Building Muscles

Bodybuilding Muscles- How to train Chest,Biceps and Triceps(Arms) - Day 85

I was really looking forward to today's training.

Training Chest - I started with  a warm up set of 20 light weights as per the chart. One minute break and then more weight on and a set of 12 reps. 1 minute rest and so on through the training. I did INCLINE FLYS.  As you have seen from the training I always finish off with a super set. Tonight I did INCLINE DUMBBELL BENCH PRESS.

Training Triceps - I did OVERHEAD EXTENSIONS. 4 sets of various reps from 20 warm up reps to a final super set of 16 KICK BACKS. What a burn.

Training Biceps - I warmed up with 21's (7 curls to half way. 7 curls half way to the top. 7 curls all the way but with an extra lift at the top as per my video on TRAINING BICEPS) I then did normal Z BAR BICEP CURLS. and finished with a superset of 16 PREACHER CURLS on the gym ball.

Aerobics is very necessary for me as I have a few more inches to go around the middle to get to where I want to be. Once I hit my goal I will be doing a slightly different training to maintain what I have built. I did 17 minutes on the bike.

Nutrition/Eating Plan for Bodybuilding - Day 85

I was very good today. I think a bit of guilt from yesterday. (I did eat extra fruit cake my favourite).

The first 2 meals were just fruit. I know it is really important to eat protein but I was going to make up for it later. 3 x chicken, 2 x was just chicken on its own and 1 x chicken with veg's and potato.
My last meal was tuna salad.

Water a full 2 lts .

You will have noticed I have not had protein drinks today. I am just trying something different to see how it works and will let you know if I notice a difference.

Training Arms & Chest Schedule - Day 85

Day 85	Goal			Actual
Chest	Reps	Kg's		Reps	Kg's
D/B Incline Fly’s	20	12.5		20	12.5
	12	15		12	15
	10	17.5		10	17.5
	12	15		12	15
D/B Bench Press	15	20		15	20
Triceps	Reps	Kg's		Reps	Kg's
Overhead Ext.	20	20		20	20
	12	25		12	25
	10	30		10	30
	12	25		12	25
Kick Backs	15	10		16	10
Biceps	Reps	Kg's		Reps	Kg's
Z/B Curls	21	25		21	25
	12	35		12	35
	10	40		10	40
	12	30		12	30
D/B Preacher Curls	15	10		16	10

Day 84 - Free Day

I trained almost the whole body on day 83 in the hotel, so this gave me a chance to have day 84 off as a free day.

I know many people would feel - why have a free day if you have a goal or a target to achieve? Well there is a psychological reason for this. To feel that you constantly have to look out for what you eat makes it feel like you are on diet. For me, diets are not good because most people fail with them. By having a free day and eating anything I want, I have not put myself under pressure. I can look forward to my free day - and most of the time I have not gone overboard with the junk food.

Lorraine took the progress photos this morning, and I am quite pleased with what I see. I know I have a long way to go but at last I have broken the 34" I know it is only 1/4" but that 1/4" makes a big difference to how good I feel.

It is that little difference that has spurred me on to make bigger and better results.

General - Day 83

I made a positive start to the day today. I was going to make an excuse that I had nothing to train with, and take the day off ! I then decided if I want results I have to make the effort. I trained even though I had no gym clothes. I trained in sleeping shorts in my hotel room. We then had an absolutely wonderful day driving through Wales. We were in no rush so we went quite a long way round to get home.The countryside in Wales is so beautiful.

I really enjoy driving on the open road because it gives you a chance to think and focus on your goals. One of the things about training - it's not just the training that you do, but it's about seeing the results you want in your minds eye. You need to imagine what you will look like in a swimming costume. I try to see myself in the company of others and then imagine what people are saying about how good I look.

Arnold Schwarzenegger was a master of this technique. The art of visualisation. Once you know how to visualise correctly it is amazing what you can achieve. When I consider bodybuilding or fitness training there are three main things I look at.

These are as follows;

1) How to and why to train. There must be a good reason for you to do the training and what you want out of it.

2) The food. You need to know how to eat correctly when you train because this is what makes all the difference to your results.

3) How to use your mind. I cannot stress the importance of this. People who have learned to use their minds correctly in training achieve bigger and better results than people who just train really hard.

I teach this same principle in running your own business or anything else you want to do.

Training Arms & Chest - Day 83

How to train Chest without weights ! I trained chest with no weights today. I did good old-fashioned push-ups - very slow and deliberate. When you hold the position at the bottom and slowly push up focusing on the chest muscles only, you will find you will not get so tired in the tricep area. At the top of the movement try to contract the chest muscles like you are trying make your chest big so as to show off. You want the same muscle feeling that you get when you contract the bicep muscle, showing off to someone else. You will feel very good ofter 4 sets of 12 to 15 reps. This exercise not only works triceps but also works the shoulders.

In the hotel room where we spent last night, I took a small chair by the legs and lifted it up above my head. I sat on the corner of the bed and did shoulder presses. Slow and deliberate. 4 Sets of 12 reps.

How to train triceps without weights ! I put the chair near the bed and put my feet on the bed and my hands on the chair seat and did dips. You lower yourself down till you almost touch the floor with your bottom and then lift yourself up. I did this very slowly and very deliberately. I trained triceps till they burned. 4 sets of 12 reps.

How to train biceps without weights ! We had a bag of groceries with us, and I put the heaviest stuff I could find in the bag, and did preacher curls with the bag. I also used the chair in the room to do some standing curls.

How to train legs without weights ! I then did those famous single leg squats with no weight. Put one leg on the chair seat and squatted. 4 sets of 12 is a really good training even though I used no weight I had a really good workout.

How to train abs ? I just hooked my feet under the bed and did 4 x 20 sit-ups.

That was almost a full body workout - I am looking forward to having Sunday off.

Nutrition - Day 83

I ate very carefully again because I was going to spend most of the day in the car. Breakfast was Scrambled eggs, mushrooms, tomato and a spoon full of baked beans. I ate 2 lots of fruit. I had 2 x dried fruit and nuts, and chicken and salad for my last meal.

I believe you can travel and eat properly. If I really wanted, I could have done even better - but as you well know by now, food is my weakest point. Hence the 39.5" waist when I started.

General - Day 82

I went to a networking meeting early this morning. I then went on to see a prospect that had I met at a previous networking meeting.

Lorraine and I then took her mother to Preston which is around 200 miles.  Friday afternoon is not the best time to travel on the M6 around Birmingham and then Manchester, unfortunately. We sat in traffic for hours and finally arrived at 7.30pm in Preston. We had planned a night away together, so after dropping the mother-in-law at her brother's, we took off and drove to Chester (another hours driving). The day started at 5.00am and at 9.30pm we were in our room at the hotel. You can imagine, I was not up to any training and very tired.

I ate reasonably well and tried not to overeat - although I did all the driving I used very little physical energy. I have always found, in the past, that it is really easy to eat while travelling, and not only eat but pile it in.

This time it was a lot different because I feel good about myself. I really do not want to do silly things. The temptation, I think, will always be there - but I just have to remember what I am doing and why I am doing it. That is half the battle.

Water or any liquid was a bit low because of all the time in the car.

General Thoughts - Day 81

This morning was a very pleasant morning. I met with my friend and client in Newbury. He is a man who is an absolute whizz with information on the computer. I find him very interesting to talk to and we can share ideas. Even though I am there to help him, it works both ways because I learn so much from him.

When you learn to confront your weaknesses, and take full responsibility for them, you can and will do something about them. You see - most of us hide from our weaknesses, and as soon as they start to become exposed we become defensive and then make excuses, or justify them.

Lets take getting your body into good shape. You know you are out of shape but try to avoid admitting it. If someone else starts to expose this, you will, in your sub-conscious, look for a weakness or fault in them. This way you feel justified. You will then immediately go into all the reasons why you are in the shape you are in.

It is amazing what people will say about why they do not train. You will hear things like "I would train if only I did not have a sore back/knee/shoulder". A really good one is "I know I should train - it's just I am so busy, I really don't have the time but I plan to start quite soon."

What a load of "hogwash". The only time you have is right now. You also only have one body to see you through for the rest of your journey on the earth.

There is no excuse for not training. If you have a injured body part, train the others until that one is healed. If you do not have time, get up earlier or have a good look at what you do and you will find a good deal of the time you are just busy being busy.

Training Arms & Chest - Day 81

I love training upper body. When you have had a good chest and arms work out, there is very little that feels better. I know while you are training chest and arms you feel like your world could collapse around you, but an hour after you have finished, and after a bath or a shower, that is when you feel really good. Especially when you are soaping up and you can still feel the muscles you have worked. I get a great sense of satisfaction and pride. You have to be really out of shape not to notice a difference when you have finished with resistance training - especially when you train chest and arms. When you see yourself in the mirror, pumped up...it is that picture you need to remember - and it is that image that will spur you on.

Please do not end up like some of the bodybuilders that are in very good shape but spoil it when they strut around the gym with their arms out like batman. They walk like they have a carrot up their you know what. That is so false, and spoils a good physique.

You would never see a rugby player acting like that out on the field, yet most of them have fantastic builds.

You will see from the photo that I did flys on the gym ball. You have to have good balance for this - it's a great way to train your chest (Pecs).

Training triceps with overhead extensions is a good way to get the blood really flowing into the triceps. On a few of the reps, I felt like they were going to explode. Of course, ending off with kick-backs leaves my arms numb. My triceps tend to feel like they belong to someone else.

Training Biceps is I think my absolute favourite. As you train biceps, and you see the veins sticking out, that is a real motivator. The more fat you lose, the more the veins pop out when you train. I was looking at one big bodybuilder who takes special tablets to get the veins to pop out. That is not for me. I think I am old fashioned and would prefer to just do it with good old training. I suppose if you are on the brink of winning Mr Universe you might want to, but if you are just a regular person who wants to feel and look good, then stay away from chemicals to make a difference.