Thursday, April 19, 2007

What 2 eat 2 build muscles?


One of the most frequently asked questions is “What to eat to build muscle?”. Many people know how to work out and how frequently to work out, but have no idea about the right diet for the bodybuilders. You can work very hard, train in the gym for hours but never grow the muscles you want. With the good workout you can make your muscles really strong, but if you want your muscles to be big you have to modify your diet.
The bodybuilder diet should consist of three main nutrients that are carbohydrates, fat and proteins. According to your metabolism type, the amount of fat and carbohydrates may vary. If your metabolism is very active (and by active I mean that it is very difficult for you to gain weight, no matter what you eat), then your amount of fat and carbohydrates should be seriously increased. If the metabolism is very active and you do not eat a lot, there is no energy left for your muscles to work and grow. Increase the amount of food you eat to supply your muscles with the energy.
If your metabolism is slow and you are already overweight, then you should decrease the amount of fats and eat mostly poly carbohydrates that are contained in potatoes, pasta and rise. Your goal is to burn all the fat you already have and turn it into muscles. The only thing you need from the diet is protein, as the energy needed for your muscles is already in your body.
Protein is the material that is needed to build our body. It is like a brick for the house. Proteins consist from different amino acids. There are 20 amino acids that are used in our body. When we eat proteins, they are digested and broken into amino acids. These amino acids combine in the special chain and form the proteins that our body needs. That is how animal proteins turn into human.
To make your muscles grow you have to eat at least 1 gram of the protein per pound of your body weight daily. The maximum protein amount our body can work with is two grams per pound of the body weight. That is why there is no need to eat more, as it does not give any advantages.
So now you know the basics of what to eat to build muscles. Good luck with muscle building!

Sunday, March 11, 2007


Getting into shape doesn't mean you have to go to a gym weekly and work out. You can actually get plenty of exercise at home, by allocating a room or other part of your house as an exercise area, and either building or purchasing appropriate equipment for your exercise. Here are a few things you should keep in mind when designing your home gym.
Room Placement - wherever the space is that you're allocating as an exercise room, keep in mind that the placement is very important when you design your home gym. Pick a part of the house where you can generally create a ruckus without bothering anyone, for one thing. For another thing, pick spot near a bathroom, as you will most likely want to hit the shower to cool off after a workout. Lastly, make sure that the room has plenty of ventilation, you'll need the fresh air.
Floor Space and Ceiling Clearance - before going out to buy or build any equipment when designing your home gym, know the dimensions of the room. This doesn't simply mean the floor area; also consider how high the ceiling is, to make sure that you don't buy anything that won't fit. Also consider the shape of the room, if it is square, rectangular, built long and narrow, etc. as you can pick equipment that will let you maximize the space you've got to work with.
Purpose of the Exercise - you should know what you're trying to achieve with your exercise when you design your home gym. For example, are you going to be doing mostly cardiovascular workouts that will require mats and/or treadmills? Or maybe you're just out to lose weight. Or if you're serious about building muscle mass, consider free weights and home gym machines. Knowing what you're really after will let you concentrate on what equipment to buy first; you can expand into other types of exercise later.
Muscle Groups you want to Hit - similar to knowing what type of exercise you're after, you should also take into account which muscle groups you need to build up first when you consider your home gym design. Generally, the divisions are arms, shoulders, chest, back, waist, and legs. If you want to go holistic and work out all groups, then you'll probably need to pick up a jungle gym. If, on the other hand, you have a few "trouble" spots that you want to work on extensively first like losing a beer gut, you can narrow down your choices when buying stuff.
Support Gear - Don't forget that the gym should have some additional things aside from exercise machines. A poorly designed home gym is one with nothing but exercise equipment. A good, safe one has an adequate water supply for when you get thirsty (or a cooler with Gatorade), windows for ventilation, mirrors on the walls so you can observe yourself through the motions to ensure you're doing your exercise right, a locker for holding clothes and stuff, and a first aid cabinet for emergencies. Oh, and a good sound system in case you're the kind who likes to listen to tunes to get the adrenalin going.
Other Specific Purposes - aside from free weights, treadmills, and the usual work out equipment, if you're into other sports you may want to add their touches if possible when designing your home gym. Boxers and martial artists will usually add a punching bag or even, if there's room, a large mat area for sparring. Fencers will have ring loops hanging from strings to practice thrust targeting. Stuff like this will allow you to use your work out room to it's maximum potential.
Aesthetics or Functionality - lastly, when designing your home gym don't go overboard and try to make it look "cutting edge". There are some people who get into designing a home gym so much that they forget the room's original purpose, which is to allow them to exercise. There's no point to having a home gym stuffed to the armpits with the latest, flashiest exercise equipment, wall to wall mirrors, a floor mat that looks cool, and a paint job in "power" colors, if you don't have a body that does the room justice. I'd rather look good and have a lousy looking home gym than the opposite.

Monday, February 19, 2007

Home gym reviews:


There are several well-known manufacturers of home gyms worth mentioning. While all have their advantages and disadvantages, the following home fitness gyms are particularly noteworthy. The reviews will focus on the universal gyms that the companies manufacture.
Weider Home Gyms Review The Weider Crossbar (formerly called the Crossbow) is a universal gym that uses sturdy but bendable bows to create resistance. The range of resistance is from 5 pounds to 240 pounds, with an available upgrade that increases the amount of resistance to 440 pounds. The Weider Crossbar sells for around $500.
Pros: The Weider Crossbar is relatively inexpensive and has a wide range of exercises that it can be used for.
Cons: It takes a long time to put together and some of the suggested exercises are uncomfortable and impractical.
Gold's Gym Home Gyms ReviewThe most popular Gold's Gym home gym is the Power Flex. This is a universal gym that uses flexible bows to provide resistance. The maximum resistance is 210 pounds, with an available add-on that increases the maximum to 410 pounds. The price range for the Power Flex is between $500 and $900.
Pros: The Power Flex includes a rowing station, is capable of doing 65 different exercises, and folds to fit in a 2’by 3’ space.
Cons: It is difficult to adjust the resistance level and the manufacturers provide poor customer service.
Tuff Stuff Home Gyms ReviewThe CFM-555 is the best-known home gym made by Tuff Stuff. This is a universal gym with a single weight stack. The CFM-555 sells for around $1200. Pros: The CFM-555 features easily operated range of motion device, a contoured seat back that is functional and comfortable, and a wide range of possible exercises.
Cons: It is large and relatively hard to move. There was no mention of any way to add resistance to the CFM-555.
Hoist Home Gyms ReviewThe Hoist Multi Gym H-100 is a well-respected high-end universal gym with a suggested retail price of $1500. The Multi Gym H-100 features a single weight stack.
Pros: The Multi Gym H-100 is well constructed and durable. It has a multitude of possible exercises and a sleek, space saving design.
Cons: It is expensive and there is no way to add resistance beyond the single weight stack.
Marcy Home Gyms ReviewThe Marcy MWM 1800 has dual 100 pound weight stacks to allow two people to exercise at once. It has the capability of doing over 20 different exercises. The Marcy MWM 1800 retails for about $400.
Pros: The MWM 1800 is a good value for its price and fits in a corner.
Cons: There was only a 50-pound resistance add-on mentioned and the MWM is difficult to assemble.
Powerhouse Home Gyms ReviewThe Powerhouse PH-1300 is a mix between a universal gym and a free weight home gym. It has the set up of a universal gym, but the user has to supply the weight rack. It costs about $350 plus the costs of weights.
Pros: The PH-1300 can have as much as 500 pounds added to it. It is inexpensive and relatively lightweight.
Cons: The weights must be bought separately and the cables that hold the weights break easily.
Conclusion:
Any of the products mentioned in the home gyms review could be a good choice for consumers looking to exercise at home. People who are looking to do light exercise could choose a smaller, inexpensive and less complex home gym, while people who are fully committed to build strength would be better advised to buy a larger home gym with more features. The main point to keep in mind is that there is a home gym on the market for everyone.

Monday, January 29, 2007

A guide to buying equipment:


Membership of your local gym gives you access to a wide range of equipment and also provides you with advice and encouragement from the gym staff and other members, but also limits you to the opening times of the gym and means that you're going to have to add the time to travel to the gym and venture out, rain or shine. By contrast, a modern home gym can also give you access to a wide range of equipment but with the ease of being able to exercise whenever you want to without having to venture out of the house. But what should you buy?
If you're just starting out, or returning to exercise after a lengthy break, you should hold off on buying a home gym for a while and should enroll at your local gym for a short time so that you can check out some of the latest equipment with a knowledgeable instructor. This way you can get a good idea of just what you want to buy and, more importantly, don't want to buy.
If you're interested in weight training, then one of the first things you'll want to buy is a set of weights.
Free weights can be purchased quite cheaply with basic set of weights often coming in at under $50. You'll need a mix of small weights, 10 lb (4.5 kg) and 20 lb (9 kg) hand-held dumbbells and a bar with larger, exchangeable weights. There's little to choose these days between different bars but you'll need to choose between metal or plastic weights. Here it's largely a question of personal choice between the old-fashioned clink of metal and the marginally safer plastic (often a composite filled with sand) weights.
At some point, you'll probably want to move up to a weight machine which offers the ability to focus on specific muscle groups, such as the biceps, quadriceps and deltoids, in a much safer way than using free weights. In addition, some muscle groups, like the calves and hamstrings, are harder to work using free weights.
Once you're ready to move up to a weight machine, be prepared to pay a fair amount of money. Configurations and cost will vary widely from simple resistance machines, at a few hundred dollars, to multi-station, adjustable weight stacks, which will run you somewhere between $2,000 and $5,000 or more.
Another increasingly popular option is stair steppers. A simple model, offering you the ability to get a good cardiovascular workout in a small space at home with low joint impact, while building thighs and calves will cost from about $80 up to $150.
A more elaborate stair stepper which is adjustable (speed, angle, resistance level, pedal distance etc.) and includes such things as a heart rate monitor and digital readouts for things like your speed, distance climbed and calories burnt, will come in at nearer to $1,7000 or $2,000.
Treadmills are also becoming a very common item in most home gyms. Again a very basic treadmill will cost you just a few hundred dollars but, like the stair stepper, a feature-packed treadmill will set you back at least $1,000 and could easily come in at about $2,000 with all of the features you'll want to have.
By the time you've finished your home gym is going to cost you several thousand dollars and so it's not something you should invest in unless you intend to make exercise a part of your daily routine and dedicate yourself to a regular and consistent program of training.

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Tips and tricks:


In order to build muscle and reach your fitness goals with your home gym, you can find comprehensive workout programs based on your individual home gym fitness goals and access to strength training equipment in your home gym. These programs can be found online on videos or DVDs. You can also download your home gym workout to your mobile device or MP3 player.
A lot of people think that they need to spend hours in their home gyms every day to lose body fat, but that is not true. Gaining lean muscle by working out in your home gym increases your resting metabolic rate (RMR) much faster than just cardiovascular exercises alone. Strength training combined with metabolic conditioning is the best way to transform your body using your home gym.
Here are some good tips for developing and maintaining a solid workout program in your home gym in the New Year:
Mix up your home gym workout for more muscle. Keep your body guessing as to what you will do in your home gym and you'll progress faster. Make sure to vary the type of home gym exercise that you do, the length of rest periods, sequence of exercises, number of repetitions, training loads, distances, etc.
Train in your home gym as if life is a sport. That means exercising in your home gym for real world fitness and making sure that you follow a well-rounded home gym fitness regime. It's great to have big muscles but if you can't run a mile something is wrong. A healthy lifestyle requires a balance of mental toughness, agility, stamina, strength-endurance and physical strength.
Be consistent and persistent when working out in your home gym. Following the world's best training program only one day per week is a lot less effective than doing a moderate program three times a week. Work out in your home gym at least three times per week to maximize your results.

Monday, January 22, 2007

health soultion:

Home gym workout routines can take the hassle out of staying healthy. How often have you claimed your busy schedule as the reason you could not get to the gym? How many times have you skipped a workout you knew would make you feel better because the fatigue of traffic and the pace of a gym with trainers were too much for your work weary mind?
Well, say good bye to the excuses standing in your way because home gym workout routines are the answer for your busy schedule. The key to a successful home gym workout routine is scheduling yourself time.
Even though you are working out at home, you still need to hold yourself accountable to your own body. Setting aside a little time will make your workouts less stressful because you will already have that time framed for the activity.
Home gym workout routines can be tailored to meet your specific needs and available equipment. Try a treadmill workout routine to get yourself started and you can do that today. With a treadmill walking program you can work legs and even tone abs and arms.
You should always consult your physician before beginning any workout regimen, because they can help you tailor your routine to your health needs and abilities. Begin with moderate walking twenty minutes a day and this can go a long way to decrease your stress load, increase your energy level and tone your muscles.
The great thing about a treadmill workout routine is you can do it year round in any weather condition. A treadmill walking program can be done as you read the newspaper or make evening calls or it can be a time of complete peace and isolation. Adding small hand weights can afford upper body toning even as you walk.
Your body deserves your attention, and your schedule need not stand in the way. Try a home gym workout routine today to shake away the cob webs from your body and you'll start seeing amazing results.