New Chest shredding lift!!!

1) Incline bench press 10 reps go right to flat dumbell press 10 reps, the right to decline bench press 10 reps

2) 90 seconds rest repeat at 8 reps

3) 90 seconds rest repeat at 6 reps

2) Incline flies 4x8 heavy superset clap pushups 4x15

3) Flat dumbell flies 4x10 superset close grip pushups 4x25

4) low to hi cable flies 3x15 superset feet on bench, hands on floor, upper chest pushups 3x40

5) hi to low cable flies 3x20 superset dips til failure

Building Muscle and Burning Fat Simultaneously - is it possible?

A ripped, muscular physique is the goal of most, if not all bodybuilders and fitness buffs alike. As summer approaches we all start thinking about getting lean after a long fall and winter of bulking and packing on real muscular bodyweight. But in the process of all that bulking we seemed to have let our abs fade in the place of strength and mass gains. So it is time once gain to shred up, lean down and turn into a ripped piece of art we all envision ourselves to be – but for you, this time will be different.
Do you often find yourself at a crossroads regarding keeping your hard-earned mass that you so tirelessly worked towards only to see it dwindle away as you diet down? Are you a “hardgainer” that has to fight for every ounce of muscle scared to death of reducing calories to get a more muscular midsection? More calories in equals more mass and fewer calories in equals less body fat – and it’s one or the other – right?
The age-old question if is it possible to gain muscle and burn fat simultaneously has been debated for many years. There are so many opinions from experts to people in the trenches that it is very difficult to sift through to the facts. Most will tell you that you must choose between the two in order to reach optimum success and that attempting both at the same time is futile. So why not just give up, reduce calories and sacrifice the muscle for better abs and more muscular arms. Because you are better than that! You will find a way and put into practice a concise plan of action to reach your ultimate potential. The guidelines and plan included here are designed to help you not only keep, but build muscle while simultaneously burn body fat. It can be done with a little planning, discipline and hard work.

The Right Amounts

One of the single, most imperative principles in this plan is to eat the right amounts of macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates and fats). By manipulating these foods and staying strict with the guidelines your goals will soon be in range. Diet is so important that without adhering to these principles you will surely never reach your physique goals.
Protein: As the main source for building muscle, protein is absolutely necessary for your muscle-building strategy. Take in around 1 to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight (this equates to 180-270 grams for a 180 pound individual). This will guarantee that your muscles will be getting the correct dose of amino acids for maintaining and building muscle tissue. Some prime sources are chicken, lean steak, fish, turkey, ground meat, eggs, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt and protein powders.
Carbohydrates: Carbohydrate is a great muscle-sparing energy source. This particular macronutrient will be drastically manipulated as the diet plan goes along and will play a major roll in its success so be extremely mindful of your intake on a daily basis. Be sure to have an intake mainly of complex carbohydrates and fiber. Sources include brown rice, wild rice, sweet potatoes, whole wheat bread, wheat pasta, vegetables, some fruits and Ezekiel products.
Fats: Never count out a healthy fat. Certain fats are essential regarding maintaining hormones such as testosterone, increasing fat burning and aiding energy levels. Healthy fats will be utilized to replace carbohydrate on certain days to keep blood sugar levels steady and help with satiety. Good sources include avocado, walnuts, almonds, olive oil, natural peanut butter, some egg yolks and sunflower seeds.

Light the Furnace!

Now let’s look at how we can implement these macronutrients and manipulate them in such a way as to build more strength and mass while torching our fat stores. Protein levels will stay somewhat the same throughout the plan. You need that steady stream of amino acids to feed to the muscles for recuperation and repair to take place. Try out one gram per pound of bodyweight and assess your progress. If you find yourself stalling, try to up it to 1.25 or 1.5 grams per pound and then reassess. That is about as high as you will want to go with protein – the rest is up to carbohydrate and fat manipulation. Give each change in protein amount about four weeks before reassessing.
Here is the tricky part. Now you will start to manipulate carbohydrate in such a way as to trick the body into delving into its fat stores for fuel. You will have high, medium and low consumption days. You will eat low carbs for two to four days followed by medium and high days. On the low days your body will burn fat for fuel and save muscle so as long as your protein intake is high enough. Before you starve your body of energy after so many days of low carbs (which if prolonged could lead to lower testosterone levels and metabolism) you will have a day of moderate carbs and another day of high carbs. This will shuttle in fuel to the muscle, rev back up your metabolism and be burned without storing body fat. Carbohydrate intake will be approximately .5 grams per pound of bodyweight for low days (90 grams for a 180 pounder), 1.5 grams per pound on medium days (270 grams) and 2.25 grams per pound on high days (405 grams).
Fat intake should hover around .25 grams per pound of bodyweight or 20-30% of total calories. However, on low carbohydrate days it would be wise to increase your healthy fat intake slightly. This will ensure your hormone levels will stay steady and will supply you with ample energy for your grueling workouts. On the low carb days simply increase your fat intake by 50%. Remember that one gram of fat has over twice the amount of calories of carbs, so a little goes a long way. For example, if you had half of an avocado on a salad, now on low carb days you will eat ¾ of an avocado.

The Muscle-Building Fat-Torching Sample Diet

Low Carbohydrate Days

	Meal 1:	- 3 eggs and 4 egg whites
		- ½ cup oatmeal (dry measure)
		- Cinnamon for taste
		- 1 tablespoon of natural peanut butter
	Meal 2:	- 2 scoops of whey protein powder mixed in water
		- or 1 cup Greek yogurt
		- 1.5 ounces of almonds
	Meal 3:	- 6-8 ounces of meat, fish or chicken
		- Green salad with 3 tablespoons of olive oil dressing
	Meal 4:	- ½ of an apple or banana
		- 1 scoop of whey protein powder mixed in water
	Meal 5:	- 2 scoops of whey protein powder mixed in water
	Meal 6:	- 6-8 ounces of meat, fish or chicken
		- Broccoli, green beans or peas or green salad
		- ½ avocado

Medium Carbohydrate Days

	Meal 1:	- 3 eggs and 4 egg whites
		- 1 cup oatmeal (dry measure)
		- Cinnamon for taste
		- 1 tablespoon of natural peanut butter
	Meal 2:	- 2 scoops of whey protein powder mixed in water
		- or 1 cup Greek yogurt
		- 1 ounce of almonds
		- 1 apple
	Meal 3:	- 6-8 ounces of turkey with two slices of wheat bread
		- 1 tablespoon of light mayonaise
		- Green salad with 2 tablespoons of olive oil dressing
	Meal 4:	- 1 banana
		- 1 scoop of whey protein powder mixed in water
	Meal 5:	- 2 scoops of whey protein powder mixed in water
		- 12 ounces of Gatorade
	Meal 6:	- 6-8 ounces of meat, fish or chicken
		- Broccoli, green beans or peas or green salad
		- ¼ avocado
		- 1 cup of wild rice cooked

High Carbohydrate Days

	Meal 1:	- 3 eggs and 4 egg whites
		- 1 ½ cup oatmeal (dry measure)
		- Cinnamon for taste
		- ½ tablespoon of natural peanut butter
	Meal 2:	- 2 scoops of whey protein powder mixed in water
		- or 1 cup Greek yogurt
		- 1 ounce of almonds
		- 1 apple
	Meal 3:	- 6-8 ounces of fish
		- Green salad with 2 tablespoons of olive oil dressing
		- 1 ½ cup of wild rice cooked
	Meal 4:	- 1 banana
		- 1 scoop of whey protein powder mixed in water
	Meal 5:	- 2 scoops of whey protein powder mixed in water
		- 12 ounces of Gatorade
	Meal 6:	- 6-8 ounces of meat, fish or chicken
		- Broccoli, green beans or peas or green salad
		- ¼ avocado
		- 1 medium sweet potato

10 Simple Rules To Teenage Mass

Rule 1: EAT!

I cannot tell you how many times I have been asked by others on how to gain muscle. I always answer back with a question; what are your eating habits? Nine times out of ten they are poor. They either eat a ton of junk food or not nearly enough food, period. In your mission to gain weight, you must EAT! You must eat enough all day every day and create a calorie surplus. This does not mean eat everything in sight, but just enough for your body to utilize for your rigorous workouts.

Rule 2: Eat Right

Make sure the food you intake is of healthy choices. Get in good carbohydrates such as cereals, oatmeal, rice, potatoes, pasta, wheat bread, and plenty of fruits and vegetables. Choose healthy proteins such as turkey, chicken, beef, fish, skim milk, egg whites, and light cheeses. I would not worry too much about fats. If most of your diet is of the healthy variety and your goal is to gain weight, the fat content will take care of itself.

Rule 3: Eat Often

Looking back at my old habits, I was guilty of not eating often enough. I would many times skip breakfast and then eat a massive lunch and dinner. Two meals a day was not the best approach. When I began weight training I started eating three solid meals per day with two homemade supplement shakes in between. Talk about crazy! I would mix about three or four heaping spoonfuls of non-fat yogurt, about 5 egg whites, three or four cups of milk and then two scoops of cement-tasting protein powder. Blend it all up and I had myself a super mass 3000 muscle shake! Now, I do not recommend that in particular, whereas now there are so many great products on the market. But the point is to eat frequently with most meals being actual food and possibly a shake or two added to the mix.
A sample daily menu could look as simple as this:

Breakfast:

1 bowl of oatmeal or healthy whole grain cereal with milk, banana, 1 glass of orange juice or milk

Midmorning:

Protein shake

Lunch:

One or two turkey sandwiches on wheat bread, piece of fruit or granola bar

Afternoon:

1 Bowl of oatmeal or whole grain cereal or sandwich with natural peanut butter, glass of skim milk.

Post workout:

Protein shake

Dinner:

Chicken, beef or fish with pasta, rice, or potatoes

Rule 4: TRAIN!

You will not gain muscle if you do not train. Not only that, but you will not gain muscle if you do not train hard! I cannot tell you how many times I look around the gym and see so many people playing on their cell phone and/or their MP3 player. So much time is wasted fooling with these devices that precious time is lost. These are the same individuals that tell me that they have tried everything and just cannot gain any muscle weight. Others simply are there to mingle, socialize, or just plain hang out. When you get to the gym show up with a goal, show up to train, show up to train hard! Love going to the gym, love training, have fun training, but train! I used to think to myself: the longer I waited between sets after a certain amount of time my muscles would start to shrink. True or not it fired me up to lift hard and heavy on my next set.

Rule 5: Train smart

Do not train just to train, train smart. When I started I was doing 30 plus sets per body part sometimes up to 40 while spending 3 to 3 ½ hours per day in the gym. I was grossly overtraining, but that is how we all did it back then. My training partner would do 40 plus sets for triceps alone! In this case more is definitely not better; however, I see a lot of guys barely do much in the gym worth anything. Not enough work, not enough intensity, and not enough attention to form and function. Do just enough to work the muscle properly and then leave. Too much of anything is bad for you so adjust your volume, reps, movements, and splits according to your specific needs.
I am a big believer of using your fast metabolism to your advantage. Whereas many have written before regarding “hardgainers” needing to train less often, rest a lot and so forth I am quite the opposite. I feel someone with a fast metabolism can workout more frequently due to there quick turn around to repair muscle tissue. If your nutrition is sound and consistent, there is no reason not to work every body part twice per week.
A good split can look like this:

1. Chest/Back

2. Shoulders/Arms

3. Thighs/Calves

Or

1. Chest/Shoulders/Triceps

2. Thighs/Calves

3. Back/Biceps

Rule 6: Leave your ego at the door

How much ya bench? Who cares! If your goals are not sport-specific then do not worry too much about being able to bench a lot of weight. Your goal should be to be strong all over. I was never a big bencher, but I could always curl a ton of weight. However I was never worried about what others thought of my strength. My goals were to always push myself past my own limits, to challenge myself with every set and rep and to work toward realizing my own potential. Sure, push yourself, and sometimes max out and see where your strengths lie, but not at the expense of safety. Egos can sometimes get you hurt and cause an injury, taking months to repair.

Rule 7: Supplement wisely

You see them everywhere: supplement ads. A supplement is just that: items in addition to your already well-rounded eating plan of solid food. Do not go overboard with powders, pills, and potions. They have their place in a program, but as a teen you may want to see how your body reacts first to good nutrition and hard training. After several years you may want to experiment to see which supplements will work for you. Rule of thumb: if you do decide to try a supplement do so one at a time, read the labels and take accordingly. If you have any questions ask a healthcare professional.

Rule 8: Rest

You grow when you are adequately rested. This means getting the recommended eight hours of sleep per night if not more. When your body is asleep it has the opportunity to repair and grow from that intense training session you did earlier. Lack of sleep equals less growth and improvement. Also, try getting in a 15 to 20 minute power nap before hitting the gym. It will recharge you and do wonders for your performance in the gym.

Rule 9: Seek knowledge

Read about training, do your research and scrutinize everything. Just because it is written or said does not mean it is golden fact. Read articles on About-Muscle.com and ask questions in the forums. While ingesting all of this information you will form your own opinions, ideals and programs to fit your body and goals. Always seek to learn more.

Rule 10: Have fun

Do not be a prisoner to the gym. Have fun. If you find yourself dreading the gym then back off a little, cut back on days per week you train for a while, relax a little more, and do whatever it takes to get that fire back. Your teen years should be great years to be spent being with your friends and being involved with school not living in the gym. Find a balance. Rely on your friends for support and invite them to train with you, but by all means have fun with it!
For more information on training, nutrition and supplementation simply click on my profile.

Bulk in Style .........

If you’ve always been the sort of person who has been embarrassed about his or her skinny build but has had no problems in keeping the fat off your body, you have come to the right page.
There have been many names for a body like yours. Ectomorph, Hardgainer, and such. It all means the same – that you have trouble putting on any sort of weight – muscle or fat. You have spent the majority of your life being the “skinny” guy or girl of the group. This build may have made you slightly more agile, but it’s pretty obvious that the strength that every human sorely needs is absent. We’re here to rectify that.
Let’s identify what the problem is: You have a body that was born to burn calories. Your metabolism burns calories at high rates, making muscle synthesis and fat storage difficult. You end up with a thin build, carrying bare minimums of skeletal muscle and fat. This elevated metabolism/increased need for calories could be due to a number of factors including resting metabolic rate (RMR), hormone levels
(i.e. thyroid), insulin sensitivity, fat oxidation capacity, to name a few.
Here’s the good news: The basics concerning training will remain largely the same. You will still stick with the compound exercises that build the most muscle (presses, squats, deadlifts, rows and such) to illicit a great hormonal response from your body, along with eating a caloric surplus, ie. more calories must be eaten than burnt.
Here is the slightly less good news: You’re going to eat a lot. Because your body burns the usual amount of calories ingested by you, you’re going to have to give it a lot more of them. Along with exercises with large amount of stress, this gargantuan amount of food will literally force your body to grow. When we say a lot, we mean a LOT. Stock up on Whey or a weight gainer, eggs, milk and some sort of healthy carb source.
There are many diets worked up specifically for people who have a fast metabolism and can’t seem to gain weight. Most of them pick one staple food and recommend taking a whole lot of that food. We, being Indians, can pick one which is most convenient: Milk. Drink a lot of milk apart from the usual diet of whey, eggs and staple foods like roti and chawal (rice). Milk contains a near perfect ratio of carbs, protein and fat for muscle building, and comes cheap. Combined with the right supplements, it can be the perfect muscle building food.
A word of caution: if you have been proud of that “mini” six pack you have been carrying all these years, be prepared to lose them for a few months. Bulking up means putting on as much muscle as possible in a designated amount of time, but it is usually accompanied by some fat as well. The good part is, because you have a quick metabolism, as soon as you start dieting (assuming you diet correctly) this fat will go away far quicker than in other people. Being an ectomorph is both a blessing and a curse.
For most of us, macronutrients need to be consumed in a 5:3:2 ratio of carbs:protein:fats. One should always get 1-1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight, this is your primary objective. Above that, carbs and good fats will constitute the bulk of your calories.
If you are consuming 3,000 calories, this would equate to:
a. Carbs = 375 grams
b. Protein = 225 grams
c. Fat = 67 grams
Often, it is nearly impossible to ingest the required amount of calories for a hardgainer. No matter what you eat, it doesn’t seem to be enough. That is precisely why Weight Gainers exist. One scoop of that powder will give you the carbs, protein and fat of 2 or more meals together, making it easier for the body to gain weight.
For example, a single serving of Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass will provide you with 252g of Carbs, and 50g of protein.  A single serving of Gaspari Real Mass provides you with 78g of Carbs, and 50g of protein. You may divide these servings per your needs. They eradicate the need to eat a sickening amount of food, and also provide you with a way to literally carry the calories around in a bottle. Its far easier than taking a break and cooking a truckload of food every time. For the fat requirements, I suggest you rely on eggs, milk and softgel capsules for essential fatty acids.
If you're more focused on increasing weight but not ready to put some fat on which will come in through weight gainers, try leaners weight gainers like Optimum nutrition Pro complex gainer or VPX stealth. These have a lower carb-protein ratio and are more suited for people who're thin but not extraordinarily thin.

Again, we must repeat, do not enter the gym and do tons of bicep curls and tricep extensions. Strength means size. And strength is built by compound exercises, not isolation. Stick to compound movements, at least for the beginning of your training life, and you will gain muscle.
It’s a simple formula, really: Lift Big + Eat Big = Gain Big.
Train hard, eat right and stay strong!

Five Tips For High Intensity Training

High Intensity Training or just HIT is a training method introduced somewhere in the early seventies from Arthur Jones, who was the founder of Nautilus, a company that produces gym equipment.

Several years later, HIT starts becoming popular when famous bodybuilders claimed to achieve great results by associating HIT with their workout. Some of the most known professional bodybuilders which were fans of HIT were: Dorian Yates, Sergio Oliva, Lee Labrada, Mike Mentzer and Aaron Baker.

HIT's main principle is to train your muscles with maximum intensity in a short time period in order to achieve muscle failure.

The truth is that HIT has proven to be a very efficient training method for bodybuilders who want to develop their muscles and their strength in the same time. However, in order to get the maximum out of HIT, I will give you some tips to follow in the gym:

 
1) HIT means High Intensity Training
As long as you have decided to adopt HIT you must insert intensity to your training routine. The days where you went to the gym and completed your workout without even sweating are over. Every exercise, every set and every single rep must hurt.

2) Increase your Weights and Lower your Reps
You have to regulate your weights so that you reach muscle failure somewhere between five to eight reps. Muscle failure means the point where you are not able to lift a single rep more.

3) Take Advantage of the Negative Exercise
Not performing the negative phase of the exercise is a common mistake we often witness in the gym. By saying "negative" we mean the lowering of the weight. Lower the weight slowly and focus on the muscle. The benefits of the negative exercise, especially inside a HIT training are very important.

4) Do not rest longer than 35 seconds
Long resting periods between the sets reduce the intensity of the exercise allowing your muscles to avoid exhaustion. Since your HIT workout will be brief you don't have the luxury to rest for long. Training intensity causes blood concentration to the muscle group you are working on. If you rest too much, the blood concentration which is responsible for muscle development will decrease. 30 to 35 seconds is optimal for muscle growth.

5) Three Sets per Muscle Group
As mentioned above in order to perform HIT training the right way you have to keep your workout intensive and short. Three sets per muscle group are enough provided that you reach muscle failure.
As a conclusion we might say that HIT is a great training method to build muscle and increase your strength.

Train Less and Grow More? What???

Through my own research, personal experience, and in working with a wide variety of athletes, I frequently talk about different training splits. With other athletes, I have found we have a similar philosophy….whether they are long distance runners, professional mountain bikers, or my favorite bodybuilding/physique athletes. I find the most successful athletes focus on training splits and the appropriate amount of rest between workouts.

For example, the following is the training split I use most often during the off-season. This training schedule helps me add size, works best for me, and I trust it will be helpful for you as well.

Day 1. Chest, Biceps and Abs

Day 2. Legs

Day 3. Rest

Day 4. Shoulders, Triceps and Abs

Day 5. Calves and low intensity cardio

Day 6. Back and Abs

Day 7. Low intensity cardio

I have found that this split gives me the ability to continually add mass while avoiding injuries. Remember the key components to building muscle are “Eat. Sleep. And Train.” This little saying is very true! You build and repair muscle tissue while you are sleeping. In order to get the best rate of growth, the muscle needs this time.

If you find yourself hitting a plateau, it’s usually a combination of two things:

1) Not eating enough of the right food

2) Training too much!

Too often in the sport, I see athletes training with the wrong mindset and not seeing the results from the effort they put into their workouts. Remember “Less IS More” and that you are growing when you are at rest, so if you are not getting proper rest, chances are you are not growing to your full potential.

Good luck with your training and be well!

Secret to Giant Calves

I get asked a lot what the secret is to my calves. I always tell people that everything starts with genetics. If you don’t have the best genetics for calves then you may have to get creative or just work a little harder. I don’t have the best genetics, but I don’t have the worst either. There is no right or wrong way to work calves. I have clients that work them once a week and they grow and then I have clients that need to work them twice a week. The key to giant calves is hard work and finding the right combination to spur them to grow. Here is one workout I have had great success with in building my calves.

Now this workout may seem easy, but give it a try and if you hit it with 110% intensity you will think differently. No one workout or exercise will guarantee giant calves, but try this for 8 weeks of your bulking phase and see what happens.

Use the donkey calve raise machine or do standing calve raises with the smith machine. Start with a warm up set of 20 reps. Then find a weight that you fail with at about 20 reps. Stop and rest for no more than 7 seconds and continue till failure again. Repeat this until 70 reps. Make sure you use full range of motion. This is a one set workout, a giant super set for giant calves.

Warm up: 20 reps bodyweight

Set:

-20 reps till failure, rest no more than 7 seconds

-As many reps till failure, rest no more than 7 seconds, repeat till 70 reps total

-1 set of 70 reps total