Strength and Fitness Tips | How to Build Muscle Top muscle building and fat loss tips.

There are some foods that will help increase muscle mass and some that obviously will not, as ever protein content is a vital factor in choosing the right foods to build muscle. Eating foods that are high in protein will substantially increase muscle growth and repair. Here are a few examples of such foods: Eggs Eggs are a excellent cheap source of protein, one of the top choices for athletes. The majority of the protein is found in the egg white and it’s very easily broken down into amino acids in the body. As well as being easy to prepare, tasty and wholesome, eggs are a vital food you need to consume to help build muscle mass. One of my personal favourites is a ‘protein pancake’ which involves 5 egg whites and 40g of oats blended in a blender and a scoop of protein shake, preferably vanilla. (You can add ... Read More »

Is there just one sport that is good for getting you ripped? The truth is that if you take a sport seriously as long as it involves some cardiovascular exercise and you have a good diet you will get ripped it doesn’t actually matter what the sport is you are partaking in. A multitude of sports will infact be better than solely focusing on one sport. For instance running be it sprinting or endurance is a great way to get ripped. When you run you use a lot of core muscles, these help stabilise your upper body, so it’s not only your legs getting a good workout. You also burn a lot of calories running so it’s great for losing fat and getting ripped up! When running you use your legs and core, but you also want to make sure your arms are getting used. So you need another sport… ... Read More »

You might be aware that in a lot of gyms including my own there is sometimes a lack of people doing squats and a surplus of people doing arms. Every now and then someone will do some heavy squats but it’s not that normal. It’s more usual to see people doing bicep curls, to get pump before going out on the town or going to the park. This may go against any inquisitive nature but working out your legs through squats and deadlifts will be better in the long run for building big arms than bicep curls themselves. You might think I am making no sense but I will explain the process to you now. Doing squats is not just a leg workout, it’s puts your entire body under stress, working the lower back shoulders and lots of core. Studies have also shown that heavy squats promote the release of ... Read More »

So many people have asked me, ‘How do I gain pure muscle?’ Building muscle mass seems to be a slightly mis-understood, this is probably down to the vast amount of information there is on the internet. There are plenty of different workout programs, supplements, and equipment out there to choose from. I must have spent hours reading and researching the subject, and I have summarised my findings into 7 simple ways to increase muscle mass. 1. Get in the Gym – If you want to increase the size of your muscles, then there is no other way about it, you need to get in the gym. Lifting weight is hands down the fastest way to gain size. When your muscles lift weights, they tear. The small tears in the muscle fibers causes the muscles to get stronger and stronger over time. 2. Eat that Protein – Protein and fundamental amino ... Read More »

Why is Form Important? Form is crucial in preventing injuries and ensuring the targeted muscles get the best workout possible. It’s common to see people in the gym with bad form, but what exactly is it? Well bad form is when someone is doing an exercise which has additional ranges of motion. Lets take the classic bicep curl as an example. When performing a correct bicep curl you should have a fixed elbow at your hip and then have a steady, stable range of motion while you contract the bicep. You will not only feel your bicep working but a bit of shoulders and core, these should however only be working to keep your body stable. The only motion you should be going through is the bicep contraction and not the lurching, rocking, leaning back heavily action commonly seen. What causes bad form? The principal cause of poor form is ... Read More »

You may have read my post on workout nutrition, you would have noticed that I recommended a flapjack to help give you lots of energy. I said you could buy them or you could make your own and here is a recipe for doing so: Ingredients 1 1/2 cups (140g) of porridge oats A heaped 1/2 cup (150g) of CRUNCHY peanut butter 1 cup of chocolate whey (3 scoops) 125ml-ish of skimmed milk Tablespoon of honey 1. Add the oats and the whey to a mixing bowl and give it a quick mix 2. Add the milk and peanut butter 3. Get stuck in with your hands!!! (You HAVE to do this! No Spoons!!) 4. Place into non stick tray and pat down to about an inch thick (you may wish to line with greaseproof paper) 5. Drizzle the top with honey (you may wish to leave it out, but ... Read More »

Have you ever been in the gym after a night out drinking and been frustrated at how lethargic and weak you feel? Obviously this is going to be down to the alcohol, you are not the only person who is going to have experienced this but why is it so apparent? I’m afraid it’s not good news…. First of all alcohol is a diuretic, this means it forces the increase in the rate of urination. Specifically it acts as a vasopressin inhibitor, this is also known as ADH and this regulates the rate of water reabsorption in the kidneys. Thus meaning more water is lost during urination. Co-insiding with this effect is it’s solubility, alcohol is transported around the body in the blood plasma. It’s a polar molecule and prefers being dissolved in water as opposed to fat. This effect causes it to remove water from cells so that it ... Read More »

If you have watched the film 300 you will know that every actor was in unbelievable shape. Muscles bulging, veins pumping and not a ounce of fat to be seen. People in the fitness industry were talking about it, saying, ‘it’s not all natural there must be lots of special effects.’ It turns out that it’s all natural, they did in-fact train exceptionally hard to get in shape and in some cases the actors collapsed due to exhaustion. I bet you can’t wait to try their routine…. Soon after the films release a workout emerged dubbed the 300 workout, which by no means is for the feint hearted. It is an epic full body workout, starting off with a mere set of 25 chin ups. All in all you perform 300 repetitions and you are supposed to complete in a time of 20 minutes or less. The workout is as ... Read More »

What does creatine do – Background Creatine is a naturally occurring nitrogenous organic compound that is used by the body to supply cells with energy, by increasing the formation of ATP. Creatine is produced by the liver and kidneys from three amino acids, L – arginine, L – glycine and L – methionine. The majority of it, 95% is stored in your muscles with the remaining 5% being stored in the brain. The source of these amino acids is principally animal protein, it’s a misconception to think that steak contains creatine it will do however it’s destroyed on heating. Red meats such as steak contain the amino acids needed for you body to produce creatine, not the creatine itself. When taken in a supplement creatine is usual in the form of creatine monohydrate. What does creatine do – How does creatine work? Creatine is stored in the muscles is in ... Read More »

Fitness and Vitamins If you have embarked or are embarking upon a fitness regime, you have to ensure you still follow basic principals. I’m sure as a child you were told to eat your vegetables and fruits because they contained vitamins which made you strong and healthy. Well your parents weren’t lying. You should still be doing this because you need vitamins as much as you need air, they catalyse and facilitate thousands of metabolic reactions. Almost every energy production or muscle growth process is reliant on a vitamin. Being deficient in any one of  them is going to seriously impede your progress. So Which vitamins should I take? You should be getting all of them from your varied diet consisting of fruit, vegetables, meats etc. You can also take a multi vitamin tablet to boost any of the ones your diet may not be providing you with. What do ... Read More »