If you are in the fitness and bodybuilding world for some time, you’ve probably seen there is a tonne of information about training, nutrition and supplements on the internet, magazines, television… Some of it is very useful, but unfortunately, most of it is very misleading. Often, when people find themselves overloaded with information, they can pick bad advice, or even fail to act, mainly because they get confused and don’t know what is good and what is bad for them. So if you are just starting – here are a few fitness tips to take you the right way. For the experienced ones – this info will serve as a reminder and to help you stay on track.
1. Compound exercises are the real deal
Isolation exercise have their own benefits, but compound movements are the foundation of every weightlifting program and absolutely vital for your success. Every compound exercise requires the work of multiple muscle groups to be performed and will stimulate the production of anabolic hormones Testosterone and Growth Hormone in the process of performance. Compound movements include deadlifts, bench presses, wide-grip pullups, chin ups, squats, clean and presses and rows. Don’t neglect compound movements if you want a body that stands out of the crowd.
2. Change your workout from time to time
A workout can work perfectly, but won’t work forever. Sooner or later your body will get used to the stress it goes through. This is the moment you need to change something in your current routine – increase the weight you lift, increase the repetitions, change exercises or if you are advanced you can try some of the advanced tricks to trigger muscle growth.
3. Work on your legs if you want to grow your upper body
This may look confusing, but think about it, why you should train your legs? Almost 70% of your muscle mass is in your legs. Training them will help you grow all over. Like I mentioned before – doing squats and deadlifts will trigger the release of anabolic hormones that will help you develop other areas, not just legs.
4. Diet plays a bigger role than training itself
You can find the best routine out there, but if your diet is not in check you are not going to magically transform your body into an athletic one. I’m not saying exercise doesn’t have to anything with how you look and feel, but diet is the biggest factor in how athletic you will look. Want to be lean, strong, and healthy? Give your diet the attention it deserves. Get the right amount of calories from protein, fats and carbs. Get in your fiber and micro nutrients too.
5. Protein + simple carbs right after workout will make a difference
After the intense workout your muscles are hungry for protein and your glycogen is depleted. You can increase the benefits of your workout by feeding your muscles what they crave.
6. Add some cardio to your program
Cardio can be very beneficial for you. It can primarily improve your health, and help you reach your fitness goals faster. Cardio will speed up fat loss and increase your insulin sensitivity. Just remember not to over do it – countless hours on the treadmill or static bike will not do any good for you. Short high intensity cardio sessions will get the job done quicker.
7. Spot fat reduction is NOT possible
Regardless of what they say on TV, you can’t lose fat just on your belly, arms or thighs. Fat loss is the result of a consistent and effective cardio program and diet plan which causes a total loss of fat over your entire body. So stop doing thousands of crunches in an attempt to get a six pack.
8. Men and women should not do different types of workouts
Lifting weights will not turn women into bulky, ripped bodybuilders. What weight lifting will do is help them get lean, toned and sexy. It’s the very high protein diets and steroids that turn women into ripped bodybuilders.
9 .Time your carb cycling
Cycling your carbohydrate intake, in which you reduce your consumption of carbs to fairly low levels—about 50-100 g per day—for several days, followed by a high-carb day, is a common approach in successful fat-loss programs.
For many athletes and bodybuilders, the high-carb day coincides with a leg day or heavy back day so the extra glycogen can be put to use powering through especially tough training sessions. If you cycle your carbs, time the higher-carb days to coincide with a heavy workout.
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