Building Muscles

Bodybuilding Muscles – General Chat and Nutrition - Day 97

I've taken it easy today, and enjoyed watching the Tri-Nations rugby and Currie cup rugby that I recorded. I also had to answer some comments on my You Tube site where all the videos are hosted.

Training and eating correctly can be quite a challenge if you are not up for it. That is why I have done a video on how to bodybuild with your mind. If you see yourself as a person who is very fit and with a great built body in your mind, you will have it in your physical life. It has to start in the mind.

The more I visualise the end result of how I am going to look, the easier my eating plan has become. That has been a very weak point of my training. I have been good with the exercise but poor with the food. Food is becoming a strong point.

When you identify a weak point, and then take some action on it, it often becomes a strong point. That is something worth remembering.

I have had 3 x protein drinks, 2 x chicken with veggies and salad, 1 x dried fruit and nuts.

2lts+ of water.

Bodybuilding Muscles - Legs – How to train and Build Quads (Thighs) / Tear Drops - Day 97

From the last time I did legs, I am still quite stiff. It must have been a good training. I really focused on my Quads (thighs). I have since decided to concentrate more on my tear drops. I have weak teardrop muscles and so I need to train and build them a lot more. The exercise I was advised to use is leg extensions. I have limited equipment, so I cannot put too much weight on the very weak attachment I have for my bench. That is why you will see I do them one leg at a time. I have seen leg curls done one leg at a time (hamstrings) but never leg extensions. It certainly works for me. When you want to build big legs – quads (thighs), the most basic exercise is squats using a squat rack.

The problem with working out at home means you may not have a squat rack. This makes basic squats hard, and will limit the amount of weight you can use. Never try to be clever and work out too heavy if you have no training partner. You can try using a straight bar but you are limited to how much you can lift up and put on your shoulders. You could also use dumbbells, but again you are limited to how much you can hold in your hands and for how long. Quads (thighs) are big muscles so they can take a lot of weight.

Now you can see why I use the method I do when I train and build quads (thighs). The single leg squats, with one leg up on the bench, puts incredible stress on the leg doing the exercise. I cannot believe how good it is and how little weight you have to use to get an outstanding workout. This must be the best exercise I've ever found to train and build big legs.

You will see from the photos the movement I use to train and build my legs. I use only 2 exercises - single leg squats and one-leg extensions. As I said, because I'm weak in my tear drops, and I want to build big teardrops, the main exercise will be single leg extensions and the superset will be the single leg squats for the next few weeks.

Bodybuilding Muscles - Legs - How to train and build big Hamstrings - Day 97

Taking time out to build and train your hamstrings is very important. The number of sports people who spend time away from training because of hamstring injuries is quite alarming. You really need to work them out on a very regular basis. A pulled hamstring can be very painful.

I always warm up with a light set of the main exercise I am going to do. I think if you are going to warm-up, then at least warm-up with the same exercise you are going to train, or it will be a new movement and you could run the risk of straining your hamstring.  I've been very fortunate - I've never pulled a hamstring in my training. I did once while water-skiing, of all sports.

You can do a number of different types of training for your hamstrings including lunges, leg curls and dead lifts. I have used them all. The two I now use to build strong hamstrings are legs curls and lunges. I don't enjoy doing dead lifts or lunges, so I mostly do the leg curls as my main basic exercise. I normally finish off with lunges as the superset.

You can see from the pictures the movement I use to train and build my hamstrings.

Bodybuilding Muscles - Legs – How to Train and Build Big Calves - Day 97

Calves can be the most frustrating muscle to build. Some people are not blessed with a good size or shape. That means they have to work really hard to train and build their calves. I am very lucky with the size of my calves, and the fact that I did a lot of swimming in my younger days has helped to develop them.

I know when we were growing up, people with small calves were often ridiculed with comments like “Great legs pity your calves have gone off to graze”. Those sorts of things might not be said today, but you still do not want people to even think them. If you feel you are weak in an area it doesn't mean that you must now over train the calves. Over training is as useless as under training.  Knowing how to train and build big calves is doing the right amount of basic exercise.

I do believe attending a gym, even if it is just to work out your legs, is a good idea. They have seated calf machines and standing calf machines. You can even get a good workout if you use a squat rack or leg press machine. I have a big problem, training at home, and I must admit I think I sometimes under train my calves. I don't have any of the calf machines that gyms have.

I train and build my calves with dumbbells. I also use a hand strap so I can handle extra weight. Calves are one muscle that will surprise you with how strong they are, and the amount of weight you will be able to handle. I do single leg calf-raises most of the time. I do them with as heavy a weight as I can hold, and I do them slowly. I don't really worry about how many reps. I work out until I cannot hold the weight any longer - normally to about 20 or 30 reps. I do four or five sets. Doing them slowly gets a really good burn.  When my sons come over I do often do donkey calf raises.

You can see from the picture the position and the movement. You will have to imagine someone sitting on your back as you do the calf raises.

Bodybuilding Muscles - Legs - Training Chart - Day 97

Day 97	Goal			Actual
Legs Quads	Reps	Kg's		Reps	Kg's
Single Leg Ext	20	25		20	25
	12	30		12	30
	10	35		10	35
	12	30		12	30
Single Leg Squat	15	10		15	10
Hamstrings	Reps	Kg's		Reps	Kg's
Lying Leg Curl	20	12.5		20	12.5
	12	15		12	17.5
	10	20		10	20
	12	17.5		12	17.5
D/B Lunges	15	12.5		15	12.5
Calves	Reps	Kg's		Reps	Kg's
Single Leg Calf Raise	30	30		30	30
	20	45		20	45
	15	50		15	50
	15	50		15	50

General Chat & Nutrition - Day 96

Today was a quite day for me as I have had no clients to see so I took the opportunity to do two new videos. They will be up on my sites hopefully before the end of this weekend. In order to win in these rather trying times one has to be positive and believe things will work for you. I have found that exercise is one of the finest forms to release and diffuse stress. Meditation is without doubt also a very good stress reliever.

I am very fortunate that I practice both forms and am so grateful that I do. Especially when I look around at how some people are battling to go through life. We all have worries and problems but knowing how to get rid of the stress that seems to surround them is a big bonus.

I couldn’t wait to train tonight. It could be easy to make an excuse not to do some physical exercise for one reason or another, but the more I thought about it, and the more I remembered how I feel an hour after training - this gives me the necessary go to get into my little gym area and give it all I’ve got.

I find using my mind before training gives me the little edge I need to train and build today’s body parts - shoulders, abs and lats. I always try to give each muscle importance. For example, when I train and build my shoulders, I think of how I am getting wider - and how having big rounded shoulders makes me look good. I then think about why I train and build my abs. It's because they are my centre, and when they are strong, I am strong. I then think about my back. When I train and build my lats, I am making sure I have that V shape that all bodybuilders strive for. Those are the reasons I can overcome negative thoughts not to train.

My eating today was in line with the days plan - 2 x protein drinks, 3 x chicken and salad, 1 x dried fruit and nuts,  Water 2lts.

Another fantastic day comes to an end.

Bodybuilding Muscles - Back – How to Train and Build Big Lats (Back) - Day 96

This is one exercise you should never neglect doing. Knowing how to train and build a big back or Lats is really important if you want that V shape that so many bodybuilders aim for. This is the exercise you need to do if you want to ensure you have shoulders bigger than your rear end. Unfortunately, some of the really big bodybuilders make a bit of a mockery of having a great back and Lats by walking around with their arms sticking - they exaggerate how big their back actually is. This looks so false. You really do not have to do this. People will see you are well-built. A bit of humility can go a long way to bringing some pride and respect to this marvellous sport.

I try to build and train my Lats (Back) with lat pull-downs. There is one drawback with pull-downs and that is the weight you can handle. As you build and train your back (Lats), you will get stronger and increase the weight. Eventually the weight you will pulling up will be heavier than you are, and you will not be able to anchor yourself to the bench. Once you get close to your body weight, you might have to change the exercise to one arm dumbbell rows. I do not have that problem yet but I can see it coming. I use these two basic exercises to train and build my back (Lats). I alternate which one I want as the main basic exercise and use the other as the superset exercise.

You will see in the photos how they look.

This is a fantastic way to train and build big lats.

Bodybuilding muscles - Abs - How to Train and Build Killer Abs (Six Pack) - Day 96

I must say again here, you need to train and build your Abs with absolute sincerity. The tendency is to give up on training them because most of the extra weight we carry seems to congregate in the midriff area. That fat hides the abs, and it will always appear that you are training in vain. NOT SO. Your Abdominal muscles are your core. They are the centre of you. I strongly believe, if you have strong Abs, you will be strong. They need to be worked as often as the other muscles and with just as much intensity. When you train there are countless ways to give your abs a good work out. You can choose almost any of them to build and train killer abs and get a great six pack. Remember, as you reduce the excess fat they will show your six pack.

Surprisingly, I do not use the most common exercise - which is normal everyday sit-ups. If you want to do these, and you find them too easy, you can do these with weight.  What I have done in the past is used some weight on my chest to do sit-ups - to increase the resistance. That really helps to build and train strong abs. How I train and build my abs now is with a wheel for super setting, and leg-raises with dumbbells for the main basic exercise. Occasionally ,I might swap them around. I hold the dumbbells above my head when I lay on the floor and then do the leg raises. If I want more resistance doing the leg raises, I just lean the weight further back from the horizontal. This is a real killer. Maybe that is why they are called killer abs.

You will see what I mean from the photos. Training and building your Abs can be achieved with any of the many exercises available. I would say, choose whichever exercises will work the best for you. Do not take the easy route. Pick two that will test you. After all, working hard at it will certainly bring the rewards. You will build killer abs, or a solid Six Pack, as they are so often called.

Bodybuilding Muscles - Shoulders - How to Train and Build Shoulders - Day 96

There is a simple way to build shoulder muscles -that is the straight forward shoulder press. You can do these a few different ways. One is with a Barbell, another is with dumbbells, or in a gym you could use a machine for training shoulders. These are the most common ways of how to training and building shoulders. I like to use side-raises to build the shoulder (deltoid) muscles. Depending on how I feel, I will do the shoulder press as the main exercise and use the side-raise as a superset. If I want a fantastic burn, I will do it the other way round.

Regardless of which exercises you use, do not try too many different ways. Stick to just a few until you have your launching pad (90 to 120 days). With a good foundation you can train and build your shoulders with cables or any number of other ways. They will all give you a good work out. I think it is a good thing to stick to just a couple of exercises until you have built and trained up strong shoulders, and then try different exercises - you will find the best for you. Like all things, there is a good time and place for everything.

To show you the movement I use to build and train my shoulders have a look at the photos.

BodyBuilding Muscles – How to Train and Build Shoulders, Killer ABS & Lats (Back) - Exercise Chart - Day 96

Day	Goal			Actual
Shoulders	Reps	Kg's		Reps	Kg's
D/B Side Raises	20	7.5
	12	10
	10	12.5
	12	10
Standing Shoulder Press	15	30
Back	Reps	Kg's		Reps	Kg's
Wide Lat Pull Down	20	45
	12	50
	10	60
	12	50
Close Lat Pull Down	15	50
Abs	Reps	Kg's		Reps	Kg's
Lying Leg Raises	20	12.5
	12
	10
	12
Wheel	15