Monthly Archives: September 2015

Build Shoulders (Beginner)

Beginners, shoulders

Build shoulder strength and size for beginners

For beginners, we will do 4 exercises for shoulders. This will target all 3 areas of the shoulders, and 1 for your traps.

Shoulders are one of the most difficult muscles to build strength and size. By focusing on shoulders at the beginning, you will quickly build strength and size.

  1. Seated barbel press (behind the neck) – 3 sets of 12 reps
  2. Seated dumbbell press – 3 sets of 12 reps
  3. Seated lateral raises (bent over) – 3 sets of 12 reps
  4. Barbell chin raises – 3 sets of 8 reps

Barbell Press behind neck

seated dumbbell shoulder press

Seated latteral raises (Bent over)

Upright row

muscles

Steroids – how to increase testosterone without using Steroids !

Gym supplements, Steroid, testosterone

Increase testosterone without using steroid

1. Start when your are young

Training when you are in your 20’s will go a very long way. Testosterone starts to decline from the age of 30 in men.  If you are younger than 30, take full advantage of your natural testosterone levels, your muscles will be retained throughout your life.

If you are over 30, and you have never trained before, then the struggle is real, but you can still do it!

2. Lose weight

Increase your testosterone by losing weight.  Overweight men tend to have lower testosterone levels.

Since you are exercising, this is already a step in the right direction.  If you are overweight, do cardio for 20 minutes (or more) on the days that you train.

You need to change your diet, in other words, what you eat. Reduce your carbohydrate and sugar intake. Reduce your fat intake.

  • Take-outs are bad – those burgers, pizzas and chicken pieces are all bad for your weight and testosterone.
  • Sugar is included in abundance in fizzy drinks and fruit juices, drop these immediately. Drink water.
  • Stop eating sweets and chocolates. Don’t even buy them. Don’t even look at them.
  • Milk has lactose – a sugar. Reduce milk intake.
  • Grains need to be cut out of your diet. No breakfast cereals or bread of any type.
    You may substitute your cereal with oats, and you may substitute your wheat bread with rye bread.
  • Replace your rice and pasta with “cauliflower rice” – Cauliflower is chopped up into fine pieces to resemble rice. Microwave for 5 minutes and your rice is ready to eat.
  • Include green vegetables (such as Broccoli, spinach) and fruits (such as Pears, apples. Note: bananas are carbs, avoid!) in your diet.
  • Reduce the amount of food that you eat, and eat 5 ~ 6 smaller meals split over the  day rather than 3 large meals. Don’t skip breakfast and eat your carbs during the earlier part of the day and more green vegetables and proteins at night. Don’t eat carbs at night. If you feel like having a snack, grab and apple.

3. Take Zinc

Take a zinc supplement – less than 40 mg a day, as this is the recommended adult upper limit. If you cannot test yourself for zinc deficiency, and you exercise regularly, then taking a zinc supplement covers this base.

Your testosterone levels decreasing if you are zinc deficient.

4. Do strength training

Increase the weight and reduce the reps, and train slower for good strength and increased testosterone levels.

5.  Increase your Vitamin D

Supplement with Vitamin D increases levels of testosterone.

6. Tan – spend some time in the sun

Tanning for a few minutes at noon will increase your Vitamin D levels and will increase your testosterone levels. Spend just enough time to tan without getting sun-burnt. If you get red and you itch the next day, then you have spent too much time in the sun.

7. Cope with stress better

Stress will inevitably reduce your testosterone levels. When you’re under a lot of stress, your body releases high levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which blocks testosterone.

8. Eat healthy fats

Your body needs healthy fats to function normally.

  • Olives and Olive oil
  • Coconuts and coconut oil
  • Butter made from raw grass-fed organic milk
  • Raw nuts, such as, almonds or pecans
  • Organic pastured egg yolks
  • Avocados
  • Grass-fed meats
  • Palm oil
  • Unheated organic nut oils

9.  Boost Your Intake of Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAA) from supplements like Whey Protein

BCAAs results in higher testosterone level when taken along with resistance training.

Taking whey powder after training is great to boost testosterone levels as it enhances the satiety/testosterone-boosting impact. Hunger hormones cause the opposite effect on your testosterone and libido.

 

 

Shoulder workout for massive shoulders (advanced)

Advanced lean muscle, shoulders

Huge shoulders – advanced workout

Shoulders are probably one of the most difficult and sometime most painful muscles to grow. Shoulders are not normally used to pick or carry heavy weights, and this makes them natural weaker than other muscles.

I found this workout online at workoutlabs.com, and also on leanitup.com, which is a great workout. This shoulder workout is more advanced and targets the entire shoulder.

Breathing: Remember to exhale when you push the weight up and inhale when you bring the weight back down.

[SS] = super set, do two or more exercises one one set. For example, [SS] Upright row + Front plate raises – Do 10 sets of upright row immediately followed by 10 front plate raises

canonball workout for shoulders

1. Dumbbell Shoulder press

You can have a gym partner to help you complete the set or to keep the weights stable, especially when the weights starts getting heavy as you progress. If you arch your back then you are either you are cheating, or the weight is too heavy, which means that the exercise is wasted time!

dumbbell shoulder press

  1. Hold a dumbbell in each hand, sit on a military press bench or utility bench that has back support. Place the dumbbells upright on top of your legs.
  2. Now raise the dumbbells to shoulder height one at a time using your legs – push up with each leg to throw the weight up into position.
  3. Rotate your wrists so that the palms of your hands are facing forward. This is your starting position.
  4. Push the dumbbells upward until they touch at the top, your muscle is not contracted. Exhale as you push the weight up.
  5. After a brief pause at the top position, slowly lower the weights back down to the starting position while inhaling.
  6. Repeat from 4 until you have done your reps.

2. Clean and Press

clean and press
Image from LeanItUp

  1. Stand tall with a loaded barbell on your thighs. Tighten your core, dip down slightly, and powerfully pull the barbell up on top of your collarbone.
  2.  Dip your legs slightly and explosively press the barbell overhead.
  3.  Hold for 1s, slowly lower the bar back to your collarbone, then down to your thighs, and repeat for a set of 10. Complete each clean & press in one fluid motion. You can also use dumbbells.

3. Upright row + Front plate raises (Super set)

This is a super set. A super set is when you do one complete set, immediately followed followed by another set of different exercises targeting the same muscle before resting.

Front row + front plate raise
Image from LeanItUp

  •  Upright Rows — hold the bar slightly narrower than shoulder width and pull it up to your chin. Keep your core tight and shoulders back throughout.
  • Front Plate Raises — make sure to keep your core tight and body steady. Raise the plate up to eye height and hold it for 1 second. Resist the pull to fall forward.

4. Reverse dumbbell flies

Reverse dumbbell flies

  • Grab two dumbbells and bend over so that your torso is at a 45º angle.
  • Squeeze your shoulder blades together, tighten your core and lower back, and raise both arms directly out to the side.
  • Hold the contraction for .5 seconds at the top and slowly return to starting position. Repeat for 15 reps.

5. Dumbbell shoulder shrugs

Dumbbell shrug

  • Stand tall with 2 dumbbells.
  • Tighten your core, puff your chest up, and powerfully shrug your shoulders up into your neck.
  • Hold the squeeze for 1s and slowly lower all the way down. Repeat for 15 reps.

6. Cable face pull

Cable face pull

  • Stand at a cable station with a rope attachment. Adjust it as high as possible.
  • Tighten your core, raise your arms, draw your shoulders back, and pull the rope in towards your mouth. Flare it and pull your rear deltoids as far back as possible. Your elbows should stay high throughout.
  • Hold the contraction for 1s and slowly release it back to start. Repeat for 12 reps.

7. Push press + lateral raises (Super set)

pushpress and raises

Complete 12 push presses immediately followed by 12 lateral raises. 

  • Push Press — tighten your core and stand with two dumbbells raised at shoulder height (neutral grip). Dip your knees, powerfully explode upwards, and press the dumbbells overhead. Hold for 1s and return back down to the bottom.
  • Lateral Raise — while keeping your core tight and back straight, raise both arms directly out to the side. They should reach neck height and form a “T” with your body. Hold for .5s and return to the bottom.

Lose weight: does CLA work?

Gym supplements, Weight loss

Lose weight: Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) is said to help reduce body fat

Yes, CLA works. CLA has been studied on humans, and there is significant evidence to show that it does work in reducing body fat.

Studies have been done on humans and animals using CLA, and it does seem to be effective in losing body fat, even with no exercise or change in diet.

I do use CLA, I lost most of my fat already, and lately my body weight never seems to change, but then again I am guilty of eating junk food every now and again.

I do cardio, which is only 20-30 minutes a day, whereas other people can do up to an hour of cardio a day to get lean.

If I changed my diet and cut out all the bad fatty carbo-loaded foods, and increased my cardio by another 10 minutes a day, I would lose weight. It is just common sense.

Maximizing your fat loss

  • If you do not do cardio, start now. Aim for 20 minutes or more.
  • If you already do cardio, increase the time by a few minutes each week, and mix your cardio with other cardio exercises (don’t just cycle, use other machines). If you feel the stepper is way too difficult to do, then do the stepper! Laziness is what is stopping you from losing the extra weight!
  • Take the recommended dosage of CLA – follow the packaging dosages
  • Cut out all juices and fizzy drinks, and drink water during the day
  • Change your diet to a higher protein, low carb and low fat diet for enhanced results

Losing weight is never quick, it takes time, sometimes months – but starting now is the first step towards losing weight.

So what exactly is CLA, and what makes it work?

CLA does not suppress your appetite, and it does not increase your heart rate or blood pressure. It does not work on your nervous system at all, which is great news if you suffer from side effects when you take other fat burners.

CLA is a naturally occurring fatty acid – it is a good fat found in foods such as meat and dairy products – albeit at low levels.

Getting CLA from a diet is not ideal as the levels are too low to be beneficial, and meats have high levels of saturated fats, reversing any positive effect the CLA may offer.

At least 1.4 to 3.0 grams per day dietary CLA is necessary to achieve body fat loss, and this can only be achieved by taking supplements. Studies have shown CLA to work in reducing body fat.

Taking high dosages of CLA is bad though, as it does not enhance the effect, it wastes your money, and it might cause health problems, so keep within the dosages on the packaging as the dosages on the packaging has been approved as being safe and effective .

Natural CLA in food

CLA food 1

CLA food 2