Hey, what’s up?  Sorry, I haven’t had time to post lately as I am so busy trading. I got into forex trading a couple years ago and it’s a great way to make a living. Boring for sure, but boring is good! It pays the bills and I only work a few hours a day.

It was a ton of work though to learn how to be a successful trader and for sure a lot of stress and anxiety. I decided after a few friend’s requests to open up a live profitable trading signals room soon, so busy on that. I still make time to work out of course, but this blog might be a bit quiet for now.. Happy Beefing up!!

Hey Guys,

If you like to go on really long vacations like me then you know if you’re not careful you could lose most of your muscles while you’re gone. Usually there is a gym nearby but if you’re in remote places it can be tough.  Check out the shot of my jungalow in thailand, nice digs =)

Here are 4 exercises you can do from pretty much anywhere:

Push Ups - you know em, you love em , 50 is a nice number =)

Chin Ups - (aka pull ups), find a bar somewhere or bring a portable one that can fit in any doorway, check out this guy Todd Mei, he has the world record for pull-ups, did 700 in a hour!!! How many people at home right now can’t even do 20 and this guy does 700… Wow.

Triceps with a Chair & Couch - not sure the official name on this but have a chair 4 feet away from your couch, your hands are behind your back on the edge of the chair and your feet are on the couch, bring your butt down towards the floor and then back to chair level, if too easy put some weights on your lap.

Ab Killer - laying on your back with your
legs up and your head and arms up

I would like to ponder a bit in the nutritional advice that so many people that want to gain muscles wonder about. How important is the food we eat for our ability to build muscles?

From my point of view it is very important. Muscles are built by proteins and therefore you need a certain amount of this for the body to be able to build muscle tissue. There are some essential amino acids that you only can get from the food and that is necessary for many of the bodies function. You can also choose to eat food that is rich in zinc to ensure that you have a good testosterone level. Testosterone is the main growth hormone for muscles in the body and you want to keep your levels high if you want to gain muscles fast.

How then are you supposed to eat to build muscles the way you want?

This is something that can be quite individual. We all have different bodies and also different desires of what we want to achieve. For a hard-gainer, someone who is skinny and finds it difficult to gain muscles it is important to eat a lot. For those guys (and girls in some cases) it’s about training smart and eating good and plentifully.

For those that are a bit flabby, and who wishes to actually transform some of that fat to muscles you have to take quite a different approach, both to your diet and your training. If you are a bit overweight it might be a good idea to actually add a bit of cardio-vascular training into your schedule since this helps to burn the fat. This will not give you muscles though so it is important that you also spend time lifting weights.

If this describes you, you still want to eat a lot of calories – after all this is essential if you are going to gain muscles. However, you want to make sure that you eat good calories. Lots of proteins and less fat and mono-carbohydrates (as in sugar, white rice and bread).

When you consider that your body is unique and that it needs to be treated thereafter you can find a diet that is perfect for you. You can consult a dietitian or even a personal trainer and ask for advice if you are uncertain. Otherwise, use common sense, make sure you eat a varied diet with lots of vegetables and fruits and you can be sure you get all the vitamins and minerals that is necessary to have a healthy body.

After you’ve been doing bodybuilding and weight lifting for quite some time you’ll gather your favorite exercises. You begin to figure out which ones does the best job and gives the best workout for your muscles. I have done bodybuilding for many years and I’ve gone through and tried a lot of different exercises and in this way found out what works. If you’re new to weight lifting you can be grateful that there are so many that has done the work before you and that are willing to share their knowledge with you.

So, to the list of the exercises I’ve found to be the most efficient(however, you want to use some more of course to ensure that all your muscles get trained properly);

• The squat
• Dead lift
• Bench press with Dumbbells
• Hanging Leg Raises
• Chin ups
• Glute Hamstring rise
  
• Lying Back Extension
• Military Press
• Leg Thrust
• Bicep curls

These are all exercises I do regularly and that I’ve found really makes my muscles grow the most. However, you want do some exercises for your calves and your neck as well while you’re at it.

What most bodybuilder finds after training for many years is that you don’t need to have a huge number of exercises to alternate between. It’s often more efficient to have a few killer ones that you’re getting really good at performing. In this way you’ll ensure that you keep track of your progress and that you’re increasing the weights properly over time.

More important than to have many different exercises is to know the best way to perform the ones you already do. I’ve seen so many people doing a lot of the more common muscle building exercises in ways that most likely won’t give them the results they’re after. If you really want to gain big muscles you’re better off getting a good personal trainer that can show you how to go about it. Or, in some cases even better, buy yourself a proper book with good instructions that can guide you to do the exercises in the best way. This will most likely ensure that you’ll be able to gain the muscles you’re after.

Here I’m going to talk a bit about favorite exercises. After we’ve done bodybuilding for a while we naturally get our favorites that we chose to alternate between. Personally, I like to have quite a lot of variation in my training, since this means that all of my muscle groups will be worked out properly.

In the beginning when we start going to the gym, you might prefer just to have a handful of exercises and become familiar and comfortable doing them. After all, you want to perform each exercise in the right way so that you don’t risk any torn or damaged muscles. This is why it can be so helpful to have a personal trainer too with you in the beginning. Of course, having a personal trainer gives you a lot more motivation as well which can be extremely helpful when we’re starting out.

Some people prefer to try out a whole range of different exercises right of the bat and in this way, find those that they prefer.

This is nothing I recommend, even though I know that some people like the variety and feels it makes the training more fun and entertaining. But, if you want to really get the most out of your training your better off doing fewer exercises and to do them properly. As time goes by and you get more experienced, you’ll be able to add more specific exercises.

The advantage of having only a few exercises in the beginning is that you’ll learn how to do each one of them better and it’s also easier to keep track of your progress. If you have a lot of different exercises you might forget how much you were lifting last time and you might not be able to know how much more you should add to your weights etc. A training log, which is something I highly recommend, easily takes care of this issue.

It’s best is to see your training as a learning curve. Allow it to unfold and don’t expect to be a master straight away. Luckily there are lots of people that have more experience than you and those are the ones you want to learn from.

My favorite exercises came to me with time and a lot of them I got recommended by my personal trainer and others around me who knew more than me. Then I integrated them into my training routine and found out how it suited me to work with them. Experiment and let the process come naturally and you’ll do great.

muscles excercise

In this blog post I am going to talk a bit more about the mental aspects considering getting the body of your desire. This is something that I’ve mentioned before but it is so important I’d like to spend some more time on the subject.

To have your mind focused on your goal and to really know that you can do it is essential if you are going to be able to gain muscles. Some people might say that if you just go to the gym a certain amount of days each week and eat food in a specific way, you’ll be able to get the results you are seeking. Even though this is important too, of course, we all know that some of us have to work much harder for the same results. This can, on one level, be explained by the simple fact that different bodies have different ways of operating and that some just have it come harder to them than others.

However, this is pretty discouraging news if you are someone that have a strong desire to bulk up yet believe that you fit into the hard-gainer category. Good news is that this is only true on this level, nothing in life is cut in stone. Our lives are, as we know, always changing and we actually have the ability to create a whole new set of circumstances in our lives, deliberately.

On a different level it is obvious that you’re believes form your reality and that those believes can be changed. It is also clear that unless you change your believes you have to act within the frames, or the paradigm of your own believes if you are going to reach the goals you desire.

It can be very helpful if you are on the path towards getting your dream body to actually begin to observe what the quality of your thoughts are about the subject muscle gain. By taking this mental part into consideration, by changing your interpretation, your believes and your framing of things you could in fact have your training become something that is both fun and much easier than you thought it could be.

It is great to have a coach on your side that can remind you that you can do it and guide you into a more positive state of mind. A personal trainer can be a great helper in this and is something I recommend warmly.

Here I am going to give you a sample of some of my favorite exercises that can be performed in your own house.

In general, it is usually more efficient to actually go to the gym. That at least is my experience; if you decide to only do your training at home it does take a bit more willpower and people doing that tend to miss out more than those going to the gym. However, it can be a good idea to alternate and it’s great to have a few easy exercises that you can do without the need of any equipment

Exercises for the abdomen can easily be done at home and one of my favorites is plank. You start off on all four, move your feet back and lower your body so that it’s supported by the elbows. Make sure your body is completely straight, as a plank, and stay in that position for as long as possible. Start off with 10 reps and increase with time. This exercise trains the whole abdominal area.

Another great exercise is the pushup. It gives your chest and arms a good workout. It’s so simply yet highly efficient, and works so many parts of your body. Make it a routine to do pushups at least two days a week. You can start off by doing 3 sets with 10 reps in each and just with your body weight. When your muscles grow and you become stronger you can increase the weight by putting weights around your waist or on your back. The pushup is also great since you can do it with your arms wide apart or together and in this way work on different muscle groups.

A great exercise for the hamstring is the glute hamstring rise. In this exercise, you kneel down and lock you heals under something that doesn’t move for example a couch or a bed. Then simply lower your body down towards the ground slowly and then back up to the starting position. In the beginning you might not be able to go all the way to the ground but with a bit of practice you can gain super strong hamstring muscles.

These are a few powerful exercises that you can do at any time and that will add to your muscle mass quickly. Let it become a routine for you to do various exercises when you have some spare time and you will soon see the results you are seeking. To make your training part of your lifestyle is essential if you want to gain big muscles.

A lot of people have so many things going on in their lives that it might seem a bit difficult to fit the training into their routine. This might become an excuse for some to lag behind and skip sessions at the gym and in this way delay the results they want to see.

Sure, if you work many hours every day, five days a week and after that have other things in your life to take care of it can be easy to drop the training. And sure, there has to be a balance and if there is one week that is extra busy, perhaps you can allow yourself a break. However, if you are going for fast muscle gain and a strong muscular body you wouldn’t want to make that into a habit.

I can ensure you that after the first few months(for some lucky ones it might only take weeks) you won’t even need to look for ways to fit your training into your schedule since it by then will be a natural part of your lifestyle. Then you will know when it is the best time for you to go to the gym. Maybe you like to kick off you day with a session – it can be a great way to begin the day and you will probably feel that you have more energy also at work, if you make that into a habit.

Or you find that a break at lunchtime is the best time for you to have your muscle gain session. It can feel great, especially if you have a job where you sit still a lot, maybe in front of the computer, to do something physical as a break.

Some people find that they prefer to do their training straight after work, then the training session becomes a great way to shift your energy and release the working day. Find what works for you and remember that it takes a while to create a habit but once you have it, it is usually pretty easy to maintain.

Personally, I have found that I enjoy training straight after work on weekdays and on the weekends, when I have time off, I prefer to start the day with a session at the gym. Find what works for you and the fewer excuses you have to put you training off, the faster you will be able to see your muscles grow.

There are loads of muscle building supplements on the market today, lots of protein powders and other fuels that promises that they can make your muscle grow much faster. The question some might ask themselves are; how much protein do we really need to feed our body with to gain muscles? Is it perhaps enough with the amount we get from a regular diet?

So, what’s the answer? Well, muscles are built up by protein to the main part and it seems logical, when you know that, that an increase of protein should be necessary when you want to expand and grow the muscle mass you have. So certainly, you do need protein to increase your muscle mass. Research has found that people that do a lot of exercise – may it be weight lifting or cardiovascular training – does have an increased protein metabolism and might because of this need up to twice the amount of what the average person needs.

The amount that is recommended for weight lifters is somewhere between 1.2 and 1.8 g/kg ( somewhere between 0.7 and 0.9g/pound). The amount you will need is of course individual and depending on a lot of different factors. I would recommend that you start with the lower amount and if you feel that you don’t get the results you are looking for, increase it over time. However, it is smart to let the body get used to new conditions gradually and to double the amount of protein you eat from one day to another can make your body stressed.

So do you need protein powder or is it possible to get that amount of protein from your diet? For most diets, it is pretty easy. As a matter of fact, the average American citizen already eats about 50% more protein than the recommended daily amount so if you are on a meat and poultry diet you probably already have enough and by going to the gym you will make sure that it is transformed into muscles instead of something less desirable.

Here are a few examples of protein rich food:

*Most cuts of beef – 7 grams of protein per ounce

*Steak, 6 oz – 42 grams

*Chicken breast, 3.5 oz - 30 grams protein

*Most fish fillets or steaks are about 22 grams of protein for 3 ½ oz (100 grams) of cooked fish, or 6 grams per ounce

*Pork chop, average - 22 grams protein

*Egg, large - 6 grams protein

*Milk, 1 cup - 8 grams

*Most beans (black, pinto, lentils, etc) about 7-10 grams protein per half cup of cooked beans

*Pumpkin seeds, ¼ cup – 19 grams

*Other nuts and seeds, ¼ cup - between 5-10 g

As you can see, it is quite easy to get up to a decent amount of protein each day solely from your normal diet, perhaps with some small changes. Even for vegetarians it is pretty easy to eat protein rich food even though it might take a bit more planning.

However, I still find protein powder a great addition to your diet. One reason is that it is easy, you simply make your shake and you got a good amount of protein. It also has the benefit to have many of the essential amino acids that you need for your body, at least if it is a powder of good quality.

Another great thing about bodybuilding supplements are that you can have a pretty good idea of how much protein you’re getting from it. It is also good if you find that you eat pretty much the normal amount of protein(around 0.8g/kg or 36g/pound) and don’t have a desire to change your diet. By adding a few shakes each day you get that extra protein and don’t have to struggle to eat more if that would be an issue.

Lastly I want to give you the advice to listen to your body, check with it, feel how it feels and how it responds to both your diet and your training and you will easily find the way that works for you and your muscular body.