As a retailer I’m often asked by prospective purchasers which home gym on our site is the best. We’re often asked about the functionality, height restrictions, maximum weight capacity and a whole heap of other stuff but what amazes me is hardly any buyer ever asks the most important questions. If they did, they would know why I think that purchasing a Body Solid Home Gym is one of the best buys they could make.

Step 1:  Determine What Functionality You Want

First off, when looking for a home gym you need to determine what functionality you want. Some gyms offer great upper body weight training but lack a good leg press whereas others offer fantastic arm exercises but perhaps could do a better job with abs exercises.

Step 2:  Have a Budget

Secondly, you should always have a budget in mind. Know what is the maximum you can afford and never go above this; don’t let some sweet-talking sales rep convince you to buy a gym that is fifty percent more than the maximum price you had in mind when you began looking to buy. Working out and looking good is great but having a stress-free financial status is better.

Step 3:  Asking the Right Questions

Thirdly, don’t ask the sales rep questions like, ‘Is this a good gym?’ or ‘Which would you recommend?’ It’s not that the rep is going to give you a sales spiel and convince you to buy the most expensive item in the store or the one that gives him the best commission. It’s just that questions like this are subjective. The rep might think that Powertec home gyms are the best thing since sliced bread but, I guarantee if you were to speak to another rep at another store he would probably disagree and tell you that Body Solid or BodyCraft are the best.

Instead stick to questions such as, what stations you get, what is the maximum weight capacity of the leg press, can more weight be added to the weight stack etc. Questions like this will better help you decide if the gym is right for you.

The following two questions are the most important that should be asked before you make your purchase but it amazes me how few ask them.

What is the warranty?

Generally speaking: the better the home gym, the better the warranty. Some manufacturers are now offering a lifetime residential warranty on the entire gym to the original purchaser. So, no matter what breaks or wears out, be it a pulley cable, bearings or vinyl covers, the company will replace it. A warranty like this is pure gold. It shows that the manufacturer stands behind its products and backs it up with an incredible warranty.

What is the manufacturer’s customer care like?

Ask the rep how any issues are resolved. In most cases any issues are usually dealt with directly by the manufacturer. Does the company offer a money back guarantee? How fast will replacement parts be shipped out? If you have an issue with the gym fifteen years after you’ve bought it, will the company have replacement parts?

When searching for the best home gym things like build-quality, functionality and price are important. But, as a retailer and you, as the buyer, should place even more importance on warranty and customer care.

So, if I’m ever asked ‘what is the best home gym’ or ‘which would I recommend’ I always talk about the these two aspects of buying a home gym. And, it’s also why I point out that buying either a BodyCraft or Body Solid home gym is one of the best decisions a buyer could make. Both companies take pride in their products and their customer service.

On occasions, things do go awry. Sometimes, certain parts are found to be missing when the gym is delivered or something is found to be defective. When this happens both myself and my customers want the problem sorted out as soon as possible.

Body Solid has never let me down yet when it comes to customer service and as a retailer this is exactly what I want.

I’m not saying that Body Solid supplies the best home gym but from the brands that I retail both BodyCraft and Body Solid are certainly my strongest recommendations.

But, wherever you may purchase your home gym and whichever brand the two most important questions you must always ask are about warranty and customer service. And, make sure you understand and are satisfied with the answers.

Robert Mangan is the owner of www.fitnessLyceum.com an online retailer of fitness equipment like the Body Solid home gym and where customer care is of paramount importance. The company retails America’s best brands at the lowest price possible.

Thank You

Thank you Alan.

You know…. it wasn’t a crazy fitness article that prompted me to really discuss the meal frequency topic you commented on.  It was a slew of e-mails from “fitness professionals” in my own industry that are very well versed in using the word as a sword.  They know how to write, to stir up controversy and sell.  I can’t possibly pay attention to all the B.S. that goes on but this one got my goat if you will.  It wasn’t just twisting the truth it was flat out pure unadulterated bullshit and being the NoBull guy, I had enough.

Normally I pay little attention to these 3rd tier bloggers.  They waste my time with their “special hand position” for 456% more muscle growth and other useless advice.  But I get it.  In order to keep selling, you’ve got to take old school concepts, twist them up and make them new.

My #1 goal has always been to Teach You How to Learn.  Not tell you what to do and bait you into the next big thing.  I want you to comprehend on your own, have resources and then explore and develop your own fitness plans based on fundamentals.  To ask questions, to debate and when you decide on what to do.  Ultimately, the quest to get fit can be done is many ways and it should be your choice.

I’m not here to tell you what to do. 

I’m here to help, give pointers, to mention resources and push you out of the nest.

And more importantly, don’t believe everything you read.  Do some research first.  You may be surprised at what you uncover.

Marc David – CPT
“The NoBull Muscle Guy”
Author of NoBull Bodybuilding

Photo Credit: Ashley Dean

Whether you work at an office or out in the field, it’s important to stay active throughout the work day. How do you do this when you’re working, you might ask? Glad you inquired. Here are 10 easy workout moves to get the heart pumping a little on the job.

Tricep Dips

Getting restless at your cubicle and have an itch to feel the burn in your arms? This move’s for you! Slide your chair back a bit away from your desk, put your hands just about under your butt, and scooch forward off your chair. Keep your legs straight on the floor in front of you and slowly lower your body down, bending your arms at the elbows behind you. Use your tricep muscles!

Do 3 rounds of 10 repetitions, and be prepared to burn for the rest of the afternoon.

Wall Sits

Remember the good ‘ole days back in gym class of doing wall sits? The best part of this exercise is that you can do it anytime, anywhere no matter what attire you may be wearing. Just lean up against a wall, slide down until your knees are at a 90-degree angle, the tops of your legs parallel to the ground, and hold.

You’ll feel the burn after a good 10 seconds of wall sits, so start small and gradually increase the time you’re down there. For an extra little workout, put your arms out straight in front of you when you’re holding. Great for thighs and shoulders, then!

Exercise Ball

Now don’t go rolling around all over your office if you decide to bring in an exercise ball. Just use it in place of your regular desk chair and you have a built-in abdominal workout right at your desk!

Your body will adjust to sitting on an exercise ball instead of a desk chair by contracting the abs and keeping the back straight to maintain balance. You’ll improve your posture and get an all-day ab workout just like that.

Leg Lifts

This move should work your abs and upper thighs if done properly. Sit straight up in your chair, tuck your abs in, and lift the right leg up. Really tighten your abs to then lift the leg completely off the chair, keeping it straight. Hold for 10 seconds, then release.

4 sets of 3 repetitions of 10 second holds ought to do for this exercise – two sets on each leg, alternating legs with each set. You’ll really start to feel it in your lower abdominals after the first set!

Chair Squats

Another leg exercise (leg exercises are the best because the largest muscles in the body are found in the tops of your legs, so they use the most oxygen, thereby getting the blood really pumping even if you’re not breaking a sweat). Start by sitting in your desk chair with your feet about shoulder width apart, toes pointing forward. Slowly use your quadriceps to lift your body slightly off the chair, hold there for 10 seconds, then stand all the way up.

Sit back down slowly and repeat. The key here will be slow and steady movements to maximize the effect of the hold in the squat position. For these, try 3 sets of 8 repetitions of 10-second holds.

Bicep Curls

For this you’ll need some “props.” If you have an office to yourself, it’s not a bad idea to keep a small dumbbell or two nearby for the impromptu mini office workout. Of if you prefer, just fill up a large water bottle all the way with water (this trick can double for hydration and weight lifting!), hold it in your hand with your arm straight out in front of you, palm facing up, and slowly lift the bottle or weight toward your shoulder.

Make sure you’re really contracting the bicep muscle during this exercise, especially if you don’t have a very heavy weight. Try 3 sets of 12 repetitions for this one.

Desk Push Ups

These are exactly as they sound. You stand up, place your hands about shoulder width apart flat on your desk, and stretch your legs out straight behind you, using your arms to support your body weight. Slowly lower and raise your body using only your arms.

These are like the lame man’s excuse for push ups, so if you can’t do about 5 sets of 15 of these, quit while you’re ahead, because you’re never going to be in shape. Just kidding – try doing a max interval for this exercise. Take 1 minute and see how many push ups you can do. Record your number, and see if you can’t beat it the next day and the next day.

Walking Lunges

Take a quick walk around your office, but with every step you take, lower your back knee to the ground into a lunge position, keeping your front knee behind your ankle. Lunges can be dangerous if performed incorrectly, so make sure you’re paying attention to your form as you do these.

Do several laps around the office like this until you feel so tired that you can’t do anymore. That should be a good enough workout for you!

Butt Clenches

Don’t want anyone to see you working out at work? Try doing some butt clenches – they’re not as noticeable as some of these other exercises and you can do them all day long for a nice booty, if you wish. Just clench up your buttocks muscles, hold for 10 seconds, then slowly release. Repeat as many times as you want, but try to aim for at least 5 sets of 10.

Go For A Walk

Possibly the most simple and straight-forward exercise idea for the office, going for a walk has so many great benefits for your body. First, the fresh air is a perfect break for your lungs after being cooped up in an office for any amount of time. Secondly, walking gets the blood pumping to your entire body, which can actually help increase your energy levels and keep you more alert at work.

Doctors recommend taking 10,000 steps a day, which can be almost 5 miles. This may sound like a lot, but buy a pedometer and start keeping track of your steps and you’ll be surprised at how many you’re already taking. Just increase it by making more of an effort to get up and get moving while you’re at work. Instead of emailing someone two offices over, walk over to talk to them. Park in the farthest spot you can find in the parking lot, or even walk to work. Opt for the stairs instead of the elevator. These are all old tricks that are tried and true and really work to help get your energy levels back up and get you in better shape, even when you’re stuck at the office.

Ashley Dean is a freelance writer for many health and wellness publications. She runs her own shoe store specializing in Wolverine work boots, but ranging in selection from athletic shoes to casual to dressy. She always makes sure to throw a pair on during her lunch break and hit the road for a brisk walk!

Most people think the way to gain weight fast is through high fat food.  While this will help you gain weight, it will bring you fat and not the lean muscle you crave.  To build lean muscle weight you have to take a two-step approach.  First eat good food then exercise.  Before long, you are bound to see the healthy results you are looking for.

Top Five Foods for Healthy Weight Gain

1. Vegetables:  Choose starchy vegetables such as potatoes, corn, carrots, or peas. These have more calories per serving than less starchy vegetables. Less starchy vegetables include green beans, broccoli and zucchini. A serving of vegetables is one cup of raw, leafy vegetables or one-half cup of cooked or chopped raw vegetables. Add margarine, almonds and cheese such as mozzarella for extra calories. Stir-frying vegetables with canola or olive oil will also add extra calories and healthy fats.
2. Breads and Cereals: Choose heavy breads such as multigrain, honey bran, rye and pumpernickel instead of lighter breads such as white bread. The healthiest breads have plenty of whole grains; learn to read the labels when shopping to see if you are buying brown colored white bread or true whole grain bread. Add peanut butter, margarine, jam, or honey for extra calories. Healthy cereals that are packed with whole grain and are low in sugar are healthy choices and have more calories per serving than puffed rice or corn flakes. The serving size of a cereal is listed on the food label. You can also add more calories to cereals by adding nuts, raisins and other fruits.
3. Meats: Cook chicken or fish in a canola or olive oil. Red meats such as beef, pork, and lamb have more calories but they also have more saturated fat. Saturated fat is a type of fat that may increase blood cholesterol. When you eat red meats, choose leaner cuts. Some examples of lean cuts of red meat are round or sirloin steak, ground round, fresh or boiled ham, or center loin chop.
4. Fruits: Bananas, pineapple, mangos, prunes, raisins, dates and dried fruit have more calories per serving than watery fruits. Some examples of watery fruits are watermelon, oranges, apples, lemons and peaches.
5. Beans and legumes: Lentils, lima beans, chili beans, bean burritos and other dried beans are high in calories. These foods are good choices because they also provide carbohydrates, a healthy dose of fiber, and protein but are low in fat.

Top Five Exercises Tips for Healthy Weight Gain

1. To build muscle mass for weight gain, lift hard for a short, intense period of time and then take time to recover until the next workout. You should focus on what are considered “big exercises” such as, bench press, bent-over rows, squats, chin-ups and dead lifts. Focus your exercise on many muscle groups but also focus on the muscles that are easiest to build up. You should also increase your strength by adding a small amount of weight each workout. If you aim to build strength steadily, size will follow. If you are uncertain what to do and how to do these exercises or employ this technique, you could get help from a professional trainer or someone at the gym with experience. Don’t be afraid to ask for help! Doing these exercises wrong could cause injury.
2. Some exercise will help to gain weight like weight training where extra muscle mass adds to the body weight.  Aerobic exercise like running and cycling will burn calories and without consuming extra calories you will lose weight.  Weight training raises your metabolic rate, so you will require more calories daily to maintain any weight gained through added muscle.
3. To build muscle mass for weight gain, you need to train heavy free weights. A heavy weight is one that is challenging for you. This means that it could be 5 lbs if you have never lifted a weight in your life. You don’t want to injure yourself, so challenge your muscles, but don’t push too hard.  To determine if a weigh is challenging, try the following: complete 8-12 reps and if your muscles temporarily fail after the reps, you are using the right weight. Heavy weights will stimulate more muscle fibers, and therefore more growth, than lighter weights; this leads to additional muscle stimulation and additional muscle growth.
4. There are some exercises you can do that don’t include heavy weights.  Gaining weight with exercise works best when you target the larger muscle groups for growth.  Push-ups are excellent for adding weight to the upper body. Lunges and squats work best for the thighs while standing heel raises are highly effective for building the calves; this works best on a step. Try crunches for the abs, and pull ups for the arms and back. All these exercises can add weight with muscle mass when combined with an appropriate weight gain diet if you don’t have regular access to free weights.
5. When you are weight training often to gain weight, the exercise puts a strain on your body. Make sure that you rest and recuperation after every workout. If you over train you are not giving your muscles enough time to repair which will make your next workout less effective. You could also injure yourself. Make sure that you approach your weight gain and your muscle gain in a paced and balanced approach and you are sure to have the results you want.

NutraPlanet.com offers a wide variety of nutritional bodybuilding supplements and fat burners for those looking to stay in shape and who are training professionally. Buy discount N.O. Xplode pre-gym shakes as well as cheap whey protein products, vitamins, weight loss products, and more online.

A question most often asked by those who are just getting started in bodybuilding, especially those who are teenagers, is which supplements are best for gaining weight quickly and for bulking up. Assuming that all of the rules that are presented in my Weight Gain And Bulking Up Rules For The Natural Bodybuilder article, are being followed, then the supplements presented below will be of great help to those who are looking to gain weight and bulk up as quickly as possible.

1. Weight Gainers

Weight gainers are protein shakes whose protein source consists mainly of whey proteins (mostly concentrate with some isolate as well). Some also include other proteins such as milk proteins and/or egg. These products have a high carbohydrate content; typically in the form of maltodextrin (a high glycemic complex carb) and fructose (simple sugar originating from fruits). For gaining weight they are very useful since they help you get in the amount of quality calories required to gain quality muscle.

2. Spectrum Flaxseed Oil

Flaxseed oil is a polyunsaturated oil that is high in the Omega 3 essential fatty acids (EFAs); one of the two essential fats that the body needs. “Essential” means that the body cannot produce it on its own and therefore must be obtained from diet. The other kind of EFAs the body needs are the Omega-6 oils. Flax oil is high on the Omega 3, which help improve immune system, energy production, insulin sensitivity, and hormonal production. In addition, 1 TBSP of Flax Oil adds 120 calories, which are useful for weight gain.

3. Multi Vitamins and Minerals Pak

Essential to insure that our body will operate at maximum efficiency. Why? Because on a very simplistic level, without vitamins and minerals it would be impossible to covert the food that we eat into hormones, tissues and energy. Vitamins enhance the actions of proteins that cause chemical reactions such as muscle building, fat burning and energy production. Minerals assure your brain receives the correct signals from the body, balance of fluids, muscular contractions and energy production as well as for the building of muscle and bones.

4. Creatine

Creatine is a metabolite produced in the body composed of three amino acids: l-methionine, l-arginine and l-glycine. Once it reaches the muscles, it is converted into phosphocreatine (creatine phosphate), which is then used to regenerate the muscles’ ultimate energy source, ATP (adenosine triphosphate) thus allowing for more repetitions at any given weight. Also, creatine increases lean body mass by pushing water inside the muscle cell and enlarging it. Best of all, these effects can be seen in as little as two weeks!

5. Glutamine

L-Glutamine the most abundant amino acid in muscle cells. It is released from the muscle during times of stress (such as hard weight training workouts) and dieting. This amino acid not only has been shown to be a great anti-catabolic agent (protects the muscle from the catabolic activities of the hormone cortisol), and to have immune system enhancing properties, but it also speeds up recuperation and helps to increase muscle volume.

6. Liver Tablets

These tablets are a great source of beef liver and bodybuilders have been using them for decades in order to obtain the values offered by beef proteins. The key thing for liver tablets to be useful is that they need to be manufactured with the highest grade of beef liver and they also need to be purified from the fat, cholesterol and other impurities that are contained in the liver. I like Beverly International’s Ultra 40 because they contain the highest grade of beef liver and have been purified and processed to contain forty-five times the nutritional amount of whole beef liver.

7. Testosterone Boosting Supplements

These are the type of supplements that you can take if you plan to compete, if you have the budget to try them, and only if you are older than 25 when the hormonal production begins to decline. Teenagers, in my opinion, should stay away from any supplement that has an effect on hormonal levels as there is no need to upset a teens delicate hormonal balance. Besides, teenagers produce approximately the equivalent of a 300 mg shot of testosterone per week anyway so there is no need to attempt to increase the production of testosterone in a system that is already producing at peak levels.

Hugo Rivera CFT, SPN, BSCE. is a lifetime natural bodybuilder, multi certified personal trainer, industry consultant and fitness expert.  Hugo is also author of the very popular “Body Re-Engineering” e-book, which teaches you how to gain lean muscle mass and get lean without drugs, or fancy expensive supplements, using the secrets he devised after many years of weight problems as a child.

We all know the importance of protein in building muscle.  The process of muscle building requires more than just protein.  To build muscle you have to eat a variety of protein, carbohydrates and healthy fats.  Here’s a list of 10 foods if your not eating, you should be eating to gain muscle.

1. Chicken

Chicken is the staple muscle-building food.  Chicken breast is packed with protein and one of the top foods you can eat to gain muscle.  You will find chicken in every bodybuilders menu.  Even if your not a bodybuilder and just want to gain muscle, your still going to want to eat chicken.

2. Beef

Lean red meat is an excellent source of protein.  What separates beef from other meats is the addition vitamins and minerals.  It contains zinc, iron and B-12, all of which are important for accelerated muscle growth.  If your eating grass fed beef your even getting omega-3′s.

3. Eggs

Eggs are considered to be the most readily utilizable protein with the  highest biological value of any whole food. This means that the protein in eggs  is used most efficiently for muscular growth.

4.  Potatoes

When trying to gain weight, you need to consume a significant amount of carbs.  One of your best choices are potatoes.  The carbohydrates in potatoes provide an essential energy source and nutrients for recovery for a bodybuilder.  Eating a mixture of sweet potatoes and baked potatoes are a great source of carbohydrates.

5. Oats

Oats are and excellent source of carbohydrate and personal my favorite choice of all the quality carbs you can eat.  Oats are a flexible source of energy and can be added to other foods when you need a boost of healthy carbohydrates.  Rolled oats are healthy carbohydrates and remain hugely popular muscle building foods.

6. Whey Protein

Whey protein is one of the best supplements you take to gain muscle.   Whey protein is a rich source of branched chained amino acids (BCAAs), containing the highest known levels of any natural food source.  BCAAs are the building block of building muscle.

7. Nuts

You gain muscle by strength training and a proper diet containing proteins, carbohydrates and fats. Building muscle involves a combination of breaking down your muscle tissue and rebuilding it using dietary nutrients.  Nuts like almonds and walnuts are a great source of protein, magnesium and unsaturated fatty acids.

8. Fish 

Fish is great for building muscle.  Fish is lean and is loaded with protein to help build muscle.   Fish and especially salmon is packed with protein and the healthy fatty acid omega-3.  Omega-3 essential fatty acids are important building blocks of the cell membrane and like protein help from from strenuous workouts.

9. Vegetables

Most of us don’t consider vegetables a muscle building food.  Vegetables are just as important to muscle building as protein is.  With vitamins and minerals like calcium, folic acid and vitamins C,D, E, and A.  These vitamins and minerals are crucial for proper and efficient muscle contraction and red blood cell production.

10. Quinoa

Quinoa is an excellent carbohydrate source that is high in protein too.  Quinoa is higher in fiber and protein than oats or rice and taste just as good.  One beneficial thing about quinoa is that it is a complete protein, so if your vegetarian its a great way to meet your needs.

That’s my list for 10 muscle building foods.  I hope this list helps everyone meet their muscle building needs.

Question:

Marc, I’ve been wondering how often I should switch up my sets and reps?  I’ve been following a program now and while my weights are increasing, I’m still doing the same number of sets prescribed along with the same repetitions.  During the first six months, the changes (visual) came quickly.  Now I’m not seeing that as much.  What can I do?

Answer:

Anybody who looks for this answer on the Internet is bound to get 1000 different views and opinions.  Unless the person in question knows you personally and your situation, tossing out:

“You should change up your routine every week.”
“You should change up your routine every 6 weeks.”

Is useless advice.  You probably came here looking for a quick calculator or a pretty table where you can cross reference your level of ability and find out what you need to do next.  That’s not how champions are made.  And all those awesome body transformations you see, are mostly beginners who can pretty much do anything and get fantastic results.  See what they do AFTER the transformation.

I can be it’s not some cookie cutter calculator on what to do next.  They take it to the next level of personal development and learning.

Anybody who follows a cookie-cutter routine is bound to fall into this trap.  And if your “expert” offers you no resources on where to turn to next or have EVER mentioned the term Periodization, you should be confused.

I’ve often tried over the last few years to TEACH people the basics and the fundamentals all the while sending links to resources and books in hopes they would continue the education.  You see the problem you face is something we all face.

It’s called Progression and Plateaus.

As a beginner, you can do almost anything (sets, reps, rest periods) and your body responds quickly.  These so called beginner gains can last anywhere from 6 to 9 months!  After that, the amount of work required to induce change becomes a focal point.  Your ability to recovery quickly becomes an issue.  You see as a beginner… (and I don’t mean to burst your bubble) …

You aren’t really lifting that heavy.  You think you are but it’s not really the weight per se, it’s the amount of work done and the stress to your muscles.  As a beginner it doesn’t really take much for your body to quickly start adapting and growing new tissues to support your efforts.  When you get to the Intermediate levels and beyond, the amount of work done is significant and your ability to recover from such a bout is called into question.  If you do the same workouts over and over for months, you plateau and your progress is held steady as there’s no reason to adapt to further stress.

Adding more weight, reps and sets will ultimately lead to over-training (which is all to often used) and it just means your ability to recover is now compromised and you cannot work out hard enough to bring about changes.  As you begin to approach training loads closer to your genetic potential, your ability to recovery is now called into question.  Recovery takes longer and thus, different training protocols are used with intermediate beyond than beginners.

While the 3 sets of 10 is valid for beginning lifters, that routine gets old quickly and fails to add enough stress to disrupt the homeostasis required for change.  It’s why you see somebody without any training experience suddenly make fantastic changes (depending on how out of shape they were to begin with) but might stay the same for decades.

They were able to train to a point where the body needs to change no more without added stress.  And without a qualified coach they simply don’t know what to do except more of the same with a few variations here and there.

All this means is that depending on your current level of fitness, you may need to modify the number of sets, repetitions, possibly rest periods in order to make progress again.  This probably means some form of back-training (deloading) so that you undertrain for some period of time before coming back and going at your routine hard again.  When you do come back, there’s many variables you can modify.

Resource:  How to Increase the Intensity of Any Workout

According to powerlifter Dave Tate, an advanced lifter may adapt to a routine within 1-2 weeks.

Strength coach Ian King says that unless you’re a beginner, you’ll adapt to any training routine within 3-4 weeks. Coach Charles Poliquin says that you’ll adapt within 5-6 workouts.

Training Sets and Repetitions:

* Bodybuilding sets may vary dramatically depending on program design

When do you change up your program?

Depends on your level of fitness and your training goals.  If somebody tells you to switch your entire routine every 6 weeks and go to the next one, they are giving Internet advice.  Meaning, at my level, I can switch my routine almost every workout and survive but if I did that to my beginner friends, they’d be continually sore and never develop proper neuromuscular control.

As a beginner, you might stay in foundation routine for months.  Or maybe 6 to 9 weeks before moving into a growth phase.  After the growth phase, you can move to an absolute strength phase.  Then back to a foundation… and repeat.  What you are really doing is not staying in any particular phase for too long as you want to stress your body but change it up shortly thereafter to either take advantage of the new muscle (growth to absolute) or to take an active break.. absolute back to foundational.

That’s why taking a bunch of programs that all do different things, tossing a dart at them and picking one is variation but it’s not periodization and it’s not building off the blocks of previous training.

It’s a complicated theory and most people don’t have a plan beyond that training day or that month.  (I’ve been there myself).  You finish a routine and it’s “Now what?”

This is where a periodized training plan is a must!  You can use all of the various intensity techniques in the stages but you cycle thru:

• Foundation Training
• Functional Training (sports specific)
• Pre-Season Training
• In-Season Training
• Active Rest

This blog is related to bodybuilding but each sport will have different seasons and different drills and exercises associated with each.  Hopefully your coach has a specific plan to address your sport.

If you are just into general fitness, then go to the gym, do your sets of 3 with 10 reps, eat better and you’ll be fine.  But if you plan on competing in a contest or you want to increase your bench press, pull-ups or deadlift, that’s where a training plan comes into play.  Adding weight forever won’t work forever and you need techniques to get you past sticking point.

By now, you should realize that simply changing up sets and reps will work for some but it’s not a random process.  A beginner can stick with a certain number of reps and sets and be fine while the advanced athlete may need to cycle thru the stages on a weekly or semi-weekly basis.  It’s not as simple as looking at somebody and telling them, “You’ve been working out for how long?  Okay, it’s time to change your sets and reps.”

Stick with me folks, I’ll take this concept further and explain the concept in more detail and give you some example routines so you can get a better understanding.

Marc David – CPT
“The NoBull Muscle Guy”
Author of NoBull Bodybuilding

So you’ve made the decision to undergo a serious body transformation… ROCK ON! This is going to be an incredible life changing experience for you. Now before you begin sculpting your physique into a chiseled work of art, let’s make sure that all of your ducks are in a row. Here are 10 easy, yet crucial steps to ensure that you follow through to the end of your transformation and experience the best results possible….

But first.. some perspective.

Day 1 Photos

1)  Set a Goal and Create an Event

The fist step in any body transformation is to become crystal clear on what’s important to you and the outcome that you are going to achieve. For some people, setting a weight goal or body fat percentage goal is their main priority. For others, it’s a specific “Look” that inspires them to take action. For example; during my previous body transformation the goal that was important to me was carving out abs that were comparable to Brad Pitt in the movie Troy.

Once you have a clear vision of your goal you MUST set a deadline in order to create some sort of urgency to reach your goal. The duration of your transformation will depend on how much excess fat you plan on releasing. Creating an event around your deadline is a surefire way to keep your motivation high throughout your entire transformation journey. Booking a vacation to a warm destination where you will be sporting a bathing suit is an example of a great event, but my favorite event involves scheduling a photo shoot on your goal date. It’s important to book the photo shoot and pay for it in advance, as it will create an extra sense of urgency. The photo shoot will be one of the greatest gifts that you ever give yourself. It captures your physique as a work of art and will serve as a constant reminder that you are capable of excellence.

2)  Know Your Starting Point

Before you begin your journey it’s important to know where you are starting from. You can either take your weight, body fat, and girth measurements or you can take your before photos… or a combination of photos and measurements.

3)  Create Your Plan of Action

You now have your starting and end point set in place. Consider this to be your “timeline” between Point A and Point B. Now you need to create your plan of action that will lead you to your destination in the straightest line possible. Your plan should include a) scheduled workouts, b) 7 day meal plan, c) strategies to overcome potential setbacks that you may have faced in the past.

4)  Nail Down Your Nutritional Needs

The simple truth about fat loss is that calories matter and you need to create a caloric deficit. This doesn’t have to be as difficult as it sounds. Simply create a 7 day meal plan that hits your caloric needs for the day and stick to the plan. If this is your first crack at a serious body transformation, I recommend that you take a conservative approach, opting for a 15% deficit. You shouldn’t feel too restricted or deprived with this approach, increasing your chances of sticking with the program. It’s also a smart choice to bump up your calories a bit every 4-5 days. This will replenish your energy stores and give you a mental break from “dieting”.

5)  Your Workout Must Match Your Goal

The biggest mistake that I see among beginners to the body transformation arena, is that their workout program does not match their goals. If your goal is to sculpt your shoulders, firm up your butt, build bigger arms, or chisel your abs, you need to follow a program that pays attention to the details, hits your muscles from a variety of angles, and incorporates a variety of rep ranges. Weight training is what’s responsible for “shaping” your body. Think of releasing the fat as “pulling the curtain back” on what your body truly looks like. How you train will determine how your body “looks” once the fat has been peeled off. This is where the time tested and proven Classic Physique training with it’s attention to proportion and symmetry, trumps mainstream fitness fads with their focus on caloric burn.

6)  The Smart Way To Incorporate Cardio/HIIT

To be frank, you don’t really “need” any form of cardio or HIIT in order to transform your body. You can achieve your goal simply through proper nutrition and resistance training. The benefit of including some cardio or HIIT is that it will add to your caloric deficit at the end of the week. There are however some reasons for you to exercise caution with cardio; a) cardio/HIIT has the potential to interfere with your weight training, b) cardio/HIIT has the potential to slow down your recovery, c) cardio/HIIT can increase your appetite and easily cause you to wipe out any deficit that it may have created. I recommend that you ease into the cardio. Personally I prefer to go for a brisk walk most days. This actually helps me recover and it decreases my appetite. As you become accustomed to this, you can begin to incorporate one HIIT session and see how your body responds. I wouldn’t recommend any more than two HIIT sessions per week on a fat loss plan. Any more than that and you increase the risk of running yourself into the ground.

7)  Rest and Recovery Is a MUST

Do not neglect the importance of rest and recovery. Getting adequate sleep of 7-9 hours will give your body the chance to recover and rebuild from your training sessions. It will also help improve your performance in the gym. Getting adequate sleep can reduce your stress levels, which is important for creating an optimal environment within your body for burning fat and building muscle.

8)  Build Your Support System

I guarantee that you will come across many people who will try to bring you down during your body transformation. You’ll hear things like, “Why don’t you just live a little?”, “You’re too thin already.”, or “Why can’t you be normal like the rest of us?” It’s important that you have an empowering response ready for these situations and stand your ground firmly. You know the rewards for achieving your goal and you need to refuse to settle for anything less than the best from yourself. You need to face the fact that your standards are higher than the standards that most people set for themselves. This is why it’s so important to surround yourself with as many like minded and goal driven people as you can. Online support communities are great places to hang out and interact with such people. You can share your struggles, gain reassurance, and celebrate in each others victories.

If possible, I highly recommend that you hook-up with a like-minded and goal driven workout partner. Someone who is counting on you to show up at the gym for your scheduled workouts. Someone who will make sure that you are putting forth your best effort.

9)  Pay Attention To Your Feedback Loop

This is where champions are made. Creating your meal plans and workout routines sets the foundation for you to take action on, but at the end of the week, if you have not made any progress there are simple changes that need to be made. At this point many people throw in the towel and figure that the plan isn’t working, but champions see that making a minor tweak to their nutrition is enough to propel them to greatness. Champions have a heightened sense of awareness. They know that their body has a way of telling them that it’s time for a refeed and they don’t feel guilty about it.

Champions also pay close attention to how their body is responding to their training and cardio. If you are having a difficult time recovering and you are beginning to feel a little worn down, it’s best advised to cut back on the cardio a bit and hold solid to your nutrition.

10)  Don’t Delay

When you set a 12-16 week body transformation goal, it may look like you have plenty of time. A big mistake that rookie body transformers make is slacking off in the beginning, then trying to cram 12-16 weeks of fat loss into 4 short weeks. I encourage you to not to delay with your efforts. In many cases you are better off to go more aggressive in the beginning and plan on hitting your goal 1-2 weeks prior to your deadline just to give you a little breathing room. The key to your success will be consistent action right from the get-go.

After Completing The Metabolic Masterpiece Program…

Bonus Tip) Attitude is Everything

How you approach your training and your nutrition is everything. You must adopt an UNSTOPPABLE attitude. Believe that absolutely nothing will get in the way of your success. You will experience some challenges and some setbacks, but nothing will stop you! In the gym you need to attack the weights. Dominate them. Leave everything that you’ve got on the gym floor. With your nutrition there is no putting it off to tomorrow. Every meal counts. Every meal becomes a part of every cell in your body. Although you may be faced with temptations, your UNSTOPPABLE mindset will take control allowing you to make the wise choices.

So there you have it. A Beginners 10 Step Guide To a Successful Body Transformation. This task is not to be taken lightly. It takes hard work and dedication to follow through and see your goal right to the very end. The greatest thing that you could do for yourself is to take the guess work out of the process and follow a proven blueprint while surrounding yourself with like-minded goal-driven individuals who have already followed it or are currently going through the process.

Scott Tousignant is the author of The Metabolic Masterpiece Body Sculpting Program.  It is a time tested and proven blueprint for how to get ripped. With the Metabolic Masterpiece Body Sculpting Program you have everything that you need for a successful body transformation at your finger tips. So what are you waiting for? Let’s get sculpting!

Bodybuilding is a 24 hr a day job, that requires hard work, discipline and dedication.  Its also not a cheap job, it requires a lot of money.  With food, supplements and a gym membership you could be looking at anywhere from 300-600 dollars a month.  Most of us have to learn how to budget our money to fit our lifestyle.  I’m going to show you a few ways I have learn to budget my money to fit my own bodybuilding needs.

First you want to sit down and plan out your attack.  Decide how much money you can spent on your bodybuilding needs.  Once you’ve come up with a budget, you can know see where you can spent your money.  You want to break everything down into a categories: Food, Supplements, Gym, Working Clothes, etc.

Food:

Food is the most important item you will spent your money on and most like the most expensive.  Without the right diet and nutrition you will be on the track to nowhere fast.  A lot of times people will spent a ton of money on supplements.  With all the supplements out there, there is no supplement more important than food.

Shop in Bulk:

Buying in bulk contributes to your wallet and pocketbooks.  By not paying for all that individual packaging, label and advertising, you’re getting more product for you money.  We all have access to wholesale club now a days, where you can buy food in bulk at a cheaper price.  You can often find the products you want in bulk and purchase the exact amount you want.

The price of bulk quantities of food is generally cheaper overall than buying individual amounts of the same products.  One place you can go to buy in bulk is Sam’s Club and Costco.  They offer items in larger packages which can help lower the per-unit cost for that item.  While buying in bulk has its advantages, it has its disadvantages as well.  You have to make wise purchases or you’ll end up wasting money.  Make a list before you go, its also helpful to create your upcoming weeks meal plan.

Foods to Buy:

Wholesale clubs offer a great variety of foods in bulk to meet your bodybuilding needs.  Whether bulking or during a pre-contest diet, I always eat the same foods just in different quantities.  You should be looking for high protein foods and quantity carbs.  Here’s a list of some great choices of food to buy in bulk:

• Frozen chicken breast
• Ground beef
• Canned tuna
• Whole eggs
• Ground turkey
• Milk
• Oatmeal
• Rice
• Breads
• Pasta
• Vegetables
• Fruits
• Nuts

Supplements:

A good approach to buying supplements, is keep it simple.  Do you need every new hot supplement coming out “NO”.  Most people will go blowing their budget on the newest supplements on the market.  When it comes to buying supplements, you need to decide what supplements best fit your needs Weight Gain, Fat Loss, etc.

Ive found that shopping online you can save a ton of money on supplements.  Shopping online you can price out different brands and products from multiple websites.  Its an easy way to compare prices, servings per supplement and price per serving.

In my honest opinion there are only a few essential supplements you should buying when your on a tight budget.  Here a list of a few you should be looking for.

Whey Protein:

Their are a ton of protein powders out there now, whey being the best.  Its a high quality of protein.  Protein is the building block of muscle.  Protein builds and repairs our muscle fiber allowing them to recover and consequently grow.  Protein powders are an easy, quick and convenient way for anyone to get their protein requirements in for the day.  You can find a quality protein supplement for under $30′s, like with food the more you buy the bigger discount you get.

Multi Vitamin/Mineral:

A daily multi vitamin/mineral supplement is not only an important for bodybuilders, its important for everyone.  Its hard to consume food alone to get all the necessary vitamins and minerals your body need.  For your body to run properly you need a wide array of nutrients, this is a great supplement to make sure you get them.  Being deficient in one of these vitamins/minerals can decline in your overall body’s performance.  By using a multi vitamin/mineral you will provide your body with the nutrients it needs to run at optimum levels.  For less then $10 you can get a couple months worth of a one-a-day multi vitamin/mineral.

Creatine:

Creatine is still the most popular supplement on the market.  Creatine is the foremost supplement for packing on muscle.  The great thing about creatine is over the years it has become very inexpensive.  For around $20 you can get around 600 grams of a quality creatine.  Creatine is used to supply energy to the muscles.  Creatine has been proven to increase strength, performance and muscle size.  Creatine is also a cell volumizer, which means it hydrates muscle tissue and promotes nutrient flow.

Gym:

Choosing the right gym for you, when you’re on a tight budget can be a little tough.  Here’s a few tips to help you in selecting the right gym.

1. Most gyms offer a free week trial to their facility.  If your more into machines rather then free weights. Try the gym out to make sure they fit your personal needs.
2. Location is key, select a gym close to your home or on your way home from work.  You don’t want to be spending more money on gas then you have to, by driving way out of your way just to workout.
3. The group rate.  Most gyms offer a lower monthly rate for couples and multiply family members that join together.  You can save a ton of money per month when you and your partner join together.  I personal save $17 per month at my gym this way.
4. The best time to join a gym is at the beginning of the year.  Most gyms offer a lower rate early in the year to bring in new member.  A lot of times they will wave the joining fee to new members also.  Ive seen gyms lately offer new members a monthly contract as little as $10 per month.
5. See if your employer offers any kind of benefit to a local gym or health club at a lower rate.  A lot of companies seem to be jumping on this bandwagon.  Check with your human resources department, to see if they offer any kind of benefit like this.
6. My motto when it comes to choosing a gym has always been “I don’t care if the weights are rusty, as long as they have a squat rack”.  I’m talking about frills of these high end health clubs.  If your not worried about a sauna and all these fancy pieces of equipment, then don’t join a gym that has them.  The more frills the gym has, the more you will pay per month.

Question:

Dear Marc,

Do blood thinners such as aspirin and the like affect / effect the muscle building process?  I am a 56 year old male that REALLY needs to get into better shape.

Thanks for the great site.

Dave

Answer:

Dave,

Before I discuss Aspirin or as it’s called, Salicylate, I want to stress that in all cases I NEVER recommend over the counter medications without first obtaining medical approval from a qualified medical professional.

Aspirin works on many levels.

First, it can improve the body’s blood flow.  Even as little as 30mg prior to training can thin the blood enough where the muscles are more exposed to greater amounts of nutrient carrying blood.  This can speed up recovery between sets and reps.

Second, lactic acid and other waste products that result from heavy training can be flushed away from the muscles with greater speed and efficiency.

Aspirin can reduce the swelling as a result of hard training.  Tissue damage caused by swelling is the culprit from prolonged healing times.  Really recovery doesn’t happen until the swelling has gone down.  Then your body starts to recover.

Third, Aspirin can reduce the pain associated the above tissue damage and swelling.  People say that using aspirin can make a difference between an okay workout a really great workout.  Using aspirin and some other recovery methods can lead to greater recovery which leads to faster progression.

Research has shown the low doses of aspirin work just as well as larger doses.

This means you should find the lowest possible dose that does the job.

Crushing the aspirin and mixing it with milk before a workout helps protect your stomach lining and improves absorption.

I’ve read that your body can develop a tolerance to aspirin.  So if you do use it, only do it during your hardest workouts.  Not something you’d take every day with every workout.

Again I must caution you and remind you that I do not recommend any over the counter medications without you first obtaining medical clearance.

Hope this helps.  I would consult a doctor about this and not just read about free stuff on the net or take my advice.  Go talk to a doctor before you do any such thing.

Marc David – CPT
“The NoBull Muscle Guy”
Author of NoBull Bodybuilding