Effective Arm Training

Bodybuilding - Effective Arm Training

In order to effectively recruit muscle fiber from the biceps and triceps, one must make sure to completely isolate them when using the above exercises. In any variation of barbell or dumbbell curls or extensions, make sure you use strict and proper form. With the biceps, in the starting position of an exercise keep your hands shoulder width, hanging at your sides.

Begin to curl the weight upward towards your chest in an arc at a medium pace, and slowly extend in the opposite fashion. Make sure to avoid a swinging motion, keep your back straight and upper arms motionless, only moving the forearms through the given range of motion.

Come to a complete stop before beginning each half of a rep. Maintain an effective range of motion by keeping your reps just out of full contraction and extension.

This keep the tension on the biceps, don't lock out on the top or bottom of the movement. Same goes for the triceps, with extensions make sure you perform each rep as strict as possible.

In the starting position of an extension, keep your hands generally 4 - 8 inches away. Begin to extend the weight upward in a smooth fashion, following the same guidelines. Keep your upper arms motionless.

Utilize the same concept of full effective range of motion, just as with the biceps. With close grip bench presses and dips, make sure you press in a straight line and again, don't fully lock out or extend.

4 Ways to Breathe Life into your Dying Workout

Bodybuilding - 4 Ways to Breathe Life into your Dying Workout

1. Switch Your Workout Style - Lack of variety in a workout quickly leads to boredom. Working out is just like any other aspect of life. If we get bored we quickly lose interest and sleep walk through the workout as a result. It's just like having a job. If you go to work every single day and do the same thing every SINGLE day you quickly lose interest in what's going on.

There are so many types of workout styles available. Search on Superset, German Volume, Pyramid, Cable, Dumbbell, Circuit, Straight Set, Total Body Complexes, or Push/Pull and you'll see just what I mean.

2. Increase Weight 10-15% On Each Exercise - One of my favorite ways to kick start a workout is to add 10-15% of my normal resistance to an exercise. If nothing else it gets your attention. All too often we get attached to the amount of weight and reps we're accustomed to doing. 3 things happen here:

- Comfort
- Lack of Growth
- Boredom

All of which are terrible for the drive and excitement needed to keep a dynamic workout in tact. Adding more weight also allows you to refocus on what is going on. You are forced to focus and push yourself to get that weight off your chest!

3. Add The Element Of Surprise To Your Music Selection - While the iPod is great for your workout it can also be a curse. Last month I listened to the same 3 play lists for 6 days a week. Needless to say I got bored... really, really, really bored. Mixing up the music is a great way to get you rejuvenated and provide that extra spark. When your music gets style try this:

- Set the player to random
- Switch musical genres (rap to rock, rock to rap, house to heavy metal, etc)
- Find some old music you haven't used in a while

Music is a powerful motivator in the gym. Use it to your advantage.

4. Perform Challenging Exercises - Some of the equipment in the gym can get very lonely. The Dip/Pullup stands, hack squat machine, Olympic bars (deadlifts, squats, overhead press), and plyometric boxes (explosive jumping) are all woefully lonely. Befriend them. Crank out some pullups, do a deadlift or 2, stack up some plyometric boxes and perform a set of jumps.

These exercises are the most rewarding in the gym. On top of that there is NEVER a long line of people climbing over each other to do pullups. These exercises are the most challenging but they are also the most rewarding.

Massive Calves

Bodybuilding - Building Massive Calves

The most stubborn and hard to develop body part for most bodybuilders is definitely a pair of diamond shaped calves. Even at the professional level, a great pair of calves is seldom seen on stage.

There are a few reasons why this is the case, especially in today's bodybuilders as opposed to bodybuilders from the past.

Firstly, the top reason that calves elude so many people is simply stated; a lack of effort and an equal lack of understanding just what the calves need to stimulate growth in the area. The majority of trainees tack on a few sloppy half hearted sets at the end of their quad session and then whine about how their calves won't respond and that it's just not in the cards for them to ever have a pair of impressive lower legs.

The key is to use a full range of motion, varied rep ranges, stretching between sets, short rest periods, and lots of intensity techniques. You see a ton of guys in the gym using a veritable ton of weight on calf movements, but they are usually doing a bobbing kind of motion where the body does most of the moving with no ankle flexion. Go all the way up and all the way down on every rep, and when you can do no more full reps, do half reps until you can't stand the pain, then do a few more.

Supersets, Drop Sets, and Giant Sets are killer and will help make them grow fast. Be intense and work hard, with a full range of motion, and lots of stretching, and they will grow. Another thing is to treat them like any other body part, if you do 12 sets for chest, and tack on only a measly 4 sets for calves, you aren't working hard enough or smart enough for that matter.

- Always get a full range of motion during the exercise.

- Keep the calves guessing by doing different workouts at every training session. The calves adapt to training easier than most muscles.

- Use different intensity techniques, such as Supersets, Drop Sets, Tri-sets.

- Always stretch the calves between sets.

Top 10 Lifting Rules

Bodybuilding - Top 10 Lifting Rules

1. Lift Big - To grow in the gym, you have to lift big. Lifting big means going as heavy as you can with strict, form.

2. Mix Things Up - The body resists change. It prefers regimentation. To grow muscles, you need to keep your body guessing. You don't want your muscles to adapt to any exercise or routine. So mix up your routines and exercises from time to time.

3. Stick To The Basics - Too many lifters add too many different exercises for each body part. To get the most out of training, work your routine around basic compound movements like the squat, bench press, military press, barbell rows, and the like.

4. Warm Up - Warming up isn't for pussies. It helps prevent injuries. It keeps you out of bed and in the gym.

5. Minimize Sets, Maximize Intensity - Some hardcore lifters do 40 sets for legs or 20 sets for arms and grow. For most of us, this is not good. Find out what works best for you.

6. Free Weights - While machines can be good for isolating muscles, free weights involve ancillary muscles and are therefore better for putting on maximum size.

7. Minimum Reps - For maximum muscle, keep reps in the 6-10 rep range.

8. Strict Form - What do you want, an impressive physique or to struggle lifting an impressive weight? Strict form is key.

9. Muscle Groups - Focus on working larger muscle groups before working smaller one.

10. Eat Right, Eat Often - Eat 5-6 meals per day. Discipline your body. It craves it. Use supplements like a meal replacement or protein powders only if you need to.

Casein Proteins

Bodybuilding - Milk Proteins (Casein and Micellar Casein)

Milk protein is an old standby that everyone used to use. The only problem is that milk has a high lactose level with a low ratio to protein to carbohydrates. This means that you can't get that much protein from milk without suffering from some stomach problems. But with the new technology we are now able to isolate the protein and achieve a casein isolate. These proteins contain high amounts of glutamine and are very good for anti-catabolism.

They are very slow to digest which is good because the protein will stay in your stomach longer and be secreted slowly over time. Caseinate is very inexpensive and should be incorporated into your blend. Micellar Casein on the other hand is extremely expensive due to it's delicate processing. But it is by far the purest form of casein on the market.

Whey Protein

Bodybuilding - Whey Protein Isolate

The two forms of whey that you should concentrate on is ion exchange and micro filtration. These are the two purest forms of whey currently on the market. Whey contains extremely high levels of BCAA's, which makes an ideal scenario for a post-workout meal.

The only problem is that whey is pretty expensive compared to some of the other proteins available on the market. The best thing to do would be to incorporate a moderate amount of whey into a blend of other, less expensive proteins.

Soy Protein

Bodybuilding - Soy Protein Isolate

Many people believe that soy is only for women, and could never imagine a hardcore bodybuilder drinking a soy protein shake. Soy has some very positive applications for bodybuilding. Soy has a very high quantity of BCAA's and Glutamine, which would be another useful protein to incorporate into your blend. You have to make sure that the soy protein you are getting is isolate and not just regular soy. If it is an isolated protein it is a complete protein even though it is derived from a plant source. 

The only downside is that it does not contain high amounts of BCAA's, but nevertheless it is very inexpensive and it is a nice protein to add to your blend.