? You’ll find out in this article from one of the most well known nutritional experts in the bodybuilding world that some of its value may be a little exaggerated:
If you’re truly giving it your all in your gym during your workout routines aimed at building muscle mass and gaining weight then you know doubt experience on a regular basis muscular soreness (not to be confused with pain brought upon by an injury). There are several things you can do to obtain some relief from this type of soreness. One being the use of Epsom salt.
MuscleMag International reports Epsom salt reduces inflammation and relieves pain. The magazines recommends to soak in two cups of Epsom salt added to warm water in your bathtub for at least 12 minutes three times a week.
Speeding up how fast you do your reps during muscle pumping sets are becoming a hot topic lately. For years it had been pretty much accepted and understood that you should do your reps at a “slow and controlled cadence”, some even suggesting to go really slow. But now many are beginning to change their tune, claiming that fast reps can actually be advantageous. So, what is it? In this new article I’ll discuss two of the points:
A workout training split is when you take your entire body and divide it up into different training sessions. Some training splits are designed with muscle building and weight gain in mind, others for cardiovascular endurance, and others for a specific sport. There are tons of ways to create your workout program’s split. Some very popular ones are “whole body splits”, in which you basically, as the name implies, train the entire body in that session. Another well known split is the “upper body / lower body” split, which you train in one session the muscles in the upper body, and in another session the muscles in the lower body.
Some also love the “push / pull” split, where you work out muscles that are “pushing” muscles, such as the chest, triceps, and shoulders, and at another training session you would train the muscles involved in “pulling”, as is the case with your lats, biceps, and forearms. And on and on. Now, which workout is best to perform will depend on what you’re aiming for. In this case, if you’re reading my site, you’re mainly after straight up hypertrophy, aka gaining weight, size, and muscle building. You’ll have to take into account that you can’t group together too many muscles in one session since that would make it hard to get in the amount of volume, sets, reps, and time that it takes to properly stimulate a particular body part to grow in size.
If you’ve read any of my stuff in the past, you know pretty well what my opinion is of bodybuilding supplements, whether they be for the sake of burning body fat, muscle building, or gaining weight, aka “mass” or “bulk”. They are pretty much worthless and a waste of hard earned cash. Especially with an economy that’s in the toilet, the last thing anyone needs to be doing is spending the money they sweat so much to earn on pills, shakes, protein bars, and the like, that really don’t make a difference.
In a recent issue of IronMan magazine a columnist wrote about a “thermogenic” dietary supplement that is said to provide more calorie burning than the famous E/C/A (”Ephedrine / Caffeine / Aspirin”) stack. Well, when reading the column, they’re right; this nutritional supplement in question does indeed burn more calories. But want to know exactly how many more calories?
A whopping 50 more calories!!!! Whoop-tee-doo.
One of the most recommended nutrients known to man, dietary fiber, could possibly be a road block if you’re aiming to build muscle mass and gain weight fast. Didn’t know that? Isn’t fiber supposed to be “good for you?”. Good for your overall health, yes. Good for helping you eat a lot of calories, not really. Read this article to find out why:
One of my favorite all time cartoons, Popeye, was known far and wide for his muscle building and weight gaining powers from simply eating a can of spinach. What can you learn about spinach? Should you worry about adding it to your bodybuilding arsenal?
I’m beginning to see a lot of articles in several bodybuilding magazines that are recommending workout programs centered around raising your metabolism, keeping yourself huffing puffing, using explosive movements, etc. These are very good training routines. However, keep in mind what your primary goal is…..muscle building and gaining weight. They enhance the overall physique, however:
One of the very few issues that I have with these types of workouts is that you don’t really get a pump in any particular muscle group. Not that the pump alone is important for muscle building / weight gain purposes, aka hypertrophy, but it is an important piece of the puzzle, none the less. These types of workout are excellent for speeding the metabolism, helping you use muscles you don’t normally, etc., etc., but just realize that for pure size, you’re going to have to tweak them.
You can open up and read every month in just about every muscle building / weight gain magazine the same run-of-the-mill article about how vitamins are important. Which they are, the only problem is that the amounts and dosages recommended are much higher than what is actually needed, even if you are a participating in an intense workout program to build muscle mass naturally and gain quality weight.
The very popular show “20 / 20″ recently had an investigative report that questioned the use of mega-dosages of vitamins, even interviewing individuals that religiously took all of their vitamins and minerals……but it was revealed that mega dosages provided no advantage what so ever. That is, of course, if you consider wasting your hard earned money on yellow urine is considered an advantage!
Read my new article that will contain my compliments to every single 2008 Mr. Olympia competitor. The amount of dedication that goes into preparing for this contest is second to none in comparison to many other sports.
Holistic, “all natural”, “100% natural”, “high fructose corn syrup”, “diet soda”, etc….all of these are either praised or condemned in the bodybuilding and fitness world. However, is eating diet of all natural foods truly the most effective way to eat to gain weight and build muscle mass naturally? You’ll be interested in this article:
If you weren’t glued to your television for 4 hours every night during the 17 days that made up this year’s Olympics, shame on you! What an incredible display of athleticism. How much more can be said about Phelp’s record breaking performances and Bolt’s complete dominance of the track? However, that’s not what this post deals with.
If you’re an avid weight trainer that engages in intense workouts aimed at muscle building and quality weight gain, then you’re probably one of those that when watching a sport, almost any one for that matter, not only are you appreciating the game itself, but also the physiques. Well, one thing that could be picked up on by closely watching the Olympics is that muscle building is not the priority in many sports. And that’s a huge tell tale sign. I say this because there are many workout routines out there, whether on internet sites or bodybuilding magazines, that are based around a lot of the movements, strategies, and / or techniques that are the same or very similar to many Olympic sports.
The problem with that is if you look at a lot of these world class athletes, the top of the line, mind you, and although they are the best of the best in that particular sport, they aren’t necessarily the most muscularly developed. That’s because working out for performance is not the same as working for straight up hypertrophy, aka muscle building / weight gain.
Do you find yourself begging your child to put down their video games and get some exercise? Many children stiffen up just hearing the word exercise. What happened to the days of running around outside with friend, coming home for dinner, and when you were done you were out the door again? Unfortunately, those days are long gone and our children are now suffering from a multitude of diseases and illnesses because of this.
I have found a great way to get our children to exercise without them even knowing. By signing your child up for extracurricular activities, they will be socializing, having fun, and secretly getting a good amount of exercise. Almost any sport will do, baseball, football, soccer, dance, just name it. As long as your child is up and moving, you have accomplished your goal.
Not only will your child unknowingly be exercising, but also they will be having fun and so will you. Your child’s participation in a group will benefit them for many years to come. Sports teach children wonderful tools to use in social situations and they tend to steer away from any bad influences. Your child will also be more confident and comfortable in their own skin.
That’s a very good question, especially if you are looking to instill in young people excellent life long habits, such as engaging in a workout program to maintain health, strength, and lean muscle mass, with minimal body fat. Read our new article to see if it’s okay, or not, to have your kid workout: