Fitness tips: the grip is important..

While some of us are blessed with naturally proportioned muscles, most of us have ‘problem areas’. From narrow chests to ill-defined triceps, we’re held back from looking our best. But maybe what’s holding you back is how you’re holding the bar. 
Let’s start with that scrawny chest. Two-time middleweight NPC champion Richard Baldwin says that by putting each of your hands five inches further out on the bar when benching, you’re allowing your ribcage to expand and you therefore have more area to add muscle. “I like a wide grip on bench with elbows out,” Baldwin says. “Keeping your humerus parallel to the bar will also allow more of your pecs to be involved in the movement.” 
He recommends 3 sets of 8-10 reps, but doesn’t say this should become a replacement for normal bench presses. “That’s a big problem people have,” Baldwin says. “They find a certain way to do an exercise and then that’s all they do. Keep a fun variation for the days when you’re least in the mood to do an exercise and you’ll find it will be a release. Somehow people got the idea that routines have to be routine.”
Now where do we have to go to get those terrific triceps? Don’t get up! Just move those hands inward on the bench press. How far depends on your comfort level. “Close-grip benches allow me to grow the most triceps mass of any movement there is,” Baldwin says. “I actually like to move my hands in just short of touching knuckles, but there’s less control in that. You should define how close together your hands should be by how much balance you have throughout the rep.”
Another area that can benefit from a wide grip is the lats. Casey Viator, a former pro bodybuilder and author of Casey Viator’s Total Fitness, says using a wide grip allows him to get the fullest stretch, as well as bringing the traps into it. If you do three sets in your routine for 8-10 reps, the thickness and detail should follow, says Viator. But former Mr. Universe Dave Draper is quick to remind that everything should be in moderation. Working outer or inner grips, particularly for biceps curls, will develop full muscles, but can also lead to the development of tendonitis if overdone. “There’s a reason why the middle of your arm contains most of the meat,” Draper says, “so make inner or outer muscle movements the exception, not the rule.”
Sometimes it’s not just the distance of the grip that helps, but the grip itself. Viator swears by the ‘false grip’ for heavier benchpressing. By holding your thumbs on top of the bar instead of rolling them under, Viator says, you end up not stretching the finger flexors; this causes greater strength in the movement and allows Viator to hit that ‘last percentage point’ of weight. But this is another example where balance must be monitored. Eddie Robinson, a former world record holder in
the bench, warns that someone who doesn’t feel comfortable may find the bar falling from their grasp. “I can see the benefits,” says Robinson, “but definitely not without a lifting partner right over you.”

Cardio training basics - the point of cardio training

Aerobic means “with oxygen”. Aerobic exercise is any physical activity done for an extended period of time that forces your cardiovascular system (heart, lunges and blood vessels) to increase the amount of oxygen and blood circulating trough your body so you’re benefiting even when you are at rest. By increasing your cardiovascular fitness level, you are increasing the rate in which your body burns calories.

The question is: HOW OFTEN? 30 min/day x 3 times weekly (unisex) is good place to start but for weight loss you could require more depending on metabolism. The first 20 minutes your body burns mostly carbohydrate. After that, the body burns mostly fat. So the longer you exercise aerobically over 20 minutes, the more you will burn. Having said that, I must also mention that too much cardio or aerobic exercise can work against you! When you do aerobic exercise, the body first burns food that you eat then fat stores and then muscle. If you are doing too much cardio your body will basically eat its own muscle. And the less muscle you have, the slower your metabolism will be.

I heard a story by another trainer that really sums this point up. This trainer had a client that was doing very well and staring to really get in shape. She had very balanced weight training and aerobic plan that was helping her reach her weight loss goal. After a while the client was baffled as to why she was no longer losing weight and was not feeling as energetic as before. After her trainer asked a few questions he found that she had increased her cardio to two 60 minute sessions a day! The only people who train this way are seasoned athletes that eat a very specific diet to support such a plan. Her body was basically eating its own muscle, preventing her from losing weight and not to mention really messing up her metabolism. Once she returned to her original plan she continued her weight loss and felt much beter.
Morel of this story.. More is not always better!

Training ectomorph - the problems with the fast metabolism

Well, if you have super fast metabolism, you need a fatty diet. You need help be bulk up, you want your chest and arms good enough, but what you must understand is that your approach should be complexed.

1.) Eat every 2-3 hours
2.) Breakfast, Pre/Post workout should be your biggest meals
3.) Protein sources from eggs, cottage, chicken, lean beef
4.) Carbs from oats, brown rice, WW bread, sweet potatoes, veggies, fruits
5.) Fats from olive oil, PB, nuts, oil caps
6.) Invest in a multi-vitamin

Don't be afraid to eat. I had this problem before, and don't be afraid to gain a little fat!!! If you want to be big, you have to eat big.
   


I never eat less than six eggs at a time. I usually eat 4 egg whites and 2 whole eggs (boiled). You might try adding an egg to your breakfast every few days or so.But remember, eggs might be dangerous if you overdo. In between breakfast and lunch, eat some nuts, peanut butter or something like that, and eat something in between lunch and dinner. 

In my pre-competition period I eat a lot of turkey burgers in between meals. Then I eat supper a couple hours later. Turkey is really cheap and and got a lot of protein in it. 

Don't forget to eat fruit and vegatables. I eat a lot of yogurt and cottage cheese too. Shop smart and look for the deals. Don't ever let your stomach growl. Everyone's different, but from my own experiences, gaining weight isn't as hard or technical as it's made out to be.
   
Make sure you're eating every 3 hours.



Learn how to bulk succesfully with minimal fat gain, but fats are not a terrible problem for hardgainer, so don't worry. Start adding meals as you go along. You will know when its enough. Measure yourself the same way every couple of weeks and you will see where the growth is. If gain is in Muscles keep going up. If its in the waist cut down a bit or wok out harder. (you will gain some waist size)

The staples of my bulk diet are whole milk a gallon a day. Raw oats, whole eggs, peanut butter sandwhiches, wholewheat pasta chicken , fish, Homemade trail mix ( mostly oats) cheese and veggies. Shakes (whey) are in there too. All this is calculated for me. You have to do the work to find out the specifics for you. Good luck.


supplements proper for hardgainers. Consult with your doctor befor using:

* creatine with carbs
* glutamine (for combining with the creatine)
* protein gainer 
* 6 meals with ENOUGH sources of fats

Weight Loss - Or How To Keep Yourself In Fit

The main value of exercise is not to burn calories, but to maintain muscle mass (protect the muscle from being burned) and to build muscle mass. Muscle is a metabolically active tissue. The more muscle you have, the higher your capacity for burning off fat and the fastest you weight loss. This because fat is the major source of fuel burned by muscle during sustained aerobic exercise. Also, the more muscle you have, the greater you protection against weight gain.

Another reason to exercise is to expand your energy needs so you pull more fat from your fat stores. Here’s how it works:


• Eat a low-fat (I said LOW not NON-FAT) diet and add less fat to the fat stores
• Eat a diet high in fiber. High fiber carbs fill up so you eat less. Also think… take it in, get it out!
• Exercising increases your energy needs and increases the amount of fat you withdraw from your fat stores

So, now you understand that you need to exercise.. but.. what do you do to get the most results from your efforts? Ill represent you cardiovascular exercising benefits latter.

Water and Fitness Training

What is the most abundant substance in your body that makes up 70-75% of your total body weight? The answer is water. Water is involved in every bodily function known to us. That is why it is important to consume large quantities of this essential and beneficial liquid on a daily basis. You can go a few days without food but can not survive longer than one day without water.

Now that you know the importance of drinking water the question is “how much water should one drink?” The standard answer of (six-eight) 8 oz glasses per day just doesn’t cut it. I’ll explain why in a moment. Consider the fact that people come in various shapes and sizes. Doses it make sense to you for 5’0’’ tall girl weighing 100 lbs. to drink the same amount of water as a 6’6’’ professional athlete weighing over 230 lobs.? It doesn’t make sense to me!

A general guideline on water consumption is to take your weight in pounds and multiply it by 0.5 – 0.6 oz/lb. For example, if you weigh 200 lbs. you should be drinking 120 oz of water per day (200 x 0.6). This works out to (12-15) 8 oz glasses per day, At first glance it may seem like a lot of water but you are not drinking it all at once. If you sleep an average of 8 hours per night, you are awake for 16 hours. By drinking 1 glass every hour, you will meet your quota of water for the day.

An approach, that you may consider using carrying your water in a 4-L jug. Determine approximately how much water you need and mark it off on the side of the container. Then fill up what you require to last you throughout the day. If you finish all the water in the jug by the end if the day, then you have met your water quota! This is a much easier method to gauge your water intake.

If you feel thirsty at any point, chances are that you are dehydrated. This is your body’s way of telling you to consume more water. When you figure out your water consumption for the day, remember that it is water alone - not overall fluid intake for the day. By this I mean drinking the equivalent amount in soft drinks and caffeinated beverages dies bit equal your daily water intake. Certainly soft drinks contain some water but there are so many chemicals added to them that they do you more harm then good.

A simple test to use to see if you are drinking enough water is to pay attention to the colour of your urine. If it is yellow in colour or cloudy – you know that you are not drinking enough. If it is clear, more often than not, you are hydrated.

A Brief History of Bodybuilding – Part One

At the end of the nineteenth century a new interest in muscle-building arose, not muscle just as a means of survival or of defending oneself, but a return to the Greek ideal – muscular development as a celebration of the human body.

The ancient tradition of stone-lifting evolved into the modern sport of weightlifting. As the sport developed, it took on different aspects in different cultures. In Europe weightlifting was a form of entertainment from which the professional strongman emerged – men who made their living by how much weight they could lift or support. How their physiques looked didn’t matter in the least, so they tended to develop beefy, ponderous bodies.

In America at this time, there developed a considerable interest in strength in relation to its effect on health. The adherents of “physical culture” stressed the need for eating natural, unprocessed foods - an idea that took in response to the increasing use of new food-processing techniques. Americans were beginning to move from farms and small towns to the cities, the automobile provided a new mobility. But at the same time, life was becoming increasingly sedentary, and the health problems that arise when a population eats too much of the wrong food, doesn’t get enough exercise, and exists in constant conditions of stress were just becoming apparent.

The physical culturists were battling this trend with a brief in overall health and physical conditioning, advocating moderation and balance in all aspects of life. The beer-drinking, pot-bellied strongmen were certainly not their ideal. What they needed was a model whose physique embodied the ideas they were trying to disseminate, someone who related more to the image of the ancient Greek athlete than the Bavarian beer hall. They found such a man in the person of Eugene Sandow - a turn-of-the-century physical culture superstar.

Sandow made his reputation in Europe as a professional strongman, successfully challenging other strongmen and outdoing them at their own stunts. He came to America in the 1890s and was promoted by Florenz Ziegfeld, who billed him as “The world’s strongest man” and put him on tour. But what really set Sandow apart was the aesthetic quality of his physique.

Sandow was beautiful, no doubt about it. He was an exhibitionist, and enjoyed having people look at his body as well as admire his strongman stunts. He would sleep into a glass case and pose wearing nothing but a fig leaf, while the audience stared and the women “oohed” and “aahed” at the beauty and symmetry of his muscular development. This celebration of the aesthetic qualities of the male physique was something very new. During the Victorian age, man had covered themselves in confining clothing, and very few artists used the male nude as a subject for their paintings. This is what made Sandow’s appeal so amazing.