3 Amazing Ways to Shape Up Your Muscles in Less Than 7 days!

Imagine you need to look great to get all the attention at the biggest party of the year. The cloak has already started ticking and you have got 7 days to fix yourself for the D-Day. If you can take out 15 to 30 minutes in the next few days, you can be ready for action.

Step 1:

Exercise: Start with skipping and jogging and chin-ups by hanging from a rod for warming up.

Two steps of crunches or sit-ups for strengthening and toning your abdominal muscles.

Then go for Flat bench press and dumbbell flyers for the entire chest area, focusing mainly on the inner chest and followed by 2 sets of push-ups.

Work on your trapezium for the collar muscle and shoulder pressing.

For biceps the exercise to be followed is standing barbell curl.

Next you can work out on your Triceps with Single dumbbell or French press and fore forearms.

Skipping will have an effect on your legs, other wise you can go for Squats and back with lat pull down.

Step 2:

Diets are just as important as exercise, because it is the most important part of getting the body you want. You have to eat good to look good. You need protein, and you don't need fat. Stay away from junk and fatty foods. Not all fat is bad; there is a healthy fat. This fat can be found in fish, Nuts and some oils. Have Lots of fibers such as leafy vegetables, salads and daily products.

Step 3: The results though wont come easily and they wont come very fast either, So Stay dedicated, motivated and consistent, and do all 3 steps correctly to get the desired result.

By Venkata Ramana

How Do I Gain Weight?

Try asking people how to gain weight and you'll likely see some bewildered faces staring back at you. For the majority of people, hearing that question is akin to hearing the questions, "How do I stub my toe?" or "How do I run out of gas?"

Those confused faces not withstanding, the question is a legitimate one and one that frustrates those who find themselves on the light end of the scale. While those on the heavy end can't get through a commercial break or flip through more than five pages of a magazine without someone offering up a solution to their weight problems, it can be a lonely struggle for those who want to put on weight.

If you are lucky enough to get a reasoned response to your question, it will probably involve the words "eat more." That, despite being obvious, is great advice. Quite simply, to gain weight you will need to up your calorie consumption to the point where you consume more calories than you expend. Couple an increased caloric intake with a little weight training and you have the recipe for healthy weight gain.

You may think you eat a lot, even enough to keep pace with your more weight-furnished friends, but you are probably over-estimating your intake. After a trip to the doctor's office to rule out medical causes for your inability to bulk up (thyroid disease and other medical problems can hamper weight gain), a first step to designing an effective weight gain program is to journal your eating habits. Counting calories for a week will give you an accurate view of your diet.

From there, increase your daily caloric intake by about 300-500 calories until you start putting on the pounds. Keep in mind though, while your caloric intake will directly influence your bodyweight, it will be other factors like the types of food you eat and your weight training regimen that decide the type of weight you are putting on. So if you are after an aesthetically pleasing weight gain, that of lean muscle weight as opposed to just some extra body fat to lug around, it will be important to pay attention to these factors.

To get the most muscle out of your weight gain, avoid the junk food and focus on eating whole foods. A good weight gain diet should be composed of 30-50% protein, 20-50% carbohydrates and 20-40% fat (the majority of which should be essential fatty acids). Different ratios within these ranges will work differently for different people. Keep up your food journal and experiment to find the ratios that work best for you.

Providing your body with the materials it needs to build muscle is only one piece of the puzzle. A weight training program designed to give the body a reason to add some muscle will be very important to achieving your goals. Your workout routines should concentrate on compound weight lifting exercises (those that involve multiple muscle groups like the squat or bench press) with weights that allow you to do 6 to 12 reps per set. Higher rep ranges will tone your muscles but may not sufficiently signal the body into muscle growth. Try to either increase the amount of weight lifted or the reps completed with each workout.

Don't go overboard with your workouts. Two or three one-hour workouts per week done with intensity should do the trick. Too often those that have trouble gaining weight (hardgainers) spend too much time in the gym. This can be counterproductive in two ways. First, it means you are burning off a lot of the calories that could otherwise be used to build muscle and, second, you can over-train your muscles by working them too hard, basically making them unresponsive.

If you are looking for some company in your quest to gain weight, venture into the bodybuilding community. There you will find many people also seeking ways to put on lean muscle mass. You will also find many products marketed to help you gain weight. Be very cautious when looking at these products. Gaining weight may not be as in demand as losing weight but it is still big business and there are a lot of companies out there looking to take your money. While some of these products can help, others aren't necessary.

With a little motivation, a weight gain diet and a solid weight training program in place you will have all you need to achieve your gain weight goals. Better yet, you will never again have to ask that question that gets all those funny looks aimed back at you.

By JP Clifford

Know All about Power Push Ups

Push ups are the most convenient way to build up your chest, shoulders, arms and upper back. It can be performed at any place, and you don't need to carry your gym with you wherever you go.

Do you know that most of the men who train with weights cannot do single handstand pushups? When I first found this out I was stunned.

A few Things to keep in mind:

Ø Always keep your hands slightly wider than shoulder width apart, with fingers together and pointing straight ahead.

Ø If you have ever had any shoulder pain, stick to the 90-degree limit. Deeper push ups can stretch the shoulder capsule and put strain on the joint. This can cause pain.

Ø Start in the upper position with your arms straight.

Ø Inhale as you lower yourself towards the floor.

Ø Don't go lower than forming a 90-degree bend with your elbows.

Ø Exhale as you push yourself up from the floor.

Ø Don't lock your elbows at the top.

Ø Your back should be straight. Don't let it sag and don't stick your butt up in the air.

By Venkata Ramana

A Champion Bodybuilder - Do You Have What It Takes?

My career began in the eighties. I never found myself going to a health club, much less taking time for myself, until I was in college. I had to occupy my time between classes somehow, so one day I went to the gym. I grew up without self-discipline, confidence, or faith in myself. As a youth, I was overweight and short. In my late teens, during the first few years of my career and with the help of a few close friends, I was fortunate to have discovered three very important things about myself that changed me forever: hope, belief, and motivation.

Hope

I did not set out to be a champion bodybuilder. Nor did I really want to. But I did hoped I could get in better shape with some hard work.

Belief

When I first stepped into a health club, it was frightening. I had two friends that exercised with me on a regular basis. The confidence they had in me started positively affecting my attitude and fear of failure. After awhile, I noticed those fears I had about myself slowly began to disappear.

Motivation

As I developed more confidence, I started to realize how important it was for this change to come from the "inside out." Looking better, having more energy and getting physically stronger are great things to experience, but what I am most grateful for is that my heart was also changing. I felt better about myself. I had purpose and I was doing something positive. That heart-felt motivation became the glue that has kept me going for all these years. No matter what you do in life, if you have purpose, and if it is good for others, life will be rewarding.

Here are a few principles I have learned along the way may help you become a true bodybuilding champion.

Principle #1: Be Sold Out! Whether you are a competitive bodybuilder or just do it as a hobby to stay in shape - have the attitude that you are going to exercise and eat right for life.

Principle#2: Ask not, have not! If you do not know something, ask a man/women that you feel does. Knowledge is powerful.

Principle #3: Leave your ego at the door! Your ego is your biggest competitor by far. The reality is, it's NOT all about you. If you think it is, you will never be a Champion for any length of time.

Principle #4: Work-out smart not hard! Bodybuilding is about efficiency, not effort.

Principle #5: Know when to stop. If you need time off, take it. If you do not want to compete anymore, but are afraid not to, then you are doing it for the wrong reasons.

Principle #5: Have fun. Don't be wound up like a clock all the time. Relax!

Principle #6: Put variety in your workouts. Never think your workout program is the best. Change it up every three months.

Principle #7: Only compete once a year! If you are a competitive bodybuilder only compete in one show a year. If you do more, you will burn out and lose valuable muscle.

Principle #8: Never compete for a trophy! If you are a trophy hunter you will never be a true champion. True champions do it for the journey.

Arm Training - Building Muscle for Bulging Bis and Tris

Let's face it, most guys who start lifting want two things - a big bench and big arms. So in this issue we're going to talk about bi's and tri's and I'll share a very effective routine for adding inches to your arms in a very short amount of time.

Everyone wants big arms and it seems as if no one is satisfied with their current arm size. This seems rather strange, since most people constantly blast their arms. There are a few reasons that people don't make the progress they want when it comes to packing on inches to their arms.

First, they don't work the big muscles of the body hard enough. Your arms just aren't going to grow if your big muscles, like your back and legs, aren't growing. You need to work your legs and back hard and concentrate on upping your poundages for these body parts, if you want your arms to grow. Your arms will only get so big without the rest of your larger muscles getting big as well.

Secondly, a lot of people focus on working their biceps, when in fact the triceps make up almost 70% of the size of your upper arm. If you want to build big arms, focus on your triceps not your biceps.

And third, most people overtrain their arms. They do as many or more sets for their arms, and do those sets harder, than they do for their back, chest or legs. And on top of that, most exercises for the back and chest also work the bi's and tri's very hard. You have to cut back on the work you do for you arms and up the intensity. Quality, not quantity.

Here's a kick ass routine guaranteed to add muscle to your arms. It's extremely short. Don't let that fool you. If you perform it with the right level of intensity and your nutrition program is solid, your arms will grow.

Biceps

One repetition chin up
Biceps Curl (dumbbells or barbell)

Perform these two exercises back to back as a superset with no rest between sets.

Triceps

One repitition dip
Tricep extension (one dumbbell in both hands)

Perform these two exercises back to back as a superset with no rest between sets.

Seems easy, doesn't it? Here's the key. For both the one repetition chin up and the one repetition dip, you take thirty to sixty seconds to raise yoursel up (the positive part of the rep) and thirty seconds to lower yourself (the negative part of the rep).

When you can take 60 seconds up and 60 seconds down, add weight. Do 6 - 8 regular reps on the curls and extensions and train to failure.

Do this routine three times per week, for no longer than 2 weeks at a time. If you are currently using a routine that includes a lot of sets for your arms, you may want to drop direct arm training for a week before trying this routine, otherwise you'll quickly overtrain.

Keep your back and chest training to a minimun while performing this routine.

By Gregg Gillies

Bodybuilding Benefits - The Price for Confidence!

Success came to me at an early age. However, it did not come without a price. Bodybuilding found me; I did not go looking for it. At seventeen I knew nothing about weights, eating right, let alone having any sort of discipline. Here are a few things I learned along the way that I believe it takes to make a champion in your own heart.

Hope:

Deep in side you only need a small amount of HOPE to get you to the next day. In the beginning of my career that's all I had.

Belief:

Confidence can grow inside. If you don't have it, take your ego out of it and sooner or later bodybuilding will give it to you. Whether it comes from you or someone else, you really have to belief. For me, I had two friends that believed in my first, then after a while they began to rub off on me.

Pure Motives:

Have pure motives of being healthy verses just looking good. If you have desires to truly feel better health wise and about your self, then you will have more motivation in the down times. Early on, I started to feel the benefits both physically and emotionally of what bodybuilding was doing to me.

Here are some common mistakes people make that keep them from being Champions!

1. Egos: In many ways most people allow their egos to defeat them and get in the way of the full potential. You might not get this but, bodybuilding is NOT about you! Lose it, or keep on losing in life.

2. Afraid of Change: Most thinks their way works best. Wrong! Bodybuilding is an art. Art is subjective. Each person is different. The minute you think you know everything is the time you should give it up.

3. Ashamed to ask for help: The smartest thing I did when I was first started bodybuilding and competing was to ask for help. Knowledge is power when you adapt it to your personality. You are not living up to your potential if your pride is in the way.

4. No goal of mission. If you are just going to the gym to go, you are not being smart in your training. Map out your training one year in advance. Having purpose promotes focus.

5. The more is better trap. The more you do the bigger and leaner you will be. NOT! Work smart and efficient rather than long and hard. The smartest thing I ever did was set a time frame to my workouts.

6. Off season blues. People slack off after an event of competition. You should be in it for life. You should be sold out to exercise. If you are not, and only train when you are getting ready to compete, you are in the sport for the wrong reasons. Forget it; you will never be a champion. Champions are sold out!

What ever your goals are or level you are at, remember what bodybuilding truly is about. What is truly is about are not what you see, but what you feel. Yes, being a Champion comes with a price. But what price would you pay for the freedom to live your life with confidence.

Greg Ryan is a high profile fitness expert and former employee of Kathy Smiths. Body building champion, public speaker and personal trainer to the stars. He is a best selling author of the Changing from the INSIDE OUT through real behavior change, smart eating and effective exercising. Start getting in better shape today!

The How To Guide for Six Pack Abs

First off I want to mention that, for most people, getting six pack abs is not an easy task. It requires serious dedication, but it is possible! If were blessed with naturally low body fat and good muscle definition, enjoy it! Otherwise, below is a general 2-step guide that, if followed religiously for 3 months, will produce results.

Step 1: Nutrition

This is the single most important part of the puzzle, hands down. You can have the most impressive set of abs, but if they're covered with a layer of fat, you won't see them! Break up your day with 5 or 6 mini-meals because this jump starts your metabolism. And stop eating the food that is preventing results: white bread, loads of pasta, soda, candy, fast food, hydrogenated oils, sugars and fructose corn syrup.

Instead, replace them with foods that will help you reach your goal: oatmeal, olive oil, whole grain breads, fruits, vegetables, nuts, peanut butter, chicken, fish, protein and water. Be realistic- you'll slip here and there, but make a conscious effort to radically improve your eating habits because getting a six pack will be impossible if you don't.

Step 2: Exercise

You need to concern yourself with 3 different exercises: cardio, weightlifting and ab exercises. And aim to workout no less than 4 times a week.

The cardio you do can be anything: walking, running, biking, swimming....whichever cardio you don't mind doing so that you'll stick with it. Aim for 30-45 minutes, a minimum of 2 times a week.

Weightlifting is important because 3 pounds of added muscle burns as many calories as a 1 mile jog...and this is while you're just sitting around! Aim for 30-45 minutes, a minimum of 2 times a week. If you're confused as to what exercises to do for each body part, check out out the following website. It features professional bodybuilders, but the information is great and can be used by anyone.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.htm.

The last exercise you need to incorporate into your workout is ab exercises. Aim to work your abs a minimum of 3 times a week. There are a ton of different ab exercises you can do so try to find 3 or so that you enjoy doing so you can mix it up. A good database of different ab exercises is:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exername.php?MainMuscle=Abdominals

Well, there you have it. Follow the above for 3 months religiously, and while results will vary from person to person, you will experience improvement. It will take serious dedication on your part, but imagine the feeling you'll get when you look in the mirror and like what you see.

By Ryan Cote