You Have to Want it

It sounds obvious, but in order to get in shape you have to want it enough. Quitting an unhealthy lifestyle is like quitting an addiction to drugs. Unless you’ve fully made up your mind that this is what you want, then you’ll give up as soon as it gets hard. Being an adult is about taking responsibility for your actions. If you eat garbage and sit on your butt all day, you’re going to feel terrible and be out of shape. If you want to get healthier and fitter, you have to actually do something about it. Take responsibility and realize that if you really want results, you need to put in the time and effort.

You Need to Do it for You

Forget trying to gain weight to impress someone. Negative people will find a way to be negative regardless of what you weigh. Forget them and move on. If you’re trying to gain weight in order to get someone to like you or to gain friends, then you need to take a long hard look at these people and ask yourself if someone who would only want a relationship with you if you were smaller is someone who truly deserves you.

Talk to People about it

Tell people that you are trying to get healthier. Tell your family, friends, and significant other. Involve them in what you’re doing. Join a gym together, go for walks, cook healthy meals. The larger your support system, the more people you can turn to. Your weight gain journey should not be a secret. If it is, ask yourself why. Could it be because you know your habits of weight gain are unhealthy?

Negativity Gets you Nowhere

Challenge every negative thought you have. If you’re thinking “I’m skinny” ask yourself if you might be responding to something else by using this language. Its so much easier to just justify everything in our lives as a result of our appearance, but its important to challenge this. Its also important to challenge whether you might just be upset about something else, or are tired, or hungry, and this is creating negative feelings. Don’t just accept this negativity! Challenge it!

“A human being can alter his life by changing his attitude.” ~William James

Reward your body, don’t punish it

Look at your body as something beautiful that can be made even stronger and healthier through proper nutrition and exercise. Don’t view exercise as a punishment for over-eating or healthy foods as tasteless punishments for eating unhealthy in the past. View nutrition and exercise as rewards and things you are giving your body because you love and respect it and want it to be the best it can be.

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Workout Summary

Workout Description

The ectomorph is the lucky body type that doesn’t carry much body fat, but are unlucky in that their body burns a lot of calories per day normally. In order to increase body weight, this type of person would need to increase calorie levels in stages until a pound in body weight is being added per week. The ectomorph’sdiet is crucial to increasing muscle tissue from their training. They should use a calorie level of 20-25 times their bodyweight in pounds as a starting position for calorie level. Example; a 140 lb lifter would use a starting calorie level of between 2800-3500 calories per day.

Meals should be split into 6-8 meals (including weight gainer drinks) per day, split into meals every 2.5 – 3 hours throughout the day. Protein intake should be 25%-30% of total calories; carbohydrates should be approx 50% of total calories; and fats at approx. 20%-25% of total calories. A meal or meal replacementshake should be taken before bed. Simple sugars should be limited or avoided totally.

Eat lower glycemic index foods such as brown rice, whole grain pasta, whole grain breads, yams, oats, sweet potatoes, whole grain foods. Supplement the diet with a good branded multivitamin and mineral. Essential fats should come from the following foods. Olive oil, peanut oil, canola oil, nuts and seeds, vegetable oils (safflower, corn, sunflower, cottonseed oil), fatty cold water fish (salmon, mackerel and herring), flaxseeds, flax oil and walnuts.

Important Training Notes

• Aerobic activity should be kept to a minimum.
• Warm up with a cardio session for 5-10 minutes.
• Stretch the worked muscles at the end of the workout.
• Cool down when finished training with 5-10 minutes of cardio.
• Use a repetition timing of 2-1-2 seconds.
• Keep rest time between sets at 2 minutes.
• Keep rest time between exercises at 3 minutes.
• Keep workout time as short as possible.
• Get at least 8 hours sleep per night.
• Perform abdominal exercises on Monday and Thursday, or Tuesday and Friday.

Weekly Workout Schedule

Day 1- Chest and Triceps

Day 2- Back and Biceps

Day 3- Rest Day

Day 4- Quads and Hamstrings

Day 5- Shoulders and Calves

Day 6 and Day 7- Rest Days

Via: MuscleAndStrength.com

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The difference between the two is that soreness goes away when you warm up. If your soreness persists after you have warmed up you will favor that part of your body and you will inflame another muscle or joint. This is called a compensation injury and can be worse than the original injury.

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) is the medical term used to describe the muscle soreness felt within 12-48 hours after a tough work-out. It can happen after any type of intense workout or new activity relative to the athlete’s conditioning level. Breakdown of the muscle’s cells and development of the waste product lactic acid in the muscle develop soreness. If you are sore, chances are that in a few days, the soreness will gradually leave. If you are injured, the soreness and pain is usually longer and may need intervention.

Because we are all human and will overdue it occasionally, it is important to know how to get rid of soreness more quickly.The best ways to accomplish this include hydrotherapy, massage therapy, stretching and alternative exercise.

• A good hot shower, bath, hot tub, or a session of hot and cold water will bring in blood flow without stress on your muscles and joints.
• Massage relaxes the muscles and helps rid the muscles of the “junk” that cause the soreness.
• Stretching your sore muscles gently will not only help remove soreness, but will increase your flexibility.
• Alternate forms of exercise will also help ease the soreness and increase your overall fitness. Cross training will keep your muscles balanced and decrease your chance of injury. Swimming, bicycling, and walking are good alternates for your rest days.

Injuries are different. Pain is an indicator of something is wrong. If the soreness and pain is usually longer and may need intervention.

So many people have the idea that “No Pain, No Gain” is the way to workout and exercise. Too many people cause injury from pushing through it and not listening to their body. Injuries are caused from hyperextension, repetitive trauma, lack of stretching or warming up muscles, improper body mechanics and positioning etc. They can be severe, painful and nagging.

Listen to your body. IF you body says “No.” due to pain, then stop. The moment you begin feeling pain in a joint, tendon, ligament or your back/neck, STOP. You can prevent new injuries and further problems from developing with an old injury. The important thing is not to ignore the injury. Get treatment.

The bottom line is, you can’t expect to improve your fitness without getting sore. You can push through the pain, test your limits, rise above them and become something great! Know when there is an injury, rest it, let it heal, and come back stronger than before!

Know the difference, use the pain, rest the injury.

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It will take as long as it takes for you. If it took someone else 3 – 4 months or 15 years to achieve a great physique it does not mean the diet/ workout routine will work for you. Below are the steps for having a successful training lifestyle.

Step 1: Correct your mindset. What are you truly in this for? If it is an artificial desire such as getting big or cut for summer you can forget about that happening. You need to have a proper reason. Strong reasoning behind your training means you will never have the need for instant gratifications as having a strong training etiquette will amplify your motivation making you work hard and the understand that nothing great comes from quick results.

Step 2: Keep it simple. Keep your diet and training simple. Follow a basic routine for your diet and exercise. Train on certain days and eat certain foods.

Step 3: Always push yourself daily. Not just in the gym but in your daily life. Always try to break your comfort zone.

As a beginner it can be overwhelming when taught massive amounts of information. I believe that when you are a beginner it is the best time to build a simple understanding of your foundation and why you are training before you take your training serious. Make it enjoyable and have fun with it. When you become more aligned with the understanding of what your body needs and how you need to train then start dedicating yourself more so.

To summarize. Strong mindset. Keep it simple. Push yourself daily. 

- Andrew Pense

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Source of Whey Protein and Types

Milk protein is 20% whey. Whey is by far the most popular protein choice, perhaps because Whey protein contains large amounts of branched-chain amino acids as well as the full spectrum of amino acids (which is all the muscle building blocks you need to build muscle). Compared to the other proteins on the market, whey is one of the fastest digesting proteins with highest Biological Value ( a large proportion of the protein ingested is absorbed and utilized by the body).

Whey protein in protein powders comes in 3 forms. (Hydro Whey= fastest,  Whey Protein Isolate= faster, Whey Protein Concentrate= fast).

Click for a larger view

Many of you may really be confused about all the different types of proteins. Can you tell me what is the difference between whey protein isolate and whey protein concentrate? Is one better than the other to build muscle fast?

Whey is a dairy protein that is a by-product of the cheese making process. In its original form whey contains significant amounts of fat and lactose. Lactose is milk sugar. Because of this fact much of these components are filtered and processed to remove most of the lactose and fat. If you look on the back of your whey protein supplement you will see the terms microfiltration or “ion exchange,” those are simply methods of separating the fat and lactose from the protein. The end result is a more concentrated protein either concentrate, isolate or hydrolysates.

Benefits of Whey Protein Powder

Whether you are someone who wants to lose weight or gain muscle size and definition, there are a countless number of benefits when it comes to supplementing your diet with whey protein. Another huge bonus is that it is easy to digest and has high bio-availability for your body to make use of. So let’s look at some of the benefits.

Most importantly, whey protein contains essential amino acids, branched chain amino acids (BCAA’s) as well as glutamine. All these help you to enhance your muscle definition and function, build endurance, and slow down muscular deterioration.

As a result, your muscles will be able to recover from exercise more quickly.

On top of the muscle building and recovery benefits, whey protein also works as an antioxidant to boost the body’s immune system. Scientific studies have shown that regular supplementation with whey protein promotes a strong immune system.

Furthermore, whey protein is incredibly helpful in building up muscle tissue. The amino acids also help your body to perform in peak condition. Not only that, but they encourage healthy functioning right down to the hormonal and cellular level as well. If you plan on exercising and increasing your muscle strength and size, whey protein powder is a must.

So where are you left now? Well, you are left with complete control over what you eat. Having a protein shake as a snack is the most powerful weapon in your arsenal against the fat which covers your muscle definition and kills your self confidence.

Did you get that? Your most powerful weapon! I cannot stress this enough!

Those who supplement with whey protein are able to gain more lean muscle then those who don’t take it. There isn’t really much else that can be said, but are there any side effects???

Possible Side Effects of Whey Protein Powder

Well no side effects have been shown although most doctors suggest that you shouldn’t be going overboard with protein shakes (i.e. a dozen protein shakes a day)! This is one thing I see some people get carried away with. Unless you are a serious bodybuilder you want to go for 2 -3 protein shakes a day at the most.

And remember this one rule, generally your body cannot absorb more than 30grams of whey protein in one sitting. Anything more and your liver is going to go into overdrive to try to process it all. The excess which it can’t absorb will just go right through you.

Conclusion: Whey Protein Powder

Frankly, I recommend whey protein for everyone, including my mom! I have found it to be the one single diet supplement that has helped me the most when it comes to fat loss and gain in muscle strength, definition and size. It’s a great snack any time you’re hungry, and great for keeping you full until you have time to make a meal.

Major benefits again:

• Easy to digest
• Curbs cravings for junky foods
• Contains essential amino acids to help you repair and build muscle tissue
• Great replacement for unhealthy snacks and will in turn help you lose body fat
• Very safe with no side effects

So, if there is one thing to add to your diet, it’s definitely got to be whey protein, especially if you have a hard time controlling your food cravings.

Take a look at my fruit smoothie recipes to get an idea of what you can mix your whey protein with to make it even yummier!

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Book Description

Editor’s Review

Download Link

Download Link is found from internet. Not skinny2hunk’s material. Buy this book from Amazon.

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In most aspects of life, it’s totally true- More Is Better. But, weight training is the one HUGE exception. Because when it comes to weight training, more work means less rest. And less rest means less recovery. And less rest and less recovery are guaranteed to mean less results in muscle gain.

You Either Recover And Improve… Or You Don’t

Something most people don’t realize is that the human body doesn’t improve while you are weight training. No one has ever built an ounce of muscle or made any similar improvement to their body while at the gym in the middle of their workout.

The only thing you’re truly doing at that time is giving your body a reason to start the improvement process. You’re damaging your muscles, depleting your energy stores, fatiguing your nervous system and basically beating the crap out of your body.

And from there, as long as the required amount of rest, recovery and nutritional supplies are in place, this ENTIRE process of adapting can begin and the improvements you’re trying to make can all be made (while resting, not working).

It’s during this recovery period when your body rebuilds your muscle tissue so that it is just a tiny bit bigger and stronger than it previously was. This is when energy stores get replenished and the nervous system recovers. This is when your joints and tendons get the break they need to stay healthy and injury-free.

This rest and recovery period is when EVERYTHING you want your body to do (build muscle, get stronger, appear more “toned,” etc.) actually gets done. Unless of course you’re not allowing it to. In that case, none of this can happen. If your body can’t properly recover, your body can’t properly improve.

Overtraining: Most Common Signs

If you’re wondering if you are currently overtraining, here are the most common signs:

No simple, reliable method can diagnose overtraining in its earliest stages. The best indications include deterioration in physical performance and alterations in mood rather than changes in immune function.

Guidelines to Avoid Overtraining

There are some general rules that should be followed in order to avoid overtraining and to optimize gains:

• Train No More Than 4 Days Per Week. This is why most advanced weightlifters break up their routines into specific body parts. Hitting one muscle group once a week like – doing chest and biceps one day, then back and triceps the next, thean shoulder and traps and legs the fourth day, provide adequate recovery time.
• Do not train the same muscle group for consecutive day.
• Train No More Than 2 Days In A Row for Full body workout.
• Workouts Session Should Last No More Than 60-75 Minutes. There is scientific evidence that after this period of time, that testosterone levels begin to drop and muscle breakdown hormone cortisol begins to rise dramatically.
• Use a proper workout split.
• Limit your Working Sets and Repetitions For Each Muscle Groups Aiming to Avoid Overtraining. Work Sets for Larger muscle groups like back and legs should be between 12-16. For smaller muscle group like biceps sets count should be between 6-9.
• The rep ranges for muscle building is 6-12 reps per set and you should be lifting with a weight that you struggle to complete the last couple reps on each set with good form.
• Change modes of exercise. For example do weight lifting one day and cardio the next.
• Get plenty of sleep. At least 7-8 hours of sleep is required each night for adequate recovery between workouts and to facilitate strength and size gains.
• If you are feeling sick/weak, take a day off. Save your energy for tomorrow rather than waste today’s workout.
• Eat More Protein. Consuming 1 gm of protein for each kilogram of bodyweight is a great idea, given that protein helps the muscles to recover and rebuild during rest periods.
• Meet Your Caloric Needs. Without a surplus of calories your body will begin to breakdown.
• Take a multivitamin daily.
• Take a training break of 15 days after successful completion of a training routine.
• Keep accurate and detailed records of your training program. This allows you to self-monitor and adjust training volume and intensity depending on your current training status, e.g., feeling great, feeling tired, etc.
• Be aware of your emotional health. Job stressors, interpersonal relationships, and other environmental stressors may have a harmful effect on athletic performance. Maintaining health and wellness in all areas of life will help prevent overtraining.

In conclusion, the prevailing wisdom is that it is better to be undertrained than overtrained. Rest is a vital part of any athlete’s training. There is considerable evidence that reduced training (same intensity, lower volume) for up to 21 days will not decrease performance. A well-planned training program involves as much art as science and should allow for flexibility. Early warning signs of overtraining should be heeded and schedule adjustments made accordingly. Smart training is the path to faster muscle gain.

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If you want to make use of some old gold and really apply yourself, you can gain lots of weight. If you want to quit scratching around for something new for a couple of months, you can get as bulky as you want.

Let’s review the old method, and then we’ll outline a program for you. We can sum up the essentials very quickly. Squats and milk. That’s the gist of it. Heavy squats and lots of milk and never mind if the principle is years old. If you’re in doubt, let me tell you this. I get scores of letters from lifters around the country who’ve tried the squats and milk program. They all say the same thing. They gained more weight in a month on the squats and milk than they had in a year or more on other types of programs.Gains of twenty to thirty pounds in a month are not uncommon. If you don’t gain at least ten pounds a month you’re doing something wrong.

Rare Photo - Frank Zane and Arnold Bulked Up Relaxing at The Beach

Lets take it piece by piece. We’ll start with the milk bit. The bodybuilders who don’t gain well on milk usually fail because they misunderstand the instructions to drink a lot of it. I’ve met a few men who thought a couple glasses was a lot. That’s not what I mean. When I say a lot of milk, I’m talking about a gallon or so a day. A gallon of milk a day may sound excessive, and perhaps it is, but it’s a sure guarantee of fast gains.

You can even soup up the milk a bit by adding a few items to it; like a day’s supply of protein supplement, some ice cream or maybe some skim milk powder. Either way, just make sure you drink a gallon a day. The other essential to the program is the squat. This, like the milk, is often badly misunderstood. Let’s outline a bulking up routine for you, and discuss the squat in it’s proper place in the program.

You should start your program with a brief warmup. Spend about five minutes bending and twisting, doing light repetition snatches or cleans, sit-ups, running in place, and so on. Don’t wear yourself out on the warmup. Just get your blood moving and a good feeling about the whole thing. Your first exercise is the press behind the neck. Do three sets of twelve reps. Don’t be frightened by the relatively high reps, and don’t be stampeded into using low rep stuff. The value of low reps has been greatly exaggerated. Moderately high reps, properly used, provide umpteen times the growth stimulation, and are so much better for your health that comparisons become ridiculous.

Do the presses in strict style with a medium width grip. Work hard on them and try to force the poundage way up. There’s no use kidding yourself on this or any other exercise. If you use baby sized weights, then you can expect baby sized muscles. It’s as simple as that and there’s no way out of it. If you want respectable deltoid, trapezius, and triceps development, then you’ve got to work up to about three-quarters of your body weight for the twelve reps. That means around 105 pounds for a 140 pound man, 120 pounds for a 160 pound man, 150 pounds for a 200 pound man, and so on. Nothing less will do. If you think it will, forget it.

The biggest fallacy in weight training is the foisted notion that you can build big powerful muscles without hard work on heavy weights. You can’t do it, brothers, and you’re wasting your time trying. If you’re not gaining like you should, give your training poundages a long hard look. The fault may be entirely yours. Take a short rest after the presses. The next exercise is the big one, the key to the whole thing, the squat. You’ll do one set of twenty reps, in puff and pant style, with all the weight you an handle.

Twenty rep squats are the solution to everybody’s weight gaining problems. They’ll stimulate growth beyond belief if you work hard enough on them. Warm up your knees with a few free squats and then start right in on the heavy stuff. Take three huge gulping breaths between each rep. Hold the last breath and squat. Blast the air out violently as you come erect. Hold your head up and keep your back as flat as possible. Don’t go below parallel position. You should use a weight so heavy that the last five reps are doubtful. I continually get letters from trainees complaining about their slow gains in bodyweight. Eventually I find out they’re using weights in the squat that an old lady with arthritis could lift. You’ve gotta force the poundage. 150% of your bodyweight for twenty reps is rock bottom minimum. That means 300 pounds for a 200 pound man. And remember, that’s a minimum figure. You should figure on going well above that.

As soon as you finish the squats, do twenty pullovers with a light weight. Twenty pounds or so is plenty. All you want to do is give your rib box a good stretch. The next exercise is the bench press. This exercise has been published enough so that you shouldn’t need any special instruction on it. Do three sets in a rather loose style. The next exercise is bent over rowing. Do three sets of fifteen in very strict style. Rest your forehead on a block or lean it against a post or something to make sure you don’t cheat. Use a medium width grip and pull the bar to your lower abdomen.

The next exercise is the stiff legged deadlift. One set of fifteen reps. Do the deadlifts standing on a bench or a high block so that you can go all the way down without the plates hitting the floor. Concentrate on a full extension and contraction of your lower back. Don’t set the weight down when you finish the fifteen reps. Stand erect and do shoulder shrugs until you grip gives out. You should be able to get at least a dozen shrugs out of it. Do another set of light pullovers, twenty reps, after the deadlifts and shrugs.

That completes the program, and it looks like this:

1. Press behind neck	3 x 12
2. Squat	1 x 20
3. Pullover	1 x 20
4. Bench press	3 x 12
5. Rowing	3 x 15
6. Stiff legged deadlift	1 x 15
7. Pullover	1 x 20

Work hard on all the exercises, and work to your limit on the squats. Drink milk as suggested earlier. Get lots of rest and sleep. Maintain a calm, tranquil mind and start saving your money. You’ll need it to buy bigger clothes. In other articles, John McCullum stressed the importance of forcing the poundage on the squat. He said to add five pounds every workout!

This article is collected from the magazine “Strength & Health“, November 1968. By John McCallum. He knew about all there was to know about weight lifting and body building back in his day. His book “The Complete Keys to Progress” are still bestsellers today speaks for itself. This book, for example contained routines that have been modified and reinterpreted somewhat by many, but the core ideas and structure behind them still prove to be true: full body workouts are the most efficient way to gain a lot of muscle really quick, full body workouts burn the most fuel and are best for getting that lean and athletic look, while gaining muscle.

The post Fast Bulking Up Following Old School Bodybuilding Strategy appeared first on Skinny2Hunk.

Depending upon your tastes and nutritional needs using wide variety of fruits like banana, strawberry, mango etc. you can make smoothies. Adding whey protein makes your smoothies more calorie dense which can help gain weight in a healthy way providing protein.

Ingredients

• Blender
• Milk
• Banana
• Nuts
• Peanut butter
• Whey protein powder
• Honey
• Cocoa powder

Steps to Follow

1. Blend 1 cup of whole milk and a fresh banana or strawberry in a blender until smooth in consistency. Whole milk contains 3.25 percent fat; a cup provides about 146 calories. Bananas are high in natural sugars and contain about 105 calories on average. Use juice, almond milk or soy milk instead of milk if you prefer.
2. Add a tablespoon of cashews, peanuts or almonds to the smoothie and blend again. Nuts are high in healthy unsaturated fats and are calorie-dense. Alternatively add peanut butter, which contains 100 calories per tablespoon.
3. Add 1 or 2 tablespoons of whey protein powder to the basic smoothie and blend until the powder is dissolved. This type of protein can help you build muscle mass if you are trying to gain weight. Whey protein is derived from milk and contains essential amino acids and other nutrients.
4. Flavor your smoothie with 1 tablespoon of honey or cocoa powder and blend until uniformly mixed. Honey offers natural sweetening and contains 60 calories per tablespoon. Dark, unsweetened cocoa powder has antioxidants and provides about 12 calories per tablespoon. You also can flavor a smoothie with a sprinkle of cinnamon or nutmeg powder.

Tips

• You also can use yogurt and water to make a smoothie. Regular yogurt provides fat as well as probiotics, calcium and other nutrients to help with your weight gain.
• Add flaxseeds or other seeds to your smoothie for more health benefits and calories.
• Drink your smoothie immediately after making it. If there is any left over, you can cover and store it in the refrigerator for a few hours.

Consideration

• Gain weight with healthy and calorie dense foods to reduce the risk of health problems, such as high cholesterol.
• Avoid adding large amounts of sugary and high-fat ingredients to your smoothie. Dextrose works better than sugar providing instant energy.
• Check the instruction label on the protein powder and use it only as directed. One scoop whey protein powder is adequate as it contains more then 20 gm protein for a single serving.
• If you are lactose-intolerant, avoid milk and whey protein.

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“If you spend too much time learning the ‘tricks’ of the trade, you may not learn the trade. There are no shortcuts. If you’re working on finding a short cut, the easy way, you’re not working hard enough on the fundamentals. You may get away with it for a spell, but there is no substitute for the basics. And the first basic is good, old fashioned hard work.”  - John Wooden

“Always remember, it takes ten times the effort to go from fat to fit than to stay fit in the first place.”

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