Learn How To Gain Muscle
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We know that using free weights and machines is the fastest and most efficient way there is to improve your metabolism and strength, but for many reasons these may not be convenient or readily accessible to you.
You may also have no access to a commercial gym, home gym or are on business trip, but there can be a solution, a strength-training workout without the need of expensive machines.
As with any exercise, whether you are using your own body weight, machines or free weights, if the resistance doesn’t increase, your muscles won’t be worked to their maximum capacity and the stimulus these fibres
need to grow will be missing.
Exercises done correctly will build the lean muscle and increase your metabolism in the same way as performing exercises at a gymnasium, but
without the time constraints and associated costs.
These exercises can be easily done in a bedroom, hotel room, a park, school yard, ceiling rafters in a garage or in a hallway and all you have to do is use your imagination. There will always be a way to add more resistance to your workouts.
Please remember: It doesn’t matter where you are working out — at home, a hotel, or a park — always warm up properly before beginning your session, and cool down and stretch when you are finished.
Leg Exercises Squats They build muscle in the thighs, shape the buttocks and improve endurance. Position your feet about 13 to 17 inches apart or at shoulder width, keeping the back straight and your head up. If you want you can use something that will give you some support, i.e. a desk, bookcase, sink etc.
Now squat down to where the tops of the thighs are parallel to the floor, hold for a second and then stand up, but don’t bounce at the bottom of the
movement, use a nice fluid motion. Always exhale your breath as you stand up.
Lunges – Stand straight in posture; now stand with one leg forward and one leg back. Keeping your abdominal muscles tight and chest up, lower your upper body down, bending your leg (don’t step out too far).
You should have about one to two feet between your feet at this stage, the further forward you step, and the more your gluteus and hamstring muscles will have to work.
Do not allow your knee to go forward beyond your toes as you come down and stop where your feel comfortable (try not to let your back come forward) then push directly back up. Do all your reps on one leg then switch legs and do all your reps on the other leg.
Back Exercises Chin-ups – Chin-ups are a great upper body workout, particularly targeting your biceps, deltoid and lat muscles. Use a doorway chin-up bar, ceiling rafters in a garage or grab the moulding of your door frame, position your hands with an under hand grip and hang down stretching the lats, slowly raise your body until your chin reaches the bar
level.
Pause a moment before slowly lowering yourself back to the starting position. Don’t swing or use momentum to get your body to the top, just use the target muscles. Doorway chinning bars remove from the doorway when you are not using them and can be put up and taken down in seconds.
Bent Over Row -
Take up a position with your right hand and right knee braced on a sturdy bed or some other flat surface that will provide a good support. Now pick up a dumbbell or something heavy that you can hold onto with your left hand.
Visualize your arms as hooks and slowly bring the dumbbell or object up to the side of your chest, keeping your back straight, then lower the weight back down to arms length, no lower, on extremes, safe form only please. Concentrate on your back muscles.
Reverse the whole procedure and do the exercise now with your right arm.
Chest Exercises
Push-Up -
The push up is used for building chest, shoulders and arms. Lie face down on the floor with your hands about shoulder width apart and keeping your palms turned slightly inward. Now push-up until your arms are straight, lower and repeat for repetitions.
To make it more difficult elevate your feet. Try placing the toes of your feet on a stable, elevated surface such as a bench, chair or a stair. Straightening your body, position your hands on the floor at shoulder width, lower your body until your chest touches the floor at the bottom, and then return to the starting position in a nice fluid motion.
Dips -
This exercise can be done between two sturdy chairs or other items that provide stability. The dip is another great upper body exercise. It’s a compound movement as well and involves working all the muscles that the push up works.
Keep your head up and body as vertical as possible. For the beginning of the movement, start at the top (arms fully extended) and lower yourself until your upper arms are parallel to the seat of the chairs, hold and then
push up to the top of the movement until your arms are fully extended again. Keep looking straight ahead and don’t bounce at the bottom of the movement.
Adding Weight
Although the simple weight of your own body is enough resistance to provide an effective workout we need progressive overload (added resistance) to become stronger.
So all we need to do is add some weight wherever we can find some. Because there are no metal plates and fancy machines to use it doesn’t matter because the body doesn’t care where it is as long as it’s receiving
resistance of some kind.
You can use heavy books clasped in your hands. You can buy some cheap weighted dumbbells or ankle weights. A weighted vest will also allow you to add resistance for both chin-ups and push-ups. Try to buy one that will let you remove and add weight as you see fit.
Also a backpack filled with books can be perfect for most of the exercises and is a cheap alternative.How about a couple of buckets and fill them with a certain level of water? As you get stronger fill them with more water. This is perfect because depending on the exercise, all you need to do is to increase or decrease the amount of water in the buckets for the required amount of resistance.
To wrap things up…
We know that using free weights and
machines are the
fastest and most efficient way there is to gain lean
muscle and strength, but by performing the exercises in
this article you’ll find that they will provide you with
the same benefits as going to a gymnasium but without the
ongoing costs and time constraints.
Are you underweight and don’t know what to eat to gain weight? Millions of dollars are spent each year on magazines, books, and weight gain supplements. Gaining weight does not happen overnight and requires a commitment from you, but does not have to be hard if you work out and
eat the proper foods in large enough amounts.
Numerous people are continually searching for the fastest ways to gain weight and don’t know what to eat. If you truly want to learn what to eat to gain weight and maintain it, a diet rich in calories and protein combined with a regular weight-training regimen will help you accomplish your goals.
If you are looking for the best weight gain supplement for you, take into account your diet and exercise routine before making a decision. Weight gain supplements can very beneficial when used in conjunction with the
diet and weight training routine.
The major part of your calorie and protein consumption should come from the foods you eat. Substituting a weight gain supplement for a meal is never a good idea. Your body needs the natural nutrients found in lean meats, poultry, fish, vegetables, and carbohydrates.
Weight gain supplements can be used effectively as a weight gain aid when they are used to supplement your diet, not replace part of it.A diet consisting of large amounts of protein, fats, carbs, and high in calories is essential to any weight gaining effort aided by weight gain supplements.
Training with weights is necessary if you want to build new muscle tissue, and a weight gain supplement can be used after a workout, in between meals, or as a snack but should never replace a meal.
Protein is a major component of any diet designed to add body weight. Lean red meats, fish, poultry, and eggs are excellent sources of protein. Several small meals per day containing large amounts of protein are crucial to your weight gaining effort. The question of what to eat to gain weight is not as complicated as some believe.
Along with plenty of protein, fats and carbohydrates are a big part of any weight gaining diet. By avoiding sweets empty calories, you will give your body the fuel it needs to add body mass and build new muscle tissue through the nutritious foods you eat at regular intervals during the day.
If you are finding it difficult to stick to a weight gain diet, try eating five or six smaller meals per day instead of three large ones. Keep in mind that a piece of chicken and a baked potato is always better than a shake, bar, or pill.
If you should decide to use a weight gain supplement, make certain you consume adequate amounts of food each day in addition to the supplement. Weight gain supplements can give you added protein and calories and may be especially helpful if used immediately following weight training.
Always be certain your diet contains all the required elements and use weight gain supplements wisely.Learning what to eat to gain weight is a relatively simple task. Increase your calorie intake and make certain
you are eating healthy, protein rich foods.
This combined with weight training and plenty of rest should allow your body to bulk up effectively and help you maintain your new body shape.
We move into another important area here that again is so often neglected, and that is strengthening exercises for your fingers to get added ability to them as well, it is always a very good idea here to really warm up your hands, wrists and fingers thoroughly before starting out [Read more...]
Another excellent way to Build strength using bodyweight exercises is the group press up, if you have say 4 partners wanting to exercise together this will be just the thing to do [Read more...]
There are several exercises you can do here to build up a little cardio insurance for your fitness and strength training, first one that comes to mind is the “Burpee” You stand up straight then put your hands on the floor push your legs back full length then back to stooping position and stand up straight again, repeat this 8 to 10 times for about 3 sets and it will get your heart beating faster.
Another obvious cardio exercise is the good old skipping rope Why not invest in a good quality one and start putting it to use, it will serve you well as a way of building stamina and cardio fitness for years to come Lets face it is a tool that boxers use a lot and they have to be really fit don’t they so don’t sell yourself short and dismiss it out of hand.
Running is another obvious cardio exercise that millions use everyday as they pound the streets of any town or city worldwide The only thing that bothers me about this is you can really be adding up a real problem with your joints later in life and its not very nice I know I have had some experience of this, So here is a very credible alternative that works very well.
Find a grass bank that has say a 45 degree hill that stretches for about 200 yards or so and check there are no rabbit holes or the like you can twist your ankles on Start at the bottom and get down like you are in a race, then you are off and sprint up the hill all of the 200 yards or so then walk back slowly to the start
Breathe in and out normally as you do so, then do it again. Please note if you have to start with 50 Yards that’s fine too If you do this 3 or 4 times each time you do this exercise twice a week should do it, after a couple of months you should see good results
You will feel a major difference in the way your cardiovascular system is working and feeling as well as your ability to perform tasks with renewed stamina and endurance.
If you have not exercised for a long time maybe a checkup at your doctors is in order, better to be safe, the point here is getting you stronger and feeling really Great.
Another great help when doing cardio strenght training, is doing all your exercises while wearing a weighted vest. It gives you a harder workout, which will help you to maximize your efforts. If you would like to get one, take a look here.
This exercise is the one I usually find most people think is easy and they are really surprised when they try that they cannot hold it for more than a few seconds if that, whether that is due to putting on a few pounds having a weak grip or indeed like most of us Both!
If you are lucky enough to have access to a horizontal bar somewhere where you can start to hang from then start by trying to hold on for 10 seconds then let go and repeat 3 times You will be giving yours hands, wrists, forearms and even your back a real blast. Please note though if you did the handstand strength training exercises I told you about it will help you greatly here with your bodyweight training
Start concentrating at building this exercise up and it will pay dividends for you, maybe at a later date you can (safely) set up a horizontal type ladder and just using your hands go from rung to rung underneath it You will be using all your bodyweight as resistance when you can do this that’s another thing to congratulate yourself about
Consider trying to do pull-ups on the bar as well even 1 good rep for 3 sets is better than none and you will build up your bodyweight training nicely
Horizontal Pull Ups
This exercise is another real good one to have in your routine basically you are in the press up position but upside down hanging from a bar of some sort, also note that the wider the grip you have while doing this exercise the harder it is and will really make you work.
Also you keep your body straight while performing this pull up and tension your abs as well as keeping your legs straight and placed on some sort platform about 8 to 12 inches tall or so. Pull yourself up to the bar and down again In a controlled manner for 3 sets of say 7 to 10 reps.
You can also vary this bodyweight training exercise as well by changing your grip on the bar from wide grip to narrow grip and if you can do it try one or two pullups with your grip the other way around do not pull yourself up in any form of sudden exploding movement do it in a controlled movement.
