80 things I have learned in the Gym

Throughout the years I've been involved in strength training, I've met and worked with some interesting people and also wasted a whole lot time on a variety of techniques. Looking back over it all, I have to ask myself, " What are the most important lessons I have learned so far?"

Well, they may not be rocket science or life-altering, but I think it's safe to say that the take-home messages includes some pretty damn good info that can benefit anyone involved in this field, regardless of their training age or level of expertise.Even if You are not a pro body-builder look for what concerns you.

80 Things I Have Learned

1. Nobody knows it all. Check out as many sources as you can when looking for information
2. Training to failure is a tool. Used wisely, it will do the job. Over-use will wear out its effects.

3. I could care less about how much you bench press. It is not the end-all for determining upper body strength.

4. The weakest link is usually in the grip…amp;quot;fix it and you'll find your upper body strength increasing.

5. You are what you eat. Eat crap and, in most instances, you'll train like crap.

6. Learn how to differentiate between good pain and bad pain. If it's a "shooting" it's not good, but if it's stiffness or soreness, that's ok.
7. Cheating on your diet can be a good thing.

8. Staring at people in the gym is rude.

9. Deep tissue massage does the muscles good.

10. The quality of sleep is important.
11. An increase in effort will never make up for a lack in program-planning.

12. Everyone's a know-it-all on the Internet, and these types don't usually practice what they preach.

13. Good training partners are hard to come by…amp;quot;they're like a rare gem. If you find one, don't let go. They can make or break what you hope to accomplish in the gym.

14. Don't ever become satisfied with your body because the day you become satisfied is the day you'll stop training.

15. Expect negative criticism, but never let it get in the way of your achievement.

16. The physique you strive for involves a difficult journey; cherish the road you travel and it will make you a better person.

17. Don't let hunger dictate what you eat. The brain is a trickster.

18. Small muscles recover faster then large muscles.

19. Squatting makes the world a better place. It teaches you about self discipline and perseverence; to keep on going when the going gets tough.

20. Not all fats are bad.
21. Beware of those who push "the newest, most exceptional" style of training. Most styles and methods are already well-known.

22. Start a food log and maintain it because you'll learn so much from keeping one.

23. Don't train in pain …amp;quot; listen to your body.

24. If it aint broke don't fix it. In other words, if it works keep doing it until it doesn't work anymore.

25. You're only as strong as your weakest link.

26. Too often, people focus on how much they _can_ lift, not on how much they _should_ lift.

27. There are no "one-size fits all" training programs.

28. There's no one best way. Every method has advantages and disadvantages.

29. Don't be close-minded. Critical thinking is a valuable tool in life which leads to unlimited progress.

30. Building an appreciable amount of muscle takes a long time…amp;quot;as well as patience, dedication, self-discipline and a lot of hard work.
31. A good program revolves around compound movements.

32. Size does not equal strength. Just because someone is big doesn't mean they're strong, and vice versa.

33. Sadly, most personal trainers don't have half a clue about what they're doing.

34. Cheating in an exercise equates to injury, if not immediately, then down the road.

35. Family, career, and education should always come before the pursuit of physique-related goals.

36. Don't compare yourself to someone else; compare you to you.

37. If you think you know everything there is to know about training, nutrition and/or supplementation, you're sadly mistaken.

38. The more you know, the less you know.

39. Training to failure using high volume works great for those who use drugs. The body can only handle so much stress and overload. If you're a "natural" lifter, less is more

40. To be the best you need to study hard, read lots and practice what you learn.
41. Focus on the big picture, don't sweat the small stuff.

42. Use it or lose it.

43. Always do the opposite of what a magazine says. If it says to do high volume workouts, cut your volume in half.

44. Don't be afraid to experiment; trial and error is part of the learning process.

45. Consistency is the key to gains in strength and muscle.

46. There are no short-cuts to a great physique.

47. Nothing beats wholesome food.

48. You cannot shape a muscle; you can only make it bigger in appearance. If you're lacking a great quad sweep, deal with it.

49. Excuses, excuses, excuses, just do it!

50. If you have a problem with your training, identify the area and fix it. Address the issue…amp;quot;don't do a side-step.
51. Smaller goals need to be implemented and achieved in order for the larger goal to be accomplished.

52. Nothing can make up for the lack of proper nutrition and training.

53. Don't get caught up with having a sensational workout every time you go to the gym. Everyone has "off" days.

54. Lifting weights solely for the purpose of bedding the opposite sex is lame.

    

55. The chances of you being the next Ronnie Coleman are the same as you winning the lottery. It won't likely ever happen.

56. Respect your elders…amp;quot;listen and learn…amp;quot;even if you don't agree with them.

57. Training hard in the gym will not make up for a poor nutritional intake.

58. Train smart, not hard.

59. Genetics play a role in training, however the majority that use this excuse aren't even close to their genetic limit.

60. If someone says," it's the best," chances are they're trying to sell you something.
61. Keep up-to-date with scientific studies, but don't follow them blindly.

62. Always pursue good form and technique.

63. Machines are not evil.

64. White sugar should be outlawed.

65. Size doesn't equate with knowledge. The biggest guy in the gym doesn't always know what he's talking about.

66. Use periodization. It works.

67. Squats are not bad for the knees if you have healthy knee joints.

68. Isolation exercises should play a supporting role in a program.

69. Supplements are meant to be used in conjunction with a proper eating program, not as substitutes for good food.

70. You cannot isolate a muscle. You can place more emphasis on a particular area, but you cannot selectively isolate a muscle.
71. Overtraining doesn't occur after a couple of sessions. It takes time to build up.

72. Opinions are like a-holes, everybody has one. But if you're going to voice one, make sure you can back it up.

73. Shut up and listen. Sometimes being quiet, when you don't want to be, is the best thing.

74. Every method has its place. It's just a matter of knowing when and where to place it in a trainee's program.

75. You cannot "shock" a muscle.

76. Always strive for perfection. You won't reach it, but the attempt itself produces continual results

77. Read every training-related piece of information you can get your hands on.
    
78. A good protein powder, thermogenic and creatine, are all you need to spend you money on.

79. Treat the abdominal muscle like any other; work it hard.

80. Be kind, courteous, helpful and respectful to everyone around you. You are the missionaries of iron.

~Muscle Building-Weight Training Rules For Skinny Guys

You wake up in the morning and look in the mirror. Pleased with your appearance? If you more resemble the appearance of a long distance marathon runner than a world class sprinter, don't worry, you aren't alone. You just need to start following these weight lifting rules.

There are quite a few guys who simply have trouble packing on the lean muscle mass. Whether their hormonal environment isn't quite as favorable or genetics was just out to get them at birth, one thing is for sure and that's that they need to follow a slightly different set of weight lifting methods than those who seem to grow muscle overnight.

Luckily for you, you're taking the time to do your research about weight lifting so you won't be destined to a life where it seems like a strong wind might knock you over.

First, one of the key factors that skinny guys need to remember is that they must avoid volume work at all costs.


Rule #1:

Get in the gym and get out! That should be your motto from this day forward. Repeat it. Breathe it. Live it. Weight lifting is a calorie expensive activity and you need all the calories you can get at this point. If you are burning it up in the gym every single day, how do you expect to grow? You won't.

You grow when you are resting and generally, the skinnier you are, the more rest you are going to need.

Now, that doesn't mean you should park it on the couch for a few days in between your workouts. It simply means that each weight lifting should not consist of set after set after set. Followed by a rest break to talk to that hot receptionist and then back to another twenty sets.

No, you're workouts need to consist of ten-twelve or fewer sets where you are pushing yourself to the MAX. There is no room for sissy, light-weight work in your weight lifting program.


Which brings us to Rule #2:

Ditch the isolated exercises. Who needs them? You certainly don't.

If your workouts normally include bicep curls, followed by tricep kickbacks, followed by leg extensions, followed by chest flys, followed by, etc., you get the picture, you've got to change this pronto. Remember, you've only got so much time you are allowed to be in the gym for. Don't you want to get the biggest bang for your buck? Likely you do, so that means focusing on compound lifts only. This includes weight lifting exercises such as squats, bench presses, deadlifts, rows and military presses.

Become friends with those exercises and you will have new muscles in the picture soon enough. Toss the five day split program, get yourself on a good upper/lower or full body workout program and you have found the key to unleashing new muscle mass.

Now onto the next significant point. Cardio.


Rule # 3.

I know, I know, you want to be big, but you don't want to be fat. Let's not worry about that at this point, because you and I both know you are a long ways from fat.

Gaining fat weight is going to be more a concept of diet than anything else so as long as you are being smart in the kitchen, you don't need to perform hours of cardio to remain lean. Cardio is just going to further burn off precious calories that could have gone towards building you new muscle mass. For you, calories are a hot commodity and should not be spent on the treadmill.

If you want to keep up some cardio for general health sake, fine, but limit this to two or three twenty minute sessions per week - TOPS. And make it low to moderate intensity as well. The only place you are to be intense is in the weight room.


This leads to rule #4.

REST! You've put in your effort at the gym, fed your body with some good food and now what? Plans to go out partying all night with your buddies? You might want to rethink that. While you definitely want to maintain your social life while trying to gain weight - and you should - it should not come at the sacrifice of sleep.

Sleep is primetime when it comes to your body repairing itself and growing stronger so short-circuit sleep and you are short-circuiting your results. Just don't do it. Period. It's that simple.


Get ready for rule #5.

Technique. Ever seen that guy in the gym who is hoisting so much weight on his barbell for barbell curls that it looks like he's got more momentum going on than the Gravitron at the fair? He's pretty much working every muscle in his body except his biceps. Not so beneficial. Not only that, but give him two weeks and a hundred bucks says he's out with back pain.

You must maintain proper form throughout your weight lifting, not only to prevent injuries but also to see the muscular gains you are looking for. If you cheat form, you are only cheating yourself. If you don't know what proper form is yet, book a session with a trainer or find yourself a spotter who can help you.


And now, bonus rule #6

Find a mentor. You want someone who's been there, done that. They used to be a skinny bastard just like you and they've managed to overcome the curse and now tip the scales and dominate the weight room. This guy will do wonders for your motivational levels. Don't feel like lifting? Have a good look at his body. You'll want to pick that weight up after that. Furthermore, he can let you in on some of his tried-and-true secrets that just might be key for you as well.

So to sum up your new approach to your weight lifting sessions - get in, train hard and with proper technique, get out, eat and rest. Repeat this process over a few months without getting distracted or becoming too much of a party animal and you will make this the year you change your dreaded skinny image.

~Muscle Building-18 Benefits of Weight Training

1. Weight training tones your muscles which looks great and raises your basal metabolism... which causes you to burn more calories 24 hours-a-day. You'll even burn more calories while you're sleeping.

2. Weight training can *reverse* the natural decline in your metabolism which begins around age 30.

3. Weight training energizes you.

4. Weight training has a positive affect on almost all of your 650+ muscles.

5. Weight training strengthens your bones reducing your risk of developing osteoporosis.

6. Weight training improves your muscular endurance.

7. Weight training will NOT develop big muscles on women....just toned muscles!

8. Weight training makes you strong. Strength gives you confidence and makes daily activities easier.

9. Weight training makes you less prone to low-back injuries.

10. Weight training decreases your resting blood pressure.

11. Weight training decreases your risk of developing adult onset diabetes.

12. Weight training decreases your gastrointestinal transit time, reducing your risk for developing colon cancer.

13. Weight training increases your blood level of HDL cholesterol (the good type).

14. Weight training improves your posture.

15. Weight training improves the functioning of your immune system.

16. Weight training lowers your resting heart rate, a sign of a more efficient heart.

17. Weight training improves your balance and coordination.

18. Weight training elevates your mood

~Muscle Building-10 things you must do to gain muscle mass

Now there are many other things that you can do to help you build mass, BUT these 10 things are the bare essentials. In other words, they are absolutely necessary for a successful program.

1. Weight Train

Weight training involves the use of equipment that enables variable resistance. This resistance can come in the form of "free weights" like barbells and dumbbells, machines that use cables or pulleys to help you lift the weight and bodyweight exercises like pull-ups or dips.

For anyone trying to gain muscle, several things must be done. One is to train with heavy weights. By heavy I mean a weight that is challenging for YOU. The average guy in the gym usually works with a weight he can lift for 10-15+ reps. For mass gaining purposes, this is too light. Using an appropriate weight, you should only be able to do 4-8 reps. That's it! Using heavy weights and low reps puts your muscles and nervous system under much more stress than using lighter weights for many reps. This added stress causes the involvement and stimulation of more muscle fibers, which will cause rapid muscle growth.

For maximum muscle gain, the focus of your workouts should consist of free weight exercises. Not machines or bodyweight exercises. This is not to say that you shoud not use machines or bodyweight exercises, but they should not be the focus of your training. To get an effective, muscle blasting workout, you must stimulate the most muscle fibers as possible, and machines do not do this.

The main reason for this is a lack of stabilizer and synergist muscle development. Stabilizer and synergist muscles are supporting muscles that assist the main muscle in performing a complex lift. The more stabilizers and synergists worked, the more muscle fibers stimulated. Multi-jointed free weight exercises like the bench press, require many stabilizer and synergistic muscle assistance to complete the lift. On the other hand doing a bench press using a machine will need almost no stabilizer assistance.


2. Eat More Calories

The most important thing that I cannot emphasize is that you need to eat to gain weight. You need to eat like you’ve never eaten before. If you are not eating enough calories, you will NEVER gain weight, no matter what you do. In order to build new muscle, you must eat more calories than your body burns off, creating what is called a caloric surplus. To gain mass, you should strive to eat around 18-20 times your bodyweight in calories. The extra calories will be used by your body to repair muscle tissue that is damaged during the heavy workouts, and to build new muscle.

Now, when I say eat, I do not mean just anything. All calories are not created equal. In other words, some types of calories are not equal to others for gaining muscle. For example, if I said that you need to eat 2,000 calories per day to gain weight, and you eat 4 bags of potato chips each day, do you think you would gain muscle? Not likely. The majority of your weight would be fat. Why? Because potato chips, like most processed junk food, contains empty, totally nutritionless calories. These foods do not provide you with the correct nutrient breakdown essential for gaining muscle.


3. Eat More Protein

Without protein, your body will not be able to build new muscle. Years ago, a higher carbohydrate and lower fat diet was the rage, recommended by professional bodybuilders and trainers. They claimed that this was the only way to eat for muscle gain. Unfortunately, the only people gaining muscle on that type of diet were a genetically gifted few. The rest just got fat.

Carbs serve mainly as energy for the body, while protein provides the necessary amino acids to build and repair muscle. For muscle growth, carbohydrates are not as essential as protein and fats. High quality protein, which the body breaks down into amino acids, should be the center point of all your meals. There are many studies that show intense exercise increases demand for amino acids, which support muscle repair and growth.To build muscle, you should try to get at least 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight.

Whether you believe it or not, the fact is: High protein diets build more muscle when incorporated with intense training. Low protein diets do not. Period. Only protein can build muscle. Carbohydrates and fat cannot.


4. Eat More Often

To gain weight, you will be eating a large amount of calories. Unfortunately, your body can only assimilate a certain number of calories at each meal. For our purposes, eating three meals per day is not beneficial. If you had to eat 3,000 calories per day, then you would end up eating 1,000 calories at each meal. The average person can only use a portion of those calories. The excess will be stored as fat or removed from the body.

To enable your body to actually assimilate and use the 3,000 calories you will ingest, you have to reduce your meal size and increase your meal frequency. Splitting your calories into smaller, more frequent portions will enable food absorption and utilization of nutrients . I always eat six meals each day, evenly spaced out at three-hour intervals.

My goal is to provide my body with constant nourishment throughout the day. So if it typically takes about 2.5 hours to digest most meals, want to be eating another meal just as my last meal is leaving my stomach. I do this because my body is constantly in need of nutrients to repair itself. I do a lot of damage during my workouts and completely stress my system. My body is trying to "adapt to the stress," but in order to do this, it needs consistent fuel.

If I ate only three meals per day, then my body would be without nutrients for about six hours between each of those meals! This is unacceptable for skinny guys. Without food, your body will quickly begin to breakdown muscle tissue for energy.


5. Eat More Fat

If you want to gain muscle mass, you must eat enough dietary fat. Dietary fats play an essential role in hormone production, which in turn is responsible for growth and strength increases. I have never gained muscle on a low fat diet, though many people still believe that eating fat makes you fat. This is absolutely false. In fact, there is a very popular muscle gain diet that been around for years, called the "Anabolic Diet" that requires you to eat only fat! Butter, bacon, and heavy cream are all on the menu. Though quite extreme, this diet does work.

Most people are overweight because of a diet high in simple carbohydrates, not from eating fats. If your diet is too low in fat, your body will actually make a point to store any fat it gets, because it doesn't know when it will get more. A low-fat diet will also lower testosterone levels, something we do not want when trying to gain weight. Studies have shown that dietary fat has a direct relationship with testosterone production. An increase in dietary fat intake seems to bring on an increase in testosterone levels. The inverse is also true. A decrease in dietary fat intake is usually accompanied by a decrease in free testosterone levels.

However, you don't want to increase your intake of saturated fats. Saturated fats are what cause disease and coronary problems. Though you will always have some saturated fats in your diet, your main focus should be to increase your intake of Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs).

EFAs are unsaturated fats that are necessary for thousands of biological functions throughout the body. Because they cannot be manufactured by the body, the must be provided by your diet. These fatty acids not only help increase testosterone production, but they also aid in the prevention of muscle breakdown, help to increase your HDL level (good cholesterol) and assist in hormone production. To get your recommended amount of EFA's, I recommend supplementing your diet with either Udo's Perfect Oil Blend (which combines omega- and omega-6), or Cold-Pressed Flaxseed oil (which is mostly omega-3).


6. Drink More Water

To make sure that your muscles stay hydrated, you must drink plenty of water. Dehydration can happen easily if you train hard. A dehydrated muscle, takes longer to repair itself than one sufficiently hydrated.

Drinking a sufficient amount of water not only increases your vascularity (more visible veins), but it will also help to quickly remove toxins from the body. Protein generates metabolic waste products that must be dissolved in water. Without enough water, the kidneys cannot efficiently remove these wastes.


7. Take a Multi-Vitamin

There are many supplements and specific muscle gain enhancing products that I recommend using in my book, but I have to remember that this is only the 10 most important elements of a successful mass program. So, I have to keep this brief and to the point. All of the other products will help, but they are not essential. So, I will only touch on two vitamins supplements.Multi-Vitamins and Antioxidants.

If you want to gain muscle, you must make sure that you are not deficient in any vitamin, mineral or trace element that your body needs. I know many people are going to disagree with me, but I believe that in this day, we absolutely need to supplement our diet with vitamins and minerals. I know that those who are against using vitamins are going to say that if we "just eat a balanced diet. . . ", You know the rest.

Well first, eating a balanced diet is easier said than done. America is the most overweight country in the world. Most people don't even know what a "balanced" diet is. Balanced with what? Experts will continue to spout, "eat a balanced diet," while Americans feast on nutritionless fast food and sugar.

Second, not only do our bodies have to deal with the ever-increasing external stresses of everyday life, they also have to combat nutrient-depleting exercise. Food today is, for the most part, nutritionless - almost totally void of the body strengthening vitamins and minerals it contained one hundred years earlier. Instead, we now ingest over-processed, fiberless meals, and under-ripened vegetables grown in barren, over-farmed soil, laden with pesticides.

How healthy can that be? If you want to ignore the facts and continue on about "balanced diets," fine. It's your decision. But I, for one, eat a balanced diet, and I still take a multi-vitamin supplements.

Many mult-vitamin manufacturers try to put "everything" in their product, but it's not necessary. At minimum, your multi-vitamin should contain the USRDA (recommended daily allowance) of vitamins A, B-complex, C, D, E, K and the minerals calcium, magnesium, zinc, iodine, selenium, and possibly iron (for women). Men should find a multi-vitamin without iron. You typically get more than enough iron from your food. Extra iron is needed only for menstruating women.

It should also contain other essential nutrients like biotin, chromium, copper, manganese, molybdenum and pantothenic acid.

There are some vitamins and minerals that are best taken separately. Vitamin E, vitamin C, folic acid and calcium are best taken at higher dosages. Many proponents of multi-vitamins cite that taking that many vitamins and vitamins together causes negative interactions because they compete with each other for absorption. For example: magnesium, zinc, and calcium compete for absorption; copper and zinc also compete for absorption.

But think about this for a minute. This is no different than eating different foods at the same time, as most people do. The vitamins and minerals in the foods compete also. Competition is expected and the body is designed to handle that.


8. Take Antioxidants

An antioxidant like Vitamins A, C, E, Glutathione, Glutamine, and Selenium are essential in preventing free radical damage, which is accelerated after the heavy trauma of weight training. Antioxidants protect other substances by being oxidized themselves.


9. Rest More Often

Rest is the most overlooked "skinny-guy secret". If you don't rest, you won't grow. Simple as that. Your body does not build muscle in the gym, it builds muscle while resting!

The key to successfully gaining weight is eating enough calories, training hard and then resting. No diet adjustments will make up for lack of rest. If you train hard in the gym, then you should be resting your muscles as much as possible. If you do not give them time to rest and repair, you will not grow. Period.


10. Be Consistent

O.K., so you want the secret to gaining muscle mass fast? Well, here it is: CONSISTENCY.

You can have the best diet, the best training schedule, join the best gym that has the best equipment, but without consistency it's all worthless.

Over the past 3 years, I've talked to hundreds of people who have successfully transformed their physique. Though most of them trained in totally different ways, there was one common denominator that appeared throughout each success story:

Day in and day out, they followed their pre-determined plan, consistently, without fail.

You must find the determination and drive within yourself to consistently put one foot in front of the other and see this through. If not now, then when?

"You never know what you can do, until you try to do more than you can."

~Muscle Building--Another advantage of Weight Training

Life Strength

Men and women reach peak strength around 20 to 25 years of age. After age 25, strength generally decreases an average of 1% per year. Therefore, a 65 year old would only have about 60% of the strength they had at age 25. Individuals who are more active, or those who continue to strength train, can considerably decrease this tendency for declining muscular strength.