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Why Train Your Legs?

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Leg Day Training

Leg day is the one training day so many people skip. Why should you train your legs? Do you know all the benefits of doing so? Are you aware of the effect training your legs has on the rest of your body? That's the purpose of this article–to explain the effects of leg day on your entire body.

Elevated Human Growth Hormone Levels

Training legs causes an increase in the level of growth hormone in the body. This elevated GH is used throughout the body. This means that it will help your arms, back, chest and shoulders get bigger as they utilize the additional GH coursing through the blood. 

Stronger Core and Stabilizer Muscles

A lower body exercise like the squat works the core and the stabilizer muscles in addition to the legs. This has an increased benefit for the upper body. The core is used in every single exercise. A better, stronger core means better, stronger upper body movements.

Elevation in Other Hormone Levels

Have you ever noticed that after training you feel euphoric? All of this despite the fact that you are physically drained. This is because you have managed to increase the levels of many different hormones. These hormones are mood-altering. They also help with the growth of muscles. 

Muscle Stimulation

Heavy squats utilize and stimulate many different sets of muscle fibers. This means that more of the body is worked as the squats are executed. This will cause growth over the entire body as a result of the direct stimulation. Recruiting so many muscle fibers means that the body is forced to grown.

Don't Skip the Lower Body Workouts

Because the body likes being trained as a unit, do not skip training the lower body. Reap the benefits of lower body training. Train extra hard. In the end the results will be more than worth it. What are your thoughts on this? Share them in the comments below.

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Willing to Be Flexible

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Be flexible with changesOne of the hardest parts about planning your training is remaining flexible. We get an idea in our head for how things will work and sometimes they look perfect on paper but when executed they don't work very well. This is when we need to be flexible about how we handle ourselves and our plan. We must be ready to make changes, but not too quickly. Changes can sabatoge an OK plan but failure to change will destroy an already bad plan. 

Plan for Flexibility

One way is to plan certain places in your program where changes can be applied. Break an 8 week plan into weekly or slightly longer time periods. This will enable you to enact  changes as soon as you reach the end of a planned portion of your program. With natural breaks in your plan it makes it easier to throw up the flag and make the changes necessary.

Don't Be Too Rigid

We tend to think of things in terms of the calendar. The biggest learning I've had in the past year is not to do that with a training split. You train when the body is ready. Depending upon your goals, a split might not fit into a nice neat week or month. I would like to give you an example from my own planning.

My goal is to increase the size of my arms and my chest (my two weakest body parts by far). In order to do this I need to fit in multiple extra workouts for these body parts. My plan took a lot of work, but I have come up with a 6 day rotation that will do what I need it to do:

  Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6
AM Cardio Chest Cardio Cardio Shoulders Cardio/Biceps
PM Back (t)
Biceps (p)		 Shoulders Biceps(h)
Triceps(h)		 Back(w)
Calves		 Chest
Triceps (p)		 Hams
Quads

This schedule allows me to hit my biceps 3 times, my triceps 3 times and my chest twice. It also spaces things out enough that I am able to get recovery time. As my trainer, Ken Turchek, continually tells me “I don't care about rest! Just eat!” so that is what I do–I eat.

This plan was accomplished by hitting the gym twice a day, but what if I could not do that? Here is another cycle that would accomplish the same thing:

  Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9
AM Cardio   Cardio   Cardio   Cardio   Cardio 
PM

Back(t)
Biceps(p)

 Chest Sholders Biceps
Triceps		 Back
Calves		 Shoulders Chest
Triceps		 Biceps Quads
Hams

This accomplishes the same thing as the top plan, but takes 3 days longer to do so. The key here is flexibility. Don't be so rigid with your schedule that you think you have no way to accomplish your goal. I would use the second plan if I was not able to hit the gym for 2 workouts a day. It is all about time and effort.

Consider Your Progress

I am a big believer in tracking your progress. I know many bodybuilders will laugh at me for keeping a log, but I am scientific with my approach and believe in seeing the progression visually. It is just essential for me personally. 

When you log your training you will start to see things jump out at you. This is when you need to think about your progress. Are you getting stronger? Is your body composition changing? If not, it is time to make a change. If things are changing, but at a slower pace, it is time to make a change. You have to consider this and be flexible as well.

Flexibility Leads to Success

By taking the time to consider your situation and being flexible enough to make the changes necessary, you are going to see major benefits from the approach. Get ready for major changes in your body. If you have any suggestions or comments about flexibility, please leave them in the comments area of this article.

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Saturday Sharing MeMe: #1

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Saturday Sharing

Today I’d like to share with you my 5 questions about nutrition from your perspective. Your job is to answer the quesions in the comments or on your own blog that relate to the topic this week. If you decide to put the list on your own blog, be sure to leave a comment with a link to your blog. Please note that permission is NOT granted top copy the question to a forum or message board for the purpose of having the readers participate in the answering of the topic.

 

 

Topic for Saturday, May 4, 2013: Nutrition.

  1. What goal is more in line with your own right now — lose fat, gain muscle, maintain?
  2. What is your feeling of the low-carb craze that has taken over?
  3. What is your favorite vegetable?
  4. What is the largest caloric deficit you would utilize on a regular basis to drop fat?
  5. True or false: For you food is just fuel.

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Beat Yourself to Compete

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Compete against yourselfBodybuilding is definitely a subjective sport. As I told you in my article “Why I Love This Subjective Sport” the judges make bodybuilding subjective, but the competitors make it a competition. With the right attitude they can compete against themselves and make the improvements needed to place higher in each competition. 

How to Compete

When you walk into the gym you have some choices to make every single time. Will you do more repetitions than your previous workout? Will you increase the weight? Will you add more sets? Each decision is aimed at the same thing–to help you compete against yourself.

The way to build a bigger and more asthetic body is to push yourself harder and harder. Compete against yourself in the process. Remember that nobody else is really competing with you. It is all you. 

How It Works With Other Sports

In baseball, if the Dodgers are about the play the Angels, they have a recent example of how the Angels played. They have a reasonable expectation of how things will come out. A bodybuilder does not have this luxury. Most competitors don't compete in back to back shows. They take time for improvements between shows. That means that anything is possible. All the competitors have been busting their butts in the gym and the kitchen. The results they bring to the stage will be unknown until they actuall step up on that stage. 

The Bodybuilder's Job

Our job as a bodybuilder is to work on our weak parts. I know this better than most because I love the sport and want to compete, but I have some major flaws that need improving. I am expected to figure out a plan to improve the weak body parts and then execute on it. I have to prepare a training plan that works, a nutrition plan that handles the caloric needs for my body, a cardio plan that will condition me and then I have to get my mind in the right place. Each of these things on their own is not easy, but put together as a package and it is even more difficult.

Beat Your Own Training

Always figure out what body parts of yours are lagging. Plan your training to hit them more than once in a cycle. Get the right amount of time in between body parts. Train with intensity. Always beat your previous workout. Never give up. Your bodybuilding career depends upon it.

Be Consistent with Your Eating

Plan what you are going to do for nutrition ahead of time. Failing to plan is planning to fail. It is very true. You have to map out your menu ahead of time. It is the best way to insure you get the right amount of calories into your system. If you want to grow you have to eat. Eating helps with recovery. It helps with muscle building. It helps with keeping fat to a minimum. It just plain helps. It is essential.

Beat Your Cardio Training

Cardio training is no different than weight training. I personally like to push it harder and to higher levels each time I do it. Can I beat the number of calories from the previous workout? Can I go further? Can I go for more time? These variables can be messed with to improve the cardio training. Cardio goes directly to your conditioning, so don't let it slip.

Get Your Mind Straight

Much of what goes on with failing at the other parts of the plan involves mental issues. We don't think we can do it. We are too tired. We don't want to train. The list goes on and on. Get your mind straight and get into the gym. It is not an easy thing, but it is an essential thing. Our mindset is going to determine the success of our program. It effects every single aspect of our program. Take the time to figure it out.

Reach All Your Goals

Put together these elements and you will reach your goals. It is easy in a way, but extremely difficult in another way. Push hard and reap the rewards. Tell us how you beat yourself to compete by commenting below.

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5 Tips for Eating to Get Big

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Eat to Get Big

When trying to grow many people forget the most important element. They hit the gym and train hard. They get rest. They just don't eat enough. They may even think they are eating enough, but they are missing the boat. Below are 5 tips for eating to get big. Enjoy!

Calories for Muscle

Eating the right number of calories is essential for getting big. When determining how many calories you should be eating will depend on several things. You need to consider your activity level, level of stress and time available. A simple way to determine the number of calories you need to grow is to multiply your weight by 20 calories per pound. This means a 150 pound man would need 3000 calories. You then need to realize that in order to grow you will need 2 grams of protein per pound of body weight. That amounts to 300 grams of protein a day which equates to 1200 calories. That means the other 1800 is distributed between carbohydrates and fats.

Time Your Carbohydrate Intake

Carbohydrates provide energy to your muscles. Adding some carbs right before and right after your workouts will give you an edge when trying to get bigger.  Have a cup of white rice prior to training then hit the gym very hard. When you are done working out have another cup of white rice. Your muscles will be primed to use the carbs for growth.

Have Daily Cheat Meals

The cheat meal is frowned upon by many and I used to be one of those. After all, why eat junk food when you have been eating clean all day long? Won't it add instant fat to your body? That's what people are afraid of, but it doesn't happen. Train as hard as you can and you are able to have a cheat meal daily. The daily cheat meal will help you hit the high calorie goal. It will help with your leptin levels which aids in burning fat.

Protein and Complex Carbohydrates Every Meal

Keep your muscles fed with a constant supply of protein and complex carbohydrates. Good sources of complex carbohydrates would be brown rice, oatmeal, and sweet potato. As for good protein sources, you can eat chicken, fish, lean beef and whey protein.

Supplement Properly

Glutamine is an essential supplement when trying to gain size. It helps with recovery and faster recovery means more intense training. Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAA) are also essential. The two combined will help your muscles to grow.

Conclusion for Muscle Growth Nutrition

Building muscle requires the right nutrition. Follow these 5 tips consistently you will start to see massive changes in your body. Let me know what your own tips are below.

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