neative effects of steroids

 Water Retention:
This is most common from using steroids. It is a “puffiness” or swelling in the neck and facial areas. It is rather notable mainly if you know the person is on steroids.

Acne:
It is a very common side effect, it can give acne to someone who has never had acne, and it can make acne worse for others. It can also appear in new places for a person, such as, the back and neck. There have been several users that have not received acne on the other hand.

Gynecomastia:
It is the formation of breasts, or abnormally large glands. The first signs are lumps under the nipples, then will gradually grow to fatty tissue and increase in size.

Aggression:
Aggression, also know as “steroid rages”. Surprisingly, several athletes feel this is a positive effect. They often find they lift more, and are more intense during workouts. On the negative side, users find themselves fighting with family, friends, and co-workers with an uptight behaviour.

Hypertension:
High blood pressure is also a chance when taking steroids. Most athletes would not know if they had high blood pressure. High blood pressure can lead to many more serious diseases.

Cardiovascular Disease:
Studies have shown that steroid use is a risk factor for heart disease. This is because steroids affect the cholesterol levels. Over a period of time the cholesterol builds up and clogs the arteries.

Palpitations:
Heart palpitations have been reported by a number of athletes on steroids. These may indicate an excited or elevated level of the central nervous system.

Impotence:
Impotence occurs when a user goes on and off steroids. When steroids are first used sexual interest increases because of the heightened frequency and duration of the erections. But eventually the opposite happens and no erections can be produced.

Jaundice:
This is a serious liver disease, which is found by an enlarged painful liver, yellowing of the eyes and skin, and flu like symptoms. This happens when athletes use high dosages of steroids.

Here is a website that talks more about steroids 

http://www.steroidology.com/

‘Tri’ To Get Bigger Arms

‘Tri’ To Get Bigger Arms

Raphael Calzadilla, BA, CPT, ACE
eDiets Chief Fitness Pro

 When someone wants to get bigger, more muscular arms, they always seem to ask me what the best biceps exercises are. Ironically, the largest part of the upper arm is the triceps. If you’re seeking muscular triceps, allocate a few more sets for triceps than biceps. Triceps are a beautifully-shaped muscle when well developed. However, exercise selection and elbow positioning is vital for maximum development.The bicep is made up of only two areas (also referred to as heads), while the triceps are composed of three heads. Obviously, one should strive for balance of all muscle groups. However, if your biceps are a weaker muscle group, but the triceps are well developed, the arm still looks spectacular.The same can’t be said for the reverse. From an anatomy standpoint, the three heads of the triceps are known as the lateral, medial and long. The lateral head is located on the outer side of the arm; the medial is located toward the midline of the body and the long head, which is the largest of the three heads, along the bottom portion of the triceps.

The primary function of the triceps is to extend the elbow (straightening the arm). Its secondary function is to bring the arm down towards the body (adduction).

I’m going to focus on a seldom-used, but extremely effective, triceps movement called the Barbell Close Grip Triceps Press. It’s a difficult movement and must be executed with precision and excellent form.

Properly performed and with sufficient overload, it helps develop the entire triceps, particularly the lateral head. The lateral head will help your triceps appear popped out on the outer side of the arm, creating an appealing and dramatic visual effect.

Many trainers don’t teach this movement. Instead, they focus on pushdowns, dumbbell kick backs and extensions. If you want to make great progress with your triceps then the Close Grip Triceps Press is for you. One of the benefits is that it will help increase the weight you are able to use on your bench press and shoulder press. I figured you’d like that!

Below is a description of the technique. Please pay close attention to my recommended hand grip and elbow positioning.

BARBELL CLOSE GRIP TRICEPS PRESS

Lie on a flat bench with your spine in a neutral position.

Grab the barbell with your hands gripped approximately 10-12 inches apart. Many times, I see trainees with their hands much too close together when performing this movement.

Lower the bar, stopping just short of the barbell touching the chest. The bar should descend to the lower part of the chest. The elbows should be slightly flared away from the body. This elbow positioning will help place overload on the lateral head.

Contracting the triceps muscles, press the barbell upward above the chest until the arms are fully extended with a slight bend in the elbows. You will get some indirect chest and shoulder work with this movement, but you must focus all your attention on contracting the triceps.

Exhale while lifting the weight.

Inhale while returning to the starting position. Never underestimate the importance of proper breathing. It will help you push out a few additional reps.

Unless you are adept at this movement already, I recommend beginning with a very light weight to become comfortable with the mechanics of the movement. When you start to increase to heavier weight, I also highly recommend a spotter for safety.Combine the Close Grip Triceps Press with a few sets of intense pushdowns, and your triceps will be ripping out of your sleeves! Remember, when people ask how you got your arms to look so awesome, send them over to eFitness.com.

abs

Your Best Abs Yet: Awesome 8-Point Plan

By Raphael Calzadilla, eDiets.com Chief Fitness Pro

 

I’ve never seen anyone not give a double take to a man or woman who has the ever-elusive washboard abs. Awe-inspiring rippled abs signify an extreme level of conditioning — plus a pretty good-looking bod.Everyone always talks about getting six-pack abs, but in reality, it’s an eight-pack. Internationally acclaimed research scientist Michael Colgan provides the following description of the eight-pack from his book, The New Power Program: “The eight-pack is a long, thin muscle whose fibers run vertically down the body from the breastbone and fifth, sixth and seventh ribs to the top of the pubic bone. The eight sought-after bumps poke out through a grid of flat tendons that run down the center and across the muscle at intervals.” You don’t really care, do you? C’mon, be honest. You just want to know how to get them, don’t you? You’ve come to the right place, but you might not love the answer. If you think 100 or 1,000 abdominal crunches per day will give you an eight-pack, then you really need to read this. Here’s how it’s done: 1. NUTRITION: This is the most important component to achieving great abs. Nothing is more important than food. First, you’ll need to control blood sugar levels in order to lose body fat. This is best accomplished by consuming five to six meals per day. Don’t mistake the definition of a meal for a six-course extravaganza. A meal might be an egg white omelet (with vegetables) and oatmeal with some blueberries in it, chicken with one-half cup of rice and a large salad with some oil and vinegar, an apple with a scoop of protein powder or cottage cheese with some fruit. Get the picture? I’m referring to them as meals, but they’re actually feedings. Each of the meals is comprised of protein, a little carbohydrate and a little fat. In some cases, the fat is built into the protein. In other cases, it’s added to the meal. For eDiets members, this is already accomplished in your meal plan. 2. RATIOS: It’s unlikely that you’ll get tight abs and a flat stomach by consuming 80 percent of your calories from carbohydrates. Ratios can vary quite a bit, but consuming more than 55 percent of your calories from carbohydrates is not optimal for fat loss. Many people do quite well on extremely low-carbohydrate plans, while others succeed on more moderate plans. As long as you follow the no more than 55 percent of calories from carbohydrate rule, you’ll be at a good starting point. 3. TIMING: I realize four to six meals sounds like a lot, but you must keep in mind that the body always seeks to store body fat. It (the body) doesn’t care if you want to lose fat. In fact, your body would prefer to keep fat in order to accomplish its number-one goal of keeping you alive in case of future famine or drought. 4. CALORIES: I’ve received e-mails from people telling me that they‘re perfect with their nutrition, ratios and timing, but they still can’t lose body fat. In every case, they’re still consuming too many calories. It doesn’t matter how healthful your nutrition program is if you’re eating too much. It’s important that you determine maintenance calories first. Maintenance represents the amount of food you consume without any change in your weight. This will take some experimentation and some effort. You’ll also need to document your foods — total calories as well as grams of protein, carbohydrates and fats. 5. SLIGHT CALORIC DEFICIT: After you’ve determined maintenance, simply reduce your calories by 200. Our goal is to have you eating as much as possible and still losing fat and retaining muscle. I don’t want you eating as little as possible (thereby slowing the metabolism and losing valuable muscle tissue). The first week, you may lose four to six pounds of water. After the first week, you should only lose about one and a half pounds per week. The goal is to preserve muscle and make your body a metabolic inferno. If you’re not losing up to one and a half pounds per week (it will fluctuate week to week), then reduce calories by another 100. Then, monitor your progress after one week. You’ll probably be right on track. 6. CONSISTENCY: You’ll need to be on this nutrition program six days a week with one day being somewhat of a time to cheat. Unlike many, I’m not a big fan of the “cheat” day. I find that people tend to use it as an excuse to gorge themselves. So on Sunday for example, you’re allowed to have some pizza and a bit of ice cream, but nothing extreme! When you pig out, blood sugar levels can be elevated for seven hours or more. This will absolutely halt your body fat loss. 7. WEIGHT TRAINING: At this point, you should be aware of the importance of resistance training. Just three to four workout sessions that last no more than 35 minutes to an hour will do the trick. For every pound of muscle on your body, you’ll burn 30 to 50 additional calories per day. Part of your program should include abdominal exercises to strengthen and build the upper and lower abdominal region. This way, when you achieve your low body fat level, your abs will be tight and visible. 8. CARDIOVASCULAR EXERCISE: Perform moderate cardio exercise three to five days per week for approximately 30 to 40 minutes. During two of the days, you can exercise at a higher intensity level to accelerate fat loss, but only if you reach a sticking point. If you’re a beginner, then remember to increase exercise gradually. Do this consistently; keep adjusting calories slightly; and change your routine every three to four weeks. Want to bypass this formula and start losing fat sooner rather than later? Join eDiets and let us do all the work for you. We’ll structure a comprehensive diet and fitness solution that has you on your way to eight-pack abs. As always, check with your doctor prior to beginning any exersise program

working with out weights

Freehand Your Way to Fitness
By: Randy Herring

Freehand exercises have a tonic effect on the muscles and internal organs. They tone up the circulatory system and are beneficial in safeguarding the general health of the body. Advanced freehand exercises shape and muscularize the body. While living overseas, particularly in Japan, I used freehand exercises so I could maintain my health and strength when a gym and resistance free-weight or machine exercises were inaccessible.

Freehand exercises consist of push-ups, dips between chairs, dips on a bench, rowing between chairs, rope climbs (if there is a gymnasium accessible!), pull-ups, knee bends, one-leg squats or stationary lunges, sprinting, race-walking, lying leg curls, one-leg and two-leg calf raises, and perhaps the most challenging: handstand push-ups. Most of these exercises can be done in your home or hotel room when you are out of town. There is never an excuse not to exercise or “tone up!”

Push-Ups – Chest, Shoulders, Triceps

This exercise is excellent for the chest, delts, and triceps. Place hands shoulder width apart. Keep the body perfectly aligned. Lower your body to the floor, allowing your chest (stomach for some of you!) to touch. Come back up but do not lock your elbows to maintain tension. Push steadily, like a piston. Do a total of 50-100 reps with as many sets as it takes you to do those total reps.

To emphasize the upper chest, elevate your feet on some furniture. You can do push-ups between chairs (three chairs) so long as you DO NOT go down too far to dangerously hyper extending the shoulder joint and suffer an injury as a consequence of moving beyond the proper and safe range-of-motion. To emphasize your triceps, place your hands narrower than shoulder width (with toes on floor, not elevated) keeping your elbows in tight against the body.

Dips Between Chairs Or On A Bench – Chest, Shoulders, Triceps

Take two chairs that are strong enough to hold your body weight and place them approximately shoulder width apart, back-to-back, and backs parallel. Take hold of the chairs, bend your legs at the knees, stabilize yourself, dip down to where the upper arms are parallel to the floor and then back up between the chairs. Like push-ups do not lockout your elbows. Leaning forward stresses both the deltoid and chest and remaining as straight as possible stress the triceps. Beginners and Intermediates do a total of 20-30. Advanced bodybuilders do 50 reps.

If dips between chairs is difficult, dips on a bench, chair, table or some piece of furniture would be suitable. Place both hands (palms) on the furniture with your fingers facing away and hanging over the edge. Place the feet of your heels on another piece of furniture so the whole body is elevated and legs parallel to floor.

Keep the upper body upright (vertical to the floor) and legs straight or slightly bent. Now dip down so your upper arms are parallel to the floor. Press up to start position but do not lockout. If this is too challenging, you can perform these with your heels on the floor and legs straight. If this is far too challenging, you can move your feet closer and place them flat on the floor while keeping your legs vertical and thighs parallel to the floor.

Handstand Push-Ups – Shoulders and Triceps

This is an advanced freehand exercise for those who have strong delts and triceps because you will be using the resistance of your own body weight and 100 percent gravity! I experimented with this one while overseas starting with half reps to three quarter reps, and finally full reps when I got stronger.

Place your hands about 3-5 inches from the wall and wider than shoulder width. You might experiment with hand placement, such as hands flat and fingers facing the wall, rotating the elbows out so the thumbs are facing the wall (fingers away from body), a clenched fist with knuckles on floor, etc. when positioning yourself to do a handstand against the wall to stabilize the wrist.

Balance and stabilize your body while upside down (head down and feet up) against the wall by keeping your back arched. Slowly lower yourself as far as you can and back up again. Do a maximum of 20 reps for a start by doing quarter reps, then half reps, then three quarter reps and finally full reps. And you thought pull-ups were tough!

Rowing Between Chairs – Back, Rear Shoulders, Biceps

This was my first foundation exercise I did for my back when I didn’t have any weight equipment. Place two chairs about 5 feet apart and put a broomstick across the backs of the chairs. Lie on the floor in a prone position between the chairs and grip the broomstick with an underhand grip. Keep your heels on the floor and body straight like a stick. Pull yourself up and let yourself slowly down again. Hold your body absolutely straight when doing these, as with push-ups. Do 20-50 total reps.

If you don’t have two chairs and a broomstick do some pull-ups on a bar elevated above the ground using either an overhand or underhand grip. If this is not accessible you can do these with an overhand grip on a concrete or stone wall underpass. This is what I used while in Israel for a few months in 1994! Now pull your body weight up! Rope climbs are excellent! If a gymnasium is near you and has a rope hanging from the ceiling (kids use them for physical education class or just to play around with) you can use it – without the help of your legs!

Squats – Thighs

Place your feet flat on the floor 12-15 inches apart. Place a chair in front of you. Take hold of the chair to maintain balance. Squat down until your thighs are parallel to the floor, then raise yourself slowly up again pushing up off the heels, not your toes. Keep your body upright and back as straight as possible. Do at least 50 total reps.

You can also do stationary lunges. Place one leg forward and the other leg back using your toes for balance and stability. Place your hands on your hips. While keeping your body upright and back straight lunge forward until your forward leg is parallel to the floor. Push up off the heel (the one forward) keeping your body upright to start position.

Sprinting, Racewalking, Lying Leg Curls – Hamstrings

Sprinting is high-intensity short bursts of energy and stresses the hamstrings. When I lived in Japan a track and field was nearby so I did some sprinting for the hams at night after work. Simply run as fast as you can for a short distance! Get into the habit of timing yourself to make this exercise is challenging and progressive. The best alternative to sprinting but less intense is race-walking.

If both of these hamstring exercises are inaccessible for the outdoors then try weighted lying leg curls. Take a plastic bag, backpack or something and weight it down with books or other stuff. Lie face down on a table or bed and place the bag over your feet and press them together to hold the sack in place. Or you can hook the strap around your feet with the bag or backpack dangling. This is your resistance performing standard lying leg curls.

One Leg Calf Raises – Calves

You can do this exercise on stairs, a book, a coffee table or anything that elevates the foot off the floor. Use a chair, a wall or whatever to balance yourself while standing on one leg. Place one leg of your toes on the edge of the stairs, book or table. Keep this leg slightly bent. Lower the your heel by bending the toes to the floor slightly below parallel and then pop back up on your toes. This develops the whole calf muscle. Do at least 50 reps. Add resistance by placing a book or a weighty object in your other hand if you need to. Perform two-leg calf raises after your pre-exhausting reps with one-leg.

If you want to intensify this exercise with one leg do it very slowly. Push up, hold/squeeze for 20-30 seconds, lower slowly and then doing it again. You may get fewer reps but it does work the muscle intensely. Do at least 25 reps this way.

fore arms

Anatomy of Forearm Training

By: Glen Danbury

Are you the kind of person to just do wrist extensions and wrist curls and yet you still wonder why your forearms are like twigs with a few veins? The most common mistake within forearm training is thinking that the musculature of the forearms is only responsible for wrist flexion (curling) and extension. As you will see from this article a large and varied number of muscles make up the forearm, which all have differing actions and if you don’t include at least some of these movements into your training you will greatly decrease the potential of your forearm growth.

The Usual Suspects

Most people instantly think of wrist curls or wrist extensions when someone mentions forearm training and for good reason, as a large amount of the forearm musculature works during wrist flexion (palm coming towards your forearm) or extension (back of the hand coming towards the forearm).

During the wrist curl three major forearm muscles work – the flexor carpi radialis, the flexor carpi ulnaris and the palmaris longus. All of these muscles originate from the medial epicondyle of the humerus (the bonny lump on the inside of your elbow) and insert down just past the wrist.

To perform the wrist curl position yourself beside a bench so that you can lay your forearms across it with your hands just of the edge and your palms facing the ceiling. Take a barbell in your hands and allow your wrists to bend down towards the floor, pause for a second then bring your hands up until there is nearly a right angle formed between your forearm and hands. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

Wrist extensions work the extensor carpi radialis longus, the extensor carpi brevis and the extensor carpi ulnaris, which all originate from around the lateral epicondyle of the humerus (the bonny lump on the outside of your elbow) and insert into the metacarpals (bones in your hands). To perform the wrist extension, adopt the same position as the wrist curl but have the palms facing down. Once again allow the wrists to bend so that the knuckles end up pointing at the ground then bring your hand back up so your knuckles are pointing towards the ceiling.

Get A Grip

Most people think that most of the actions generated by the hand and fingers are caused by muscles within the hands, yet a large amount of the muscles are actually located within the forearms. This allows the hands their strength whilst also not interfering with the range of motion of all your digits. At this point your probably thinking that most of the muscles will get plenty of work during your pulling motions and you would be partially right, but if you only do minimal grip work you will miss out on serious potential growth of your forearms.

Most authorities on grip strength classify it within three broad terms – crushing, gripping and pinching and it would be wise to train all three types of strength for maximum development. Most people train their gripping strength within the gym when they do pulling movements (i.e. rowing, deadlifting etc). This is do to with gripping strength being defined as the ability to hold onto a weight (a form of isometric strength), yet we know from various studies that strength gains only appear within the range of motion (ROM) that we train in (give fifteen degrees either way). Considering this it would seem prudent to include some thick grip work (thick bar) and some thin grip work (strap holds) to train grip strength throughout the hands range of motion.

During grip work the muscles used are the flexor digitorum superficialis, flexor digitorum profondus and the flexor policus longus, which all originate in up between the elbow and the upper portions of the forearm bones (ulna and radius) and insert down into the thumb or fingers (phalanges), so as you can see they add size to the bulk of the forearm.

To perform thick bar holds wrap a towel tightly around a weighted barbell and deadlift into position. Hold the bar tightly for a given time period and use a weight so your grip starts to fail towards the end (it is sensible to do this exercise in a power rack so that when your grip gives out you don’t damage yourself or anybody else). Alternatively you could do your entire regular pulling motions with a thick grip.

On the other end of the spectrum you have thin grip training (strap holds) and you will need a pair of lifting straps. Get hold of either dumbells or a barbell and loop the end that usually goes around your wrist around the barbell or dumbell handles, so that you have a tail effect coming off of the dumbells/barbell. Take hold of the tail and stand up gripping the straps tightly and making sure they do not slip through your fingers and again hold for a timed period. For an alternative to doing standing holds you could perform farmers walks using these types of grips, in which you walk with a set of dumbells for as set distance.

To work crushing strength you will need some form of gripping machine or a set of hand grippers (a good hardcore set is the captain of crush set that can go up to several hundred pounds of pressure). Crushing strength can be defined as the strength required to close your hand against a resistance, so that the fingers work concentrically (positive/closing of the hand) and eccentrically (negative/resisting opening of the hand) against the resistance.

A cheap alternative to grippers is a squash ball, which you can squash in your hand, although the resistance would only be adequate for muscular endurance work. Pinching strength occurs when a resistance has to be held just between the thumb and fingers, this shifts the workload more on to the flexor pollicus longus and the flexor digitorum profundus. To perform pinch gripping effectively you will need to put two smaller plates together so that both sides are flat. Take hold of both plates between your thumb and fingers, once again timed holds work well.

Symmetry of the Hands

You wouldn’t train your biceps and not your triceps (at least I hope you wouldn’t) and the same could be said for the musculature of the forearms. Whilst the next exercise won’t add anything during a symmetry round, it is vitally important for balancing the strength of opposing muscles within the forearm and hand which will prevent potential problems arising (i.e. elbow problems associated with the flexor muscles being too strong compared with the extensors).

Finger extension exercises work the extensor digitorum, extensor pollicus brevis, the extensor indices and the extensor digiti minimi and like the flexor muscles some of these muscles originate in the forearm. The extensor muscles work to extend the fingers (open the hand) and the easiest way of working them is by band extensor work.

To perform band extensions you will need thick strong rubber bands. Take one initially and make a loop around your middle finger to secure it in place. Then place your other fingers around the inside of the band so your fingers and thumbs are all touching (the length of the band needs to be such that when your hand is in this position tension is evident, if it is not you can loop it over again, although this will increase the difficulty). Once in this position you can begin the rep by extending your fingers and splaying them apart simultaneously. The finish position will have your fingers fully extended and fully apart – repeat for the desired number of reps.

Think Laterally

As with all muscle groups performing a different movement (motor pattern) means recruiting the muscle fibres in a different way and helps in creating more intramuscularly co-ordination, which will eventually lead to more gains. Considering all this you should perform some form of abduction and adduction work for your wrists, which means lever bar work.

Lever bar work requires a dumbell rod or pole that weight can be added on one end. For abduction of the wrist (working the flexor carpi radialis, extensor carpi radialis longus, adductor pollicis longus and both the extensor policies brevis and longus) take hold of the pole with the weighted end out in front of you whilst your arm is locked tight into your side. Raise the weight up as far as it goes with your arm staying tight to your side, lower and repeat for reps.

To work the adduction movement of the wrist (working the extensor carpi ulnaris and the flexor carpi ulnaris) perform the exercise whilst holding the pole so the weight is out behind you instead of in front.

Odds & Ends

Various other muscles make up the forearm and hands such as the supinators and pronators, but most of these muscles are worked through curls and such forth. One muscle that adds a reasonable bulk to the forearm is the brachioradialis which causes flexion of the elbow whilst the forearm is in a pronated position (palms facing down), which most people train with either hammer curls or reverse curls. Personally I feel that this muscle gets plenty of work because this is the position adopted in most pulling movements.

All In All

The exercises listed could either be done on one day at the beginning of your weekly split if your forearms are seriously lacking. For most trainees who just want to slightly bring up their forearms the work could be split into two sessions and done after upper body or arm session as so.
   

Upperbody Workout One	Upperbody Workout Two
Wrist curls	Lever bar work to front
Wrist extensions	Lever bar work to back
Thick grip holds	Finger extensions
Strap holds or grippers	Plate pinch’s

If you are unused to doing grip work you may wish to slowly introduce one or two of these exercises at a time. This especially applies if the days following your session you have to do anything that involves picking things up, such as pens, phones, your toothbrush (i.e. any of you that don’t want to be crippled for several days).

As to the sets and reps to be used, most advocate high reps for the forearms – yet I feel the set and rep protocol should reflect your goals. In other words low rep (3-6) work if you are after strength (under twenty seconds for timed hold work), medium reps (6-10) if your aiming for hypertrophy (20-40 seconds for timed holds) and if your aims are for improving muscular endurance and work capacity higher reps should be employed. A couple of sets per exercise will suffice. If your forearms do look like twigs with veins then try this routine for a period. Whilst I cant guarantee that your forearms will look like redwoods with even bigger veins, you should still be pleasantly surprised. 

shoulders

Critical ShouldersBy: Curtis Schultz

Training, Impingements and Injury Prevention

What do you and weight training have in common? Well, other than cold iron and yourself; how about constant irritating achy shoulders? Yes, achy shoulders. The shoulder joint is the main fulcrum in all upper body movements. So, if you want to accomplish your goals in the gym you cannot afford to have shoulder problems.

Achy shoulders mainly happen because of improper lifting technique, changing your exercise routine to often, or overloading and pushing to much weight in an exercise. One of the most common problems, to occur with the weight trainer, when performing weightlifting exercises, is shoulder impingement. These types of shoulder injuries are reoccurring, and take a very long time to heal.

Impingements can hinder your ability to perform most pressing movements. There are many different forms of impingements. The most common is the Subacromial impingement; known more as “Bursitis” and it is a common condition of the shoulder. A shoulder impingement also gives an uncomfortable achy feeling just from sitting and lying down. An impingement occurs when compression over the shoulder joint is against the surrounding anatomic structures. Anatomically correct, the affected area is the gleno-humeral joint and supraspinatus. The anterior acromion and cora-coacromial ligaments are the most common sites inflamed. An impingement could also be due to incorrect exercise technique or weak rotator cuff muscles. A rotator cuff strain, with all it’s swelling, causes what is called mechanical impingement. This type of impingement is the pinching of the tissues described above between the humeral head and the acromion. Shoulder pain could transpire from a pinched nerve, which occurs between the neck and shoulder blade area.

Exercise Review

Since we are discussing shoulder problems that arise from exercising, let’s take a look at some of the most common exercises that can have potential for shoulder adversity. The first is the military press, which is performed behind the neck or to the front. Dumbbell presses, and side lateral raises are basic shoulder exercises that can create a shoulder impingement too. As you know, most of these exercises can be performed standing or seated, with free weights or with machines. The bench press is a very common shoulder impingement maker. A grip to far outside the shoulders places tremendous stress on the anterior deltoid. One other exercise, that causes shoulder injuries, is the back squat. Yes! That’s right I said squats. The bar is placed behind the shoulder girdle and lays on top the trapezoids, or lower in-between the shoulder blades and traps if you’re a powerlifter type. By performing the above exercises with too much weight and/or incorrect technique usually leads to impingements.

Testing: One-Two-Three

Let’s survey a few of these shoulder exercises and describe correct lifting technique for them. Now, the most common shoulder exercise performed in-correctly is the side lateral raise. Side lateral raises, to do them right, need to be done step by step. So, stand with a pair of very light dumbbells at your sides, now turn your thumbs slightly down, maybe a half-an-inch and then bend your elbows 35 degrees tops – this alignment ensures that the resistance is placed directly to the side delts. Now, without changing the position you are in, raise the dumbbells. You should resemble a huge letter “T.” The dumbbells and elbows should not elevate over or under your shoulders. So, if you are one of those individuals that raises the dumbbells over your head, resembling a bird trying to take off, then it’s time to call in the Undercover Gym Police and ticket you for erroneous procedures! Either that, or we will have to give you clearance for take-off.

The next shoulder exercise is military presses and dumbbell presses. These exercises are designed to hit all three deltoid heads. Both movements are best to be performed seated. Why? Well, first of all this prevents you from cheating. You have to focus on pressing the bar or dumbbells upward, working the deltoids. The execution of a rep should be smooth and controlled.

Remember, I mentioned that bench press and squats could also be at fault for shoulder problems. Most of us link a pectoral tear with bench presses not a shoulder impingement or rotator cuff injury. But, the latter is more common to occur from bench press and squats.

Dealing With The Pain

First, like we discussed earlier, watch your form on all upper-body exercises. You can become injured very fast if the exercise itself is not performed properly. Being in the correct anatomical position, and the correct lifting angles doesn’t give injury a chance to occur. I always see individuals jerking weights up and down, relying mostly on momentum, and forcing their shoulders out of alignment all the time.

After an impingement injury has been identified, rehab treatment should be performed. Treatment consists of the following techniques: If any discomfort is noticed while performing an exercise then it should be avoided for a couple weeks. Rest the area, and apply ice twenty minutes a day. If you don’t know it yet, ICE is the miracle cure-all for injuries. But, there are those few who do rehab with heat. I would still apply ice to the shoulder first just to reduce any possible swelling in that area. But, if you insist upon pushing through your training then apply an ice pack after each workout to your shoulder.

Dr. Pete Gratali, from ESPN’s Body Shaping, instructs to perform internal and external rotations on a low cable pulley for 30 to 50 repetitions with 5 to 10 pounds prior to starting ALL your upper body exercise programs. “It is good practice to perform internal and external rotation exercises prior to each and every upper body workout, even if you are not experiencing an impingement problem, the exercises are great for warming up the whole shoulder girdle.” Explains Dr. Pete. You can also perform these simple exercises with 5 or 10 pound dumbbells. Internal and external rotation exercises are simple rehab and warm up exercises to help you get around in the gym better.

You should always see a chiropractor or doctor when a shoulder injury occurs, and make sure you consult a certified physical therapist for the correct technique for all rehab exercises. I had the chance to work along-side athletic trainers and school team physicians when I worked as an assistant collegiate strength coach. This education and knowledge has allowed me to insure proper technique for rehab exercises. We have examined shoulder problems, exercise technique, and rehab recommendations giving you a better nucleus on your shoulder training. So, do not become injured from executing wrong exercise technique. You must train shoulders smart.

10 Shoulder Blasters

We all use the same exercises for shoulder development. You know, the basics, bar presses, dumbbell presses and side-laterals. These exercises all work great for size, but what about overall development, shape, and roundness of the shoulders? The shoulders are small muscles involved in almost every movement that a bodybuilder performs. They are an important component when training chest, back, biceps, and they even get stretched when performing squatting movements. There are three heads to training the delt muscles. The front or anterior, the medial or most commonly called the lateral, and the rear or posterior deltoid head. A shoulder workout is one of the most important all-around developers and should consist of a three-prong approach. When performing any of these unknown shoulder exercises or any combination of, will pound the entire shoulder girdle into submission, so I highly recommend you train shoulders by themselves.

Shoulders fatigue quickly when applying continuous tension. Keeping shoulder muscles in constant contraction throughout these exercises provides an extreme intense shoulder burn that will promote strength. This can be brought on through the use of cables, and machines as well as barbells and dumbbells. Then how do we develop overall shape? Variations from the standard movements will do the job very well. Most of these movements are not particularly common in the gym. I guess that’s why they’re unknown.

10 Unknown Shoulder Exercises

The following are 10 unknown shoulder exercises that allow one to stress the anterior, medial and rear deltoid heads with a little extra-added jump on the traps just because of their unique movements. Use any of the following unknown shoulder exercises in your program and they will stimulate them for optimal development. These 10 exercises are plate raises, single dumbbell raises, cable front raise with rope, incline front raises, bent-over front raise, lying front raise, cable side-lateral raise w/ rope, side- lateral w/ a bar, lying reverse cable fly’s, and bent over laterals.

1. Plate Raises

These are my favorites. Start with an Olympic plate, preferably a 45 pounder. But, if you are a novice and your shoulder strength is not developed to it’s fullest then I would start with a 25-pound plate. I’ve personally worked up to a 100-pound plate for three sets of 8 and when pushing this amount of weight the movement can become very intense. Place your hands around the middle of the plate. Perform three sets of 8. There are variations of this movement that can make it harder too. How? Changing your handgrip for one. By placing your hands more toward the top of the plate makes it a lot harder to raise. This movement is a similarity to the single dumbbell front raise.

2. Single Dumbbell Raise

Instead of using a plate or two dumbbells for front raises, you only use one. That was simple. Not so simple when you start on this shoulder crunching exercise. Grip a single dumbbell by placing your hands around the dumbbell. Then raise the dumbbell to eyes length and your arms are parallel to the floor. When the lift becomes difficult, bend your elbows ever so slightly to get extra repetitions. But, don’t rock back and forth like a push- me-pull-me. If you prefer these to plate raises then do three sets of 10-12 repetitions progressively moving up 5 or 10 pound increments.

3. Cable Front Raises with a Rope

Grasp a rope handle and attach to a low pulley and then straddle the cable facing away from the stack. Start with your fists touching groin level and then slowly raise your arms until your fists are eye level and your arms are parallel with the floor. Avoid jerking the rope and swaying your body just to get the weight up when your muscle start to fail. Keep your body in an upright position throughout the full range of motion. Begin with a set of 20 reps and then two more for 15 each adding weight to each set.

4. Incline Front Raise

For variation, you can use a light barbell instead of dumbbells. Your hand spacing can be different and varied, anywhere from shoulder width to six to eight inches apart. On a 45- degree incline bench. With anterior delt movements such as these avoid cheating the weight upward. Always move the dumbbells or bar in a slow and controlled manner.

5. Bent-Over Front Raise

This is not a particularly common shoulder exercise. This movement strongly stresses the anterior and medial heads of the deltoid. Because of body position, the trapezius and upper back muscles also receive a significant amount of stress. Grasp two dumbbells, flex your knees, arch your lower back for support, and then bend at the waist until your torso is almost parallel with the floor. Hang your arms straight down towards the floor. Slowly move your arms to the front above the plane of your head or at eye level. Choose dumbbells light enough to complete four sets of 10 reps. A variation of this movement places you on a bench.

6. Lying Front Raises

This movement is a slight variation of the bent-over front raise. But, with this variation you don’t have the luxury of cheating. Lie down face down on a bench, try and get a high bench, making sure your head and shoulders are over the end of the bench. Grasp a pair of really light dumbbells. The dumbbells should hang down towards the floor with a palm down grip. Slowly lift the dumbbells upward until they are parallel with the floor. After squeezing your delts for a second, slowly lower the dumbbells back down controlling them back to the starting position. If you wish to get a few extra reps without cheating then have a partner assist you. Having them kneel in front of you, and have them raise the dumbbells slowly does this. Do four sets of 12 repetitions.

When performed correctly, side laterals attack the medial or side-head portion of the deltoid perfectly. Most believe you should bend the elbows slightly during the movement, but this is not totally correct for just a slight bend in the elbows can off-set the stress off of the delt. Most commonly you see individuals almost doing “front raises” when trying to perform side-lateral movements. Bending the elbows has the tendency to bring the dumbbells forward, which stresses the already overdeveloped anterior or front delt. Also, if you raise the arm too high you stress the traps. So, that is why we’ll do these specific exercises for side-head deltoid training.

7. Cable side-lateral raise with rope/dumbbells

So, let’s begin by setting you up in front of a cable cross over machine and place a rope on each side weight stack. Grasp the rope in each hand, raise slowly with your thumbs up keeping your arms straight out to your sides. Avoid jerking the rope and swaying your body just to get the weight up. Keep your body in an upright position throughout the full range of motion. Perform 4 sets of 12 reps. Remember keep your arms straight, no elbow bend.

8. Side-lateral raises with a bar

A variation to the ‘normal’ side lateral we all perform is use a straight bar instead of dumbbells. Easy, right? Well, I hope by now you’ve figured out that these shoulder movements are not easy. This form of side-lateral can be done seated for more difficulty or standing, just like the original. Either way, this is probably the toughest movement of them all. Grasp a straight bar in each hand, keep it “straight” so when you raise the bar your thumbs are facing the mirror and the bar is parallel with the floor. Keeping the bar steady is very difficult to accomplish. Perform 3 sets of 20. If you can?

9. Incline Rear Lateral Cables

This movement develops the posterior head of the delt, which gives the complete round deltoid look. Sit backwards on an incline chair lowered almost all the way down. Hold the lower kettle handles of a cross cable machine downward arms held down with elbows bowed outward. Raise the cable upward and outward was high as possible and bring slightly forward, squeezing the rear deltoid. Return to the staring position and repeat. If you need to, lean your chest forward on the bench for support. Try 3-4 sets, 8-12 repetitions.

10. Seated Rear Lateral Cross Cables

Sit yourself on a bench, and begin by holding the upper kettle handles of a cross cable machine, cross in front of the face. In a sweeping motion pull the cables outward and back. Too make this movement even harder, hold your arms straight out in front of you pulling the cable outward and back squeezing the rear deltoids. Repeat the movement for 3 sets of 12-15 repetitions.

Give Your Shoulders Time to Recover

By the end of this routine your shoulders should be so pumped and wasted that combing your hair is out of the question. As it should be with all your body parts shoulder training should be done once a week. Training like this gives your muscles, tendons, and ligaments lots of time to recover and repair themselves. All the assorted back training movements can easily over train this same lobe. So, to make this deltoid muscle a factor in your training try rear delts on back training day. This is especially needed, as the shoulder is the focal for all upper body movements. Work these POWER Blast shoulder secrets exactly in this order, hard, and watch them air up like balloons. Oh yeah, remember to give me one more rep!

beginners advice

AJ Beginners Advice

By Weight-lifter, Anton Hutchinson (AJ)

Hey guys. Now if you want to start bodybuilding, just a beginner or want to start again then this article is for you. In this article I will be telling you 2 or 3 simple but effective exercises for each body part.

Arms
To start off with I will take the arms. The arms are split into 3 areas. The Biceps, the Triceps and the Forearms. I will start with the biceps. The main exercises for the biceps are curls. I would use standing and sitting curls to start off with. Now the triceps are the biggest muscle in the arm and one of the least worked muscles in the body. I love to work the triceps because when well developed it looks really good. So many cuts and muscle just bulges out. Anyway the best exercises for the triceps are the Triceps push-downs and lying extensions. Also dips are a good triceps exercise and also works the chest well. For the forearms the best exercises are wrist curls.

Shoulders
For me, shoulders are the most difficult muscle to train. When doing exercises for the shoulders it puts a lot of strain on you back. Anyway the best exercises are shoulder presses and shrugs. When doing shrugs use a really heavy weight and that will get your shoulders packing on the muscle.

Chest
The chest is the most worked, focused on and favorite muscle for nearly all bodybuilders. The chest is split into higher and lower chest. Now the bench press is the best exercise, however there are variations. A flat bench press then there is the incline and decline. These work the uppers and lower chest area’s. Another great exercise for the chest is the flies. These can be done with the machine or on a bench with dumbbells.

Back
The Back is the biggest muscle of the body, and is separated into upper and lower and then the sides. For the upper part of the back Lateral Pull downs with wide grip. Also seated pulley rows are a good exercise for the upper back. For the lower back the superman stretch is good. To perform this lie down on your stomach with hands and legs stretched straight. The raise your arms up with your lower back as far as you can and hold for a second. Return to the floor and that is 1 rep. Also the reverse extension is a good lower back exercise. For the sides of the back to get the V shape, good exercises are chins and pull downs. Both underhand grip.

Legs
The legs are a great looking body part once well developed. Squats are definitely the best exercise for the legs. Any bodybuilder will tell you that. Anyway Squats are for the quads. The legs have 3 different muscles. Quads, Hams and Calves. Now for the quads we have Squats and also leg extentions. For the Hams the best exercises are leg curls and stiff-legged deadlifts. And for the calves are calf raises both, standing and sitting.

And finally…

Abs
Abs are definitely the muscle which most beginners struggle with. Abs are developed by squeezing the muscle. Also to see your abs you need a low body fat. However abs take a long time to develop and my best gains came from crunches, pelvic tilts and side bends. With these 3 exercises you hit all 3 areas of the abs. With crunches this hits the upper abs. The pelvic tilts hit the lower abs and the side bends hit the obliques which are the side abs. The side bends can be performed in 2 different ways.

1. Standing with a dumbbell in one hand then lowering it to your knee’s and
2. Lying on a bench in crunch position with arms at your side’s. Then tilt one way until your hand reaches around your knee and you feel a squeeze then hold for a second, and then return. That is 1 rep.

Ok. So I have given you a few exercises for each body part. Now I will make it a whole lot clearer.

Arms
Biceps:
Standing Curls 8-12 reps
Sitting Curls 8-12 reps

Triceps:
Push Downs 8-12 reps
Lying Extension 8-12 reps

Shoulders
Shoulder Press 8-12 reps
Shrugs 8-12 reps

Chest
Bench Press
(incline & decline) 8-12 reps
Flies 8-12 reps

Back
Upper Back:
Lateral Pull-Downs 8-12 reps
Seated Pulley Rows 8-12 reps

Lower Back:
Superman Stretch 8-12 reps
Reverse Extensions 8-12 reps

Side’s:
Chins 12-15 reps
Pull Downs 10-12 reps

Legs
Hamstrings:
Leg Curls 10-12 reps
Stiff Legged Deadlifts 10-12 reps

Quadriceps:
Squats 10-15 reps
Leg Extensions 10-12 reps

Calves:
Calf Raises
(standing & Sitting) 12-15 reps

Abs
Crunches 15-20 reps
Pelvic Tilts 15-20 reps
Side Bends 15-20 reps

So now with all this information you can now make a program. I definitely recommend working each body part once a week. So here is a 4 day split.
 

• Day 1: Biceps, Back and Abs
• Day 2: Hams, Shoulders and Abs
• Day 3: Quads, Forearms and Calves
• Day 4: Triceps and Chest and Abs

So if you follow this split use the exercises I have shown above and then E-mail me to tell me your results or e-mail me with any questions. AJ@bodybuilders.com

bodybuilding

Arm Assault

By Bodybuilder and Athlete, Brent Vlcek

First, let me say that I hate training arms. No, it’s not because they present the same challenge as legs, but quite the opposite. I have actually skipped a whole week without training arms because they represent no challenge whatsoever. In my opinion, however skewed it may be, my arms overshadow any improvements I have made in regards to training. My arm training is in no way unique to any other, yet it lacks intensity and ambition. Nonetheless, I have made such dramatic improvements in my arms that they have grown 2 ½ inches in less than a year. I’ve found it amazing yet discomforting. I always think to myself, “Maybe I should be less competitive and less wanting to improve other body parts so they will grow as well.” Maybe it is genetics, maybe it psychological or maybe its…MY ARM ASSAULT (without the sweat, blood, screaming and tears).

The Beginning

Before I began my ARM ASSAULT, my arm routine was that of Ronnie Coleman’s, you know, the one found in that Gold’s Gym book. Ronnie Coleman’s face in the pictures was enough to describe the fierceness of this workout. My countenance bore very little resemblance to Ronnie’s, but I did manage to get the eyes squinted and mouth open. Whatever that workout consisted of…I wish not to remember. To make a boring storing short, I changed my name to Pierre and gave up like a Frenchman. I needed a new arm workout – one not so long, one not so boring, and most of all, one not so difficult.

The Search

I began my search for a new arm workout in the multitude of books found at your local library. I was too entertained by the pictures of these guys from the 70’s and 80’s working out in these little daisy dukes, knee high socks, Nike’s and hair that, well…you know what I mean. I then ventured over to the bookstore and all I received was an indignant remark from an old woman asking if I was going to be “buying or going bye-bye.” Well I had to catch Matlock anyway before senior citizen dinner at 3:00. Upon my arrival back home, I decided to turn to the Internet. The thing about the Internet is that there are so many interesting links that I sometimes find myself at swedishchickshavingsexwithafghangoatsontopofburningbarns.com (not an actual link). Well, not really that exact site, but you get the idea. All this searching for an arm workout was making me tired. It should not have to be this difficult. After all, the arm, unlike the calf muscle has a pivot point…wait a minute that’s it!

I like to divide the arm into three parts – bicep, tricep and the forearm. All I had to do was find the pivot point and contract. But to find that pivot point and to make sure it contracted to its fullest potential was the difficult part…no wait, it was the easy part. To accomplish this I turned to something I had rarely used before – the preacher curl benches. This simple device could isolate my bicep and give me the perfect pivot point that I needed. Further, the preacher curl bench took all the “hard stuff” out of arm training. After all, I was sitting down, my arms are now isolated, I still use free weights and, most of all, I can be guaranteed proper form!

Ronnie (Need I say more)

The thing about Ronnie’s arm workout that made me cringe…not the cringing you do when you’re stuck in the middle of a rep…was that he was always standing. Standing poured the concrete for the bad form road. I hate standing and doing arm curls because of the improper form that can easily be obtained. I’ve seen many people in the gym swinging the weights, humping their imaginary Swedish chick and doing other stupid things that are such a disservice to their arms and backs. I can speak from experience that back pain from swinging the weight brings you to the couch and actually gives you the time to watch an episode of Matlock. Plus, which part is getting the workout…the back or the arms? Make it easy, sit down, and isolate your bicep with some preacher curls.

To train the triceps is no different from bicep training. Find the pivot point, lock it, and execute. For example, on cable push downs, “lock” your elbows in place by your hips and execute a full rep. By “full rep” I mean make sure your forearm part comes all the way up and all the way down, while your elbow is “locked” into place. Lower the weight if you are unable to perform this feat! The same philosophy applies to skull-crushers. Lock your elbows in place and perform full rep. Do not let the elbows flare or flank your body, keep them as close as possible to each other.

Forearms

The forearms, I must admit, are new to me. I only have begun to train forearms a couple months ago. Like every other muscle, they are not special! They are the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world…yeah Fight Club. Find the pivot point (one’s wrist) and pivot of that. The elbow can also act as a pivot point when training forearms (i.e. executing a set of reverse curls). Arm training does not have to be hard! I only perform two exercises for the bicep, three for the tricep and two for the forearms. Already, my arms have grown disproportionately to the rest of my body and for that reason, I hate them. Remember:

1. Sit down and relax…it’s arm day
2. Don’t stand, that imaginary girl doesn’t like it that way anyhow
3. Find the pivot point, isolate, and contract
4. Slow controlled reps, especially on the negative
5. Don’t wear daisy dukes in the gym…you don’t want to end up in your local library

Strength Training Strategies That Work

Strength Training Strategies That Work

by Gary Matthews
Over the years, there has been a surge of different strength-training techniques to come onto the market only to fade away. Here, we discuss the training strategies that have stood the test of time and that will allow you to gain the maximum amount of muscle in the shortest time possible.Most of these strength-training strategies have been around for years but are not followed by many training systems these days. Let’s look at a few below that actually work.

1. Training Frequency

The two main components of strength training are the intensity of the exercise and the recovery after the exercise. Infrequent, short, high-intensity weight-training sessions, followed by the required amount of time to recover and become stronger is what is needed to increase functional muscle size in the shortest period of time.

The latest research has repeatedly shown that muscles over-compensate (become stronger) up to a week after the previous workout, provided muscles are trained to failure.

Remember, it’s not the training volume but the intensity and recuperation that are important when it comes to gains in strength and muscle.

2. Exercises Per Session

Tests under strict gym conditions have revealed you’ve only got a limited amount of (readily available) energy to use for a weight-training session. Blood tests on individuals have also revealed that blood-sugar levels (available energy) drop dramatically after 20 to 30 minutes of high-intensity training.

As you only have a short period of time to train before our blood-sugar level drops, exercise selection is crucial. You have to use multijoint or compound movements, as these offer the most training stimulus for the available amount of time. In other words, we can train many muscles simultaneously, and thus use our energy more efficiently.

Most people are capable of performing 3 to 4 exercises with high intensity during a session. All the main structures of the body are worked hard during this time. Working on these big compound movements has an impact on the whole body; there is no need for specialization techniques or isolation movements.

The whole body is worked hard, rest and recuperation is allowed to take place. At the next exercise session we push out a few more reps than before with the same weight. That shows we have gotten stronger, i.e. more muscle.

3. Number Of Sets Per Exercise

After performing one complete set of a compound exercise to total failure, it should be just about impossible to generate the same force and intensity for another complete set of the same exercise.

If you’re able to generate the same force and intensity for this second set, then it’ll be pretty obvious that not enough effort has been put into the first set. Thus you’ll have to raise the intensity level you put out for the first set.

If you give the first set 100-percent effort and work the exercise hard to total failure (eg. you cannot move the bar after the last rep) then no further muscle stimulation on that specific exercise will be required.

If you think volume training (multiple sets)is more effective, you’re wrong! The latest research shows single-set training is as beneficial as multiple-set training. Training one set will decrease the chances of over-training. It will also allow you to save more energy for other exercises required during the workout.

4. Number Of Repetitions Per Set

The development of muscle and strength is interrelated; it always has been. Strength-training sessions produce increases in strength equal to increases in functional muscle (You’ll become stronger and grow muscle).

Cycling intensity through changes in repetitions and weight throughout a 10-week program is an effective way to maintain progression and avoid training plateaus (slumps in strength).

Repetitions can be cycled. Higher repetition ranges will stimulate slow-twitch muscle fibers and promote endurance. Moving further down the scale, lower repetition ranges will activate the fast-twitch muscle fibers and increase strength and muscle size.

Gary is the author of several ebooks, including “Maximum Weight Loss in Ten Weeks,” and “Maximum Weight Gain in 10 Weeks.” Visit Gary’s website at www.maximumfitness.com

Scientific Principles For Muscle Gain

Scientific Principles For Muscle Gain

By Gary Matthews
It’s an unfortunate reality that throughout the years there has been a growth of strength-training techniques that have no scientific proof to back them up. Have a look at the facts presented in this outline of muscle-gain principles and make up your own mind.Below you will find scientific guidelines for strength training that have always been around, but are not followed by many training systems these days.

1. Limited Energy Level

A strength-training program should be short and simple as you only have a limited amount of energy per training session.

Scientific studies reveal that blood-sugar levels (energy) start to deplete after 30 minutes, so exercise selection and the time taken to perform them is crucial.

What you should be aiming for is stimulating as many muscle fibres in the shortest period of time available.

The trick is to give yourself a high-intensity workout before your blood-sugar level depletes, and then you will have given your body the exercise it requires to gain the maximum amount of muscle possible.

2. Progressive Overload

Progressive Overload is the main exercise principle you need to be aware of to get the results you’re after with strength training.

The two most important points are:

Complete your exercise with perfect technique.

Push to total failure when doing a set and overload the weight on the bar progressively. Overload your targeted muscles to beyond what they’re used to.Basically this means that when the body is stressed by high-intensity training beyond its normal demands, the body will adapt to these new demands of improved strength.When I say “normal demands,” I mean what level of stress/strength your body is used to now.

An example: The set that you performed last week using the same technique and weight, your body will now have adapted to. If you stay at this level your muscles will not become stronger or bigger, so this is where the Progressive Overload plays a major part.

Once your muscles have adapted to a particular weight then it’ll be time to overload them further (add more weight, speed, repetitions). You’ll need to keep on repeating this process of overload if you want to become stronger.

Remember to always use good technique. Technique must never be sacrificed for extra load.

3. Training Frequency

The sad reality is that the popular high-volume type of training you find in bodybuilding books and magazines (and used by the stars) is irrelevant to the majority of the population and has a shocking failure rate.

What is good for Joe Star is probably not good for you. Everybody has different genetics; most of us have poor genetics and are not taking steroids like the stars.

The only way the majority of us can make any gains at all is to perform short intense workouts followed by long periods of rest so that we don’t overtrain.

4. Over-Compensation

Many studies conducted around the world have shown clearly that recuperation from strength training requires far more rest time than previously thought.

Infrequent, short, high-intensity weight-training sessions, followed by the required amount of time to recover and become stronger is necessary for you to increase your functional muscle.

Here’s what you need to do: Allow your body enough recuperation time for overcompensation to take place, so the muscles can adjust to their new strength and growth.

5. Exercise Selection For Intensity

I can’t stress enough how exercise selection is absolutely crucial. There are only a few exercises that you really need to perform. These exercises consist of multi-joint movements.

These particular exercises are far superior to that of isolation exercises (working 1 muscle group at a time), because you are required to use more muscles from every muscle group.

By using these exercises your whole body will be worked hard.

6. Visualization

Over my 20 years in the industry, I’ve noticed this area is by far the most neglected by mainstream health-and-fitness professionals. Most books or courses concentrate on the physical side of muscle gain or fat loss and completely neglect the mental side.

By training your mental state as well as your physical body, you can even further progress in muscle growth.

Gary is the author of several ebooks, including “Maximum Weight Loss in 10 Weeks” — the complete ebook and time-saving solution for burning away unwanted fat, and “Maximum Weight Gain in 10 Weeks” — easy-to-use and follow techniques that serve as a guide to muscle growth without having to “live in the gym.” Visit Gary’s website at www.maximumfitness.com