How Women Can Build Muscle Fast To Get Thin And Toned

So, let me clear up a few of the most damaging myths to your progress in building muscle and getting strong.

1. There are supplements that are as effective as steroids. Actually, only steroids are as good as steroids. Nothing in the natural world is going to match what the chemical world has to offer (at least as far as steroids go). In other words, do not spend your hard owned money on products that purport to do what it cannot do. As for the chemical stuff, this is not a path you want to do down.

2. To look like a professional bodybuilder, you have to work out like a professional bodybuilder - no, not really. Who says that professional bodybuilders know what they are doing? Look it, most do but it is not a given. Carrying 230lbs on a 5'8" frame takes more than a good routine and some protein powder.

3. If beginners are suppose to do a whole body routine and an intermediate is suppose to split their workouts into 2, then well, I must need to do split my workouts 4 ways now - no, not really. More is not better. If you are seeing good results on 10 sets, it is not given that you will see better results on 20 or 30 sets. Frankly, giving maximum effort with the minimum amount of sets will yield maximum results.

4. To get big, you must eat big, huge, Godzilla like calories - okay, maybe. If you just want to get big (see fat), then you should eat a big meal every 3 hours - why not. The old timers used to recommend blending a quart of milk, cup of powdered milk, 3 to 5 scoops of ice cream, and a weight gain formula (remember the Weider No. 7) and drinking it throughout the day. Do you want to build permanent, lean mass over time or pack on 60/40 mix of ground beef in 4 weeks?

5. Going for the pump is sweet as is the burn. Getting that great pump with your muscles swelling to twice its size is great for the ego, but not so good for building muscle. You want a good pump, crank out 25 curls with a dumbbell. But will that recruit the deep fibers that will get you strong, and hopefully big? You want a burn; stick your arms out to your side and swing them in little circles about a 100 times. Your delts will be burning but not growing. Heavy weights with maximum effort at 6 to 10 reps with a couple forced reps or strip/drop sets will build strength and muscle.

There are other myths out there that can hold you back - absolutely. But as you work toward your fitness goals, consider these thoughts, weigh them against your experience, and validate the truth of what I claim.
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Can You Build Muscle With Resistance Bands?

Back then it was, "don't lift or you'll become muscle-bound," and today, it is "I don't want to get bulky." It used to be, "just showy muscles, nothing to them," and now, it's "I just want to tone a little."

One misconception that I want to deal with is the notion that you cannot build muscles with resistance bands. That somehow the only true means of building muscle is with weights. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Let's be clear first, muscle does not know what the source of any resistance is. It knows resistances and it knows that it is lifting against something. Whether that something is a bag of rocks, chains, dead weights, or resistance bands is not relevant, per se.

A muscle straining against elastic tubing or “rubber bands” strains the same as it does with an Olympic bar with plates on it. The issue is not the source of the resistance but whether you are straining to maximum effort.

The challenge, or the misconception, comes from that fact that most people are only familiar with the light, medium, and heavy bands that sell at places like Kmart or Wal-Mart. A person buys one, takes it home, and does 50 reps with it. There's no tension to start and it feels springy. Hate it. Throw it away. I've done that too. No muscle building here.

But there are systems, like the Bodylastics that I use, which have bands with labeled tensile strengths. You can use these graduate bands to increase resistance from light to impossible. I'm not kidding about how hard it is pull some of these bands.

What's important in muscle building is to force your body to work harder than it has before, say the previous workout. Let's say the last workout you used bands equal to 50lbs for 11 reps, then your objective for today is to do 56lbs for 8 to 10 reps.

That's because your muscles grow not from the exercise but from the recovery after the exercise. Whether you train to failure on with an Olympic barbell or with resistance bands is really not relevant. It's what happens after the workout.

As your body repairs the tiny tears and depleted energy cells, it makes it a little stronger and little more efficient in anticipation that you may do that crazy lifting thing again. If on the next workout, you do not challenge your muscles; your body kicks back and relaxes. But if your push yourself a little more; your body says, "wow, need to take some of that nutrient and build a little more."

I am no guru and I understand that I am simplifying this. Nevertheless, the key point is that you build your muscles after the workout.

If you diet is terrible and you are burning the candle at both ends, then it really does not matter whether you pumping iron or rubber bands. The equation for building muscle is: training to failure plus clean balanced diet plus lots of rest equal great body.

So, this is a very long answer to the question of whether you can build muscle with resistance bands. The answer is, "yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus." Oh sorry, wrong story - the answer is yes.

Oh by the way, the follow-on question should be, "but, can resistance bands build muscle as well as weights?" That would be no, but let's hit that another day.
Get healthier, stronger, and build muscle with free info/advice at www.smartweightgain.com. Loaded with free workout routines and advice from the best minds in the business, this is where you need to go for commonsense, straight shooting info. While you're at it, look at what Bodylastics has done for Hyo.

Helping You Build Muscle By Debunking A Few Myths

Back then it was, "don't lift or you'll become muscle-bound," and today, it is "I don't want to get bulky." It used to be, "just showy muscles, nothing to them," and now, it's "I just want to tone a little."

One misconception that I want to deal with is the notion that you cannot build muscles with resistance bands. That somehow the only true means of building muscle is with weights. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Let's be clear first, muscle does not know what the source of any resistance is. It knows resistances and it knows that it is lifting against something. Whether that something is a bag of rocks, chains, dead weights, or resistance bands is not relevant, per se.

A muscle straining against elastic tubing or “rubber bands” strains the same as it does with an Olympic bar with plates on it. The issue is not the source of the resistance but whether you are straining to maximum effort.

The challenge, or the misconception, comes from that fact that most people are only familiar with the light, medium, and heavy bands that sell at places like Kmart or Wal-Mart. A person buys one, takes it home, and does 50 reps with it. There's no tension to start and it feels springy. Hate it. Throw it away. I've done that too. No muscle building here.

But there are systems, like the Bodylastics that I use, which have bands with labeled tensile strengths. You can use these graduate bands to increase resistance from light to impossible. I'm not kidding about how hard it is pull some of these bands.

What's important in muscle building is to force your body to work harder than it has before, say the previous workout. Let's say the last workout you used bands equal to 50lbs for 11 reps, then your objective for today is to do 56lbs for 8 to 10 reps.

That's because your muscles grow not from the exercise but from the recovery after the exercise. Whether you train to failure on with an Olympic barbell or with resistance bands is really not relevant. It's what happens after the workout.

As your body repairs the tiny tears and depleted energy cells, it makes it a little stronger and little more efficient in anticipation that you may do that crazy lifting thing again. If on the next workout, you do not challenge your muscles; your body kicks back and relaxes. But if your push yourself a little more; your body says, "wow, need to take some of that nutrient and build a little more."

I am no guru and I understand that I am simplifying this. Nevertheless, the key point is that you build your muscles after the workout.

If you diet is terrible and you are burning the candle at both ends, then it really does not matter whether you pumping iron or rubber bands. The equation for building muscle is: training to failure plus clean balanced diet plus lots of rest equal great body.

So, this is a very long answer to the question of whether you can build muscle with resistance bands. The answer is, "yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus." Oh sorry, wrong story - the answer is yes.

Oh by the way, the follow-on question should be, "but, can resistance bands build muscle as well as weights?" That would be no, but let's hit that another day.
Get healthier, stronger, and build muscle with free info/advice at www.smartweightgain.com. While you're at it, take a look at how Hyo's doing after two months with Bodylastics. Good for a laugh, if nothing else