The ML Editor

Other articles in this series looked at a number of exercises, mainly from the perspective of developing a comprehensive muscle building program. Sometimes we take things for granted, especially when it comes to performing the basic exercises that constitute the core of most bodybuilders’ training regimes.

It is useful, therefore, to describe in detail the processes involved in actually doing these exercises. This will help beginners to start out using the correct techniques before moving on to potentially more dangerous heavy weights. If it also helps more experienced lifters to redress some of the little faults that have almost imperceptibly crept in over the years, all the better.

In this article we’ll take a close look at the deadlift.

MUSCLES TARGETED: gluteus maximus, semimembranosus, semitendinosis, biceps femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus intermedius, vastus medialis, rectus femoris

STARTING POSITION

Stand with feet flat and placed slightly less than shoulder width with toes pointed slightly outward.
Squat down with hips lower than shoulders and grasp the bar with a closed, alternated grip.
Place hands on bar slightly wider than shoulder width apart, outside knees and with elbows fully extended.
Place bar roughly 1 inch in front of shins and over balls of feet.

UPWARD MOVEMENT

Lift bar off floor by extending hips and knees.
Maintain a flat back and keep hips ahead of shoulders.
Keep elbows fully extended.
Keep bar as close to shins as possible.
When bar passes knees move the hips forward.
Keep body erect at point of full knee and hip extension.

DOWNWARD MOVEMENT

Allow the hips and knees to flex to slowly lower the bar to the floor.
Repeat or finish set.

Richard Mitchell is the creator of the bodybuildingadvisor.com website that provides guidance and information to athletes at all levels of bodybuilding experience. Go to Bodybuilding Exercises to learn more about the issues covered in this article.

Who doesn’t want to show off a flat stomach and great looking abs this summer? As bathing suit and beach time come closer more and more of us are lying in the living room floor doing crunches or working out on various machines at the gym tying to find the fastest way to get our abdominal muscles to show. But there is one big mistake most people make when it comes to developing great looking abs that can sabotage all their hard work.

What is that mistake? Not including cardio and eating well. The idea behind this is simple. Even the best-trained abdominal muscles won’t show much if they are hiding behind a layer of fat. And where does our body tend to store fat? You guessed it…in the abdominal area or the belly.

So, what can we do about this little layer of extra fat that’s hiding all our hard work when it comes to great looking abs? Eating a healthy diet that includes lots of fresh fruits and veggies, whole grain rice and bread and lean protein such as fish and chicken will provide your body with the necessary fuel and nutrients without adding to the fat layer.

In addition to the healthy diet, you should also do some sort of cardio exercises every day to start burning the existing fat off. Ride an exercise bike for 45 to 60 minutes, go for a run or swim for a while. Any type of cardio exercise will do. Other ideas are going for a hike or a mountain bike tour.

As you burn more calories than you consume in the food you eat, your body will use the energy stored in your body fat to keep you going, thus melting this little layer of fat that’s hiding your abs away.

Before you know it you’ll be able to show off some great looking abs and feel great as a result of eating healthy and doing cardio workouts that not only burn fat, but also improve circulation and strengthen your heart.

For more great Home Workouts and to sign up for free workout tips, visit http://www.homebasedworkouts.com

Many experts consider the drug to be the grandfather of all current anabolic steroids. The drug was first synthesized by Dr John Ziegler and marketed by the Ciba Corporation in the late fifties. Dr Ziegler decided to develop the drug after discovering that Russian coaches were giving a similar drug to their weightlifters in the early 1950’s.

D-bol was all the buzz in bodybuilding gyms during the 1960’s and 1970’s. The stories are still told of the little blue tablets being sold right on the counters of the more popular bodybuilding gyms. D-bol is probably the most popular steroid ever created and most pro bodybuilders who are willing to talk, have admitted to using it in their cycles. In fact it’s safe to say that most bodybuilders who have used steroids got their first introduction to the “juice” from D-bol.

Ironically the immense fame of Dianabol was to play a major role in its downfall. In the late eighties Ciba discontinued making the original D-bol after the US FDA reclassified steroids as controlled substances. It seemed that word was circulating that some bodybuilders were taking more than the recommended dosage! Generic D-bol (methandrostenelone) has never been out of production, particularly in foreign countries, and Russian and Thai D-bol are now two of the popular versions of the drug available on the North American black-market.

The key to its popularity

Methandrostenelone is without question one of the most effective steroids ever created for stimulating the maximum amount of muscle mass in the shortest time possible. Bodybuilders routinely report muscular weight gains of 2 to 4 pounds a week, and 15 to 20 pounds during a 6 to 8 week cycle is not uncommon. Among the drugs much desired effects are

? drastic increases in protein synthesis

? enhances regeneration of glycogen after exercise

? Dramatic strength gains in very short time periods.

Despite its popularity with bodybuilders and other athletes in power sports, D-bol is not recommended for those in aerobic events, as there is some evidence to hint that the drug may reduce cell respiration. Bodybuilders tend to use D-bol at the beginning of cycles that also contain injectables. This is done because the effects produced by injectables usually don’t occur for at least 10-15 days. The effects of methandrostenelone, however, are virtually instantaneous.

Side Effects?

Dianabol is a mixed bag when it comes to side effects. Since it has a rather weak androgenic component it means that the drug won’t depress natural testosterone levels in the same manner as some of the more androgenic steroids. This means that D-bol users don’t have to worry as much about a dramatic shutdown of natural hormone production. But like most side effects the degree of testosterone shutdown is related to the size of the dosages used and their duration. Don’t be mislead as methandrostenelone still has mild androgenic effects and in high doses (30-40+ mg daily) such androgen-related side effects as acne, male pattern hair loss, and aggression, may become noticeable.

As with many oral steroids, D-bol has its 17th carbon position modified (called methylation) to allow more of the drug to survive passage through the liver and digestive system. Of course this chemical alteration brings with it a certain degree of liver toxicity. For this reason users shouldn’t stay on the drug for more than 6 to 8 week cycles.

Despite its popularity during the mass-gaining off-season D-bol is rarely used in pre-contest drug stacks. This is because it heavily breaks down (aromatizes) into the female hormone, estrogen. This makes fat loss difficult. The drug also has a reputation to cause fluid retention - another reason bodybuilders avoid using it in the weeks leading up to a contest. To get around this bodybuilders usually stack D-bol with such other steroids as Deca-Durabolin, Maxibolan, or one of the testosterones (i.e., propionate).

Beware of the long arm of the law!
As of 1990, Dianabol and most of the other popular anabolic steroids have been reclassified as controlled substances in the United States. Many other countries have passed similar legislation. Please read up on and become knowledgeable about your state’s or country’s steroid laws.

Bob Howard expert on bodybuilding and steroids. Are you looking for more of his dianabol articles? http://www.steroids-information.com

©Bob Howard 4/7/2006

So the Olympics are almost upon us. While you have the chance, compare the differences between a marathon (long distance) runner’s body and a sprinter’s body. What do you notice? The long-distance runner is skinny, frail, kind of bony, thin and almost sickly looking. On the other hand, the sprinter has well developed muscles, and looks strong, fit, healthy.

Of the two, which one would you rather look like?

Well, this is what should determine how you develop your own training program. If you want to look like the sprinter and about 98 percent of people desire a sprinter’s body type why do you spend all that time doing cardio on a treadmill while you watch CNN? In order to look and feel like a sprinter, you must train like one.

Remember, start out slowly. You’re probably not a sprinter now, and if you went out and followed their regimen, tomorrow you’d be insanely sore and probably give up exercising altogether.

Let’s consider, for a moment, these creatures (sprinters). They only move rapidly for about 10 to 60 seconds at most, during a single sprint. Well, that isn’t very much time, if you compare it to long-distance runners, who run for three to four hours, without stopping.

So if long-distance runners are active for much longer periods of time, why do sprinters have more attractive bodies?

The reason is this: sprinters maximally contract their muscles, which requires a lot more work from their bodies than a slow, staggered, constant run. Not to mention that with the short maximal energy bursts, testosterone and growth hormones are released in greater amounts. These hormones are anabolic in nature, which means bodybuilding they build your body up. On the other hand, running for long durations releases cortisol, a catabolic hormone, meaning it breaks the body down. This effect is associated with muscle wasting, and over time, it is extremely bad for the body. It also is the reason for the ultra-skinny, no-muscle look of a long distance runner, versus that of anaerobic athlete like a weightlifter.

If you think about our anthropological history, we were designed to move rapidly, so we could catch our food back in the caveman days. We weren’t built to run our food to death by having the animal get so tired that it just fell down and collapsed because it was exhausted from our chasing it. Well, that same design serves us today. We may not have to track, catch, and kill our food anymore, but our bodies are still meant to MOVE.

So if you want to look like a sprinter, with a lean, athletic physique, you must train like one. Limiting the aerobic exercise and incorporating an anaerobic weight-training program will cause you to look better and burn fat much more quickly. Anaerobic weight training will elicit more results, both in terms of gaining muscle and melting fat, than any other method of training.

Scott White is a certified personal trainer and nutritionist located in Scottsdale, Ariz. For more information about nutrition and fitness or for info about a consultation, call or e-mail Scott today. 480-628-1607 or swhite@personalpowertraining.net.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chris Chew is a personal trainer of fashion models, pageant winners, actors and other celebs. See his sites for more free fitness tips. Lose fat fast. Build muscle fast.
Personal trainers and certification

You might sometimes wonder whether your dedication and sacrifice will pay off as your intended goals. There isn’t a person on earth who wants to invest their time, effort, and money into something that eventually will result in a disappointment.

It’s vital to become aware of the extent to which you follow this trend of thinking.
Often times you may not have had sufficient exposure and development of your goals for positive results to be born. Thus a lack of experience has equated into a lack of results. During such times you might be afraid to face disappointment to the degree of avoiding taking even the initial action required towards achieving your goals.

Courage is acting despite of fear.

It’s important to act and follow through with your planned actions despite fears and desires to avoid pain and disappointments.

Pain is temporary, quitting lasts forever. - Lance Armstrong

At the end its how much victory you have achieved, rather than how much pain you have avoided.

The only way to know is to do.

You might seek assurance that your goals will be achieved fully as planned, and desire to predict exactly the way things will turnout. You must realize that the only way to know an outcome is to act. That’s how life works. Action produces results.
It’s similar to wanting to know what’s behind a closed door, yet avoiding putting in the key and turning the lock open. The only way to find out an outcome is to put in the effort, and follow through with the planned course of actions. Only then will the doors open, and the outcomes unfold.

Self-belief is the first step to achieving your goals.

People have achieved tremendous things, despite experiencing fears and doubts.

Why? Simple. They believed in their abilities to achieve their goals, and held strong to their desires to make their goals and dreams come true.

Acting despite of your fears towards achieving your goals will develop a great and vital characteristic, which is courage.

It’s your desire to achieve your goals, and the belief in your abilities that determines the outcomes of your actions.

You live in a world where everything is possible if you choose and desire so.

Ultimately, you are the master of your life, and the dictator of your chosen destiny.
It is in your hands to decide your abilities and potentials in regards to your goals and endeavors.

Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goals.

Believing in your abilities, desiring to achieve your goals, and giving your full focus and
effort, will ultimately ensure your success.

You can also contact Mike at Mike@RepsOfPain.com
And Visit his website at www.repsofpain.com

Mike Vainshtein, a bodybuilder and motivational speaker, shares his power mental and motivational strategies to take your bodybuilding and life goals to a higher level of performance, quality, and results.

To most outsiders, the world of bodybuilding must seem freakish. Images of huge, deeply muscled physiques strutting and posing in the tiniest of speedo type posing trunks leaves most people looking on with their mouths hanging open.

The problem is that the professional bodybuilders that everyone associates with the sport are not the majority. They are the elite of the elite. Here are the Top 10 Bodybuilding Myths Exposed:

1. If I Start Lifting Weights I’ll Look Like A Bodybuilder

Let’s put this one to rest right off the top. In all my years of training people, the first thing I hear from clients, especially women, is that they do not want to get “huge” and musclebound. My answer is always the same, “Trust me, you will never, ever look like that. Even if you wanted to, you wouldn’t”. Here’s a reality check: The professional bodybuilders that we see are the elite of the elite. They live and breath bodybuilding. They spend hour upon hour in the gym lifting poundages that would astound most people. They eat huge amounts of food that would gag most people. They have incredible genetics that allow for perfect musculature. And most importantly, they all use huge amounts of anabolic steroids, growth hormone, insulin and other drugs to get where they are at. The bottom line is that 99% of anyone who starts lifting would come nowhere near that type of body.



2. If I Start Bodybuilding And Then Stop, All My Muscle Will Turn To Fat

Another falsehood and this one borders ludicrous. Any high school biology student can tell you this. Our bodies are comprised of bone, muscle, fat and water. We all have X% lean tissue (muscle) and X% adipose tissue (fat). Muscle cannot “turn into” fat anymore than your bones can turn into fat. Conversely, if you are overweight and then start training, your fat is not going to “turn into” muscle. You are simply building muscle while losing fat. It’s very simple. This myth probably stems from the fact that many people see former athletes who used to be lean and are now heavier. Their muscle did not turn into fat. What happens is that during years of training, they burn huge amounts of calories. When they stop training, the muscles atrophy (shrink) due to decreased stimulus and the metabolism slows down which usually leads to weight increase in the form of larger fat stores.



3. If I Take Steroids I Will Get As Big As the Pro Bodybuilders

The only way this would happen is if you train as hard as they do, eat as much as they do and have the genetics they do. Steroids alone will not make anyone as big and muscular as professionals. You’ll get bigger sure but the pros have the total package. The amount of discipline needed to get to that level is beyond the scope of most people.



4. If I Do Enough Sit-Ups Or Crunches, I’ll Burn This Fat Off My Waistline and Stomach

This has been repeated enough to where you think the world would know it by now:
There is no such thing as spot reducing! You cannot “burn” the fat off your stomach by doing situps. Bodyfat is reduced over your entire body. This is done by burning more calories than you ingest on a daily basis. If you want to get a 6-pack, you are going to have to adjust your caloric intake and increase you metabolism so that you burn fat over your entire body. Unfortunately, the waistline is one of the last places the fat will leave. Doing stomach crunches or sit-ups will make your stomach firmer and harder but if your bodyfat level is not low enough, your “6-pack” will be hidden under a layer of bodyfat.
5. With Correct Exercises, I Can Reshape My Muscles

Muscle shape is primarily a factor of genetics. A perfect example would be the calf muscles. If you have long muscle belly’s in your calfs it is going to be impossible to turn them into shorter, “bull” calfs. Muscles are going to look different
from one person to the next. Someone who is 6′4″ and weighs in at a lean, muscular 225 lb is probably going to have a totally different look in specific muscle groups than a guy who is lean and muscular but is 5′8″ tall. You can build muscles to your greatest potential but you cannot literally “reshape” a muscle.

6. The More You Workout The Faster And Bigger You’ll Grow

Anybody who has any experience and knowledege under their belt will tell you that the number one reason people do not get stronger or bigger is because of overtraining. When you are working out you are breaking down muscle tissue. It is when you are resting that muscle on your off days that it is repairing itself. If you do not give it enough time between sessions, or if you train too hard on one day and then come back too soon, the muscle will not grow because it cannot repair itself.

If you are just beginning a weight training program, keep these myths in mind. There are others as well! Don’t believe something just because you heard it and don’t believe that what works for one person will necessarily work for you!

Mike Berg has been involved in bodybuilding and fitness as an enthusiast and trainer for over 20 years.

Visit his website for bodybuilding and fitness articles and Bodybuilding Supplements at http://www.milleniumfitness.com

Lets face it Partial range repetitions can be far more effective than full-range reps for building strength and muscle in as short a time as possible. They are basically reps done in a specific range of motion and usually involve doing only the top half or top six inches of the movement this is in your strongest range of motion. By working only in this range of motion you can use far more weight and therefore, work your muscles harder because they can handle more resistance.

Partial range rep exercises have advantages of being safer also because the weight is prevented from entering the weakest range of motion where most injuries occur. These can be applied to almost any exercise but are more appropriate for some exercises than others. These include the bigger compound exercises such as the Bench press, Leg press and Reverse grip lat pulldown.

Lets take the bench press for example, after performing a Full range rep warm-up, move to a smith machine or power rack (or a good spotting partner) and place the supports so the bar rests at the top half range (or six inches) from your reach so when you lie on the bench and reach up to grab the bar your arms should be about six inches from full extension. Push the bar to the top of the movement and then back to the supports. Notice how the safety bars prevent the weight from entering the weak range of motion. Continue on to total failure.

When you lift weight in your strongest range of motion you will notice how easy it is! You will be able to use twice the amount of weight that you would use with the Full Range Reps.

Isometric Contraction is another step upwards in the intensity stakes. It is performed by holding a weight in a fixed position with the muscle fully contracted for an extended period of time. It is performed using the one set only for holds of between five and fifteen seconds.

During these holds nearly all of the muscle fibers of the target muscle are recruited, something that doesn’t happen with full range repetitions. The more muscle fibers you can recruit the more growth that can occur. I have found that by using this technique on trainees strength gains of 50% in ten weeks have often occurred.

Only one all out maximum intensity set per exercise is necessary for this type of training. If you give the first set 100% effort then there will be no more requirement for further muscle stimulation on that specific exercise. Fortunately isometric contraction will probably be the easiest and safest way to perform strength training exercises as there are no reps and no motion of the weight, the entire set consists of holding the weight motionless for 5-15 seconds depending on what cycle you are in.

By cycling the seconds per hold, as you move into your training program from week to week the absolute intensity of the exercise increases (the weight used for the exercises increases) thus promoting more functional muscle growth. It is very important you limit the range of motion of the weight you are using. If you do not have a strong training partner who can spot you during these lifts then you must use a power rack or a smith machine. Now lets look at a exercise and how isometric contraction works with it.

Bench Press: This exercise is best performed on a smith machine or inside a Power Rack, Position the bar within two or three inches of your extended reach. Place 50-100% more weight on the bar than you have been using for your partial reps. Push the bar up two to three inchs (do not lock-out) and hold for approriate count.

With all exercises push yourself to the limits of your capability. Most trainee’s using this method make the mistake of underestimating the weight they can lift. You can expect very significant increases in the weight used for all exercises.

So there you have it, by incorporating these two training techniques into your every day strength training programs you will be well on the way to increasing your size and strength in no time at all.

Gary Matthews is the author of the popular fitness eBooks Maximum Weight Loss and Maximum Weight Gain. Please visit http://www.maximumfitness.com right now for your ‘free’ muscle building e-course.

Everyone wants to look and feel better; and although it is a takes tone of very hard work and commitment, the benefits of a bodybuilding workout truly make it a worthwhile endeavor. Here are some of the numerous benefits of a bodybuilding workout:

• fat reduction

• reduced blood pressure
• increased muscle size
• reduced cholesterol levels
• added energy
• reduced stress
• more confidence
• stronger bones
• increased power in other sports
• increased sex drive

Bodybuilding also has many positive effects on your hormone system. Bodybuilding will boost levels of the anabolic hormone testosterone. Testosterone is a naturally occurring anabolic steroid compound that builds bigger and stronger muscles.

Are you a bodybuilding teen?

Do you want to be the skinny kid in class?

Bodybuilding can be practiced by just about anyone; from the beginner to the advanced level. If you are a teen, you can use bodybuilding to make you more attractive to the opposite sex. Why be the skinny, weak kid in class with no confidence? Girls love male bodies with muscles. The information on this site will help you build the muscles and attract the girls!

It takes more than just barbells and dumbells to build your body; you need the best information on routines, nutrition, and workout supplements. Understanding all this plus having ambition and determination will help you develop the body you want!

The problem with developing a great bodybuilding workout is misinformation. The Internet is flooded with mediocre advice. There are tall tails and lies being going around as legitimate information. If you are looking to make the best gains possible and avoid all this biased propaganda, then you need to have the facts.

bodybuilding
Bob Howard 02/01 2006

Us bodybuilders live a crazy lifestyle. Some call us crazy, narcistic, and even hermits, but I call it dedication. We even do things that we don`t realize we`re doing but when someone mentions it, we get a little humor out of it. I dedicate this article to the bodybuilding.com forum members for making a thread that gave me a little extra comic relief.

When thinking of food, we think of it in terms of functionality, practicality, and finally taste, not the other way around. We have to leave a party or social even because we have to go eat meal #7. Hell, most of us don`t even remember the fizz of soda, let alone what McDonald`s food tastes like. I`m even starting to appreciate the taste of water, no wonder my parents don`t understand why I won`t sit down and have a family dinner instead of making my own food. When looking at foods, we look at the protein content before anything else. We even know the difference between oatmeal, rolled oats, and steel oats.

Your family is at the gym and you know everyone by name. When you hear the word cutting, you think of cardio, not scissors. Do we miss a workout? Yeah right! We`ll skip that important business meeting or hot date so that we can go and train legs. Then there are the guys at the gym who train biceps and chest everyday and then you about kill them after they tell you that creatine is a sterioid. We don`t workout with friends because chances are good that we trained that muscle group the day before. Whenever we see two parallel tables, we start doing dips, just for the fun of it. Pain is our best friend, every morning we wake up hoping to be sore and if not, then we know that we need to train that muscle group harder next week.

In school, people give us strange looks because we get up three different times to take a leak. Sorry Mr. Biology Teacher, I`ve learned more about the human body from lifting than anything you`ve ever taught me. We have a whole cabinet or shelf just to hold our supplements because we take more pills than our grandma who has arthritis and high blood pressure. Our pecks are bigger than most of the freshman girls` and when we travel, we have to buy two plane tickets just to be able to fit into the seats.

This article may sound funny to some of you but it is what us bodybuilders face on a daily basis. Bodybuilding is a rough lifestyle and is not something everyone can do. My fellow bodybuilders understand where I`m speaking from. We are a breed apart from the rest of the bunch and live in our own little sub-culture where the outsiders can`t hurt us. We will rise!

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=
281000&highlight=you+know+you%60re+a+bodybuilder

My site: http://www.geocities.com/bashore69/bodybuildingarticles.html