How To Build A Ripped, Rock-solid Chest

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Everyone wants a huge chest, plain and simple. It is all too common to see inexperienced lifters slaving away on endless sets of bench presses and cable crossovers in search of full, thick pecs. The reality is that there is nothing complicated about building an impressive chest. The bottom line for huge chest gains is consistency, effort and steady progression in weight and repetitions.

To stimulate the chest using weights you will be using one of two motions: a press or a flye. If you want the greatest bang for your buck from your chest workouts, the true gains lie in your pressing movements.

Flyes may have their place from time to time, but nothing can compare to the overall anabolic effect of high intensity pressing movements. I’m talking about the basic, bread-and-butter lifts such as heavy barbell presses, dumbbell presses and wide-grip dips.

There are no secrets, magic formulas or killer techniques that will "shock" your chest into massive growth. Stick to your basic presses, focus on overload and progression, and I promise that you will see impressive gains.

Here are the most effective lifts for packing muscle onto the chest:

Flat/Incline/Decline Barbell Bench Press:

A standard barbell press is the meat and potatoes of any effective chest routine. This basic compound movement will allow you to handle the most weight through the given range of motion. The incline press will shift more of the stress to the upper region of the chest while the decline does the opposite, targeting the lower/outer region. The flat bench press works the upper and lower regions equally. I highly recommend a standard barbell press as a basic component of your chest routine.

Flat/Incline/Decline Dumbbell Press:

Dumbbell presses are another basic and highly effective movement for stimulating chest development. The main advantage that they have over the barbell is that they allow you to move through a more natural range of motion, helping to prevent shoulder injuries. They also prevent strength imbalances from occurring since one arm can't cheat for the other. The only drawback is that you are not able to handle as much weight. In any case, a standard dumbbell press is an awesome movement that allows for great chest stimulation.

Wide-Grip Dips:

An amazing movement for the chest that is often overlooked. Make sure to use a wider grip and lean forward to shift the stress from the triceps onto the pectorals. If pressing your own body weight is not sufficient then you can always add resistance using a weight belt. Dips are an excellent compound movement for overall chest development.

Here are a couple sample chest routines:

1) Flat Barbell Bench Press: 2 sets of 5 to 7 reps
Incline Dumbbell Press: 2 sets of 5 to 7 reps
Wide-Grip Dips: 2 sets of 5 to 7 reps

2) Incline Barbell Bench Press: 2 sets of 5 to 7 reps
Wide-Grip Dips: 2 sets of 5 to 7 reps
Flat Dumbbell Press: 2 sets of 5 to 7 reps

All sets should stay within the 5-7 rep range and should be taken to complete muscular failure. Write down the details of each workout you perform and focus on progressing in either weight or reps from week to week.

To learn about the proper methods for training all of your other muscle groups, visit my website by clicking the link below. You can gain instant access to a complete online video lesson series outlining the most effective techniques for training your shoulders, arms, back, legs and abs, all in step-by-step detail.

About The Author

Once an awkward, pencil-necked "social reject", Sean Nalewanyj is now a renowned bodybuilding expert, fitness author, and creator of the most celebrated natural bodybuilding program online today: "The Muscle Gain Truth No-Fail System".

If you can spare just 24 minutes a day, then you too can build a powerful new head-turning body that will skyrocket your confidence, drive gorgeous women crazy, and leave your friends, family and co-workers staring in disbelief... ALL in just a matter of months: www.MuscleGainTruth.com

Wimp Out In The Gym And Your Gains Will Be Gone in 60 Seconds

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The margin of time that determines muscle building success or failure in the gym is a heck of a lot shorter than you might think. Just as fraction-of-a-second moments during a 100 metre dash will make or break a sprinter's race, fraction-of-a-second moments will also make or break your body's muscle growth response in the gym.

In fact, your entire margin of success in the gym can ultimately be reduced to just a short time span of 60 seconds. That's correct, how you choose to handle a short 60 second time period during your workouts will translate to either poor, mediocre or significant muscle building results.

Although each entire workout will last for about an hour, only 60 seconds of that actual time will determine what kind of gains you achieve.

You may be scratching your head right now and wondering what the heck I'm talking about, but allow me to explain…

You see, every individual set that you perform in the gym is ultimately being performed for the benefits that will be achieved on the last 1-2 reps. Muscles respond to stress, and the only truly stressful reps that actually trigger your body's muscle building mechanisms are those at the end of each set when the body is on the brink of muscular failure.

If a given set consists of 6 reps, then reps 1-4 are only performed in order to get to reps 5 and 6. Reps 1-4 will do very little in terms of stimulating muscular growth, but are necessary to perform in order to overload the muscles on reps 5 and 6.

In other words, it is only the very last 1-2 reps that will ultimately yield a muscle building response from the body. The longer you can push yourself to battle the weights during this small time frame at the end of each set, the greater results you will achieve.

Any of you who have read my articles know that I'm a big advocate of training to muscular failure. There is simply no better way to trigger your body's adaptive responses than to train until your muscles cannot move the weight another inch.

The closer and closer that you can come to muscular failure, the more dramatically your body will respond. This time frame is literally measured in single seconds. If you drop the weights 5-6 seconds earlier than the next guy (the margin is probably even smaller than this), you'll be significantly sacrificing your muscle growth.

So, where did the 60-second time frame come from?

Well, if we assume that you perform 10 total all out sets per workout and have a margin of 6 seconds between success/failure per set, this gives you 60 seconds of total time per workout to either battle through with full effort or to surrender and settle for mediocre results.

It really is true; your bodybuilding success is literally measured by the short, precise moments at the very end of each set and the amount of effort you are willing to exert during this time.

If you can force yourself to train to all out muscular failure, you'll achieve the best results possible. If you drop the weight 3 seconds before muscular failure, your growth will be compromised. If you drop the weight 8 seconds before muscular failure, your growth will be compromised even further.

If we multiply our 60-second figure by my recommended number of 3 workouts per week, this means that your bodybuilding success in the gym will literally be measured by how you choose to handle one short 3 minute long period per week.

I bet you never thought of it this way before!

You must train hard and with full effort at all times. When the weight feels heavy and your muscles ache and burn with discomfort, you must push through and continue until true muscular failure is reached.

If you stop short, even a second short, your gains will be compromised.

Keep this in mind at all times in the gym and you'll experience better results than ever before.

If you want to learn some awesome psychological techniques for breaking through the pain barrier and “mentally numbing” the discomfort associated with hard training, make sure to visit my website using the link below for details...

About The Author

Once an awkward, pencil-necked "social reject", Sean Nalewanyj is now a renowned bodybuilding expert, fitness author, and creator of the most celebrated natural bodybuilding program online today: "The Muscle Gain Truth No-Fail System".

If you can spare just 24 minutes a day, then you too can build a powerful new head-turning body that will skyrocket your confidence, drive gorgeous women crazy, and leave your friends, family and co-workers staring in disbelief... ALL in just a matter of months: www.MuscleGainTruth.com

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Why Inadequate Rest Between Sets Will Murder Your Muscle Gains

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Bobby finishes a hard, focused set of barbell squats and re-racks the weight. His legs are wobbly, his heart is racing and he feels light headed as he takes a big swig from his water bottle. He looks down at his watch and presses the “start” button to begin counting down backwards from 2 minutes.

Bobby read that 2 minutes is the ideal rest time between sets in the gym, and he wants to get it exact. Once that watch beeps at the 2 minute mark, he'll be back in the squat rack to perform another set.

He stands up tall and paces around trying to catch his breath in preparation for his next battle with the weights.

*Beep*

2 minutes is up. His legs still feel weak, his heart still beats frantically and he doesn't quite feel 100%, but that watch beeped and that means his time is up. He must perform his next set regardless of how he feels.

He unracks the weight and squats down. His legs still burn and he wishes that he could have had more time to prepare for this set. He puts forth a mediocre effort, re-racks the bar, and sets his watch for another 2 minutes.

Bobby, just like a ton of other aspiring lifters in the gym, is making a deadly, critical mistake.

By having a set rest interval between sets, he is forcing his body to train at an effort level that is far less than his maximum potential and is severely sacrificing the amount of muscle growth he can ultimately stimulate because of this.

Muscles grow because of an adaptive response to stress. You lift X amount of weight for Y number of reps, and your body adapts to this level of stress. In order to see continual gains in muscle size, you must continually force X and Y to higher and higher levels.

In other words, building muscle is all about progression in both weight and reps. It is about lifting as much weight as you possibly can for the greatest number of reps that you possibly can (within a given rep range of course) and then continually striving to improve.

Because of this, you must always go into every single set of every single workout at your maximum strength potential. By sacrificing the amount of weight you can lift, you sacrifice the amount of muscle you can build. And there is no worse way to make this sacrifice than by not providing your body with enough rest between sets.

Throw out your stopwatch and forget about looking at the clock.

You should only begin your next set when you feel that you can perform it with 100% of your strength potential. A stopwatch cannot tell you when that time has arrived; only you can by listening to your body and relying on your own instincts.

The set rest period theory is also highly flawed because it does not take into account the fact that certain exercises tax the body much more heavily than others and therefore require more rest between them.

A deadlift and a tricep pressdown aren't exactly in the same boat here. After a heavy set of deadlifts to failure I'll usually be resting for at least 5 minutes, often even more. A set of tricep pressdowns is obviously not as taxing and may only require a rest period of 2.5 minutes for me to feel fully recovered.

Go on your instincts and only perform your next set when you feel that you can do so with 100% of your strength. Implementing just this one training technique can have a drastic effect on your muscle size and strength gains.

What about proper rep ranges? Workout length? Exercise selection and layout? For more details on proper workout structure make sure to visit my website below for exclusive details. Most people are dead-wrong in the way that they perform their workouts, and I can help you to clear up the confusion once and for all...

About The Author

Once an awkward, pencil-necked "social reject", Sean Nalewanyj is now a renowned bodybuilding expert, fitness author, and creator of the most celebrated natural bodybuilding program online today: "The Muscle Gain Truth No-Fail System".

If you can spare just 24 minutes a day, then you too can build a powerful new head-turning body that will skyrocket your confidence, drive gorgeous women crazy, and leave your friends, family and co-workers staring in disbelief... ALL in just a matter of months: www.MuscleGainTruth.com

4 Fatal Muscle-Building Myths Revealed

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If you’re serious about making a solid commitment to a muscle-building program, you need to be very careful of who you take advice from. Bodybuilding and fitness is literally a multi-billion dollar industry with new websites popping up every single day.

Many of the so-called “experts” out there really don’t have a clue of what they’re talking about and are only motivated by pushing expensive pills, powders and “miracle programs” on you that you don’t really need.

If you don’t watch your step you may end up falling for some fatal muscle-building pitfalls that will literally destroy your gains. In this article I’m going to expose 4 very common muscle-building myths in order to keep you on the proper path to the mind-blowing muscle and strength gains you deserve.

Myth #1: In order to build muscle, you must achieve a "pump" during your workout. The greater the pump you achieve, the more muscle you will build.

For those of you who are just starting out, a “pump” is the feeling that you get as blood becomes trapped inside the muscle tissue when you train with weights. The muscles will swell up and leave your body feeling bigger, tighter, stronger and more powerful. While a pump does feel fantastic, it has very little, if anything to do with properly stimulating your muscles to grow.

A pump is simply the result of increased bloodflow to the muscle tissue and is certainly not indicative of a successful workout. A successful workout should only be gauged by the concept of progression. If you were able to lift more weight or perform more reps than you did in the previous week, then you did your job.

Myth #2: Building muscle will cause you to become slower and less flexible.

Contrary to what you may think, building a significant amount of lean muscle mass will actually speed you up rather than slow you down.

Muscles are responsible for every movement that your body makes, from running to jumping to throwing. The bottom line is that the stronger a muscle is, the more force it can apply. Having stronger, more muscular legs means increased foot speed, just as having stronger and more muscular shoulders means the ability to throw farther.

Myth #3: You must always use perfect, textbook form on all exercises.

While using good form in the gym is always important, obsessing over perfect form is an entirely different matter. If you are always attempting to perform every exercise using flawless, textbook form, you will actually increase your chances of injury and simultaneously decrease the total amount of muscle stimulation you can achieve.

It’s very important that you always move naturally when you exercise. This could mean adding a very slight sway in your back when you perform bicep curls, or using a tiny bit of body momentum when executing barbell rows.

Myth #4: If you want your muscles to grow you must “feel the burn!”

This is another huge misconception in the gym. The “burning” sensation that results from intense weight training is simply the result of lactic acid (a metabolic waste product) that is secreted inside the muscle tissue as you exercise.

Increased levels of lactic acid have nothing to do with muscle growth and may actually slow down your gains rather than speed them up. You can limit lactic acid production by training in a lower rep range of 5-7, rather than the traditional range of 10 and above.

If you want to clear up your confusion and learn the truth behind many other popular muscle-building myths, visit my website by clicking the link below. I'll reveal why 95% of people in the gym fail miserably and will teach you how to get on the proper path toward muscle-building success...

About The Author

Once an awkward, pencil-necked "social reject", Sean Nalewanyj is now a renowned bodybuilding expert, fitness author, and creator of the most celebrated natural bodybuilding program online today: "The Muscle Gain Truth No-Fail System".

If you can spare just 24 minutes a day, then you too can build a powerful new head-turning body that will skyrocket your confidence, drive gorgeous women crazy, and leave your friends, family and co-workers staring in disbelief... ALL in just a matter of months: www.MuscleGainTruth.com

Multivitamins: A Necessary Muscle-Building Supplement Or A Waste Of Cash?

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One of the most currently debated issues in the supplement industry is in relation to the consumption of multivitamins and the role that they play in enhancing overall health both in and out of the gym.

Can bodybuilders benefit by supplementing with extra vitamins and minerals? Let's review some basic biology as well as the function of each specific vitamin in order to find the answer...

In the grand scheme of things, your body is basically one giant mass of chemical reactions. Each of these individual reactions is fueled by small proteins called enzymes, which work by lowering the amount of energy that is needed for a specific reaction to occur. Enzymes require the use of a "co-enzyme" which alters its shape and allows it to perform its job properly. Co-enzymes are also referred to as vitamins.

So when it all comes down it, vitamins are needed to fuel the thousands of chemical reactions going on within your body at all times. Not only does this play an important role in overall metabolism and body health, but it also plays a vital part in the muscle-building process.

Here is a list of the major vitamins and the ways in which they will aid you both in and out of the gym...

Vitamin A - Is crucial to the process of protein synthesis where individual amino acids are combined to form new muscle tissue. It also helps the body to produce glycogen, the stored form of carbohydrates within the body.

Vitamin B1 - Also known as "thiamine" and is heavily involved in protein metabolism as well as the production of hemoglobin which helps to carry oxygen around the body.

Vitamin B2 - Also known as "riboflavin" and aids in the fat burning process as well as helping the body to produce energy from carbohydrates.

Vitamin B3 - Also known as "niacin" and increases vasodilation within the muscle tissue, helping you to appear fuller and more vascular.

Vitamin B6 - Also known as "pyridoxine" and is very important because of its effect on protein digestion. Muscle-building diets require larger than normal amounts of protein, and this means that your body needs a higher amount of vitamin B6 than the average Joe.

Vitamin B12 - Also known as "cobalamin", vitamin b12 ensures that the brain and muscle tissue are communicating efficiently and this has a direct effect on muscle growth and coordination.

Biotin - Helps the body metabolize amino acids and produce energy during workouts.

Vitamin C - Heavily involved in amino acid metabolism and the formation of collagen. Collagen is found in your connective tissue and keeps your joints strong and healthy. Vitamin C also plays a role in the production of steroid hormones in the body and also enhances the absorption of iron. On top of all of this, vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant which flushes out free radicals and prevents damage to your body cells.

Vitamin D - Helps the body to absorb calcium and phosphorus more efficiently. Calcium is very important during muscle contractions and also helps to maintain strong bones and joints. Phosphorus is involved in the synthesis of ATP, the usable form of energy within the body.

Vitamin E - A very powerful antioxidant which helps to hunt out and neutralize free radicals. This will help to flush out many of the natural metabolic waste products your body produces and maintain the health of your cell membranes.

As you can clearly see above, vitamins play a very important role when it comes to building muscle and gaining strength. Hard training bodybuilders certainly require higher amounts of these vitamins than the average sedentary Joe, as these vitamins are depleted during intense sessions in the gym.

In addition, a calorie-dense diet requires a higher intake of vitamins to aid in the digestion process. In fact, being deficient in just one vitamin can literally affect thousands of small process within the body.

So, are multivitamins necessary for bodybuilders?

Absolutely!

From protein synthesis to energy metabolism to digestion to vasodilation, multivitamins should be an important part of any effective supplementation plan.

For an honest, unbiased review of over 20 of the most popular muscle-building supplements on the market today, visit my website by clicking the link below. You'll learn which supplements are worth your money and which are no more than pure marketing hype...

About The Author

Once an awkward, pencil-necked "social reject", Sean Nalewanyj is now a renowned bodybuilding expert, fitness author, and creator of the most celebrated natural bodybuilding program online today: "The Muscle Gain Truth No-Fail System".

If you can spare just 24 minutes a day, then you too can build a powerful new head-turning body that will skyrocket your confidence, drive gorgeous women crazy, and leave your friends, family and co-workers staring in disbelief... ALL in just a matter of months: www.MuscleGainTruth.com

Muscle-Building Success From Home: Can It Be Done?

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I receive emails everyday from aspiring lifters all over the world, and one of the most common questions I'm asked is…

“Do I have to join a gym in order to build a strong, muscular body?”

The answer, my friend, is no. With the right equipment and planning you can follow an equally effective bodybuilding program from the comfort of your home without ever having to set foot in a gym.

In fact, my first 2 years of bodybuilding were spent working out with basic equipment in my basement, and I saw incredible results doing this.

Maybe you can't afford a gym membership due to your financial situation.

Maybe you lead a busy lifestyle and would prefer to save time by training at home.

Maybe you're simply too embarrassed or uncomfortable to train in a regular gym setting at the moment.

Whatever your reason, don't worry!

I currently workout at a gym with my training partner but have to say that my years spent lifting at home were fantastic.

I didn't have to worry about the travel time to and from the gym. I could simply slip downstairs whenever I felt like it and all of my equipment was there waiting for me.

I could listen to whatever music I wanted to, as loud as I wanted to without having to worry about those around me.

I could grunt, yelp and scream through my sets if I was in the mood without disturbing anyone (hey, squatting to failure isn't easy okay?) or train shirtless if I felt like it.

When the workout was over, I could sprawl out on the floor in exhaustion and know that my post workout shakes were just a few steps away, and that I wouldn't have to hobble to my car and spend anymore time driving home.

It was great.

The only real disadvantage is that your exercise selection will decrease because you won't have access to certain pieces of machinery such as a leg press or calf machine. You can purchase certain machines if you have the money to spend and plan on training at home over the long term, but for the majority of people this simply won't be possible.

The good news is that planning out a proper bodybuilding routine does not require the use of any fancy equipment, and all of the machine exercises that you would regularly perform can be swapped for freeweight substitutions.

Here is the basic equipment that your home gym should contain:

1) An adjustable barbell with freeweight plates – A cast iron set is probably a good idea, and you must also make sure that you purchase enough weight so that you can continually progress from week to week.

2) Adjustable dumbbells – This is much more efficient and cost-effective than purchasing an entire set of dumbbells. You should be able to buy the barbell and dumbbells together in a single set.

3) A bench with incline adjustments – A good sturdy bench is a must-have for performing bench presses and other seated movements. If possible you should purchase a bench that can be set on an incline and that also contains safety catches if you plan on training alone.

4) A chin-up bar – These can usually be purchased for 15-20 dollars and can be placed inside of a door frame.

5) A squat rack – This is usually the trickiest piece of equipment to purchase, as a full squat rack can be pricey. Squats are an irreplaceable movement and should always be a part of your workout routine, especially if you don't have a leg press machine handy.

If you can't afford a squat rack then you'll have to be creative. The bottom line is that you must have some sort of apparatus that will allow you to safely unrack a loaded bar and drop the bar onto a safety catch (or the floor) if your strength gives out during the lift.

Don't ever squat without a safe place to drop the bar! Most full squat racks will also provide a chin-up bar on top, so you can kill 2 birds with one stone if you decide to purchase one.

So there you have it; the 5 pieces of basic equipment that are needed to set up a home gym. As long as you have these basic tools in your arsenal you can perform an equally effective workout without ever having to join a traditional gym.

If you're all set to go and need a highly effective, step-by-step workout routine to follow, visit my webpage below. I can teach you exactly which exercises to perform and the ideal number of workout days, sets and reps you should use to get maximum results from your efforts. I can even customize a specific workout plan for you based on the equipment that is available in your home gym...

About The Author

Once an awkward, pencil-necked "social reject", Sean Nalewanyj is now a renowned bodybuilding expert, fitness author, and creator of the most celebrated natural bodybuilding program online today: "The Muscle Gain Truth No-Fail System".

If you can spare just 24 minutes a day, then you too can build a powerful new head-turning body that will skyrocket your confidence, drive gorgeous women crazy, and leave your friends, family and co-workers staring in disbelief... ALL in just a matter of months: www.MuscleGainTruth.com