Weight Training Workouts Build Muscle Fast

In part one of this series we discussed how to build muscle like the always-jacked-big-biceps-and-triceps sporting male gymnasts.

In part two we are going to address the other most muscular athletes at the summer Olympics, the sprinters.

If you took a survey of most average guys I am willing to bet that 99.9% of them would choose to look like an Olympic sprinter over just about any other physique option you gave them. Lean muscular and athletic looking; what could be better than that? I would even go so far as to argue that guys like Maurice Greene and Shawn Crawford (pictured) posses the perfect male physique. Head turning both aesthetically and athletically.

So how do you build that kind of functional, muscular physique? Well first of all you need to train with the intention of targeting the fast twitch muscle fibers. This can be done by using heavy weights for relatively low reps and lifting explosively. Stick with compound exercises like cleans, snatches, push presses, squats and deadlifts.

Always accelerate as fast as you can on the concentric, or lifting portion, of every set and control the eccentric, or lowering portion, in one to two seconds. Never waste time with slow lifting speeds, especially on the way up. That limits the amount of weight you can lift and is completely unnatural. In real life if you bent over to pick up a box, would you take four seconds to lift it up off the ground and eight seconds to put it back down? Of course not.

Muscles are made for speed; don't force them to do something they don't want to do by lifting slowly. Train slow, get slow. Remember that.

Another key component in learning how to build muscle like an Olympic sprinter is to be sure that you are using the right cardio/ conditioning methods. Too many people waste their time doing regular cardio like riding a bike, using a treadmill, stairclimber, or elliptical machine at a steady pace for 20-45 minutes. While this type of activity will burn some calories and can help you get leaner, it is far from the most effective or time efficient method.

You don't think sprinters do that, do you? Sprinters, obviously, sprint. When you compare the sprinters physique to the marathoners physique it is readily obvious which form of activity burns the most fat, builds the most muscle and produces the most appealing physique.

While excessive steady state aerobic or cardio training can actually burn muscle tissue, high intensity methods like sprinting can actually help you build muscle. You read that right; sprinting can actually have a double pronged effect of not only burning fat, but simultaneously inducing an anabolic state and helping you build muscle. I don't know about you but that makes it a hands-down winner in my book, any day.

I recommend that you vary your sprint workouts between regular, flat ground sprints, hill sprints, sled sprints and Prowler sprints. Just because you are not an athlete doesn't mean you shouldn't train like one in the effort to look like one.

If you are training for speed, you will need a lower volume of training, longer rest periods and probably shouldn't sprint all out more than twice per week. If you are simply training to get ripped you can sprint at differing intensities and durations 3-4 days per week. Be sure to warm up properly beforehand and then proceed to your work sets which should be about 10-30 seconds of intense sprinting, for 15-30 minutes (total workout time) with 30-90 second rest intervals between.

You could run several 40 yard sprints with a minute rest or a few 100's and then walk back as your rest interval. There are a million different options, the important thing as that you do them.

Now you know how to build muscle like an Olympic sprinter and get absolutely ripped at the same time. Get ready to start turning heads in just a few months with your new physique. Good luck and train hard.

To learn more about how to build muscle and get ripped check out Muscle Gaining Secrets.com.

How To Build Muscle, Olympic Style - Part 1

Every four years, while watching the summer Olympics, you would be hard pressed not to notice the great physiques possessed by many of the athletes.

But by far and away the most muscular bodies always belong to the gymnasts and the sprinters.

These guys certainly know how to build muscle more effectively than most average gym rats.

For years now I have been extolling the virtues of moving your body through space when you train, as opposed to simply moving your limbs around a fixed object. When you move your body through space, as the Olympic gymnasts do, you stimulate a much higher level of neuromuscular activation. In simple terms this means that you call more muscle fibers into play on any one exercise. And the more muscle fibers you activate, the more you will grow.

So if you want to develop an incredible physique, take a lesson from the Olympic gymnasts on how to build muscle, and start moving your body through space as much as possible while you train. Following is a list of exercises to start you on the path to getting huge.

1.Instead of triceps pushdowns do parallel bar dips.

Have you noticed how many dips and how much work the Olympians do on the parallel bars? And have you noticed the size of their triceps? Need I say more?

2.Instead of barbell curls do close grip chin ups.

Ditto what I said about the dips. Not only do you get incredible biceps development from close grip chins but you also get the added bonus of massive lat and forearm development.

3.Instead of bench presses do chain or strap suspended pushups.

While the bench press can be an effective mass building exercise it can also be one of the worst for your shoulders. If you want to be safer and build a chest and pair of shoulders like you see on the Olympic gymnasts I would highly recommend some type of chain or strap suspended pushup. This movement will call far more muscle fibers into play and challenge the smaller stabilizers muscles as well. Not only that but you will get an outstanding ab workout from this movement as well; something that can't be said for the bench press.

4.Instead of leg presses, leg extensions or leg curls do double and single leg squats.

When you sit in a fixed machine and move weight with your limbs as opposed to moving your body the level of neuromuscular activation is quite low; no matter how much weight you use. And it is very unnatural. A leg press allows you to build strength in your lower body without additional gains in lower back and core strength. This is not normal and creates an imbalance that will lead to future problems. When you do squats you incorporate nearly every muscle from head to toe and will not only build tree trunk sized legs but will stimulate growth throughout your entire body.

5.Instead of crunches and sit ups do all of the exercises listed above.

Isolation abdominal exercises like crunches and sit ups are not real life type movements. In real life your abdominals contract isometrically to protect your spine; they do not contract the way they do in a crunch or sit up. Not only that, but by continually flexing your spine for hundreds of reps per week, you will surely be setting yourself up for long term back problems.

If you follow a steady diet of chins, dips, suspended pushups and squats you will build an incredible set of abs. When you watch the Olympic gymnasts you immediately notice their rock solid abs popping right through their spandex and they never do crunches or sit ups. You simply can't hide abs like that. That kind of six pack is built with full body movements like the ones listed above.

But if you still want to do a little extra ab work you can add in exercises like planks and ab wheel rollouts; just skip the sit ups and crunches.

Now you know how to build muscle, Olympic style. Stick with these time tested exercises and the others listed in my Muscle Gaining Secrets course for the next eight weeks and be prepared add some massive slabs of beef to your physique.

Jason Ferruggia is a world famous fitness expert who is renowned for his ability to help people build muscle as fast as humanly possible. He has trained thousands of clients during his 14 years as a professional fitness coach, including more than 500 athletes from over 20 different sports.

Jason has written hundreds of articles for numerous top rated training magazines and websites and has authored four fitness books. He is also the head training adviser for Men's Fitness Magazine where he also has his own monthly column dedicated to muscle building. For more great muscle building information, please visit muscle gaining secrets

Jason Ferruggias Top 5 Muscle Building & Fat Loss Tips

Jason Ferruggia Gives us his top 5 tips on strength, fat loss and big muscle gains

Jason Ferruggia was interviewed for a big name fitness magazine recently and here are his top five training tips for big muscle gains....

1- Train like an athlete- You should be training for enhanced performance and your strength work and conditioning/ cardio should be hard, heavy and fast. None of the light weight, slow tempo nonsense, and no medium intensity, steady state cardio that drowns your fast twich fibers in lactic acid, turning them slow.

Use big, compound exercises and add in some throws, jumps or strongman training whenever appropriate. Always strive to increase your performance from one workout to the next by lifting more weight, doing more reps, jumping higher, running faster or getting done in less time.

2- Use exercises that allow you to move your body through space- When you move your own bodyweight (or bodyweight plus resistance) like you do in a chin up, pushup, squat, parallel bar dip, etc. you activate more muscle fibers, thus you will get bigger, stronger and leaner a whole lot faster. As far as conditioning and cardio goes, you have to realize that the human body wasn't designed for repetitive steady state activity but rather short bursts with a wide variety of different movements. This is exactly what you do when you play most sports. When you pump away on a machine for 30 minutes you are fighting evolution.

So for big muscle gains focus on bodyweight and free weight exercises like chins, dips and sprints, play as many sports as possible, and avoid all strength or cardio machines like the plague.

3 - Less is more- When training for big muscle gains, strength and speed, take the minimalist approach quality is always more important than quantity. If you undertrain you will make some progress, albeit slowly. If you overtrain you will make zero progress. When in doubt, do less. Limit your workouts to 45 minutes (excluding warm up) and 12-16 total work sets.

4 - Eat only organic whole foods- If a caveman couldn't eat it you probably shouldn't eat it. Almost nothing that comes in a box or plastic wrapper or that contains any artificial ingredients whatsoever can be considered healthy. Focus on getting the majority of your calories from vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and lean, grass fed beef, free range chicken and eggs, and limited amounts of wild caught fish like salmon. If you can't chew all of your protein add in a top quality protein powder like Sun Warrior.

Be sure to drink nothing but pure water and the occasional cup of green tea or glass of red wine. Also, remember to avoid conventional, pasteurized dairy, corn, wheat and sugar as these cause inflammation throughout the body leading to pain and disease.

5 - Sleep- Getting 8-10 hours per day of high quality sleep is simply the best thing you can do for recovery, building lean muscle, burning bodyfat, improving insulin sensitivity, enhancing immune system function, repairing damaged tissues/injuries, improving brain function, etc, etc, etc. If you are not sleeping you have a major problem and it needs to be addressed with high priority.

Now your set for big muscle gains for the new year.

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Bulking up and eating like crazy, to gain muscle mass, is one of the most controversial topics in bodybuilding today...

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How To Gain Muscle Mass Without Getting Fat

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reasons why high calorie bulk up diets won't produce any more muscle growth than ingesting an ideal amount of calories.

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How bulking up sabotages the number one anabolic hormone in your body. This hormone is your only shot at packing on pounds of muscle and without it you'll NEVER get big and ripped.(Go to pg 21-22)

Traditional mass building bulking up diets can be considered a form of self-castration (ignore this one if you're a guy and enjoy wearing a bra). In plain English, crazy bulk up diets can convert your own testosterone into the female sex hormone estrogen! (pg 24)

How bulking up can completely shut down your bodies most powerful fat burning hormone. (Find out on pg 26)

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The most anabolic substance known to man.... more powerful than any drug! (Get shocked on pg 3)

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In the report, you'll discover why you don't need to buy into the nonsense bulk up diets that only pack on pounds of fat, instead of quality muscle. You'll also learn a secret technique that competitive bodybuilders have been hiding for decades to getting bigger and leaner year in and year out...

The Anabolic Amplifier Effect sounds like steroids or some fancy supplement stack Is It? NO!

The most anabolic substance known to man is

"food".

All the training, drugs, and supplements in the world won't build an ounce of muscle mass without proper nutrition and adequate food intake. In fact when you get right down to it, the food you eat is the only real

"Anabolic Component" of your entire muscle-building regimen.

Going to the gym and working out is NOT anabolic. The workout itself is actually catabolic and breaks down muscle tissue. Now granted it's the stress of working out that triggers the adaptation response within the muscles so that they get the signal to become bigger and stronger. But it's the building muscle tissue. food you eat that actually goes towards building muscle.

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The Beast Barbell Workout.

Want Big Muscle And Strength Gains? Do You have What It Takes To Be A Beast?

All you need is a Barbell and 2 milk crates, fancy stuff, eh mate??!!

Start with the empty barbell and perform 2 rounds of this barbell complex to get warmed up

A) hang clean & press
B) back squat
C) reverse lunges
D) high pulls
E) RDLs

After 2 rounds do some push up variations and some ab work along with soft tissue work.

By now, the radio should be blasting and you understand that it's GO time.

Keep rest periods between sets short and hit a few hard sets of each exercise below, NO, this is NOT a circuit.

1) Clean & Press from the floor each rep

2) Hang Cleans

3) Reverse Grip Rows

4) Sumo Deadlift

5) Traditional Deadlift

We need more BEASTs roaming the earth.

Step up and do your part.

It's HEAVY time.

Move BIG weight, Grip it and Rip it....

Simple, NOT Easy.

Stay focused.

Train Like A Man!!! Be A Beast Explode Your Strength And Muscle Gains

For those of you who don't know a 3 day a week total body workout simply means hitting all your body parts in 1 workout doing it 3 days a week.

Back in the bad old days( pre steroid monsters this is how all the top bodybuilding and strength athletes trained.

Good starting point for beginners but can be used by anyone. You can adjust your sets and reps to your fitness level.

Monday: This is your heaviest day

1- Squats 4 sets, 6-10 reps

2- Bench Press 4 sets, 6-10 reps

3- Bent-over-Rows 4 sets, 6-10 reps

4- Calf Raises 3 sets, 8-15 reps

5- Presses 4 sets, 8-10 reps

6- Tricep Extensions 3 sets, 8-12 reps

7- Barbell Curls 3 sets, 8-12 reps

8- Crunches 3 sets 10-15 reps

Wednesday: Lighter weights and higher reps

1) Deadlifts 4 sets, 8-12 reps

2) Incline Bench Press 4 sets, 8-12 reps

3) Wide grip Upright Row 3 sets, 8-12 reps

4) Dumbell lunges 3 sets 8-12 reps

5) Close grip bench presses 3 sets, 8-12 reps

6) Dumbell incline curls 3 sets, 8-12 reps

Friday:Same as Monday decrease your weight for each exercise by 15%

On Tuesday and Thursday do some Interval and Tabata Training

As you go about putting in more and more effort in the gym during your
muscle building workouts, one thing that you want to be sure of is that you're also taking the time to look after your recovery. Some guys go into the gym each and every day and only beat their body down further and further.

Remember, in order to grow stronger, you must provide that rest that the body needs to regenerate itself so that you can lift more weight in the next session you do. If you aren't letting this recovery process take place, you may actually find you're weaker when you go back into the gym and in the long-run this could eventually cause you to lose lean muscle mass.

Therefore, by making use of the following fast ways to recover from your muscle building workout plan, you can see top notch results and feel a great deal better as you go about the program as well.

Let's look at the main things remember about recovering from your muscle building workouts.

Get Post-Workout Nutrition In Line

The very first thing that you must do immediately after your workout is finished if you want to ensure optimal recovery is get in your post-workout nutrition. Remember that you really only have about a thirty minute window to take advantage of this highly absorptive state of the muscle cells so if you're not feeding them now, recovery will be slower.

Immediately after you're finished your workout try and down a post-workout shake consisting of a fast acting whey isolate protein powder along with a fast acting carbohydrate. Aim to keep the dietary fat lower in this shake since that will just slow the uptake of the nutrients and work directly against your main goal.

Take Hot and Cold Showers

Second, another technique that many guys find helpful when looking to boost their recovery from their muscle building workouts is to alternate between hot and cold showers.

Get into the shower and turn it to a very hot temperature for about 20 seconds and then after that, turn it to cold for another 20 seconds.

This technique will definitely wake up you up but more than that, it will also help to reduce inflammation in the muscle tissues which could then lead to soreness. It's a great way to speed the recovery rates so you can get back into the gym sooner again.

Consider The Sauna

Finally, the last thing that you may want to consider in order to boost your recovery is to use a sauna.

While the sauna will make you sweat so you're then going to have to make sure to replace the water that you lost, it's also going to help increase blood flow to the muscle cells and that can also speed their recovery.

The more blood flow you have going to the muscle tissues, the faster they're going to be bringing nutrients to the cells, therefore the faster you'll get the rebuilding process occurring.

So there you have three quick tips to always keep in the back of your mind as far as recovery goes. If you can incorporate them in to your own workout program, you should see a noticeable difference in your progress after just a few short week's time.

Related Muscle Building Articles

7 Tricks To Bigger Arm Muscles

Upper Body Mass Building Workout

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I like to change things up and challenge myself. This workout involves doing 3-4 compound weight training exercises and 3-4 Interval Training exercises.

This is more of an advanced type of workout(some people think it's nuts). For a beginner you can cut down on the amount of sets say to 3 and increase the reps to 8-10.

If you are a seasoned trainer use the 5 x 5 method on your compound exercises.

Monday:The heaviest weight I can handle for the reps

1- Bench Press(barbell) 5 sets, 5-8 reps

2- Bent-Over-Rows(barbell) 5 sets, 5-8 reps

3- Presses(barbell) 5 sets, 5-8 reps

4- Close grip Bench Presses 5 sets, 5-8 reps

Intervals:remember Intervals are done one right after the other.

1- Dumbell or Kettlebell Thrusts 5x8

2- Dumbell Squat and Upright Row 5x8

3- Barbell High Pull 5x8

Tuesday: Off eat clean and rest

Wednesday:

1- Squats 6x5-8

2- Barbell Curls 4x6-8

3- Romainian Deadlifts 4x6-8

Intervals:

1- Dumbell or Kettlebell Snatches 4x8 (each arm)

2- Dumbell or Kettlebell Swing 4x8

3- Dumbell or Kettlebell Cleans 4x8

Thursday: Off

Friday: same as Monday change out exercises Incline instead of flat bench, deadlifts instead of bent-over-rows etc.

Saturday: Off

Sunday: Same as Wednesday change out exercises.

Now keep in mind I have been working out for years and only follow this for 2-3 weeks at a time.

When you decide to start working out one of the first things you need to decide is how often do you want to weight train.

A training split is simply deciding how many days a week to devote to weight training and what muscle groups to train on what days.

Your decisions should be based on your Bodybuilding and weight loss goals, work schedule and social obligations.

Your training goals are based on what you want to accomplish, weight loss gain some lean musclea or do you aspire to build huge pro bodybuilder size muscles.

Training for size and strength requires training each muscle group 1-2 times per week. To lose weight and shape and tone you might want to hit each muscle group 2-3 times a week plus doing Tabata's and Interval's.

Whole Body Split is exactly as it sounds training each muscle group 3 times a week. Typically this is done on a Monday-Wednesday-Friday split or some variation of.

This type of split is great for fat loss, muscle endurance and shaping and toning. If you put in 2 other days of Tabata and Interval training you have a fine fat loss workout week.

Training your whole body in one workout does require extra time per workout. To get the best effects you should do 4 sets 2 exercises per muscle group.

Two Day Split In this split your working 2-3 muscle groups in one workout. As an example:

Monday and Thursday
Chest, Delts and Triceps
Tuesday and Friday
Back, Legs and Biceps

This is a good schedule for size and strength training 2 days on 1 off 2days training and 2 off as it gives you rest days inbetween. When training rest is very importent it's not in the gym where the effects of training take place but while you are resting.

Avoid Building Muscle The Wrong Way! Part 1

By Vince DelMonte

How would you feel if you discovered that almost everything you were doing with building muscle was dead wrong? Imagine all the time, money and effort you have spent in the gym was contributing to building muscle - the wrong way! Everything you have read on building muscle has left you with little to show for your hard earned efforts...

There are dozens of muscle building mistakes that we all fall victim to which results in bringing you progress to a complete halt. Don't be too hard on yourself, because like all things in life, building muscle is a learning process. That does not mean you must forfeit years of personal trail and error when we can learn the mistakes of seasoned trainers who walked before us.

To Continue reading click Build Muscle

Here is a fast 15 minute muscle building workout for those of you that have very limited time to workout because of stressful jobs, home life, kids and hectic lifestyles. Not everyone has 45 minutes to an hour to workout 3-4 times a week. So what I wanted to do was film a 15 minute workout and present it raw and uncut. No splices, no stopping - just straight through so you could see it can be done in 15 minutes and build muscle fast.

To continue reading and see the workout video go to.... 15 Minute Muscle Building

Hi again this weeks tip 9/20/08 the secret to building serious muscle, losing weight and weight training in general.

Consistancy - If you don't weight train on a consistent basis you will never see the results you are looking for.

It's not always easy you work, you run the kids here and there it seems there is never enough time for anything else.

Tough make Time. You know you need to do it and you want to so make sure you set aside time for yourself. I know that's my attitude I am doing this for me. Hey 45 minutes 4 or 5 times a week is not going to interrupt anything.

And to keep your enthusiasim up don't be afraid to change up your workouts different exercise, change your exercise sequence etc.

Only consistent workouts will you improve your health and see the results in the mirror.

Okay that's it for this week Jag252

Hi this week's tip - When you train your Chest work the angles for a complete chest workout.

Everybody loves the flat Barbell Bench Press. Why? well it does prompt the most growth but it's also ego you can use the most weight in the flat bench.

If you want a great looking and strong chest you need to work it from all angles.

The flat bench works mainly the middle chest muscles and to a smaller degree the upper and lower. But if you want a great chest start using incline and decline presses.

Either with barbells or dumbells your choice. Dumbells do give you more range of motion. Most people when they work chest always do the flat bench first change it up every other workout do inclines first.

That is how you will get a great looking chest.

That's it for now talk to you next week! jag252

Last week's tip Is For The Begginner

Start With and Learn the Basic's

If you read any of my Lenses you know I'm a big believer in compound exercises.

The Begginning weight trainer should base his or her workout on these lifts while learning to do them properly. Start with very light weights till you can use text book form.

Injuries are no joke proper form is essential. Do Not let your ego take over.

Learn how to do each exercise properly add weight gradually be consistent in your workouts. These are the keys to getting fit and healthy.

Till Next Time

Jag252

Q. For shoulder exercises, you say that one needs to keep the shoulder-girdle down. I've always thought that one had to shrug the shoulder-girdle up for more effective shoulder presses. Can you tell me about this?

The reason you want to keep the shoulder girdle down is that if you let it come up, the trapezius muscles will assist with the press, reducing the tension you place on the delts. To better isolate the delts, you need to minimize trap involvement and this means keeping the shoulders down.

Raising the shoulder girdle isn't the end of the world but you'll get more out of the exercise if you keep the shoulder girdle down.

Do you still do barbell and dumbell presses for your Delts?

Want to try a killer exercise that will fry your Delts and add some variety to your delt workout?

Try this on for size!!

You are going to use a barbell for this and do 3 movements in one.

Dead hang clean
Front Press
Behind the Neck Press

From a hang clean position clean the weight to shoulder height.

Do a front shoulder Press

Bring the bar down behind your neck and then press back overhead.

Return bar to hang position. Repeat.

This will fry your Delts. Don't use to heavy a weight keep your reps around 8 for 4-5 sets.

A Back Blasting Superset - Bent-Over Rows to Deadlifts
By Nick Nilsson

Harness the power of the superset to
send your back training to the next level.

The power of supersets is undeniable. Supersets (doing 2 exercises one after another with no rest in between) are very effective for building strength and muscle mass.

The following is a superset for your back that will pile on muscle like no other. One word of warning: you should be comfortable doing both of these exercises separately before attempting them together in a superset. There will be a link to exercise performance tips and the end of this article.

The first exercise is the barbell bent-over row. You can use either an overhand, wide grip or an underhand, close reverse grip. Both grips are effective but work different areas of the back.

Select a weight that will cause you to reach failure in the 6 to 8 rep range. Do a hard set of bent-over rows then immediately after setting the weight down, move into the second exercise: deadlifts.

You will use the exact same weight for deadlifts, however, you may wish to change your grip to a mixed grip (one overhand, one underhand) so that you can hold onto the bar better.

Do reps of the deadlift until either your grip fails or until a rep before your back fails (don't do deadlifts to absolute failure - always keep the do-or-die rep in you).

After you get done with the deadlifts, your lats should be extremely pumped up.

There are several reasons why this superset is so effective:

1. It uses two of the best mass-building movements for your back (and body!).

2. The bent-over row uses the lats to actually move the weight while the deadlift uses the lats to help support the weight. Since the lats are already fatigued from the rowing, they will be forced to work far harder when you do the deadlifts. In a nutshell, the rest of your body will help push your lats harder!

3. The weight you use for bent-over rows should be relatively easy for you on the deadlift. This allows you to do even more reps with the deadlift.

4. It is very easy and convenient to go from the bent-over row to the deadlift. All you need to do is change your grip (if even that! You may choose to use the same grip.).

Give this superset a try in your next back workout. The results will speak for themselves!

For tips on exercise performance for the bent-over row and the deadlift go to:

Metabolic Surge - Rapid Fat Loss

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Nick Nilsson is Vice-President of the online personal training company BetterU, Inc. He has a degree in Physical Education and Psychology and has been inventing new training techniques for more than 16 years. Nick is the author of a number of bodybuilding eBooks including
Metabolic Surge - Rapid Fat Loss
"The Best Exercises You've Never Heard Of" "Gluteus to the Maximus - Build a Bigger Butt NOW!" and "The Best Abdominal Exercises You've Never Heard Of"

When you fist started to lift weights, chances are the first exercises you did where:

1. Barbell Curls
2. Barbell Triceps Extensions.

While these are fine exercises, there is much more to building huge guns. Read on and I will tell you how to turn your .22's in to .50 caliber Desert Eagles.

1. Train Compound Movements:

I don't know if I can say anything else that hasn't already been said about compound movements. They use a ton of muscle and they get you thick and strong. You train your legs and upper body with compound movements, so your arm training should be no different. Also, before we get on a roll here, remember that the triceps account for about 2/3 of all of your upper arm size, so prioritize accordingly. For the biceps I like to use chin ups. When you do curls (barbell or dumbbell) it is a single joint movement.

We kick this up a notch when we do chins, especially close grip chins. Action is taking place at the elbow joint (elbow flexion) as well as the shoulder joint (shoulder flexion). Few biceps movements allow this to occur. Also, when doing chins you are using your body weight which is probably more than you could ever curl with a barbell or a dumbbell. Added to that, you can externally load the movement to increase it's difficulty. For triceps, I have found that close grip 3 or 4 Board presses are excellent strength and mass builders. For big triceps just press and extended and do it heavy!

2. PUMP IT UP!:

After you blast your biceps and triceps with heavy compound movements, get some blood pumping through the muscles with some basic single joint movement exercises. DB curls, DB hammer curls, Incline DB Curls, triceps push downs, DB extensions, single arm cable extensions etc., all work well to get blood rushing into your muscles. This helps with growth and recovery. By getting blood moving through the muscle you promote recovery via oxygen and nutrient rich blood, and you also promote growth via cross sectional increases to the muscle fibers. Think high rep stuff here.

3. Form is everything:

Just like any other exercise, form is everything when doing Gun Show work. One of the reasons I like doing chins for the biceps is that it is impossible to cheat. You cannot hyperextend your back to get extra reps. It's either you get it or you don't. Either way, when doing bicep and tricep work, make sure to pinch your shoulders together and keep your wrists and elbows in-line. Do not cheat for the sake of handling more weight. Remember, you can't get big Guns if you are injured.

I hope this gives you some insight on how to train your arms for the Gun Show. Follow the sample below and watch your Guns become something that will make Dirty Harry's Day.

Sample Vanity Work Day:
1. Chins: 5 sets of max reps (2 min rest)
2. Close Grip 3 Board Press: 5 x 5
3. DB Incline Curls: 3 x 12
4. Band Triceps Pushdown: 3 x 20

Jim Smith, CSCS is a highly sought after lecturer, author and renowned strength coach. Jim is an expert for Men's Fitness and a member of the Elite Fitness Q/A staff. He speaks regularly at clinics, conferences and seminars about the Diesel Method. His distinctive and comprehensive training approach has helped athletes and fitness enthusiasts of all skill levels attain their goals and "Achieve Beyond Potential". Jim is an active student of strength athletics and is always seeking new ways to innovate and provide a unique perspective for gaining muscle, rehabbing injuries, improving performance and building better athletics.

Check out Jim's Muscle Building program Accelerated Muscular Development

I decided to start recording some of my workouts here to give you some other workout options.

I go by how I feel and if for some reason I feel like doing a particular exercise I do it. Today I just felt like working Chest and Back together.

I also felt like doing them in two exercise complexes.

Complex#1

1 - Flat Bench Press(barbell)
2 - Bent Over Barbell Row

Complex#2
1 - Dips (Bodyweight Only)
2 - Cleans

Complex#3
1 - Incline Dumbbell Press
2 - Dumbbell Row

Complex #1 5 sets x 5-8 reps

Complex #2 5 sets x 5-10 reps

Complex #3 3 sets x 6-9 reps

That's it short and effective upper body workout.

Tommorrow I'm feeling Kettlebells and Intervals but you'll have to go to those lenses to see that workout.

A common weight training mistake I've seen over and over again with so many people over the years and to advanced weight trainers it should be obvious, but for most beginner/intermediate people, I've noticed that they make this mistake in the gym MOST of the time...

It is your sets and reps and using your highest level of intensity..

Let me explain...

One of the main reasons for lack of progress in most workouts is that most people are not performing their reps and sets to challenge their body enough. I'm not referring to rest periods between sets either (although that is definitely part of the equation).

For example, many people see a routine in a magazine or online and let's say the workout calls for 4 sets of 6 reps of a given exercise... and they just choose a random weight (or a weight that they "think" they are comfortable with) and do 4 sets of 6 reps.

But THAT'S where the major mistake comes in,

To continue reading please go to Muscle Building Intensity

This is the workout I did yesterday I was a little pressed for time so I made it short, sweet and Effective.

1 - Snatch Grip Deadlifts
6 sets of 5-8 reps

2 - Cleans
5 sets of 5-8 reps

3 - Dumbbell Thrusts
4 sets of 8 reps

That was it pretty much a total body workout efficient and effective.

And total time 40 minutes

Supersetting involves doing two exercises with no rest in between.

If your looking to pack on muscle you should know by now you want to concentrate on compound exercises.

So for arms Curls and Tricep presses right? Wrong!

Let me give you a superset to do for Bi's and Tri's:

Chin-ups and Dips.

Chins:
A chinup-specialization program will not only build impressive width and thickness in your back but also pack solid inches on your arms by promoting growth in your biceps, brachialis, brachioradialis and pronator teres.

Grasp a chin-up bar with a palms-facing-you grip. Your hands should be about 6 inches apart on the bar. You want to keep them fairly close together to maximize the tension on the biceps.

Dips:
Dips are one exercise that works all three heads of the triceps muscles at once. Often called the "upper body squat," dips are a must for any bodybuilding program.

When performing dips aimed at triceps mass, try to remain as upright as possible. Leaning forward will incorporate the pectoral muscles more, taking some of the workload off of the triceps.

That's it 5 sets of 6-8 reps will pound your arms.

Use this for arms when your workouts are geared for packing on serious muscle.

Try this Exercise next time you work your Triceps

After you click the link you'll get a full explanation of how to do it Plus a Video demo.

Nutrition 101

Guaranteed Weight Loss In 30 Days

Kettlebell Training

Tabata Training

Get Big Muscles In 3 Simple Steps

By Vince DelMonte

Do you know what it really takes to build big muscles? Do you think it's as simple as buying a gym membership, training each body once per week, slamming back some protein shakes and trying to eat as much chicken and tuna possible? Viola, you are big enough to enter a bodybuilding contest. Can you imagine it was that easy to build big muscles? Unfortunately, your monthly gym membership, regular weight training workouts and casual eating habits, isn't going to cut it. Here are five simple steps to getting big muscles fast :

Squat and Deadlift

Squatting and Deadlifting are known as two of the Big Three exercises that are responsible for power and mass muscle building. Consider these two animal exercises the kings of the jungle! Without them, you do not have a chance of survival. These two exercises alone, work out about 75% of your entire musculature, including your traps, shoulders, arms, back. Gluts, hams, calves and core muscles.

Not to mention the degree of intensity, squats and dead lifts force your body to release greater volumes of growth hormone, which results in bigger muscles all over your body. This spillover effect results in strength gains in all you other lifts which translates into a more muscular you! Squatting and dead lifting are especially critical for hard gainers because of the hormonal spikes affecting the entire body.

Stick to Compound Exercises

What is going to isolate more muscle fibers? A bench press or cable cross over? A military press or lateral raise? A chin up or bicep curl? A dip or tricep kickback? If you ever hope to get big muscles than compound lifts are not optional, they are mandatory. Stick to squats, leg presses, deadlifts, bench preses, barbell rows, pull ups, chin ups, over head presses, and dips.

If all you do is concentrate on building your puny muscles like arms and calves, then you will end up with exactly what you focus on - puny muscles!

Keep Your Rest Periods Honest

When was the last time you were in the gym and you watched the average guy time his recovery with a stop watch? Stop watches are not just for endurance athletes but should be used by every person who is serious about building big muscles.

Generally, the closer you lift to your one rep max, the longer the rest period and the higher the number of reps, the shorter the rest period. This is a crucial variable, which is often overlooked, yet will determine whether you create the correct training response.

For example, if you are training for maximal strength which requires at least 3-5 minutes rest between sets and you are only taking 2 minutes, you are not giving your nervous system an honest workout. If you are training for muscle size which requires shorter 30-90 second style recoveries but are gazing at the cute girl on the elliptical letting your rest periods carry over these ranges, you are not giving your metabolic system an honest workout.

Lastly, how do you know if you are truly stronger if you do not monitor your rest period? For example, let's say last week you bench pressed 135 pounds for four sets of ten. This week you bench pressed 145 pounds for four sets of ten. Assuming the rest period was identical for both workouts, this is a tremendous improvement and a measurable sign of improvement! However, what if you took an extra minute or two between each set on the recent workout? This means that you did not actually become stronger. You just had a longer rest period!

Conclusion

You now know that building big muscles is not easy as showing up at the gym and throwing back a few protein shakes. Apply these three simple steps in your next program and I promise that you will start building brand new muscle all over your body!

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About the Author:

Vince DelMonte is the author of No Nonsense Muscle Building: Skinny Guy Secrets To Insane Muscle Gain The Muscle Building Zone

He specializes in teaching skinny guys how to build muscle and gain weight quickly without drugs, supplements and training less than before.

Ping Your Podcast

No Time To Workout?

Here was a question that was asked of Jason Ferruggia of The Renegade Gym.

Hey Jay

I've been following your newsletters for a long time; you give some great advice.

Wanted to run an idea by you. I've been following your lifting routines for a while and was thinking of breaking it down so that instead of doing 4-5 different exercises 3 days a week, I'd do like 2 exercises each morning.

Reason being is that time is a little precious for me; I'm a doctor and I'm in my surgery residency and, as you could imagine, time isn't exactly a commodity I have a lot of. I was thinking that either before going to work, or after coming home, I'd bust out a couple of workouts, eat, and crash before having to get up and do this shit all over again. Just thought I'd get a pro's opinion.

Cheers
Matt Dixon

Matt,
You could do that. I actually wrote about that for Muscle & Fitness not too long ago. You have a few different choices. Since frequency is important you will still want to hit each body part at least once every 4-5 days. So you could do three days on, one day off. Or you could go six days on, one day off. Or just five days straight. Not sure what option works best for you so I will give you an example of each.

Three days on, one day off:

Day 1- Vertical pushing & pulling
Day 2- Lower body
Day 3- Horizontal pushing & pulling
Day 4- Off
Day 5- Repeat Day 1 using different exercises

Or

Day 1- Chest & Biceps
Day 2- Legs
Day 3- Back & Triceps
Day 4- Off
Day 5- Repeat Day 1 using different exercises

If you are going to go six days straight you don't want to be doing pressing exercises on back to back days which would happen with either of the above options so you may be best doing the old push/pull.

Day 1- Chest & shoulders
Day 2- Back width (chins) & back thickness (rows)
Day 3- Legs
Day 4- Repeat Day 1 using different exercises

If you are going to go five days straight just do this:

Day 1- Chest & shoulders
Day 2- Back width (chins) & back thickness (rows)
Day 3- Legs
Day 4- Repeat Day 1 using different exercises
Day 5- Repeat Day 2 using different exercises
Day 6- Off
Day 7- Off
Day 8 (the following Monday)- Repeat Day 3 with different exercises

Depending on how much time you have you could throw in a set or two of triceps at the end of day one and biceps on day two.

Now as far as sets and reps go, this really depends on how much time you have. As does exercise selection. In time pressed situations like this I like to start with higher reps and work your way down. This way your work sets become your warm ups and vice versa. So instead of needing to do more warm up sets to start with a set of five, you should start with a set of 10-12 and take that to near failure. Count that as your first set and then drop the reps and up the weight for one or two more sets. This saves you time.

If you are really in a rush you will also have to do the opposite of what I normally recommend. Instead of choosing exercises that allow you to use the most weight, you will actually have to choose the exercises that allow you to use the least weight. That way your warm up time will be cut way down. Warming up to a 405 squat takes a hell of a lot longer than warming up to a pistol squat with no weight. Same can be said of deadlifts versus glute ham raises or inverted rows versus heavy, cheat one arm rows. So choose accordingly.

Hopefully that gives you some ideas and options to play with.

Good luck

Jason