Building Muscles

Body building Muscles| How to train and build a big chest| Bench Press

How to Build Massive Pecs the Right Way

I trained my chest today. It was one of the best sessions I have had for a long time. First of all, I made sure my mental state was absolutely right. I used visualisation to see my chest growing and I imagined how the muscle was going to feel while I was working out. It went exactly according to plan.

Visualisation is one of the most powerful tools you can use when body building. My 1st, 2nd and 3rd sets were done slow and sure. By the time I got to the 3rd set of 12 reps I was totally fatigued in the chest. I almost failed on the last 2 reps of the set. The 4th set I went quite fast and was able to finish the set without too much problem even though I nearly failed on the previous set. The last set I went back to doing them slowly and really focusing on each rep. I had to dig really deep to finish the final few reps. I have learned that it is not so much about the weight that you use but much more about the speed and focus that you train. Slow and steady builds muscle a lot quicker then fast and furious. Genuine HIT training means pushing the weight up in 3 seconds, flexing for 1 second and lowering the weight for 4 seconds. I do it slightly faster than that but follow the HIT type of training and have found it to be a brilliant way to train.

Bodybuilding Muscles| How to train and build massive muscle| Diet Myths

The Lemon, Maple syrup and Cayenne Pepper diet

You can lose loads of weight using various starvation-type diets, or liquid only diets like the lemon one. They all work - you will lose some weigh. But what you don't know is that they may have severe consequences later on.

The minute you cut back on food, your body goes into starvation mode. This is to safeguard every bit of fat it can. It will sacrifice muscle for body fuel. When you stop the diet, even though you eat less, you will gain weight.

You really want to gain some muscle rather than have the body use it up. Muscle is the body’s metabolic furnace while fat is the body’s metabolic extinguisher. According to Dymphna Gallagher, the director of the body composition unit at the New York Obesity Research Center in Manhattan, 1lb of muscle burns around 7-15 calories per day. Other people claim from 30 calories right up to 100 calories per day. I am more in favour of around 10 calories per day. An interesting fact is that they are all in agreement that 1lb of fat burns little or no calories at all.

The answer to having a healthy diet that will keep you slim is to eat like our early ancestors. They were hunter gatherers. Africans who live in the bush still eat like this. I can remember when I was very young, playing with my black friends, eating all day long. We would shoot birds and eat berries as we travelled around in the bush playing. Think about bears, they gorge as much as they can to gain as much fat as possible so they can go for long periods without food. If you think about it people today are constantly doing yo-yo diets.  Gazelles, on the other hand, graze all day and are lean muscular animals.

Start now building up your muscle strength with some simple exercises and with some sensible eating.  You will be amazed at how quickly you burn off the fat and gain lean muscle. Eating sensible means eating often - at least 6 balanced, small meals per day. If you go to YouTube and look up my site bazblog you will find a nutrition video - on simple meals for bodybuilders. Even if you do not do bodybuilding you should still eat this way. It is an absolute must that every person who is able should do some form of exercise. Exercise is nature’s doctor to great health. Remember food does not control you. You control food. Only when you are out of control do you overeat. Be in control.

Body building Muscle| How to train and build massive quads| Normal Squats

Most people do not train legs because it takes a lot of energy. The idea of doing some running or a lot of walking is good, but nowhere enough if you want to increase the size of your thighs (quads).

It is important, if you want to train and build big quads, to train safely. Quads require a lot of weight to get them to grow. The most effective exercise is the normal squat. Doing squats can have some problem areas. You can strain your knees, and more important, you can hurt your back if you do not use the correct form.

I use a weight lifting belt every time I train legs. It supports my lower back and is a great safety tool. I also use elasticised knee bandages to give a little extra support for my knees. I keep my feet facing straight forward and about shoulder width. The key is to keep your back straight. Do not lean forward in any way. Keep your head facing forward and try to look straight ahead or slightly up but never look down. This helps to keep the back straight.

Feel comfortable as you go down. How low you go is up to you. I personally only go down till my thighs are level with the floor. That is about as low as the bench or a normal chairs height. I feel that puts less stress on my knees. Some bodybuilders feel you should go all the way down - and that is better for them and safer. Do what you feel is safe, and that will probably be the best way for you.

When you are down as low as you want then drive the weight up through your heels. Always treat weights with respect and you will probably never have an injury.

Good luck with your squats. Baz

Body Building Muscles| How to train and build huge muscles| How much Weight must I lift to Build Muscle?

How much weight should I use when I start bodybuilding? This is a question I am asked all the time on YouTube.

I notice many of the top bodybuilders are offering advice and suggesting amounts of weight a person should start with. I am not in favour of this at all and there is a good reason for this. We are all different and each person has a different natural strength. One person can lift almost double what another person can lift.

Muscles are made up of fibres and wrapped in a sheath. We are born with a certain number of muscle cells, and you cannot increase these. They will grow as a result of resistance training. Everyone will have a limit as to how much they can lift, and how big they can grow. Most people will never reach their limit, even with good training. 

When you start - go quite light - regardless of how much weight that is. Never train to what someone else expects of you. You must make sure you can finish a training session. Each time you train increase the weight you use until you reach failure on the last few reps of the final set. That is perfect. You are then training with the right weight for you. Keep pushing your muscles to increase the weight if you want to build a great looking body.

Bodybuilding is a very personal thing and too many people try to impress others by how strong they are and how much they can lift. Train for yourself and forget everyone else in the gym. Never concern yourself if you are working with half the weight of another person your size and weight - so what. You are getting the most from your training and they are getting the most from their training so both are winners.

Enjoy your training. Baz

Bodybuilding Muscles| How to train and build muscle| Make your training easy

To train regularly can be hard for many people. I know there have been times in my life when I have talked myself out of training, especially when I was a lot younger.

I have given this a lot of thought and have come to the conclusion that this was because of the way I thought about my training. I would imagine all the hard work I was going to do, and even the pain I was going to feel with certain exercises. This is no way to get motivated to train.

I think many people do this without realising that they are doing it. They talk themselves out of training, and then wonder why they do'nt feel up to a good workout. 

I have since learned to make each training session exciting. I do this by focusing on the end result. I imagine how I am going to feel when I am in a hot bath soaking after an amazing session. This encourages me to get into the gym. Once there, I focus on each exercise and make each rep count. I keep the vision of the end results in my mind the whole time - including how amazing my body is looking. This is really important. It is what helps the growth of the muscles. This whole experience is brilliant. It makes training worthwhile.

Enjoy your training. Baz

Body building Muscles| How to train and build huge muscles| Self Image

Self-image is the blue print of exactly who you are. It is how you see yourself deep down inside. You can change your self-image by changing the way you think.

Let’s say the image you have of yourself is  "I am over weight and I have a problem with food", well, you will act that out in real life. No amount of dieting will help you. That is why people yo-yo diet. The person who has a self-image of "I am a lean mean fighting machine" will only eat what is necessary for them to maintain that image.

If you want to build a fantastic body you have to see that in your mind first. If, when you train, you see yourself as a fat and out of shape person then the minute you finish your training session you will load up with food. Your new self-image has to start in the mind. If you see yourself with an amazing build, you will act that out in real life. It will become who you are and true to you.

Your self-image has the ability to change to whatever you really want. Some people who have had cosmetic surgery change from an insecure person to one who is full of confidence in a short space of time. They change how they see themself on the inside. They believe they look different because of the surgery.  Their self-image has changed.

If you look around at people you know, you will see what I mean. Some people are already old at 40. Others are still doing wonderful things at 70. Why? Each has a self-image. Take time to get the right image of yourself - an exact image of how you would like to be. Then if you have to, use the “fake it till you make it” principle. If you fake it for long enough, it becomes reality for you. You will always be exactly who you see in your own mind. Get a great body by seeing yourself with a great body. Action always follows great images and total belief. Enjoy the changes they are worth it. YOU are worth it.

Bodybuilding| How to train and build massive muscles| Why Train

I have trained in one form or another for over 40 years. I think you can call it yo-yo training. I would get fit, and then stop for 6 months to a year. Five years ago, I finally arrived at the ripe old age of 56, and on looking in the mirror I felt quite disgusted with how I looked. Time to change.

The first thing that is important to know is why you want to train. It cannot be for anyone else. It has to be for you and you alone. If you say things like I want to look good or be fit, that is not enough motivation. That is why I yo-yoed for over 40 years. You have to have a very good reason for wanting to train. I decided that training was part of my work. I need an amazing body so I can have a great mind. I work with people - changing the way they think. Training became part of my daily motivation. I was able to gain extra clients. My confidence increased, I looked good and proved that not only can you change your body, you can change your mind. You need to have a really good reason for training for it to become a permanent part of your life.

I have found, 5 years on, that I am still training - but it has not been all plain sailing. I have had illness and injury. The illness has been lung problems. Ive had extensive tests and treatments. I think we now have it all under control. The injury happened in my garage, lifting some rubbish when I lost balance, and really damaged the ligaments in my elbow. I have been able to continue with the training because I use visualisation. This is one of the most important tools you can have if you want to be consistent. If you cannot see what you want in your mind you will never have it in real life.

Every day I see this wonderful picture of how I want to look and it spurs me on to go into my freezing cold garage and train. Not only to train but train hard. There are no short cuts to build a good looking body. It takes time and effort. It is the same for all things in life. I use a simple philosophy “make each rep count”. Never never never become a fool and think taking steroids or some other miracle drug will get you muscles. They might help short term but the many problems you WILL face later on in life are really not worth the short term gains. Take pride in your training and your body. There is nothing better than knowing that that you have done it all yourself and not with chemicals or drugs.

Happy training ~ Baz

Bodybuilding Muscle| How to train and build big muscle| Shoulders

A key area to train is shoulders, if you want to look big and in shape.

Most people will want to focus on arms, and in particular biceps. There is a misconception that if you have big arms you will look massive. That is not true. I have seen a lot of people with great looking arms but, because the rest of the body is not that good, they actually look out of proportion.

One of the best ways to get your shoulders in shape is doing shoulder presses. These are a compound exercise and they help the body to create growth hormones which benefit the whole body. I do not get carried away with my training. I keep it simple. I am interested in maintaining what I have and only want a limited amount of growth. I do 6 sets of fairly heavy weights with 8-12 reps per set. This is a great way to not only maintain but to slightly add to what you have.

If you want to get bigger muscle then you have to go heavier. The purpose is to micro tear the fibres in the muscles so they will grow and adapt. Working lighter but going a bit slower with each rep gives an awesome workout. Less is often more.

Bodybuilding Muscle| How to train and build huge muscle| Massive Chest

I have been through quite a bit over the last 6 weeks. I have had lung problems. Whenever we have any type of physical problem, we tend to focus on it. This normally makes the situation even worse.

I have seen it with people on YouTube. For example, they will notice a very slight difference in their pecs - one slightly bigger then the other. This is actually normal. We are all a bit bigger on one side. But, because we see this as a problem, we focus on it and make it far bigger than it actually is. It then becomes an obsession.

This is what happened to me. I started noticing every breath I was taking. Only when I decided "what must be must be" and "I need to move on" did this change.

Yesterday I went into the gym and trained chest and arms. The key to a massive chest is not how fancy you make the training. It is more about how simply you train. Make sure you get the muscle to do the work. I trained really well, and today I can tell how good yesterday was, I am stiff. I did not try to do too much. I did 6 sets of 12 reps each. I made sure each rep was done well. It has made me feel fantastic and I am no longer thinking about every breath I am taking.

If you think you have a problem, stop, and see it for what it is. Then make a decision to make some small changes and you will surprise yourself how well you will do.

Bodybuilding Muscles| How to train and build massive muscle| Oxygen

In order to train and build massive muscle we need oxygen. We place a lot of importance on food, rest and the correct intensive training to build muscle. No thought is given to the oxygen needed to train.

When you breathe your blood takes oxygen to the various muscles so that they can work. During workouts, you perform at a very high intensity doing lifts for a short period of time to stimulate muscle growth.  The majority of the work load is considered "anaerobic" or non-oxygen reliant because there simply isn't enough oxygen to generate the energy needed to perform at this intense level. You may wonder how a good oxygen supply is going to help. The answer is fairly straightforward.

Oxygen helps muscle in two ways: 1) oxygen is needed by your body to create ATP (Adenosine 5'-triphosphate) the main power source for your muscles, and 2) oxygen also buffers against the build-up of lactic acid, which increases your endurance, allows you to increase your training capacity, and slows the depletion of your creatine-phosphate stores. This is what provides the bulk of the energy during a resistance training workout. This is why it is so important to breathe properly when you train.