How to Build Muscle And Get Lean

How to Build Muscle And Get Lean by Scott Magers

You work hard on the field, at the gym; have committed a lot of your time to getting better in your sport. You strive to achieve success at a higher level. Consistency in training, practicing, skill work and competing begins by knowing exactly what routine to follow to take yourself to a new level. Discipline is doing it right all the time. Mental toughness is doing it right when you are uncomfortable.



It takes a combination of both of these to master your performance. Does an extra 7-10 pounds of lean muscle in only 6 weeks interest you? What if you could train for optimum results by following a no nonsense workout that gets results? The following is an example of a highly effective weekly workout schedule that flat out works! It has been tested by hundreds of top level athletes in a wide variety of sports. Test this out for six weeks and you will be very pleased with your gains.



Weight Room Routine + Interval Cardio



The standard sequence is two warm up sets (on muscle groups not yet warmed up) 5-8 reps with your warm up weight, increasing in weight about 10% with each set until ready to perform your work sets. First work set includes 12 reps at 70% of your 1 rep max weight followed by one minute rest. Second work set with 8 reps at 75-80% of one rep maximum weight followed by one minute and thirty seconds rest.



Third work set with 5 reps at 85% of one rep max followed by a drop set of 50% of your third set weight for 20 reps with no rest in between. Move on to next exercise and begin within two minutes & Stay at the 12, 8, 5-20 sequence for six weeks. Change the order, tempo, type and rest interval of the exercise each week.



DAY 1 - CHEST AND TRICEPS



• Prime Mover Exercise: Bench Press 5 X 2 warm up 12, 8, 5, 20 rep work sets, superset last two sets)

• Incline Dumbbell Press 12, 8, 5, 20 rep work sets (superset last two sets)

• Bar Dips 12+ with body weight X 3

• Close Grip Bench Press 12, 8, 5, 20 (superset last two sets)

• French Press 12, 8, 5-20

• Underhand Grip Cable Press-down 12, 8, 5-20

• Abs Bench Roll-ups 20 X 2 and Side Rolls 12 X 2



DAY 2 - LEGS



• Squats 5 X 2 Warm up 12, 8, 5-20 Work Sets

• Stiff legged Deadlifts 12 X 2

• Walking Lunges 20 steps X 2

• Leg Extension 12, 8, 5-20

• Leg Curl 12, 8, 5-20

• Calf raises 15 X 3

• Decline Sit-ups 20 X 2



DAY 3 - OFF



DAY 4 - SHOULDERS

• Dumbbell Overhead Seated Press 5 X 2 Warm up 12, 8, 5-20 Work Sets

• Bent Arm Laterals with dumbbells 12, 8, 5-20

• Cable Straight arm laterals 12 X 2

• Cable Bent arm laterals 12 X 2

• Upright cable row 10 X 2

• Rear Delt Machine Row 12, 8, 5-20

• Abs Hanging leg raises 12 X 3, Bench up and twist sets 10 X 2



DAY 5 - BACK AND BICEPS



• Prime Mover Exercise: Bent Over- Barbell Rows Reps 5 X 2 Warm up 12, 8, 5-20 Work Sets

• One arm cable row 10 X 2

• Straight arm pulldown 10 X 2

• Close Grip Pulldown 12 X 2

• Barbell Curls 5 X 2 warm up 12, 8, 5-20 Concentration Curls 10 X 2

• Hammer Curls with Rope 12 X 2

• Abs Rubber Ball crunches 30 X 2



DAY 6 - OFF



DAY 7 – Interval Cardio Session



Choose your method of cardio (running, biking, swimming, jump rope etc) and warm up with two minutes at an easy pace. Once you are warm, do 8 sprint intervals at 85% of max heart rate for 30 seconds each. After each interval rest for one full minute (slow jog or slow peddling) until you return to a reasonable resting heart rate.



Do 8 intervals week one, 9 week two, 10 week three and so on until you get to 12 intervals in one session. When you reach 12 you reduce the intervals back down to 8 the next time but increase the intensity of each sprint and reduce the rest time to 45 seconds following every sprint. This style of training is very effective but is intense to say the least. It can kick you metabolism into a real fat burning mode for hours.



It has been extensively researched and studies show that compared to linear cardio (going at 60% max heart rate for 20+ minutes at a time) you burn a significantly greater amount of fat. I recommend you only do this once per week for your first six week cycle.



Finishing Thoughts



Stay with this cycle for 6 weeks. Workouts should be between 45-60 minutes in length. Move quickly between exercises. Write down in a log book each set and weight lifted. (Rate the intensity level of each exercise for each muscle group on a scale from 1 lowest to 10 highest). Keep your intensity at an 8 or above, on the average. Record your overall score and intensity average at the end of each workout. A light stretch, a few push-ups or a couple of minutes on the bike can also be helpful in "getting loose" before you go into your warm-up sets. Good luck and stay committed!



Copyright (c) 2007 Scott Magers



Have you heard about the new results training program everyone’s buzzing about? Check out http://www.seekersmanifesto.com for a sneak preview. Health and fitness guru Scott Magers has put together the ultimate nutrition and training routine for literally hundreds of professional athletes, big league sports teams and celebrities. Will you be next? http://ScottMagers.com.



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Two Forgotten Exercises Guaranteed to Add Inches of Pure Button Poppin Muscle to Your Pecs--Fast

Two Forgotten Exercises Guaranteed to Add Inches of Pure Button Poppin Muscle to Your Pecs--Fast by Leonard Rogalski

You stare on in amazement as the resident big guy at your gym blasts out yet another set of reps in the bench with 400 on the bar. His chest is massive, full, and totally developed, and yet when you try loading up on the plates what do you get from your efforts, nothing but bigger triceps and front delts.



If this sounds like you, or you simply need a break from benching, come along and get ready to grow!



The flat bench press in-and-of itself, while not a bad exercise, pales in comparison to the incline bench press.



Why?



Truthfully it comes down to a number of things, first unlike the flat bench, the incline press requires stricter form which helps prevent injuries, second, it works those all important upper pecs, which ranks up there with the most neglected of body parts, and third, the incline press carries over far greater on the athletic field than does the flat bench press.



O.K. if you thought the first exercise came out of left field wait until you see this one!



Barbell pullovers or more to the point, deep breathing pullovers.



Believe it or not, before the flat bench press came on the scene, the pullover was one of the main upper exercises all of the top bodybuilders did. Really, I'm surprised this exercise dropped out of favor as it works the chest, stretches the rib cage (in my opinion), works the triceps and the lats.



However, for me, its magic come from its rib cage stretching effects, tons of people believe you cannot stretch the rib cage and yet other people believe you can.



From my personal experience I believe you can stretch your rib cage.



This creates depth in your chest, so that when you turn sideways you won't automatically disappear.



Look at it this way, let's say you had a car and man did you ever take care of the outside of it, you waxed it everyday, and dents and dings, no way!



That's the outside, the inside and the engine, well they were terrible, do you think anyone would want to take a ride in your car?



Probably not.



Same goes for your chest, you can have massive pecs, but if you're interior (chest depth) does not exist, your chest will not look good from every angle, now you don't want that do you?



THE ROUTINE



Super setting these two powerful mass builders works wonders. A super set, for those of you who might not know, simply means doing the exercises back to back with no or little rest.



To keep things simple, just try to start your set of pullovers as fast as possible after your set of incline presses.



Basically it would look like this: 1 set of incline presses followed as quickly as possible by a set of 20 reps of deep breathing pullovers.



You can do whatever number of reps you want on the incline press, but try and stick with 20 for the pullovers to give your rib cage a good stretch.



SOME TIPS



The incline press requires tighter form than the normal bench press, so stay smart, and start off light if you haven't done the lift, or maybe took a break from it for a while.



Also, for the pullovers, just try and take as deep a breath in-between each rep as you possibly can, and with the pullovers don't lock your elbows, you want your arms straight, just don't lock your arms out.



Between the incline press and the barbell pullover you have two additional exercises to add to your massive chest building tool kit.



Learn the TRUTH and gain pounds of rock hard drug free ripped muscle to your frame fast at http://www.musclegaintruthreview.com and see how you can grab a copy of my ab course 20 MINUTES TO A SIX PACK-ABS THAT IS FREE



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Anti-Aging Secrets for Men

Anti-Aging Secrets for Men by Danna Schneider

So much of the youth-preservation and anti-aging industry here in America used to be focused exclusively on women, who were thought to be the only sex of the human species to be interested in preserving their youth, extending health and life, and enhancing their physical beauty for longer periods of time.



Not any more though. Now, men are expressing an interest in maintaining their physical and emotional health as well as their physical youthfulness, and the industry is answering that call with some excellent solutions to the quest for longevity, peak performance, and lasting health and physical fitness.



With advances in natural medicine and supplementation, there is rarely a person I talk to who does not take some natural enhancement supplement or vitamin of some sort.



Heck, even the multivitamins we have available to us nowadays offer us benefits way beyond your typical One a Day of yesteryear, with superior absorption rates as well as more concentrated and pure ingredients that ensure a greater and more noticeable benefit.



One of the best anti aging "secrets" are multivitamins that are packed with antioxidants, paired with a diet that matches this concentration. Antioxidants are found abundantly in brightly colored veggies and fruits, and are also now added to some of the top notch vitamin supplements for men and women as an added benefit in addition to basic daily vitamins.



Antioxidants, such as polyphenols (found in olive oil abundantly, for example), vitamin E and vitamin C, are pivotal to the survival of cells in the body, including skin cells, brain cells, and healthy defensive cells against things like cancer and other unwanted mutations.



Antioxidants have been demonstrated to play an important role in preventing the destruction of healthy, functional cells by something called free radicals.



Free radicals roam the body in abundance when gone unchecked and when an unhealthy diet and way of life is followed, and these environmental toxins, so to speak, destroy the healthy cell.



Sunlight exposure accelerates the destruction of healthy cells, and certain foods can as well, but taking higher doses of antioxidants and getting them in your diet as well can help mitigate the destruction of these healthy cells, and hence prolong and enhance your life.



Wearing a good SPF lotion all the time is necessary to maintain the integrity of the skin, and prevent mutations of cells such as cancers, especially skin cancer.



It is said that if we were never exposed to the sunlight in our lives, our skin would remain as smooth as a baby's bottom almost into our eighties. This is how powerful staying out of the sun can be in your quest to remain young as long as possible.



For men, maintaining prostate health also becomes a big issue as a man ages, as this gland can be the cause of health woes as the organ ages, and often materializes into an uncomfortable problem for older men, or worse, can also become cancerous over time.



There are some excellent supplements that can be taken for prostate health, and a good diet rich in fruits and vegetables, and low in red meats and other heavy, hard to digest meats, has been linked to the maintenance of prostate health and prevention of prostate cancer as well.



Another health issue for men as they age can be maintaining muscle tone and keeping an optimal level of fitness and energy. Exercise is one of the best anti-aging secrets for both men and women, period.



Exercise not only boosts energy levels and keeps the mind performing at peak levels, but it also has been shown to reduce occurrences of illness such as the flu and colds, to fend off depression and anxiety which are responsible for a myriad of other physical and mental ailments, and to keep the digestive and main organs as well as the circulatory system functioning at higher levels.



Some men (and women, for that matter), swear by the use of an HGH enhancing supplement as well. HGH enhancing supplements can help our bodies to begin to produce HGH at the higher levels of our youth once again. HGH, or human growth hormone, is basically the hormone responsible for keeping us young in every sense of the word.



Some natural supplements are thought to help the body kick the natural mechanisms back in to help the body to start producing this hormone, which typically drops off drastically after our mid twenties, at higher levels again.



All in all, with our constantly evolving and improving knowledge about the world of health and nutrition, we have the tools to remain young and healthy well beyond the years we would without this knowledge.



Those of us who want more out of life, and who understand that we only live once so we better make it the best life we can, will do well to follow these guidelines to stay "young" in spirit, mind and body, as long as we can.



Danna Schneider contributes to Mens Health Supplements and GenF20 HGH Releaser , where you can find helpful information on male and health supplements for physical wellness purposes, longevity, sexual health and emotional well being and mental sharpness.



Article Source: ArticleBazaar.net

4 Simple Anti-Aging Tips

4 Simple Anti-Aging Tips by Donovan Baldwin

Articles on anti-aging are all over the internet these days, so I thought I would chip in my four cent's worth. That's a penny a tip.



We cannot do much about the fact that we age, but we can do something about the effects that aging has on us. Here are four simple things you can do to delay and diminish the effects of aging.



*Exercise



*Eat



*Play



*Sleep



Think you can handle those?



Exercise



One of the most obvious effects of aging is what happens to the outward appearance of our bodies as well as what happens to our ability to use them. When we age, systems slow down, or even break down, we lose muscle mass, our heart begins to have problems, we lose our balance more often, we are more likely to break bones. If injured, we recover more slowly. Wrinkles form, breasts sag, stomachs poke out, and we gain weight.



Simple fact: Regular moderate exercise tightens muscles, builds lean muscle mass, helps keep us flexible and strong. It keeps systems and organs in peak health and operating at optimum efficiency. There are people in their 80's and 90's who are doing "athletic" things. Of course, some of this is related to our genetic makeup, but almost anyone can improve their overall health and fitness through a regular program of moderate exercise.



Exercise doesn't HAVE to be exercise, by the way. Gardening is exercise. So is walking, bicycling, aerobics in front of the TV (Richard Simmons, ladies), yoga, weight training, and playing with the grandkids.



Divide exercise into three types: Muscle building and toning, aerobic (cardiovascular) activity, and stretching. A basic, moderate strength routine two or three times a week, a cardiovascular activity such as a walk five times a week, and a few minutes of stretching every day should do it. It's long been understood that regular exercise can keep anybody looking and feeling good.



Eat



When people age, their nutrition often suffers. First of all, we have all kinds of exhortations to eat less, lose weight, etc. At the same time, as we age, our metabolism slows down and our body's ability to process certain nutrients diminishes as well. Many seniors lose interest in food. Our taste buds even betray us.



For seniors, eating should be fun, of course, but it needs to become a bit more logical. The body requires nutrients, but is having a hard time processing nutrients. Metabolism drops, fat starts packing on, but we need to keep our nutrient level up at a time that our sense of taste is deserting us and we are losing interest in food and a lot of other things anyway.



The exercise I mentioned earlier helps to keep your appetite up while it raises your metabolism and increases your enjoyment of life as well. It will also be necessary to make yourself eat what you are supposed to eat when you are supposed to eat it. If you have any doubt about your ability to get the appropriate nutrition from the foods you do eat, supplement your diet with vitamins and minerals. At the least, you might want to take a daily multivitamin supplement. Look for the ones that say they are for seniors.



Seniors also tend to not get enough protein. You might not need to butcher a whole cow, but try to make sure that you are getting your protein. While not perfect answers, supplements such as Ensure can help you get protein and other nutrients if you are not sure.



If you are engaging in regular physical activity (exercise) and eating properly, you will almost certainly feel more like having fun!



Play



Having fun can have many benefits to anybody at any age, but can be of particular importance to seniors. As we age (I am 62) many of us begin to feel isolated as we quit going to work, friends die, it gets harder to get around, everybody around us (those young folks) seems to enjoy things that seem meaningless to us. Based on what a friend of mine, a geriatric nurse, told me, this is the slippery slope that leads many perfectly healthy and normal people to a chair on a senior daycare porch. She told me that many of her patients were fine, they had just figured that there was no reason to be interested in life any more.



Social interaction can keep juices flowing that otherwise would dry up, and I am talking actual chemicals, hormones, and enzymes. Spend time with friends and family. If you no longer have a job to go to daily, why not volunteer in order to keep physically, mentally, and socially active. Find something you always wished you could do, but didn't have the time because you were so busy earning a living. People with partners and pets live longer, healthier lives. There's a clue.



Keep your mind active with puzzles and games. Believe it or not, a little Sudoku, or a few logic puzzles can not only help mental alertness and thinking ability, but can actually contribute to physical health.



Just thought I'd mention, sex is good for you too!



Sleep



Rest is important at all stages of our lives, and it becomes very important as we age. Regular exercise, proper nutrition, and some fun will help you fall asleep at night and sleep well. Most of us, both young and old, should be trying to get between six and eight hours of decent sleep a night. Just because you wake up a couple of times to take care of some urgent business doesn't mean that you need to stay up.



If you feel you are not getting enough sleep, or are just not rested enough, by all means have it checked out medically. In the meantime, maybe some meditation during the day can help. Hey! That's M-E-D-I-T-A-T-I-O-N so you don't need M-E-D-I-C-A-T-I-O-N!



Have a happy, healthy life.



Donovan Baldwin is a Texas writer, a University of West Florida alumnus, a member of Mensa, and is retired from the U. S. Army after 21 years of service. You can find a collection of his articles on health, fitness, diet and weight loss at http://nodiet4me.com/articledirectory/



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