Quick Protein FAQ

Question: Can I use protein shakes for the majority of my meals?

Truth: For maximum muscle growth, do NOT do this! Solid foods have a thermic effect which allows for prolonged digestion of protein. Protein shakes digest too quickly, leaving your body in a protein-deficient (and muscle-wasting) state. Protein shakes are good if you don't have time for a solid meal, and they are good right after workouts, as they digest quickly for muscle repair.

Question: I understand that protein is essential to muscle growth. Is all protein the same?

Truth: No! The best kind of proteins for muscle building are complete proteins. Complete proteins contain the 18 essential amino acids for muscle growth, and are most commonly found in animal food sources such as chicken, eggs, milk, beef, etc. Supplemental whey protein that you buy in a tub is also a complete protein, so do not count this out. Proteins found in carbohydrate sources such as breads are NOT muscle-building. The are still important because their presence in the body stops muscle breakdown in the absence of amino acids. However, complete proteins are needed for maximum muscle growth.

Question: How many grams of protein should I eat per day?

Truth: The general rule for muscle growth is about 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight per day. I suggest eating at LEAST this much. Many advanced bodybuilders have great success consuming 1.5-2 grams per pound of body fat.

Build Great Shoulders

Building wide, boulder-like shoulders is one key to developing an awesome physique. Shoulders help to define one's upper frame size, which is crucial to looking bigger. There are many exercises for building great shoulders, so which one is most effective? The standing barbell military press is one of my favorites.

Standing Barbell Military Press: This should be the cornerstone of your shoulder routine. It is a compound exercise that allows for heavy weight to be used, emphasizing overall growth. It also works the triceps, chest, and forearms to an extent, making it a great overall mass builder. To execute, grip the barbell from a rack with an overhand grip a bit broader than shoulder-width apart. Wrists should be in positioned on a 90 degree angle. With the knees slightly bent, push the weight up toward the ceiling until the arms are extended. Now slowly return to the original position, keeping the bar close to your face and chest. Make sure to use your abdominal muscles to help keep you stabilized.

Find out the most effective exercises for every muscle group.

Cardio and Muscle Gain

If your goal is muscle gain, try not to overdo it with cardio. 2-3 days of high intensity cardio (such as sprinting) per week is a good way to keep off some extra pounds while keeping your hard-earned muscle. and avoiding too much exhaustion. Studies show that short-duration high intensity cardio is more effective than low/moderate long-duration cardio at shedding pounds and keeping muscle.

Too much of any kind of cardio can put your body in a caloric defecit, which makes it biologically impossible to gain muscle. It is important that you do cardio to keep some fat off and to stay in good shape, but too much of it may slow your muscle-building progress.

-Tim

Blow up your Triceps!

Of all the triceps exercises out there, the one that has had the most impact on my tri's is the close grip bench press. It is a compound exercises that also incorporates the shoulders and chest muscles, and hits the tri's hard. Make sure to start off with low weight if you're new to this exercise, as it can be a little bit ackward at first. Keep it in your routine and add weight slowly over time and it will become a big part of your tricep success.

Here is a demonstration:
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Triceps/BBCloseGripBenchPress.html

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Quick Muscle Gaining Tip: Protein Synthesis

Executing heavy compound exercises such as the squat, deadlift, and bench press put stress on the Central Nervous System causing it to manipulate the hormones responsible for increasing protein synthesis. Increased protein synthesis means increased recovery and more muscle mass! This is a big reason that the heavy compound exercises are so efficient.

Muscle Gaining Tips: Crucial Nutrition Tips!

Proper nutrition is CRUCIAL to gaining muscle. This edition of muscle gaining tips reflects on some key aspects of proper nutrition:

1. You've probably heard this a thousand times before: Eat every three hours! This should equal out to five or six meals per day. In each meal include a source of lean protein, a source of carbohydrates, and a source of fat.

2. Do WHATEVER you can to get at least your protein every three hours. Because your body cannot store protein, it runs approximately every three hours. What happens when your body runs out of a protein source? It starts BREAKING DOWN your hard-earned muscle for amino acids to use for metabolic processes. So by all means, get your protein!

3. Perhaps the most important and scientifically proven fact about nutrition and gaining muscle: You CANNOT gain muscle mass unless you eat MORE calories than you burn. There are a few exceptions to this (ex: new bodybuilders can make gains in a calorie defecit because their body is not used to bodybuilding), but as an intermediate or advanced bodybuilder you must eat more calories than you burn off! Makes sense, right?

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Some Essential Training Tips You MUST Know

Here are a few fundamental training tips for natural muscle gain:

1. Put simply, you will not build the maximum amount of muscle if you do not incorporate compound exercises into your routine. A compound exercise is one which depends on the use of more than one muscle group. The most effective compound exercises include squats, barbell bench presses, deadlifts, barbell military presses, bent over barbell rows, and others.

2. Work each muscle group no more than once every 6 days. Smaller muscle groups such as the abdominal muscles can be worked twice a week.

3. Keep a training log. Record exactly what you do during each workout, complete with the date, time started and finished, exercise names, weight used, and reps completed. Also take some notes on how you feel before and after the workout.

4. Each and every workout, you MUST improve. This improvement may be as little as one rep on one set from each exercise. Or you could have a great day in which you are able to obtain 5 more reps on a certain exercise. Whatever you do though, improve each and every workout!