Tag Archives: exercise

Cheat and build muscle

So you’ve read a lot of articles on how to build muscle. But there’s something you just don’t know. There’s something they’re just not telling you. You’ve been lied to.

Everything you have ever read about proper exercise form is wrong. It could be hindering your progress and setting you up for an injury. If you want to build muscle faster and maybe even avoid some injuries along the way, read what I am about to tell you very carefully.

Despite everything you read about the importance of full range of motion, and strict exercise form the reality is that most people. Who are beyond the beginner level, will build muscle faster and more effectively by NOT using text book form. Not using a complete full range of motion on every exercise and by… dare I say it… CHEATING!

Have you thought about picking something up at waist height and lifting it to a shelf at eye height or above? Do you pin your elbows at your side, allowing zero movement in your body, only allowing your forearms to move upward as you hinge at the elbow? That might sound ridiculous? But that’s what you do when your perform a text book barbell curl.

Cheating and using a little momentum is 100% natural to the body. It’s just what you instinctively do when you lift something heavy. What is unnatural is just locking yourself into one rigid position, only allowing movement at one or two joints.

No two people are the same and some have injuries that they have to take into account. For example, I have a bad shoulder that has required surgery in the past. If I do a strict dumbbell curl with a dumbbell I can only use 25’s. Any heavier weight than that causes me a lot of excruciating pain. But if I adjust my body position slightly and lean over at just the right time and slightly swing through the painful portion of the exercise I can use nearly triple the weight without any problems at all.

Before I go off on a tangent, I should explain that everyone reading this who wants to build muscle and hasn’t been training for at least a year or two, should learn text book form first. Unless you know proper form and how to isolate and target the muscle you are training you will never be able to cheat effectively. After many years in the game I can cheat a bent over row with some extra leg drive and hip extension while still targeting my lats and upper back very effectively. A newcomer who tried to emulate my form would only work their biceps and lower backs, and probably get injured in the process. With the amount of weight a strong lifter can use, cheating actually takes stress off the lower back and makes it safer instead of more dangerous.

The same can be said for a barbell curl. When you are using a lot of weight the stress on your lower back with text book form is actually greater than if you used a little body language. However an advanced trainee can cheat and more effectively overload his biceps while sparing his lower back. The beginner, on the other hand would put less stress on his biceps and only work his front delts, traps and lower back. So this would be counterproductive.

You’ve got to put some practice in to make it perfect. After a year loosening up your form and cheating on exercises that safely allow you to do so and you will be pleasantly surprised at much it will aid in your quest to build muscle fast.

Well who said cheaters never win? I hope this article has helped all those who were about to throw in the towel, keep at it.

Jason Ferruggia,
Author, Muscle Gaining Secrets

Muscle Gaining Secrets

Exercise after eating

Exercising after eating a meal can help promote weight loss by boosting hormones that suppress appetite, say UK scientists.

These hormones can help active people feel less hungry immediately after exercise. This carries through to their next meal, experiments have suggested.

Even when they had bigger meals, sporty people gained fewer calories, overall because they burned off more.

The University of Surrey and Imperial College London research paper is published in the Journal of Endocrinology.

Exercise may affect people’s appetite, helping them to lose weight.

According to researcher Dr Denise Robertson:

Twelve volunteers were fed the exact same breakfast.

An hour later, six of them worked out for an hour, on an exercise bike while the other six volunteers sat quietly.

Both groups were left for another hour, and then allowed to eat as much as they liked.

Not surprisingly, the people who exercised burned more calories than those who sat quietly, 492 kcal compared to 197 kcal.

When they were given the chance to eat afterwards, the people who had exercised had a tendency to eat more, 913 kcal versus to 762 kcal.

However, when the amount of energy the volunteers burned during exercise was taken into account, the sporty people took in fewer calories overall – 421 kcal compared to 565 kcal for the inactive group.

Levels of hormones called PYY, GLP-1 and PP, which tell the brain when the stomach is full, increased during and immediately after exercise. So is this saying that exercise after eating is the way to go.

Volunteers also commented on how they felt less hungry during this time.

Researcher Dr Denise Robertson said: “In the past we have been concerned that, although exercise burns energy, people subsequently ate more after working out. This would cancel out any possible weight reduction effects of exercise”.

“But our research shows that exercise may alter people’s appetite to help them lose weight and prevent further weight gain as part of a healthy, balanced lifestyle.”

Experts recommend people do at least 30 minutes of physical activity, at least five or more days a week.

‘Significant contribution’

Dr Ian Campbell, medical director of the charity Weight Concern, said: “This is an interesting study. Patients often report that they feel increased hunger and eat more after exercise.

“What this study shows is that, although total calorific intake is greater, the net result, because of the exercise taken, is a reduction in the net energy balance.

“Dieting is never easy. Increased physical activity is an essential part of any weight management programme, not just to expend more calories but also, as we see here, to help control our appetite too.”

Dr John McAvoy, a GP with a special interest in obesity, said the study was a “significant contribution to understanding the complex mechanisms of energy balance”.

“It will be of greater interest to the pharmaceutical industry, than to the general public at this stage, for the simple reason that most people view exercising so soon after eating as akin to putting your fingers down your throat,” he added.

“For exercise to contribute to weight control it should be sustainable over the long term and enjoyment remains a critical factor to this end.”

Ref:

Effects of exercise on gut peptides, energy intake and appetite
Catia Martins, Linda M Morgan, Stephen R Bloom1 and M Denise Robertson

Journal of Endocrinology (2007) 193, 251-258 DOI: 10.1677/JOE-06-0030

Jason Ferruggia build bigger traps

When you ask the question of how to build big traps, the discussion usually starts and finishes with dead lifts. This is the number 1 mass builder, and it will pack huge slabs of beef on your traps faster than any other exercise there is. Take a look at power lifters, and you will see that you cannot avoid building huge traps when you do a lot of dead lifts.

While the dead lift is definitely the king of all trap building exercises, an argument could also be made that Olympic lifts are equally as effective. I would tend to agree with this, if it were not for the fact that Olympic lifts are much harder to teach and learn than dead lifts are, which moves them down to second place on the list. Just about everyone can do at least a partial range dead-lift properly. Not everyone is able to clean or snatch properly.

Finally, you have shrugs. While it’s supposed to be a very simple and straight forward movement there is actually a great deal of confusion over how to build big traps with shrugs. Can you believe that few people seem to be able to agree on how they should be done. On the one hand you have the camp that says you need to go as heavy as possible, and do partial reps, just by heaving the weight up. Of course there’s the camp that says you need to go light, by getting a full range of motion, try to get your shoulders as close to touching your ears as possible, and hold it for at least a second.

So who is right and who is wrong? – they both are!.

To try and understand where the answer lies lets take a look at the athletes with the biggest traps: power lifters and Olympic lifters

Power lifters have huge traps because of all the dead-lifts they do. Dead-lifts are heavy duty. There is no shrugging movement at all. Olympic lifters usually lift relatively lighter weights explosively, and with a range of motion that does indeed have them bringing their traps to their ears.

Looking at these two groups, what does this tell us about shrugs and the proper way to do them?

What it tells us is, the best way to get huge traps is to dead lift and also Olympic lift.

BUT… what if you can not do either of those exercises due to back or shoulder problems, or you just want more to have more variety in your trap training routine? Then you have little or no choice but to shrug. Traps are the most important, the most intimidating, and the impressive body part there is and you can’t walk around with none.

So then, exactly how do you do shrugs and which camp is right? To a certain extent they both are. Occasionally you should try going heavy for low reps, cheat the weight up. Then on another day of the week go lighter for higher reps with a complete range of motion and exaggerated contraction and hold at the top.

I suppose another option is to do both variations in one workout. You could always start with a lighter weight, doing about 10-12 reps, bringing your shoulders as high as they can comfortably go. With each set add extra weight, and work your way down to the point where you can only get five partial reps, with a little cheat at the end. You could start with the heavier sets first, and lighten them as you go.

Dead lifts and Olympic lifts should always be your first answer to the question of how to build big traps. But sometimes shrugs can be very effective as well. Be sure to go straight up and down, and don’t roll your shoulders back and forth. That’s for idiots who don’t have a full understanding of how gravity works.

Jason Ferruggia is a world famous fitness expert who is world renowned for his ability to help people build muscle as fast as possible. He is the head training adviser for Men’s Fitness Magazine where he has his own monthly column dedicated to muscle building. For much more info on How to Build Muscle Fast, check out muscle gaining secrets.

Why is it harder for women to lose weight.

I was reading a magazine article for some reason, called It’s Harder For Women To Lose Weight. I’m not a woman so I’m going to look into this from a man’s point of view. I guess I could be wrong but here goes. I think it’s generally harder for women to lose weight. I’m speaking in general terms, and I realise that there will be exceptions to every rule, but that’s what I think anyway.

Why would I think this? Well they’ve got a couple reasons in that article I read: Women have to do about 20% more exercise to get the same benefits. While exercise alone might be enough for men to lose weight, women also have to look carefully at their carbohydrate intake to get the same results. Experts say body composition such as muscle mass, and hormones are to blame for women not being able to lose weight.

The story goes on to says that research at the University of Missouri by Prof Jill Kanaley put 75 obese men and women, all with type 2 diabetes on the same fitness program, and found men always did better as far as weight loss went. What they are saying is that exercise alone might be good enough for a man, but unfortunately it’s not good enough for a woman who must also worry about her diet to lose weight.
It’s a pretty interesting article. It goes back to basics suggesting that because the male body is more utilitarian then the female body it responds better to exercise and diet. One main reason for this is body composition – men have a higher proportion of of muscle of women – and muscle has a higher metabolic rate than fat. This means men can burn more calories then women even when at rest. There was one part where the researcher said a man working 65 per cent effort would require a woman to work at 85 per cent to have the equivalent output or results. I haven’t done any research and am not sure that I want to believe that, to be honest. The article then goes onto say that men naturally have this advantage because they have larger hearts and lungs along with a higher proportion of hemoglobin. (Haemoglobin is the part of the blood that carries oxygen around the body which is very useful when exercising).

So what is going to be the best way for women to achieve weight loss?

I think the best way is to lift weights, do cardio and eat properly. Lifting weights temporarily raises the level of testosterone and growth hormones which in turn, burn more fat. Hormones are a big part of your metabolism. Women naturally have slower metabolisms because they tend to store fat instead of burning it, due to lower testosterone levels. Women should be doing what’s known as compound weight training, that is, using muscles such as the glutes and quads. The bigger muscle groups you use, the more calories you will burn. Lifting weights is not going to make you big and bulky. But that’s another post for another day!