The Most Common Myths about Abs

Myth #1

Abdominal muscle is different from regular muscle.

Your abdominal muscles are just like every other muscle in your body. The abdominal is different only in location and unlike biceps or quads they don’t rest on a bony surface. So you should train them the same way you would train, say, your biceps or your chest. The basic laws of physiology apply to all your muscles, including your abs. This means that you have to do exercises in the correct plane of movement to effectively work the muscle.

Myth #2

You have to train your abs everyday.

The rules of weight training state that you should give your muscles at least, a day of rest to recover and this applies to your abs as well. Instead of working your back everyday, do them every other day or even just three times a week. They need a break just like the rest of your body. The trick is to train them hard.

Myth #3

Doing ab exercises gets rid of abdominal fat.

There is no such thing as spot reduction. People assume that if you have fat deposits on your abdominal, exercising the muscles underlying the fat will make it go away. But they assume wrong. You can’t get rid of the fat over a muscle by repeatedly exercising that body part. The only way to burn fat from your tummy is through prolonged exercise and a healthy, low calorie diet.

Myth #4

High repetitions are required to make gains.

As you’ve read earlier, abs are just like every other muscle in your body. That means, you should train your abs the same way as the rest of your muscle groups. To make strength gains with your abs, you have to overload your muscles.

Myth #5

Anyone can have a flat stomach.

For many people it’s not physiologically possible to achieve a flat stomach. In most of us the abdominal muscles are designed to be somewhat rounded, not flat. Age, genetics, gender all these factors decide the size, shape and appearance of you belly.

Myth #6

If you have a bad back, training the abs will worsen it.

Training your abs will strengthen you back. The opposing muscles in you body always assist each other. So if you have weak ab muscles, the load of the work falls on the back. So strengthen the abs and your back will become stronger as well.

Don’t waste time by falling victim to six main ab myths. Train intelligently in accordance with scientifically based training techniques and get super abs.

The Role Of Repetitions In Your Muscle Building Program

Repetitions are the basic building blocks of any strength or muscle building program but it is something that many lifters take for granted. How often do you see people at the gym speed through their reps, breathe haphazardly or fail to complete each rep correctly from a technical perspective? There is much more to the simple rep than meets the eye.

The first thing to note is that a repetition consists of three elements - namely lower, pause and lift. The speed at which this is achieved depends on the desired outcome, but to maximize muscle growth a slow, controlled tempo is required. The process should never be rushed, jerky or bouncy but instead should be controlled and smooth.

The second consideration relates to how many reps need to be performed. Once again, this depends on what you hope to achieve but you can use the following as a basic rule of thumb:

1. A single repetition maximum (1RM) increases muscle strength.

2. A six to eight repetition maximum increases muscle size.

3. A higher number of repetitions will have more effect on muscle endurance and little impact on size or strength.

Your aim therefore should be to complete six to eight reps of a load equivalent to 75-80% of your 1RM. This will maximize your muscle building potential, provided you complete each lift with perfect form in a smooth controlled manner.

The Importance Of Creatine In Building Lean Muscle

Creatine monohydrate can rightly lay claim to being the most popular and arguably most effective bodybuilding supplement currently available. The beauty of creatine is that it is 100% natural and occurs in many foods so it's unlikely to be banned from any sports or competitions.

Let's first establish what creatine actually is. In brief, creatine is produced naturally in our bodies to help supply energy to the muscles. It is produced in the liver, pancreas and kidneys before being transported in the blood to our muscles. It is then converted into phosphocreatine which is a powerful metabolite used to regenerate the muscles' ATP source of energy.

From a bodybuilder's perspective, creatine can significantly increase lean muscle mass quickly, improve performance in high intensity exercise, raise energy levels and speed up recovery rates. Creatine's ability to raise energy in muscles is due to its muscle protein synthesizing action whilst reducing the breakdown of protein. This happens because creatine has the effect of super-hydrating muscle cells with water. It also improves muscle growth adding size and strength to muscle fibers.

Creatine is normally taken in two ways. The first involves loading the muscles with 20 to 30 grams of creatine per day for four to seven days. At the end of this phase maintenance involves a regular intake of 5 to 15 grams per day. The other method is more gradual in that it skips out the loading phase and simply involves supplementing with 5 to 15 grams per day for an extended period.

Two questions remain to be answered - does it work and is it safe? Creatine has undoubtedly been proven effective in recent years - over twenty scientific studies have concluded that creatine can increase energy levels and result in enhanced strength, endurance levels and recovery rates. As a training aid it therefore has many merits. In terms of safety, no study to date has shown creatine to be anything other than safe, provided manufacturers' instructions are followed.

Simple Steps To Bulging Biceps And Horseshoe Triceps

It’s no secret that every serious lifter out there desires an impressive pair of strong, muscular arms. Who wouldn’t be happy with tall, peaking biceps sitting on top of rock-hard, horse-shoe-shaped triceps? Who wouldn’t love to have a pair of ripped, well-developed guns forcefully bursting through the sleeves of their shirt? While developing muscular arms is usually at the top of many peoples’ agenda, the reality is that the majority of lifters out there have a very poor understanding of how to properly train their arms for maximum gains. In order to gain the proper insight into effectively stimulating arm growth, we must first recognize three basic truths: 

1) Relatively speaking, the biceps and triceps are small muscle groups.

2) The biceps receive heavy stimulation during all basic pulling movements for the back.

3) The triceps receive heavy stimulation during all basic pressing movements for the chest and shoulders. 

What do these 3 points tell us about effective arm training? The most important thing for you to realize is this: 

For maximum gains in muscle size and strength, the biceps and triceps require only a very small amount of direct stimulation! 

So why is it that every time I enter the gym I see the same misinformed people, week in and week out, slaving away on endless sets of bicep curls and tricep extensions? 

It’s very important to understand that the biceps and triceps receive a very large amount of stimulation from all of your chest and back training. In fact, a lot of the time when you reach muscular failure on a chest or back movement, it is actually your biceps or triceps that give out first! Couple this with the fact that your biceps and triceps are already small muscle groups to begin with and it becomes quite clear that direct arm training is of minor importance.

Remember, your muscles do not grow in the gym. The work that you accomplish as you train with weights is merely the “spark” that sets the wheels of the muscle growth process into motion. The real magic takes place out of the gym while you are resting and eating, as this is the time when your body will actually be synthesizing new muscle tissue. Because of this, it is vital that you do not overtrain your muscles. You must always make sure to provide them with sufficient recovery time if you want to see impressive results. Overtraining can actually make your muscles smaller and weaker. 

If you’re looking to achieve serious arm growth, you must stop placing so much emphasis on direct arm movements. Forget about performing endless sets of concentration curls and tricep pressdowns. Strong, muscular arms are mostly a product of heavy chest and back training. If you are able to accept this basic truth and place the majority of your focus on building up the muscle size and strength in your major muscle groups, you will prevent yourself from overtraining your arms and will therefore yield greater overall gains in bicep and tricep size. 

This is not to say that no direct arm training is necessary, just not very much. Here is a sample arm routine that you can use as a part of your program:

Barbell Curls – 2 sets of 5-7 reps

Standing Dumbbell Curls – 1 set of 5-7 reps

Close-Grip Bench Press – 2 sets of 5-7 reps

Standing Cable Pushdowns – 1 set of 5-7 reps 

Take all sets to complete muscular failure and focus on progressing each week by using slightly more weight or performing an extra rep or 2. 

If you can incorporate this way of thinking into your arm training, you will achieve arm size beyond anything you previously thought possible!

The Importance Of Sets In Your Muscle Building Program

In an earlier article we looked at how repetitions contribute to the muscle building process, but is the position regarding sets just as clear cut? Unfortunately, the answer to this is no as some experts feel one set to failure is sufficient, whereas others argue that multiple sets are needed to ensure maximum muscle gains.

Research to date suggests that, when using six to eight repetitions to failure at 75-80% 1RM, there is little significant difference between training with single and multiple sets in terms of increasing either strength or muscle size. Any small differences that have been recorded indicate that a single set completed to failure encourages strength gains but subsequent sets have a slightly greater impact on muscle size. What is clear is that the law of diminishing returns applies, so you have to question if the marginal improvements in size justify the extra time and effort expended.

Like everything else in life, bodybuilding does not remain static and several cutting edge experts have redefined the boundaries of achievement. Increasingly, serious athletes are using methods that extend the set beyond the point of failure. This involves forcing the muscle to perform more work despite having experienced failure in the previous rep. In practice, you perform one last forced repetition with the help of a training partner.

This obviously calls for great commitment and high motivation but the rewards include better mass gains thanks to the greater muscular overload. Such intensive training places additional importance on the need to lift with sound technique and to incorporate sufficient recovery time into your muscle building program.

Steroid Articles and information and their side effects - shrenksonlinepharma

Contrary to what many would expect, this compound is actually only a weak agonist of the androgen receptor (AR), with poor binding. It follows, then, that its value must mostly come from non-AR-mediated effects. It is therefore a Class II steroid. Since it is not very effective in activating ARs, it should be stacked with a Class I steroid that is effective in 

this regard, such as Primobolan, Deca Durabolin, or trenbolone acetate. There is no point in stacking it with Anadrol®, which has similar activity -- one ought to simply use the more appropriate drug. With testosterone or Deca, Dianabol is to be preferred; with Primobolan or trenbolone acetate, Anadrol® is to be preferred (though Dianabol is still a good choice) because Anadrol® does not aromatize. For an oral-only cycle -- something I don't recommend -- Anadrol® is the better choice in my opinion for that also, at 150 mg/day (preferably divided to 3 or 6 doses.)

Methandrostenolone converts to estradiol via aromatase. The amount of this conversion may be reduced by use of Arimidex, or less preferably Cytadren (see previous articles discussing dosage and dose pattern.) Or if the conversion is allowed, Clomid may be used to block adverse estrogenic effects.

Irreversible hoarsening of the voice has been seen in some women from very few tablets of Dianabol: one per day for a few weeks. For this reason, in the 1960s doctors decided to end what had been a fairly common practice of prescribing this drug at one tab per day to women as a "tonic." It is not a good choice for the woman who chooses to use anabolic steroids.

The usual dosing for men is 25-50 mg/day in divided doses, preferably four or five doses. The drug is 17-alkylated and so use should be limited to no more than 6 weeks, and preferably no more than four weeks, with at least an equal amount of time off.

Trivial name Methandrostenolone

Systematic name 17â-hydroxy-17á-

methyl-1,4-androstadien-3-one

CAS registry number 72-63-9

ATC code A14AA03

Merck Index Number 5978

Chemical formula C20H28O2

Molecular weight 300.435 g/mol

Bioavailability

Metabolism Hepatic

Elimination half-life 6 hours

Excretion Urinary:

Pregnancy category X

Routes of administration Oral

Muscle Gain Visualization Tips

We now move into an area that is far too neglected by mainstream health and fitness professionals, the mind.  Most books or courses concentrate on the physical side of weight gain and completely neglect the mental side of things. 

Visualization can play an important part in gaining weight and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.  Gaining weight can be difficult for many people who don’t use their minds to help in the process. 

Visualization is a powerful technique that can help you make lasting lifestyle changes. Just by "day dreaming", you can significantly improve your chances in achieving your goals. 

Visualization is a great weight gain tool and its as simple as visualizing your body as you want your body to look like. This mental image of yourself is then transferred to your subconscious mind, which in turn starts to work on your body, shaping it in accordance with your mental image. 

This means that if you program your subconscious with a mental image of yourself as a more muscular person, through persistence your mind will accept this and aid your body to conform to this mental image.

Once your mind is programmed with the proper mental images, it will start to work in assisting you to gain weight. I can't stress enough how important it is for you to believe in your visualization goals. You have to let go of your past failures and refuse to entertain any negative images that come into your mind. 

If you can visualize your body at its perfect proportions, the subconscious mind will work to make it become a reality. It will then begin to positively reinforce your body into aiding the metabolism and eating habits. 

Programming your mind into believing that you can gain weight, and to visualize yourself with your perfect proportions is of the greatest importance. 

Try to think of a different image of yourself, then let your subconscious do the work for you. If you think of your body as being out of shape all the time, then the subconscious mind will find ways to make it so. 

The sub-conscious looks after all of all your vital functions, it is the cause of all your good and bad habits, and also regulates the muscles of the body (The muscles are controlled by the sub-conscious) and body-fat composition on the body.

Try to visualize your body as lean and as muscular as you would like, and your mind will work on that image. The mind can be a great partner in gaining weight. 

                 

Relaxation

Relaxation the best way to reach the sub-conscious and will slow down the mind, turn off the exterior world so as to tune in to one's inner self. The best times for these sessions are in the morning and late at night right, just before going to sleep. 

Perform two sessions, one in the afternoon (Primary) and the other before going to sleep (Secondary) but once a day is quite sufficient. Sessions usually last 20 minutes, which isn't time consuming especially when taking in the benefits received. 

It has been stated that one of these sessions is equivalent to 2 hours of deep sleep and upon waking you will feel revitalized and full of energy. Believe me instead of worrying about time constraints; you will be looking forward to the next session. 

When you begin your relaxation sessions, make sure you won't be disturbed - lock the door, take the phone off the hook and loosen all clothing. Now find a comfortable position, whether it is lying down or sitting in a comfortable chair. 

Sitting may be preferable as you may fall asleep if you become too comfortable. You want to be conscious and not asleep in order to tap into your sub-conscious mind. 

Try to exhale all the air from your lungs completely and then breathing in through the nose.  Take ten seconds to fill the lungs with air (not to capacity, but comfortable) hold for ten seconds and then exhale slowly through the nose for another ten seconds.  

Each one of these breathing cycles should last for 30 seconds, complete five cycles and after each cycle you will be feeling more and more relaxed.  

Having reaching this calm relaxed state, start your visualizations.  Put together images that power your emotions. Make them alive and colourful. Make the scenes as real as possible and imagine yourself as muscular and toned as possible. 

Picture yourself ten weeks from now on the beach, walking briskly and confidently to your favourite spot, your breathing is normal and relaxed. You smile to yourself; you could keep walking like this for miles without feeling fatigued. 

You lay your towel out and begin to take your clothes off revealing a muscular, toned, well conditioned body. You have just bought a brand new swimming suit which just weeks before would have been lying in your closet waiting to be used. 

Glancing around you notice the beach is busy, you catch the eye of someone of the opposite sex, they smile at you and you smile back. You walk confidently to the water and swim a couple of hundred yards with no problem or fatigue. 

Or try this:

Visualize your family and friends complimenting you about how good your body looks. Try to view the scene as it is happening this instant - in the present, not in the future. 

Using these visualizations you can construct in your mind any scene that desire. See yourself exercising, socializing, in the company of friends. Try and hear people complimenting you about your new muscular body, and watch their admiring glances. Make the mental image as real as possible. 

 Remember set a goal for your ideal weight

     

 You must want to gain weight

     

 Visualize yourself at your ideal weight

 Use positive images at every opportunity 

Practice these sessions on a daily basis and over a period of ten weeks you’ll be on your way to become more fulfilled, happier and muscular.