Periodization Training: A Body Building Perspective

If you divide your yearly training into phases or cycles, you'll maintain a better mental outlook, more motivation and your body will also respond better physiologically.

The first phase of training is the one that builds muscle size and pre-orients your muscles to be geared up (condition-wise) to go for strength and power which will theoretically allow you to even add more muscle size. Plus, you will condition your tendons and joints to handle the stresses of heavier weights to come.

It is recommended that you do 6-15 reps per set for size with the great majority of reps falling somewhere from 8-12 reps. Try 3-4 heavier "work" sets after a systemic warm-up plus 2-3 warm-up weight sets per exercise. As you might note, so far this sounds pretty much like a standard common sense bodybuilding workout.

The strength and power phases are next. This will be another 8-week cycle. To develop strength and power, the greatest athletes in the world generally work with 2-6 reps. Since we are geared to bodybuilders we adjust this slightly and in this phase, we advocate 4 - 5 sets of 5 - 7 reps. Here is how this cycle works. We'll use our previous example for the Bench Press where you ended Phase 1 at 235 for 10 reps. Do an active system warm-up, then with weights 95 x 10 and 155 for 10. On your final warm up set do 205 for 6.

Then go to your "target weight" which is actually only 10-lbs. above the weight you ended up at sets of 10 in your first phase. So, start at 245-lbs. x 3 sets of 5-6 reps. You are leaving yourself some extra so you continue to gain positively all the way through the cycle.

In physics, work is a measure of force and distance. (w = f x d). Power means doing a specified amount of work per unit time. If you can move mass M over distance D in 10 seconds and then (after training) move the same mass M the same distance D, but do it in 5 seconds, you are twice as powerful!

Our experience has been to spend a maximum of four weeks in the power phase and to use 2 -3 reps in benches and deadlifts, 3 - 4 reps in the squats and bent-over rows, and 5 - 6 reps for all other exercises. Again, follow your 2-3 warm-ups, and 3 power work sets and then do a down set of 10 reps with about 70% of your target weight, just as you did in the strength phase.

Phase 4 is the rest cycle, a must for great results and essential for building strength and lean mass. Be sure to add about a week of rest into your online workout program, about 1 week every 12. You'll love the way you feel afterwards!

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Leg Muscle Madness

To anyone who has ever picked up a weight – or even thought about it – this four-letter word can take on a variety of different meanings.

For many, legs are the indomitable foundation for which a healthy physique is formed. To a large number of others, the leg day is the one square on the calendar that you painfully dread, the one that you know will require both vigorous effort and agonizing labor.

And yet to many others, legs mean absolutely nothing. Hence, they are woefully neglected.

But nothing looks sillier on a fitness fanatic than a beefy upper torso cemented atop a pair of chicken legs.

So, don’t be that chicken. Take on these painful, gainful exercises that are sure to turn your legs into logs in due time.

Hack Squats: After setting the desired weight, station yourself inside the machine, so your shoulders are flush underneath the pads and your feet are in the middle of the platform. You feet should be at a shoulder length width. Releasing the safety bar, slowly bend your knees, allowing the weight to push your buttocks toward the platform. When your quadriceps are parallel to the floor – or perhaps dip a little lower - immediately reverse the movement, exploding the through an upward motion. Stop just before your knees are locked as you squeeze your legs during the contraction. Try 3-4 sets of 10-12 repetitions.

Leg Presses: Lie down on the machine so that your feet are on the platform. Make sure that your feet are parallel to each other and not pointed inward or outward. Allow the weight to push your knees toward your torso. Stop when your knees form a 90-degree angle. Reverse the movement as you push with your legs, pushing your torso away from the platform. As your legs begin to straighten out, stop just short of your knees being locked. Slowly let the weight bring your buttocks down into the starting position. Try 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps.

Leg Extensions: Sitting on the bench, clasp your ankles underneath the pads, gripping the side handles for balance. Slowly raise the pads, squeezing your quads, and stop the motion when your knees are locked in front of you. Squeeze your quads for a two-count before releasing the tension, allowing your legs to drop to the starting position. Repeat the motion for 3 sets of 12-15 for an incredible burn.

Hamstring Curls: Set yourself face down on the hamstring machine, sliding your heels underneath the pads. Grip on to the handles for balance. Setting a manageable weight, slowly curl your legs upward, so your heels push toward your buttocks. Your feet should be flexed during the movement. Curling upward, the motion should stop when your legs and torso form an angle of roughly 45 degrees. Squeeze your hamstrings during the motion. Slowly release the weight and return to the starting position, as your legs should straighten out. Repeat this movement for 10-12 reps for 3–4 sets.

A leg workout requires optimum intensity, if your intentions are to increase size and strength. Nothing in weight training will wear you out the way a rigorous leg workout will so be sure to provide yourself with ample rest before leg days. Also, legs should be done only once a week to insure time for the torn muscle tissue to recuperate.

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Climb Past Your Bench Press Plateau for a Huge Bench

Has your bench press been stuck at a plateau? The bench press is the favorite chest exercise of every person looking to add bulk to there chest can be the biggest disappointment for people. Most people do the same routine over and over again, though it once worked now no results for all the time spent in the gym. List below are tips that you can implement in your next workout to start building a bigger bench and get you out of your rut.

The first technique to getting out of your bench press plateau is to pause at the bottom. Most people got down and up so fast that they use more momentum than muscular strength to press the weight. So, to develop better strength we are going to over pause to ensure optimal muscle fiber recruitment.

It is best to have a spotter who you trust that can help lift the weight off if you don't make it up. Also, have the spotter count to two for you once the bar stops moving as you don't want to be relaxing or screwing up your breathing to count. Once your partner says two explode with all your might for one full rep. Complete as many reps as possible though if you can do more than 6 reps add more weight.

As you continue to train even beyond these tips it is important to train using all three techniques of pausing at your chest. The three are the touch and go that most do, a slight pause at the bottom and then press, and a complete 2-3 second pause at the bottom before pressing the weight up. Each different method is going to challenge your muscle fibers in different ways with different levels of weight. One legitimate rep with less weight does more for muscle development and strength than a rep of heavier weight that you bounce off your chest to impress your friends with how much you can lift.

Have to train the triceps

You don't get a big bench without strong triceps. The bench press is not just a pectoral muscle exercise. Most people use triceps extensions or pressdowns which can develop strong triceps muscles though it doesn't always help with what the triceps need to do in a bench press. The best exercises you can do to train your triceps is to do any kind of close grip pressing motion from close-grip bench or incline bench and close grip push ups. Also, use a variety of dumbbells, barbells, and bodyweight exercises. The important factor is to train your triceps in the motions they need to gain strength in to get a bigger bench press.

Don't forget about your shoulders

The common exercises for shoulders are presses and lateral raises of some kind. The important part of the shoulder for bench press is the anterior deltoid. Add front raises to your routine to strengthen up the front part of your shoulder. Make sure to stand still and use only your shoulder muscles to raise the bar, dumbbells, or plate. I see too many people arching their backs and using momentum to lift the weight. Pure strength and muscle development comes from proper technique more than total weight if momentum is used.

Your back is important too

It most because that we don't see it in front of us because people are way more developed in the chest than the back. A big reason your bench may not be going up is that your antagonist muscles in the back are not strong enough to support the movement from your over developed chest. The only way to build a big bench is to build a big back. If you forget about your back or don't put the same time and effort in your bench will always limit out well short of your potential.

The last thing on your bench press is your legs and core. Your legs are still needed on during a bench exercise to stabilize the weight. If you didn't need your legs to have a big bench than you would be able to lift the same weight with your legs on the floor as you do if you put your feet on the bench and take them away. A big bench is about total body strength, if you focus only on the bench so results will always suffer.

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Bodybuilding Tips - Back to the Muscle Buidling Basics

Have you been struggling to achieve your bodybuilding and muscle mass goals? Sometimes getting back to the basics is the key to overcoming your training plateau. Often as we look for the next best thing, we get away from tried and true keys that always work for being successful.

Muscle Mass Bodybuilding Tips

Set Realistic Goals: Too often we set goals that we can't reach or at least in the time frame we have given ourselves. When you set realistic goals it gives you motivation as you complete them, and you can always set more goals to achieve more as you continue. Don't burn yourself out by unrealistic goals. More than just a program: Most people have a program they are following. If you don't stop know and find one to follow. Also, if you have been following the same basic program for a long time find a new one that will give your body a new stimulus. Important to make sure you train your entire body that leaving smaller muscles out only causes a lack in overall results.

With your program, set up from the start how many days a week, how much time per workout, and does that fit into your schedule and the program you have chosen. I see more people stressed because the time they have allocated doesn't support the program they have picked. You have to be committed: I personal feeling is that people quit one step from their results changing. This kind of comes back to realistic goals. Every week and every month isn't going to be the greatest mass building month of your life especially if you are serious and have made this a lifestyle. I believe it is those with faith and what we do on our bad weeks and bad months that make a difference.

Enjoy it: Sometimes we can get so rapped up in the results that we forget to enjoy the daily workouts and the good tasting protein shakes. Bodybuilding is a lifestyle so I find the more you enjoy all the small aspects the better your results are. A positive attitude goes a long way.

Create a flow: Creating a successful training habit during your workout keeps you in the right mind set to get the most out of every set. There is no sense spending all the time training only to go through the motions.

The more you stay in the moment of your training program the greater your results. Bodybuilding is about a lifestyle more than just a 90 minute muscle building workout. I believe the details matter, and the difference in people's results doing the same workouts and same supplements is the little consistent details.

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Creatine : Still the best Workout Supplement for strength, power, size and recovery

In the past decade, the sports and fitness world has seen many performance enhancing supplements arrive on the scene as the quest for maximum possible performance from the human body continues. Since I became a personal trainer 17 years ago I have personally seen and used dozens of different supplements, as much out of curiosity as to "what's new" as a desire to improve my performance and physique. From energy drinks to prohormones to protein supplements to nighttime recovery, I have experimented with many, and found a lot that I have chosen to keep using. Above all of them, however, the one constant that has ALWAYS been present since the very first time that I used it is creatine. It has proven to be one of the effective and safe supplements available when used properly. I always feel stronger and recover quicker using creatine when I participate in any kind of training that requires strength or quick bursts of anaerobic power. Any workout I do in the weight room or when rock climbing feels incredibly enhanced when I supplement with creatine, and I have no problem as an online personal trainer recommending this product to healthy individuals who can safely take the recommended dosages supplied by the manufacturers. I always say to people, it is your responsibility to make sure that you are a healthy individual who is cleared medically to participate in the high intensity training made possible by safe and proper creatine supplementation.

I remember the first time I took creatine back in 1995, and I did a leg press exercise as my first set of the workout. I easily lifted 10% more weight that I had been lifting before that day, and found I could do over 20% more repetitions per set with weights that I had been using. WOW! It was a very strange feeling to have that effect only minutes after taking the product. It was like a wonder pill, in some ways. As someone who loves lifting weights and being strong, it was a huge psychological boost to feel that different so quickly. Creatine has literally been a part of my training regimen ever since that day.

What was going on was that the main ingredient in the creatine supplement, creatine monohydrate, was enhancing my muscles' ability to produce effort before fatiguing. The monohydrate component of creatine monohydrate combines with the most immediate metabolic byproducts of intense muscular effort during exercise, which turns a large percentage of the byproducts right back into usable muscular energy. The muscle is able to lift more weight and fatigues later than without the supplement being present. My experienced increase in performance of 10-20% was right in line with what is the usual benefit.

The initial advantage to being able to lift more weight and do more repetitions is obvious: the body gets a better workout and a better stimulation to improve its performance levels. In addition to this first benefit, creatine also serves to pull more body water volume into the muscle cells, creating a fuller feeling of firmness in the muscle belly, which looks and feels good to the person using it. Muscle recovery is enhanced as well, so not only are the workouts better, the recovery from these workouts is quicker. Performance and cosmetic results are greatly enhanced.

Creatine supplements are always evolving coming onto the market in forms that manufacturers claim improve their results. They are now frequently combined with other performance enhancing ingredients in a single supplement to create amazing feelings of "pump" during a workout. And these latest versions of creatine supplementation are very effective and I have tried most of them. In the end, the actual way the creatine itself is acting upon the body and its effectiveness are largely unchanged from when I used it for the first time. It is a very effective and safe supplement when the manufacturer guidelines for use are followed or it is used in conjunction with a certified personal trainer.

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