http://www.articletrader.com/ Articles at ArticleTrader en-us http://www.articletrader.com/health/fitness/how-to-properly-build-muscle-and-put-on-size-in-the-gym.html http://www.articletrader.com/health/fitness/how-to-properly-build-muscle-and-put-on-size-in-the-gym.html Wed, 31 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0500 Here are some essential tips for piling on the muscle:

1) Feed your muscles
Muscle needs protein order to grow; a high protein diet will ensure that you get maximum growth from your muscles. Lean red meats are a good source of protein and also contain other nutrients essential for muscle growth. It is better to eat little and often as opposed to larger meals less frequently, it is also a good idea to have meals prepared prior to your workout, or to have a protein shake handy – this will prevent snacking. Your diet should also include quality calories, vitamins, good fats, minerals and lots of water.

2) Stick to a plan
Firstly, identify your goal – getting “bigger” is simply not specific enough, how big do you want to be? Why not identify a target weight, or chest measurement? Making your goal specific will ensure that you have something to aim for, something against which you can measure your performance. Once you have decided on a goal, you need to then formulate a plan which will enable you to achieve it. Most gyms will be able to help you with a routine which will help you achieve your goals, but unless you can afford a personal trainer, it is up to you to follow it. It is easy to deviate from your plans, doing so can lead to setbacks and also cause you to lose motivation altogether. Firstly, you will need to give your plan time to work; you will not see results overnight, building muscle takes time. Some muscle building magazines will tell you the latest “killer abs” exercises, or “how to build massive biceps” but hopping from system to system will not get you anywhere. This is why it is important to stick to your plan.

3) Core muscle building exercises
It makes sense to target the stronger, larger muscles when aiming to increase your muscle mass. It is possible to build a lot of muscle using only the following exercises: Squat, bench press and wide grip pull up. Using these methods will help you build strength and muscle mass in primary and secondary muscle groups. Squats target quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes, the bench press will target your entire chest (pectorals,) triceps and front shoulders (deltoids.) The wide chin grip pull up focuses on lats, but also targets the entire upper back, biceps and forearms. These exercises should be the foundation of your weight training routine, they target a wide range of muscle groups and you will see results much faster.

4) Master the techniques
Before you add an extra 20kg to the bar, are you at risk of injuring yourself? To get the most out of your session you must ensure you are lifting correctly. Your muscles learn correct movement through repetition; this is why it is advisable for new gym members’ not to begin with heavy weights. Bad habits lead to bad technique which can lead to injury. If you are not sure whether you are lifting a weight correctly or it does not feel right, you should seek advice from someone more experienced. For example, you often see people arching their back struggling to bench a massive weight – this is a bad technique that must be unlearned in order to progress. If you perform your lifts correctly, your muscles will learn the correct techniques and you will benefit more from your training.

5) Train hard
Building muscle is not a walk in the park; it is going to be hard work. You must train with intensity in order to gain the maximum benefit from your training.

6) Use free weights
Most gyms have a combination of free weights and resistance machines, it is essential to use free weights wherever possible. Free weights require a greater range of motion than most resistance machines; therefore, using them makes better use of primary and secondary muscle groups. This, in turn, will build compound mass because it increases the number of muscles used in training.

7) Identify your weaknesses
Under developed muscle groups often show growth quicker than those which are more developed. With experience, you will be able to identify your weaker areas and target them with specific exercises.

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Tim is the owner of the online supplement store, Scottsdale Nutrition Supply, he enjoys writing articles that are informative to everybody that maybe looking for nutritional and supplement information that can help anybody in their everyday lives.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/health/supplements/benefits-of-using-bodybuilding-supplements-for-maximum-gain.html http://www.articletrader.com/health/supplements/benefits-of-using-bodybuilding-supplements-for-maximum-gain.html Thu, 13 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0500
Some supplements are designed for convenience; they include meal replacement powders and whey protein. They are often a quick and efficient way to ensure you get your required nutrients.

In order to gain the maximum return on their time in the gym, many bodybuilders invest in bodybuilding supplements. The benefits of bodybuilding supplements can range from increased energy levels, increased muscle mass and reduced recovery time after working out in the gym. If you are serious about increasing your mass and gaining muscle faster, you might want to consider using bodybuilding supplements. Many bodybuilding enthusiasts use supplements in addition to their workout regime in order to increase the effectiveness of their workout, it is no accident that they usually achieve the best results.

Most bodybuilding supplements contain substances which naturally occur in the human body, these range from amino-acids to proteins. Other supplements range from steroids to growth hormone. While supplements are not subject to FDA guidelines, most supplement manufacturers adhere to strict guidelines, doing so will ensure they maintain their reputation and continue to make sales.

It is always advisable to seek medical advice from your doctor prior to taking any new supplement, especially if you are on any medication or suffer from a medical condition. You should also be sure to make yourself aware of any potential side effects that come with the supplements you intend to use. The most common side effects are an upset stomach or dehydration. Some of the more extreme side effects range from breast growth in men or decreased libido.

Providing you consult your doctor and you are aware of any potential side effects of your supplements, the risks and safety issues are generally minimal. Supplements are effective; this is why many bodybuilders take them. Taking bodybuilding supplements is an excellent way to maximize the effectiveness of your workout and boost your performance. You will benefit from increased energy levels while decreasing recovery times. Bodybuilders who use supplements usually burn fat, gain weight and increase muscle mass in a much shorter period of time.

There is no magic pill which will turn you into a hunk of muscle. Muscle building requires hard work and determination. Taking supplements is not a substitute for an intense workout routine. In order to achieve maximum gains from supplements, they should be taken in addition to performing timely, strenuous workouts. Many bodybuilders are able to work out more intensely and more frequently when they are taking supplements.

Even when you are not in the gym, you should ensure that you look after your body. As mentioned before, some supplements can lead to dehydration. It is therefore essential to drink plenty of water while you are working out and also while you are not in the gym. It is a good idea to take a good multivitamin tablet to ensure you get the necessary vitamins on a daily basis. If you are serious about increasing your muscle mass you should watch what you eat and follow a nutritional plan designed to help you achieve your goals – this should include the right proportion of proteins, calories, carbohydrates and fats. Get enough rest between gym sessions, this allows the muscles time to recover and repair them selves.

It is not impossible to achieve impressive muscle gain through conventional weight training and a good nutritional plan; however, adding bodybuilding supplements to your workout program will help you to achieve your goals faster. If you want to get bigger, leaner and stronger, bodybuilding supplements can help you achieve your goals faster than you ever thought was possible.


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Tim is the owner of the online supplement store, Scottsdale Nutrition Supply, he enjoys writing articles that are informative to everybody that maybe looking for nutritional and supplement information that can help anybody in their everyday lives.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/health/lifestyle/off-the-fast-food-diet.html http://www.articletrader.com/health/lifestyle/off-the-fast-food-diet.html Tue, 06 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0600
How many times have you had fast food and then find yourself hungry in a short period of time? One of the main reasons is that it takes the brain 20 mins to know it has had food. But most people can eat their meal in less than this time so the brain is saying “feed me!”

Many people have lost the art of cooking. Now for some they have never learnt the art and they need someone to teach them. For others they have a busy lifestyle and feel they don’t have time to cook a meal. Many children are growing up never having tasted real food. They know what pizza or burgers are like but to have a roast dinner and real fresh vegetables they have no idea what they taste like and they won’t be able to cook a meal for themselves when they leave home.

Do we have less time to cook than our forefathers? The answer is no. We work long hours but so did they. But we have every convenience in our homes which they didn’t have. They worked long and hard and yet were still able to cook dinner each night. They had to because the fast food chains didn’t exist then. We can try and justify what we do but our bodies are telling a different story. Too many have heart problems, diabetics, obesity and many, many more. Many try to eat less but end up gaining weight. They wonder why, because the body needs a certain amount of fuel to keep it going, but if we try and run it on empty then it will have to find fuel from somewhere else. The result is the body thinks it is in starvation mode and will then turn what we eat into fat so it has fuel once again.

Try running a car on empty and you will see it won’t get very far. Also try running a large car on the same amount of fuel as a small car, and then see which car can go the furthest. The small car will go further because it takes less fuel to run. The same is true with our bodies, the heavier we are the more fuel we need to run it, as we lose weight so the fuel needed is decreased and we can cut down again on what we eat.

But have you thought about going onto a healthy fast food diet? What could that include? Think about it for a moment. What is fast food? What does it achieve?

Fast food gives you food rapidly, it achieve you not being hungry for the moment.

The best fast food around is anything that takes no time to prepare. That doesn’t mean going to the stores and buying the biggest cake around and seeing that as fast food, because a cake will take time to prepare even if you didn’t do the preparation.

Fresh fruit and vegetables are one of the best fast foods around. Take raw vegetables and munch on them during the day. Eat an apple or two. Try new exotic vegetables and fruit. Add more and more of them into your eating each day. Think before you eat, and see what is going to be healthy for you.

In China people eat fruits that are in season, and April is the start of the pineapple and melon season. You can see these fruits being sold on every street corner. Take a pineapple for example, you go to buy one and they will peel it and remove the eyes from it. Then they cut it in half down the core, the core being so tender you can eat it. They place it on a stick and you have a pineapple lollipop to eat minus anything added. It takes them a few seconds to do. The melon they cut into cubes and put into a sundae dish and give you a little fork to eat it with. Again seconds to do and yet so refreshing.

Start your education today and think differently about fast foods, make a list of your own fast foods that can help you in your goals for losing weight.


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Tim is the owner of the online supplement store, Scottsdale Nutrition Supply, he enjoys writing articles that are informative to everybody that maybe looking for nutritional and supplement information that can help anybody in their everyday lives.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/health/weight-loss/perfection-in-dieting.html http://www.articletrader.com/health/weight-loss/perfection-in-dieting.html Thu, 01 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0600
Let us try to pigeonhole the cause of the stress. Is it time stress? Or is it mental stress? Time stress happens because we have probably bitten off more than we can chew and there’s nowhere to spit.

Therefore, you need to take a small chunk of time and work on the time stress. That can be managed.

Emotional stress? Sometimes using the opposite side of your brain to be busy will help with emotional stress—organize, clean, mop the floor, vacuum, exercise—anything that does not require introspective thinking. Make time for it and do it. And don’t forget to breathe! Occasionally, just stop and breathe. Deep, slow breaths calming breaths.

Emotional stress can cause mindless eating as we well know. You look down and in your hand is an empty box of cookies, or bag of chips or the pizza is gone. Let’s try to sort through why we eat—is it hunger, appetite or craving?

Hunger is physical—you feel it in your stomach. It signals a lack of food. There is a gnawing feeling at which time you seriously have the desire to eat.

Appetite is “desire” that causes us to seek food because we enjoy it and it tastes good. And appetite is influenced by mood, stress, external and internal cues (smells, texture, taste, remembering an occasion, boredom, depression, anxiety)

Craving is the strongest urge – to eat a specific food.
The appetite and cravings are tied to brain chemicals. Foods interact with these which further influence your appetite and cravings. The KEY is a balanced diet of all the food groups.

Follow the food pyramid and eat in moderation. You’ve probably heard of the sugar/fat seesaw. Eat less fat, you want more sugar; eat more sugar you crave more sugar and fat. That’s why fad diets don’t work. They deprive you of one or more of the food groups.

It is up to you to make good choices, follow the food pyramid and find a balance of healthy, nutritious foods with an occasional dip into the dessert tray. Planning ahead and knowing a situation before you get there will ease the pain of bypassing heavy, sugary, high fat dishes. Planning ahead will also allow you to include a tasty dessert as a treat.

One word of caution on fat. Eating less than 20% fat can leave you hungry, unsatisfied and more likely to overeat when your resolve disappears. Fat in your diet can be important but use it properly. It still boils down to calories. No matter where they come from. You’ve heard of KISS haven’t you? Keep it simple, stupid. We’re not stupid. But it is simple: Cut calories, increase exercise, lose weight. But it’s important to have balance. Don’t overdo in one area.

Remember you have choices. You can choose. Let me leave you with a thought:

WIN LIKE WATER – In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins—not through strength, but through perseverance.


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Tim is the owner of the online supplement store, Scottsdale Nutrition Supply, he enjoys writing articles that are informative to everybody that maybe looking for nutritional and supplement information that can help anybody in their everyday lives.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/health/weight-loss/always-remember-failure-is-never-final.html http://www.articletrader.com/health/weight-loss/always-remember-failure-is-never-final.html Wed, 31 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0600
You can allow your failures to hurt you or help you. True, you need mountaintop experiences from time to time to give you encouragement, but you don't grow through these. It is in the valley of your disappointments and through your failures that you are given the opportunity to take stock of your life and move toward a greater level of growth and maturity.

Know what your purpose in life is. The more clearly defined that purpose is - and the more deeply it is embedded in your conscious and unconscious mind - the less failure will set you back.

A spacecraft en route to the moon is off course 90 percent of the time. It's pulled back by the earth's gravity. It's continually drawn to one side or the other by other forces. But it has a built-in computer that has a singleness of purpose that homes in on the moon. The computer is making continual corrections to keep the spacecraft on target with its purpose and goal.

Lives are like that. If your eye is on your goal, if you have a singleness of purpose, nothing will stop you getting to where you are going.

Remember that failure is an event, not a person. Because you may have failed in your marriage or job, in another relationship, or other situation, doesn't mean that you are a failure as a person. Not at all. Realize that the only real failure is not to try, or not to keep on trying, or not to get up one more time. The important thing is to learn from your past, to use it as an opportunity to grow, and to move ahead. Then turn your failure into a stepping stone toward a better you.

Where a bone is broken and heals, it becomes the strongest part of the bone. The same is true of your broken places - where you have been hurt, have fallen and failed, or are afraid. Decide to make sure you don’t live in failure but move on today and learn from your failures


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Tim is the owner of the online supplement store, Scottsdale Nutrition Supply, he enjoys writing articles that are informative to everybody that maybe looking for nutritional and supplement information that can help anybody in their everyday lives.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/health/supplements/the-benefits-of-creatine-for-men-and-women.html http://www.articletrader.com/health/supplements/the-benefits-of-creatine-for-men-and-women.html Fri, 26 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0600
Creatine supplements are beneficial for anyone who isn’t getting enough through their everyday diet. It is found in red meat and fish and most people get a lot of what they need through the food they eat. The majority of creatine is stored in the skeletal muscles and some will be stored in places like the brain or heart.

As it is stored in the skeletal muscles it helps them to be repairs after lifting weights or having an intense workout. Your body when you are working out will get to a point where there is no energy left in the muscles and this is the way to get the muscles with the energy needed.

If you take a person running a marathon the reason they hit the wall around the 20 miles is because the muscles can only store enough energy for that distance. Obviously it will be different for different people, but most marathon runners, will be looking at ways to increase the glycogen their muscles can store. Creatine is needed and people who are involved in sports when they know that the glycogen is used, they will often add in more foods which has creatine in it, or they will take a supplement to help. By doing this their muscles will increase to store more creatine.

A person will benefit from creatine as it will benefit them when they are doing some cardiovascular exercises. A person will be able to work out for longer and also harder when they have the right amount of creatine either through diet, supplements or a combination of both. As we see from our marathon runner they will be able to go further before hitting the wall. On the other hand a sprinter will be able to run faster for a short distance.

Again the bodybuilder will be building more muscles which will be a benefit to them in their chosen sport. The power lifter should be able to lift more frequently as creatine will repair any muscles that have been injured. Each person involved in these sports whether they are men or women will see the real benefits of creatine. They will need to find out exactly the amount their body needs to maintain their bodies in their chosen sport, and see how much they can get from their foods and how much is needed to come from taking it as a supplement.


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Tim is the owner of the online supplement store, Scottsdale Nutrition Supply, he enjoys writing articles that are informative to everybody that maybe looking for nutritional and supplement information that can help anybody in their everyday lives.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/health/supplements/bitter-orange-extract-for-weight-loss.html http://www.articletrader.com/health/supplements/bitter-orange-extract-for-weight-loss.html Tue, 23 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0600 Some dieters say that bitter orange
* Helps increase calorie burning.
* Helps suppress appetite.

Bitter orange is also known as citrus aurantium. Bitter orange has bee used in Traditional Chinese Medicine to treat chest congestion and stimulate gastrointestinal functions.

Bitter Orange Extract is a fat burner, energy pill that increases metabolism, increases caloric expenditure, promotes weight loss, and increases energy levels. Synephrine is the primary active alkaloid in Bitter Orange. Synephrine stimulates your body’s adrenal gland promoting effective fat burning, appetite suppression and natural energy. While no clinical trails have substantiated the effectiveness of bitter orange as weight loss supplement, it appears to be effective in combination with St. John's wort and caffeine. Many Ephedra based diet pills now contain bitter orange in the ingredients.

Common uses for Bitter Orange: As a dietary supplement, bitter orange has been marketed to help relieve stomach upset, stimulate the appetite, assist with mild insomnia, and treat ringworm infections such as athlete’s foot and jock itch. Bitter orange fruit and peel are also commonly marketed as a weight loss remedy and a nasal decongestant. Topically, bitter orange peel is used for inflammation of the eyelid, skin bruising, and muscle pain. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved bitter orange (in small amounts) as a flavoring agent. In manufacturing, bitter orange is used in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and soaps.

Scottsdale Nutrition Supply is an online store that sells the most effective and trusted name brand nutritional supplements at wholesale prices. Visit us today at http://www.snsupply.com

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I am the owner of an online nutritional supplement store. i enjoy writing articles that are brief but informative to everybody that maybe looking for nutritional and daily life information.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]>