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The Top 11 Nutrients Your Body Needs to Build Muscle

The Top 11 Nutrients Your Body Needs to Build Muscle

As much as exercise hits your body with a barrage of feel-good hormones, it also puts your body in a state of stress. From your gut to your heart, every cell is working hard to maintain all bodily functions while you work out. That’s why it’s so important to get proper nutrition and fuel your body with foods rich in vitamins and antioxidants. “Exercise produces stress on the body, and that increases the need for certain nutrients that the body might otherwise be able to produce enough of,” says Ashley Koff, RD, founder of The Better Nutrition Program and Espira by AVON nutritionist.

Take the amino acid, glutamine, for example. “Your body produces it, but when your body is under stress during exercise, you need more of it to repair muscle, including the digestive tract lining,” Koff says. Read on to learn what vitamins, macronutrients and amino acids are crucial for building and maintaining muscle.

11 Key Nutrients for Muscle Building

1. Water

You already know how important it is to drink enough H2O for replenishing fluids before, during and after a workout. But staying properly hydrated also aids digestion and nutrient absorption. “Hydration is more than just quenching thirst; it means water carries nutrients to the muscles for them to do their work,” Koff says. Best sources: Straight from the tap, or vegetables and fruits

2. Protein

Protein is one of the most essential macronutrients for muscle growth and repair because it’s packed with amino acids that your body does and doesn’t produce. That’s why it’s important to have protein post-workout to restore these muscle-building macronutrients. “Proteins not only helps rebuild and build lean body mass, but they’re also a core part of enzymes and hormones that help communicate with the body to repair itself,” Koff says. Best sources: Dairy, lean meats, beans and other legumes, seafood, soy and eggs

3. Calcium

Calcium does more than help build strong bones and prevent osteoporosis. Koff says the mineral is responsible for triggering muscle contraction. Muscles are comprised of two protein filaments: myosin and actin. When muscle contraction occurs, these filaments slide over each other to convert ATP (adenosine triphosphate), aka the way your body stores and uses energy. The more you exercise, the more ATP your body needs to keep your muscles moving. Best sources: Yogurt, fortified milk and cereals, cheese, tofu and spinach

RELATED: 7 Ways to Naturally Boost Your Metabolism

4. Magnesium

Feeling more tired than usual? A magnesium deficiency could be to blame. As one of the best de-stressing minerals, magnesium is essential for muscle relaxation and preventing cramps, Koff says. Together with calcium, magnesium works to help reduce blood pressureand promote better sleep. Best sources: Leafy greens, beans and other legumes, squash, nuts and seeds and whole grains

5. Glutamine

You might have heard of non-essential (meaning your body can produce it) and essential (meaning your body can’t produce it) amino acids, but there are also conditionally essential amino acids. Koff says your body needs more conditionally essential amino acids, such as glutamine, during intense workouts. “Glutamine helps repair muscle tissue, including the lining of the digestive tract, especially when the body has experienced stress during high-intensity exercise, like weightlifting and HIIT,” Koff says. Glutamine is also important for maintaining gut function and boosting the immune system. Best sources: Chicken, fish, beef, dairy, eggs and spinach, Brussel sprouts and fermented foods

6. Vitamin D

The sunshine vitamin is probably best known for ensuring strong bones, but it’s also critical for strong glutes, biceps and everything in between. Koff says, “Vitamin D is linked to healthy hormones like testosterone, which helps with muscle maintenance and growth.” A daily dose of D can also improve your mental health and help reduce anxiety. Because not that many foods are rich in vitamin D, some doctors and nutritionists recommend taking a supplement. Best sources: Fatty fish, like salmon and sardines, fortified yogurt, milk and orange juice, mushrooms and eggs

7. Potassium

Just like calcium and magnesium, potassium is a key electrolyte in muscle contraction. But it’s also essential for carrying other nutrients to your muscles. “Potassium brings water, along with other nutrients, into muscle cells. They work in opposition to sodium,” Koff says. Potassium helps your kidneys flush out the excess sodium in your body, Koff explains. What’s more: New studies have shown that people who don’t get enough potassium are at higher risk for hypertension and heart disease. Best sources: Bananas, squash, sweet potatoes, broccoli, chicken and salmon.

8. Carbohydrates

Contrary to what you might believe, carbs are one of the best building blocks of muscles. “They’re the key nutrient to support muscle growth and repair,” Koff says. As the best source of glycogen, carbs help fuel your workouts and rebuild muscles more effectively post-workout. Runners aren’t the only ones who can benefit from carb loading. Everyone from weightlifters to HIIT enthusiasts need to restore glycogen stores after an intense sweat session. Best sources: Whole grains, vegetables, fruits and beans and other legumes

9. B12

Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) belongs to a set of eight B vitamins known as the vitamin B complex. But what sets B12 apart is it assists in creating red blood cells, which contain hemoglobin that binds to oxygen. “[Iron] builds red blood cells, which carry oxygen to muscle, and helps metabolize protein and fats for use in muscle building and repair,” Koff says. Best sources: Poultry, meat, fish and dairy

10. Iron

If you want to know why Popeye was slamming down cans of spinach, it’s because the leafy green is packed with iron, a mineral that “brings oxygen to muscle tissue,” Koff says. It also helps regulate metabolism and promotes a healthy immune system. Without enough iron, your red blood cells can’t carry oxygen to your muscles and the tissues that need it. Best sources: Leafy greens, lean beef, poultry, fish, eggs and fortified whole grains

11. Beta-Alanine

Muscle cramps are one of the most common sleep complaints. The good news: Beta-alanine, a non-essential amino acid, has been shown to help people stave off muscle cramps from doing intense workouts, says Koff. “Beta-alanine helps produce carnosine, which balances the pH in muscles and fights against lactic acid buildup that leads to fatigue and cramping,” she says. Koff also says that vitamins C and E can help combat inflammation from excessive exercise. “Vitamin C helps with muscle repair as it supports collagen production, and vitamin E helps remove free radicals produced after a workout,” Koff adds. Best sources: Animal protein and plant-based foods, like asparagus, edamame, seaweed, turnip greens and watercress

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Want Better Sleep? These 6 Products Can Help

Want Better Sleep? These 6 Products Can Help

You exercise a few times a week, mixing solid strength sessions with sweaty cardio ones. You’ve cleaned up your diet and meal prep like a pro. Question is: Do you pay just as much attention to the time you spend doing nothing? Yes, we’re talking about sleep.

Letting your body recover is just as important as moving and fueling it. And we’re not just talking about next-level foam rolling or learning proper stretching techniques. Scienceshows that your muscles and central nervous system need quality zzz’s to rebuild and repair, and get ready for more action. One study even found that lack of sleep can lead to loss of muscle mass.

Thankfully, many brands recognize the importance of quality shut-eye. And they’ve created products to help you get the best rest you can. So while you pick up heavier weights and make nutrient-dense meals, also prioritize putting your head to a pillow — with a little help from these finds.

6 Products to Help You Get Better Sleep

1. Best Bedroom Upgrade: Tulo’s Bed in a Box ($375-$800)

Of course the number-one requirement for getting good sleep: comfort. And that starts with a good mattress. In fact, 93 percent of Americans believe a cozy bed is key to a solid night of sleep.

You probably only need to replace your mattress every five to 10 years, but if you’re tossing and turning all night it might be time to purchase. Enter: Mattress Firm’s new bed in a box, called Tulo, which makes getting a new one super convenient.

Choose between three foam options: soft (which they suggest for side sleepers), medium (proposed for those who sleep in multiple positions) and firm (for back sleepers). Each one offers a four-layer system meant to keep you cool throughout the night thanks to titanium metal mixed into the fabric that pulls heat from your body. The best part: You can get the bed delivered in 48 hours — with the option for “red carpet” treatment, meaning they set it up and take your old mattress. You also have 120 days to test it out, including free returns. Prefer to try it in person first? You have the choice to do that in stores, too.

2. Softest Place to Rest Your Head: Leesa Pillow ($75-$95)

When was the last time you picked up a fluffy new head rest? According to the National Sleep Foundation, you should to swap out your pillow every 18 months. While you can find tons of cushy options out there, one of our favorite new releases is the Leesa Pillow. Two years in the making, the mattress company designed this pillow for every sleeping position. Featuring a foam core and an uber breathable cover to keep your temperature down, this pillow almost feels like you’re sleeping on a puffed up sweatshirt (but with more structure). You get 100 days to see if it’s just the right place to put your head.

3. Superior Way to Fall Asleep: Dreampad Pillow (from $150)

If you want a tech upgrade and more assistance in catching zzz’s, you’ll want to check out the Dreampad pillow. Previously used in a clinical setting, the new-age pillow syncs with an app in which you choose music — created specifically to help you fall (and stay!) asleep. But don’t worry, it won’t bug your partner. The app converts the music to vibrations that only you experience.

4. Top Sleep Analysis: Sleepscore Max ($150)

It’s hard to talk about sleep improvements without mentioning trackers. While some fitness tracking brands, like FitBit, made updates to enhance their sleep analysis this year, other brands have released high-tech, non-wearable devices, including the doctor-approved SleepScore Max. This gadget goes on your nightstand and using bio-sensors, analyzes your breathing and movement throughout the night. It then pairs with an app, which scores your sleep from 0 to 100, based on age, gender and the science behind quality zzz’s (and four million nights of sleep data). It also provides graphs over time to tell you how you’re sleeping, plus it will provide advice on better-for-you adjustments, including lighting, pillow suggestions, sleep therapies and more.

5. Best for Easy Bedtime Recording: Beautyrest Sleeptracker Monitor ($199)

To turn your bed into a tracker all its own, comes the Beautyrest Sleeptracker Monitor. This device — which includes sleep pads for under your mattress, a monitor that goes next to your bed and a corresponding app — measures heart rate and respiratory rate throughout the night to give you a better picture of your rest. (It can also track two people simultaneously.) The more it gets to know you, the more personalized tips it’ll provide on how you can get better quality shut-eye. This device also links up with Amazon Echo so you can easily set and adjust room temperature, lights, music and more.

6. Ideal Outfit to Catch ZZZ’s: UA Athlete Recovery Sleepwear ($100)

A final update to solidifying a sound night of sleep: pajamas — and Under Armour offers help in that area. Besides upgrading the UA Record system with more guidance into getting better sleep and ideal bed and wake times, this year the brand also released the UA Athlete Recovery Sleepwear line, which includes tanks, tees, long sleeve shirts, shorts and pants for both men and women. Created in collaboration with Tom Brady and made with bioceramic technology incorporated into the inside of the fabric, these garments are made to absorb infrared wavelengths and reflect them back into the body for more energy return. The science is still out on whether it can guarantee results, but the soft, lightweight and cool material make it worth a try.

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12 Things You Should Know About Losing Weight

12 Things Nobody Told Me About Losing Weight

Losing weight is all about trial and error — and learning from your mistakes along the way. (Don’t make us bring up juice cleanses…) And nobody knows that better than these fitness experts, Instagram stars and Daily Burn users who’ve managed to shed anywhere between six and 99 pounds.

Now, they’re doing you a solid so you don’t have to hit the same speed bumps on your journey — no matter how much weight you’d like to lose. So without further delay, here’s the one thing they wish someone had told them before day one of their diet.

12 Things You Should Know About Losing Weight

1. You don’t have to live in the gym.

“No one told me I didn’t have to spend hours in the gym every day to start seeing results. I most definitely would have started earlier if I knew that moving my body for 30 minutes a day — in my own home and without any equipment — could be just as effective.” 

2. It’s all in your head.

“Losing weight is 100 percent [about] a change of mentality. Sure, getting together an eating plan that works for you and figuring out how to properly execute a deadlift is important. But it’s a moot point if your brain doesn’t drastically change…If you nourish your body, and exercise out of a place of self-love, you will find motivation, inspiration and self-acceptance.”

3. Losing weight isn’t everything.

“I wish someone had told me that…it didn’t mean that I would be happy. There are still days when I look in the mirror and I see the old me…But keeping progress pics on my phone at all times helps. It helps remind me of how far I’ve come.”

4. You’re never totally done.

“I wish I’d known that once you lose weight, you’re still going to have to watch what you eat for the rest of your life if you want to maintain it. When I got started, I guess I never thought about what would happen after I lost the weight!”

5. “No pain” doesn’t equal “no gain.”

“I was 25 when I started working to lose weight and my body was fairly resilient, so I focused on lots of exercise so I could keep up the youthful partying. That took a bit of a toll, however, and I’m certain some of my middle-aged aches and pains are due to overdoing it [back then]…Being a little more careful with my diet could have allowed for the same pace of weight loss, while also being more moderate with my exercise regimen.”

6. Your goals are always changing.

“At first I set a weight goal and thought when I reached it I would be happy — and I wasn’t. I realized I needed to do more than just lose weight. I had to shape my new post-baby body. Now that I have a daughter looking up to me, my goal is to be healthier. Otherwise, I’m hurting her and myself in the process. Honestly I’ll never be done setting goals. It’s fun to see myself change and grow muscle — and see confidence in the mirror.”

7. You can’t out-exercise a bad diet.

“I wish someone had told me it really boils down to eating habits. Exercise is fine, but you can’t just up your exercise and not change your diet and expect any kind of dramatic results. And you can’t exercise extra and think that permits you to eat whatever you want. Exercise to feel good and be fit, but curb your intake for weight loss.”

8. The scale isn’t the bottom line.

“I wish I knew to be patient and put the scale away. Body composition and how I felt was a much better gauge of my health and fitness. Plus, since I was lifting and gaining muscle, it was even harder to make the scale move. Knowing that, six months later, I’d see crazy changes even if the scale wasn’t much different, would have made the process easier.”

9. Your metabolism really does slow down.

“‘Slower metabolism’ was something I thought most women used as an excuse for gaining weight; I thought they really just didn’t have time to exercise. Then, seemingly overnight, it happened to me. Why didn’t anyone warn me that this happens to (I think most) women?”

10. If you focus on being healthy, weight loss will come.

“You can go on a crash diet and lose all kinds of weight, but if you don’t establish healthy eating habits and fuel your body the right way, you will most likely gain everything back. I’ve lost weight in the past, but it wasn’t in a healthy way or by learning to eat healthier foods and I inevitably gained the weight back. This time, I’ve focused more on just being healthy and the weight has come off and stayed off.”

11. Every little bit of activity counts.

“Keep moving. The body is intended to move, not to sit for long periods of time. So if I have to sit for a while at work, or driving, I make a conscious effort to get out for a few minutes and walk…Get up, get the blood flowing, and move around. Walk the dog, play with your kids, clean the house, have a dance party. It all adds up.”

12. You have to love yourself.

“Take care of yourself spiritually, emotionally and mentally, and the physical will follow. Loving and accepting myself allows me to find peace. Obsessing over what I look like now as compared to what I looked like before stalls my efforts at maintaining a healthy lifestyle. In the past, I would do drastic cleanses that made me tired and gave me headaches and did not necessarily deliver on the promise of weight loss, or at least, not sustainable weight loss…Take each day, each meal, each opportunity to exercise as exactly that, an opportunity.”

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Is Weight Loss Really As Easy As Calorie Counting?

Is Weight Loss Really As Easy As Calorie Counting?

When you’re trying to lose weight, it’s easy to get sucked into counting calories. After all, that’s what weight loss is all about, right? To some extent, that’s true, says Keri Gans, MS, RDN, author of The Small Change Diet.

For example, if you usually consume 2,500 calories a day and then cut back to 1,600 calories, you’re going to lose weight from that 900-calorie daily deficit — even if all you ate was potato chips. But you won’t be healthy and you most likely won’t be able to keep the pounds off.

That’s because when it comes to losing weight and keeping it off, there’s much more going on behind the scenes than simply calories in, calories out. Here’s what you should know about the real role of nutrition in weight loss, and what you can do to set yourself up for success.

Calories: It’s All About Quality Over Quantity

If you’re only focused on calorie counting, you could be missing the bigger picture. Sure, cutting back on how much you eat will lead to weight loss, but what’s even more important than calories is the quality of the foods you’re choosing, says Gans. Eating balanced, healthful meals will not only ensure you’re getting all the nutrients you need to improve your overall health status, but it will make your weight loss more sustainable.

“We can’t just look at a number on the scale when we think about weight loss,” she advises.

If you eat too few calories, or too many empty calories, you’ll wind up feeling hungry all the time. And you’ll likely overeat more unhealthy foods later on, she says. Going back to the potato chip example, you could eat 160 calories of chips, but it won’t hold you over. In an hour, you’ll be hungry for another 160 calories, or even double that, because your “meal” was lacking the variety, fiber and protein needed to keep you satisfied. Eating foods high in fiber, healthy fats and lean protein, such as eggs, grilled chicken, vegetables and fruit, nuts and seeds, avocados and olive oil, can keep hunger at bay and keep you fuller longer.

“If you had sat down at the beginning and had 300 calories of some whole grain bread, avocado, a little chicken, now all of a sudden you have a well-balanced meal and you’re not going to be hungry,” says Gans. “Those 300 calories are going to do a lot more for you.”

Calorie Counting Conundrum: You Can’t Out-Run a Bad Diet

If weight loss were as simple as calorie counting, you’d be able to lose as much weight as calories you could rack up on the treadmill screen. Unfortunately, no amount of exercise can make up for a poor diet, says Gans. It’s common for people to hit a weight loss plateau or even gain weight if they continue to follow a bad diet, despite becoming more active.

“If you’re exercising all the time but eating like crap or eating too many calories, you’re not going to lose weight,” she says. In other words, how many calories you burn in the gym is irrelevant if you’re overeating — or attempting to fuel with low-quality foods every day.

Meanwhile, while you can lose weight by cutting calories and not exercising at all, Gans strongly advises against it. Not only would you miss out on all the health benefits of exercise, but activities like running, swimming and cycling are lifestyle factors that often make it easier to keep the pounds off. Plus, exercise helps boost your metabolism, especially strength training. The more muscle mass you have, the more energy you’ll have to burn calories even when you’re just sitting down.

In fact, one 2014 scientific review found that diet plus exercise was more effective for weight loss than diet alone.

“This tells us it’s a lifestyle,” says Gans. “For those individuals who lose weight and incorporate exercise, it’s because they’ve made a better lifestyle of taking care of themselves. And that’s where you see the true success.”

Eat, Sleep, Train, Repeat: All in a Day’s Work

The three most important factors for weight loss are diet, exercise and sleep, says Gans. If you can work on improving the quality of one of those factors in your life, you can create a chain reaction for improving the rest.

“It’s almost like what came first, the chicken or the egg,” she says. “If you sleep well and have more energy, it stands to reason that you would be more likely to go to the gym. Now you’ve been going to the gym, you’re working out better, which makes you want to eat better. And so the cycle continues.”

When counseling patients, Gans stresses that even though what we put in our mouths is the most important thing for weight loss, if you’re exhausted it will be a lot more difficult to choose a yogurt and a banana over a donut on the way to work. She also emphasizes the importance of planning and getting enough sleep. Be sure to get seven to eight hours of sleep each night to help your body recover from the day, manage stress levels and improve your willpower so you reach for a kale salad instead of a burger a fries.

“Yogurt and fruit could have more calories than a donut. But we know that the donut is probably going to make you hungrier, and now you’re going to have a bigger lunch,” says Gans. “But if you had that yogurt and fruit because you planned for it, you might have been able to control what you had for lunch.”

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John Cena: Six Weeks to More Size and Strength

John Cena: Six Weeks to More Size and Strength

John Cena isn’t as strong as he looks. He’s stronger. Working alongside longtime friend and trainer Rob MacIntyre, Cena has shifted away from the bodybuilding training he grew up with to focus more on pure strength gains—allowing him to keep aesthetic muscles while improving his athleticism and resistance to injury.

The workouts that follow are Cena’s actual routine, modified only slightly for those less experienced. The 10-time WWE champ and two-time World Heavyweight champ tries to hit a new max on his main lifts every six weeks. Follow the program, and you can break your old records in that same time and reap the muscle gains that come from lifting bigger weights.

DIRECTIONS 

> Perform exercises marked with letters (“a,” “b,” and sometimes “c”) in circuit fashion—complete one set for each in order, resting as needed between sets. repeat until all sets for the circuit are complete. The remaining exercises are done as straight sets.

> Each week, you’ll work up to a certain percentage of your max on the snatch and power clean. If these lifts are new to you, just make a conservative guess as to what your max might be. Warm up with low-rep sets and gradually add weight until you reach a challenging load you can handle with perfect form for the required reps. Do not go to failure—leave a rep or two “in the tank” until Week 6, when you will test your strength. Rest as long as you need between all sets.

The squat, front squat, and bench press will not require percentages. Simply work up to the heaviest load you can handle for the prescribed sets and reps. See the tables at the bottom of each day’s workout.

DAY ONE

1. Squat

* See table for sets and reps

> Grasp the bar outside shoulder width and pull your shoulder blades together. Dip under the bar and raise it off the supports of the squat rack so it rests on your traps or rear delts. step back and set your feet at shoulder width. Take a deep breath and push your hips back to lower your body until your thighs are at least parallel with the floor.

2. Front Squat

* See table for sets and reps

> Grasp the bar at shoulder width and raise your elbows so your upper arms are parallel with the floor. Nudge the bar off the supports and walk it out of the rack. plant your feet at shoulder width and turn your toes slightly out. Squat down as deeply as you can without losing the arch in your back.

3. Leg Curl

Sets: 3 Reps: 6

Perform in a leg-curl machine.

Sets and Reps for Squat, Front Squat, and Bench Press Week 13 sets of 8 reps Week 23 sets of 6 reps Week 33 sets of 5 reps Week 44 sets of 3 reps Week 54 sets of 2 reps Week 6Test your max

DAY TWO

1. Bench Press

* See table for sets and reps

> Arch your back and grasp the bar outside shoulder width. Pull it out of the rack and lower the bar to your sternum, tucking your elbows near your sides. Press the bar up.

2. Pause Bench

> Lower the bar to your chest and pause (but do not rest) there for two seconds. Press back up. Use the same weight you did on the bench press, but perform only single reps. Total the number of reps you did in one set of the bench press above (if you did 3 sets of 8, do only 8 singles on the pause bench).

3a. Dumbbell Row

Weeks 1–3: Sets: 4 Reps: 8

Weeks 4–6: Sets: 4 Reps: 5

3b. Incline Dumbbell Press

Weeks 1–3: Sets: 4 Reps: 8 (but leave a little “in the tank”)

Weeks 4–6: Sets: 4 Reps: 5 (switch to barbell incline press)

4a. Pullup

Weeks 1–3: Sets: 3 Reps: as many as possible

Weeks 4–6: Sets: 3 Reps: 5 (with weight)

4b. Pullover

Sets: 3 Reps: 10–12

> Hold the end of a dumbbell with both hands on the plates and lie back on a flat bench. lower the weight behind your head so you feel a stretch in your lats. Pull the weight back over your chest.

Sets and Reps for Squat, Front Squat, and Bench Press Week 13 sets of 8 reps Week 23 sets of 6 reps Week 33 sets of 5 reps Week 44 sets of 3 reps Week 54 sets of 2 reps Week 6Test your max

DAY THREE

1. Snatch

* See table for sets and reps

> Stand with your feet at hip width and your shins against the bar. grasp the bar at double shoulder width and, keeping your lower back flat, drive your heels into the floor to begin lifting the bar. When it’s above your knees, explosively extend your hips and shrug your shoulders. Let the momentum carry the weight overhead.

. Power Clean

* See table for sets and reps

> Perform as you did the snatch, but use a shoulder-width grip and “catch” the bar at shoulder level so your upper arms are parallel with the floor and your palms face the ceiling.

3. Front Squat

* See table for sets and reps

> See Day 1 for instructions.

Sets and Reps for Snatch and Power Clean

Week 14 sets of 3 reps at 75% Week 24 sets of 3 reps at 80% Week 34 sets of 2 reps at 83% Week 44 sets of 2 reps at 85% Week 52 sets of 2 at 90%, then 3 sets of 1 at 95% Week 6Test your max

Sets and Reps for Squat, Front Squat, and Bench Press Week 13 sets of 8 reps Week 23 sets of 6 reps Week 33 sets of 5 reps Week 44 sets of 3 reps Week 54 sets of 2 reps Week 6Test your max

DAY FOUR

1. Push Press

Weeks 1–3: Sets: 3 Reps: 5

Weeks 4–6: Sets: 3 Reps: 3

> Hold the bar at shoulder width and nudge it off the rack. Keep your forearms perpendicular to the floor. Bend your hips, dip your knees, and then explosively press the bar overhead.

2. Close-grip Bench Press

Weeks 1–3: Sets: 3 Reps: 5

Weeks 4–6: Sets: 3 Reps: 3

> Use a shoulder-width grip.

3a. Lying Dumbbell Triceps Extension

Sets: 4 Reps: 6

3b. Cable Backhand

Sets: 3 Reps: 8–10

> Attach a D-handle to the low pulley of a cable station. Standing sideways, grab it with your far hand and raise your arm out to your side.

3c. Seated Dumbbell Curl

Sets: 3 Reps: 8

4a. Bradford Press

Sets: 3 Reps: 8

> Press the barbell overhead (don’t lock out your elbows), lower it behind your head, then press up again. That’s one rep.

4b. Reverse Curl

Sets: 3 Reps: 8

4c. Barbell Shrug

Weeks 1, 3, 5: Sets: 4 Reps: 6

Weeks 2, 4, 6: Sets: 3 Reps: 12

> Hold the bar at shoulder width and shrug your shoulders as high as you can.

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7 Times Chris Pratt Was the Wellness Coach We All Need

7 Times Chris Pratt Was the Wellness Coach We All Need

Chris Pratt has the quintessential rags-to-riches story: From living in a van on Maui to walking the red carpet, he’s seen it all. But through the hardship and success, he has managed to stay humble, playful and easy-going. That may be why he can so effortlessly tear down stereotypes about men and wellness, inspiring all of us to practice self-care, set boundaries and, generally, take it easy. Ready to do wellness like a champion (or rather, a Star-Lord)? Read on for our favorite Chris Pratt wellness moments!

1 When He Made Facials a Thing

Chris Pratt’s glowing skin isn’t just a product of good genes. In a hilarious videoposted to his Instagram account, followers came face-to-face with the 38-year-old getting a facial. “In the spirit of Christmas, it’s important to know how much better it feels to give than to receive,” he says, joking about giving his longtime hair and makeup artist Bridget Brager the opportunity to give him a facial.

Licensed aesthetician and beauty expert Gregory Dylan, owner of Gregory Dylan Beauty, has been in the skin care industry for more than 20 years. He notes that he’s seen a recent increase in men, including nonactors, who are interested in skin health. “There’s a little bit of an epiphany that overall for skin health and well-being is more than something that our moms or our girlfriends used to do. Everyone has evolved past that stereotype.”

2 When He Opened Up About Emotional Eating and Body-Image Issues

While women tend to be the ones who share experiences with disordered eating, Pratt opened up about his own struggles with body image during a 2014 press conference. “I’m sure I can’t relate to what females go through in Hollywood. But I do know what it feels like to eat emotionally and … to be sad and make yourself happy with food,” he says. “And then to be almost immediately sad again and now ashamed and then to try to hide those feelings with more food. It’s a vicious cycle, and it’s a very real thing.” Pratt proves that anyone can be affected by emotional eating. Feel like you can relate? Trytracking your eating habits in a food journal so that you can identify your triggers and know when to fight back.

3  When He and Anna Faris Attempted Couples’ Therapy

Although Chris Pratt and Anna Faris recently separated after eight years of marriage, the former couple worked through hardships in the healthiest possible manner. Back in August a source told People that the two had started couples’ counseling to learn how to co-parent their son, 5-year-old Jack.

Licensed marriage and family therapist, couples counselor and relationship expert Allen Wagner explains that in situations like this it’s important for parents to have ongoing, long-term collaboration. “Some separated parents will experience tremendous amounts of guilt for their child, which can make limit-setting inconsistent, at best,” he says. “Many separated couples will turn to their children as confidants as they seek empathy at the expense of their partner, and this, too, will have negative long-term consequences. Having a safe space to work out awkwardness while remaining proactive is helpful for parents.”

4 When His On-Set Snacks Were a Nutritionist’s Dream

To maintain his shredded physique while filming “Jurassic World 2,” Chris Pratt had to practice heroic amounts of self-control. In true and hilarious Pratt fashion, he used Instagram as a food diary, popping in with periodic “What’s My Snack” segments. The crush-worthy actor got creative with his healthy bites, which included sashimi, a cucumber egg wrap and a cacao, baobab, banana and chia seed shake. According to “Guardians of the Galaxy” co-star Karen Gillan, Pratt is also a fan of almond butter with an apple or banana between takes. Delicious!

5  When He Shut Down Body Shamers

Chris Pratt’s “What’s My Snack” videos were meant to poke fun at celebrities' diets. Nevertheless, some Instagram users took the opportunity to focus on Pratt’s weight. The actor used it as an opportunity to raise awareness about male body shaming

“So many people have said I look too thin in my recent episodes of #WHATSMYSNACK,” the star writes on Instagram. “Just because I am a male doesn’t mean I’m impervious to your whispers. Body shaming hurts.” And, in true Chris Pratt style, the “Jurassic Park” actor slid a light-hearted joke into the PSA: a photo of a giant dinosaur skull. “To prove my security in the way I look I’m posting a current selfie of me at what I consider a very healthy weight. 500 lbs. Zero percent body fat.”.

6  When He Gave Inspiring and Realistic Weight-Loss Advice

Before there was Star-Lord, there was Andy Dwyer from “Parks and Recreation.” And who could help but notice that between the two roles Pratt dropped a staggering 60 pounds? Unlike other celebs who are known for their drastic body transformations — we’re looking at you, Christian Bale — Pratt went at his own pace.

“Six months seems like a long time unless you’re looking backwards,” he tells Self. “All you have to do is just a few things everyday and remain consistent, and time will fly just as fast as it flies if you’re working hard or not. If you just cut the crap out of your diet, and if you spend an hour a day doing something physical that will make you sweat, six months will pass by, you will feel better mentally, physically, spiritually — it all is tied together.” If that doesn’t sound doable, we don’t know what does.

7  When He Set Boundaries Between Himself and His Fans

If you ever see Chris Pratt in person, don’t ask for a selfie. While he cares for his fans, maintaining a sense of normalcy often comes at a price. For Pratt, it’s having to say no to pictures. “I have to be economical with my time,” he tells Cigar Aficionado. “If I go out and want to do normal things, I have to be comfortable disappointing people. I just don’t take pictures with people. Because that’s not about enjoying the moment; it’s about stealing the moment to brag about later.” The star compensates by offering his fans handshakes.

Everyone can benefit from staying present, which has been shown to lower anxiety, boost our connection with those around us and interrupt negative self-talk. We’d sacrifice a selfie with Pratt any day if it meant he could reap those benefits.

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How to Naturally Lose Belly Fat in One Week

How to Naturally Lose Belly Fat in One Week

Whether you're headed to the beach, prepping for a special occasion or just want to jump-start a healthier lifestyle, you can set the foundation for belly fat loss in a week. And while you likely won't reach your final weight loss goals in a week -- unless you're only looking to lose a pound or two -- you might be able to see minor differences and burn some initial belly fat. However, the results from diet and exercise modifications can keep you motivated to stick to longer term goals, and they'll set you on a road to success -- without the high risk of weight regain associated with fad crash diets.

Set Realistic One-Week Goals

Set yourself up to lose excess belly fat by setting realistic goals. You won't be able to lose fat exclusively from your belly -- it will come from all over your body, including your midsection -- or shed 20 pounds in just a week. You can, however, lose 1 to 2 pounds of fat to start slimming your midsection, using sustainable methods that'll allow for larger weight loss over longer periods of time.

Your first step? Figure out an appropriate calorie intake target. You'll want to eat slightly fewer calories than you burn daily to start torching body fat -- about 500 to 1,000 calories fewer. That small calorie deficit allows you to burn fat, but it won't generally trigger "starvation mode" that would lead to muscle loss over time.

Use an adult energy needs calculator to estimate your calorie intake needs; then subtract the 500 to 1,000 calories for weight loss. For example, a 28-year-old woman who is 5 foot, 9-inches tall weighs 175 pounds and is lightly active -- less than an hour a day -- burns about 2,400 calories daily. She'll burn about 2 pounds of fat in a week if she eats 1,400 calories daily, or 1 pound a week if she eats 1,900 calories a day.*

Stay Full With Low Energy-Density Foods

It's normal to feel a few hunger pangs when you cut your calorie intake, but you don't want to feel ravenous. Filling your diet with low energy-density foods -- ones that have a low calorie count per gram -- allows you to fill up on larger portions while controlling your calorie intake. Many of these foods also supply water and fiber, which can make you feel full, to help with weight loss.

Load up on low energy density foods, like vegetables, fruits and fat-free broths. A few minor tweaks can lower the energy density of your favorite meals, too. For example, substitute a half-cup of spaghetti and a half-cup of spiralized zucchini "zoodles" for a full cup of spaghetti. Or make a chicken, vegetable and brown rice soup instead of serving grilled chicken with brown rice and veggies; the broth is often very low or virtually free of calories, lowering the energy density of your meal, so you may fill up on fewer calories.

Exercise Away Belly Fat

Boost your overall health and shed excess belly fat by adding exercise to your weekly routine. Any exercise you do -- whether that's a structured workout at the gym or an informal brisk walk around your neighborhood -- utilizes calories, so you'll burn more body fat.

But you'll lose the most fat by doing HIIT, or high-intensity interval training. This training technique involves working at full throttle for short intervals -- typically 10 seconds to a minute -- then recovering at a slow pace or resting for a minute or two. It increases your metabolism after a workout, since your muscles need to work hard to get "back to normal." HIIT also burns more belly fat than traditional, steady-pace cardio, according to Penn State University.

After you're thoroughly warmed up, increase the intensity for 30 seconds -- enough that you're out of breath by the end of the interval -- then recover at a slow pace for 90 seconds. Repeat those intervals 10 to 15 times; then cool down. Allow for 48 hours recovery between each HIIT workout to avoid overtraining.

Avoid Damaging Diets

Your best bet for blasting belly fat is slow, steady weight loss -- not instant one-week results. Steer clear of diets promising double-digit weight loss in just a week or diets that cut out entire food groups or require you to eat just a couple foods. These are typically fad diets that aren't sustainable -- so you're likely to regain any lost weight -- and such diet plans might even interfere with your ability to lose fat in the long run, explains the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Instead, pair a balanced diet with exercise for slower weight loss. Keep your metabolism revving with a moderate calorie restriction, which is above 1,200 calories for women and above 1,800 calories for men. You'll feel more satisfied and energetic and get better results in the long run for a beach-ready bod.

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How to Lose Weight Fast: 3 Simple Steps, Based on Science

How to Lose Weight Fast: 3 Simple Steps, Based on Science

There are many ways to lose a lot of weight fast.

However, most of them will make you hungry and unsatisfied.

If you don't have iron willpower, then hunger will cause you to give up on these plans quickly.

The plan outlined here will:

Reduce your appetite significantly.

Make you lose weight quickly, without hunger.

Improve your metabolic health at the same time.

Here is a simple 3-step plan to lose weight fast.

1. Cut Back on Sugars and Starches

The most important part is to cut back on sugars and starches (carbs).

When you do that, your hunger levels go down and you end up eating much fewer calories (1).

Now instead of burning carbs for energy, your body starts feeding off of stored fat.

Another benefit of cutting carbs is that it lowers insulin levels, causing your kidneys to shed excess sodium and water out of your body. This reduces bloat and unnecessary water weight (2, 3).

It is not uncommon to lose up to 10 pounds (sometimes more) in the first week of eating this way, both body fat and water weight.

This is a graph from a study comparing low-carb and low-fat diets in overweight or obese women (4).

The low-carb group is eating until fullness, while the low-fat group is calorie-restricted and hungry.

Cut the carbs and you will start to eat fewer calories automatically and without hunger (5).

Put simply, cutting carbs puts fat loss on autopilot.

SUMMARYRemoving sugars and starches (carbs) from your diet will reduce your appetite, lower your insulin levels and make you lose weight without hunger.

2. Eat Protein, Fat and Vegetables

Each one of your meals should include a protein source, a fat source and low-carb vegetables.

Constructing your meals in this way will automatically bring your carb intake into the recommended range of 20–50 grams per day.

Protein Sources

Meat: Beef, chicken, pork, lamb, etc.

Fish and Seafood: Salmon, trout, shrimp, etc.

Eggs: Whole eggs with the yolk are best.

The importance of eating plenty of protein cannot be overstated.

This has been shown to boost metabolism by 80 to 100 calories per day (6, 7, 8).

High-protein diets can also reduce cravings and obsessive thoughts about food by 60%, reduce the desire for late-night snacking by half, and make you so full that you automatically eat 441 fewer calories per day — just by adding protein to your diet (9, 10).

When it comes to losing weight, protein is the king of nutrients. Period.

Low-Carb Vegetables

Broccoli

Cauliflower

Spinach

Tomatoes

Kale

Brussels sprouts

Cabbage

Swiss chard

Lettuce

Cucumber

Don’t be afraid to load your plate with these low-carb vegetables. You can eat massive amounts of them without going over 20–50 net carbs per day.

A diet based mostly on meat and vegetables contains all the fiber, vitamins and minerals you need to be healthy.

Fat Sources

Olive oil

Coconut oil

Avocado oil

Butter

Eat 2–3 meals per day. If you find yourself hungry in the afternoon, add a 4th meal.

Don’t be afraid of eating fat, as trying to do both low-carb AND low-fat at the same time is a recipe for failure. It will make you feel miserable and abandon the plan.

To see how you can assemble your meals, check out this low-carb meal plan and this list of 101 healthy low-carb recipes.

SUMMARYAssemble each meal out of a protein source, a fat source and low-carb vegetables. This will put you in the 20–50 gram carb range and significantly lower your hunger levels.

3. Lift Weights 3 Times Per Week

You don't need to exercise to lose weight on this plan, but it is recommended.

The best option is to go to the gym 3–4 times a week. Do a warm-up and lift some weights.

If you're new to the gym, ask a trainer for some advice.

By lifting weights, you will burn lots of calories and prevent your metabolism from slowing down, which is a common side effect of losing weight (11, 12).

Studies on low-carb diets show that you can even gain a bit of muscle while losing significant amounts of body fat (13).

If lifting weights is not an option for you, then doing some cardio workouts like walking, jogging, running, cycling or swimming will suffice.

SUMMARYIt is best to do some sort of resistance training like weight lifting. If that is not an option, cardio workouts are also effective.

Optional — Do a "Carb Refeed" Once Per Week

You can take one day off per week where you eat more carbs. Many people prefer Saturday.

It is important to stick to healthy carb sources like oats, rice, quinoa, potatoes, sweet potatoes, fruit, etc.

But only this one higher carb day — if you start doing it more often than once per week you're not going to see much success on this plan.

If you must have a cheat meal and eat something unhealthy, then do it on this day.

Be aware that cheat meals or carb refeeds are NOT necessary, but they can boost some fat-burning hormones like leptin and thyroid hormones (14, 15).

You will gain some weight during your refeed day, but most of it will be water weight and you will lose it again in the next 1–2 days.

SUMMARYHaving one day each week where you eat more carbs is perfectly acceptable, although not necessary.

What About Calories and Portion Control?

It is NOT necessary to count calories as long as you keep the carbs very low and stick to protein, fat and low-carb vegetables.

However, if you really want to count them, use this calculator.

Enter your details, and then pick the number from either the "Lose Weight" or the "Lose Weight Fast" section — depending on how fast you want to lose weight.

There are many great tools you can use to track the number of calories you are eating. Here is a list of 5 calorie counters that are free and easy to use.

The main goal of this plan is to keep carbs under 20–50 grams per day and get the rest of your calories from protein and fat.

SUMMARYIt is not necessary to count calories to lose weight on this plan. It is most important to strictly keep your carbs in the 20–50 gram range.

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click here Our Fortnite Battle Royale guide contains beginner tips and tricks, map strategies, drop zone advice, weapons details, resources and crafting information

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Das Steam-Phänomen PUBG ist besonders für Anfänger eine große Herausforderung. Wie ihr eure Überlebenschancen drastisch verbessern könnt, erfahrt ihr in unserem Guide.

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Get a $100 Visa Gift Card!

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   click here to get it What kind of Doritos are your favorite big game snack? Your answer could earn you $100!Right now you can qualify for a $100 Visa gift card! What will you do with your gift card? Go shopping? Have a nice meal? Pay off a bill? Follow the instructions listed to the right to find out!Don't wait, this incredible offer won't last long, some details apply.

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10 Secrets To Keeping The Love Strong And Your Relationship From Going Under

10 Secrets To Keeping The Love Strong And Your Relationship From Going Under

I thought I had it all figured out. I created my future in an imaginary crystal ball, and I was ready to ride off into the sunset into all my happily-ever-after, fairytale bliss.

The only problem with all of this is that I typically shared my unsolicited advice while single, avoiding love like the plague, or in a terribly toxic relationship.

I created unrealistic expectations in my mind that only set me up for one failed relationship after another, which I immediately justified as “one door closing so another could open” or promising my heart that “there are far greater things ahead than any we leave behind.”

As I’ve continued to grow and develop as a woman, a writer and a lover, I have learned a few things about true love and how skewed my perception of what it meant used to be.

I am fortune enough to be surrounded by so many amazing (absolutely imperfect) relationships that have allowed me to piece together a few secrets that no one (especially the self-righteous, naïve, advice-soliciting blogger I used to be) would dare tell you.

1. Love is not a feeling; it is a choice

I used to believe that when I found my perfect love, it would suddenly make everything else in my life perfect as well. I believed that love conquered all, and that one day I would meet someone who would change everything I felt, saw and believed.

This is simply not the way that it works. Being in love does not mean you won’t have days when you feel as though the world is ending and your life is over. Being in love does not mean you won’t be moody, grouchy, analytical of every detail and even question aspects of your relationship that self-affirming blogger girl would tell you marks a giant red flag.

Choosing to love someone in spite of these fleeting feelings is a constant, conscious, daily decision.

2. Lust fades, love stays

Butterflies, magic, stardust and rainbows are all great, but they all go away. Lust is present in the beginning of nearly all relationships, as it is what attracts you to someone in the first place.

Before you know it, butterflies in your stomach become taking care of him after one too many shots of whiskey, and getting dolled up for a dinner date becomes good morning kisses while sipping coffee on the patio with no makeup on. We are conditioned to believe that the former is better than the latter, but I believe the opposite.

Lust, chemistry and primal attraction are wonderful feelings, but they are just that: feelings. Love remains long after the clock strikes midnight and the magic fades away. Love is the ability to see beyond the shell in which someone is contained, and love them for the qualities they possess that would still be present if the whole world were blind.

3. Just because you don’t like someone doesn’t mean you don’t love them

There are going to be times where you don’t really like your partner very much, but you still love him or her. In fact, love gives us the ability to see past all of the many annoying things that someone does on a daily basis.

Want to know the best part? This also means that someone loves you enough to put up with you even when they don’t like you at the moment.

No one is perfect; we all have our moods and our pet peeves and the things that make us unique. There will be times when you will look at your partner and think, “Why in the world do I love this person so dang much?”

When this question presents itself, stop and think about your life without him or her, and you will inevitably discover the answer.

4. Letting go of unrealistic expectations is the healthiest thing you can do for love

This is a really big one for me. I still struggle sometimes with wanting a storybook romance that makes all of the fairytales jealous. I set love on such a pedestal that I don’t think anyone stood a chance measuring up.

I still believe in love with all of my heart, but I am learning to accept the fact that I don’t get to determine the parameters for which love comes into my life.

It isn’t “settling” to accept the fact that true love takes work every single day, requires sacrifice and effort and does not involve finding someone who can read your mind and make every single one of your wishes come true.

Letting go of unrealistic expectations I had created for love allowed me to open my heart up to imperfect, jagged, pieces of love that filled spaces I didn’t even know were missing.

5. You are not your friend’s (or your sister’s/mom’s/neighbor’s) relationship

It is human nature to seek advice and consolation from loved ones when facing both highs and lows, but it’s imperative to remember that your relationship is not the same as any of the relationships around you.

I adopted trust issues after my best friend was cheated on, became a phone snooper when a girlfriend snooped and found exactly what she was looking for and I’ve convinced myself on a coffee date that all men must be the same.

Relationships have enough problems, struggles and limitations independently; don’t borrow problems from those around you. Along the same lines, everyone around you will always have the answer/advice/solution no matter what kind of situation your current relationship is facing.

Take these words of wisdom with a grain of salt. Follow your heart, but take your head with you, too. You are not him or her; he or she is not you and nobody really understands all of the intricate details of a relationship from the outside.

6. Love needs to be watered in order to grow

Just as much as loving someone is a choice, relationships must be watered and nurtured in order to grow into their purest, fullest, happiest form. Relationships, like anything else worth having in life, take work. This does not mean that you should be bending over backward and causing riffs in all other aspects of your life in order to make a relationship work.

Working on a relationship and making a relationship work are two completely different concepts. Life is way too short to spend it with someone you are simply “making it work” with. At the same time, it’s imperative to remember that you must protect and nurture your relationship if you want it to thrive.

Take time to reconnect, show appreciation and grow together. All too often I see people living parallel lives; merely coexisting with their significant other.

While it’s important to continue to grow and develop individually, it is just as important to grow together and strengthen the bonds that brought you together in the first place. The grass is greener where you water it, and love grows fullest when watered on a daily basis.

7. Dirty laundry does not belong anywhere other than a laundry basket

Social media makes this concept very difficult, as many people are conditioned to turn directly to a tweet, status or hashtag to declare their feelings and emotions at any given moment.

I had a wonderful conversation with an older couple in which the woman told me that she had a conversation with her daughter when she was having marriage issues. “I just don’t get it; you and dad have never been in a fight in your 40 years of marriage, yet we seem to fight all the time. What’s your secret?”

The woman replied, “Honey, dad and I fight when he leaves the milk lid unscrewed, swears in front of the grandkids and forgets to turn the AC off before leaving the house. We’ve spent the past 40 years fighting. The secret to our marriage is the fact that the fight starts and ends exactly where it belongs: between us.”

I love this concept. Life is not always going to be rainbows and butterflies, and relationships will inevitably face rough waters and bumpy roads. A disagreement between two people is much easier resolved than a disagreement that involves social media and screen shots of conversations.

It’s easy to want to declare your emotions and anger to the world when you are feeling hurt or vulnerable, but learning to turn to one another and to work on discovering the root of the problem will lead to a much more healthy resolve. Plus, it’s no fun having to defend a mended relationship that you just got done slandering via social media.

Keep your dirty laundry in your laundry basket and learn how to sift through it together.

8. Sometimes you don’t “just know” and that’s okay

This is another concept I continue to struggle with. I always believed that I would meet someone and instantly know he was my soul mate. I have heard people say, “when you are with the right person, you will know,”more times than I can even count, and I spent a lot of time letting people pass me by because I would meet them without having an instant connection.

I know that part of my heart will always be a hopeless romantic, and I am okay with that, but I am also learning that sometimes falling in love isn’t fireworks and ringing bells and jumping from airplanes without looking below.

Sometimes love is a quiet wave, slowly kissing the shore and sneaking back into the vast blue ocean. Sometimes love is friendship caught fire, a well-deserved second chance and a resting place for your heart when you find yourself caught in a storm. Sometimes love has been right under your nose all along.

I still believe that when I find my perfect love, I will “know” in a sense, but I am learning that for everything I know, there’s a parallel that I don’t know and that’s okay. Sometimes love isn’t having everything figured out, but, rather, finding peace in knowing that you have someone by your side that you enjoy discovering the answers with.

9. Your life is not a movie

There are two outcomes in life: the way we think it should go and the way it actually ends up going. Movies, social media, online articles and Hollywood dramas set a precedence that does not align with reality in any sense.

When we encounter struggles or hardships, it’s almost human nature to think of the ultra-romantic way our significant other SHOULD handle it. Don’t let your relationship “should all over itself. Your relationship may not make a very good screenplay, but life has enough ups and downs and sometimes a relationship is best when served on solid ground.

Allow your relationship to grow and develop without expectations set by others. Keep in mind that even the most romantic and sexy movies end (usually in 90 minutes or less). Your relationship has the potential to be a lifetime of sweet moments dipped in a heavy dose of reality. Treating your relationship with movie-worthy expectations with inevitably result in a not-so-happy-ending while the credits roll.

10. Love takes time

Last, but certainly not least, please remember this: love takes time. We live in a world where we want something, and we want it now. I’ve learned that the faster something catches fire, the faster it is likely to burn out.

Be patient with your heart. Be patient with the hearts around you. If you see potential in someone, allow it to transpire naturally, without forcing expectations and timestamps all over it.

Men often take longer than women to open up, and it can be frustrating to feel like you are progressing much quicker than your partner. Please remember that just because someone doesn’t love the SAME way you do, it doesn’t mean they don’t love with all that they have.

Patience is a characteristic that I feel many of us neglect in so many aspects of our lives. It’s important to not only be patient with our loved ones’ hearts, but patient with the heart beating within our own chest.

We have all loved and lost, been hurt and scared, and we are all choosing to put one foot in front of the other in an attempt to love again. Be patient with your feelings, be patient with your emotions and be patient when giving your love.

Let yourself give love. Let yourself be loved

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The Ultimate Guide To Leg Day Nutrition

The Ultimate Guide To Leg Day Nutrition

The right nutrition and supplementation can help you thrive, rather, than survive during leg day. This is what you need to know about how to fuel up, recover, and even cheat right! 

  Leg day isn’t for the faint of heart. For 60-90 minutes, you repeatedly contract the largest muscles in your body until you reach the point that your quads are yelling, hammies screaming, and you can barely walk out of the gym. No wonder so many skip it. Even with perfect preparation, a proper leg workout is brutal. But if you’re not well-fueled, then not only will the workout feel far worse, but you'll get less muscle and strength to show for it. Do I have your attention now?  Carefully crafting your pre-, intra-, and post-workout nutrition and supplementation is essential for lower-body training, even if you don't take those things nearly so seriously during the rest of your training week. If you want to finally generate some growth in your wheels, follow the exact blueprint outlined here! Note: For maximal retention, read while holding the bottom position of a squat

The Pre-Workout Period

You may be somebody whose life and obligations make building the day around a workout hard. I get it! But if you want to rock serious legs, you'll need to put in some serious leg days. And serious leg days demand pre-workout nutrition planning. Proper leg day pre-workout nutrition and supplementation should not only ready the body but also ready the mind. If you’re don’t have an unmatchable level of motivation, focus, and fuel, the chances of you surviving your workout feeling strong will be as slim as your thighs. Timing: Friends don't let friends train legs before breakfast. Seriously! I don't recommend you train legs first thing in the morning if you’re looking to maximize growth or plan on pushing serious weights. Doing so doesn’t give you ample time to consume and digest the copious number of calories you’ll need to adequately fuel yourself. Instead, I recommend moving your leg day workout to the afternoon or even the evening. Even if it happens during lunch, that's better than morning—provided you eat a solid breakfast.

Ideally, your pre-workout meal should be the second or even third meal of the day. It should also be the largest meal of your day, or second-biggest to your post-workout meal (more on that below). I'm very generous in what I consider "pre-workout," though. Your leg day pre-workout meal should ideally be eaten roughly three hours prior to your workout. This gives you plenty of time to digest the colossal portions I recommend, so that you do not feel bloated or heavy as you begin your warm-up. Portions: To ensure you’re ready to tackle leg-day quad-on, I recommend that you place 30-40 percent of your total daily carbohydrate intake at this meal. I also recommend that you consume 25-35 grams of high-quality protein, and 1-2 servings of vegetables. Furthermore, I recommend that you consider increasing your total daily calorie intake by 15-30 percent compared to typical levels on this day to accommodate the high-volume battle you’re about to face. This will ultimately translate to a bigger pre-workout meal. Nutrient Selection: Given the advanced timeframe, it's important that you select high-fiber carbohydrates for your pre-workout fuel. Examples include:

Oats

Brown or wild rice

Quinoa

Sweet potato

Berries or other high-fiber fruit

Choosing high-fiber carbohydrates will ensure that your blood glucose levels and energy remain relatively steady between the time you eat and your warm-up. Choosing a large portion of low-fiber carbohydrates will lead to a crash in blood glucose and energy levels before you begin your warm-up. Not ideal if you need to thrive during a 60-90-minute workout. Your protein should come from a low-fat, complete protein, such as any animal protein source, soy, or quinoa. This will help to “turn on” muscle growth and repair at the cellular level one more time before you enter a catabolic (muscle breakdown) period.

Pre-Workout Supplements

Don't slurp these down during your warm-up sets. Your pre-workout supplement cocktail should be consumed 20-30 minutes before your warm-up. This allows the supplements to enter your bloodstream and to begin exerting their benefits by the time you start your first working set.

Caffeine: Caffeine is a stimulant that will enable you to push harder, complete more repetitions, and increase your focus. Even if you skip it during the rest of the week, consider it for a hard leg workout. Since caffeine tolerance is highly individualized, I'm not going to give a specific recommendation. Just be mindful of your daily caffeine intake and the time of your workout when dosing your pre-workout cocktail. Not being able to sleep after a leg workout isn't going to help you recover! Beta-alanine: Technically a non-essential beta-amino acid, beta-alanine has quickly become anything but non-essential in the worlds of performance nutrition and bodybuilding. Also known by its trademarked name CarnoSyn, it is probably the most consistently effective performance-enhancing supplement to hit the sports nutrition market since creatine. Nootropics: Given the demanding nature of leg day, you may consider investing in a pre-workout (or individual nutrients) that provide nutrients than enhance mental focus and drive. These substances are known as nootropics, and are in more pre-workouts than ever. Example nutrients include L-theanine, Theacrine, Acetyl L-Carnitine  (ALCAR), and Alpha-GPC. Citrulline Malate: Citrulline is an amino acid that has been shown to delay fatigue. It’s also a by-product of the body's conversion of the amino acid arginine into nitric oxide. And when excess citrulline builds up, there’s ultimately an increase in nitric oxide production, which enhances blood flow and nutrient delivery to your working muscles. Dose: Take 6-8 grams in your pre-workout cocktail. Creatine: It’s not necessary to take creatine with your pre-workout concoction, but it’s worth noting this is an easy time to remember to do it. If you want to maximize growth, creatine needs to be a staple in your supplement regimen. It’s perhaps the most extensively studied sports nutrition supplement and has been shown time and time again to enhance muscle strength and muscle growth. Dose: 3-5 grams per day, pending on your body size.

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The Intra-Workout Period

You'll be expending significantly more energy during your leg day workout compared to any other. So similar to caffeine and meal-planning, this workout is worth a little extra attention when it comes to intra-workout nutrition. To ensure that you’re able to sustain the mental fortitude and energy necessary to complete such a workout, I recommend an intra-workout cocktail to help sustain energy levels, maintain optimal hydration, enhance nutrient delivery to your muscles, and to minimize muscle breakdown. A blend of protein or aminos, fluids, and electrolytes is essential to ensure that you’ll be equipped to survive this epic volume blast. To take it to the next level, consider adding some carbs. These don't have to be powdered, either. Just mix your favorite sports drink with whey protein or an amino acid supplement to reap benefits you can feel almost immediately.

The Post-Workout Period

The purpose of the post-workout meal is fairly straightforward: you need to choose enough of the right foods in a timely manner to replenish your glycogen (carbohydrate) stores, rebuild and repair damage muscle tissue, and rehydrate yourself so that you can be primed to hit the gym again tomorrow, and your next leg workout a few days later.

Timing: Your post-workout meal should be consumed within 60 minutes of finishing your last set. The sooner you consumer your post-workout meal, the greater the likelihood that the carbohydrates you consume head straight to your aching muscles. Similarly, the sooner you consume your meal, the quicker you help to flip the switch from a catabolic (muscle breakdown) to an anabolic (muscle growth) environment. Portions: Your post-workout meal should be as big, if not bigger, than your pre-workout meal. It should contain 30-40 percent of your daily carbohydrate intake and an adequate amount of protein to maximize muscle growth and repair. The time-honored dose is 25-35 grams of protein. However, recent research published in Physiological Reports suggests that the amount of protein necessary to maximize growth and repair may be elevated after a workout, which suggests up to 40 grams may be optimal in this instance.1 Type of Food: Your carbohydrates should be split between a 50-50 mixture of high-fiber, slow-digesting and low-fiber, fast-digesting carbohydrates. This combination will promote rapid glycogen replenishment, but also provide you enough fiber so that you’re not hungry an hour after eating. Your protein selection should come from a lean protein source and ultimately contain some form of both fast and slow-digesting proteins. For instance, a whey and casein protein blend work well, but so will a shake and then a chicken breast. This combination will provide an immediate positive impact on the muscle growth and repair processes but also help to create a sustained anabolic atmosphere for the hours to come.

Should I Cheat On Leg Day?

Having a cheat meal or scheduling a carbohydrate re-feed day on leg day are two common strategies used by fitness enthusiasts abound. And for good reason! No other workout in your split likely compares in terms of volume and intensity. For this reason, it’s likely you’re burning significantly more calories on leg-day compared to any other day of the week. It's also likely to be the workout that produces the greatest release of anabolic hormones in your workout, so why not give your muscles fuel to grow—and yourself a reward for your hard work? If there were one perfect day to cheat or enjoy a refeed day, this is it. Here’s what you need to know if you want to take either one of these approaches. Spread it out: First, don’t just have a single food you don’t often let yourself enjoy—say, a single little post-workout cheeseburger. Make a concerted effort to take in more calories than usual across the day. You'll need them to both fuel your workout and enhance recovery afterward. Bolster both your pre-workout and post-workout meals with these added calories to maximize their utility. Randomly having a cheat meal much earlier or later in the day is not going to have the same impact on your physique, recovery, or performance.

Have a shake first: I recommend finishing your workout with a whey protein shake to quickly flip the switch to an anabolic atmosphere, before the large volume of food you consume significantly slows down digestion. Then, an hour or so later, proceed to chow down on a large amount of food. Don't count: I do not recommend that you track calories or portions here. Eat until you're full! However, I do recommend you stay away from your local buffet if this will be a weekly or twice-weekly plan. Carb up: Furthermore, I encourage you to prioritize carbohydrates during this cheat meal or refeed as your body is highly receptive to them immediately after a workout. A high-fat meal will slow down digestion and potentially limit carbohydrate replenishment. Got those rules down? Now go earn that cheat meal the hard way: with one of the three brutal leg workouts in this feature!

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Main | Ron "Boss" Everline's Lower-Body Power Workout | Strong Legs, Big Legs | One Month To Bigger, Badder Legs | The Ultimate Guide To Building Next Level Nutrition

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Your Ultimate Training Guide To Mass And Strength Domination!

Do you want to improve your strength and get huge at the same time? Here's a training framework for the most productive workouts of your life.

A common goal of those new to bodybuilding is physical impressiveness in the form of huge slabs of muscle mass. As one continues training progressively, this goal tends to change. Aesthetics, shape, and condition become increasingly important as our physiques become larger and more muscular. But while pure bodybuilding has always, it is thought, been about: proportion, shape, and adequate muscle size. What first draws most to the gym is the prospect of becoming as large as humanly possible. If you suddenly require a new wardrobe, you sit in a regular-sized seat and it becomes less comfortable, and you regularly receive confirmation that you are "looking big, dude," then you know that pounding down excessive amounts of food and training all out is beginning to pay off big time. But is this a worthy initial goal for the bodybuilding aspirant? A long-running debate in bodybuilding circles has been; is bodybuilding about building the physique as large as possible or shaping it in line with the aesthetic ideals based upon proportionality and overall shape that were often adhered to during bodybuilding's earlier days (the '40s through to the late '70s)? While "bulking up" and "cutting down" were standard bodybuilding practices in the years leading up to comparatively sophisticated and increasingly cutting edge training methodologies beginning around the late '80s, the criteria for bodybuilding competition during this period and going even further back to the '40s was all about beauty and symmetry over extreme size. From the '90s to today, bodybuilding has more or less been a race to become huge. Those training purely for shape are as rare as those wanting to be mass monsters were back in '70s. Of course, it could also be argued that drugs, better training methods, and superior quality nutrition (including supplementation) have made getting larger easier. However, the end result is often the same regardless of what degree of the above is implemented; size over aesthetics. And this has encouraged more bodybuilders - from the beginning trainer to the advanced competitor - to train for mass, not shape. The result is often witnessed in those sporting muscle groups randomly slapped together into a shapeless mass. You have seen these guys. In clothing they look like football players, and during summer they struggle to hide their burgeoning waistlines. Bodybuilders with shape to accompany their size present a different look entirely; small waisted with the kind of proportionate development that creates an illusion of even greater size. Granted, bodybuilding is fundamentally about developing muscle size, but true bodybuilding requires combining this mass with proportionality, symmetry and conditioning. So how can we achieve the best of both worlds? For those new to bodybuilding, the goal should be to develop as much balanced muscle size as possible. For those already over-sized bodybuilders? Consider a switch to power lifting or strongman - or redesign your program and pay attention to detail on the finer points of muscle building. Everybody wants to be a bodybuilder, but nobody wants to lift no heavy ass weights To get large you must first get strong. But to become a well-proportioned bodybuilder this maxim comes with two important caveats. First, the exercises you use must fully target all muscle groups. Second, form and muscle stimulation must not be sacrificed for impressive poundages. Pro bodybuilding legend and the best ever to compete, Ronnie Coleman, said it best when he coined the ever so eloquent expression, "Everybody wants to be a bodybuilder but nobody wants to lift no heavy ass weights". What Ronnie might be implying here is that bodybuilders often want it all but are not willing to make the necessary sacrifices, and that their quest for huge muscles is often fruitless in light of the inadequately light weights they choose to lift. They are pumpers rather than lifters. Bottom line: men like Ronnie are huge primarily because of the huge weights they lift; their training intensity and brute strength is matched only by the impressiveness of their physical development. When a muscle is subjected to an unaccustomed overload - assuming proper form is followed - it has no choice but to grow. Genetic limitations aside, we are only restricted in our growth by the amount of weight we lift using good technique. While some people are naturally stronger than others, our muscular systems all respond in the same manner: through adaptation to stress. Once a muscle has adapted to a particular stressor (say 250 pounds on the bench press) it has no need to continue its fight to survive this imposed overload. It adapts and stops growing. However, by increasing the weight, changing the angle of resistance or some other training variable this muscle then has to change its physiological structure to overcome this new stressor. It has no choice but to get stronger and grow.

Caveat 1: Choose Your Weapons Wisely

To gain strength throughout the physique it is imperative that all muscle groups are trained to the fullest extent with a wide selection of exercises. As we are only as strong as our weakest link, it is the so-called smaller exercises that can help to strengthen us for the multi-joint compound movements that ultimately create real power and size gains. However, given the importance of exercise selection and training the individual muscles from all angles, many still encounter problems in choosing the right exercises to use. The key here is to pick several exercises for each body part that target the muscles as a whole and from different angles, but not to waste time and energy on those that are least effective toward both of these aims. Including exercises that are low on effectiveness and/or those that are potentially dangerous will not only waste time but also could compromise recovery abilities and interrupt progress. Below is a list of the most effective exercises and their corresponding muscle groupings. The so-called mass-builders are listed first given their primary role in building the bulk of a particular muscle. The best of the isolation movements are also included; these can be best used to target a specific part of each muscle and should not be underestimated in their ability to assist strength gains through building areas of a muscle that are responsible for supporting the execution of compound movements. For best results in size, strength, and balanced development, choose two mass builders and two isolation movements per body part for each training session (the exceptions being arms where given the smaller size of these muscles - and, as a result, the greater their need for recovery - two mass builders and one isolation movement are usually best).

Legs ///

Mass Building Compound Movements

Squats

Leg Presses

Front Squats

Stiff Legged Deadlifts

Standing Calf Raises

Isolation Movements

Dumbbell Lunges

Hack Squats

Leg Extensions

Leg Curls

Calf Press on Leg Press Machine

Chest ///

Mass Building Compound Movements

Barbell Bench Press

Dumbbell Bench Press

Incline Dumbbell Press

Dips With Feet Forward

Isolation Movements

Cable Crossovers

Flat Bench Flyes

Incline Flyes

Back ///

Mass Building Compound Movements

Deadlifts

Bent Over Barbell Rows

Chin-Ups

One-Arm Dumbbell Rows

Isolation Movements

Close Grip Pulldowns

Straight-Arm Pulldowns

Shoulders ///

Mass Building Compound Movements

Front Barbell (Military) Press

Dumbbell Press

Arnold Curls

Isolation Movements

Lateral Raises

Bent Lateral Raises

Front Raises

Hyperextensions

Triceps ///

Mass Building Compound Movements

Lying Triceps Extensions

Straight Bar Pushdowns

Bench Dips 

Isolation Movements

Dumbbell Kickbacks

One-Arm/Behind Head Dumbbell Extensions

Biceps And Forearms ///

Mass Building Compound Movements

Standing Barbell Curl

Incline Dumbbell Curl

Reverse Barbell Curl

Isolation Movements

Hammer Curls

One-Arm Preacher Curls

Concentration Curls

Caveat 2: Train With Perfect Form And Intensity

Though good for the ego and impressive to witness, hoisting massive weights can only really be of benefit to muscle building when this is done with strict form and high intensity. Using sloppy technique will do as much for the muscle building process as simply lifting a heavy weight from extension to contraction and expecting to generate the appropriate level of intensity needed to stimulate results. You wouldn't think this by witnessing the way many people train: with egos bent on impressing onlookers rather than an intelligently conceived manner tailored to work their muscles to exhaustion. Generating momentum by swinging the weights into a full contraction does not equate to muscular strength. The real way to get big and strong is not to target the heaviest weights possible; the best strategy involves choosing a weight with which you can feel the muscle working through its full range of motion.This way the actual muscle itself will become stronger and sufficiently stimulated so as to become larger and eventually more defined. There is no replacement for perfect form when seeking bodybuilding progress. Learn how to execute a movement properly and slowly and steadily increase your training weight while not sacrificing form as you progress. How many times have you seen misguided bodybuilding hopefuls bouncing the bar on their chests as they attempt to work their pecs on the bench press? Sure, they might hoist 300 pounds this way.

The only real results they can expect to produce are sore joints, potential muscle tears, and little in the way of pectoral development. By choosing a weight that is 30 percent lighter and slowly controlling the bar up and down - achieving a full stretch and contraction - true strength and muscle gains will be realized. Applied to all movements, this principal of form over maximal weights will pay big dividends when it comes to fully discovering your genetic muscle-building potential. It has been said that it is not what you can lift, but an appearance suggestive of being ultra-powerful (regardless of your actually strength) that really counts. And this is true, as it is indicative of people who know how to squeeze every ounce of effort from their muscles with weights that are not necessarily ego-boosting but, rather, sufficient for the task at hand. When you can combine the ability to properly work each muscle group with massive weights then it will be time to invest in a new wardrobe. The key to this will be keeping the tension on each muscle through a full range of motion throughout the entirety of each set, and finishing each set with a pumped feeling indicative of maximal blood flow to the tissues and a lingering soreness suggestive of the muscle micro-trauma needed to create the opportunity for extended growth. In relation to training intensity, there is another relevant bodybuilding expression, this one attributed to the massive Nasser El Sonbaty, "To gain massive muscles you cannot train hard and long." Applying maximal intensity over the long term is an oxymoron in so far as muscles can only generate sufficient intensity for a few sets before they can no longer work hard enough for size gaining purposes (the underlying precept of the HIT system). This is casting aside the obvious fact that intensity is relative depending on how severely the muscles are taxed at any given time during a workout. So, to adequately work the muscles and to force new growth, short and intense is the best strategy. Though, this is not to imply that we should restrict exercise selection and maximal muscular overload. Two to three sets of three (for smaller groupings such as biceps) to five (for larger groupings such as legs) exercises per muscle group are an effective way to ensure that muscle overload, high intensity, and balanced muscle development is achieved.

This Is The End ///

When we discover a ceiling on the amount of weight we can lift this usually signals an end to further size gains. Unless we can find new ways to impose greater stress to more thoroughly stimulate our muscles, bodybuilding usually becomes a permanent process of maintaining what we have built while making subtle refinements in quality and detail. Unless we up the dosage and engage in chemical warfare (which in itself presents its own plateau issues) there is little we can do to continue pursuing our size-building objectives. To get strong, you must be consciously aware of the amount of weight lifted from one workout to the next. Keeping a training diary in which workout weights, sets and reps are religiously noted is an excellent way to gauge progress. This old-school method that is still popular today requires continually aiming to improve from workout to workout through rigorous notation where all relevant training details are fully documented. Whether it is 500 grams on the barbell curl or an additional rep, the end result is always greater strength and concomitant muscle growth. When we have finally reached the peak of our strength efforts, various intensity techniques can be employed to perpetuate the growth cycle.

3 Of The Best ///

The three best intensity techniques to encourage strength gains are rest/pause, strip (or descending) sets, and supersets. The objective with each of these is to compound the amount of stress a muscle encounters in the course of regular training by combining and intensifying common training methods to create muscular failure at its most extreme and effective.

Rest Pause

Upon completing a set and reaching perceived muscular failure (the point at which the lifter feels another rep cannot be safely completed in good form), rest for several seconds before completing another rep, then rest a further few seconds before powering up a final repetition. This technique forces the extension of a set to allow a muscle to overtake its normal strength parameters. As a direct consequence, it thus becomes larger and stronger.

Descending Sets

An extension of rest/pause training, descending sets allow the continuation of a set through lowering that set's weight (usually twice) by a certain percentage to complete three sets of the same exercise back to back while trying to maintain the same number of repetitions for each set. For example, with bent over barbell rows, complete a set at a maximal weight that allows for 12 reps. Upon completion, lower the weight, strip 30 percent of this weight from the bar, and immediately complete another 12 reps. Again lower the weight, strip another 30 percent and complete a final 12 reps. A further extension to this method is "down the rack" training using dumbbells (a popular technique when training shoulders and biceps). Begin with the heaviest weight possible, complete a set of 12-to-15, then simply grab the next lightest pair of dumbbells and complete another. Continue in this fashion until you have either gone one end of the rack to the other, or have woken up in intensive care. Needless to say this method is not for the beginner.

Triple Drop Sets!

Supersets

One of oldest intensity techniques traditionally involves completing two consecutive sets to target both protagonist and antagonist muscle groups: biceps and triceps for example. To illustrate, complete a set of 12 reps of standing biceps curls before immediately churning out another 12 of triceps pushdowns. Both sets are classed as one supersets. To make the most of intensity techniques it is best that they be used to shock the muscles into growing in an almost random fashion so the muscles do not become accustomed to their inclusion. When a particular body part receives a signal that all combined stress - including maximal training weights, intensity sets and overall workload - is no longer a challenge to its adaptation abilities - that it is both familiar and predictable - it will stop growing. So the idea is to continue strengthening it through various shock techniques to force a continued state of adaptation. For example, for every fourth, sixth or eighth back workout we might complete 20 sets of deadlifts followed by 20 sets of bent over barbell rows (provided, of course, we have the physical capabilities to do so at that point). Another workout might feature 10 sets of barbell curls, each for three reps of our maximal training weight. 15 sets of partner-assisted bench presses (assisting with the lowering phase, while strict form is adhered to) for three to four reps of our one repetition maximum might be included in another training session.

Mixing Up Your Training ///

The key here is once we have exhausted our strength capabilities it is time to mix up our training to re-energize the muscular system. After a period of training in this fashion (periodic shock sets and intensity techniques) one will often find that overall strength has increased. Then the cycle can be repeated. The take home message here is that doing the same thing over and over will garner predictable results and training stagnation. Adopting new approaches to size building (and there are literally hundreds out there) will keep training intensity fresh and muscle adaptation occurring. Note: As a general rule focus your regular training emphasis on trying to get stronger from session to session by purely increasing the amount of weight lifted or number of repetitions completed and use intensity techniques and shock training sporadically to negate a training plateau (or the training stagnation that naturally occurs when the muscles begin to adapt). Too great an emphasis on these latter techniques and methods might lead to over training or, at the very least, create an environment where training stress supersedes the ability to recovery sufficiently.

Recovery ///

The most effective way to get strong and huge: do nothing To become stronger and larger, muscles need plenty of rest. In fact, stimulating them to grow in the gym with massive poundages and ferocious intensity - although clearly needed for bodybuilding progression - comes secondary to rest and recovery as far as building them larger is concerned. Those who train long and hard with little rest will remain small and lean, and few, if any, really pack on the mass. Then there are those who over train to the point where they actually regress and become ill. Their systems simply cannot handle this ongoing trauma (and weight training is traumatic). The only way their bodies can achieve adequate rest is through compromised immune function. Recovery - often long and frustrating - is then enforced as we battle an illness. To offset this scenario, it has been standard practice since bodybuilding first became popular to limit outside activities when aiming for the greatest possible gains in muscle mass. Eight hours or more of quality, uninterrupted sleep a night is also essential and probably the single most important aspect of bodybuilding progression. Sleep is when most of our protein synthesis occurs (where new proteins are made and muscles become larger and stronger), and when Growth Hormone secretion is at its highest (where all tissues of the body, including muscle, are encouraged to grow). For both mental and physical well being it is also good practice to sit and completely "switch off" 3-or-4 times per day. Rather than "power napping" where planned excursions to dreamland are taken throughout the day, "switching off" simply means placing your body into a state of relaxation for 5-to-10 minutes. During the "switch off" time, practice deep breathing and try to envisage your muscles growing (imagine the proteins you have eaten forcing the expansion of your muscle cells). This practice really works because of the suggestive power of the mind and its influence on healing the body. Inaction, it seems, is one of the best ways to activate muscle growth. So, if someone tells you to do absolutely nothing in response to your seeking ways to grow, view this as good advice to be well heeded.

Cardio ///

Probably the finest balancing act a bodybuilder will have to negotiate is the inclusion of cardio in their training regime. While excessive cardiovascular activity can seriously negate many hours of diligent bodybuilding training through the degrading of muscle tissue (all cardio can potentially negatively impact muscle gains, however negligible this impact may be), adequate aerobic work can produce beneficial results in recovery and lean muscle gains if structured properly. That cardio holds many major benefits for people who wish to build a lean physique is widely known and very few are those bodybuilders who avoid it completely. Cardio is immensely important for increasing the rate at which blood is pumped throughout the body to aid rverecoy and supply valuable nutrients for energy and building purposes. To burn body fat so as to avoid the obscuring of muscle tissue, a degree of sustained aerobic training (30 minutes or longer) is needed for most of us. To improve overall health and establish the conditions to support the anabolic environment needed for muscle to grow faster, cardio plays an important role. Determining exactly how much cardio you should include in your program is largely an individual concern, and the only true way of precisely knowing how much is too much is through trial and error. For most, cardio can consist of three 45 minutes sessions per week first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. After several weeks on this plan, assess your progress to determine whether your lean muscle has increased and body fat has declined. If so, continue with this scheduling or increase cardio by one 45-minute session per week for further gains. Those with ectomorphic tendencies - the so-called hard gainers who have to fight for every ounce of muscle - can probably get by on as little as one to two cardio sessions per week. But, again, these people must monitor their progress to see if more or less is needed over the long term. The endomorphic among us - those with a greater predisposition for being overweight and displaying a rounder body shape - will probably need to complete three 45-minute sessions per week minimum.

Conclusion

This article has emphasized that to get big, you must first get strong. But this is not as simple a proposition as it first sounds. Size will not automatically follow strength if training is not geared toward maximizing intensity and technique and does not allow for the right sequencing of exercises and sufficient recovery. To extract the most from every workout, to fully engage the muscles while constantly working to get stronger, to attack your physique from multiple angles with an assortment of effective training strategies: these are factors that will help force muscle gains. Under normal conditions and even after an extended period of training a certain way, the body remains or becomes resistant to growth. The specialized metabolic requirements needed to ensure that your body functions day to day, that the physiological processes of breathing, digestion, excretion, and cellular repair continue are its primary concern. The growth of muscle tissue at a consistent, abnormal rate is irrelevant as to the survival of the species. Huge biceps and ripped quads are no more important to general daily human survival than the intellectual capacity of a genius is to a three-toed South American sloth whose primary function is to eat, sleep and fornicate. The body simply has no need for huge, cut and striated muscles. Massive muscles are as much a drain on energy reserves as they are impractical for almost all daily activities and requirements. So to build them, you must trick the body into changing in line with a perceived ongoing need for adaptation. Using the strategies outlined in this article will show you how to do just that.

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