Do you know the simplest way to get rid of the fat on your mid section and get a chiseled mid section? With the goal of getting ripped abs awesome six pack abdominals at the top of nearly everybody’s list, it seems that everyone is dying to know the smartest way to go about uncovering their abs. While I can think of probably 5 things off of the top of my head that could be used to get you moving towards your goal of a firmer mid section, there is 1 big trick…

If you want to get an awesome six pack, you’re going to have to lose the fat on your mid section!

There is definitely a bunch of information available that shoots to teach you how to melt off midsection fat and expose your six pack abs, the truth of the matter is that most guys don’t want to put in the work that’s required to make it happen. Putting the tips together in order to lose mid section fat is not an easy thing to do. It requires a lot of planning, hard work and dedication.

In order to move you towards your goal of awesome six pack abs, I’ve put together a quick list of tips that will help you solve the problem and allow you to burn ab fat without resorting to unhealthy diets, fat burner pills or any sort of unsafe techniques. If you start out by implementing these tips today, you will melt abdominal fat. That's exactly how to get washboards abs quickly and naturally!

The Way To Burn Abdominal Fat

Here’s how to go about stripping off abdominal fat quickly and easily…

1.  Track what you eat every day for 7 days. If you want to lose abdominal fat, you’re going to have to pay close attention to what your eating so that you can create a calorie deficit. The only way to lose abdominal fat or body fat for that matter is to take in fewer calories than you expend each day. The only way to do this consistently is to keep a very careful eye on what you are eating.

2. Once you’ve tracked what you’re eating each day for some length of time, you need to total up the number of calories and cut back on your intake by about 300 calories per day (assuming you’re eating no less than 1200 calories at all times). This will start the fat burning process and help you instantly take charge of your calorie balance which will allow you to lose abdominal fat fast.

3. Next on the list if you’re serious about losing abdominal fat is to make it a habit to perform some form of free weight workout for 45 minutes 3 – 4 times each week, in conjunction with 3 – 5 sessions of cardiovascular exercises each week. Both weight training and cardiovascular exercise, burns calories and helps with the calorie deficit that you’re trying to create. As an added fat melting bonus, when you begin to pack on muscle mass to your body because of the weight training, your body begins to burn more calories at rest, this will allow you to lose abdominal fat faster than you otherwise would.

The bottom line is that in order to lose abdominal fat, you’ve got to learn how to create a calorie deficit through smart dieting and exercise. And you’ve got to make sure that you keep on top of all of your hard work. While it would be nice to think that it’s possible to get six pack abs in only a few weeks, it's just not realistic.

Building a six pack is a process that almost always involves consistent effort and attention for weeks at a time. So don’t make the mistake of getting upset after only a few days of work. Put your head down and get back to work and over time you will burn abdominal fat and unearth an eye catching set of six pack abs!

Are you looking for a a few good ab workouts to help jump-start your ab workouts over the edge? If so, you’re definitely not all by yourself.  While the desire to get six pack abs is shared by everyone, it’s definitely true that most people don't even know what's going on when it comes to designing an effective abdominal work out.

In order to help out, I’ve listed a few simple yet effective abdominal programs that target each of the muscles in your mid section, ensuring that you’ll actually move closer to getting ripped and shredded abs you’ve always desired.

Before we get into the good ab workouts, it’s very important that you figure out right up front that it really doesn’t matter how you train your ab muscles, if you’re not going to focus on what you're eating each day.  While you do need to work in a few abdominal workouts in order to build up your mid section, you’re just not going to be able to see them until you strip away the body fat that’s covering them up in the first place! The only way to make actually uncover your abdominal region is to get busy burning off body fat not just in your abs, but all over your entire body.

If you want to get rid of body fat, you’re going to need to pay close attention to what you’re taking in every day as well as performing free weights workouts that target the stronger muscle groups on your body. So definately be ready to swap around your diet a bit and focus on working on the most powerful muscle groups on your body like your; chest,shoulders, legs,back,etc. Focusing your workouts on the most powerful muscles burns more energy witch in turn allows you to melt off more body fat. The more fat you can get rid of, the more eye-catching your ripped abs will be!

The Good Ab Workouts

I really think that the ab workouts listed below are all you really need in order to build amazing six pack abs. If you focus the majority of your work on your dietary intake and total body workouts and you also make it a habit to fit in a few decent ab workouts each week, you will start to expose your abs and move towards your goal of a leaner and sexier waistline.

Don’t try and work your abdominals every day of the week! Not only is it a counter productive to your goals, but you’ll be negatively affecting the amount of body fat you’re able to burn – instead of focusing on the bigger muscles in your body, you’ll be training with exercises that don’t require nearly as much effort to get through.

Good Ab Workout #1

Hanging Knee Raises – 3 sets x 8-12 reps
Saxon Side Bends – 3 Sets x  8-12 reps
Weighted Crunches – 3 Sets x 8-12 reps

Good Ab Workout #2

Slant Board hip Thrusts - 3 sets x 8-12 reps
Dumbbell Russian Twists – 3 sets x 8-12 repetitions
Swiss Ball Crunches – 3 sets x 8-12 reps

Make sure and perform each of these "best ab exercises" with enough weight to give your ab muscles a reason to grow! Rest for 1 – 2 minutes between each set and try to focus on making sure the muscle contracts during each repetition. Perform each rep in complete control over the movement – do not use training weights that are overly heavy or use crappy form or you’ll eventually hurting yourself.

There you go…some really good ab workouts that are effective and simple. Pick one and find time for it in the beginning of the week, then move on to the next workout after some time to rest. Stick with the six pack abdominal workout tips listed above, (and make sure not to go crazy and work your abdominals each and every day!) and over time, you'll be able to build an impressive mid section.

Nearly everyone seems to be surfing the web for the ultimate bicep workout to help them increase the size of their arms fast.  Yes there are a lot of effective bicep routines available on the web, I really think that it's important to prioritize your biceps training appropriately.  While it's critical that you learn how to train your biceps in the right manner, you really shouldn't spend too much of your gym time focusing on such a small muscle group. Not only will your overall physique suffer if you spend all of your time training your biceps, but your biceps themselves will not respond to this type of onslaught for long.   Eventually the muscle group that is dominating your attention and time in the gym will begin to actually atrophy and get smaller!

photo credit: mateoutah

In comparison to many of the bigger muscle groups on your body, the muscles in your biceps are tiny. Just because there is no other muscle on your body that will grab the attention of the ladies quite like a a muscular pair of biceps, one of the biggest downfalls of most guys is that they spend too much time to training their biceps and too little time focusing on the bigger muscle groups on their bodies.

if you really want to build bigger arms, then you've got to prioritize your training in the following manner (or at least pretty close to this). First off target the bigger muscles on your body and work your way down the list.

Stat by training your…

1. Legs - (quads/glutes)
2. Chest - (pecs)
3. Back - (lats)
4. Shoulders - (delts)
5. Triceps
6. Biceps
7. Calves

You'll want to devote a bunch of energy to hitting the larger muscle groups heavy and hard.  If you do this, what you'll find is that your smaller muscles (like your triceps and biceps), will begin to get bigger incidentally without direct training due to the amount of muscle building hormones released by your body when you work your way through heavy sets for your bigger muscle groups. By focusing on the larger muscles first and making them the priority in your training program, you will begin to see an increase in the strength and size of your biceps.

Again keep in mind that when you perform many of the “pulling” exercises that are targeted to your back, you will be activating and incidentally training your arms (usually with a heavier weight than you usually would), so make sure to split up your back workouts and space them at least a day apart from your bicep workouts.

Now that you’ve got your muscle building program designed properly and everything is in check.  Then you’ll want to move forward and start working in a few basic bicep workouts.  Don't make the mistake that nearly 90% of all guys in the gym make and work your arms non stop – it’s a bad idea that is actually counterproductive to your goal of bigger biceps.

If you want to build bigger biceps, you need to pair down your training efforts to 1 bicep workout per week.  That's all you need to do to make your biceps grow!  If you work your biceps with intense workouts any more than this, they will begin to lose size – so try not to do it!

Now that you understand how to properly prioritize your workouts and how often you need to be hitting your biceps, here's a quick bicep workout that can help you build size on your arms quickly without taking up too much of your time in the gym.

Start out with a few minutes of moderate to light intensity cardio.  I usually do 5 -10 minutes of light jogging. Followed by a full body flexibility routine. A lot of guys only stretch out the muscle groups that they train each day – I just like to stretch out the all of my muscles each day so that I can prevent any type of tightening up or injury.  After you get your stretching and warm up in, it's time to jump into the weight lifting warm up sets below.

Killer Bicep Workout

Warm Up Set #1:

Exercise: Alternating Dumbbell Curl – 1 set x 10 reps

pick a training weight that allows you to move the weight quickly through a full range of motion.  I typically begin with 20 lb dumbbells.

Warm Up Set #2:

Exercise: Dumbbell Curl – 1 set x 8 reps

Again choose a weight that allows you to move the Dumbbells fairly quickly through a full range of motion, but make sure that it is heavier than what you started with. I like to jump up to 35 lb dumbbells here.

Rest for 1.5 minutes

Warm-Up Set 3:

Exercise: Alternating DB Curl – 1 set x 6 reps

*Perform this warm-up set with a weight that you can move though the full range of motion easily and under control, but this time begin to up the ante a bit. the goal is to complete 6 reps with a weight that is close to your workout weight, but light enough not to prematurely fatigue your biceps. I typically move up to 50 lb dumbbells for this set.

Take a 2 minute rest

Keep in mind the goal of the warm-up sets in this bicep workout is to simply get the blood pumping through your biceps and to warm up your tendons and ligaments.  That’s the only goal of the warm-up sets. Make sure that you do not prematurely fatigue your biceps muscles during the warm up sets by either using weights that are too heavy or by shortening the rest intervals. If you do this your arm workout will suffer and as a result you will not be able to stimulate as much bicep growth as You'd otherwise be able to!

Now we'll jump into the training sets for the bicep workout.

Exercise #1: DB Curl

After completing your bicep workout warm-up…

*Complete 2 sets x 6-8 repetitions

**Make sure to use a weight that allows you to complete the exercise with decent form, but a weight that is heavy enough that you can't perform more than 8 reps with!

*Rest for 2 - 3 minutes between sets

Bicep Exercise #2: – DB Incline Curls

*Complete 2 sets x 6-8 repetitions

Again make sure to use a weight that allows you to complete the exercise with decent form, but a weight that's heavy enough that you can't possibly perform more than 8 reps with.  that's exactly how to get your biceps to grow.  If you train with a weight that's too light, your biceps will not grow and if you train with a weight that's too heavy you're eventually going to hurt yourself.

When it comes to making your arms grow, that’s really all there is to it.  Learn how to prioritize your workouts to target the bigger muscle groups on your body first, and then move on to 1 solid bicep workout each week.  As long as your muscle building diet is set up appropriately and you get enough sleep each night, you will build muscle mass quickly and your biceps will increase in size!

By choosing the right pectoral exercises, you can throw together some extremely effective pectoral workouts that will ultimately force your chest to explode.  If your goal is to build a big muscular chest, then the upper body exercises that you choose are vital to the process.  If you piece together your chest workout with exercises that don’t fit certain criteria, then you really won't be able to build your chest up quickly. In this article, I’m going to uncover the specific criteria that your chest exercises need to meet in order for you to stimulate some serious upper body growth, as well as list a few of my favorite pectoral building exercises.

Lets get on to one of the first things that I like to teach people about building their chest muscles up.  In order to stimulate upper body muscle growth, you absolutely need to perform muscle building exercises that meet certain conditions. First, the chest exercises that you choose, need to allow you to actually target your pectoral muscles. If you choose upper body exercises that place most of the emphasis on your shoulders, then your shoulders will be doing most of the work and in turn achieving the benefits of doing that work (you’ll stimulate muscle growth in your shoulders instead of chest growth). So you want to focus on movements that specifically target your chest muscles.  It’s ok if the chest exercises also incorporate your shoulders or triceps, but the main muscle group in the movement should definitely be your pectoral muscles.

The next piece of criteria that the pectoral exercises that you choose for your upper body workouts need to meet is that each of the exercise that you select need to allow you to move a fairly heavy amount of weight.  Lifting incrementally heavier weights over a full range of motion is precisely how you stimulate muscle growth, so it only makes sense that if you’re wanting to add size to your upper body muscles,  then you need to be training with heavy weights.

The next piece of criteria is something that most people completely overlook.  You’ve got to actually enjoy performing the pec exercises that you pick!  If you hate the exercises that you put into your upper body workouts, you’re not going to be able to hit your upper body as hard as you’d be able to if you really enjoyed performing the upper body exercise in the first place, so make sure to stick with  a few of the chest exercises that you actually enjoy. Sometimes you’ve got no choice but to perform a few chest exercises that you don't really like, but try not to build your pectoral workouts around these pectoral exercises, instead find a few that you really like and slip them into the workout.

Listed below are a few of my favorite upper body exercises ( in no particular order). After looking over this list of exercises, I can honestly say that approximately 95% of all of my pectoral workouts are composed of these highly effective pectoral exercises. Once in a long while, I’ll work in a few sets of cable crossovers, but that really about it.

The Best Pectoral Exercises

1. DB Bench Press
2. Bench Press
3. Incline Press
4. DB Incline Press
5. Push Up
6. Chest Dips
7. Dumbbell Flyes
8. Decline Bench Press
9. DB Decline Bench Press

If you’re one of the hundreds of guys out there who really wants to build a bigger, more muscular chest, then make sure that your pec workouts are composed of the most effective pectoral exercises!  The majority of your chest  workouts should be created around the short list of chest exercises listed above.  If you follow no other advice than to simply make sure that your upper body  workouts are designed with exercises that fit the criteria outlined in this article, you'll begin to build a bigger chest in no time at all.

Regardless of whether you simply want to ditch the flab, firm up your pecs and loose the "man boob" look, or your goal is to build a massive eye catching chest, then you really need to be focusing on the most effective pectoral exercises on a regular basis.  While running into the gym and jumping from chest exercise to chest exercise without a decent plan can actually help you build your pecs to some degree.  If you really want to build a big strong chest that you can be proud of, then you need to plan your upper body workouts around a short list of the top chest exercises and ditch the laundry list of just plain ineffective chest exercises.

Regardless of what body part you want to focus your attention on, I think that  you are much better suited picking with the pec exercises that allow you to train with heavier weights through a range of motion that incorporates muscle fibers from many different body parts. When it comes to chest training, I prefer to stick with the fundamental chest presses that involves the muscles of the shoulder and chest at the same time, and sometimes even the lats.

I really think that you get more bang for you buck hitting the gym this way than you would by trying to singularly isolate each muscle fiber.  If you try to lift for chest growth by focusing on isolation movements that don't incorporate your deltoids, you reach a point where while you are isolating the pectoral muscles, you aren’t training with a heavy enough weight to stimulate real muscle growth.

Below are my choices for the best all around pectoral exercises.  Learn how to perform each of these pec exercises with proper form and start using them in your pectoral workouts.  Not only will you begin to instantly feel a difference in the size and strength of your pecs, and after a few weeks of determined effort, everyone will begin to take notice of your bigger, stronger chest muscles.

My Top 3 Favorite Pectoral Exercises

1.  The Bench Press - This is the universal "granddaddy" of all pec exercises. Including muscles from your chest, delts and tri's this "old school" chest exercise can help you gain some serious chest muscle quickly!

To perform the bar bell bench press - Lie on your back on a flat bench with your butt in contact with the bench and your feet flat on the ground. Grip the bar with an overhand grip spaced just wider than shoulder width. Lower the barbell in a controlled and slow manner until it's located just below the lower portion of your pectoralis. Extend you arms upward while pushing the weight until the bar is in the initial position.

2. Barbell Incline Press - The barbell incline press is another classic (and very effective) pec exercise that can help you whip your chest into incredible shape. The barbell incline press works the muscles in your chest and shoulders.

To perform the incline press: Sit on an inclined bench set to between 45 and 60 degrees. I personally like to lower the angle of the bench even lower to somewhere between 35 and 40 degrees because it allows me to train with much heavier weights than I can train with if the angle of the bench is steeper. Just give this pec exercise a try and see what works best for you..

Wrap your thumbs around the bar with an overhand grip that is slightly wider than shoulder width. Lower the bar in a slow and controlled manner to the top of your chest. Make sure that your back and butt are in contact with the bench during the entire exercise. Press the weight up until the bar is back in the starting position. Make sure to avoid any aching in your back during this exercise.

3. Weighted Dips - When performed correctly weighted dips are one of the most effective chest exercises. Weighted dips target your chest muscles while incorporating your deltoids at the same time.  One of the unique things about weighted dips is that when performed correctly, dips allow you to really stretch out your chest and shoulder muscles at the bottom of the exercise, which can help to increase the range of motion of your shoulder joints.

To perform chest dips: Hang from the parallel bars with your arms fully extended and you legs curled up behind you. Bend your elbows and lower your body slowly until your chest is level with the parallel bars, then press down and lift your body back up to the starting position. In order to place more of an emphasis on your pectoralis and less on your triceps, lean forward through the complete movement.

If I had to narrow my list down to only 3 pectoral exercises to make up the bulk of my chest workouts, incline press, bench press (as well as the dumbbell equivalents) and chest dips would be the ones I'd go with.  Not only do these basic chest exercises require little in the way of fancy equipment, but they are the most effective exercises for building a powerful muscular chest.

The bent over row is one of the basic bread and butter exercises for upper and middle back development. For some time now, power lifter and bodybuilders have been performing the bent over row as a way to increase the size and strength of the muscles in the middle to upper back. If you're looking to pack on some bulk and shape to your upper body, then the bent row is an important exercise that you must fit into your lat workouts.

Targeting the Latissimus Dorsi, the bent over row combines the potent muscle building benefits of allowing you to train through a complete range of motion with a  heavy weight and allowing you to target your latisimus dorsi with targeted accuracy and move closer to the classic V-shape taper that you really want! While most of the best best weight lifting exercises allow you to train multiple muscle groups at the same time, the bent row doesn't allow any other body parts to steal the show and cut into the amount of work that your lats do.  This is one of the big benefits to incorporating barbell rows into your back workouts. The heavy weights that you can perform this exercise with allow to to really hammer your lats.

Muscles Stimulated During The Bent Over Row

Aside from the Latissimus Dorsi, there are a few other muscles that carry a some of the load.  To complete this movement the Brachialis, Posterior Deltoid,Teres Major,Brachioradialis and Biceps Brachii all contribute, but the vast majority of the load is carried by the latissimus dorsi. When performed with decent form, the bent row uses very few of the muscles listed above, but when performed with poor form, it is one of those exercises that can start to push a lot of the load from the target muscle group to the secondary muscle groups.  that's just one of the reasons that it's so important to learn how to perform bent rows properly.

How To Perform The Bent Row

1. Grasp the Barbell with an overhand grip with your hands spaced slightly wider than shoulder width.  Spread your feet shoulder width apart and bend your knees slightly. Lean forward at the waist at approximately a 45° angle. Make sure to keep your back straight during the full range of the movement. If you're body is aligned properly, then the bar should be positioned just above your knee prior to beginning the exercise.

2. Pull the bar up to the lower portion of your chest, making sure to keep your core muscles contracted (in order to stabilize your spine). When properly performed, you will basically be lifting your elbows up towards the sky while holding your upper body in a stationary position.

While performing this exercise, you should feel the muscles in your upper back working. The lats are located along both sides of the spine along your back. In order to ensure that you are targeting the lats properly, it helps to think about the muscles that you are using (or supposed to be using) and to attempt to pull your shoulder blades up and back at the top of the exercise, this will force your latissimus dorsi to contract if it isn't already engaged.  Once you feel the muscles that are supposed to be performing the bulk of the work during bent over rows, then it becomes easier to make small adjustments to your form to ensure that the right muscles are being targeted.

3.  Allow the bar to move back down to the starting position in a slow and controlled manner, but still focus on using your lats to complete the eccentric portion of the lift.

As with all free weights exercises varying the position of your grip will allow you to target different parts of your middle and upper back. If you perform barbell rows with an overhand grip, you will place an emphasis on the lower part of the trapezius and your rhomboids. While performing the bent over row with an underhand grip will place most of the emphasis on the upper portion of the trapezius and the biceps brachii.

If you're looking to increase the size and strength of your middle and upper back, then bent over rows should be a major part of your back workouts.  Not only will you be able to target your lats with laser precision and take a step towards acquiring the v-taper upper body, but you'll be able to train with a heavy enough weight to make a noticeable difference quickly.

A lot of guys and girls are looking over the web looking for a solid abs work out program that can take them by the hand and help them get six pack abs quickly and naturally.  While everyone wants a tight midsection, a hardly anybody is willing to put in the time required to get tight abs.  If you really want to figure out how to get tighter abs, and you get the fact that you're going to have to put in some work for it, then I've got a effective ab work out for you!

Before I jump into the six pack workout, I want to let you know that getting six pack abs is going to take a lot more than simply laying down and grinding through a few hundred Swiss ball crunches.  Every time I head into the gym, I see at least 8 people at a time working very hard on building their abdominals, but only a handful of them actually uncover an impressive six pack. Over the course of a year, I would estimate that I run across a few thousand (10 - 20 thousand) fitness minded people who spend hours each week hammering their abs without anything but sore abdominal muscles to show for it!

Why is that? I think that most people don't even realize that in order to expose their abdominal muscles and get washboard abs, they need to focus on losing body fat with free weight workouts and smart nutritional choices, not by training their abdominals.  it really doesn't matter how effective your abs work out is, you won't be able to see any of your abdominals until you lower your body fat to a reasonable level. So instead of performing non stop abdominal workouts, learn how to strip away body fat first and then focus on training your abdominals.  Not only will you get a tight mid section faster with this approach, you won't get frustrated when you put in all of the hard work training your abs only to discover that you can't even see them!

A Effective Six Pack Workout

This six pack workout focuses on all of your abdominal muscles in an efficient order.  Typically you want to focus on performing the leg lift movements first, and then your obliques, and then your more traditional ab exercises like crunches and decline sit ups. Training your abs in this order trains each of them in an order that makes the most sense.

Just think about it, the hip flexion movements require a a lot more work to finish than either the twisting oblique movements or the upper abs exercises like crunches. What you find if you piece together your ab tightening workout in this way is that you'll be able to effectively train all of your abdominal muscles without prematurely fatiguing any of them.

Abs Exercise #1 - Leg Lift Movement

Hanging Knee Raises - Perform 2 sets of 6 - 8 repetitions with a 1 - 1.5 minute rest in between sets.

Abdominal Exercise #2 - Twisting Movements

Medicine Ball Twists - Again Perform 2 sets of 6 - 8 repetitions with a 1 - 1.5 minute rest in between sets.

Abdominal Exercise #3 - Upper Abs Movement

Weighted Crunches - This time perform 2 sets of 6 - 8 repetitions with a 1 - 1.5 minute rest in between sets.

Abs Exercise #4  - Transverse Abdominous Movement

Ab Vacuums - Perform 2 sets of stomach vacuum contractions holding each one for 8 seconds. In between sets rest for 1 - 1.5 minutes.

Do this simple abdominal workout 1 - 2 times each week with a full days rest between abs work outs. This is a very effective abdominal workout that trains each of the muscles in your abs quickly and efficiently allowing you to build build tighter abs. Don't forget that you should focus your efforts on melting away body fat at the same time you train your abs, this is the best way to get killer six pack abdominals!

If your goal is to select the best muscle building exercises from the hundreds of different weight training exercises that are popular, it can be a difficult task to narrow the list down to a reasonable number of only the best exercises. What you find with most of the exercises that are making the rounds in the gyms these days, is that each exercise is either a derivative of one of the basic bodybuilding exercises or a unique movement designed to target a individual body part. If your goal is to build muscle mass fast, then it's important that you put together a short and manageable list of the free weights exercises that have been proven to work.

Sure it's true that almost any body building exercise will stimulate muscle growth up to a certain point; there is one type of weight training that has managed to stick around for a long 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 gain muscle mass and increase your strength levels simultaneously.

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

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

Listed below is my go-to list of the most effective body building exercises. These are the exercises that make up about 98% of all of my bodybuilding workouts. While basic, focusing on these muscle building 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 Bodybuilding Exercises

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

You probably noticed that a few of these exercises are not really compound movements.  In order to target certain muscle groups (like your biceps and triceps), you will need to mix in 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 overloading your workouts with less effective isolation exercises and start getting the most out of your time in the gym. If you mix in these basic yet effective muscle building exercises into your training sessions and put a lot of effort into training as intensely as possible, you'll begin to build muscle mass and increase your strength quicker than you ever thought possible.

If you're trying to gain muscle mass naturally, then there is no doubt you understand the importance of eating enough high quality muscle building protein. If you're searching for a way to add additional sources of bodybuilding protein to your diet without having to choke down more chicken breast, ground beef or whey protein powder, then egg white protein may be a good choice.  While egg protein has been a staple of a well balanced bodybuilding diet for decades, for some strange reason, it seems that egg protein has fallen out of favor in the bodybuilding community over the past 2 - 3 years. Kind of strange when you begin to look at the benefits of consuming egg whites, whole eggs and egg protein powders.

Egg White Protein High Quality Or Not?

Egg whites are definitely one of the most (and quite possibly the most) complete sources of bodybuilding protein. Combining at least 8 types of protein, it would be virtually impossible to find any other naturally occurring form of protein that even comes close to the diverse protein arrangement of eggs. To give you an idea of just how high the quality of protein found in eggs is, when every other form of dietary protein is analyzed in a laboratory for protein quality, it's measured against the high quality protein profile found in eggs!

Aside from containing impressive doses of protein, whole eggs and egg whites are an amazing source of vitamins including: vitamin A vitamin E, and vitamin K. As well as various B vitamins such as vitamin B12, riboflavin and folic acid.

Whole eggs also contain all eight of the amino acids which are essential to the rest and recovery process following heavy duty body building workouts. With high doses of muscle building protein being a top priority for everyone who wants to pack on mass, egg whites protein and whole egg protein in general, may very well be one of the most complete and versatile foods around.

Why I Like Whole Egg And Egg White Protein

There are certainly a ton of options these days for both high quality whole food protein sources and supplemental proteins; I always recommend to at least try to include as many different types of protein into your diet as you can.  As far as whole eggs go, not only are they nutritious and easy to cook, but they taste great!  Even when I'm in a cutting phase of a bodybuilding program, I always try to mix in some eggs in the form of omelets, scrambled eggs or good old fashioned fried or poached eggs.

When it comes to egg white protein, I absolutely love them because they are an extremely low calorie source of protein that is versatile to cook with.  Egg whites can be whipped into oatmeal, added into omelets, or hard boiled and incorporated into thousands of dishes easily. If I'm ever in a situation where I need to increase my protein intake but also cut calories, egg whites are always my first choice.

What About Egg Protein Powders?

Egg protein powders are a great way incorporate the full spectrum of proteins found in eggs without the hassle of actually having to prepare them beyond mixing them into an omelet or shake.  It's also important to keep in mind that while food sources of protein are typically higher quality than supplemental powders due to the fact that the supplements have been refined and processed to some degree.

That said, it's awfully hard to find a more convenient way to get in some extra protein throughout the day. If you're one of those people who just doesn't like to eat eggs or mess around with the inconvenience of separating your egg whites each day, then egg white protein powders may be a good choice for you.  I personally like to use egg white powders whenever I'm on the road or get too busy to cook my meals. Whey protein and egg protein powders can be a real convenience whenever you start to slip off of your bodybuilding diet.

If you're trying to piece together an efficient muscle building nutrition plan and you understand the importance of incorporating different sources of whole food and supplemental protein into your diet, then whole eggs, egg whites and egg protein powders should get some serious consideration.  Not only are eggs delicious and easy to prepare and delicious, but they are affordable and contain the "gold standard" of naturally occurring protein quality!

As much as you've probably been trying to avoid it, the summer has slithered up to nip us in the bud yet again. If you're like most of us, in order to hit the beach (or pool) this summer feeling fit and confident, you'll definitely need to lose some weight.

In order to help you achieve your fitness related goals, I have outlined the process of creating an amazing, effective exercise workout plan. If followed, this process will certainly increase your chances of hitting the beach this summer feeling great about the way you look!

Clearly Define Your Goals

The first step, (and arguably most important), step in the process is simply taking the time to clearly identify your goals.

If you have no idea of where you are going, how can you possibly expect to get there?

Broad goals like, "I want to lose some weight" or "I want to finally get into shape", are not nearly as defined as they need to be. Take the time to think about what it is that you really want to accomplish. If you want to lose weight, define exactly how much. If you want to lose fat, define the exact amount that you would like to lose. As simple as this seems, you would be surprised at the amount of people who do not take the time to clearly think this through before jumping into the fire.

Choose Your Fitness Activity

After you have clearly defined your goals, you will need to decide upon the best method for you to accomplish them. This is not an easy task as everyone is different and has different preferences, tolerances and requirements. If your goal is fitness related, it usually goes without saying that you will need to add some sort of exercise or fitness related activity to your everyday life.

This is the time to explore different types of fitness activities. There are literally thousands of possibilities ranging from Pilates, Yoga and Spinning classes in a commercial gym, to simply jumping rope or lifting weights in your garage or basement. None of the options out there are completely worthless, just as none of the options out there are a do-all, be-all solution for everybody.

It is true that some types of exercises and activities are better suited for certain goals, but the focus should not only be on progress, but enjoyment and usability. In my opinion, the only totally worthless exercise workout plan on the face of the planet is an exercise plan that you do not follow!

Learn How To Prepare Your Mind For Your Exercise Workout Plan!

Plan Your Schedule

Now that you know exactly where you are going and what form of exercise you are going to use to get there, you will need to take the time to schedule your new fitness related activity.

Set aside time each day to perform a minimum of 20 minutes of physical activity. As your goals expand a bit, you will need to rearrange your schedule accordingly. Someone who desires to lose 2 lbs in 3 weeks can plan a fairly conservative approach to their exercise workout plan, while someone who desires to lose 25 lbs in 2 months; will need to take a more aggressive approach.

Some people prefer to exercise in the morning prior to starting their day while others enjoy sleeping in until they absolutely have to get up. Again, it simply does not matter when you perform your exercise. Running at high intensity in the morning will burn just as many calories as running at high intensity in the evening. The most important thing here is that you create a schedule that you will be able to stick with in the long run.

Put Your Plan Into Action

Put your new plan of attack into action. It does not matter how well you design an exercise workout plan, if you never follow it. The only way that you will see any results is by taking your exercise plan and following it religiously. Many of the results that you desire will not come until you have put in the time to perform your workouts on a consistent basis.