Bodybuilding: Building a Standout in the Crowd Chest

Since the beginning of bodybuilding time, men have wanted to build a chest that enters the room a good 2 seconds before the rest of their body. They want a chest that stands out and commands attention, a chest that steps up and sticks out. A broad chest that women seek to lay their head upon.

And ladies too, seek a beautiful chest, one that accents their natural assets. But they also want their chest to be sleek and feminine like the rest of their physique at the same time.

Well, achieving either of those goals is easily attainable with a thorough chest routine. And add a few expert tips and tricks into your overall plan, and you?ll have the chest of your dreams without the shoulder injuries of your nightmares.

Shoulder injuries have always been the rain on the chest training parade. Injuries are often due to overtraining, improper form, or simply not applying a back training ying to the chest training yang.

So when you do this routine, it will train your entire upper, upper body. By that I mean your chest, your rear delts, the rhomboids between your shoulder blades, your traps, and your rotator cuff muscles. From your ribs to your collarbone, at both the front and back of your body, your muscles will be exhausted, but trained to just the right level of exhaustion.

With just the right volume, but without overloading the shoulder joint, we are going to use basic chest exercises, but with a twist in a few cases, to make the most of the least. By training with supersets, you?ll get in and out of the gym if you do only the 6 exercises below. Talk about a beautiful chest fast.

While the full program offers the optimal volume for mega-chest-mass, I?ve included some substitutions for women that are a little concerned with adding too much mass too fast to their chests. So make sure to read training substitutions, included below the workout, so you can customize the program to your goals.

I?ve also included a summary of the methods, and a bonus instant chest building technique you probably never think of, after the workout. As well, a complete set of exercise descriptions is included at the end of the article.

THE UGN STANDOUT-IN-THE-CROWD CHEST workout

Superset 1:
Rest 60 seconds between exercises. Rest 90 seconds before repeating the superset.
A1) DB Flat Chest Press (4 sets x 6 reps) Tempo: 3-0-1
A2) Barbell Row or Seated Wide-grip Row (4x8) 2-0-1
Superset 2:
Do not rest between exercises. Rest 60 seconds before repeating the superset.
B1) DB Incline Press (3x8) 2-0-1
B2) DB Chest Fly (3x10) 3-0-1

Superset 3:
Do not rest between exercises. Rest 60 seconds before repeating the superset.
C1) Medium-grip Bench Press (3x12) 2-0-1

C2) DB External Rotation (3x10) 2-0-1
Female exercise substitutions:

Do only 2 sets of each exercise.
For exercise A1), substitute the maximum number of pushups you can do in place of the DB Flat Chest Press.

How to Instantly Increase Your Chest Size

This is something that everyone should be doing, several times per day. If you work at a computer, you should be trying to hold this position all of the time.

Here?s what to do:

In a seated or standing position, hold your arms down by your side. Externally rotate your shoulders so that your palms are now facing forward. Use the muscles between your shoulder blades to bring your shoulder blades together. Squeeze extra hard and pull your shoulders back by contracting your rear delts. At the same time, try to pull your shoulders down (you might feel a stretch running along your neck between your shoulders and your ears ? the more stretch you feel, the more you need to work on holding this position). This should pull your shoulders back and pop your chest out at least two inches. You should feel tension between your shoulder blades as your muscles work to hold that position. You might also feel a stretch in your chest. Now hold this proud posture as much as you can all day and when standing around in the clubs or in line at the grocery store. Trust me, someone will notice!

Exercise Descriptions

DB Flat Bench Press

Hold the dumbbells above your chest with your palms turned toward your feet. Lower the dumbbells to chest level. Press the dumbbells straight up above the chest. BB Row

Stand with your torso bent and parallel to the floor. Contract your glutes, brace your abs and keep your spine in a neutral position. Keep the lower back in a neutral position and your knees slightly bent. Grasp the barbell with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Row the barbell to the abdomen and bring your shoulder blades together. Slowly lower to the starting position and repeat. Do NOT round your lower back. Wide-grip Seated Row

Use a long bar and take a greater than shoulder-width overhand grip. Keep your arms and back straight, knees slightly bent. Row the handle back as far as possible bringing your shoulder blades together. DB Incline Press

Lie on a bench with the backrest inclined at 45 degrees. Hold the dumbbells above your chest with your palms turned toward your feet. Lower the dumbbells to chest level. Press the dumbbells straight up above the chest. DB Fly

Lie flat on your back on a bench and hold the dumbbells with your palms turned towards your body (palms will face each other). Maintain a slight bend in your elbows at all times. Slowly begin to lower the dumbbells out to your side until your elbows reach shoulder level. Don?t lower the dumbbells any further. At this point, squeeze your chest and bring the dumbbells up and in to the start position under control.

Medium-Grip Bench Press

Keep your feet flat on the floor, legs bent, and upper back flat against the bench. Grip the bar half-way between shoulder-width and your normal bench press grip. Keep the elbows close to the sides to emphasize the triceps. Have your spotter help you take the bar from the rack. Keeping your elbows close to your sides, lower the bar straight down to the bottom of your chest. Pause briefly and then press the bar back up above the chest in a straight line. DB External Rotation

Sit on a flat bench holding a light dumbbell (start with 5lbs). Bend your right knee and place your right foot on the end of the bench. Rest your right elbow on the top of your right knee and hold the DB in the bottom position. Slowly, using the small muscles of your rotator cuff, externally rotate the DB up and back until it is in the finish position (your forearm is perpendicular to your body at the top of the movement).

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men?s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit http://www.TurbulenceTraining.com

5 Strategies For Getting Started In Bodybuilding

Bodybuilding is not just a sport; it is an investment in your body and your life. If you think it is as simple as getting in a few reps at the gym every now and then, you?ll be sadly mistaken when you can?t see results or you begin to injury yourself. Instead of putting yourself through that torture, make sure that you know what to do and how to do it in bodybuilding first. Here are some tips to getting started with bodybuilding.

* Find A Great Gym. While you can purchase a membership to many gyms, that doesn?t mean that it is a good one. If you are serious about bodybuilding, you?ll need more than just a standard gym offering yoga. You need a gym that is packed with the equipment that you need and all of which is in good solid working condition.

* Find A Trainer. The best way to bulk up is to use a professional trainer. If you can afford the investment, interview a few people and find the one that challenges and motivates you the best. Sure, you know what needs done and you know you can do it by yourself, but when you use a professional, you?ll see results faster and safer.

* Safety is necessary no matter what. While you want to push yourself for the next set of reps or you want to go just a little longer, you need to realize that too much can tear muscles, and possibly injure them permanently. This is destructive of what you are trying to do. Develop a personal plan, hopefully with the help of a professional, to help you reach your bodybuilding goals.

* Eat right. Not only do you need to eat a good amount of food, but it is also important to eat the right foods. Your body will crave meats and proteins as it builds muscle. If you don?t give it good stuff, though, you?ll hinder its ability to expand and grow.

* Dedicate yourself. Not only is it enough to get to the gym, work with the trainer and eat right, but you?ll also need to make sure that you are 110% motivated and dedicated to becoming the bodybuilder that you want to be.

Successful bodybuilding can only come from hard work.

Marcus Thompson is an editor at HealthyLifeAdvice.com where you can find more articles about fitness and exercise.

Women Bodybuilding: Then & Now

Everyone has either heard of or is familiar with the sport of competitive bodybuilding. The female component, which is known as women bodybuilding, began in the late 1970s as women began to participate in competitions. Now, more than three decades later, women bodybuilding is a large part of the sport and has begun to garner the respect that it has strived for since it?s inception.

Although physique contests for women can actually be documented in the 1960s, they were little more than bikini contests. The first true women bodybuilding competition is regarded as the one held in Canton, Ohio in 1978. Promoted by Henry McGhee, the first United States Women?s National Physique Championship was the first competition where the entrants were judged solely on their muscularity as opposed to how well they looked in swimsuits.

By 1979, more women bodybuilding competitions were being held. The sport, however, did not possess a sanctioning body until 1980. Known as the National Physique Committee, this organization hosted the first women?s nationals and became the top amateur level competition for women bodybuilding in the United States. Additionally, 1980 marked the first Ms. Olympia competition, which is the most honored competition for women bodybuilding professionals.

As the sport continued to grow and increase in overall popularity, competitors found themselves needing to train harder and improve their overall muscular physique. By the 1980s, women bodybuilding was no longer a bikini contest or seeing who could pose in the highest heels. Now, it was becoming a popular sport with championship titles and increasing fan attendance.

With films that have been produced in honor of women bodybuilding competitions, coverage on major television networks and despite some controversies along the way, women bodybuilding has more than proven it?s ability to remain in the ranks of this popular sport. As further proof, the IFBB established a Hall of Fame in 1999, which would honor bodybuilding?s top athletes. To date, 14 women bodybuilding competitors have been inducted. Among them, Carla Dunlap, Cory Everson and Rachel McLish, Bev Francis, Lisa Lyon and Abbye Stockton, Kay Baxter, Diana Dennis, Kike Elomaa, Laura Combes, Lynn Conkwright, Ellen Van Maris, Stacy Bentley and Claudia Wilbourn.

In late 2004, the IFBB introduced a new rule that required women bodybuilding participants decrease their amount of muscularity by 20%, which is now referred to simply as the ?20% rule.? The rule applies to those whose physique requires the decrease. In 2005, another rule was introduced that would abolish the weight class system beginning with the 2005 Ms. Olympia.

In addition to women bodybuilding, there are two additional categories that are closely related and often held as part of the same event. The fitness competition includes a swimsuit round, along with a round that has the entrants judged on their performance in aerobics, dance or gymnastics. The second category is a figure competition, which is a newer format, and has the participants being judged exclusively on their symmetry and muscle tone. This category focuses less on muscle size than does women bodybuilding.

Although women bodybuilding has continued to grow in popularity, the prize money remains significantly less than is awarded to male bodybuilders.

Find more about the different types of aerobic exercise and nutritional supplements and vitamins or read everything about women bodybuilding on http://www.womenbodybuilding.org

Natural Bodybuilding The Key To Endless Growth Part II

In the first part of this installment we examined how to build a road map to get to your destination. We talked about training the nervous system, innervation of specific body parts for symmetry, and advanced stage training.

In Part II we are going to examine the most common challenge bodybuilders face which is nutrition. Unfortunately there is so much confusion about what to eat, when to eat , how much to eat and on and on that it is almost impossible to sort out what to do. Also eating to grow is very different the eating to get shredded so the key point to remember is that your diet needs to evolve with your physique.

Consistency and self discipline on your eating is two biggest keys to long term success on whatever eating program that you are following. Bodybuilders who are successful always plan ahead and have meals prepared well in advance. If you don't plan out your meals and have them with you at all times you will invariably fail in giving yourself the best possible gains. Hoping that restaurants, or friends or relatives will be serving "bodybuilding food" is unrealistic and leads to frustration as well as no progress.

Almost every person I have every met that could not gain weight or lose weight was simply because they did not prepare there food in advance. It sounds simple, and it is simple but few overlook this critical point. Don't be one of those people who doesn't prepare there meals in advance. In the Freaky Big Naturally training course there is a whole section on food prep to keep you on your eating program. I learned these food preparation and food avoidance skills over years of trial and error. Many people think that it is a matter of will power or won't power but in reality it is simple preparation beforehand.

Here is a few simple rules to remember"

1. Always carry 1-2 meals with you more than you think you will need. This way any delays in your schedule will not throw your eating off.

2. Always eat before you go shopping, to the movies, or to other social occasions where non nutritious food will be served this way you will reduce any cravings for junk.

3. Prepare food in bulk and use Tupperware containers so that you can grab quick meals at any time. Also you will find it takes very little extra time to prepare 10 meals as it does one meal. This savings in time will actually make your life way more efficient and your eating plan easy to stick too.

4. Get off all artificial sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners cause cravings for sugar, mess up your metabolism and brain function, and may have negative effects on your overall health. Cut them out of your diet immediately and switch to Stevia, or Raw Honey for sweetening. NO Diet Sodas.

5. Drink plenty of water each day. Most often dehydration is misinterpreted as hunger. Slug back a liter of water 30 minutes before eating or when you feel hungry and you will see how it curbs appetite significantly.

6. Place nutritious snacks in you car, your office desk at your house basically everywhere that you spend a considerable amount of time. You will quickly develop the habit of eating healthy and junk foods will quickly lose there appeal.

7. Schedule a regular junk food meal once per week. This is a powerful lesson that starts building the will to understand delayed gratification. Every time you have a craving for junk food simply right it down and schedule to eat it on a set day. By the end of the week you can review the list and go eat those foods guilt free. Often times by the junk food day you won't want the food or it won't taste as good as you anticipated. Over time you will develop more control over your cravings and reduce negative guilt associations with food.

This list isn't the be all and end all of eating but it gives you a start to work with.

Keep in mind that your eating program should evolve over time. Your body will naturally adjust from desiring different types of foods depending on a variety of factors such as season, nutrient levels, PH balance of the body, training demands, and conditioning levels to name a few.

Recording how food affects you as biofeedback is critical in understanding the powerful effects of food on your mood and your performance. Review your eating journal regularly so that you become aware of your patterns of eating as well developing awareness of how each food effects your body. Clients are always surprised at how much they can learn about food just by charting there eating patterns for a few months.

One final note is too remember you must master eating and training first before supplements can be effective. So many people try the other way around and wind up frustrated. No supplement can make up for a poor diet or poor training so vow to master these two facets first before wasting money on supplements. Once you master your diet than the right supplement at the right time can do wonders to improve performance but seldom does the supplement deliver when the diet is poor.

In the third part of this installment we will look at having a big reason why. The key to realizing your full physical potential.

Wade McNutt http://www.freakybignatural.com is a Natural National Bodybuilding Champion and an IFBB Mr. Universe World Champion. He combined the secrets of Eastern Yoga Masters with, scientific, muscle building to produce a revolutionary new system called Freaky Big Naturally. Learn More at: http://www.freakybignatural.com

Gym Workout Bodybuilding Tips

Gym workout programs can vary dramatically from bodybuilder to bodybuilder. One gym bodybuilding workout for one bodybuilding enthusiast can deliver outstanding results while another gym workout can be a disappointment for another bodybuilder.

After thousands of bodybuilding fitness consulting sessions, and publishing a popular weight training guide, I constantly teach bodybuilders a results proven gym workout routine that builds muscle fast.

All you have to do is follow my 8 Gym Workout Bodybuilding Tips and you will soon see your muscle building results double.

8 Gym Bodybuilding Workout Tips

1. Have a clear weight training routine purpose.

Upon entering the gym it is imperative to have a clear cut bodybuilding routine plan of action. You should know exactly what exercises you will perform, how much weight you will need to lift, and how many reps you must beat. Therefore, your whole bodybuilding routine is 100% planned, set in stone, prior to beginning your gym workout. You must walk into the gym with a definite plan, and purpose.

2. Be in a "warrior" high intensity weight training state of mind.

It is crucial to enter the gym workout focused. I can remember entering the gym and instantly beginning to perspire. I mentally had worked myself up into state of high intensity weight training desire. This is even before I lifted one weight. It is called focus, and anticipation.

Bodybuilding results are only seen when you force yourself to grow. That takes high intensity weight training, as well as ultra high mental focus. Your mind should be totally focused on conquering the next rep. It is important to imagine yourself forcing out that one additional muscle building repetition.

In an effective gym workout, your attitude, and drive will determine your altitude of muscle development.

3. Focus on effective pre- gym workout bodybuilding nutrition.

Make sure you ingest a small amount of complex carbohydrates, and protein approximately 2 hours prior to beginning your gym workout. This will assure you of getting the adequate amounts of energy producing nutrients to expel in your high intensity weight training session.

Another extremely important gym workout tip is to make sure you are properly hydrated with, preferably, water. You should be consuming at least one-half of your bodyweight in ounces each and every day.

Bodybuilding training preparations are similar to space shuttle preparations. Your goal should be to get your system ready for a high intensity weight training blast off.

4. Did you bring your bodybuilding workout log to your gym workout?

One of the biggest mistakes bodybuilders consistently make is neglecting to track their weight lifting progress. Without measuring progress, there generally is little improvement. How do you know what you are suppose to beat if you have no data? How can a department store set sales goals if they don't track sales? It is just absolutely silly seeing bodybuilders completing their gym workouts without recording any data. That what is not measured will not improve.

5. Gym workouts are for training, not socializing.

Remember, you are in the gym to get muscle building results. If you are talking and goofing around, how in the world can you be ultra focused on going to war with the weights? Get your work done, and then socialize if you wish. I tell my clients to stay focused, and don't allow distractions. Focus on conquering that near impossible, muscle growth repetition.

6. Use only proven bodybuilding program principles.

Don't listen to Joe Bodybuilders newest theory on building muscle. Stick to what has been scientifically proven to work. Beware of all the gym chatter floating around. To discover all of the most advanced proven bodybuilding principles visit my muscle building weight training guide presented in digital audio. Bodybuilding Done Right is a how to bodybuilding audio revealing the proven scientific bodybuilding program principle the pros use, but refuse to share.

7. Avoid Overtraining.

Once you have completed your pre-designed 100% high intensity bodybuilding routine, it is time to get out of the gym, and go home and grow. Hold yourself back from doing one extra set. Remember, more is not necessarily better. Stick to your plan. With high intensity weight training you need less volume of work. Any extra basic weight training exercises could be counter productive to your bodybuilding muscle growth.

Get out of the gym, and let your body compensate, and later overcompensate with added fat burning muscle tissue.

Also, make sure your body has fully recovered from the previous gym workout before you train again.

8. Begin the recovery process with optimal bodybuilding nutrition.

You have an hour after your high intensity weight training workout to replenish your glycogen levels, thus, aiding in the muscle building, and recovery process. Take in two parts complex or simple carbohydrates with one part protein. This is an important bodybuilding tip that has been proven to aid in the muscle recovery, and building process. So power your gym workout with these proven tips.

These are 8 important gym workout tips that should be followed. Following these bodybuilding workout tips will do wonders for your weightlifting, muscle building results.

*** Attention: Ezine Editors / Website Owners ***

Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your eZine, Blog, Autoresponder, or on your website as long as the links, and resource box are not altered in any way. Thank you!

Jim O'Connor - Exercise Physiologist

Copyright (c) - Wellness Word, LLC

9461 Charleville Blvd. #312

Beverly Hills, CA 90212

1-866-935-5967

Discover the newest bodybuilding breakthrough secrets in Exercise Physiologist Jim O'Connor's cutting edge 90 minute bodybuilding audio. He reveals the most effective, efficient bodybuilding tips for maxmimum muscle growth.

Get Fast Results - Tips to Successful Bodybuilding for Beginners

With so many ads and free bodybuilding regimen in magazines and the Internet, it is easy to go wrong. DO NOT use the bodybuilding regimen of professional bodybuilders when you start off.

Begin slowly. It is natural to be enthusiastic at this stage. But your body needs only 3 non-consecutive days of workout a week. To be successful, your bodybuilding regimen needs to focus on:

• The right kinds of exercises
• The right technique
• Breathing technique
• Diet

Mastering technique is the most important part of a beginner?s routine. If you are doing the right exercise in the wrong way, you are wasting your time. Once you have mastered the technique, you can push your body harder and do the number of recommended reps. This way you can achieve more number of reps without having to worry about injury.

Gaining muscle mass is not just about exercising. This has to be coupled with a bodybuilding diet. Good nutrition is an important part of your muscle building program. You should ideally be having five or six small meals a day. Here are some changes you need to make:

• Cut fats
• Say ?no? to refined sugar
• Take in lots of water
• Increase your protein intake

The best time to work out is in the morning, on an empty stomach. Your body needs food after the workout because your last meal would probably have been 8-10 hours before the exercise. So, you should NEVER miss your post workout meal.

Your ideal diet should include potatoes, rice, pasta, lean red meat, egg whites, banana, turkey, cottage cheese and tuna. Natural fats like natural peanut butter, olive oil and flaxseed oil are good because they are rich in monounsaturated fats.

Warm up before you start your bodybuilding exercises. Perform all exercises through their full range of motion. Keep your movements slow and controlled. This will help keep resistance on the muscles. You may need to rest between exercises, especially in the beginning.

There are a number of exercises that you can choose from to build the body of your dreams. For the exercises to work in peak form, you need to cycle the exercises so that all the major muscles receive their fair share of resistance training. Change the sets, switch the order of body parts, choose different exercises and vary the rest time between sets.

Do not start on any supplements right away. The need for supplements comes in only after you hit a plateau ? the stage when you are doing all the right things, but not seeing any results.

While bodybuilding success depends on pushing the limits, never ignore pain. Set small and achievable goals. Do not give up. Remember bodybuilding is not just about exercises, it is a lifestyle in itself.

Bodybuilding is serious business. So, the first thing you have to do is get a physical done. It is absolutely essential to ensure that all your organs are in perfect working order. A healthy heart, liver and kidneys are a must if you dream of body building success. Your hormonal balance also plays a very important part in bodybuilding.

Discover more about bodybuilding for beginners to what to watch out for and tips for female bodybuilders at the bodybuildingzone.info

What is Your Bodybuilding Body Type?

Try and name a sport that you can participate in even if you are an old person. Chances are, you will have a hard time naming even one. But if you named bodybuilding, you are dead on right.

Bodybuilding is the art and science of developing the musculature of your body via certain kinds of physical exertion and diet whose end goal is to showcase the body for competitive exhibition. The most popular kind of bodybuilding exercise is weightlifting or weight training.

What makes bodybuilding so appealing is that it is a sport that everyone of any age can participate in. The only requirements are that one be in relatively good physical condition, has access to gym equipment, and can financially afford the lifestyle it demands.

What are the different types of bodybuilding workouts? Well, it depends first on whether your body type is that of an ectomorph, endomorph or mesomorph.

An ectomorph is considered the slow gainer among bodybuilding types. He needs to slow down his hyper metabolism in order to gain muscle size and strength. This means his exercise routine should be severe enough to trigger muscle growth yet short enough to avoid nervous drain.

An endomorph, on the other hand, has a sluggish metabolism. He needs some kind of stimulating exercise every session in order to rev up his metabolism. Also, an endomorph should restrict his calorie intake due to an over-efficient digestive system that makes him gain weight easily.

The luckiest among the body types (as far as bodybuilding is concerned) is the mesomorph. A true mesomorph is able to gain muscle even with little effort on his part. Mesomorphs can be said to be gifted with muscle-building abilities, the Chosen People of bodybuilding.

No one belongs solely to one body type. Most people can be said to be a mixture of the three. However, one body type usually dominates a person?s build so that it is relatively easy to categorize bodybuilders.

Despite one?s body type, there are common techniques to follow when bodybuilding. These are:

1. Keep a training diary so that you can monitor your progress and determine what you should aim for in the future.

2. Pay attention when lifting any kind of weight to avoid injury. Carelessness is probably the foremost cause of injuries in bodybuilding.

3. Choose the types of exercises that can contract as many muscle fibers as possible during one set. This will maximize the effectiveness of the core repetitions which make up most of one?s training.

4. Warm up properly prior to doing any exercise to prevent injury.

5. Don?t change the technique of doing any exercise unless you know what you are doing. Experimenting is another cause of injury.

6. Don?t do those exercises which are known to cause tendon or joint damage.

7. Good exercise style prevents injury. So keep proper form while exercising.

8. Learn to distinguish between the pain caused by lactic acid build-up within the muscle, and the pain caused by a serious injury. Mistaking one for the other could cause you to keep exercising despite being injured, thereby worsening the injury. Rest if you are injured.

9. Practice stretching before working out. This also helps you ward off injuries.

Hopefully, these tips will help you enjoy participating in the sport of bodybuilding
Check out http://www.muscle-guide.com for more great information on building muscle and getting fit.

Bodybuilding on the Go: Tips for Travelers

Face it-not everyone has the opportunity to devote 100% of his or her life to bodybuilding. Most people also have a career and family in their lives, which leads to lots of travel between business trips and family vacations. Even if you are in that small percentage of people who can be a full-time bodybuilder, you may want to travel for competition reasons. It's hard to stick to your diet and train during travel, but with a little extra work, you can continue to stay toned even if you travel of a regular basis.

Before you leave, hit the gym. Chances are that wherever you are staying, they do not have a weight room, or they will have limited equipment and irregular operating hours. Cardiovascular exercise is easy to do in most travel situations, but make sure you do an intense weight training session the day before or day that you leave. That way, some of your vacation time will be over your normal resting days anyway. When you get to your destination, check out the gym availability at your hotel.

Eating right during travel is probably going to be your biggest concern. If you're on vacation, its OK to splurge a little, but try to avoid eating excessive junk food and stick to your diet plan as much as possible. When going on long flights, remember that the little package of pretzels or peanuts they give you on the airplane is probably not going to be enough to hold you over until you land, especially since you should be used to eating small meals every few hours. Eat a slightly larger meal than normal right before you leave, and take some snacks with you. Good carry-ons include granola bars, dried fruit, and protein bars or shakes. Also bring your own water-you're likely to get one small glass of juice or water on the plane, but after that, you'll have to pay for whatever you need. Once you arrive, plan enough time to eat another slightly larger meal if necessary.

While on vacation, be smart. Scope out the nearest grocery market and stock up on healthy food options, especially if your hotel room has a microwave and refrigerator. When you go out to eat, remember to do everything in moderation. Cheating a little is fine, but try to stick to baked foods instead of fried foods. You're a bodybuilder, so you know what foods are good for you-stick to the plan and counteract any poor eating habits with extra cardiovascular workouts, such as running in the mornings before you begin your day's activities. By doing this, you can travel without sacrificing the months of hard work you've put in at the gym.

Tom Ambrozewicz is one of the pioneers in using breakthrough audio technology on his web sites. You can read, you can listen to professional narrator reading to you or having MP3 files download and train in gym while you listen. You can check all bodybuilding tips at Ask-How.info now.

How To Dominate A Frustrating Bodybuilding Plateau

One of the most frustrating things a bodybuilder can encounter is hitting the wall at a plateau. A plateau refers to a point where you seem to stop growing, and your strength seems to stop increasing. It seems that you can train as hard as you like and your body doesn't seem to react like it used to, your muscles aren't breaking down after workout and you are recovering before your even hurt. Here we will explore this mysterious 'plateau' and look at some ways to overcome the inevitable condition.

A plateau is usually caused by the body becoming too accustomed to the kind of work it is being asked to do. As you should know, the reason muscles grow and expand is because they are forced to perform tasks that are outside their capability and so a message is sent that they need to be larger and stronger to cope with being asked to perform such workloads.

You will usually find a plateau to occur when:

1. Your training program has remained the same for too long. This includes the same exercises, the same number of sets and reps, and the same rest periods. The body becomes accustomed to being challenged in exactly the same way and despite your efforts, requires no extra growth to handle that challenge.

2. Your eating has remained the same. Just like your training, you will notice you can reach a point in your diet where your body becomes accustomed to taking in a larger amount of food. Even though you still eat alot, you won't continue to grow unless you are challenging your body by taking in more and raising the bar again.

So how can you beat the notorious plateau? Let's take a look.

The obvious answer is that beating plateaus comes down to changing things up. Changing the way you eat and changing the way you train. Here are some ideas:

Do your whole workout backwards. Whatever you normally do at the gym do it in reverse. If you used to train back and biceps together starting with back first, hit your bi's first and see how different it is. If you used to train concentration curls then preacher curls, reverse the order. Change the number of reps, throw on an extra two or decrease by two and go for full power. Anything to shock your muscles into growing again.

Eat EVERYTHING Depending on what your goals are alter your diet to shock your digestive system too. Maybe try to take in the same amount of calories from different foods or just go for a super overhaul and add an extra few thousand calories per day. There is no doubt your body will respond.

Supplements There are certain supplement, mainly very new in nature that can actually assist an athlete to break physical barriers in the last few reps of your workouts, taking the body to places it has never been and in the process smashing through plateus very effectively. An example of one such supplement is the new Gakic, which works to remove fatigue toxins from the bloodstream during high intensity exercise and allows the trainer to push past the point of usual failure.

Whichever method you use, remember the idea is to instigate CHANGE. The moment you notice your growth stop, change things up. It's one of the big secrets to supercharged and continual growth.

Gary Stephens is a writer on Bodybuilding Supplements and runs an informational website on the new Muscletech Supplement gakic.

For more information please see http://www.gakicreview.com

Bodybuilding Posing You've Got It Now Flaunting It!

Bodybuilding posing is usually one of the most ignored aspects of contest preparation. Competitors are so focused on their dieting and training that many don't take the time to prepare an exciting posing routine. Some bodybuilders leave it until the last week to try and put something together. There are even a few brave souls who step on stage and try to "wing it." It's easy to spot the bodybuilders who don't do their homework; they can't even perform the mandatory poses properly.

If you hope to win or even place well in a show, you must give your contest preparation the same diligence and dedication as training and dieting. You may be the biggest and most ripped guy on stage, but if you flounder around looking unprepared, your chances of winning, or even placing, will be greatly reduced.

The best bodybuilders select music that reflects their personality. It's also much easier to perform a great routine if you like the song you are posing to. In a manner of speaking, your physique is your product, and you're using the posing routine to 'sell' yourself to the judges. The judges award points in three areas: how well you hit the individual poses, how well your routine flows with your physique; and how well your routine flows with the music you have selected. If you have a rugged, muscular physique, music that is powerful and upbeat will be your best bet. On the other hand if your physique is more symmetrical than massive, slower pop music or classical music, will probably work better for your bodybuilding posing.

Here are a few tips for music selection and preparation:

Choose a song that you like (you'll be listening to it over and over)

Select a song that matches your athletic abilities (i.e. flexibility)

Pick a song that matches your personality.

Choose a song that suits your physique

Whenever you're listening to music on the radio, visualize posing to each song.

Always make at least two, preferably three copies of your music.

Contact the contest organizer to see if they want your music on CD or cassette.

If you have a gift for posing, put together two routines; one for the pre-judging and one for the evening show.

Posing: The Routine

Your first step in contest preparation is to take a series of photos showing all the mandatory poses as well as the other classic poses. Divide the photos into great, good, and poor. Unless your physique is really not ready for competition, disregard the poor photos. If you hold each pose for an average of 3 to 5 seconds, you'll only have enough time for 18 to 30 poses. And don't forget that it each pose will be separated by a couple of seconds of transition time. This means that you'll only have enough time to hit 18 to 20 poses in your routine. Your goal is to start and finish your bodybuilding posing routine with one or two of your best shots. Also don't forget that while not necessary, you should include some, if not all, of the compulsory poses in your posing routine. The judges will quickly spot bodybuilders who avoid hitting the mandatory poses. They'll assume that you're trying to hide something.

Once you have your best poses picked out, your next step is to set the poses to your music selection. Time it so that you are moving between poses as the music is rising and hitting the poses as the music peaks. Many bodybuilders hire dance choreographers to help them prepare their posing routines. One of the early scenes in the classic documentary, Pumping Iron, shows Arnold Schwarzenegger and Franco Columbu practicing their posing routines under the watchful eye of a dance instructor. While most bodybuilders have no problem holding each individual pose, what distinguishes great posers from good posers, are their transition skills; how well they move between each pose. The best make it look like poetry in motion.

If you don't have access to a dance instructor, check with one of your gym's aerobic instructors. Most aerobics' instructors, especially those who incorporate martial arts into their classes, know how to set coordinate static and transition movements with music.

Once you have your bodybuilding posing routine put together, it's time to start preparing for each of the four Rounds in the contest. As each round is distinct you must know how to conduct yourself during each one. You don't have to win every Round to place first, but you must place at or near the top in most of them.

Bob Howard expert on bodybuilding and steroids. Are you looking for more of his bodybuilding-posing articles? http://www.bodybuilding.md  Article ? Bob Howard 5/5/2006

Bodybuilding Diets For Bigger Muscles

Are you working out and would like to have a change in your physique? Then start with a bodybuilding diet.

It is one commonly overlooked aspect when you are on a bodybuilding program. For sure, working out intensely will be a key factor for the transformation of your overall body physique.

However, the true challenge here is the diet program that you will undertake to gain a lean muscle mass, keep the energy level and get rid off the excess weight in your body.

A bodybuilding diet program is a simple program of knowing what types of food to take. You should also know how to incorporate them by choosing from simple charts of food choices for the different kinds of nutrients your body needs.

It is also better for you to indulge in some changes on your eating routines. However, a lifestyle change of healthy eating will ensure of a better physique and a body free from any kinds of diseases.

Here are some bodybuilding diet tips that will help you get started and that will assure you of the success that you want.

1. Eat energy nutrient foods with carbohydrates. A carbohydrate is essential for the development of muscles having glycogen. It also helps your body to optimize its athletic performance.

You should choose food groups rich in carbohydrates from minimally processed sources like eating true wheat bread over a white bread or even those enriched bread. Carbohydrate should make up 50 to 60 percent of your total calorie intake depending on your workout training level.

Some examples of carbohydrate rich food that are recommended for a bodybuilding diet are wild rice, squash, oatmeal, baked potato, pumpkin, whole wheat bread, brown rice, or a sweet potato.

2. It has been said that protein is an important nutrient for any kind of diet. Protein serves the dietary needs of a bodybuilder or an athlete.

Aside from water, protein is the next most abundant nutrient found in your body. It is present on your muscles, skin, bone, and to the blood. Protein is most effective in building muscle mass especially if you are on strength training.

Protein should make up 15 to 20 percent of your total calorie intake. Some examples of food rich in protein that you should take when you are in strength training are turkey, salmon, lean ground beef, low fat cottage cheese, egg whites, chicken breast, or top round sirloin steak.

3. Drinking plenty of water when you are working out is very essential for a bodybuilding diet. Water is necessary to sustain the performance level of your work outs.

For those who are in strength training or intense work outs, you should at least drink 8oz glass of water for every 15 to 25 minutes of intense exercises.

4. It is advisable that you eat in smaller meals more frequently throughout your day.

This is important to have a balance distribution of nutrients for your body metabolism. You will also able to burn calories at a more efficient and balance rate.

Make sure to consult a physician first before you engage yourself on a bodybuilding diet program.

You should also make sure to have nutritionally quality rich food in your diet.

Healthy eating is important when you are in a strength training program. Remember to follow these tips to ensure a healthy and successful bodybuilding diet program.

Dave Poon is an accomplished writer who specializes in the latest in Fitness and Health. For more information regarding Body Building Diets please drop by at http://www.malemusclebodybuilding.com/

Submit Gear and Gold's Gym Bridge the Gap between Bodybuilding and Mixed Martial Arts

Gold's Gym, Training Ground, and Submit Gear Inc. are working together to create a training facility like no other.

The first of five Gold's Gym locations will be re-opening in October located at 2440 Cawthra Rd. in Mississauga. The new 45,000 sq. ft. facility will be introducing mixed martial arts classes consisting of Muay Thai, Boxing and Jiu Jitsu and will be managed by Kru Gerald Ching of "Training Ground" . The gym will have a designated martial arts area consisting of a full size boxing ring, octagon, and floor space for classes.

There are more people training today in martial arts than ever before. With today's tough competition, one of the key aspects to becoming a successful mixed martial arts fighter is impeccable physical conditioning.

"It makes perfect sense to offer weightlifting, cardio, and martial arts all under one roof" says Joe de Barros, president of Gold's Gym.

Other features of the new location include: indoor basketball court, indoor beach volleyball (instructed by Canadian Olympic Team member Kara Zakrzewski), juice bar, hairdresser, esthetician, child playroom, personal training, nutrition counselling, and a pro shop.

Gold's Gym will also be the first Canadian distributor of Submit Gear fight apparel, an online Mississauga-based clothing company (www.SubmitGear.com) which sells athletic apparel for fighters and fans. "We've just recently introduced our wholesale program, and to have Gold's Gym as our first Canadian distributor in my hometown is very exciting" says Mark Chiappino, owner of Submit Gear Inc.

For more information on the new Gold's Gym Mississauga location, visit www.GoldsGymMississauga.com

Features To Look For In The Best Home Gym Equipment

For many years, if you wanted to start a strength training regimen, you only had two real choices. One is to buy free weights and dumbbells and workout at home, or you could get a monthly membership a fitness gym and get access to their weight machines. But today there are more options open to the fitness conscious consumer, and there are plenty of choices in the home gym equipment field to consider. So if you are in the market for a home gym here are some of the things that you should be looking for.

Generally, most home gym equipment falls into two major categories, the first being home gyms that use rods or bars to create resistance, and the second being strength training machines that use a weight stack or plates. The biggest difference in these two will be the price that you pay for them, and the second difference is the amount of space that each one takes up in your home.

The first kind of home gym equipment often can be folded up and takes up very little space in the room. However many experts claim that the workouts with this kind of equipment are not as thorough or complete as the more expensive weight training machines which usually take up a lot more room space. But whichever type of equipment you choose, keep these considerations in mind:

Consider the size of the room where you will be placing the equipment first. If space is a major consideration, then it may best to go with a unit that folds up and out of the way.

The assembly of any home gym equipment can be difficult at best, so if you are not used to assembling this kind of product you may want to pay extra to have someone put it together for you. Just be sure to include the assembly cost in your overall budget.

Make sure that any home gym you buy is made of solid and durable materials. The frame itself needs to be made of heavy steel, and be very strong and sturdy even when supporting the maximum weight. The cables that are used to connect to each weight stack should be especially strong and made of quality material too.

Most people will need a weight stack of around at least 200 lbs. to be able to make the most use of the equipment. If more than one person plans on working out at the same time on your equipment, you might even consider getting a second weight stack in that case.

Finally, never buy any home gym equipment without testing it personally beforehand. Regardless of whether you buy your home gym online or not, you need to go through a complete workout on it to make sure that it will fit you best. If you do, and you follow the guidelines listed above, you should be able to find the best home gym equipment for your needs.

You can find the best home gym equipment and home gym reviews by visiting our Home Fitness website.