The Basics of Getting Leaner

The easiest and quickest way

to improve looks is to burn fat. If you want your body to look tighter, burn calories. If you want your muscles to appear bigger, burn calories. No matter how strong and big muscles one possesses, he or she won't look impressive, if the person's body is covered by a thick layer of fat. So anyone, who is trying to sculpt his or hers own body in order to look better, must know at least the basics of getting leaner.

Losing weight is simple. Unfortunately, it has been complicated with all the equipment on TV commercials. All the do-this-and-that-and-you-will-have-a-perfect-body-in-no-time commercials must not be taken seriously. There are no magic-tools in burning fat!

Burning those extra calories is most of all mathematics. Your daily calorie in-take must be smaller than the amount of calories consumed per day. Professional bodybuilders and fitness models calculate their calorie in-take carefully, so that they can lose weight as much as they want to.

7000 kcal equals one kilo. This means that if a person's daily calorie consuming is 1000 kcal higher than his or hers calorie in-take, the person will end up losing one kilo per week.

Now, the before mentioned example is not for people who are trying to lose weight permanently, because it is too short a time to lose so much weight. To lose one kilo of fat per week is a high speed for the professionals too, and most of them take more time to burn fat so that they don't run out of time before competition.

In addition there is one remarkable thing to remember: the less you burn fat per week, the better it is for your muscle mass, too.

There are a few complex things in losing weight that must be taken into consideration. Firstly, while losing weight, it is also possible to lose some muscles in the process. Secondly, especially for amateurs it is very difficult to find the motivation  to get shredded.

And thirdly, there are many foods that are healthy, but they might also destroy diets.

LOSING FAT, WHILE MAINTAINING MUSCLES

So let's tackle the first complex issue, how to lose weight, but maintain the hard-earned muscle mass? The easiest way to do that is to monitor your diet very carefully. All the candies, pizzas, ice-creams, donuts and other high-in-sugar products must not be eaten while trying to lose weight.

Only the essential fats, such as the fats coming from oils, can be included to diet. The meals should be consisted of foods that are high in protein and carbohydrate and low in fat. Another thing to remember is that one should not skip meals in order to eat less.

It is better to eat frequently, so that over-eating can be avoided. That is nutritional part in a nutshell. To gather more information on nutrition it is highly recommendable to read articles on eating.

The training part, on the other hand, can be very surprising, because the quickest way to burn calories is not the best one. To illustrate my point, let's take the long-distance runners. Admittedly they are low in fat, but they don't have any muscles either.

That is why calories must not be burnt by running. The best way to burn calories is, oddly enough, walking. Many bodybuilders have adopted walking as their best method to lose fat. Some take a brisk walk on an empty stomach in the morning, while the others do it after their weight training session.

It does not matter, as long as you just do it!

Some gym-goers have a specific body part that they are trying to improve. Usually this is the stomach area. These gym-goers go and perform a couple of sets of sit-ups every day, but their bodies show no signs of getting improvement.

There is one thing that they should know: there is no such thing as targeted fat-reduction. If a person wants to have, for instance, a tight waistline, a few sets of sit-ups won't do the trick. His or hers body fat percentage must be very low (women 14-20 % fat, men 8-13 % fat), which means that cardiovascular exercises must be added to training program.

THE MOTIVATION

The second difficult task is to find the motivation for losing weight. This is something that separates the wheat from the chaff. The lack of motivation can also be hampered by the lack of knowledge, some people just go and train every day without any gains.

Of course, that can be very frustrating, which is why it is important to gather as much of information on bodybuilding as possible. Reading articles and books on bodybuilding is not for nothing!

Getting shredded is not usually fun. The person must day after day break that comfort-zone and monitor his or hers diet very carefully in order to get results. But it is worth doing it. With proper training methods, strict diet and rigid attitude the results will come in due course.

It is also important to stay focused, a common mistake is to lose patience at some point of training program.

The best way to stay focused is to think about your goals. Why are you trying to lose weight? Why do you want to get leaner? Sometimes it is good to think about these questions for a while so as not to lose concentration. After all, motivation is the basis for everything in bodybuilding.

HEALTHY, YET FATTENING FOODS

This is the most essential part in getting lean. The saying `You are what you eat` applies greatly to bodybuilding. It is common knowledge that for instance all donuts and sodas are not to be eaten while trying to lose some fat.

But there are many rather surprising foods that ought to be left alone, and what is worst they are usually considered perfect for people who are trying to get shape.

In this article I will concentrate on the foods that are regarded as dieters best friends, when they actually are the worst enemies. Worst, because they are not known to destroy diets. For instance, bananas, orange juices, pastas, white bread and grapes all are to be avoided while dieting.

The before mentioned foods are just examples, there are many, many other foods too that ought to be avoided, too.

Okay, so what about the vitamins that people get from orange juice? Should they just stick to their diets and not eat them? The answer is no. It is better to eat a whole orange and drink a glass of water than to drink a glass of orange juice, this will get the much-needed vitamins and, in addition, it will make the person feel fuller.

From dieter's point of view, the worst solution would be to eat a couple of white breads and to drink a glass of orange juice, it does not sound a risky business, but it is.

The easiest way to exclude those healthy, yet fattening foods from your diet is by simply reading the trade description at the food store.

THE LITTLE THINGS THAT MATTER

Losing weight can be divided into three parts: training, nutrition and motivation. All these are equal, and one needs to pay attention to all three parts. Training resulting into successful fat-loss is due to taking all the little things seriously.

So, don't skip work-outs. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Monitor your diet carefully. And in conclusion, motivate yourself, set goals and do your utmost to reach them!


About The Author:

Hans Hauiskaanto is a freelance journalist from Finland with wide range of experience in writing on sports. He possesses keen knowledge of the attributes of compelling stories, good writing, talent and creativity. His articles have appeared in various magazines, in addition he has gained experience in hosting shows too.

References:

http://bodybuilding.com/

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8 Proven Strategies For Maximum Muscle Gains

There is so much conflicting information out there when it comes to the subject of building muscle, and sometimes it can be very difficult to know where to begin. If youre an average beginner looking for some basic guidelines to follow in the gym, the following 8 points will begin you off on the right track.

1) Train With Weights and Focus On Compound, Free Weight Movements. 

If you desire to make solid, noteworthy gains in muscle size and strength, you absolutely must train with free weights and focus on basic, compound exercises. A compound exercise is any raise that stimulates more than one muscle group at a time. Examples of these lifts are the squat, deadlift, bench press, chin up, barbell row, overhead press, dip and lunge. Compound movements let you to handle the most weight and will stimulate the greatest amount of sum muscle fibers. 

2) Be Prepared To Train Hard. 

One of the biggest factors that separates those who create modest gains from those who make serious gains is their level of training intensity. In order to stimulate your muscle fibers to their utmost potential, you must be willing to take all set you perform in the gym to the point of muscular failure. 

Muscular Failure: The point at which no further repetitions can be completed using proper form. 

Sub-maximal training intensity will leave you with sub-maximal results, plain and easy. 

3) Track Your Progress In The Gym From Week To Week. 

Our bodies construct muscle because of an adaptive response to the environment. When you go to the gym, you fracture down your muscle fibers by training with weights. Your body senses this as a potential threat to its survival and will react accordingly by rebuilding the damaged fibers larger and stronger in order to guard against any possible future threat. Therefore, in order to make continual gains in muscle size and strength, you must always focus on progressing in the gym from week to week. This could mean performing 1 or 2 more reps for each exercise or adding more weight to the bar. Keep a detailed training log to track your progress as your strength increases over time. 

4) Avoid Overtraining. 

Overtraining is your number one enemy when it comes to building muscle size and strength. When most people start a workout program, they are stuck with the misguided notion that more is better. They naturally assume that the more time they spend in the gym, the better results they will accomplish. When it comes to building muscle, nothing could be farther from the truth! If you spend too much time in the gym, you will actually take yourself farther away from your goals rather than closer to them. Remember, your muscles do not grow in the gym; they grow out of the gym, while you are resting and eating. Recovery is absolutely vital to the muscle growth process. If you dont provide your body with the proper recovery time in between workouts, your muscles will never have a chance to grow. 

5) Eat More Frequently. 

The main place where most people fail miserably on their muscle-building mission is upon the all-too important task of proper nutrition. Training with weights is only half of the equation! You crack down your muscle fibers in the gym, but if you dont provide your body with the proper nutrients at the proper times, the muscle growth process will be next to impossible. You should be eating anywhere from 5-7 meals per day, spaced all 2-3 hours in order to save your body in an anabolic, muscle-building state at all times. Each meal should consist of high quality protein and complex carbohydrates. 

6) Increase Your Protein Intake. 

Of the 3 major nutrients (protein, carbohydrates and fats) protein is without a doubt the most important for those who are looking to profit muscle size and strength. Protein is found in literally all single one of the 30 trillion cells that your body is made up of and its main role is to construct and fix body tissues. Without sufficient protein intake, it will be physically impossible for your body to synthesize a significant amount of thin muscle mass. If your body were a home, think of protein as the bricks. A general guideline is to consume 1-1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight each day from high quality sources such as fish, poultry, eggs, beef, milk, peanut butter and cottage cheese. 

7) Increase Your Water Intake. 

If you want a easy, simple and highly effective way to maximize your muscle gains, drinking more water is it. Water plays so many vital roles in the body and its importance cannot be overstated. In fact, your muscles alone are made up of 70% water! Not only will drinking more water cause your muscles to appear fuller and more vascular, but it will also increase your strength as well. Research has shown that merely a 3-4% slip in your bodys water levels can impact muscle contractions by 10-20%! Aim to consume 0.6 ounces for all pound of bodyweight each day for optimal gains. 

8) Be Consistent! 

Consistency is anything. Those who make the greatest gains in muscular size and strength are the ones who are able to implement the proper techniques upon a highly consistent basis. Simply knowing is not enough, you must apply! 

Building muscle is a result of the cumulative effect of small steps. Sure, performing 1 extra rep upon your bench press will not make a huge difference to your overall results, and neither will absorbing a single meal. However, over the long haul, every of those extra reps you perform and every of those small meals you consume will decide your overall success. If you work hard and complete every of your muscle-building tasks in a consistent fashion, every of those individual steps will equate to massive gains in overall size and strength.

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The Top 10 Muscle Building Facts You'll Need To Know

1. Building muscle has a lot to do with genetics.

If your parents are naturally thin or have a little body frame then maybe you will have the thesame traits. This doesnt mean you have no chance of building a strong muscular body. It just means you are going to have to work hard.

2. Your metabolism has an effect on your size.

If you have difficulty gaining weight whether its fat or muscle, then you most likely have a quick metabolism. Your body is burning calories faster than you can consume them.

3. There is no universal weight training program that is going to profit massive results for all individual person.

The best way to locate a program that works for you is to find someone who had the same type of body as you before and start walking their walk. There are certainly standard exercises that will construct muscle but there is more to building muscle than weight lifting.

4. More training doesnt mean more muscle.

This is one of the most hard concepts for many to grasp. The purpose of weight training is to stimulate muscle growth thats all. Once that has been done, your muscles need to repair and new muscle needs to be built which only happens when you are resting.

5. Isolation exercises arent going to acquire you immense quick.

The best exercises to put on the most amount of overall size are multi-muscle exercises. These are exercises that require more than one muscle or muscle group to profit the job done. These lifts put the most amount of stress on your body. This is the stress that will shock your nervous system into releasing the greatest amount of muscle building hormones.

6. Free weights construct muscle quicker.

Free weights are preferred over machines because they make your body work harder. They require greater concentration and permit the stimulation of supporting muscles. Machines are great for beginners to help with form and basic control, but limit the effectiveness of the exercise.

7. No Pain, No Gain.

Lifting the same weights over and over isnt going to profit you big. In fact it will do the exact opposite.

To construct muscle you need to go heavy. This stimulates Type IIB muscle fibers which cause the most amount of muscle gain. Lifting heavy is when your body fails after 4-8 reps.

8. Long training sessions are a NO-GO

The idea is to stimulate muscle, not hit it from every angle possible. This is only a concern for developed body builders looking to tone muscle. Long training sessions cause catabolic hormone levels to rise dramatically. Catabolic hormones are responsible for breaking down muscle tissue resulting in MUSCLE LOSS. Your weight training sessions should go for no longer than 60-75 minutes maximum.

9. You dont need aerobic activity to lose fat.

The time spent running or swimming is muscle building and recovery time lost. Building muscle is the fastest way to lose fat. Aerobic activities will help you lose fat but not so if you are upon a high calorie mass diet for building muscle.

10. 3 square meals a day isnt going to help you fabricate muscle.

Eating is an important part of muscle building. You need to eat more often and eat more protein. You should be eating roughly every 2.5 hours which is about 6 meals per day. Spreading your meals throughout the day will improve muscle assimilation, and create definite that your body always has the calories it needs for muscle building and repair.

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Body Building For Beginners

Body building or even just showing up at a gym can be intimidating for a beginner. Provided under are some tips that can help you profit into body building, and into your first fitness club:

Seek Advice  There is no sense trying to learn it everything yourself when starting out in Body Building. Take some time to chat to others who are more experienced, and learn what you can from them. When using new equipment or a new exercise it is also always a great idea to chat to someone, to ensure that you dont acquire injured.

Sleep  When working out for the first time it is important to ensure that your body is getting the rest that it needs. This will usually be more than what you were taking before!

Diet  Just as important as snooze its important to ensure that your diet is keeping up with your exercise. This doesnt just mean eating more, it means eating better. Think of your body as an automobile. The more you drive a car, the more fuel you need to put into it. You need to ensure that you are putting the proper fuel in your car as well, to ensure that it will drive consistently and perform to spec.

Set Goals  Set goals that are attainable. Out of achieve goals only set yourself up for failure. Take it one step at a time, and enjoy/celebrate your success all the way up the ladder. Whether its another 10pounds to your bench press or just making it to the gym 3 days a week, you need to set goals, otherwise its easy for your workout to acquire pushed aside when life gets busy.

Visualize Success  Its important to see yourself succeeding before you even begin working out. This winning mind set will take you to new levels in your training and will set yourself up for success!

Be smart about getting into body building to ensure that you will come success both mentally and physically.

Feel free to reprint this article as long as you withhold the following caption and author biography in tact with all hyperlinks.

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How To Gain Weight And Increase Muscle Mass

If you desire to increase muscle mass and profit weight, recall 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 profit 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 determined you gain plenty of protein, fats, and carbs and in large enough quantities to permit 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 get weight and increase muscle mass. Weight training and the adequate food intake will depart your body with no choice but to get weight and add mass. Make definite to get enough rest between workouts to give your body time to recuperate and construct 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 fabricate results that you never dreamed possible. Consistency, cunning eating habits, the proper weight lifting techniques, and lots of rest are the common elements shared by all successful body builder.

Building muscle is a slow process and it could possibly take several months before you see noticeable results. If you are positive 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 locate the combination of foods that permit you to add new muscle mass. Trial and mistake combined with sound dietary guidelines will allow you to locate just the right nutritional scheme for you.

The proper weight lifting techniques are a very important part of a muscle mass building routine. If you dont work your muscles, they wont 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.

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