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
• Natural Bodybuilding Tips for Making Bulking Up Work Without Gaining Fat
• Do You Need to Gain Excessive Weight To Gain Muscle?
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Because I have gotten tons of emails over the last few weeks asking about bulking up for gaining muscle, I decided to put this article together in order to clear up the confusion.

Problems of Traditional Bulking Up Methods

Many people who start natural bodybuilding and want to gain serious muscle mass make the big mistake of thinking that in order to get muscular you need to get fat.  As someone who has experimented numerous tactics over the last 2 decades, I can tell you that the strategy of eating like a pig in order to gain muscle will leave you, unfortunately, looking like one.

With the exception of the super fast metabolism of people that are hardgainers, most of us need to focus on consuming quality calories in order to gain muscle.  Furthermore, we cannot consume calories indiscriminately as again, doing so will invariable result in too much fat gain.

The worst is that once guys go over 10% body fat, and girls go over 14% or so, the body’s estrogen levels increase and, as a result, additional calories consumed are more easily stored as fat as opposed to muscle.  Thus, in order to make the best bodybuilding gains, it pays to stay lean.  As a matter of fact, the leaner one is, the easier it is to gain.

How Can I Bulk Up to Gain Muscle Without Gaining Fat

1-Get Lean First: In order to gain muscle at the most accelerated rate by using a clean bulk up method without gaining fat you need to first get lean.  There is no way around this.  If you are not lean enough,  your body simply will turn most of the extra calories as additional fat.

2-Prime Your Body For Gains: You have to remember that your body is an incredible machine who likes to remain in a state of homeostasis.  In other words, the body does not like to change much and will always fight change.  Thus, if you are constantly providing more calories to your body than what it burns, it will build muscle and store some fat.  If you are training hard, most of the gains will be in the form of muscle.  However, the minute your body gets used to your training routine, and also starts to adapt to the diet, your muscle production will go down and fat gain will go up.  And like I said before, after you go past 10% body fat, extra calories get more easily stored.  In addition, the body starts to become insulin resistant as well and that makes further muscle gains harder as well.  The key to priming your body is to diet down.  By following the right calorie restricted, fat burning diet, you get to lose fat, you optimize your insulin sensitivity and you start to prime your body for future muscle gains.  By depriving your body of calories you put your body in a state that it becomes very “hungry” for nutrients.  This is especially true after an extended fat loss period, such as the one prior to a competition.  When the body is “hungry” for nutrients, this is the optimal time to do a clean bulk up phase because when you do, most of the calories, if not all, are re-routed towards muscle production!  Any of you who have done a bodybuilding, fitness or figure show know what I am talking about.  If you are smart, after a show you will go back to the gym, raise your calories, and slowly but surely start upping the intensity as you regain your strength in order to make the best use of this anabolic effect that comes after a period of dieting.

Calorie Cycling – The Secret To Making Muscle Gains While Staying Lean

As you probably figured out by now, a good strategy to accelerate muscle mass gains is to alternate between periods of dieting with periods of bulking up as I propose in my Body Re-Engineering program.  If you are already lean, then you can also implement a strategy that I have used several times with great results where you do mini periods of bulk up cycles with dieting cycles in order to maximize gains while keeping fat gain away.  This mini periods allow you to gain at the fastest rate possible.

Like anything, the body gets used to anything if you keep it long enough, but you can use this strategy of mini bulk up and dieting periods for super accelerated muscle gains for about 6 weeks every six months.  And keep in mind that to get the absolute best results from such a strategy it is best to be as lean as possible.

How to Implement Mini Periods Of Bulking With Dieting

When I use this strategy, I personally, I like to do 2 weeks of high calories using a nutrient split of 50% carbs, 30% proteins and 20% fats followed by a week of lower calories with around 50% proteins, 30% fats and 20% fats.  During high calorie weeks I do 18 x lean body weight in calories and during low calories I do my lean bodyweight times 10.

As far as training, I modify my training to be high volume during the 2 weeks of high calories and lower volume but use heavier weight during my low calorie weeks.  (Please see the routines here: http://www.hugorivera.net/natural-bodybuilding-routine-with-periodization.html / My high volume training is like what you see in weeks 1-3 while my low volume training is what you see on weeks 4-6)

In regards to cardio, on the high calorie weeks I do two sessions of 45 minutes (monday/thursday) first thing in the morning on an empty stomach and during low calorie weeks I up that to 6 sessions a week.

For More Information On This Strategy

I know a couple of natural bodybuilding authors who have done a great job at covering this strategy so if you are interested in a program that makes use of this concept, check out the two free e-books below:

Download the Death of Bulking Here

Download the Anabolic Amplifier Effect Here

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
• Check Out My Latest Natural Bodybuilding Article on February 2012 Edition of Natural Muscle
• 10 Anabolic Recipes For Your Natural Bodybuilding Diet
• Hugo Rivera's Natural Bodybuilding Tips for Gaining Muscle, Getting Lean and Losing Fat while Still Enjoying the Holidays
• Natural Bodybuilding 30-Minute Shoulder Workout

Another amazing year has come to an end!  I want to take this opportunity to wish you an incredible 2012 full of blessings, health, success and happiness!  I also wanted to personally thank you all for your support throughout the years.  Without you, there would be no purpose to what I do.

I hope that 2011 was a great year for you and that you accomplished many of your goals.  Looking back, 2011 was a year of many challenges for me, but by staying focused on my goals, being persistent and looking for solutions, rather than excuses, I was able to come ahead and meet (and even surpass) all of my main goals for the year.

As we start this 2012 I want you to know that the road to achieving your goals will most likely not be a problem free one.  However, you need to stay focused on what you want and fight for it.  Whether it is to re-shape your physique, better your relationships or improve your finances, the key thing is to analyze the things that you want to accomplish this year, set goals, create an action plan and most importantly: TAKE ACTION!  WITHOUT ACTION there is NO REACTION!

You also need to know that in life, you have to learn how to take risks.  I am not saying to be careless, but what I am saying is that in order to get where you want to be, sometimes you have to make decisions that will take you out of your comfort zone.  Most people can accomplish incredible things if they have the confidence in themselves to come out of their comfort zones.  French historian and novelist Andrew Malraux used to say that “Often the difference between a successful person and a failure is not one has better abilities or ideas, but the courage that one has to bet on one’s ideas, to take a calculated risk – and to act.” Do not treat life as if it goes on forever because it does not! Don’t be a spectator, be a most valuable player in the game of life!

Ten Secrets to Making This Year An Amazing One! 

So for 2012 I want you to:

1- Figure out what are the top things that you want to accomplish and set some goals.

2- Have confidence in your ability to accomplish your goals because deep inside of you lies unlimited potential waiting to be unleashed.

3- Don’t listen to negative people who will put you down.  There are many people who will do this out of jealousy, insecurity or whatever else.  Know that these people DO NOT have your best interest at heart.  Therefore, put the blinders on, keep reminding yourself that you can do this and keep moving forward no matter what!  I have personally made a habit of making the impossible be possible so my suggestion is that you do the same.

4- Program your mindset to accomplish your goals as if your life depended on it.  At the end of the day, the quality of your life certainly depends in your ability to accomplish the things that make you happy.

5- Create an action plan so that you can achieve these goals.  And if you don’t know how to create one, look for reliable information and educate yourself so that you know how to get there!  We live in the information age so today more than ever there are no excuses about not knowing how to accomplish something.

6- Make a list of the tasks that you will need to do on a daily basis in order to execute the action plan and check these tasks on a daily basis.

7- When obstacles come, immediately look for solutions and modify your action plan as needed.

8- Know that nothing great has ever being accomplished without plain hard work.  Wake up every day with a smile and attack your goals aggressively!  When obstacles come, laugh in their face as you know that you have the ability deep inside you to tackle them.

9- Don’t be afraid to fail.  No successful person has reached success without some setbacks.  No one is born knowing!  It is these setbacks that teach us what not to do in the future.  One of the main differences between successful people and unsuccessful ones is their ability to deal with setbacks.  The great Thomas Edison used to say: ““I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”  I personally do not believe in failure.  To me failure only happens when you decide to never get back up.  I rather die than let obstacles run me down.  Thus, keep moving forward and know that there is no retreat, no surrender!  There is only one possibility in my mind when I set a goal and that is to accomplish it!

10- As you reach success, help others along the way.  I have noticed that nothing in life is accomplished alone.  There are always helping hands that will come along your path.  Be thankful for those who help you and make sure to be a helping hand to others as well.  There is no better feeling in the world than the one experienced when you help someone else!

With this said, one of my main goals for 2012 is to help as many people as possible to accomplish their goals.  Soon I will introduce you to a project that I have been working on to help me accomplish just that.  I will give you more details as they come but for now I will say that I spent the latter part of last year working on something big to help all of you who are struggling to lose fat.

In the meantime, please take the 10 items I just listed for you to heart, and live by them!

“I challenge you to make your life a masterpiece. I challenge you to join the ranks of those people who live what they teach, who walk their talk.” -Tony Robbins

P.S. – FOR THOSE OF YOU LOOKING TO GAIN SOME SERIOUS MUSCLE IN THE NEW YEAR!

By the way, for those of you looking to gain some serious muscle in the new year, and who need a roadmap to help you accomplish this goal, please take a look at my friend’s program www.mi-40.com.  This is by far the best new muscle building product I have seen come up in years!  And for those of you who have not purchased yet, just for the month of January I will throw in a copy of my best selling Body Re-Engineering program (valued at $39.99) if you purchase MI-40.  Body Re-Engineering contains 21 weeks worth of muscle building and fat blasting workouts!  Following Body Re-Engineering after you follow the MI-40 program will give you unprecedented gains in muscle mass and strength!  All you have to do is send me your receipt to hugo@hugorivera.net with the subject line: 2012 Customer and I will personally send you your Body Re-Engineering system.  But take action now as this offer will expire on January 31st!

Get Ben Pakulski’s MI-40 Program Here:
http://www.mi-40.com

For my thoughts on Ben Pakulski’s MI-40 program go here:
http://www.hugorivera.net/ben-pakulski-mi40-natural-bodybuilding-system-review.html

P.P.S. - SOME MORE INSPIRATIONAL WORDS

I will leave you with some inspiring words, from the one and only Arnold Schwarzenegger on what he considers are the top 6 secrets to success!

Here is to an AWESOME 2012!!!!

• Natural Bodybuilding FAQ – Training Over 40
• Check Out My Latest Natural Bodybuilding Article on February 2012 Edition of Natural Muscle
• 10 Anabolic Recipes For Your Natural Bodybuilding Diet
• Natural Bodybuilding FAQ on The “Anabolic Amplifier” Program
• Natural Bodybuilding Tips for Making Bulking Up Work Without Gaining Fat

The fact that I already see stores getting stocked with Christmas ornaments lets me know that the Holidays are here. With Thanksgiving coming along at the end of November, the Holidays get officially started. Since this season carries with it a lot of get-togethers, parties, and above all, plenty of food, many bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts find it a task and a half to adhere to their bodybuilding lifestyle. This is due to the huge temptations of skipping your bodybuilding routines in favor of attending parties and eating foods that are not part of the typical bodybuilding diet. What is a bodybuilder to do?

With good planning and discipline, you can continue to move towards achieving your bodybuilding goals while you have your cake and eat it too; literally.

There are a few things that a bodybuilder can do in order to survive the Holidays and even come out a little bit ahead in terms of muscle mass:

1.The first step is to adhere to an abbreviated, though fully periodized, holidays bodybuilding workout routine so that you still get to gain muscle mass while minimizing the amount of time that you spend at the gym. If your schedule is really hectic, I would advise waking up early and getting training done, if possible, right before you go to work. If this is not possible, then try doing it at lunch-time or right after work so that nothing else interferes with your workout. On days off from work, definitely get the training done as early as possible.

Please refer to my personal abbreviated Holidays’ Bodybuilding Workout which has you working out only 3 days a week for about 75 minutes at a time (see routine at the end of this article below).

2.The second step is to plan ahead. Not only look at your December calendar and pencil down which days you will have Holiday activities, but also figure out at what times and days you will be training. I also suggest that you even identify which days you will select for your cheat meals and write them down on your calendar as well. Because of the amounts of get togethers and days that the gym may be closed, it is best if you decide a week ahead which days you will be attending the gym. In this manner, your chances of missing a workout due to parties or gym closures are eliminated.

3.The third step is to know how to cheat properly. By cheating the right way, and at the right times, you will not only maximize your muscle building potential but also minimize any fat gain.

Hugo’s Tips on Cheating Properly

Tip #1 Plan Your Cheat Days Wisely.
Look at the calendar and based on the days that you have parties and get togethers mark your cheat days. My advise is to attempt to space cheat days with at least 5-6 days in between, 6 being the better choice.

Tip #2 Eat Your Cheat Meals Wisely.
When you have a cheat meal, start eating the protein portion first as this will get you to start getting full. Leave the carbs for the end of the meal. Also, try to not stuff yourself. Instead allocate four hours and a half of cheating per cheat day. This will allow for 3 cheat meals (one every 90 minutes). After your cheat period, go back on your regular diet.

Tip #3 Have a tough workout before you cheat to minimize fat gain and maximize muscle.
Reason for this is because after a workout the body is primed to absorb nutrients in the form of proteins and carbohydrates. Thus, having a cheat meal afterwards will ensure that most nutrients are used for recovery and muscle production.

Tip #4 Take 200mcg of Chromium Picolinate and 300 mg of Alpha Lipoic Acid.
Taking 200mcg of Chromium Picolinate and 300 mg of Alpha Lipoic Acid at the beginning of your cheat period helps to increase your cell’s ability to accept insulin, and thus, assimilate the extra carbohydrates better. As a matter of fact, increasing insulin sensitivity is one of the reasons why I like to have a big workout prior to the cheat period.

Tip #5 Have some EFA’s with your cheat meal.
Research indicates that some Essential Fats like the ones found on flax oil or fish oils have anti-lipolitic properties. In other words, they inhibit some of the enzymes responsible for fat storage. By taking these fats with your first cheat meal of your cheat period, you can minimize some of the damage. I recommend you take 3-6 capsules of Labrada’s EFA Lean Gold prior to every cheat meal. 3 for the ladies and 6 for the guys will just do the trick.

Tip #6 Take some digestive enzymes with each one of your cheat meals.
This will ensure maximum nutrient assimilation and will also help you avoid feelings of excessive fullness and indigestion.

Tip #7 Three to five hours after the cheat period has ended have a 30-minute walk.
I’m not talking about anything strenuous; around 2.5 to 3 miles per hour is a good pace. Doing some cardiovascular activity after the cheat period has ended will start burning some of the carbohydrates that may still be lingering around. The more of these you burn, the less likelihood of storing body fat. If you cannot do this walk on the same day of the cheat period then try it on the morning after on an empty stomach.

Exercise Self Control and Discipline

As always, in order for these strategies to work, self-control, discipline and determination need to be exercised. When it comes to bodybuilding, this will always be a recurring theme.

What If Motivation Is Low?

If your motivation is lacking, there are a couple of items that I recommend you do:

1.Have A Clear And Concise Goal Of What You Want To Accomplish By A Specified Date: Set a deadline and be specific. For instance, my goal is to be in near contest shape by December 5th which is my birthday. For me, that means being 185-lbs at 5-6% body fat.

A specific deadline will offer you something to shoot for and achieve by a certain date which will put positive pressure on you and prevent you from skipping your workouts or having unscheduled cheat meals on the diet.

2.Get A Training Partner That Is Equally Passionate About Your Bodybuilding and Fitness Goal: A good training partner can fuel your motivation and accelerate gains tremendously. Good partners help you to push harder through your workouts and also inspire you to stick to the diet since you see how they progress. Ideally, get your spouse involved, or your kids if they are old enough. If not, a good friend will work too. I’ve found that the best gains in my bodybuilding career have been made when I train with someone who is equally dedicated to achieving the same goal.

Conclusion

If you apply yourself and implement the simple techniques described above, while everyone around you gains 20 pounds or more of fat and excess water during the Holidays, you will gain a few pounds of muscle and maybe 2-3 lbs of fat at the most. For the most disciplined of us, who actually increase the amount of working out as opposed to decreasing it, and who minimize cheat meals, then fat gain is not even a possibility.

Now you are armed with all of the information that you will need in order to actually improve your shape over the Holidays. It is up to you to put this knowledge into action and choose which person will you rather be; the 20 lbs of fat gainer, the 2-3 lbs of fat gainer with equal or more gains in the form of muscle, or the one who even gains as fat comes off? Choose your destiny. The fact that you are reading this article leads me to believe that you will choose wisely.

May your Holidays bring you tons of health and happiness!

Abbreviated Holidays’ Bodybuilding Workout

For the purpose of continued muscle growth and fat loss over the Holidays, I have used the principles of cycling that I always preach about in order to create a routine that will keep the muscle growth/fat loss process going during the next few months with minimum visits to the gym. While it is a low volume/abbreviated routine, it is by no means an easy one.

Loading Phase (Week 1)

Mon(13-15reps)/Wed(10-12reps)/Fri(8-10reps)

Superset:
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press 3 sets (No Rest)
Close Grip Chinups (Palms facing you) 3 sets (60 seconds)

Superset:
Upright Rows 1 set (No Rest)
Bent Over Laterals 1 set (60 seconds)

Superset: Seated Incline Hammer Curls 2 sets (No Rest)
Triceps Dips 2 sets (60 seconds)

Giant set:
Lunges 3 sets (No Rest)
Leg Curls 3 sets (No Rest)
Squats 3 sets (No Rest)
Calf Raises 3 sets (60 seconds)
(Use either the machine or Barbell used for Squats)

(Week 2)

Mon(13-15reps)/Wed(10-12reps)/Fri(8-10reps)
Superset:
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press 4sets (No Rest)
Close Grip Chinups (Palms facing you) 4sets (60 seconds)

Superset:
Upright Rows 2 set (No Rest)
Bent Over Laterals 2 set (60 seconds)

Superset:
Seated Incline Hammer Curls 3sets (No Rest)
Triceps Dips 3 sets (60 seconds)

Giant set:
Lunges 4 sets (No Rest)
Leg Curls 4 sets (No Rest)
Squats 4 sets (No Rest)
Calf Raises 4 sets (No Rest)
(Use either the machine or Barbell used for Squats) (60 seconds)

(Week 3)

Mon(13-15reps)/Wed(10-12reps)/Fri(8-10reps)
Superset:
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press 5sets (No Rest)
Close Grip Chinups (Palms facing you) 5sets (60 seconds)

Superset:
Upright Rows 3 set (No Rest)
Bent Over Laterals 3 set (60 seconds)

Superset:
Seated Incline Hammer Curls 4sets (No Rest)
Triceps Dips 4 sets (60 seconds)

Giant set:
Lunges 5 sets (No Rest)
Leg Curls 5 sets (No Rest)
Squats 5 sets (No Rest)
Calf Raises 5 sets (60 seconds)
(Use either the machine or Barbell used for Squats)

Growth Phase (Weeks 4-6)
Mon(10-12reps)/Wed(8-10reps)/Fri(5-7reps)
Modified Compound Superset:
Incline Bench Press 3sets (Rest 90 seconds)
Close Grip Chinups (Palms facing you) 3sets (Rest 90 seconds)

Upright Rows 1 set (Rest 60 seconds)
Bent Over Laterals 1 set (Rest 60 seconds)

Superset:
Seated Incline Hammer Curls 2sets (Rest 90 seconds)
Triceps Dips 2 sets (Rest 90 seconds)

Modified Compound Giantset:
Lunges 3 sets (Rest 60 seconds)
Leg Curls 3 sets (Rest 60 seconds)
Squats 3 sets (Rest 60 seconds)
Calf Raises 3 sets (Rest 60 seconds)
(Use either the machine or Barbell used for Squats)

There you have it. After week 6 go into Active Recovery (Two full body workouts a week; a routine similar to the Growth Phase above performed only on Mondays and Thursdays with each set consisting of 10-12 reps; perform the same number of sets as suggested above). Also, do 20 minutes of cardio , first thing in the morning on the days off (Tuesdays/Thursdays/Saturdays). Sunday is the total rest day.

The longest routine is the one from week 3. It lasts around 75 minutes. It is exhausting as well. Try it out and provided that you follow a good diet along with it (by just limiting yourself to pre-selected cheat meals in the manner described above) you should avoid the catastrophic effects that the Holidays leave behind in some people. As a matter of fact, you should look better.

Let me know how you like it if you try it.

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.

• Natural Bodybuilding FAQ: Lose Fat and Gain Muscle at the Same Time?
• Which One Is The Best Natural Bodybuilding Training Routine for Maximum Gains?
• Natural Bodybuilding Workout Video Blog – What Is The Best Time To Workout
• Bodybuilding Nutrition Basics
• Check Out My Latest Natural Bodybuilding Article on February 2012 Edition of Natural Muscle

We all want to achieve the fastest bodybuilding gains.  Sometimes bodybuilders focus their attention on the latest and greatest supplements on the market in hopes to accelerate gains.  However, do you want a tip that will really maximize your gains?

Check your exercise form and lift the weights properly.

As obvious as this may sound, in practice what you see over and over again in gyms all across the world is a lot of heavy lifting with very poor exercise form.  Keep in mind that bodybuilding is not just about lifting a weight from point A to point B.  The goal is to use the weights as a tool to make the muscles contract and stimulate them to grow.  So what is the proper way for bodybuilders to lift the weight?

You need to feel the muscle contract as you execute the movement and then you need to feel it elongate during the stretch position.

If you are just getting started, I suggest that you take 2 seconds to lift the weight (the positive portion of the exercise) and 3-4 seconds to lower it (the negative portion of the exercise).  Make sure that you go through the full range of motion and avoid swinging motions or using momentum to get the weight lifted.  Become an expert at creating a mind to muscle connection that will activate as many muscle fibers as possible when you lift the weight.

Think of bodybuilding exercise as posing but with weights.  So for example, if you do a biceps curl, focus on the squeeze of the biceps and then on the stretch as you take the weight back to the starting position.  The upper arms should remain stationary and only the forearms should move as you focus on making the biceps stretch and then contract as hard as possible.  The better you become at creating a mind to muscle connection by concentrating on lifting properly the better your bodybuilding gains will be.  You may need to back off a bit on the weight lifted at first but I guarantee you that the results will be well worth it!

I’ll finish this quick post by sharing with you a nice report from my friend Ben Pakulski on 5 things that you can do in order to accelerate your bodybuilding gains.  This is some really awesome information.  Check it out and let me know what you think…but most importantly, implement the information!

5 Things That You Can Do In Order to Accelerate Bodybuilding Gains

and once you download the free report be sure to take a look at the free seminar below as well:

12 Gain Accelerating Tips from Ben Pakulski (60-Minute Video Seminar)

As you can see, Ben is as passionate about educating others and helping them to achieve their goals as I am.  Expect to see some joint bodybuilding videos from us  in the very near future.  I’ll keep you posted.

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.

• Teenage Bodybuilding Supplements: The Secrets Behind Explosive Muscle Mass
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Accelerate Your Natural Bodybuilding Gains by Adopting the Five Secrets of Successful Bodybuilders and Fitness Athletes
One thing that I have noticed in all successful bodybuilding and fitness people is that their mindset is very different from that of their less successful peers. Since I have spent my share of time talking to many successful bodybuilders and fitness athletes, I can tell you that there are a lot of similarities among them.

Here are the 5 secrets of successful natural bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts:

1) They view failure as an opportunity to learn, make adjustments, and try again to succeed as opposed to viewing it as a permanent condition. No matter what you do in life, you will encounter some setbacks. Instead of letting these setbacks put you out of commission permanently, use them to learn from them and become a stronger person. Every setback is an opportunity for personal growth and for learning what not to do in the future. The only time that you fail is the minute that you decide to never stand up again.

2) They have the mindset of success. In other words, when problems come up, instead of letting these interfere with their bodybuilding program, they look for solutions to get through them. In order to be successful in bodybuilding you need to have the right mindset. Bodybuilding is both a physical and extremely psychological endeavor. Of course, we all get frustrated when our schedules are affected by work, or any other life circumstance that may be thrown our way. Life is full of monkey wrenches in case you haven’t noticed and it does not make it easy for us to get our workouts and meals in. Therefore, we have to fight aggressively and plan ahead if we want to get our workouts and meals in.

As bodybuilders we must keep our eyes on the ultimate goal, which is always more muscle mass with less body fat. In order to accomplish that one must be consistent with the training and diet. If for whatever reason the program that the bodybuilder has mapped out is too much of a time commitment at a certain period in life, then the solution is to modify the bodybuilding program to one that does fit the time schedule…be flexible. For instance, back in my engineering days there were periods when I had to work 60-70 hours a week, I modified my training to where I would hit the gym 5 days a week for 40-45 minutes of weight training. Since I had no time to do cardiovascular exercise, I would superset antagonistic muscles in order to get some sort of cardiovascular effect (refer to my abbreviated bodybuilding plan at the end of this article). That is all I could afford to do at the time. I always tried to get my training in before work, but if for some reason I would miss it in the morning, then I always had lunchtime to make it up or later in the evening after work. Worst case, there was always the weekend for makeup sessions. Regarding meals, I always brought in all of my meals with me pre-prepared and also enough protein shakes for those times that I was really on the run.

Some of you for whatever reason may not even be able to do more than three sessions a week. If this is the case, then no issue; make the most out of the time that you do have available to train. The key to making lasting bodybuilding gains at the end of the day is that you have a realistic plan that can be executed consistently, not trying to follow one that looks really good in paper but cannot be executed. You will get to where you want to go, it may just take a little bit longer depending on how much time you can dedicate to reaching your goals.

3) They have a positive attitude and believe in their ability to achieve their bodybuilding goals. This point is of extreme importance as if you do not believe that you can accomplish something, more than likely, you won’t. Thoughts are very powerful things and the way that you see things is the way that your reality becomes. It is my experience that most of the obstacles and limitations in life are placed by one’s mind. Thus, make sure that you are not limiting yourself! Unleash your potential by bringing down all imaginary obstacles!

4) They have an incredible work ethic and schedule their workout times and meal times with the same importance as they would schedule any item at work. Most people give their meal times and workout times a secondary importance. “I have too much too do, so I can’t work out”. Thus, the workouts never get done. How often I hear this! Most of us have a lot to do! We are all busy so if we want to get in shape, we need to make a commitment to it! Committing means having a very structured day where you have a time for your work and a time for your workouts. Again, I am not talking of living in the gym. 25-30 minute workouts can get the job done! However, you do need to allocate that time to your workouts. As far as the diet, how often I hear, there is no way I can eat 5-6 times a day. Well, if you have a breakfast, a lunch, and a dinner, with protein shakes in between, there is no reason why you could not go ahead and have all of the required meals. And if the excuse is that there is no time to get all of your meals ready, then I suggest that you prepare your food for the next day the night before. Pre-package everything the night before and that way, when you wake up the next day there is no time wasted in the morning with food preparation. You just carry all of the food with you in a cooler and you are good to go.

5) They have an unbreakable determination. After all, determination is the key to success, and when you have a person that is truly determined to achieve something, there is nothing that can get in the way! The great American President Abraham Lincoln used to say: “”Determine that the thing can and shall be done, and then we shall find the way.”

Adopt the behavior of successful bodybuilders and fitness athletes and you will see how your bodybuilding and fitness gains will increase dramatically!

25-30 Minute Natural Bodybuilding Workouts

Workout Notes:
1. Ensure that all sets are performed with impeccable technique and taken to failure; the point at which performing another repetition with good form becomes impossible.
2. Rest 60 seconds between sets.
3. There should be no rest between exercises listed as a superset. Only rest for 60 seconds after the second exercise of the superset is executed.
4. Perform this routine for a month, doing 3 days on and 1 day off. Alternatively, you can work out 5 days a week by doing your workouts on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. That leaves Thursdays and Sundays always off. If you have a good recuperation capability, then simply workout from Mon-Fri resting over the weekends. After a month, change the exercises.

Workout (A): Chest, Back, Calves
Chest and Back:
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press and Wide Grip Pull-ups to Front Superset 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Bench Press and Close Grip Pull-ups (Reverse Grip) 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Flyes and Low Pulley Rows 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Calves:
Seated Calf Raises and Calf Press Superset 3 sets of 12-15 reps

Workout (B): Thighs, Hamstrings, Abs
Thighs and Hamstrings:
Leg Extensions and Lunges Superset 3 sets of 12-15 reps
Wide Stance Squats and Leg Curls Superset 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Leg Press and Stiff Legged Deadlifts Superset 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Abs:
Leg Raises and Crunches Superset 3 sets of 15-25 reps

Workout (C): Shoulders, Biceps, Triceps
Shoulders:
Military Press and Upright Rows Superset 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Rear Delt Machine 3 sets of 12-15 reps
Biceps and Triceps:
Barbell Curls and Triceps Pushdowns Superset 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Preacher Curls and Lying Dumbbell Triceps Extensions Superset 3 sets of 12-15 reps

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.

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As I was reading some bodybuilding news online, I came across an interesting article from Ka Leo O Hawai’i, the campus newspaper of the University of Hawai’i at Manoa, that reminded me of my days back in engineering school when I learned to be really creative in regards to keeping my bodybuilding diet requirements.

According to staff writer Andy Taylor in his article “Surviving Sodexho; Student Bodybuilders Struggle To Get Proper Nutrition”, it turns out that in the University of Hawai’i, if you live in the college facilities you need to buy a meal plan. Problem is that if you are a bodybuilder, the menu does not really follow your nutritional requirements.

This is not an unusual situation to be in. Hopefully one day all places will have both bad food choices and bodybuilding friendly ones so that everyone is taken care of. In the meantime, you have to get creative and in keeping with the mindset of a successful bodybuilder, you need to look for solutions rather than excuses. A few pieces of advice that I can offer are the following:

What To Do If You Had To Purchase The School Meal Plan

If you are in a situation like the one described on the article mentioned above where you had to purchase the meal plan and do not want to lose your money, try to see if the cafeteria has some sort of lean proteins such as chicken or turkey breasts. These are the protein choices that you need to look for. Since it is all you can eat, see about maybe packing some extra food to take with you for later meals (though some schools do not allow for this).

After you select your protein source, look for the cleanest complex carbohydrates that they may have, such as baked potatoes, and see if you can get some sort of green vegetables as well, if available.

Obviously, college campus’ meal plans will not feed you 6 times a day, as they feed you 2 times at the most, so you will need to get yourself some protein powder, and some old fashioned oats (which are easy to cook in the microwave) for breakfast. For in between meals, you can either use Meal Replacement Powders (MRP), a super convenient Ready-To-Drink (RTD) Shake, or a high quality protein bar to cover your nutritional requirements. If the MRPs, RTD’s or protein bars do not fit your budget, then powdered skim milk (1/2 cup to 1 cup as I used to do in college) mixed with with 1 scoop of protein and 1 tablespoon of natural peanut butter will have to do for in between meals.

How To Carry Your Meals With You

The best investment you can make while on school is on a cooler so that you can carry your food, protein drinks and water with you for the rest of the day. That way you do not have to worry about being stuck without food for more than 3 hours. To this day I still use the cooler that I purchased for use during College.

How To Ensure That You Can Be Prepared Everyday

Wake up early! When in college, preparation is key. Make sure that you prepare your meals (the non cafeteria ones) well in advance or the night before so that when the day starts you can just pack things with you and go.

I also suggest you go to the gym at this time as well and get done with your bodybuilding workout so that the reminder of the day all you have to worry about is studying and eating. If you are really pressed for time, take a look at my Short 25-30 Minute Workouts for Busy Bodybuilders, which have you in and out of the gym in about 30 minutes.

Conclusion

As the author of the article mentioned above said: “For bodybuilders, eating choices can be a troublesome hindrance at times, but as long as the athletes are dedicated to their sport, there is always a way to work around it”.  I could not agree more with that statement.

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.

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In this natural bodybuilding tip you will learn how change is the spark to making steady bodybuilding gains.

Why are there bodybuilders who always seem to be progressing while others always seem to stay the same, or even worse, go backwards?  Chances are the the ones that are not making any gains have kept the same routines for months to an end (or even years). 

If you are not experiencing any significant bodybuilding gains the worst thing that you can do is to keep doing what you are doing. Chances are that by doing the same thing you will keep getting the same results you have been getting; which in this case may be none at all.

When your bodybuilding program is not yielding the results that you want you need to stop and analyze why that is the case. All aspects of your bodybuilding program (your goals, training, nutrition, supplementation, and rest) need to be analyzed in order to find where the problem is.

Keep in mind that bodybuilding is typically not a liner process. You will experience periods of great gains, followed by periods of slower gains. The key to always getting the fastest gains possible is to become an expert at troubleshooting your program. Also, you need to remember to always periodize your training program. Most of the time, when someone is not making gains, the issue is that there is no periodization in the training program. Another issue may be that the bodybuilding diet is inadequate. And if you have both issues at the same time, then you can forget about making any muscle gains. Thus, if you have reached a plateau, start by taking a close look at both your training and diet programs.

Here are some resources that will help you with the process of troubleshooting your bodybuilding program:

Is it Important to Have a Training Journal to Achieve Natural Bodybuilding Success?

Ten Muscle Building and Fat Burning Tips For Better Bodybuilding Progress

10 Items That Stop Your Bodybuilding Progress

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.

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Turn on the TV, open up a magazine or just read the health news over the Internet and you get the impression that everyone apparently is searching for the seemingly daunting and complex task of how to accomplish weight loss.  Some appear to be looking for the answer in some magic fruit or food while others are more concentrated in finding a  gene or a special drug that would take care of the problem.  However, those of us who practice natural bodybuilding, especially if we have competed, realize that the process of weight loss while not necessarily easy, it’s relatively simple. 

How Can Natural Bodybuilding Help with Weight Loss?

If you want to lose weight you need to simply follow 3 natural bodybuilding steps.  With determination and consistency of execution these steps will help you to achieve any desired weight loss that you are looking for.

In order to lose weight you need to:

1) Create a slight caloric deficit of 300-500 calories every day (300 is good for women while 500 is good for men).  This can be done through increased exercise and by taking in less calories than what you burn on any given day.  At the end of the day, losing weight is a function of calories in vs. calories out. If you take in less calories than what you burn on any given day, you will lose weight. Take more than what you burn and you will gain weight. Simple, right?  Now, if we lose weight we want it to be fat weight, not muscle weight. Thus, here is where the next point comes into play.

2) You need to consume the right foods in the right ratios. Since everybody who visits this website practices natural bodybuilding training, or at least is getting ready to get started, we know that such training increases the body’s need for protein. Thus, a good diet to start with is one that provides 40% of its calories from carbohydrates, 40% from proteins, and 20 % from good fats. Consuming the right amounts of foods in this ratio will ensure that as you feed the muscle you starve the fat and thus, the weight loss comes from fat being burned. For more information on how to set up a diet as well as what foods to eat, please check out my article on Bodybuilding Nutrition Basics and Bodybuilding Diets for Fat Loss

3) Burn more calories by increasing your physical activity.  Again, for us who practice natural bodybuilding this is not an issue. With our training, not only do we burn calories via our weight training and cardiovascular exercise, but we also permanently increase our metabolism (ability to burn calories) as we gain more muscle mass. Thus, the more muscle one has the easier it is to shed the extra weight.

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.

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