The men's fitness blog

Most people know that they need to lift weights to build muscles. But many guys want to have muscle tone and an attractive body, without looking huge, so they just lift light weights with high repetitions.

Unfortunately, this is not going to work. Getting a ripped body is a two-step process. First, build up your muscles with intense training. Second, cut fat from your body to shrink-wrap your muscles, giving that striated, ripped look. That's really all muscle tone is - you are able to see the shape of the muscles throught the skin.

To get nice muscle tone and build an attractive muscular body, you need to commit to a regular training routine, with good nutrition before and after the fat-burning phases. Here are some muscle building tips that you can incorporate into your workouts. (Before you commence weight training, remember to warm up and as well as doing some stretching exercises.)

Train Muscle With Free Weights

Machines have their uses, but for a start, concentrate on free weights. That means working almost exclusively with barbells and dumb bells. Free weights force your body to use many stabilizing muscles for balance and coordination. That means you will work a larger overall area than the "big" muscle groups. This is essential to giving you a balanced, symettrical, sexy look. In other words, it will give rise to little bumps, striations and definitions all over your body instead of one big lump of muscle on your intended muscle. Because of the extra nutrients created, your muscles will grow faster too. (Why else do you think all professional body builders almost exclusively use free weights?)

Train With Compound Exercises

Incorporate as many compound exercises as possible to your exercise schedule. Compound exercises are exercises that involve 2 or more joint movements. They utilize more joints, which means greater muscle mass is involved. Using more muscles means you can lift heavier weights. This in turn encourages greater muscle growth - enhancing your muscle tone even further.

Some excellent compound exercises are Squats, Lunges, Deadlifts, Dips, Pull ups, Bench press, Barbell Press, Bent-Over Barbell Row. I'm thinking of writing about each one of these exercises in future posts - let me know if that's what you'd like to see.

High Intensity Training

Intense, hard training is key to muscle growth. Try to do more reps than your previous session, or lift more weight.

Every time you train hard, you give your body time to recover and rebuild itself bigger and stronger. Your muscles grow when you rest, particularly during sleep (not in the gym). So get enough sleep. Do not train every day or work the same muscle group more than once or twice a week. For vigorous, intense exercise, do no more than one hour per session.

Try not to do cardio work on the same day as your weight lifting work, as aerobic exercises are not conducive to muscle growth. You can increase your cardio work at the fat-burning phase, cutting this fat is key to getting ripped.

Technique And Form

Poor technique not only compromises your muscle growth; it will also make you prone to injury.

This usually happens when people try to lift weights that are too heavy, whether out of vanity or ignorance. As a guide, always lift with strict focus on the muscle you intend to work on for that exercise. Feel it contract and relax. Lift the weights smoothly and slowly without jerking. Never swing your weights up especially when doing bicep curls or the military press.

To Build Muscles Fast You Must Perform Lower Body Exercises

Your lower body makes up 60% of your muscle mass. If you don't train these muscles, not only will you look chicken-legged, your entire body will not grow as quickly and as large. Don't think that you can hide those skinny limbs in pants! Most people do not train their legs because squats, dead lifts and lunges are grueling exercises. But it is precisely because of such intensity that you will produce more growth hormones when you sleep and overall muscular development is stimulated. Your body shape will also be more balanced and therefore more attractive.

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website: FitnessForRealMen - proven muscle and strength training techniques; fitness and nutrition tips

Labels: building muscle, mass build, muscle weight gain, ripped