Building Muscles

How to train and build massive muscle| taking time off

Days 48, 49, 50. Having a rest

We are still in a heat wave and I have been feeling rather tired and fatigued over the last few days. I believe the temperatures will ease off a bit this coming week. I decided to take time off from training.

There are times you have to push yourself to train because you feel lazy. There are other times that, if you push yourself when you are not mentally and physically up to it, you will do more harm then good.  The last thing I want is feeling like my training is a drag. It has to be enjoyable and having a few days off is enjoyable.

This is the time to renew my commitment in my mind to train with more intensity and desire for top results. Taking 3 days off is nothing in the scheme of things. You can even have a whole week off and not do yourself any harm. I am a strong believer that you have to have your mind in the right place to achieve anything in life.

How to train and build massive muscle| food intake

Days 46-50 proper food to build muscle

My food consists of soya protein shakes with fruit in it; oats with a protein powder in it, chicken and baked vegetables, steak and maize meal. It is a rather boring way to eat but it works for me. If you want to see the times and way I have been eating there are loads of past posts you can have a look at.

I thought I would share with you some of the kinds of food you can eat that will help you to get good results. You have to eat balanced meals as food is more important then the training that you do. If you feed your body right you will build big muscles.

Protein that can be eaten - chicken breast, turkey breast, lean ground turkey, swordfish, haddock, salmon, tuna, crab, lobster, shrimp, round steak, sirloin steak, Lean beef mince, lean ham, egg whites or substitutes, trout, low fat cottage cheese, game meat, tofu, vegetable protein and soy foods

Carbohydrates (Complex carbs which are slow release and good for you) - potato, sweet potato, yams, squash, pumpkin, brown rice, wild rice, lentils, couscous, whole wheat pasta, oatmeal, barley, black beans, kidney beans, corn/maize, strawberries, melon, apple, orange, fat free yogurt, skimmed milk, brown whole wheat bread, high fibre cereal, whole wheat tortilla, whole wheat pita bread and whole grains.

You can choose from the above protein and carbs for your meals. Make sure you do not have more than a fist size of protein per meal. The average carbs you can have is also a fist size. If you are thin then have up to 2 fist sizes of carbs per meal and if you are fat then have around a ½ fist size of carbs. Protein is for your muscles and carbs gives you the energy you need. You gain and lose weight by the adjustment of your carbs. 

Good vegetables - Broccoli, asparagus, lettuce, carrots, cauliflower, green beans, green peppers, mushrooms, spinach, tomato, peas, Brussels sprouts, artichoke, cabbage, celery, cucumber and onion.

You can add any of the above vegetables with 2 of your daily meals. Make sure you have some vege with your daily food intake. They have good fibre in them and loads of  great vitamins and minerals that are very necessary for the body.

How to train and build big legs| massive calves

Day 47 training and developing your calves

There are no short cuts for calves. You have to keep working them even if you think nothing is happening. Like I always say, go heavy and make sure you really have your mind on the exercise.

I did 5 sets 15 reps heavy weight

How to train and build strong leg biceps| hamstrings

Day 47 training hamstrings to make them strong

When you do squats you automatically do some work with your hamstrings. I think it is important to make sure you do isolation exercises. An isolation exercise focuses on the exact muscle that you train. Doing leg curls is a perfect example because the hamstring has to do all the work. I don't have the equipment to be able to do leg curls so I do good mornings, lunges or dead lifts. Dead lifts are compound exercises so you have to focus your mind on the exact muscle you want to train. Lunges will also work more then just the hamstrings.

I did good mornings.

5 sets of 10 reps per set medium weight.

How to train and build big legs| quads

Day 47 training your quads

We are still having really hot weather now and they say it is here for some time to come. It's not pleasant because the humidity is really high and with the heat it is rather uncomfortable. I like warm weather but do not favour these temperatures.

I did some normal squats. A squat is a compound exercise which means it works more than just the quads. You work gluts, hamstrings, abs and a few others. When you do compound exercises it causes the body to release growth hormones so this benefits the whole body.

I did 5 sets of 8 reps with medium to heavy weights.
I did not overdo the training as I feel quite fatigued from the heat.

How to train and build killer abs|6 pack

Day 46 the best way to train abs

The very best way to train abs is to eat right. I know people want to hear about some miracle 10 day training plan that will give you killer abs. You cannot buy them regardless of how much money you want to pay. The only person who benefits from these get abs quick schemes is the person who sells the plan.

Food is the key to brilliant abs.  You will have to do some exercise but it really doesn't matter if you do sit ups, crunches, leg raises or any other of the wonder abs exercises available. They all work and you have to decide which ones you believe are the best for you. Sit ups can cause some people to have some back problems so do the exercises that feel good for you.

Today I did normal weighted leg raises. I believe leg raises work fantasticly well. I think they are the best - they are my preference.

I did 5 sets of 12 reps per set. 

How to train and build a V shaped back| huge lats

Day 46 training big lats

One of the funniest things you will see in a gym is bodybuilders with a reasonable build sticking their arms right out trying to show off their lats. They sort of make out like they cannot put their arms down by their sides because of their huge lats. This is so false and in a way brings bodybuilding into disrepute. It is a wonderful sport and is fantastic for you. You don't have to pretend you are bigger than you are. Being natural looks so much better and people will admire your great progress instead of laughing at you behind your back.

I trained really well today and my lats felt like they were going to explode. I still did not walk like I had wings even though it felt good.

I did 5 sets medium heavy weights lat pull downs  with 12 reps per set.

How to train and build big shoulders| deltoids

Day 46 training massive shoulders

There is no mystery why some people have great builds and others do not. Genetics plays a very big part in how you are going to look regardless of whether you train with weights or just train to be fit. You can make a big difference with some resistance training.  You will have to put in a fair amount of effort. Sadly too many people want something for nothing. They would like a good build but don't want to do the work to get one. If you are prepared to train a muscle just 2x a week over the next 3-4 months you will have some brilliant changes. I am proof of this because I trained quite hard over a 120 day period and the results were excellent.

You can do fairly simple exercise to get changes. I did basic shoulder presses for my deltoids today. These are one of the best for me. They work not only the middle deltoids but the front ones too. They do work other muscles too but the main ones are the deltoids.

I did 5 sets of medium heavy weights with 10 reps per set.

This was an excellent training session.

How to train and build a great looking body| food

Day 42-45 Food

My food is very boring so rather than showing you the same types of food day after day with just different times, I thought for the days 42-45 I would give you some important information about food.

You have to remember that the food you eat is more important than the lifting of weights. Eating correctly is extremely important even for people who do little or no training at all. Correct eating helps to control moods and will make you feel healthy. Bad eating will make you feel sick. There are foods one person can eat and another person eating the same food will get very sick or could even die. Shell fish and nut allergies are great examples of this. I know that if I have dairy and wheat products I get stomach pains. It happens every time and yet I constantly sabotage myself.People know that too much chocolate causes you to gain weight but they will do it anyway.

Only when we pay attention to the way nature does things will we enjoy a lot more health. Deer eat all day long, small quantities which keep them lean and in perfect condition. We have a problem with time and most people live very busy lives so we set aside time a few times a day to eat.  In that time we eat too much and then rush on with our daily lives. How you can change this is not always easy.

On my YouTube site I get a lot of people asking me how they can eat 6 meals a day when they have such busy lives. The answer is you have to find the time. A lot of the problem is we do not plan very well. We plan when we are going on holiday and we know exactly what time to leave home to be at the airport. We book time to see clients, or if we are still studying then we knowwhat time we have to be in class, but we never plan the time to eat meals. 

Eating small meals does not take much time and can be so healthy for you. You will have more energy and you will feel fuller during the day. You will not want to gorge. Gorging often happens because there is too much time between meals. We often eat too fast so our stomachs get over-full before our brains get the message that we have had enough. I know that is my problem. I eat extremely fast and it is just a very poor habit. Rethink about how you are going on about your food and how you are planning each meal. You most likely will find you have no plan which is where the problem lies. 

How to train and build big arms| massive biceps

Day 45 training big guns

We are still having wonderful weather. I must admit, I mentioned to my wife, that even though I come from Africa I prefer a temperature of 20-22 degrees and certainly not 28-30 degrees.  I have a great tan now and for that I am very thankful. I also have had a bit of sun stroke and not felt at my very best the last few days. You win in one area and lose in another. Everything you want in life comes with a price. You have to weight up if the price is worth the result. In this case I think it is.

I kept the biceps training simple and did 21’s.

These are a fantastic exercise. Make sure you don't start too heavy or you will fail after the 3rd set. Rather feel that the first set or 2 is reasonably light because you will find the last set or 2 very challenging.

I did 5 sets medium weights.