Q: Hi Lee, Will drinking alcohol affect my muscle gain?
Biglee: An occasional drink won't hurt much. But binge drinking or having a couple of beers a day is not good for gaining muscle and losing fat. Alcohol is very fattening and it completely screws up muscle growth. Most important of all it kills the free testosterone(male hormone) revolving in your body(testosterone is the main hormone behind muscle building). So try not to drink that often or large amounts
So its better to avoid drinking as much as possible.
Showing posts with label Muscle gain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Muscle gain. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
5 x 5 Workout
The 5 sets of 5 reps program is one of the best muscle building workout program that one can come across. It was popularized by Bill Starr in 1970’s and to a great extent by Reg Park.
You can think that a program as simple as 5x5 does not need any explanation. That is true to an extent , however the program can be interpreted in a variety of ways. So let us directly go into the details and parameters involved in this program.
Warm-up:
Warm up exercises are recommended because of the heavy weights involved in this routine. Lifting heavy weight with warmed up muscles will allow your to lift more weight than you would with a cold muscle and also it will help you prevent any chances of injury. To warm-up your muscle, just do a set or two with about half or even less than half of the weight that you would use for a normal set.
For example if you do bench presses with 200 pounds do a set of 100 pound bench presses to get your muscles warmed up.
Ramping Weights:
This is basically increasing the weights set after set. If your top set is 315 x 5 then you might go with 135 x 5, 185 x 5, 225 x 5, 275 x 5 and then 315 x 5 to finish the movement. By this way you reach the workload without fatigue and you can overcome overtraining. If you try to do 315 x 5 for all 5 sets then the workload is lot higher and doing it couple of times will make you exhausted and you may not see any gains in terms of strength or muscle.
Ideally the jumps can be between 10-15% per set to ramp your way up.
Sample workout program:
Progress:
In this program you will be working your whole body thrice a week. Hitting your body hard to failure on all three days will not actually help you grow but will eat up your gains.
If you notice the sample workout chart, we try to reach our maximum on Monday, drop the weights that we handle on Wednesday and try to use the same weights on Friday. On the next Monday we try to increase our lifts by 2.5%. Some people may think that this is very slow progress, but believe me 2.5% increase each week is very aggressive progress.
Final note:
As you all know diet is 80% of your physique goal, without a proper diet the program will not do any good for you. So get at least 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight and start eating more protein rich food and lot of complex carbohydrates to create the caloric surplus to aid muscle gain and strength gains.
With this program you can expect very aggressive strength gain accompanied with very good muscle gains.
Follow this program for 8 weeks and take a week off and you can continue on the same principle again and again in cycles till you see improvements on strength and gain muscle.
You can think that a program as simple as 5x5 does not need any explanation. That is true to an extent , however the program can be interpreted in a variety of ways. So let us directly go into the details and parameters involved in this program.
Warm-up:
Warm up exercises are recommended because of the heavy weights involved in this routine. Lifting heavy weight with warmed up muscles will allow your to lift more weight than you would with a cold muscle and also it will help you prevent any chances of injury. To warm-up your muscle, just do a set or two with about half or even less than half of the weight that you would use for a normal set.
For example if you do bench presses with 200 pounds do a set of 100 pound bench presses to get your muscles warmed up.
Ramping Weights:
This is basically increasing the weights set after set. If your top set is 315 x 5 then you might go with 135 x 5, 185 x 5, 225 x 5, 275 x 5 and then 315 x 5 to finish the movement. By this way you reach the workload without fatigue and you can overcome overtraining. If you try to do 315 x 5 for all 5 sets then the workload is lot higher and doing it couple of times will make you exhausted and you may not see any gains in terms of strength or muscle.
Ideally the jumps can be between 10-15% per set to ramp your way up.
Sample workout program:
Monday: Maximum effort day
Try to add 2.5% more weights to each lift
* Olympic Squats: 5X5
* Bench Press: 5X5
* Barbell Rows: 5X5
* Accessory exercises: weighted sit-ups and a tricep exercise (These exercises are done to round out the program and to help you keep the helping muscles strong and full. So the same 5 x 5 protocol need not be followed with these. 2-3 sets of 5-8 reps should be fine)
Wednesday: Light day
Reduce your weights by 25% on each lifts
* Front Squats: 5X5
* Military Press: 5X5
* Deadlifts: 5X5
* Pull-Ups: 5X5
* Accessory exercises: 2-3 sets of 5-8 reps of a bicep and abdominal exercise
Friday: Heavy day
Use same weight as Monday
* Olympic Squats: 5X5
* Bench Press: 5X5
* Barbell Row: 5X5
* Accessory exercises: 2-3 sets of 5-8 reps of a triceps and abdominal exercise
Progress:
In this program you will be working your whole body thrice a week. Hitting your body hard to failure on all three days will not actually help you grow but will eat up your gains.
If you notice the sample workout chart, we try to reach our maximum on Monday, drop the weights that we handle on Wednesday and try to use the same weights on Friday. On the next Monday we try to increase our lifts by 2.5%. Some people may think that this is very slow progress, but believe me 2.5% increase each week is very aggressive progress.
Final note:
As you all know diet is 80% of your physique goal, without a proper diet the program will not do any good for you. So get at least 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight and start eating more protein rich food and lot of complex carbohydrates to create the caloric surplus to aid muscle gain and strength gains.
With this program you can expect very aggressive strength gain accompanied with very good muscle gains.
Follow this program for 8 weeks and take a week off and you can continue on the same principle again and again in cycles till you see improvements on strength and gain muscle.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Maximum muscle gain
When it comes to building muscle, there are so many conflicting information that you might feel confused on where to start and how to start. So here in an article in which, I am going to put in place some of the most important strategies to consider while trying to gain muscle.
Positive calorie diet and frequent meals
The main place where most of the bodybuilders fail miserably is on diet. Working out in the gym is only half the equation. We break down the muscle tissue in the gym. If we do not provide it with proper nutrition at the right time, it will never grow. So in order to make the body to stay in anabolic state and to provide the muscles with nutrition consistently one must consume anywhere between 5-8 meals a day. The body must be provided with building materials every 2-3 hours during the day.
If we do not provide the body with extra calories, our body will never gain weight. So if you are planning to gain muscle and gain it fast, you have to consume a minimum of 10% more calories than what you require. This does not mean that you should resort to junk foods. You have to consume around one third of your calories from protein and two third from your complex carbohydrates and a very small quantity of fats. I ask to keep the fats low because fats are hidden in most of the food sources.
Protein - The base of muscle gain
Of the 3 major nutrients (protein, carbohydrates and fats) protein is, without a doubt the most important nutrient for those who are looking to gain muscle size and strength. Protein is found in each and every cell of the body and its main role is to build and repair body tissue. Without sufficient protein intake, it will be impossible for your body to synthesize a significant amount of muscle mass. Imagine your body as a building under construction. Your workouts are workers and the main building material to build muscle is protein (like bricks for the building). If the workers don’t have bricks they will stop working. Similarly your workouts will go down the drain if you do not provide your body with adequate protein. So consume at least 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight when you want to improve your muscle mass and gain weight.
Focus on compound movements
If you want to make solid gains in muscle size and strength, you absolutely need to train with free weights and focus on basics. That is focus on the compound exercises. A compound exercise is any lift that stimulates more than one muscle group at a time. Examples of compound exercises are squat, dead lift, bench press, chin up, barbell row, overhead press, dip and lunge. Compound exercises will allow you to handle more weights and will stimulate more muscles fiber per exercise.
The training intensity
The major factor separating those with moderate gains and those with maximal gains is the training intensity. In order to take your muscle fibers to their maximal potential you have to take them to the limit on each and every workout. In simple words take them to their failure point.
The point at which no further repetitions can be completed using proper form is called as temporary muscle failure.
Moderate intensity leads to moderate gains and maximal intensity leads to maximal gains. It is as simple as that.
Avoid overtraining
The number one enemy for maximal muscle gains is overtraining. Most of the youngsters are taken away by the notation “more is better”. But one has to understand the mechanism of growth. Muscle never grows at the gym; it grows after the workout when provided with adequate rest and nutrients for reconstruction. If more is better was the correct approach, then training 24/7 would have been a great idea and pros would have never left the gym. But it is not the case. Even steroid freaks limit their workouts to an hour or two. If you spend too much time in the gym, you will actually take yourself farther away from your goals rather than closer to them. Remember, recovery is absolutely vital for muscle growth. If you don't provide your body with the proper recovery time in between workouts, your muscles will never have a chance to grow.
Track your progress and be consistent
Building muscle was never an easy task. If it had been as some writers mention in their articles, everyone around would have been an Arnold and a Mentzer. But it is not the case. Everyone on the planet is unique and each one of us has different genetics. So in order to achieve your goals you have to check your progress periodically. Even one rep increase using the same weights on the next workout or lifting some extra weights on the next workout will be a very big gain. Tracking your progress will motivate you better than any personal trainer or even better than psychologists. So never forget to track your goals in terms of weights, reps, size and weight. Noting down the lifts and reps each workout is a good practice. Taking measurements and weight every week is a very good practice too.
Be consistent in each and every workout and try to take your working sets to failure and even beyond. As I said earlier, maximal intensity leads to maximal gains.
All the best!!!
Positive calorie diet and frequent meals
The main place where most of the bodybuilders fail miserably is on diet. Working out in the gym is only half the equation. We break down the muscle tissue in the gym. If we do not provide it with proper nutrition at the right time, it will never grow. So in order to make the body to stay in anabolic state and to provide the muscles with nutrition consistently one must consume anywhere between 5-8 meals a day. The body must be provided with building materials every 2-3 hours during the day.
If we do not provide the body with extra calories, our body will never gain weight. So if you are planning to gain muscle and gain it fast, you have to consume a minimum of 10% more calories than what you require. This does not mean that you should resort to junk foods. You have to consume around one third of your calories from protein and two third from your complex carbohydrates and a very small quantity of fats. I ask to keep the fats low because fats are hidden in most of the food sources.
Protein - The base of muscle gain
Of the 3 major nutrients (protein, carbohydrates and fats) protein is, without a doubt the most important nutrient for those who are looking to gain muscle size and strength. Protein is found in each and every cell of the body and its main role is to build and repair body tissue. Without sufficient protein intake, it will be impossible for your body to synthesize a significant amount of muscle mass. Imagine your body as a building under construction. Your workouts are workers and the main building material to build muscle is protein (like bricks for the building). If the workers don’t have bricks they will stop working. Similarly your workouts will go down the drain if you do not provide your body with adequate protein. So consume at least 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight when you want to improve your muscle mass and gain weight.
Focus on compound movements
If you want to make solid gains in muscle size and strength, you absolutely need to train with free weights and focus on basics. That is focus on the compound exercises. A compound exercise is any lift that stimulates more than one muscle group at a time. Examples of compound exercises are squat, dead lift, bench press, chin up, barbell row, overhead press, dip and lunge. Compound exercises will allow you to handle more weights and will stimulate more muscles fiber per exercise.
The training intensity
The major factor separating those with moderate gains and those with maximal gains is the training intensity. In order to take your muscle fibers to their maximal potential you have to take them to the limit on each and every workout. In simple words take them to their failure point.
The point at which no further repetitions can be completed using proper form is called as temporary muscle failure.
Moderate intensity leads to moderate gains and maximal intensity leads to maximal gains. It is as simple as that.
Avoid overtraining
The number one enemy for maximal muscle gains is overtraining. Most of the youngsters are taken away by the notation “more is better”. But one has to understand the mechanism of growth. Muscle never grows at the gym; it grows after the workout when provided with adequate rest and nutrients for reconstruction. If more is better was the correct approach, then training 24/7 would have been a great idea and pros would have never left the gym. But it is not the case. Even steroid freaks limit their workouts to an hour or two. If you spend too much time in the gym, you will actually take yourself farther away from your goals rather than closer to them. Remember, recovery is absolutely vital for muscle growth. If you don't provide your body with the proper recovery time in between workouts, your muscles will never have a chance to grow.
Track your progress and be consistent
Building muscle was never an easy task. If it had been as some writers mention in their articles, everyone around would have been an Arnold and a Mentzer. But it is not the case. Everyone on the planet is unique and each one of us has different genetics. So in order to achieve your goals you have to check your progress periodically. Even one rep increase using the same weights on the next workout or lifting some extra weights on the next workout will be a very big gain. Tracking your progress will motivate you better than any personal trainer or even better than psychologists. So never forget to track your goals in terms of weights, reps, size and weight. Noting down the lifts and reps each workout is a good practice. Taking measurements and weight every week is a very good practice too.
Be consistent in each and every workout and try to take your working sets to failure and even beyond. As I said earlier, maximal intensity leads to maximal gains.
All the best!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)