Workout routines are important for beginners, especially youth athletes. By setting up a well-rounded routine, you will be able to effectively use your time and get solid gains from your routine. What should you be attempting to do in setting up your routines?

Workout vs Rest Days

You can’t ignore the rest of your life so schedule workout days with rest days in between accordingly. Not only will it help you to organize your other activities around your workouts (or vice-versa). As a beginner, you need to be aware that you are NOT going to be able to go to the gym everyday. Your muscles will fatigue quickly when they are not used to lifting heavier weights. Your rest days are needed for your muscles to recover and rebuild. Muscle growth does not happen during your workout routines, it occurs during your rest days.

Effective Workout Routines

The most effective way to organize your workout routines is to concentrate on one or two body parts per workout only, usually opposing body groups like chest and back. Depending on the body parts being worked on a given day, do cardio as well. Doing a heavy legs day and then doing cardio involving your legs (running, biking) may be overkill on your muscles. Listen to your body…

Choosing Workout Routines

You will notice that I have said “Routines” with an “s” at the end. Doing the same routine over and over again will result in your body getting used to the process quite quickly and you will not see the gains that you expect to see. Change your routine regularly to “shock” your muscles into new growth. I have used a Poloquin routine (several sets of low reps in a wave) for 3 weeks then switched to a more traditional routine with 3 sets of 8 – 10 reps. What works for one person will not necessarily work for someone else. Do your research and learn from those with experience. Try different workout routines from different sources and see what works best for you.

Goal Setting

Setting a goal for your workout routines could be the most important thing you do. You can’t build a road map of how to get to a goal without knowing what the goal is! Do you want to lose weight? Gain muscle mass? Tone your body to get definition? Design your workout routines to capitalize on your desire for who you want to become. How you perceive your self physically will drastically affect how you behave and see yourself emotionally.

What is a  muscle   building  diet? For some, it may mean cutting down all fatty food intake to ensure a firm body figure. Others may say that it consists of the proper choice of foods to ensure that you take in what you burn and you have the raw materials for your body to start repairing itself.

In this article however, we will focus on the important nutritional strategy before and after the tedious workout that people do. People usually don’t eat enough prior to extreme exercises and they eat more than adequate after the workout. This in turn will become an imbalance that will result in rendering all the efforts of your workouts useless.

In short, there must be an approximated 1.5 hours or an hour and 30 minutes of preparation time before you engage in your workouts and the same amount of time to be observed after the said workout. Given that your workout will span for an hour, you will have a total of 4 hours to be considered as your critical hours. It is termed critical because it is during these hours that your body is most sensitive to its nutrient needs and where muscle usage is at its peak.

Regarding eating before starting your workout, this preparation time is basically packing up all the necessary carbs that your body needs for the upcoming stresses that you are about to place on it. Being one of the most important meals, eating before your workouts must be done so as to ensure that your body can actually burn something during the rigorous periods of your tiring fitness hour. If your body has nothing to utilize as energy, your body’s natural and immediate response is the breakdown of the stored energy sources in your body. It could have been better if you have eaten something beforehand so as there is no chemical conversion done within your system.

Your nutritional intake before the workout need not be a special one. What you usually take in during an ordinary meal can suffice your pre-workout meal requirements. However, it is important to observe the 1.5 preparation time. This means that meals must not be taken immediately before a workout. It is advisable if you take in food about an hour or the better if 1.5 hours before starting the exercises. This will give your body ample time to break down the food you took and use them as energy. There will be no other unnecessary chemical conversions needed to power up your system.

A good food choice may include the ones that are considered as proteins and complex carbohydrates to ensure that your body will be supplied with energy during the entire course of the workout. Simple carbohydrates, like fruit juices, can also be taken preferably as a drink to give the body some emergency nutrient source when needed.

Lastly, regarding your  muscle   building  diet after the  workout , what matters is the quality of food taken and not the quantity. Because your body needs to have the perfect recipe so that it can rebuild the muscles that were torn or broken in the process of the exercises, you need to take in about a quarter of your entire daily caloric intake to serve as your post-work out meal. Make sure that you include a good protein source in this meal because proteins are the  building  blocks of the  muscles .

The key point to consider is the timing when you eat. It is advisable to eat within the 1.5 hours of post-workout time. However, the sooner you have the ingredients for muscle repair, the earlier the rebuilding process will commence. A good sports drink may be a good beverage to start with. All in all, eat freely and don’t be anxious of becoming fat if you eat excessively after workouts because this is the time when your cells are literally hungry!

No matter if you are a rookie in fitness training or a veteran seeking improvement in your work out routine, the right sports nutrition supplement will assist you in meeting your goals. These supplements come in capsules, nutrition bars or as a powder ready to be added to your favorite beverage.

These sports supplements add the nutrition your body lacks as you take on the strenuous fitness training in your attempt to get your body at its peak performance level. Many of these supplements are designed to focus on certain areas of the body where there is primary focus.

A word of advice before you pop into the store or go log in online to purchase your sports nutrition supplement is necessary. Prior to selecting any sports supplement you should monitor your meal intake for at least two weeks to determine exactly how much protein and other supplements you are receiving on a regular basis. Study the nutrition labels of the foods you are eating and take advantage of a calorie counter to help you determine exactly how much of what kinds of nutrition you are ingesting.

Once you have this information at your fingertips, you can then make a determination of the types and quantities of additional nutrition you will need to supplement your diet. Experts agree that they best form of nutrition should come from healthy fresh foods. Sports nutrition supplements should only be considered for what they are – supplements to your daily diet – and not your primary source of nutrition.

Whether you are starting out a new  workout  regimen or an old pro there are  workout   tips  you may want to try and follow to get the maximum benefit of your work out.

First and foremost always get permission from your doctor to  workout . Make sure you are in great health so you will not injure yourself while working out.

Make sure you make your  workout  a priority. You may want to use a calendar to check off that you actually worked out each day. Otherwise, you may skip a day here and there and before you know it, you missed three days of exercise in a row. This lack of exercise is not beneficial to you. Think of exercise as you would brushing your teeth; it is something you need to do every day.

A great way to make sure you get your  workout  in is to do it the first thing in the morning. Set your alarm and get up 45 minutes to one hour earlier than you would if you were not exercising. You will wake your body up and get your metabolism kick started for the rest of the day. Eat a healthy protein filled breakfast so you stay full longer. Such breakfasts include drink mixes that you mix with milk that are loaded with vitamins and protein, meat, nuts and cheeses. Skip a lot of carbohydrates as carbs will not keep you full very long. Also, bad carbs make you want to eat more and more of them. Examples of bad carbs include donuts, sugar laden cereals and basically any type of foods that are loaded with sugar.

To keep up with your exercise make sure you only  workout  thirty minutes to one hour per day. You do not want to exercise for two or more hours as you will only wear yourself out and decide to quit altogether.

Make sure you warm up before you exercise. You need to warm up your muscles so they stretch further and so you do not injure them. You do not want to end up tearing your ligaments and having to have expensive and painful surgery.

Drink plenty of water when you exercise. You may want to keep a fresh glass of water close to during your work out. Replenish the fluids you are losing due to sweat.

Do you watch too much television? If so, start by turning it off for thirty minutes per evening. Take your dog outside for a walk. Play in the yard with your children. You will find that you will have a lot more fun spending time with your family and pets. You can always record a show you feel is important and watch it later on in the evening.

Grab an exercise buddy. The two of you can come up with new exercise ideas. Both of you will keep each other on track as far as working out. It is harder to quit exercising altogether when you have someone cheering you on to get moving.

Remember when you  workout  you are working out for yourself. You owe yourself some “me” time and exercise will help your mind, body and spirit.

Body  Building  is fun and you can easily adapt your body into stylish  muscles . The best way of  building   muscles  is body  building  and exercises that will add up mass to your body and you will be able to make your body look elegant than ever. For body  building ,  diet  plays an important role and using good  diet  can help you to  build   muscles  in short period of time.

There are also some foods that help people to make fast muscles without going for heavy exercises and weight lifting. You can add these foods to your regular diet and can see their effect soon. These body  building  foods are aids to boost up your energy and stamina to  build   muscles  and provide high protein to your body. These proteins help your body to enhance hormones and you can workout for long period of time.

Some foods that are rich of proteins and nutrients are egg, bean, dish, chicken, meat and dairy foods. You should regularly use them in your diet with definite proportion and be sure to use a balanced diet.

There are number of different supplements available in the market to  build  up  muscles  quickly but natural foods are always preferred over them. There is no side effect of using natural foods but surely some supplements do have. Natural foods also give you rich source of energy. It is good if you include vegetables, fruits like apples, banana etc, rice and wheat in your daily diet in specific proportion (please consult a physician to know the how much calorie you need in a day and what proportion you need in foods. This  diet  plan helps to  build  up mass for your body that can be converted into  muscle  through workout.

If you want to get a solid and model figure you must be punctual in exercise. You should use some fruit like banana or apple before exercise and after exercise milk shake of any fruit is a good choice. Most physicians recommend juice of pomegranate after exercise. It gives you good amount of energy and makes your stomach work in a better way. If you are serious in  building  up your  muscles  then you should abide by a good  diet  plan.

If you are like most people, you’ve tried the majority of the weight loss plans available, only to be back at square one. There are reasons why this happens. But even more important, you need to know that you did not fail – the  diet  failed you! For most people who have struggled with healthy weight loss, a low GI  diet  is an effective alternative to traditional calorie-restrictive  diets  that just don’t work.

Calorie restriction is what just about all weight loss plans have in common. One of the major reasons calorie restriction doesn’t work is that it slows metabolism, unlike a low GI  diet . Studies have shown that calorie restriction can slow your metabolism by as much as 10-15 percent. This is due to a survival mechanism that takes care of us during times of famine. In our hunter-gatherer days, when we would suddenly stop eating the same amount of calories, it was a signal to our bodies that food was scarce and we may be facing starvation. So, to preserve calories, our body adapted to this situation by slowing down our metabolism. It doesn’t matter that you have enough food in your refrigerator to feed yourself for a month – there is really no way to bypass this survival mechanism. If calorie-restricted weight loss plans aren’t the answer – then what is?

What is the Glycemic Index (GI)?

The answer is a low GI  diet  that focuses on the glycemic index (GI) rather than restricting calories. The GI is a measurement of the impact that a carbohydrate food has on your blood sugar – white bread has a high GI while beans and lentils have a low GI. The most complete list of the GI of foods can be found in Transitions Glycemic Index Food Guide. High GI foods cause a rapid rise in blood sugar (glucose) that in turn causes a rapid rise in insulin. When these two events happen, the body will store body fat. The great news is that when you follow a low GI  diet , you don’t have to count calories because most low GI foods are healthier, more nutrient dense and have fewer calories than foods with a high GI.

The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, one of the most respected scientific publications, compared calorie-restricted weight loss plans to a low glycemic ad libitum (non-calorie-restricted, low GI  diet ). The authors concluded that the decrease in total cholesterol was significantly greater with low GI  diets  when compared to calorie restricted  diets , as was the change in LDL-cholesterol. The authors also concluded that overweight or obese people on a low GI  diet  lost more weight and had more improvement in lipid profiles than those on calorie-restricted weight loss plans. Body mass, total fat mass, body mass index, total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol all decreased significantly more in the low glycemic index group. In studies comparing non-calorie-restricted, low GI  diets  to conventional restricted calorie low-fat  diets , participants fared as well or better on the low GI  diet , even though they could eat as much as desired. Lowering the glycemic load of the  diet  appears to be an effective method of promoting weight loss and improving lipid profiles and can be simply incorporated into a person’s lifestyle.

With a low GI  diet , you not only get the benefits of greater weight loss but also improved body composition by targeting weight loss as body fat. This is crucial since high body fat slows down your metabolism. You do not want to lose muscle since muscle is your most metabolically-active tissue and dictates your metabolism. In conventional calorie-restricted weight loss plans, while some muscle and fat may be lost, the body tries to preserve more fat stores and utilize more muscle for energy. Studies have shown that if you are on a calorie-restricted  diet , your muscle loss can be even higher than 30 percent! And, what’s even worse is that when you go off the  diet , even if you are eating well, you are doomed to gain the weight back as fat. The only way you can gain the weight back as muscle is if you cross train and engage in regular aerobic exercise and strength training.

Beyond its effectiveness to replace traditional weight loss plans, a low GI  diet  also helps to lower cholesterol and bad low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and several studies have shown that low glycemic index  diets  also improve blood sugar control – most notably in those with type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. The World Health Organization and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations both recommend low glycemic index eating to treat and prevent diseases of Western civilization – obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Are Low GI Weight Loss Plans Suitable for Children?

Eating low GI is nothing new – each and every one of our ancestors consumed a low GI  diet . It is the way that we are genetically engineered to eat. Children need to consume low GI  diets  as well. Studies have shown that high GI foods – in particular, beverages like soda – may cause severe behavioral changes. In one study, teachers were asked to rate the behavior of grade school children. The teachers did not know which days the children were given the sweetened beverage. On the days the children drank the sweetened beverage, their behavior was rated 300 times worse by their teachers! High GI  diets  have been linked to cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and other diseases of aging – even in children and adolescents. Even our pets are affected by eating high GI  diets  when we feed them food that they should not be eating from the table. Your pet will also get fat and will most likely experience diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other illness – just like a human.

Conclusion

Get off the  diet  roller coaster and kick calorie-restricted weight loss plans for good by adopting a healthy lifestyle that includes a low GI  diet  and regular exercise. It’s important for you, your family members and your loved ones. You’ll find that in no time you’ll be on the right path for not only losing weight, but also looking and feeling great.

If you are trying to lose those belly fats and you are not doing a good job of it, then maybe you are doing it wrong. Here’s how to save you trouble. There various abs workout routines available that could help you in your quest to achieve that perfect washboard abs. however, you must be ready for the consequences. Most people fail because they have the desire to exercise to achieve 6 – packs but they are not willing to face the consequences like proper dieting and stuff. I know that it is very difficult for you to do that but like what they say, no pain, no gain.

Routine workouts are very tiring, frustrating and boring, that is the truth. And it is true for almost anything that is done repeatedly. However, it is the motivation that counts and if you will not push through, you will not gain anything. If you are really motivated to do it, then you will reap the rewards of hard work. Do not always depend on dieting pills or even avoiding the foods that would make you fat. Why not take care of your health as well as your physique by doing abdominal workout routines and make it a part of your entire exercise program. Getting six – pack abs means getting your abdominal muscles to be rock hard. But to be able to achieve this, you must really lose some serious weight, and that also means shedding some epic amount of fats. The lesser the fats, the more muscles would build up. To shed some fats, you must eat the proper diet and nutrition. The abdominal muscles will never develop if you have lots of fats in your belly. That is why if you don’t have the determination, dedication and patience, you will never be successful in getting those washboard abs that you always wanted.

By the way, what is abs? Abs is called rectus abdominis in science. And rectus is the Latin term for “proper” or “straight.” It makes a lot of sense, because the whole point of developing your abs is to have proper posture and a balance spine.

So what are these abs workout routines? Well, honestly, it varies from person to person. The intensity and the style depend on the person who will be doing it. If you are horribly fat, you will need a lot and more intense work out compared to the thinner person. Naturally, men’s exercise routines are more intense than that of women’s. The routine usually includes squats, to train the whole core, crunches, sit ups, leg lifts, v – lifts and many others. You should always bring a mat with you if you are working out because you will be lying down the floor most of the time. A friendly reminder, when doing crunches, does not place your hands on the back of your head. It is not a good practice at all.

So now that you know the importance of these abs workout routine, you will now see it in a different light.

To  build   muscle  up it is absolutely imperative that you eat the right foods – and as you become more advanced, that you eat the right foods at the right times. However, here we will only focus on what you should be putting in your body. We will delve into the topic of when to eat later.

Undoubtedly you’ve probably heard the term “caloric intake” and how it’s essential to eat a high number of calories if you’re going for quick  muscle  gain or  building  body mass. However, please understand that this means you can’t just eat pizza all the time. You must consume a high number of calories that also contain the right nutrients that will spur  muscle  growth.

So without ado, please find following three essential  tips  in terms of diet for  building   muscle :

Consume foods that are rich in protein. Among the bodybuilder’s perennial favorites are Tuna and chicken have long been favorites of bodybuilders not only because they taste good, but also because they contain high levels of protein. Red meat is also a great source, but this resource has been frowned upon in the last few years due to research linking high consumption rates of red meats to heart disease and certain cancers. If you’re looking for a quick protein fix as a snack, dab a healthy amount of peanut butter on something. Some like it by itself but I always enjoyed it on a banana.

You must consume some fat! Despite what you hear about fat as a contributing factor in degenerative disease, small quantities of fat are necessary and beneficial in building body mass. In fact, about 20% of your daily calorific intake needs to be made up of fats. Now as you may know, there are different types of fats, some of which are quite good for the human body. However, a full analysis is outside the scope of this article and it is recommended you find  muscle   building  books that will deliver the answers you need.

Go heavy on the carbohydrates. Carbs will be essential in supplying your body with the proper amount of energy to keep up your training regimen. Wheat breads are your best bet in this area.

As you can see, you will be going against some common ideals diet-wise – eating both fat with a high amount of carbs — when you begin your program. However, tell yourself this is only a short term deal in the grand scheme of things and know that it will be impossible to  build   muscle  up without them. So take the above, basic steps to start your diet for  building   muscle . These may seem somewhat elementary, but all steps are applied with benefit to all weight trainers at all skill levels.

As an endurance athlete, why is what you eat and drink so important? Let’s go over three reasons. First, proper nutrition is absolutely necessary to ensure your best performance in competition. Second, good eating patterns can sustain your training, while bad eating habits can sabotage it. The third reason why you should be aware of what you eat is…well, it’s healthy! This article will describe some of the advantages that you can expect from taking control of your nutrition.

1. You need good nutrition in order to achieve your best race.

Eating and drinking properly before and during the competition will help you achieve your peak performance. Food in your body acts like fuel in your car – it keeps you going, and higher quality food means higher quality performance. Eating the right types and quantities of food will give you a steady supply of energy throughout your race and help you avoid “hitting the wall” or “bonking.” Also, the specific nutrients, such as electrolytes, in your foods can help replenish what you lose through sweat. Hydration, or water intake, is just as important. A loss of just 1-2% of body weight from water loss can impair your performance and more than 4% loss is medically dangerous; on the flip side of dehydration, too much water intake can lead to hyponatremia, an equally dangerous condition. By choosing the right foods and hydrating properly, you can also avoid unpleasant effects such as stomach or muscle cramping.

2. You need good nutrition to be able to train hard.

Beyond enabling you to perform your best on race day, a good diet allows you to arrive at the starting line in shape and injury-free by enabling you to sustain your training. Again, proper fueling before, during, and after the workout affects the quality and effectiveness of your workouts. For the weeks and months leading up to the competition, your daily training is tough on your body. Each workout you do breaks down your muscle tissue. To build it back up stronger, you need protein and other nutrients. Similarly, water is crucial to repairing muscles. In addition, optimal repair and maintenance of your body tissues not only improve your training, but also help prevent injuries.

3. You need good nutrition in order to be healthy.

And finally, the third reason to be aware of your food and water intake is that it is healthy! You probably already know that when you balance the calories you eat with the calories you burn, you maintain a steady weight. But nutrition is more than calories. The other nutrients are important, too. The best way to prevent nutrient deficiencies is to eat a well-balanced diet. Healthy eating means clearer thinking, higher energy levels, stronger bones, and a healthier heart. Besides making you look good and feel great, a healthy diet at your optimum weight allows you to perform your best.

Conclusion

Hopefully by now you are convinced that nutrition is one of the most important aspects of your training. Keep an eye out for future articles about nutrition for optimal sports performance. It may seem daunting, but don’t worry – it’s simple! And in the meantime, do be sure to send any questions to me at the healthy nutrition for me website listed at the bottom of this page.

If you are new to working out, then this  workout   routine  will be good starting point for you. I still use this  workout   routine  from time to time when I want to change things up a bit and it will help you build and tone your overall body. So when you are ready to get started hit the gym up and follow this routine.

Newbie  Workout   Routine 

Monday: Chest/Triceps

Tuesday: 30-40 minutes of cardio

Wednesday: Back/Biceps

Thursday: 30-40 minutes of cardio

Friday: Legs/Shoulders

Saturday: Day off or 30-40 minutes of cardio

Sunday: Day off

Chest Workouts:

* Flat Bench Press

* Incline Dumbbell Press

* Incline Dumbbell Flies

* Decline Dumbbell Press

Triceps Workouts:

* Dips

* Seated Overhead Tricep Extensions

* Rope Cable Press-Downs

Back Workouts:

* Pull-Ups (use the weighted pull-up machine if needed)

* Seated Rows

* Bent Barbell Rows

* Single Arm Dumbbell Rows

Biceps Workouts:

* Dumbbell Curls

* Preacher Curls

* Rope Cable Hammer Curls

Legs Workouts:

* Squats

* Standing Calf Raises

* Lunges

* Seated Leg Curls

Shoulders Workouts:

* Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press

* Lateral Raises

* Front Dumbbell Raises

* Upright Rows

This is a basic  workout   routine  that should help you get started. When doing these workouts, I do 8-10 reps and 3 sets for each exercise. Also I recommend increasing the weight while decreasing the reps as you progress through each set. Use enough weight so that your muscles are completely fatigued by the last rep of last set. This will ensure muscle growth.

Also if you are trying to loose weight while building your muscles it is important to incorporate cardio within your  workout   routine . However if you are already skinny and are trying to bulk up then you do not need to incorporate the cardio component within your  workout   routine . You can simply rest your body on the cardio days.

Important: It is vital to have at least one day where you completely rest up your body and do no exercise what-so-ever. Your muscles grow during rest periods and not while they are being worked out. If you do not rest your body, you risk the chance of over training which will do you no good.