Muscle Builder
5 Simple Strategies for Bigger Muscles
Body Muscle Builder
Strength training today suffers from the Starbucks effect. Just as it’s increasingly difficult to fight off the sprinkles and foam when you order a cup of joe, it’s hard to call yourself a modern muscle maker when you do a weight-lifting move without a few added kinks.
“It’s great fun to watch guys trying to do squats while standing on stability balls,” says former Olympic weight-lifting coach Harvey Newton, C.S.C.S., of newtonsports.info. “But the truth is, if they just did the basics better, they’d produce the results they want without involving all the bells and whistles.”
Now hold on, Harvey. Those big balls do a lot of good. On the other hand, all these half-caf mocha-latte workouts are starting to get on our nerves. Sometimes you just want to bust a move and make more muscle.
So we asked exercise experts to help us pinpoint ways to make the classic moves we all do—squats, rows, bench presses, and crunches—work better. Follow their advice and see fast results . . . without the sprinkles.
Tap When You Squat
Experts agree: The squat is one of the best muscle builders in a man’s portfolio because of the number of muscles the exercise engages. Experts also agree that most lifters perform it incorrectly. Namely, they don’t squat down far enough, nor do they place the emphasis on their glutes by anchoring with their heels. This means the glutes are never fully engaged.
New York City–based trainer David Kirsch, C.S.C.S., author of The Ultimate New York Body Plan, offers this solution: Stand in front of a weight bench. Squat down until your butt touches the bench, then immediately press through your heels back to the starting position. Using the bench forces you to squat all the way down until your thighs are parallel to the floor, so the exercise will yield better results.
Give ‘Em a Squeeze
As you prepare to lift, contract the muscles you’re working and keep them that way throughout the entire move. “You won’t be able to lift quite as much weight, but your muscles will be doing more work overall, so they’ll grow,” says Sam Iannetta, C.P.T., owner of Functional Fitness and Wellness Centers in Boulder, Colorado. “For instance, on the bench press, imagine you’re trying to bring your hands toward each other but don’t move them at all, so your pecs are squeezed together. You won’t believe the pump.”
Bring the Situp Back from the Dead
“Men spend entirely too much time doing crunches, which involve only a 30-degree range of motion—way too small for significant muscle building,” says Patrick Hagerman, Ed.D., C.S.C.S., a professor at the University of Tulsa. “If you want to build your abdominals, do a full situp. Your abs spend more time working dynamically under tension, so they’ll grow bigger and stronger. Full situps also strengthen the hip flexors, which can get pretty weak if all you do is crunches.” (To improve your crunches, add a Swiss ball.)
To do situps right, lie on your back with your feet flat on the floor, knees bent about 90 degrees, hands clasped lightly behind your head, and elbows out to the sides. Tuck in your chin, contract your abdominals, and roll all the way up until your chest nearly touches your knees. Then slowly roll back down.
Lose the Bench
By working while standing, you involve more muscles and burn more calories, says Douglas Lentz, C.S.C.S., director of fitness for Summit Health, in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. “Except for a few sessions devoted to increasing mass, our athletes do almost everything standing,” he says. “It engages your core, so your total strength increases.”
A classic example is the bent-over dumbbell row. Most men lean over and brace themselves on a bench, then perform the exercise with one arm. Instead, assume a wide, stable stance and bend from the hips, keeping your back flat—and don’t use a bench. Perform your rows from that position. You’ll work your core for stability and do a bit more mid-section work. You won’t be able to lift quite as much weight, but your entire body will benefit from the move.
Whittle While You Wait
Instead of sitting around working your mandible between sets, exercise another body part. “Supersetting helps you use your time better,” says Lentz. And, if you do it properly, it builds more muscle. For the best results, alternate lower- and upper-body moves, such as a leg press followed by a lat pulldown. That way, each muscle group has time to recover between sets. Alternating upper- and lower-body exercises also keeps your heart rate revved up and stimulates your circulatory system, so you deliver more oxygen- and nutrient-rich blood to your working muscles and burn more calories. Read more
Body Muscle
How to Build Body Muscle
body muscles
I know many people who have wasted their hard earned money many times in joining the programs that claim to build muscle mass very fast. Out of them, some people tried costly herbal or natural supplements also to make their dream of making their muscles big and attractive true but couldn’t get the expected results. Can all the programs and supplements be wrong or ineffective? My answer to this question is-No. So, what may be the reason?
One reason may be that people know many ways to build muscle mass but don’t know to select the best for your body type. As a result people follow a program to build muscle mass that is quite often advised by their relatives or friends or people that do not know your physique and how it will effect what you do. People forget the fact that individual requirements, environment, physical capabilities and body structure differ from one person to other. Another reason for the failure of the people in building muscle mass is that they switch over from one program to another too frequently without waiting for the results. Third reason may be that most people try to build muscle mass without involving any physical trainer or dietitian.
One can’t build muscle mass overnight; it needs time, commitment, dedication and proper guidance. It is a fact that regular gym workouts, if performed under proper guidance, build muscle fast. There are many sources that tell you how to build body muscle but very few share habit related building muscle tips for improving the results of the selected program. You can build muscle mass more quick if you develop following habits.
- Don’t change the programs too frequently.
- Drink a glass of water before taking meal.
- Develop the habit of chewing small pieces.
- When you go to the parties, drive your car yourself. This “designated driver” institution will save you from drinking and eating beyond a limit.
- Increase the intake of protein rich foods because proteins are necessary for building muscle fast.
- Avoid fast food or junk food because these kinds of foods just add undesired fats in the body.
- Perform exercises regularly but do not over-train
- Never visit a gym with a heavy stomach.
- Remember that rest is a vital part of repairing and building muscle mass
Building Upper Body Muscle
uilding upper body muscle is one of the most common goals by men who workout. Why? Is it because women love a man with a nice body? Is it because men just feel the need to be strong? Or do men just like the way they look when they start building upper body muscle? The reasons vary from person to person.
My goal in this article is to provide the information to those of you who are building upper body muscle or to those of you who plan on it. I want to simply list the best exercises to build muscle fast! Theses exercises should not be left out of your regimen if you are serious about gaining muscle quickly. Im sure all those pretty machines look nice inside your gym but im sorry, they didnt make my list!
DEADLIFTS
I know you dont like the fact that i put Deadlifts as my first exercise in building the upper body. But Deads build everything! Its primarily a back and thigh/glute/hip/posterior chain exercise, but it hit other muscles hard like your shoulders, traps, biceps, and forearms. The mere fact that this exercise promotes the release of growth hormone is a good enough reason to have this exercise on the list.
PARALLEL BAR DIPS
Great for building size and strength in the chest, shoulders and triceps. It also works what are known as stabilizer muscles because thats what you use to balance yourself on the bar. Something else that makes this move great is that you can add weight if you have a chain that holds plates which goes around your hips and the weight hangs down between your legs.
Jump up on the bar and grab it at about shoulder width. Lean forward slightly, lower your body until you reach a 90 degree angle between your arms and your upper body. Push back up hard but dont lock your elbows.
CHIN UPS
I know you hate doing these, but that’s why they are so effective. I love Chin ups! They are great for building big biceps and it builds up your lats aka your ‘wings’.
Performing chin ups will incorporate alot of muscles in the exercise. Even your abs are hit to some degree when doing chins.
Grab the chin up bar a little closer than shoulder width apart with your palms facing you. Lift yourself all the way up as far as you can and hold for a second, then with a controlled decent, lower all the way to full extension.
BENCH PRESSES
Okay of course you know this was going to be on the list. What other weight training movement could you do that would build a thick chest better than the bench press. Grab the bar a little wider than shoulder width apart. Feet on the floor. Bring the bar down under control and dont make it bounce off your chest. Stop about an inch before it touches your chest and press it back up as forcefully as possible.
CLOSE GRIP BENCH PRESSES
This exercise really blows up your triceps! In this exercise, you sit down on the bench, grab the bar about shoulder width or slightly less, lower the bar to around nipple level and arms are parallel to your body, try to keep your elbows in comfortably, and press upward and concentrate on using your triceps for the lift. I lower the bar slower than when i explosively raise it! And when i get the bar inthe bottom position i pause for a second. It makes a difference, you’ll feel it! Read more
