Dane Fletcher asked:


A lot of people think in order to build muscle you have to abandon life outside of the gym by devoting hours upon hours like a monk.  Maybe the only way to chisel the body into hot form and physique is to give blood, sweat and tears every hour of every day of every year.

However, these sacrifices are not necessary, even though hard work is.  Going through extreme fitness does require someone to be somewhat of a slave to the iron bar.  Full body workouts can help you progress this easily and it will also fit into your schedule, whatever the schedule may be. This is extremely convenient for someone who is looking for progress and to achieve extreme fitness but has a hard time sticking to a single workout regimen.

When you are going for genuine full body workout, athletes are able to achieve this with the goal in mind that they want maximum muscle contraction.  By using heavy weights, this goal is attainable and also gives plenty of time for full muscle recovery, which in turn, helps the muscle grow faster and allows you to train harder.  This also prevents burnout, which eventually, will happen when you are excessively training.

This is the ins and outs of a full body workout.  This will, as I mentioned before, be a huge time saver.  The biggest benefit to doing a full body workout is that you will spend less time in the gym and go less frequently. I would suggest a full body workout two to three times per week.

The second advantage to doing a full body workout is that you are working all of your major muscle groups all at once instead of two or more hours of exercise per muscle group, you can spend one hour a day in the gym.  With full body workouts it is about the quality not the quantity, not even the amount of time per workout.

You will also notice and major difference that the full body workout gives to the cardio system.  You will need to give yourself plenty of time for two to four sets of each major muscle area in the one hour session.  The more you can exercise everything in the one hour session, the faster your heart muscle and circulatory system is going to be worked out as well. 

The following are some things you do not have to worry about with your full body workout.

Typically, body builders tend to wait until the end of their workout to jam the cardio in.  Not only is this completely unnecessary, it is also a waste of time since cramming this into the last five minutes or so, is really not beneficial, at least, not as beneficial as continuing the cardio throughout the entire workout.

You shouldn’t do too many sets of one thing, however heavy lifting is strongly advised.  Some body builders believe that some light training to conserve energy for the body parts that will come later in a routine.  The bottom line here is, if you are not consistently training heavy throughout your entire routine, you are not doing yourself any favors and you will not gain optimal progression.

Doing one exercise per muscle group is extremely key. This is easier to follow and very important.  If you do basic exercises that are intense will save you time from having to do multiple exercises for one muscle group. 

Resistance training is also very effective when trying to keep your natural hormones in check, which is also very important to muscle building.  You will boost your testosterone and also increases the catabolic cortisol which helps in the loss of fat.  Essentially, you are getting the best of both worlds.



Brenda

Terry Bytheway asked:


If you are looking to become bigger, you need to train big. You should train 3-5 times a week and keep your work out sessions as short as possible. Try to not let them run over an hour. Try to only work out on one muscle group per week or every 5 days. Never do two larger muscle groups while working out on the same day. The bigger muscle groups consist of your chest, back, and upper legs. Here is a idea of how to schedule your week:

3 Day Week:

Monday: Chest, triceps, calves

Wednesday: Back, biceps, shoulders

Friday: Thighs

4 Day Week:

Monday: Chest, calves

Tuesday: Back, triceps

Thursday: Thighs

Friday: Shoulders, biceps

5 Day Week:

Monday: Chest

Tuesday: Back

Wednesday: Thighs

Friday: Shoulders

Saturday: Arms

In the previous example schedules, you may have noticed that no 2 large muscle groups were done on the same day. While excersizing, do bulk movements. Like bench press, shoulder press, rows, squats, and deadlifts to start off your workout. Make sure you do your biggest muscle first also. As far as volume and intensity goes, they are very related. The more volume you have, the less intensity there is, and vice versa. If you are training high intensity, you would likely be doing 6-10 reps and 5-8 sets per body part. (More sets may be needed for the bigger muscles while less are needed for the samller ones)

What is the sense of working out without a equally balanced diet to fit your lifestyle?

Nutrition: The majority of younger aged people have very fast metabolism.

Being young most of you probably have fast metabolisms. If you are looking to gain mass, then here is the key word: EAT! Eat, and do a lot of it. At least every 2 hours if you are able to and at least a total of 6 meals a day. Each meal you eat should contain approximately 17% of your daily intake requirements for protein and carbs. So, here’s what you have to do to gain mass: EAT. We’re talking every 2 hours if possible, but at least 6 meals a day. Each meal should contain about 17% of your daily requirements for protein and carbs. If you are really serious about bulking up you should do more research to create your perfect eating schedule to gain the correct amount of mass to bulk.

Some people also use protein shakes (Ie. Whey) while they are working out because it is meant to help you bulk up and many people find that getting a lot of protein is key to bulking up but just eating more may do the trick for some people. Not everyone is meant to bulk up, depending on your body shape you may be better off to cut instead. Just think if that is what you want to look like or not.



Mary

David Peters asked:


Bodybuilding is a sport of building muscle. Bigger and stronger is the name of the game. One of the great things about bodybuilding is that you can achieve great results with only very basic equipment and a few hours of training three to four times per week.

The key to building bigger and stronger muscles is to keep progressively adding more and more weight over time. Building bigger muscles is about consistent regular training, eating properly, getting plenty of rest, and lots of weight at low repetitions.

As a starting any new exercise program, is important a first check with your physician before starting a bodybuilding program. In the beginning is important that you start slow and learn proper technique. Time and time again professional body builders have said that technique is one of most important aspects of getting a good workout. It might be helpful to schedule a session with a professional trainer in the beginning so you start on the right track. If this is not an option for you there are various instructional books on the subject of bodybuilding. Above all take the time to learn proper technique.

Lifting heavy weight damages muscle fibers. It is only when the muscles repair themselves that they grow larger and stronger. For this reason it is very important that each muscle group is given plenty of rest following each workout. This is why most body builders alternate muscle groups. For example, you might work on your back on Monday, your legs on Tuesday, your chest on Wednesday, and your arms on Friday. Most successful body builders will recommend that you not work a particular muscle group more than twice per week.

The question may come up of whether it is best to use weight machines or free weights. The general consensus is that free weights are your best option for increasing muscle mass. Machines are typically used for isolating muscles and this is something that only professional body builders need to do before contest.

The following are some basic exercises for the major muscle groups.

Chest

1. Flat Bench Press

2. Dips

3. Incline Bench Press

Legs

1. Squats

2. Straight Leg Dead Lifts

3. Leg Press

Back

1. Pull ups

2. Barbell Rows

3. Deadlifts

Biceps

1. Curls

2. Incline curls

Triceps

1. Lying Tricep Extensions

2. Close Grip Bench Press

Shoulders

1. Military Press.

Remember to increase muscle size you will need to progressively increase poundage. Be patient. Overworking your muscles can actually have adverse effects. If you maintain a consistent regular workout routine coupled with proper nutrition and rest you will begin to see results in no time. Keep in mind it is common to see more obvious results initially and in overtime your gains will seem less apparent. This is because your body becomes used to your work out routine and in a sense knows what to expect. It is helpful to keep your body guessing by changing your workout routine on a regular basis.



Beatrice