How to Lose Fat Without Losing Muscle

When it comes to weight loss, one of the aspects that many people struggle with is figuring out how to lose weight without losing muscle. A lot of times when you lose weight it could be because you are losing muscle or water weight, neither of which are going to give you the lean, sculpted look you want. Instead of just focusing your efforts on losing weight, you should shift your attention specifically toward losing fat. As you learn to lose fat without losing muscle your body will take on a leaner, more toned look and you will finally get the results that you have been wanting.

Don't Trust Your Scale

A lot of people get really hung up on the numbers on the scale when they are trying to get thinner. It's no wonder, either, since many of our perceptions of what is thin and what is fat are based on how much we weigh.

However, when you start to focus on losing fat you need to forget about your scale for awhile. Here's why. Muscle weighs more than fat. As you begin to replace the fat in your body with lean muscle you can either stay at the same weight or in some cases even put on weight. A lot of people get frustrated when they don't see the scale moving even after all their hard effort, and as a result they give up and throw in the towel.

What they don't realize, though, is that even though they aren't losing weight, their bodies are getting smaller. They may have lost inches off their body and not lost a single pound.

That's why when you start focusing on losing fat you should stop using your scale for awhile. Instead, take your measurements with a measuring tape and keep track of how many inches you are losing. You'll be much more motivated when you see inches of fat starting to melt off your body than you would be staring at the same numbers on the scale.

Muscle Boosts Your Metabolism

Building muscle is a fabulous way to turn your body into a fat burning machine. The more lean muscle you have in your body the faster your metabolism runs. And the faster your metabolism, the more calories you burn all the time...even while you are just sitting around. That means that by focusing on building muscle in your body you will make it faster and easier to burn fat.

To get the biggest metabolism boost really work on building some of the larger muscle groups in your body like your legs or backside.

Eat Plenty of Good Food

Starving yourself or going on an extremely low calorie diet will actually backfire on you. When you cut your calories too low your body goes into "starvation mode" and your metabolism slows down. That means that it will be harder for you to burn fat.

Because of this it takes a different type of diet and exercise approach than you may be used to. You need to look for a program or diet specifically created to help you focus your weight loss efforts on losing fat while maintaining your muscle tone.

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How To Gain Weight Fast For Men

How To Gain Weight Fast For Men - Answering The Gain Weight Questions So Many Want To Know

How to gain weight fast for men is really not as difficult of a problem as it is made out to be. Being a hard gainer is not a lot of fun by any means and usually leads to a good amount of being made fun of by those who aren't skinny at a young age. This can take quite the toll on a persons confidence and often times leads people to think that they are in some way inferior to those who don't have to ask the question "how do you gain weight".

Best Back Workout

Best Back Workout - Secret Workouts For Toning Back and Lats

In order to flaunt a well-shaped body, you should have a developed back. It enhances the overall appearance of your body. Your rear side is usually used in every part of your life. Right from sitting at the office in front of the computer for whole day to sitting in front of the T.V at home involves your rear. Usually traveling and driving throws up lots of stress to your support. In order to stay fit and avoid rear injuries, we should have a workout for toning back.

Try Home Ab Exercises

Everyone wants a set of great abs, especially during the summer. A lot of people spend exurbanite amounts of money on expensive gyms and trainers, only to be unable to find the time or motivation to get to the gym. Many people are unaware that they can achieve strong, defined abs right at home in there living room. There are plenty of at home ab exercises that professional trainers use that you can learn on your own.

Most trainers and athletes would agree that the best exercises for strengthening the ab muscles are crunches. Crunches are one of the easiest ab exercises you can do at home, and most of us learn to do them as children in Phys Ed. class. To properly perform a crunch, start by laying on your back on the floor, feet on the floor, knees bent and arms crossed over your chest. You may also wish to put your fingers behind your head or on your neck to support the weight of your head, but it is important not to pull on your head with your arms while performing this ab exercise. Next, bring your body forward, curling upwards to bend yourself into a tight 'V' shape. Slowly lower yourself back to the starting position and repeat.

Another very popular home ab exercise is the exercise ball crunch. This is a variation of the crunch performed by lying back on an exercise ball rather than on the ground. Using the ball helps support your back and neck, allowing you to really focus on using your ab muscles to lift you up. It is important to practice by performing the crunch slowly to learn how to complete the exercise without moving the ball. You'll find in time that you'll be able to perform more crunches in less time than you would doing them on the floor.

For people who feel a lot of strain on their neck and back while performing traditional crunches, the reverse crunch (sometimes known as a V-up), may be a could alternative home ab exercise. Start the reverse crunch by lying on the floor and raising your legs in the air. Then rather than bend up towards your legs, slowly drop your legs back towards your chest, tightening you ab muscles to control the movement.. It is important to perform this ab exercise slowly or your muscles will not have the opportunity to engage. This home ab exercise has the same desired effect as the traditional crunch, but is less strenuous.

As home ab exercise becomes more popular, some companies are introducing ab exercise machines and tools. Usually, these home ab exercise machines consist of flimsy frames that claim to help you take strin off for head and back and make your crunches "more effective." These machines can range in price from $20 to $500 depending on size and material. However, research has shown that there is little difference between the benefits of using these new at home ab exercise machines and doing traditional ab exercises using proper form.

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Arm Toning Exercises

Flabby arms are usually a sign of genetics. However, that doesn't mean that you can't tone up those flabby arms with some arm toning exercises. If you want to make those arms look great, and impress other people, choosing the best arm toning exercises is crucial to success.

Curl

The arm curl is a great exercise that targets your bicep muscle exclusively. It's important to remember whenever you're choosing arm toning exercises, that you choose ones that target specific muscles in your arms. Arm curls are one such exercise.

Kick back

Much like the arm-curl, only in reverse, the kick back works the triceps muscle. Many people don't realize that the tricep muscle at the back of your arm makes up about two thirds of your overall arm size. If you're looking to tone up your arm, concentrating on that tricep muscle is a very good idea.

Push-up

The great thing about push-ups is that you can do them pretty much anywhere. The push-up isn't as good for toning up the muscles in your arm as either the curl or kick back, but it is a better overall exercise. The push-up will strengthen your arms and your core area, especially your chest and triceps muscles.

Close-grip Bench Press

Using a close grip on your barbell, push the weight upwards, then lower it slowly and just before it touches your chest, give it a little bounce. This allows the tricep muscle to do the work, instead of your chest.

Cable Curls

This exercise is one of the truly amazing arm toning exercises! It works much the same way a regular curl does, except the cables are always exerting pressure on your bicep muscle, while it tries to pull it back.

Remember, all the arm toning exercises in the world won't help you if you don't have a healthy diet in the first place. Maintaining a healthy diet and getting regular exercise are key ingredients in losing weight. Aerobic exercise and cardio are important in maintaining any weight loss you may achieve.

Practice the arm toning exercises found above, eat properly, exercise on a daily basis, and you'll find that your arms are losing some of their fat, and you feel better overall. Once you see results, it will be hard to stop!

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Tips to Help You Gain Weight

There are a couple of reasons why most people fail in their attempt to gain more muscle mass:

A. Improper diet.

Most people are not eating enough protein and eating too many simple carbs.

They are not stressing their muscles during each workout. 

You don't have to kill yourself, but you must subject your body to out of the ordinary stress each workout to grow muscle.

B. They lack consistency.

They do not stay focused throughout the entire 12-week period. If they don't see results immediately, they get discouraged and quit. You have got to stick with your plan. No program will work for you if you are not consistent.

To get results, you have to be willing to do whatever it takes, and work as hard as necessary and you have to be consistent. Your body responds to consistency. Sometimes it may get to the point of obsession, but it has to be that way for you to reach your goal.

Here's some basic information and things you should be doing to help you bulk up:

1. To gain weight you must eat more calories than your body burns off, so EAT MORE!!!!!! The most important thing that I cannot over stress is that you need to eat to gain weight. You need to eat like you've never eaten before. (but not junk food like donuts and chips or candy).

Start eating six meals per day (space them out to about once every 3 hours).

2. Increase your protein intake and reduce your simple carbohydrate intake. Without protein your body cannot build new muscle

3. Keep your workouts under one hour. Short and intense!

4. Concentrate on free weight exercises that work the large muscle groups. The best weight training exercises for building mass are the simple ones. For mass, stick with compound free weight exercises like squats, deadlifts, bench presses, barbell rows, pull ups and bar dips.

5. Use heavy weights and low reps, rest 3 minutes between each set.

6. Do only 2-3 exercises per body part.

7. Split your workout. Since you have a very high metabolism like me, you need to train with more intensity, but less frequently.

• Day 1: Chest, shoulders and triceps
• Day 2: Rest
• Day 3: Back, and Bicep
• Day 4: Rest
• Day 5: Legs and abs
• Day 6: Rest
• Day 7: Rest

8. Increase you water intake. A good formula for this is to multiply your bodyweight by .66 to get the required number of ounces per day.

9. Use nutritional supplements. If you can't afford too many products, just stick with the basics; like whey protein. If you can't afford whey protein the next best thing is egg whites.

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Best Mass Exercises

The Ten Best Mass Exercises

There is an endless array of exercises that you can perform in the weight room, but only a few of them are good for building muscle. Here are the 10 best mass exercises that you can use to add the most muscle possible to your frame.

1. Squat

The squat isn't called "the king of exercises" for no reason. It is the number one mass exercise, and one that you should be performing in some variation every single week. Watch your legs development and overall level of muscle mass take off with the squat.

2. Deadlift

The deadlift is one of the best mass exercises because it uses nearly every muscle in your entire body and allows you to use more weight than any other movement. Perform deadlifts every week or two for sets of 4-6 hard and heavy reps, and your back strength and size will explode.

3. Bench Press

The flat barbell bench press is not only everyone's favorite exercise, it's arguable the best way to build size and strength in the upper body. No other pressing movement brings as many different muscles into play, or allows you to use as much weight.

4. Barbell Row

The barbell row is probably the best mass exercise for overall back development, save for perhaps the deadlift. Like the bench press, it allows you to handle very heavy weights and tax your muscles to the limit. Do these every time you train back for thick lats and traps.

5. Military Press

The military press is one of the oldest exercises in the book, predating even the bench press. If you can get manage to get strong at this very difficult movement, you will have an extremely impressive set of shoulders. Be careful not to use too much "help" from your legs to take stress off of your upper body.

6. Pull-up

The pull-up, in its many variations, is one of the best mass exercises for building upper body strength, especially in the back. It is a very difficult, honest movement that will require a lot from you. Do pull-ups religiously for the widest lats and strongest grip possible.

7. Dip

Dips are one of my personal favorite exercises for building upper body muscle mass. Unlike the bench press, dips involve the movement of your whole body, much in the same way as squats and deadlifts. This makes it an excellent movement for developing muscle mass, strength, and coordination.

8. Incline Bench Press

Though it does not allow you to handle as much weight as the flat barbell bench press, the incline bench can be one of the best chest-builders in your arsenal of mass exercises. Using an incline allows you to target mainly the upper chest, a hard-to-build portion of your physique. Developing this muscle well can make your whole upper body look thick and muscular.

9. Barbell Curl

The basic barbell curl is what most people find to be the best biceps builder. Though dumbbells are certainly excellent for working the arms, the barbell allows you to handle the largest loads, and therefore place the most heavy stress on your biceps. Use an EZ bar if your wrists can't handle the straight bar.

10. Skull Crusher

Also known as nose-breakers, or just as triceps extensions, skull crushers are one of the best isolation mass exercises for triceps. Lie on a flat bench and bring the bar (either EZ bar or straight bar) to your neck or eye level. Drive the weight back up without using too much swing to really torch your triceps.

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