The bodybuilding debates will never end. The endless arguments over how an effective muscle-building program should be structured will most likely continue until the end of time. Just scour the Internet message boards, flip through any muscle magazine or talk to the sales rep at your local supplement store. No matter who you talk to or what you read, it seems that everyone is an expert these days.
If everyone is an expert, confident in their own ideas and beliefs, how can the average beginner possibly know who to listen …

In an earlier article we looked at how repetitions contribute to the muscle building process, but is the position regarding sets just as clear cut? Unfortunately, the answer to this is no as some experts feel one set to failure is sufficient, whereas others argue that multiple sets are needed to ensure maximum muscle gains.
Research to date suggests that, when using six to eight repetitions to failure at 75-80% 1RM, there is little significant difference between training with single and multiple sets in terms of increasing either strength or muscle …

When it comes to building muscle I like to keep things simple. It’s easy to get caught up in the hype of hot new products and exercises that promise to be the next best thing in muscle building. Theses fancy exercises and products use long “scientific like” words and explanations to show you they work to build the most muscle.
In this article I am going to get back to basics. I am going to show your three muscle building exercises you can’t afford not to do and why you should …

It’s no secret that every serious lifter out there desires an impressive pair of strong, muscular arms. Who wouldn’t be happy with tall, peaking biceps sitting on top of rock-hard, horse-shoe-shaped triceps? Who wouldn’t love to have a pair of ripped, well-developed guns forcefully bursting through the sleeves of their shirt? While developing muscular arms is usually at the top of many peoples’ agenda, the reality is that the majority of lifters out there have a very poor understanding of how to properly train their arms for maximum gains. In …

If your abs look good, your whole body looks good. Having Big arms and chest is one thing but having rock hard defined abs is so another.
Everyone knows that nothing turns heads like a defined full set of abs. And hey, chicks love em. What more needs to be said.
Contrary to popular belief, the abs or Rectus Abdominis is really only one muscle. It stretches from the top of your pelvis up to your ribcage. The “six-pack” as it is called is merely sections of this one muscle.
Dispelling …

Do you want a quick, simple and instant way to increase the amount of weight you can lift on virtually every back exercise you perform? Sound too good to be true? I speak the truth, my friend, and the reality is that if you aren’t utilizing this basic piece of gym equipment you’re missing out on some serious muscle size and strength gains. What tool am I talking about?
A pair of lifting straps!
This is such a basic and highly effective piece of equipment yet so many people neglect to use …

If you’ve been working out for any amount of time, you’re probably well acquainted with fatigue—that sensation of your muscles being “done,” “cooked,” “toast”… You know, the “please have mercy before I’m permanently trapped under this weight,” or “you might just have to drag me off the track because I’ve collapsed” feeling.
We typically use the term fatigue to describe general sensations of tiredness and the accompanying decreasing muscular performance. What this really means is we “hit the wall” and can no longer perform reps on a particular lift; we …

By now you’ve made significant progress in your bodybuilding career. For the past three to six months you’ve learnt how to perform the core lifting exercises in a technically correct manner. You’ve also conditioned the body and developed sufficient core strength to prepare yourself for a whole new level of intensity. Hopefully you’ve also built some rock solid muscle! But that’s only the beginning.
In recent weeks your workouts have probably lost some of their effect so, even though you’re lifting bigger weights, your muscles now need even greater stimulation to …

It is clear that certain traits are handed down to us by our parents and unfortunately our ablility to grow muscles beyond certain limits is no exception. That doesn’t mean to say hard work and carefully planned training won’t have a positive effect on your physique – it just means that some people will inherit a greater abundance of the favored physical characteristics than others. Not everyone possesses the physical traits to become a champion, but you can work wonders with the raw material you do possess.
How responsive you will …

You can only build muscle tissue if you can generate progressively stronger muscular contractions, so this calls for an emphasis on finding ways to increase exercise intensity. This should not be confused with exercise duration as maximum training intensity will actually shorten the time needed to achieve maximal muscular growth.
In an earlier article I outlined the ways in which you can intensify your training. Here we’ll focus on the role that training to failure has to play in intensifying the training effect.
Anything less than maximum effort will reduce the effectiveness …