Building Muscle for the Hard Gainer

Building Muscle for the Hardgainer shows you how to train, eat, and rest if you find it difficult to pack on serious muscle mass.

In this article, I talk about the 3 pillars that you need to master to drive your muscle-building efforts through the roof! You can gain a lot of weight with this simple (but don't call it "easy"!) program.

Read it and learn. Building Muscle for the Hardgainer offers a complete run-down on how you should train, eat, and sleep if you want to maximize your muscle gains.

If you want to learn more about bodybuilding, weight training, and nutrition, sign up for my Muscle-Build.com Newsletter.

To get a full report on how to train the hardgainer, buy my upcoming ebook, The Hardgainer's Manifesto. There's also a FAQ in development that will answer a lot of your hardgainer questions.

How to Get Six Pack Abs

I posted an interview about Six Pack Abs with Tom Venuto of Burn the Fat and David Grisaffi of Flatten Your Abs that's all about losing belly and body fat, getting definition in your abs, and even eliminating lower back pain! This is a GREAT interview!

Ways to Get Stronger

Many bodybuilders and people seeking to build their muscles don't think in terms of strength training, whereas most athletes want to maximize their strength. The two don't have to be mutually exclusive.

In fact, they're inseparable. If you gain muscle, you no doubt will gain some strength. And the opposite is equally true: If you gain strength, you will gain some mass.

Muscles get stronger because they have to. Place greater loads on them and they're forced to adapt. While a lot of strength gains come from building a better link between the mind and muscles, some of it does come because the individual muscle fibers have gotten stronger; their contractile ability has been increased.

Take a look at some of the top bodybuilders of all time. Guys like Arnold, Franco Columbu, and Lou Ferrigno were (and still are) some of the strongest guys on the planet. In fact, both Arnold and Franco were weightlifting champions before they became bodybuilders.

I can remember both Franco and Ferrigno competing in the Worlds's Strongest Man competitions and doing very well. Back then, bodybuilders were thought of as weak.

They were by no means weak.

Some would argue that building strength is a prerequisite of building muscle, and I would agree. My own personal story was one of wanting to build muscle and "only" gaining strength. But the added strength I achieved enabled me to build muscle faster because I could lift heavier weights in my bodybuilding routines. The strength comes first. The muscle comes later, especially if you're a hard gainer like me.

For the budding bodybuilder as well as for the strength trainer just starting out, I'd suggest getting as strong as you can in the exercises you will build upon. For power lifters, this would be bench presses, deadlifts, and squats, as well as some isolation moves that build strength in the supporting muscles. For bodybuilders, add in isolation movements like curls, presses of all kinds, shrugs, rows, dips, and pull-ups.

The surefire way to measure progress in your bodybuilding and strength routines is to monitor the weights you lift. The muscle size gains will follow with proper nutrition and rest.

Featured Muscle Building Articles on EzineArticles

Check out my two latest published articles on eZine!

How to Gain Weight and Build Muscle Quickly and How to Add an Inch to Your Arms.

How to Build Muscle Guides

Get a sneak preview of my latest site, Muscle-Building Guide Reviews. In the coming days, I'll add more muscle-building systems. This will be the definitive place to go for guides about building muscle,  losing fat, and getting buffed, ripped, and fit.

Introducing the Hard Gainer's Manifesto

I'm working on a brief that will blast your muscle-building efforts into the stratosphere. Unlike most of the muscle-building systems out there (see Muscle-Building-Guide-Reviews for more information about these very comprehensive "One Size Fits All" programs), the Hard Gainer's Manifesto will concentrate on muscle-growth in people who can't seem to gain muscle no matter what they do.

I know what it's like to be a hard gainer. Muscle growth didn't occur rapidly (I daresay any at all) for me. That is, until I figured out the secret, which I'll reveal to you in the Hard Gainer's Manifesto.

This report will be brief, to the point, and most importantly -- EFFECTIVE!

It's no joke, I practiced bodybuilding for nearly 20 years before I figured out how to gain muscle mass (I'm a slow learner, but you can benefit from my failures). But when I did finally "get it" (the lightbulb burst on), I gained 60 pounds of solid muscle in a year!

Yes, 60 pounds in one year. Without drugs. Without HOURS in the gym. Without paying thousands of dollars for a personal trainer.

You can do this, too. Now, I can't guarantee that you'll pack on 60 pounds. You may not want to. It's up to you. The cool thing about bodybuilding in general, and what you'll find out in the Hard Gainer's Manifesto, is that if you get "too big" you can stop.

It's really that simple.

So head on over and sign up to be notified about when the Hard Gainer's Manifesto will be released. You'll be glad you did.

Technorati Tags: hard gainer manifesto | bodybuilding | skinny | hard gainer

How To Build Muscle FAST

I've written an article that got published at Article Base called How To Build Muscle As Fast As Possible.

It lays out the exercise plan and the meal plan. Feel free to substitute any of the isolation movements and any of the food, as long as it's high protein, low carbohydrate! It's a simple plan to follow but it requires some High Intensity Training (HIT) and some real dedication to eggs and milk and a LOT of supplements!

Not saying you could look like Arnold in his prime, but you can pack on the muscle faster with this method than any other. Give it a try for 4-6 weeks. It's a month of your time invested in the most-proven weight gaining plan ever devised.

How Barack Obama Can Bulk Up for the Presidency

Presidential hopeful Barack Obama has a lot going for him: He's leading the polls, he's smart, athletic, and confident. But he's missing something: Heft.

Mr Obama is clearly a very good athlete and practices good eating habits. He's especially fit.

But he's just too narrow. He needs to build some delts! Especially if he's going to go shoulder-to-shoulder with guys like Putin.

To build wider delts, Barack needs to develop the lateral head of the deltoid. He should do the following:

1. Start off with slightly-bent knees and an ever-so-slight bend forward at the waist. Grap two dumbbells, not very heavy. Now, with slightly-bent arms, slowly raise the dumbbells from your sides up to a parallel position, making a "T." Do 12 reps.
   
2. Immediately after finishing #1, move right into dumbbell presses, with a twist. Start with the dumbbells as if you just finished a curl (palms facing you). Then raise the bars while simultaneously rotating your palms and elbows in a semi-circle such that your palms, at full extension, are facing away from you. Do 12 reps
3. Repeat until your delts are crying, "JOHN MCCAIN!!!!"
   

This combination, or superset, pre-exhausts your lateral delts and ties in your laterals with the front delts, effectively building a broader set of shoulders.

I believe that if Barack Obama had followed this plan six months ago, he'd be up by 3 percent more in the polls!

He just doesn't look tough enough to take on the world. This work-out will give him the breadth of shoulder that every effective leader needs to rule the free world!

This is all said in jest, of course. But he does need bigger shoulders!

For more work-out routines, bodybuilding information, and muscle-building tips, take a cruise over to Muscle-Build.com, where you can find more exercise routines to build bigger arms, thighs, chest, and back.

One Method of Calculating Body Fat

Okay, this one is a little hard to follow, but it's cheaper than going to the dunk tank. It's also cheaper than one of those body fat scales (though they're so easy to use)

Calculate Your Body Fat - Measure Your Body Fat

Author: Guido Nussbaum

There is more than one way to calculate your body fat, but to be able to get anything even close to an accurate measurement (without going to a doctor), you will need to have some flexible measuring tape and a calculator. There are several methods of calculating boy fat, and this one is based on the "U.S. Navy Circumference Method." As a warning, these are pretty complex and it might be better just to get a physical.

To make sure all these measurements are accurate, you want to be within .5 a centimeter, or even a .25 centimeter, if possible. Men and women measure different parts of their body.

For men: measure the abdomen horizontally at the level of the navel, the neck (interior of the larynx, with the tape sloping slightly down in the front, and record your height without shoes. For women, measure your hips at the largest horizontal circumference, your waist horizontally at the level of the minimum abdominal width, and then take the same neck and height measurements as the men. Record all this data.

Men will need two more measurements before the formula, which are bodyweight and waist girth. Then to do all the math, follow the next steps to the letter:

1)Multiply your bodyweight by 1.082. Add that sum to 94.42. Once your calculation is finished, save that number. (Bodyweight x 1.082) + 94.42="Result 1"
2)Multiply your waist girth by 4.15. This is "Result 2." After this sum, subtract it from the "Result 1" number. Result 1 - Result 2 = Lean Bodyweight. This result is your lean bodyweight.
3)Finally, subtract your lean bodyweight from your total bodyweight (Total weight-Lean Bodyweight). Multiply that number by 100. Once you get this result divide it by your total bodyweight. This is your body fat percentage.

That sounds really complicated, but when you have the numbers and are making the actual calculations, it's not nearly as hard as it sounds, although you definitely want a calculator of some type. This is how men should measure their body fat. For women, the measurements are different.

For women, there are 5 necessary measurements: bodyweight, wrist circumference (widest point), waist circumference (umbilicus), hip circumference (widest point), and forearm circumference (widest point). Then follow these directions:

1) Multiply your bodyweight by 0.732. Result 1.
2) Add the Result 1 to 8.987. Result 2.
3) Divide your wrist circumference by 3.14. Result 3.
4) Multiply your waist measurement by 0.157. Result 4.
5) Multiply your hip measurement by 0.249. Result 5.
6) Multiply your forearm measurement by 0.434. Result 6.
7) Add results 2 & 3. Result 7.
8) Subtract Result 4 from Result 7. Result 8.
9) Subtract Result 5 from Result 8. Result 9.
10) Add together Results 6 & 9. This is your lean body mass.
11) Subtract your lean body mass from your bodyweight. Take this number and multiply it by 100. Once you get this result, divide it by your bodyweight.

These formulas aren't exact, but they give fairly accurate approximations. This will give you the ability to measure your body fat and have a better idea of how healthy you are. Use this information well, and keep up the good work!

The body mass index is often used in lieu of actual body fat measurements because it is easy to measure and figure out, making it more popular.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/calculate-your-body-fat-measure-your-body-fat-620244.html

About the Author:

The BMI - Body Mass Index can help you to measure your body fat. Read more about that here: Body Mass Index

Flu Bug Was Nasty

I finally got the flu bug my family had passed around. My wife is next, unfortunately. It was a bad one, lasting several days. I missed two days of work and lost part of the weekend.

Oh well. The muscle and joint soreness still persists. Here's to you not getting the flu this (or any other) year!

Introductory Post

Hi everybody! I've been weight training since I was 12, and active in sports and other indoor and outdoor activities since I could walk.

This blog will chronicle my progress from an over-40 out-of-shape, but formerly very-in-shape guy. Hopefully, we can all band together and turn back the clock on Father Time!