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36Pounds.com Must Read Posts for First Time Visitors

| Posted in Best of, Blog, Training |

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Looking for information about gaining muscle for skinny guys? Want to change your body from skinny to buff? The this blog is for you. On it I share my experience on this topic. I’ve succeeded, I’ve failed and I have stuff to share with you. Below you will find posts that will give you knowledge you need to start your training, what to eat, how to train and you will find a few Success Stories from people who used the advice I give.But I have to warn you – these posts will not help you if you don’t take action though.

Here are Must Reads:

36Pounds.com 5×5 Workout for Beginners and Intermediate Lifters (Updated!!!)

How to Successfully Start Gaining Muscle

7 Things You Need to Know When Gaining muscle

Advice from Lyle McDonald for Skinny Guys about Training and Nutrition

8 Rules of Nutrition for Skinny Guys Who Want To Gain Muscle


BUSTED: The Don’t Squat Below the Parallel Myth

Free Weights VS Machines: Which work Better for Skinny Guys?

Pump Training and Why it Might Suck for Skinny Guys

6 Reasons You are Not Gaining Muscle

Success Story: How Jair Gained 15lbs in 1,5 Months!

Success Story: How Christian went from 97lbs to 138lbs

Review of No Nonsense Muscle Building by Vince Del Monte

You should subscribe (for FREE) to Newsletter from 36Pounds.com which I will send you from time to time with stuff that doesn’t appear on the blog (I will not sell your email):
So don’t wait and subscribe below:




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Cheers,
Adrian

Lessons From the Great: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Part 3

| Posted in Lessons from the Great, Motivational |

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Today I’m posting the last entry to Lessons From the Great: Arnold… here will be more lessons in future but it’s the last one from the Austrian Oak. He describes the benefits of bodybuilding very well and I probably couldn’t do it better. It’s not about muscle though. It’s about what bodybuilding and workouts teach you and how that can help you succeed in life!

Every day, I see people running
around, all excited, wanting to do things, feeling pent up and
unable to find any release. I’d probably be that way if I didn’t
work off my frustrations in the gym. I’ve come to realize that
almost anything difficult, any challenge, takes time, patience and
hard work, like building up for a 300-pound bench press. Learning
that gave me plenty of positive energy to use later on.
I taught myself discipline, the strictest kind of discipline. How
to be totally in control of my body, how to control each individual
muscle. I could apply that discipline to everyday life. I used
it in acting, in going to school. Whenever I didn’t want to study I
would just think back and remember what it took to be Mr. Universe—
the sacrifice, the hard work—and I would plunge myself
into studying.
Bodybuilding changed me entirely. I think I would be a different
person now if I’d never trained, if I’d just worked somewhere.
It gave me confidence and pride and an unlimited positive
attitude. I can apply my success to everything.

I think the most important things I developed through bodybuilding
were my personality, confidence and character. When
you have a well-developed body and you’re confident, you see
people bending your way, wanting to be on your side, wanting to
do things for you. When I was young I suffered from the same
insecurity every kid has. But as I transformed myself into something
strong and unique, discovering I could do one thing well,
confidence came to me naturally. And that gave me a great deal
of security.

I hope this resonates with you guys and you see that it’s more to bodybuilding than just looking good, having big muscles or beach body. It can change your life for the better, that’s why I’m a HUGE fan of bodybuilding and will always recommend guys to workout !!!

Best of luck,
Adrian

Resources

| Posted in Training |

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I’d like to share some resources with you that I use to better my knowledge in bodybuilding and nutrition. If you are interested in learning as much as you can and my blog can’t satisfy your needs then this post is for you!

www.johnberardi.com – a great specialist on nutrition, wrote a book “Scrawny to Brawny” I’ve already mentioned in this blog and recommend it.

www.t-nation.com – a very good online community and magazine about bodybuilding, writes interesting articles and has some big name trainers writing the content.

www.bodybuilding.com – the biggest resource about bodybuilding online probably!

www.stronglifts.com – a blog also, that offers a workout program and good posts for those who want to loose fat/gain muscle

www.ericcressey.com – I found his site recently and can say that I’ll be reading his stuff for long time in the future. I already changed my training philosophy a bit because of him and his stuff has influenced my views on bodybuilding. He is a great trainer who is also powerlifter who holds some records already.

www.alwyncosgrove.com – another good trainer whose opinion I trust and found just recently. I’m gonna check his stuff more often.

www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html – a directory of exercises and muscles. You can see some videos from it on my How to posts.

Hope some of these links will be very useful for you. These sites or blogs are bigger and older than mine and have much more info, but I hope to catch up soon though!

Cheers,
Adrian

P.S. Due to personal reasons I might not be able to post for a week. I will be back as soon as possible ;)

Bodybuilding dictionary

| Posted in Training |

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Today I decided to post dictionary for those guys who don’t know bodybuilding terms! It should help to better understand bodybuilding ;)

Barbell – Normally measuring between four and six feet in length, a barbell is the most basic piece of equipment used in weight training and bodybuilding. You can train every major muscle group using only a barbell. There are two major types of exercise where barbells are used: adjustable sets (in which you add or subtract plates to achieve the total weight desired), and fixed barbells (in which the plates are either welded or bolted in place and the total weight of the barbell is a set number). You may see fixed weights arranged by poundage in various gyms. The total weight of that barbell will likely be etched or painted on the plates. Fixed weights will save you the time of adjusting the weight in between sets. Adjustable weights are seen more commonly in home gyms, because it is very cost efficient to buy a bar, with several plates and clips to lock the weight in place.

Belts – Belts are supposed to aid you in a lift by taking pressure off the lower back when lifting very heavy weights. They will certainly help you if your goal is to develop power, and you attempt to achieve this through power lifting which consists of the three basic compound movements, squats, bench press, and dead lifting, all performed in a very low rep range. A weight belt will stabilize the upper body by increasing pressure in the abdominal cavity, and will reduce pressure in the lower back. Belts can offer a feeling of security and the knowledge that the chances of injury is lessened. However, belts are not necessary in all exercises. Stabilizing your upper body is simply not crucial for some lifts, and sporting a belt in those circumstances will not help you to achieve your goal to any greater degree. I recommend wearing a belt for big lifts, especially compound movements, done with heavy weights.

Bodybuilding – A type of weight training applied in conjunction with sound nutritional practices to alter the shape or form of one’s body. Bodybuilding is a competitive sport nationally and internationally in both amateur and professional categories for men, women, and mixed pairs. However, a majority of individuals use bodybuilding methods merely to lose excess body fat or build up a thin body.

Cheating – A method of pushing a muscle to keep it working far past the point of temporary muscular failure. In cheating, you will use a self – administered body swing, jerk, or otherwise poor form once you have reached temporary muscular failure to take some pressure off the muscles being used primarily in the movement and allow them to continue for a few more reps. Word of advice: Save cheating for the last set of an exercise.

Chinning Bar – A horizontal bar attached high on the wall or gym ceiling on which you can do chins, hanging leg raises, and other movements for your upper body.

Dumbbell – A dumbbell is a short handed barbell (usually 10 to 12 inches in length) intended primarily for use with one in each hand. Dumbbells are especially valuable when training the arms and shoulders but can be used to build up almost any muscle.

Exercise – Each individual movement (example, a seated pulley row, barbell curl, or seated calf raise) that you perform in your bodybuilding workouts.

E – Z Curl Bar – A special type of barbell used in many arm exercises, but particularly for standing E – Z bar curls wherein it removes from your wrists strain that might be present when doing the movement with a straight bar. An E – Z curl bar is occasionally called a cambered curling bar.

Fast-Twitch Muscle Fibers – White muscle fibers which contract quickly and powerfully, but not with great endurance. Fast – twitch fibers are developed by heavy, low – rep, explosive weight training.

Form – Form is expressed in terms of the quality of each repetition throughout the full range of motion. With good form, one should be able to reach the point of temporary muscular failure. Form involves moving the specified muscles involved in a particular exercise.

Free Weights – Barbells, dumbbells, and related equipment. Serious bodybuilders use a combination of free weights and such nautilus exercise machines such as the smith machine to incorporate a balanced training regime. Free weights are generally preferred, because they allow the stabilizer muscles to be used.

Hypertrophy – The scientific term denoting an increase in muscle mass and an improvement in relative muscular strength. Hypertrophy is induced by placing an “overload” on the working muscles with various techniques during a bodybuilding workout.

Intensity – The relative degree of effort you put into each set of every exercise in a bodybuilding workout. The more intensity you place on a working muscle, the more quickly it will increase in hypertrophy. The most basic methods of increasing intensity are to use heavier weights in good form on each exercise, do more reps with a set weight, or perform a consistent number of sets and reps with a particular weight in a movement, but progressively reducing the length of the rest interval between each set.

Isolation Exercise – In contrast to a basic exercise, an isolation movement stresses a single muscle group (or sometimes just part of a single muscle) in relative isolation from the remainder of the body. Isolation exercises are good for shaping and defining various muscle groups. For your thighs, squats would be a typical basic movement, while leg extensions would be the equivalent isolation exercise.

Olympic Lifting – The type of weight lifting contested at the Olympic Games every four years, as well as at national and international competitions each year. The two lifts (the snatch and the clean – and – jerk) are contested in a wide variety of weight classes.

Overtraining – Chronically exceeding the body’s recovery ability by doing too lengthy and . or too frequent workouts. Chronic overtraining can lead to injuries, infectious illness and worse: a cessation or even regression in gains of a muscle mass, tone, and strength.

Plates – The flat discs placed on the ends of the barbell and dumbbell bars to increase the weight of the apparatus. Although some plates are made from vinyl – covered concrete, the best and most durable plates are manufactured from metal.

Power Lifting –
A second form of competitive weight lifting (not contested at the Olympics, however) featuring three lifts: the squat, the bench press, and the deadlift. Power lifting is contested both nationally and internationally in a wide variety of weight and age classes for both men and women.

Power Rack – A power rack is a safety apparatus that has two thick adjustable steel pins that the barbell rests upon. Bodybuilders and powerlifters use the power rack to perform squats, shrugs, deadlifts and presses.

Pre-Exhaustion – A technique used primarily on torso – muscle groups (chest, back, shoulders) which makes the weaker arm muscles temporarily stronger than normal, so basic exercises like bench press, lat machine pull downs, and standing barbell presses can be pushed far past the point at which a bodybuilder would fail to continue a set. Pre-exhaustion involves super-setting an isolation exercise for a particular torso muscle (for example, flat bench flyes for the pecotral muscles) with a basic movement (for example, bench presses) for the same muscle.

Progression – The act of gradually adding the amount of resistance that you use in each exercise. Without consistent progression in your workouts, you won’t overload your muscles sufficiently to promote optimum increases in hypertrophy.

Pump A commonly used bodybuilding term is “the pump”. “The pump” occurs when your muscles swell up beyond their normal size by a considerable amount. Looking at yourself in the mirror, you will look bigger, and likely show appear more vascular and defined as well as being more confident in yourself. This pump is normally fast to achieve and shouldn’t take much more than four sets. I find a really good way to pump up is to do push ups until I reach failure, and normally my chest will look bigger than ever. A good pump can be felt and noticed throughout the entire workout if done properly. Oxygen and nutrients will continually to be brought into the area being exercised during intense weight training activity. Blood is forced into the area being exercised but not drawn out. This extra blood stays in there for some period, causing it to swell and appear noticeably bigger. A reason why many people like to pump up before they pose for a picture is to take advantage of this difference in size which occurs.

Repetition – This term, which takes on the short form, rep, refers to a single rendition of an exercise. For example, if your curl a barbell through the entire range of motion once, you have completed one repetition (rep) of the movement.

Routine – The term routine is very broad, and encompasses virtually every aspect of what you do in one weight lifting session, including the type of equipment you use, the number of exercises, sets, and repetitions you perform; the order in which you do the exercises; and how much rest you take between sets. You can change the factors within your routine to change your results.

Set – A set is a group of consecutive repetitions that are performed without resting. When you have completed 8 repetitions of bench press, and have reached temporary muscular failure or put the weights down, you have completed one set.

Split Routine – A program in which the body is divided into segments and trained more than three times per week, as most beginners do. The most basic split routine is done four days per week. The most popular type of split routine happens by dividing the body into three parts which are done over three consecutive days, followed by a rest day and a repeat of the routine on day five. This is called a three – on / one – off split.

Spotter – Training partners who stand by to act as safety helpers when you perform heavy lifts in bench press, or squats, as well as other exercises. If you reach the point of temporary muscular failure, your spotter can help you lift the weight up in order to complete the range of motion safely. It is especially important to have a spotter when you are attempted one – rep maximums (1RM).

Testosterone – The male hormone primarily responsible for maintenance of muscle mass and strength induced by heavy training. Testosterone is secondarily responsible for developing such secondary male sex characteristics as a deep voice, body and facial hair, and male pattern baldness.

Hope this makes it more clear for you guys, if what, just ask!

Cheers,
Adrian

Source: bodybuildingpro.com

BUSTED: The Don’t Squat Below the Parallel Myth

| Posted in BUSTED Myths, Best of |

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squat2

Hi guys,

today I want to bust a myth that squatting deep is bad . At my gym I only see people squat to the parallel, my friends are doing that too. I feel bad because of it. Everyone is not developing their legs fully and risking their knees more then me… In this post I will give links to sources that bust this myth too, because my own opinion is not enough and you probably need some links from specialists about it.

Here are the links and quotes about this topic: