Bench Press Tips How to Bench Press More

We bench press because, next to the squat, it’s the most fundamental weight-training movement there is. If you had only 15 minutes to train your upper body, you’d do the bench press and maybe some chin-ups. Trying to explain why we like to bench press is like trying to explain why we like sex. So, rather than waste time philosophizing, I decided to spend more time instructing.
First of all, there seems to be an endless debate about what the proper bench-press grip is. There’s a wide-grip school, a medium-grip school, and an in-between grip school. For our purposes here, I want you to try a little test that will help determine the best bench-press grip for you, not Tom, Dick, or Harry. Get on the floor, and without thinking about it, assume your natural push-up position. Have someone measure the distance between your two forefingers. That’s probably your optimum bench-press grip. Remember it, and use it during this program.
This may seem simple and unscientific, but the body will almost always assume the position that gives it the best mechanical advantage. Trust your body.
Here’s another bench press form tip: most people bench press straight up and down, like some flesh-and-blood piston. However, if you were to look at slow-motion films of just about every major powerlifter in the world, you’d notice that they don’t push the bar straight up and down. Instead, they push the bar up and slightly at an angle towards the head. This motion is called the J-lift. Use it.
And, my last suggestion regarding technique concerns arching the back--don’t do it. True, it will almost always improve your bench-press poundage, but the advantage is entirely artificial. When you arch your back, you reduce the distance between your chest and the bar. Doing it will not accelerate muscle growth or increase strength.
I should also mention, briefly, the importance of doing proper warm-ups before doing any of the workouts in this program. This workout involves using very heavy poundage's. In other words, it can be very intense, and if you’re not careful, it can cause injuries to muscles that haven’t been properly warmed up. Try warming up this way: start with the bar. Bench press it five or six times, using a slow, regular tempo. Get up right away, and throw some weight on it. Do about four or five more reps. Keep adding weight and doing low-rep warm-up sets of about four or five reps--doing a higher number of warm-up reps can produce lactic acid and fatigue you before you even start your regular work sets. You don’t need to wait long between warm-up sets, either. Just do another set in the time it takes you to get up, add more weight, and get back on the bench.
Do about four of these warm-up sets, and then rest about three minutes before starting your work sets.
My final piece of general advice regards failure. It seems self-explanatory, but there’s more to failure than just stopping when the weight feels too heavy. Complete failure comes only when you’ve tapped into your hidden reserve of will and strength, and it may come a rep or two after your muscles tell you it’s time to pack up and go home. A strong mind will always beat the body, no matter how strong the body is. Going to true, total failure is a great way to stimulate muscle growth.

Body Building: Don’t Get Ahead of Yourself

by Wayne M

All young and beginning rookie bodybuilders look at the Muscle and Fitness, Flex and Men's Health magazines and see all those big, tough muscular guys advertising bodybuilding supplements to reduce fat, make you stronger and to make you BIGGER.

This is all-good and gives you great motivation but young teens like myself once did think that the supplements make you big. Little do we know that those professional bodybuilders do a hell of a lot of hard work in the gym and most properly take a few things that they do not advertise.

You must realize that to get big and look good you must do the hard work- you must pay your dues first! Then you will reap the rewards so to speak.

What I am trying to say is if you're under 19 and haven't been serious about lifting weights before, but you are now, start weight training first for about 2 - 3 months before buying supplements.

People will say I am crazy--that's fair enough--but hear me out. If you have never lifted seriously before you will make gains, you will make gains in your size, fat loss and muscularity in the first 2- 3 months that even without supplements you will notice and so will all your peers. After the first 2 - 3 months you will steady out and struggle to put on the same gains as the first 3 months.

After paying your dues for the first 3 months, lifting heavy and safe doing all the compound exercises to put on the mass and lose the required fat, you should consider your basic supplements.

Although you can get some supplements, do not buy 3-4 supplements at once. You should start with the most used supplement PROTEIN POWDER. Buy some protein powder first and start using it. Take it 2 - 3 times a day. This will help rebuild the muscle and promote muscle growth, as well as help meet your daily protein requirements.

Then, after about 2 weeks to a month get some CREATINE. Creatine is produced naturally in the body, although in minimal amounts so taking creatine will give you greater energy in your workouts and your muscles will grow. Creatine has been researched and has shown the best results. The number of compliments it has received has won the world over. It is the most popular supplement going. Creatine does have a couple of drawbacks; however, creatine maximizes water intake by the muscles, thus meaning you have to drink more water (1-2 gallons per day (4-6 liters)). Also, you must load with Creatine. I have found you can load 2 ways with Creatine: 1. the way on the back of the pack (the directions) or 2. take 20 grams (week 1), 5 grams (week 2), 10 grams (week 3), and then 5 grams (week 4). After the forth week have a rest for a minimum of 1 week, but no more than 2 weeks and then start over.

Also buy some MULTIVITAMINS. These are crucial for bodybuilders and especially for teens. We are still growing and we need more to help us recover from activity. Get a good multivitamin idea from the forums. They have some good ones.

Those are the 3 main supplements for us teens to try and get our hands on. Remember, taking supplements aids weight training, weight training does not aid supplement intake. This means that supplements don't make muscles grow. The time and intensity in the gym does, along with proper food at home or school.

Hope this helped.

Article Source: http://www.articles-heaven.com/articles/?Body-Building%3A-Don%92t-Get-Ahead-of-Yourself&articleid=12622

Fitness For Fun

By Richard Moore

If you'd rather have teeth pulled than hop on an exercise bike, you're not alone.

Finding the motivation to squeeze your bottom into a pair of Lycra shorts is just too much to bear after a exhausting day at the office. So what's a weight conscious person to do?

You want to get more active, but you want it to be fun too. What's so unreasonable about that? Nothing. What's more, there are plenty of ways to feel the burn that means you don't have to go within a mile of that nasty, mean old gym instructor.

And while you may not get an aerobic workout with most of these activities, you can see how they will add up to affect your overall activity levels and help you tone up - as you have a bit of fun too!

Activity Boost Level: Mild


Kiss Me Pucker up with a loved one and your heart will start racing. Put a bit of oomph into it and you'll not only get flushed, you'll be working it that part harder too.

Laugh It Off Laughing is thought to improve your immune system and skin condition. Rent a good comedy or get together with a friend who really gets you giggling to feel the immediate benefits.

Make Love Boost your activity levels by making whoopee. And, if you feel in a frisky mood, a particularly vigorous session can give you a really good aerobic workout.

Scream for Your Team The last time you screamed for your local sports team you'll have felt your blood pumping. If you watched last year's Stanley Cup Final, even better!

The Write Stuff An hour spent furiously scribbling can really give you an energy boost, especially if you're concentrating hard.

Activity Boost Level: Moderate

Sing Hallelujah Believe it or not, a rousing sing song can give you a decent workout - just make sure you belt it out at full volume.

Have a Tinkle If you're musically minded, playing the piano is good for toning those muscles - choose something energetic like rag-time or a dramatic classical piece to really feel the benefits.

Do a Delia Have a dinner party for six people or more. All that furious cooking chopping and grating will really give you a rush! Have a look at our recipe section for inspiration.

Get Under the Hood If you're handy with a screwdriver, mending your car gives your day a bit of extra activity - especially if making heavy repairs.

Milk a Cow Milking by hand can really get your heart pumping. Slight snag - first find your cow.

Activity Boost Level: High

Do It Yourself Both woodwork and plumbing will give you a decent activity boost - now there's a handy way to lose weight and check things of your "to do" list too!

Child's Play Young kids never seem to sit still. Take a leaf out of their book and go play; it's not just great for family bonding, you'll also feel the burn after a bit! Try a half hour game of energetic soccer or some backyard gymnastics.

Disco Diva Put on your sparkly skirt and head for the dance floor - a good half hour boogie will tone your whole body.

Move House If the prospect of changing homes is getting you down, be cheered by the fact that shifting and carrying furniture is quite a strenuous workout. So get packing!
About the Author

Richard Moore is the Founder an President of Everything Health and Beauty! For Men and Women Our WebMall is quickly becoming one of the most trusted and easy to use collection of shopping stores to create a fun and relaxing online shopping experience...and we are constantly searching for other stores with quality products, great prices and top notch customer service.

http://www.everythinghealthandbeauty.9k.com

Joel Rush

Brad Gatie

Taiji Ishimori 2009 Central Japan Bodybuilding Championship

Taiji Ishimori challenged the Bodybuilding for the first timeHe got the second place.

Training Intensity

Article written by: Sean Nalewanyj

Are You in a Subconscious Comfort Zone?

When it all comes down it, how much effort do you truly put into your muscle building program? Can you honestly say that you are working as hard as you possibly can? Are you a true gym warrior?

I'm talking about the type of person who will do whatever it takes, no matter how difficult it is, or what the consequences may be. The kind of person who will drive through pain barriers with an explosive force of will, never surrendering or giving in. One who would jump onto the back of a bus just to make it to the gym. You know the kind of person I'm talking about if you are one. Those who choke down can after can of tuna and squat to failure on the laziest of days.

Whether or not we know it, these warrior-like instincts exist deep within us all. Once upon a time, humans depended solely on the environment for survival. We couldn't hop into the car and drive down to the local grocery store to fill our bags full of food. We were hunters and gatherers who relied on the wilderness and the wildlife in order to meet our nutritional needs. This required great speed, strength, endurance and a killer instinct for survival. As time continues to drag into the future, the human race as a whole has become lazier, more out of shape and less willing to work hard to achieve our desires than ever before. Raw, physical labour has been replaced by masses of machines used to do the jobs that we were once required to do. We no longer need the skills to hunt, as these jobs are all done for us. No matter how far into the future we go, the simple fact is that these primitive killer instincts we once needed and used still remain buried within our subconscious. The trick is to tap into these powers and to use them on our quest for mind blowing muscle mass and strength.

I don't care what anyone says, but the number one factor that separates the men from the boys, (those who make modest gains from those who make serious gains) is their level of training intensity. You simply will not yield the type of results you are looking for unless you are willing to push your body to its utmost limits. However, more often than not we see people training with far less than maximal intensity. Why? Are they afraid?

The saying always says "no pain, no gain". I don't really like to think of it necessarily as pain, but rather as "discomfort". The question then remains: why on earth would anyone let a little bit of discomfort get in the way of achieving something they want so badly? The plain fact is that training discomfort is temporary. It is there, you endure it, and then it is in the past. So why not treat every workout, every exercise, every repetition as if it was your last? You must go into every workout knowing that it is a prime opportunity to increase lean size and strength.

Don't simply go to the gym to "get it over with". Thrive on the battle! Embrace every opportunity! Enjoy the challenge! Discomfort equals growth, and the more discomfort we endure, the more growth we can hope to achieve. So why would one train in a manner that would allow them to avoid discomfort? If we train with a mentality of holding back, we will never be able to truly move forward.

Do You Truly Train With 100% Effort?
Start today! Stop making excuses for yourself. Plain and simple, stop being a slacker! Everyone likes to believe that they train hard, but how many of us truly do? How many of us truly push ourselves to the edge in each and every workout? Knowing is not enough, we must apply! Sure, you know full and well that you must train with 100% intensity, but do you really train as hard as you possibly can? Do you really push with every ounce of strength from within, on every set, during every workout? When it all comes down to it, when that last repetition is near, do you truly train all-out, and take the set until there is absolutely no way the bar will move another inch? Do you squat? Do you deadlift?

Or do you choose the lifts that are the easiest and will not cause you any discomfort? You know that you must eat 5-6 meals a day, every 2-3 hours. But do you actually do this? Do you really get at least 8 hours of sleep every night? Examine these questions and be completely truthful to yourself, and maybe you will realize a few things.

Many of us fail to realize that we are sitting in a comfort zone in the gym. We get used to a certain routine and end up convincing ourselves that we are actually training hard, when in reality we are not. Do you want real results? I mean real, noticeable, amazing results? Then stop making up excuses and stop slacking. Go to the gym and train like the warrior that you truly are. Give 100% on every single rep and set. Eat 6 meals every single day regardless of what you feel like doing. Do more than simply know. APPLY. Only when we start consistently applying all of the knowledge that we have gained will we be able to truly transform our physiques .

article source : http://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/training-intensity.html

Muscle tank

Showing off some hot sweaty muscle.

Nick Auger : Good Body

Summer Muscle: Bodybuilder Tuan Tran

Bodybuilder Tuan Tran poses for photos and video in Miami following the 2009 Musclemania Universe competition.

Your Weight in Muscle Fiber

You probably have heard that muscle weighs more than fat. Many people notice a small weight gain when they begin lifting weights consistently. As a general rule, if you lift weights 2 to 3 times a week, you can gain 1 pound of muscle per month for about 6 months. After that, the rate of increase slows down as you start to reach your genetic potential. For the same reason, you will make a lot of progress on weight progression at the beginning, but the longer you lift; your progression will lessen because you are reaching your genetic potential.

Don’t be alarmed at the extra pounds of weight from weight training because it is well worth the effort. For every 3 pounds of muscle you build, research shows you increase your resting metabolic rate by about 7 percent. For example, if your body burns 1,200 calories per day (not counting exercise or any other movement), you would burn an extra 84 calories per day with those 3 extra pounds of muscle. Many women have a difficult time outgrowing 2-3 pound dumbbell weights, because they are afraid that if they increase the weight they will bulk up.

If you are happy with the strength and appearance of your muscles, you can do a maintenance program with 5 pound weights. However, if you want more strength, you could progress to 8 or 10 pound weights and still not bulk up. Using heavier weights can increase muscle size, but it’s highly unlikely that you’ll get bulky. Women don’t naturally have enough of the hormone, testosterone, required to build huge muscles, and even if you could bulk up, you’d have to use significantly heavier weights. Another option to tone muscle is to increase your repetitions instead of increasing weight. A high-repetition/light-weight program will develop muscle tone and increase strength and endurance without significantly increasing muscle size.

I like to tell my clients to not just go through the motion when lifting weights. I use the word squeeze” a lot to describe the contraction of the muscle you should be focusing on. Think about the muscle you are working and squeeze or contract it as you are lifting. You will get a lot more benefit for your efforts if you squeeze the muscle on the lift rather than just raising and lowering the weight without focusing on the muscle.

Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com

Hotel Muscle Service

How to Build Oblique Muscle

Aside from an actual six pack, the oblique muscles help frame your abdomen and give it a great look. In this article you will learn about the necessary workouts and nutrition that go hand in hand with building oblique muscles.

The most important thing to remember here is that you need a low enough bodyfat percentage in order to see the oblique muscles. The same applies to your abs. So it's important that your diet is correct in order to reach a bodyfat percentage that is low enough to begin to see the obliques. To lower your bodyfat percentage, you need to widen the gap between calories burned vs. calories consumed. The "calories consumed" part of the equation should obviously be lower than the "calories burned" part. The bigger the caloric deficit, the more fat you will lose and the more your bodyfat percentage will drop.

From a workout perspective, performing a combination of ab crunches, twisting ab crunches, and oblique specific exercises is ideal. A great exercise to target the obliques is performed by holding a dumbbell in one hand down to your side. Keep your lower body stationary as you drop your torso directly to whichever side you're holding the dumbbell, and then raise back up. This targets the obliques and will help you put on oblique muscle.

It's very important to understand that you need a low bodyfat to see your obliques. Otherwise if your bodyfat is too high, it doesn't matter how many oblique exercises you perform, you will simply never see them. In fact, you will make it worse because the added muscle will only add size underneath the fat, which can give you the appearance of having a higher bodyfat percentage.

BeSt Sport EvEr - BoDYbuilDing

BeSt Sport EvEr - BoDYbuilDing

Smoking and its Effects on Your Body

Smoking cigarettes is both damaging to your body and to your bodybuilding goals. Cigarette smoke contains over 4,000 chemical compounds. The most well known of these compounds is nicotine, which, despite some reported positive effects such as elevation of mood, is much more harmful than helpful. Nicotine increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, and has only a negative effect on growth. Aside from the above, nicotine and other well known agents in cigarette smoke are known to cause many other diseases and cancers. Lung cancer, gum cancer, and lip cancer are some examples.
There are many well known health problems associated with cigarette smoke, but there are also general lifestyles accompanied with it. Smokers are known to be more irritable than nonsmokers, and normally see more problems with sleep patterns. Anxiety is also more predominant in smokers than in their nonsmoking counterparts.
On a bodybuilding level, male smokers have been known to have higher estrogen and lower plasma-testosterone levels than nonsmokers do.
Smokers will claim that there are benefits to smoking, but there are none. Smoking cigarettes is no different than scratching a mosquito bite. Whatever pleasure is gained from it would not be there if the bite wasn't there to begin with! Cigarettes don't give you any pleasure above and beyond what you had as a nonsmoker. Its effects on your body in terms of possible health effects are plentiful. Top it off, the hormonal and metabolic effects of tobacco cause lack of mental and physical energy, endurance and recovery, and you will experience these problems in both your everyday life and in the gym.

Source: Health Canada

Troy Alves

King Justice

King Justice The great teen bodybuilder returns at 158 pounds! muscle flex

Androstene : A Better Look

Muscle World offers you state-of-the-art sports nutritional products backed by solid, real science. No glandulars, no trendy concoctions, no boron or deer antler -- just research proven sports nutrition. Our Muscle World Supplements page has more detailed information about each of our products. Plus we're happy to help you with additional information about how to get the best results from their use. Our current focus is on Androstenedione or Androstene.

FACT: Androstenedione has been shown in controlled studies to raise your body's testosterone levels by over 337%! This is very significant and highly desirable to the athlete looking to increase performance, add strength and increase muscle size. Basically, testosterone is the juice which fuels muscle growth and the more you have, the faster you'll grow.

When you increase your testosterone level, you increase your ability to build lean muscle mass and to recover. You also lower the catabolic effects that weight training has on muscle tissue. Quite simply, you get more results from your training.

And you get the results faster! Testosterone is one of the most potent anabolic substances known.

Why do you think steroids are so popular and effective?What is the Supplement Androstene?Androstene is a new supplement that is considered an "adrenal- androgen" (an androgen produced in the adrenal gland). It's a metabolite of DHEA and has some unique characteristics that make it the most effective testosterone booster known to date.

Androstene will help athletes with less than perfect genetics to build more size and power than previously possible and it will set a new standard in performance enhancement supplementation.

How Does Androstene Work?Androstene exerts its anabolic effect as a result of an enzyme conversion reaction in the liver.

When you use Androstene, an enzyme in the liver acts on the molecular structure of Androstenedione, and through this one reaction converts it almost completely to testosterone. This fact is important, as there are other substances, which convert to testosterone but also convert to estrogens as well.

Estrogens cause the secondary female characteristics which steroids are notorious for. Studies have even shown that a 100-milligram dose of Androstene does not appear to effect luteinizing hormone (LH) or folical stimulating hormone (FSH), therefore it will not suppress your body's natural testosterone production. This means when you stop using the supplement, there will not be a sudden drop in testosterone causing you to gain fat and lose muscle.

This is a real plus.Although further studies need to be performed to see if higher doses of Androstene will effect these two regulating hormones, up to 100 mg per day does not but it does increase testosterone levels over 300%.How Effective?The International Olympic Committee test checks the ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone (T/E).

This ratio is usually 2 or 3 to 1. However, the IOC allows for a ratio as high as 6 to 1. Anything over 6 to 1 is considered a positive for exogenous testosterone (steroid).You could take a 200 milligram injection of testosterone cypionate (commonly used steroid drug) and still maintain a testosterone / epitestosterone ratio of less than 6 to 1. A 100 mg dose of Androstene will result in a T/E ratio of over 13 to 1! These are real and powerful numbers.

To summarize, it looks extremely promising and early results are very impressive. However, there is no magic pill. As with any performance enhancing supplement, your results will still directly depend on what training program you follow. And you still must supply your muscles with the protein and other nutrients required for growth. Maximum muscle growth in the shortest amount of time requires attention to every aspect involved - training, mental approach, proper diet, and the right nutritional supplementation. Every detail is important.Androstene is certainly a supplement scientifically proven to enhance testosterone levels. If you're looking to put on muscle, strength and increase overall sports performance then you need to look at this supplement carefully.

http://shopcity.net/MuscleWorld/androstene.html

Beautiful Boy

Tips To Build Muscles Fast

By:Chris Chew

So you want to build muscles fast? So you can just simply join a gym, lift weights regularly and after a few short months, you should be able to build enough muscle mass to take part in your neighborhood bodybuilding contest?

If it is that simple, then why is it that most people in the gym do not seem to gain much muscle even after years of weight lifting?



Well, things are not as simple as it seem or otherwise, personal trainers and muscle building books will have already gone the way of the dinosaurs, extinction.

Here below are some basic building muscle mass tips and of course, these are just tips and are not comprehensive.


1) Eat Eat And Eat - To build muscles, you must eat and then eat again. You must consume more calories than you burn them. After all you are adding mass to your body and where do those mass come from if you have insufficient calories to build them?However, try to choose good calories such as protein and complex carbohydrate. Calories from fats and alcohol do not count.


2) Up Protein Consumption - Proteins are muscle builders. You must make sure that you consume enough protein. You should consume about one gram of protein per pound of your body weight everyday if you want to build muscle mass fast. If you don't get enough protein, your muscles won't grow since you are not feeding them.


3) Health Supplements - Many people erroneously think that they do not need to take supplement to build muscles or supplements are not good for health. Hey, health supplements are food for your body and if chosen correctly, they can help you to build muscles faster.For those of you who think that supplements are harmful chemicals, then why are they called health supplements instead of drugs?For instance, some your protein sources come from eating meat. However, too much meat can cause complications such as most meats contain saturated fat which can clog your heart and arteries. So instead of eating too much meat, you can take protein supplements to get your protein.Also take multivitamins for anti-oxidant protection and to aid faster recovery.

4) Lift Weights - This is a bit of a misnomer. If you want to gain muscle mass fast, you must not only lift weights, you must lift heavy weights and lift them through compound exercises.Compound exercises like deadlift and squats work many muscle parts at the same time, that means you work almost your entire musculature instead of a single muscle group like say, dumbbell bicep curls.However, the correct lifting technique and form of lifting is very important so as to prevent injuries and make your training more effective.

5) Lift Free Weights - Use free weights like dumbells and barbells to recruit more muscle stabilizing and therefore more muscle fibers can be worked on. The more muscles you work on, the bigger they will become.

6) Get Enough Sleep And Rest - Have rest days in between your workout days and do not work the same muscle group more than twice a week. This is because your muscles need to recover from your workout to grow. More is not better in this game.

You should also get more than 8 hours of sleep if possible. Contrary to popular belief, your muscle grow when you sleep, not in the gym.

If you practice the above routine consistently, you will strat building muscles fast. Of course there are many more things you will need to know to build muscle mass effectively, but the above tips should get you along the road

Dumbbell Exercises

Here we will review some great exercises that you can with dumbbells. Don't think you need to have a gym membership to get into shape, read on and you will see how dumbbells can get you into shape.The first exercise we will look at is the chest press. You simply lay flat on your back and press the dumbbells from your chest upwards, keeping the dumbbells above your chest and not your face.

A second effective exercise is for the biceps. You simply stand with the weights at your side and curl them while not allowing your elbows to come forward.The third muscle group we can train with dumbbells is the shoulders. You press the weights up above your head and slowly lower them until your arms are parallel to the floor.The shoulder can also be worked in another way. We can do lateral raises to develop the side delts and front raises to work the anterior part of the shoulder.Now on to the triceps. We will do simple kickbacks where you kneel on a bench and then extend you arm until it is straight.To get a good back workout you will need a bench. You put one knee on the bench and then pull the weight up to your chest.So now you can see that there are many way to use dumbbells to get into shape in the comfort of your own house. But to prevent clutter you might want to buy some adjustable dumbbells.

By: Josh Ir
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