So you want to get big, huh??

Judging from what I'm seeing in the gym these days, many guys who are trying to add significant amounts of lean muscle mass tend to make things more difficult than they really are. Now I'm not saying that adding muscle mass is easy. It takes an intelligent focus and a determined level of commitment. But if approached properly, the body will respond. So if you've been trying desperately to pack on the muscle but you're just not seeing the results you want-you're probably not following some of the tried and true rules of adding mass.

Rule #1: Short, Intense Training Sessions
If you're goal is to add muscle mass, then there's no way you should be in the gym for any longer than an hour, tops. I'm a firm believer that quick, intense muscle-blasting sessions are best, especially for natural bodybuilders and/or hardgainers. The "get in the gym, hit your muscles hard, then get home and grow" philosophy of Mentzer, Yates, and others has proven time and time again to be a highly successful strategy for mass training. As an example, I train my complete chest in about 20 minutes. I see some people in the gym who take 30-40 minutes to bench press! Unless you're looking to set the powerlifting world on fire, this is counterproductive. And forget about doing 15 sets for biceps and expecting to grow. Train them all-out in 5 or 6 sets and you'll get much better results.

Rule #2: Emphasize the Negative
Research has shown beyond any doubt that the eccentric or negative portion of a movement is at least as important to muscle growth as the positive or concentric phase. By periodically placing greater emphasis on the eccentric, you'll push your muscles harder than ever before . . . and as a result, you'll stimulate new growth. For each body part, I like to focus on negatives once every couple of weeks. The easiest way to do this is resist the weight during the negative, lowering slowly. For instance, you can focus on the eccentric portion of the Standing Barbell Curl by raising the weight at a normal tempo (for me this is usually a 2 count) and then lowering the weight very slowly (a count of 4 or 5). This is a high intensity technique that you shouldn't use every workout . . . doing so will likely lead to overtraining. For best results, use the technique periodically during a couple heavy sets of each body part. Because muscles are generally stronger during the eccentric phase of the movement (muscles can resist more weight than they can lift), you can also use a spotter to allow you to use more weight during the negatives. Just have your partner help you out on the positive portion of the movement, and really blast your muscles with those heavy negatives.

Rule #3: Variety is what it's all about
Variation is the most important principle you can implement if you want to allow your body to continue to pack on serious muscle mass. I cannot emphasize this enough. Our bodies are incredible machines; they're capable of adapting very quickly to the physical stresses we place on them during training. In fact, it's one of the things they do best. It's because of this ability to adapt that you must constantly be using variation in your program-or even changing your program altogether-in order to prevent this adaptation from stifling progress. There's no doubt that it's precisely the failure to change and alter things up in your training that results in plateaus and frustration. Ideally, you should be following a training program that has variation built into it on all levels. The Ultimate Muscle Mass Program is a good example, though I'm admittedly biased about that one. In any event, a training program that does not use variation as an organizing theme is doomed to offer only short-term, sporadic gains. Rule

#4: Fuel your body for Growth
If you want big muscles, then you have to feed your body lots of high-quality nutrients. Your best bet is to give your body a continual influx of food. I suggest eating at least 4 and as many as 8 meals per day. Of course, these meals should be well-structured and evenly distributed and proportioned. Ideally, if you want to take in say 5000 calories over the course of 6 meals (a good target for an intense training 200 lbs. male looking to pack on muscle mass), then each meal should be around 800 to 850 calories. This is preferred to having say one meal of 350 calories, one of 1400 calories, and so forth. Organize your meals around quality sources of protein like egg whites, tuna and other fish, chicken and turkey breast, lean cuts of beef, etc. Try to take in around 1 to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of weight. If you weigh 200 lbs., than eat at least 200 to 300 grams of protein per day. Getting enough good fat is also important for muscle growth, and experience suggests that drastically low fat diets are counterproductive in this area. For best results, I like to cycle carbohydrate intake. Check out the Anabolic Nutrition Program for more details. Now, it's admittedly difficult to eat 5 or 6, not to mention 7 or even 8, quality meals per day . . . especially given how busy most of our schedules are. This is where using a solid meal replacement powder (MRP) and other supplements becomes absolutely essential.

Rule #5: Supplement Support
The days of people knocking the benefits of supplements are thankfully over. Now, even mainstream physicians and nutritionists recognize the importance of supplementing our diets. And the real-world results bodybuilding and fitness enthusiasts have achieved through intelligent supplementation speak for themselves. Along with training and nutrition, establishing a proper supplement program is one of the three equal points of the Triangle of Physical Well-Being and Power. The list of tried and proven supplements that support muscle growth really isn't that long: vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants; protein powders and MRP formulas, especially whey and casein; creatine monohydrate; Essential Fatty Acids; glutamine; CLA; and a handful of others. These are the supplements you need to help make your dreams of added muscle mass a reality.

Getting off the ground with you fitness.

Taking the first step towards fitness: What do you want?

It seems to be an easy question. But the one thing that I come across over and over again when dealing with new clients is prioritizing their goals. Now, most of my clients have already made a huge step towards their commitment by paying for my time. However, most people have not gotten to the point of actually taking the time for such dedication.

The first step in the process of physique transformation is in SETTING GOALS.

I want to talk about some of the most important steps to take:

1. Set S.M.A.R.T. goals
What are SMART goals? SMART goals are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and trackable.

Specific
How many pounds of fat do you want to lose? How much muscle do you want to gain. BTW, it's impossible to change fat into muscle. However, You can change the fat to muscle ratio.

Measurable
You can use many tools to measure your progress. The most obvious one is the scale. But it's not the best. In fact, it should be the last tool that you use. Scales do not take into account your body's fat-to-muscle ratio.

The best and cheapest option for the finding the ratio is a skin fold caliper. You can go to a qualified personal trainer in your local gym to do this for you. Just make sure that the person you work with is someone with experience.

You can also measure parts of your body to keep track. For men, the most important area to measure is your waist. It's usually the best indicator of fat loss progress. Make sure that you measure your chest, arms, hips, thighs and calves. You may want someone to help you with this.

TAKE A PHOTOGRAPH OF YOURSELF. I cannot tell you enough how important that is. There will be times when there is no change on the scale. It doesn't mean there is no progress. A photograph will make sure that you will not be discouraged. Take a look at my photograph. The two photos covered a 40lb fat loss over a 6 month period.




keep track of your progress with photos.


Next post, we will continue the topic of creating S.M.A.R.T. goals.

Please let me e know what you think? Email me if you have any questions regarding your own fitness.

---

Here it is: a new study shows that women are more likely to care about their weight than they do about getting cancer. Check out the link:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/24790557#24790557

What's your opinion on this? Why do you think that we as Americans value our looks over our overall health?