The Workout Plan and Diet for Beginners

Expert bodybuilders started lifting light weights and just progressed to moderate and heavy weights over time. Before they can lift 200 pounds barbell on bench presses, they started on 30 pounds or 40 pounds or 50 pounds flat bench presses. That is if they started as a thin or skinny guy.  Diet can also help boost strength and body weight.

If you are one of those guys, whether you are into sports or just want to build your muscle, then the example workout plan and diet plan below is for you.
 
Day 1: Legs
•    Squats: 4 sets - 1 warm-up set of 20 reps, 3 sets of 8-10 reps
•    Leg press: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
•    Double leg extension: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
•    Romanian deadlifts: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
•    Seated leg curl: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
•    Seated Calf raise: 3 sets of 10-12 reps
•    Lounge: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
•    Standing Calf raise:3 sets 8-10 reps
 
Day 2: Chest/Back/Abs
•    Flat bench: 4 sets - 1 warm-up set of 10 reps, 3 sets of 8-10 reps
•    Incline bench: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
•    Flyes: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
•    Straight Arm Dumbell Pull over: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
•    Bent Over Barbell Row: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
•    Seated Cable row: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
•    Wide-grip pullup: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
•    Hyperextension: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
•    Decline Crunch: 4 sets -  1 warm-up set of 20 reps, 3 sets of 15 reps
•    Hanging Knee Raise to The Side -  3 sets of 15 reps
•    Cable Seated Crunch: 3 sets of 15 reps
 
Day 3: Shoulders/Traps
•    Standing Barbell press: 4 sets - 1 warm-up set of 10 reps, 3 sets of 8-10 reps
•    Dumbbell lateral raise: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
•    Dumbbell front raise: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
•    Barbell Rear DeltRow: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
•    Upright row: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
•    Barbell Shrug: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
•    Arnold Dumbbell Press: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
 
Day 4: Biceps/Triceps
•    Preacher curl with dumbbell: 4 sets - 1 warm-up set of 10 reps, 3 sets of 8-10 reps
•    Standing dumbbell hammer curl: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
•    Incline dumbbell curl: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
•    Dumbbell One Arm Triceps Extension: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
•    Rope extension: 4 sets - 1 warm-up set of 10 reps, 3 sets of 8-10 reps
•    Dips with weight: 4 sets - 1 warm-up set of 10 reps, 3 sets of 8-10 reps


Day 5: Off

Repeat
 
The best workout plan for beginners is to separate upper and lower body workouts.  That is, you have to have a list of basic bodybuilding exercises for upper and lower body.  Start from the weights that you can lift or perform at 8-10 reps (8-10 RM or Repetition Maximum) for 2 to 3 sets and then add more weights at least after three weeks to begin with and progress from there continuously.  While doing your regular exercise program that is 1-2 hours each day, do not forget your diet.  More protein in your diet is necessary to build your muscle.  However, make sure you have a balance diet.  Balance means all the necessary nutrients and vitamins in food should be consumed in a 24 hour basis.  Plus, drink more fluids.  One liter a day to start with is good for beginner then add more fluid intake as you progress.
 
Nutrition Plan for You
 
Lean proteins and complex carbs are good. More on red meat, brown rice, protein shakes, fruits, and vegetables. Try a simple carb cycling routine so it changes day to day. If you had a tough workout better take in more calories to make sure your body has all the nutrients it needs to recover. Here is a sample diet for a day:
 
Meal 1 pre-workout
•    1 cup rice
•    4 egg whites, 1 yolk
•    1 piece fruit
 
Meal 2 Post-workout
•    1 scoop whey protein
•    1 piece fruit
 
Meal 3
•    1.5 cups brown rice
•    10 oz chicken breast
•    1 cup steamed broccoli
 
Meal 4
•    1 scoop whey protein
•    2 tbsp natural peanut butter
 
Meal 5
•    1/2 cup brown rice
•    10 oz steak
•    1 cup steamed asparagus
 
Meal 6
•    1 scoop casein protein
•    2 tbsp natural peanut butter
 
Way to go! Click Here! and make the most of your specialized workout and diet plan to reap its full benefit.

Image Credit: hardbodysuccessblog.com

Signs, Symptoms, & Solutions of Overtraining When Exercising

Many people train to the point where they are actually getting weaker. How can this be true? The answer is simple; overtraining.

The Dictionary states:

Overtraining is a common problem in weight training, but it can also be experienced by runners and other athletes. It occurs when the volume and intensity of the exercise exceeds an individual's recovery capacity. They cease making progress, and can even begin to lose strength and fitness.

Since New Years, Jennifer has found her fitness grove. She said her good-byes to her late night TV programs and processed food munching, and hello to a new life. In fact Jennifer has done a complete lifestyle change choosing foods that are in their natural state or in the least amount of packaging possible, in other words, unprocessed.

Standing 5'5" and weighing155 lbs Jennifer has already lost 10lbs. Her mind is focused on reaching her goal weight of 125lb. To help her reach her goal, Jennifer is training two days on and one day off, and is in and out of the gym in about an hour. This training split is allowing plenty of time for her body to rest. Jennifer is feeling great!

Fast forward six months; Jennifer is not feeling so hot. We can pat her on the back for attaining her goal weight of 125lbs, but can she? This past month people have complimented on how fit she is looking but commented that she also appeared tired. "Are you getting enough sleep? You haven't been yourself lately." Her friends are concerned and they have every right to be.

Jennifer's training program has increased to six days week, with Sundays as her jogging only days. Each morning she sets her alarm an hour early to make time for her 60 minute run before work. Once her work days is done she returns to the gym for 60 min of weights and another 60 min of cardio.

Though she is tired and has little interest in spending time with friends, she is making time for her fitness. What fitness means to Jennifer today is much different then three months ago.

Jennifer is overtraining. Along with persistent fatigue and a loss of interest in her friends, she may be also experiencing these symptoms of overtraining.

The Signs:

• Persistent muscle soreness
• Elevated resting heart rate
• Increased susceptibility to infections
• Increased incidence of injuries
• Irritability
• Depression
• Loss of motivation
• Insomnia
• Decreased appetite
• Weight loss

Experiencing a loss of interest in what you once felt passion for is never fun. What causes over training?

To see improvement in ones strength and fitness they must rest. The rest period following hard training is a magical process which takes at least 36 hours to complete. By skimping on rest, complete regeneration cannot occur. If the amount of training continues to exceed the rest period, the individual's performance will plateau and decline. If Jennifer continues to neglect the rest time her body needs she will in deed get weaker and my experience injuries.

Other physical and psychological stressors can compound the rate at which a person may experience overtraining.

• Jet Leg
• Ongoing Illness
• Overwork
• Menstruation
• Poor Nutrition

Bodybuilders and other dieters who exercise intensely while limiting their food intake often find themselves overtraining.

Though you may be focused and feeling that you need to maintain the degree at which you are training, depending on your circumstance I urge you to consider applying one or more of these solutions. Your gains will flourish, and your family and friends will be relieved and thankful.

Solutions

1. Taking a break from training to allow time for recovery. In knowing that you may be doing more harm then good at the gym, set aside today and tomorrow a break. Some people allow one week away from fitness to revive their bodies and mind, and then when they return to training, they have more focus and are enjoying themselves again.

2. Reducing the volume and/or the intensity of the training. If you always do five sets for each exercise, why not do just two or three, and lower the weight and focused solely on form. Strengthen your mind and muscle connection by tuning into the exercise at hand.

3. Deep-tissue or sports massage of the affected muscles. A skillfully applied massage, is the most effective therapy for releasing muscle tension and restoring balance to the musculo-skeletal system. Received regularly massages may help athletes prevent injuries, which might otherwise be caused by overuse. A constant build-up of tension in the muscles from regular activity may lead to stresses on joints, ligaments, tendons, as well as the muscles themselves.

4. Self-massage of the affected muscles. Self-massage, with either with your hands or a system such as the Yamunatm Body Rolling (BR) system featuring a specially designed 7" ball will help with pain relief, and can be targeted to hamstrings, calves, knees, quads, shoulder and back; any muscle or joint. People who are stiff and inflexible, and have, or are prone to injury will benefit from BR as it elongates and massages muscles and opens and flexes joints.

5. Temperature contrast therapy. (Ice baths, hot & cold showers etc). This uses the body's reaction to hot and cold stimuli. The nerves carry impulses felt at the skin deeper into the body, where they can stimulate the immune system, improve circulation and digestion, influence the production of stress hormones, encourage blood flow, and lessening pain sensitivity.

6. Ensuring calorie intake matches (or possibly exceeds) expenditure. When over training, the body may be depleted in various nutrients. To assist in the process of recovery, it's important to ensure that a diet high in carbohydrates, lean proteins and healthy fats such as omega 3 oils is met. Carbohydrates will provide the brain with fuel, the oils help relieve depression and proteins will rebuild over trained muscles.

7. Addressing vitamin deficiencies with nutritional supplements. It is essential to get vitamins from food however when overtraining is a concern, supplementation is beneficial. Supplements should be taken in addition to meals and with meals for their essential and proper absorption.

Common vitamin deficiencies include: Vitamin A (Beta-Carotene), Vitamin B Complex, Vitamin B12, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, and Folic Acid.

Common Mineral Deficiencies include: Calcium*, Chromium (GTF), Copper, Iodine, Iron, Magnesium*, Phosphorus*, Potassium*, Sodium*, Sulfur, and Zinc. * One of the essentials in maintaining electrolyte balance.

8. Splitting the training program so that different sets of muscles are worked on different days. Once you have rested enough for your body to recover from overtraining, be smart and plan your training split ahead of time. This will help to prevent over training from occurring again. Allow at least 4 days between training a certain body part again, and always have at least one day of rest from training each week.

Training towards a goal can be very rewarding, and when seeing the results form, it's hard to believe that one may ever go back to their old habits. Allow yourself to take a break from time to time and listen to your body. It's when we rest that the body has time to recover, rebuild and come back stronger then before!

Kris created ShapeFit.com to provide quality health and fitness information to people from all over the world. He has an extensive background in strength training, nutrition and wellness planning. ShapeFit.com currently provides over 2,000 pages of free health and fitness content to over 300,000 visitors every month. ShapeFit.com provides numerous diet and exercise articles on building lean muscle, burning body fat, increasing energy levels and living a healthy lifestyle. Some of the fitness tools include weight loss diets, muscle building workouts, and weight loss advice. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kris_Bierek

The Best Foods For Natural Bodybuilding

Body builders as well as weightlifters have to watch over their diet, particularly when they want to improve their musculature. Protein is the most important thing that the body requires in order to build up muscle. This is due to the fact that protein has the necessary amino acids, which together with the supplementary amino acids are what the body needs for building up the muscles.

Therefore, what is the best food for natural bodybuilding as well as the great sources of the much needed protein? Here are some them:

• shellfish
• eggs
• chicken
• dairy products
• nuts
• fish
• red meats
• beans
• turkey
• grains

These are all the best food for natural building and superb sources of protein too. The only downside with those foods is that a few of them have high content of saturated fats, especially those that comes from red meats. Thus, you should only get the leanest meat possible, for dairy products, be sure to choose only the ones that are low in fat. Go for cottage cheese and skimmed milk rather than the full-fat selection of dairy products.

When cooking meats, be very sure not to overcook them or cook at an extremely high temperature. Too much heat can break the protein and it will not be that beneficial anymore.

Even though protein is the most essential thing for muscle building, a balanced diet should be implemented too. This means that your diet must be composed of:

• protein
• fiber
• carbohydrates
• vitamins
• fat
• mineral salts

You can get a balanced diet once you choose and eat foods from the 4 main food groups. Eating regularly is also a must, but this does not refer to eating three big meals per day. A lot of the calories from foods that we eat are already expended during the digestion process.

So, if you will have six small meals per day, instead, this will aid in maintaining the right protein level for the muscle to be built. This will also help in controlling insulin levels.
Carbohydrates are the ones responsible for providing the body with energy. Much of the carbohydrates are taken from starch, and this is present on breads, cereals, potato, pasta, rice, and yams.

Vegetables and fruits are good source of vitamins; make sure to include them in your everyday meals too. And just like with meats, never overcook the vegetables as they will lose the necessary nutrients. Steam them rather than roasting or boiling them. Preferably, eat them raw.

Certainly, avoid sugar. This could be in the form of soda, pie, candy, cakes, donuts, cookies, and other very refined carbohydrates. In addition, fruits contain natural sugars that can increase your sugar levels. Sugar particles cart off fluids from the tissues and this can result to dehydration. Though it is not always possible to identify which foods have sugar, the above surely do, so you must avoid them.

To conclude, even though the best food for natural bodybuilding is protein in all its forms, it is advisable that you make protein as just part of your balanced diet.

Thomas enjoys writing about health and fitness topics, especially natural bodybuilding topics. You can learn more about natural bodybuilding diets that can benefit your health.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Thomas_Peterson

Back Extensions

1. Lie face down on a hyperextension bench, tucking your ankles securely under the footpads.
2. Adjust the upper pad if possible so your upper thighs lie flat across the wide pad, leaving enough room for you to bend at the waist without any restriction.
3. With your body straight, cross your arms in front of you (my preference) or behind your head. This will be your starting position. Tip: You can also hold a weight plate for extra resistance in front of you under your crossed arms.
4. Start bending forward slowly at the waist as far as you can while keeping your back flat. Inhale as you perform this movement. Keep moving forward until you feel a nice stretch on the hamstrings and you can no longer keep going without a rounding of the back. Tip: Never round the back as you perform this exercise. Also, some people can go farther than others. The key thing is that you go as far as your body allows you to without rounding the back.
5. Slowly raise your torso back to the initial position as you inhale. Tip: Avoid the temptation to arch your back past a straight line. Also, do not swing the torso at any time in order to protect the back from injury.
6. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

Variations: This exercise can also be performed without a hyperextension bench, but in this case you will need a spotter. Also, a similar exercise to this one is the good morning and the stiff-legged deadlift.

Arnold Schwarzenegger Training

This is Arnold Schwarzenegger training. See young Arnold during his workout. Take note of how he pushes himself to the max. No effort, no gain.

Are you looking for a way to build muscle?  Would you like the body of Arnold Schwarzenegger without buying all kinds of expensive equipment?

Click Here! to find out how.

Health Benefits of Jogging That Could Change Your Life

How could the health benefits of jogging possibly change your life? That seems like an awfully strong statement, but many people who start jogging do find that in a very short period of time they are living a completely different lifestyle. It starts with a bit of weight loss and definition in muscle and before long you are eating food to fuel your runs, rather than to gratify your taste buds.

Catching the jogging bug could change your goals and your entire life in so many little ways....

#1: A well-defined, toned body.

Who doesn't want the runner's body? Jogging will help reduce the amount of stored fat throughout your body while increasing your lean muscle mass and creating definition in your lower body and core. Joggers who get out there on a consistent basis usually have nice abs and very shapely legs.

If you add in some strength training for your upper body you could have a body that turns heads at the beach or even when fully clothed! There are great health benefits to a trim body with adequate lean muscle, such as a faster metabolism that will continually burn more calories so you keep that figure long term. You'll also enjoy less back pain when lose the weight and strengthen your core muscles.

#2: Strong, flexible muscles that support every motion your body makes.

When you strengthen your muscles and allow them to grow, you are less likely to be injured in daily life. Picking that screaming toddler up from the floor or chasing the dog down the street won't feel as strenuous as it may feel right now and your muscles will be much stronger to handle the movement efficiently. The result is fewer injuries with less aches and pains.

#3: A source of instantaneous stress relief to help lower blood pressure and reduce anxiety.

Jogging is one of the best ways to relieve mental stress and the physical tension that builds up in your shoulders, neck, and back. Whether you are jogging on the treadmill or outdoors, you will feel instant release of physical tension and will notice that you are better able to handle stress after a good jog.

You can also spend the time while jogging thinking through problems. Some people find they are rather creative and get some of their best ideas while out on the track or lost in the woods. This is a great time to reconnect with yourself and reflect on your day.

Similarly, jogging has proven to ease depression and anxiety. You're less likely to feel blue when you've got a goal to work toward like losing weight or strengthening your muscles. As you see progress you'll feel more empowered and self-confident.

#4: Drastically lower risk of disease and illness.

All of the above health benefits of jogging contribute to this one. As your body fat lowers, your muscle increases, and you live a less stressful daily life, you will be drastically lowering your risks of developing serious diseases like cancer and heart disease. You will also find that you don't get sick as easily during cold season and recover much faster when a bug does get you down.

These are perhaps the best health benefits of jogging, since it means you will live longer and be much healthier while you are alive.

#5: Relief of digestive problems such as bloating and constipation.

If you suffer from bloating or always find yourself struggling with bowel movements, jogging will help ease these issues to a large degree. If you start eating more high-fiber foods to fuel your jogs, you will be correcting your bowel problems in the process.

When you take all of those health benefits of jogging together, it should be much easier to see how adding a bit of jogging into your life could change the way you live!

About Author:
Elaine Bulawin shares more of the health benefits of jogging along with jogging tips and information that helped her lose 63 pounds on her site at Jogging101.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Elaine_Bulawin

15-Minute Abs Workout for Women

Shape up your abs using the above video tutorial and see the results in weeks. Just do it regularly at least 3-5 times a week. Choose the best time of the day to exercise and do it together with a good diet.

Good luck!