Build muscle without a gym!!

If you do not have a gym membership, or away on holiday and cannot get to a gym, no problem you can still stimulate your muscles and build lean muscle.

Chest, Triceps and Shoulders:


The pushup is one of the most common types of body weight exercises that is easy to perform absolutely anywhere. There are different variations of the pushup that can target different muscle groups.

• Standard Push-up:We all know this one. Hands a little more than shoulder width apart, feet together, back straight. Works chest and triceps. do 10-20 reps of 3 sets.

• Wide push-ups: Same as the standard push-up except your arms are a lot more than shoulder width apart. Do 10-20 reps of 3 sets.

• Diamond/narrow push-up: With this push-up your hands will be touching each other in the middle of your body. Do 5-20 reps of 3 sets.

• Front/side lateral raise: Get a heavy object(large water bottle, brick, bag full of heavy things) and standing straight, and keeping your elbow straight raise the object in front/next to you until your arm is parallel to the ground, lower it and repeat. Do 10-20 reps of 3 sets.

westernrifleshooters.wordpress.com

Back and Biceps:

• Pullups/chinups: Find a structure where you can get a strong grip on. Like a door frame, a lateral pole/beam or you can buy equipment that hooks into a door frame where you can do different variations of pullups. A wide grip with your palms facing you focuses on your lats where a narrow grip with your palms facing away from you focuses on the center of your back and your biceps. Do 5-10 reps of 4 sets.

Legs:

• Squats: Stand with your feet just slightly shoulder width apart, your head up and your back straight. Bend your legs until 90 degrees then come back up. If body weight squats are too light you can put a weighted backpack on. Do 10-20 reps of 3 sets.

• Lunges: Find an area where you can do 20 lunges. Hands on your hips, feet together. Take one big step in front of you and lower your body until your back leg's knee touches the ground, then come up and repeat. If they become too easy add a backpack with weight in. Do 10 reps per leg of 3 sets.

• Calf raises: Stand with the ball of your foot on the edge of a stair, lower your ankle and raise it as high as you can, pause for a second and repeat. If this gets too light you can hold something heavy in your hand. Do 20-30 reps of 4 sets.

http://www.exercisegoals.com/images/bodyweight-squats.jpg

Abs:

• Bridge: Go into the push-up position but instead of using your hands to keep up, put your fore arms on the ground and together. Keep your back completely straight and abs tight. Do this for as long as you can for 2 sets.

• Hanging leg raises: Using the place you do pullups, hand from a height. Put your legs together and keeping the rest of your body as steady as possible raise your knees/feet and repeat. Do 10 reps of 3 sets.

• Crunches/sit-ups: Lie on the floor, bend your knees and bring them up. Put your hands behind your neck and slowly raise your body until your chest touches your knees. Do slow controlled movements. Do 10-20 reps of 2 sets.

I would do a upper/lower body split that would look something like this.

Monday: Upperbody
Tuesday: Lowerbody
Wednesday: Abs
Thursday: Upperbody
Friday: Lowerbody
Saturday: Abs
Sunday: Rest.

Remember because you do not have a lot of resistance you need to do these exercises with a slow and controlled movement, achieving maximum contraction in the muscles.

If you do these exercises at home on a regular basis you can certainly achieve some great results with putting on some muscle and strength. Just remember nutrition plays a major role in fitness.

Chest Blasting Routine

formerfatguy.com

You have been training for a while, and have made some pretty good gains. But you have noticed that your gains are starting to slow down, then one day you just stop getting stronger and bigger. Or your chest simply doesnt want to grow?? This guide will help you to get out of the plateau to ensure your chest keeps growing.

Its time to change things up a little and shock your chest and to ensure your chest doesnt adapt to the training stimulus.

Exercise 1: Twisting Incline Dumbbell Press


This exercise helps to get a very deep contraction in the upper and inner pecs that will help stimulate the muscle fibres.

How to do it:

• Lie on an incline bench, holding dumbbell with a standard grip(palm forward) and extend dumbbells over the chest.
• Twist your arms 180 degrees so that your palms are facing your head.
• Keep your shoulders back and squeeze your chest at the peak of the movement.
• Do 8-10 reps/3 sets.

 Exercise 2: Kettle Bell Fly

This movement has a very big range of motion for maximum stretch of the pec muscles that will help widen your chest and pump blood into it.

How to do it:

• Hold a Kettle Bell in each hand and lie on a flat bench. Bring Kettle Bell over the chest, arms fully extended and palms facing each other.
• Bending your elbows only slightly, lower the Kettle Bells and open your chest wide.
• Once your palms are parallel to your chest, squeeze your pecs together and bring the Kettle Bells to starting position.
• Do 10-12 reps/3 sets.

Exercise 3: Weighted Dips

This exercise focuses on the lower and inner pecs and helps to get a very good contraction in.

How to do it:

• Using a weight belt, clip on an appropriate weight.
• Lift yourself up onto the dip machine so that your arms are fully extended.
• Slightly lean forward with your body.
• Lower your body slowly until your upper arm is about parallel to the ground, then push yourself up back to the starting position.
• Do 8-10 reps/3 sets.
• NOTE* if you do not have a weight belt you can hold a dumbbell between your feet.

Exercise 4: Weight Plate Squeeze and Press

This exercises main focus is to have constant tension in your chest and to keep the pecs contracted to stimulate the muscle fibres deep in the chest.

How to do it:

• Palm squeeze one or two weight plates together in front of your chest with your fingers pointing upwards.
• Keeping your shoulders back and down, slowly press the plates out in front of you and turn your palms so that your fingers are now pointing forward. 
• When your arms are extended squeeze your chest for a second and return to starting position.
• Do 8-10 reps/3 sets

Replace your normal chest routine with this one for one week. Then return to your normal chest routine. But do this once every 8-12 weeks to ensure you do not hit a plateau and your chest is constantly stimulated.
  

What is the ideal rep range??

thehotbodsquad.com

There is a lot of confusion amongst lifters as to how many reps they need to be doing to achieve their goals. So in this post ill explain the different rep ranges and what they focus on. 

3-5 Reps: This rep range mainly focuses on strength gains. Many power lifters and strength athletes focus on this rep range. With so few reps the weight you lift is usually more than a higher rep range; therefore Sarcomere Hypertrophy occurs.
 

5-10 Reps: In this range both Sarcomere Hypertrophy and Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy occurs. Meaning you will receive both growth and strength gains. Most bodybuilders focus on this rep range as it helps them gain size and increase strength.

10-15 Reps: This rep range is mainly for endurance training as very little Sarcomere Hypertrophy and Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy occurs. Many athletes use this rep range to help condition their muscles. This rep range can also be used for weight loss as the high reps will increase heart rate which in turn will help burn fat.

Rep ranges can vary depending on your personal goals, activity level, body type and diet. But you can use these as a guide line.

Importance of Deadlift

Most beginners and even advanced lifters avoid and/or neglect doing the dead lift. Mostly because lifters say it is "boring", "uncomfortable" or "doesn't work anything".
Like all the compound movements it is an extremely important and even critical exercise.

BENEFITS: The dead lift is an exercise that can train almost your entire body, helps prevent injury and will help with all your other compound movements. Your lower back is an extremely important and vulnerable muscle as it will help with keeping your back straight during lifts that can prevent injury and helps with your posture. But a weak lower back can result in permanent damage. Dead lift targets your lower back, lats, traps, hamstrings, forearms, biceps and core. If you want to get bigger, thicker and stronger then dead lift is a must!

Performing the dead lift: So now you have heard all the benefits of the dead lift and how it can help you in many ways, but how do you properly perform it without injury.

• Legs must be shoulder width apart.
• Go into the squat position and hold the bar shoulder width apart.
• On the first movement use your legs to bring the bar up then straighten your back
• Your abs should be tight throughout the entire movement
• Do not use momentum to bring the bar up as this can cause injury, use controlled movement.
• Slowly bend your back and legs to lower to the floor and repeat

www.bodybuilding.com

Alex Muller will not be held responsible for an injury caused by incorrectly performing the following exercises.

How to get a 6 pack secret!

simplyshredded.com

Most guys want a six pack, but not many can say they have one. There is a whole misconception around getting abs and I am here to clear them out and show you how you can get one.

First of all you CANNOT get big, popping out abs by doing 100 sit ups/crunches everyday. You need to treat your abdominal muscles the same way as any other muscle group. Weighted exercises with only 10-12 reps and 4 sets. That is all! You don't see guys with big pecs and biceps doing 100 curls ever day, no they lift heavy to make them grow. So why train your abs and different??

Here is a sample of what you should be doing in the gym to get abs.

Incline weighted sit ups: 10-12 reps of 3 sets.

weight-lifting-equipment.net

Take a weight and hold it against your chest. Lower yourself slowly and use explosive power to bring yourself up. Squeeze your abs at the top. This exercise will help strengthen your abs and bring them out.







Hanging leg raises: 10 reps of 3 sets.

fitnessanddefense.com

Hanging from a pull-up bar raise either your knees or legs up to 90 degree then lower again. This exercises helps with your core and those stubborn lower abs.


















Alternating ball crunches: 12-15 reps of 3 sets.

kalisthenixfitnessblog.com

Lie with your lower back on a bosu ball or yoga ball, place your hands behind your head and slowly lower yourself. Bring yourself back up and across your body and squeeze your abs at the top of the movement. Don't use momentum keep it controlled.










DIET

Now your diet plays the MOST important role in getting a six pack. Every single on of us have a six pack, its part of our anatomy. Training with weights and intensity will make the abdominal muscles bigger but wont help much if they are behind a layer of fat. You need to have a low body fat percentage for all of your abdominal muscles to show.
Unfortunately this means cutting out sugars, refined foods, loads of carbohydrates, alcohol and candy.
You need to be getting in a lot of clean proteins and staying away from simple carbohydrates and unhealthy fats. You want to be consuming things like caffeine and chili which has fat burning properties and supplementing with CLA, Omegas and drinking lots of water.

It is also a good idea to incorporate some high intensity cardio to help shed that extra fat, this should be done in the morning on an empty stomach to maximise fat burning.



Keep to these guidelines and you will see within a few weeks your abs will be harder, firmer and you will start to lose the excess fat around your waist.

12/1/2012 Build BIGGER Biceps

www.simplyshredded.com

When someone approaches me to ask for advice 9/10 times they ask how to get bigger biceps.
Well I am here to answer that question for you. The truth is you do not need to train your biceps everyday and do 20 sets for them to grow, in fact the exact opposite will happen. You need to treat your biceps the same as you would every other body part and follow the basic rule of training your body part one per week.

Secondly you DO NOT need isolation exercises (exercises that directly target the muscle) to build big arms. If you want big, thick biceps then compound movements are a must. Your back and your biceps both work with the same movement, the 'pulling' movement. Whenever you pull something towards your body you are using your back and biceps, so why not train with them together??

So here is what a program should look like to target your back and biceps.

• Wide grip lat pull downs - 3 sets, 8-10 reps

• Dead lift - 3 sets, 6-10 reps

• Dumbbell row - 3 sets, 8-10 reps

• Bent over barbell rows - 3 sets, 8-10 reps

• Weighted chin ups - 3 sets, 8-10 reps

• EZ bar bicep curls - 3 sets, 8-10 reps

• Hammer curls - 3 sets, 8 reps

 Notice how there are 5 back exercises and only 2 bicep exercises?? That is because your back is one of the biggest muscles in your body with many different muscle groups, where your biceps are a very small muscle group and do not need to be hit that hard to stimulate growth. While doing those pulling movements you have targeted your biceps indirectly and you only need 2 exercises to directly stimulate your biceps. Its as simple as that. Train smart, without endless sets and trying to hit them as hard as you can as often as you can, and you will see growth in your arms.

11/1/2012 Female training and Diet

I have gotten many messages and questions from girls/women wanting to; lose weight, tone and tighten their bodies. So this post will be for those women wanting to achieve their goals.

wellsphere.com

 First of all before I begin I want to get a few misconceptions out of the way.

1) You will NOT get big/"buff", most women don't want to gym/lift weights because they are scared of getting big. You DO NOT have to worry about this, your are female therefore you produce very tiny amounts of testosterone(male hormone) therefore you will not build muscle. If you need more reassurance, think of all the guys you know that lift weights everyday but struggle to get big, so trust me you wont bet big/"buff" by accident.

2) The term "toning" actually doesn't exist, when most girls come to me for advice they always use the term "toning", what you think "toning" is, is just lean muscle with a low body fat percentage. Doing 30+ reps isn't going to get you that tight 'toned' body, you can only achieve that by lifting weights.

3) Starving yourself isn't going to help you lose weight, as a matter of fact it is going to do the exact opposite, by not eating a proper balanced diet you body will slow your metabolism down and hold onto as much fat as possible, and as soon as you binge with fast food, fizzy drinks or chocolate your body is going to hold onto that energy instead of just disposing of it.


So now that we have got all that out of the way we can start.

TRAINING: If you want to get a nice tight body you are going to have to lift weighs, there is no way around it, doing endless cardio is just going to burn all your fat and muscle and leave you will a slim BUT soft/squishy body.  Ill say it again YOU WILL NOT GET BIG!

Your workout needs to contain a split day of different body parts, you cannot train all your body parts everyday, your muscles will not get enough recovery time, and that will result in muscle breakdown.

Here is a sample of what you need to be doing.

Monday: Upper body weight training + mild cardio for 15-20min.(running, stepping)

Tuesday: Lower body weight training + mild cardio for 15min.(running, stepping)

Wednesday: Rest.

Thursday: Upper body weight training + mild cardio for 15-20min.(running, stepping)

Friday: Lower body weight training.

Saturday: Cardio for 60min. (running, stepping, swimming)

Sunday: Rest.


If you would like me to create you a training program for you leave me a comment or e-mail me at alexandermuller0@gmail.com with your goals and I will get back to you as soon as possible.


DIET: Diet is probably the MOST important factor when it comes to losing weight and getting a fit, healthy body. Like I said previously, you NEED to eat, and frequently to boost your metabolism and help your body recover from the exercising. You need to be having a healthy balanced diet that contains PROTEIN, CARBOHYDRATES and FATS. Stay away from sugars, fizzy drinks, fruit juices, chips and processed food.

Protein is going to help your muscles recover, and will boost your metabolism. Your protein sources should be skinless chicken, lean fish, eggs, fat free cheese, whey protein shakes, soy beans and some red meats occasionally.

Carbohydrates are your main energy source, without them you will not be able to perform and give your best in the gym and will affect your day to day concentration and energy levels. Your carbohydrates should come from whole grains such as sweet potato, low GI seed bread, green vegetables, whole wheat pasta. Avoid simple carbohydrates such as white bread, white pasta, and anything refined, as they contain lots of sugar and wont be used as effectively as whole grains.

Fats are also an energy source and help with hormone production, your fats should come from nuts, legumes, avocados, flax seed, and fatty fish. You MUST avoid animal fats such as red meat fat, chicken skin, pork fat and lamb.

A sample diet should contain:

Breakfast: small helping of whole wheat carbohydrates + small serving of protein + serving of fruit.

Pre-workout: This is  +- and hour before you gym, you need to consume the majority of your days carbohydrates during this meal as it will be your energy source, it is also good to get some fats and protein in.

Post-workout: This is after you gym, the majority of your days protein needs to be consumed during this meal, as your muscles are in a recovery state and need the protein for optimum recovers, you also need to consume a moderate amount of  carbohydrates in this meal. Plus a serving of fruit.

Supper: At night you want to limit your carbohydrates as you will be sleeping and wont be using the energy, so keep it about the size of your palm, you need to consume a moderate amount of protein during this meal as your body recovers while you sleep, but needs protein to recover so it is a good idea to eat some protein before you sleep.

Snack: If you get hungry during the day or get cravings its a good idea to carry around some almonds or biltong and whole wheat crackers with some peanut butter on or some low fat cheese. This will help boost your metabolism and keep your body in an ultimate recovery state.


If you would like a custom diet program comment or e-mail me and I will be happy to help.

If you follow these guidelines you will be on your way to achieving a better and healthier body.
Feel free to ask any questions you have. 



References: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=117327411

5/1/2012 Bench more and save your shoulders in the future.

This post will all be from personal experience. When I was 17 years old I got a Rotator Cuff injury in my shoulder while playing rugby. It took 6-8 weeks to heal, but even then I suffered in the gym, especially from shoulder presses behind the back and bench pressing. I went to a Physiotherapist for weeks but still nothing could help. Through trial and error I have eventually figured out how to save an injured shoulder, or prevent an injury and even being able to bench press more.

The Rotator Cuff is made up of 4 muscles (teres minor, infraspinatous, supraspinatous and sucscapularous). These are located at the back of your shoulder. The Rotator Cuff muscle is HUGELY neglected by most bodybuilders and fitness trainers, and a weak Rotator Cuff limits the amount of weight you can press and can eventually cause tears and injur you permanently.

If you already have a serious Rotator Cuff injury and can barely move your shoulder behind your head then you should see a doctor and you might have to have surgery, but if it is only a small strain or you just want to prevent injury altogether and strengthen your bench then these exercises are a must.


Stretch: First of all you need to stretch your shoulders and Rotator Cuff by standing in a door way, placing your hands on the frame of the door way and slowly leaning in towards the door. Stretch for 20 seconds, rest for 20 seconds and repeat for another 20 seconds.

Exercises:

1) Dumbbell/Cable internal rotation - Stand up straight, hold a dumbbell or cable, bend your elbow to a 90 degree angle, keep your elbow tucked in at your side, internally rotate your shoulder to move the cable/dumbbell across your body and return to starting position. Do 10 reps on each arm, and do 2 sets.

NOTE* Do NOT swing your arm or use momentum, use a light  enough weight that enables you to go slow and steady with a controlled movement.

http://www.exercisegoals.com/rotator-cuff-exercises.html

 2) Bent over lateral raise - Using dumbbells stand with your feet shoulder width apart, bend over at the waist, and with your arms extended in front of you, use your rear shoulders to raise the weight until your upper arm is straight with your back, lower the weight again to starting position. Do 10 reps of 3 sets.

NOTE* Once again it is not a weight lifting competition, so use a weight light enough for a controlled movement without momentum.

http://www.leehayward.com/rear_delts.htm

3) External rotation - Very similar to the internal rotation, except you tuck your elbow in at your side and stretch the muscle away from your body, pause for a second and return to starting position. Do 10 slow, controlled reps, 3 sets.

http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/strength-and-conditioning-exercises-22

Do these exercises once to twice a week and you will see that your rear delts will start to strengthen and you will be able to bench more, have move balance and stability and most importantly prevent and injuries.

EDIT:
A couple guys over at bodybuilding.com forum have suggested a few more exercises that could save your shoulder/rotator cuff. so here are an additional 2 exercises that you can perform.

4) The Scarecrow - Stand with your legs shoulder width apart, bend your knees slightly, and with a weight plate in each hand bend your torso until it is nearly parallel with the ground. Make sure your elbows are bent at a 90 degree angle and your upper arms are in line with your upper back. Now rotate your forearms until the plate is in line with your head, then push the plate out in front of you, then return to the starting position. Do 3 sets of 10 reps.

www.mensfitness.com

5) Scaption exercise - Stand with your legs shoulder width apart, h0ld a dumbbell in each hand, let your arms hang next to your body with your palms facing each other. Without bending your elbows raise your arms in front of you until they are shoulder height. move back to the starting position and do 3 sets of 10 reps.

http://www.menshealth.com

29/12/2011 Build Massive Arms

I am about to leave to go away for New Years, but I thought that I would post one last article before I go.

This is how to add 5cm to your arms.  The simple answer is compound movements. Heavier weight equals more muscle mass. Here is an article from MH.co.za explaining the science behind it and how to do it, this really has helped in making my arms thicker.

 http://www.mh.co.za/fitness/muscle-plans-build-muscle/add-5cm-to-your-arms