Building Muscles

Building Muscles - General - Day 90

I decided to take the day off because we were going shopping this morning to get a full supply of food and prepare it for this coming week. I am so determined to make this week one where food is not the issue. I want to TRAIN CHEST, ARMS,SHOULDERS, LEGS, ABS  and get the best possible results. I know now that if I had been strict with the food I would have already achieved my 32" waist. The fact that I am about 3 weeks behind with this training is nothing in the whole scheme of things. I can live with this because I have learned to never beat myself up over an error. To win with errors you have to take responsibility for the good in your life and the bad. The good you continue with, and the bad you work on changing. 

I have a number of strengths and I have some weaknesses. I know I can overcome the weakness by focusing on my strength. I have to take action. The right kind of action is what is required to make all my desires and results happen. With the training I have made some very good changes and the pictures prove this. It is close but not close enough. Saying this however, is like saying I nearly won the lottery and next time I am going to buy a ticket. Close is not good enough. Changing your life for the good takes commitment and dedication. You have to be quite tough on yourself. The biggest part of this is to actually plan your food as well as your training. I have done well planning the training but did not spend the time planning the food.

That is what will happen this week.

Brown Basamati Rice

Chicken Thighs (skin removed) fried gently in Sesame oil.

Meals packed in freezer containers.

Lorraine did the cooking but I helped her with the packing. I have meals for a week ! I will post an article in the next few days on a decent eating plan for bodybuilding.    

I can't wait for Monday and the big push. It is such a short time for such big results. Once achieved it is just about the maintenance. That will not be difficult.

Bodybuilding with the Right Mindset

Understand Yourself & Your Body

I prefer to use simple terms with bodybuilding or training. I do not profess to know exactly how the body works. I have a rough idea, and that is all I need - provided I do not take it upon myself to diagnose a problems. There are people who have trained many years who are paid to work on the body.

The one important thing I want to point out here is - we should become one with our bodies. By this I mean that we need to learn to understand our bodies and read what the body is telling us.

When you open your mind to this kind of thinking, you will realise that your body is talking to you all the time. I can give you a good example. A few years ago I got very sick. I can tell you I knew there was a problem, and a serious problem long before I went to the Doctor. You can read about that at my work website at http://www.basil-mienie.com/about-me.html

I know when I need salt. I know when I am really hungry. I know when I am tired and I know when I am getting sick. Sometimes however, the mind will play a trick on the body. When we are not in tune with the body, the mind will over rule what the body is saying. A good example of this (and it happens to me quite often) - the mind says I am too tired to train. It might be because I have had a taxing day mentally or might even have done a few things manually. When I question myself very carefully and I ask, "is this my body saying I am tired or is this just me being lazy" ?, I find, on most occasions, it is me being lazy. I get changed and start training. Some of these sessions have been the best I have had. Another time I may use willpower. I do not feel like training but the mind says I have to so I go to train, Often its a disaster and I really feel like quitting training. This is only because I trained against my will. My body was saying it wanted a rest and I did not respect that. Do not fall into the trap of thinking your body is tired all the time so that is why you only train once a week. That is rubbish.

We have remarkable bodies that can achieve far more than we give them credit for but it takes effort.

How many times have you planned a holiday and a few days before going you feel you really need this holiday, and you cannot go on another day without it ? Then out of the blue something unexpected happens and you have to cancel or postpone the holiday. It is amazing how quickly you seem to recover and go back to normality.

Treat your body with respect...look after it and it will be a very good friend to you . After all, it is the only one you have. If you neglect it, or abuse it, it will eventually fail. It has to. I do not know of a vehicle that will last if it is not looked after or serviced occasionally. The body is no different. What is more amazing is - it is equivalent to the best sports vehicle around.

If you took a Ferrari and drove it very slowly, eventually it would carbon up in the engine, lose performance, and go quite badly. Take it out...open it up every now and then, and it will perform as it was designed to. However if you put it in first gear and have your foot flat on the accelerator all the time it also will not last very long.

Our bodies perform at there best when they are given a run and opened up on a regular basis. The have this ridiculous ability to gain more energy the more they are used. The fitter you become the more you can do. The harder you train (within reason and common sense) the more you will be able to do.

Bodybuilding Muscles - Hints & Tips/General Chat - Day 89

This was another glorious day here in Oxfordshire. I have really come to the conclusion that building muscles, and getting fit, is a permanent part of my life. Not to the exclusion of everything else. This is what is important - whenever you do anything, have a good balance.  We all seem to start things with a huge amount of enthusiasm, and then spend so much time on this new plan that we exclude everything else. We don't pace ourselves, we run out of steam, and then drop it and quit. That is the problem with most New Years Resolutions. I bet most of what you set out to do this year you have given up. I also bet, in the beginning you were all for it, and spent a good deal of time with the new plan on your mind and pushing for it.

Building muscles and training must be done in moderation. You can get some fantastic results without putting in too much effort - provided you do the right type of training and eat the correct food. You then have to use your mind when you train to see it all happening. The very best results are achieved by those people who are able to see the desired end result long before it happens.

I use a lot of these ideas with the clients I work with. I met with a new client Chris Somes who is a web designer. (www.dotcom-solutions.co.uk) He is the first person who has been honest about Search Engine Optimisation and how long it takes. That is so refreshing and I know I am really going to enjoy working with him and we will learn a lot from each other.

Exercises for Bodybuilding Muscles - Training Upper Body

How to Train and Exercise Shoulders

This is a very important exercise, especially if you are a male and have a bum that is a bit too big for your liking. It is like that old saying - if you want to look thin surround yourself with much fatter people. If you have a big bum, then exercise your shoulders and make them bigger. Your bum will then look small. I love this exercise because reasonable shoulders compliment both your chest and your arms. I do a basic Dumbbell shoulder press. This works the deltoids so well. I finish with side-raises as a superset. This puts a burn in the muscle. When you feel you cannot do any more reps, and you manage to squeeze out another 2 or even 3 reps, that is when the big growth happens.

 

How to Train and Exercise Lats (Back)

These are just as important as shoulders and for the very same reason. These are the muscles that give you that fantastic V shape. There is only one thing I ask - please - do not spoil it by walking around after you have finished training like you have two footballs under your arms. It looks so false and spoils a good looking back. You know what I mean...the guy who walks around with what would appear to be a carrot up his you know what, and the two footballs under his arms. Yuck!!!

The exercise I did was normal lat wide grip pull downs and finished with a superset of narrow grip pull downs.

How to Train and Exercise Abs

This is the centre. There is nothing nicer than a 6 pack. They do not come easy and I can assure you, as we get older the spare tyre we seem to carry around is about the last to go. Training and exercising abs is very beneficial. Strong abs is a strong body. I use a technique I learned a long time ago and it does help. I try to suck my tummy in to touch my backbone and hold it for a count of 10. Do this a few times a day when you are driving or just sitting at your desk. You will be amazed at how you will be able to hold in your tummy easier. That in itself makes you feel and look better.

I did lying down leg raises with weight above my head. You can see that in the photo. This is a great exercise. I finished with a superset of 16 reps with the wheel.

The energy was all but gone. I managed 16 minutes on the bike but with only a little resistance and more speed. It is fat burning time.

Nutrition - Day 89

I really do not know why I am so lazy when it comes to food. I think that's the reason I eat junk or try to take the easy route. I ate too much fruit again today. It is quick and simple. You think you are doing a wonderful thing by eating fruit - but too much of anything is not good for you. If you fill up on fruit, and do not have the right amount of protein, you are defeating the whole object. EATING MUST BE BALANCED. I know people get results on high carb diets and on high protein diets, and I also know they aways seem to be on a diet. If these fancy diets are so good why does it not last. Well - because it is not a good balance. Too much is being taken in and not enough of the fuel is being used - simple.

I did okay today but not fantastic.

I am going to plan this next week in detail and I am going to prove to myself that I can do it. We are going shopping tomorrow and are going to pre-cook the whole weeks food. I will have a big problem making excuses then.

Training Shoulders & Back Schedule - Day 89

Day 89	Goal			Actual
Shoulders	Reps	Kg's		Reps	Kg's
D/B Shoulder press	20	12.5		20	12.5
(On Gym Ball)	12	15		12	15
	10	17.5		10	17.5
	12	15		12	15
D/B  Side Raises	15	5		15	7.5
Back	Reps	Kg's		Reps	Kg's
Wide Lat Pull Down	20	45		20	45
	12	50		12	50
	10	60		10	60
	12	50		12	50
Close Lat Pull Down	15	50		15	50
Abs	Reps	Kg's		Reps	Kg's
Lying Leg Raises	20	12.5		20	12.5
	12			12
	10			10
	12			12
Wheel	15			15

General - Day 88

I got up this morning feeling only slightly sick. Armed with my trusty packet of Paracetamol I set off bright and early to meet with the only landlocked surf shop in the UK - He'e Nalu. Meeting with Chris and Ruth is such a pleasure because they are so receptive. You can see they are human. They have failings and successes just like anybody else. What sets them apart is that they are doing something about it. I was absolutely delighted when they told me they had now both started training.

I have yet to come across a really successful person who does not follow a proper training schedule. Many of the very successful have personal trainers. I have found that it is not the trainer that makes the difference, but the fact that the person has to answer to someone else, and so they put in a proper effort.

I went on to meet with my client and friend in Newbury and had a great meeting. We covered a bit of what I covered in the morning and that was how to "Blow Up negative thoughts and feelings". It is the vindictive aggressive side of me coming out. We had a lot of fun talking about how to do it and what the rewards are to the individual. Once you master this technique, being able to think positively and creatively is a breeze. I then finalised the material I have to take to a new client in Milton Keynes.

Then a really exciting part of the day and that was back to my homemade gym and ready for a fantastic training.

Bodybuilding Muscles - Day 88 - Training Chest and Arms

Exercise Training for Chest

Today I did normal dumbbell incline flys. This exercise is a great one for getting you to stretch the pec muscles. This happens because you expand the chest as you lower the weights. Never go lower than the chest when doing this exercise because it causes problems with the shoulders. I finish off with normal dumbbell bench press. Please remember - if you want to do these exercises, its not how much you are able to lift, but how well you lift the weight. As you train and you call on more and more muscle fibres, you will get stronger...and you will increase the weight that you use. Never compare yourself to anyone else. You only have to be better than your own best.

Exercise Training for Triceps

I kept is simple and did ordinary tricep push downs. Doing this exercise controlled and trying to tense the muscle at the bottom of each extension gives a fantastic burn. I find it hard to finish the reps. I finished with overhead extensions for a superset. Never race when doing this exercise - you will get better growth if you take your time and concentrate.

Exercise training for Biceps

It is hard to beat curls. I did seated dumbbell curls on the gym ball because I wanted a variation. The basics though is the same - a bicep curl. Focused, concentrated, and tensing the muscle at the top of the movement gives an awesome burn. I finished with a superset of 21's. That is 7 half up, 7 half way down and then 7 all the way with an extra lift at the top. Have a look at the bazblog video on how to do this for a great work out.

Being sick is no fun and now I really need to catch up - so 20 minutes on the bike but not all out. I worked on a low resistance just to get a good sweat. As my granddaughter would say Granddad it has rained on you again today.

Nutrition - Day 88

I had a good day. My meals consisted of 2 x tuna salad and pasta, 2 x chicken and salad, 1 x protein drink 1 x cheese salad and ham sandwich.

Water by the gallon.

I am going to be doing an article on how to eat properly. We need to know what are the good foods, and learn about combinations that will, without doubt, make a very big difference to our results when we train. There are so many get-thin-quick diets on the market. It is very difficult to know which is the best. I would never presume to tell you most of them are rubbish - somebody has tried them and got results or they wouldn't be in existence. Whether they will work for you and you will keep the weight off and have sufficient energy to train remains to be seen. I do not believe in diets. I absolutely believe in a good common-sense eating plan that should be for life. I am not happy with "lets punish the body for being bad and picking up a whole lot of extra fat" type eating plan.

We should be eating to live and not living to eat. Food should be a pleasure and not seen as a reward.