Benefits of Essential Fatty Acids

What many people aren't aware of is that there is that there are fats that are beneficial for our organism. The essential fatty acids (EFA) are crucial for plenty of our bodily functions and they cannot be synthesizes from the body itself. Therefore, we must make sure to intake them from our daily nutrition. EFA are refereed as "essential" because they are important for good health.
Alpha-linolenic acid and linoleic acid are the two essential fatty acids that are found in foods like flaxseed oil, fish, walnuts, soya oil, canola, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds ,etc.
Studies have proven that EFA have positive effects in:
High blood cholesterol
High blood pressure
Immune system function.
High blood triglycerides (a risk factor for heart attacks)
High blood pressure
Cardiac arrhythmia (irregular heart beat, which may lead to death if it occurs during a heart attack)
Infant brain development.
Improve metabolism
Support and protect liver function
Improve insulin action
Increase growth hormone secretion
Increased nitrogen retention
Improve testosterone production
Improved energy production of cells

How to Gain Muscle Mass

People, who have no relation to sports at all, are aware that the best way to gain mass is to sit around all day, burn minimum calories and eat all kinds of junk food. This is one way to gain mass and increase your weight. Let’s say the easy way. Is this what we want? A body full of fat without exercise following an unhealthy way of living? Of course not.
When it comes to weightlifting, bodybuilding and sports in general, gaining mass means increasing your body-weight and in the same time increase lean muscle percentage. Increasing your muscle mass will make you feel stronger, healthier and more confident since your whole appearance will change dramatically. To avoid any misunderstanding gaining muscle mass doesn’t mean you will end up looking like the bodybuilding professionals you see on the magazine covers. You will be witnessing your own improvement day by day and you can regulate the progress you make.
So, I have listed five simple rules to follow, which will help you achieve your goals:

1)Work on your Strength
Before starting your muscle gain plan, make sure you have spent a couple of months working on strength training routines and cardiovascular exercise. The higher your strength levels are the more you can lift allowing you to add pure muscle mass.
2)Physique
Cardiovascular is also crucial at this phase since you need endurance for the heavy workload that lies ahead of you. Cardio creates new blood vessels allowing more blood inside the muscle cells triggering muscle growth.
3)Weight Gainers
You will need lots of extra quality calories, sourcing from carbohydrates and proteins. This can be provided from a weight gainer. There is a great variety to choose from in the market. Take your time and research in order to find the best weight gainer that suits you.
4)Maximum Weight and Minimum Reps
I will suggest a mass gain workout routine in a next article of mine, but until then you should keep in mind that you must work with maximum weight around 80 percent of your maximum lift and reduce your reps at three to four tops. This way you will pump your muscles and force your body to create new muscle fibers in order to support your workload.
5)Minimize Cardiovascular and Abs Training
Cardiovascular and abs training is not your priority at this phase. Reduce your cardio pace to medium and train your abs no more than twice a week. Don’t worry. You will have the opportunity to work on them while you get ripped after the mass gaining period.
Keep those muscles pumping!

The Best on Stage!!

No Connection between Protein and Fat

In a study conducted among 25 healthy individuals living in a controlled setting who were randomized to over-consumption of different levels of protein diets, those consuming the low-protein diet had less weight gain compared to those consuming normal and high protein diets, and calories alone, and not protein appeared to contribute to an increase in body fat, according to a study in the January 4 issue of JAMA. The researchers also found that protein did contribute to changes in energy expenditure and lean body mass.
"Obesity has become a major public health concern with more than 60 percent of adults in the United States categorized as overweight and more than 30 percent as obese," according to background information in the article. The role of diet composition in response to overeating and energy dissipation is unclear.
George A. Bray, M.D., of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, La., and colleagues conducted a study to determine whether the level of dietary protein differentially affected body composition, weight gain, or energy expenditure under tightly controlled conditions. The randomized controlled trial included 25 U.S. healthy, weight-stable male and female volunteers, ages 18 to 35 years, with a body mass index between 19 and 30. The first participant was admitted to the inpatient metabolic unit in June 2005 and the last in October 2007. After consuming a weight-stabilizing diet for 13 to 25 days, participants were randomized to receive diets containing 5 percent of energy from protein (low protein), 15 percent (normal protein), or 25 percent (high protein), which they were overfed during the last 8 weeks of their 10- to 12-week stay in the inpatient metabolic unit. Compared with energy intake during the weight stabilization period, the protein diets provided approximately 40 percent more energy intake, which corresponds to 954 calories a day.

Are Weights at Home Worth It ?

Many people choose to pass on gym memberships and prefer to bye gym equipment for home. I'm not against this tactic. However, if you are among those who are determined to build some serious muscle and change your whole life perspective throughout bodybuilding, I would recommend you choose a gym membership instead. Here is why:

1) A gym membership offers a higher motivation. Although money shouldn't be an issue when it comes to training, you are actually forced to go to the gym knowing you have paid for it.

2) In the gym you will never be alone. That means that if you need someone to assist you, advise you or even workout with you, most probably there is going to be someone there, unless you train in a...totally deserted gym.

3) Unlike most people believe, installing gym equipment at home is a rather expensive solution. If you want to train all body-parts correctly and alter your exercises from time to time, then you will have to spend a respectable amount of money on barbells, dumbbells, bars and machines.
As a conclusion I would recommend the gym option since bodybuilding and sports in general, are a mean of socialization and not isolation.
Keep those muscles pumping!

Six Tips to Increase Your Metabolism

Metabolism is the procedure in which the body burns down calories and converts them into energy. In other words, our organism is consuming “fuel” in order to support all the necessary bodily functions.
People who have the privilege to have better metabolism, burn fat more easily and worry less about the amount and the quality of food they intake. It is true that some have the genetic gift to have better metabolism than others. However, there are certain ways to improve your metabolism. I give you ten tips to help you towards that direction and I would advise you to follow as many as possible:

1) Eat Less but More Often
If you manage to adopt new eating habits you will notice the changes in your body almost immediately! Eating less and more often gives your body the opportunity to metabolize the exact amount of food it needs without storing it as fat.

2) Importance of a High Quality Breakfast
Breakfast is without a doubt the most important meal of the day. In the morning, after a good night sleep the organism stays without nutrients for over eight hours. So, it is essential to provide yourself with a high quality breakfast.

3) Increase Protein Intake and Reduce Carbohydrates
Protein is the core of the muscular system. Add more protein to build more muscle and reduce fat. People with a higher muscle percentage develop better metabolism.

4) Essential Vitamins
Vitamins and especially the vitamins of the B-complex plus E and C are crucial for your metabolism process. They work as antioxidants therefore they play a very significant role as fat burners.

5) Green Tea and Coffee
You have probably heard of various side-effects of coffee. However, if you consume it limited, let’s say one cup every morning you will get all the benefits. Studies have shown that coffee helps increase metabolism. Green tea is used as a natural fat burner and is being suggested from experts to people who are trying to lose weight.

6) Exercise and Workout
This is maybe the most important factor among all. Exercise and regular workout triggers your metabolism the right way, burns extra calories, creates muscle and is your ultimate weapon against fat. To understand the essence of workout and especially workout with weights, I must note that one pound of muscle burns nine times more calories than a pound of fat. While you build muscle your metabolism ratio accelerates in the same time!
Follow these simple tips and I am sure that you will start to notice the first results sooner than you think.
Keep those muscles pumping!

Arnold Classic 2011 Final!!

The 2012 Arnold Classic Participants

2012 Arnold Sports Festival
Branch Warren To Defend Title At 2012 Arnold Classic
1. Fouad Abiad

2. Gustavo Badell
3. 
Lionel Beyeke
4. Matthias Botthof
5. Evan Centopani
6. Eduardo Correa
7. Brandon Curry
8. Dexter Jackson
9. Michael Kefalianos
10. Ben Pakulski
11. Shawn Rhoden
12. Branch Warren
13. Ben White
14. Dennis Wolf

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Branch Warren will return to the competitive stage for the first time in nearly a year when he defends his title at the 24th Annual Arnold Classic at the 2012 Arnold Sports Festival.
Warren, who won the Arnold Classic and the British Grand Prix in March 2011, did not compete in the 2011 Olympia due to an injury. He will face three-time Arnold Classic champ and 2011 Arnold Classic Europe runner-up Dexter Jackson, 2011 Arnold Classic runner-up Dennis Wolf and 2011 fourth-place finisher Evan Centopani in an international field of 14 competitors.

In the Ms. International contest, six-time champion Iris Kyle will gun for her third straight victory in Columbus. She will be challenged by four-time Ms. I winner Yaxeni Oriquen and 2011 third-place finisher Alina Popa in a field of 15.
2012 Ms. International (15)
Maria Rita Bello
Brigita Brezovac
Kim Buck
Tina Chandler
Alevtina Goroshinskaya
Monique Jones
Iris Kyle
Debi Laszewski
Cathy LeFrancois
Zoa Lindsey
Geraldine Morgan
Yaxeni Oriquen
Kim Perez
Alina Popa
Maria Segura

Four-time champ Adela Garcia will defend her Fitness International title against a field against a field of 17 that includes 2011 runner-up and 2011 Arnold Classic Europe winner Tanji Johnson and 2011 fourth-place finisher Camala Rodriquez.
2012 Fitness International (17)
Michelle Blank
Jodi Boam
Myriam Capes
Regiane Da Silva
Tina Durkin
Allison Ethier
Adela Garcia
Oksana Grishina
Tanji Johnson
Diana Monteiro
Julie Palmer
Kayde Puckett
Camala Rodriguez
Daniella Ruban
Kizzy Vaines
Sheri Vucick
Bethany Wagner

Two-time defending champ Nicole Wilkins and 2011 runner-up Erin Stern will resume their rivalry at the 2012 Figure International. Ava Cowan, who finished third in 2011, Cheryl Brown (5th in 2011) and Teresa Anthony (6th in 2011) also highlight the field of 16.
2012 Figure International (16)
Jelena Abbou
Teresa Anthony
Cheryl Brown
Krissy Chin
Ava Cowan
Heather Dees
Alicia Harris
Raquel Hernandez
Candice Keene
Gloria Keplinger Tarpley
Sue Knott
Larissa Reis
Erin Stern
Gennifer Strobo
Latisha Wilder
Nicole Wilkins

Nicole Nagrani, winner of the inaugural Bikini International in 2011, is back to defend and will face a field of 18 that includes Sonia Gonzales and Nathalia Melo, who finish second and third, respectively, in 2011.
2012 Bikini International (18)
Jennifer Andrews
Jaime Baird
Abbie Burrows
Juliana Daniell
Sonia Gonzales
Candyce Graham
Diana Graham
Jessica Jessie
Lexi Kaufman
Nathalia Melo
Justine Munro
Nicole Nagrani
India Paulino
Jessica Paxson
Natalie Pennington
Monique Ricardo
Tianna Ta
Christine Vargas

Matthias Botthof (Arnold Classic), Alevtina Goroshinkaya (Ms. International), Diana Monteiro (Fitness International), and Raquel Hernandez (Figure) earn automatic invites based on overall victories in their respective classed at the 2011 Arnold Amateur IFBB Bodybuilding, Fitness, Figure & Bikini Championships. Gloria Keplinger Tarpley earned an invite into the Figure International based on her overall win a the 2010 Arnold Amateur.

The 24th Annual Arnold Classic, Ms. International, Fitness International, Figure International and Bikini International contests will be held March 2-3 at Veteran Memorial and the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio during the Arnold Sports Festival.

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year to Everybody!
We wish happiness and health to all of you.
Strength Training Muscle has grown with your support and trust. Since summer of 2010 were we published our first post Strength Training Muscle has evolved to a main information source about everything related to our favorite sport which is bodybuilding. Lots of info about nutrition, exercises, workout plans, supplementation history of the sport, videos and many more can be found in our huge archive. Hundreds of visits per day prove that and give us the will to improve ourselves and increase the content and the quality of our information even more.
Let us wish that 2012 will be a year of personal progress for all.
Keep those muscles pumping!

Best Training Methods for Strength and Muscle Gain

In previous articles, we described various training methods that helped you succeed and reach the targets you have set. The method we will be showing to you in this article is one of my favorites and is guaranteed to make you stronger and bigger in a relatively short time frame. Just a few weeks later you will start noticing some benefits in both strength and mass.
It is a training method called 21 or its alternative variation called 28. The concept is to perform the same exercise in three or four different ways. So, how exactly is this training method being carried out?
Let us say that biceps are scheduled in our today’s workout. Starting with the 21 variation of the method, you grab a curl bar and do six regular reps. Continue by doing another six reps only this time you do the motion from the middle and up to the top and you complete the exercise by doing another six from the lowest point up to the middle of the motion range. It is important not to rest between the different moves.
The muscle burn and the feeling of your muscles being on the verge of exploding is unique! You can apply this method to all exercises in every muscle group that you train. Go easy on the weights at the beginning until you have adjusted properly and you have learned the technique. It is also important not to cheat. If you feel that you cannot complete the exercise, then consider reducing the weights or the reps.
The 28 variation of this great strength training method is actually the same as the 21 plus an extra set of reps that are being performed slowly. After completing the six regular reps, continue performing six reps extra slow and then do the upper half and the down half movement. The aim of this extreme training method is to give your muscular system a shock that will trigger the muscle growth procedure. As to the question how long to stick with this program, I would suggest 10 weeks max in order to avoid muscle adaptation.
Do not forget that even the best workout plans need to be combined with proper nutrition, supplementation and recovery time in order to give you 100% percent results. Patience and persistence are also two factors that are necessary while you work hard in the gym.
Keep those muscles pumping!