Ten Bulking Mistakes Bodybuilders Make

The off-season means it’s time to start packing on serious mass, bulking up, and eating like crazy. Unfortunately, many bodybuilders make lots of mistakes in the bulk up stage that will end up costing them big-time when the summer comes back around. These bulking up mistakes could even make you lose lots of progress! Obviously you want to avoid being in this situation so make sure to avoid these top 10 bulking up mistakes.

As a bodybuilder, there’s nothing I love more than increasing my cardio sessions, following a strict diet, and eating nothing but clean foods. Okay, that was all a huge lie and I think that cutting weight for competitions can be excruciating. And to be honest, every time I’m cutting, I just can’t wait to get back to the bulking season where I can increase my calories and put on mass.

Of course, increasing calories and putting on mass doesn’t mean pigging out and losing focus… As I’ve learned the hard way! In fact, staying focused during the bulking season is just as important to a bodybuilder as cutting for competitions. With that in mind, let’s look at 10 mistakes you need to avoid in order to continue your growth when adding mass.

Bulking Up Mistake #1. Not eating clean food
The top mistake people make when adding mass is reaching for any food that’s within an arm’s length. They use bulking as an excuse to indulge in all of the desserts and fast food they avoided while competing and getting in-shape for the beach. After all, you’re trying to add weight, so why not eat a little calorie-rich fast food in the off-season? It is true that you need to get plenty of extra calories during the bulking phase to add weight. However, you still need to be watching what you eat, and this means consuming lean meat and healthy fat sources rather than super-sized number 2 meals.

Bulking Up Mistake #2. Not eating enough… period
If you want to grow, you have to eat. It’s that simple. This being said, there are still bodybuilders who don’t get enough food when they’re trying to add mass – this is especially true of women who want to keep their contest form all year long. After dieting and getting a great physique, many people just don’t want to put weight on because it also means adding fat. But you can’t worry about fat during the off-season since this is the time when you need to be making major improvements. As long as you’re eating enough clean healthy foods, you won’t have to be so self-conscious about putting on a little fat.

Bulking Up Mistake #3. Skipping out on cardio
Cutting out cardio would make sense while adding mass since you don’t want to burn too many calories. But the problem with not doing cardio during the bulking phase is that your appetite will go down as a result. That’s why you should include at least three, 20 minute cardio sessions in your routine each week. Cardio sessions keep your appetite up and have you craving more of those clean, healthy foods. Besides having a positive effect on your appetite, cardio will also help you pound out those last few reps. Having a good cardiovascular system enables you to lift more without getting fatigued too quickly.

Bulking Up Mistake #4. Overdoing Cardio
On the same scale as not doing enough cardio when adding mass is overdoing cardio. This typically happens when bodybuilders continue their heavy cardio schedule into the off-season. The major problem with this is that it will be nearly impossible for you to add a significant amount of weight during the bulking phase. That being said, you should still stick to the aforementioned plan of doing at least three, 20 minute sessions of cardio a week (if not a little more). They key here is to strike a balance so you keep your appetite up without burning too many calories.

Bulking Up Mistake #5. Cutting out carbohydrates
Most bodybuilders are smart enough to see past the fad diets, and know better than to cut carbs out. However, many people still don’t get enough carbohydrates when trying to add mass. And this is a major mistake since carbohydrates are an excellent source of energy that can fuel your entire day. Going even further, carbohydrates can drive more glycogen into your muscles and aid in protein synthesis after a workout. With everything that carbs can do for you during the bulking phase, it’s very important to not skip out on them. Make sure to include plenty of carbohydrates in your breakfast to really add some fuel!

Bulking Up Mistake #6. Not setting up clearly defined goals
Every bodybuilder has their weak points and muscles they need to development more. Unfortunately, many athletes either avoid putting more work into these muscles or just aren’t aware of the problem. If you’re not aware of your weaker areas, then you should talk to judges at competitions and/or ask fellow bodybuilding friends for help. On the other hand, if you’re just avoiding these body parts because they’re not your favorites, you should make it a primary goal to add more development to them.

Bulking Up Mistake #7. Mis-managing your meal times
The best way to setup an eating schedule is to spread out your meals every 2-3 hours so your muscles are getting enough protein throughout the day. This being said, there are still people who will skip meals and either try to make up for them by eating double the next time, or just not make up for it at all. In either case, your body will start going after the amino acids in the muscles when not fueled every 2-3 hours; overeating every 5-6 hours is not going to prevent this either. Since you can’t expect to replace lost meals, you’ll want to make sure to try and at least eat something every 3 hours to prevent muscle wasting. Even if you’re not hungry, at least eat a snack to keep your body from feasting on the muscles.

Bulking Up Mistake #8. Overusing Machines
Machines are an excellent way to add some extra definition to your muscles at the end of a workout. However, machines should not be used as the primary means to add bulk since free weights are much better at accomplishing this. Free weights allow your muscles the maximum range of motion and recruit the most muscle fibers. The free weight movements you’ll want to do include presses, deadlifts, squats, rows, and curls. Machine-based exercises are fine to do at the end of a workout, but make sure that you’re not throwing them in right before the tough, compound movements.

Bulking Up Mistake #9. Letting the scale dictate your diet
When your main goal is to add weight, putting on extra pounds can become addicting. It can become so addicting in fact that some people will weigh themselves every hour. When this becomes the case, you may snack and overeat throughout the day just to see the scale go up. And the major problem with this is that you will also put on a great deal of body fat too when you’re eating just to add weight. After all, your body can only add so much muscle mass before the rest starts turning into fat. So instead of focusing solely on weight gain, you should be focusing on what your image looks like in the mirror. But make sure not to get carried away with checking yourself out!

Bulking Up Mistake #10. Working out too frequently
Since bodybuilders love adding mass, they tend to overdo the training and don’t give their muscles enough of a break in between workouts. When this happens, no amount of dieting, sleep, etc. will help your muscles recover. Muscles need time to fully heal in between sessions since they get broken down during workouts. Assuming you’re workout out hard enough, a muscle group will need about 3 days to recover; possibly longer if the muscles are still sore. So always make sure to give your body adequate rest before hitting the gym again.

Metabolic Damage: What It Is And Is Not

Everyone in the bodybuilding and figure world is talking about metabolic damage and how it is a diet killer. This article explores the current "epidemic" of this condition.

One of the big buzz terms in health and fitness subculture as of late is “metabolic damage”. It seems like quite a few “nutritional coaches” have come out and taken a firm stance on one side of the fence or the other, insisting that it’s either a valid phenomenon or a myth. While the literature on the topic of metabolic damage is still relatively scarce, the next few years should prove interesting since more and more research is being focused towards this concern.

In a nutshell, metabolic damage is terminology used to denote a state where the body doesn’t respond proportionally and appropriately as one would expect with respect to energy input and output. For example, someone may put their body through hours upon hours of cardio and restrict their calorie intake yet notice little to no weight/fat loss, which seems theoretically impossible, but as many people know, this can indeed happen. When a person has reached such a critical point, they are generally believed to have “metabolic damage”, to some arbitrary degree.

Measuring metabolic damage

However, therein lays the main conundrum with classifying metabolic damage, since it’s rather ambiguous to just say, “I have metabolic damage.” Ideally, we would want to put a tangible/measurable amount on the severity of the “damage” and seek to reverse it, but the trouble is that there is no real accurate/precise way to track such a quantity at this point.

The next best medically plausible way to verify that metabolic damage has occurred is probably various hormonal assays such as thyroid hormone levels/function, leptin, and others. The reasoning for this is that one of the key regulators of metabolic rate is the thyroid gland. Generally, individuals who exhibit hypothyroidism are noticeably heavier (and/or tend to put weight on easily) and have a tough time losing fat.

This isn’t to say that metabolic damage is entirely relegated to thyroid issues, nor other endocrine maladies, but from a physiological standpoint it is safe to assert that such issues do indeed influence one’s metabolic health.

What convolutes the issue of metabolic damage is that there is no foolproof way (yet) to pinpoint what exactly has gone awry and started the vicious cycle of having a lowered metabolic rate. Some people may have metabolic damage despite their blood work showing nominal values, in which case there has to be some other factor(s) influencing the individual’s metabolic rate.

An example of this would be someone with normal thyroid levels and functioning, but yet can’t lose weight to save their soul and has already gone to extreme measures as far as calorie restricting and cardiovascular exercise goes. It’s at this point that we know metabolic damage is occurring due to other physiological factors. Uncovering those factors is what much of the research will likely be focused on in the coming years.

What metabolic damage is not

I think one of the more important things to discuss pertaining to metabolic damage is the issue of it being “over diagnosed” by people who compete in any sort of physique competition. Just because you have competed in a bodybuilding or figure (or whatever event) show doesn’t necessarily mean you’re automatically in a state of “metabolic damage”. Yes, your metabolic rate is likely reduced since it’s pretty much common knowledge that during times of decreased energy input your body naturally lowers its energy output; that being said, metabolic damage is not the same as having a reduced metabolic rate.

Given this, don’t be so hasty to jump on the metabolic damage bandwagon just because you are eating less, exercising more, but still not losing weight like you hope. Metabolic damage is an extreme condition induced by extreme behavior.

We’re talking extreme in the sense that some people can be eating <600-700 calories per day, doing 2-3 hours of cardio, and still not losing weight…It’s safe to say that at that point metabolic damage has occurred. Contrarily, just because you cut calories to, say, 1600 calories per day and are doing 45 minutes of cardio without any weight loss doesn’t exemplify a “damaged” metabolism. I think people just need to tread cautiously when putting a label on their metabolic health; reduced metabolic rate is not synonymous with metabolic damage.

Correcting metabolic damage

As much as people want to believe there is some magic formula or treatment they can find for metabolic damage, the reality of it is that in order to reverse the “damage” you pretty much just need to do the opposite of what you’ve been doing. Essentially, this means doing less cardio, eating more, resting more, and focusing on weight training.

Don’t forget that muscle is more metabolically demanding then adipose tissue, so by building more muscle, you are increasing your metabolic capacity. This is the reason that many bodybuilders can stay in such good shape with little to no cardio in their regimen, since they’ve developed such a high metabolic capacity that it becomes rather hard to “out eat” their metabolism.

I’d be leery of people who claim that some certain supplements or food will suddenly resolve your metabolic damage. This isn’t to say supplements can’t help you, but the focus should ideally be on the big factors like your diet and training regimen. Get those back on the right path and then worry about micromanaging the other less important factors.

Five things you didn’t know about peptides

Used by amateur athletes the new generation of performance and image enhancing peptides have rapidly grown in familiarity over recent months, but how much do you really know about them?

As the “drugs in sports” debate continues, we take one step back from the scandal to answer the core questions in an effort to correct the common misconceptions about peptides and their general use.

What are peptides?

Essentially, peptides are just very short proteins. Unlike the majority of proteins that provide the building blocks for cells or get chewed up for energy, a select few of these peptides actually “communicate” with cells and act as hormones.

Peptide hormones, like all other hormones, travel through the blood stream to all corners of the body. Many peptides are inert and do practically nothing; some interact with very specific tissues in the body (like the brain and your skin) and only a small handful have metabolic, image and/or performance enhancing effects.

A popular group known as growth hormone releasing peptides (or GHRPs) are examples of hormones that tell the body to produce more natural growth hormone, helping men and women to essentially gain muscle and lose fat. Different variations of peptide hormones have theoretical side-effects, like increased appetite, but very few have been legitimately researched in any form in human clinical trial.

According to a recent report by the Australian Crime Commission (ACC), the market for performance and image enhancing drugs (PIEDs) in Australia is large and diverse extending across a broad cross-section of the community.

With this widespread use of PIEDs across Australia, it’s important that some very key questions are asked and addressed. Below are what I consider to be the five most common and incorrectly answered questions.

One. Are peptides “anabolic steroids”?

Regardless of what you may have heard in the locker room, peptides are not anabolic steroids. Peptides are made up of amino acids just like any other protein. Steroids (anabolic/contraceptive/anti-inflammatory) are hormones too but it’s practically just a coincidence that a very small group of peptides causes anabolic effects like “anabolic steroids” do. The associated risk in peptide therapies is the orised to be much lower than that of testosterone-derived (anabolic) steroids however no injections are ever without risk.

Two. Are peptides illegal?

Although you won’t find many peptide hormones on the TGA’s current Poisons Schedule (where steroids and other illicit drugs of abuse are listed) peptides are slowly being added to this growing list with each periodical instalment. Depending on where they eventually land on the list, some are prohibited to be sold without prescription whilst others are illegal to have in possession at all.

Up until early February this year, peptide hormones and other performance-enhancing drugs were freely available to anyone with an internet connection and a credit card. The TGA has now moved to prevent the supply of these hormones online without a prescription.

Peptide use in sports is another issue altogether. Most peptide hormones have been explicitly blacklisted by the World Anti-Doping Authority (WADA) and are absolutely prohibited in numerous sporting codes. This is where the media has focused their attention and why a dark shadow has been cast across many sports both in Australia and overseas.

Three. Are all peptides performance-enhancing drugs?

Some peptide hormones can improve athletic performance. Performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) can take many forms. Any compound which improves an athlete’s ability to outperform his or her competitors in an unfair manner technically falls under this umbrella term. A weight-loss drug can help a MMA fighter unfairly improve body composition before weigh-ins just like stimulants can improve a sprinter’s split.

Not all peptide hormones interact with muscles or metabolism in a way that would improve athletic performance. Some peptides communicate solely with other tissues. As an example, Melanotan is a peptide which causes the skin to produce more pigment and is not a drug likely to improve athletic prowess.

Four. Are peptides used in medicine?

Of the better understood peptide variants, one growth hormone related peptide - AOD-9604 - has recently found itself injected into the mainstream media - as well as Brownlow medallist Jobe Watson according to his recent admission. AOD-9604 was developed by researchers to combat obesity by increasing metabolic breakdown of stored fats and is likely to possess therapeutic potential in Australia’s obesity epidemic.

In response to the enormous threat presented by type-II diabetes in the Middle East, pipe-lined peptide products were revealed at the International Congress in Aesthetic and Anti-ageing Medicine (ICAAM) in Dubai last year. These peptide hormones are being developed not only to improve body composition but to restore insulin sensitivity – the key pathology implicated in the onset of type-II diabetes.

Five. Are peptides safe?

Although peptides are still accessible through countless “here-one-minute, gone-the-next” online stores, there are two serious issues that potentially endanger those entrusting these sites:

    According to a presentation by the TGA, many of the under-researched peptides being sold online have the potential to cause severe immune reactions and;
    Although some companies may be producing these products in the proper facilities, there are no guarantees or regulating bodies that ensure the products found online are legitimate, safe and free from bacterial contamination.

Legitimate pharmaceutical-grade peptides with proven efficacy and safety are slowly making their way to Australian pharmacies as a result of thorough clinical trials. However, it’s more than likely that your physician will always be the one to have the final say as to whether the potential benefits of these drugs outweigh the potential risks.

DELTS BOB’S WORKOUT

ONE WORD TO DESCRIBE BOB Cicherillo? Persistent. After 13 years battling for his pro card in the amateur ranks, Chick finally broke through at the 2000 NPC USA Championships.
He brings the same state of mind to the gym, training hard ‘n’ heavy for that polished look.
>> “When training shoulders, use your chin as a guide,” Cicherillo instructs. “I begin and end my overhead presses at my chin, and bring upright rows to a point just underneath my chin.”
>> He also gives delts their own training day, rather than pairing them with chest, triceps or another bodypart, to give them his utmost attention.

SEATED MACHINE PRESS
START: “I like to begin my workout with a power motion like overhead presses to get the muscles moving and the blood going,” Bob says. “I sit on a bench with a backrest and grasp the handles with my hands just outside shoulder-width apart, or even a bit wider.”
MOVE: “I begin with the handles precisely at chin level and use my chin as a guide throughout the exercise. I press the weight up and over my head at a steady rate of speed — not too fast, and nothing explosive. I come to a full extension overhead without locking out, then slowly come back to the start, lowering the weight only to chin level.”

BENT-ARM DUMBBELL LATERAL RAISE
START: “I begin with the dumbbells to the sides of my thighs with my palms facing my body,” Bob says. “It’s nearly impossible to cheat because this position totally isolates the middle delt and keeps you from using your back or traps to help with the lift.”
MOVE: Slowly raise the dumbbells up and out, making sure your elbows are always higher than the weights. Pause a moment at the top before slowly returning to the start.

EZ-BAR UPRIGHT ROW
START: “Standing with my knees slightly bent, I hold the bar with my shoulders down and my focus forward,” Bob explains.
MOVE: “Leading with my elbows, I lift the bar straight up, keeping it close to my body, until my wrists come underneath my chin. I pause a moment and squeeze hard in this top position before slowly lowering the bar back to the start.”

Fat Burners And Diet Pills. The Ingredients.

Fat burners do raise your metabolic burn rate, but it is only by four to five percent. For a person who needs 2,000 calories a day, this would result in an extra 80 to 100 calories burned.

So, if your diet is off by 500 or more calories, it won’t make a difference.  In comparison, a glass of wine is about 120 calories and a muffin can set you back up to 500.

The main benefit of any fat loss product resides not so much in its actual fat burning ability, but in the hunger suppression and the added energy they provide. That extra edge (mainly coming from the stimulatory effects of caffeine) helps the calorie-deprived athlete to push through his workouts, even when hungry and fatigued. Trust me, if you are really dieting, a serving of caffeine can be a godsend for your mood and energy levels.

Let’s talk a look at the ingredients in your typical fat burner and rate them in order to give you an idea what you should be looking for.
Rating Fat Burner Ingredients

For the most part fat burners start of by saying “proprietary formula”. What does this mean?

Bad news for you, I am afraid. The manufacturer is simply lumping together all the ingredients without telling you how much of each is in the product. That usually means that they have something to hide. DO not buy!

Another warning sign is the term “breakthrough technology.” I am not quite sure what the potential breakthrough could be, but if there was one you would need a prescription for the product.

Most diet pills contain caffeine and or green tea, B-vitamins and yohimbine or taurine. While these substances all have some merit, they are not miracle drugs.

Caffeine. Caffeine does help to burn off more free fatty acids in your blood stream while you’re exercising. It is also present in almost all fat burners since it is cheap and makes people “feel something” or “gives energy."

Ephedra. Ehepdra: a beta-2 mimetica, extremely effective at stimulating the metabolism and the oxidation of brown fat. It is currently banned, yet there are rumors that the FDA is considering reversing its stance.

Yohimbine. Yohimbine can be helpful (up to a point) in up-regulating norephedrine, which causes greater thermogenesis (heat production) and lypolysis (break down of fatty tissue). Some people might experience nausea from taking yohimbine; for those, a topical application seems more promising.

If go back to chapter one of my book, you’ll see the part where I talk about alpha and beta receptors. Just to reiterate, alpha receptors block fat loss out of the cell.

Yohimbine works as an alpha receptor antagonist, so it blocks the fat loss blocker (we all remember sixth grade math, a double negative equals a positive), thereby making it an interesting tool especially for women. Keep in mind that any amount of insulin negates the effects of yohimbine, so try to consume few to no carbohydrates when taking it.
The main problem is that most fat burners do not contain enough yohimbine. You’ll need 5-10 mgs.

Fat Burners

Green Tea. Green tea: basically another form of caffeine with some antioxidants, useful but often underdosed, so buy your own. The active ingredient is EGCG, which is responsible for appetite suppression and decreased absorption of fatty acids.

Tyrosine. L-tyrosine: An amino acid, can be a great help to focus before a workout, again mostly under dosed, you’ll need 3 grams.

Vencopetine. Vencopetine: improves blood flow, but the main positive is that it helps with concentration and overall mood.

Tuarine. L-taurine: also an amino acid, it has some mild pain killing abilities, again needs to be taken in larger doses and on an empty stomach to have any effect.

Nargenin. Nargenin: is a substance found in grapefruit. Not a fat burner per se but it slows down the breakdown of caffeine, hence making a fat burner more effective. I prefer grapefruit juice to wash down a fat burner.

Cayenne Pepper. Cayenne pepper: has been used in traditional medicine for increased blood flow, which helps with the transportation of fatty acids.

Synephrine. Synephrine: this has been used ever since ephedra was banned, but it has never lived up to the hype.

B Vitamins. B-vitamins: sure why not, they are good for the nerves and cheap. Usefulness for fat loss? Not so much.

Vitamin C. Vitamin C: great for colds, but in diet pills?
Sport And Bodybuilding

Shock Techniques

Here are some tips on getting over plateaus:

Almost everyone will reach a point in their training program where it seems they are working their butt off but getting nowhere. This is described as a “plateau”. When you plateau, something needs to change. First, you should evaluate your program. Ask yourself: How long have I been consistent? How often do I change up my workout routine? What is my diet like? And HOW MUCH SLEEP AM I GETTING?

Chances are you have been doing the same routine for over 3 months consistently and/or your body is not getting enough of the proper nutrition it needs to grow. If nutrition is the case, that can be easily resolved with supplementation. If you have been doing the same routine for 3+ months then you may need to “shock” your muscles to get them to grow! Its always a good idea to change your routine every 3-4 weeks or so to keep them growing. That technique is known to bodybuilders as muscle confusion. Here is a list of different ways that you can confuse your muscles and get ‘em to grow past a plateau. It is not possible to use all of these techniques at once. Vary your workouts by incorporating a few of these deviations and you will see greater results from every work-out. Just remember that using some of these variations may cause over training if used on consecutive workouts.

Focus on the muscle. This in itself may be the single most important strategy used by bodybuilders to encourage muscle tissue break down. This is strictly a mental exercise. It will benefit you by allowing concentration on the particular muscle group that you are trying to stimulate. Here is an example for bench-press, but it can and must, for optimum gains, be applied to all lifts: Start by lying under the bar and completing a rep mentally. Think about what muscle you want to do the work. Then lift off the bar and focus on contracting your chest muscles to press the bar up. You may even do a rep or two with just the bar to prep your senses into what will be taking place after you add the weight. After you add the weight, don’t focus on pressing the weight up, but focus on flexing the muscles and on their contraction. The bar’s movement is simply a side effect of that contraction. An example of this technique on lat pulls: When pulling down, imagine your hands as merely hooks. Don’t focus on pulling down the bar, but imagine that you are just pulling down your elbows towards the floor.
The bar is coming down too, but only because your wrists are attached to it. Pull down your elbows but place your concentration and total focus on your lats and totally isolate them to do the pulling. Always think about the muscle that will be contracting and try to exaggerate the contraction on every movement.
Always, as with dumbbell rows, imagine your arms as only hooks that are connecting you to the weight and pull up by contracting the muscle; don’t just think of the lift as moving the bar. The bar’s movement is simply a side effect!

Varying intensity. You can sometimes challenge yourself by putting more exercises into your routine without using more time. Or you can try to get the same routine done in less time. This means less time between sets and it requires a fast recovery rate.

Heavy and light days. The best way to shock the muscle and keep it growing is to use heavy and light training days. Here is an example: On heavy days, use as much weight as you can for 3-4 reps and on light days, put on as much weight as you can for 12-15 reps.

Rest between sets can also be varied to give you some change. Try adding more rest for large muscle groups and less rest for small ones.

Forced reps are pretty popular. A forced rep is considered as trying to lift more weight than you can lift by yourself and needing your partner to help you finish the set. This is good on heavy days when you are at your failure point and you just need a little help to get that last rep. Another form of forced reps is to have your spotter force down the bar to your chest (on benchpress) on the eccentric (downward) phase of the lift by applying his bodyweight to the bar. You may need the spotter to help you get the bar back to the top of the movement.

Partial reps are a great way to get your muscles to burn. When doing partial bench press reps, you should only lift the weight about 4 inches off of your chest. This works great when used as a compound set w/ dumbbell bench or incline flys. This goes for any other exercise as well. Only do the first half of the rep. But don’t do these for squats; it’s a waste of time.

21’s are another form of partial reps. Instead of doing the full motion of the rep, do only the first half of one full motion for 7 reps. Then, do the second half of one full motion for 7 reps. Then, finish off the set with 7 reps of full motion for a total of 21 reps.

100’s are a killer exercise. This is particularly effective with bench. You simply use a weight that you think that you can lift for one hundred continuous reps.
Like burn outs, this should be done at the end of a session due to the inevitable exhaustion of glycogen stores and build up of lactic acid. It is not known how this causes any muscle growth. It defies most principles of muscle growth in that it doesn’t use enough weight to cause a tear down of tissue. Bodybuilders have realized its effectiveness. It may be that the vast amount of blood that accumalates in the muscle actually tears down the muscle fiber due to pressure.

Isolate your muscles to get the most out of a particular workout. Doing leg extensions are a great isolation workout for your thighs. For biceps I recommend doing dumbbell preacher curls. Isolation works only one specific muscle instead of a compound movement (ex. Bench= compound due to chest, triceps, and front delt involvement).

ACTIONS OF DIFFERENT ESTERS

There are many different esters that are used with anabolic steroids / androgenic steroids, but again, they all do basically the same thing. Esters vary only in their ability to reduce a steroid's water solubility. An ester like propionate for example will slow the release of a steroid for a few days, while the duration will be weeks with a decanoate ester. Esters have no effect on the tendency for the parent steroid to convert to estrogen or DHT (dihydrotestosterone: a more potent metabolite) nor will it effect the overall muscle-building potency of the compound. Any differences in results and side effects that may be noted by bodybuilders who have used various esterified versions of the same base steroid are just issues of timing. Testosterone enanthate causes estrogen related problems more readily than Sustanon, simply because with enanthate testosterone levels will peak and trough much sooner (1-2 week release duration as opposed to 3 or 4). Likewise testosterone suspension is the worst in regards to gyno and water bloat because blood hormone levels peak so quickly with this drug. Instead of waiting weeks for testosterone levels to rise to their highest point, here we are at most looking at a couple of days. Given an equal blood level of testosterone, there would be no difference in the rate of aromatization or DHT conversion between different esters. There is simply no mechanism for this to be possible.

There is however one way that we can say an ester does technically effect potency; it is calculated in the steroid weight. The heavier the ester chain, the greater is its percentage of the total weight. In the case of testosterone enanthate for example, 250mg of esterified steroid (testosterone enanthate) is equal to only 180mg of free testosterone. 70mgs out of each 250mg injection is the weight of the ester. If we wanted to be really picky, we could consider enanthate slightly MORE potent than cypionate (I know this goes against popular thinking) as its ester chain contains one less carbon atom (therefore taking up a slightly smaller percentage of total weight). Propionate would of course come out on top of the three, releasing a measurable (but not significant) amount more testosterone per injection than cypionate or enanthate.

How to Keep Your Body in an Explosive Growth Spurt

It is important to adjust your meal planning every two weeks to ensure you adjust your caloric intake to accommodate your added muscle mass. The best way to burn extra calories is to have more muscle. A more muscular body will be able to enjoy more calories without getting fat.

At the same time if you do not add extra calories to compensate for your new muscle tissues you will sooner or later hit a plateau as a result of not eating enough.
After two weeks following the training and meal plan weigh yourself and measure body fat:


1. If your weight has increased by two to four pounds and your body fat either stayed the same or decreased leave everything as is.( this is what you want)
2. If your weight decreased add another 800 calories daily until bodyweight stabilizes then calculate your day two calories by multiplying your new maintenance daily calories by 125%.
3. If your weight stays the same then add another 500 calories per day until weight stabilizes then recalculate your day two calories by multiplying your new maintenance weight by 125%.

There are two different calorie days, day one and day two. Simply alternate between the two. After day two eat the day one calorie requirements again. When adjusting your caloric requirements every two weeks add or subtract the suggested amounts to both days.

How to Get the V-Cut Abs

V- cut -  those two lines of definition on the lower abdominals that are basically pointing to your crotch. Some people affectionately call them the “money maker” because when you can show that off you know that you are truly ripped and elite.
That “V” is shaped between the oblique muscles and some people think they are more of the abdominals because they can make a six-pack look like an eight-pack. But the v cut abs aren’t pronounced by using specialized workouts, they are earned through leanness.
They only way you will be able to see them, unless you are one of those naturally lean and shredded people that most of us hate, is by getting your body fat below 10 percent. Ideally 8 to 10 percent should result in showing off some v cut abs.
The Program
Weight training, including abdominal and core work, is recommended. However what will determine your success truly is diet and cardio.
If you were to put this into percentages it is easily 70% diet and then 15% cardio and another 15% in weight training. People think that it is the other way around and they can get by on a sub-par diet; but you can’t, at least not if you want v cut abs.
All of the excess sugar and junk you take in everyday affects how your body stores calories along with usually leading to excess calories you then fight to keep off. For this program you want to be in fat burning mode without even hitting cardio so that when you do it is twice as effective. You still need to hit the weights because muscle is important as well.
Workouts – Aim for three full body workouts a week. Utilize a program with compound exercises only and include deadlifts, squats, and clean and presses. This type of lifting program elevates hormones and the metabolism. While you won’t be on the same growth pattern, it will maintain you and get you shredded which makes you look even bigger.
Cardio – Mix in two to three sessions of steady rate cardio of about 45 minutes to 60 minutes along with two high intensity interval training sessions of about 30 minutes each week. Stagger the workouts so you don’t do two HIIT workouts in a row.
Diet – Cut back on all sugar and processed junk. Eat five to six small meals each day (or 4 meals and 2 snacks). Include protein in every meal along with either fresh fruits or fresh veggies. Dairy like yogurt and cottage cheese are fine. But you need to focus on eliminating all the garbage, especially in the morning. Breakfast needs to be your temple to start each day right and help retrain your body to shred fat rather than store it.
Try and start with scrambled egg whites and whole cut oats topped with fruit. Instead of coffee loaded with sugar and cream go black or drink plain green tea. Skip soda and beer, replacing them with water and lots of it.

Top 5 Bodybuilding Beginners Mistakes

A lot of people fall in love with the idea of wanting to build muscle. They often start out with good intentions and visualize themselves looking a certain way within a few months. More often than not they get this better image of themselves from the front cover of a magazine. All this fantasizing finally digests in their mind until they decide to hit the weights. Without thinking they haven’t really done any research and marched straight to the gym and started pumping Iron, this is were things start to go wrong.
The top 5 bodybuilding mistakes for beginners are:
Lack of commitment
Most people hit the gym thinking its going to be a quick fix and within a month or two they think they will be ready to pose for the front cover of muscle magazine, wrong. I can’t count how many of my friends have talked me into letting them train with me only to stop 5 weeks down the line. This is not only a waste of their time but also a waste of mine. After 5 weeks you should expect your muscles to feel more toned, You will even see a fairly fast increase on how much weight you can lift. But you really wont see any difference in size until 5-6 months down the line. And because it takes so long you wont notice the difference, as it is a slow progression over time. I suggest taking pictures before you start and then every 4 months onwards to compare. realistically give yourself 1 year of committed training.
Overtraining
Most beginners don’t understand that rest is also a big part of building muscle as is lifting the weights. You should generally only workout for about 45-90 minutes and not train the same muscles within 24-48 hours of each other. Its not a requirement to lift weights as often as you can for long periods of time. REST is one of the most important factors in bodybuilding.
Bad diet
Diet again is an important part of building muscle. Your body needs protein and lost of it, try and eat 25-30 grams of protein every 2-3 hrs. You also needs complex carbohydrates, try and eat 5 smaller healthy meals (protein and complex carbs combined) throughout the day so your body as always got enough nutrition rather than eating two to 3 big meals a day which your body cant digest and use all at once. Eating smaller regular meals will avoid excess food being stored as fat and give your muscles plenty of nutrition to repair themselves.
Bad form
Lifting weights incorrectly can also have a negative influence on your bodybuilding ambitions as well as cause sports injuries. If you are targeting a specific muscle always try to isolate that muscle with the weights. Always lift weights in a controlled manner and if you think you are lifting the weights wrong, ask an instructor.
Lifting too much weight
Ok this one also applies to some experienced lifters also. A few years ago down at my local gym I used to get asked by this guy (who reckoned he knew everything about bodybuilding) to spot him. He would pack the bar with as much weight as he could to do about 5 reps. Thing is, I would also have to lift the weight with him. So he ended up doing 1 rep and I helped lift the other 4 reps. He would then take his top of and pose in the mirror for 5 minutes. After 1.5 years of going to the same gym together I noticed he never made any improvement and still lifted the same weight. I also see a lot of beginners walk in the gym and lift more than they can control which also leads to bad form. My advice here is to start of low and build up. Don’t feel stupid because others seem to be lifting a lot more weight than you.

How to Calculate Your Daily Protein Requirement

According to the Colgan Institute the average male is 50 % of their lean bodyweight in muscle tissue. I use 55%. To calculate your muscle tissue weight you will need to know what your body fat percentage is.
Find out where you can get this done in your area by either infra red or preferably under water weighing. X-ray technicians now have very accurate methods to determine body fat as well.

Step one – Get an accurate measurement of your body fat percentage.
Once you know your body fat percentage figure out how much fat weight you have. You do this by taking your body weight and multiplying it by your body fat percentage.

Step Two – Figure out your fat weight.
(Body weight X Body Fat percentage = Body fat weight)
Subtract the amount of Body fat you have from your body weight then you will have your lean body mass. This is different from our end goal of your lean muscle mass weight as this weight includes the weight of your bones, organs and tendons.

Step Three – Calculate your lean body mass.
(Body weight – body fat = Lean body mass)
Now take your lean body mass weight and multiply it by 55%if you are male and 35% if you are female. Now you have an accurate weight for muscle tissue.

Step Four – Calculate your lean muscle mass
(Males: Lean body mass X 55%. Females: Lean body mass X 35%)
Now that you have an accurate amount of Lean muscle tissue calculate the amount of protein you require to support an explosive growth spurt.

Step Five – Calculate daily protein requirement.
(Lean muscle mass X 2.5 grams of protein)
Now you will have an amount of protein you require to eat daily for supporting an explosive growth spurt. Now you need to calculate how much protein to eat per meal so that you can effectively digest all the protein and keep protein abundant in your body throughout a twenty four hour period.

There are two types of anabolics

Class-I)These are mostly the oil-based injectibles.They work primarily by binding to and activating the androgen receptor,which then interacts with your DNA,sending out various signals to impact anabolism/anti-catabolism.
Class-II)These are primarily 17alpha-alkylated oral compounds.They,unlike their oil-based counterparts,do not bind well to the androgen receptor,and acheive their effects on growth/strength independent of this process,by binding to other types of receptors. The above study just offers some actual scientific proof into this,and sheds light on why it is beneficial at times to stack steroids from opposing groups,so as to get the maximum results through multiple pathways,as opposed to one primary mechanism.So basically it means you should stack a Test (whatever ester), a 17aa steroid, and maybe if you want some other type of Class 1 steroid. For optimal results. This is basically common sense, but good that there is scientific results to back it. Nothing puts mass on as efficiently as it,except for maybe tren.But unlike tren,testosterone only has ‘mediocre’ binding capacity to the A/R,being far outshined by deca and primo in the binding capacity department.Yet it provides much better overall growth.Why?It outshines the above aforementioned anabolics in the Class-II mechanisms,such as influences on GH,IGF-1,activation of satellite cells into full maturation,activation of prostaglandin receptors,etc. Man child-That’s exactly right.There are two steroids that possess DUAL activity(both class-I & II),and that is testosterone and tren.For this reason,they should form the base of your cycle.Tren has the strongest binding capacity to the androgen receptor of ANY steroid,therefore adding a class-I with it probably isnt necessary,as it’s more than sufficient in that department.It’s class-II activity isn’t as aggressive ,therefore adding in a class-II oral such as winstrol or dianabol would work very well.As for testosterone,,the same applies.Throw in an oral compound and a class-I,such as deca,eq,or primobolan,and you’ve got all the bases for anabolism completely covered.Now all you need is the right training stimuli,and ample nutrition,and you’re on your way to explosive growth.

Anabolic Steroids achieve their effects on hypertrophy through different mechanisms,and as such are classified into two different categories,class-I and class-II compounds.I will explain which ones work through which pathway,and how to effectively combine opposing groups to maximize potentiation of one another for explosive growth. Class-I-These are steroids who’s primary influence on anabolism is achieved through aggressive binding and activation of the androgen receptor.Examples of potent class-I’s are-Deca durabolin,primobolan,equipoise,oxandrolone. Class-II-These are compounds with potent activity independent of A/R binding/activation,and their activity has been monitored in neuron’s,microsomes,mitochondria,etc.Examples of potent class-II’s are-Anadrol,Dianabol,winstrol,Fluoxymesterone.
Then we have steroids that are potent combination steroids all by themselves(meaning they display influences on growth through both class-I and II activity,and thus are very effective as’stand-alone’anabolic agents as well as forming the ‘base’ of most steroid stacks).Two compounds possess this unique characteristic-Trenbelone and Testosterone.Either of these two steroids should form the base of most users stacks,as the cover both A/R and non-A/R mediated mechanisms,and adding to them with either a class-I or II will only potentiate that particular mechanism towards muscular hypertrophy.
Now that we’re aware of which compounds work through which mechanism, how do we combine them effectively to maximize each one’s potential?As explained above,Testosterone and trenbelone should form the base of any serious steroid stack,but great effects can be had by combining single mechanism steroids from opposing classes.

Examples:
*CUTTING*
Winstrol & Equipoise
Winstrol & Primobolan
Fluoxymesterone & Equipoise or Primobolan

*BULKING*
Deca & Dianabol
Anadrol & Equipoise or Primobolan
Winstrol & deca
And of course,using test or tren as the base compound for either cutting or bulking will only make results that much more explosive.If using test for
cutting,an anti-aromitase should be incorporated.

Growth Hormone And Bodybuilding

Growth hormone is getting a reputation as a miracle rejuvenating compound. According to a bevy of studies, a surge in your GH can increase your muscle mass; burn bodyfat; strengthen connective tissues, including tendons and ligaments; help heal injuries; revitalize your skin and hair; bolster your immune system and give you more energy.
It’s no wonder drug companies have been overwhelmed by the demand since GH was first introduced more than two decades ago. Today aging baby boomers consider it the Fountain of Youth, which is driving demand even higher. Most bodybuilders couldn’t care less about revitalizing skin and hair, but GH’s muscle-building, fat-burning potential has lured them to it like nerds to a “Star Trek” convention. Bodybuilders began experimenting with GH in the late ’80s and early ’90s, and now almost every pro is using or has used it. Many experts believe that human growth hormone is so powerful, it’s the reason physique athletes are so much bigger and leaner now than they were in past decades. In fact, GH may be the single biggest reason there are so many behemoths stalking the stages at pro contests—it’s the ultimate muscle-building, fat-burning compound, especially when used in conjunction with other substances—legal or otherwise. Scientists are beginning to understand that GH has synergistic reactions with other anabolic hormones in the human endocrine system, including testosterone. The problem is, GH is a prescription drug that you have to administer intramuscularly.

So the question becomes: How do you increase your GH naturally to harness its amazing power without having to inject it and risk dangerous side effects? The answer is, you take advantage of scientific training techniques and supplements that are based on the latest research. Training for GH release involves keying in on the big compound exercises, like squats and rows, and also getting a burn in the target muscles by supersetting exercises and/or using other set-extending techniques. If you want an even bigger, better surge, you should use supplements that complement those strategies, specifically GH Stak, an effervescent growth hormone booster, and Cort-Bloc, a cortisol control compound. GH Stak and Cort-Bloc synergize to ratchet up your natural growth hormone levels. As IRONMAN’s European researcher Michael Gündill explained, “When GH users are unhappy with their results, the culprit is usually cortisol. Cortisol and GH are mortal enemies. Studies have demonstrated that GH’s anabolic effects are blunted when cortisol level is high. Scientists think cortisol reduces the number and/or the responsiveness of GH receptors to growth hormone. What’s more, high-cortisol secretion is usually associated with a reduced GH secretion. Research has shown that GH boosters fail to elevate GH secretion whenever cortisol is high.” That pretty much sums up the synergy of the two supplements. Here’s how and why they work.

Does it Make Sense to Get Rid of the Fat and Build Muscle at the Same Time

There is not a fitness model or bodybuilder who is trying to lose fat and build muscle simultaneously. For people whose lives depend on their ability to transform his body, it is important to focus on the stages of muscle mass (6-9 months) and fat-burning phase (2-3 months).

Burning fat and muscle pumping at the same time - sounds highly desirable, but this is not a reasonable approach for maximum results, in spite of all the marketing tricks that are hard to reverse. Building muscle - an anabolic process and requires the creation of excess calories, while fat burning catabolic, and requires a deficit of calories.

How to burn fat and build muscle at the same time

If you have more than 15% body fat (25% fat for women), you will need to focus on burning fat, that in favorable circumstances may bring no one to build muscle mass. Otherwise, concentrate on pumping muscles. If you do not know your body fat%, read How to measure body fat.

Whatever your goals, the most important thing for you in the consumption of food should be eating right before a workout and nutrition after the workout as 30 minutes before and after training the muscles are most sensitive to protein intake (anabolic window.)

In terms of training, they may not differ greatly depending on the purpose (to burn fat and build muscles.) Weight training and strength training are equally effective to cope with both tasks.