Bodyweight exercise for six pack abs

Here is another great workout by Vince Del Monte. This workout may be considered a warm up to some but to most it will be an entire session in itself. This exercise is made to increase your cardio/conditioning, also very effective when it comes to burning fat and getting ripped. The routine is entirely bodyweight and requires absolutely no equipment. I have used this workout with a lot of my personal clients and have gotten excellent results.

How to perform
The workout is broken down into 6 different bodyweight exercises. Each exercise is performed at high intensity for 15 seconds. Once you have completed the exercise, rest for 15 seconds. Once you have completed all 6 exercises, take a 1 minute rest and repeat from the top. The workout can be performed 3 times before your regular cardio or if you are looking to really test your conditioning, repeat as many times as your body allows. You will start to notice how much longer it takes for your body to get tired during this or any other physical activity.

Bodyweight exercises

Push Ups (15 seconds)
Rest (15 seconds)
Mountain Climbers (15 seconds)
Rest (15 seconds)
Half Burpees (15 seconds)
Rest (15 seconds)
High Knees (15 seconds)
Rest (15 seconds)
Squats (15 seconds)
Rest (15seconds)
Jump Squats (15 seconds)
Rest (1 minute)
Repeat

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Your Protein Bar May Be Killing You!

As a hardgainer, i find it nearly imposable to reach the amount of calories needed for me to gain size without some sort of protein mix. Also, because i am so busy, i occasionally find myself resorting to high calorie protein bars to secure i meet my goal for the day.

Unfortunately, after watching this video today I realise i should be a little more cautious about what kind of ingredients i am putting in my body.

Please comment, i would love to hear your opinions.

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Full body workout to build mass for hardgainers

In my “full body vs split routines” article I explained how full body workouts are more beneficial when it comes to gaining mass. If you are a regular reader of the site you may have noticed I lean more toward compound workouts when compared to isolation exercises for packing on muscle. With that being said, my obvious recommendation for a great mass building workout for hardgainers would be a full body/compound exercise filled routine.

This is actually one of my personal routines, I have gotten such great results from this particular workout that I decided I would be doing you guys a serious injustice by not sharing it.

How to perform the routine
Each exercise listed will be performed in sets of four. Each set should consist of 5-10 repetitions; if you are able to perform more than 10 repetitions you are going too light. Anytime you can not perform at least 5 repetitions, you are going too heavy. Simply raise or lower the weight accordingly. You will rest 30-45 seconds between each set and about 1 minute between exercises. This routine should only be done 3-4 days a week with at least 24 hours of rest in between.

Exercise #1

Flat bench press x 4 (Chest & Triceps)

The flat bench press can be substituted with an incline bench press or declined bench press and performed with either the basic barbell or dumbbells. I recommend mixing it up a bit to make sure you are targeting all the areas of the chest and triceps.

Exercise #2

Pull ups/ Dips x 4 (Back, Biceps, Chest, & Triceps)

Exercise number two will be performed in a “superset” fashion. This workout will not only consist of two of the most effective bodyweight compound exercises but will be used to transition from the chest and triceps to the back and biceps.

Exercise #3

Bent over rolls x 4 (Back & Biceps)

Bent over rows can be performed with a standard barbell or easy curl bar. Be sure to perform them with both overhand grip and underhand grip for best results.

Exercise #4

Military shoulder press x 4 (Shoulders & Traps)

Like the bent over rows, the military press can be done with a standard barbell or an easy curl bar. Also, the military press can be performed in a seated position or standing. Personally the difference is not big enough to risk injury so I stick to the seated variation of this exercise.

Exercise #5

Squats OR Deadlifts

For the 5th and final workout you can alternate. One day you can perform squats as the last exercise and on others you can go with deadlifts. There are several variations of squats you can perform.

Remember, as effective as this workout routine is, best results come with proper nutrition. Please feel free to ask any questions via the comment box below.

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Best weight gainer for hardgainers - Smart Gainer Muscle Blend

Lately I have been extremely busy (hints why I have not been writing as much) and it seems a little more difficult then usual to allow myself the amount of calories I aim for on a daily basis. Although I am eating every chance I get and am making sure to blend extra calories into my shakes, I still manage to fall a little short.

That was until about a week ago when I walked into a local supplement shop here in Florida. I think I may have stumbled across the absolute greatest weight gainer for hardgainers.

In my experience with protein powders I have noticed that every one you try is missing something. Whether the servings are too large, its taste horrible, too much sugar, and the list goes on. That was at least till I came across “smart gainer”.

If you are a hardgainer and you are on a mission to pack on pounds of muscle mass, I absolutely recommend “smart gainer”.

What makes Smart Gainer to special?

-51 grams of protein
-Small servings (2 scoops)
-Low sugar (7 grams)
-850 calories per serving (with milk)
-Contains creatine
-Contains glutamine
-Tastes great!
-28 servings

What more can you ask for as a hardgainer? With one scoop in the morning blended with fruits and/or oatmeal and two scoops post workout, you are already at almost 1500 calories for the day. Think about how much easier this makes it on us hardgainers when trying to consume 3000 calories plus. Most of the protein powders we are used too either do not have enough calories or have the right amount of calories but the sugar is too high. Even when you do come across a protein powder that has low sugar and high calories, you find that the serving amounts are enormous. Best case scenario, you find a protein powder with high calories, low sugar, and small servings, but it taste like garbage! With Smart Gainer you get high calories (good calories), only 7 grams of sugar, small servings, and it tastes absolutely amazing. I am the type that drinks my shakes with water; this stuff even with just some water will taste awesome.

I started taking Smart Gainer for about a week now and I love it. I highly recommend this to anyone trying to pack on pounds of muscle. Especially if you are busy and find it difficult to consume enough calories on a daily basis due to time restraints.

BodyBuilding.com Rates Smart Gainer Muscle Blend a 9.3/10

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Hardgainer Workout - 3 Simple Tips to Crush Your Skinny Genes and Gain Massive Muscle

It is not very rare for ectomorpic individuals also known as "hardgainers" to get frustrated and discouraged when they begin trying to build muscle and gain weight. Having an ectomorphic body type means that our body requires a completely different set of rules and techniques when working out. The main reason for this is due to the fact that our muscles are much more sensitive to strain and tend to breakdown much more quickly, as well as taking an extended amount of time to heal.

In order for an ectomorphic workout to be effective, we need to take into consideration the way our body and muscles function and handle different types of strain and intensity. The following are 3 quick and easy tips to remember that will help you to start gaining the muscle mass you are working so hard for.

Rest more Lift Less

It is absolutely crucial that you spend more time out of the gym resting and recovering that time in the gym lifting weights. It has been shown in a number of studies that an ectomorph's body responds better to workout sessions that last no longer than 1 hour, 3-5 times per week.

Compound Exercises are Key

This is another very important thing to keep in mind, since we only have about an hour to workout, it is crucial that we hit as many muscle fibers within the targeted muscle groups as possible. Remember that the more muscle fibers that are worked the better the results. Compound exercises are exercises that hit more than one muscle group at a time and therefore work the most muscle fibers in less time. It is for this reason that you need to stick with compound movement exercises such as:

-Bench Press

-Squats

-Clean and Press

-Skull Crushers

-Barbell Curl

-Military Press

-Dips

-Deadlifts

Longer Time under Tension = More Muscle Gains

With an ectomorphic body type, you should be focusing on lifting with a tempo that allows your muscles to be under tension for a longer period of time. Most people lift with a tempo of 2 seconds to lower 0 rest and then 1 second to push or pull the weight to the starting position. However studies have shown that increasing the time under tension especially in the isometric phase works more muscle fibers. So instead of a 1,0,2 ratio increasing it to a 1,0,4 ratio would work out way more muscle fibers which means more muscle growth. Other methods that would help would be to include things like:

-Supersets

-Half Reps

-Assisted Reps

If you are serious about overcoming your genetics and building that impressive muscular body your after it is absolutely crucial that you follow these tips and that you are consistent in your workouts and eating habits. If you are tired of being skinny and want to see big changes fast I recommend getting a copy of No Hype, No B.S Muscle Building. You can get a FREE copy of it here - Ectomorph Muscle Guide also feel free to visit my Natural Muscle Building Blog

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_B_Davies

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How much protein do i need daily? (Hardgainers)

If you look at the weight gain formula for hardgainers, you should have been able to calculate how much protein your body needs daily in order to build muscle mass.

If only it were just that simple huh? You see, there is a little bit more to packing on muscle than just calculating how much of what kinds of calories you need daily.

According to this formula I have put together, if you are a hardgainer and weigh 155 pounds then you should be consuming about 3720 calories a day. Out of those calories, 30 percent of them should be protein. This means that 1116 calories a day should come from protein. Now, that breaks down to about 279 grams of protein in a day. Does that seem simple enough? Well, if only it was just that simple.

Here is where more people make their mistake. They just consume food throughout the day without breaking it down into time frames; instead they just count the calories and make sure they are taking in the correct amounts of each type of calorie. What they fail to look at is how much protein their body can actually use. So, how much grams of protein can your body actually use? The answer to that is 50 grams per every 3 hours.

So, our body can only use about 50 grams of protein per every three hours and most people are only awake for about 16 hours per day….so 279 grams of protein is impossible to consume, right? Not exactly, remember as a hardgainer you should not only be working out with big compound exercises that will use up a lot of the calories you consume throughout the day but your metabolism also naturally will burn through these calories at a fast rate. With that being said, just because your body can only use 50 grams of protein per every three hours doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t consume a little more then that. Remember, you have to make up for the calories from proteins that are being used as energy at the gym, with basic daily activities, and having fast metabolism.

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Gain weight fast - Quick guide to weight gain for Women

I like to think that because I am a hardgainer that my specialty is in helping skinny guys gain weight. Notice the keyword in that sentence? The keyword is “guys”; I am always putting together tips for men to gain weight fast. Do these same tips work for women? Not exactly, for women to gain weight and muscle mass they will have to take a bit of a different approach if they don’t want to pack on pounds of fat or end up looking like bodybuilders. This is why I have put together this “quick guide to weight gain for women”. In this guide I will discuss the three main keys to gaining weight for women.

-Diet
-Workout
-Rest

Diet
The diet is the most important factor in gaining weight for women. The first thing you will need to know is how much you must eat. If you want to calculate the amount of calories you should be eating daily, simply take your weight and multiply it by 18.

For example: 115 pounds x 18 = 2070 calories

Now that you have calculated how many calories you must take in, it is time to figure out what kinds of calories they should be.

40% of the calories-carbohydrates
40% of the calories-protein
20% of the calories-fats

How many calories in a gram of protein, fat, and carbohydrate?
• Protein contains 4 calories per gram
• Carbohydrates contain 4 calories per gram
• Fat contains 9 calories per gram

So you have the amount of calories you must take in daily and you have calculated how much of each kind of calorie you should consume. Now I will go over the proper sources for these calories. You see, if you just consume carbohydrates, protein, or fats from just any source you could be making a huge mistake. If you take in the wrong carbohydrates they will store themselves as fat very quickly. You must focus on complex carbohydrates, these carbs will be kept as energy sources for much longer. The protein sources are just as important, without the proper amino acids your body will not create muscle as effectively. The fats we take in should all be natural fats in order to avoid creating unwanted fat weight. With that being said, here are some great sources for each kind of calorie.

Carbohydrates:
-Fruits
-Vegetables
-Whole grains (oatmeal, wheat bread, wheat pasta, brown rice)

Protein
-Egg whites
-Chicken breast
-Tuna
-Turkey (Cold cut or ground)
-Salmon
-Yogurt
-Beans
-Almonds

Fats
-Peanut butter
-Olive oil
-Almond butter
-Olives
-Unpasteurized Butter
-Flaxseeds or flaxseed oil

Workout
The workout I recommend is a full body routine with compound exercises. Performing a full body routine will allow you to hit every angle and muscle group. Because you are focusing on compound exercises you will be able to target every muscle group in as little as 6 different exercises.

This workout should be performed once every other day to avoid burning too many calories and it will allow enough rest for muscle recuperation. Each exercise will consist of 10 reps and 4 sets meaning that you will perform each exercise 4 times with 10 repetitions each time. Rest will be 30-60 seconds between each set and one minute between each exercise.

Pull ups 4x10 (back and biceps)
Tricep dips 4x10 (chest and triceps)
Dumbbell chest press 4x10 (chest and triceps)
Bent over rows 4x10 (back and biceps)
Military press 4x10 (shoulders)
Squats 4x10 (legs)

-Make sure to use the proper amount of weight, if you can perform 10 reps too easily then you might want to consider raising the amount of weight. Also, if the weight is so heavy that you can not finish the entire 10 reps, you should consider lowering the amount of weight.

-On your days off from the workout, feel free to perform 30 minutes – 1 hour of cardio. This will aid in keeping off any extra fat from build stored and also things like running and walking are good for overall body toning.

- I highly suggest that you take one EXTRA day off per week. This EXTRA day does not include the days in between each workout day that I mentioned in the “workout” section.

Rest
Our body creates muscle mainly while we are in deep sleep. If you are not getting the right amount of GOOD sleep, your body will not develop muscle. The importance of building muscle is so that you are gaining lean weight and not just fat. The more muscle you have, the better you will look and also the more fat your body will naturally burn.

Gaining weight is as simple as consuming more calories than you are burning, if you workout every single day you will burn too many calories and make it nearly impossible to gain any weight or build any muscle.

Quick weight gain guide for women
This program is created for women who are looking to gain weight by putting on muscle mass without looking like a bodybuilder. Please feel free to leave any questions or comments in the comment section of this post.

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Build bigger triceps in just 3 weeks

I want to start off by wishing you all a happy and prosperous new year. I want to thank all my readers for subscribing, commenting, and asking questions. This is that time of the year when everyone makes these “new years resolutions”. Although I am completely against waiting till the New Year to better yourself, I actually contradicted myself and put together a small “new years resolution”. Aside from the yearly plan I put together for my personal life, I also decided that I would focus more on triceps to make them larger and more defined.

I decided I wanted to get bigger and more defined triceps this year, so what better then to put up an amazing triceps workout video?

Whether you want bigger arms, more defined arms, or just bigger and more defined triceps, this workout will work wonders for you. Most people who want bigger arms usually focus on biceps and are determined to build them up. I have nothing against building bigger biceps, but just don’t let yourself forget that bigger arms do not come without bigger triceps. The triceps take up about 65% of your arms leaving the biceps at about 35%. With that being said, I’m sure it’s a little easier to decide what part of the arm you want to focus the majority of your attention on.

This workout I found online and absolutely loved it. I think this may very well be the answer to those of us who can not seem to get the triceps to bust out of our shirts like we want. This workout claims to be able to build your triceps in just 3 weeks, and just by looking at the workout and examining the science behind it, I think it is very possible.

Part 1: 3 Circuits with 30 to 60 Seconds Rest Between Exercises

Exercise 1: Lying on the Floor Kettle Bell Extensions

12 Reps and Hold the Negative on the Way Down

Exercise 2: Tricep Push Up

12 to 15 Reps and Hold the Negative on the Way Down

Exercise 3: Physioball Dumbbell Kick Back

10 to 12 Reps and Hold & Squeeze for 2 to 3 Seconds at the Top and Hold the Negative on the Way Down

Part 2: 1 Circuit of 3 Sets with 30 to 60 Seconds Rest Between Exercises

Exercise 1: Tubing Reverse Tricep Curl

10 to 12 Reps

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