The men's fitness blog

A fitness program should be customized to your body type in order to get positive results. You have to remember that your body is different from other people. You have a different metabolic rate to the next guy and you also have a different body structure that will require an altered body building program. If your friend is using a muscle building routine that is working for him, the same program may not necessarily work for you.


One mistake that most people make when it comes to muscle gain or fitness programs, is that they stick to a program that clearly doesn't work for them. Remember, if you see that your body building program is not working, why should you keep on doing it? Bit of a waste of time and energy (and money if you go to a gym).


Give any new training program 2 or 3 weeks. You will be able to see if there are any improvements or not; a great program will show clear improvements in your body within this short time. Don't continue with an exercise program for months if you don’t see any positive results after the initial three weeks.


Here are some tips that will be able to maximize efficiency when you work out and also maximize your body building exercises.


Initially, you need to remember that half reps will not cut it. Do only full reps even if it is strenuous. However, you have to avoid over-training at the same time. Always remember that in muscle building, recuperation is the key. Try to rest for at least a day between times. This way, you will be able to give your muscles the rest they need in order to grow.


Also note that muscle training is actually damaging your muscles. You are injuring your muscles in order to make them grow. Your body adjusts to your actions and grows stronger and bigger muscle tissue. This is what actually happens when you gain muscle mass.

If you are overweight, then you have to remember that the best way to reduce fat is by incorporating cardiovascular exercise into your muscle building program. Cardiovascular exercises are known as aerobic exercises, since they burn fat. They are able to do this since they take place over a relatively long period of time and force your body to use fat as fuel. In contrast, weight lifting is anaerobic exercise, as it involves short bursts of hard exertion, and therefore only burns sugar (glycogen).

Correct execution of the individual exercises is also very important in promoting muscle growth. One common mistake is to perform exercises too fast. Another is to allow the weight to drop once it has reached its highest point. Going slow on each repetition is better. Imagine you are doing barbell curls - lift the barbell up until you fully tighten your biceps and slowly lower it down to the starting point. The smooth lowering action is highly efficient at boosting muscle growth, it is just as important as the upwards movement.

These are just a few tips on how to increase your rate of muscle weight gain. Always remember that with the proper diet, good form while doing your workout, and plenty of rest, you will be able to get the results you want faster.
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Muscle weight gain tips

Drinking significant amounts of alcohol is one of he principal factors behind many men's loss of muscle tone and definition. Unfortunately, despite what nutritionists say, many people still drink excessively and wonder why they can't build muscle the way they would like. If muscle gain is not what you want, then this is ok; but if you are looking to build muscle then this article will give you the lowdown on the relationship between alcohol and muscle weight gain.

We've already established the need to be careful about your alcohol consumption if you want to get a six-pack (pardon the pun), but why exactly is this - what does alcohol do to your body and muscle mass?

1. Alcohol raises estrogen and decreases testosterone

40 year old Hugh Jackman needed to bulk up and get super-ripped to play the role of superhero mutant Wolverine. Find out what he did and learn how you can do the same.

Jackman surely owes a lot to his personal trainer, Mike Ryan, who has been helping him train since they met at a small gym in Jackman’s native Australia. ‘I call him my masterpiece,’ says Ryan. ‘He just keeps getting better and better over the years. We’ve got a bet to see if we can both get to 50 and still have a six-pack.’

To work around his filming schedule, he and Ryan are usually in the gym at the crack of dawn. ‘Research suggests that people who train in the afternoons consistently do workouts of far less intensity than those who do train in the morning. When Hugh has a 6am filming start, that means we’ll be in the gym by 4am’, says Ryan.

Jackman usually starts his workouts with a cardio warmup, which varies between running and swimming. This helps warm up and stretch his muscles to prevent injury. He also finishes with another 15 minutes of cardio work.

The main workout is 60 to 90 minutes, and is based around big compound weight-lifts and traditional resistance exercises, like bench-presses, squats and deadlifts. These work to increase overall muscle bulk. To emphasize particular muscles, each day’s session is split between muscle groups, with isolation exercise sets like flyes paired with compound sets, like squats. The compound exercise of the pair keeps every muscle working, while the isolation exercise squeezes a particular muscle to failure. ‘I believe in controlled overload,’ Ryan says. ‘To push the muscles to failure by the last set, we’ll superset compound moves with isolation ones – for example, go from a dumb-bell bench press straight into a flye. By the last set you need a spotter to help you squeeze out those last couple of reps., says Ryan.

While the fundamental training principles are based on the core body-building moves, the same workout can be done ten different ways by making small changes, like changing the angle of the bench; the weight, the tempo; or the rest time.

One look at Jackman’s physique proves that these training methods work, so give his plan a try. We can’t guarantee making you the next x-man, but it will get you ripped and ready for action.

Summary:
- Warm up first with 15 minutes of cardio.
- Do pairs of the exercises as supersets, performing one set of the first exercise, then moving immediately on to a set of the second exercise.
- Take enough time to rest between supersets.
- Choose a weight that you can manage with perfect technique for the whole set, but which leads to muscular failure by the end of the final set.
- Take one second to lift the weight, pause for another second, then take two to three seconds to lower it down.
- Train in the morning where possible.
- Work on “progressive overload” – always keep increasing the weight.
- Keep a training diary to record your progress.
- Focus on muscle activation rather than simply aiming to finish the set.
- Work with a trainer to help your motivation.
- Get plenty of sleep – 7 to 7.5 hours a night.