Fitness Forum - Information 2

Please read through

1) you cannot just do ab work and expect a six-pack. You need to shed bodyfat in order to see muscle definition, which is what a sixpack is. Get your diet and training in order. Do that by using the search function and looking it up yourself. If you still are unsure then ask.

2) creatine is creatine. Just buy plain creatine monohydrate and be done with it. If you fall for ad-hype, you are a fool. Its your money, do what you want, but smart people know better.

3) do heavy basic compound movements. Squats, deadlifts and bench presses are a must in any training split. Compund movements are very important in gaining muscle.

4) always ease into anything you do. If you want to gain muscle, you need to slowly increase your overall calories. If you want to cut fat, you need to slowly cut back calories a little at a time. The human body does not like drastic changes. Just jumping into a 5 day cardio regimen is stupid as well.

5) food is your best friend. Any problems you have with training or dieting is 99% of the time diet related. If you dont eat, you will not make any progress gaining or cutting. Nobody needs supplements.They are designed as a "supplement" to an already solid diet. If your diet sucks, theres not a supp in the world that will help you. Learn how to make progress with food alone, and then play with supps.

6) muscle will never turn into fat. People always say this, and if you really think about it, it just sounds really stupid. They arent even remotely close in molecular makeup and it can never ever happen.

7) speaking of fat, you cannot spot reduce bodyfat. If you have a big tummy, there is no ab exercise that can make it go away. You can work your abs all day long, and you will still have a big stomach until you lose bodyfat.

Cool

train more than your chest and arms. If you want muscle, you need balance. Train your back, shoulders and legs along with your arms and chest for complete development.

9) high reps do not get you cut. They just get you tired. Low to moderate reps (5-12) is the range you should shoot for. Everyone is different, but everyone will most likely see the best size and strength gains if they stay in this range. Also, dont change your routine just because you are going from a bulking phase to a cutting phase. Keep doing what got you there. Keep lifting heavy and going to failure. Higher rep ranges do nothing but maybe build endurance. Uh, who needs endurance for bicep curls? Im guessing noone does.

10) utilize pyramid training. A pyramid routine is a multi set routine that increases in weight each set and decreases in reps. This is part of the progressive overload theory, and should be utilized by anyone wanting to gain strength and size. Why would anyone use the same weight for the same reps set after set? They shouldnt. Why would your central nervous system recruit more muscle fibers each set if you dont up the weight? It wont. Youll just be spinning your wheels.

11) always train large muscles first. If you combine muscle groups like many people do (chest/tris-back/bis), always train the larger muscle group first and completely. Dont do any tricep work until your chest work is finished, unless you want a bad chest workout. Your tris help your chest pressing movements, and your bis help your back rowing movements. Bis and tris are much smaller than your back and chest, so it makes no sense to have them fail before your larger muscles do.

12) your diet is the answer. Almost all training problems stem from an improper diet. You can lift weights and do cardio all day, but if your diet is caca, you will make no progress. Whether you are cutting or bulking, your diet will make or break you. There are many variables in different peoples diet strategies, but one thing remains constant: always get at least 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight daily. If you weigh 200 pounds, you need to eat at least 200 grams of protein daily. The best way to do that is to split it up over 5 or 6 meals. Thats right, you need to eat frequently when cutting or bulking.

13) eat the same amount everyday. Many people wonder if they need to eat on non-training days like they eat on training days. The answer? Yes. Your body only grows and repairs itself when its not in the gym. Time spent in the gym is actually counterproductive to what most of us are after. Training is highly catabolic, but we need to do it, and the only thing that can change that is food and rest. How you eat and rest will play a huge role in how efficiently you heal and grow. Training breaks the muscle down, eating and resting rebuild and repair it hopefully bigger and stronger.

14) dont rely on supplements. Supplements are just that, a supplement. They are to be used in conjunction with an already solid diet. If you base your nutrition on supplements instead of real food, be prepared to spend a lot of money and get minimal results. Nothing matches the nutritional content of whole food.

15) cardio can do more harm then good. Going crazy with cardio is not a good idea. If you need to shed fat, get your diet in order first. Cardio is highly catabolic, and if done improperly, your body will burn muscle instead of fat for fuel. Thats never a good thing. But, the real problem with cardio is that its highly individual. Nothing works the same for different people. Cardio is a necessary evil, so you might as well do it right. Experiment and find out which type and duration of cardio works for you. There is a very fine line between melting fat and burning valuable muscle. Find that line, and stay on the good side of it. Diet is the key.

16) dont be afraid of free-weights. They are your friend. They will hurt you, and make you feel inadequate, but they really just want to help. Nothing, and I mean nothing, builds mass and overall strength like basic free-weight exercises. Squats, deadlifts and bench presses should be staples of everyones workouts. With free-weights, you are forced to balance and control the weight under your own power. A machine does that for you and does nothing for developing core and stabilizer strength. If you can bench 200 on a machine, that rarely equates to 200 on the flat barbell bench press. If you think you can handle it, make sure you have a few spotters handy. You will not be able to do it.