Top 10 Foods For Muscle Building

Muscle growth relies primarily on protein and the foods you eat will determine the amount of muscle gain you make. Protein comes in many forms and varieties and should be consumed at a rate of 1 gram per pound of body weight per day. Here are the best 10 sources of protein available to you.

10. Tofu

Whilst not a mainstream source of protein this soybean packs a serious protein punch. It is useful as a protein source for vegetarians and can be used creatively in cooking high protein meals. 1 cup of tofu has 3.9g of protein, 2.1 g of fat and 15.3g of carbs.

9. Milk

One of the staples of a bodybuilding diet is milk. Consuming skim or even whole milk packs some serious protein. The benefit of milk for muscle gain has even been built into the GOMAD (Gallon of Milk a Day) diet. 1 cup of milk contains 7.9g of protein, 7.9g of fat and 11g of carbs.

8. Almonds

This nut is a very good source of fats for the body and high protein. Almonds can be used in between meals whilst you're on the go at work or just out and about. A cup of almonds contains a whopping 30g of protein, 71.4g of fat and 27.8g of carbohydrates.

7. Whey Protein

Protein shakes are a handy way to supplement your diet and add a great deal of protein in one meal. There are hundreds of different protein brands on the market so try to find something basic and with good nutrition information. 100g of whey protein has 31g of protein, 9g of fat and 49g of carbs.

6. Cottage Cheese

It could be surprising that cheese is a top source of protein. Cottage cheese has two benefits, firstly it boasts a good amount of protein and second the protein is slow release so eating it before bed will keep the body anabolic whilst you sleep. Cottage cheese per cup has 27.1g of protein, 5.3g of protein and 5.5g of carbohydrates.

5. Eggs

The most diverse protein source as it can be cooked in many different ways. Whole eggs can contain high levels of cholesterol so it is advisable to reduce the yolk to egg white ratio to 1:3. So for every three 3 egg whites use one yolk. The egg whites contain low fat and high protein. A whole boiled egg contains 6.3g of protein, 5.3g of fat and 0.56g of carbohydrates.

4. Lean Ground Beef

Ground beef is easy to cook and has a high amount of protein. Beef separates itself from the other lean meats by containing additional vitamins and minerals such as vitamin B12, zinc and iron. 100g of beef contains 25.5g of protein, 11g of fat and zero carbohydrates.

3. Chicken

The number one staple and well-known source of protein in the nutrition world is chicken. Chicken breast has great nutritional value. It contains high protein and little fat. 100g of chicken breast contains 29.6g of protein, 7.7g of fat and zero carbohydrates. Chicken and beef are great foods for a ketogenic diet.

2. Lean Meats

The other lean meats are all good protein sources. They range from turkey, steak and even kangaroo meat. These are good foods to eat to break up the monotony of chicken and beef as well as good items to choose when you're eating out. A 100g rump steak grilled contains 27g of protein and 13g of fat. Stick to leaner cuts to reduce the fat intake from these meats.

1. Fish

Tuna, salmon and other kinds of fish all contain plenty of good vitamins and minerals, omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D. Tuna is a convenient food that is good to eat at any time. It contains per 100g 37.5g of protein, 1.2g of fat and zero carbohydrates. Now you can see the reason fish made the number one spot.

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The Most Effective Muscle Building Exercises

If your goal is to select the best muscle building exercises from the thousands of different weight training exercises that are popular these days, it can be a hard task to reduce the list down to a manageable number of only the most effective free weights movements. What you find with nearly all of the exercises that are making the rounds in the gyms these days, is that each and every movement is either a derivative of one of the basic body building exercises or a specific exercise designed to target a certain muscle group. If your goal is to build muscle mass fast, then it's vital that you scratch down a short and manageable list of the free weights exercises that have been proven to help your muscles get stronger and grow.

Sure it's true that any weight training exercise will induce muscle growth up to a certain point, there is one style of free weight training in particular that has stood the test of time, compound exercises. While certainly not too exciting compound exercises are the most basic free weight exercises around and are very effective at helping you increase your muscular strength and helping you pack on muscle mass fast.

The beauty of free weight compound movements lies in the fact that they allow you to train with heavy weights through a complete range of motion that typically stimulates multiple body parts and multiple joints. This allows you to induce muscle growth in more than one muscle group by performing only one exercise. If you incorporate these types of muscle building exercises you are all but guaranteed to get the most out of your time in the gym.

That said, there are a ton of compound exercises and variations of those exercises, so which ones are the most effective for inducing muscle growth? As with anything in the bodybuilding and fitness realm, the specific free weights exercises that you decide to slide into your workouts will be based completely upon your goals. What works well for you may not work at all for me, so take the time to choose the best muscle building exercises for you and get to work!

Here is my go-to list of the most effective bodybuilding exercises. These are the exercises that make up about 98% of all of my bodybuilding workouts. While basic, focusing on these free weights exercises most of the time allows me to continue to enjoy increases in my strength and muscle growth in a very reasonable amount of time.

The Best Muscle Building Exercises

• Barbell Squat
• Lying Triceps Press
• Overhead Triceps Extensions
• Lunges (Barbell or Dumbbell)
• Weighted Step Ups
• Barbell Curls
• Alternating Dumbbell Curls
• Dead lift
• Stiff Legged Dead lift
• Barbell Rows
• Dumbbell Rows
• Seated DB Shoulder Press
• Barbell Shrugs
• Pull-ups
• Bench Press (Barbell or Dumbbell)
• Incline Press (Barbell or Dumbbell)
• Standing Barbell Shoulder Press

You probably noticed that a few of these exercises are technically not compound movements. In order to target certain muscle groups (like your traps and shoulders), you will need to perform some isolation movements. Whenever I need to work any isolation exercises into my workouts, I always try to choose the ones that allow me to train with the heaviest possible weight. Any exercise that restricts my range of motion too much will not allow me to train heavy enough.

Stop piecing together your workouts with less effective isolation movements and start getting the most out of your time in the gym. If you incorporate these basic yet effective muscle building exercises into your training sessions and put some effort into training hard and heavy, you'll begin to gain muscle mass and strength faster than you ever thought possible.

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Video of the Week: Dynamic Leg Lift

Dynamic Leg Lift (a dynamic version of Urdhva Prasarita Padasana) is a great way to strengthen your legs, core, and lower back, while mobilizing and stretching your shoulders. Those with lower back issues or tight hamstrings can try bending your lifting leg a bit.

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The 4 Day A Week Beginner's Workout

If you're a beginner who is just looking to get started with your workout program plan, it's going to be important that you take some time to ensure that you are doing a workout that is going to help you successfully reach the goals that you have set.

A four day workout is a great start for a beginner as it will still provide ample time off during the week for rest and allow you to specialize more on specific muscle groups compared to a full body workout set-up.

Let's look at what this four day a week beginners workout consists of.

The Split -

First, we'll be using an upper/lower body split for this workout, meaning you'll perform one upper body workout one day, one lower the next, take a rest day in between and then repeat the cycle before taking the week off for complete rest and recovery.

This split works great for both beginners and more advanced trainees, so you can in fact carry it forward as you progress along, making some adjustments for added difficulty.

The Exercise Selection -

The main focus of this workout will be around compound movements since as a beginner, focusing on increasing your overall strength foundation will be key to success.

Compound exercises allow you to do this while still keeping the total volume of the workout session at a reasonable level.

We will add a few isolation exercises towards the end of the workout to fully fatigue the smaller muscle groups, while keeping total volume still in check.

Rep/Set Ranges -

Finally, your reps will be kept in the strength building rep range so that you can focus on building that strong strength base before you advance your protocol.

The sets will be kept at a moderate level as well, using 2-3 sets per exercise to avoid overtraining from setting in. You need to move slowly at this point to allow your body time to adapt to the exercise demands being placed upon it.

If at any point as you go about this workout you start to feel like you aren't recovering between sessions, reduce back on the total set number of a few exercises. Never reduce back on the weight level however as that's where your primary gains are made.

Let's look at your workout approach:

Monday

Exercise Reps Sets Rest

Squats 8 2 60 seconds

Deadlifts 8 2 60 seconds

Lunges 10 2 60 seconds

Seated Calf Raise 12 2 30 seconds

Standing Calf Raise 12 2 30 seconds

Plank Hold 30 second hold 2 30 seconds

Tuesday

Exercise Reps Sets Rest

Chest Press 8 2 60 seconds

Bent Over Rows 8 2 60 seconds

Shoulder Press 10 2 60 seconds

Bicep Curl 12 2 30 seconds

Tricep Extension 12 2 30 seconds

Wednesday Off

Thursday Reps Sets Rest

Leg Press 8 2 60 seconds

Deadlift 8 2 60 seconds

Lat pulldowns 10 2 60 seconds

Front Lateral Raise12 2 30 seconds

abs Bicycle 15 2 30 seconds

ABS  15 2 30 seconds

Friday

Exercise Reps Sets Rest

Incline Chest Press 8 2 60 seconds

Pull-up 8 2 60 seconds

Shoulder Press 10 2 60 seconds

Bent Over Rows 10 2 60 seconds

Lateral Raise 12 2 30 seconds

Rear Delt Fly 12 2 30 seconds

Saturday/Sunday

Off or light cardio

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7 Testosterone Boosting Foods to a Better Life

If your intent is to increase testosterone naturally then it is important to find foods that can help you accomplish this. The mineral zinc has been proven to help naturally produce testosterone. Remember, eating these testosterone boosting foods once is not going to turn you into the raging hulk. It's important to incorporate these testosterone boosting foods into your weekly routine. Stick with it.

1. Lean Meat

Lean meat contains zinc, saturated fat, and protein to name a few. As mentioned above zinc is well known as a key element to naturally boost testosterone. You know protein is essential to building muscles, but you may not know that consuming protein also helps boost testosterone levels. Saturated fat is also needed (moderation of course) to boost testosterone.

2. Broccoli

Studies have shown that heightened estrogen levels lead to the accumulation of fat and can prevent muscle growth. Broccoli contains indole-3-carbinol which has been found to cut estradiol in half for men (which is good). Eat broccoli whenever possible to help increase your testosterone naturally.

3. Cottage Cheese

Eat 1% milk fat cottage cheese. Cottage cheese is packed with protein and low in fat. Protein is good for testosterone production.

4. Oyster

Oysters contain large amounts of zinc and protein. Try to eat them a couple times a week if you can. If you can stomach them raw feel free to do so. Do not fry your oysters.

5. Garlic

Garlic combined with a high protein diet has shown to increase your levels of testosterone naturally. Garlic contains the chemical diallyl disulfide, which stimulates the body to release a hormone that spurs the production of testosterone.

6. Bananas

Bananas contain the enzyme bromelain which studies have shown to boosts a man's libido. Bananas are also rich in B vitamins such as riboflavin which are essential to the testosterone manufacturing process.

7. Eggs

Testosterone is synthesized from cholesterol. Eggs are notoriously known for their high levels of cholesterol but that is not a bad thing. Food sources that contain cholesterol are therefore good for naturally increasing testosterone. At the time of this writing I have been eating 6 eggs a day for 52 days and I have never felt better. Muscles are are beginning to show up everywhere and I couldn't be happier.

If you are looking to boost your sex drive, increase your muscle mass, and have a more positive attitude try incorporating these foods into your life. Consistently eating testosterone boosting foods overtime will help in thees areas.

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Top 5 Muscle Building Back Exercises

Do you dream of adding some serious mass to your back, but are unsure of the best route to achieve this goal? Well look no further, as we provide you with some of the most effective exercises that should be a staple of any truly great back workout. A big back is something to be proud of, so here are our chosen five back exercises to help you along the way.

#1 The Deadlift

If you're serious about your training program, and your goal is to gain impressive amounts of muscle, you'll definitely want to include deadlifts in your routine. Although this exercise can be daunting to first timers, if performed correctly, the deadlift is one of the greatest back exercises available.

Not only does the deadlift target the back muscles, it also directly trains the lower body too. In fact, this wonderful exercise works the hamstrings, thighs, core, lower back, upper back and traps, so you'll be utilising a huge amount of muscle stimulation in one simple exercise!

#2 Bent Over Barbell Rows

This fantastic exercise is another that provides you with a great deal of muscle stimulation over a large area. Not only will bent over barbell rows target your upper back, they'll also work your lats, traps, lower back and hamstrings. A further advantage of the bent over barbell row is that it requires little in terms of equipment, keeping you away from those pesky machines. Ensure that the weight you use is heavy enough to fully stimulate your muscles, but also allows for correct form and full range of motion.

#3 T-Bar Rows

Continuing with our theme of exercises requiring little in terms of equipment, we present the T-Bar row. Commonly found within the routine of old school bodybuilders, this lift is both functional and effective. The T-Bar row should be included within your training program to add thickness to your lats, whilst also adding mass to your upper back, traps, rhomboids and deltoids. As with all free weight exercises, ensure that the weight you add to the bar is heavy enough to stimulate your back without limiting your range of movement.

#4 Single Arm Dumbbell Rows

The single arm dumbbell row is a great addition to any program, providing stimulation to the middle and upper back, whilst also targeting the lats, shoulders, traps and biceps. Unlike the barbell row, the single arm dumbbell row allows for isolation of each side of the back, which is useful as back training covers such a large area of muscle. To really get the most out of single arm dumbbell rows, remember to focus on pulling the weight with your back muscles, not the biceps.

#5 Pull Ups and Chin Ups

For the most part, we believe that the most useful back exercises involve free weights. When choosing our top five back exercises, however, it was an easy decision to include pull ups and chin ups. Both of these exercises are highly effective within back training programs, and again require very little equipment. Beginners should first attempt to perform chin ups, with the palms facing towards the body, as they utilize more of the bicep than the pull up, making the exercise a little easier to perform. Once the chin up and pull up have been mastered, resistance can also be added in the form of a weight belt to increase the difficulty of the exercise.

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The Best Tricep Muscle Exercise Routine For Big Triceps

Tricep are a good addition to the big guns of biceps in the front of the arms.

There are three parts to the tricep; the lateral, medial, and long heads. In order to fully develop the tricep, it is crucial that you work each of these three parts. One tricep exercise will not be enough to work all three parts of the tricep.

The best routine for big triceps is immediately after you work out your chest since most chest exercises also target the triceps. It is a good warm up for your tricep muscles. Work the triceps two times a week with at least 48 hours between workouts. Follow this exercise routine for the biggest tricep growth.

1st Tricep Workout Day:

Standing Dumbbell Extension: Sets 3, Reps 8-10To do this exercise you need a dumbbell at your preferred weight. Stand with the weight over your head, gripped by both hands with the arms extended. Lower the weight behind your head as you bend your elbows and bring it back up.

Lying Tricep Extension: Sets 3, Reps 10To do this exercise you should lie down on a bench holding the barbell with both hands less than shoulder width apart and your arms fully extended over your head. Then move the weight back slightly and lower it down to the top of your head. It is important that you keep your elbows in during the whole movement.

Tricep Dips: Sets 3, Reps 8-10This exercise is done on the parallel bars. You should place yourself between the bars with the bars at the sides of your shoulders. Grip each bar with your palms facing each other. Push yourself up until your arms are almost completely extended but not locked out. Bend your knees and cross your feet. Bring your body weight down slowly as you bend your elbows.

2nd Tricep Workout Day:

Close Grip Bench Press: 3 sets, Reps 8-10This is like a traditional bench press except the hands should be closer together on the bar. Perform it like a regular bench press.

Tricep Push downs: 3 sets, Reps 10This workout is down with a cable pulley with a bar at the end. Place both hands on each side of the bar with your palms facing away from the body. Pull the bar down and straighten your arms all the way.

Tricep Push Ups: Sets 1, Reps 20This move is close to the traditional push up. The only difference is the placement of the hands. Instead of having them shoulder width apart, bring them in closer until the thumbs are almost touching. Come down until your nose is close to the floor.

This workout should be done for the first 4-6 weeks. After that, change it up with some different moves or heavier weights. Remember that the body gets used to a routine. To keep the muscles in shock and still growing you have to give it something new to do.

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