Building Muscles

Building Muscles – Weights Training – How to Train and Build Massive Shoulders (Deltoids)

The aim of most bodybuilders it to have a big upper body and of course, it starts with the shoulders. The exercise that I have found to be the best to get a great workout is the dumbbell shoulder press. A straight bar can cause shoulder injuries as it does not allow for any shoulder adjustment when you are lifting heavy weights. With dumbbells you have much more freedom. I like to do a type of pyramid training called “truncated” pyramid training because it stimulates the muscle fibres to swell.

• I start with a warm up as usual 12 to 20 max reps of a light weight. The reason I say 12 to 20 is it depends on how I feel. I don't want to overdo the warm up, but I want to feel the swell of the muscle being worked.
• Then I do 12 reps of a heavier weight.
• I take a 1 minute break add more weight.
• I then do 10 reps.
• I take a 1 minute break, add more weight and then do 8 reps.
• I take a 1 minute break add more weight and then do 6 reps.
• I then reduce the weights to what I used for the 10 rep set and do 12 reps
• followed by a superset +/- 12 reps of side raises or something similar.

There is no rest between the last set of 12 reps and the superset of 12. Sometimes I cannot do 12 reps when doing the superset, as I am just too exhausted so I work to failure.  This type of training will help you to build and train massive shoulders.

Building Muscles – How to Train and Build Muscles - Breathing Correctly

I have put many articles on my work website (basil-mienie.com) and videos on my Youtube (resultsguru) about removing and overcoming stress. Breathing correctly plays a big part in this. Bodybuilding and training revolves very much around how you breathe. You take oxygen to the various muscles to make them work properly.

People of all ages should know how to breathe properly because it helps to relax you. The Chinese have been teaching this for 5000 years. Scientific studies have shown that breathing correctly reduces anxiety, lowers blood pressure and even increases longevity.

A great way to find out if you are breathing correctly is to take notice of how you actually are breathing.

• Your shoulders should not lift.
• Your chest should be relaxed and as you exhale your stomach should not push out.
• You should be breathing at around 16 breaths per minute. Any more than that and you are breathing too shallow and rapid.

Try this exercise I got out of the Health for Men Magazine.  Breathe in for the count of six or eight and breathe out for the same. Give a count of one before you breathe in again. After the next exhalation allow the count of two. Continue this exercise until you have the count of ten between the out-breath and the subsequent in-breath. See how much calmer you actually are.

Breathing when lifting weights is very confusing. The "experts" have differing opinions. I have read all sorts of information - from breathing-in on the positive, to breathe-out on the positive. Breathe-in when lifting to breathe-out when lifting. I have read that you shouldn't hold your breath while pushing heavy weights or your eyes will pop out !

I am no expert but this I will tell you, you have to breathe. Think about it - breathing supplies oxygen to the blood. You want blood in the muscles, and the more the better for body shaping and muscle growth. Common sense tells me to breathe a lot throughout my training. Grunt, groan - do whatever - but suck in that air and let it do its job. Does it really matter if you breathe in or out in an exercise? I do not know. But this I do know - lifting the weight is no more important than lowering the weight if you want a fantastic workout.

I must admit, I breathe as I feel comfortable with my training and I have never had a problem. Sometimes I am breathing in when I lift a weight, and sometimes I breathe out when I am lifting a weigh. I do what comes naturally to me and what makes me feel good. I know there are many experts who would argue, but then they argue both ways - so who is right ? The answer is ME - because it is me who has to feel good.

Building Muscles – Weights Training – How to Build and Train Huge Triceps

I am sticking to the basic Tricep Pushdown. There is nothing to compare with the results you will get from this. I know people want to do different exercises so as not to get bored. I cannot get bored when I see growth, and I feel my arms being pumped to bursting point. How can you get bored with that? As a superset do cables or any other exercise for your triceps - but honestly stick to the basics. It has worked for me and will for you.

Building Muscles – Weights Training – How to Build and Train Big Guns (Biceps)

I would stay away from bicep machines and other fancy gadgets to build and train your biceps. A Bicep muscle needs stimulation and that comes from a basic bicep curl. I do not like using a straight bar so will always use a Z-bar. If one is not available, I will then use Dumbbells.

Use the muscle each time you want to lift the weight, and do not swing it up or use your back. Be strict and see the muscle fill with blood on each rep until it wants to pop. What an awesome feeling. With this attitude and training, the growth is just a formality. Welcome to a set of big guns - arms that will draw attention.

Building Muscles - Weight Training - Arthritus Today The Consumers Health Magazine Published by the Arthritus Foundation

The Strengths of Building Muscle
by Donna Rae Siegfried

Lift weights with sore joints? Yeah, Right. You might think that lifting weights is harmful for people with arthritis. But think again. Building strength has built steam as a great way to help people with RA function better and end soreness, stiffness and pain. A study from Great Britain shows that a strength-training program called progressive resistance training (PRT) may improve physical function in people with mildly disabling, well-controlled RA. PRT involves periodically increasing the amount of weight used during an exercise so benefits continue as muscle strength improves. People in the high-intensity – not high-impact – program dispelled the long-held notion that joints affected by RA needed more rest and protection than movement.

None of the participants experienced a flare, and all improved endurance, gained lean body mass and lost fat from their abdomen, back and chest. Improvements also were seen in people with cachexia – so much so that a larger trial is nearing completion to determine the effectiveness of PRT as a treatment for cachexia along with medications that control RA.

In the 12-week study, participants performed three sets of eight biceps curl, triceps pushdown, chest press, seated row, leg press, leg extension, leg curl and standing calf raise three times a week. “The novelty of the study was not in the kind of exercises used – because over the course of a long-term training program, the exercises performed must be changed regularly, anyway – but rather in seeing the frequency and intensity at which people with RA could work,” says Samuele Marcora, PhD, exercise physiologist at the University of Wales in Bangor, United Kingdom.

To initially increase muscle strength, Marcora recommends using weight machines and then progressing to dumbbells. After several months working under the supervision of a qualified instructor to increase strength, Marcora says resistance bands could then be used at home for “maintenance” training.

I am absolute proof that learning how to build and train your muscles will make a big difference in your life and will help arthitus. I have had times of great pain, but have just worked through it and found the stronger the muscles get the less the pain is. It is a fantastic cycle.

Building Muscles – Train Without Weights– Strong Hamstrings

Hamstrings have always been the sportspersons' nightmare. The amount of injuries linked to the hamstring is incredible. I watch a lot of ruby, and without fail, at least one players comes off with a hamstring related problem during a game. And a number of the players are usually found sitting out to rest them. You cannot do enough conditioning of your hamstrings - especially if you want to do any running activities.

The simplest way to help condition them without weights is to do straight forward basic lunges.

Stand upright, feet slightly apart. Take a good step forward and lower your body. Go down until the extended leg (thigh) is parallel to the floor. The back leg bends at the knee, and will almost touch the ground. Keep the front foot pointed straight forward. The rear foot will rock up onto the ball of the foot with the heel off the ground. You can see from the photo. Train one leg and then the other.

I would do the following sets of exercises - minThese exercises are with each leg.

• 1 set of 15 reps warm up - 1 minute rest
• 1 set of 12 reps - 1 minute rest
• 1 set of 10 reps - 1 minute rest
• 1 set of 8 reps - 1 minute rest
• 1 set of 6 reps - 1 minute rest
• 1 set of 12 reps with a 2 minute rest before the next exercise.

Building Muscles – Weights Training – How to Build and Train a Massive Chest

There are many types of chest exercise you can do - and you normally find the want-to-be lifters and body builders using every different exercise at every training.

The Pectoralis major (popularly known as pecs) is a thick, fan-shaped muscle, situated at the upper front (anterior) of the chest wall. It makes up the bulk of the chest muscles in the male and lies under the breast in the female.

This muscle is stimulated with one main exercise and that is the old fashioned Bench press. You can use either the straight bar or dumbbells. The use of all the other exercises is great for a variation now and again, but stick to the main bench press. Incline if you want a round bulky chest - declined if you are not defined and you cannot see the lower part of the pecs - flat bench press for just a great massive chest.
Leave all the other cables and pec deck machines. They will not create that awesome strong chest.

It is my night to build and train my Chest and guess what the exercise will be ? You guessed it - straight bar bench presses with a final superset of dumbbell flys.

Building Muscles – Weight Training – Truth about Killer Abs (Six Pack)

I was given feedback and asked this question on my Bazblog on You Tube.

“This is going to help me a lot. I had no idea there was an easy way to add weights to leg raises. Is there anything you do particularly different for your upper abs as well?”

This was the answer I gave on You Tube.

“You can use a straight bar instead of the dumbbells. The more weight you add, and the further back you lean the weights, the more resistance. I use an AB wheel to train upper abs. At the end of the video is the site address, have a look at how I do it.”

I thought I would talk a little about this. There are still many false claims that you can have killer abs (six-pack) in a matter of weeks. The truth about abs (six-pack) is that they develop as you train them. That is without question. But - you have to eat properly to lose body fat to show them off. It is not about the exercise, it is about fat. That is the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Please do not fall for "get abs quick" training.

Do the type of Abs training that makes the most sense for you. Part of having a great killer six-pack is the belief that you are doing the right training. If you believe ordinary sit-ups work the best for you, then that is what you should do. I have tried many different ways. I have longed for the killer six-pack but the desire to eat too much seemed to always be greater. I love the current way I do them and have an absolute belief they are working - but then I am eating far better. I hope you can have the six-pack and kill abs of your dreams. Just keep at it.

Building Muscles - Train Without Weights – Huge Calves

Calves are one of the most stubborn muscles to train and build. Some people are lucky and some are not. That does not mean you should not train them on the days you have set aside to exercise. The idea of training is to get the blood to flow to the muscle. This is done with the movement of that muscle. I do a very simple calf-raise exercise. If you do the exercises slowly, and with sufficient repetitions, you will get a lot of blood to the calf muscle area and it will get a great training.

The best way to get the most from your calf-training is to tense the muscle at the top of the movement. This action really stimulates the muscle. Results in life take effort, consistent effort, and when you want to train and build up your calves it is the same.

Building Muscles - Weight Training – How to Build and Train Huge legs (Quads - Thighs) Powerful Hamstrings and Massive Calves

Legs can take rather large amounts of weights, but I want you to use caution when you are training legs. Whenever you want to train and build those Huge Legs, try to have someone around to assist you. Be ultra careful when lifting the weight, and just as careful when lowering it. I once put a lot of weight on a leg press machine, took it off the safety, and just let it come down. Well - I felt and heard the rib pop. I was in agony for weeks. What a stupid mistake. Always make sure you use every bit of safety when training. The safety catches are there for a purpose - to keep you safe - so make use of them. If you train on your own at home, always make sure you can lift the weight you are training with. I also see to it that I can drop the weight without any injury to myself - I make sure I have a clear space around me. I find, using dumbbells to train legs has its own safety device built in - you are limited to how much you can hold. I normally find I could actually lift quite a bit more if I could have the weight on my shoulders.

I want to point out that you can have an awesome workout when you build and train your legs with the right mental attitude. I am normally absolutely shattered after I have trained my legs. Even though I could go heavier, I train with a powerful mind and total commitment and intensity with each rep. Try it the next time you train. You will find that you will not be able to go quite as heavy because you will be training up massive legs much slower but with intensity.

I did leg extensions for my teardrops because I want big ones. I decided to do my hamstring training with lunges. They can have a good effect if you do not rush. I have seen some pretty awesome hamstrings that people have built doing lunges. I did my one legged calf raises as usual.

Remember - if you want to build and train up massive legs you have to commit to the training. After all if you are taking the time to train, you should aim for the best result each time.