How to Build Up Muscle Mass

Everyone wants to look their best and feel great. Men with muscle mass are a magnets for women and other men will treat you with respect.

It’s not only great for men but it’s also healthy for women to be fit and tone. Having a fit body also increases not only your physical health but also your mental health. Your self image increases and so does your confidence.

Getting in shape is also a great way to loose weight and build up your muscle mass at the same time. Though, the question many ask themselves is, “How do I increase my muscle mass?”

Here’s four little-known secrets fitness models use to get the look they want without dangerous steroids or expensive supplements.

1. Limit your training periods to 45 to 75 minutes.

After 75 minutes, the levels of muscle building and fat burning hormones your body produces (testosterone) will begin to drop. Believe it or not you can actually overtrain.

Training more than 75 minutes at a time will prevent you from gaining muscle and could actually lead to muscle breakdown! It will also prevent you recovering faster from training sessions.

The more you do beyond 75 minutes the less you will get out of it. The optimal amount of time to train is 1 hour.

If you are a beginner you’ll want to start out at about 45 minute training periods and use light weights such as dumbbells.

2. Rest in between sets should be kept to a minimum of 90 seconds or less.

Keeping your rest in between sets limited to 90 seconds will help you train more efficiently. It also helps improve your cardiovascular system and has been shown that this kind of training stimulates growth hormones output the most.

3. The sets should be between 8 – 15 repetitions each.

Why you should limit your repetitions is because, you get the blood flowing into your muscle cells better in this repetition range. This is important since blood carries nutrients that nourish the muscle cells and help them recover and rebuild.
Also, studies show that muscle building and fat burning occur more efficiently at these repetition ranges.

4. Training must be varied and cycled.

Don’t get stuck with doing the same routine everyday. Doing the same thing everyday will limit muscle growth because you body will get used to your training activities. Not to mention you will get bored after about a week and loose motivation to continue. Vary you training by doing cycles (about 3-4 weeks) of high volume (8-15 reps/set) with periods of higher intensity (5-8 reps/set).

Using these tips people have been able to transform their body in two months.

Weight Loss Can Be Easy

Weight loss and dieting are two words which people don’t like to hear, overweight or not. Images of intense work out regimes and trying to stick to strict, bland diets are some of the things that come to mind when those words are spoken.
But it’s not hard to loose weight and it shouldn’t be. It should be fun and easy to loose weight. Here’s 7 simple steps to make loosing weight fun and easy.

1) Exercise in the morning before you eat breakfast
Research has shown you’ll burn three times more body fat working out during the morning than out at any other time of day.

I’m not talking about doing 100 push up with one hand behind your back, take it slow and easy. Do a few toe touches or arm curls with 5 pound weights each morning. The key here is easy and fun.
Though, you need to perform both resistance and cardio workouts so get your cardio in by taking a walk or jog to the park or around your neighborhood with your favorite tunes playing on your walkman or ipod. Believe it or not your body will continue to burn fat even after you’re done excising so be sure to eat a full breakfast to get your energy levels back up.

2) Stay hydrated by drinking water.
Drink lots of water all day long from the time you wake up to when you go to bed. Drink 8-16 glasses filtered or bottled water a day. That may sound like a lot but after your morning workout you will probably drink one or two glasses of water.
Not only is water good for you, but it also flushes out harmful toxins in the body, increases your metabolism which will help you burn fat and keeps your skin completion clear.

3) Do light resistance training before cardio workouts
During the first 20 minutes of any exercise, your body will burn not any body fat. To counter this fact during the first 20 minutes of a workout do some stretching or warm-ups. Stretching and warm ups are important for exercises because it will help your muscles loosen up and prevent you from having any cramps and kinks the next day. It will also help increase your metabolism which will help you burn the fat.

4) Eat Breakfast
Breakfast is not only the most important meal of the day but it will also boost your metabolism and give you the energy you need to burn fat. Eating a healthy and hearty breakfast will help put a stop to the cravings during the day so you won’t find yourself snacking in between meals.

5) Change your mindset
People who are battling with weight (and even those who aren’t) often compare themselves with others. Don’t fall into this trap because you will never feel you stack up to the competition enough. Low self-esteem will lead you down the road to emotional trouble and will prevent you from reaching your goal. People are genetically different and therefore will lose weight in different amounts of time. Don’t be so hard on yourself.
Be your own person and stick to your own target weight. Weight loss is not a race or a competition, the only person you’re competing against is yourself.

6) Change your lifestyle
If you normally drive to work take the train and walk to the station. Take up some dancing classes or sign up some classes in a sport of your interest. This will not only get you exercising but doing these activities will also help you meet new people. Remember, loose weight easily while having fun.

7) Take before and after photos
While this may be hard for some people as they shy away from cameras at gatherings and it may not be easy to see yourself overweight. However, there is no easier way to see the progress your making than by taking before and after weight loss images. After you reach your target weight you won’t be able to keep yourself away from cameras. You’ll want to show everyone what you achieved.
In addition to helping your self development before and after weight loss images serve as a good reminder of how much you have achieved and can achieve if you set your mind to your goals.

By following these 7 simple steps to loosing weight you’ll be on your way to your desired weight. Find out how you can use 10 rules of dieting and weight loss.