In today’s natural bodybuilding video blog, Rodzilla and I cover how to perform a short but intense home leg workout routine designed to increase the mass and thickness of your upper legs (thighs, glutes and hamstrings). This is a fast paced bodybuilding workout that only uses dumbbells and a leg extension / leg curl attachment. We focus on muscle tension at all times and as you will see, we use a variety of repetition ranges. See the full workout execution on the video below. The full workout description (sets/reps) is detailed under the video.

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Short Home 25-30 Minute Natural Bodybuilding Leg Workout Routine for Mass

This is a great natural bodybuilding weight training routine that you can do for the purposes of gaining muscle and losing fat.

Instructions: This is a fast paced workout, Only rest the amount of time that it takes for your partner to go through the set. If training alone, rest no more than 60 seconds.

For supersets there is no rest between the first and second exercise of a superset. Rest 60 seconds after the second exercise, before you start again with exercise #1 unless stated otherwise.

Non-Stop Superset:

bre-footer-websiteStatic Lunges 3 sets of 6-8 reps (alternate between legs back and forth until all 3 sets are done)

or

1 set of walking lunges (using your bodyweight) performed for as many reps as you can do.

Superset:
Leg Extensions 3 sets of 15-25 reps
Dumbbell Squats 3 sets of 8-12 reps

Tri-set:
Wide Stance Dumbbell Squats (press with heels to engage the glutes & hamstrings) 3 sets of 10-15 reps
Lying Leg Curls 3 sets of 10-15 reps
Wide Stance Dumbbell Squats (press with heels to engage the glutes & hamstrings) 3 sets using the same weight as above performing as many repetitions as you can.

This routine should take you around 25-30 minutes. By the time you are done with this routine, your legs will be on fire! It helps to use a nice pre-workout like Super Charge from www.labrada-nutrition.com in order to help you get through it.

Try the routine out and let us know what you think.

Until next time, take care and train hard!

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In case you did not know about this, check out my YouTube show with Rodzilla (see playlist below) where we answer tons of frequently asked bodybuilding & fitness questions about training, nutrition, supplementation, rest/recovery, mindset and goal setting. Whether you are a man or a woman or your goals are to gain muscle or lose fat, this is the show for you. In addition, we also show some of our home workouts as well! Let us know what you think and feel free to comment below and submit your own questions!

 

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This is what happens when you get too big. You stop to fit on a normal couch..LOL!

Powered by www.labrada-nutrition.com.

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Also be sure to check out our full workout routines below which you can get for as little as a $1.

(Over 1 million people worldwide have used these principles and routines with great success!)

Until next time, take care and train hard!

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In today’s natural bodybuilding video blog, I cover with my good friend Rodzilla what to eat before and after the workout (pre / post workout nutrition).

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For pre-workout meal: Rodzilla has a regular meal consisting of 60 grams of protein and 60 grams of carbs around 90 minutes before the workout. Right after the workout he has a whey isolate protein shake.

Some people actually eat very close to the workout as they can digest the food very quickly but for us, what works best is to leave 90 minutes to 2 hours before the time we eat and the workout.

I typically have a real meal between 90-120 minutes. I also have sweet potatoes or white potato along with a lean source of protein like chicken, turkey or fish or egg whites with a couple of real eggs. I make sure to consume 50 grams of protein. Carb wise I consume around 65 grams of carbs and 10 grams of good fats from either fish oils, eggs or almonds.

I may take either Super Charge of PE1 which are awesome pre-workout supplements. I save these for workouts like legs.

After the workout I have a Muscle Mass Gainer from Labrada Nutrition (3 scoops = 90 grams of carbs and 20 grams of protein) and mix that up with 1 scoop of Whey Isolate. The carbs of the Gainer are from maltodextrin which are fast released and the isolate of course is fast released protein.

(Check out the Labrada Mass Gainer and IsoleanPro here: http://www.labrada-nutrition.com)

90 minutes after my post workout meal I have a real meal consisting of 45 grams of protein and 45 grams of carbs.

What if you cannot afford whey isolate? Then in that case have either a protein blend or a lean protein like egg whites. You will still make great gains.

Hope that this bodybuilding tip helps. Please let me know what other tips you would like us to talk about.

Until next time, take care and train hard!

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In today’s natural bodybuilding video blog, I cover with my good friend Rodzilla the pros and cons of Smith Machine vs Free Weights Squats.

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Is it good to substitute all of your free weights squats with the smith machine version? That is the bodybuilding question that we are covering today. The answer is: this not a good idea.

Rodzilla for example, tore both of his knees with the smith machine. The reason for this is because he was only using the smith machine squat version. As a result, certain muscles that get activated with the free weight version were not being activated with the smith machine. This caused strength imbalances that resulted in the tearing of the knees.

I do believe that the smith machine squats are great but only when used in conjunction with free weight squats. And if there is any reason why you cannot do the squats with a bar on your back, a great alternative is to do them holding a dumbbell in each hand. You can also do front squats (squats with a bar on the front of the shoulders).

Best results from the squat of course come from the free weights. All of your leg muscles (quads, hamstrings, glutes and even the calves) get activated with the proper execution of the free weights squat. Remember that the body is designed to be in a 3-dimensional universe. Thus, when you perform free weight movements you will engage stabilizer muscles that you do not engage otherwise.

Also keep in mind that there is no need to go crazy with the weight. Use proper form at all times and concentrate on pushing with your leg muscles.

One last thing. Remember that if you are super strong on the smith machine that strength will not translate at 100% to the free weight version. However, if you are really strong on the free weight version then you will be super strong on the smith machine version (as this version is more easy.)

Hope that this bodybuilding tip helps. Please let me know what other tips you would like us to talk about.

Until next time, take care and train hard!

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In today’s natural bodybuilding video blog, Rodzilla and I cover how to perform a short 15 minute back workout routine designed to increase the width and thickness of your back. This is a fast paced bodybuilding workout that only uses cables and focuses on muscle tension and relatively high reps.

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Short 15 Min Natural Bodybuilding Back Workout Routine

This is a great natural bodybuilding weight training routine that you can do for the purposes of gaining muscle and losing fat.

Instructions: This is a fast paced workout, Only rest the amount of time that it takes for your partner to go through the set. If training alone, rest no more than 60 seconds.

For supersets there is no rest between the first and second exercise of a superset. Rest 60 seconds after the second exercise, before you start again with exercise #1.

Superset:
Wide Grip Pull-downs to Front 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Close Grip Pull-downs to Front (Narrow Grip) 3 sets of 10-12 reps

Superset:
Close Grip Pull-downs to Front (Reverse Grip) 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Low Pulley Rows 3 sets of 10-12 reps

This routine should take you 15 minutes. Try it out and let me know what you think.

Until next time, take care and train hard!

hugo_sign

 

 

 

In today’s natural bodybuilding video blog, I cover with my good friend Rodzilla how to build up strength to do pull-ups.

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How To Build Up Strength To Do Pull-Ups With Hugo & Rodzilla

A lot of people stay away from pull-ups as they cannot do them at the beginning. In fact, I remember when I was an overwight little boy and at physical education class the coach would stick me at the pull-up bar and I would just hang there clueless as there was no way I could pull myself up.

There are many ways however that you can train yourself in order to have the strength to do the pull-ups.

If You Are Just Getting Started With Bodybuilding Training
In this case, I suggest starting out with the pull-down machine. The pull-down machine simulates the pull-up movement. It is not as effective of course since with the pull-up you are moving your body through space. Therefore, you need to activate many more muscle fibers during the pull-up than you need to with the pull-downs. I suggest doing:

Wide Grip Pull-downs
Close Reverse Grip Pull-downs
Neutral Grip Pull-downs

Spend 6 months working with the pull-down machine in order to learn how to activate your back muscles and grow strength in this area.

What To Do After 6 Months Of Doing Pull-Downs?
At this point you should be able to do at least 1 pull-up and thus, you can graduate to the smith machine. You will set the smith machine bar at the highest level and then you will use your feet in order to self spot yourself once you cannot perform any more pull-up repetitions on your own. In this manner, you will be able to do as many pull-ups as you want and you will be able to self-regulate how much assistance to give yourself.

What About The Chin Assist (Or Gravitron) Machine?
If the gym has this machine, instead of starting with the pull-down I would start with this machine instead as there is nothing better than training the body to move through space from the beginning. The way that this machine works is that you can select the amount of weight that will assist you on the way up. As you get stronger, you will use less weight to perform your repetitions. This is the best way to learn how to do pull-ups.

Conclusion
Be patient and consistent. If you persevere, your pull-up strength will grow and your back muscles as well. In my opinion, pull-ups are the king of back exercises. Learn how to do these and a wide, thick and powerful back will be yours in no time.

I hope that you found this video blog useful.

Until next time, take care and train hard!

In today’s natural bodybuilding video blog, Rodzilla and I cover what gets us motivated to stay on our bodybuilding and fitness programs. What motivates you?

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