Muscle Building Bigger Stronger Better Muscle Gains

110 tips for a WIDER, THICKER BACK

Hi

The "muscle specialization" training tips are piling up at
Jeff Anderson's "secret smackdown" blog!

Click Now Muscle Building Tips

I pulled out 3 BACK TRAINING TIPS from yesterday's posts
for you to check out below (killer!), but get this...

So far, Jeff (aka - the "Muscle Nerd") has given away $200
to people who have posted their very BEST training tips!

And TONIGHT is another chance for you to win the drawing
yourself on the topic of...

...LEGS!

Do you have a "ninja muscle thrasher" of a leg, calf, or
booty exercise?

Read about something in a muscle mag or fitness magazine
that made you go "hmmmmmm"?

Want to nab a cool 100 SMACKERS just for posting it for
all the other blog posters to see?

It's all at the special "V.I.P. Blog" at:

Click Now For Building Muscle
Even if you DON'T have your own tip to offer, you MUST go
and see what others are posting!

It will LITERALLY change your workouts!

Monday was "CHEST DAY"

Yesterday was "BACK DAY"

...and there are over 300 TIPS posted so far so there's
DEFINITELY a TON of great info waiting for you!

Here are 3 cool BACK TRAINING TIPS pulled out of yesterday's
posts from "Average Joe's & Jane's" just like YOU...

Check 'em out:

=====================================

Back Training Tip #19 from Tim!

=====================================

"Crazy name but incredible results...

...'Supine, Twisting Single Arm Pulls'!

Use a Smith machine or squat bar with the bar at about waist
level.

Sit under bar, grab bar with both hands (overhand grip) so
hands are together/touching.

Walk the feet out until you're hanging with arms vertical -
then step back in about a foot, separate feet to slightly
wider than hips.

Release grip on one hand and reach up. Pull body up while
twisting into/towards the arm you're hanging on with - until
you touch the bar with the armpit of the free hand.

Progressions & regressions can be made by adjusting foot
placement and stance width.

Works lats, obliques, SITT muscle group, core (keep body
straight) and ego - yes ego.

People may look at you funny while you're doing this exercise,
until they see you with a back that you could land aircraft
onto!"

=====================================

Back Training Tip #16 from Joe!

(BTW...these tips from Joe are a MUST since I'm a big
believer in "pull ups"! ~ Jeff)

=====================================

"When performing a pullup, focus on pulling with your ELBOWS
instead of your hands to get up there.

When you pull with your hands, you will cause your biceps
to come in play.

You should think of your hands are merely 'HOOKS', to hold
onto the bar.

As you pull up, arch your back and squeeze you shoulder
blades together at the top.

Lower yourself back down to the starting position but keep
tension on the lats in the bottom position.

You do NOT want to relax the lats. Now go back up for the
next rep.

You must learn to pull with your elbows and back muscles
and not with your hands.

This is the key to making sure that the back gets worked
mostly and not the biceps."

=====================================

Back Training Tip #36 from Alex!

=====================================

"Isometric exercises are extremely benefical because they
do not require weight.

Grab a bar and set it up under a bench and pull up against
the bench to work your back.

Do 3-4 sets of isometic holds for 8 seconds with 60 sec
rest period.

Add this in to regular workout for benefits.

Remember to breathe violently with isometric exercises as
you pull bar against bench."

=====================================

You really should go and check all the other tips out at:

Click Now For Muscle gains

PLUS...be sure to submit your OWN "LEGS training" tip for
today's posts and check out the LIVE TV SHOW tonight to
see if you won the $100, ok?

Good luck!

Jag252

Lose Excess Body Fat Train Like Athletes Do

I would like to thank Craig Ballantyne for this article I found it very informative for your excess body fat problem and how to get rid of it.

Enjoy I will talk to you soon Jag252


If you want to lose excess body fat this year, then you need to forget about long, slow cardio workouts and use a new way to burn fat. One of the best ways to lose excess body fat fat is to start training like an athlete.

Here's the best way to do your fat burning athlete workouts to lose fat in a short amount of time - without a gym membership.

In 2009, you'll see more and more trainers and fitness magazines showing people how to exercise like a power athlete to burn fat (using methods like bodyweight exercises and interval training).

The emphasis will be on training to improve your performance, and by doing that you'll lose excess body fat you are carrying around. On the other hand, only "dinosaur trainers" will continue to rely on non-athletic, ineffective ways to burn fat such as long, slow cardio.

However, there is a right way and a wrong way to train like an athlete for fat loss. It's sad to see poorly educated trainers having their clients jumping on concrete or doing athletic exercises in the wrong order that could lead to injury. When doing a "Fat Burning Athlete Workout", your program must follow a specific order.

You must start with a total body warm-up with bodyweight exercises, such as bodyweight squats, total body ab exercises, single-leg movements, and bodyweight pushing and pulling. You'll even use dynamic mobility exercises like high knees, butt kicks, and dynamic stretching to prepare your muscles for athletic fat loss.

Then the real workout begins with power exercises, such as sprints, jumping, or agility techniques. You might even use kettlebells or medicine balls in these short, burst power exercises. You'll do this after a thorough bodyweight preparation phase, but before you get tired from resistance training (and never do your power exercises after training if you want to improve your athletic performance).

Here is a workout you can do at home to lose that excess body fat



After training to increase speed and athletic power, an athlete's fat loss program will move to resistance training to help build and sculpt muscle and add strength for even more power performance in the future.

But you won't spend a lot of time here, just the basics. This is not a bodybuilding, high-volume, isolation exercise type workout. This isn't the time or place for that. Your fat burning athlete's resistance exercises will be squats, presses, pulls, and single-leg movements.

You can use bodyweight, dumbbells, barbells, or kettlebells to get stronger and sculpt your muscles. Most workouts will consist of supersets and low to moderate reps, but you might do some high-rep strength-endurance work with bodyweight circuits to finish off.

By now, the athlete's fat loss workout is almost over, and you'll finish with short sessions of interval training to burn fat and improve sport-specific and real world fitness.

Research shows you can boost aerobic and sprint performance with intervals, and really, who ever jogs for 45 minutes in the real world? We need sprint fitness to climb three flights of stairs and carry groceries, instead. And that's what you get from resistance workouts and interval training.

There's one more thing you must know. You need to set a goal of hitting one personal best in every fat burning athlete workout you do. For example, if you did 2 chin-ups in your last workout, your goal should be to hit 3 chin-ups in your next workout. Or you might set a goal of doing an extra 5 seconds in the plank or side plank exercise, or running an extra 3 seconds in each interval at the same speed.

You can find hundreds of different "personal bests" to hit in your program, but just focus on achieving one personal best each workout. That's all you need to consistently ensure you'll be burning fat over time. Each time you improve your performance, you'll start burning fat and sculpting your muscle better than last workout.

Working out like an athlete will give you the best looking, and best performing body that you've ever had!

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked fat burning workouts have helped thousands of men and women with weight loss and fat burning in less than 45 minutes three times per week. Craig's weight loss workouts help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment. Craig's bodyweight workouts help you lose fat without any equipment at all.


Lose Excess Body Fat Train Like Athletes Do

Being Obese and The Swine Flu

Well, it is happening:

Swine flu is beginning to really take hold.

Not just in the United States, but all over the world.

But that's not the scary part...

... the scary part is the fact that being obese OR overweight has now been directly linked to DYING from the swine flu.

My friend Jon Benson put together a 5-minute video that documents these findings.

This is freee for you to view -- and you owe it to yourself to check it out.

Go here --

click to watch Obesity and Swine Flu

Folks, we have to get a grip on this.

And believe it or not, it starts in your kitchen.

Watch the video to find out what to do.

Thanks Jag252

Exercise Muscle And Fat Loss: Does Exercise Make You Smarter

Exercise And The Brain

[ Editor's Note: Fitness author Jon Benson shared this letter with me and gave me permission to share it with you. ]

If you ever needed another good reason to exercise, I've got one for you:

Exercise makes your brain bigger.

Actually this isn't entirely accurate. To be more specific, exercise was found to increase brain size slightly, but far more important to increase "spatial reasoning."

This is the ability to recognize patterns, remember phrases, numbers, and so-on. This was discovered by researchers at the Universities of Chicago and Pittsburgh.

It is also one of the most important factors to the prevention of Alzheimer's and dementia.

My mom suffered with dementia the last ten years of her life. But unlike most dementia patients she was fully functional thanks to exercise. She drove and had a mind that was unbelievably sharp right up until an accident injured her beyond the ability to exercise.

After that, she mentally went downhill rapidly. Thankfully, she passed in peace... and she had ten wonderfully active years thanks to her willingness to take up weight training at the age of 71.

She eventually walked up to 3 miles per day and trained in the gym 3 days per week.

That kept her mind sharp, along with fish oil and N-Acetyl L-Carnitine, a wonderful brain nutrient.

Once again, we see the power of exercise. It increases the QUALITY of your life.

Quantity is no where near as important to me as quality.

The links at the bottom of this newsletter are to my books on exercise. Pick the one that appeals to you most and take action.

Your brain will thank you, as will the rest of your body.

One of the best ways to start exercising when you are over 40 is by using the routines covered in "Fit Over 40".

This book profiles 53 different men and women, age 40 to 80, all sharing their workouts, nutrition plans, and mental empowerment techniques.

It is a MUST-HAVE for anyone wanting to begin exercising or improve their level of fitness after the age of 40.

For a freee fat-burning course from Fit Over 40, go here --

Fit Over 40 <--- Freee Fatburning Course

7 Minute Muscle short effective workouts for adding lean muscle

Exercise Muscle And Fat Loss: Lack Of Time To Workout?

So here's the million-dollar question:

"What's the number one reason people don't work out?"


Is it lack of money? Lack of motivation? Perhapsthey lack the ideal workout plan?

Nope. It's TIME. Or rather the lack thereof.

"We know that 50 per cent of the population doesn't [exercise] and the most commonlycited barrier to exercise is lack of time." This quote comes fromexercise researcher Martin Gibala, a kinesiology professor at McMaster University in Hamilton.

Gibala put his theory to the test in a study that was published in the Journal of Physiology. In it Gibala compared a group who exercised "traditionally" --90 to 120 minutes per day -- with another group exercising far less: Only 20 minutes per day and only three days per week.

That's a whopping one hour per week folks. My 7 Minute Muscle plan calls for five workouts with resistance five days per week plus 9 minutes of a specific cardio protocol two-three days per week.

If you do the math, that's about an hour per week as well.

This is the "Level 1" workout. There are three levels depending on your goals and exercise tolerance.

Find out more here --

7 minute muscle <--- brief is best!

Back to Gibala's study:

In just two weeks both groups showed improvementin both exercise performance and oxygen uptake.(Remember, fat burns in the presence of oxygen.) The kicker is that both groups were almost identical in their improvement.

Why?

Because the brief exercise group trained with greater focus and more intensity -- exactly how I suggest you train. This is just one of dozens of studies that confirm the benefits of shorter but more intense workouts.

However, there is a catch:

Train too hard and you will shut down your fat-burning furnace. Your body perceives over-exertion done over an extended period of time as a sign of pursuit. It can trigger an ancient hormonal sequence that says, "I'm being chased by a tiger! Horde the fat!"

The body literally shuts down what it considers to be unnecessary activity in favor of self-preservation. And guess what? Burning off those hips and love handles is not a biological necessity.

You have to learn when to hit it hard AND when to rest and recover.

Finally, you have to put yourself into the proper mental state in order to see greater results in the shortest period of time. I devote an entire chapter to that in

"7 Minute Muscle." You can read more here -- 7 minute muscle <--- brief is best!

Just remember these three key points:

1. Time is the greatest barrier to fitness.

2. Workouts can be short and very effective.

3. The body goes where the mind directs.

Until next time, Train Smart.

Sincerely, Jon Benson Author,

7 Minute Muscle
Best-selling author of "Fit Over 40" and
"The Every Other Day Diet"

How To Get The Strength And Physique Of A Gladiator

Barbell Training for the Strength and Physique of a Gladiator

All you need is a barbell for this workout. Simplicity is often the name of my game, but my priority is getting results fast, and you’re about to experience exactly how to get fast results in developing strength endurance, power endurance and speed!

These exercises are very basic and can be done with the help of a partner or by placing your barbell on milk crates or a few cinder blocks in place of power racks, especially if you’re training in your own home. Your resources don’t need to be anything fancy as you’re about to see.

You will not be training with traditional bodybuilding methods. Instead, you will perform a high number of sets with low reps and minimal rest time. This method is what produces strength and power endurance. The exercises you’re going to perform are the following:

1 - The Zercher Squat

Zercher Squat – wrap a towel in the center of the barbell, using double underhooks, place the crook of your elbows under the barbell, and perform deep squats. Your posture must remain upright and your elbows should remain high. Do not allow the weight to pull your posture down or pull your hands down. Choose an appropriate weight allowing for perfect technique. This movement is awesome for developing takedown strength and overall full body strength. Your upper body will work extremely hard just to keep the barbell in position and of course your legs will be working hard to move that heavy barbell!

2 - Towel Deadlift

Towel Deadlift – Every 2 – 3 workouts you will switch from the zercher squat to the towel deadlift. This will avoid burn out in either movement and still works a similar movement. This is a great way to continuously keep improving strength while avoiding overuse injuries. The towels can be grabbed or wrapped around the bar. Both are excellent for grip and full body strength.

3 - Floor Press

Floor Press – Great for developing pushing strength from your back. If you’re weak on your back, get strong here. This will develop pushing strength and power helping you escape your hips and create angles from the bottom, ultimately making you a better submission specialist from your back! There should be no bouncing of the bar off the floor. Lower the bar slowly as if it were going to touch your lower chest, once your triceps touch the floor, blast the weight upward! Arm Bars anyone?!?!

4 - Barbell Row with Towels

Use the towels if you want added grip work. Wrap the towels around the bar or hang the towels around the bar, each of which give you a different grip and pulling effect. Grips can be overhand or underhand. Keep your low back neutral and your upper back flat, NO rounding allowed. If you round out your back, lighten up until your form is perfect. Your lower body will also work just to stabilize your upper body so this is truly a full body exercise. Pull the weight towards your low abdomen and squeeze your shoulder blades together. This is excellent for developing pulling strength, a must in all combat sports.

5 - Barbell Cheat Curls

Barbell Cheat Curls – No one ever would expect me to encourage these, as many equate this movement to bodybuilding training. This exercise is going to look like a barbell hang clean, except with a reverse grip. It will develop hip power and strength in your entire upper body. Don’t knock these, they work, especially when you push for HEAVY weights! They will also work your hands and grip very intensely, a critical aspect in any type of combat sport using gi as well as no gi.

Here’s your Barbell Gladiator workout:

* Exercises A & B are performed back to back. As your work capacity improves, you should aim to have zero rest through each superset!

1A) Barbell Floor Press 6 x 3 – 5 reps
1B) Barbell Zercher Squat / Towel Deadlift 6 x 3 – 5 reps

2A) Bent Over Barbell Row with Towels 3 x 8 - 12 reps
2B) Any Push Up Variation 3 x Max Reps

3A) Barbell Cheat Curls 3 x 5 reps
3B) Any Abdominal Exercise 3 x 20 reps

You don't need to be a gladiator to have the of one but it sure is sweet.
strength, stamina and ripped physique

Muscle Building And Fat Burning Together?

I just received this article from Jon Benson and HAD to share it with you.

It really opened my eyes to what is possible.

Let me know what you think, okay?

Joseph

---------------------------------------------

How To Gain Muscle And Burn
Bodyfat At The Same Time

by Jon Benson


What is your "big dream?"

I have two:

-- To make an impact on the lives of over 10M people before I die;

-- To have a family that's mobile so I can live in many places.

Not bad, right?

Want to know a "third" dream of mine? One that I saw become a reality a few years ago?

To gain muscle AND burn bodyfat all at the same time.

It's like a pipe-dream that somehow worked its way through the pipes and into my gym.

It is not easy, granted, but you can do it.

Almost anyone can do it.

You just have to train and eat in a very specific way.

Listen: You do NOT want to just "burn bodyfat" or god-forbid "lose-weight"... that will not give you the body you want.

You absolutely MUST shape your muscles, tighten and tone, and burn bodyfat.

And you can do it at the same time.

Most pros disagree with me. They think it is metabolically impossible to gain muscle while in a state of low-calorie dieting.

They are wrong.

Here's an article I wrote on this topic. I hope you enjoy it.

To save you time, I put a link to the online complete version of the article below...

- - - - -

I remember a friendly argument with my co-author of Fit Over 40 Tom Venuto. It all started when I told Tom how I was eating and training for my last peak. A peak is where you lower your bodyfat and try to maintain as much muscle mass as possible.

"There's just no way I could ever get in shape eating and training like that," says Tom. "Sure you could man...what are you, a mutant?" Tom fires back, then me, then Tom....and so it goes. (I really didn't call Tom a mutant. That was creative liberty.)

So why are so many fitness pros like Tom freaked out about my training and nutrition plan? Simple: I claim it burns fat while building muscle at the same time. Every time I read an article by some doctor or expert claiming it's "biologically impossible" to gain lean muscle mass on a hypocaloric diet (a diet low in calories) I just laugh.

I do more than make claims--I have proved this to be true many times. I've had my bodyfat hydrostatically measured during several peaks. In all but one I showed an increase of muscle mass and a decrease of bodyfat during a 12-16 week period. The one time I didn't show an increase in muscle mass when was I was training the most in the gym. That may not make sense right now, but it will in a moment.

Article Continued Here -- Muscle Building And Fat Burning At The Same Time