Myths and misconceptions about muscle building

During your province you fit and you try to configure a strong muscular body, I know it's all what you hear from the tips and warnings to not necessarily be true, especially if you were not from a reliable source. What are these mistakes? Let us know them.

1) muscle turns to fat:

Unlike Maiatkd most people, fat does not turn into muscle and the muscles do not turn into fat, in fact you you can lose fat and build muscle at a time, but a difficult task, it is best to focus on one goal each just to achieve the best results and get rid of this myth that stand in your way.

2) cardiovascular exercise means not building muscles:

What is difficult is not impossible necessarily, this applies to the theory of exercise cardiac and composition of muscle, exercise heart burns calories while building muscle to consume more of them need, so long as keen on the calories lost compensation in your diet it will not affect the muscles, you can during workouts attack to focus on racing short run rather than the long.

3) Do not train your muscles and in pain:

Rather than make horror muscle formation scares you, get rid first of this myth, start with light exercises such as 10 minutes of riding wheels, then coached the muscles that suffer with simple sets of lifting light weights, the research Vtmarenat aerobics and stretching can ease the pain light.

4) overdose of protein to build muscle:

This is of course better than overdose of carbohydrates or fat, but that does not mean eating these massive protein quantities, in fact protein promotes muscle growth but the increase in anything is not good, the excess protein breaks down into amino acids and nitrogen is taken out or transferred to the carbohydrates and stockpiling in the body, the best way is to maintain a balance diet.

5) 100 Exercise of the stomach muscles means well divided:

This amount of abdominal exercises will only hurt your back, so if you're looking for a good stomach muscles choice The type of exercise to get a good result.

Get a flat belly is not impossible 

Do you suffer from sagging abdominal problem ?? Come together we apply these simple exercises that you can get a flat belly and lithe body ....

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3. Lie on your back with interlock your hands behind your head and nationalist bend my knees to your chest as much as you can and then nationalist lifting your legs to the top at an angle of ninety degrees and then national bend your knees to your chest again, and then nationalist extended legs forward at an angle of five and forty degrees NATIONAL then return to the first position with a repeat this exercise ten times.

4. Lie on the ground and Obaadi between your feet and plexiglass your hands behind your head and then try to raise your head and shoulders to the top of so-spectrum contact Kuaak together try to maintain this position for ten seconds and then Return to the first position with a repeat this exercise for ten times.

5.Lie on your back and knees bent until it reaches the heels of your feet to the pelvis and then plexiglass your hands behind your head and nationalist trying to sit down and then return to the first situation again with the lack of moving your feet on the ground with a repeat this exercise ten times.

Healthy Chicken Marsala

Why head to your favorite Italian restaurant to indulge in the rich, lemon-garlic-and boozey flavors of Chicken Marsala, when you can make a healthier version at home that tastes just as good?! This recipe is unbelievably easy to make, and so full of savory goodness that you’ll want to make it twice for dinner and at least once for lunch.

Healthy Chicken Marsala
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, pounded to 1/2? thickness
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup Marsala wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon cornstarch

Sprinkle both sides of chicken evenly with salt and pepper. Place flour in a shallow dish. Dip the chicken in the flour, then shake off excess flour.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil, then add the chicken and cook it until browned. Set the chicken aside.  Add mushrooms, wine, broth, and juice to pan; turn the heat to low and simmer until the sauce is reduced to about 3/4 cup. Whisk 1 teaspoon of cornstarch into the sauce to thicken it. You can add additional cornstarch in 1/2 teaspoon increments to the sauce to obtain desired thickness. Return chicken to pan, turning to coat well. Cover and cook 5 minutes or until chicken is done. Sprinkle with parsley

Honey-Dijon Glazed Chicken During Leaps Of Faith

There are windows of time in life when taking a leap of faith is required, when taking a running jump off of the edge into the water below is necessary, in order to make way for positive, new opportunities. However, if one stands too long at the edge peering down, wonderments and doubts begin to flood the imaginative mind and then those pesky little butterflies start to flutter around in the stomach, frantically looking for what seems like an escape. That can be paralyzing—yikes! Taking a leap of faith is uncomfortable, and God knows, humans aren’t exactly partial to being uncomfortable; but it’s what’s required sometimes in order to keep life moving in the direction of betterment. 

Making a change in a work situation during times like we live in is a little unnerving; I’m sure some of you can relate. My husband is presently in the process of venturing out on his own more in his career and moving away from full-time “employee” status in order to build his own clientele and small business. This naturally requires some shifting around of his current schedule at work, along with making some well-informed and thought-out moves. It reminds me a little of a strategic game of chess. Our conversations at the dinner table lately have been wonderfully unifying and open as we try to navigate our options, and we’ve come to realize that in moments of change and uncertainty, there is no better thing to lean on than our faith. Windows of opportunity come, and deciding to follow the urge to step through without knowing for certain what is on the other side can be a bit anxiety inducing, but the two of us have decided to step through together. Now, an uncomplicated meal is our friend; it’s simplicity is appreciated when there are other things needing attention, and I can’t think of anything less complicated than a chicken breast and some savory roasted potatoes with a few delicious flourishes added. Perfect during leaps of faith.

Promptings come that must be acknowledged and followed, and things that need to be revealed will be revealed, in due time. My husband and I feel enthusiastic and excited about our prospects and what the future holds for the both of us; and though I haven’t known life to ever provide a one hundred percent guarantee about anything, that’s what makes it the wonderful adventure that it is. Sometimes leaping out in faith into the deep end, butterflies and all, is the best thing; staying connected around the dinner table with one another over uncomplicated, home-cooked food just makes the leap more pleasurable.

Taste what’s good and pass it on.

• Garlic-Spinach Roasted Potatoes (recipe below)

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1 tablespoon olive oil, plus 2 tablespoons to drizzle in the pan

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

• Honey-Dijon Glaze (recipe below)

Preparation:

-Begin by preparing the Roasted Potatoes (recipe below), and while those roast, prepare the chicken and glaze.

-Place the chicken breasts onto a large platter or plate, and drizzle over the 1 tablespoon of olive oil, the Dijon mustard, the salt and the black pepper; rub into the chicken breasts, and allow them to marinate while the pan is preheated.

-Preheat a large pan over medium-high heat; once hot, add the 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan, and once the oil it hot, add the chicken breasts (either all at once, or in 2 batches of 2 breasts) to the pan; allow the breasts to sear on medium-high heat for about 6-8 minutes per side depending on thickness of the breasts, or until they have a golden brown crust on both sides and are cooked through; remove the breasts from the pan and place onto a clean plate or platter, and turn off the heat from under the pan, but keep it there on the stove; lightly tent the chicken with foil to keep warm while you prepare the Honey-Dijon Glaze (recipe below); once you have the Glaze prepared, add the chicken breasts back to the pan (the heat remains off under the pan), and pour the Honey-Dijon Glaze over the chicken breasts, turning them to coat them very well in the Glaze; serve immediately with the Garlic-Spinach Roasted Potatoes.

Garlic-Spinach Roasted Potatoes ingredients:

1½ pounds of red potatoes, quartered

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided use

½ teaspoon salt, plus a pinch, divided use

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon paprika

• Pinch black pepper

1 small clove garlic, pressed through garlic press

1 teaspoon lemon zest

4 cups baby spinach leaves

Preparation:

-Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and line a baking sheet with foil.

-Add the quartered red potatoes to a large bowl, and drizzle over the 1 tablespoon of olive oil, the salt, garlic powder, paprika and pinch of black pepper; toss well to coat, and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the foil-lined baking sheet; turn the seasoned potatoes out onto the baking sheet, place into the hot oven and roast for about 40-45 minutes until tender and golden; while potatoes roast, whisk together the clove of garlic with the 1 teaspoon of lemon zest, the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the pinch of salt in a small dish or ramekin, and set aside to drizzle over the potatoes and spinach; once potatoes are roasted and golden, remove them from the oven and add them to a large, clean bowl; add the baby spinach leaves, and drizzle in the garlic-lemon-oil, and toss all together until well-coated and the spinach is slightly wilted; check the salt/pepper and adjust if needed; serve with the Honey-Dijon Glazed Chicken Breasts.

Honey-Dijon Glaze ingredients:

¼ cup honey

2 tablespoons Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar (or 1 ½ tablespoon fresh orange juice mixed with ½ tablespoon cider vinegar)

1 ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

Preparation:

-In a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients until glossy and well combined, and set aside for the chicken.

11 Deliciously Healthy Recipes for Chicken Breast

So You Wanna Be Skinny?! 

looking for a way to fill up your belly while tightening up those abs? Chicken breast is a low-fat, high-protein way to reduce the carbs, watch your calories, and start getting skinny. However, it can get sooo blah and drab. After all, you probably have three favorite ways to eat chicken, and fall back to those classics on busy weekdays. But there’s no reason eating skinny has to be boring! Here are 20 incredibly healthy ways to prep chicken breast that will lend some vim and vigor to your usual routine!

1.Healthy Chicken Marsala

A little wine and some sauteed mushrooms makes for a beautiful dinner with this Healthy Chicken Marsala.

2.Cilantro Mint Chicken 

Sometimes simple is just splendid. Like with this recipe for a basic chicken breast cooked with beautiful fresh herbs. 

3.Sometimes simple is just splendid. Like with this recipe for a basic chicken breast cooked with beautiful fresh herbs. 

Get the recipe for Cilantro Mint Chicken

4.Grab some parchment and cook up this easy Mexicana chicken in minutes!

Get the recipe for Mexicana Chicken

5.Like spinach? Then you'll love this beautiful, simple recipe for dinner tonight!

Get the recipe for Balsamic Chicken with Baby Spinach

6.A few basic ingredients is all you need to pull together this beautiful recipe for Chicken Breast in Tomato and Olive Sauce. 

Get the recipe from Simply Yum

7.Try tossing your chicken breasts into a crockpot and making this delicious recipe for Slow Cooker Chicken Black Bean Tacos!

Get the recipe from Skinny Taste

8.There's nothing quite so delicious as chicken and broccoli paired in a single dish. Try this skinny version, without all the cream and cheese you usually find in chicken & broccoli recipes!

Get the recipe from Feeding Andy

9.Roasted Chicken is a beautiful simple way to prepare dinner tonight. 

Get the recipe from Nesrine Cooking Mania

10.Better than a margarita! These Agave Lime Grilled Chicken breasts would be equally delish sauteed in a skillet on the stovetop!

Get the recipe from Get Off Your Tush and Cook

11.Bring classic flavors of savory and sweet together with this easy recipe for Honey Dijon Glazed Chicken. 

Get the recipe from The Cozy Apron

10 Healthy Chicken Wing Recipes

Think chicken wings are too fattening to eat?

 Try these recipes and stay on track.

Whether its for a quick appetizer, a fun dinner, or as a party food for the big game, chicken wings almost are always on the menu. To kick wings up a notch, it’s all about the marinades and sauces. Whether you like to slow cook and baste your birds with sauce, or marinate and grill them, the recipes below are sure to please. Tips: To get your wings out-of-the-fryer crisp without the excess oil and calories, pat dry the wings before seasoning and cooking. Of course, anytime you fry something you lose any “healthy” factor. So, that’s why we suggest baking or grilling the wings instead. For a quick clean up, line your baking pan with foil. Then, after cooking, just throw the foil out, rinse off the pan and you won’t have to spend any time scrubbing burnt sauce spots.

1. Honey Mustard Chicken Wings with Dijon/Lime Dipping Sauce 

This recipe is the best of all worlds. It uses a variety of spices before cooking, bakes the wings slowly, turning twice in the cooking hour, and has a spiced, citrusy sauce for dipping. For quick clean up, line the baking sheet with tin foil.

2. Sticky Sweet Teriyaki Wings

Don’t be scared by “teriyaki” because there is no salt-laden bottled teriyaki sauce in this recipe. It’s great to have control over our ingredients and cutting out the extra, unwanted stuff found in most processed foods.

3. Caribbean Spiced Chicken Wings

Using a dry rub can help cut out calories that inevitably hide in gooey barbeque sauces. Don’t be shy about getting down and dirty when massaging the rub to the chicken. The more of the rub that’s worked into the chicken, the more flavor the chicken will hold onto during cooking.

4. Grilled Buttermilk and Beer Wings

Nothing seems healthy about this recipe at all: it marinates the chicken in buttermilk, beer, and spices so the wings are going to take on a tangy kick and stay super moist. The glaze even uses brown sugar, but swapping honey or agave syrup will cut down on the calories. You can also swap the beer for a light beer. Go ahead, splurge.

5. Thai Curry Chicken Wings

Using coconut milk and homemade curry to marinate and baste the chicken gives these wings a Thai twist. You can use low fat coconut milk but the majority of the milk will not be used after marinating so if you can’t find low fat, don’t worry about extra calories. If you really like the Thai curry, use the extra as a dipping sauce.

6. Skinny Buffalo Wings with Buttermilk Blue Cheese Dressing 

via 

To make a skinny buffalo dip, this recipe drops the butter and uses chicken stock and lemon juice instead. For the dressing, using low fat buttermilk, reduced fat mayo, and blue cheese crumbles will make for a creamy ending for your spicy wings.

7. Honey Mustard Wings

If you like spicy wings, you can substitute spicy brown mustard for English mustard. You can use olive oil or vegetable oil in this recipe— whatever you have on hand. Since you aren’t adding a majority of the flavor until after the wings are fully cooked, it’s important to toss the wings with the honey mustard sauce as soon as they come out of the oven. Hot wings are much more susceptible to holding flavor and sauce than cold wings.

8. Chicken Wings with Curry-Yogurt Glaze

This recipe delivers Indian-inspired wings with a creamy spiced yogurt glaze. Make sure that your oven rack is in the middle position. If it’s too low, the yogurt will be more likely to burn. If you like to use greek yogurt, you may need to add a splash of milk to loosen up the yogurt so it will coat the wings properly.

9. Sticky Sesame Wings

Stickiness is one of the hallmarks of eating wings, and this recipe doesn’t disappoint. The combination of honey, hoisin, and thick sesame oil will become a gooey glaze once baked. Hoisin and sesame oil can be found in the Asian aisle of the grocery store.

10. Balsamic-Soy Glazed Chicken Wings

Balsamic and soy are a classic combination for wings, and these are good enough to please everyone but special enough to serve for a fun occasion. While the recipe includes butter, it’s one tablespoon for four pounds of chicken, so you won’t be breaking the calorie bank by keeping it in.

10 Tips for Mastering the Perfect One-Arm Push-Up

The Perfect One-Arm Push-Up – many claim to be able to perform it, still there’s almost no video proof to back up those claims. Why so? Firstly, everybody has ego. And claiming that you can do such complex skill like the Perfect One-Arm Push-Up [POAPU] boosts that ego like nothing else. There’s no harm in bragging, unless you cannot back up your words. Secondly, it’s surprisingly easy to get trapped in improper technique with this skill. You can see lots of videos of One-Arm Push-Up but 99% of them are half-assed-twisted-body-feet-wide-pseudo-push-ups. That’s not what we’re discussing here. That exercise has almost nothing in common with real One-Arm Push-Up and is walk in the park comparing to our beast. Many people push this shitty technique as POAPU, but don’t be fooled. They just don’t have the patience to gain strength required for this move. Thus, they can forget about achieving anything great. Also lots of people don’t believe POAPU can be done the proper way, but that’s not true. It definitely can be achieved, but the process will require lots of time, hard work and patience. So let’s get closer look to what the hell that Perfect One-Arm Push-Up is?

What Is Perfect One-Arm Push-Up?

This question is highly debatable. Everybody has its own criteria for “perfection” of the One-Arm Push-Up. Anyway, I will give you my personal requirements for proper technique. Let’s make a list:

Shoulders should be parallel to the ground

Feet should be not wider than shoulder-width

Twist of the body should be minimal

Body should be straight (looking from the side)

You should lower down until there is no more than 10 cm between the ground and your chest

If you don’t meet even just one requirement, then you should reconsider your technique, stop fooling around and start training the real One-Arm Push-Up.

How Have I Learnt about It?

I’ve learnt about the possibility of the One-Arm Push-Up long time ago. I was just starting training at that time. I remember exactly that moment when after a set of push-ups my dad came up and asked me: “Can you do it with one arm?” And I was like: “Why not?” Of course, I failed miserably. However, after couple of attempts I figured out that if I spread my legs really wide, twist to the side and lower only half the way, I can do it. With feeling of accomplishment (in reality accomplishing nothing), I happily forgot about the skill for some time. Many years later I was lucky enough to read one book that changed it all. That was Convict Conditioning. In one of its sections Paul Wade (author) was writing about the Perfect One-Arm Push-Up. I considered myself pretty strong at that time. “Bench pressing 120 kg for sets of 4, man, I should be able to crush that bodyweight thing” – I believed. Again, I got another reality check and deep understanding and appreciation for heavy calisthenics. From that moment my fight with POAPU began.

Can I Do It Now?

exercises, move correctly your muscle

lets learn some movement now !!! 

  

Stand in starting position for a Pull Up, as above but with your feet on the ground.  Then use just one foot to ‘jump’ your body up onto the bar so you are actually in final Muscle Up position.  Your arms should be pushing straight down, holding you up on the bar.

Take time on top of the bar to get used to the balance and strength required to be up on the bar; experiment with your body weight 

lean forward, lean back and side-to-side.  Acclimatize to your limits and understand the physical dynamics of being up there on the bar, so that when you actually try your first ‘proper’ Muscle Up and launch yourself up on the bar, you are not ‘new’ to the position and know how to ‘handle’ your body up there.

Once you are comfortable on top of the bar, perform some dips – dip down as low as you can, down to your chest and then explode UP with a fast dip.  Repeat as many reps as you can to fortify your ability of Stage 2 of Muscle Up training.  Awesome!

“ALTHOUGH THE MUSCLE UP BEGAN LIFE AS A TOUGH, OLD SCHOOL STRENGTH TRAINING EXERCISE FOR OLYMPIC GYMNASTS, IT IS NOW THE RESPECTED STANDARD FOR PHYSICAL STRENGTH AND ABILITY ON PULL UP BARS AND STREEET GYMS EVERYWHERE”

Now you must work on the swift technical skill of seamlessly linking Stage One and Two together in order to achieve one full correct Muscle Up.  It may be helpful to watch Jarryd’s World Record Muscle Up clip at the top of this page, to visualize the technique and movement.

Execute your explosive Pull-Up, slightly releasing your grip on the way up to transition you hand position to go on the bar and then, as you get to the highest upward trajectory point you can possibly achieve, flip your elbows forward and push down with your arms, pressing your body up onto and over the bar.

To ensure a higher ‘launch’ in Stage 1, try standing with your feet about 30cm behind the floor line of the Pull Up bar with elbows slightly bent; then, as you take your feet off the ground, you will swing forward.  Go with the swing and as you begin to swing back, Pull Up explosively and kick your knees up towards your chin for added momentum.  As you develop technique and become stronger, learn to use less momentum, with less swinging and kipping until your can perform a strict, World Record quality Muscle Up.

“THE MUSCLE UP IS NOT ONLY AN IMPRESSIVE ‘TRICK’; IT IS A FULL-ON EXAMPLE OF BODY CONTROL AND TRULY FUNCTIONAL HUMAN STRENGTH THAT STUNS PEOPLE WHO HAVE ONLY EVER SEEN OR DONE ‘REGULAR’ PULL UPS!”

Now, do as many as you can! and get fun trying and reading our articles !!

 Developing dynamic and explosive pull up strength

First off, you will need to develop explosive and dynamic Pull Up strength.  From now on you must train yourself to explode up from a dead hang position when you perform all your Pull Ups.  No more lazy, slow Pull Ups to your chin; our goal is much, much higher!

To begin, place your palms in pronated Pull Up position (palms facing away from your body) slightly wider than shoulder width apart, and wrap your thumbs around the bar.

Then, take two deep breaths and PULL UP – as high and fast as you can go – NOT to your chin, but aim to pull the bar ‘down’, launching you chest past the bar and as high as you can go!

While you learn, it’s OK to just do two or three explosive Pull Ups and you can also swing/kip your knees up towards your shoulders with speed for assisted momentum.

When you start, you may only be able to explode up to your neck region.  But after a while you will be able to get higher and higher!  As you develop explosive Pull Up strength, you will be able to get the bar to your chest; then your navel; then your thighs!  Not only will you feel the muscular intensity in your triceps, lats and rear delts, but your hand and forearm strength will also multiply.

Once you can do ten fast, explosive pull ups to your chest, then begin to aim your torso higher – aim to explode right up to your lower pecs.  Shoot for at least tend good high, fast pull ups to your lower chest.  If you can launch high enough to get bar to your abs, even better!  You will now be ready to tackle Stage 2 of Muscle Up training.  Excellent!

Tip:  You can attach small weights (1-5 kg) in a weight vest or back pack to add intensity to your training, but only after you can do 5 explosive Pull Ups.

 N.B: try this and get some fun enjoy!!

The Best Way To Get Your Muscles Up Faster !!!!

Ballistic bodyweight bar training for superior strength and stamina is exploding in popularity, in parks and outdoor gyms all over the world.  An infinite array of intense exercise variations has fuelled a global phenomenon on the internet, with top bodyweight professionals attracting millions of views and inspiring a generation of fitness fanatics.  Now you do it too.  Fantastic!

One of the most impressive and famous bodyweight moves is the Muscle Up, a dynamic and intense extension of the ‘regular’ army-style pull up.

“The Muscle Up involves an explosive pronated-grip pull up to launch your torso high over the bar to height with a seamless transition to holding your body with straight arms on top of the pull up bar. “

Over the last few years, the modern Muscle-Up has rocketed to international fame as an iconic strength move due to the innovative You Tube training clips of American bodyweight masters such as the incredible Zef from Brooklyn and the shredded Hannibal from Queens in New York.

The current Official Guinness World Record for Muscle Ups is held by local Bondi boy (and ex  – Special Forces soldier) Jarryd Rubinstein, who was sufficiently inspired to go out and bust out 26 fast, fluid Muscle Ups, smashing the previous record of 21 reps set by a Chinese Olympic gymnast.  The Muscle Up World Record rules set out by Guinness are very precise and stipulate strict form, disallowing kipping or swinging the knees for momentum or resting at the top of the bar between reps.  Jarryd’s World Record of 26 Muscle Ups is a now a YouTube sensation and has stood for three years, despite many concerted attempts to break it by amazingly strong crews from all over the world.

With such popularity within the fitness community and cultural recognition online, many fitness enthusiasts are now inspired to learn how to bust out a few smooth, strict Muscle Ups.

Of course, the Muscle Up is not only an impressive ‘trick’; it is a full-on example of body control and truly functional human strength that stuns people who have only ever seen or done ‘regular’ pull ups!

trying and get some fun !!!!!  FBD.Inc

7 Things Anybody Can Learn From a Bodybuilder

Bodybuilders spend years and years of their lives focused on perfecting the human body through proper training and nutrition. You, on the other hand, might not have an interest in the sport of bodybuilding, but do want to know the secrets to six-pack abs, a wide back, and rounded shoulders.  

1. TRAIN IN PHASES

If your fitness goals are to get strong and build hard, visible muscle, then you’re going to want to train in three phases according to Heath. Strength, conditioning, and a blend of the two that works for you. “If you can get to the gym 4-5 days a week, that would be perfect,” he says. “You can still do chest/tri's, back/bi's, legs, shoulders, and make the fifth day a cleanup day, meaning focus on body parts you may be weaker in." Check out Heath’s guide to finding your best muscle-building routine.

• PHASE 1: STRENGTH

3 work sets per exercise

5-7 reps

4-6 weeks*

*Optional: increase weight at 3-4 weeks

• PHASE 2: CARDIOVASCULAR CONDITIONING

3 work sets per exercise

12-15 reps

4 weeks

• PHASE 3: GROWTH

3-4 work sets per exercise

8-12 reps

4 weeks

2. APPLY CONSTANT TENSION TO WEIGHTS

There are several ways to enhance the quality of a workout, and some changes can even be made during each rep. “Constant tension should be applied to the last five reps of every working set, meaning, do the first 5-6 reps normal tempo, and the last few reps should be held for at least two seconds at the peak of the contraction,” says Heath. “This allows your muscles to have more time under tension and you work different muscle fibers.” Hold the weight at the top for a maximum pump.

3. DO CARDIO YEAR-ROUND

Bodybuilders do cardio training such as running and using a StairMaster StepMill to burn fat and make their muscles more visible. “Do cardio throughout the year at least three days a week for at least 30-40 minutes, whether it be first thing in the morning on an empty stomach or after a post-workout protein shake,” says Heath. “Cardio won’t kill your gains as much as you think, you’ll see how much muscle you really have.” Break a sweat to stay lean 'round the clock.

4. DROPSETS ARE KEY

Heath suggests incorporating dropsets into your training routine by immediately decreasing the weight and repping out again to failure. “Dropsets overload the muscle with shorter rest periods and increasing volume which you need to grow,” says Heath. “That overload improves your body’s abilities to utilize more nutrients, natural growth hormone, and natural testosterone into those areas and makes the supplements you take more effective.” Heath’s favorite way to do dropsets is on a pin-loaded machine since it’s faster to switch weights.

5. ORGANIZE YOUR DIET

When it comes to finding the right meal plan, you have to start somewhere. Start with writing down what you eat in a food diary, calculate the calories you’re consuming daily (ex: 3,000 without protein shakes), and break those up into six meals (ex: 500 calories each), says Heath. Then, choose a macronutrient ratio. For example, the 40% protein, 40% carbs, 20% fat ratio is what Heath used to get bigger when he first started bodybuilding. “Buy a food scale, learn how to use it, and you may even have to learn to use the metric system, like grams instead of ounces,” Heath says. “You need to train your body to process food quickly, so eat every three hours.”

6. PROTEIN POWER

Heath says to consume 1.25-2 grams of protein per pound of body weight for growth and he never exceeds a 1:1 meals to protein shake ratio, meaning if he has 3 shakes, he’ll have 3 meals. He suggests if you’re going to drink protein shakes, drink two and have four meals. Also, increase your protein consumption and decrease carbs to look lean. “Once I got to a certain size, I wanted to get leaner so I got to 50% protein, 30% carbs and 20% protein.”

7. TAKE PROGRESS PHOTOS

The best way to know the real progress you’re making is by recording it on video or taking photos. “Photos mean everything because if you can take them in the same areas and in the same poses, you’ll see your strengths and weaknesses clearly,” says Heath. “Revise your training and diet programs to eliminate weaknesses.” Keep a file of your progress to see just how far you can take your fitness.