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Archive for the ‘Workout Goals’ Category
Tuesday, June 30th, 2009
Welcome back! By Jason Ferruggia
 Many moons ago when people asked me how to build muscle fast I told them that they had to squat, deadlift and bench press. That was before I injured my own shoulder and saw it happen to countless others. It happened again yesterday. My friend and ex training partner called and told me he tore his rotator cuff while benching heavy over the weekend. This did not come as shocking news. This bench press has been injuring shoulders and tearing pecs since the first time it was ever performed.
Back in the golden days of the Iron Game, when the military press was the main upper body exercise of choice, nobody ever heard of rotator cuff injuries or pec tears. It was only after the bench press achieved extreme popularity that shoulders and pecs started getting obliterated at record rates.
The bottom position of a heavy bench press puts your shoulders in a very vulnerable and dangerous position. Some people can tolerate this for decades. For others it will only take a few years. But sooner or later it’s bound to happen. It’s really not a question of if, but when. The flat bench press will eventually lead to some kind of shoulder problems or pec tear in the majority of lifters who do it heavy enough and long enough.
Like a lot of you, I have always been obsessed with learning more about how to build muscle fast, and the bench press has long been a staple in popular mass building programs. For years I proudly proclaimed it to be a great size and strength building lift and measure of upper body power. Nothing made me happier than helping one of my athletes add 50 pounds to his bench in the off season and watching him go to camp and destroy the competition.
But after 20 years in the game, having been witness to far too many injuries resulting from the flat bench press and getting my own shoulder cut open recently, I have finally had to look myself in the mirror and admit the truth that I have been hesitant to come to grips with for far too long…
Bench pressing sucks!
I have discussed this issue with many of the worlds top shoulder specialists in recent months and they are all in full agreement.
That’s not to say that you can never bench again. I know many of you will refuse to stop and I can relate to that mindset. If you get tested on the bench or compete in powerlifting, of course you have to do it. For the rest of you, who still love to press big weights and impress your friends and gym members I recommend you do so with extreme caution.
Make sure your technique is picture perfect and you bring the bar down to the right spot while properly activating your upper back and lat muscles. Secondly, don’t use the flat bench for more than 4-6 weeks without switching to a safer version of a barbell press like an incline or floor press.
The smartest route, however, is to get rid of this destructive exercise forever. There are far more effective movements that will build mind blowing strength and size in your chest, shoulders and triceps while saving you years of frustrating and costly injuries.
While the bench press is probably the most dangerous exercise most of you are doing on a regular basis, it is not the only harmful one. Unfortunately many of you are probably doing damage to other body parts without even realizing it.
To learn how to build muscle fast and to discover the most effective and safest exercises that will replace the bench press and many other useless movements, check out MuscleGainingSecrets.com today… before it’s too late.
Train smart,
Jason Ferruggia
Jason Ferruggia is a world famous fitness expert who is renowned for his ability to help people build muscle as fast as humanly possible. He is the head training adviser for Men’s Fitness Magazine where he also has his own monthly column dedicated to muscle building. For more How to Build Muscle Fast tips, check out musclegainingsecrets.com
Tags: build muscle, How to Build Muscle Fast and Avoid Shoulder Injuries, jason ferruggia, shoulder injuries
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Wednesday, June 17th, 2009
by Mike Roussell PhD(c)
 Do you want to lose belly fat? If so then it is important to know two things.
1. Not all belly fat is created equally.
2. As a woman when you get older you will naturally get more belly fat then a man does (I know, it is unfair).
First let’s look at why belly fat isn’t created equally. There are two types of belly fat – visceral and subcutaneous. Subcutaneous fat is the fat that you can pinch around your waistline. Visceral fat is the fat that is on the inside of your ab muscles surrounding your organs. To get a tight toned six pack you need to really get rid of both but specifically the subcutaneous fat as that is what is ‘masking’ your abs.
Visceral fat is very bad because it is linked to many diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, etc. Visceral fat is also metabolically active, meaning that is doesn’t just sit there (like subcutaneous belly fat) is can actively promote inflammation which scientists think is the driving force for many diseases. Fortunately when you go on a weight loss diet you will lose both visceral and subcutaneous belly fat.
Now back to why women gain more belly fat then men as they get older. As a woman goes through menopause research shows that their body fat tends to get deposited less in their thighs, hips, and arms and more in their stomach area.
As you age and your metabolism slows down, the amount of fat in your body slowly increases. Women experience an even greater fat percentage increase than men do. Then after menopause, your body fat distribution tends to shift — less in your arms, legs and hips, and more in your abdomen. This change in body fat distribution is mainly due to hormonal changes that occur in menopause.
How can you stop this? Preventing storage of body fat in your stomach isn’t as complicated as people make it. In fact you really need to attach stomach fat just like you attack any other type of body fat. You need to use a reduced carb diet, metabolic resistance training, and interval training. This three pronged approach to losing weight is extremely effective in both men and women. It is important to realize that as we get older we move less to increasing activity and stimulating your metabolism to that you burn more calories and burn more fat is the best approach for women who want to lose belly fat (men too, actually).
About the Author/More Info:
Warp Speed Fat Loss is a complete 28 day diet and training system crafted to help you lose 10,15, or 20lbs of body fat in just 28 day. To start losing weight fast visit his site. Mike Roussell is a nutrition doctoral student at the University of Pennsylvania. Mike’s writings can be found in magazines such as Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, and Testosterone Nation. Mike specializes in fat loss nutrition and diets for busy men and women who need to lose weight fast without it interfering with their lives. Warp Speed Fat Loss is a complete Done-for-You A-Z Fat Loss Blueprint that gives you exactly everything you need to eat to lose weight in record time.
Tags: fat loss, fat loss for women, how to lose fat, mike roussell
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Tuesday, June 16th, 2009
By Jason Ferruggia
I often wonder how guys were even able to workout before internet training forums were around. I mean if you can’t visit 469 different message boards per day and post your muscle building workout in order to get the approval from at least half the world’s population before hitting the gym that day how could you ever make progress? It’s bewildering to me.
Or where would the variety in your training come from? Everyone knows the fastest way to make gains is to mindlessly, blindly and without reason switch on a monthly basis from the Russian Pyramid Scheme to Indonesian Drop Sets to Hungarian Hypertrophy Training to German Volume Training and so on and so on. Right?
Oh, the insanity…
There are a few very important factors that need to be remembered if you are interested in muscle building.
Consistency, dedication, commitment are three of the most important.
You have to be willing to put in the time and pay your dues. You have to pick a plan and stick with it. Results won’t come overnight. You have to be patient and consistent. If you are trying to get bigger and stronger you have to add weight to the bar; AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE. You have to eat way beyond the point of being uncomfortable. I’m talking about having a fork in your mouth for the majority of your waking hours. There are some guys who will argue that you can gain size on a caloric intake at or slightly above maintenance. They will talk about “dry muscle” and other nonsense. This is good advice to follow if you want to remain a pencil necked geek forever. If you want to gain size as rapidly as humanly possible you have to eat inordinate amounts of food and lift incredibly heavy weights. There is no way around it.
If you don’t want to get fat in the process you should do cardio, time your carb intake and make healthy food choices. Although the truth of the matter is if you allow yourself to get fat while getting bigger you will reach your goal faster. More calories, more weight gain and better leverages to lift heavier poundages will lead to faster hypertrophy gains. It won’t be the prettiest look in the world but you can slowly diet the extra fat off later. That’s the fastest way. I’m not saying it’s the most attractive option for everyone. But you’ll get big and strong in a hurry. If you try to stay under 8% bodyfat year round while trying to gain size, you’re going to be in for a long battle ahead.
Decide what it is that you really want to accomplish with your training and do it. Don’t over analyze everything because I can promise you that you’ll never get anywhere. Don’t question it. Don’t think about it. Just pick a solid, proven training plan that has a good track record of success and stick with it. For at least 8 weeks. Don’t ask everyone you meet what they think of your training program or what they are doing. Just commit to making the fastest gains possible in the next 8 weeks, train hard and heavy, eat a lot and you’ll be blown away by the progress you can make when you actually believe in yourself and what you are doing.
For a proven muscle building program that will remove all the guesswork for you and has helped thousands of guys get huge and strong in a hurry click HERE now.
Jason Ferruggia is a world famous fitness expert who is renowned for his ability to help people build muscle as fast as humanly possible. He is the head training adviser for Men’s Fitness Magazine where he also has his own monthly column dedicated to muscle building. For more How to Build Muscle Fast tips, check out musclegainingsecrets.com
Tags: build muscle, building muscle, jason ferruggia, Stop the Muscle Building Insanity
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Sunday, June 14th, 2009
By Jason Ferruggia
 Let’s be honest. Everybody wants to improve the way they look. I don’t know of too many people that don’t want to build muscle fast or lose more fat in a hurry. It’s just human nature. You want to appeal to the opposite sex and command respect from you peers. Personally, I am obsessed with performance gains and train for strength and function first and foremost, but even I would be lying if I said I didn’t want to look better. We all do.
But wanting and doing are two entirely different things. Everyone wants to dramatically transform their physiques and make mind blowing gains, but how many people actually do? How many people do you know that build muscle fast and get absolutely jacked in the course of even a one year period? Very few. And do you know why? Because they don’t have the right mindset. Change your mindset and you will change your body. With the right mindset you can make gains in as little as 12 weeks that other guys don’t even make in 12 years!
People who have made unbelievable physical transformations first accepted the fact that it wasn’t going to be a walk in the park and they were willing to work for it and do whatever it took. That’s not to say that it takes an incredible amount of time. You don’t have to spend every waking hour in the gym. You can progress incredibly well in just a few short hours per week. But if you don’t possess the proper mindset and the determination to do whatever it takes during those three or four weekly hours of training you will never get anywhere.
We all have commitments and time restraints that prevent us from working out as much as we would like to. But lack of time never was and never will be an acceptable excuse. If you search hard enough and cut out the wasted hours of TV time and other useless nonsense, you will find that we all have two or three hours per week to dedicate to our health and to transforming our bodies. After all, what is more important in life than your health and your body? Very little if you ask me.
Guys like Arthur Saxon, Dorian Yates, Arnold, Bill Pearl, George Hackenshmidt and Ed Coan all had the never-say-die, take-no-prisoners attitude that is an absolute prerequisite of massive physical transformation. Bill Pearl found that he was so busy that he had to rise at 4am every day just to get his workouts in. But that’s what it took, so he did it happily.
It doesn’t require fancy machinery and a high tech gym, it doesn’t take a lot of time each week, it doesn’t take any over hyped, over priced supplements; but it does take hard work, dedication and a burning desire to be the best. If you think you are going to loaf through your workouts and make head turning changes to your physique you are simply lying to yourself.
Will be this be the day when you finally make the mindset change necessary to achieve greatness or will you just keep putting it off ‘til tomorrow?
For a simple to follow, step by step plan that will motivate you beyond your wildest dreams and finally help you build muscle fast and get in the best shape of your life, while spending less than three hours per week in the gym, check out MuscleGainingSecrets.com now.
Jason Ferruggia is a world famous fitness expert who is renowned for his ability to help people build muscle as fast as humanly possible. He is the head training adviser for Men’s Fitness Magazine where he also has his own monthly column dedicated to muscle building. For more How to Build Muscle Fast tips, check out musclegainingsecrets.com
Tags: build muscle, Change Your Mindset and You Will Build Muscle Fast, jason ferruggia, muscle building
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Saturday, June 13th, 2009
by Mike Roussell PhD(c)
 One of the best ways to ensure you burn maximum fat is to get it done first thing in the morning. A common fat loss tip people often give out is just this – exercise in the morning to burn more fat. Does exercising in the morning burn more calories? Unfortunately there is no scientific evidence to prove that exercising in the morning burns more calories but it may increase your fat loss.
How? Because it guarantees that you’ll get your workout done! If you are having trouble losing weight, sticking to your diet, and getting in all your exercise sessions then working out first thing in the morning could be just the thing for you.
In a recent episode of Naked Nutrition Radio and the guest was behavior change expert Kara Mohr. Kara and her husband Chris Mohr hold exercise bootcamp for women in Louisville, KY at 5:30 in the morning. Why? They call it the “No Excuse Hour”. You don’t have any excuses not to be there and not to do it. My friend and Men’s Health Expert Bill Hartman exercises at 4:00am to ensure that he gets his workout in – No Excuses. Bill runs two PT clinics, a gym, and is a family man. He has every reason to have excuses but he makes the time.
Success coach Brian Tracy always says that if you to be successful just find successful people and do what they are doing. If you are having trouble getting your workout sessions in because you day is too busy. Follow the example of these successful people and embrace the No Excuse Hour. You will feel invigorated, your metabolism will be blasting at its highest level, and you’ll burn more fat.
The second important piece to the puzzle is diet. You need rock solid fat loss nutrition first thing in the morning to fuel your day. One important factor for many people (especially if they are exercising in the morning as well) is time. That is why I recommend you use a nutrition packed shake to get fueled and get going with your day. Here is a sample of the kind of shake that you should be making to burn maximum fat.
Add to a blender: walnuts, a greens supplement (such as Emerald Balance or Superfood), protein powder, and frozen blueberries. Take 2-3 grams of fish oil while drinking this shake and you’ll be ready to go. This shake contains low impact carbs, a blend of essential and heart healthy fats, antioxidant, vitamins, and minerals. You could not find a better way to start your day and start burning fat.
You need to decide. Are you going to starting losing weight tomorrow morning? Are you going to take advantage of the “no excuse hour”? Are you going to start your day with a fat burning breakfast or coffee and a bagel like the rest of the country? Jumpstart your fat loss first thing in the morning and you will reap the benefits throughout the day.
About the Author/More Info:
Warp Speed Fat Loss is a complete 28 day diet and training system crafted to help you lose 10,15, or 20lbs of body fat in just 28 day. To start losing weight fast visit his site. Mike Roussell is a nutrition doctoral student at the University of Pennsylvania. Mike’s writings can be found in magazines such as Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, and Testosterone Nation. Mike specializes in fat loss nutrition and diets for busy men and women who need to lose weight fast without it interfering with their lives. Warp Speed Fat Loss is a complete Done-for-You A-Z Fat Loss Blueprint that gives you exactly everything you need to eat to lose weight in record time.
Tags: fat loss, mike roussell
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Wednesday, June 10th, 2009
By Jason Ferruggia
 Everywhere you go today you find more and more people who are dealing with increasing stress levels. Excess stress leads to excess cortisol production and lowers your testosterone and growth hormone secretion, which of course makes muscle building nearly impossible and leaves you with a lot more bodyfat; not to mention a decreased sex drive, the inability to relax or focus and a whole bunch of other problems like decreased immune response and higher frequency of injuries.
For centuries, meditation has been known to reduce stress and relax the mind thus greatly improving your overall health and physical appearance. By decreasing your stress levels you will automatically increase your muscle building dramatically. You will immediately experience greater energy, tighter pumps in the gym, faster muscle building and improved recovery. You will find your sex drive rapidly increasing and you will be able to focus and experience a whole new level of clarity.
Most gym rats, lifters and other fitness obsessed individuals have largely ignored the benefits of meditation and the dramatic muscle building impact it can have on your training and your well being. Recently I was turned on to the Holosync Meditation CD’s and the results were dramatic within just the first few days. These are the only mediation CD’s out there that actually work. In the past I have experimented with other meditation programs but never seemed to get anything out of them. This program is completely different. Several friends and clients that I have recommended the program to have all noticed great benefits including improved performance in their muscle building workouts.
I have always been an intense person who can get a little too stressed out sometimes. Recently, I have made some drastic changes in my life that have helped me reduce my stress levels. The Holosync Meditation CD’s have played a large part in my recent transformation. I use these CD’s every night and really look forward to my meditation sessions. I usually listen to them immediately after my workout and find that it helps me relax and accelerates my recovery. I have also noticed a marked improvement in my productivity since starting the program, which was a very nice surprise.
I can’t recommend the Holosync Meditation CD’s highly enough and sincerely think that everyone should give this program a shot ASAP. You will not be disappointed and your life will be a lot better for it.
Jason Ferruggia is a world famous fitness expert who is renowned for his ability to help people build muscle as fast as humanly possible. He has trained thousands of clients during his 14 years as a professional fitness coach, including more than 500 athletes from over 20 different sports. Jason has written hundreds of articles for numerous top rated training magazines and websites and has authored four fitness books. He is also the head training adviser for Men’s Fitness Magazine where he also has his own monthly column dedicated to muscle building. For more great muscle building information, please visit musclegainingsecrets.com
Tags: jason ferruggia, muscle building, The Muscle Building Power of Meditation
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Sunday, June 7th, 2009
by Mike Roussell PhD(c)
 What is stopping your from reaching your fat loss goals? Maybe you are on track. If so then you can skip this article and go read something else… however… if your body isn’t where you want it to be then keep reading.
It is not uncommon that I talk with someone about their weight loss and they are completely baffled about why they can’t lose moreweight. They are training hard and they are using a solid high protein, reduced carbohydrate, low calorie diet but they just aren’t losing weight fast enough.
The first question I always ask is – “Do you track your compliance?”
They respond “Huh?”
The truth is that you may have an amazing training and diet program but if you aren’t following the plan then you might as well have a bad training and diet program. You may be thinking. “Yeah, compliance…I’ve heard that before, I actually DO track what I eat.” That’s well and good but let’s takes this compliance thing one step further and look at the little things.
Let’s be honest. You can eat an extra piece of toast and not mark it down. You can make that teaspoon of peanut butter more like a tablespoon and not tell anyone but in the end the tape measure never lies. It is these small food indiscretions that most people don’t may attention to but in the end they can be the deciding factor in your fat loss. You can overlook them and lie to yourself now but you’ll be disappointed later on when the time comes to measure your progress – the tape measure never lies. It is better to be honest about your compliance so you can make strides to fix the holes in your plan, then lie to yourself, not lose the weight, and be stuck saying “I don’t know why I’m not losing any weight.”
Are you making this mistake? Be honest with yourself. Let’s look at some things that you should be doing on a daily/weekly basis. If you aren’t physically tracking your compliance then you need to start there. How many of your planned meals are you eating? How many are you missing? That is step one. The next step is to ensure that you are accurately tracking your compliance. This is an area we are all tempted to cheat in.
One of the not so obvious reasons why I recommend that people “chunk” their food prep and do in 1-2 times a week is because many people snack while cooking (I’m very guilty in this area). A slice of chicken here, a couple carrots there, you know what I’m talking about. These things add up. If you can’t cut out your nibbling when cooking it is very important that you “chunk” your prep. The difference could be as much as 500 calories a week saved (maybe more!).
Your mission is to get your compliance in check. In order to guarantee your success this is the only change that you should make over the next 2 weeks. Don’t change your diet, don’t change your training – just focus on accurately tracking your compliance and under the radar snacking. If after 2 weeks you notice that your measurement are going down or the the scale shows that you’ve lost more weight then we know that was the problem.
About the Author/More Info:
Warp Speed Fat Loss is a complete 28 day diet and training system crafted to help you lose 10,15, or 20lbs of body fat in just 28 day. To start losing weight fast visit his site. Mike Roussell is a nutrition doctoral student at the University of Pennsylvania. Mike’s writings can be found in magazines such as Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, and Testosterone Nation. Mike specializes in fat loss nutrition and diets for busy men and women who need to lose weight fast without it interfering with their lives. Warp Speed Fat Loss is a complete Done-for-You A-Z Fat Loss Blueprint that gives you exactly everything you need to eat to lose weight in record time.
Tags: fat loss, mike roussell, warpspeed, warpspeed fat loss
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Friday, June 5th, 2009
By Jason Ferruggia
 My favorite muscle building cardio workout is to get up and go for a half hour walk before breakfast. I usually do this about four or five days per week and I do it for a few reasons. First of all, I do it for cardiovascular health. Too many people simply lift weights and ignore all the other components of fitness. I do it first thing in the morning because I know that if I start my day by checking email or doing some other sort of work the likelihood of me walking later in the day is very low. I get up and get it done immediately so it’s out of the way. Also, it increases my appetite and seems to stoke my metabolism for the day.
This allows me to eat more with less likelihood of adding bodyfat. It also helps wake me up, clears my head, gives me time to think and packs my lungs full of fresh air, which is incredibly important during the winter when everyone around you is sick as a dog 24/7. I believe this is one of the many things I do that keeps me healthy.
There are a lot of hills in my neighborhood so it’s pretty easy to get the heart pumping. If you don’t live in a hilly area and are in decent shape you will probably need to wear a weighted vest or drag a sled. If you opt to wear a weight vest, which I do some mornings, depending on the route I take, be sure that you don’t get overzealous and add too much weight too soon.
You have to remember that if you are walking for thirty minutes you are going to be taking a lot of steps. Each of those steps will add up to stress on your ankles, knees, hips and spine. So start with no more than ten pounds on the vest and try to keep the majority of the weight in the back instead of split evenly. Slowly, over time you can add a few pounds per week. Personally, I wouldn’t recommend ever adding more than 30 or 40 pounds to the vest if you are going to be walking for a half hour.
It should be noted that the more muscle mass you have the more calories you will burn when you walk. In fact, legendary bodybuilder and multiple time Mr. Olympia winner, Dorian Yates used walking as his only muscle building cardio workout to get him down to single digit bodyfat percentages before contests. That was because he carried nearly 300 pounds of muscle on his six foot frame. If you aren’t quite as jacked up as the Diesel, walking alone will probably never get you shredded. You are going to have to build more muscle or you are going to need some sprints and more intense methods to get the job done.
If you do decide to start walking on a regular basis for your muscle building cardio, please remember that one of the major benefits is getting outside and breathing heavy in the fresh air. Whatever you do, DO NOT walk on a treadmill. This is by far the most ridiculous invention in the history of the planet. There are roads, hills, sidewalks, woods, mountains and fields everywhere across the world. And there is no way that you can honestly tell me that you can’t find somewhere else to walk but on a treadmill.
Jason Ferruggia is a world famous fitness expert who is renowned for his ability to help people build muscle as fast as humanly possible. He has trained thousands of clients during his 14 years as a professional fitness coach, including more than 500 athletes from over 20 different sports. Jason has written hundreds of articles for numerous top rated training magazines and websites and has authored four fitness books. He is also the head training adviser for Men’s Fitness Magazine where he also has his own monthly column dedicated to muscle building. For more great muscle building information, please visit musclegainingsecrets.com
Tags: jason ferruggia, muscle building, Muscle Building Cardio Workout
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Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009
By Jason Ferruggia
 These days it’s very trendy to use bands and chains for building muscle and strength. Several years back, I got caught up using chains and bands with almost everyone in my gym. After a couple years of doing this I realized that nobody was progressing any faster than they were before. It occurred to me that what we were doing was overkill and from then on, I kept the chains and bands reserved for only the strongest members of my gym. Now I don’t use them at all (or at least in that sense).
The fact is that there is no need to use bands or chains unless you are extremely strong. If your max squat is 225, squatting with bands and chains isn’t going to do much for you in the way of building muscle or gaining strength. In fact, it will be detrimental to your progress. Tons of people have gotten inhumanly strong for decades without ever using bands or chains and plenty of guys continue to do so today.
Unless you are capable of doing a full back squat, all the way to ground with no belt and pristine technique with 500lbs, you have absolutely no business using bands or chains. These are advanced tools to pull out of the toolbox only at the times when you really need them. During your first several years of training all you need is a hammer and nail. Don’t search deeper in the toolbox for something you don’t need yet. If you get to 545lbs and plateau there for a while then maybe it’s time to pull out the chains and bands. But not before then. The problem is that when you incorporate advanced methods before you need them you miss out on the potential huge gains that they could provide later on down the road when you really need them.
So layoff the bands and chains until you are really advanced and stick with more tools for building muscle, at least until your strength levels are at the point where the entire gym stops to watch when you squat or deadlift.
Jason Ferruggia is a world famous fitness expert who is renowned for his ability to help people build muscle as fast as humanly possible. He has trained thousands of clients during his 14 years as a professional fitness coach, including more than 500 athletes from over 20 different sports. Jason has written hundreds of articles for numerous top rated training magazines and websites and has authored four fitness books. He is also the head training adviser for Men’s Fitness Magazine where he also has his own monthly column dedicated to muscle building. For more great muscle building information, please visit musclegainingsecrets.com
Tags: build muscle, build muscle with bands and chains, jason ferruggia
Posted in Blog, Build Muscle, Exercise Advice | No Comments »
Saturday, May 30th, 2009
 Anyone who has tried to get rid of fat has been there. In the beginning, the nutrition and exercise plan seems to be working, but then all the fat loss comes to a screeching halt. We all have those problem areas (for me it is my stomach and love handles), where the fat just won’t seen to go away. Can dumbbell workout routines be the answer?
I say “YES”, dumbbell training is the secret weapon against stubborn fat!
Now, I can see some of you scratching your head right now. You’re saying, “I’ve done dumbbell workouts before and didn’t notice any significant fat loss.” And your right, just using dumbbells is not the key, HOW you use the dumbbells is the key!
Most dumbbell workout routines you see men and women do are “bodybuilding” type workouts. They perform dumbbell exercise with the intention of “isolating” small muscles to make them grow. And since the muscle groups they are targeting are small, they use light weights. And lifting light weight dumbbells using small muscle groups does not burn fat!
But what if you used heavier dumbbells in a full body workout routine that simultaneously builds a strong, muscular body, boosts heart and lung power AND burns a lot of calories both during and after the workout? Do you think those stubborn fat cells would lose that battle? You bet they would!
Here are three examples of dumbbell routines that build a strong, well-conditioned body AND blast off stubborn fat:
Grinding Dumbbell Super Sets
Grinding dumbbell exercises include presses, rows, squats and deadlifts. By themselves, these dumbbell lifts are excellent for building muscle. And the more muscle you have, the more calories your body uses while at rest to maintain the muscle. And just in case you missed it, using more calories while at rest = LESS FAT!
Now, if that wasn’t good enough, when you perform a dumbbell workout using grinding exercises as super sets, you boost the fat burning power. For those of you who don’t know, a super set is when you perform a set of one exercise, and then immediately (or after a short rest), perform a set of a different exercise. This allows you to move through the dumbbell routines faster, involving the cardiorespiratory systems and burning more fat!
Explosive Dumbbell Timed Circuits
Explosive dumbbell exercises include swings, snatches and jerks. By themselves, these dumbbell exercises require a lot of energy due to their explosive nature. These exercises require speed to move the dumbbells as fast as possible, which means repeated bursts of energy. And just in case you missed it, using more energy = LESS FAT!
But perform dumbbell workout routines where you do these exercises as timed circuits, and their fat burning power increases exponentially. Why? Because doing resistance exercise for a longer time period means you expend more energy for longer periods of time during the workout. So you don’t only build incredible explosive power, extraordinary heart and lung power, but you burn more fat!
Dumbbell Combo Matrixes
This is my secret weapon for getting rid of that stubborn fat (and building an all-purpose body where strength and conditioning go hand and hand!). A dumbbell combo matrix is when you combine two or more dumbbell exercises together into one exercise repetition. This means each repetition takes longer to perform, uses more muscle groups and requires a great deal of energy. Translation: bye, bye fat!
Ok, you’ll probably need an example for this one.
How about: Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift + Dumbbell Power Clean + Dumbbell Press. This equals one repetition. So let’s say you do 5 repetitions. You are really doing 15 repetitions per set (5 deadlifts, 5 cleans and 5 presses). This takes a lot of time to perform, uses a wide range of muscles and therefore uses up a lot of energy. And again, more energy used = more fat loss.
Just take a second and compare these dumbbell workout routines to the typical Use Light Weight, Target Small Muscles, Take Long Rest Period approach of other dumbbell workout routines. Do you see a difference? I do, and it is those differences that make these dumbbell workouts so effective at blasting off stubborn fat. So, if you’re having trouble getting rid of that last 10 pounds of ugly fat, these dumbbell routines may be the answer!
Coach Eddie Lomax, author of Extreme Dumbbell Fitness, invites you to learn the 5 hidden secrets of dumbbell workout routines which lead to more muscle, stronger muscle, less fat and better conditioning.
Tags: dumbbell, dumbbell exercise, fat loss
Posted in Blog, Dumbbell Exercise, Fat Loss | 1 Comment »
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Many moons ago when people asked me how to build muscle fast I told them that they had to squat, deadlift and bench press. That was before I injured my own shoulder and saw it happen to countless others. It happened again yesterday. My friend and ex training partner called and told me he tore his rotator cuff while benching heavy over the weekend. This did not come as shocking news. This bench press has been injuring shoulders and tearing pecs since the first time it was ever performed.
