Normally bodybuilding articles talk about how to build muscle up, diet, training workouts, muscle building nutrition and so on, however whilst these are all really important there is one things slightly different I would like to introduce to you and your muscle building armoury. It is the reticular activating system (RAV).

The RAV works alongside the visual parts of our brain and directs our attention to certain things that our sub conscious has programmed into it, to be important to achieve our goals. This sub-conscious thought pattern that we have is literally what makes us notice, hear and take action on the things that we do on a daily basis.

Neuroscientists now have evidence to prove this and therefore even skeptics should belive now that positive thinking and the law of attraction work. If you do not know what the law of attraction is it is basically the premise that ‘what you think about, you bring about’ or ‘thoughts become things’. Now in the past this was thought of as being a bit to new agey for the majority of people however there is an increasing acceptance of this mental approach worldwide.

Now it doesn’t really matter if you take the neuro-scientists approach about it or the new age approach to this as it will still work. So by reprogramming the software of our mind like this it is then possible for us to identify an pick out more clearly the paththat we need to take to reach our goals faster. Some people will come across strange co-incidences that will help there progress which is not uncommon and often gives this ‘law of attraction’ an unearthly feel whereas the truth is those things were probably there waiting to be found all along!

So what use is any of this to a bodybuilder? Well think about your current thought patterns. What is it precisely that you are saying to yourself on day to day basis. Are they thoughts like ‘losing weight is too difficult’ or ‘I never grow muscle fast’ for if they are then that is exactly what your RAV system is choosing for you to notice and act upon on a daily basis. It is therefore your everyday sub conscious thought process that you need to alter to positive muscle building thought processes such as: ‘muscle mass come quickly and easily’ or ‘I am getting huge fast’ and so on.

How can you go about changing these thought patterns? Here are a couple of things to try:

1)       Visualisation: first you need to set aside 5 minutes or so each day to do this. Simply shut your eyes and visualise in your minds eye exactly how you want your physiques to be. Large biceps, huge chest muscle, massive quads and such like, ensure that you can see as vividly as possible this vision and keep it in your mind with a sense of strong self belief.’

2)       Speak out aloud clearly and confidently simple statements like: I am extremely fit and healthy, I am huge and muscular, I am growing more and more each day and so on.

Go through these everyday. For most people just 21-30 days is all that is required to over ride the old thought patterns and to start operating on the new ones. Following that, keep doing them in order to continually reaffirm your new thought patterns.

If you don’t believe that this stuff works then I suggest that you take a look at a few sportsmens autobiographies or sports studies books, I gaurantee that you will find these processes talked about in depth, particularly visualisation which is an amazingly productive technique that should get daily usage!

Ok with these positive thoughts and feelings in mind, go build muscle mass!

Technorati Tags: bodybuilding, build muscle mass, how to build muscle, mind power, muscle building

There are many advice columns, hyped up products, infomercials, e-books and so on all giving advice about the newest latest and easiest ways to build muscle. so, if there are all these varied methods to stimulate muscle growth then how come it is so such a difficult task for certain people? Well, the answer is partly supplied by the question itself. With so much conflicting and individualistic advice about, both on the net and in bookstores and magazines, how on earth is someone new to bodybuilding supposed to know what to do?

The new bodybuilder really needs to merely have knowledge of the essential basics in order to start growing therefore much of this information will be irrelevant. So with that in mind here are three sure fire steps to help anyone build muscle easily.

1) Train hard. Ensure that in your program you use the multi-joint mass building exercises that follow: deadlifts, rows, squats, benchpresses and pull ups. These exercises will help you build muscle easily and have been tried and tested for many years now. Try to avoid exercises that isolate individual muscles, these are really for muscle carving and defining and not for stimulating muscle mass growth. Get to the gym, hit the weights hard and intensely for 45 minutes then get out and grow.

2) Pay attention to muscle building nutrition. For decades now experienced trainers have been saying that at least 80% of muscle growth success is down to good muscle building nutrition. Even today this is still very true! As a rule of thumb 50% of your food should be from carbohydrates, 30% from protein and the rest made of fats.

The following source of food come highly recommended, for carbs: rice, potatoes, pasta, brown breads. Superb sources of protein are: lean white meat - chicken, turkey, milk, beef and fish, particularly mackerel and tuna. you will adequate fats from all of these foods. If you have a few spare dollars to spend then try supplementing with: whey protein, essential fatty, acids, creatine and a good multi-vitamin product.

3) Rest. You should spend time in quality rest as this is when your body is going to grow. This sounds such simple advice but so many people out there do not give their body enough time to recover from their last session and grow. Two workouts for each body part a week will be enough for most people.

Ok, I said at the start it was simple process and it is. If you just stick to those basics you too can build muscle easy. Whilst you may delve as deep as you like into all of these topics, essentially that is all you need to know if you wish to grow. Now with those things in mind, ensure correct muscle building nutrition, train hadr and intensely and give yourself time to recover!

Technorati Tags: build muscle easily, build muscle easy, build muscle mass, how to build muscle, muscle building nutrition

‘Why am I not growing?’ is one of the most frequently asked questions around the world by bodybuilders. After all you are training hard, with good muscle building nutrition in your diet, yet your gains are still minimal. The frustration can be a huge blow to your motivation after so many months of hardwork. So precisely what is the answer? Well, there are a few likely causes, see if any of these ring a bell with you, together they show you how to build muscle:

1) Are you eating enough? Some hardgainers are really just undereaters. As this really is a massive cause of lack of muscle mass. Eating lots and often is the key to weight gain in bodybuilding! Eating every two hours is a good guideline and will enable you to take on board as many calories as possible. Make sure you snack lots on food such as: dried fruit and nuts, yoghurt, cottage cheese,  cereal and milk, protein bars, fresh fruit, and protein shakes, etc

2) Are you getting enough protein? To build muscle mass fast you should aim for 1.Every day you should consume per pound of body weight 5 grams of protein. Superb source of protein for muscle building are: chicken, fish, turkey as well as dairy products. Eat everything don’t worry so much about eating low fat products, that will make it harder to get all the calories you need in order to bulk up. Sure you need quality calories but make your life easier and eat everything, remember you can go through a cutting up stage in a few months time. Taking whey protein shakes  is another great way to get on board quality protein, purchase the big 5 pound tubs to get the most for your money.

3) Have your routines gone stale? If you can dictate out loud your session off the cuff then that likely means you have been using the same workout for a decent length of time already. If you do not stimulate your muscle in a variety of ways then it will stop growing. Trying playing around with things like drop sets, partials, negatives, aided lifts and such like. You can even just reverse the order of your routine and see what difference that makes, how about 10 sets of 10 reps to failure on just one major exercise such as the bench press (get ready to be sore!) or just give yourself a week off from training to allow your body to fully recover. As you can see there are endless variations, make sure you use them.

4) Are you managing to take enough rest? Have you ever witnessed someone go to the gym and then come out with more muscle than when they entered? Never. So, clearly your muscles don’t grow when your pumping iron, they grow when you are resting. You are limiting your muscle growth if you do not allow enough time for the muscle to recuperate. If anything you ought to be giving yourself too much time to grow rather than too little. Try reducing your workouts to working out once muscle group per week. Also reducing the number of sets per body part, how about a maximum of 3-5 really intense sets per body part per workout. Think that is not nearly enough, give them a go and see what happens!

5) Are you drinking enough water? If you are skimping on the water then you really are limiting your progress. To build muscle mass copious amount of water is required. Always keep a water bottle to hand and make use of it.

So the question we began with: “Why am I not growing quicker?’ as you can see, has more than one answer. After viewing the guidelines above don’t forget them, try and make the necessary changes today. If you are not meeting just one of the above points then you may well have found the reason for your limited growth. If there are more than one of these points that your bodybuilding lifestyle does not meet then urgent change is required. Certainly there are a huge variety of reasons why you aren’t building muscle mass fast but they are the typical probelms. Now hit the weights and starting building muscle mass!

Technorati Tags: build muscle mass, how to build muscle, how to build muscles fast, muscle building nutrition

Faster growth is the aim of every bodybuilder. Fast gains is the name of the game , no-one likes waiting. So it is very frustrating that it takes months or years to build muscle mass. However we are able to decrease the time it takes to build muscle. So here are 10 hot tips that show you how to build muscles fast. They follow now:

1. The Concept of Overload. This actually means that you need to increase the workload you do at every single workout. make sure that you are always stretching the limits of your muscles in some way to ensure that they continue to be stimulated. Growth can be repeatedly stimulated by continually altering the stress placed on the muscle.

2. The ideal rep range is between 8-12. Muscle stimulation for growth in size is best done in this rep range. Whilst the 3-6 rep range will increase strength it doesn’t always lead to massive size increases. If you are doing over 15 reps whilst your muscles will increase in endurance they won’t increase in size as much because a different type of muscle fibre is being stimulated.

3. 6-9 sets should be the maximum done for any particular bodypart per workout. You risk overtraining by doing more than that. This will keep your sessions more intense and prevent the body secreting catabolic hormones which adversely affect muscle growth. Ideally limit your workout to 45 mins so that you can keep it intense.

4. Eat plenty of calories to support growth. You must support your muscle growth with an excess amount of quality calories. To support muscle growth an excess supply of calories is required. You must eat lots and make sure the calories are from good sources such as rice, breads, pasta for carbs, fish lean white meat for protein and fresh leafy green fruit and vegetables for vitamins and minerals.

5. Increase your protein intake. Protein repairs and builds muscle so is definetely required. If you don’t have enough protein then you won’t be able to build muscles fast. You can get an approximate calculation of the protein you need by:
Lean Mass Body Weight in kg times 2.75 = Each day this is your protein intake target

To workout your lean mass weight you need to know your percentage body fat. This can be undertaken at any gym or an easier way is to eat one gram of protein per pound of your bodyweight.

6. Take on fat! This is solid advice as increases the amount of anabolic muscle building hormones released by the body. Some people increase this by taking steroids but a good bodybuilding diet can do this to some extent naturally and fats play a role in this.

7. Liquids. Many chemical reactions in the body require water in order to take place including muscle building ones. It is therefore wise to take on board more muscle than usual. This should not be overlooked if you really want to build muscle fast.

8. Don’t go over the top with the cardio sessions. This happens because aerobic training session will cause the body to secrete catabolic hormones into the blood strem that will actually lead to muscle breakdown. It will also at the same time reduce the number of calories that your body has that you wish to preserve so that you can be building muscle as whilst you are resting.

9. My number one favourite: Sleep. Rest is an essential part of muscle growth especially sleep which is when your muscle will grow. Brink a protein shake before retiring. Starving your body overnight is the last thing you should be doing if you want muscle growth. During sleep growth hormones are released, your muscles experience increased blood flow and your metabolic rate slows down. All of these are ideal conditions for building muscle fast.

10. Remain dedicated. Don’t quit on chasing your goals. You are going to turn into Mr. Olympis overnight however by following the previous guidelines you will notice increase in muscle mass especially over a three month period. The above tips are practiced by many experienced bodybuilders and I assure you they really do show you how to build muscle fast.

Technorati Tags: build muscle mass, build muscles, how to build muscle, muscle building

“Can I build muscle mass at home or do I need to go to a gym” is a frequently asked question?. The answer to that question is a resounding ‘no’. Positives and negatives exist for training at home or in a fitness centre. You can easily build muscle home.

Exercising in a regular gym allows you access to all sorts of new and more sorts of equipment, you can gain professional advice more easily too, plus it is probably going to be much less dangerous. However training in a gym can be annoying sometimes if you have to wait for a particular piece of equipment or the other gym users are sat around gossipping and not really interested in getting big.

As regards working-out at home, there are many benefits to this: no fee (my favourite), no hassle travelling there and parking, workout with your shirt off, you can play your own music, no queing for equipment and you don’t have to worry about what other people are thinking about you when you are shouting at the bar for motivation.

The negatives are the intial outlay of money at that is required to purchase the equipment although this will likely last a for ages and can be sold again second hand, you may also incur the wrath of your housemates/partner if you use up too much room.

Working-out at home allows you to build muscle mass at your convenience and if you go by the following how to build muscles fast at home guidelines you should not have a problem working-out at home:

1)Find a suitably large space, such as a garage, basement or spare room. You should always have a solid ground floor which means that a ground floor is a much safer option. Good ventilation will be welcome too. If it is a garage make sure it is fully water-proof so your equipment does not get rusty.

2) Any item easily damaged will have to be removed. Youtube provides and amusing clip of a young guy swinging his barbell into the fish tank which splinters into pieces! Funny of course unless it is your tank. Try to get a permanent set training spot, this will prevent any future mistakes like this. Imagine slipping a barbell into the scrren of a plasma tv ot dropping a dumbell on a new laptop, not too much fun.

3)Get the following pieces of equipment as a minimum: a set of cast iron dumbells and barbells, a weight bench, squat stand, a mat and a pull-up bar. There are some great innovative pieces of equipment out there so take a look around but make sure you buy very sturdy equipment that will last, don’t skimp on quality as it is going to take a lot of hammer!

4) Set out a decent workout. The top muscle building exercises can all be done with that equipment. Bench-presses, pull-ups, squats, dead lifts are all must have multi-joint exercises which should be used followed by exercises such as: barbell curls, upright rows, shrugs, lunges, shoulder presses, lateral raises and bent over rows are also great to include.

5) Be safety conscious. As you are going to be working out solo then get a friend over to help you if you are thinking of doing any heavy one rep maximums as this will help ensure your safety. Always make sure that all weight discs are securely fastened to the barbell. most weight benches let you insert a pin at the bottom of your lift when the barbell is at the height slightly above your chest, ensure you insert this as if you cannot make the lift it can take the pressure for you, do the same in the squat stand too.

So, by following the above ‘how to build muscle home guidelines’ you can have a great workout, build heaps of muscle mass and all in the convenience of your own home.

Technorati Tags: buil muscle home, build muscle mass, build muscles at home, how to build muscle, how to build muscle fast

Try going into any magazine rack or book store, and you are constently bombarder with books, guides and programs all promising you to guide you in how to lose weight and gain muscle. While some book advise that you eat protein only, others say you should eat less protein. It can all be so confusing! In this Burn the fat feed the muscle review you will get a direct answer, bypassing all the hype and contredictions that are spread around. What is Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle and what can you learn from it, how will this program be any different from the many others you may have tried?

To start with, a natural bodybuilder is the person who wrote the Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle book and you will be shown in a step by step manner, how to eliminate your fat tissue while preserving and gaining more of your muscle mass. As you’ll read in this Burn the fat feed the muscle review, this is the same program that fitness models and body builders use to achieve solid muscle mass and reduce their body fat, but it truly can be used by anyone that wants to get healthy and gain muscle. This program is not based on supplements and protein shakes, it educates the reader on how to make healthy choices that will last a lifetime.

 The overall strength of this fitness book is not just because it teaches you, the reader, how to eat better and make healthy choices, but in its motivational factor and goal setting help. Learning how to st goals and work towards then is half the battle in gaining control over your weight. This Burn the fat feed the muscle review shows you just how this book can do that for you. This book contains vital information on how to make healthy choices as well as cardio and weight training exercises and it’s written in a style that’s easy to read and understand.

We live in an era where a “quick fix” is what everyone is looking for and the fitness industry leads the pack with supplements, pills and shakes that are “guaranteed” to help you lose weight. Weight loss cannot be found in a pill and drinking your food does nothing to help you learn how to build muscle mass. If you are just starting off on your weight loss goals, or even if you are a seasoned pro,  take what you have learned from this Burn the fat feed the muscle review, this book should become part of your library, the wealth of knowledge it contains will last a lifetime.

Technorati Tags: burn the fat feed the muscle, burn the fat feed the muscle review, how to build muscle, how to gain muscle, tom venuto

In this in-depth Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle review, we will take a look at whether or not this type of program truly works and what it can do for you and your weight loss goals. The biggest hindrance of learning how to build muscle mass is trying to rid the body of unwanted fat. In order to burn fat and feed your muscles, it takes dedication, hard work and a great deal of stamina. Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle is certainly not for the faint of heart, it is packed full of information about the kinds of foods you should eat, the types of exercises you should be doing and, most importantly, muscle building.

Impressivley enough, the main essence of the Burn the fat feed the muscle program is to do as it is called- help you burn your fat tissue. It does so while preserving muscle, water and lean tissue. As you read through this Burn the fat feed the muscle review, you will noticve that many people claim to have a big drop in their weight at the beginnig of the program, this is due to losing water as well as some fat and lean muscle tissue. The goal of Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle is to ultimately reduce the amount of lean tissue that’s lost and produce real, recognizable fat loss.

Everyone can benefit from the Burn the fat feed the muscle program, as it is designes for everyone from huge weigtlifters to stay at home moms and teenagers. As you’ll learn in this Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle review, this program is designed to educate and provide a lifetime of knowledge to its readers. You will learn about successful eating habits, the best elements to get and stay healthy as well as helpful information about the how and why of fat loss.

This program is not a diet, you will not be restricted to the kinds of foods you can and cannot eat, and you won’t be reduced to eating only protein. Instead, as you can see from this Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle review, this program give you the knowledge you need to make informed, educated decisions about the kinds of food you eat. The overall best aspect of this program is the chapter on goal setting.Losing weight doesn’t just come from using pills, potions or any other miricle. Are you committed to improving youe shape and beng all you can be? if so than this program is for you.

Technorati Tags: burn the fat feed the muscle, burn the fat feed the muscle review, how to build muscle, how to bulid muscle mass, tom venuto

If you are reading this article then the chances are that you already know what a hardgainer is. If you are not aware of the term that basically it kind be defined as some one who has immense difficulty putting on weight in the form of fat or muscle! This is normally said to be because that person has a high metabolic rate.

Metabolism or metabolic rate refers to the rate at which your body burns up the calories it has taken on whilst performing the natural reactions of the body. If your metabolism is particularly slow then it will be easier to put on fat tissue as you are not burning up as many calories at rest as someone with a faster metabolism.

For muscle building purposes we need to create a surplus of calories but for hardgainers this is a difficult thing to do with such a high metabolic rate as it is rapidly being burnt off. So, how can hardgainers counter this? Here is our how to build muscle guide for hardgainers:

1) Keep the cardio workouts to a minimum. Cardio work actually speeds up the bodies metabolism, as well as using up calories whilst doing the exercises, you will also be increasing the rate at which you are burning up calories at rest after your workout. You must avoid this if you are trying to create a surplus amount of calories.

2) Eat for two! You must eat lots of calories. To do so, double the portion of food that you would normally consume. Buying extra large bowls, plates and cups will help you not to forget this.

3) Eat 5-7 meals per day. This is critical to build muscle mass. Your body can only absorb a certain amount of nutrients at anyone sitting so spreading out the meals is also a good thing and ensures that your body is never waiting for its next meal. Eating 2-3 meals per day is claimed to slow down the bodies metabolism which is true but this doesn’t mean it is something that hardgainers sould do. Why? Because your body can flip into a starvation state where it releases particular chemicals that actually inhibit the muscle building process.

4) Use supplemements. Take full advantage of the numerous excellent supplements that are available such as protein shakes and meal replacement powders. These contain large amounts of precisely the things you need. Excellent moments to consume them are immediately post training and immediately prior to training a this is when your body needs them the most.

Stop performing exercises like concentration curls and stick with classic compound mass building exercises. Your program should include: Squats, dead lifts, pull ups and bench presses. These are the most efficient way to put muscle in all the right places with the least amount of effort.

6) Stop doing so many sets. Growth can be stimulated in only 40 minute sessions consisting of only 3 sets for each body part and as few as 10 sets a session. More is often worse for hardgainers! ignite growth then shoot out of the gym and keep your calories available for growing.

7) Drink ample amounts of water. It is crucial for many important reactions in the body so don’t forget to do this. Consume liquid frequently.

There we go, give those tips a bash. Be persistent with these for a couple of months before your judge them. Simply try them out and see what happens? I hope you found our how to build muscle fast tips useful.

Technorati Tags: build muscle mass, hardgainer diets, how to build muscle, muscle building

A professional fitness trainer named Mike Geary has created a total body fat loss program that has become one of the most popular workout programs available. In this Truth About Abs review, you will learn the philosophy behind the program. This program will change many people’s beliefs about all sorts ot abs machines that claim to burn abdominal fat and make you a six pack. In order for anyone to get a flatter stomach, they need to lose total body fat, not just work their midsection. Another very important part of this program is the diet and nutrition information. In order to lose weight and get a good looking stomach area, a good diet needs to be in place. The question of how to build muscle mass is answered many times in the guide.

The Truth About Abs program was written with a lot of common sense in mind. For people who are just trying to lose some weight, the nutrition plan is very easy to follow. The workout routines are split into core body workouts and total body strength training workouts. Meal plans are also included and they are the nutritional part of the program. These meal plans make it very simple for people to eat exactly what they need to lose fat and flatten their stomachs. This diversity of the workout routines is another thing that makes the Truth About Abs review so positive.

If you are looking for a super intense workout that is going to improve your overall health, then this program would be a great one to do. The workouts are scheduled to be done only 3 times a week. This is another good aspect of this Truth About Abs review because it allows people that are not used to working out to ease their way into a solid routine. The workouts are indeed scheduled for 3 times a week, but they are very intense, and are designed to get the maximum even out of extremely fit people. Did you have any health issiues in the past? if you did than you should consult your doctor before getting into this program as it is quite intense.

The meal plan that I have discussed in this Truth About Abs review is also a change in thinking for many people. The meal plan has you eat six meals a day. Burning off calories happends when the metabolism in the body is kept at a high level. While muscle is being built, the increase in metabolism is kicking the body into over drive to burn off fat. This program will work for anyone who puts it to goos use.

Technorati Tags: burn fat build muscle, how to build muscle, how to gain muscle, Mike Geary, muscle building, truth about abs, truth about abs review

This Muscle Gaining Secrets review is based on my experiance as I am working out and building muscle myself. There are so many things that I learned and that was totally unaware of before deciding to go through with a program myself. One of the main things that I was a bit shocked to learn is that your body doesn’t build muscle while you are working out and lifting weights. While you are resting, your muscle is being built. If one overdoes their workouts and never gives their body enough time to rest then they will not build the muscle that they are trying to.

Testosterone is a key ingredient to muscle building in men which I will tell you about in this Muscle Gaining Secrets review. Today the average male produces 50 % less testosterone than men did 50 years ago. The natural production of the testosterone hormone is triggered by using neuromuscular activation. Be sure not to work out for longer than 45 minutes because after that amount of time testosterone levels will plummet while cortisol levels will rise. Cortisol actually eats muscle tissue and and will increase your body’s fat storage.

A shocking discovery for mre while I was reading other Muscle Gaining Secrets review was that those supplements that are used by so many people are not working for them at all. They are a waste of money and can actually do harm to your body. Too much cardio can also ruin your muscle building process. 10 minutes a day is all you really need. There are also several foods that people eat on a regular basis that fill your body with estrogen, and too much estrogen is a muscle building enemy. Indeed, learning how to build muscle mass can be tricky.

Maybe the most important element in this Muscle Gaining Secrets review is that you must pay attention to what your vody is telling you. Do not over train and do not under train. You should develop a proper workout that will keep you in an optimal training zone. You should stick with the program and not stray from it unless you feel your body needs to. Squatting works out muscles all over the whole body and is an essential part to building up your muscle.

Technorati Tags: how to build muscle, Jason Ferruggia, muscle building, muscle gaining secrets, muscle gaining secrets review