Friday, May 31, 2013

A beginner's guide to a muscle building program

If you’ve only been training for a under a year, then you’re considered a beginner. For guidance as beginner, you should look toward the muscle-building workout that is illustrated below. The best part of being a newbie is that the most muscle gain will come during the first six to 12 months. This exciting time is when you will see the biggest change in your body and in your life. The only downside is that there isn’t a magic potion or a shortcut to muscle growth. Nevertheless, if you stick to the program, in three month, you’ll be heading in a positive, forward direction, rather than on a negative, backwartoods path.

Here are a few guidelines to take into consideration prior to beginning:

*Think big, but not too    big. 

This is not meant to deter you from wanting big muscles or having big goals; however, you must be realistic or else there’s no real definable point in your goal, and it may actually be counterproductive. Being honest with yourself is crucial to success. Evaluate your level of fitness as it stands to date, and factor that into the equation that defines where you want to be three months from now. Think long-term where you want to be, as well. So set a plan that includes where you want to be in a year and even in two years. You’ll need to be focused on both types of goals, but always keep in mind that short-term goals lead to completing your long-term goals.

*Don’t assume you weren’t successful if you don’t see overnight results.

My advice to you is to pick a dateline for a event or photo shoot to hold youself  accountable. I’m sure you’re just like me and wish to see results quickly and yesterday. But, this isn’t practical. Overnight results exist, but they’re not the deciding factor, so don’t become frustrated, especially since a total transformation takes time. Celebrate every gain you earn, and make sure you appreciate that sculpting an entire body takes time and patience, and the real victory occurs over time and not in overnight spurts.




*The time you spend in the gym only comprises part of your to-do list.

When you examine how you’re going to accomplish your goals, the time you spend muscle training is only part of the equation. The time you spend in the gym essentially lays down the foundation for potential muscle growth. Your sleep patterns, the supplements you select, the foods you eat, how much you eat and even when you eat plays a role and acts as the building blocks with which you must lay your foundation. Each one of these aspects will manipulate the rate at which you’ll notice changes in your physique.

We’ve cleaned house; now it’s time to get started on developing your muscle-building program.

A Beginner’s Guide to Muscle Building

When you muscle build as a beginner, you must include 15 different exercises that utilize basic movements You have to factor in a pyramid rep/set scheme, incorporate a change in the order in which you do exercises, train at least three times per week and continue this pattern for three months. You should start every workout with a warm-up consisting of 10 minutes of aerobic exercise, such as running, rowing, walking on an incline or even skipping. Do arm circles (when you move your arms in a circular pattern in both directions) as a light stretching exercise to loosen up tendons, ligaments and tissue in your shoulders. Sweating before you exercise is an excellent way to determine that you’re ready to hit the floor.

Sets, Reps and Rest…oh my!

During your first month, you should perform  2-3 sets that consist of 15reps , increasing the weight of each set. Make sure that each workout is a little heavier than the one before. The time you rest between sets must only be 30 to 60 seconds long.

When you reach month two, you should perform three to four sets that consist of 10 to12 reps, and you should increase the weight after each set. Begin your next workout with a slightly heavier weight than you did the last workout and continue increasing, taking a 60-second breather between each set.

Once you’ve hit month three, start doing three to four sets of six to eight reps, and make sure you’re increasing the weight after each set. Again, begin each workout a little heavier than you did the last one and rest between 60 and 90 seconds between each set.

Switching Up the Routine

If you find that the workout plan is a little too difficult, you may want to break it down into two different days. Do exercises one through seven on Mondays and Thursdays and do exercises eight through 15 on Tuesdays and Fridays. Ultimately, you would have four different muscle building workouts each week, as opposed to two.



Extra Notes
· Make sure you are learning the exercises correctly. Either pick up a muscle-building program or hire a personal trainer to teach you the correct way to do each of the exercises.

· Think about stretching after each exercise. This benefits your muscle growth and recovery, as well as your flexibility.

· Observe the changes you’re making to the order in which you train your muscles, because this prevents muscle imbalance from occurring. Varying your workout regimen gives each muscle group an opportunity to be the first to be trained, which results in these muscles being fresh and being able to go harder.

· Familiarize yourself with the exercise. If you’re lifting weights with bad form, you can injure yourself, and you’ll never reach your goal. Remember, it’s not about lifting the heaviest weight.

· You’ll have good days and bad days. Some days the weights may seem very heavy. This is normal to have both low-energy days and high-energy days. After you take charge of your diet and recovery, you’ll be able to control your performance better.

· Focus on success in the first month, not failure. Reach your rep goals each time and do extra reps for a more difficult workout. Keep progressing each month and just be patient. Know the movements, before you push your weight limits.

· In some cases, changes to your body will not occur until your second month or sometimes even the third. Trust the program and allow your motivation to increase - don’t let this hinder you in achieving your goals.

· Complete each of your workouts with at least 10 minutes of cardio and conclude with some light stretching that focuses on your tighter muscle groups.

Conclusion



Once you’ve reached your third month, you’ll have a strong base to continue to work on. You’ll be strong with a shapely physique. Even your mental and physical state will have been affected in a positive manner. After you’ve arrived at this pivotal point, it’s time to make alterations to your program and concentrate on the larger goals. With this being said, your first three months need to be the same, in order to create that strong foundation. Remember, there is not a single perfect product or program. You’ll learn what works best for you as you progress. Please leave comments about your training experience as a beginner. If you’re not a beginner, leave some tips for the beginners.


If this is helpful, shared it with your friends/family or love ones. . Will be posting a muscle building workout for the beginner perhaps next week or the week after so make sure you click the follow button(on the right) so that you would miss out a single thing

Peace out!!

By Alex

Monday, May 20, 2013

4 Weeks Fat Melting Bodyweight CHallenge (Are you up for the game?)

As promised here's the workout you can do to ensure you  kick start the engine  and "keep it running"
It is a 4 weeks full body workout and each week we will up the intensity and progress slowly. Those of you who have never workout in your life before or have been inactive for a long time might find these challenging. However, do not give up!!  Because its a wake up call for your body. Success is never easy but if you are willing to put in the hard work and persist through the hardship , the prize will be awaiting you at the end of the journey .

Be mentally prepared to get out of your comfort zone and lets kick some  ASS!!!




Do this workout in an 1 day on,1day off fashion
Example: Mon/Wed/Fri or Tue/Thu/Fri


Workout A(day 1)

1)2 sets of Push up x15 seconds(as many as you can) -rest 15 seconds
2) 2sets of Pull up x 15seconds  -rest 15seconds
3)2 sets of burpees x 15 seconds - rest 15 seconds
3) 2 sets of High knee drills x 15 seconds - rest 15 seconds
4) 2 sets of Mountain Climbers x  15 seconds - rest 15 seconds
5) 2 sets of jump squats(as high as you can,reach for the sky) x 15 times  rest 15 seconds

-Week 1 we will be doing 2 sets , Week 2 =3sets , Week 3= 4 sets, Week 4 = 2 sets  + 5 seconds of work( ex: push up x 20 seconds -rest 15 seconds )

Workout B(Day 2)

1) lunges x 10 times per leg
2)1 leg step up x 10times/leg(step on box of stairs with knee level)
3)alternating jump lunges x 10times/ leg
4)single leg squat x 10/leg (push onto your leg for assist when its too hard)
5)squats x 25 times
6)sprint for 15 seconds as hard as you can

-Do this in a circuit fashion with no rest in between exercise
week1= 2 sets-rest 1-2min in between circuit ,week 2 = 3sets -rest 1-2min, Week 3 = 4 sets , Week 4 drop back to 2 sets but increase to 15 times per leg (for squats increase to 35 times and sprint for 25seconds hard)

Workout C(Day 3) 

1)100 push up in total.!00?! I know what you are thinking. Dont panic,i dont mean to do all at a go.If you can go ahead then) Instead,break them down into mini sets . For example if you fail at 20 reps ,rest no more than 20 seconds and continue as many as you can >rest 20s > as many....

2)100 squats . Same thing break down into mini sets ( No cheating on this. Go lower than 90 degree)

3) 1000 pull up!!

-Trying progressing each week and strive to do more reps in a mini set. Remember that having a goal keeps you motivated.


 Just kidding :)
100 incline pull up / assisted . Break down into mini sets.


-Include 2-3 times of high intensity interval traning on your off days
      High intensity interval traning Protocol
     >Sprint  15 or 20 or 25 seconds Choose according to your fitness level. (ALL OUT!!)
       Rest 2-3mins until heart rate drops
        DO this 5-10 times



*Always warm up yourself before starting any workout, go break a sweat.
**Always drink lots of water everyday (at least 3-4 L) and hydrate yourself especially before , during and after your workout.
***Do some stretching after your workout to relax your muscle.


WARNING: This workout is designed to burn through all the fats thats accumulated over the months or even years. It is going to be "TOUGH"  , sweaty and breathtaking but i truly believe that you can push through all this. All the obstacles are mental .Dont worry about your body , they will not die on you. Its the mindset that you need be aware of. If your mind is willingly, your body will find a way to make it happen.

Keep your eyes on the main prize, destroy the workout and have some FUN !!  ;)


Train hard ,train smart ,train safe
By Alex.