R.I.P.P.E.D Weight Training Blog

Define your upper arms by performing side lateral raises to build and tone the muscle. Learn how to define the upper arms with tips from a fitness specialist in this free video on toning and building muscle. Expert: Bob Mathews Contact: power1k.com Bio: Bob Mathews is the owner of Perfect Body System and has been in Phoenix, Arizona for the last 15 years. He’s trained with Barry Goldwater and other devoted clients over the years. Filmmaker: Dustin Daniels

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 Weight Training Workout

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Is weight training exercise important when dieting? Many experts will quickly tell you “yes” if you ask them this question. Why? It’s because weight training builds muscle and helps increase the body’s metabolic rate. This means, that even while resting, a person who weight trains and who has built more muscle in their body will burn more calories than a person who doesn’t do any weight training.
Plus, weight training workouts typically burn more calories per minute of exercise than cardio workouts do.

But, for women especially, the thought of doing weight training exercises with the intent of building muscle scares them because they think it will make them look less feminine and too masculine. A woman shouldn’t worry though. Unless she does a tremendous amount of muscle building exercises (hours a day) she will not develop a more masculine physique.

Many experts are now recommending that women pick up heavier weights to help them build more muscle and a lean, toned body that is healthy.

Curves for women is one national chain that promotes a circuit type workout for women that builds muscle without building bulk. They recommend doing their 30 minute workout three times a week. That doesn’t mean a person should only exercise three times a week. Cardio exercise can be done every day of the week. Curves isn’t the only choice for women who wish to do weight training exercises. The YMCA is a good place for both men and women who want to get in shape.

Muscle building exercises shouldn’t be done every day though because they fatigues the muscles too much (except for body builders who spend hours a day in a gym following highly specialized workouts under the advice of highly trained trainers). Muscles need a day to rest and recover from their workout before being worked out again. That’s why the recommendation for most people is three weight training sessions a week, doing cardio workouts the other days of the week, with one day a week off to rest.

Another benefit of weight training workouts while dieting that many people don’t think of is that they prevent the loss of lean body mass that typically occurs when people diet. What typically happens when a person goes on a diet is they lose some of their muscle mass along with that unwanted fat. Weight training exercise also strengthens bones and connective tissue.

So, to help your weight loss efforts be successful, do three 30 minute weight training exercise sessions a week. Not only will they help you lose weight, they will help you get stronger, more toned, and healthier.

Dorrie Ruplinger
http://www.articlesbase.com/fitness-articles/weight-training-exercise-and-dieting-73461.html

Weight Training Workout

Everybody wants to get bigger and leaner at the same time. This can be a challenging task as usually one must sacrifice either definition or gains in muscle.

To gain muscle a person has to consume more protein, carbs, fats, nutrients, and vitamins than they need to get bigger. Less overall calories if they wish to get leaner.

This of course is the main reason bodybuilders tend to “Bulk Up” in the off season. This means the individual will eat loads of calories in the hopes of gaining more muscle mass. The extra muscle gain is achievable but the individual also will experience a significant gain in of fat in the process, often times more than the muscle gains.

After the “Bulking Up” period the individual will usually want to “rip up” for summer or for a contest. Then they usually have to subject themselves to a rigorous training and restrictive diet for 3-6 months to get there body fat levels where their muscles are clearly defined.

The continual up and down Yo-Yo in weight gain plays havoc with the physical body not too mention the psyche of the individual. This generally accepted practice in bodybuilding has also led to the widespread use of drugs used by many athletes to bulk up or to get ripped.

This abuse of drugs has led to the overall malfunction of the bodybuilding community both mentally, physically and psychologically. Certainly not the ideals for which bodybuilding has been founded upon which are good healthy food, rigorous training of the mind and body, and an overall expression of health and vitality.

Fortunately, there is a better way to gain muscle and to lose body fat at the same time. It’s called the “Cycle Diet” and it is fast becoming the most popular way to stay lean year round while continually gaining muscle. Let’s examine first how the cycle diet works and then how you can incorporate it into your training routine.

Every bodybuilder who maintains there body fat levels below 7 percent knows as soon as they start eating the first few days of high calories their body explodes with new growth before any body fat gains occur.

The reason for this is the body is in a super-compensation state and initially stores the extra calories as glycogen in organs such as the liver as well as intramuscularly. Fats are also stored intramuscularly as well as protein is utilized for the growth and repair of muscles.

This super compensatory state only lasts for maybe 24 hours before the body starts to shuttle the extra calories into fat cells. But before that occurs there is a window of explosive growth available waiting to be tapped into and here is how you can do it.
The entire process was initially developed and coined the Cycle Diet by legendary trainer Scott Abel.

This protocol allows you to build muscle while losing body fat as well as keeping your body free of toxic buildup. Here is how it works.

First, you need to get your body fat levels below 7 percent for the maximum benefit of the protocol. The cool thing is once you get down to this level you can maintain this body fat level year round.

Second you need to get training a minimum of 5 days per week. In other words you need to be an intermediate or advanced trainee capable of handling significant volume and intensity in your training.

Third you need to keep your calorie intake about 500-1000 calories below expenditure daily.

Now for the first 3 days of your training you will keep your caloric intake in the calculated range on all training days. On your first rest day which usually will occur on the 4th day you will perform one of the juice fasts for the whole day.

Consume as much juice as you like on the fast day and be sure to take some fiber to help remove accumulated mucoid plaque in the digestive tract. There are many herbs that can aid in the process as well.

Keep in mind that only natural juices, preferably organic are used on the juice fast day free of sugars, additives, preservatives, sweeteners or anything else.

On the 5th and 6th days of the week you will resume your training and diet schedule, with the concurrent calorie deficit. On the 7th day which should be an off day from training as well, “EAT WHATEVER YOU WANT”.

That’s right all the things that you would like load up on them. It’s a good idea to schedule social occasions or interactions on that day, so you can eat Grandma’s apple pie, or have some pizza and ice cream with the guys during the big game. However you want to schedule the day be sure to consume as many calories as you can.

Keep in mind that you start in the morning of your rest day and you stop in the evening. So you keep the time frame down to about 18 hours to ensure no fat will be gained.

It is a good idea to start with fats in the morning first so that you don’t experience to much digestive discomfort. It’s also a good idea to double or triple your enzyme intake for the high calorie day as well as on the juice fast day for maximum absorption of nutrients.

Because of the short time frame of high calorie consumption as well as the caloric deficient state, combined with the rigorous training schedule it’s pretty much impossible for your body to add body fat. The cascade of anabolic hormones during the brief high calorie intake will be used to fill up energy stores and build more muscle. This is the ideal condition for growth of muscle tissues to occur.

You will need to fine tune the process over time but it’s pretty simple once you get the routine down. Best of all you don’t have to restrict calories for long periods of time. Once every week you get a break and the juice fast day helps clear out any plaque built up form the high calorie day.

Most athletes find the cycle diet much easier and more a more fun way to stay in shape all year. Not only that you can building mass while staying lean year round.

Mike Selcsum
http://www.articlesbase.com/muscle-building-articles/discover-the-pros-diet-plan-to-gain-muscle-and-lose-body-fat-61997.html

Gain Muscle

Now before anyone gets any misconceptions about this article, light weight training here refers to natural resistance training or adding impact training to various cardio vascular and aerobic exercises. There is no true definition for the term ‘light weight’ in the realm of fitness, and the weights for you to use should be directly proportional to your body weight, and also dependant on what you wish to achieve. Light weight training is not for people who wish to bulk up and build muscle mass like a bodybuilder. It is for the man or woman who’s looking to stay toned, burn fat, build lean muscle and to basically stay in shape. Light weight training is also great for people who wish to work on improving their blood circulation and enhancing their cardiovascular capabilities.

Now, the most important thing anyone needs to know is how to effectively use light weight training in the time that they have, and people would be surprised to know that the internet has many depositories of information that can help anyone get better gains and maximise their workout gains.

Online videos are free and there is a factor of replay-ability in the mix. With more than a thousand fitness topics catered to online, light weight training and low impact aerobics workout and how to do them at home. While on one side of the fence are those who advocate heavy reps for muscle building, we have to cater to women and men who want to define another look for themselves. The home can be a gym as well and an online video can be the perfect instructor. Look out for videos that have tagged on them low impact cardio workouts using resistance, because this is what you are looking for.

The equipment that you need is pretty minimal. If you are not a gym user and prefer to workout in the comfort of your home, then all you need is some resistance bands, some light weight dumbbells and some proper loose attire. More than likely you will be shown videos of the new age type of workouts, combining martial arts, dance, aerobics and resistance training to give an entire package of lean muscle building, calorie-destroying, body-chiseling workout. I highly recommend these videos, especially those which are credible and can be trusted because there is so much innovation all over the world and they are on the cutting edge of physical training.

They will point out common mistakes and ease you into a customised journey depending on your level of experience. Find out why your progress has halted and find out how to jump start a lagging body part or why the fat around your stomach hasn’t budged since Christmas last year. Find out the right time of when you should be having your workouts and how to effectively use light weight training techniques as a complement to an aerobic approach. Online training videos are the salvation to the busy and those who cannot afford expensive gym memberships. Light weight training can build a chiseled physique - you just have to know how.

Liam Murphy
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/improve-your-light-weight-training-techniques-with-free-online-videos-596419.html

Weight Training Workout

Most people believe that exercising with light weights with high repetition will tone and define your muscles to get that rock hard ripped muscular body. Since so many fitness personal trainers teach their clients that, so it must be true?

As summer approaches, many fitness enthusiasts will switch from muscle building routine to doing light weight high reps routine to cut away their body fat and to reveal their ripped muscular body. After all, it is shirt off time for the beach and poolside parties, isn’t it?

Well, I am about to bust this popular light weight high rep to tone muscle myth. Did I hear you gasp? Good. This is because the myth is so well entrenched and a lie being told too often will generally be accepted as the truth.

To get toned and well defined muscles, you need to lose body fat covering the muscles. Period. When you get rid of your body fat, your muscles will show through. You will look sinewy and muscular. Of course, that is provided that you have built muscles below those fats.

Let me ask you, how could light weight high repetition exercises build muscles or melt away fat? There is no logic in this.

To build muscle mass, you have to do heavy weight low rep compound exercises, exactly the opposite of light weight high rep routine. To lose body fat, you have to do intensive cardiovascular exercises and eating correctly.

There is no such thing as spot reduction short of invasive medical procedures such as liposuction. That means no matter how many crunches and side bends you do, the fat isn’t going to come off your belly and neither will your love handles melt away.

So if you want to reveal your well toned and defined musculature, you have firstly to build bigger muscles and then subsequently cut your body fat. Medium weight high repetition compound giant set exercises may help you burn more calories if the exercises keep your heart rate up and get you panting and sweating throughout the entire exercise workout session. However, this will already be a cardiovascular workout session and not a weight lifting workout session.

So next time when some smart aleck advises you that to get a well toned muscular body, you must workout with light weight and with high repetition, just ask him to explain the logic behind his statement and have a good laugh when you see him fumbling for a logical answer.

Chris Chew
http://www.articlesbase.com/advice-articles/light-weight-high-repetition-exercises-to-define-tone-and-get-ripped-muscles-33652.html

Ripped Workout

Try this weight training routine and get as sculpted as possible and as soon as possible. To push your body to the next level, you have to change your weight training program and avoid getting stuck in the rut. Many people actually are in a plateau phase which they did not know of and in the end of the day, they would not get the sculpted body that they wanted because their muscles are just not responding to their weight training plan anymore.

For muscles to respond and get optimum results, they need to be exercised extra hard and kept on guessing. There for, for change, it is recommended that high intensity technique is applied once a while to give the muscle a shock.

One of the best ways to shock the muscle is by using this weight training routine, which uses a technique, called superset. Superset is a method where by 2 exercises for 2 opposing body part is done back to back without rest. Two exercises for one body part done back to back can also be used as a superset.

The purpose of using this technique is to actually keep the intensity high and to keep the heart rate high as well. For example, if we use a chest and back superset exercise, the back muscle is at rest while the chest muscle is worked. When its time to work the back muscle, the chest muscle is at rest and have time to recover and by the time the chest muscle is worked again, it would already recovered.

For superset with the same muscle group, the purpose is to really exhaust the muscle group and kick the stubborn muscle so that it will grow! A good example is to do a bench press followed by a chest dumbbell flyes. Chest dumbbell flyes is an isolation exercise and it will really compliment the bench press, which is a compound exercise. Again, this will keep your heart rate high in the fat burning mode and shock the muscle.

Check Out This Free Weight Training Routine To Get A Sculpted Body For Chest And Back

1. Chin ups superset with Bench Press
2. Bent over barbell rows superset with push ups till failure
3. Seated cable rows superset with chest cable flyes
4. Close grip pull downs superset with dips till failure

Check Out This Free Weight Training Routine To Get A Sculpted Body For Biceps And Triceps

1. Standing bicep curls with close grip push ups
2. Seated 45 degree dumbbell biceps curls with standing triceps push down
3. Standing cable bicep curls with standing triceps rope extensions
4. Standing bicep hammer curls with bent over triceps kickback

Check Out This Free Weight Training Routine To Get A Sculpted Body For Quads And Hamstrings

1. Seated leg extensions with seated hamstrings curls
2. Leg press with straight leg dead lifts.

Check Out This Free Weight Training Routine To Get A Sculpted Body For Shoulders

1. Dumbbell shoulder press with standing lateral raises.
2. Bent over rear delt reverse raises with barbell upright rows
3. Standing dumbbell front raises and shrugs

The repetition range you should be doing is around ten to twelve. If you go above that chances are you may puke because its so intense! Choose moderate heavy weights and include this workout at least once to twice a month.

Chung Leong Yu
http://www.articlesbase.com/fitness-articles/free-weight-training-routine-to-get-a-sculpted-body-106168.html

Weight Training Workout

Serious bodybuilders know the importance of gaining muscle mass and some will do anything to get the upper edge including a few who may even go the illegal and unsafe route of steroids. Most conscientious bodybuilders who wish to avoid the health dangers of steroids, not to mention the stigma attached to the unfair and illegal use of these substances can still appreciate the benefits that legal bodybuilding supplements can give them. While there are many bodybuilding supplements available, they can be broken down into four major categories including proteins or amino acids, multivitamins, creatine based supplements, and supplements engineered to accomplish specific goals. It is the goal of this article to further discuss each type of supplement and how they may benefit a bodybuilder.

Proteins are the energy source needed for growing muscle and amino acids are the building blocks of the proteins. Proteins are often used by bodybuilders and because they occur naturally in nature, they are completely safe for human consumption. In order to build muscle, bodybuilder must supply their body with the basic building blocks needed to feed new tissue growth. Protein is this necessary building block and without it muscle tissue would break down instead of grow. The protein supplements can be broken down into four categories with each having different absorption rates and uses. Whey proteins break down quickly and therefore are best taken after a workout when the body is deep into the muscle building state. Casein proteins absorb slowly and our best taken before bed. Egg-based and Soy based proteins have a medium absorption rate and can be taken at any time and while the soy based proteins are not as effective in bodybuilding, they are considered to have additional health benefits for women. Some companies that manufacture protein supplements blend all four proteins together.

Multivitamins are supplements that combine the essential vitamins and minerals that all human beings need. While anybody can benefit from multivitamins, bodybuilders need them more than the average person due to the fact that they are continuously breaking down tissue in order to build new muscle mass. While there are many companies that produce multivitamins, if you are growing muscle mass, it is best to choose a product specifically engineered with a bodybuilder in mind. A word of caution is needed here because although vitamins and minerals do occur naturally, taking more then the recommended dosage can result in dangerous and toxic effects.

Creatine based supplements work to increase muscle mass and add extra energy during a workout. While Creatine is naturally occurring in the body and considered to be safe and effective, it has developed a somewhat negative reputation in the past. More recently creatine is becoming more accepted in the body building world and scientific evidence suggest that it is useful for any bodybuilder who wishes to increase muscle mass and energy levels. This supplement comes in capsules, liquid, and powder forms and is often combined with protein supplements for enhanced effect. While many bodybuilders suggest that creatine is not absolutely necessary, a lot of serious athletes have begun using this substance in combination with other supplements for increased muscle growth.

There are a great number of bodybuilding supplements available, many of which have been engineered for specific needs. While it is beyond the scope of this article to discuss each and every one I will talk about some of the more popular. Glutamine is an amino acid found in muscle tissue and works to prevent muscle breakdown and helps increase the speed of recovery. Supplements such as natural testosterone boosters work to gain muscle and enhance mood while anabolic flavones are non hormonal flavones that increase protein absorbtion and work well when mixed with protein. Nitic oxide is also a naturally occurring supplement and works to increase blood flow while the ZMA mineral formula is said to increase anabolic levels and elevate testosterone levels. Most of the engineered supplements are quite new and have been in development for only about the past 8 years.

With all the bodybuilding supplements available it can be extremely difficult for someone to decide what works best for them and what works will ultimately depend on what your goals as a bodybuilder are, what type of a workout schedule you use, and how much muscle mass you wish to gain. There is no set in stone program that works for everyone with each individual having different needs. Hopefully this article will give you an idea of what is available and what may work for you.

Rick Churchill
http://www.articlesbase.com/fitness-articles/bodybuilders-do-supplements-for-building-muscle-actually-work-128382.html

Muscle Building

Are Your Workout Routines Right for You?

So you’re pushing up 200lbs over your head during a military press and this young little hottie jamming with her video ipod walks by and gives you the once over. You notice her eyes kind of “stall” at your mid-section. You want to smile and say hello but you’d probably drop that weight on your head and put yourself in the hospital……so you try to squeak out a “hi” but it just turns out to be a REALLY LOUD grunt. Damn, better luck next time.

What if that girl was the one that was going to bring you happiness and joy. You know, the one who wanted to wash your skid-mark underwear? The one who likes it when you come home REALLY late from a night with your “drinking buddies” and throw up in bed. The one who thinks it’s cute when you stare at other women? How could you avoid these types of problems?

Well, let’s start with the obvious….is that workout routine the right one for you? What if it’s not…..you just grunted at your best friend’s future sex puppet and you weren’t even doing anything good for yourself! Oh, I didn’t tell you that he started to crack jokes about your loud grunt to her, one thing leads to the next and now he is getting more exercise inside the house than outside? Yea, forgot that little tid-bit. What’s up with that! So, obviously, having the proper workout for your specific goals is VERY important. How do you know your workout is on track with your goals? Well, first of all you’ve got to have a goal. Second you’ve got to find some workout routines. Yes, I said workout routines…that’s plural. You can’t just have one workout routine from the time you’re 20 until the time you’re 80……you’ll be lifting the same weight everyday and never change a damn thing.

Let’s start with a goal. Since most guys want to get bigger, I’ll slap out a couple of simple rules for that. The simple rules are: low reps, high weights to build size. That’s great, you hear that everywhere, but what the hell does that mean? That means if you want to build the size of the muscle, you should be lifting weight that is REALLY tough that last THREE reps. Make those last three impossible. Muhammad Ali once was asked “How many sit-ups do you do in a day?” His response was “I don’t know, I only start counting when it hurts”. What he is trying to say is, you are breaking down muscle when you are feeling it. You are making progress when you can’t make any more progress! Make it hurt. Make the last three hurt. By the way, low reps means you stay in a range from 6-10. Some say never go over 8, but if you are having trouble getting to 6, and the next weight is too light, make 10 hurt.

Sweet, we have the reps down, how about the sets? How many times should you do the same exercise? Three to four sets is a good amount. I recommend doing two sets, then switching exercises to get in three-four difference exercises each workout. Hit the muscle from all different angles. Narrow, regular, wide and super-wide grips….on whatever you are doing. Find different angles for whatever you are doing.

How about the length of time in between the workouts? Well, if you’re looking to put some muscle on, you should be waiting AT LEAST 7-8 days in between workout routines for a specific body part. Some suggest even longer like 10-12 days. The reason for this is, if you are working the muscle again too soon, you will be trying to break it down when it’s trying to build back up.

What about getting lean? So you’re a bit on the chunky side. You like to roll up your hot dog with a meat-bun. You’re thinking you can’t really see Mr. Johnson all that well anymore? Well, my friend, you are at the opposite end of the spectrum, and you’re going to need to start lowering the weight, and increasing your reps. If you REALLY can’t see Mr. Johnson anymore, you’re going to have to do more than just workout. So, you still want to make those last three reps burn. Make them hurt. Make them make YOU scream for Mama. Get the pain, get the gain. Low weight, high reps, and you’ll get that definition like Brad Pitt.

How about the length of time in between workout routines to get ripped and super-fit? Every other day. Do a “whole-body” workout three days per week. You’ll be sore, on Wednesday from Monday’s workout, but you’ll be burning major calories and keeping those muscles lean and mean. No bulking here. You’ll be breaking the muscle down before it has time to build back up.

So, I know what you’re asking. “Where do I get workout routines!” Well, you go to a gym and ask all the guys with big muscles and little packages to “Give me your workout routines or the protein shake gets it!”, or, you could go to the library (I know, why the hell would you do that when you have Google and http://Digg.com?) and check out a bunch of “bodybuilding” books and articles OR you could just check out http://SUPER-FIT.COM and get an endless supply of workout routines that you can download onto your MP3 player, Ipod or Video Ipod, that way you don’t have to do any of the work, and you know that you are getting quality workout routines that are doing the job that you want them to do. Now you have time to get your own sex-puppet.

Al Parker, MD
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/workout-routines-105797.html

Weight Training Workout

I have recently started building muscle on a high protein diet. This involves eating meat, but I have been thinking about becoming a vegetarian or vegan. Is there anyone here who manages to balance a meat free lifestyle with a very muscular physique?
It is possible. You’ll just have to get your protein from a different source. Beans are a good source of protein. You can also buy protein shakes, powders and bars.

Muscle Building

“The Truth About Building Muscle” by Sean Nalowanyj is a common sense fitness and nutrition program that shows you how to build muscle mass, increase strength and burn off excess body fat.

The muscle-building program is based on the law of progressive overload and shows you how to use more weight with more repetitions to build strength as quickly as possible. By cycling a specific series of weight lifting exercises and following a sensible nutritional routine, you can build ripped muscles without the use of nutritional supplements, a personal trainer, high tech equipment or illegal drugs.

Some of the secrets “The Truth About Muscle Building” will reveal include:

* The way to build strong, ripped muscles in just 2 hours and 45 minutes each week.
* Why gaining strength is the single most important factor for gaining muscle.
* The reason why popular terms such as “the burn” and “pump” really don’t work.
* How to calculate your own perfect diet based on your goals, along with the exact amounts of carbohydrates, protein, water and fats to maximize your ability to build muscle.
* The secret of how to block out muscle pain for a completely beneficial workout every time.
* How to keep your body in a constant anabolic state to build muscle 24 hours a day.
* The proper techniques and cycling for weight training routines.
* Effective, 15 minute cardio workouts that burn fat without losing muscle.
* How you can use the critical three hours after you workout to propel weight gain.
* Unbiased reviews of 20 of the leading body-building supplements.

All of these techniques are outlined in everyday language that is easy to understand. The 249 page eBook also comes with 7 supplemental bonus gifts, which make it easier for you to develop your fitness and nutritional routine based upon your personal goals:

* 26 Week Workout Plan and Printable Log Book;
* Full Exercise Database featuring full motion video of over 100 of the most effective weight lifting exercises;
* Three months of personal, one-on-one email support with 24 hour responses from Sean himself;
* Online Muscle Building Video Lesson Series;
* “The Top 12 Mistakes Revealed”, an MP3 audio course;
* MGT Progress Tracker 6000, a 3 month membership to a software that you can use to track every detail of your individual muscle building program;
* Lifetime ebook updates.

So if you’re looking to build muscle mass and strength, you might want to consider trying “The Truth About Building Muscle.”

This unique weight lifting and nutritional program allows you to customize a program to build strong muscles and burn fat without supplements, subscriptions or a personal trainer. The program features outstanding support, including personalized online advice from its creator, at a realistic price.

The result is incredible muscle growth and strength that you didn’t even know was possible.

Ryan Cote
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/build-muscle-mass-and-strength-the-truth-about-building-muscle-133651.html

Muscle Building