Hugo Rivera New Site » Bodybuilding for Hardgainers

The Worst Thing You Can Do To Ruin Long Term Muscle Growth

admin — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 20:11:15 +0000

The Worst Thing You Can Do To Ruin Long Term Muscle Growth

Since the main subject of this week has been gaining muscle, here is an article that I just got from pro fitness model and natural bodybuilder Vince Delmonte on the subject of traditional bulking. This is really a GREAT article and everyone that is interested in gaining muscle needs to take a look at it.

10 Ways Bulking Can Ruin Long Term Muscle Growth
By Vince Del Monte and 21 Day Fast Mass Building System

In the days of the legendary bodybuilders like Arnold and Franco,
bulking up in the off-season and then cutting up was considered
gospel. Aside from the obvious health concerns linked to packing on
lard, extreme bulking is an inferior approach to trying to achieve
your best body. Here are ten reasons why you can RUIN your long
term muscle gains through extreme bulking:

Reason #1: You can not force muscle growth. Putting back 7,000
calories is not better than just taking 4,000 calories if that’s
what your body needs to grow. It’s not what you put in your mouth
that counts, it’s what gets digested and absorbed.

Reason #2: Extreme bulking leads to insulin-resistance, which makes
it harder to gain muscle down the road. Insulin-resistance results
in carbs going primarily to fat stores, not muscle tissue.

Reason #3: You’ll be forced to diet down harder, which can result
in losing the muscle you gained during the bulk up! That’s called 1
step forward, 1 step back. (Note from Hugo: More like 2-3 steps back
since extreme bulking will increase the number of fat cells in your body
which makes it harder to get lean and much easier to get fat!)

Reason #4: That fatter you get, the harder it becomes to get lean
because insulin resistance is hard to reverse. Ask anyone who
bulked up excessively if they had a pleasant time traveling back
down to low body-fat levels!

Reason #5: The primary metric for measuring success while bulking
up is gaining weight on the scale. Increased scale weight
does not mean increased muscle gain. (Note from Hugo: scale weight
includes water weight gain and fat as well)

Reason #6: Getting fat, intentionally or carelessly, results in
decreased thyroid production – not ideal, because thyroid is
critical for fat loss. (Note from Hugo: the less thyroid hormone, the
less calories your body burns on a daily basis, and thus, the easier it
is to gain fat)

Reason #7: Calories are not created equal. Calories from quinoa
and bison are great for adding muscle; calories from nachos and
beer are not. Bulking up with unhealthy calories can lead to high
blood pressure, diabetes, excess inflammation and cardiovascular
diseases.

Reason #8: The leaner you are, the easier it is to gain quality
muscle because your body becomes more efficient at nutrient
partitioning. This means when you eat, your body transfers the
nutrients to the muscle (as muscle tissue or glycogen) or in the
liver (as glycogen) and less gets transferred to your abdominal
wall!

Reason #9: The more time you spend bulking up, the more time you
spend cutting which means less time you have to gain muscle!

Reason #10: The biggest reason is that extreme bulking can lead to
fat cell hyperplasia. Essentially, when you overeat for a
prolonged period of time, your body increases its number of fat
cells. Sadly, you can not remove fat cells without surgery so by
adding new fat cells your body you’re actually making it more
efficient for gaining fat and worse at losing it! Bulking up and
then cutting down a few times in your life is forgiving, but
attempting to bulk up and cut down every year is a sure-fire way to
ruin your physique!

If you are looking to gain muscle mass without gaining fat and want to
try Cyclical Bulking, check out the 21 Day Fast Mass Building System.

To help you kick off the New Year, you can get the system at 1/2 price
($50) but this 1/2 price SALE ENDS SUNDAY AT MIDNIGHT. PRICE
GOES UP AFTER MIDNIGHT.

If interested, check out the system below:
=> Check out the 21 Day Fast Mass Building System

—- End of Article from Vince —-

I hope that you enjoyed the article above and that you don’t commit the same mistake that many of us made before just because we did not know any better. Luckily we now live in the information era and thus we can empower ourselves with KNOWLEDGE!

And in case you missed it, here are my thoughts on Cyclical Bulking.

If you enjoyed this article please click on the Facebook LIKE button, Twitter button and Google +1 button to share with your friends.

Until next time, take care and train hard!

Natural Bodybuilding FAQ on The “Anabolic Amplifier” Program

admin — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 19:43:28 +0000

Natural Bodybuilding FAQ on The “Anabolic Amplifier” Program

Since a lot of you have been really interested by the email that I recently sent talking about bulking up without fat gain, and have asked me about the “Anabolic Amplifier” program mentioned on the e-reports I shared with you, I decided to answer in this article all of the questions I have gotten regarding the Anabolic Amplifier Program. Thus, here I will summarize all of the questions I got as best as I can.

What Do You Think of the Program?

I think that this is a great program that shows you how 2 natural bodybuilding competitors and authors successfully implemented the principles of mini bulk/trim down cycles in order to gain tons of lean body mass in a short period of time.

The program is sound and comes with the exact training and diet plans that the authors used. One thing that I really like is the fact that they individualize the training programs based on the goals that you have.

There are three specific workout programs that you can follow based on the type of body you’d like to build:

a- The Fitness Model Physique Workout

b- The Muscle Model Physique Workout

c- The Hardcore Bodybuilder Physique Workout

The workouts are short and intense and will give your body new stimulus for growth.

They also individualize the diets based on the amount of body fat that you are carrying and your body type as well, something that I am a huge believer on!

Thus, you have different recommendations for:

a-Ectomorphs (The naturally skinny body type that needs to gain muscular bodyweight).

b-Endomorph (The naturally overweight body type that needs to lose bodyfat, while increasing muscle mass…the guy like me J).

c-Mesomorph (The more genetically blessed guy that gains muscle and loses body fat quickly! The lucky ones!).

The nutrition recommendations are exact and you will not exactly how many carbs, proteins and fats to consume based on your specific body weight. Like myself on the Body Re-Engineering program, recommendations are made for bodyweights ranging from 100lbs – 300lbs. Great useful stuff!

I Read About How This Program Can Make You Gain Up to 12lbs of Muscle In 21 Days…Sorry Man But Isn’t That Just Plain B.S.?

Muscle growth happens in two ways:

1-Muscle Volumization caused by increased water levels and glycogen levels inside the muscle fiber cell. This type of muscle growth happens quickly!

2-Muscle Fiber increase via increased protein content. This type of muscle growth happens much slower than the first one.

I read the text of the claims that Lee and Vince make and what they are really talking about is lean body mass. Keep in mind that lean body mass does not only consist of muscle fiber weight, but of the glycogen and water weight inside of that fiber as well. Because glycogen and water are important components of the muscle fiber, by increasing these two substances inside it dramatically your muscle cell will go up in size and so will your weight. Thus, when they talk about “up to 12-lbs” consider that to be the combined weight of the muscle fiber, the glycogen and the water inside the muscle as well. (Note: By the way, intra-cellular water retention is one of the ways in which creatine imparts its effects.)

At any rate, using mini cycles of bulk up/fat loss periods will maximize the muscle cell ability to super hydrate itself and that is why you will see the big fluctuations in fat free weight. Over time, your muscle fiber protein content will also increase, making for a permanently bigger muscle fiber (and one that can hold more glycogen and water inside it). This is especially true when you do a bodybuilding contest. After a contest, your body is in such an anabolic state once you start to eat that you can easily gain 10-15 lbs of fat free mass in a day! I remember that right after the USA’s I was up from 165-lbs to 180lbs in less than 48 hrs….and this was fat free weight brought upon by clean eating and a significant calorie raise!

Have You Used This Program Before?

As I stated in my Bulking Up article I have used my own version of the program. I can tell you however that this is a really good implementation as well and I will be using the routines laid out sometime in the near future when I decide to do mini bulk/trim down cycles.

Does The Body Get Used to This Program?

The body gets used to any program and that is the reason that we need to keep introducing variation in both the training and diet programs in order to keep progressing. And the more advanced one is, the more we need to vary the program. I recommend that you follow this type of program for 6 weeks and then change to another program such as Body Re-Engineering or MI-40.

Hugo, I’m a big fan. I have your Body Re-Engineering program, your Body Sculpting program and last month I also got MI-40. Got great results from all of these programs so thank you! How would you go about using all of these workouts throughout the year? How do you do it?

Great question and thanks for the feedback!

The key to continuous progress is periodization, which as you know is the orderly change of the training via strategic changes in the workout variables of sets, repetitions, rest in between sets, and exercises used that will produce the best gains in muscle mass and strength.

Through the use of periodization, not only you keep your body guessing (and thus changing), but you also maximize your training efforts by priming your body for muscle growth, then taxing the body to the point that it is on the brink of overtraining, and finally cutting back on the training volume in order to allow the body to recover and grow.

There are many ways of applying periodization. Body Re-Engineering (BRE), The 14-Day Body Sculpting Program (14-BSP), MI-40, and “The Anabolic Amplifier Program” are all forms of periodized programs that can be combined with great success!

Every year I change the way that I combine things but here is a good way to combine things:

I will start with the Anabolic Amplifier Program as that is what you are contemplating on using.

6 weeks – Anabolic Amplifier Program

1 week- Active Recovery Phase from BRE

3 weeks Loading Phase from BRE

3 weeks Growth Phase from BRE

1 week- Active Recovery Phase from BRE

6 weeks 14-BSP

1 week- Active Recovery Phase from BRE

40 days of MI-40

1 week- Active Recovery Phase from BRE

Repeat

When you repeat the strategy you can use a different set of BRE workouts and 14-BSP workouts in order to introduce more variety into the program.

Following the strategy above gives you almost a year worth of workouts!

Will This Program Work for Women?

Absolutely. This program works as well on women as it does for men.

I hope that this answers most of your questions. If you are interested in this program you can check it out here

=> Anabolic Amplifier Program: 21 Day Fast Mass Muscle Building

Do You Need to Gain Excessive Weight To Gain Muscle?

admin — Fri, 20 May 2011 15:05:12 +0000

Natural Bodybuilding Q&A – Do You Need to Gain Excessive Weight To Gain Muscle?

The other day I got a natural bodybuilding question regarding whether is it necessary or not to gain excessive weight in order to gain muscle. Because I get this question asked pretty often, I decided to write about it. Here is the question below:

Natural Bodybuilding Q&A – Do You Need to Gain Excessive Weight To Gain Muscle?

Question: I’ve been hearing about how some bodybuilders really bulk up in the off-season eating whatever they want, to the point that they even get fat, in order to make the best muscle gains. Even though I am not looking to compete, I wonder if it is best to stay lean or to bulk up dramatically in order to make the best bodybuilding gains in terms of size?

Answer: In my opinion, there is no reason to treat the off-season as a no diet period. To me, this is not bodybuilding as bodybuilding is a lifestyle of consistent proper eating, training, cardiovascular exercise and rest. So whether you compete or not, one should always be on top of all these variables. I am not saying never ever have a small cheat meal, but you must always exercise self control and common sense.

As far as whether it is best to stay lean or to bulk up dramatically in order to make the best bodybuilding gains in terms of size, staying lean is the way to go.

By consistently staying at 10% body fat or slightly under, you will not only grow better, but your muscle maturity will increase over time tremendously. There is a chemical reason for this. At above 10% body fat your estrogen levels begin to increase and the more body fat you accumulate the more estrogen you will have. Therefore, now the extra calories required to gain muscle have a higher probability of getting stored as fat.

However, between 6-10% your testosterone levels are pretty optimized. As a result, you grow better because the extra calories can be better utilized to gain muscle. In addition, your skin always stays thin and close to the muscle which over time provides for better hardness and muscularity. Also, the problem of loose skin due to loss of elasticity caused by getting fat and then trimming down is no longer an issue.

I believe one should always stay between 6-10% body fat. Bulk up phases should be “clean bulks” as I call them where one eats a slightly higher amount of calories to support muscle growth. Once 10% body fat is reached, then one should go on a fat burning phase and get back down to 6 or 7%. Going up and down in this manner systematically will give you better muscle and much better definition over time.

By the way, for those bodybuilders who do compete, I have tested this principle over and over again in athletes that I have trained for competition and it never fails to yield results. And the beauty of it is that I find athletes year after year just getting better and showing up bigger and more defined show after show.

If you find the information of this website useful, please feel free to check out any of my best selling natural bodybuilding and fitness publications here.

Also, don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube page at:

www.youtube.com/hugoriverafitness

and to CLICK LIKE on my:

Hugo Rivera Best Selling Fitness Author Fan Page.

Gain New Muscle Weight Using the 5 Sets of 5 Reps Natural Bodybuilding Workout

admin — Tue, 18 May 2010 22:01:47 +0000

In this article you will learn how to you can make new gains in muscle mass using the 5 sets of 5 reps natural bodybuilding workout.

The first plateau breaking method that I introduced in this site was my favorite 10 sets of 10 reps natural bodybuilding workout. However, like all natural bodybuilding workouts, if used for too long the body adapts and then bodybuilding progress comes to a screeching halt. Today, I want to discuss another popular method for breaking plateaus called the 5 Sets of 5 Reps Method. This method has also been used in bodybuilding circles for years for the purposes of breaking through plateaus and accumulating new lean muscle mass. The inventor of this method, according to what I have read from various sources, was no other than former Mr. Universe Reg Park who was Arnold Schwarzenegger’s bodybuilding idol and inspiration. Reg used this method quite successfully back in the fifties and sixties.

The way that the 5 sets of 5 reps natural bodybuilding workout works is by improving the connection between the central nervous system and the muscles.

In order for muscles to contract the brain has to send them a signal to do so. For this signal to reach the muscles, it has to travel through the central nervous system. When you train with heavy loads that only allow you to perform around 5 repetitions, for instance, you are training the body to become more efficient at recruiting more muscle fibers in order to move the weight. This is what is called improving your neural connections and this is the way in which strength increases. The perfect time to implement this method of training is following a high volume phase like the 10 sets of 10 reps. Why is it important to train for strength after a high volume phase? Because this sort of training offers the following benefits:

1. The testosterone levels go through the roof in response to the longer rest in between sets and the heavier weights.

2. Hypertrophy (muscle growth) occurs by the body increasing the actual diameter of the myofiber (the muscle fiber size) through increased protein synthesis. In other words, the actual protein content of the cell increases as well as the thickness of the muscle filaments. However, in this phase, strength gains come first and hypertrophy later.

3. Since your body’s recuperation abilities were built up to the maximum by the previous phase and the volume has gone down dramatically, these extra recuperation abilities are used to increase strength and build more muscle mass. The reason the body does this is in order to be prepared for another stressful period like the one it just went through.

Not unlike the 10×10 natural bodybuilding workout, the goal of the 5×5 routine involves doing 5 sets of 5 reps, using the same weight. At first, you won’t be able to do 5 repetitions for all 5 sets but once you do, then it is time to increase the weight. The perfect weight to select is one that allows you to perform 5 reps for the first set and perhaps even the second. The third, fourth and fifth you may fall back to 4 reps and on the last one perhaps all you can do is 3 reps.

Is there a need for more exercises once you do the one for 5 sets of 5? I like to do an additional exercise using the 5×5 method to ensure that the muscle has been stimulated from a couple of different angles.

Now let’s take a look at my recommended 5 sets of 5 reps program.

Day 1 Chest & Back (Monday/Thursday)

Modified Compound Triset #1:
(Rest 60 seconds after the 1st set of exercise 1 and then do the first set of exercise 2. Then rest 60 seconds and go to exercise #3. After 60 seconds of more rest start again with exercise #1. Continue this pattern until all three exercises are done for the prescribed amount of sets. That way you rest 3 minutes in between sets of the same exercise but save time).

Incline Bench Press 5 sets x 5 reps (60 second rest)
Wide Grip Pull-up To Front (Palms facing you) 5 sets x 5 reps (60 second rest)
Weighted Rope Crunches 5 sets x 5 reps (60 second rest)

Modified Compound Triset #2:
Chest Dips 5 sets x 5 reps (60 second rest)
One Arm Dumbbell Rows 5 sets x 5 reps (60 second rest)
Lying Leg Raises (with small weight in between feet) 5 sets x 5 reps (60 second rest)

Day 2 Shoulders & Arms (Tuesday/Friday)

Modified Compound Triset #1:
Upright Rows 5 sets x 5 reps (60 second rest)
Close Grip Bench Press 5 sets x 5 reps (60 second rest)
Preacher Curls 5 sets x 5 reps (90 second rest)

Modified Compound Triset #2:
Rear Delt Rows 5 sets x 5 reps (60 second rest)
Triceps Pushdowns 5 sets x 5 reps (60 second rest)
Incline Hammer Curls 5 sets x 5 reps (60 second rest)

Day 3 Legs (Wednesday/Saturday)

Modified Compound Triset #1:
Squats (alternate one set medium and next set wide stance) 5 sets x 5 reps (60 second rest)
Lying Leg Curls 5 sets x 5 reps (60 second rest)
Calf Raises 5 sets x 5 reps (60 second rest)

Modified Compound Triset #2:
Leg Press 5 sets x 5 reps (60 second rest)
Stiff Legged Deadlifts 5 sets x 5 reps (60 second rest)
Calf Press 5 sets x 5 reps (60 second rest)

The longest these routines will take you is 60 minutes if you keep to the prescribed rest periods.

Bodybuilding Diet Advice
In order to benefit most from this routine, remember that you have to nourish yourself! Weight training provides the spark for muscle growth while food provides the raw materials required for making bodybuilding gains. For more information on which type of diet to follow, please take a look at my Bulking Up Rules for the Natural Bodybuilder article.

Bodybuilding Supplements
A good supplementation program is imperative in order to recover and make the best possible gains from such a demanding bodybuilding program. Please take a look at my Bodybuilding Supplementation Basics article, my Creatine Monohydrate Basics article, and my Preserve Lean Mass With Glutamine article.

Word on Rest and Recovery
Don’t forget that muscles grow when you rest, not while you are at the gym. Therefore, make sure that you get your 8 hours of sleep or at the very least 7 hours each night and make up any lost sleep over the weekends. Not meeting your sleep requirements on a consistent basis leads to sleep deprivation, a condition which besides creating constantly low energy levels, promotes a hormonal environment that increases the muscle destroying (and fat depositing) hormone cortisol and lowers your muscle producing hormone testosterone. For more information on how much sleep you require, how to determine if you are sleep deprived, what steps to take in order to ensure a good night’s sleep, and finally, the maladies caused by sleep deprivation, take a look at the articles below.

The Sleep Cycle
Learn what the four phases of the sleep cycle are and how much on the average you should be sleeping each night for maximum results.

4 Guidelines To Ensuring A Good Night Sleep
Learn 4 guidelines that you can follow to ensure a good night sleep.

8 Maladies Caused By Sleep Deprivation
Learn what the top 8 maladies caused by sleep deprivation are.

Conclusion
Well, here you have a great companion to the 10 sets of 10 reps bodybuilding workout or any other high volume program that you have been following. If you are ready to change your high volume workout routine for a lower volume one, give this program a try and provided that your nutrition, supplementation and rest are in order, then it will not fail to give you the bodybuilding gains that you are looking for.

Teen Natural Bodybuilding Workout and Diet for Gaining Muscle Quickly and Steadily

admin — Sat, 15 May 2010 21:14:52 +0000

In this article I talk about what natural bodybuilding workouts and diets teenagers can do to gain muscle quickly and steadily.

This week I answered the following natural bodybuilding question from a teen bodybuilder:

I’m 13, going on 14, and I have not been able to gain steady muscle on my biceps, and my chest, but some cardio and lots of crunches have given me some abs. I try to bench press (bench 70 for 130 body weight) and do a lot of barbell curls, but I’m not seeing any steady muscle gain.
I’m 5’7″ weighing 135-lbs.

Natural Bodybuilding Answer:

At your age that is when muscle gains happen the quickest since your body’s hormonal production (testosterone and GH) is at its highest. All you need now is a good natural bodybuilding program to stimulate muscle growth on your whole body (not only your chest and bis) and a good diet that will fuel the growth.

NATURAL BODYBUILDING MUSCLE GAIN WORKOUT FOR TEENS

Natural Bodybuilding Workout Notes:

* Workout Frequency: You can do this workout 3 days on followed by one day off as I did during my teen years. If you need more time to recover from your workouts, you can train 2 days on and 1 day off picking up the next workout in the sequence on the following training day. Hardgainers do best by training Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday with weekends off.

* Use Perfect Form: Make sure that you use perfect form on all exercises for maximum stimulation and injury prevention. Never sacrifice form in order to add more weight.

* Cardio: 15-20 minutes after workouts. My favorite is the elliptical rider.

* Keep It Fast Paced: Rest 60 seconds in between sets.

Workout (A): Chest/Biceps/Triceps

Chest
Incline Bench Press (alternate with Incline Dumbbell Press every other workout) 4 sets of 12, 10, 8, 8 reps
Flat Dumbbell Press (Chest Dips every other workout) 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Incline Flyes 3 sets of 12-15 reps (alternate with Flat Flyes every other workout)

Biceps
Concentration Curls (alternate with Preacher Curls) 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Incline Curls (alternate with Incline Hammer Curls) 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Hammer Curls (alternate with High Pulley Curls) 3 sets of 12-15 reps

Triceps
Triceps Dips on Parallel Bars (alternate with Close Grip Bench Press every other workout) 4 sets of 12, 10, 8, 8 reps
Straight Bar Triceps Pushdowns (alternate with Overhead Dumbbell Triceps Extensions every other workout) 4 sets of 10-12 reps

Workout (B): Thighs/Hamstrings/Abs

Quads
Squats (alternate with Wide Stance Squats) 4 sets of 12, 10, 8, 8 reps
Leg Press (alternate with Hack Squats) 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Leg Extensions (alternate with One Legged Leg Extensions) 3 sets of 12-15 reps

Hamstrings
Standing Leg Curls (alternate with Lying Leg Curls w/ Toes Out) 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Lying Leg Curls w/ Toes In (alternate with Seated Leg Curls) 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Lunges (alternate with Step Ups) 3 sets of 12-15 reps
(Note: Press with your heels on lunges and step ups)

Abs
Hanging Leg Raises (alternate with Knee-Ins) 4 sets of 10-15 reps
Crunches on Exercise Ball (alternate with Bicycle Crunches) 4 sets of 10-15 reps

Workout (C): Back/Shoulders/Calves

Back
Wide Grip Pull-ups to Front (alternate with Wide Grip Pull-ups to Back) 4 sets of 8-12 reps
(Note: Use Pull-up assist machine if unable to do without help)
Reverse Close Grip Chin-ups (alternate with T-Bar Rows) 3 sets of 10-12 reps
(Note: Use Pull-up assist machine if unable to do without help)
Low Pulley Rows (alternate with One Arm Rows every other workout) 3 sets of 12-15 reps

Shoulders
Dumbbell Shoulder Press (alternate with Upright Rows every other workout) 3 sets of 12, 10, 8 reps
Lateral Raises (alternate with Military Press every other workout) 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Bent Over Laterals (alternate with Rear Delt Machine) 3 sets of 12-15 reps

Calves
Standing Calf Raises (alternate with Calf Press) 4 sets of 8-10 reps
Seated Calf Raises with Toes In (alternate with Seated Calf Raises with Toes Out) 4 sets of 15-20 reps

MUSCLE GAIN NATURAL BODYBUILDING TEEN DIET

Eat every 2-3 hours in order to keep yourself anabolic.

Meal One
1-1/2 cup of dry oats mixed with water
(Morning before school)
1 banana
10 egg whites

Supplements: Multiple Vitamins/Minerals, Vitamin C (1000mg)

Meal Two
(9-9:30 between classes)
2 scoops of Labrada’s Lean Body Mass 60 Protein Blend, with 16 oz of skim milk (this is a GREAT weight gainer). If not then you can do a protein bar as well.
1 TBSP Flax Oil
1 banana, apple, or orange (optional)

Meal Three
(11:30-12:30 Lunch)
1-1/2 cup of bown rice or medium sized baked potato, or sweet potato
2 cups of green beans, broccoli or any other desired vegetable
6-8 oz of chicken, turkey, or lean fish
Supplements: Vitamin C (1000mg)

Meal Four
(3pm)
2 scoops of Labrada’s Lean Body Mass 60 Protein Blend, with 16 oz of skim milk (this is a GREAT weight gainer). If not then you can do a protein bar as well.
1 TBSP Flax Oil
1 banana, apple, or orange (optional)

Meal Five
(around 6pm)

1-1/2 cup of brown rice or medium sized baked potato, or sweet potato
2 cups of green beans, broccoli or any other desired vegetable
6-8 oz of chicken, turkey, or lean fish
Supplements: Vitamin C (1000mg)

Meal Six
(around 9pm)
2 scoops of Labrada’s Lean Body Mass 60 Protein Blend, with 16 oz of skim milk (this is a GREAT weight gainer). If not then you can do a protein bar as well.
1 TBSP Flax Oil
1 banana, apple, or orange (optional)

Water Intake: Drink your body weight x .66 in oz of water, spread throughout the day. Your body is mostly composed of water so if you do not drink your daily requirement you may be jeopardizing your muscle gains and also not letting your body get rid of toxins and waste produced by all of the physical activity efficiently.

REST
Also remember to get 8 hours of sleep since your body recovers and grows at night.

Best of luck with your training!

Sample Bodybuilding Weight Gain/Bulking Up Diets For Hardgainers

admin — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 22:01:21 +0000

Sample Bodybuilding Diet For Males With A Fast Metabolism (Hardgainer)

Meal 1 (First thing in the morning)
1-1/2 cups of dry oats mixed with water
1 banana
10 egg whites
Supplements: Multiple Vitamins/Minerals, Vitamin C (1000 mg)

Meal 2 (Between 9-9:30am as you change classes)
Lean Body Mass 60 (2 scoops) mixed with 16 ounces of skim milk and 1 Tablespoon of Flax Oil
1 Piece of Fruit (Optional)

Meal 3 (12 Noon)
1-1/2 cup of brown rice, or medium sized baked potato, or sweet potato
2 cups of green beans, broccoli or any other desired vegetable
6-8 ounces of chicken, turkey, or lean fish
Supplements: Vitamin C (1000 mg)

Meal 4 (3 PM)
Lean Body Mass 60 (2 scoops) mixed with 16 ounces of skim milk and 1 Tablespoon of Flax Oil
1 Piece of Fruit (Optional)

Meal 5 (6:00 PM)
1-1/2 cup of brown rice, or medium sized baked potato, or sweet potato
2 cups of green beans, broccoli or any other desired vegetable
6-8 ounces of chicken, turkey, or lean fish
Supplements: Vitamin C (1000 mg)

Meal 6 (9:00 PM)
Lean Body Mass 60 (2 scoops) mixed with 16 ounces of skim milk and 1 Tablespoon of Flax Oil
1 Piece of Fruit (Optional)

Water Intake: Drink your bodyweight x 0.66 in ounces of water throughout the day. Your body is mostly composed of water so if you do not drink your daily requirement you may be jeopardizing your muscle gains and also not letting your body get rid of the toxins and waste produced by all of the physical activity efficiently.

Sample Bodybuilding Diet For Females With A Fast Metabolism (Hardgainer)

Meal 1 (First thing in the morning)
1 cups of dry oats mixed with water
1 banana
5 egg whites
Supplements: Multiple Vitamins/Minerals, Vitamin C (1000 mg)

Meal 2 (10 AM)
Lean Body Mass 60 (1 scoops) mixed with 8 ounces of skim milk and 1/2 Tablespoon of Flax Oil
1 Piece of Fruit (Optional)

Meal 3 (12 Noon)
1 cup of brown rice, or medium sized baked potato, or sweet potato
1-2 cups of green beans, broccoli or any other desired vegetable
3-4 ounces of chicken, turkey, or lean fish
Supplements: Vitamin C (1000 mg)

Meal 4 (3 PM)
Lean Body Mass 60 (1 scoops) mixed with 8 ounces of skim milk and 1/2 Tablespoon of Flax Oil
1 Piece of Fruit (Optional)

Meal 5 (6:00 PM)
1 cup of brown rice, or medium sized baked potato, or sweet potato
1-2 cups of green beans, broccoli or any other desired vegetable
3-4 ounces of chicken, turkey, or lean fish
Supplements: Vitamin C (1000 mg)

Meal 6 (9:00 PM)
Lean Body Mass 60 (1 scoops) mixed with 8 ounces of skim milk and 1/2 Tablespoon of Flax Oil
1 Piece of Fruit (Optional)

Hardgainer – How To Determine If You Are a Hardgainer

admin — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 16:38:11 +0000

Definition of a Hardgainer

The popular definition of a hardgainer is a person that works out hard with weights but has a hard time putting on muscle. Six weeks of working out can go by and no significant changes in muscle size are noted other than perhaps a bit of an increase in muscle tone. According to this popular definition of a hardgainer, all of us are “hardgainers” because for the most part, putting on muscle is not an easy endeavor. The easiest period to gain muscle is during puberty. After that, gaining muscle becomes progressively harder as we age due to the fact that hormonal production starts declining between the ages of 25 and 30.

Ectomorph Somatypes

My definition of a hardgainer is the naturally skinny person, who no matter what he or she eats, always seem to remain the same body weight. This is what Dr. William H. Sheldon referred to as an “ectomorph” somatotype when he came up with the theory sometime in the 1940’s. Sheldon’s theory states that human bodies are divided into three main somatotypes; the ectomorph, the endomorph and the mesomorph. In a nutshell, the ectomorph is the naturally skinny person who has trouble gaining weight, whether in the form of muscle or fat. The endomorph on the other hand has the opposite problem, it is too easy for a person with this body type to gain weight. While endomorphs are easy muscle gainers, provided they diet and train correctly, they are cursed with a slow metabolism, which makes it imperative that they be strict with their diet year round if they wish to have any abdominal definition. The mesomorph, however, is the naturally muscular person, who also has a higher metabolism than the endomorph. Mesomorphs make excellent bodybuilders and for them, gains in muscle and reduction in body fat come rather easily provided they maintain a great training and nutrition program; life is not fair.

So You Have Determined That You Are A Hardgainer – Now what?!

Now, having said this, is a hardgainer doomed to stay looking the same way forever? Not at all. Basically, all the hardgainer has to do is modify the training and nutrition program to suit his/her unique metabolism. While most people will do best on a diet consisting of 40% carbohydrates, 40% proteins and 20% fats, the hardgainer will benefit most from a diet consisting of 50% carbs, 25 % proteins and 25% good fats. While the typical person will do best on a caloric intake that equals their lean body mass times 12, the hardgainer is better served by taking in as much as 24 calories per pound of total bodyweight (as opposed to lean body mass). Therefore, if you are a hardgainer and weigh 150 lbs, your caloric intake will be 3600 calories (150 x 24). Your total amounts of carbohydrates per day will be in the order of 450 grams of carbs, your protein will be 225 grams and your fats will be 100 grams of good fats per day. You can take all of this in 6, 7 or even 8 meals. The key thing for a hardgainer to be successful is to minimize their caloric expenditures and maximize their caloric intake. This is necessary as the hardgainer metabolism is a furnace that burns calories at all times and if not enough are supplied at one time or the other, then muscle will be consumed by the body for energy purposes. After all, this metabolic issue is what makes a person a hardgainer.

Hardgainer Training

Three to four sessions per week of periodized weight training, lasting for 60 minutes at the most, is all a hardgainer can get away with. Cardiovascular exercise should be limited to a couple of light walks on the days off lasting no more than 20 minutes. Remember that the hardgainer needs to limit caloric expenditure. Because of this, he/she needs to get in the gym, stimulate the muscle and get out.

The Benefit of Being a Hardgainer

If you are a hardgainer that does not mean it’s the end of the world. Many determined hardgainers that have achieved their bodybuilding goals (and even won competitions) through a ton of determination and very hard work. The beauty of hardgainers is the fact that it is very hard for them to gain body fat, so therefore, any muscle gains that they make are highly visible due to the amount of muscle definition that the hardgainer has.

If you are a hardgainer, plan your meals ahead of time, pack them in a cooler and ensure that you never run out of food. When in the gym, get in, and get out. At night, get plenty of rest, and if you follow all of this day in and day out, then get ready to grow!

Hardgainer's Bodybuilding Training

admin — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 16:27:20 +0000

Mass Building Training Principles For Hardgainers

There are many mass building training principles that hardgainers need to follow in order to get results from their bodybuilding training routines. Because of the hardgainer’s fast metabolic rate, not all bodybuilding routines are suitable for this type.

Hardgainers’ Training Principles

Sessions should be short: 60 minutes maximum. The maximum amount of time a weight training session should last is 60 minutes. After 60 minutes the levels of muscle building hormones like growth hormone and testosterone begin to drop. In addition, the stored carbohydrates in your muscle cells and liver, glycogen, which is the fuel that your muscles use to contract, is depleted. If you weight train more than 60 minutes you will actually be wasting your time since you will no longer have the hormones or the fuel necessary to produce muscle growth. Continue to train past 60 minutes and you will get impaired recovery which leads to overtraining, a condition where your body does not recover from its weight training sessions. This leads to loss of strength and muscle mass.

The rest between sets should be kept to a minimum; 90 seconds or less. Keeping your rest time in between sets and exercises to a minimum not only allows you to perform a prodigious amount of work within the 60-minute weight training window, but it also helps improve your cardiovascular system and most importantly maximizes the output of growth hormone; a powerful fat burning/muscle building hormone. Also, this rest interval promotes a muscle voluminizing effect in which water goes inside the muscle cells (not outside) and makes the muscles look more firm and toned. Do not confuse this with water retention outside of the muscle cells, which is what makes us look puffy and fat.

Weight Training Exercise should not be performed for more than two days in a row. This is something that is very important for hardgainers. While most endomorphs can recover from a six-day per week training split, most hardgainers have a difficulty recovering from more than four sessions per week. The reason for this is because their nervous system gets very taxed after two days of high intensity weight training, so continuing to train past two days will lead to a depressed nervous system; something that in turn will prevent the body from being able to recruit the maximum amount of muscle fibers in order to perform a lift. In addition, with a constantly depressed nervous system, strength gains not only become impossible to come by, but also to keep; so as a result you could see your strength diminishing.

Sets of each exercise should consist of a range of 6-15 repetitions. There are many reasons for this. First and foremost, it has been shown that it is within this range that growth hormone output is maximized. As we already know, this is a good thing since this hormone does exactly what we are looking for (it increases muscle and decreases body fat). In addition, since you are performing so many repetitions, you get a great pump (blood rushing into the muscle) that provides nutrients to nourish muscle cells and helps them recover and rebuild faster. Finally, performing 6-15 repetitions reduces the possibility of injury dramatically since you will need to use a weight that you can control in order to perform the prescribed amount of reps. (Note: This rule does not apply to the calves and abdominals as these muscles usually respond better to higher repetition ranges, in the order of 13-15 reps).

Training must be progressive. Progression means one more repetition than the last time the exercise was performed or a little bit more weight if you are able to do more than 15 repetitions for a particular exercise. It is important to understand that you will not be able to increase weight or the number of repetitions every session. However, progression comes in many forms; like performing more work within the 60-minute period. The overall goal of a training routine is to ensure progression over a period of time to bring about continuous improvements in muscle tone and definition.

Training must be varied. This principle is vital to ensure continuous gains in strength and muscle tone as well as to prevent boredom. Variation does not necessarily mean changing all of the exercises in your program. Variation can occur in the form of using different techniques to stimulate the muscle, changing repetition and set parameters, and even changing the rest in between sets and something as simple as changing the width of your grip placement on the bar to help isolate specific muscles. As you will soon see, in this program you will alternate between three-week periods of high volume work with three-week periods of higher intensity (heavier weights) work. In this manner, the body is stressed in a manner that allows for maximum growth stimulus. If you were to perform the same lifting routine day in and day out, the result would be staleness as a routine only works for as long as it takes the body to get used to (adapt) it.

The form in which you perform an exercise should be impeccable. This is one of those things that most lifters, especially male lifters, have a problem with. By letting the ego take control, many lifters concentrate on ever increasing the weight without regards to exercise form. Not only can this practice seriously injure the muscle group being worked on, requiring surgery as a result in certain instances, but also it prevents the proper stimulation of the muscle group being worked. The reason for this is that when doing less than perfect form, other muscles come into play, taking away as a result some of the load from the muscle that you are supposed to be targeting. This practice will slow down growth and get you injured so please pay attention to exercise form.

Aerobic exercise and outside activities should be minimized. I am not anti-aerobics by any means. I love to perform aerobics by walking, riding a bike and other suitable activities in order to keep the cardiovascular system in good shape. However, what I am saying is that in order for the hardgainer to maximize results in muscle mass, aerobic activity and other outside activities such as sports like basketball or soccer, which involve a high degree of activity, need to be minimized. The reason for this is again nervous system recovery and also the fact that the hardgainer has a super fast metabolism. By performing too much caloric burning activities you will make it harder on yourself to gain muscle as you will need more calories than what is recommended in this book in order to cover your energy needs and those require by muscle growth. In this book, we will limit cardiovascular activity to a couple of times per week from 15 minutes to no more than 25.

Training must consist primarily of free weight basic exercises. Only free weight basic exercises provide the fast results you are looking for because they recruit the most muscle while you are performing them. Besides, the body is designed to be in a three dimensional universe. Whenever you use a machine you limit your body to a two-dimensional universe and consequently you limit the amount of muscle fibers that are going to do work. Not all machines are bad however. Some definitely have a place in our weight-training program because they allow us to isolate the muscle in a way that no free weights would allow us to do. However, our program should be mostly based on barbell, dumbbell and exercises where the body moves through space such as the dip, the pull-up and the squat. In the sections below, we will cover in more detail which exercises are the best for muscle gains and the reasons behind it.

Hardgainers’ Sample Mass Building Training Routine

Monday: Chest/Back/Biceps/Triceps/Upper Abs

Superset #1:
Incline Dumbbell Press (adjust bench to an angle of 25 degrees) 3 sets of 8-10 reps (No Rest)
Close Grip Pull-up to Front (palms facing forward) 3 sets of 8-10 reps (1 min rest)

Notes: If you cannot perform the pull-up, then try to have your partner help you up or use a weight assist machine. Otherwise, substitute with Pull-downs.

Superset #2:
Flat Dumbbell Bench Press 3 sets of 10-12 reps (No Rest)
Neutral Grip Pull-ups 3 sets of 10-12 reps (1 min rest)

Notes: If you cannot perform the pull-up, then try to have your partner help you up or use a weight assist machine.
Otherwise, substitute with Pull-downs.

Superset #3:
Dumbbell Hammer Curls 3 sets of 8-10 reps (No Rest)
Overhead Triceps Extensions 3 sets of 8-10 reps (1 min rest)

Superset #4:
Dumbbell Preacher Curls 3 sets of 10-12 reps (No Rest)
Triceps Pushdowns 3 sets of 10-12 reps (1 min rest)

Crunches 3 sets of 15-20 reps (1 min rest)

Tuesday: Thighs/Hamstrings/Delts/Calves/Lower Abs

Superset #1:
Wide Stance Squats 3 sets of 8-10 reps (No Rest)
Dumbbell Stiff Legged Deadlifts 3 sets of 8-10 reps (1 min rest)

Notes: If you suffer from lower back problems substitute the wide stance squat for a wide stance leg press (press with toes since you are working the quads).

Superset #2:
Leg Extensions 3 sets of 10-12 reps (No Rest)
Lying Leg Curls 3 sets of 10-12 reps (1 min rest)

Superset #3:
Lateral Raises 3 sets of 8-10 reps (No Rest)
Standing Calf Raises 3 sets of 8-10 reps (1 min rest)

Superset #4:
Bent Over Lateral Raises Curls 3 sets of 10-12 reps (No Rest)
Seated Calf Raises 3 sets of 10-12 reps (1 min rest)

Hanging Leg Raises 3 sets of 15-20 reps (1 min rest)

Thursday: Chest/Back/Biceps/Triceps

Modified Compound Superset #1:
Incline Bench Press 3 sets of 8, 6, 4 reps (90 second rest)
Close Grip Chins with reverse grip 3 sets of 8, 6, 4 reps (90 second rest)

Notes: If you cannot perform the pull-up, then try to have your partner help you up or use a weight assist machine. Otherwise, substitute with Pull-downs.

Modified Compound Superset #2:
Chest Dips 3 sets of 8, 6, 4 reps (90 second rest)
Wide Grip Pull-ups to front 3 sets of 8, 6, 4 reps (90 second rest)

Notes: If you cannot perform the pull-up, then try to have your partner help you up or use a weight assist machine. Otherwise, substitute with Pull-downs.

Modified Compound Superset #3:
E-Z Curls 3 sets of 8, 6, 4 reps (60 second rest)
Close Grip Bench Press 3 sets of 8, 6, 4 reps (60 second rest)

Modified Compound Superset #4:
E-Z Preacher Curls 3 sets of 8, 6, 4 reps (60 second rest)
Lying Triceps Extensions 3 sets of 8, 6, 4 reps (No rest)
Crunches 3 sets of 8, 6, 4 reps (60 second rest)

Notes: In order to be able to finish the routine within the allotted time, abs were included in this last modified compound superset. The way this superset is performed is by doing the curls first, resting 60 sec, moving to the extensions and without rest to the crunches. After the crunches, rest 60 seconds and start over.

Friday: Thighs/Hamstrings/Delts/Calves

Modified Compound Superset #1:
Medium Stance Squats 3 sets of 8, 6, 4 reps (90 second rest)
Lying Leg Curls 3 sets of 8, 6, 4 reps (90 second rest)

Notes: If you suffer from lower back problems you may substitute the squat for the leg press. Since you are performing the leg press as your second exercise, then just use a close stance on this one and a medium stance on the second one.

Modified Compound Superset #2:
Leg Press 3 sets of 8, 6, 4 reps (90 second rest)
Barbell Stiff Legged Dead-lifts 3 sets of 8, 6, 4 reps (90 second rest)

Modified Compound Superset #3:
Seated Military Press 3 sets of 8, 6, 4 reps (60 second rest)
Calf Press 3 sets of 10, 8, 6 reps (60 second rest)

Modified Compound Superset #4:
Upright Rows 3 sets of 8, 6, 4 reps (60 second rest)
Standing Calf Raises 3 sets of 10, 8, 6 reps (No rest)
Lying Leg Raises 3 sets of 10, 8, 6 reps (60 second rest)

Notes:

Use perfect form in the upright rows as sloppy form leads to rotator cuff injuries.

In order to be able to finish the routine within the allotted time, abs were included in this last modified compound superset. The way this superset is performed is by doing the upright rows first, resting 60 sec, moving to the calf raises and without rest to the leg raises. After the leg raises, rest 60 seconds and start over.

Weight Gain And Bulking Up Rules for the Natural Bodybuilder

admin — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 15:55:00 +0000

Gain Weight And Muscle Mass As You Minimize Body Fat

While most of us who practice bodybuilding are trying to lose fat as we gain muscle, there are some people who are interested in just bulking up; which in simple terms means eating more and training heavier in order to gain muscle weight.

There could be many reasons for this:

1. A bodybuilder whose metabolism is so great that requires a plan just suited for exclusive muscle gain; the so called hardgainer.

2. A person who practices a sport, such as football, that may require a certain weight.

3. A bodybuilder who simply wants to go up a weight class (if he or she competes) or who simply wants to go on an exclusive muscle gain phase (like most bodybuilders do during Winter).

Like everything, there is a right way and a wrong way to do things.

I see many people who in an attempt to gain weight just start eating everything in sight, and thus, either overtax their digestive systems, thus not being able to eat several times a day, and/or simply start gaining too much body fat, as the case is for those without a hardgainer metabolism.

In order to gain quality weight, the nutrients taken in have to be of a high quality nature. While some hardgainers have such a fast metabolism that they could benefit from also adding cheat meals to their nutrition plan, the best way to gain weight is through a planned and controlled increase in macronutrient intake. By ensuring that the quality of the nutrients is high (such as low glycemic index carbohydrates, low fat proteins and high quality fats) muscle weight gain is optimized and fat weight is minimized.

However, in order for a bulk up phase to be effective, it needs to be executed properly. Otherwise, you end up gaining way too much body fat, which at the end of the day, whether you just want to look good for the beach over the summer or participate at a bodybuilding competition, you will need to lose anyways. In this bulk up/weight gain guide I’ll teach you the bulking up rules to gaining some solid muscle weight while minimizing fat gains.

When To Bulk Up

First of all, bulking up is not about eating everything in sight and trying to lift as heavy as possible hoping that all of the increased weight gain will come in the form of muscle. This old school strategy will only lead to excessive fat gain. The best time, in my opinion, to bulk up is after you have been dieting for a long period of time. At this time your body will act like a sponge and absorb all of the nutrients that you give it at peak efficiency in response to the fact that it has not been getting such an influx of nutrients for a while. Also, if you are above 10% body fat, in which case you cannot see your abs, then you need to concentrate on losing body fat up until the point (at the very least) where you can see the top two rows of abs (when you have a four pack). Your bulk up plan will work even better, however, if you get down to where you can easily see your full abdominal wall (which is around 6-7% body fat for most people) as when you increase calories in this state, your body will be more primed to gain most of the weight in the form of muscle mass in response to the low calorie period that came before it.

Bulking Up Basics

Having said that know that while most of the weight that you will gain will be in the form of muscle, some of it will be in the form of fat no matter how good your diet is. The reason for that is the fact that on a state of caloric surplus (when you feed your body more calories than what is burned) some of those calories are stored as body fat. However, by bulking up on good foods, by training hard and by starting from a low percentage of body fat, you will minimize the fat gain and maximize the muscle mass gain.

Now that you know what to expect from a bulk up cycle, let’s cover how to design a bulk up diet:

Bulking Up Basic #1: Increase your protein intake to 1.5 grams of protein per pound bodyweight. Therefore, if you weigh 200lbs, you need to eat around 300 grams of protein per day. I have noticed that if I eat more than 40 grams of protein in one sitting I feel lethargic and have issues digesting the food. Therefore, divide 300 by 40 and that will give you the amount of meals that you need to eat per day. In this example, the 200-lb bodybuilder will need to eat, around 7-8 meals per day spaced out with a minimum of 90 minutes in between meal and a maximum of 3 hours. Protein sources should come from lean low fat sources like chicken, turkey, 93% lean red meats, tuna, egg whites, shrimp, tilapia, mackarel, and salmon.

Bulking Up Basic #2: Increase your carbohydrate intake to between 1.5-2 grams of carbs per pound of bodyweight. In order to gain muscle, a carbohydrate increase will be required to keep your energy levels high, and thus fuel your workouts, and in order to help shuttle the amino acids from your proteins into the muscle tissue (since carbohydrates increase insulin levels and insulin is necessary for the transport of the aminos into the muscle). The key thing to ensure that muscle mass is maximized as opposed to fat gain when consuming carbohydrates is to ensure that your intake of them is mostly from low glycemic index ones (slow digesting/released carbs) like brown rice, oatmeal, pasta and sweet potatoes. Limit the higher glycemic complex carbs (like cream of rice) and simple carbs (like bananas) for after the workout when the body needs fast released carbs and proteins in order to quick start the recovery and re-building process and also to help refuel the energy stores (glycogen levels in the muscle and liver) that have been drained.

Also, ensure that you eat half of your carbohydrates split between the times that the body is most receptive to them, which is the morning time (first meal) and post workout time. So for instance, our hypothetical 200-lb bodybuilder who is starting his bulk up plan at 300 grams of carbs per day (bodyweight x 1.5), will split 150 grams (half of the daily requirement) between the morning meal and the post workout meal (so that comes to 75 grams of carbs). The morning meal carbs will be complex low glycemic carbs while the post workout meal will be half simple and half complex). The remainder 150 grams will be split in the remainder meals. I always advise to refrain from eating complex carbs after 6:30pm (unless your post workout meal comes after that time) as your insulin sensitivity (body’s acceptance of the hormone insulin) goes down at night and therefore, one runs a higher risk of storing carbohydrate calories at night unless you train, in which case your insulin sensitivity is optimized.

Finally, make sure that you have around 15-20 grams of fibrous carbohydrates, such as green beans or broccoli, at lunchtime and 15-20 grams more at dinnertime as these will help to keep your digestive tract clean and ready to accept new nutrients, thus maximizing nutrient utilization.

Bulking Up Basic #3: Increase your intake of good fats. Some fats are necessary to ensure good hormonal production and thus muscle growth. Eliminate all fats and see your testosterone levels take a dive. The body needs fats like the Omega Essential Fatty Acids in order to ensure proper hormonal production and brain function. These oils are essential because the body cannot manufacture them and they help with many things like enhanced recovery due to reduced inflammation, enhanced nutrient partitioning due to their ability to neutralize enzymes necessary for fat storage (so this means more calories go toward muscle production and less to fat) and even help with enhancing your mood!

In order to get your good fats keep the essential fats at 3 tablespoons per day for guys and 1.5 for women in the form of flax seed oil, fish oils or extra virgin canned olive oil. I split my fats between my two low carbohydrate meals, which are meal 7 and 8. The reason I like to do this is because they eliminate my cravings for sweets at night that come as a result of the reduced carbohydrate intake at this time. Also, if I eat the fats earlier in the day with my carbohydrates, they completely kill my appetite and make it hard for me to consume the amount of carbohydrates that I need to eat.

Please take a look at my Sample Weight Gain/Bulking Up Diet Plan

Training

Depending on your schedule and your level of experience training will take from 3 days a week to 6. Each workout session should be limited to no more than 60 minutes of intense weight training. More time in the gym and your testosterone levels will suffer. Click on the links below to access a suitable bulk up training routine that is in accordance to your training experience:

Bulk Up Routines:

Beginner’s Bodybuilding Workout (3 Days a week) – Excellent for those people with no bodybuilding training experience. In this same article you will find an intermediate routine that you can follow right after you are done with the beginner’s one.

Advanced Bodybuilding Workout Using Periodization (3-6 days a week) – This is for the trainee with at least 24 weeks of training experience who is really serious about getting huge muscles.

Hardgainers’ Bodybuilding Training Routine – This bodybuilding training routine is designed with the hardgainer’s unique metabolism in mind. It is based on a four day per week routine that combines both higher repetition and lower repetition work in order to stimulate muscle while maximizing recovery.

Cardio

During the bulk up stage cardiovascular exercise should be limited to 2-4 sessions per week of 20-45 minutes at the most. For hardgainers, 20 minutes for twice a week is advised. Please take a look at the following articles for more information on cardiovascular exercise:

Basics Of Aerobics For Fat Loss – In this article, I cover everything that you need to know regarding how to use cardiovascular exercise to accelerate fat loss without losing lean muscle mass.

Top 7 Tips To Making Cardiovascular Exercise More Enjoyable and Effective – Be sure to check out this article so that you avoid the boredom associated with cardio.

Supplements for Bulking Up

Definitely make sure that you cover at least the basics of supplementation which are a Multiple Vitamin and Mineral formula, 3 grams of Vitamin C split in 3 equal servings throughout the day, 200mcg of Chromium Picolinate, and essential fatty acids coming from either fish oils, flaxseed oil or extra virgin olive oil. Also, for convenience purposes a good weight gainer or protein powder are a great way to add valuable calories and nutrients to your diet. For more information on this subject please refer to my article on Bodybuilding Supplementation Basics.

In addition to those basic supplements, I would also recommend Creatine (please refer to my Creatine Basics article) and Glutamine (please refer to my Glutamine Basics article) as these two supplements offer many of the same properties as anabolic steroids (such as increased recovery, increased strength, increased glycogen levels, enhanced immune system and higher nitrogen synthesis) without the side effects as they are not hormones.

Rest and Recovery

Do not neglect the important aspect of rest and recovery. You need 7 – 9 hours of sleep each night in order for your body to run efficiently. Deprive your body of sleep and you’ll have lousy fat loss. As a bonus, you also get muscle loss, which in turn lowers your metabolism. You also get deprived hormonal production, which makes it difficult (nearly impossible really) to build muscle and as an added feature you’ll have to deal with lower energy levels, something not conductive to great workouts. The articles below further elaborate on this important subject.
The Sleep Cycle – Learn what the four phases of the sleep cycle are and how much on the average you should be sleeping each night for maximum results. Also, see what happens when you neglect your sleep.

4 Guidelines To Ensuring A Good Night Sleep – Learn 4 guidelines that you can follow to ensure a good night sleep.

Conclusion

You can continue to bulk up until a level of 10% body fat is exceeded. At that point, calories need to be reduced again to the neighborhood of bodyweight times 12 at a 40/40/20 ratio of carbs, proteins and fats. This is roughly 1 gram per pound of protein, 1 gram of carbs per pound of bodyweight and 1.5 tablespoons of oils for men and ¾ Tablespoon of oil for women.

Once again I cannot emphasize enough that when eating more calories than what the body burns on any given day, some of those calories will be deposited as body fat. However, if your training is right on the money, most of the calories will be used for energy and muscle production. Happy bulking!