| Ok, the bottom line is you want huge muscles and | | | | bodybuilder follows. |
| ripped abs. You want to make the biggest leap | | | | The fact is that muscles grow because they are |
| forward in mass gain in the shortest amount of time, | | | | stimulated to grow. They grow because they are |
| right? All amateurs come into the bodybuilding game | | | | forced to do something that they have never done |
| with these goals, but along the way they get side | | | | before (called stimulus/response). They grow because |
| tracked by fancy sounding training programs and fun | | | | your body doesn't want to fail next time around so it |
| new supplements and forget what it really takes to | | | | adds muscle mass to ensure success at lifting that |
| gain the muscle and keep the fat at bay. | | | | weight next time. |
| Goals Are Key | | | | Rest Is Critical |
| A critical first step is to decide what your goals are. | | | | If you want to gain muscle mass or burn fat then how |
| Knowing this will dictate how you train and what you | | | | much you rest will play a critical factor. If you are |
| focus on. Your goals need to be well defined. So ask | | | | looking at gaining muscle mass then you need to give |
| yourself if you want to get overall muscle mass, or if | | | | your body plenty of rest and take care to get some |
| you need to bring up a lagging body part, or do you | | | | extra sleep. It is a little known fact that the body only |
| need to drop some body fat. These different goals will | | | | grows muscle while you are sleeping. If you cut your |
| each dictate different training and nutrition protocols. | | | | sleep short you will derail your muscle gains. |
| For instance if you want to gain muscle mass then | | | | Rest can also be used as a stimulant in fat loss. By |
| you will have to consume more calories than you burn. | | | | shortening rest periods and sleep times by even 30 |
| You will have to cease all useless activities to give | | | | minutes a day you increase calorie consumption and |
| your body time to rest from lifting heavy weights. If | | | | even adrenaline production. Both of which will help burn |
| you want to burn body fat you will need to add that | | | | that body fat. So use rest as a tool to achieve your |
| cardio, and clean up your diet. | | | | goals. |
| Of course these are all generalizations, but the point | | | | Work Out Volume |
| remains that you need to know what it is that you | | | | In the same manner that you regulate rest to suit your |
| want so that your can adjust your training and nutrition | | | | body building goals, you can regulate training volume |
| to meet that goal. | | | | for the same effect. If you are looking at cutting up |
| Big Means Big | | | | then increasing the amount of sets and reps you |
| First off, it must be remembered that big muscles are | | | | perform will mean a longer time under load, which |
| strong muscles. For an amateur bodybuilder to gain the | | | | means more calories, burned. For gaining mass the |
| muscle mass he or she wants they must lift heavy | | | | object would be just the opposite. You want all of your |
| weights. So forget all of that isolations and cable | | | | spare calories to go to building more muscles, so |
| training, and plyometrics, and focus on lifting the biggest | | | | wasting your energy and time on longer workouts is |
| amount of weights in the shortest time possible. This is | | | | only detrimental. You will want the quickest high |
| the bottom line principle that any well-muscled | | | | intensity workout you can find. Get in, Get out and rest. |