Weight Training Diet and Workout Tips to Lose Fat and Gain Muscle

Is a weight training diet plan an oxymoron? After all when we think of weight training we think of big burly men, whose only diet would be the see-food diet. I'm joking of course. When it comes to the look and shape of your body, exercise and nutrition go hand in hand, with what you eat arguably the more significant. Exercise dictates performance; diet dictates what you see staring back at you in the mirror.

So if you are putting in the effort with the weights to improve the look and shape of your body, it figures that you would also put some thought into what you eat.

Now conventional wisdom tells us that the exercise program isn't enough to change the look and shape of our body, just open any muscle or health and fitness magazine, they are full of adverts for super foods and supplements as well as articles explaining why you must eat this and mustn't eat that... We need a weight training diet.




The misconception is that because you are weight training you need to eat in a specific way; usually "more", however in reality this is not the case!

You don't require extra calories to get a better looking body
 
Sure if you are trying to gain weight it is a given you will need to consume more energy than you use over a sustained period of time. But who wants to gain weight? Besides, excess energy gets stored as fat which is the last thing you want.

Aim to lose fat and gain muscle
 
Most people would rather have the lean and toned look of a celebrity or fitness model and use weight training as part of the plan to get there. If this is you then you certainly don't need to be adding food or following the typical body "building" approach. After all, when it comes to the look of your body, bigger isn't better.

You don't need "special" foods or supplements, great looking bodies were built before any of them were around
 
In the fitness media, it seems that for every new weight training program is a new wonder supplement that is required to get the best out of it. Of course this is just hype. Never be fooled, the real focus of your training should be, you guessed it, your training. Don't let a supplement steal the glory you earned, and don't let these details steal your life.

Plenty of people waste a long time wrapped up in health and fitness culture. The irony being that this kind of obsessive compulsive behavior isn't healthy at all. Follow an approach to lose fat and gain muscle and do it the right way. You'll be glad you did.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Michael_Mukoyogo/856255

The Best Upper Body Workout Routine For Men

The best upper body workout routine for men should consist of exercises for your chest, shoulders, back and arms. Most people forget that the arms and shoulders are part of the upper body and are just as important as the chest and back. Concentrating on all of these body parts will help you maintain muscle balance and proper muscle growth. There are certain guidelines that every person needs to follow, regardless of how long he has been working out.

Guideline 1.
 
It's vital to work yourself to a level that your body will cope with. It is extremely dangerous to yourself, especially when you know that this is a new experience for you.

Guideline 2.
 
Try to rest for at least 48 hours between your workout sessions to help give your body and muscles time to recover.




Guideline 3.
 
Lastly, warm up before indulging in intense weight-lifting workouts.

Exercises For The Chest.
 
The most effective upper body workout routine for a man's chest is the bench press. It can be either on a flat or an inclined plane. One of the advantages of this upper body workout routine for men is that you can perform it with free weights, dumbbells or proper bars. When performing this type of exercise, make sure your eyes are below the bar. Try to get a tight grip and slowly lift the bar up and down. It is vital that you carry out sets and reps that do not overwork your muscles. Push-ups can be done in a variety of ways so you can choose the style you are most comfortable with.

Exercises For Biceps And Triceps.
 
For the biceps and triceps, there are a number of very effective upper body workout routines for men. The hammer curl is probably the most popular triceps exercise ever created. This is performed with free weights. You stand up straight with your hands at your sides holding the weights. You raise your arms slowly all the way up to the shoulder. The triceps pull-down isn't as easy to perform because you need complex machinery, but it's very effective nonetheless. The triceps extension requires you to place one of your knees on the bench and the other on the floor and hold the weight with your arm bent at the elbow and straighten it out. You will feel the burning on the triceps.

For the biceps, you can perform the bicep curl and concentration curl. The lateral dumbbell raise, overhead press and the one arm dumbbell row are other basic exercises for the upper body. There are plenty of extra exercises, both simple and complex, that you can get learn from your personal trainer or trainers at your gym. All exercises can be performed with a number of variations but some also require professional assistance and a lot of practice to ensure that the proper techniques are being used. Over time, you'll experience the difference in your overall strength, stamina and endurance.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Danielle_Wong/1235313

How to Get a Big Upper Body - 3 Exercises and Muscle Building Tips For Ectomorphs

As an ectomorph or skinny hardgainer, gaining some serious muscle on your upper body is no mean feat...after all you're fighting your genetics as well as the bad advice which is often liberally handed out by the know-it-alls at every gym.

If you've struggled to build muscle in the past or are a complete beginner to bodybuilding, I'd like to show you in this article how to get a big upper body without the need for excessive supplements or becoming a gym rat.

We're going to take a look at the most effective exercises for building upper torso muscle and a few tricks to making your workouts more efficient, meaning you get more muscle for less time down the gym (which is always a good thing!)

However, as I always stress, exercise and weight training is just one aspect of muscle building...in order to get a big upper body you need to ensure you are following a solid diet plan and understand all the fundamentals behind successful weight gain.




3 Top Upper Body Exercises

Any workout that is focused on how to get a big upper body should definitely take the following 3 exercises into account. These will work the 3 major muscle groups of the upper torso - the chest, shoulders and back.

Bench Press

No workout would be complete without the golden oldie known as the Bench Press. This is a staple for any aspiring weight lifter looking at how to get a big upper body since it not only focuses on building up your chest muscles, but also serves as a great compound exercise working out the shoulders, arms and back at the same time.

Shoulder Press

Primarily used to work the shoulders or "delts" this is also great for the upper chest, trapezius and upper back muscles. Getting wide shoulders are a great way to increase your upper torso size and shape without needing to get really huge, so paying attention to this kind of exercise is essential.

Lat Pulldown

This is great for building up your back muscles, in particular the latissimus dorsi muscles (the wing shape muscles under your arms that give the classic V-shape you see in muscular guys).

How To Make The Most of These Exercises...

The key to getting the maximum muscle building benefit from these exercises is in how you approach your training routine. Although your goal is to get a big upper body, you do not want to neglect your lower body too. For this reason I recommend you perform your upper body workout routines twice per week and your lower body routines twice per week.

Always ensure that you allow at least one full day's rest between workouts - in other words, each muscle group should NOT be trained on two or more consecutive days.

When starting your upper body workout routine, try spending the first 4 weeks on strength gains and the next 4 on maximizing your muscle growth by increasing your rep numbers and incorporating super sets - these are basically two sets of different exercises performed back-to-back.

The reason for focusing on strength first is it will give you a great base on which you can build muscle easier...you'll also be less fatigued and will get more reward from your workouts.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/John_Wheeler/139027