Posts Tagged ‘muscle’

Achieving Fat Loss and Muscle Growth in 2010

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

This is an exciting time, a brand new year, a chance to wipe the slate clean and set your self up for a successful year ahead. To ensure that you get on the way to success in your fat loss and muscle building goals, you should ensure you do the following:-

 1. Get back to it ASAP! – It is so easy to delay getting back into training after those Christmas Holidays, the earlier you get back to the gym and get back on a good diet the faster you will on your way to having a successful year!

2. Decide upon your goals – what are your aims? are you trying to lose fat or build muscle? You need to be sure as to what your aims are so that you can focus your training and dieting for that specific aim.

3. Plan you diet and workouts – Alot of people don’t plan there workouts or their diets, this can be a huge mistake. If you don’t pre-plan your workouts, you can find yourself wondering aimlessly around the gym, using random machines with no particluar format. Your workouts should be focused and planned for best results. It is also a very good idea to plan your food, this will prevent you from unhealthy eating just because it is convienient. I find it best to make my food for the next day the night before.

4. Develop positive habits – This is important. It is a New Year, a chance to start a fresh, so do it right. Get straight into the habit of eating right, making every single gym session you plan. You do this long enough and it will become second nature!

I have an exciting year planned for the Blog, expect to see loads of diet and training advice and techniques. Also my secret projest will finally be revealed in 2010! So please keep visiting us so you don’t miss a thing!

Also remember to send me any questions or problems you have and will do my best to answer them for you, email me at jallmark@fatlossandmusclebuilding.com.

Your Lack of Success in Muscle Building or Fat Loss May Not be Your Fault….

Wednesday, November 25th, 2009

There is an abundance of mixed information out there for both losing and gaining muscle, which ever your current goals may lie in. Unfortunately although there is a lot of good stuff out there, the majority of the information is absolutely useless! This is a huge reason why people struggle to achieve any good results in fat loss or muscle building. Alot of the time it really isn’t your fault that you are failing to reach your potential, it is down to being given bad information and advice.

The huge growth of the internet over the last few years, has made it possible to find out near enough anything you want, but only if you know exactly where to look! The fitness industry is a huge business,with ALOT of cash being thrown around, and unfortuanely due to this you are not always getting what you are led to believe that you are…

The fitness industry has become a billion dollar market, with big companies spending millions onmarketing and sales to bump up their profit margins, and they are very good at it! They are experienced and ruthless, they will make all sorts of promises to get you to hand over your hard earned cash. The supplementation company is one of the worse, trying to sell you products that “guarentee” you miracle results. The only guarentee that you really have is that willlead you disappointed! That is not to say that all supplements are useless, there are a small few products that may help improve your results, but even these can be done without.

Another problem which you may have is following the latest big thing in dieting. Alot of which will only give you short term results, that do not last. They involve following some crazy diet theory, which will just be impossible to stick to long term, and more than likely will leave you worse off than you were in the first place!    

When it comes to building muscle, it is easy to think that advice given by a guy who seems to have achieved excellence when it comes to their own body will work the same for you. When in fact you may end up trying to follow a plan that is either designed for a seasoned bodybuilder, or even a drug user! A routine that may be ok for a competetive bodybuilder with years of training behind them, will not work for a normal person.

I myself have made every mistake in the book, due to following bad advice and buying into numerous miracle products (the miracle was they didn’t work!). I eventually, after many painstaking years, and more cash than i’d like to remember, managed to sift through all the b.s and find what worked for me. By me I mean an average guy, not a genetic freak who can easily build muscle and lose fat at the same time and not a drug user. Once I had thrown out all of the useless info, I realised that the basics that had been used for years were what a normal guy like me need to concentrate on.

I have now managed to shed my unwanted body fat, and build lbs of new muscle, and all it really took was a bit of dedication and sticking with good training and diet practices. I’m now trying to use my blog to share all the great information that is out there with you. I want my blog to be a source of good information, that isn’t designed  toencourage you to buy the latest supplementation product available, but instead is designed to help the average person to achieve the results that I have managed to achieve myself. So please pay us regular visits, so I can pass my knowledge on to you. If you have any questions or would like any advice on a particular subject, please send me an email and I will try to resolve them for you in future blogs.

I have mentioned recently that I’m working on a bit of a project at the moment, which I am very close to finishing. Stay tuned and I will reveal all in then next couple of months… 

Sorry For the Silence!

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009

Hi Everyone,

I have to apologise about my silence and the lack of blog posts over the past weeks. There has been good reason for it,  and no it hasn’t been because of a really long holiday if that’s what you are thinking! 

Over the past few weeks have shut myself away in my office, away from any distractions to work on a project that I have wanted to do for years now, but never found the time to get going. Finally I have run out of excuses not to start this thing and have finally knuckle down to it. So what amI actually talking about? Well that i’m afraid I’m not going to reveal just yet, but let’s just say if you have an interest in losing fat, building muscle and increasing fitness (which I would imagine that you do if you are here on my blog!), then you will definately not want to miss this!

Although I have got the bulk of my ’secret’ project finished now, I have still got some work to do to get it just right. I will reveal exactly what I am creating soon, I’ll keep you posted on the progress. Until then I will be returning to my regular blogging activities, so please don’t be a stranger!

Also if there are any questions you have or there is some information that you would like relating to fat loss, muscle building or general fitness, send them in to me and I’ll try my best to help.   

 Train hard and expect great results…

The Number 1 Reason People Fail to Build Muscle…

Wednesday, June 25th, 2008

So many people try and fail to build muscle, the most common reason why is so simple to correct. More often than not if someone isn’t putting any muscle, or in fact any weight of any kind, it is simply because they aren’t eating enough.

If you are not consuming enough calories (or energy to put it another way), you will not build any new muscle. You need to be in a state of overfeeding for your body to produce new muscle growth. The amount you need to overfeed by varies from person to person, and can vary anywhere from just over your maintenance level (this is the amount of calories you consume to stay at the same weight) to over 500 calories. It really is something that you need to experiment with to find out where you threshold lies.

If you are failing to gain muscle, this is the first thing you need to look at, are you eating enough calories?! No?! then eat more!After that if you are still struggling, then you should start to look at your nutrition, workout and if you are giving you muscles enough rest (this is when they grow, not in the gym!).

Taking Your Bodyfat Measurement to Monitor Your Progress…

Monday, June 16th, 2008

If you are a keen follower of my blog, I’m sure that you have heard me countless times going on and on about the importance of taking your measurements to monitor your progress. Just to recap the most vital measurements that you should be taking on a weekly basis are your weight and your bodyfat percentage. This is so important whether you are training to burn fat or to build muscle. From these measurements you can work out your body composition (i.e. how much of your weight is from fat and how much is from lean weight, then depending on what your goals are, you can make adjustments to your diet to improve them the next week. For example, if you are trying to burn fat and you find from your measurements that you have lost some muscle that week. That means that you are not getting enough calories so will need to increase your calorie intake, or that you are not getting enough protein to sustain your muscle. On the other side if you are trying to gain muscle and your measurements reveal that you haven’t put on any weight at all, again you will need to increase your calorie intake.

Now as we know weighing yourself is very easy. Whether you weigh yourself at the gym or at home on your own scales, so long as you use the same scales each time and weigh yourself at the same time each day, that is fine. Now when it comes to measuring your bodyfat there are several different methods available. Under water weighing, bioelectric impedance, bodyfat calipers to name just a few.

In my opinion the best method, because of it’s convenience and also because it is quite accurate, is the use of a set bodyfat calipers. They are also fairly cheap to buy, you can pick up a good set for between $20-$80. For the most accurate reading you should be taking measurements at multi points on your body. A good set of calipers will give detailed instructions on how to take the most accurate bodyfat measurement, measuring points may include chest, abdomen, tricep and thigh.

As with anything practice is required to become good at taking a good accurate bodyfat reading. You need to aim to pinch the same amount of skin at the same points, this will then give you a good representation on your bodyfat levels, and more importantly whether they are going up or down. Repeating your measurements a few times, to make sure that they are the sameeach time isalso a good way tomakesureyou are getting a good reading. 

I’m not going to recommend a certain make of bodyfat caliper to you, as i’m not trying to make money off you. What I will say though is that I recommend that you do a bit of research for yourself before you spend your money. Look for calipers that are made by a reputable company, and see if they are endorsed by an official governing body, such as the World NaturalBodybuilding Foundation, this should ensure that you get a good set.

P.S don’t forget about my Fat loss and muscle building Q & A follow the link for details.

A Quick Tip for Fat Loss and Muscle Building

Monday, June 9th, 2008

Just a quick tip for you today…

For Success in both burning fat and building muscle there something that you must be doing. That something is body monitoring. By this I mean taking your bodyfat and weighing yourself on a weekly basis.

My advice to you is to weigh yourself at the same time of day each week, preferably first thing in the morning before you eat, to give the most accurate results. You should also weigh on the same day each week, so that you can follow your progress on a week by week basis. The same goes for taking bodyfat measurement, take it on the same time, the same day each week.

There are many methods for taking your bodyfat, some more accurate than others. The important thing is that you use the same method each time, this allows you to monitor your progress more accurately. Having an exact precise measurement is less important than having a consistant one. My preferred method is by using a set calipers. They are cheap and convient to use, and give a fairly accurate reading when used properly.

By taking your measurements every week you can then see if you are putting on muscle or just fat, or if you are losing muscle rather than fat. If you are staying the same weight, if you are lucky you may see that you are actually losing fat and gaining muscle rather than having no results (If this were the case I would be very jealous! It is only certain lucky people that achieve this.)

If you have a fat loss or muscle building goal, body monitoring is a must for success. Also keep a diary of your results, so you can reflect back and see how far you have come.  

Food Planning for Fat Loss and Muscle Building

Wednesday, June 4th, 2008

Are you trying to burn fat or put of some muscle? Are you happy that your workouts are good and you are getting enough rest, and yet frustratingly you are still not getting the results you are after? I guarantee that with most people the problem comes is in your diet.

Larry Scott, the first Mr. Olympia, remarked in 1965 “Bodybuilding is 90% nutrition”, and he was right! Nutrition is the key to success not just for bodybuilders, but for anyone trying to get in shape. To see great results, you really need to tighten up on your nutrition.

With alot of people it doesn’t come down to the fact that they don’t know what they should be eating, it is more that they are guessing what they do actually eat, I can hold my hand up and admit that I have done this in this past.  If you try to estimate your calories, you can find yourself eating far more or less than you actually need. As for your nutiriton ratios, you stand no chance if you are trying to guess them.

The key is to plan. I find that the best way is to spend a little bit of time sitting down and working out a few days worth of menus. If you have a full day’s worth of food written in front of you , it will make things alot easier.

Another good method is to split up your daily allowances into your six meals equally, and then sit down and write out a number of different meals that you could have throughthe day. If you make sure each meal has the same calories and nutrition ratios, you could pick from various meal combinations through the day to keep variation in your diet, and to stop you getting bored eating the same things day in day out. Also prepare your meals as much as possible the day before, this will ensure that you are making sure the next days eating is as easy as possible.

It is also a good idea to keep a food diary. I know it sounds a bit daft, but if you write down what you eat each day you will eventually be able to what works well for you and what doesn’t.

Remember nutrition willbe the difference between little or no results, and great results. So try and get in the habit of planning your meals, and keep a food diary each day, it really is worth the extra effort. 

Compound Exercises for Muscle Building

Monday, June 2nd, 2008

If you are trying to pack on some serious muscle you need to concentrate on compound or multi-joint lifts. These are exercises that unlike isolation exercises, involve a number of muscle groups to perform. Exercises include the squat, bench press and deadlift, are examples of some of the best.

These compound movements put a lot of stress on the body and shocks the nervous system into releasing the largest amount of muscle building hormones. Also stimulating growth all over the body, so you will pack on size everywhere!

Compound exercises also allow you to shift a lot of weight which is what you need to develop new muscle. I must however stress the importance of proper technique with all of these exercises, as there is a high risk of injury if you try to shift a heavy weight with the wrong technique. I know I always go on about this in my posts, but it really is ever so important and i’ll continue to nag you with it in the future…sorry!

So base your workouts around compound exercises, but don’t completely dismiss isolation exercises. Exercises such as bicep curls are still great to throw in there, just perform them after your compound exercises.

Should You Stretch If You Are Trying to Build Muscle?

Friday, May 23rd, 2008

For most bodybuilders, only interested in building muscle, stretching is the last thing on their mind. It has even been said that stretching before a weight lifting session actually leads to a reduction of strength during the session. There has been no definate answers to this come from research, but it has become a rule among bodybuilders that pre session stretching should be avoided. There is also the argument that stretching a cold muscle has the danger of causing an injury.

So what about stretching after a workout? This has been proven to increase flexibility, and unknown or ignored by most bodybuilders can actual lead to an increase in muscle strength. Spending an extra ten or fifteen minutes stretching after weights session, can really have a positive affect on your muscles. Concentrate on holding your stretches for at least twenty seconds or more, gradually increasing the stretch.

Not enough people stretch after they exercise there muscles, it is something that I highly recommend you give a try.

Inspiring Fat Loss Story…

Wednesday, May 21st, 2008

Hi everyone,

I thought I’d point you towards some elses blog today, mainly for motivational purposes. This guy has possibly been in alot worse shape than you may be in right now, and he has managed to turn things around for himself. This guy really is a great example of what you can achieve if you put your mind to it. Click here to have a look at what I mean.

 Once you have read his story, think about his achievements and then think what it is possible for you to achieve yourself. Now get to work with your diet and training! If you are new to my blog, and interested in fat loss and muscle building, why not scroll through some of my past posts. There you will find tips and advice on how to get going, stick around as there will be a lot more to come…

 Eat smart and train hard. That way you will achieve great things.