Building muscle is hard work but it also depends on the genetic structure of the body. Some people seem to build muscle in no time, while others need month after month to see any positive result. Biceps are perhaps the most widely used judging tool in people’s hands to determine the progress of your work out. A few exercises are designed specifically for this muscle group and if we do these exercises systematically with concentration and dedication, you can surely have an eighteen-inch bicep within a very short period.

To get strong and big biceps, you need to lift heavy weights at low repetitions, anything from 2 to 8, depending on the exercise. The most effective form of arm training and build big biceps is pre exhausted training. When you eventually move on to train the muscle of choice it will tire very quickly and you will increase your gains in a shorter period of time.

• USE STRAIGHT BAR: Use a straight weight bar with a light amount of weight on it and curl the bar to your chest. Hold the weight for about 1 second and then release the weight back down only half the speed that you brought it up. Take a 40 second break than repeat it 4 times.

• USE HORIZONTAL BAR: Grab a fixed horizontal bar with your palms facing you and leave 4-7 inches of space between them. Lift your self up until your chin is level or over the bar than bring your self down half the speed that you came up. Take a 40 second break and repeat this 4 times.

• USE DUMBBELL: Take a set of dumbbells with a decent amount of weight. Turn your hands so your thumbs are up. You bring the weights up just like you have done with the straight bar curls. Take a 40 second break and for 4 times!

Bicep curls using dumbbell can be performed, either with both arms simultaneously or with one arm at a time. Lock the elbows into the sides of the abdomen for weight support. Slowly lifts the weight from an extended-down arm position to almost reach the shoulder, then stop, and then slowly lower the weight.

Biceps are one of the smaller muscles in your body so don’t over do them. Give them a lot of rest and that is how you build your biceps! The biceps should be worked out once every 4 to 5 days and no more.

USEFUL TIPS FOR BICEP WORKOUT

• Warm up by using a light set of dumbbells.

• Control the weight at all times.

• Perform all repetitions (reps) s to failure. This means performing the exercise until you cannot lift anymore weight.

• Do not arch your back or swing the weight up.

• Do not lock out your arms at the bottom of the curl.

In order to get big biceps, you need to eat a lots of protein (meat, eggs and fish) rich food. Protein is what makes up your muscles, and you need a lot of it for building muscle. Eat as much protein as you can; your body needs to have an excess of calories each day before you can start to build muscle. Make sure to have a protein drink or a good meal after your biceps workout. Enough rest and good food is necessary for building muscles.

Get plenty of sleep (9 hours would be good, but 8 is fine) and limit your cardiovascular workouts to 1-2 per week.

Knowing what you want to get out of a workout routine can greatly help you choose whether you want to go for full or partial body workouts. Perhaps you want to lose some fat and be more in shape, or you are a woman who wants to drop some inches and tone up so you can get into the slinky sexy dress. Maybe you are a man who wants to bulk up or you might be looking to carve up a six pack.

Here are the break downs of both the benefits of a full and partial workout for your body so you can get a better understanding and choose accordingly.

Benefits Of A Full Body Workout

Full body workouts work your whole body in one session. That is you are working different muscle groups from your upper body to your lower body. This workout is typically done three times a week.

If you want to lose fat, while building lean muscle tissue, want total body toning, or increase fitness level, then this is the workout you should be doing. Working out the total body shift your body’s metabolism into fat burning mode. So it helps you burn a great amount of calories during and even after the workout.

Full body workouts can last up to an hour but shouldn’t be longer. The sessions can be anywhere from 30 minutes up to an hour. The workouts can range from light to very intense depending on fitness level. You are not required to do this routine every day. Most full body workouts are scheduled for three sessions each week. This is a great choice for anyone who has less time to spare but wants to work their full body.

Benefits Of A Partial Body Workout

Partial body workouts are when you work each body parts with weights on different days of the week. Typically you concentrate on only working one to two body parts each time you work out. When working with a partial routine, each body part has at least a day’s rest before you work that body part again.

Since only one or two body parts are worked at one time with a workout for partial body, each body part is being worked intensely. So bear in mind that with this type of training regimen you have to work out at least 5 days a week, in order to effectively train every body part.

The Best workout For Your Goal

When choosing a workout program, it is wise to choose the one that best suits your schedule and your fitness goals. Some fitness experts say that total workout of the body are the best way to work out while others recommend partial workout programs. The best body workouts are the ones that better suit your fitness needs, time allowance, and one you can consistently stick with.

Besides with the endless possibilities of body workouts regimens you can always switch it up according to your needs and to keep your workouts interesting and fresh.

Pushups are the best exercise for women to define their muscles. Why? adding pushups to your workout not only hardens your chest but it will give you great muscle definition in your shoulders, triceps, deltoids, as well as traps. You will get that sexy definition you’ve always wanted, looking better and feeling great. Trust me women, men love your arms, you need to get muscle definition to gain more attraction toward yourself.

Pushups are the best and safest way to build your upper body and back. You need to do pushups reason being you can do this every single day without injury. From handicap pushups to incline, the advancement in pushups is up to how in shape you are and can handle. Excess pushups won’t give you bulky, ugly male muscle in-fact, you’re going to look way better than you ever though you could by increasing the reps with your pushup routine.

You will shred off calories and even give yourself an extra boost. When you do pushups in the gym, men are attracted to the hardness of your workout routine and you will see more men starring in awe when you do pushups and you have a nice physique.

Beginner pushups are for anyone starting out, you simply make your arms squared to your shoulders and your feet together. Start by going down and pause for 1 second than you want to go back up and repeat 12 times.

Handicapped pushups are usually for out of shape, obese women and you simply use your knees instead of your feet, keep your hands squared to your shoulders and you go down, pause for 1 second, go back up and repeat.

Decline pushups are more advanced pushups, for women who are in decent shape and want a tougher course of a workout routine. You find a chair or bench chair, put your feet up together and you slowly go down, hold your position for 1 second and come back up repeating this 12 times in 5 sets.

Incline pushups are the opposite, you simply find a chair or bench chair and you put your hands on top of it and your feet on the ground. You go down slowly and back up, make sure you hold your down position for 1 second.

Advanced stability pushups is where you use a medicine ball, put your hands down on top of it as the ball will support your weight, keeping your feet on the ground. When you are 2 inches from the ground hold your position for 1 second and raise back up slowly repeating this 12 times.

You should pick which type you are most comfortable with, after you do this everyday and you start gaining resistance to the workout, you can increase your reps or difficulty. Your getting stronger if you can’t feel pain after the workout, it’s time for you to upgrade your pushup routine and go for a more advance workout.

Stick to pushups everyday you will start to see the desired results you’ve always wanted. Your going to look great and feel go when you are dedicated to doing pushups.

Insulin growth-like factor 1, or IGF-1 as it is more commonly referred to, is one of the most important hormones to help the growth and development of a child. In adults, it is widely recognized that decreased IGF-1 levels are responsible for the aging process, which normally starts to affect adults around the age of 30. To combat this, many adults take IGF-1 to boost their IGF-1 levels. However, before you decide to buy the first IGF-1 booster you see, you need to know the side effects and benefits of IGF-1.

Side Effects of IGF-1

The good news about IGF-1 enhancers is that they are composed of vitamins, minerals, and other natural substances, which means there are no common side effects. However, if you take IGF-1 injections, there’s a completely different story. Common side effects of IGF-1 injections include jaw pain, swelling, headaches, and an irregular heartbeat.

Obviously, with needles, you always pose the risk of developing an allergic reaction to the needle, which is sometimes referred to as injection-site reaction. Likewise, with needles you have to worry about whether or not the needle is sterile, which can be frightening.

Finally, taking too much IGF-1 can be counterproductive. Too much IGF-1 has been identified as the culprit for causing bloating in the abdominal region, which explains why you see some bodybuilders with a potbelly.

IGF-1 Benefits

Despite what you think of IGF-1 right now, you should know there are almost endless benefits you can experience from IGF-1. Some of the most common benefits include:

Increased Muscle Mass/Strength: IGF-1 is closely related to HGH and together the two hormones can dramatically increase your strength and muscle mass in a short period of time. It is not uncommon to see results within weeks of when you just start taking IGF-1.

Decreased recovery time/improved endurance: IGF-1 improves the body’s ability to transport nutrients into your muscle cells. Doing so decreases the amount of time each muscle cell and each muscle fiber needs to recover from your workout.

Improved joint health: IGF-1 has potent anti-inflammatory properties and numerous studies have shown that IGF-1 can dramatically reduce joint pain and inflammation. Sometimes, IGF-1 supplementation is used as an alternative arthritis treatment because it can provide almost immediate relief for joint pain.

Improved mental functions: Studies in New Zealand have found that IGF-1 can drastically improve short and long-term memory, focus, and overall productivity. In the studies conducted, researchers noted that IGF-1 had the ability to “improve the overall health of the brain and all brain functions.”

Improved heart health: IGF-1 has shown promise as one potential way to naturally lower both blood pressure and cholesterol without the use of statins. For people that are hypertensive or have high cholesterol, IGF-1 is the perfect way to help maintain a healthy cholesterol profile. This not only reduces your risk for a heart attack but also improves the overall health of your heart.

These are just five of the dozens of benefits IGF-1 can provide. IGF-1 also has a positive impact on your immune system, your prostate, the nervous system, and can help alleviate sexual dysfunction as well.

Muscles in themselves burn calories, and strenuous exercise has a great effect on burning calories in the body, but do isometrics burn calories? Is an isometric workout strenuous enough to burn fat in the body?

One isometric exercise case study performed by the owner of Isometric-Training showed a cut of 20.3 lbs of fat in 4 weeks. That was a total loss of 9.4% body fat, not water weight. Furthermore, he showed that, by doing isometric exercises, he burned 14lbs of body fat in 7 days, with video updates and archiving each aspect of his training. That’s a roughly 49,000 kcal deficit in one week. These numbers don’t appear from thin air; real people have performed isometric exercises of varying intensities in order to reduce not just water weight from their bodies, but actual body fat. Isometrics don’t simply burn calories; they turn your body into a furnace that can torch the calories like a space shuttle does jet fuel.

Isometric exercises are a critical key to lean functional muscle, as they have been in the martial arts for hundreds, yet thousands of years. Even without addressing the art behind isometrics, the science is irrefutable; in 1954, two German scientists, Muller and Hettinger, conclusively proved in over 5,000 independent clinical trials, that one could increase strength by 5-15% with a single 7 second stimulation once a week. Subjects in a later study performing a daily 7 second contraction increased their strength by 72% in 46 weeks. The fall of strength after the end of training is very slow. 70 weeks after the end of training their strength was still 42% higher than before the beginning of training. After doing nothing for over a year and a half they were still 42% stronger than when they started.

Ah well, that research must be outdated by now, as much as exercise science changes over the years. I suppose I’ll have to refer to this study by John Little (et. al. 2006) which showed a single 5 minute routine comprised of 10, 7 second contractions produced up to 9.3lbs of muscle tissue. That is enough muscle to drastically increase your body’s resting ability to burn body fat.

There are hordes of thoughts about the best method of strength training; what I will say is that your regimen should include something that builds your body from the inside out. For me, isometric exercises build strength from the tendons, ligaments, and nerves out to the muscles. I do training that isolates individual muscles for maximal muscle fatigue, and training that involves large muscle groups for fatigue of the central nervous system. As long as your training does not neglect internal principles of strength (like bodybuilding training that focuses solely on muscle without long-term development of the tendons), it can be a part of what gives you stability and fat burning ability.

But a true fat burning fitness program cannot only have intensity. In fact, when you look at cardio machines in the gym, the core of their effectiveness is in interval training. Having a metabolic calorie increase from intense interval training, coupled with a massive calorie demand from intense muscle training will do wonders to burn calories in the body, and isometric exercises will do both.

Naturally, nutrition will play a strong role in your body’s ability to burn fat; isometric exercises will still burn calories, but it would be more like a tug of war match between your fitness and your diet, when it should be a team relay to the lean muscle finish line. It is not as simple as eating fewer calories than you burn, and isometrics can burn a LOT of calories.

It also means things such as eating protein that will promote muscle growth, eating saturated fats that actually promote your metabolism, and slowing down with your meals (takes about 20 minutes for your brain to note that food is filling your stomach to trigger a cessation response — slowing down your meals can mean feeling full, and avoiding overeating).

It may seem like the most obvious question in the world but believe me, without at least a basic understanding of the physiology and composition of this particular muscle group then your goal of well defined ripped abs will remain a distant dream.

There are six groups of abdominal muscles, hence the term six pack, and they make up the core abdominal muscles. Your abs begin just under the rib cage and make their way all the way down to the pelvic area. On each side of your torso are two pairs of abdominals known as the external and internal obliques. These muscles are there primarily to support the movement of your spine from both side to side and the bending of your spine backward and forward. Your obliques are absolutely fundamental in your quest for ripped abs as they play a key role in developing core strength, but they will not form part of your visible six pack as they are impossible to see.

Now one extremely important fact to remember when working to develop ripped abs is that although the abs are made up of distinct muscle groups the abdominal area is in fact one muscle known as the Rectus Abdominus. Therefore it is physiologically impossible to isolate just one area of your abs completely, because by definition when you work your abs you will be working them all. You will sometimes hear people saying “I need to work my lower abs” or something similar. This is simply not possible without working the rest of the muscle group at the same time.

The third and final group of abdominal muscles are known as the transverse abdominus muscles. Again just like the internal and external obliques they are not visible from the outside, however, they play just as important a role in your plan for ripped abs as the other ab muscles. They are mainly responsible for ensuring correct body posture. The best analogy would be to think of your transverse abdominus as your very own natural weight belt.

I believe it is vitally important to stress at this point just how vital strong abs can be. Ripped abs are a wonderful goal to work towards, not just from an aesthetic aspect but also because strong and well defined abs will go a very long way towards reducing problems in later life. Weak abdominal muscles will contribute towards problems such as lower back pain or indeed any other postural issues. Strong abs will go a long way towards reducing the risk of injury when you train or indeed just help to build your core strength when performing everyday activities.

It is also important to remember that the abs are muscles just like any other and as such they will require a period of recovery after a workout. The good news however, is that given their unique fibre composition they actually require slightly less recovery time than most of the other major muscle groups. Devise your workout plan around your ultimate goal, whether that be just to build strength or to develop awesome ripped abs, and stick to it rigidly. Good luck.

Now you have a basic understanding of the anatomy of abs you will be better equipped to Get Ripped Abs Quick

You’ve seen the photos in the muscle magazines and watch the heavily muscled men pose in videos. If you work out regularly and have been working on your biceps you know how important it is to work your triceps as well for balance.

The process of developing your “guns” as they call them is one that a lot of men fixate on. That’s because they have been given a lot of press. Women rate biceps second to abs as the sexiest part of a man.

Although it is much easier to build up your biceps brachii, than say your calves, you will find that genetics and age will come into play when you reach middle age. There are two heads to the biceps brachii, the short head and the long head are responsible for flexing the elbow and rotating the hand upwards.

Along with the biceps, there are ancillary muscles that work along with them; the brachialis and brachioradialis, muscles that are situated on the side of the arm between biceps and triceps, and connect the main bicep to the forearm. You will need to work these muscles as well to get the overall body builder’s look.

I’m going to tell you from my experience as well as of top trainers, what the best biceps exercises are for men over 40. The reason I point to the middle aged guys is that building muscles at mid life is tough for men because testosterone and other growth hormones are not as plentiful as in their formative years.

As men age, the quality of their muscles change especially if they are sedentary for long periods. The battle is to stay fit and ward off the onset of fat. You can do it if you are diligent about your fitness program. I work my body parts to failure but give them the rest of the week to recover. If you train intensely, you can build more muscle or at least avoid losing mass as you grow older.

The three most effective biceps exercises:

Standing Bar Curls –

Hold bar with a shoulder-width grip, with arms straight towards the floor and elbows locked an inch from your sides.

Curl weight towards the chest, while keeping the elbows and back fixed.

Contact the biceps as the bar reaches the front of the chest.

Resist weight as it slowly lowers to the floor for a full stretch.

Preacher Curls –

Using a regular preacher bench, hold dumbbell with an underhand grip while locking elbow firmly in place in an extended position on the bench.

Slowly curl the dumbbell up, trying to touch the shoulder of the arm being worked.

Incline Dumbbell Curls –

Lying back on an incline bench, hold two dumbbells with arms extended down and back.

Curl the dumbbells up and out with both hands, being sure to turn the wrists as the weights are raised.

Slowly return to starting position.

Hammer Curls –

With elbows fixed at the side of the body, place the palms in a neutral position (palms facing one another).

Curl the dumbbells up, the same way you would for a regular dumbbell curl.

Lower dumbbells slowly and repeat.

Note: Ensure elbows are fixed at sides throughout the movement, as this will eliminate any shoulder movement, thus placing a greater load on the brachialis.

These exercises will get your biceps up to speed in short order. These will isolate your muscle and focus the contraction on the greatest number of cells. Keep working on your form. Isolate your contractions to avoid using your shoulders and back.

The Seven Basic Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet in Body Building

Introduction

As we move forward into the 21st century, more and more men and women are involving themselves in body building. In order to be successful at body building, a person needs to coordinate an ambitious exercise routine with an appropriate diet regimen. In the end, body building success depends as much upon what you do with your body in a gym as it does with what you put into your body at home.

Certain diet routines and plans have proven to be beneficial directly to the goals of body builders. One regimen that contains the elements of health eating that are essential for a dedicated body builder is found in the Mediterranean diet.

The Mediterranean diet is a perfect choice for an ardent body builder for seven basic reasons.

1. Body Building and Fruits and Vegetables

Nutrition experts believe that a typical diet should include at least five servings of fruits and vegetables during the course of a given day. A body builder needs to more than double this amount of fruits and vegetables. In this regard, the Mediterranean diet is ideal. In the Mediterranean diet, a person typically consumes upwards to over ten generous servings of fruits and vegetables throughout the day.

In body building, it is recommended that the fruits and vegetables included within the diet be taken in raw. (Steamed vegetables are acceptable. However, over steaming can result in a loss of some of the nutrients that naturally are contained in fruits and vegetables.)

2. Body Building and Raw Foods

Various raw foods, including fruits and vegetables, are also rich in anti-oxidants. Anti-oxidants “clean up” oxidants that can form in the body. Oxidants are the negative byproduct of oxygen burnt within the body for energy. Anti-oxidants assist a body builder on many fronts, including lessening muscle atrophy which can be a significant problem in a body builder as he or she ages.

3. Benefits of Protein for the Body Builder

Protein is the essential ingredient necessary to build body mass — which is the ultimate goal of the body building in training. Through the Mediterranean diet, a person interested in pursuing a healthy course of body building can take in protein through lean meats and whole grains.

4. Embracing a Diet Low in Saturated Fat

Saturated fats are destructive to any reasonable body building routine. Obviously, one of the ultimate goals of body building is to eliminate unnecessary and unwanted fat from the body.

While working out is a surefire way of eliminating fat, it is also important for a body builder to elect a dieting course that is low in saturated fat. The Mediterranean diet fits this bill perfectly. Although a person utilizing the Mediterranean diet will be taking in calories from fat — primarily from olive oil which is used effusively in the diet regimen — the that is being ingested is not saturated.

5. Satisfying the Energy Demands of the Active Body Builder

A person following the Mediterranean diet draws in calories and “energy food” from three primary sources:

— carbohydrates

— protein

— unsaturated fat

The key benefit to the Mediterranean diet is rooted in the fact that it is balanced and draws energy in appropriate proportions from these three dietary sources. Because the diet is balanced by definition, your body does not end up operating “out of whack.” Through the Mediterranean diet you are able to obtain the extra energy boosts necessary for body building without causing your overall caloric and energy levels to end up out of balance.

6. Body Building and Moderate Portion Sizes

The key to establishing a beneficial diet to advance body building goals is eating in moderation at each meal. In addition, a body builder should elect to eat smaller meals throughout the day. Rather than the standard three square meals a day, a body builder is best served by eating six smaller, evenly spaced out meals throughout the day.

7. Diet Balance is Always the Key

In the end, the reason that the Mediterranean diet is so beneficial to body builders is precisely the same reason that it is a perfect plan for healthy eating for “average folk.” The Mediterranean diet is a solid plan because it consists of healthy food items eaten in balanced, appropriate proportions throughout the course of the day.

Follow the proven exercises below and you will help to stretch, strengthen and mobilise your lower back.

If you can manage it, aim to do this routine at least once a day. Once you’re feeling confident, you can even compliment your new exercise plan with walking, cycling and swimming.

The key is to start gently to get your back used to the movements and work out how far you can go into each position without worsening your pain.

So let’s learn the routine and start getting your spine back to great health…

Bottom to heels stretch

Starting position: Kneel down on all fours. Place your knees under your hips and your hands under shoulders. Don’t over-arch your lower back and make sure you keep your neck long, your shoulders back and your elbows unlocked.

The exercise: Slowly pull your bottom backwards while ensuring you maintain the natural curve in your spine. Hold this stretch for one deep breath and then return to the starting position.

Repeat this exercise 8 to 10 times.

Top tips for success:

If you have a knee problem, avoid sitting back on your heels.

Perform this exercise in front of a mirror or an exercise buddy to ensure you maintain the correct position.

Only stretch as far as feels comfortable.

Knee Rolls

Starting position: Lie down on your back and put a small flat cushion or a book under your head. Bend your knees and keep them together. Make sure your upper body is relaxed and gently tuck in your chin.

The exercise: Keeping both shoulders on the floor, roll your knees to one side and follow this action with your pelvis. Hold this position for one deep breath and then go back to the starting position.

Repeat this exercise 8 to 10 times, alternating sides.

Top tips for success:

Only stretch as far as feels comfortable.

For extra comfort and support, place a pillow between your knees.

Back Extensions

Starting position: Lie on your tummy while propping yourself up onto your elbows to lengthen your spine. Keep your shoulders back and neck long.

The exercise: Arch your back up by pushing down on your hands. In this position, you will feel a gentle stretch in the stomach muscles as you arch backwards. Hold this position for 5 to 10 seconds before returning to the starting position.

Repeat this exercise 8 to 10 times.

Top tips for success:

Try not to bend your neck back.

Keep your hips grounded.

These simple stretches can make a significant difference to the health of your spine.

Remember to contact your healthcare provider before starting any new exercise routine and to stop any activity immediately if your pain or symptoms worsen.

Good luck!

This video consists of two workouts, one 40-minute workout where the legs, abs, shoulders, and arms are worked a 45-minute workout where you work your back, abs, chest, buttocks and a focus is placed on stretching and toning the legs. Also included is a full body routine that uses no equipment and lasts for 10 minutes. You really have to be ready for this workout because it is power packed. I am drenched by the time it has finished. Each video starts off with a warm-up then you are introduced to exercises that work the abdominal, legs, arms, shoulders, followed by a cool-down. She consistently reminds you to drink plenty of water and breaks are given often but she did not have to remind me because I sweated so much I drank about 40 oz of water throughout the video.

The exercises that focus on the legs are good because you work them in a way that you feel the burn without feeling pain. I have to warn you that the leg exercises consist of a lot of kicking and leg swings so make sure you have the room for it.

The warm up in each of the workouts are the same for which I do not have a problem because they are short and she moves on into the workouts. I especially like the up-beat music that goes along with the moves because really gets your energy going.

I have read some reviews about the Shape Your Body workout video and they are mostly positive but some reviewers stated that the moves are too fast and unsafe. Some feel that she is not adequately trained to instruct people in such an intense style of workout. I would have to admit, this one is not for a beginner, but those who are use to Cindy Crawford’s previous workout videos will know what to expect. Many customers’ reviews also stated they felt they got a real challenging workout when using it. I believe the best thing to do when you feel that you are not ready to do something like the amount of reps per exercise is to reduce them until you are ready.

If you think you are going to be put off by Cindy’s bare feet and the fact that she wears a bathing suit and pouts her lip from time to time, as she has in some of her other workout videos then this may not be for you. However, if you are able to get past that then know that Cindy and her personal trainer Radu do a great job in bringing forth a high performing workout video. Beginners need not apply!