Why Carbohydrates Can Make You Fat

Whether you wrok out three hours per week, or 30, your diet is one of the most important factors that determine what you use for energy. Today's school of thought on high carbohydrate, low-fat diets is quickly changing, as people begin to realize that even after consistently working out they are not losing body fat.

Since most carbohydrates contain little or no fat, you may not think that carbohydrates can add to your fat stores. Yet, at least 40% of the carbohydrates you eat are stored as fat. Consuming too many carbohydrates -- even fat-free -- can actually make you fat. That's because of the way your body stores and uses the end product of the carbohydrates you consume.

Carbohydrates, whether they are in the form of pastas or chocolate cake, turn into glucose once they enter the bloodstream. Sugar is sugar -- the body doesn't discriminate. So if you consume excess amounts of carbohydrates, your blood sugar levels increase, triggering your pancreas to release insulin. Insulin controls where blood sugar is stored. Some is used for energy, and some is stored in the muscles as glycogen (the stored form of sugar).

Since your body can store only 2,000 calories as glycogen, the excess is stored as fat. Insulin also prevents existing fat from coming out of storage for use as energy. If you don't access your fat stores and burn body fat, you continually store the carbohydrates as FAT. The key is to use more stored body fat for energy; otherwise, you will burn more sugar and just store fat.

You can control what fuel your body burns through diet, If you eat predominately carbohydrates, your blood sugar may become unstable; and you will burn that readily available, although inefficient, fuel first because the presence of insulin inhibits fat mobilization for energy. This is why many people "hit the wall" at 20 miles in a marathon. They have run out of carbohdrates, not fat. If you avoid a high-carbohydrate diet and eat the proper balance of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, your body will primarily burn stored body fat. All natural fats -- such as omega-6 (found in vegetables) and omega-3 (found in fish) -- are good for you as long as you consume them in moderation.

Since efficient body chemistry is difficult to measure, you should keep tabs on how you feel. Common symptoms of excess carbohydrates include sleepiness after eating, cravings for sweets, hunger within two hours of a high-carbohydrate meal, and the need to snack all day. When you don't burn enough body fat, you experience a dwindling of energy level.

A faster metabolism burns more fat, which provides you with more than twice the energy of carbohydrates. The more fat you access for energy, the more endurance you will develop and the leaner and faster you will become. If you cannot go for approximately four hours without eating at work or training, chances are you are eating too many carbohydrates.

Bodybuilding knee safety

I received e-mails lately from people with knee injuries. The most common problems seems to stem from squats and leg presses, two staple exercises among serious bodybuilders. There are many things that can influence whether you get a knee injury or not, but there are steps you can take to minimize the risk. Here are my five best bets for keeping the surgeon away:

1. Make sure that your knees are aligned with your feet. By that I mean that during a squat, your knees should be traveling forward in the same direction as the toes. If your toes are pointing out to the sides, but your knees seem to be going straight forward, you know you're asking for trouble! Imagine an invisible line to which your feet are aligned. All you have to is keep your knees strictly in the same line.

2. Use good form. Don't stand on your toes during the last two sets, and whatever you do - no squirming around!

3. Don't wrap your knees all the time. By always babying your knees you will build muscular strength, but you're not preparing your knee joint and supporting muscles to handle an un-wrapped squat. Over time, your muscles will get more powerful, while your knees stays the same or may even get weaker. At some point, this will come back to haunt you in a big way, be it at the gym, a company softball game or wherever.

4. Get good shoes. Inch-thick, gel-filled or gas-pumped soles are great for basketball,
as they help absorb the impact from all the jumping. You don't see much jumping in the gym, however, so what's a good shoe on the court is not necessarily a good shoe everywhere. With a couple of hundred pounds on your shoulders, you want to be sure that you're stable. Pick shoes with thin soles and very little "bounciness". Try to get a feeling of having solid contact with the floor.

5. Check the ego at the door. A muscular guy that can leg press 1,200 lbs for reps is respectable. A wannabe that barely does 3 sorry reps while cheating badly is not.

Use a sensible weight that you can do at least 6-8 strict reps with, keeping the focus on safety and control at all times. That will bring you the fastest results and the least risk of injury.

Muscle gain facts

Many health and fitness magazines portray the wonderful promise of turning fat into muscle on their covers once in a while. They do it for the same reason the tabloids claim Elvis' half-alien offspring is hanging with his old buddies Bigfoot and Jay Leno -- it sells extra copies. Unfortunately, neither is true: You simply cannot transform fat tissue into muscle, and I'm almost certain Jay would choose better company than that.Muscle mass and fat are two different animals: Muscle is active tissue that burns calories around the clock even as you sleep, kind of like an engine running in neutral.
When you move around, you burn more calories, just like a car will consume more gas the faster you go. Fat, on the other hand, is just a storage of excess energy. It does nothing but sit there with its sole goal in life to be a spare tire around your waist until you put in the effort to burn it off. Bodyfat is not particularly useful except as padding against bumps, as insulation to preserve warmth, and as a convenient surface where you can balance a can of beer while watching the game, as frequently demonstrated by my potbellied father. You need some bodyfat to stay healthy of course, but unless you're walking around with razor-sharp abs and sunken, fat-depleted cheeks year-round, you probably have nothing to fear.

Having recognized the difference between the two, let's get down to business: Getting rid of the fat and grow the muscles. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to achieve both goals at the same time. The reason for this is that in order to maintain an environment in your body that facilitates fatburn, you must deplete yourself of calories. Growth requires extra calories, much like you'd need extra building material to add a room to your house. In addition, insulin, which is a key component of growing muscle, is the anti-Christ of fatburn and is released whenever you eat carbohydrates (how much and how fast depends entirely on the type of carbs, however.) The conclusion is that you'll have to focus on one thing first and take on the next challenge later on.

I recommend beginning by trying to pack on the muscle. That means you'll have to eat extra calories, including the extra carbs, and live with the fact that you'll probably gain a few pounds of lard in the process. There's no need to worry about this as long as you keep the increase in bodyfat under control and avoid ballooning like the Pillsbury Doughboy. Train heavy, eat lots of healthy bodybuilding food (pasta, rice, chicken, lean beef, tuna, oatmeal etc.) but no junk food, candy or alcohol.

When you've packed on perhaps 5 or 10 pounds of muscle (or whatever your goal was,) switch gears and start the diet. As always, you'll have to keep a daily log of what you eat and carefully adjust your eating patterns so that you eat an average of 500 calories less than you burn each day. Here's where you reap the benefit of having gained the muscle beforehand: Remember the analogy of your muscles being like an engine running in neutral? Muscle burn calories 24/7, and the more mass you have, the more calories are burned without you even having to lift a finger. This in turn translates to a more lenient diet. In other words, if your added muscle mass boosts your natural metabolism by, say 200 calories per day, that's 200 calories more you can eat and STILL lose bodyfat! In other words, you'll look better, get to eat more, and will still lose fat at the same rate. How sweet of a deal is that?As you diet, you want to keep the protein intake up. Also make sure to keep hitting the weights as you did before -- it's your best insurance policy against losing your hard-earned muscle mass. The goal at this point is to slowly but surely shave off the fat without sacrificing mass, so take it easy. No sudden changes in eating habits will improve your situation, only worsen it.

After a few months you should have lost at least 10-15 lbs of fat, and if you played your cards right, you should have kept most of the gains you made prior to the diet. Ta-daa! By taking a little more time and splitting up your two goals, you achieved what you wanted. Had you tried to chase both rabbits simulateously, you'd been almost guaranteed to fail at least one of the goals.

Bodybuilding Supplements

Bodybuilding supplements, which should you be taking to help you reach your goals? First of all rememeber bodybuilding supplements are not a substitute for hard work in the gym and a well-balanced diet.

Bodybuilding supplements will give you an edge in your fat loss and muscle building efforts, if you use the right ones. Bodybuilding supplements must also be taken on your days off from workouts because it is on your off days that your body is recovering and needs the proper nutrition to support growth.

Bodybuilding Supplements, list of the five best:

1) Vitamins and Minerals - Take as an insurance policy than anything else. You may not need one but it certainly can't hurt. Because of some bodybuilder's very restricted diets and repetitive consumption of the same foods they are at particular risk of developing deficiencies.

2) Protein Powders - These supplements can be an inexpensive and convenient way to add calories and protein to your diet. What could possibly be simpler than mixing up a powder in a little milk or water and then drinking it. It takes all of 2 minutes and can provide potentially all of the nutrients of a solid meal. The best soures are whey and egg based protein powders.


3) Creatine -Creatine is one of the muscles' main energy sources, the muscle will store more creatine then we consume in our normal diets, by supplementing it the muscles will soak up the extra creatine. When muscles absorb creatine it also brings water with it, your muscles are 70 % water) this makes the muscles bigger and harder. Also when you ingest creatine it is stored, and about 20 minutes later it is transformed into ATP. ATP's are what gives your muscles'energy' during a workout, on creatine you might be able to push a few more reps than usual. The best type of creatine to take is creatine monohydrate. Many companies tell you that you should 'load' on creatine.Which means you should take up to 4 times as much creatine than usual during the first few weeks on creatine. It is optional to load.

4) Glutamine - Glutamine is an amino acid. It's the amino acid which is found most in human muscle tissue. Therefore making it an essential to all bodybuilders. Everyone knows that you need protein to get any bigger, and glutamine is the number one part of the protein the makes you grow. Glutamine is one of the best supplements on the market today.

5) Testosterone Raising Supplements - They are converted into testosterone after a chemical reaction in the body. Should be used if you are looking for a nice pump during your workout. It is best when used with tribulus terrestris to enhance and prolong the testosterone increase. You should only take these products only if you are over 21, if you are under 21 your own natural testosterone levels are still developing and you don't want to mess with that.

Stretching helps in gaining muscle

When you think about gaining muscle, stretching is probably not the first thing that pops into your head. But did you know that stretching plays a critical role in building muscle?

Every muscle in your body is enclosed in a bag of tough connective tissue known as fascia. Fascia is important for holding your muscles in their proper place in your body.But your fascia may also be holding back your muscle growth. Think for a moment about your muscles. You train them and feed them properly. They want to grow and will grow but something is holding them back. They have no room to grow!

Because fascia is so tough, it doesn't allow the muscle room to expand. It is like stuffing a large pillow into a small pillowcase. The size of the muscle won't change regardless of how hard you train or how well you eat because the connective tissue around your muscles is constricting the muscles within.The best example of this is the calf muscle. The lower leg is riddled with fascia because of its tremendous weight-bearing duties in the body. It is because of this fascia that many trainers have great difficulty developing their calves.

The solution: stretching.

Using the pillowcase example from above, imagine you can expand the size of the pillowcase by stretching it. Suddenly, the pillow within has more room and will expand to fill that new space.
By stretching your muscles under specific conditions, you can actually stretch your fascia and give your muscles more room to grow.The key to effective fascial stretching is the pump. The best time to stretch to expand the bags that are holding in your muscles is when your muscles are pumped up full of blood.
When your muscles are fully pumped up, they are pressing against the fascia. By stretching hard at that time, you increase that pressure on the fascia greatly, which can lead to expansion of the fascia.

One of the major reasons Arnold Schwarzenegger had such incredible chest development was that he finished his chest workouts with dumbell flyes, an exercise that emphasizes the stretched position of the pectoral muscles. He would pump his chest up full of blood during the workout then do flyes, holding the stretch at the bottom of the flye. This gave his chest room to grow to amazing proportions.

Fascial stretching is more rigorous than regular stretching but the results can be amazing. When you stretch hard enough to cause the fascia to expand, you will really feel it! When you are stretching the fascia, you should feel a powerful pulling sensation and pressure as the muscle works against the fascia to expand it.

Be sure you do not stretch so hard that you cause the muscle to tear or cause injury to yourself. You will rapidly learn to distinguish the difference between a good stretch and a bad stretch. You should not feel any sharp pain, just a steady pull.

Hold each stretch for at least 20 to 30 seconds as you must give your fascia time to be affected by the stretch. Stretch hard like this only when you have a fully pumped muscle as you must give your fascia a reason to expand. If your muscles aren't pumped, just stretch normally.

Arnold Schwarzenegger strips

This video dating back to 1977 is real fun to watch.Well, i dont want to comment any more,the video speaks by itself

Vegetarian Bodybuilding

You will hear it often, a vegetarian bodybuilder cannot be a successful bodybuilder! rubbish, there's plenty of people who have built a great physique while being on a vegetarian diet, it just takes more planning, especially where protein quality is concerned.
There are plenty of benefits for a vegetarian bodybuilder,there are different types of vegetarian too, vegans who are strict vegetarians, lacto-ovo vegetarians who will drink milk and eat eggs, both of which come from meat producing animals and pesco vegetarians who eat fish and dairy products.

The main question for vegetarian body builders is how to get enough protein, Soy has high levels of glutamine. A lacto-ovo vegetarian body builder, can get protein from cheese, milk, eggs and whey protein which comes from milk, will fit your diet, if you are following a pesco-vegetarian diet, eating fish is a very good way to get your protein.

You have to always remember, vegetable proteins are of a lower quality than animal proteins you should learn how to combine different protein sources so your intake is substantial for the exercise regime you are undertaking.Vegetarian and vegan bodybuilders can also make use of beans, hummus, soya, coconut, oat milk and rice milk all of which have a very good amount of carbohydrate which helps in gaining weight and arealso low in fat, a true vegan should try to include seaweed or VitaminB12 as a supplement, if you don't eat meat you will be lacking in the B12 vitamin.

As your intake of proteins and carbohydrates will be high you must always remember to drink plenty of water, this helps move the essential substances of your diet to where your body will need them, your body also stores these essentials for use later during your exercise and after in the recovery period.

Bicep & Tricep Implants

I came across bodyimplants which offers services on bicep/tricep implantation.Their before and after pictures of biceps are amazing.Most of you would have already heard about it,but i just want to spread the info.

What they say:
"A board-certified plastic surgeon with over 20 years of experience, Dr. Chugay and his staff are well respected in the art of muscle contouring, and have over a decade of surgical experience in sculpting and placing the silicone implants. Dr. Chugay is proud of the fact that he's performed thousands implant procedures with an almost perfect record over his decade-long tenure."

The cost for the implants are as follows:
Butt Implants $9,000 - 10,000
Pec Implants $8,500
Calf Implants$7,500 - 8,500
Bicep & Tricep Implants $8,500 - 9,000

Weight Training benefits

The benefits of consistent strength/weight training include an increase in muscle size and tone,increased muscle strength, and increases in tendon, bone, and ligament strength. Strength-training has also been shown to improve psychological health as well, by increasing self-esteem, confidence and self-worth. These improvements have a great influence on our physical performance, physical appearance and risk of injury. I'll go into each of these in detail, outlining some very exciting benefits of a good strength-training program that most people overlook or don't realize.

Improved Physical Performance and Appearance

One important result of strength training is increased physical performance. Muscles quite literally utilize energy to produce movement, functioning as the engine or powerhouse of the body. Strength training increases the muscles' size, strength, and endurance, which contribute to improvements in our work, our favorite sports and hobbies, and our general day-to-day activities.

Another benefit of a good strength-training program is its effect on our overall appearance and body composition, which can directly influence self-esteem, self-worth, and level of confidence. Take, for example, a 170-pound man who has 20 percent body fat--34 pounds of fat weight and 136 pounds of lean body weight (muscle, bones, organs, water, etc.) By beginning an effective strength training program, he replaces five pounds of fat with five pounds of muscle. He still weighs 170 pounds, but he is now 17 percent fat--with29 pounds of fat weight and 141 pounds of lean body weight. Although his body weight remains the same, his strength, muscle tone, and metabolism have improved, giving him a firmer, more fit appearance.

Both our physical appearance and our physical performance can be improved by muscle gain or hampered by muscle loss. Research indicates that unless we strength train regularly, we lose more than one-half pound of muscle every year of our lives after age 25. Unless we implement a safe and effective strength-training program, our muscles gradually decrease in size and strength in the process called "atrophy."

Strength training is therefore important for preventing the muscle loss that normally accompanies the aging process. A common misconception is that as we get older, it is normal to stop being active and to start using ambulatory aides like canes and wheelchairs. Many people think we have no choice; they think this is normal.

But this couldn't be further from the truth. There is absolutely no reason why all of us can't be physically, mentally, socially, and sexually active, living a healthy vibrant life until the very day we die! The reason many elderly people rely on ambulatory aides and become slower and fatter is simply that over the years their muscles are decreasing, so their physical performance and metabolism also decrease, becoming less efficient.

Decreased Risk of Injury

Our muscles also function as shock absorbers and serve as important balancing agents throughout our body. Well-conditioned muscles help to lessen the repetitive landing forces in weight-bearing activities such as jogging or playing basketball. Well-balanced muscles reduce the risk of injuries that result when a muscle is weaker than its opposing muscle group. For example, jogging places more stress on the hamstrings and calves than it does on the quadriceps, creating a muscle imbalance that often leads to knee injuries; so it is very important that runners be on a good strength-training program that includes training the quadriceps as well as the hamstrings and calves.

To reduce the risk of unbalanced muscle development, you should make sure that when you are training a specific muscle group, the opposing muscle groups are being trained as well (though not necessarily on the same day).

By now you have probably realized that weightlifting should be an important part of your exercise routine. Weightlifting provides many important benefits that cannot be achieved by any other exercise or activity. When you begin achieving great results, the excitement and fun you experience will make the change well worth the effort.

Building and Toning muscles by Stair Climbers

Stair climber is said to be the most popular exercise machine nowadays. In stair climbers the person step on to the steps which offer certain amount of resistance, and the advanced featured display shows the information such as calories burnt, no. of steps per minute and elapsed time.

Earlier it was popular only among women, but nowadays due to its advanced features it has also become popular among men as well. Stair Climbers are generally helpful in building muscles of legs and also helps toning the muscles of buttocks, abdomen and waist.
A stair climber is a machine of much advantage only if it is used in a proper manner. While working on stair climber one should not lean or support the elbows as this reduces the workout done. These machines are considered to be very easy going on the knee joints but people suffering from knee pains should consult a health professional before working on stair climbers.

There are different kinds of steps climbers available in the market. Some stair climbers have two separate steps while the others have a single step.The machines which have two steps give an advantage that the step height can be as per the requirement.
These days step climbers are available with a control panel display how all the information such as the rate of doing it, elapsed time and other such type of information. Nowadays some climbers are also available which even tell about one’s ability and stamina (in context with the other information entered).

ADVANTAGES OF STAIR CLIMBER
Stair Climbing is known since years as a good toning exercise for muscles of the legs, thighs, abdomen and also buttocks. It is considered to be a very good alternative of jogging as the workout done is equivalent to that done in jogging. The elasticity of changing resistance and also step height also serves as an advantage for the user, as the user can adjust it according to one’s needs and stamina.

DISADVANTAGES OF STAIR CLIMBER
The major drawback of stair climbing is that over exercise could lead to hyperextension of the muscles. So, it should be done under the supervision of a trainer. Proper posture is essential and also proper height of the steps.

GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR BUYING A STAIR CLIMBER
Go for a model which has separate steps, with adjustable height and resistance as well.
The control panel should have good features and easy understood by the user.
The buyer should duly take the warranty of the machine.

Sore Lower Back After Squats

Do you get lower back pain the day after squatting at the gym? So do I, here's how to overcome it...
The day after heavy or deep squats I almost always get pain in my lower back, just above the top of my buttocks.

Now this is caused by one of two things:
Either you are squatting with incorrect form and are using your back to lift the weights, this occurs when your back is stronger than your legs. In this case drop your weights in half and start to concentrate on your technique. There is no use using a large weight if you are not training the target muscle group.
Now if your form is good then it is most likely that your hamstrings / glutes have tightened up overnight as you slept. This pulls your hips out of their normal alignment and causes pain. To aleviate this is quite simple.

combating the Pain
You will need to stretch, as soon as you stretch you will feel the tightness and some small pain both in your hamstrings, maybe glutes and of course in your lower back.
Stretch out until the tightness is gone, do this as a first thing in the morning, you may find you have to do it again in the afternoon and again the next morning.
Start stretching between sets, all your muscle groups. Have a good stretch session for each muscle group at least once a week.
Personally I need to stretch my hamstrings and chest more than any other groups - you'll probably find it the same.

Over a period of weeks you will find that the lower back pain decreases and disappears, but you have to continue your weekly stretching regardless of whether you are in pain or not.

Basic but powerful Tricep workouts

Many people who seek to increase the muscle in their triceps area tend to make the common mistake of believing that they are already being worked when you are focused on the chest muscles. While they do receive a bit of a work-out through this process, it is not enough to truly build them enough to show an increase in muscle mass.

Thus it is necessary to also do exercises specifically designed to build the triceps muscles. While training the triceps is necessary independently of working the chest, it is important to realize that to work them back to back would be detrimental to the development of the triceps as they, too, do need to rest between workouts and they do receive a minimal amount of stress during the chest workout. So it is advised that you leave a two day window before and after the chest workout before beginning a triceps regimen.

Once again, it is important to remember that all muscle groups need to be warmed up before you attempt to work them hard. So initially, it is it is important to stretch out these muscles before beginning to work them more intensely.

Once you have warmed up your triceps, the series of exercises below seem to be the most effective according to the body building experts to develop muscular and deeply cut triceps.

To begin, a very popular and effective means of developing those triceps is known as “Closed Grip Pushdowns.”

These are accomplished by:

- Standing with your feet a slight distance apart in a tension weight machine.

- Grasp the weight bars at waist height firmly.

- Push the weight bar down; dropping shoulders slightly to fully work the triceps, and add

an extra squeeze at the bottom for extra tension in the muscle.

- Return to the starting position.

This exercise puts direct resistance on the triceps and is exceptionally effective in building the mass of the same. This routine should be done in three sets with eight to ten reps. in each to assure a solid work out of the triceps muscles.

Another triceps-geared exercise that can be quite effective in building triceps is called “Closed Grip Bench Presses.”This exercise directly applies resistance to the triceps and can be felt through the tension in the arms at the end of each move. It should be done in four sets of eight to ten reps each.

“Parallel Bar Dips” are a wonderful triceps activity as they affect all three muscles in the triceps group at once. It is a workout move that truly adds to the building of muscle and should be attempted to be included in any plan to increase the triceps mass. Begin by:

- Positioning yourself on parallel bars with your back completely straight.

*Leaning forward transfers the resistance to the pectoral muscles so to work the triceps, a straight back is essential.

- Bending your elbows, drop your body as it is being held off of the ground by your arm

strength only until your biceps meet your forearms and hold.

- Return to starting position.

This exercise should be done in four sets with eight to ten reps. in each. This is truly a great way to work those triceps and make them all you want them to be!

But let us remember, it is the workout of these muscles in a regimented way without overdoing it or under-working them that will bring about the results you desire. All the curls in the world will not bring about the results that these few exercises, a healthy diet filled with a lot of protein, and a little devotion to structured workouts will give you in the end.

The right way for a huge tricep

Yesterday i received this question from one of my readers (Mr.John,Kansas).The very next moment I struck at an idea of making it a post which i think will be of help to many.

I've been working out regularly for the last one and a half year. I dedicate 3/4 of my arms workout to triceps. I do about 5 to 6 types of exercises for triceps (20 sets in all). How can I really bulk up my upper triceps? I do all mass builders like skull crushers, close grip bench, pull down, kickbacks etc. The weights I use are in the range of 20 pounds to 30 pounds. I really want to bulk up my upper arm in a big way!

Answer:

You're doing way too many exercises for your triceps! The reason you're not growing is probably because you're overtraining and your muscles are screaming to recover.

Here is a basic outline for the total number of sets for each muscle group:

Do no more than 10-12 sets for larger muscle groups. These include chest, back, legs, and calves.

Do no more than 6-10 sets for the smaller muscles. These include biceps, triceps, deltoids, and abdominals.

To really add mass, make sure to limit your workouts to an hour max and make each set really count by going to positive failure (after warm-up). If you have a training partner, have them spot you when going past failure and really push your muscles to grow. Stick to a rep range of 6-8 with the heaviest weight you can list. Get at least 3 minutes of rest between each set. Another key element is rest after your workout. Make sure to get at least 48 hours of rest between muscle groups to fully recover and grow.

Alcohol Destroys Muscle Gain

Too much alcohol will almost definitely have a significant negative impact on your muscle-building results. Alcohol is far more harmful than most people think, and it’s very important that you understand how this drug (yes, alcohol is a drug) is affecting your progress. This is not an anti-drug speech, but if you’re serious about achieving a truly impressive physique, you should definitely be aware of the 5 main ways that alcohol is slowing down your gains...

1) It negatively affects protein synthesis.
Protein synthesis is the process where amino acids are joined together to form complete proteins. Excessive alcohol consumption slows this process down by up to 20%, and since your muscles are made up of protein, you can see how this is a problem.

2) It lowers testosterone levels and increases estrogen.

Testosterone is the most important muscle-building hormone in your body. One of the limiting factors that determines how much muscle a person can gain is their level of free-flowing testosterone.The pic here shows how the testosterone level decreses with age.

3) It causes dehydration.
The kidneys must filter very large amounts of water in order to break down the alcohol, and this can result in severe dehydration within the body. Water plays an absolutely crucial role in the muscle-building process, and being even slightly dehydrated is a recipe for disaster. The muscles alone are comprised of 70% water.

4) It depletes the body of vitamins and minerals.
Alcohol consumption causes vitamins A, C, the B's, calcium, zinc and phosphorus to all be drained at rapid rates. Vitamins and minerals keep every little process in your body functioning properly, and many of these processes involve muscle growth and maintenance.

5) It increases fat storage.
With 7 empty calories per gram, alcohol can actually be quite fattening. Alcohol also disrupts the Kreb’s Cycle, which plays an important role in fat burning.

It’s important to have fun in life, but too much fun can lead to problems. If you’re serious about achieving significant muscle-building results, you definitely need to monitor your intake of alcohol and make sure that you are consuming it in moderation. A few drinks here and there shouldn’t be a problem, but if you find yourself drinking every weekend you can almost certainly kiss your muscle gains goodbye.

If you do decide to go out and party, make sure to drink plenty of water and to properly nourish yourself with vitamins/minerals and a protein rich meal.

I don’t recommend revolving your entire life around your muscle-building program, so don’t be afraid to go out and have a good time once in a while. Just make sure to keep your drinking nights infrequent (no more than once a month) and properly nourish yourself to lessen its effects. As long as you monitor what you’re doing you can achieve an impressive physique and have a social life at the same time.

Arnold Schwarzenegger's Workout Routine

The following is a sample exercise routine Arnold frequently used.

Mon, Wed, Fri
Chest: Bench press - 5 sets, 6-10 reps
Flat bench flies - 5 sets, 6-10 reps
Incline bench press - 6 sets, 6-10 reps
Cable crossovers - 6 sets, 10-12 reps Dips - 5 sets, to failure
Dumbbell pullovers - 5 sets, 10-12 reps

Back: Front wide-grip chin-ups - 6 sets, to failure
T-bar rows - 5 sets, 6-10 reps
Seated pulley rows - 6 sets, 6-10 reps
One-arm dumbbell rows - 5 sets, 6-10 reps
Straight-leg deadlifts - 6 sets, 15 reps

Legs:Squats - 6 sets, 8-12 reps
Leg presses - 6 sets, 8-12 reps
Leg extensions - 6 sets, 12-15 reps
Leg curls - 6 sets, 10-12 reps
Barbell lunges - 5 sets, 15 reps

Calves:Standing calf raises -10 sets, 10 reps
Seated calf raises - 8 sets, 15 reps
One-legged calf raises (holding dumbbells) - 6 sets,12 reps

Forearms:Wrist curls (forearms on knees) - 4 sets, 10 reps
Reverse barbell curls - 4 sets, 8 reps
Wright roller machine - to failure

Abs:Nonstop instinct training for 30 minutes


Tue, Thu, Sat
Biceps:Barbell curls - 6 sets, 6-10 reps
Seated dumbbell curls - 6 sets, 6-10 reps
Dumbbell concentration curls - 6 sets, 6-10 reps

Triceps:Close-grip bench presses (for the all three heads) - 6 sets, 6-10 reps
Pushdowns (exterior head) - 6 sets, 6-10 reps
Barbell French presses (interior head) - 6 sets, 6-10 reps
One-arm dumbbell triceps extensions (exterior head) - 6 sets, 6-10 reps

Shoulders:Seated barbell presses - 6 sets, 6-10 reps
Lateral raises (standing) - 6 sets, 6-10 reps
Rear-delt lateral raises - 5 sets, 6-10 reps
Cable lateral raises - 5 sets, 10-12 reps

Calves and Forearms:Same as Monday, Wednesday and Friday

Abs:Same as Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Tricep Kickback workout

Tricep kickbacks are the king of single arm tricep isolation exercises. Tricep kickbacks are great for hitting your triceps after close grip bench press.Out of all the tricep exercises, the tricep kickback has the biggest reputation for poor technique. If not performed correctly, the tricep kickback will not build your tricep muscles.

Starting Position: With a dumbbell in one hand stand next to a flat bench and position one knee on the bench, keep the other knee bent with the foot flat on the floor. Bend forward from the hips, and place the free hand on the bench. Keep the lower back in neutral and bend so that your upper body is parallel to the floor and the head facing down. Bend the arm holding the dumbbell and raise the elbow past the torso.

Keeping the elbow in place, push the dumbbell back and up by extending the arm backwards. Pause, and slowly return to the starting position. Repeat until the set if finished, then perform with the other arm.