TRAINING & NUTRITION ARTICLES

So when winter is upon us we go into bulking season. In order to bulk we want to gain strength. So we want to look at the best exercises to gain pure strength and muscle. All exercises are good but certain exercises aid you in growing and developing massive strength.

1. Deadlift

Deadlift is brilliant for building up massive core strength. This is a must for anyone looking to gain size and strength. However, form is massively important and you can easily injure yourself by trying to lift too heavy. Focus on form first and the strength will grow. Up your weights slowly when you are ready to see strength improvements. This builds strength in your entire body from your legs to your back to your core. 

2. Squats

Both front and back squats are great. I personally prefer back squats myself. Again I can not stress enough the importance of good form. I see far too many young athletes looking at the amount of weight they are doing but the form they are using is dangerous. With all these exercises focus first on form and gradually increasing your weight. The numbers will come but that is not important. We are growing strength not weights.

3. Bench press

Some people love it some hate it. Not always the best for your joints and if you have shoulder injuries. But for me I love the purity of bench press. Nothing better for chest and core strength. Squeezing the chest together and controlling the movement is key. Like a broken record I will say it again, focus first on form the weight will come.

4. Pull ups

Very often neglected but a brilliant strength exercise primarily for back and lats but also targeting other muscle groups such as core and arm and shoulders. I myself neglect to do pull ups too often but it is a must do for growing pure muscle strength.

5. Shoulder press

Another brilliant pure strength exercise focusing on building the upper body and shoulders. The chest is also getting worked here as well as the core. Promoting overall muscle and strength gains. Slow movements and contraction is key to build strength.

Focus on different body parts every day isolating them in order to grow in strength. Each day start with these compound movements to gain that strength and muscle. Slowly go up in weight always keeping your form. Remember, this all goes well in conjunction with a clean and tidy diet. 

Winter is when we cover ourselves up in jackets and hoodies and is well known as the time for bulking. However, we not talking about dirty bulking, eating whatever you want whenever you want. We still dieting and keeping it clean. We want clean bulking through winter so that when summer comes we haven't gained too much fat. So lets look at some basic winter bulking tips to gain some quality mass.

1. Calories

So when bulking, we need to remember it is a fine line between too many calories meaning you gain fat, and not enough calories meaning you don't gain enough muscle. You need to up your calories in a clean manner using foods such as oats, rice, potato and sweet potato. If you eat everything in sight including bad foods you will bulk up with fat. Keep the protein at approximately 2.2g per kg of your own body weight, and the carbohydrates closer to 4.4g per kg. Clean carbohydrates are essential. Make sure you are eating every two and half hours keep pushing the calories regularly.

2. Cardio

Do enough cardio to keep your fitness up and strengthen your heart. Cardio is important no matter what season but regulate the amounts. 2-3 days where you do light cardio for 20-30 minutes is sufficient. 

3. Strength is important

When you gain strength you are most likely gaining muscle. Change up your workouts so that you are pushing yourself to gain muscle strength. Maintaining the same weights for months and the same boring workout plan will show you no results. Shock your body by testing it and pushing it. The more you can grow in strength, the more your muscle fibers are forced to grow in size.  

4. Rest increases reward

Remember, you do not grow in the gym, you grow when you are resting. Give your muscles sufficient rest and recovery time, make sure you get enough sleep and take days off to rest and recover your muscles. 4-5 days weights training per week is good. 

5. Post workout nutrition

This is one of the most important factors in bulking. Making sure you are getting the right amount of calories in at the exact right time. The best and most important time to take in your calories is post workout. You need a serving of whey protein with a fast acting carbohydrate to replenish and grow your muscles. Dextrose, maltodextrin, vitargo, waxy maize starch are all good carbohydrates to use. This is one of the most important rules to stick to, make sure your post workout nutrition is on point.

Bulking time is now! Use some of these tips and gain some solid muscle mass using these tips as guidelines. Then when the sun comes out you will have gained some serious clean muscle mass to show off!

I would love to write this and tell you all about how important stretching is and how much time I allocate for stretching, but I am terrible when it comes to stretching. So I write this to inform readers and myself on the importance of stretching and warming up before any strenuous training. 

The simple fact is that warming up initially elevates the heart rate and increases blood flow and the transport of oxygen around the body. This will increase your body temperature and prepare you for stretching. Stretching then increases the circulation of oxygen and blood throughout the soft tissue. this prepares your muscles, ligaments and tendons for weight training.

The most important thing is that stretching improves your range of motion and flexibility allowing for more movement and better muscle growth and recovery. Warming up and stretching decreases the risk of injury to muscles and joints in the long run.

There is a difference between warming up and stretching. Warming up means increasing your body temperate, opening up your blood vessels, your range of motion increases and your range of hormone secretion increases. This should be done by doing light cardiovascular activity for about 10 minutes and try vary the activity from day to day. Stretching improves your range of motion, your blood circulation, and your flexibility, as well as decreasing your risk of injury. Isolate each muscle and hold stretches for anout 30 seconds. Do not jerk or bounce and stretch slowly. 

These may only be simple tips however it is very often the simple things that are the most important. At the risk of sounding cliched you need a strong foundation to grow and build. Start with the basics. Even myself will try from tomorrow to do some more stretching even if it is only 2 minutes the first day. Everything starts somewhere. So lets start here.