Archive for January, 2011
The Skinny Guysgals Guide To Getting A Six-pack
The title of this article is a little ironic isn’t it? Since when did skinny guys have a hard time getting a sixpack? Are not all skinny guys like 2.1 body fat and less than 150 pounds soaking wet? Why in the world would a skinny guy need an article on how to get a sixpack? Isn’t that why skinny guys are afraid to bulk up because they are paranoid about losing their treasured abdominals? I asked the same thing until this question almost earned it’s own email account!
The volume of interest I receive from skinny guys who wish to build their midsections is more than enough evidence to disprove the false reality of I should be able to ‘see’ my abs if I have low body fat. I’m sure you know of a friend who is completely scrawny yet without a shirt on he has zero abdominal definition! To me that would be salt on an open wound.
Abdominals Are A Muscle Too!
You want your arms to be bigger your shoulders to be broader and your chest to be fuller correct? And what is the solution to making these muscle groups increase in size? High intensity weight training overload consistency and a healthy surplus of calories. Starting to sound familiar?
The same goes for your abdominals. Your abdominals are a muscle group that requires the same formula and attention and are not any different. For some reason many consider abdominals to be a ‘special’ body part that requires a different set of rules and a completely different formula for training. Abdominals were not given a ‘secret code’ to crack. To get thick dense abs those ones that ‘pop’ out you must train them with intensity and overload. Here are some practical tips you can apply to your program so that you can be the ‘man’ or ‘gal’ at your gym with a ripped and muscular sixpack!
Prioritize By Sequence
If your abs are your worse body part then why do you keep training them last at the end of your workout? Which muscles groups will receive the highest priority when you train? The ones done at the start of your workout or the ones done at the end of the workout? Of course the ones done at the start of the workout while you have the most energy and focus. If abdominals are the muscle group you wish to prioritize then don’t be afraid to disagree with the ‘experts’ who say Never train your abdominals first because you’ll weaken your core muscles for the rest of your workout…. I completely disagree with this and often reply Show me the evidence. The typical response is Nobody does abdominals first…. That is pure BS. This just supports the notion that many people who work out don’t ever question what they hear or do. They want to be spoon fed answers and follow the trends of others without thinking for themselves. I ALWAYS train abdominals first in a workout if they need the highest attention.
Prioritize By Frequency
What’s going to receive better results? A muscle group that is trained one time a week or two times a week assuming you are recovered prior to the second workout commencing? Of course the muscle that is trained 2x a week. The more stimulus on a muscle the more growth. That is why professional athletes are professional athletes. They have conditioned their bodies to such a high amount of stress that they are able to train more frequently.
How often you train your abdominals is based on the inverse relationship of intensity and volume. The harder you train your abs the more rest they need. The less intense you train your abs the more frequently you can train them! If your goal is rehab or injury prevention then you will be able to train them often with more frequent and lower loads. If your goal is to make your abs more muscular and dense then a higher load and less frequency would be ideal. If your goal is maintenance then a medium load and frequency would be ideal.
Divide Your Abdominals Into Two Separate Workouts
To train your abdominals safely and effectively you must know the basic movement patterns of your abs and train them within all subcategories:
Truck Flexion upper abs
Hip Flexion lower abs
Rotation obliques
Lateral Flexion obliques
The majority of books and articles you have read revolve the bulk of the ab exercises around trunk flexion that is better known as ‘upper ab’ exercises. A full sit up is a perfect example of this.
Bill Starr in his 1976 classic ‘The Strongest Shall Survive’ wrote that the abdominals …can be strengthened in a wide variety of ways. Situps of all types leg raises truck rotation movements all involve the abdominal muscles to a different degree…
I wouldn’t be surprised if the abdominal program you are following right now is based on one movement trunk flexion. I am guessing that your primary goal is actually to have a welldefined and sculpted sixpack.
Use A Variety Of Functional Exercises
The Top 3 Hip Flexion Exercises:
1 Lying Hip Raise
2 Incline Hip Raise
3 Hanging Hip Raise
The Top 3 Trunk Flexion Exercises:
1 Swiss Ball Crunch
2 Weighted Swiss Ball CruncH
3 Weighted Cable Crunches
The Top 3 Rotation Exercises:
1 Russian Twist
2 Weighted Russian Twist
3 Weighted Cable Crossover
The Top 3 Lateral Flexion Exercises:
1 Lateral Flexion on back extension machine
2 Lateral Flexion with medicine ball over head
3 Lateral Flexion with medicine ball and twist
Each of these exercises progresses from basic to intermediate to advanced. I suggest you master the first exercise of each before commencing to the next.
Conclusion
You now have all the tools and resources you require to start building a set of eyepopping abdominals. Customize your own abdominal workout and post it in the Article Comments Forum for others to compare and learn from.
About the writer:nbsp;nbsp;Vince DelMonte is the author of No Nonsense Muscle Building: Skinny Guy Secrets To Insane Muscle Gain found at http://BuildMuscleEasy.com/ .
He specializes in teaching skinny guys how to build muscle and gain weight quickly
without drugs supplements and training less than before.
The Six Top Exercises For Building And Sculpting Your Legs
Today there are a variety of people who are working out to make sure that they look great but many people forget about their legs. They either don’t give much of an effort when working on their legs or the totally skip training them altogether. This can make the body end up looking disproportioned and give people legs that are often called “chicken legs.” However it is possible to learn how to build and sculpt your legs using special exercises that are designed to help target your legs. They’ll help you burn more calories you’ll build muscle and you’ll end up with strong and nicely sculpted legs. If you want to develop the entire leg you’ll need to train the thighs hamstrings and the calf muscles. So here are a few of the top exercises for legs that can help you to build up and sculpt your legs so they look great.
Tip One of the fastest ways to lose unwanted weight and belly fat is to gain metabolism raising muscle on your legs.
Exercise 1 Squats Squats are a great exercise to use on your legs and they will help you to tone up your thighs on the inside and the outside as well as your buttocks. Squats can be done with or without weights. Basically to do them without weights you stand with your feet about shoulder width apart and then you lower yourself as if you were going to sit down into a chair until you have your thighs so they are parallel to the floor. Then you need to go back up into the standing position. You should start out without any weights and then later you can add weights if they become easy for you.
Exercise 2 Leg Presses Leg presses are also great exercises for helping to build your legs and sculpt them as well. This exercise is done by pushing weights away from you just using your legs. It helps to work out your hamstrings and your quadriceps as well as your buttocks.
Exercise 3 Walking Lunges No doubt you’ve heard of regular lunges and the walking lunge is just a bit different. It is designed to work your quads your hamstrings and the thighs. You start by standing upright then you lunge forward with one leg but you don’t let your knee go further than your toe. Then when you get to the bottom of the lunge you use the back leg to get back to the standing position. For starters it is best to do it without weights but once you get the hand of it it can be done with weights as well for even better results.
Exercise 4 Dead Lifts While this exercise can be great for the entire body you’ll find that it works out your hamstrings and quads especially. Basically this is an exercise where you are going to need a loaded barbell. You take the barbell and you lift it off of the ground from a squat bent over positions. It is definitely not an easy exercise and it also helps you build not only your legs but your back buttocks and even your arms and shoulders.
Exercise 5 Lying Leg Curls Lying leg curls are excellent for working and sculpting your legs as well. Usually they are done on a machine but they can be done without a weight machine as well. If you’re doing them without weights you’ll want to lie face down with your legs straight out behind you keeping your hips on the floor. Then you’ll bend your needs and curl your legs towards your buttocks and then release your legs back to the starting position. It can also be done with a weight machine adding weights to the same movement to further strengthen your hamstrings.
Exercise 6 Calf Raises Of course there are many people who forget about their calves but you’ll want to make sure that you build and sculpt your calve muscles as well and calf raises are the perfect exercise to do so. Calf raises are easy to do. All you need is something that is a bit raised such as some blocks stairs or you can even do them right on the floor. Make sure that your feet are a bit apart and then try to let your heels down so you get a stretch then rise up all the way on to the balls of your feet and hold a few seconds until you feel the stretch. Do 1020 reps to nicely sculpt your calve muscles.
About the writer:nbsp;nbsp;Steve Hochman is the founder of Next Level Fitness Irvine’s Fastest way to get you fit.Personal Trainer Orange County Ca Irvine weight loss Personal Training in Irvine CaPersonal Trainer Orange County Ca Irvine weight loss Personal Training in Irvine Ca
The Reason Why High Volume Bodybuilding Workout Plans Can Disrupt Muscle Gain
Any individual who has pursued bodybuilding with the goal of substantially enhancing lean muscle mass knows that volume is one of the most important factors in producing such results. Most who understand the effectiveness of higher volume weight training workout sessions find themselves addicted to the gym environment spending large amounts of time with seemingly endless weight lifting sets trying to blitz their muscles with as much overload as possible.
The problem is by performing high volume weight lifting sessions on a continuous basis the body reaches a point where recovery becomes difficult and this is where negative side effects begin to develop. The bodybuilder feels weaker the amount of weight used in each exercise declines and the motivation that once existed for weight training fades to the point where workout sessions are skipped and muscle mass soon begins to sharply decline. Some have the discipline to continue performing their weight lifting workout sessions despite these symptoms and what soon follows is the enemy of any bodybuilder who wishes to produce maximum results; a string of injuries from joints to muscle strains and even in extreme cases muscle tears that can sideline a bodybuilder for months and destroy hard earned muscle gains all can result from a prolonged high volume weight lifting approach.
Those who comprehend the effectiveness of volume techniques for producing muscle gains are weary of making any changes to their routine especially if the proposal requires volume to be reduced by a significant margin but this short sighted approach fails to consider the downside of long term volume weight lifting workouts outlined earlier and in the long run overall muscle gains suffer dramatically due to unexpected layoffs.
So what is the solution that allows a bodybuilder to experience maximum results without injuries lack of motivation or emotional breakdown? A concept known as cycling which many bodybuilders have heard of but do not implement due to either misinformation as to its importance or simply not knowing how to properly cycle a weight training workout for maximum results. The key is to embrace a lower volume weight training workload at the point when workouts begin to feel burdensome as this allows the muscles and mind a chance to recuperate without the customary muscle loss that accompanies skipped workout sessions. In addition the lower volume bodybuilding workout cycle allows joints and tendons to experience a period of recovery that is extremely beneficial as the discomfort that many times accompanies extended periods of high volume weight lifting workouts will reduce the amount of weight used and interfere with the muscle building process.
The other distinct advantage of cycling lower volume weight lifting workout sessions as opposed to a constant high volume approach is muscle preservation as normally a bodybuilder who pursues prolonged higher volume finds that he or she must vacation from weights due to mental or physical fatigue and during this extended vacation muscle is lost which takes time to regain once training is resumed and is essentially wasted effort. This yoyo approach is eliminated when cycling lower volume weight lifting sessions as muscle is preserved during a lower set focus and when higher volume weight lifting sessions are once again implemented the body will be able to continue building muscle without the prerequisite muscle regain period that accompanies excessive time away from weight lifting.
Bodybuilders who have been using higher volume workout sessions may hesitate to begin cycling lower volume with the fear that they will hamper long term muscle gains but if they consider that one major injury which can easily result from a constant string of high volume sessions will potentially cost them the majority of the muscle they spend so much time building then lower volume weight lifting workouts begin to convey their true meaning and purpose which is to enhance the chance that a bodybuilder will have the ability to consistently train with high intensity a concept that is vital in producing the best possible muscle gains. The proper weight training and bodybuilding diet routine is crucial in producing maximum results but even a perfectly constructed muscle building system is of little impact if the bodybuilder is unable to maintain consistent weight lifting workouts with only occasional vacations preferably around holidays for spending time with family and friends or during unexpected illness. Cycling low and high volume weight lifting workouts will provide the bodybuilder with substantial muscle gains without experiencing periods of fatigue inconsistency illness and injury that accompany prolonged high volume weight lifting.
About the writer: Francesco Castano authors the www.MuscleNOW.com web site which is a workout routine for muscle gain without supplements or drugs. He also owns the www.IncrediBody.com online fitness superstore selling exercise equipment at the guaranteed lowest prices.