To Speed your Quest for More Muscles!
By David Gentle

As far as bodybuilding is concerned, it is your appearance that counts.

Take a Break

For optimum progress, train on a regular basis, but vary your program/training/schedules/ exercises/sets and reps to continually stimulate muscle growth and power. Attack all the muscle fibers with a mixture of both fast and slow movements in your training exercises. Take occasional REST PERIODS or LAY OFFS, when you reach those all too common training plateaus or feel genuinely tired or BORED, listless or actually exhausted. Over tiredness is a REAL ENEMY OF PROGRESS.

When you do decide to have a break of say two to three weeks (i.e. a holiday) avoid the subject of bodybuilding or even visiting a gym socially. Instead have a TOTAL REST from bodybuilding. You will then return completely refreshed and once again begin to make better progress, with a renewed vigour and vitality, nor will you lose REAL MUSCLE, when taking a break from pumping iron.

Change Food Supplements

Try a change of food supplements and basic diet from time to time. A good diet will still provide your basic nutrition requirements, and the habit of taking mega vitamins and excess minerals should occasionally GET A REST from your regime to allow the body to regain its natural balance and functions. Record all your training schedules down to the last rep or set and list poundages used in all exercises. Take note of what diet/ training/schedules bring YOU best results. If it works well, then STICK TO IT for as long as you make progress. Become knowledgeable with the natural therapies of herbs, spices and health foods to use in times of illness or stress, foods without side effects that drugs can cause. Let nature heal…..

New Schedules

When commencing new training schedules, take care and ease your way into the routine gradually. Always try out fresh exercises WITH LIGHT WEIGHTS until you get accustomed to the actual movement and exercise, thus avoiding strains and injuries. It is highly desirable that you ALWAYS warm up before your main training session with some 'free' exercises and some flexibility moves, i.e. general stretching and turning. After a heavy workout, also taper off with some similar light exercises as this habit will definitely aid recovery. Avoid leg raises or sit ups with legs held straight, as this exercise variety is primarily a hip flexor and can result in low back strains. Substitute ‘crunches’ or curls ups instead for the abdominals, combined with caloric control for a reduction in the waist line.

Unless you are physically suited to the lift, i.e. short logged with long arms, then avoid stiff legged deadlifts and forward bends with barbell, or those moves called the good morning exercise, two further exercises which can bring about low back pain injuries, which often have a nasty habit of recurring and again delaying progress.

Good back exercises which are safe to practise are all types of chins or pulldowns on cable/lat machine, both in front of body to low waist and. wide grip pulldowns to behind neck style. Also for the lats, triceps and pectorals, try dips on parallel bars. Extra resistance can be provided by adding to the waist, via a belt attachment extra discs or barbell plates. Dumbbell rows, the champions favourite exercise is a superb move and you can support the upper body with the non exercising arm, preventing strain, letting you use a lot of weight and allowing full flexibility and maximum muscle range.

It is safer, wiser and more sensible to wear a thick leather (or canvas) belt on all heavy exercises, or lifts, even and including bench presses, to support and protect the spine. Use 'muscle rub' or embrocation oils to warm up the muscles, massaging it on both before and after exercises and take extra vitamin C, up to two grams day. Young bodybuilders, i.e. teenagers, are advised to avoid muscle moves which can compress the spinal cord, such as heavy squats, deadlifts, barbell rowing and heavy overhead lifting. Build up your basic body parts first before trying out your power.

A health ray/sun lamp or use of a gym solarium is a good idea, investment to soothe away muscle - aches and pains (after a nice warm bath) and also to gain some healthy colour. Use also artificial tan. before posing routines or contests. Try to dress the part for training, it gets you into the correct mood, with a CLEAN track suit and training shoes. Have some consideration for others and pay attention to personal hygiene before visiting the gym, this includes using deodorants, sure you have to sweat, to make gains, but let it be healthy, not stale perspiration. Same remarks to socks and undergarments, some people just have to be told, make sure you are not one of them.

Gradually Does It

Plan to work up poundages, or sets/reps gradually. Train harder on those days when you personally feel energy is high and your bio rhythms are on a positive course. When you get the opposite low energy phase, as we all do from time to time, then take it easy and use lighter weights, or for a while at least less sets, or lower reps until you regain your old vitality. Obtain regular inspiration from your favourite muscle magazine (Bodybuilding Monthly of course) cut out and decorate your gym or training quarters with pictures of your top stars. Pick the champions you wish to emulate, with similar body types to that of your own, so that you do not seek unrealistic targets. Support the many local and national shows, contests and top physique events, you will always LEARN, be inspired, see how to pose with grace and style and thus get to KNOW YOUR SPORT.

Vary Routines

Do not always stick to light resistance muscle pumping routines, occasionally try out with some heavier powerlifting. excellent for muscle mass AND POWER/STRENGTH. Keep your gym neat and tidy, this helps avoid accidents such as tripping over weights and makes for a better training environment. Still on the subject of accidents, always double check that collars are SECURE – NEVER EVER lift without collars, or checking that the plates are on tight. Use colour in the workout area for attractiveness and also more energy.

If you can, then obtain pre set dumbbells and barbells to save time and energy changing weights. At times train in front of a mirror to aid concentration on the muscle groups being used, it does help growth and definition if you CONCENTRATE. After exercising full flex and POSE EACH MUSCLE GORUP to aid muscle control and bring about better cuts.

Try to obtain plenty of fresh air and a reasonable natural suntan if possible and so long as your skin does not burn easily, but avoid excess tanning or actual burning of the skin. To be safe, use a high actor sun block lotion when out in the strong sunlight, and for posing, use artificial suntan ointments, modern ones look as good as the real thing. Shave off excess hair with a normal razor before contests, and use just a minimum of body oil for posing, be it contests or for pictures, for best photos, use professional photographers, pictures are useful to keep a real track of your progress.

Ensure you always have ATTENTIVE training partners standing by whenever you practise bench presses or heavy squats, both to encourage and also if required, to immediately take hold of the barbell if you lose control. Most accidents occur during moments of inattention. Forced reps, i.e. where the training partners help you by perhaps just a little finger touch when squeezing out the last few reps are a proven way of gaining strength and MORE MUSCLE, but do not make the mistake of using forced reps in all exercises, far too tough a regime and only for the really advanced or professional bodybuilder.

Avoid bouncing in the low squat position or squatting with a rounded back, you can damage your back and spine. For balance squat with heels on a couple of barbell plates. Look forwards and upwards when squatting. Try for variety in squats, i.e. using front squats with barbell held high and elbows pointing forwards and upwards. You won’t require so much poundage, but the variety still pumps quads. Another system is the ‘rest pause’ with squats or any other exercise. You complete say six or seven reps, then take a brief rest without putting the bar down, take a few deep breaths and then continue, until the required number of reps are completed. With practice you will discover often how just a simple change of hand/wrists position will help you avoid elbows, shoulders or other pains or injuries and often just a change of hand spacing will produce more muscle, especially on lat machines or when curling weights. Make use of the popular EZEE curl bar when you are working arms, equally good for both biceps and triceps.

Make Exercise Comfortable and Enjoyable

Lets face it, life is tough enough, so why make it harder – exercise in comfort whenever you can, with padded benches, leg extension blocks and also try using a rolled up towel or similar material around the bar for squatting to save those poor old shoulders. Some people prefer using training gloves for better grip being non-slip, and it’s certainly much better using gloves on cold rusty bars. Use unlocked elbows when practicing dumbbell flies for the chest, and slightly unlocked arms when working on dumbbell standing laterals for those high wide and handsome deltoids. Tricep stretches carried out when lying on the exercise bench work better if you have a small price of foam for the bar so just touch with a little bounce off at the low position. Some people even use foam wrapped around the bar for bench presses, or several sweaters to avoid bruises. Finally for a real pectoral pump, use cable cross-overs directly AFTER your bench presses. Finishing off your whole body workout with some TAPERING OFF EXERCISES, and a shower.

To Speed your Quest for MORE MUSCLES!! © Copyright by David Gentle All Rights Reserved