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You Only Gain Muscle By Eating Right

Proper nutrition is CRUCIAL to gaining muscle. This edition of muscle gaining tips reflects on some key aspects of proper nutrition.

1. You’ve probably heard this a thousand times before: Eat every three hours! This should equal out to five or six meals per day. In each meal include a source of lean protein, a source of carbohydrates, and a source of fat.

2. Do WHATEVER you can to get your protein every three hours. Because your body cannot store protein, it runs out approximately every three hours. What happens when your body runs out of a protein source? It starts BREAKING DOWN your hard-earned muscle for amino acids to use for metabolic processes. So by all means, get your protein!

3. Perhaps the most important and scientifically proven fact about nutrition and gaining muscle: You CANNOT gain muscle mass unless you eat MORE calories than you burn. There are a few exceptions to this (ex: new bodybuilders can make gains in a calorie defecit because their body is not used to bodybuilding), but as an intermediate or advanced bodybuilder you must eat more calories than you burn off! Makes sense, right?

4. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables. This is the best way to ensure you get the vitamins your body needs for recovery. Taking a multi-vitamin supplement can help, but it is no substitute for the great benefits offered by good ‘ol fruits and veggies!

5. Drink LOTS of water. Drink no less than 10 cups per day. It is better to be drinking water consistently throughout the day than it is to drink, say, 5 cups when you wake up and 5 before you go to sleep. I always have a glass/cup or water on my desk when I’m at the computer or watching tv! Even if you don’t seem thirsty, this doesn’t mean your body doesn’t need water. So by all means drink lots of it!

6. The biggest meal of your day should be breakfast. After at least 8 hours of sleep, your body needs a big meal in the morning complete with at least 2 big glasses of water.

7. Try to aim for at least 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight per day. For example, if you weigh 180 pounds, eat at LEAST 180 grams of protein per day. Good lean protein sources include chicken breast, eggs, tuna fish, cottage cheese, lowfat milk, and others.

8. Approximately 50% of your calories should come from good carbohydrate sources. Such sources include oats, rice, beans, potatoes, whole wheat bread, low fat yogurt, etc.

9. Approximately 15-20% of your calories should come from fats. Fats play an important role in the body’s daily metabolic processes and important in the muscle building process. Essential fats, such as flax seed oil, fish oils (preferably from salmon), and extra virgin olive oil should be consumed once per day.

Such fats are important in cell membrane structure. Muscle fibers are cells! Not to mention essential fats have antioxidant properties and encourage smooth skin!

10. Eat a solid balanced meal including carbohydrates and protein an hour to an hour and a half before your workout, OR a liquid protein shake meal 15 minutes before your workout. The digestive system can process liquids much faster, so the benefits of the liquid meal are best reaped 15 minutes after the liquid was consumed. A protein shake and a banana 15 minutes before a workout is always a good choice.

11. Directly after your workout, feed your body with a fast-absorbing protein source (protein shake) and a source of carbohydrates. Your next meal should be an hour and a half after your post-workout meal!

This is all the nutritional info you’ll need to get started building muscle! There is a ton of more specific info that can be taken into consideration, but these are the fundamentals that everyone must know.

Want even more FREE info about ALL aspects of building muscle? CLICK HERE!

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2007 06 17 Food and Drink
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Want Sexy Tight Butt Muscles Like J. Lo? Women’s Derriere Workouts

Want to know what you can do to tighten the Derriere that only takes ten minutes out of your day? That’s what I thought. You can do these two simple exercises while you’re washing the dishes or watching TV!


I don’t care how old you are, or how soft you are, these two simple exercises will have your butt as hard as a rock in two to three months. After one month you will notice a change and so will your husband. ;0)

Let’s do some squats! Yes, you heard me, squats. The rest of this article will explain how to do the squats at anytime during the day, watching TV, washing the dishes, or even vacuuming the floor.

If you haven’t done any exercises in a while start out with only ten squats at a time for each exercise. After two weeks go ahead and work yourself up to fifteen or twenty squats. If you walk a lot now, go ahead and do fifteen squats. Later on in the day do another set of fifteen.

The first sets of squats are not only good for the derriere but also for the stomach, thighs, and other associated muscles. You’ll know which muscles I’m talking about after you do these squats.

A. Stand up, keep back straight, and suck in stomach, feet two inches apart.

B. Keep your back straight as possible; now bend your knees until you’re almost in a sitting position.

C. Do ten of these – later in the day or evening do ten more of these squats.

The next set of squats is not only good for the derriere but tightens up the inner thigh as well. The main thing to remember if you want a tight butt and inner thigh is you have to be consistent.

Do two sets a day for each squat exercise. That means four times a day. If you work all day, do them in the bathroom at work. Or you can do them at night before going to bed.

A. Stand up with good posture, keep back straight, suck in stomach, feet should be aligned with your shoulders.

B. Bend your knees until you’re almost sitting down, straighten up and hold in your butt and stomach muscles and count to ten. That was one squat.

C. Do ten of these squats – later on in the day or evening do ten more of these squats.

The two most important aspects to keep in mind when doing these two simple butt exercises is to keep good posture while squatting, and be consistent with your workout. Don’t think that you can do the squats a few times a week and that’s it. Although, a little exercise is better than none at all.

But we want to see quick results, so be consistent and do them twice each and everyday!

Doing these two squat exercises several times a day throughout the day will have your butt feeling and looking better than any other in the neighborhood. I do them several times during the day when I’m just standing in the kitchen cooking or briefly watching the news, or washing dishes.

After about three months you can work your way up to doing twenty or thirty squats at a time. Believe me ladies, you won’t be the only one enjoying the new look and feel.

Happy squatting! Email me if you have any questions. ~~~

Angie Lewis offers spiritual enlightenment tips for couples in marriage, and is the author of new release book JOURNEY ON THE ROADS LESS TRAVELED. This unique book is about love, life, marriage, addiction, temptation, and understanding the power of spiritual awareness for your marriage. In her book, Angie reveals her own journey of overcoming addiction and battling with her negative emotions that she allowed to embrace her life and marriage. To find out more about this new book click here, http://www.spiritual.journeybooks.4t.com/ ISBN 1413788904 Avaliable Amazon online! Angie Lewis counsels couples and writes a monthly newsletter where she reveals her secrets on how YOU can stay happily married for life! Subscribe to get your FREE monthly newsletter so you can stay happily and forever married! http://www.heavenministries.com/

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2007 04 30 Hot Chick
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Six Simple Exercises To Build Your Muscles Fast

Many people want to build muscle but don’t know what to do. In this guide you will get seven exercises that when you do them together in one work out it is the fastest way to build muscle.

For this exercise to successfully build your muscle fast you need to do the exercise as followed:

-For the first 2 weeks only do the cycle twice. Do each exercise with no more than 30 seconds of rest in between. Once you have completed one cycle rest for 1 to 2 minutes and then finish the second cycle.

-After the first 2 weeks you should become comfortable with the workout and should increase to three cycles rather than two.

-It is important that you do each exercise with appropriate weight and when you are to move onto more weight you should only increase the weight by 10% or less.

Below are the 6 exercises that are going to be the fastest way to build muscles.

1. The first exercise you should do is bent-leg knee raises. You do these by lying on your back, relax your head and neck, and place your hands on the floor near your butt. You will need to place your feet flat on the floor. To do this exercise you need to lower your abdominal muscles so you can raise your knees towards your rib cage, and then you will slowly lower your feet back to their original position. You will need to do this 12 times per set.

2. This exercise is called the V-Up. To do this you lie on your side with your body in a straight line and your arms folded across your chest. You will need to keep your legs together as you lift them off the floor towards your top elbow that your are also raising toward your hip. You should do 10 reps of these on each side and should feel a contraction in your obliques.

3. This next one, the Bridge, is part of the pilates program. You will need to get in the push-up position but with your elbows bent. It is important that your body is in a straight line and pull your abdominal in. You should start with doing 20 seconds while breathing steadily and move to doing about 60 second sets later. You should do 1 or 2 reps.

4. This next exercise, tricep pull downs, are an easy exercise. You will need to get to a tricep pushdown machine. To do this exercise you bring the bar to directly at your waste with your elbows against your side. Push the bar down until your arm is extended but not to the point that you lock your elbows out, and then go to the return position. You should do 10 reps of these.

5. Leg extensions are done by sitting on a leg extension machine with your feet in the bads, lean back slightly, and lift the pads to where your leg is extended. Do 10 reps of these as well.

6. You can do bicep curls with either a dumbbell or a barbell. Hold the barbell in front of you, curl the weight toward your shoulders, wait for a second, and then return to the starting position. Do 10 reps of these as well.

If you do these six exercises together you should see that this is the fastest way to build your muscles.

Michael Parker invites to visit his how to build up muscle website for ways to build muscle and attract women. Get your free copy of “How Your Physique Affects the Female Mind” right here now. http://www.musclyjerk.com

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2007 04 26 Sports and Fitness Comments (0)

Get Fit and Burn Fat While Stuck In Traffic

Spending a lot of time in a car while commuting or on a road trip can have a negative impact on your health and muscle tone.

But not if you use these simple exercises. You can arrive at your destination refreshed and toned. Just be careful and pay attention to your driving and traffic. There are not many health benefits to an auto accident.

Exercises to do while driving

Tummy toner – Sit up straight in the seat in a normal driving position. Breathe in deeply into your lower abdomen. Now instead of exhaling, push the air up to your chest, filling your upper lungs. Now slowly exhale. You will feel your posture improve and get a big rush of energy by doing this exercise. Don’t be surprised if you have to readjust your mirrors due to a higher seating position.

Tummy toner two – the vacuum- Inhale normally, lean forward a bit, exhale normally but right at the end blow out just a little more very quickly. Then sit up before the next inhale. As an alternate try sitting up while making the extra exhale.

Deer exercise. – Most girls are familiar with the benefits of Kegel exercises. Squeeze your pubococcygeus or PC muscles while driving. Do these while driving to arrive toned and energetic. Guys get great benefits form these exercises as well.

Steering wheel isometrics. Grasp the wheel firmly in both hands. Push in like you are trying to crush the wheel. Now lean forward and pull out like your are trying to stretch the wheel. Be sure to do this exercise only on a straight section of road or at very low speed. These exercises will help firm the chest and upper arm muscles.

Steering wheel curls. Grip the wheel with both hands near the base of the wheel. Pull up and toward you. Don’t pull too hard, as it is easy to damage the steering shaft this way. Just pull enough to flex your biceps and shoulders.

Stress reduction – if you are getting tired or stressed, try tapping your head. Use the fingertips of one hand to tap your head just above the hair line while you steer with the other hand.

Tap firmly but not painfully. The object is to stimulate the blood flow in the scalp. Tap while saying to your self “I release this stress and I choose to relax and be happy in this moment.” For even more thorough tapping try EFT.

Eye exercise – Nothing gets more stress while driving than your eyes. Blink often to keep them wet. Move them around while driving instead of staring straight ahead. Use a pattern like ahead, mirror, ahead, instruments, ahead, left, ahead, right, ahead, mirror, etc.

When rubbing the eyes start by placing your index and middle fingers on the bridge of your nose. With firm and steady pressure move outward along the eyebrow and then down the cheekbone.

Follow the cheekbone around to the nose and back up to the bridge. Never reverse the circle, as it will cause the tender skin under the eye to get stretched and look baggy.

Toe Wiggling – while seated and operating foot controls, fluid stagnates in the feet. Wiggling your toes will help pump the fluid out of your feet and back where it belongs. Pay attention to the position of your toes while driving so that you do not keep your toes curled or extended for any length of time.

While taking a break – exercises:

Leg stretch: Stand on one foot and place the heel of the other foot on the bumper of your car. Bend over and touch your toe. Change legs and repeat. This movement helps to relax the calf and thigh muscles that become contracted while operating the foot controls. Lymph stagnates in the legs while driving and this movement helps to get it flowing again. It is best practiced when first stepping out of your car.

Twists: Stand with slightly bent knees. Hands at your sides. Relax. Twist your waist back and forth swinging your arms out fully letting them flail along. This seemingly simple movement has many, many benefits. First it helps to realign your back, especially the vertebrae in the lumbar region. These vertebras get compressed while driving.

Second, it gives your internal organs a good massage, helping them do a more efficient job. This internal massage leads to improved circulation and better digestion. And you will need improved digestion to handle all that nasty road trip food.

Calf Stretch: If you are ever prone to heel spurs (plantar fasciitis) or just want to make sure you don’t, do these simple stretches while pumping gas or anywhere where you may have to stand for a couple of minutes. Find a curb – like the one the gas pump sits on – and place your toes on the curb and your heel on the surface below.

Rock your weight forward until you feel a slight stretch in the tendon or your calf. Don’t push too hard just feel it stretch and hold for at least 20 seconds. Repeat with the other leg. If your don’t have a curb handy, use your tire. Place your toe on the tire with your heel on the ground. Lean forward to feel the stretch.

Arches: Stand about three feet from the side of your car facing away from it. Reach up with your hands over your head. Arch your back and reach behind you to grab the rain gutter or roof rack. Lean on back trying to touch your head to the window.

Hold for at least 30 seconds. This exercise is a great overall stretch. It eliminates most back pain due to driving and is an excellent tummy toner as well. Once you get more advanced, try stretching to the hood or bumper.

Fender push-ups: Stand about three feet away from the fender of your car facing it this time. Keep your legs and back straight and lean over and support your weight on the fender. Now, bend your elbows in a push up motion. This will give you a light shoulder tone up and enhance circulation. For move advanced, try using the bumper or door sill.

By practicing these simple exercises you can use the time spent in your car to help improve your body. Just be sure to stop if you feel any pain and to consult a physician if you have any doubt about your ability to perform any of these movements.

So next time you are stuck in a traffic jam, use the time to improve your body. Even if you arrive late you will look good and feel refreshed when you get there.

Mike Strawbridge is the owner of Straw Solutions performance improvement consulting. http://www.mikestrawbridge.com. He also likes to travel with his wife Janice in their Jeep Cherokees. For more travel tips and trip reports, see http://www.jeepgirltravels.com

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2007 04 14 Sports and Fitness
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Firming the Buns – Get A Granite Butt!

The buns are also referred to as the glutes, and are probably the most focused body part. Well-developed glutes support your hips and posture, as well as giving a firmer appearance and improving endurance in such activities as walking, running, inline skating, cycling, etc.

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to spend a lot of time or money to get a well-developed backside. You can get a quality glute workout under 15 minutes once a week with just the basics.

There are a multitude of machines at the gym that isolate different parts of the hips, thighs, and glutes. Many of these are a waste of time and lead to overtraining. All you need are squats, stiff-legged deadlifts, and lunges for an overall bun workout.

Squats for Firming the Buns

Squats work the entire leg and glute muscle. If you skip the squats, you are doing yourself a great injustice.

To properly execute the squat, choose a weight you are comfortable with. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Keep your back straight and lower yourself until your knees are at a 90-degree angle. Push yourself back up through the heels of your feet. Make sure you contract your glutes at the top of the movement.

Perform 3 sets using light to moderate weight in the 15 to 20 repetition range with one-minute rest intervals. Don’t use excessively heavy poundage if you carry most of your weight in your hips, thighs, and buttocks.

Stiff-Legged Deadlifts for Firming the buns

The stiff-legged deadlifts (SLDL) also help to work the”glutes, as well as the hamstrings. This is often a neglected exercise. Form is important. Keep your focus on your hamstrings and glutes, and not the back.

To properly execute the SLDL , choose a weight that you are comfortable with. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and hold the weight in front of you. While keeping your lower back tight, slowly drop your hips behind you and allow the weight to fall toward your feet. As you rise, squeeze and contract your hamstrings and glutes.

Perform 3 sets of stiff-legged deadlifts with light to moderate weight in the 15 to 20 repetition range with one-minute rest intervals.

Lunges for Firming the Buns

Lunges work the entire leg and glute area. You can choose to do this with or without weights. Lunges are not bad on your knees if your form is correct.

To properly execute the a lunge , stand normally. Lunge one foot forward until the knee is at a 90-degree angle, and then resume standing position. Do the same movement for the other leg.

Perform 3 sets of lunges with light to moderate weight in the 15 to 20 repetition range with one minute rest intervals.

Conclusion for Firming the Buns

Resistance training will build well-developed glues, but in order to remove the fat cardiovascular exercise is needed. Any aerobic exercise is good for burning calories and burning fat, but choosing the ones that target the legs and glutes are even better.

Power walking, jogging, sprinting, in-line skating, and the elliptical are the best for leaning up the lower body and glutes. Perform these at least 3 times a week for 20 minutes and progress each week from there.

I must caution you about the stepper and treadmills set on incline. Yes, these are great for building the legs and glutes, but if added size is not your desire, it’s best to avoid these.

If you are unsure of the proper form on any of the exercises, please have an instructor show you.

Karen Sessions has been in the fitness industry since 1988. She is a nationally qualified bodybuilder and holds two personal training certifications. She has written 6 ebooks on fitness and has helped hundreds of clients transform their bodies. http://www.theelitephysique.com “Use of this article is authorized provided it is reproduced in full, and all web URLS are active hyperlinks directed to the author”
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2007 03 13 Sports and Fitness Comments (0)

Solutions To The Top 7 Workout Mistakes

There are numerous workout mistakes that hold people back from progressing in their weight loss and/or muscle building training programs.



Some mistakes are quite scientific in nature, such as not getting enough proteins in your system after a workout, but most are as common sense as common sense gets.

There’s no reason for these mistakes to be committed, yet we’re all guilty of making these mistakes from time to time, or even on a continual basis. In order to have a truly effective workout you need to understand the reasoning behind these mistakes and how you can correct them.

Workout mistake 1: Not eating immediately after a workout

Some people don’t take the time to ‘feed’ their muscles after a workout with the necessary protein and carbohydrates. You need to be taking in food within about 30 minutes after your workout to have the full effect.

This window of opportunity means that you need a quick meal, something that doesn’t take long to prepare, making those protein and carb shakes the ideal post-workout meal. This will allow your body to recover quicker and help your muscles grow.

Workout mistake 2: Training without a plan

A lot of people train by going to a gym, lifting whatever weights are available, playing with whatever machine is available, and waiting for their favourite piece of equipment to become available.

Doing this consistently is a complete waste of time.

You need to develop goals as to why you want to workout, assess where you are now, and what plan of action will allow you to get to where you want to be. This will make your workouts more focused, and more effective.

Workout mistake 3: Repeating the same workouts

You don’t want to be repeating your workouts from one session to the next. You need to move your attention from your areas of strength to your weaker points, which means doing workouts that really challenge you.

Make sure that you are continually improving after each workout, either by doing just one more rep, or adding a little more weight to the exercise, or doing an extra minute of cardio. Whatever it is make sure you are improving on your previous workout.

Workout mistake 4: Training without intensity

Some people tend to just coast through a workout; using light weights in low reps, low intensity cardio, and overall low intensity workouts. In order to make significant gains you need to train with intensity and push yourself to improve in each workout.

Rather than relying on a long, steady cardio workout, try training in high intensity intervals. And instead of doing higher rep ranges with lighter weights, do lower rep ranges with more weights. The harder you train, the quicker you will see results.

Workout mistake 5: Thinking you need to ‘feel the burn’

Some people think that to have an effective workout you need to feel that burn in your muscles. That burn is a result of lactic acid building up during the workout and may actually slow down muscle growth, not speed it up.

It has nothing to do with muscle growth, and nothing to do with how hard you’re training. You can reduce lactic build-up by training in a rep range of 5-7 rather than higher rep ranges of 10 and above.

Workout mistake 6: Comparing yourself to others

Don’t compare yourself to the professional body builders or the professional athletes who train for hours every day. Comparing yourself to others lowers your self-esteem and confidence, making you frustrated and unhappy.

Focus on your own goals, and the results you want to see in yourself through each of your workouts. Compare yourself to yourself yesterday, or yourself during the previous workout, and make sure that you are improving on what and who you were before today.

Workout mistake 7: Making excuses for missing a workout

We all have excuses, and we’ve all used them, but excuses get us absolutely nowhere. We don’t gain anything from using our excuses, and we certainly don’t grow from them, physically and mentally. Drop the excuses.

Some people don’t see results immediately so they stop trying, others say it’s too hot or too cold, and still most say they don’t have enough time. You need to accept total and absolute responsibility for your life.

If you’re not seeing results find out why, maybe you need to train with more intensity, maybe you’re not eating properly; find out why, and rectify the situation. If you feel you don’t have enough time to workout, decide to manage your time so that only activities that are essential to you consume your time, and taking care of your body is as essential as it gets.

If you want to workout in the morning get out of bed an hour earlier, which means you go to sleep an hour earlier. Take responsibility for all of your actions and create the masterpiece of your life.

The first step to rectifying any mistake in your training is identifying the mistake. Identify exactly what you’ve been doing incorrectly, learn from the mistake, and find out how you can correct the situation.

The real mistake in training is knowing you’re making mistakes but doing nothing about it, and just repeating those same errors over and over again. Make significant progress in your training and you will be able to make significant progress in other areas of your life.

Want to learn more about the power of getting into great physical health? Want to find out more about how you can maintain your momentum while chasing your dreams? Want to develop an unconquerable mentality for success? Download your free copy of the 501 Greatest Quotes Of All Time at http://www.rubama.com and gain greater insights into how you can ensure your success in life.

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2007 03 09 Smart Living
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