photo credit: jontunn

In order to have an effective growth stimulating workout, there are a few things that your workout needs to accomplish.  The best muscle building workouts incorporate a ton of compound exercises in a way that makes your muscles to move beyond their comfort zone each and every time you go to the gym. This relentless pounding from your serious workouts is what shoots the signals to your brain that it needs to start packing on more new muscle mass in order to get ready for the next time it sees that type of work.

Without over-training any of the muscle groups on your body, here’s how I like to structure my bodybuilding workouts for maximum muscle growth Start of with the clear understanding that you will not be training any of the muscles on your body more than 1 time each week. This will ensure that your body has enough time to rest, recover and rebuild in between workouts.

After that, you need to decide how many training sessions you can fit into your schedule each week. I try to fit in between  2 – 4 workouts each week, but it really just depends on how busy I am at work that week. If you’re serous about building muscle mass, then then you need to target a minimum of 2 workouts a week. If you’re not able to make it to the weight room more than a few times a week, then you’re body’s just not going to be able to pack on muscle mass regularly  .

Once you have a good idea of how many workouts you can fit in each week, you need to group your body parts so that you are focusing on different body parts in each workout. I like to split my workouts so that I’m training  my legs, back and triceps and my chest and biceps on a 3 workout a week schedule or quads, chest and biceps, back and shoulders, glutes and triceps on a 4 workout a week schedule.

Each of your workouts needs to be limited to no more than 60 minutes each. This is enough time to get into the gym and really stimulate some serious muscle growth in an effective way and then get out of there without taking up too much of your time in the process. In order to make this happen efficiently, you’ve got to limit the number of work sets in each of your workouts and you’ve got to make sure to stick to your rest intervals.

If you take this bodybuilding workout advice to heart and you implement what you’ve learned, then you should be able to build some serious muscle mass quickly, easily and naturally!

Your Bodybuilding Workouts is a post from: Gain Muscle Mass Help

The main focus of this article is to shed some light on how long your bodybuilder workouts should be in order to stimulate muscle growth. hopefully I can convince you that it’s possible to actually spend less time in the gym, gain more muscle size and strength and get you back to your life as fast as possible.

In order to build muscle tissue, then you need to provide stimulation to your muscles in the form of intense weight lifting workouts. That said, you can certainly get into the gym and pound your way through a seriously effective weight lifting workout in  a little under 60 minutes. Sure the boring and uninspired 180 – 240 minute bodybuilding workouts performed at a slow pace may be ok if you have no life outside of the gym and a sincere desire to make the muscle building process more difficult. There is a much more effective way to train for muscle size!

If you subscribe to the thought that more is better, you may be pleasantly surprised to discover that that’s just not the case when it comes to packing on muscle mass. If you want to make the most out of the time that you spend in the weight room by activating new muscle growth and utilizing your body’s natural muscle building hormones, you need to take a less is actually more approach to designing your muscle building training sessions.

I personally like to limit my bodybuilder workouts to under an hour of focused effort.  if I try to go much longer than 60 minutes it usually forces me to lose focus on my workout and ultimately leads to a less effective workout. I like to get into the weight rooms, get going with my workout and get back to my everyday life outside of the weight room as quickly as possible.

While some trainers and experts argue that 30 minutes is not enough time for a full bodybuilder workout, I disagree completely disagree. If you’re performing your muscle building workouts with the appropriate level of focus, the very same level that is required to stimulate muscle growth, then you won’t be able to get through much more than 20 – 30 minutes of dedicated muscle building effort.

The point I’m trying to make here is that there really is no totally ideal training time set in stone for everybody. Some people build muscle mass by training 1 day a week, while others need to hit it 4 – 7 times. You need to find out what works best for your body by incorporating a systematic approach to your bodybuilding workouts. The duration of your bodybuilder workout is a moving target just like all of the variables of your workouts.

Take the time to identify what works best for your bodybuilder workouts, then get to work implementing your training approach. With some focused effort and a solid well thought out plan, you should begin to pack on muscle size and strip away fat quicker than you ever though possible.

Bodybuilding Workouts Advice is a post from: Gain Muscle Mass Help

The main focus of this article is to lay out exactly how long your bodybuilder workout should be in order to force muscle growth. My goal is to convince you that it is realistic to actually spend less time in the gym, gain more muscle mass and get you back to your everyday life as painlessly as possible.

It’s a fact that if you want to gain muscle mass you’re going to want to blast your muscles hard and heavy in the form of heavy and intense free weights workouts. With all of that out of the way, you can definitely get into the gym and bang out an effective bodybuilding in under an hour.

While the standard yawn inspiring 60 – 180 minute free weight workouts performed at a snails pace may be ok if you’ve got no life outside of the gym and a sincere desire to make the muscle building process more difficult. With out a doubt, there is a much more efficient way to force lean muscle growth!

If you believe that more is better, you may be very surprised to realize that that’s not always the case when it comes to building more muscle mass. If you really want to make the most of your time in the gym by forcing more muscle growth while simultaneously taking advantage of your natural muscle building hormonal window of opportunity, you definitely should take a different approach to structuring your muscle building workouts.

I personally like to limit my free weights workouts to under an hour of all out effort.  I find that anything much longer than an hour forces me to lose my focus and ultimately leads to a much less effective workout. I like to get in to the gym, get through my free weights workout and get back to my life outside of the gym as fast as possible.

A lot of trainers argue that 30 minutes is not enough time for a “real” bodybuilder workout, I disagree. If you are performing your muscle building workouts with the right intensity level – the exact same level that is required to stimulate muscle growth, then you won’t be able to get through any more than 20 – 60 minutes of seriously intense bodybuilding effort.

The point of the matter is that there really is no completely “ideal workout time set in stone for everybody. Some people gain muscle mass by training 1 day a week, while others need to put in more workouts than that. Basically you just need to figure out what works well for you by incorporating a systematic approach to your body building workouts. The length of your free weight workout should be a constantly moving target just like each one of the variables of your workouts.

• The Intensity of Your Workouts
• The Length of Your Workouts
• How Often You Hit The Gym
• How Long You Rest Between Sets

All of these components will adjust depending upon your goals. During certain phases of your muscle building workouts, you may be pushing over even an hour of training, while at other times only putting in a few minutes for your weightlifting workouts.

Put in the time to figure out what approach give you the best result, then get to work implementing your training approach. With some dedicated  effort and a well thought out program, you should begin to build lean muscle mass and strip away fat faster than you ever thought possible.

Is My Bodybuilder Workout Long Enough? is a post from: Gain Muscle Mass Help

A massive pair of biceps is certainly impressive, but forcing your arms to grow can be a lot more complicated than most people realize.  While the common 5 sets of 5 reps of dumbbell curls is fine for beginners and even some intermediate trainers, you’ve got to learn how to take your arm workouts up a notch if you really want to build big arms.

Here are a few bicep training tips that have helped me to pack on over 3 inches to my arms over the years.  Each of these arm workout tips is tried and true in the trenches and I guarantee that they will help you build bigger arms.  Read through each of these tips and start implementing them one by one – before you know it your arm workouts will be forcing your body to build some serious muscle mass and everyone will be keeping their eyes on your arms!

1.) My first tip for an effective bicep workout may seem like it’s completely unrelated to the process of training your biceps, but it’s important to your success.  If you’re serious about forcing your arms to grow, then you need to make sure that you’re performing heavy dead-lifts to failure One time each week. I’m not sure why this works but, I think it has something to do with the amount of testosterone and growth hormone that are released in your body when you perform heavy squats to failure. But rest assured it’s very effective for increasing the size of the muscles in your arms. In the past I’ve experienced an increase in the size of my biceps and triceps by 1.5″ – 2″ inches by really focusing in on my heavy squatting…while not even training by biceps at all!

2.) Also make sure that your bicep workouts are designed around the most effective growth inducing free weights exercises. If you don’t piece together your arm workouts around the right exercises, your arms simply will not grow – basic stuff.  Stick with the bicep exercises that allow you to train “hard and heavy” through a complete range of motion.

The Most Effective Bicep Exercises

1. Barbell Curl
2. EZ Bar Curl
3. Alternating Dumbbell Curl
4. Hammer Curl
5. Dumbbell Incline Curl
6. Cable Curls
7. Preacher Curl
8. Dumbbell Preacher Curl

90% of my personal bicep workouts start with either ez bar curls or barbell curls.  These basic bicep exercises allow me to train my arms hard with heavy weights.  If you consistently pound your biceps with heavy weights, they’ll have no choice but to respond by getting bigger and stronger!

3.) Perform each set of your bicep workout in the 6 – 8 repetition range.   6 -8 reps is in the accepted “muscle building” rep range, but closer to the lower side.  Focusing your arm workouts in this repetition range will allow you to stimulate as much muscle growth as possible by pounding your biceps with heavy weights. Whenever I perform bicep workouts built around this rep range, I almost always see dramatic results.

4.) Design your bicep workout so that you perform only 2 – 6 sets of 2 exercises max. This will force you to keep your workout to as reasonable amount of time while making sure that your biceps get the work they need to lay down new muscle mass. Also make sure to rest for 1.5 – 3 minutes between sets so that your muscles are totally recovered for the next set.

5.) Hit the gym to blast through your bicep workout only 1 time each week.  If you insist on training your arms more frequently than this you’re going to have a really hard time packing on any muscle mass in your arms. Sure you can get away with it for awhile, but eventually you’re going to hit a wall and actually start losing strength and size in your arms. Instead of taking the volume approach to your bicep workouts, focus on making each workout as efficient as possible – this is the key to stimulating muscle growth. Get in to the gym, get through your workout then get out of the gym as quickly as possible so that you can focus on feeding your body the nutrients that it needs to pack on muscle mass.

Take these simple bicep workout tips and run with them…Your arms will start to grow quickly. I know that this advice seems too basic to work, but it’s extremely effective for building big biceps quickly.

Bicep Workout Help is a post from: Gain Muscle Mass Help

photo credit: Life of Sport

In comparison to some of the bigger muscle groups on your body, the muscles in your upper body are tiny. Even though there is no other muscle group on your body that will grab attention quite like a a muscular pair of biceps, one of the biggest downfalls of most guys is that they devote too much time to working on their arms and too little time training the bigger muscle groups on their bodies.

If you’re serious about building bigger biceps, then you need to prioritize your training in the following order (or at least somewhat close to this). First off target the larger muscle groups on your body and work your way down the list.

First train your…

• Legs – (quads/glutes)
• Chest – (pecs)
• Back – (lats)
• Shoulders – (delts)
• Triceps
• Biceps
• Calves

You’ll need to expend an bunch of energy hitting the bigger muscle groups hard and heavy.  If you do this, what you’ll find is that your smaller muscles (like your arms), will begin to get bigger incidentally without direct training due to the amount of muscle building hormones released by your body when you work your way through heavy sets for the bigger muscle groups on your body. So by focusing on the bigger muscle groups first and making them the focus in your training program, you will begin to realize an increase in the strength and size of your biceps.

Also keep in mind that when you perform many of the pulling type exercises that are the focus of your back training, you will be utilizing and in turn training your arms (usually with a much heavier weight than you usually would), so make sure to space your bicep and back workouts a minimum of a day apart.

Now that you’ve got your muscle building program designed properly and everything is in balance.  Then you’ll want to move forward and start working in a few basic bicep workouts.  Don’t make the mistake that nearly every guy in the gym makes and work your biceps non stop – it’s counterproductive to your goal of building bigger biceps and it will wear down your arms after too long.

In order to build bigger biceps, you need to pair down your bicep workouts to 1 arm workout per week.  That’s all the work your biceps really need to grow.  If you hit your biceps hard and heavy any more than this, they will lose size – so try not to do it!

Now that you understand how to properly prioritize your workouts and how often you need to be hitting your biceps, here’s a simple bicep workout that will help you pack on some size on your biceps quickly without taking up too much of your time in the gym.

Start out with a few minutes of light intensity aerobics.  I prefer 5 – 10 minutes of light jogging. Followed by a full body flex routine. A lot of guys only stretch out the muscle groups that they train each day – I really like to stretch out the all of the muscle groups each day so that I’m able to prevent any type of tightening up or injury.  After you get your stretching and warm up in, it’s time to jump into the weight lifting warm up sets below.

Quick Bicep Workout

First Warm Up Set:

Exercise: DB Curl – 1 set x 10 repetitions

select a training weight that allows you to move the weight quickly through a full range of motion.  I typically begin with 20 lb dumbbells.

Warm Up Set #2:

Exercise: Alternating DB Curl – 1 set x 8 reps

Again choose a weight that allows you to move the Dumbbells fairly quickly through a full range of motion, but make sure that it is heavier than what you started with. I like to jump up to 45 lb dumbbells here.

Rest for 1.5 minutes

Warm-Up Set #3:

Bicep Exercise: Alternating Dumbbell Curl – 1 set of 6 repetitions

*Perform this warm-up set with a weight that you can move though the full range of motion easily and under control, but this time begin to up crank up the intensity a bit. the goal is to complete 6 reps with a weight that is getting closer to your training weight, but light enough so that it doesn’t make your biceps tired before the workout even begins. I typically move up to 45 lb dumbbells for this set.

Now rest for 2 minutes

Keep in mind the goal of the warm up sets in this bicep workout is to simply get the blood pumping through your arms and to warm up your tendons and ligaments.  That’s the only goal of the warm-up sets. Make sure that you do not make your biceps too tired during the warm up sets by either using weights that are too heavy or by shortening the rest intervals. If you do this your biceps workout will suffer and as a result you will not be able to generate as much muscle growth as you otherwise would!

Now it’s time to jump into the actual training sets for the arm workout.

Exercise #1: DB Curl

After completing your bicep workout warm-up…

• Perform 2 sets x 6-8 reps

**Make sure to use a weight that you can control for at least 6 quality repetitions, but heavy enough that you can’t possibly perform more than 8!

• Rest for 2 minutes between sets

Bicep Exercise #2: – Dumbbell Incline Curls

• Perform 2 sets x 6-8 reps

Again make sure to use a training weight that allows you to complete the exercise with decent form, but a weight that’s heavy enough that you can’t perform more than 8.  that’s exactly how to get your biceps to grow.  If you train with a weight that’s too light, your biceps will not grow and if you train with a weight that’s too heavy you’re eventually going to hurt yourself.

When it comes to building bigger biceps, that’s really all there is to it.  Learn how to put your workouts in the right order to target the bigger muscle groups on your body first, and then move on to 1 solid bicep workout each week.  As long as your muscle building diet is set up right and you make it a habit to get enough sleep each night, you will build muscle mass quickly and your biceps will get bigger!

Bicep Workout And Arm Building Tips is a post from: Gain Muscle Mass Help

Today I’m going to summarize the Muscle Mass Advantage weight lifting workouts that I implemented during the past week (week 9 of my fitness body transformation). So far I really haven’t been too impressed with the progress that I’ve made up to this point, but something changed this week!  I can’t put my finger on it, but I feel like I made some serious progress towards my goals.  Later this evening, I’ll post my body transformation progress report through the end of week 9, so I’ll know for sure whether I my feelings are substantiated.

Last week my body felt great every single day, so I decided to crank up the intensity and frequency of my aerobics workouts, while still trying got keep my weight lifting workouts running smoothly by performing 2 separate 20 minutes cardio workouts Monday – Friday. It was a bit challenging just forcing myself to jump on the treadmill so often (especially towards the end of the week!), but I really feel that the “2 a days” helped my shed more body fat than I had the week before.

Moving into “crunch time” it’s going to take every thing I’ve got just to drop the last few % of body fat. I’ve already decided that regardless of my 12 week accomplishments, I’m going to extend my fitness  body transformation weight lifting workouts and all until I get my body fat % down around 6% – I really want killer six pack abs! At that point I’m going to increase the amount of calories I’m eating, adjust my weight training workouts and up my protein intake in order to hopefully stimulate some more muscle growth – I think I can get everything to balance out for a lean and extremely muscular body!

Week 9 Weight Lifting Workouts

Monday’s Weight Lifting Workout – Chest & Back

Chest Warm-Up:
Incline Press: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 2 minutes)
Incline Press: 3 sets x 6 reps
Dumbbell Bench Press: 2 sets x 6 reps

Back Warm-Up:
Dumbbell Rows: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Dumbbell Rows: 3 sets x 6 reps
Lat Pulldowns: 2 sets x 6 reps

Tuesday’s Weight Lifting Workout – Biceps & Triceps

Bicep Warm-Up:
Dumbbell Curl: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Dumbbell Curl: 3 sets x 6 reps
EZ Bar Curl: 2 sets x 6 reps

Triceps Warm-Up:
Skull Crushers: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Skull Crushers: 3 sets x 6 reps
Pushdowns: 2 sets x 6 reps

Thursday’s Weight Lifting Workout – Shoulders & Traps

Shoulder Warm-Up:
Shoulder Press: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Shoulder Press: 3 sets x 6 reps
DB Shoulder Press: 2 sets x 6 reps

Traps Warm-Up:
Upright Rows: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Upright Rows: 3 sets x 6 reps
High Cable Pulls: 2 sets x 6 reps

Friday’s Weight Lifting Workout – Legs

Quad Warm-Up:
Squat: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Squat: 3 sets x 6 reps
Leg Press Press: 2 sets x 6 reps

Hamstrings Warm-Up:
Stiff Leg Deadlift: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Stiff Leg Deadlift: 3 sets x 6 reps
Leg Curls: 2 sets x 6 reps

That’s all for the week 9 weight lifting workouts…Enjoy!

Your Friend And Trainer,

Nick

Weight Lifting Workouts – Week 9 is a post from: Gain Muscle Mass Help

Well, I put my head down and went to work on my weight lifting routine this week and before I knew it, it was already the weekend and I hadn’t posted any updates to the blog!  I knew that the closer I got to my 12 week deadline, the tougher it was going to be to keep up with my body transformation journal entries – but I’m really struggling just to keep my head above water here…sorry about that!

Today it’s going to be a “catch up” post  that summarizes all of my workouts for week 8 of my fitness body transformation.

All in all, I’m pretty pleased with how things progressed for me this past week.  Now that I’m in the middle of the 9th week of my body transformation, I’m really starting to get a little nervous about  exactly where I’m going to wind up with my body fat percentage. Even though I’ve been diligently performing my 20 minute cardio sessions each day, I’ve been falling off the wagon a bit when it comes to my diet.  While I haven’t exactly been pigging out on crap, I really haven’t followed my low carb bodybuilding diet outline to a “T” either.

Under normal everyday circumstances this wouldn’t be too big of a deal, but in this case I’ve placed a 12 week time limit on everything – so I absolutely have to commit myself for at least the last 3 and a half weeks if I really want to accomplish what I set out to accomplish. The good news is that even if i don’t hit all of my targets within the 12 week time frame,  I can still continue on with my training and dieting until I eventually achieve what I set out to achieve – it just may take a bit longer than I would have liked.

That’s really the cool thing about committing yourself to a life changing body transformation training cycle, if you see it through not only will your body have changed, but after pounding all of the lifestyle changes into your brain over the course of 12 weeks you actually begin to change your habits – from unhealthy habits that lead to the body you had, to healthy and constructive habits that will lead to greater health and a better body down the road. If you see it through, you actually empower yourself to have the body of your dreams for the rest of your life!

The Week 8 Weight Lifting Routines

Chest & Back – Weight Lifting Routines

Chest Warm-Up:
Incline Press: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1x 6, 1 x 3
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Incline Press: 5 sets x 3 reps
Dumbbell Bench Press: 5 sets x 3 reps

Back Warm-Up:
Dumbbell Rows: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1x 6, 1 x 3
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Dumbbell Rows: 5 sets x 3 reps
Lat Pulldowns: 5 sets x 3 reps

Biceps & Triceps – Weight Lifting Routines

Bicep Warm-Up:
Dumbbell Curl: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1x 6, 1 x 3
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Dumbbell Curl: 5 sets x 3 reps
EZ Bar Curl: 5 sets x 3 reps

Triceps Warm-Up:
Skull Crushers: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1x 6, 1 x 3
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Skull Crushers: 5 sets x 3 reps
Pushdowns: 5 sets x 3 reps

Shoulders & Traps – Weight Lifting Routines

Shoulder Warm-Up:
Shoulder Press: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1x 6, 1 x 3
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Shoulder Press: 5 sets x 3 reps
DB Shoulder Press: 5 sets x 3 reps

Traps Warm-Up:
Upright Rows: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1x 6, 1 x 3
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Upright Rows: 5 sets x 3 reps
High Cable Pulls: 5 sets x 3 reps

Legs – Weight Lifting Routines

Quad Warm-Up:
Squat: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1x 6, 1 x 3
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Squat: 5 sets x 3 reps
Leg Press Press: 5 sets x 3 reps

Hamstrings Warm-Up:
Stiff Leg Deadlift: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1x 6, 1 x 3
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Stiff Leg Deadlift: 5 sets x 3 reps
Leg Curls: 5 sets x 3 reps

Well, that’s all for the week 8 weight lifting routines summary post…I’ll be back  tomorrow with my week 8 progress report!

Your Friend And Trainer,

Nick

Weight Lifting Routines – Week 8 is a post from: Gain Muscle Mass Help

Today I’m just going to summarize all of my Muscle Mass Advantage week 7 weight training routines.  I decided to completely take the day off  (no weight training or cardio) so I thought it would be a good opportunity to list all of the past weeks workouts.

I felt that overall the week 7 weight training workout routines went pretty well.  While I’m definitely not too big a fan of training in the higher repetition brackets (usually because I have to lower the training weight a bit) – I typically find that my body responds well to this style of training.  Towards the end of this week, I really started to notice a difference in the fullness of my muscles – I feel like I’m getting pretty big and I really like it.

As in last weeks weight training workouts summary, I decided to stick with 4 (20 minute) cardio sessions, but I tried to ramp up the intensity a bit.  Instead of the usual 9 minute per mile pace, I jacked everything up to around 7.5 minutes per mile and carried that pace out for 2 miles during each aerobic workout.

In order to get the most from my weight training routines, I decided to split my cardio and free weights workout sessions up, performing my weight training over my lunch hour and my cardio in the evenings. I felt that this split worked out pretty well – but it was challenging at times having to drag my lazy butt to the gym for the cardio sessions each evening.

The Week 7 Weight Training Routines

Monday’s Weight Training Routine – Chest & Back

Chest Warm-Up:
Incline Press: 1 x 10, 1 x 8
Work Sets: (rest interval 2 minutes)
Incline Press: 2 sets x 15 reps

Back Warm-Up:
Dumbbell Rows: 1 x 10, 1 x 8
Work Sets: (rest interval 2 minutes)
Dumbbell Rows: 2 sets x 15 reps

Tuesday’s Weight Training Routine – Biceps & Triceps

Bicep Warm-Up:
Barbell Curl: 1 x 10, 1 x 8
Work Sets: (rest interval 2 minutes)
Barbell Curl: 2 sets x 15 reps

Triceps Warm-Up:
Skull Crushers: 1 x 10, 1 x 8
Work Sets: (rest interval 2 minutes)
Skull Crushers: 2 sets x 15 reps

Thursday’s Weight Training Routine – Shoulders & Traps

Shoulder Warm-Up:
Dumbbell Press: 1 x 10, 1 x 8
Work Sets: (rest interval 2 minutes)
Dumbbell Press: 2 sets x 15 reps

Traps Warm-Up:
Upright Cable Rows: 1 x 10, 1 x 8
Work Sets: (rest interval 2 minutes)
Upright Cable Rows: 2 sets x 15 reps

Friday’s Weight Training Routine – Legs

Quad Warm-Up:
Squat: 1 x 10, 1 x 8
Work Sets: (rest interval 2 minutes)
Squat: 2 sets x 15 reps

Hamstring Warm-Up:
Straight Leg Deadlift: 1 x 10, 1 x 8
Work Sets: (rest interval 2 minutes)
Straight Leg Deadlift: 2 sets x 15 reps

That’s it for the week 7 weight training routines summary post.  Although this week of Muscle Mass Advantage workouts seemed like it would be easy on the surface, all of the workouts really kicked my butt in the end!

Tomorrow I’m going to post a progress update for my body transformation through week 7.

Your Friend And Trainer,

Nick

Weight Training Routines – Week 7 is a post from: Gain Muscle Mass Help

Today I headed off to the gym hoping to bust out a decent leg work out routine.  When I got there, someone was using the only squat rack  in the joint so I had to Wait for about 20 minutes – what a pain in the butt! That said, I was able to pour my hostility into my leg work out and I wound up having a pretty decent day at the gym.

photo credit: jontunn

Today’s Work Out Routine – Legs

Quad Warm-Up:
Squat: 1 x 10, 1 x 8
Work Sets: (rest interval 2 minutes)
Squat: 2 sets x 15 reps

Glute Warm-Up:
Straight Leg Deadlift: 1 x 10, 1 x 8
Work Sets: (rest interval 2 minutes)
Straight Leg Deadlift: 2 sets x 15 reps

I was able to get through 2 sets of 15 reps of squats with 275 lbs and 2 sets of straight legged deadlift with 275 lbs. I’ve gotta say that this was a brutal workout…By the 10th rep, my heart felt like it was goin  to jump out of my chest!

Here’s what I ate today for my bodybuilding diet…

• 1 cup of cottage cheese
• 1 cup of cottage cheese
• 4 cups of green tea
• 2 cups of cooked ground beef
• 2 cups of cooked spinach (sauteed in a pat of butter)
• 2 cups of cooked ground beef
• 1/4 cup of walnuts
• 3 eggs fried in olive oil

That’s it for today’s body transformation journal entry and workout out routine.

Your Friend And Trainer,

Nick

Work Out Routine is a post from: Gain Muscle Mass Help

Today’s bodybuilder workout hit my shoulders and traps pretty hard.  While the workout felt great while I was grinding through it, I have a feeling I’m going to be pretty sore tomorrow. My shoulders and traps have always been one of my naturally bigger body parts, but I know I can pack on some serious muscle mass in that area if I focus on targeting them with heavy weights, so that’s what I focused on during today’s workout – trying to up the training weights a bit and force my shoulders and traps to grow!

Thursday’s Bodybuilder Workout – Shoulders

Shoulder Warm-Up:
Dumbbell Press: 1 x 10, 1 x 8
Work Sets: (rest interval 2 minutes)
Dumbbell Press: 2 sets x 15 reps

Traps Warm-Up:
Upright Cable Rows: 1 x 10, 1 x 8
Work Sets: (rest interval 2 minutes)
Upright Cable Rows: 2 sets x 15 reps

I was able to get through 2 sets of 15 reps with 55 lbs dumbbells for the dumbbell press and 2 sets of 15 reps with the weight stack set to #18 for upright cable rows.  During this bodybuilder workout, my shoulders and traps were on fire! It felt great, but I can’t wait to get back to the heavier training weights and lower repetition brackets in the upcoming weeks.

As far as my bodybuilding nutrition strategy – here’s what I ate today…

• 1 cup of cottage cheese
• 1 cup of cottage cheese
• 4 cups of green tea
• 2 cups of cooked ground beef
• 2 cups of cooked spinach (sauteed in a pat of butter)
• 2 cups of cooked ground beef
• 1/4 cup of walnuts
• 3 eggs fried in olive oil

That’s all I’ve got for today’s body transformation journal entry. Give this shoulders and traps bodybuilder workout a try and watch as your shoulders literally explode (especially if you don’t normally train in this rep bracket!).

Your Friend And Trainer,

Nick

Bodybuilder Workout is a post from: Gain Muscle Mass Help

Arvada, Colorado USA
Nick Andrade’s Body Transformation Log – Week 6 bodybuilding workout routines
Objective: To Burn Fat Gain Muscle Mass And Transform My Body In 12 Weeks

This morning I’m going to summarize all of the bodybuilding workout routines that I performed last week during the 6th week of my body transformation. Looking back on my week 6 bodybuilding workouts, I’d have to say that I’m making some pretty decent progress towards my goals. Overall my body feels bigger and I’m definitely continuing to get stronger as the weeks go on. In last weeks workout summary, I mentioned that I didn’t feel like I’d “hit the wall” yet and so far working through week 6 I’d still have to agree with that.  The Muscle Mass Advantage workouts are still keeping things fresh for me with each and every workout – and because of this I think I’ve been able to avoid any type of mental sticking point.

This week I continued where I left off and worked 4 (20 minute) cardio sessions into my bodybuilding workout routines in order to really start the process of stripping off some body fat. While I typically don’t stress about cutting down to 8 % body fat, for some reason I feel like I need to be very careful this time around.  I guess I just don’t want to get too comfortable with the progress that I’ve made so far and try to coast down through the homes stretch only to find that I left something on the table.  I want to be able to focus on building muscle mass and stop having to obsess about losing body fat for the last few weeks of this training cycle.

With that out of the way, on to the bodybuilding workout routines…

The Week 6 Bodybuilding Workout Routines

Monday’s Bodybuilding Workout Routine – Legs

Warm-Up:
Barbell Squat: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Barbell Squat: 6 sets x 5 reps
Leg Press: 3 sets x 5 reps

Warm-Up:
Stiff Leg Deadlift: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Stiff Leg Deadlift: 6 sets x 5 reps
Leg Curls: 3 sets x 5 reps

Tuesday’s Bodybuilding Workout Routine – Chest & Back

Warm-Up:
Incline Press: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Incline Press: 3 sets x 5 reps
Bench Press: 3 sets x 5 reps

Warm-Up:
Barbell Rows: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Barbell Rows: 3 sets x 5 reps
Pulldowns: 3 sets x 5 reps

Thursday’s Bodybuilding Workout Routine  – Chest & Back

Biceps Warm-Up:
Alternating Dumbbell Curl: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Alternating Dumbbell Curl 3 sets x 5 reps
EZ Bar Curl: 3 sets x 5 reps

Triceps Warm-Up:
Skull Crushers: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Skull Crushers: 3 sets x 5 reps
French Press: 3 sets x 5 reps

Friday’s Bodybuilding Workout Routine  – Shoulders & Traps

Shoulder Warm-Up:
Shoulder Press: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Shoulder Press: 3 sets x 5 reps
Seated Dumbbell Press: 3 sets x 5 reps

Traps Warm-Up:
Upright Cable Rows: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Upright Cable Rows: 6 sets x 5 reps

That’s it for the week 6 bodybuilding workout routines summary post.  This week of Muscle Mass Advantage workouts really kicked my butt and helped me to stimulate some new muscle growth – so if you’re in the market for a few solid bodybuilding workouts give these babies a shot!

Your Friend And Trainer,

Nick

Week 6 Bodybuilding Workout Routines is a post from: Gain Muscle Mass Help

Monday day I hit the gym pretty hard for one of my first weight lifting routines of the week.  While the structure of the Muscle Mass Advantage workouts has completely changed up again (from hard and heavy to lighter with more reps), this time my body feels like it could really use a lighter training week, so I’m actually looking forward to the weight lifting routine changes that I’m going to see throughout this week.

Now that I’m starting to get closer to my 12 week body transformation deadline, I’m starting to get anxious. This week I’m really going to focus on stripping off body fat and sort of take it easy on the muscle building front. In order to make this happen quicker, I’m going to lower my target calorie level just a bit and increase the amount of cardio I’m doing this week in conjunction with my normal weight lifting routines.  In order to spread out the calorie burn over the course of the day, I plan on hitting the gym 2 times each day for the next few weeks (1 time for cardio and 1 time for my weight lifting workout).

I’m hoping that by really focusing on stripping off body fat, that I’ll be able to get very close to my initial goal of 8% by the end of this week.  If I can make that happen, it’ll take a lot of pressure off of me and allow me to relax a bit and focus on building muscle mass for the duration of this training cycle. I really like to focus my efforts on building muscle mass and let the fat loss take care of itself naturally as I start to bulk up, but as far out of shape as I was when I started this program (over 23% body fat!), I’m a bit nervous that I won’t be able to reach my goals if I don’t try to do something about it right now!

The Weight Lifting Routines

Monday’s Weight Lifting Workout  – Chest & Back

Chest Warm-Up:
Incline Press: 1 x 10, 1 x 8
Work Sets: (rest interval 2 minutes)
Incline Press: 2 sets x 15 reps

Back Warm-Up:
Dumbbell Rows: 1 x 10, 1 x 8
Work Sets: (rest interval 2 minutes)
Dumbbell Rows: 2 sets x 15 reps

On Monday, I was able to crank out 2 sets of 15 reps of incline press with 185 lbs.  Definitely not record setting training weights, but it was a challenge to get through all 15 reps for sure. As far as dumbbell rows, I was able to pump out 2 sets of 15 reps with 85 lb dumbbells.  All in all, a decent workout – nothing too crazy but it was challenging working in the 15 rep training bracket.

Tuesday’s Weight Lifting Workout  – Biceps & Triceps

Bicep Warm-Up:
Barbell Curl: 1 x 10, 1 x 8
Work Sets: (rest interval 2 minutes)
Barbell Curl: 2 sets x 15 reps

Triceps Warm-Up:
Skull Crushers: 1 x 10, 1 x 8
Work Sets: (rest interval 2 minutes)
Skull Crushers: 2 sets x 15 reps

Today I performed 2 sets of 15 reps of barbell curls with 95 lbs and 2 sets of 15 reps of skull crushers with 115 lbs.  By the end of this workout, my arms felt like they were going to explode!

As far as my bodybuilding diet goes, I made a few small adjustments but nothing to write home about.  I’m really trying to focus my efforts over the course of the next few weeks on leaning out and stripping off body fat.  I know from past experience that there’s not too many things worse than having to strip off 2 -3 % body fat during the last week of a training cycle, so hopefully giving myself a few weeks to make it happen will allow me to avoid the misery of having to do too much too fast.

In order to strip off the body fat, I’ve decided to take a 2 headed approach and increase my energy expenditure by performing a few more cardio workouts during the week and lower my overall calorie intake just a bit. The potent combination of adding more cardio to my weight lifting routines and eating slightly less should be enough to get me over the hump as far as fat loss goes.

Here’s my modified bodybuilding nutrition outline for today (probably for the rest of the week as well)…

• 1 cup of cottage cheese
• 1 cup of cottage cheese
• 4 cups of green tea
• 2 cups of cooked ground beef
• 2 cups of cooked spinach (sauteed in a pat of butter)
• 2 cups of cooked ground beef
• 1/4 cup of walnuts
• 3 eggs fried in olive oil

Well, that’s all I’ve got for today’s body transformation journal entry.  If you’re in the market for a few decent weight lifting routines give the two listed above a shot – although they seem like they’d be easy to work through if you use a weight that’s challenging enough they’ll totally kick your butt.

Your Friend And Trainer,

Nick

Weight Lifting Routines is a post from: Gain Muscle Mass Help

Today I hit my shoulders and traps as hard as I could. While my shoulders are already one of the bigger parts of my body, I’ve never really tried to train them with any sort of consistency. Most of the bodybuilding workout routines that I’ve tried in the past, just seemed to gloss over shoulder and trap workouts.  I guess they figured that if you were performing a lot of the big chest press lifts, then you were stimulating your shoulders enough in the process. I’m kind of excited to see just how big I can get my shoulders during these 12 weeks – because I’ve never really trained them before, I know they’ll be pretty responsive to the workouts!

Friday’s Bodybuilding Workout Routine – Shoulders & Traps

Shoulder Warm-Up:
Shoulder Press: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Shoulder Press: 3 sets x 5 reps
Seated Dumbbell Press: 3 sets x 5 reps

Traps Warm-Up:
Upright Cable Rows: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Upright Cable Rows: 6 sets x 5 reps

I was able to get through 3 sets of 5 reps with 165 lbs for shoulder press and 3 sets of 5 reps of seated db press with 70lb dumbbells.  For my traps I was able to perform 6 sets of 5 reps of upright cable rows with the weight stack maxed.

My diet didn’t change at all – here’s what I ate today…

• 1 cup of cottage cheese
• 1 cup of cottage cheese
• 3 cups of green tea
• 2 cups of cooked ground beef
• 3 cups of beef brisket
• 2 cups of spinach (in a salad)
• 1 tbs of ranch dressing
• 3 cups of beef brisket
• 1/2 cup of walnuts
• 1/2 cup of cheese
• 3 eggs fried in olive oil

That’s all for today.  If you’re like me and you’ve never utilized a bodybuilding workout routine that consistently targets your shoulders and traps, this would be a great workout to try. Keep in mind that if you’ve never trained your shoulders before, then they have a huge capacity for strength development and growth and this workout will completely hammer all of the muscles in your shoulders and traps!

Your Friend And Trainer,

Nick

Bodybuilding Workout Routine is a post from: Gain Muscle Mass Help

Today’s journal entry is going to be short and sweet.  I’m just going to quickly go over my biceps and triceps weight lifting workout for today and list what I ate. Tomorrow I’ll make my post a bit meatier and go over my bodybuilding nutrition strategy in-depth and teach you how I came to my target calorie value and how I’ve made adjustments to my diet up to this point.

Thursday’s Weight Lifting Workout – Biceps & Triceps

Biceps Warm-Up:
Alternating Dumbbell Curl: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Alternating Dumbbell Curl 3 sets x 5 reps
EZ Bar Curl: 3 sets x 5 reps

Triceps Warm-Up:
Skull Crushers: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Skull Crushers: 3 sets x 5 reps
French Press: 3 sets x 5 reps

I was able to get through 3 sets of 5 reps with 55 lbs dumbbells for alternating dumbbell curls and 3 sets of 5 reps of ez bar curls with 115 lbs.  For my triceps I was able to perform 3 sets of 5 reps of skull crushers with 145 lbs and 3 sets of 5 reps of french press with 115 lbs.

Here’s what I ate today…

• 1 cup of cottage cheese
• 1 cup of cottage cheese
• 3 cups of green tea
• 2 cups of cooked ground beef
• 3 cups of beef brisket
• 2 cups of spinach (in a salad)
• 1 tbs of ranch dressing
• 3 cups of beef brisket
• 1/2 cup of walnuts
• 1/2 cup of cheese
• 3 eggs fried in olive oil

That’s all for today.  If you want a weight lifting workout that will force you arms to grow, then this is a good one. It targets the strength training repetition ranges and allows you to hit your arms hard with heavy weights – enjoy!

Your Friend And Trainer,

Nick

Weight Lifting Workout is a post from: Gain Muscle Mass Help

Today I felt that things went pretty well at the gym for my chest and back bodybuilder workout.  I really tried to bring the thunder again and hit it hard in order to stimulate some muscle growth. If I’m actually going to achieve my goal of building 25 lbs of muscle mass in 12 weeks, then I’m going to have to get serious and take advantage of every opportunity I have left to force my muscles to grow.

In order to really get things ramped up, I’m thinking of incorporating creatine monohydrate into my bodybuilding nutrition and supplement strategy.  I love creatine monohydrate and have always noticed some pretty good increases in my strength levels after loading. I figure that if nothing else creatine will help me blast through my bodybuilder workouts with heavier training weights and a new level of focus that always comes when i excitedly incorporate something new into my program.

In the past, whenever I’ve used creatine I’ve always just blindly followed along with the manufacturers recommendations.  This time around, I’ve decided to “do it right” and dose out my creatine monohydrate  based on the recommendations of Dr. Alfredo Franco-Obregón in his book Creatine A Practical Guide. Inside of this manual Franco-Obregón explains in detail exactly how to calculate the amount of creatine monohydrate your muscles really need (not the exaggerated quantities that the supplement companies tell you to use).

I highly recommend the book, and I’ll keep you all posted on my results as I work creatine monohydrate into my supplement strategy. If you’re interested, you can check out the Creatine Monohydrate Guide Here

My Bodybuilder Workout – Chest & Back

Warm-Up:
Incline Press: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Incline Press: 3 sets x 5 reps
Bench Press: 3 sets x 5 reps

Warm-Up:
Barbell Rows: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Barbell Rows: 3 sets x 5 reps
Pulldowns: 3 sets x 5 reps

I was able to get through 3 sets of 5 reps with 225 lbs for incline press and 3 sets of 5 reps of bench press with 245 lbs.  For my back I was able to perform 3 sets of 5 reps of bent rows with 225 lbs and 3 sets of 5 reps of lat pulldowns with the 200 lbs.

Here’s my bodybuilding nutrition outline for today…

• 1 cup of cottage cheese
• 1 cup of cottage cheese
• 3 cups of green tea
• 2 cups of cooked ground beef
• 3 cups of beef brisket
• 2 cups of cooked spinach (sauteed in a pat of butter)
• 3 cups of beef brisket
• 1/2 cup of walnuts
• 1/2 cup of cheese
• 3 eggs fried in olive oil

That’s it for today’s journal entry. Give this bodybuilder workout a try if you want to build some strength and muscle mass in your chest and back.  I’ve been performing variations of this basic chest and back workout for over 10 years with excellent results!

Your Friend And Trainer,

Nick

Bodybuilder Workout is a post from: Gain Muscle Mass Help

Yesterday I headed off to the gym ready to rip into my bodybuilding leg workout with some intensity. I was pretty excited to get back to the gym and start working towards my goals after the weekend off. This week the Muscle Mass Advantage workouts are switching gears again and forcing me to train in the 4 – 6 repetition range for a decent amount of sets (6) for each body part.

I’m mot sure why, but I absolutely love to train in the 4 – 6 rep range.  I start to get excited just thinking about it…I guess it probably has something to do with the fact that I can train heavy in this repetition range – especially during my leg workouts! The “hard and heavy” style of training has always allowed me to stimulate some serious muscle growth quickly, so I’m anxious to see just how it pans out during week 6 of my body transformation.

Week 6 Bodybuilding Leg Workout

Warm-Up:
Barbell Squat: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Barbell Squat: 6 sets x 5 reps
Leg Press: 3 sets x 5 reps

Warm-Up:
Stiff Leg Deadlift: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Stiff Leg Deadlift: 6 sets x 5 reps
Leg Curls: 3 sets x 5 reps

I was able to pound out 6 sets of 5 reps with 315 lbs for barbell squats and 3 sets of Leg press with 6 plates on each side.  For my hamstrings I was able to perform 6 sets of 5 reps of stiff legged deadlift with 275lbs and 3 sets of 5 reps of leg curls with the machine set to #14.

As far as my bodybuilding nutrition plan goes,I decided to pretty much stick with that exact same menu that I ate last week.  I felt like I had a decent amount of energy during the week and I really felt full most of the time. I was happy with the results, as I was able to strip off some body fat last week all the while increasing my strength levels a bit, so I just thought that it made sense to ride it out.  There’s no sense in making changes to something if it’s working well for you – just let it ride and make the changes as your progress starts to slow down.

Here’s my bodybuilding nutrition outline for today…

• 1 cup of cottage cheese
• 1 cup of cottage cheese
• 3 cups of green tea
• 2 cups of cooked ground beef
• 3 cups of beef brisket
• 2 cups of cooked spinach (sauteed in a pat of butter)
• 3 cups of beef brisket
• 1/2 cup of walnuts
• 1/2 cup of cheese
• 3 eggs fried in olive oil

Well, that’s it for today’s body transformation journal entry. If you’re looking for a great bodybuilding leg workout and you don’t mind the challenge go ahead and give this workout a try. If you attack it with a sense of urgency and train with weights that are challenging for you, your leg muscles will get stronger and you’ll build some muscle mass in your lower body.

Your Friend And Trainer,

Nick

Bodybuilding Leg Workout is a post from: Gain Muscle Mass Help

Last week I really dropped the ball as far as my body transformation journal entries, so today I’m going to summarize my week 5 bodybuilding workouts and basically try to cover the entire week of journal entries in one post. I’m not sure why I had such a hard time logging in and writing my posts ( I think it had something to do with the celebration of my 32nd birthday on Friday – man I’m feeling old!), but today we’ll get all caught up and back on track.

As far as my week 5 Muscle Mass Advantage bodybuilding workouts,I felt like it was a pretty good week at the gym. I was able to increase my training weights on almost every  lift and I really started to feel like I was getting into decent shape. Typically I start to hit a mental wall around week 5 or 6 of my training cycles, but for some reason I haven’t experienced any problems yet – it feels great to hit the gym and my body definitely does not feel like it’s being over trained. I think that I’ll be able to blast out some very intense and productive muscle building workouts over the remainder of this 12 week training cycle – it should lead to some serious muscle growth!

This week, I really made an effort to mix in more aerobic exercise sessions.  The closer I get to the 12 week deadline, the more I’m going to ramp up my cardio workouts.  I’m not sure why, but even if I’ve got my bodybuilding nutrition plan dialed in to a “T”, I still need to feel like I’m actively stripping off body fat – and for me a few extra cardio sessions a week is the way to make that happen. I was able to fit in (4) 20 minute cardio workouts this week in between the bodybuilding workouts. I really didn’t kill myself as far as intensity goes, I just jogged for 20 minutes at about a 9 minute mile pace. With my cardio workouts, I just try to get in and pound out a quick 2 mile run.

The Week 5 Bodybuilding Workouts

Monday’s Bodybuilding Workout – Legs

Warm-Up:
Barbell Squat: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Barbell Squat: 3 sets x 10 – 12 reps

Warm-Up:
Stiff Leg Deadlift: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Stiff Leg Deadlift: 3 sets x 10 – 12 reps

I was able to perform 3 sets of 10 reps of barbell squats with 245 lbs and 3 sets of 12 reps of stiff leg deadlift with 215 lbs. I sort of felt like I was taking it too easy on this workout, but at this point I really don’t want to risk any sort of muscular or joint injury so my motto this week was “easy does it”.  The one area where I really stuck with the bodybuilding workouts was the rest intervals.  I was meticulous about hitting my rest intervals exactly without cheating to rest longer than prescribed. This really made the workout tough, even with the light training weights. By the middle of my squat sets (around reps 6 – 10), my heart felt like it was going to jump out of my chest!

Tuesday’s Bodybuilding Workout – Biceps & Triceps

Warm-Up:
Straight Bar Curl: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Straight Bar Curl: 3 sets x 10 -12  reps

Warm-Up:
Skull Crushers: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Skull Crushers: 3 sets x 10 12 reps

For this workout, I was able to grind through 3 sets of 12 reps of straight bar curl with 95 lbs and 3 sets of 12 reps of skull crushers with 115lbs. I felt like this bodybuilding workout went about the same as Mondays workout – light training weights, but difficult due to the somewhat short rest interval between sets. all in all a pretty decent bicep and triceps workout!

Wednesday’s Bodybuilder Workout – Chest & Back

Warm-Up:
Incline Press: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Incline Press: 3 sets x 10 – 12 reps

Warm-Up:
Dumbell  Rows: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Dumbbell Rows: 3 sets x 10 -12 reps

I was able to pound out 1 set of 9 reps of  incline press with 205 lbs, but I had to lower the weight to 185 for the next 2 sets of 10 reps.  As far as dumbbell rows, I was able to get through 3 sets of 12 reps with 75 lb dumbbells.

Friday’s Bodybuilder Workout - Shoulders & Traps

Warm-Up:
Shoulder Press: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Shoulder Press: 3 sets x  10 -12 reps

Warm-Up:
Upright Rows: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Upright Rows: 3 sets x 10 -12 reps

On Friday, I was able to perform 2 sets of 10 reps of shoulder press with 135 lbs, then I had to lower the weight to 115 for the final set of 10 reps. For upright rows, I cranked out 3 sets of 10 reps with 115 lbs. By the end of this workout, my shoulders and traps were on fire…it felt great!

Well, that’s all for my week 5 bodybuilding workouts summary and catch up journal entries. Later this evening, I’m going to write a short summary post updating everyone about my week 5 bodybuilding nutrition plan. Next week I plan to get back on track and post a journal entry each day, but I never really know how busy the week is going to be for me.  I fit’s a choice between hitting the gym and preparing my food 0r the daily journal entries, then you may be reading another catch up post next week as well – but I think I can manage at least a few posts. This bodybuilding workouts summary and catch up posts will take the place of the usual workout summary post, and I really hope that having all of the bodybuilding workouts on one page will help all of you who are following along with these Muscle Mass Advantage workouts.

Your Friend And Trainer,

Nick

Week 5 Bodybuilding Workouts is a post from: Gain Muscle Mass Help

The truth of the matter is that training your chest muscles for massive growth is very similar to training any major muscle group on your body for growth.  The key to making your chest grow, is to overload your chest muscles with each and every workout.

My favorite way to provide muscle stimulating overload is to use mulit-joint compound exercises to form the bulk of my chest workouts.  I like compound movements because they allow you to use very heavy weights (the same kind that stimulate muscle growth) through a complete range of motion. This allows you to stimulate muscle growth not only in your chest, but also in various stabilizer and muscles throughout your body.

Here’s a short list of compound exercises that target the muscles of the chest:

• Bench Press
• Close Grip Bench Press
• Incline Press
• Decline Press
• Push-Up
• Dumbbell Flys
• Dumbbell Bench Press
• Dumbbell Incline Press
• Pec Deck Flys
• Cable Crossover Flys
• Dumbbell Pullovers
• Barbell Pullovers
• Weighted Dips

Aside from training heavy with free weight compound exercises, the muscle gain basics still apply.  Make sure to..

1. Drink enough water
2. Rest and Recover Between Workouts
3. Eat enough of the right foods at the right times

Train with the appropriate intensity level

This quick refresher highlights the best way to build chest muscles fast. For more information about building a massive chest, you can read the full article -

==>  Build Chest Muscles Fast!

How To Build Chest Muscles Fast! is a post from: Gain Muscle Mass Help

The muscle building process is certainly not one of the most efficient process in the human body.  It’s difficult for your body to make this happen.  If you want to build muscle mass fast, you can’t sit around waiting for your body to become more efficient and grow… you must give you body  a reason to grow.  This is where progressive overload comes in to play.

The progressive overload principle states that in order for your body to build muscle mass, it must be progressively stimulated over time.  An example of progressive overload in action is increasing the weight that you train with for each of your weight training workouts. By training with progressively heavier weights, you are telling your muscles that they must adapt to the new stress (heavier weights).  Your body will adapt by increasing the strength of your muscles and adding muscle mass.  Once your body has adapted, you then need to continue to overload your muscles progressively over time.

If you take the time to apply the progressive overload principle to each of your muscle building workouts, and you’ve worked out the rest of your plan you’ll be well on your way to building more muscle mass as quickly as possible!

Read this article for more information on using progressive overload to build muscle mass fast.

Apply Progressive Overload And Build Muscle Mass Fast is a post from: Gain Muscle Mass Help

Unfortunately along with the great feeling of self accomplishment I often find my body getting progressively more uncomfortable as muscle soreness sets in.  After 16 years of training, I still have not gotten completely used to the awful feeling of waking up the next day with sore, achy muscles.  Even worse than the initial muscle soreness, is the fact that the uncomfortable pain will typically intensify for 2 – 3 days!  This phenomena is know as DOMS or Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness.

Getting rid of delayed onset muscle soreness once it starts is not an easy task.  While there are things you can do to keep your muscle soreness under wraps after a big workout, it’s usually best to apply some common sense to your training program before hitting the gym. While I’ve come to expect a certain level of muscle soreness following an intense workout, over the years I’ve learned a few tricks to limit the amount of discomfort that I feel a few days after a big workout.

If you’re tired of sore achy muscles read Fighting Muscle Soreness and learn how you can limit the amount of soreness you experience after your intense weight training workouts!

Eliminate Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness is a post from: Gain Muscle Mass Help

Read Lower Abdominal Exercise Tips and discover how easy it really is to put together a complete workout for your lower abs.

If you’re in a hurry here are the key point of the article along with a WARNING…

Before you get started off on the wrong foot and embark on a journey to never ending dissatisfaction with the way your abs look, you need to understand that training your abdominal muscles without focusing on lowering your current level of body fat is futile.

Not only will you not get the six pack abs you’re looking for, but you’ll essentially be wasting your time by even performing your lower abdominal workout int he first place. Did you know that by working the muscles of your lower abdominals before focusing on lowering your body fat level, you will actually increase the size of your abs which pushes the fat covering them out even further!

“Trust me here when I say that this can be seriously deflating and potentially detrimental to your goal of firm six pack abs.”

My advice here is simple…until you can see your abdominals (your body fat level is low enough for your abs to be exposed), you really need to be focusing your time planning out an effective bodybuilding nutrition plan, training consistently with free weights and mixing in a few (2- 4) sessions of cardio rather than training your abs!

Lower Abdominal Exercise is a post from: Gain Muscle Mass Help