Building Muscles

How to develop massive calves at home with limited equipment| calf-raises.

Day 61 How to train and build big calves without a proper calf machine

I use my normal bench press stand to do my calf-raises. Before I had this current stand I had to do calf-raises with dumbbells. If I wanted to go really heavy I would load up the dumbbells, use a hand strap and do single leg calf-raises. They work like a dream and you get an awesome workout. Never never neglect doing calf-raises. You can put on a back pack and do them on stairs. You will not regret training them.

I did 6 sets medium weight standing calf raises. Each set consisted of 15 reps.

I am really pleased as I made a new stand for my calf-raises. This stand is higher so I can have an even bigger range when I do my calf raises.

How to develop big legs at home| bicep curls| hamstrings

Day 61 How to train and build your hamstrings easily at home
 
I know that dead lifts are one of the best overall exercises that you can do but I like to limit the amount I do. The reason for this is you tend to work quite heavy and they do put quite a bit of stress on the lower back. I think your disks could wear out prematurely if you overdo the exercise. Some people might disagree with me and that is fine. I do what I think is best for my body regardless of what others might say or do.

I like to mix my hamstring training between good mornings and dead lifts. If I had a leg curl machine I would probably mainly use that for my hamstring training. Compound exercises are really good for you and that is what makes the dead lift so good but then so are squats, bench press and shoulder press. The reason why they are so good is because you use more than one muscle which causes the body to produce growth hormones which aids the overall body.

I did 6 sets of good mornings with medium weight. Each set consisted of 10 reps.

How to develop muscles at home| big legs| quads

Day 61 How to train and build great quads/thighs at home

The more you learn to train legs the easier it is to train and build them. Many people do not feel it is necessary to use weights for legs because they do a fair amount of running or walking and that should be enough. One of my clients with my self-development business said he does a lot of walking for exercise and my answer to him is "that is walkercise not actually exercise". But, doing something is far better then doing nothing.

If you don't put your muscles under stress, they cannot maintain strength and work efficiently. They will gradually deteriorate. I see it with my mother-in-law who is 82 but she battles to get in an out of a vehicle as her legs are just not strong enough even though she carries very little weight. She does no exercise at all. I know it bothers her. My wife cannot open most bottles as she just does not have the hand/arm strength. The stronger you can make your legs the more your overall health will improve. This includes digestion, weight loss and general great moods.

I did a mix today with 3 sets normal medium weight squats 8 reps per set

Then I did 3 sets Bulgarian split squats light medium weights 10 reps per set.

This was a brilliant training session and so easy to do at home.

How to develop a V shaped back at home| training lats

Day 60 getting the most from your back workout

Today I took it quite easy and did normal lat pull downs for my back. I used some medium weights as I did not want to go too heavy just yet. I want to build up the weight I use over the next few weeks. There is one problem doing pull downs with the kind of equipment I have and that is I do not have any way to anchor myself to the bench if I want to go really heavy. You can imagine as soon as you start to pull down more weight then you weigh you will lift off the bench and not pull the weight down.  That can be a pain but if you really make sure you get the lats to do all the pulling even working lighter will give you an awesome workout.

I did 6 sets medium weight with 10 reps per set.

How to develop traps at home| shrugs

Day 60 developing traps with a simple shrug

I love doing shrugs. I have found them to be the most effective exercise to build up your traps. They are very easy to do at home and all you need are 2 adjustable dumbbells.

If you rush the shrugs you will not get much out of the exercise. I like to hold the weight at the top of the shrug for the count of at least 2. By the time you get to 10 reps you will feel quite a burn. You can go quite heavy with this exercise but not if you have not done them before. If you go too heavy you could end up with quite a headache. That is because this muscle runs up into the back of the head and so you do put quite a bit of stress on it.

I did 6 sets of 12 reps per set with medium weight.

It was a great workout especially as I held each rep to the count of 3 at the top of the shrug.

How to develop broad shoulders at home| huge deltoids

Day 60 developing your deltoids to give you the V shape

It is important to know how to train and build big deltoids if you want that V shape. I know that is what I am after. You see no matter how big you get, if you have a wide waist you look fat.  Most strong men who enter competitions are massive with huge shoulders yet they also have big bellies which makes them look big but not impressive with their muscles. When you get your deltoids big and you lose body fat so your waist looks really small, you will look very impressive. You will see that with guys like Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Lee and Jean Claude van Dame. They are actually quite small guys but look massive because the have the right proportions.

I did 6 sets shoulder presses. With each set I did 10 reps. I trained with medium weight but really focused on each rep. Use weights that are not too heavy for you,  do each rep fairly slow. When you lift the weight say to yourself “I am building massive muscles with each rep”. You will find that the rep will be quite slow. Make sure that you lower the weight slowly too.  At both the top and bottom of each rep hold the weight for the count of 2. This is what I did and it makes an ordinary workout an incredible one.

How to train and build big arms at home| big guns| biceps

Day 59 training big guns without going overboard

I have seen many people with really muscular biceps/arms but not very big in size. There is a good reason for that - they often overtrain the biceps.

To get big guns is not about quantity but much more about quality. The bicep is a small muscle that is easy to train and develop. Because you can see instant results with the bicep while you are training people tend to do too much. You will see the size increase because it is pumped full of blood. This goes back to normal a few hours after training but at the time it is very impressive. I often wish I could keep the size I get while I train and so want to do more. You must remember that growth occurs when you rest.  Be carful not to do too many sets.

I did 6 sets with medium weight. I did standing bicep curls with 10 reps per set. I lowered the weight all the way down so there was no tension on the bicep. Doing curls this way is harder for me and I get a much better pump and burn. If you feel that keeping tension on the bicep throughout the set is better for you then that is what you must do.

How to train and build big arms at home| killer triceps

Day 59 training triceps to get the most from the exercise

In order to be a winner you need to keep striving to be better. There's no point in doing what you have always done if you haven't got the results you want.

Great people have great attitudes. I don't mean being arrogant or showing off in front of others - but rather feeling fantastic about who you are.  When you can acknowledge the results you are achieving regardless of how small they are, the bigger and better results you will get. It is a bit like giving you permission to achieve.

That is what I am doing now with my training. I feel great about the size and shape of my arms. I know they could be better but if I do not appreciate what I have achieved then I will never be happy with my training or how I look. I can see in my mind how they will finally be but I must appreciate what I have done so far.

I did 6 sets medium weight. Each set consisted of 10 reps. I did triceps push downs one of my favourite exercises. I flexed as hard as I could with each rep and I can tell you that even though the weight was not too heavy the results were awesome.

How to train and build a huge chest at home| Full chest

Day 59 training a massive chest with flat bench press

Last week I was doing all my exercises with light weights and lots of reps. I decided this week to reduce the number of reps I was doing and increase the weight. This is more for muscle building.

The main thing you need to do when you want to build muscle is to ensure your mind is totally focused on each muscle and exercise you are doing. The more you can focus the better you will train.

Today I did 6 sets of flat bench press. I did 10 reps per set with medium weight.

I could have gone a bit heavier but I made each rep count. Sometimes when you really focus you can get some great results without going overboard with the amount of weight you use. I want to build up to really heavy weight but over a few weeks.

How to train and build a good looking body at home| Body make up

Day 58 general information about bodybuilding

There are over 600 different muscles in the human body. Trying to train each one individually would be ridiculous.

Muscles are broken up normally in the following way with body building. Chest, arms, legs, back and shoulders. These groups are broken up further normally in the following way:-

Chest – pecs
Arms – triceps, biceps and forearms
Shoulders – 3 deltoid muscles
Back – lats and traps
Abs – abs and obliques
Legs – quads, hamstrings and calves

People break these up even further especially professional body builders. Normal people who just want a great looking body do not have to break the groups up any further.

I like to use 3 of the above groups per day. This is how I group them together:-

Chest and arms – shoulders, back and abs – legs

Group 1  Chest = Pecs. Arms = Triceps. Biceps
Group2  Shoulders = Deltoids. Back = Lats. Abs
Group3  Legs = Quads. Hamstrings. Calves.

I train group 1 on Monday and Thursday, group 2 on Tuesday and Friday, groups 3 on Wednesday and Saturday.  I can train 6 days a week for around 40 minutes per session which is more than enough for a great looking body.