You can only build muscle tissue if you can generate progressively stronger muscular contractions, so this calls for an emphasis on finding ways to increase exercise intensity. This should not be confused with exercise duration as maximum training intensity will actually shorten the time needed to achieve maximal muscular growth.

In an earlier article I outlined the ways in which you can intensify your training. Here we'll focus on the role that training to failure has to play in intensifying the training effect.

Anything less than maximum effort will reduce the effectiveness of your muscle building workout. The only way to force an optimal reaction in any muscle is to train it to failure - in other words, no matter how much effort you put in you are simply incapable of completing one more rep of a given exercise.

Too many people seem to finish a set when they reach a certain number of reps, but the body will only show significant change if you ask it to do something extra. Only by passing through the break-over point of momentary muscle failure will you stimulate the muscle to grow.

Anyone starting out on their bodybuilding career should not attempt this method of training as it could lead to serious injury. Spend several months perfecting exercise form and conditioning the body to lift heavier weights before gradually introducing training to failure.

Have ever wondered why your muscles stopped growing after a few months of training even though you are training very hard? Here are 7 reasons why your muscles stopped growing and how to get your muscle to grow again.

• You are training too hard – Every time when you train your muscles intensely, you are actually breaking down your muscles. So your muscles need to recover from the damages you inflicted on them. So train each muscle group only once or at most twice a week.

• You are training too long – Keep your workout intense but do not workout more than an hour each time. After 45 minutes of intensive training, your cortisol level will increase. This hormone is known to destroy muscle cells.

• You are sleeping too little – You need to sleep more for good muscle growth. Your muscles grow when you sleep. So sleep more than 8 hours a day and watch those muscles growing fast.

• You are abusing alcohol – Alcohol is known to break down muscle mass plus many other body destruction ability.

• You do not change your workout routine – You must change your workout routine every 6-8 weeks. Your muscles adapt to your routine and stops growing.

• You do not progressively overload your muscles – You must try to increase your reps or weight every time you next train a particular muscle group. Otherwise, there is no reason for your muscles to grow.

• You do not eat sufficient protein – If you want to build bigger muscles, you must eat more protein. Protein is the building block for your muscles. It is recommended that you need 1 gram of protein per pound of your body weight equivalent. If not enough protein is consumed with your normal diet, do supplement with protein shakes.

There you are, the 7 reasons why your muscles stopped growing even though you are training hard. There are many more methods on how to grow your muscles bigger but these 7 reasons and how to overcome them will be sufficient for an average bodybuilding beginner.

Before wasting your money on a pile of bodybuilding supplements you really need to work out what you are hoping to achieve. Don't lose sight of the fact that sound nutrition forms the basis of any muscle building program and no amount of supplementation with the latest and greatest products will make up for bad eating habits. The bottom line is, bodybuilding supplements should be used IN ADDITION to regular food, not INSTEAD OF it.

Now that we've got that out of the way, let's go on to think about what supplements could be of use and this is something that can only be determined by your physical and performance goals. Don't make the mistake of copying your training partners or believing all the garbage spouted in magazine ads. Decide first what you want to achieve and then choose the supplements that will help you reach your goals.

To help you make an informed choice, the most popular and useful bodybuilding supplements available today are listed below, broadly divided into two goal-related categories.

Determined to build muscle? This cannot be achieved without dedication, sheer hard work and sound nutrition. With a solid foundation in place you can help the process along with supplements like creatine, whey protein, prohormones, testosterone boosters and amino acids.

Need to lose fat? There is no point in building awesome muscles if they're covered by layers of fat. Once again, the key to success is hard work but you can boost fat loss by using products from supplement categories that include fat burners, stimulant-free products, appetite suppressants and carb blockers.

Many more supplements are available to support your bodybuilding endeavors. These include energy boosters and products aimed at enhancing the condition of your mind and body. As we progress through this series of articles we'll look at each of these in turn.

It seems like steroids are everywhere you turn your head these days. On the news, in most sporting circles, in high schools, on the street, in foreign drug rings, and on and on. It’s amazing what people think they know and really don’t know about building muscle. While most people are probably getting sick of it, I for one and glad that this is happening. I as a bodybuilder think that it is about time that this became “dinner table” talk because people’s perceptions really need to be changed in order for this sport that I love to be a legitimate endeavor.

Building muscle is a very complicated and often abused activity. I believe there are good and bad reasons for doing it. Human strength and the muscular body are amazing and beautiful things, in my opinion, but only if it takes hard work to do it and only if it is done in a healthy way. Pushing the limits of human performance in athletics is awesome and a great motivator for people to stay healthy and fit, but the problem is that these have stopped being the prime movers in the “business” of sports. The whole problem is that is has become a business and whenever money becomes the motivation the dark side starts creeping in.

It is amazing what people will do for power whether it is prestige, or wealth, or popularity, or visibility, or whatever. All that happens is that people get hurt and the sport is denigrated and ends up losing the respect and all of the above things that people are craving when they become involved in it. I mean come on can it be that fun to be better than everyone else, when it means that you have to resort to cheating to do it? Aren’t the best things in life those things that don’t come easy? And since when did the risk of death become worth it to so many people in exchange for a few fleeting moments of “respect” that you’re give? Well I want to be the first to tell you that all people who spend a lot of time building muscle are vain.

Why do I spend lots of time building muscle? Well for one thing it is a healthy thing to do when done correctly. It protects you from all sorts of injuries and pains. It keeps you fit as muscle is one of the best metabolizers in your body. It makes your bones strong, it protects your joints, it gives you good balance and control of your body, it allows you to do activities that you enjoy for longer. It also has positive effects on you mental health. It gives you a sense of accomplishment, it elevates your mood, makes you more confident, gives you the same kind of high that a runner gets by releasing natural endorphins, etc.

So by all means get into sports and get strong but do it for the right reasons and in the right ways or you are going to end up exactly where you don’t want to be—an object of scorn and ridicule and lying on your back in a hospital bed.

Everyone wants a huge chest, plain and simple. It is all too common to see inexperienced lifters slaving away on endless sets of bench presses and cable crossovers in search of full, thick pecs. The reality is that there is nothing complicated about building an impressive chest. The bottom line for huge chest gains is consistency, effort and steady progression in weight and repetitions.

The chest is made up of two main heads, the pectoralis major and the pectoralis minor. To stimulate the chest using weights you will be using one of two motions: a press or a flye. If you want the greatest bang for your buck from your chest workouts, the true gains lie in your pressing movements. Flyes may have their place from time to time, but nothing can compare to the overall anabolic effect of high intensity pressing movements. I’m talking about the basic, bread-and-butter lifts such as heavy barbell presses, dumbbell presses and wide-grip dips. Save the pec-deck and cable crossovers for the pencil necked geeks on the treadmill; real men train with real lifts.

Like I said before, building a thick and well-developed chest is fairly simple. There are no secrets, magic formulas or killer techniques that will "shock" your chest into massive growth. Stick to your basic presses, focus on overload and progression, and I promise that you will see impressive gains. Here are the most effective lifts for packing muscle onto the chest:

Flat/Incline/Decline Barbell Bench Press:

A standard barbell press is the meat and potatoes of any effective chest routine. This basic compound movement will allow you to handle the most weight through the given range of motion. The incline press will shift more of the stress to the upper region of the chest while the decline does the opposite, targeting the lower/outer region. The flat bench press works the upper and lower regions equally. I highly recommend a standard barbell press as a basic component of your chest routine.

Flat/Incline/Decline Dumbbell Press:

Dumbbell presses are another basic and highly effective movement for stimulating chest development. The main advantage that they have over the barbell is that they allow you to move through a more natural range of motion, helping to prevent shoulder injuries. They also prevent strength imbalances from occurring since one arm can't cheat for the other. The only drawback is that you are not able to handle as much weight. Overall, a standard dumbbell press is an awesome movement that allows for great chest stimulation.

Wide-Grip Dips:

An amazing movement for the chest that is often overlooked. Make sure to use a wider grip and lean forward to shift the stress from the triceps onto the pectorals. If pressing your own body weight is not sufficient then you can always add weight using a weight belt. Dips are an excellent compound movement for overall chest development.

Here are a couple sample chest routines:

1) Flat Barbell Bench Press: 2 x 5-7
Incline Dumbbell Press: 2 x 5-7
Wide-Grip Dips: 2 x 5-7

2) Incline Barbell Bench Press: 2 x 5-7
Wide-Grip Dips: 2 x 5-7
Flat Dumbbell Press: 2 x 5-7

All sets should stay within the 5-7 rep range and should be taken to complete muscular failure. Write down the details of each workout you perform and focus on progressing in either weight or reps from week to week. There is nothing more to it than that. Good luck!

Most people new to bodybuilding pay a lot of attention to building big arms, sometimes to the point of overtraining. Don't forget, the arm muscles are brought into play during most exercises aimed at other body parts so care must be taken not to overdo things.

Having said that, the arms are complex body parts in their own right and deserve a properly focused exercise program. In basic terms the arm consists of three main muscle groups:

1. Biceps brachii - two muscles at the front upper arm that run from the elbow to the shoulders.

2. Triceps brachii - three muscles at the rear upper arm that run from the elbow to the shoulder.

3. Forearm - several smaller muscles that run from the elbow to the wrist.

There are seven classic exercises that will allow beginners to get off to a good muscle building start without overstraining their bodies. For all of the exercises that follow, use a weight that is light enough to allow between 10-15 reps.

Three biceps building exercises are recommended for beginners:

1. Standing barbell curl - 3 sets of 10-15 reps.

2. Alternative standing dumbbell curls - 3 sets of 10-15 reps.

3. Preacher bench curls - 3 sets of 10-15 reps.

Three triceps building exercises are recommended for beginners:

1. Dips - 3 sets of 10-15 reps.

2. Close grip bench press - 3 sets of 10-15 reps.

3. EZ bar lying extensions - 3 sets of 10-15 reps.

One forearm building exercise is recommended for beginners:

1. EZ bar reverse curls - 3 sets of 10-15 reps.

As with all exercises you need to take care in scheduling specific body parts. To begin with you should incorporate your arm exercises into a program similar to the one suggested below:

Day 1: Biceps, Back, Abs

Day 2: Hamstrings, Shoulders, Abs

Day 3: Quads, Forearms, Calves

Day 4: Triceps, Chest, Abs

For the first couple of weeks complete one set but then add one set each week to a maximum of three. At the end of three months you will be ready to move on to more intensive intermediate level exercises.

Becoming familiar with the muscles that make up your body has more benefits than simply allowing you to talk shop with your training partners. The more familiar you are with the muscles you're working, the better you'll be able to judge what's needed to make improvements. In this article we'll get to know the muscles that make up the mid-section.

The core muscles of the mid-section do much to stabilize and support the torso so it's well worth spending time to train this area properly. The main muscles of the mid-section are as follows:

1. Rectus abdominis - this is a large flat muscle wall that covers most of the front mid-section from the lower chest to the pubic bone. Above the navel it consists of three pairs of rectangular sections stacked on top of each other and is better known as the six pack.

2. Obliquus abdominis - this muscle runs diagonally along the side of the mid-section from the lower ribcage to the pubic area. There are two muscles on each side, with internal obliques lying underneath the external obliques. The obliques help your torso to flex to the side, twist at the waist and help in bending the torso forwards.

3. Transversus abdominis - this is the deepest of the abdominal muscles and consists of a thin strip that runs horizontally across the abdomen. This muscle helps keep the internal organs in place, forces out the breath and stabilizes the spine.

4. Erector spinae - this large muscle group runs along the side of the lower spine. Consisting of a pair, the erector spinae keeps the spine erect and helps twisting at the waist.

If your abs look good, your whole body looks good. Having Big arms and chest is one thing but having rock hard defined abs is so another.

Everyone knows that nothing turns heads like a defined full set of abs. And hey, chicks love em. What more needs to be said.


Contrary to popular belief, the abs or Rectus Abdominis is really only one muscle. It stretches from the top of your pelvis up to your ribcage. The "six-pack" as it is called is merely sections of this one muscle.

Dispelling the Ab Myths:

The action of any muscle is simply to contract. And as you can't contract half your bicep or quad, it makes sense that you cannot contract half your abs as well. Therefore the myths about "upper ab" and "lower ab" training are total nonsense. I'm not discounting those training methods but the simple fact is that if you can't see your lower abs, it just means you've got fat covering them, not that you need to work them harder.

Say goodbye to hanging knee-raises, straight-leg raises, and any other type of leg raises for building your abs. They simply don't work. The primary role of your abs is to stabilize your body. When you raise your leg for example, your hip flexors pull on your spine and arch it forward/downward. Your abs stabilize this action by resisting and essentially keeping your back from breaking. Take note that this is the static action of the abs. It doesn't build or strengthen. Leg raising exercises only feel like they are effectively working your abs because of the repeated strain and exhaustion of your muscle producing catabolic, lactic acid build up. Search for "lactic acid" at http://www.muscle-body.com for more information.

What Really Works:

What does strengthen your abs is what strengthens any other muscle in your body. Contraction! In this case - Decreasing the distance between your rib cage and your pelvis.

So we come back to the good old sit-up. But there are a few things to keep in mind.

Firstly, forget about the cool all-the-way-up sit-ups you see in the movies. Your abs are fully contracted when your shoulders are about 5 to 6 inches off the ground. So don't bother trying to impress or outperform someone by touching your elbows to your knees. It does nothing for you. Crunches as they are sometimes called are the way to go.

Secondly, don't wedge your feet under something to help you get up. You don't need to do this if you are doing crunches properly anyway. Your legs should be at 90 degrees to each other and your knees at 45 degrees to your waist. If you need to, use something to press your heels back against to stabilize yourself. This way you will use your hamstrings instead of your hip flexors which will keep the focus on your abs.

Thirdly, keep your hands lightly held against the side of your head or crossed on your chest. Don't clasp them together behind your head or neck. If you do you will be tempted to pull with your hands to get the last few reps out, which will put unnecessary strain on this fragile part of the spine.

Alternative:

Another good exercise for abs is kneeling crunches. You will need special equipment to perform this exercise. This is where you kneel and contract your abs so that your upper body arches forward/downward. You hold a rope attached to a pulley with weights for extra resistance. Most gyms will have a rope attachment to the triceps pull down to perform this exercise. The idea is to lock your arms against your upper body so that you pull down only with your abs and not your arms.

Ab Training Devices:

In 2 words - Forget it.

You don't need them. Most of them do nothing for you. Building muscle is hard and it hurts. Most of these devices are designed to take the pressure off your body making the exercise seem easy and con you into thinking you are really targeting your muscles. Don't believe the hype. Ab training is definitely hard work but definitely worth it's reward.

The Secret:


The difficulty in obtaining great abs is not so much building the muscle. It's cutting enough fat from your body for them to show. You probably know by now that spot-reduction of fat simply doesn't work here. In order to show those abs you need overall fat loss. Check out http://www.muscle-guide.com for more info.

One of the biggest difficulties facing bodybuilders is how can they be sure that all muscle fibers have been recruited and exhausted during a given exercise and it is only by achieving this that muscle gains can be maximised.

The simple answer is, you have work beyond failure and experience a higher level of training intensity than before. This also ensures that workouts remain challenging and continue to engender progress over time thus reducing the likelihood of regression.

But how do you go about intensifying your training? Fortunately there is a tried and tested path to follow as outlined below:

1. Increase resistance - increasing the weight lifted in meaningful increments ensures the muscle is pushed beyond its previous point of failure thus maintaining the muscle building process. Aim to increase the weight when you reach six to eight reps and failure does not occur.

2. Change the exercise - to achieve maximal gains all muscle fibers in a body part must be trained. Changing the angle (e.g to incline bench press) or introducing a new exercise will stimulate growth.

3. Reduce rest intervals - giving the muscles less time to recover before exposing them to further work has the effect of increasing intensity.

4. Pre-exhaustion - when an exercise involves two or more muscles the weakest will prevent you from working the primary muscle to failure. The answer is to first isolate and tire the primary muscle before immediately moving to another exercise that works the set of muscles to failure.

5. Introduce supersets - this involves performing two exercises for the same muscle group without a rest interval. This means you have to utilize different muscle fibers which stimulate greater growth.

6. Use partial reps - at the point of failure you will not be able to complete the full range of movement for a given exercise. Completing a partial rep that uses only a segment of the lift will still work your muscles beyond the point of failure. This technique is especially useful to advanced bodybuilders as it allows them to increase intensity without adding extra routines that could cause overtraining.

7. Use isometric contractions - this involves holding the weight still at the point of failure to stimulate a static contraction in the muscle.

8. Employ forced reps - this involves completing one or more final reps after the point of failure has been reached. You will need the assistance of an experienced helper to attempt this.

Once you have added these techniques to your training regimen you'll know you've done your best to maximize muscle growth.

Summer is on the horizon, and the time has come to kick back and relax under the sun. It’s time for beach days, barbecues and pool parties, and for any serious weightlifter these activities also mean one thing: it’s time for the shirts to come off and to showcase that rock-solid physique they’ve been working on all year. No one wants to be walking around with a soft, smooth and flabby body, and for the next month or two, all of those serious lifters will be shifting into “get ripped” mode.

How do they usually go about this?

They lighten up the weights and perform higher reps.

This has always been a widely accepted method of “cutting down” and if you ask most trainers in the gym they’ll tell you that “heavy weights bulk up the muscle and lighter weights define the muscle”.

Do you want to know the reality behind the “light weight and high reps” method of obtaining a ripped and defined physique?

It is completely, totally and utterly DEAD WRONG.

It couldn’t be farther from the truth. In fact, there is no logical basis for this way of training whatsoever, and whoever dreamt up this downright ridiculous way of thinking has caused the vast majority of lifters to waste their time and impede their progress in the gym.

Let me clear this up once and for all: you CANNOT spot reduce. In other words, it is physically impossible to target fat loss from a specific area on your body. Performing bench presses with light resistance and high repetitions will not magically burn fat off of your chest or cause it to appear harder and more defined.

Every single time you wrap your hands around a barbell, dumbbell or cable, your goal is to stimulate as much muscle growth as you possibly can. There are no special, secret weightlifting exercises that will “define” your muscles or cause them to become more “ripped”.

Training with weights builds muscle mass, end of story.

So how exactly do you “define” a muscle?

The only way to “define” a muscle is by lowering your body fat level in order to make your muscles more visible. Body fat reduction can be achieved in two ways:

1) Modify your diet.

You should lower your overall caloric intake to around 15x your bodyweight and focus on consuming smaller meals more frequently throughout the day. This will keep your metabolism naturally raised at all times and will keep your body in a constant fat burning state. Limit your intake of saturated fats and simple sugars, and focus instead on consuming lean sources of protein and low glycemic carbohydrates. It is also very important to keep your water intake high at a level of around 0.6 ounces per pound of bodyweight.

2) Perform proper cardio workouts.

Let go of the traditional method of moderate intensity cardio in 30-45 minute durations. If you want to maximize your body’s fat burning capacity and also minimize the muscle loss that inevitably accompanies a fat burning cycle, focus on shorter cardio workouts performed at a high level of intensity. These types of workouts will shoot your resting metabolism through the roof and will allow you to burn maximum amounts of fat even when you are at rest. I recommend 3-5 high intensity cardio sessions per week, spaced at least 8 hours away from your weight workouts.

That’s all there is to it, folks. Take the notion of “light weight and higher reps” and throw it right out the window, down the street and around the corner. Following this misguided method will only cause you to lose muscle mass and strength, and will not assist you in burning fat or defining your physique.

All you need to do to mold those rock-solid muscles for the summer time is this:

1) Train with heavy weights and low repetitions to build maximum muscle mass.

2) Modify your diet and implement cardio workouts to eliminate body fat and create visibly harder and more defined muscles.

End of story.

I’ll see you at the beach!

Muscle is an amazing tissue of the body. It is the very part of our body that gives us the control that we want and need in life. The mind is a useless thing often if it doesn’t have muscle to put thought into action. It is also a major part of our body’s defense mechanism. It protects things structurally (joints, bones, etc.) and metabolically, and physically whether by means of escape or defense from the dangers both human and non that we encounter. I want to talk more specifically about these things that I have mentioned in order to help you to understand that it is good to gain muscle.

Protection is the first area to mention when discussing why you should gain muscle and is true in so many different ways. Muscles are major protectors of the joints and bones in our body. Strong muscles that span joints serve as braces for the forces that would otherwise separate and render these joints useless. The same goes for muscles that support long bones. If we didn’t have muscles that were able to absorb the impact of forces that we experience every day than we would always be dealing with fractures and immobility. In fact the activities that promote muscle building are the very same activities that increase bone mineral density, which is especially important for women later in life after menopause. Muscles also help us to maintain our balance protecting us from falls. Muscle tissue is also huge regulator when it comes to blood pressure, and thus has indirect protection of many different major organs including the heart, brain, kidneys, and eyes.

Metabolically muscle is very important in maintaining a healthy weight and absorbing the harmful effect of the typical American diet. This is not to say that if you work out and gain muscle that you are automatically at a healthy weight and can eat whatever you want. But it does mean that those people who spend good amounts of time every week doing weight bearing exercises are less prone to things like diabetes, hypertension, cancer, heart disease, and atherosclerosis—all things that come with obesity—because muscle is a very good metabolizer of the extra fuel (glucose and fat) that we have every day in the typical “unhealthy diet.”

Lastly for this article I want to talk to you about the importance of doing things that only having strong muscle will allow you to do. I am talking especially about your mental health here. Basically if you aren’t strong than you likely aren’t active (they go hand in hand) and if you aren’t active than you are so much more prone to things like inactivity and depression its not funny. So take my advice and start lifting weights to gain muscle which is one of the most precious commodities that you have on your body.

So you want to build big muscles? Simple isn't it? Just join a gym and hit those weights regularly and viola, in a couple of months, you will gain so much muscle mass that you are ready to take on any bodybuilding contest. Is it really that simple to build big muscles? Well, to gain muscle mass, there is much more than just hitting the gym regularly. Here are some muscle mass gaining tips :-

a) Eat and Eat - To build muscles, you must eat. Your calorie consumption must be more than your calorie expenditure. If you expand all the calories you have eaten, then where are the calories to build muscles?

2) Protein - Make sure that you eat enough protein. You should eat at least one gram of protein per pound of your body weight everyday if you want to gain muscle mass fast. If you don't get enough protein, your muscles won't grow big.

3) Supplement - If you cannot have adequate protein from your normal meals, supplement with protein shakes. If you want more strength so that you can lift heavier weights to grow bigger muscles, take Creatine supplement.

4) Weight Training - You must lift with heavy weights and to add on more weight consistently to progressively build your muscles. But it is very important not to sacrifice correct lifting techniques and form for the sake of lifting heavier.

5) Lift Free Weights - Use free weights like dumbells and barbells to recruit more muscle fibers so that more muscle fibers can be worked on.

6) Compound Exercises - Work with compound exercises like bench presses, squats, barbell rows, chin ups and dead lifts to build big muscle mass. If you concentrate on working your puny muscles like your biceps, then you will only have puny muscle growth.

7) Get Enough Rest - Have rest days in between your workout days and do not work the same muscle group more than twice a week. Your muscles need to recover from your workouts in order to grow big.

8) Get Enough Sleep - Sleep at least 8 hours a day. More even better. Your muscles grow when you sleep.

If you practise the above 8 steps consistently, your muscles will grow fast and big. Of course there are many more things you can do to achieve a competitive bodybuilder's physique of which I cannot cover in just an article here. So do research for more knowledge.

To supplement or not to supplement – that is the question on more bodybuilder’s lips than ever before. Are they safe? What works and what doesn't?

Lets have a look at the basics.

There are various reasons why athletes may be interested in supplementation.

 Concern about getting adequate nutrients from our food supply.

 Suspicion of pharmaceuticals.

 Belief that diet alone will not achieve optimal nutrition

Supplements include the following:

 Vitamins
 Minerals
 Amino Acids
 Herbs

The concerning thing about supplements is that anything classified as a dietary supplement is not required to meet any FDA or other standards! Think about that! there are no regulations in place that guarantee the safety or purity of something sold as a supplement.

They are also not made to meet the similar safety requirements as prescription drugs or any other manufacturing standards. They are not required to meet product potency or purity ratings and are not required to prove the effectiveness of any health claim that is made.

Studies suggest that a number of supplements may deliver on advertising claims. However, trainees are spending large sums of money on products that have little or no proven usefulness.

Personally I find the use of supplements over rated and as with strength training, supplementation asks the same question “if a little is good then maybe more has to be better”

Supplementation and steroids started to proliferate when volume strength training became the training system of the day. Young strength trainees slaving in the gym for five to six days a week was seen as normal. All this without making any progress or putting on any size whatsoever.

They then turned to the latest supplement or steroid thinking that this is the magic bullet to put on that added muscle when all the time they were just plain "overtraining"

The cold hard facts are that the majority of the regular trainees in your gym are overtraining. The sad reality is that the type of training that you find in bodybuilding books and magazines (and used by the stars) are irrelevant to the majority of
the population and has a high failure rate.

If more bodybuilders started using more infrequent, short, high intensity weight training sessions, followed by the required amount of time to recover and become stronger…

MOST OF THE WEIGHT GAIN SUPPLEMENTS AND STERIODS AVAILABLE TODAY WOULD NOT BE NEEDED.


The bottom line on weight gain supplements

 Before taking a supplement try to make modifications to your diet that might achieve the same goals.

 Only choose products that show the amount of active ingredients on the label that are required.

 Be aware that “natural” does not mean ‘safe’

 Some herbal supplements may have unpleasant side effects.


Listed below are some popular bodybuilding supplements available on the market today:


Creatine monohydrate

Creatine was first introduced to the market place some eight years ago and has since become the most popular bodybuilding supplement of all time.

Creatine is said to significantly increase lean muscle mass,
improve performance, increase energy levels and speed
up recovery rates. Creatine also stimulates the uptake
of amino acids in the proteins, which means that the
more that it's used the more muscle that may be grown.

Dosage: A loading phase of 20grams a day for the first five days then a
maintenance phase of 5grams a day from then on.


Whey Protein isolate

The highest yield of protein currently available
and is extracted from milk. This is another popular supplement
for athletes and bodybuilders because of its high proportion of
amino acids. It is supposed to be high in potassium, which is essential
for muscle growth and is an antioxidant and a good
immune system builder.

Dosage: 20gms - 100gms a day.


Tibulus Terrestris

Tribulus terrestris is a plant that grows in many
tropical and moderate areas of the world and is
very rich in chemical compounds such as saponins,
flavonoids and alkaloids.

Tribulus terrestris is supposedly a testosterone enhancer.
and increases sex drives in both men and women.

Dosage as per bottle.


Glutamine

Is a non-essential amino acid, which makes up to 60% of the amino acids in the bodies muscles. Glutamine containing products are protein
shakes and good quality protein powders; it can also
be added to protein shakes for added potency.

Dosage: 5grams to 15 grams per day.


So please remember a supplement is something added to the diet to make up for a nutritional deficiency or imbalance they are not intended to substitute for eating a balanced diet. If they are to be taken at all they should only be used to supplement the diet and not replace it.

So you want to build big and powerful chest muscles? Huge big pectoral muscles (pecs) or chest muscles that command respect and adoration? You can be the proud owner of a big and powerful chest.

Many people actually think that there are 2 separate chest muscles, well there aren't. The chest muscle or pecs that you see on each side of your chest is a fan shaped one continuous muscle although they may be called by different names such as pectoralis major, minor and clavicle head to differentiate the different parts of the same muscle.

All chest exercises work your chest muscle but from different angles which places different stress on your chest. You need to use a variety of chest muscle exercises to hit your pecs at various angles to stimulate massive muscle growth. Each different angle you use with any chest muscle exercises will reach into various different fibers in your chest muscles for effective stimulation of different areas of your pecs so that your entire chest will grow muscles fast and symmetrically giving you that broad and powerful chest that threatens to rip through your t-shirt.

For best results building your chest muscles, use free weights, especially dumb bells instead of machines. Chest muscle workout that use any chest machines should be avoided as it has many disadvantages like it will not only produce the desired results may also cause injuries because of its narrow range of movements. Your chest muscles will also not grow fast because machine exercises lack the involvement of synergistic muscles or surpporting muscles. As with any weightlifting workout, proper lifting form and techniques are of paramount importance.

Many people typically use only 1 or 2 types of chest exercises and almost invariably, it's the flat bench press and flys. Well, to build a powerfully big and well chiseled chest muscles, that is a fatal mistake as you do not adequately hit the pecs from all angles so as to stimulate muscle growth in your entire chest muscle. All chest muscle exercises will not only work your chest but also your delts, biceps and triceps to a lesser extent. So you need to focus, visualize and to concentrate the force on the chest. Mind and your chest muscle connection is vital here so as to make your chest work harder instead of using your triceps, delts or biceps to power your chest workout. Also work on the full range of motion and squeeze your chest muscles hard at every top of each movement. Always lower your weight slowly and deliberately fighting gravity to provide more resistance to your chest muscles and therefore elicit more muscle fibers for more muscle growth.

A word of caution though. You will need a spotter or a personal trainer for safety reasons because you must lift heavy for excellent muscle gain especially so for chest muscle development. Your spotter or personal trainer will also be able to correct your mistakes and help you with forced reps to reach into the deep tissues to elicit maximum muscle fiber stimulation.

If you want to increase muscle mass and gain weight, remember that in order to effectively bulk up, you will need to be persistent in your efforts. Increasing your caloric intake is an important part of gaining weight and building new muscle tissue. When you feed your body more food than it can burn, you gain weight. Weight training is also an important part of gaining weight and increasing your muscle mass. Weight training stimulates the muscles and promotes growth. The combination of weight training and proper diet is the best, most effective way to gain weight and increase muscle mass.

Failure to eat properly while weight training could result in loss of muscle tissue. Make certain you get plenty of protein, fats, and carbs and in large enough quantities to allow your body to gain weight. Supplements can play a role in building body mass if taken while adjusting your diet and training with weights. Meal replacement bars, powders, and protein drinks can be an excellent way to increase your daily caloric intake. In order to increase muscle mass, you must give your body approximately 500 more calories per day than the number of calories your body uses.

Exercise and diet are the most important things to consider when attempting to gain weight and increase muscle mass. Weight training and the adequate food intake will leave your body with no choice but to gain weight and add mass. Make sure to get enough rest between workouts to give your body time to recuperate and build new muscle tissue.

If you want to get the maximum benefit from your mass building routine, you must avoid the most common reasons that cause people to fail at building muscle and gaining weight. A quality mass building routine combined with proper nutrition and plenty of rest can produce results that you never dreamed possible. Consistency, smart eating habits, the proper weight lifting techniques, and lots of rest are the common elements shared by every successful body builder.

Building muscle is a slow process and it could possibly take several months before you see noticeable results. If you are determined and consistent in your muscle mass building routine and your eating habits, you efforts will pay off in time. Nutrition is also crucial in building muscle mass. The right amounts of protein, carbohydrates, and fats must be included in your diet in order to give your body the fuel it needs to add muscle tissue. The trick to building muscle is to find the combination of foods that allow you to add new muscle mass. Trial and error combined with sound dietary guidelines will allow you to find just the right nutritional plan for you.

The proper weight lifting techniques are a very important part of a muscle mass building routine. If you don't work your muscles, they won't grow. You will need to find the right amount of weight and the right weight lifting exercises for your body. Determination, trial and error, and a consistent effort will eventually give you the results you want. The most important thing is to stay focused and realize your reward is waiting for you down the line.

Like methandrostenolone (Dianabol), oxymetholone does not bind well to the androgen receptor (AR), and most of the anabolism it provides is via non-AR-mediated effects. It is therefore a Class II steroid and is best stacked with a Class I steroid. The drug appears to give the same benefits as dianabol. Unlike Dianabol, however, it seems that oxymetholone is progestagenic. It has been observed to cause nipple soreness or to aggravate gynecomastia even in the presence of high dose antiestrogens, strongly suggesting that the effect is not estrogenic. That effect can be reduced by concurrent use of stanozolol (Winstrol), which is anti-progestagenic. This
progestagenic effect of oxymetholone is only a concern when using aromatizing steroids. With androgens such as Primobolan, oxymetholone stacks very nicely and is a surprisingly friendly drug. In contrast, with testosterone it is a very harsh drug.

Oxymetholone does not convert to estrogen, and thus antiestrogens are not required if no aromatizable AAS are being used. However, in concert with aromatizing drugs, oxymetholone is notorious for worsening "estrogenic" symptoms, possibly by producing progestagenic symptoms which the bodybuilder
confuses as estrogenic, or by altering estrogen metabolism, or by upregulating aromatase.

Compared to what bodybuilders expect of it, the drug is reasonably mild when no aromatizing steroids are present. I consider its potency approximately comparable to Dianabol. It is not unusual for a first time user to do quite well on an oxymetholone-only cycle, but more advanced users will want
to stack with another steroid. Typical use is 50-150 mg/day, which should be divided into several doses per day.

Because oxymetholone is 17-alkylated, it is stressful to the liver. It is better to limit use to no more than 6 weeks or preferably four weeks before taking a break of at least equal length. Many users feel that it is more effectively used in the beginning parts of the cycle, rather than in the last few weeks.


Trivial name Oxymetholone
Systematic name 5-alpha,17-beta-Androstan-3-one, 17-hydroxy-2-
(hydroxymethylene)-17-methyl-
CAS number 434-07-1
ATC code A14AA05
Merck Index Number 7036
Chemical formula C21H32O3
Molecular weight 332.477 g/mol
Bioavailability 95%
Metabolism Hepatic
Elimination half-life 9 hours
Excretion Urinary: 95%
Pregnancy category X
Routes of administration Oral

So you want to get big huge muscular arms. Do not ignore your triceps exercises.

In gyms everywhere, you will see people doing bicep curls after bicep curls. If someone were to ask them to show their muscles, they will most likely flex their biceps. How about you? Well, since you are reading this article, then you must have known that to own huge muscular arms, you must build huge triceps.

Do you know why? It is because your tricep is 2/3 the size of your arm. Just imagine, your bicep is only 30% while your tricep takes up 60%. So if you are neglecting your triceps, you are neglecting 60% of your arms while working on the miniscule 30% called the biceps. Of course you still need to work on your biceps for that well rounded balanced muscular look.

Furthermore, since your triceps are involved in many other body building exercises such as military presses, bench presses and many other exercises, having strong triceps will help you to lift heavier in those other exercises and thus will be encouraging further muscular growth in other body parts.

Your triceps consist of three main muscle whereas your biceps has only 2, the their respective names begins with “tri” and “bi”. That is another reason why your triceps should be bigger.

Tricep Excercise Form

So you have been training your triceps but do not see good results. It could possibly be due to your movement during your reps where the exercises are not performed to its full range of motion. You see, the mass concentration of tricep muscles is at the top of the arm and therefore you have to stretch your arms beyond what you feel that is natural in order to reach the deep fibers of your tricep muscles.

On top of that your form must be strict with minimum elbow movements when performing tricep exercises like skull crushes and tricep extensions. These exercises reach deep into your triceps muscles when you do it with full range of movement.

Tricep exercises like close grip bench press, diamond pushups and cable pushdowns do not give you that range of movement as the range of these exercises are limited. This is not to say that you don’t do these exercises, just concentrate on them less.

So in order to build big huge triceps, you must feel the pull of your tricep muscles when the weight is at its lowest position before pulling them back.

Want those big muscular arms? Then do not forget to work on your triceps hard and do it in good form.

In order for muscles to grow, three things are required:

1. Stimulus - exercise is needed to make the muscles work, use energy and cause microscopic damage to the fibers.

2. Nutrition - after intense exercise the muscles need to replenish their stores of fuel.

3. Rest - it is during the rest or recovery phase that the muscles repair the microscopic damage and grow.

Muscle size increases due to hypertrophic adaptation and an increase in the cross section area of individual muscle fibers. Intensive exercise impacts more on the strength influencing fast twitch type II fibers, therefore the increase in muscle size is accompanied by greater strength.

This will deplete the muscle's energy stores and cause microscopic damage to the muscle tissue. During recovery, these stores of glycogen and phosphocreatine will replenish from carbohydrates and creatine ingested as food or supplements. Amino acids supplied in the diet will trigger the protein synthesis that repairs the damaged muscle and lead to the creation of bigger muscle fibers.

To achieve continuous improvement you will need to keep reaching for higher levels of training intensity otherwise the improvement process will grind to a halt. Fortunately, this is relatively easy to plan for provided certain basic principles and rules are clearly followed. Subsequent articles in this series will examine these principles in detail.

Anaerobic fitness is the force component of fitness in general, which also contains at least two other essential components: aerobic fitness (the part of cardio-vascular resistance) and joint mobility. Speed and skill are native qualities and they are not very relevant for the health state – which is the main concern in mass fitness, the one meant to keep the body in good shape.

The purpose of anaerobic training programs is developing the force, the fortifying of the body or the muscular mass. There are situations when only force or muscle fortifying is intended. The typical example for these situations is given by the sports organized in categories, in which physical force (with the interdiction of going over a certain limit of weight) is tested. Growth of muscular mass determines increase of force and fortifying of the skeletal muscles. In this case, the fitness programs are very similar to body building trainings, without being followed by the spectacular, yet dangerous changes, specific to body building.

The purpose of anaerobic fitness is uniform, balanced and harmonious development of all the muscles, without ignoring their functionality. This last idea is important for making a clear difference between fitness and the tendencies, many times narcissistic, manifested by body building practitioners. The sportsman who takes up fitness wants to be able to and is able to do something with his muscles, more than showing them in contests or in different other occasions and places (disco, swimming pool, clubs, etc.).

One of the important characteristics of anaerobic fitness trainings is the use of general programs, during which all or almost all the muscles are worked out in one training session. In body building the programs are divided and trainings are focused every time on one, two or at most three groups of muscles; while in fitness one training can be focused on a certain area, but it does not exclude the other muscles, which will benefit, directly or indirectly, of at most one exercise for each group of muscles. This way, the programs are not excessively long; they take an average of one hour and fifteen minutes; thus the catabolic faze is avoided; this usually appears in very long training sessions (two hours or even more).

Another modality of reducing the time of training is doing super-series whose object is to train two antagonistic groups of muscles (chest and back or biceps and triceps, etc.). Thus, for each group of muscles must be performed a series of exercises, without a break in between; the break is taken only at the end of this double effort. The programs can also contain triple series or even giant-series (more than three exercises one after the other). The intensity of the training can be considerably increased: many muscles can be trained in a short time.

The weekly frequency of the training remains the same (three sessions); so the aerobic phase can be covered in the free days. If only three or even two weekly sessions are possible, mixed programs can be adopted: after the anaerobic fitness, always done at the beginning of the session, 15-20 minutes of aerobic fitness are added for balancing the two phases (anaerobic and aerobic). In this case, also, training must not take longer than one hour and a half; otherwise the phase of catabolic processes is initiated – a phase in which muscles 'self-cannibalize'.

Anaerobic fitness is recommended to all somatic types, with specific differences of modality of training.

In the cases of ectomorphic and mezomorphic types, all the series (3 or 4) performed on the same machine must be finished, and then the machine and the group of muscles which is trained must be changed at the same time. This system is also called 'workshop training'.

In the case of the endomorphic type (the overweight), circuit training is preferred: the group of muscles trained is changed after every series and the whole circuit must be repeated three or four times. This type of training consumes more calories because an aerobic component is introduced by not having breaks between series and slightly increasing the cardiac frequency.

Growth of muscular mass through fitness programs can't exceed one weight category (5-6 kg), but they do not misbalance the other motion parameters.

In an earlier article we looked at how repetitions contribute to the muscle building process, but is the position regarding sets just as clear cut? Unfortunately, the answer to this is no as some experts feel one set to failure is sufficient, whereas others argue that multiple sets are needed to ensure maximum muscle gains.

Research to date suggests that, when using six to eight repetitions to failure at 75-80% 1RM, there is little significant difference between training with single and multiple sets in terms of increasing either strength or muscle size. Any small differences that have been recorded indicate that a single set completed to failure encourages strength gains but subsequent sets have a slightly greater impact on muscle size. What is clear is that the law of diminishing returns applies, so you have to question if the marginal improvements in size justify the extra time and effort expended.

Like everything else in life, bodybuilding does not remain static and several cutting edge experts have redefined the boundaries of achievement. Increasingly, serious athletes are using methods that extend the set beyond the point of failure. This involves forcing the muscle to perform more work despite having experienced failure in the previous rep. In practice, you perform one last forced repetition with the help of a training partner.

This obviously calls for great commitment and high motivation but the rewards include better mass gains thanks to the greater muscular overload. Such intensive training places additional importance on the need to lift with sound technique and to incorporate sufficient recovery time into your muscle building program.

If you've been working out for any amount of time, you're probably well acquainted with fatigue—that sensation of your muscles being "done," "cooked," "toast"... You know, the "please have mercy before I'm permanently trapped under this weight," or "you might just have to drag me off the track because I've collapsed" feeling.

We typically use the term fatigue to describe general sensations of tiredness and the accompanying decreasing muscular performance. What this really means is we "hit the wall" and can no longer perform reps on a particular lift; we can no longer run any farther or harder; we can no longer produce the "optimal" output of muscular contractions as we did at the beginning of the set or workout.

What Is Muscle Fatigue?
Fatigue is a very complex phenomenon in which multiple sites fail during muscular work. The underlying causes of fatigue fall into one of two categories: central (neuromuscular—the mind/central nervous system) and local (peripheral—the actual muscle site).

The central nervous system (CNS) acts much like an automobile engine regulator. Most cars are made with a regulator that causes them to "shut down" when the engine revs too high for too long. This mechanism protects the engine from "over-heating." In the same way, our brains attempt to protect our muscles from tearing by reducing the rate nerve impulses are sent to our working muscles. In most cases, you'll experience central fatigue before local fatigue. In other words, when you think you simply can't do any more work because you're so fatigued, essentially what's happening is your mind is telling your body (muscles) to shut down. But in fact, you're probably able to continue for another couple of reps.

"...when you think you simply can't do any more work because you're so fatigued, essentially what's happening is your mind is telling your body (muscles) to shut down."Local fatigue is related to local factors that limit the ability to perform muscular work. These include the energy systems (ATP-CP, glycolysis, and oxidation); the accumulation of metabolic byproducts (such as lactic acid); and the failure of the muscle fiber's contractile mechanisms. The energy systems act much the same way as fuel in a car or a battery in a flashlight. However, humans are different in that we have three energy systems within the muscle's cells that are called upon at different times depending on the intensity and duration of an activity.

The first energy system is called the ATP-CP system and is called upon during extremely short and intense bouts of exercise (e.g., weight training, sprinting, and jumping). It works by repeatedly breaking down ATP (the basic currency of energy in the body) and rebuilding ATP using CP (creatine phosphate). During repeated maximal contractions, fatigue coincides with CP depletion.

The other two energy systems are called into play during exercises that last longer than 30 seconds. Known as anaerobic (or glycolytic) and aerobic (or oxidative), these energy systems are very dependent on the availability of glycogen (the stored form of glucose—sugar). As with CP use, the rate of glycogen depletion is controlled by the intensity (i.e., how hard you train) of the exercise.

During sprinting, for instance, muscle glycogen may be used 35 to 40 times faster than during walking. Glycogen depletion and hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) limit performance in activities lasting longer than 30 minutes. Long-distance runners often speak of "bonking" or "hitting the wall." This refers to a perceived fatigue usually related to glycogen depletion. At this point, the body begins to use other forms of energy, such as fat and protein (which are not as efficient sources, thus making it harder to sustain energy levels).

During high-intensity anaerobic exercise, such as sprinting and weight training, our bodies produce metabolic byproducts such as lactic acid and CO2. As these accumulate in our bodies, our ability to maintain the duration and intensity of exercise diminishes. And, when they finally reach a point of saturation, our muscle capacity comes to a screeching halt. This is often referred to as the "burn," whereby the muscle feels like it's on fire—signaling you to stop.

Got all that? I realize it sounds like some fairly complex processes, which they are, so here are a few instances I'm sure you can relate to that will help clarify how these energy systems work in our bodies, and more importantly, how we can assist our bodies to increase their output and delay (or temporarily overcome) the onset of muscle fatigue.

How Can You Overcome Muscle Fatigue?
While we can't completely overcome muscle fatigue, we can certainly delay it. But, sometimes this delay can be the difference between sprinters winning or losing in competition or allow weight trainers to "push out" a few more reps (to produce new levels of strength and muscle gains). There are many strategies we can use to accomplish this goal, but here are a few I've found over the years to be particularly effective:

Diet
First, we must ensure your diet is optimized. Consuming an adequate amount and ratio of carbohydrates, fat, and protein is paramount. Typically, endurance athletes require more carbohydrates (anywhere between 40 and 60% carbs) than strength athletes but slightly less protein (from 30 to 35%); whereas strength trainers (weight lifters) or those who regularly participate in sporting activities should consume equal or greater amounts of protein to carbohydrates on a daily basis (about a 40:40 ratio of carbs to protein). In essence, carbs are to the body like fuel is to a car—they provide the necessary fuel to maintain or sustain energy levels during workouts.



Hydration
A common mistake made by many athletes is the failure to stay well hydrated. I am not talking about drinking when you're thirsty (as you may know, thirst is a sign your body is already slightly dehydrated). The importance of being properly hydrated cannot be overlooked. Dehydration can lead to significant performance decrements, not to mention the risk of sickness and, in severe cases, death. Even a three to four percent drop in body water levels (signaled by thirst and fatigue) can decrease your muscular contractions by 10 to 20%. To combat this, at least 10 to 12 glasses (eight ounces each) of water (this doesn't count sodas, coffee, or juices) should be consumed daily—always including during and after events when your body is perspiring.

Recovery
Adequate rest is very important for delaying premature fatigue. Inadequate rest during training (i.e., between sets) and between workouts can cause unnecessary fatigue. A great rule of thumb for resting time between sets is just long enough to catch your breath. Squats take a little longer to recover from (maybe two to three minutes) because you're training such a large muscle group. For smaller muscles, like biceps, you would need a much shorter rest—more like 45 to 60 seconds at most.
Another quick tip: recent research that studied the effects of enhancing recovery between sets showed that keeping intensity high after completed sets allowed weight trainers to perform more reps in later sets compared with those who passively recovered (sat) between sets. This means we need to keep moving during rest periods, so instead of sitting down to rest, walk around or go to another exercise for a different muscle group.

One of the most common (and fatal) errors I see with weight trainers, both beginner and advanced alike, is over-training. Trapped by our "more is better" mentality, many of us seem to think if we train longer, harder, and more often, we'll multiply our results. Nothing could be more detrimental to your efforts to put on muscle and gain strength than training muscle groups too frequently. In fact, over-training can significantly impede the body's ability to properly recover and rebuild itself. Only through enough rest (which includes proper sleep) and an adequate number of days in between training, will the body be able to recover and rebuild itself. The most common signs of over-training are lethargy, chronic fatigue, continued muscle soreness, insomnia, and a decrease in strength. If you sense any of these coming on, try taking off a day or two more in between training sessions and see how you feel.

"Trapped by our "more is better" mentality, many of us seem to think if we train longer, harder, and more often, we'll multiply our results."For adequate recovery times between workouts (of the same muscle group), consider this: the smaller the muscle group, the faster the recovery; the more intense (speed of workout), the longer the recovery; and the higher the volume (i.e., the number of reps) and lower the load (weight), the faster the recovery, and vice versa of course. In general, I normally suggest not training a muscle if it's still sore, and then once the tenderness subsides, I say give it another day on top of that.

Supplements
There are many supplements that can help today's athlete postpone muscular fatigue. Endurance athletes may benefit greatly from carbohydrate/electrolyte beverages such as Revenge, Gatorade, Ultra Fuel, and a great new supplement called G-Push. These contain precise ratios of carbohydrates and electrolytes (vital salts and minerals) that can replace those lost during prolonged exercise, as well as enhance the body's ability to sustain long-term energy.

Nutritional stimulants such as caffeine (or its herbal counterpart guarana) can help delay fatigue for two reasons. First, it stimulates a cascade of hormones that cause a release of free-fatty acids into the bloodstream, causing the body to burn fat while sparing carbohydrates to use as energy. Second, it affects the CNS, thus postponing central fatigue and decreasing the perceived difficulty of the exercise.

However, if you can't handle the jittery, nervous-type feelings you get from stimulants (such as caffeine), you might give supplements like tyrosine or Ginkgo biloba a try. These supplements are not stimulants, so they do not affect your central nervous system (which causes the nervousness). Rather, they help increase your mental alertness and delay central fatigue (in the brain), thus helping to crank up your workout intensity.

And, let's not forget creatine monohydrate, which has been scientifically shown to aid short-duration, high-intensity exercise, such as weight training. It increases the body's creatine phosphate stores needed to replenish ATP, thus delaying the onset of glycolysis. In other words, creatine helps quickly replenish energy stores within the muscle cells, allowing you to work out longer and harder, which may lead to increased strength and muscle gains.

Last Words
So there you have it... there's nothing fancy here... but enough to get you through that next workout with a little more flare and pizzazz! With the information at hand, you're now armed with practical, safe, scientifically sound methods to overcome muscle fatigue, so you can train harder (possibly even longer) and become stronger, both mentally and physically—making every workout that much better.

One of the hallmark features of aging is the loss of muscular mass and strength. Much of this loss can be explained by changes to the neuromuscular system such as decreased number of motor neurons, decreased number of muscle fibers, and decrease muscle fiber size. But it is important to ask whether these changes are a consequence of aging or simply a result of an inactive lifestyle.

Age-Related Changes to Muscle

The age related decline in muscle mass appears to occur in 2 phases. The first or “slow” phase of muscle loss, in which 10% of muscle mass is lost, occurs between the ages of 25 and 50. The majority of muscle loss occurs thereafter where an additional 40% is lost from the ages of 50 to 85. Overall, the human body loses 50% of its muscle mass by the age of 80. This muscle atrophy can be explained by significant decreases in both the total number of muscle fibers, as well as in muscle fiber size.

It has been shown that aging results in a loss of the power and speed producing fast twitch fibers (particularly IIb) and an increase in the more aerobic slow twitch fibers. This seems to make sense since movements that demand a high velocity of contraction (such as jumping and sprinting) tend to be less in the older years.

Mechanisms of Strength Loss

The problems with decreasing strength can be seen in its contribution to osteoporotic decline in bone density, arthritic joint pain, and an overall reduced functional capacity.

With the loss in muscle mass evidently comes a decrease in muscular strength. However, as with muscle loss, most strength losses are not significant until the sixth decade. As briefly mentioned, this loss in strength can be attributed to a decrease in the number of motor units (nerve-muscle fiber complex), the decreased number of muscle fibers and the reduction in muscle fiber size. It is also known that a decline in leg strength precedes upper extremity strength loss in the elderly. This is important due to the fact that strength, rather than cardiovascular function, is considered to be the most physically limiting factor in the elderly. This is apparent when considering strength-limiting activities faced by many seniors such as getting up from a seated position or walking up stairs.

Encouraging is the finding that aging does not seem to effect eccentric strength. This phase of contraction is an important consideration for the elderly due to the possible linkage between poor eccentric strength and the incidence of falls in the elderly.

The Importance of Active Living

Regular exercise is the most effective way to slow and counteract the effects of age-related muscle and strength loss. Comparisons between active and sedentary older adults suggest that much of the strength loss with aging is due lifestyle factors. For example, individuals who continue to use certain muscles on a regular basis do not show the same age-related decreases in strength. In general, muscle atrophy, and thus strength loss, will occur any time the muscles are not required to work against a given load. The result will be a decrease in protein synthesis accompanied by an increase in protein breakdown. Overall, the muscle atrophies and loses much of its strength, characteristics commonly seen in astronauts during space flight. Incorporating regular resistance training is the most effective means of attenuating this effect.


Encouraging Findings

Studies have consistently shown that regular exercise can improve muscular endurance and strength in the elderly in a manner similar to that observed in young people. One of the largest studies in this field was done at McMaster University several years ago. The researchers looked at the effects of 2 years of twice/weekly strength training (80-85% 1RM) across 114 subjects between the ages of 60-80 years. The results indicated steady increases in strength in each of the muscle groups tested with no evidence of plateauing. There were also significant increases in muscle mass accompanying the gains in strength and, perhaps more importantly, there was evidence that these strength gains translated into improved function (as measured by walking and stair climbing performance).

Although there are certain unavoidable changes that occur with aging, it is possible to delay or attenuate the losses muscle mass and strength normally accompanying these changes. Since so many daily living activities such as walking, climbing stairs, and standing up from a chair are so dependent on strength it is imperative to minimize the age-related loss in strength as much as possible. The muscles in older adults maintain their ability to adapt; therefore, regular resistance training (2-3x/week) should be implemented into the lifestyle of such individuals. Moreover, a similar strength training protocol needs to be employed in younger adults as means of prevention and staying healthy into the golden years!


Written by Yuri Elkaim, BPHE, CK. Do not reprint without permission
Copyright 2006 © Total Wellness Consulting.

Repetitions are the basic building blocks of any strength or muscle building program but it is something that many lifters take for granted. How often do you see people at the gym speed through their reps, breathe haphazardly or fail to complete each rep correctly from a technical perspective? There is much more to the simple rep than meets the eye.

The first thing to note is that a repetition consists of three elements - namely lower, pause and lift. The speed at which this is achieved depends on the desired outcome, but to maximize muscle growth a slow, controlled tempo is required. The process should never be rushed, jerky or bouncy but instead should be controlled and smooth.

The second consideration relates to how many reps need to be performed. Once again, this depends on what you hope to achieve but you can use the following as a basic rule of thumb:

1. A single repetition maximum (1RM) increases muscle strength.

2. A six to eight repetition maximum increases muscle size.

3. A higher number of repetitions will have more effect on muscle endurance and little impact on size or strength.

Your aim therefore should be to complete six to eight reps of a load equivalent to 75-80% of your 1RM. This will maximize your muscle building potential, provided you complete each lift with perfect form in a smooth controlled manner.

Most people think that in order to get that V shaped upper body like comic book super heroes, they only have to develop big broad back muscles and lats. Well, by having broad back muscles and well developed lats is only part of the equation to get a V shape upper body. For complete V shape upper body development, you will also need to build a powerful chest, big strong shoulder muscles or commonly called deltoids or delts for short and a slim waist.

We shall discuss how to build big shoulder muscles in this article. You see, you may have a wonderful six pack abs or well defined chest muscles, but when you are in your street clothes, no one can see them. But if you have that massive V shape with bulging shoulder muscles, your body frame will tell the world that under those clothes is a well defined body of a gym warrior.

As with building any muscles in your body, intensity is the key to building big deltoids. Your shoulder muscles are made up primarily of the anterior deltoid (front delt), medial deltoid (middle delt) and posterior deltoid (back delt). All 3 parts of your shoulder muscles must be targeted to build well defined and big strong deltoids that threaten to burst through your shirt. The problem here is that most people do not know that they must work on all 3 shoulder muscles and do most shoulder workouts by just concentrating on the anterior delts with exercises such as military press. Furthermore, working only on anterior delts could lead to over training your shoulder muscles because many other exercises like the bench press, dips and push ups also recruit shoulder muscles for its movements.

Your should be careful when working on your shoulder muscle exercises as your shoulders joints are very susceptible to injuries and therefore proper form in executing the exercises is crucial. Don’t let bad exercise form cause you injuries that may be permanent and put you out of the gym forever. One common injury prone exercise is the narrow grip upright row. Although this is a great trapezius and shoulder muscle exercise, it should be avoided because this exercise invokes unnatural and awkward shoulder joint movement.

So what exercises are good for building big strong deltoids? Well, besides the military presses, try Arnold Press, Lateral Raise, Bent Over Lateral Raises, Shoulder Width Upright Row and Shoulder Cable exercises. Ask your personal trainer or read up on how to perform these exercises in excellent form for great shoulder muscle development.

Remember that you must also develop other aspects such as a big broad chest, wide back muscles and flared lats as well as a slim waistline to get that much coveted V shaped upper body.

Becoming familiar with the muscles that make up your body has more benefits than simply allowing you to talk shop with your training partners. The more familiar you are with the muscles you're working, the better you'll be able to judge what's needed to make improvements. In this article we'll get to know the muscles that make up the lower body.

This is where you'll find the big, strong muscles that allow us to get around. The main muscles found below the waist are as follows:

1. Quadriceps femoris - this is a group of four muscles found at the front of the thigh. These are the vastus lateralis on the outside, the vastus medialis on the inside, the vastus intermedius between them, and the rectus femoris above them. The role of these muscles is to extend the leg from a bent position.

2. Hamstrings - these are found to the rear of the leg and consist of the biceps femoris, semitendinosus and semimembranosus. The hamstrings are used to flex the knee in the act of pulling the heel towards the buttocks.

3. Gluteals - these make up the buttocks and consist of the gluteus maximus covering the hip joint and the gluteus medius and minimus on the outside of the hip. The gluteus maximus facilitates hip extension while the other two lift the leg to the side in an action called hip abduction.

4. Hip flexors - these are found opposite the glutes on the front of the pelvis. Consisting of the psoas major and iliacus they raise the leg to the front.

5. Calves - these consist of the gastrocnemius and the soleus. Their role is to extend the foot at the ankle.

Bodybuilding is a sport of building muscle. Bigger and stronger is the name of the game. One of the great things about bodybuilding is that you can achieve great results with only very basic equipment and a few hours of training three to four times per week.

The key to building bigger and stronger muscles is to keep progressively adding more and more weight over time. Building bigger muscles is about consistent regular training, eating properly, getting plenty of rest, and lots of weight at low repetitions.

As a starting any new exercise program, is important a first check with your physician before starting a bodybuilding program. In the beginning is important that you start slow and learn proper technique. Time and time again professional body builders have said that technique is one of most important aspects of getting a good workout. It might be helpful to schedule a session with a professional trainer in the beginning so you start on the right track. If this is not an option for you there are various instructional books on the subject of bodybuilding. Above all take the time to learn proper technique.

Lifting heavy weight damages muscle fibers. It is only when the muscles repair themselves that they grow larger and stronger. For this reason it is very important that each muscle group is given plenty of rest following each workout. This is why most body builders alternate muscle groups. For example, you might work on your back on Monday, your legs on Tuesday, your chest on Wednesday, and your arms on Friday. Most successful body builders will recommend that you not work a particular muscle group more than twice per week.

The question may come up of whether it is best to use weight machines or free weights. The general consensus is that free weights are your best option for increasing muscle mass. Machines are typically used for isolating muscles and this is something that only professional body builders need to do before contest.

The following are some basic exercises for the major muscle groups.

Chest

1. Flat Bench Press
2. Dips
3. Incline Bench Press

Legs

1. Squats
2. Straight Leg Dead Lifts
3. Leg Press

Back

1. Pull ups
2. Barbell Rows
3. Deadlifts

Biceps

1. Curls
2. Incline curls

Triceps

1. Lying Tricep Extensions
2. Close Grip Bench Press

Shoulders

1. Military Press.

Remember to increase muscle size you will need to progressively increase poundage. Be patient. Overworking your muscles can actually have adverse effects. If you maintain a consistent regular workout routine coupled with proper nutrition and rest you will begin to see results in no time. Keep in mind it is common to see more obvious results initially and in overtime your gains will seem less apparent. This is because your body becomes used to your work out routine and in a sense knows what to expect. It is helpful to keep your body guessing by changing your workout routine on a regular basis.

You can only build muscle tissue if you can generate progressively stronger muscular contractions, so this calls for an emphasis on finding ways to increase exercise intensity. This should not be confused with exercise duration as maximum training intensity will actually shorten the time needed to achieve maximal muscular growth.

In an earlier article I outlined the ways in which you can intensify your training. Here we'll focus on the role that forced repetitions have to play in intensifying the training effect.

When you reach the point of muscular failure it is impossible to manage one more complete repetition of any exercise, at least not without losing form or correct technique. There is, however, one way in which you can increase the intensity even further and that is by completing one or more forced repetitions with the help of an experienced training partner.

The best way to achieve this is by keeping the same weights on the bar and have your training partner do no more than is necessary to allow you to complete up the three extra repetitions with good lifting form.

Beginning bodybuilders should avoid forced reps until they have learned good lifting techniques and have prepared their muscles for the stresses involved in this particular approach. Intermediate lifters should consider adding forced reps to one exercise in the pre-exhaust sequence. Advanced bodybuilders can utilize forced reps based on their own needs and judgement.

Contrary to what many would expect, this compound is actually only a weak agonist of the androgen receptor (AR), with poor binding. It follows, then, that its value must mostly come from non-AR-mediated effects. It is therefore a Class II steroid. Since it is not very effective in activating ARs, it should be stacked with a Class I steroid that is effective in
this regard, such as Primobolan, Deca Durabolin, or trenbolone acetate. There is no point in stacking it with Anadrol®, which has similar activity -- one ought to simply use the more appropriate drug. With testosterone or Deca, Dianabol is to be preferred; with Primobolan or trenbolone acetate, Anadrol® is to be preferred (though Dianabol is still a good choice) because Anadrol® does not aromatize. For an oral-only cycle -- something I don't recommend -- Anadrol® is the better choice in my opinion for that also, at 150 mg/day (preferably divided to 3 or 6 doses.)

Methandrostenolone converts to estradiol via aromatase. The amount of this conversion may be reduced by use of Arimidex, or less preferably Cytadren (see previous articles discussing dosage and dose pattern.) Or if the conversion is allowed, Clomid may be used to block adverse estrogenic effects.

Irreversible hoarsening of the voice has been seen in some women from very few tablets of Dianabol: one per day for a few weeks. For this reason, in the 1960s doctors decided to end what had been a fairly common practice of prescribing this drug at one tab per day to women as a "tonic." It is not a good choice for the woman who chooses to use anabolic steroids.

The usual dosing for men is 25-50 mg/day in divided doses, preferably four or five doses. The drug is 17-alkylated and so use should be limited to no more than 6 weeks, and preferably no more than four weeks, with at least an equal amount of time off.


Trivial name Methandrostenolone
Systematic name 17â-hydroxy-17ل-
methyl-1,4-androstadien-3-one
CAS registry number 72-63-9
ATC code A14AA03
Merck Index Number 5978
Chemical formula C20H28O2
Molecular weight 300.435 g/mol
Bioavailability
Metabolism Hepatic
Elimination half-life 6 hours
Excretion Urinary:
Pregnancy category X
Routes of administration Oral

Every bodybuilder and weight trainer will have his or her favorite exercises for each body part. That's how it should be - as you progress through the various stages of learning you'll understand what works best for you. It is useful, however, to take stock of your progress every so often and carry out an analysis of where you are and what changes, if any, are needed to move onwards and upwards.

Part of this analysis should include an assessment of the core exercises that make up your bodybuilding training program. In this article we'll look at the chest exercises that have proven their worth to serious bodybuilders for many years. Where appropriate a series of exercises suitable for achieving pre-exhaustion will be presented. All exercises should be performed to failure with one set of six to eight reps.

1. Dumbbell flyes - this exercise provides a useful means of isolating the pectorals and preserving the triceps for the subsequent exercise. The exercise should be performed as follows:

- Hold dumbbells directly overhead.

- Lower them to sides with elbows slightly bent, pulled back and to the side. Lower no further than level with the torso.

- Use the pectorals to pull the weights back up to the starting position.

2. Incline bench press - you can move straight on to this exercise if you have reached an appropriate level of experience. If you perform this exercise as the second part of a pre-exhaust routine you may have to use lighter weights than normally.

- Take a shoulder width grip.

- Lower the bar to the chest with the elbows pointed to the side.

- Return to the starting position.

For the bodybuilder, the most appealing of the current crop of diet drugs are the amphetamine derivatives. They can be successfully used for a short period of time to burn significant amounts of bodyfat, particularly the stubborn bodyfat that is highly resistant to dieting and will not seem to disappear even towards the end of a cutting cycle. The stimulating properties of these drugs can dramatically enhance the fat burning effects of a ketogenic diet.

Here are the stimulating diet drugs listed from weakest to strongest. Their differences in pharmacology are small, but the effects they produce on the individual can vary widely.

Tenuate: (diethylpropion hydrochloride USP) - the mildest.

Phentermines: (brands: Adipex; Fastin, Ionamine)

Bontril: (Phendimetrazine tartrate)

Didrex: the brand name for Benzphetamine - the strongest.

All the amphetamine based diet drugs have both the good and bad side effects of amphetamine - but to a lesser degree. What dieters like about these drugs is that when on them, you feel very well stimulated. You feel euphoric, have boundless energy, and are without fatigue. But the downside is that unless kept in check, they can be habit forming, and when you stop using them - as you must from time to time - you crash and feel highly fatigued.

Tenuate, the mildest of the stimulants, is basically one notch higher than caffeine in terms of stimulation. The best thing about Tenuate is that the lower dose tabs can be used during problem hours of the day to curb the appetite. Most athletes have specific times throughout the day when they are particularly susceptible to breaking their diets. At these times of craving, Tenuate can be of aid. The main downside is that Tenuate begins to lose its simulative effect at around week three.

In terms of effectiveness and simulative properties, the next step up from Tenuate are the Phentermines. The Phentermines come in two flavors: Phentermine hydrochloride and Phentermine resin. Phentermine hydrochloride goes by the brand names Adipex, Fastin, and just plain Phentermine. Phentermine resin goes by the name Ionamine. Adipex and Fastin are 30mg tablets that exert their effect for 10 to 12 hours. Ionamine is believed to have a longer duration, but a milder effect. Ionamine is usually more expensive than Phentermine, and in the real world, the differences between the two are largely subjective. The Phentermines can promote pronounced fat loss and are highly effective.

Bontril-SR is the brand name for Phendimetrazine tartrate. It is a stimulant that is supposedly stronger than Phentermine. Based on discussions I have had with consultation clients, many cannot differentiate between the two in terms of effects and effectiveness. They instead choose one or the other based on price and availability. Unfortunately, because there is a high cross-tolerance between Phentermine and Bontril, one cannot simply step up from Phentermine to Bontril when Phentermine loses its effectiveness.

Didrex, is the brand name for Benzphetamine and it is the closest of all the diet drugs currently available to amphetamine. Benzphetamine is metabolized into methamphetamine and amphetamine, which may explain its reputation for having a greater abuse potential than Phentermine. Additionally, it has the drawback of making you test positive for amphetamine and methamphetamine in urine drug screens. On the plus side, it is definitely a step up in effectiveness from the Phentermine style diet drugs and affords the dieter who has gotten all of the possible benefits from the milder diet drugs a place to go for further weight loss.

We now move into an area that is far too neglected by mainstream health and fitness professionals, the mind. Most books or courses concentrate on the physical side of weight gain and completely neglect the mental side of things.

Visualization can play an important part in gaining weight and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Gaining weight can be difficult for many people who don’t use their minds to help in the process.

Visualization is a powerful technique that can help you make lasting lifestyle changes. Just by "day dreaming", you can significantly improve your chances in achieving your goals.

Visualization is a great weight gain tool and its as simple as visualizing your body as you want your body to look like. This mental image of yourself is then transferred to your subconscious mind, which in turn starts to work on your body, shaping it in accordance with your mental image.

This means that if you program your subconscious with a mental image of yourself as a more muscular person, through persistence your mind will accept this and aid your body to conform to this mental image.

Once your mind is programmed with the proper mental images, it will start to work in assisting you to gain weight. I can't stress enough how important it is for you to believe in your visualization goals. You have to let go of your past failures and refuse to entertain any negative images that come into your mind.

If you can visualize your body at its perfect proportions, the subconscious mind will work to make it become a reality. It will then begin to positively reinforce your body into aiding the metabolism and eating habits.

Programming your mind into believing that you can gain weight, and to visualize yourself with your perfect proportions is of the greatest importance.

Try to think of a different image of yourself, then let your subconscious do the work for you. If you think of your body as being out of shape all the time, then the subconscious mind will find ways to make it so.

The sub-conscious looks after all of all your vital functions, it is the cause of all your good and bad habits, and also regulates the muscles of the body (The muscles are controlled by the sub-conscious) and body-fat composition on the body.

Try to visualize your body as lean and as muscular as you would like, and your mind will work on that image. The mind can be a great partner in gaining weight.

Relaxation

Relaxation the best way to reach the sub-conscious and will slow down the mind, turn off the exterior world so as to tune in to one's inner self. The best times for these sessions are in the morning and late at night right, just before going to sleep.

Perform two sessions, one in the afternoon (Primary) and the other before going to sleep (Secondary) but once a day is quite sufficient. Sessions usually last 20 minutes, which isn't time consuming especially when taking in the benefits received.

It has been stated that one of these sessions is equivalent to 2 hours of deep sleep and upon waking you will feel revitalized and full of energy. Believe me instead of worrying about time constraints; you will be looking forward to the next session.

When you begin your relaxation sessions, make sure you won't be disturbed - lock the door, take the phone off the hook and loosen all clothing. Now find a comfortable position, whether it is lying down or sitting in a comfortable chair.

Sitting may be preferable as you may fall asleep if you become too comfortable. You want to be conscious and not asleep in order to tap into your sub-conscious mind.

Try to exhale all the air from your lungs completely and then breathing in through the nose. Take ten seconds to fill the lungs with air (not to capacity, but comfortable) hold for ten seconds and then exhale slowly through the nose for another ten seconds.

Each one of these breathing cycles should last for 30 seconds, complete five cycles and after each cycle you will be feeling more and more relaxed.

Having reaching this calm relaxed state, start your visualizations. Put together images that power your emotions. Make them alive and colourful. Make the scenes as real as possible and imagine yourself as muscular and toned as possible.

Picture yourself ten weeks from now on the beach, walking briskly and confidently to your favourite spot, your breathing is normal and relaxed. You smile to yourself; you could keep walking like this for miles without feeling fatigued.

You lay your towel out and begin to take your clothes off revealing a muscular, toned, well conditioned body. You have just bought a brand new swimming suit which just weeks before would have been lying in your closet waiting to be used.

Glancing around you notice the beach is busy, you catch the eye of someone of the opposite sex, they smile at you and you smile back. You walk confidently to the water and swim a couple of hundred yards with no problem or fatigue.

Or try this:

Visualize your family and friends complimenting you about how good your body looks. Try to view the scene as it is happening this instant - in the present, not in the future.

Using these visualizations you can construct in your mind any scene that desire. See yourself exercising, socializing, in the company of friends. Try and hear people complimenting you about your new muscular body, and watch their admiring glances. Make the mental image as real as possible.

 Remember set a goal for your ideal weight

 You must want to gain weight

 Visualize yourself at your ideal weight

 Use positive images at every opportunity

Practice these sessions on a daily basis and over a period of ten weeks you’ll be on your way to become more fulfilled, happier and muscular.

Bodybuilding is an activity that operates according to scientific principles and science is mathematically based. Bodybuilding is not an exact science and it's not healthy to look up to some guru for all your answers. Bodybuilding is the art and the science of developing your body. Modern bodybuilding is ritual, religion, sport, art, and science, awash in Western chemistry and mathematics. An extremely important aspect of bodybuilding is proper nutrition. The diet aspect of bodybuilding is just as important, if not more, than the weight-lifting aspect. Bodybuilding is not a one-hour training session five days a week. Bodybuilding is more a philosophy of life than a straightforward physical activity. Bodybuilding is not just a sport; it is an investment in your body and your life. Bodybuilding is not about lifting weights, but about training muscles. Bodybuilding is designed to develop the muscles for general, sportive or corrective purposes. Bodybuilding is more than just a sport, it's a life style. Bodybuilding is a sport that mainly emphasizes physical appearance, body configuration and shape, trying to achieve aesthetics perfection.

If you're looking for a way to feel and look great - then bodybuilding is for you. Bodybuilding is, in its method and ideals, a contradictory practice.

If you’re serious about making a solid commitment to a muscle-building program, you need to be very careful of who you take advice from. Bodybuilding and fitness is literally a multi-billion dollar industry with new websites popping up every single day. Many of the so-called “experts” out there really don’t have a clue of what they’re talking about and are only motivated by pushing expensive pills, powders and “miracle programs” on you that you don’t really need. If you don’t watch your step you may end up falling for some fatal muscle-building pitfalls that will literally destroy your gains and prevent you from ever achieving the impressive, muscular physique you desire. In this article I’m going to expose 4 very common muscle-building myths in order to keep you on the proper path to the mind-blowing muscle and strength gains you deserve.

Myth #1: In order to build muscle, you must achieve a "pump" during your workout. The greater the pump you achieve, the more muscle you will build.

For those of you who are just starting out, a “pump” is the feeling that you get as blood becomes trapped inside the muscle tissue when you train with weights. The muscles will swell up and leave your body feeling bigger, tighter, stronger and more powerful. While a pump does feel fantastic, it has very little, if anything to do with properly stimulating your muscles to grow. A pump is simply the result of increased bloodflow to the muscle tissue and is certainly not indicative of a successful workout. A successful workout should only be gauged by the concept of progression. If you were able to lift more weight or perform more reps than you did in the previous week, then you did your job.

Myth #2: Building muscle will cause you to become slower and less flexible.

This one goes back to the old days when people described bodybuilders as being “muscle bound” and “bulky”. Contrary to what you may think, building a significant amount of lean muscle mass will actually speed you up rather than slow you down. Muscles are responsible for every movement that your body makes, from running to jumping to throwing. The bottom line is that the stronger a muscle is, the more force it can apply. Having stronger, more muscular legs means increased foot speed, just as having stronger and more muscular shoulders means the ability to throw farther. Strong muscles are able muscles, not the other way around.

Myth #3: You must always use perfect, textbook form on all exercises.

While using good form in the gym is always important, obsessing over perfect form is an entirely different matter. If you are always attempting to perform every exercise using flawless, textbook form, you will actually increase your chances of injury and simultaneously decrease the total amount of muscle stimulation you can achieve. Remember, we are not robots! It’s very important that you always move naturally when you exercise. This could mean adding a very slight sway in your back when you perform bicep curls, or using a tiny bit of body momentum when executing barbell rows. Loosen yourself up a bit and move the way your body was meant to be moved. Obsessing over perfect form will actually work against you rather than for you.

Myth #4: If you want your muscles to grow you must “feel the burn!”

This is another huge misconception in the gym. The “burning” sensation that results from intense weight training is simply the result of lactic acid (a metabolic waste product) that is secreted inside the muscle tissue as you exercise. Increased levels of lactic acid have nothing to do with muscle growth and may actually slow down your gains rather than speed them up. You can limit lactic acid production by training in a lower rep range of 5-7, rather than the traditional range of 10 and above.