May 2007 Muscle Building & Fitness Tips
Each month Mark Smith (aka Suarus) puts together a list muscle building and fitness tips to help you pack on more muscle, strip fat and make the most of your time in the gym. Most of the tips you see here have been contributed by our forum members. May's tips are listed below:
May Training & Workout Tips
- Give your biceps a boost! Do biceps first in your workout, drop the heavy sets to six, and at the end of the workout, do a flushing set, where you use your normal weight and pump as many reps out as you can, (in strict form) then drop to the next weight down in size and do the same, then down to the next lowest weight and do the same on that...keep going until the dumbbell will not move any more, forget about the burn, just keep pumping.....no rest between the sets.
Tip by: Doug Lawrenson - Be sure to keep a little curve in your elbows when you are doing preacher curls, too much pressure on the elbows will come back to haunt you later on in life. However, too much curve and you are not working your biceps as hard as you could be.
Tip by: 71 GTO - Always push for that one last rep on the last set, push through the burn, that's when you are setting up for real growth. You'll never get the chance to do that same set ever again, give it your all.
Tip by: Macca - Be conscious of the difference between the pain of lactic acid build up (this is good. Push through this with every ounce of strength and fortitude) and the pain of injury (not such a good idea to train hard through an injury, it will nearly always set you back in development if you don't give it rest and treatment to heal).
Tip by: Macca - The bicep has two functions, one is to flex the arm the other is to supinate the forearm. (turning the palms facing upwards) The following exercise is sure to quickly increase your bicep size: Pick the dumbbells up with your hands as far forward on the handle as you can. so that there is a space at the back of the handle. (not in the middle as normal). By having this space at the back adds resistance to the curl. Start by holding the dumbbells with palms facing your sides. Curl the weight up as normal but, as you bring the dumbbell up twist the forearm so that as the hand rotates so the little finger is higher than the thumb, Hold the contraction at the top of the curl, and feel the burn!!
Tip by: Doug Lawrenson
May Fitness & Weight Loss Tips
- To lose fat fastest, perform cardio on an empty stomach or right after your workout.
Tip by: Forum Member - If you take any fat burning supplements with caffeine, take them 30 minutes prior to your cardiovascular exercise as they may increase your work capacity, and your rate of fat burning.
Tip by: Forum Member - Having smaller, more frequent meals will prevent you from getting ravenously hungry and overeating, and will also increase your metabolism. Most weight loss winners eat five to six times a day.
Tip by: Forum Member
May Supplements Tips
- Food does a lot more for your body than supplements.
Tip by: Grip - Spend at least six weeks of proper eating and adjusting before using any supplements. This way you'll know how the foods you eat affect your energy, recovery, gains and intensity. You’ll then also be able to tell which supplements work for you, and which ones don’t, rather than wondering if it’s the food or the supp that’s benefiting you.
Tip by: Troy - Chromium is essential for a healthy metabolism, especially as you get older. If you aren’t getting enough chromium, you may feel run down or have trouble keeping weight off. Taking chromium picolinate daily can result in significant health benefits, such as increased energy, improved weight control, and better carbohydrate metabolism.
Tip by: Forum Member - Vitamin and mineral supplements should always be taken with food to allow for better absorption. However, Iron supplements, vitamin B12 and Folic acid (B9) are exceptions and should rather be taken on an empty stomach.
Tip by: Forum Member
May Diet & Nutrition Tips
- If you’re not used to Protein shakes, start slowly with smaller quantities to avoid flatulence and upset stomach.
Tip by: Forum Member - Weight training improves the way the body processes sugar, which reduces the risk of diabetes. Research indicates that weight training can increase glucose utilization in the body by 23 percent in four months.
Tip by: Forum Member - Your diet is the most important factor in achieving regular gains. By not following a healthy eating regime you are only holding yourself back from gaining the most out of your gruelling workouts.
Tip by: Macca
May Women's Fitness Tips
- Our muscles have high-energy requirements. Even when we are sleeping, our muscles use more than 25% of our energy (calories). When you implement the principles of effective strength training and you are consistent in your program, you will achieve an increase in lean muscle mass throughout your body and increase your BMR. In other words, you can actually condition your metabolism to work better and more efficiently even when you are at rest.
Tip by: Forum Member - Doing strength training and aerobic training on different days is ideal. However, there's nothing wrong with doing both on the same day if you can’t fit separate days into your schedule. You can use your cardiovascular workout as a warm-up for strength training. Remember, though, that whichever type of training you do first will cause specific muscle fatigue that may reduce your performance in the second part of the workout. Do what's most important to you first.
Tip by: Forum Member - When you first begin weight training, start with light weights and perform a high number of repetitions (about 12-15), paying careful attention to technique. Progress to heavier weights only after two or three weeks. After a month or so, you can develop your program by lifting heavier weights (but doing fewer repetitions); performing a second set of each exercise; and gradually increasing your training frequency to two to three times per week. Limit reistance training from 30 – 40 minutes oer day.
Tip by: Forum Member - Always remember that unlike men, women don't gain size from strength training, because compared to men, women have 10 to 30 times less of the hormones that cause muscle hypertrophy. You will, however, develop muscle tone and definition.
Tip by: Forum Member
These tips are put together every month by Mark Smith (aka Saurus). If you want to chat to Mark you can catch him over at our muscle building forum. Come an join the webs fastest growing community of muscle building and fitness enthusiasts!
