If you are going to lift weights, you want to see some returns - in the form of lean body mass, or muscle. Here are 5 of the best mass-building movements
1. Deadlift - The best movement for putting on muscle mass is the deadlift. It is primarily a movement for your back. However, it incorporates your abs, arms, glutes, hamstrings, quads, etc., etc. It is one of the 3 core powerlifting movements and is meant to be done with heavy weight (obviously thats relative to each individual). Because heavier weight is being utilized and the tendency to lose form after fatigue (rounding the back), a lower rep range is suggested.
2. Squat - This could fill the #1 spot as well. Form is everything with this exercise. You will see greater muscle growth using a higher rep range (12-15). I know the video below is a little cheesy.. but the clear weight plates are awesome and it instruscts proper formSqatting can be a very dangerous movement. There is potentially a lot of weight loaded up on smaller/weaker joints (lower back, knees, ankles). One bad day squatting can take you out of the gym for months. Don't be a hero, it has nothing to do with the amount of weight you can squat - it's all about being able to come back and do it all again next week!
Learn proper form for squatting.
3. Bench Press - I prefer dumbells because I feel a better contraction and less stress on my shoulders, but it is classically performed with the barbells.
4. Weighted Wide-Grip Pull Ups - These Badboys will (if done properly) give you that V taper that makes upper bodies look huge. It primarily works the lats, but your biceps and secondary back and shoulder muscles will also benefit greatly. When first trying this exercise, do it without added weight. Once you've assessed your strength try to stay in the 8-10 rep range. Once you're clearing 8-10 reps, start strapping on extra poundage.
5. Weighted Dips - Depending on how far the bars are set apart, and how far forward you lean, this exercise can target a lot of different muscle groups. A wide set grip will taget the lower chest, a narrower grip targets the triceps. The further forward you lean, the more chest and delts you will hit. Secondary muscle groups in this exercise are your abs, deltoids, traps, rhomboids.
Everyone would like to look a little more sculpted, ehnace their workouts, and put on some lean muscle mass. With summer right around the corner, there is nothing like the threat of a swimsuit to give you the motivation to hit thy gym. Here is a list of some of the best muscle building supplements. Bodybuilding.com is one of the many supplement warehouses you can find on the internet today.
To Get Stronger: Creatine
To get stronger, you need to lift heavy weights-period.
Supplementing with creatine offers you more power during your workouts to push more plates. This in turn allows you to hit your Type II muscle fibers harder and trigger faster strength gains.
Creatine works by increasing cell volume which allows your cells to hold more nutrients, give your muscles a "fuller" look, and gives you leverage strength. Older creatine (monohydrate) is cheap, but you get what you pay for: most people experience a bloated look/feeling due to subcutaneous water retention. New ph correct creatine like Creatine HCL, Cre-alkalyn, Micronized Creatine, are filtered and don't make you retain water and work much more efficiently.
To Get A Pump: Arginine Alpha Ketoglutarate (AAKG)
Yes, the "pump" you get from your workouts DOES contribute to muscle growth! AAKG is a vasodilator that increases blood flow in the body, allowing you to achieve a BIGGER pump and maintain it for longer.
Feels great-builds muscle!
Your body naturally tears down muscle tissue (called "catabolism") as a result of your training to get to the stored amino acids locked in them.
Anti-catabolic supplements like glutamine allow you to short-circuit this muscle-wasting process and allow a shot of quickly assimilated amino acids from your BCAA's to begin the reconstuction of your new (bigger!) muscles.
(Note: BCAA's are found naturally in protein and may be abundent enough in your post-workout protein powder to do the job.)
To Naturally Increase Hormones: Tribulus
Studies have shown that tribulus terestris increases the testosterone precurser, leuteinizing hormone, by 70%, and in turn boosts testosterone by as much as 40%.
Those are big numbers when it comes to building muscle!
Problem is, nearly all "T-Boosters" on the market that use tribulus in their ingredients DON'T have enough of a dosage to achieve these levels.
I've even seen $50 bottles of "booster" supplements that you would need to take 6 TIMES the recommended dose to get enough ingredients to have any effect.
With our nation so overweight, it is clear that people aren't doing enough cardiovascular exercise. Losing weight is a simply creating a caloric deficit: using more calories than you consume each day. The first step is to start eating a clean and balanced diet. Cardio will help you maintain weight loss and create a caloric deficit. It will also help you begin to change your lifestyle, which is what this is all about. Cardio has many benefits:
Burn calories and lose weight
Decrease daily stress
Increase heart strength and lung capacity
decrease risk of heart attack, heart disease,
Improves mood and sleep
The bottom line is you need cardio to lose weight, maintain overall health, and get your stress to a tolerable level.
The next step is choosing the right workout/exercises that are right for you. Anything that gets your heart rate up is a cardio work out. I enjoy hiking and jogging with my dogs. If you like the gym, there are treadmills, ellipticals and stationary bikes. If you enjoy the outdoors you can walk or jog with (or without) friends or ride a bike. If you enjoy working out at home there are plenty of home work out videos available.
Keep in mind, you may not know what type of activity you enjoy yet. That's all part of the experience, so don't be afraid to try something and, if it doesn't work, move on to something else. Just about any activity will work, as long as it involves a movement that gets your heart rate into your Target Heart Rate Zone. Remember:
No exercise is better than another.
It's not what you do, but how hard you work.
Do something you enjoy. If you hate gym workouts, don't force yourself onto a treadmill. If you like socializing, consider sports, group fitness, working out with a friend or a walking club.
Choose something you can see yourself doing at least 3 days a week.
You should always warm up before your work outs, especially when you are doing high intensity, full body work outs.
The guidelines recommend to workout for 30-60 minutes most days of the week, but don't feel like you have to start at that level if you're not ready. Doing too much is also bad. There is a point when you see diminishing returns. Do all those things you know you should be doing: take the stairs, walk more, stop driving around looking for that front row parking space, etc. Make the time. People who workout don't have more time than people who don't.
Fad Diets: why the popular diets don't really work
In this post I will tell you what diet industry doesn't want you to know: how to lose the weight you want to lose (fat) and how to keep it off.
THE FIRST STEP
Losing weight is as simple as creating a caloric deficit. If you use more calories than you consume each day, you will lose weight. This is not a quick process as the diet industry would have you believe. There is no miracle pill, or magic secret. It takes hard work, meticulous attention to detail, and time. The good news is that it gets easier everyday and the benefits are plenty:
More energy
Longer life expectancy
Incredibly lower risk of diseases like high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease.
Look better
Feel happier
And the list continues.There are a couple of things you can do immediately to start losing weight.
Drop the sugary drinks! These are empty calories and the only food linked directly to obesity. Your body does not register them as calories consumed. This means that you will not feel satiated, or full, and will need to consume consume food as well. A 20oz soda contains approximately 240 calories! Many people consume 2 or 3 of these a day! Don't get it twisted, juice is just as bad for you as soda. Fruit juice is natures way of getting you to eat your fiber. Once removed from the fruit, it is just the sugar, with none of the fiber. Sports drinks are wonderful before, during, and immediately after intense and vigorous exercise. Otherwise they are simply a sugary drink. Reach for the sugar-free, low calorie option instead!
Don't Skip Meals! You should be eating 5 to 6 small meals a day. Breakfast is vital and spikes your metabolism. A good rule of thumb is to eat just before you get hungry when you think "I could eat". This keeps your metabolism up, keeps meals small, and stops binge eating and poor food choices. When you skip a meal, and let yourself become "starving", you open the door to binging and eating "fast" food or vending machine food.
Track your caloric intake and expenditure! You should know how much youre taking in and approximately how much youre burning. You can do this the old fashioned way by measuring food and keeping a journal if youre really committed. However, there are websites and apps that will do this for when you scan the barcodes of the foods your eating! I would recommend My Fitness Pal.
Read the labels! You should know what you're putting into your body. the words "Light" or "Reduced Fat" on food doesn't mean it's healthy, especially for someone trying to lose weight.
Eat when you're eating! What I mean by this is to pay attention to eating when you are eating. I have been told by people who are struggling with their weight that they will eat and not even realize or remember how much, or what, they just ate. By practicing mindful eating, you will be better able to control amount. You will also be aware of the things you are putting into your body. This can be done with a pre-meal meditation, or more simply by preparing your own foods and not eating while watching tv.
Excercise! Although exercise alone is not very effective for weight loss, it is very effective in maintaining weight loss. Exercise has been clinically proven over and over again to reduce stress and improve mood. This will drastically reduce the chance of cravings for high calorie foods due to stress. It will help create a caloric deficit as well.
In the first part of this three part series, I wrote about how our country got fat (2/3 of the population is overweight and that percentage is rising!). In this article, I will explore the industry of diets. Most of us have tried at least one in an attempt to lose weight. Unfortunately, these fad diets rarely work the way we want them to: permanent weight loss and physique improvement. People try diets for many reasons:
To look better
To feel better
To wear a swimsuit
A big event like weddings
To improve health
to improve attractiveness for dating
To fit into old clothes/dresses
The list goes on and on.Whatever the reason, people turn to these fad diets in an attempt to lose weight. These diets are low calorie plans masquerading as the magic secret. They all have a gimmick. They diet industry knows it's much easier to lose weight than to keep it off and that's why they are always about losing weight: not keeping it off.
Diets work perfectly for that function: Losing weight. What they don't do is help you maintain the weight loss. After following a diet successfully, many people slowly return to their previous lifestyle (most diets are suggested to last a 4-12 weeks). After gaining the weight back, another diet is attempted. This is known as "yo-yo dieting". It is a very common occurrence and can be demoralizing, stressful, and dangerous to your health.
Diets are great for losing weight, but they don't tell you how to maintain that weight loss. Why would they? If everyone successfully lost the weight and kept it off, they would run out of customers.
The diets, like the junk food that brings you to them, are marketed through celebrities. The ads are telling you that all you have to do is follow the diet and you can have a body like them. The hard truth is that it takes so much more than a 12 week calorie restriction.
DO THEY WORK?
I know your probably thinking "I'm glad that part is over. Which Diet really works?" Unfortunately, this uphill battle is going to get a little steeper. The Diet fad that has swept the nation over the last 60 years is no more honest than Tony The Tiger. As America gets fatter, so do the pockets of the people telling you they have the diet that really works this time. There are thousands of them out there, all claiming to be the miracle plan: to have all the answers to your weight loss. I'm about to get brutally honest with you: They are all the same.
Let's break it down a little. In a previous post I explained that there are three macro nutrients:
Fat,
Carbohydrates
Protein.
If you look at each one of these diets, all they are really doing is having you eliminate one of these macro nutrients for a certain period of time. The problem with this is that our body requires all three of these macro nutrients for our bodily functions.
Another common plan of fad diets is to lower caloric intake by extreme amounts. This type of diet puts your body into starvation mode. The problem with this diet is that your body's metabolism slows to a crawl, lean muscle mass is metabolized first for fuel, brain activity slows, and energy levels drop dramatically. This type of diet is dangerous and counter-productive. Upon stopping this diet, your body stores ALL extra calories as a means of survival, making you quickly regain much of the weight lost, if not more. Through these diets you will lose weight, but it is typically muscle and water loss, not fat.
THE SET POINT
Set point theory is a theory that the body maintains its normal weight and body fat level with internal regulatory controls that dictate how much fat one has. According to the set point theory, some individuals have a high setting, meaning they tend to have a naturally higher weight as a set point, and others have a low set point, and therefore a naturally lower body weight. If you are overweight and hover around the same weight for years, you will find that to be your set point.
The set point theory suggests that despite dieting efforts, the body tends to return to its set point weight, however regular, consistent exercise may help to adjust the natural set point.
Lets imagine there are two women having lunch together. They are the same height, have the same features, and both are 140 lbs. However, one has always been at that weight and the other got there by a 15% body mass decrease through dieting (and exercise). The women who has always been that weight can eat 2200 calories/day to maintain her weight. The women who got to that weight through weight loss can only consume 1600 calories/day to maintain that weight. That is because her body wants to return to it's set point.
I know this may all seem daunting and demoralizing, but it can be done and it gets better from here. In Part three of this series, I will explain how you can lose the weight safely and properly, and KEEP IT OFF!
In a country where 2/3 of the population is overweight (and rising), health and fitness have never been more important. As a personal trainer, and manager of a fitness facility, I have seen and heard it all. Everyday someone bravely walks through the doors, sick and tired of the way they are feeling or looking (or by Doctors orders), trying to change.
I have heard the horror stories of lives spent battling obesity. I have been a shoulder to cry on for people who have "tried everything" but nothing has worked for them. I have watched as friends, family members, clients, and peers tried again and again, to no avail, to finally shed the pounds they've been tirelessly lugging around for years. I have also seen success. I have met some wonderful people with inspirational stories of overcoming the weight. I believe this obesity problem deserves more attention than a single article. I am going to post a 3 part series addressing the culture of obesity in our country. In this 3 part series, I will discuss:
Getting Fat - How we got here.
Diets - how they work and why they don't.
Losing Weight - how to keep it off.
PART 1: HOW WE GOT FAT
There is no one reason why this country is experiencing an obesity epidemic. It is definitely not as simple as "fast food is convenient" - something I have heard over, and over.... and over, when discussing this situation with people. Though this is true, and often plays a part in the justification of eating poorly, it is deeper than that. there are three reasons, that work in conjunction, That I believe can give us some insight on the problem and help us combat it.
Stress
Mindlessness
The Fast-food Industry
Stress - We live in an incredibly stressful world. Our jobs, traffic, our family, cost living increase, stagnant economy, etc., etc. The problem is that the stresses we face today are much different from the stresses of our ancestors. When we encounter stress, our body releases chemicals (namely adrenaline and cortisol). These chemicals trigger us to reach for palatable foods, high calorie foods, and assist in the storage of energy as fat.. You see, when we were hunters and gatherers, periods of stress were famine, hunting, or escaping predators. These stressful situations required us to replenish our energy stores through calorie dense foods. The stress we face today is much different from the stress of yesterday, but our body doesn't know the difference. We are hardwired to "crave" these high calorie foods. Because these foods are made readily available to us (fast food) it becomes extremely hard to avoid them.
Mindlessness - In this stressful, fast paced world, we rarely find that we have the time to sit down and enjoy a meal. We are constantly on the go. We are constantly multitasking. This leads not only to quick and convenient meals that may not be the healthiest option, but to mindless eating. We consume, without paying attention to what, or how much, we are consuming. This leads to over consumption of poor meal choices without the enjoyment of them. All of the consequences and non of the benefits.
The Fast Food Industry - Fast Food has revolutionized the way eat. The Fast food industry has come to literally control how our food is raised/grown. I won't go into much detail about it here. There are two wonderful documentaries I highly recommend that explain more than you want to know (that's a good thing!): King Corn, and Food, Inc. The Fast Food industry has capitalized on America's (and the world's) taste for fatty, sugary, and salty foods to and markets it to children. Shaping us from a young age to drink soda when we're thirsty, believe Frosted Flakes are a Grrreeaatt way to start your day, and to think that McDonald's is what athletes snack on when they take a break during basketball practice.
Many people new to the fitness world are intimidated by weight training and feel that it is for more advanced athletes or body builders. I have had a lot of women (and men) tell me they don't want to get "bulky" or too big. This is not the result of weight or strength training unless you train to get bigger. weight training is paramount to overall health and fitness and has many benefits:
Not only does strength training increase your physical work capacity, it also improves your ability to perform activities of daily living (ADL’s). You will be able to work harder and longer with the proper weight training activities.
It improves bone density. One of the best ways you can control bone loss as you age is to add strength training into your workout plan.
It promotes fat-free body mass with decreasing sarcopenia. The lean muscle mass that we all work so hard for decreases with age. If we don’t add strength training to our routine then it will turn into fat.
It Increases the strength of connective tissue, muscles, and tendons. This leads to improved motor performance and decreased injury risk.
It improves your quality of life as you gaining body confidence. Strength training will not only make you strong, but will also help with managing your weight.
I have had many clients tell me they wanted to add weight training to their regimen, but didn't know where to start and didn't want to look foolish. I encourage everyone to:
Do some research - All the information is out there for the taking. There are endless articles, workout plans, studies, weight training videos, etc. just a google search away.
Ask people - There are two parts to the (growing) popularity of gyms and fitness centers - getting fit and socialization. Most people are very eager to talk about what exercises they're trying, what has worked for them in the past, what diet their trying, etc.
Consult a professional - Personal trainers are there for this reason. Many people use trainers so they are held accountable for working out. Many people use trainers for motivation and to "take them to the next level". Most people use personal trainers to learn how to properly perform with training exercises.
Use the free training session offered at your gym - most gyms offer an introductory training session when you start your membership. USE IT! this can get you started with some exercises.
Weight training is a safe form of exercise when the movements are controlled and carefully defined. However, as with any form of exercise, improper execution and the failure to take appropriate precautions can result in injury.
It is important to stay hydrated and to use proper form when weight training. I hurt my lower back a couple years ago and quickly learned that it is not important how much you're lifting. It is all about being able to come back tomorrow and do it again. An injury can take you out for a few weeks and completely disrupt your progress.
Maintain proper form - When the exercise becomes difficult towards the end of a set, there is a temptation to cheat, i.e., to use poor form to recruit other muscle groups to assist the effort. This may shift the effort to weaker muscles that cannot handle the weight.
Stretching and Warming - Weight trainers commonly spend 5 to 20 minutes warming up their muscles before starting a workout. It's common to stretch the entire body to increase overall flexibility; however, many people stretch just the area being worked that day. The main reason for warming up is injury prevention. Warming up increases blood flow and flexibility, which lessens the chance of a muscle pull or joint pain.
Breathing - Breathing shallowly or holding one's breath while working out limits the oxygen supply to the muscles and the brain, decreasing performance and, under extreme stress, risking a black-out or a stroke by aneurysm.You should consciously "exhale on effort" and to inhale when lowering the weight. This technique ensures that the trainer breathes through the most difficult part of the exercise, where one would reflexively hold one's breath.
Hydration - As with other sports, weight trainers should avoid dehydration throughout the workout by drinking sufficient water, even while not thirsty. Unless you are sweating to an extreme degree, being thirsty is not a sign that you have already become dehydrated. However, if an athlete relies on thirst alone for when and how much to drink, it may lead to their becoming dehydrated. This is particularly true in hot environments, or for those older than 65
