“Bodybuilding Sins” That Cause Back Pain and Missed Workouts: Part 2Written by Jesse Cannone, CFT, CPRS and Steve Hefferon, CMT
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you know what we mean… in just one workout you do flat bench, incline, decline, pec deck, dumbbell fly, cable cross overs… and then for biceps you’ve got barbell curls, dumbbell curls, preacher curls, cable curls, machine curls, and list goes on… So instead of emphasizing muscles that are already strong, why not really hit those weak and under worked muscles like: neck, upper back, shoulder rotators, hamstrings, glutes, hip rotators, lower abs, and shins. These areas tend to be weak, tight, out of balance with their opposing muscles, prone to muscle strains and pulls and most importantly, these imbalances lead to major injuries and conditions like back pain, knee pain, rotator cuff tears, tendonitis and others. All of these conditions are caused by muscle imbalances and will NOT go away unless you work towards correcting imbalances… and only way to know for sure which imbalances are causing your pain or injury is to do a series of physical assessments like ones covered in our “Lose Back Pain Video”. Strategy #2 - Experiment! Here’s a personal challenge for you: Replace at least 1 of your normal weekly workouts with something totally different like combat martial arts, kettle bell training, functional training, or even strongman style exercises. For example, instead of doing your super heavy, 3 inch partial rep leg presses, try a single leg squat… and if that’s easy, try adding weight! Or instead dozens of sets of shoulder presses and lateral raises, see if you can do 1 handstand push-up. Those are just a few examples… do yourself a favor and experiment with other types of exercises. You can find hundreds of different types of training styles by taking classes, reading books, watching videos, surfing web, hire a personal trainer, etc. We aren’t asking you to give up your traditional workouts… but just cross-train a bit so you not only work towards a balanced body but also towards a stronger, more powerful and usable strength. Again, what good is muscle if you can’t use it! Strategy #3 - Switch It Up! Another great way to minimize number of missed workouts due to injuries is to vary exercises that you do for each muscle group. For example, if you always do barbell squats try rotating in other exercises like single-leg leg presses, trap-bar dead-lifts, d-bell squats, etc. Conclusion Remember, key to eliminating injuries and preventing future ones is to identify what areas you need to target. In next two articles we’ll be discussing in detail, how to address various injuries like back, hip, knee, and shoulder pain with targeted exercises and stretches. In meantime, be sure to read thru all of our detailed Articles and if you have questions, please post them in our Discussion Forum.
Article by Jesse Cannone, CFT, CPRS, CSPN and Steve Hefferon, CMT, CPRS of http://www.losethebackpain.com. If you’ve got back pain or sciatic pain, you’ve gotta check out their video.
| | Using Bodybuilding Supplements To Build Muscle Mass!Written by Anthony Ellis
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Eggs -- 50 large whole eggs, equals 3,750 calories and 250g of saturated fat Egg whites -- 100 egg whites, equals 1,600 calories and almost no fat Pure whey protein -- 15 scoops of EAS Precision Protein, equals 1,500 calories 7.5g of saturated fat It is very possible to get this amount from eating whole foods only -- But it will take work. Also, as you can see from above numbers, getting all of your protein from regular food will also bring a lot of unnecessary elements like extra saturated fat. Yes, our goal to gain mass is to eat a lot of calories (including fat), but your main fat intake should consist of unsaturated fats that are liquid at room temperature like olive oil, flaxseed oil, sunflower oil and safflower oil. Whey protein supplements will help to give you extra protein without fat. Increased Strength and Decreased Recovery In addition to a whey protein supplement, I recommend that everyone should be taking a multi-vitamin, plenty of vitamin C, and glutamine. Creatine can also be added if you are over 18. Multi-Vitamin Weight training increases body's need for many minerals like magnesium and selenium. The multi-vitamin ensures that I am not deficient in any major essential vitamin or mineral. Deficiency symptoms include muscle weakness and suppression of immune system, muscle cramping and fatigue. I always take a multi-vitamin without iron, because grown men do not need additional iron. We get enough from our food. Men and postmenopausal women should never take iron supplements unless they have iron-deficiency anemia, which is only diagnosed by blood tests. The body has no way to eliminate excess iron except through blood loss. Women who menstruate are protected from iron overload, obviously. Iron is also an oxidizing agent that can cause damage to heart and arteries, and is a major risk factor in arteriosclerosis. Vitamin C Vitamin C essential to prevent free radical damage, which is accelerated after heavy trauma of weight training. It is also essential is helping to repair connective tissue which helps decrease amount of time you are sore. I train very heavy and extremely hard. When I train my legs, I am usually sore for about 5-6 days afterwards. If I do not supplement my diet with vitamin C, I would normally be sore for almost 10 days! So, it really helps me to recover and get back to training. I typically take around 3,000mg in divided doses. That would equal quite a few oranges! Glutamine Glutamine is an amino acid that is produced by our bodies, but most of time our bodies demand so much, that it can't create enough. I supplement my diet with glutamine to increase my levels of glutathione. Glutathione is a powerful antioxidant, which helps to combat stresses of exercise trauma, and prevent muscle protein breakdown. I especially believe that it helps prevent my body from breaking down my new muscle while I am asleep, so I never go to bed without taking it. I take about 15g per day (in divided doses), which would be impossible to get naturally. Creatine Monohydrate Creatine's purpose is to supply our muscle with energy. It is also found in red meat, but you would have to eat an enormous amount of meat to get same benefits as taking pure creatine powder. Everyone knows about creatine so I will not go into it here, but I do want to say that major benefit from taking creatine is that it will increase your strength. This will enable you to lift heavier weights, which will stimulate more muscle growth. Many people make a big fuss over muscle volumizing effects of creatine, because if you stop taking it, you lose that extra fluid that creatine brings into your cells. So what! You certainly DO NOT lose extra muscle creatine helped you to gain. I can honestly say that I could not have built body I have today without convenience and enhancements supplements provide. I simply don't have time or desire to do it any other way. This is a choice that you must decide for yourself. You will be spending your money on these products, so make sure that you know their place in your program. Don't get caught up in product hype. Supplements will help, but they will NOT do work for you.
Former "skinny guy" Anthony Ellis is the author of Gaining Mass. The most widely used weight gain program in the world. This unique program contains the complete diet, supplements and weight training program he used to gain 32lbs of mass. For more information on how to build more muscle go to http://www.fastmusclegain.com
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