Build Muscle Lose Fat - Health and Fitness News

Sorry for the lack of entries recently. It's been a busy few weeks and I was also away on business to Dallas, Texas. I did manage to sneak in a couple of workouts at the hotel, so that's a plus.

I've recently made slight alterations to my weight training schedule. As I mentioned in earlier posts, my new weight lifting program would involve a 3 way weight training split routine that had me training on the following days:

• Monday - Midback, delts, biceps & forearms

• Tuesday - Legs

• Wednesday - Chest, lats, triceps & abs

• Thursday - OFF

• Friday - OFF

• Saturday - Midback, delts, biceps & forearms

• Sunday - OFF

NOTE: Originally, the split had the Saturday training routine on Friday but for me personally, Saturday is a more convenient training day than Friday. But if you can fit a Friday workout into your program, you'll get yourself the weekend off.

This training routine reverses itself the next week. Leg day is always Tuesday but the other workouts flip. So the second week would see chest, lats, triceps & abs on Monday and Saturday and the midback, delts, biceps & forearms workout just once on Wednesday. Week 3 would then be the same as week 1.

Yesterday's workout was Midback, delts, biceps & forearms. After a few weeks of training, post cycling event, I've begun incorporating some intensity techniques and will begin a 12 week training program, as if I had a contest to prepare for on February 6th, 2005.

November 7, 2005 08:52 - Igniting New Muscle Building Gains

Back To Basics For New Gains

Basic routines are not just for beginners. In fact more advanced trainees would probably make better gains if they focused on the basics more often in their training.

So if you aren't making the gains you want on your current routine try changing to a basic full body workout for a time. Sometimes a change in routine can do wonders to break through a plateau and allow you to refresh, recover and move forward.

This is especially true mentally. A new routine can do wonders for your enthusiasm to train, spurring you on to better gains.

Let's take a look at a good break in routine that you can use for 4 weeks. Next issue we'll look at some slight changes that can be made to the routine for the 4 weeks after that.

If you've been working out hard for a while, you may want to consider taking a week off from weight training. Ideally, you should do this every 10 weeks or so. However, most people I train (myself included) find this very difficult to do for a variety of reasons.

So let's try the next best thing. For week one of this routine, use poundages that allow you to easily get 10 reps in perfect form. And I do mean easily. In fact, the weight should be light enough that you don't need warm up sets. Do a set of 10 reps, take a one minute break and do a second set of 10.

For weeks 2 and 3 - add a little weight to the exercises each workout but by the end of week 3 you should still be able to complete the sets and reps in perfect form and should not be training to failure.

Week 4 is time to really get yourself back into things. Now you should use the first set as a warm up. For the second set take a heavier poundage and train to failure - still using perfect form and not so heavy that you don't get 10 reps. However, don't stop at 10 if you can do more reps. And no cheating. Train to failure using perfect form. once you need to cheat to get the weight up, the set is over.

Train on a three days a week schedule, such as Monday, Wednesday, Friday or Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday.

Squats 2 x 10
Stiff-legged Deadlifts 2 x 10
Standing Calf Raises 2 x 10
Decline Bench Presses 2 x 10
Curl Grip Lat Pulldowns 2 x 10
Seated Cable Rows or One Arm DB Rows 2 x 10
Seated DB or Machine Presses 2 x 10
DB Upright Rows 2 x 10
Tricep Pressdowns 2 x 10
Seated DB Curls 2 x 10

This routine should help recharge your batteries and build some momentum in your program moving forward. If you don't feel you need to back off, if you aren't feeling a bit burned out, the change can still do you some good. You may want to consider starting the program somewhere around week 2 or 3. You may be pleasantly surprised at what such changes can do for you.

Grab yourself a copy of the free special report Fast Mass!

November 21, 2005 10:25 - Weight Training the Right Way

I was in the gym yesterday, getting in my workout. Now, normally, I have no idea what's going on around me. When I am getting in my weight workout, that's why I'm there. I'm not there to socialize or see what the resident gym bunny is wearing, as she barely breaks a sweat. My head is down and my ear phone's are on.

However, while resting between sets, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a man doing doing seated shoulder presses and I found myself timing him. Even though he was doing full range reps, he was able to complete a set of 10 reps in 7 - 8 seconds. So I kept my eye on him, and this was how he trained everything. Next up, seated dumbbell curls. He managed 10 reps in the same 7 - 8 seconds.

Unfortunately, this is not rare. Look around in your gym. You'll see many more examples of the same thing. This is one of the reasons so many people see so little progress from their weight training. Their muscles aren't working enough, and in the proper way. to see results. Stop using momentum. It's ruining your training (except in certain training specific cases).

Many people are critical of Mike Mentzer's Heavy Duty Training System as a powerlifting routine, with heavy weights, that is an invitation to injury. Yet Mentzer recommends sets of 6 - 10 reps with each rep lasting about 8 - 10 seconds. In other words, one rep under Mentzer works the muscle more than the above mentioned individual's entire set!

Remember, so many different variables come into play when devising a productive weight lifting routine, from the number of sets to complete each rep, to how many reps per set, how many sets, how many exercises, in what order you perform them, how hard each set is and on an on. So don't take out of context training advice without knowing the full picture. If someone says to perform 4 sets of 5 reps on the bench press, that means nothing, unless you know all the other variables involved. You can't take training advice in a vacuum.

And oh yes, slow down!

November 30, 2005 12:17 - Achieving Your Muscle Bulding and Fat Loss Goals

Since we're quickly moving to the end of the year, I am going to stick to review goal setting and movivational issues.. After all, isn't that on everyone's mind right now - starting off a new year the right way? We don't want another year to rush by and end up in the same position next December - wondering what happened to the year and our goals. And to do that, we need to start off the new year correctly and keep the momentum going.

1 - 7 Steps To Muscle Building and Fat Loss Success

Let's take a look at seven simple steps you can take right now to move you rapidly along toward your fitness goals of building muscle, burning fat, and getting in great shape.

Think on paper: Only about 3 percent of adults have clear, written goals. These people accomplish five and ten times as much as people without written goals.

Step 1: Decide Exactly What You Want. This will allow you to prioritize your tasks to that you are spending the most time on high value tasks that move you closer to your goals. If your goal is to add 20 pounds of muscle, there isn't much point in using up a lot of you training time by jogging 5 miles a day.

Step 2: Write It Down. Again, think on paper. Written goals are a powerful thing. They have an energy behind them that helps you move toward them that unwritten goals just don't have. Put your goals where you will see them every day. I have mine on my mirror. What kind of goals should you have? For fitness, you can have things like 'bench press 225 pounds', lose 15 pounds of fat', 'build 10 pounds of muscle', 'run a 6 minute mile', etc.

Step 3: Set A Deadline On Your Goal. Create a sense of urgency and positive pressure. Without a deadline you will procrastinate and do the little things that may damage your short term goals. If you are having "after" pictures taken in three weeks then you are much less likely to swallow that bag of popcorn, than if you are just getting in shape...eventually. Deadlines are huge. This was one of the reasons such a high percentage of people on The Biggest Loser kept losing weight when they went home. They knew that last night, they'd be weighing themselves again on national TV for the chance to win a lot of money (which didn't hurt the motvation factor). Deadlines create a powerful sense of urgency.

Step 4: Make a list of everything you can think of that you will need to do to help you achieve your goal. Leave nothing to chance. The more planning you do ahead of time, the more likely you will stick to the plan and achieve your goals. The more prepared you are, the more success you will experience.

Step 5: Organize the list into a plan. Organize your list by priority and sequence.

Step 6: Take action on your plan immediately. Do something. Get started. Start building positive reinforcement and momentum RIGHT NOW.

Step 7: Resolve to do something every single day that moves you toward your major goal. And with fitness, you have to, don't you? Whether it is your workout, eating six high protein meals, etc. you should always be doing something that moves your forward toward your goals.

Put together a fitness action plan incorporating these 7 steps and you'll be well on your way to achieving your muscle building and fat loss goals.