Personal Trainers Forum

[Personaltrainer]

Natural Bodybuilding 101 - How To Gain And Loose Weight

Many people are passionate about "healthy living"- natural
bodybuilding, fitness and health. Many seek it and never find
it. Several try only to fail. Many teens want big arms, or that
massive chest or Birdman lats. Then you have people who are
overweight, constantly struggling to get the gut off, but never
succeed. I will tell you why and how to achieve a state of
fitness – gain weight or loose weight - it isn't that difficult.
You don't need to steal testosterone from animals to get there.

It is simple and easy although many make it complicated and
frustrating like having to follow a "special diet" that consists
of nothing and water. The magical secret to all your fitness
goal needs - FOOD. That's right...it's not new, it's not
revolutionary and it's not stacks of anabolic drugs or diet
pills. If you're consistently eating well and with the correct
calories, you can manipulate your body to take whatever shape
you please.

To add size and muscle, one must eat over their caloric needs.
This gives the body extra calories and energy to add the desired
lean mass which many strive for. Losing weight is perhaps easier
then gaining weight. You simply must eat less calories then you
burn in a day. This makes your body target stored energy (fat)
and burns it for energy. Yes, it is as simple as that – you just
have to find your body's caloric maintenance. Many sites have
programs to figure this out so your goals will quickly be within
your grasp.

Also, to help prevent fat gain and to make your body in a more
anabolic (muscle building) state, 6 meals should be eaten a day.
Now most of you are thinking that's a lot. However, these meals
should be in even quantities and good portion sizes. Just
because you're eating healthy doesn't mean you can eat as much
as you want whenever you want. The idea of 6 meals a day is
this. Throwing 6 small logs on a fire over time will cause the
fire (your body's metabolism) to burn bigger and
stronger...however throwing 3 large logs on a fire will only
smother it and make it slower.

As far as what to eat, eat carbs, protein and healthy fats
usually in a 40/40/20% ratio. If you are trying to lose weight,
I recommend a mix of veggies and fruit (more dark green veggies
than fruit), along with lots of protein to maintain muscle and
fats for optimal hormone levels and healthy fats. This ratio
should be 20/60/20%.

A good diet in tune with training will be the signal that tells
your body to do what you want. Fat loss is obtainable with no
weight training whatsoever; however, to increase size weight
training is needed. Fat loss may be accelerated with a workout
regimen and cardiovascular training to burn extra calories and
also makes your body become more used to the idea of burning fat
for energy.

Getting a total daily value of 500 calories under your daily
caloric maintenance should be sufficient to lose fat. Mass gain
however for the general beginner will need weight training. For
overall mass you should do a full body workout three times a
week (one day on one day off cycle). This will create a chronic
stimulation for your body letting it know it must become bigger
and stronger to keep up with your activity levels and lifestyle.

A routine that works very efficiently is a 5x5 routine, which
means 5 sets of 5 repetitions. You will do 5x5 for Squats, Bench
Press and Bent Rows one day, and the next workout do 5x5 for
Squats, Shoulder Press, and Dead Bent Rows. Ab work may also be
done if desired. Start lifting the weights at 85% of your 5
repetition for each exercise and increase by 5% each week until
you are doing 100%.Once there, increase the weights by 2.5% each
week on all exercises. This will once again make your body
realize...it MUST grow. Now all you have to do is eat
approximately 500 calories over your caloric maintenance but
don't forget that working out burns calories so eat extra on
your workout days to make up for the loss and you WILL get
bigger.

You now have the knowledge to shape your body any way you
please – FOOD. If you're consistently eating well and with the
correct calories, you can manipulate your body to gain weight or
loose weight . Give it a shot and see if you really have the
desire to be whatever you want to be!