HOW TO TRAIN EFFECTIVELY. THE COMPLETE GUIDE FOR BEGINNERS

Either you're a novice or an intermediate in this field that required dedication and a 24/7 commitment, you have come to the right place, in this article you will find all the concepts and the principals, in order to put the guidelines for your road to achieve a sculpted body, lose weight, and/or get mass with class, generally speaking you will get the body you always wanted, by following these solid facts and principals about lifting you will be able to have a clean start at the gym if you are novice, if you are already hitting the gym for a while, this article will help you to correct your lifting skills in case there is some anomalies. This article is little bit longer than usual, so grab a drink ( water preferably ) ... chill back, focus, and happy reading.

We will mention the principals of lifting, not rules, the difference lies in capturing the right pattern that will suits your requirements, rules are standards, so following them may not be a good choice, depending on your goals and body type, the rules can not work, so processing your program based on principals will give better results.

Principal N°1 : Fat Loss

How does the body burn the stored fat ?

Metabolism it's what keeping the wheels rolling, it's the engine room of your machine,your never-ending calorie burn. Food being turned into energy and that energy being burned off to keep your hair growing, your heart beating, your liver pumping out bile, your lungs transferring oxygen into your bloodstream.

It's all the various chemical reactions that  happen inside your body, 24/7, that keeping you alive. With a simple move, such as decreasing the food intake, will lead to a fat burn process, and that is called "Caloric Deficit", but some will not lose weight even if their food intake is at the lowest, here is the main reasons why you are not losing weight :

*The secrets about losing weight.

*5 reasons why you are not losing weight.

Principal N°2 : Hypertrophy

The majority think that there is a secret behind building muscles, while few of us hold that secret so tight and decline to share it. The scientific fact is clear and loud, Hypertrophy Specific Training "HST" is the mechanism responsible for the muscle growth. The foundation and principles came from laboratory research, without any boring details ... they deducted from various experiments, that progressive overload, compound movements (Squat,Deadlift and Bench-Press), and low-volume workouts are the basis of HST. Ergo the cells become larger, and the muscles look bigger.

Principal N°3 : Obstacles

You will find various obstacles, especially if you are a novice lifter, here is a list of some stuff you need to watch out from :

Capacity : 

You can go heavy of course, it is necessary, but going above your capacity is a mistake, don't ever sacrifice the form in order to lift heavier, ego does not make you stronger or fit.

Joints' pains : 

It can caused by many reasons, but the best choice you can make is to prevent this kind ob obstacles by stretching a lot, and doing a proper warm up, these two tips are more than enough to prevent joints' pain.

Recovery : 

Rest is very important when it come to muscle growth, thus, always listen to your body and don't rush yourself by training day in day out, take the rest you need until you feel that you're ready for a good workout.

Flexibility : 

When it comes to full range of motion, this late is the cornerstone for muscle growth, fat loss, and strength purposes. Having an average flexible muscles is more than enough to prevent injuries and have a good proportional body, also it will give you a healthy posture.

Principal N°4: Muscle Mechanisms 

Understanding the muscle mechanisms, the motion concepts, contractions, and neutral control is a must. The muscles are dull entities, meaning that they don't understand the impact you apply on them when you exercise, but they react to it, ergo, depends on which pattern you use in the gym, your muscles will react differently, it has been already mentioned in this article the fat loss and hypertrophy principals, now we will talk about how to train your muscles in order to validate those principals.

Hypertrophy : 

In order to achieve an optimum muscle growth, the training needs to be intense, consisting with moderated sets and reps, meaning that you reach a respectable pump, the workout is short -45 minute 1 hour max-, and the nutrition pattern consists of an above average protein intake.

Fat Loss : 

The training consists of long sets and fast reps, in order to burn the intake calories, and reaching the failure barrier, it's the only way to burn the extra fats.

Strength : 

A lot of sets with minimum reps - from 3 to 5 reps per set -, and taking long period of rest between each set, will allow you to hit heavy lifts, thus your muscles will get denser and stronger.

The muscle memory exists, your muscles get used to a certain motion and exercises, so shocking them from once a while with different exercises will allow you to surpass the limits they achieve after a particular period of continuous training, i.e. you need to change the program and customize a new one after certain period of time (personally I change my training program after each 8 months). Also when it comes to choosing to kind of training, you need to find an optimum solution for your needs, meaning that the workouts must validate the fat loss, strength, and hypertrophy principals.

HOW TO GET BIG ARMS And/Or SCULPT THEM ~ THE RIGHT WAY TO TRAIN YOUR BICEPS AND TRICEPS

Everyone wants big arms, including girls. There is no secret regarding the method of getting big arms, but of-course there is a right way and a wrong way. Let's highlight some of the wrong things you may be doing, leading to slow development. The first mistake you may be doing is focusing on isolation exercises or non-conventional ones, concentration curls and EZ barbell curls for the biceps, cable triceps extensions, two arms seated dumbbell extensions for the triceps. If you are doing those late exercises you need to stop. Compound movements are the answer, for girls, if you don't want massive arms you can follow the same instructions. Increasing the reps will lead to sculpting the arms without increasing the muscle mass.

Now let's proceed with the right method for developing your guns:

REST

Resting is critical, especially for arms. Training arms so often not only slows down their development, but it may lead to injury. They are always on duty, while training back, chest, or shoulders, your arms are always taking a percentage of the movement. Thus giving your arms time to recover is very important.

EXERCISES

The arms' muscles are not big as the back muscles for example, so over-training them can reverse the development. Listen to your body and if an exercise is giving you pain, don't do it.

TRICEPS 

Close Grip Bench Press 3 Sets / 8-10 Reps (Progressive Overload)

Skullcrushers 4 Sets / 6-10 Reps (Progressive Overload)

One Arm Standing Dumbbell Extensions  2 Sets / 15 Reps 

BICEPS 

Barbell Curls 4 Sets / 6-10 Reps (Progressive Overload)

Preacher Curls [I prefer Dumbbells] 2 Sets / 6-8 Reps (Progressive Overload)

Hammer Curl 2 Sets / 12 Reps 

The list of training programs according to each level:

Untrained: An individual who has not trained on the exercises before, but can perform them correctly.

Novice: An individual who has trained regularly for up to several months.

Intermediate: An individual who has trained regularly for up to a couple years.

Advanced: An individual who has trained multiple years.

HOW TO GET STRONGER, FIT, AND LIFT HEAVIER

 " The compound movements are the basics for any training program, if you are skipping these three exercises, the deadlift, the squat, and the bench press, then you are doing it wrong. You can not overcome your body limits without these basic exercises, thus mastering these three compound movements are a must "

THE DEADLIFT

via www.thegymcrowd.com

For the deadlift, the most important thing is to avoid knocking on snap city's door ( avoid injuries ), it is a very important to have a strong core, in order to handle the heavy weight - also you need a very strong grip - personally i use a double overhand grip, never a mixed grip (one hand is turned around to face away from the lifter, it can lead to a bicep tendon tear), that's it for the tips. The best technique I apply to increase my Deadlift performance, is to do pose reps (holding the weight at the negative position of the movement during 10 seconds) after i finish the classic Deadlift workout - CLICK HERE TO SEE THE DEADLIFT WORKOUT - I add 3 sets of pose reps, each set consist from 1 to 3 reps with 50% of my max weight, thus it will increase the resistance performance, power up the grip endurance, and put a lot of pressure on your spinalis thoracis  ( the muscles surrounding your spine ), which allow your back to stay balanced, and your from will upgrade.

THE SQUAT

via extremebodyfit.com

The same principal you can apply for the squat as the deadlift, plus you need to focus on the abductors, doing lunges and sumo squats need be done with the same amount of focus as you do for the squat, you can strengthen up your abductors by doing wide stance squats, your glutes are also a very important variable to consider while doing squat, engaging your glutes while squatting will protect your back from injuries.

Here is a standard leg workout you can follow.

THE BENCH PRESS

via sarahmariano.com

Having massive pecs is good, but having a proportional healthy pecs is better, the same principal about pose reps is applied for the bench press, for the grip, you need to have a neutral grip where your forearms are always parallel, with that you will protect your elbows and shoulders. Add push-up until failure at the end of your workout, it will increase your pecs performance regarding the speed and the quality of the form.

A STANDARD CHEST WORKOUT YOU CAN FOLLOW 

BRAZILIAN LOWER BODY WORKOUT

First of all, we need to keep in mind that the female pelvis differs from the male's one. The female pelvis bones are lighter and less dense, wider, the pubic arch is wider, and many more characteristic, thus, the female is more flexible and has a natural mobility for the squat, meaning, a better development for the glutes. The best strategy for reshaping the backside is to perform the right exercises. Many women think that lifting a light weight for multiple reps is the best way to define their muscles, however it's an incorrect assumption. You will get better results pushing your body hard and lifting as heavy as your capacity allow you to, so that's the prime focus here.

1. THE FULL SQUAT

6 SETS / 1* 15 reps,2* 8 REPS, 3* 6 REPS, 4*5*6* 5-3 REPS (Progressive Overload)

Of-course, squats are known internationally by their effectiveness, but most women short themselves on this exercise, going only part-way down through the motion won't fully recruit the glutes muscles, unless you have some former injuries, knee pain, or back pain, there is no reason to not push yourself and squat to the dept.

2. SPLIT SQUATS

3 SETS / 10 REPS

This exercise will place a large amount of stress on a single leg right near the bum region so you can see quick results and improvements in strength. You can perform this exercise with either a barbell or dumbbells, also it will target your core, as the abs help maintain your balance. More the steps are lengthen, more emphasis on the hamstrings rather than the quads, which is the goal of this exercise.

3. JUMP SQUATS or BOX JUMPS

4 SETS / 10-15 JUMPS

Finally this exercise is a finisher for your glutes workout, it will target the entire lower body, glutes, quads, and hamstrings, it is also a cardio exercise for burning calories. The higher the jump is being performed during this exercise the more you'll be targeting the glutes, so each time try to push yourself and get a higher box each time you perform this exercise. 

* = Set

THE BEST KEPT SECRET ABOUT LOSING WEIGHT WHILE GAINING MUSCLES

Losing weight as extra fat while gaining muscles is what everyone dreams about, many think that it's impossible or unreal, but the science is clear and loud, understanding the mechanism of how your body creates fat will make things clearer. The body is an engine that needs fuel 24/7, so it is safe to say that the fats get burn as fuel, the problem is that fats are the last resort for the body to call as a fuel, misleading concepts make people wondering what diet they should believe in, i say don't believe in any diet, just follow these two simple principles down bellow and you'll get the wanted results :

Following a low fat diet does not work

If you take the fats out of foods, it tastes like cardboard - so what do they do ? - they dump the food in sugar, thus you start getting first level fuel intakes, not only you give your body a big amount of first level calories, but you get sugar rushes, and your liver transform all the extra sugar into fat, ergo following a low fat diet makes your fat.

Following a high protein diet does not make you big

The trending norm, says that you need 2.5 grams per 1 Kg ... it's wrong, and right at the same time. The pro Bodybuilders can follow that norm, they train twice a day, each workout is so intense and last for hours, no vacations ... so they need a lot of protein intakes, in order to fix the damaged cells in their muscles, but for us amateurs, we don't need that much protein, training 4 or 5 times per week, working out for 2 hours max ...  the extra protein intake will be transformed into fat, and/or become residues, thus you will be wasting money and time, also your digestive system, and metabolism could get shocked and decrease their performance.

HOW TO GET 3D BIG WIDE SHOULDERS

The shoulders are one of my favorite muscle groups to work. I train them, like all muscles, with one ultimate goal, to shock and destroy. Considering the fact that shoulders are a fairly small muscle group, I find that training them along with back muscles is very effective since the majority if not all of the back exercises indirectly stimulate the shoulders. Therefore it makes sense to train them with back, allowing them to attain the most effective stimulation possible. So without any further delay, here is the workout i follow to have the 3D Big Shoulders :

Behind The Neck Press  5 Sets / 5*3*2*1*1 Reps (Hit Your Max)

WATCH THIS VIDEO TO LEARN THE RIGHT FORM

Lateral Raises 4 Sets / 10 Reps Progressive Overload

Bent Over Low-Pulley Side Lateral 3 Sets / 10 Reps Progressive Overload

Front Dumbbell Raises  3 Sets / 10 Reps Progressive Overload
Bent Over Rear Delt Raises 5 Sets / 10 Reps Progressive Overload

AN UNLEASHED SECRET ABOUT DEVELOPING AND FIRMING UP THE BACK MUSCLES

The back is a critical part of your body, one false move and you can snap your back, thus, the exercises targeting the back muscles must be performed perfectly. In this article you will experience a detailed explanation about the back anatomy. Being aware of how your muscles work allows you to train them properly for optimized results.

TRAPEZIUS

This is a very wide triangular shaped muscle that covers almost all of the muscles at the nape of the neck, and a large part of the back. The fibers of this muscle provide a pulling mechanism in three directions: up, down and in. Its function is to turn the head and raise the shoulders.

RHOMBOIDEUS MAJOR/RHOMBOIDEUS MINOR

The rhomboids originate on the spinal column and attach to the middle of the scapula. Their function is to bring the scapula in towards the spine, literally meaning to squeeze the shoulder blades together.This muscle originates on the outer edge of the scapula and attaches to the humerus. It serves to pull the arm back.

LATISSIMUS DORSI (OR LATS)

This is the largest muscle of the back. Fan or "V" shaped, they provide force in a number of body positions, these same positions can be duplicated on a pulldown machine using varying angles, that is, you can pull straight down, or in any leaning back position.They are attached to the upper end of the humerus and run down the vertebral column and pelvic girdle. The function of this muscle is to pull the arm downward. If the arm is in a fixed position, then the lats can pull the arm upward.

ERECTOR SPINAE

A group of muscles that give support to the spinal column. These muscles are: the longissimus, the spinalis and the iliocostalis. The function is to extend the spine.

Quick Tip :as you can see, the back is quite complicated. Yet, there are two main types of movements that work the back: pulldown movements and rowing movements. Then there are power moves, like the deadlift

WORKOUT

DEADLIFT 8 Sets / 6,4,3,3,2,1,1,1 Reps (Progressive Overload. Don't Lift Above Your Capacity)

BENT OVER BARBELL ROW 3 SETS / 6-10 REPS (PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD)

WIDE-GRIP LAT PULL-DOWN 3 SETS / 8-10 REPS  (PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD)

BARBELL SHRUG 3 SETS / 15 REPS

ONE-ARM DUMBBELL ROW 2 Sets / 15-20 Reps

SEATED CABLE ROWS OR T-BAR ROW 2 SETS / 10 - 15 REPS ( ALTERNATE BETWEEN THESE 2 EXERCISES AFTER EACH WORKOUT)