The abs are one of the most coveted and debated about features of the body. As a result of this, there are many myths and untrue claims about building them and how they grow. Abs tend to be a hard muscle to visibly build since they can be easily covered by a layer of body fat. In men, the stomach is the most common location for body fat to be stored. In order for your abs to be visible,…
In order to lose fat there are a few variables that are essential to master and put into use. Many of these variables fall under diet and training but there are lifestyle factors such as sleep that matter as well. The most crucial element of losing fat is keeping yourself in a negative energy balance where your energy expenditure is higher than your energy intake. There are ways to facilitate remaining in this state and maximizing the amount of…
Bulking to build muscle and add size requires a good diet. The foods you eat are a significant factor in how good your results are from training. When cutting on a budget, the most important factor is that you’re getting enough protein in to maintain muscle and that you are consistently not going over calories. The macronutrient split of a cutting diet is more critical than the macronutrient split of a diet for bulking. When bulking on a budget,…
Some people prefer to use natural ingredients instead of synthetic pre workouts for lifting. Among the natural ingredients commonly used, beets are one of the best. Beets are a nutrient-dense vegetable that contain a variety of vitamins, minerals, and nitrates which make them optimal to take for workouts, health, cognitive function, blood pressure, and improved vascularity. To get these benefits from beets, it is best to take them in the form of powder extract since that will reduce cost,…
Most weightlifters and people who workout to improve how they look hope to keep only a minimal amount of fat on their body. This is because the less fat you have, the more proportional and defined you will look. Usually the goal of most “shredding” or fitness programs is to add muscle to your body then strip away the fat. Losing fat is the collective goal of most people in the gym who are training for physique and appearance….
Pull-ups are one of the best exercises to build a better back and develop upper body strength. While some argue that the deadlift is the single best exercise for back, and others may favor the row, pull-ups are one of the top contenders and easily in the top 3 for overall best movements to develop the back muscles. Some people may struggle, however, with pull-ups and are missing out on building their lats, biceps, and upper back. Struggling on…
Many people associate the stomach vacuum exercise with the golden era of bodybuilding. Bodybuilders like Frank Zane and Arnold Schwarzenegger brought the stomach vacuum into popularity and defined it as an exercise associated with having a narrow waist, strong core, and good proportions. The stomach vacuum exercise is done by exhaling entirely so that there’s no air left in your lungs then sucking your stomach in as far as it goes using the inner abdominis muscles. When doing stomach…
Ashwagandha is an adaptogen taken from the roots of the ashwagandha plant that is generally used for hormonal balance and wellbeing. It can be taken for everything ranging from fatigue to pain relief to boosting sex hormones in men. Ashwagandha is popularly used as a supplement to build muscle and lower stress. It has been shown to be able to increase muscle strength and decrease fat levels following consistent use. The main effects of ashwagandha that are useful for…
When returning to the gym after a while off there are a few challenges that you can be faced with. Firstly, there is a good chance that you will have lost muscle or at least will have lost strength in some of your lifts. Since resistance bands and home gym equipment don’t provide as optimal of an array of exercises that you could get from a gym, you’ve probably lost a little bit of lean muscle mass and the…
Keeping gains while traveling is a common problem that weightlifters and gym goers are faced with. Often, the motivation to look lean and muscular on vacation is one of the motivating forces for lifting weights but, it can also work as the largest adversary to keeping that state. There are several difficulties to keeping gains while traveling but there also ways to prevent this muscle loss. By keeping these solutions to maintaining your gains while traveling in mind, you…
