The Vince Delmonte workout program aims to show skinny hardgainers how to gain weight and build muscle, often where they have failed to previously.
Below are my five muscle building tips that every hardgainer should be utilizing in order to gain muscle mass, and I've shown how each one relates to the Vince Delmonte workout program.
Eat More Calories...Much More
The biggest reason most skinny guys and girls fail to gain muscle mass is their insufficient calorie intake.
In order to gain weight and build muscle you need to be consume a much larger amount of calories per day in order to achieve your goals.
As a general rule of thumb, you'll want to multiply your current bodyweight in pounds by 24 to achieve your daily calorie goal. For example if you weight 150 pounds you should be aiming to consume (150 x 24) 3,600.
This is a simplified formula, and there are other factors to consider. The Vince Delmonte workout shows you how to measure bodyfat and necessary caloric intakes accurately, for your specific circumstances.
Follow An All-Body Workout Program
In addition to an adequate diet, the need to follow a proven all-body workout program cannot be overstated.
Many hardgainers are wrongly advised to split their workouts into upper body and lower body, often resulting in them only working out one body part once per week.
The Vince Delmonte workout shows you how to organize and plan your workouts to get the maximum benefit to your muscles. By performing 3 or 4 all-body workouts per week, you are guaranteeing that your muscles are being stimulated sufficiently for massive muscle growth. The goal here is to stimulate as much muscle as possible each time you hit the gym.
Compound Exercises
In addition, compound exercises are the best way to stimulate multiple muscle groups and fibres and get the most muscle building bang for your buck.
Free weights exercises like Squats, Deadlifts and Bench Press, work a larger number of large muscles, as well as forcing you to utilize minor stabilizing muscles. This all in turn results in faster muscle gains, and a more efficient workout time...meaning you spend less time down the gym.
The Vince Delmonte workout focuses on compound exercises in order to get you muscle gains as fast as possible, with particular reference to the "big basic" exercises such as Squats and Deadlifts (as mentioned above), since these get you moving as much weight as possible each workout session.
Change Up Your Workouts To Prevent Stagnation
Many skinny guys and girls fail to change up their workouts on a regular basis, meaning that they often see initial gains, which tend to trail off after a few weeks. The main reason for this is that your body is getting used to stress which is being placed upon it.
The Vince Delmonte workout takes the approach that in order to see consistent muscle gains you need to make your body keep "guessing". By changing up your workouts regularly, through rep and set numbers, and exercise variations, you keep your muscles "on their toes" and continue to see sustained muscle growth over time.
The Vince Delmonte workout provides you with over a year's worth of workout routines, and the advice on how to best use them and change them to fit your own circumstances. This enables you to build your own workouts in the future.
Understand and Harness Your Natural Hormones
Many people tend to overlook the role that your natural hormones play in helping you to gain muscle mass. By understanding them, and learning how to use them to your advantage you can see impressive muscle gains, without resorting to pills, potions and of that other junk.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2679092
Tuesday, 10 March 2015
300 Workout Revealed
I am sure many of you have seen the great film 300 in which 300 Spartan Warriors kept King Xerxes and his Persian Hordes at bay at the famous Battle of Thermopylae.
In this film the men who played the Spartan Warriors and other warriors of famous Greece all had muscular and toned bodies, even without the CGI graphics added at the end of filming.
Many have heard how the actors who played the 300 Spartan Warriors had a grueling training regime that finished with the now famous 300 workout routines program. For those who are new to the 300 workout you are about to find out that the actors and stuntmen in the film 300 really did push themselves to the limits to condition their bodies for this immense film...its not all CGI graphics you know!
What is the 300 workout all about?
The 300 workout is actually a one off test of strength and endurance the actors of 300 worked towards throughout their grueling training regimes.
From the feedback post filming it is understood that only half of the actors were of a training level at the end of their grueling few months training regime to try the 300 workout. Further still out of the actors that were ready to try out the 300 workout only a small number of these actually managed to complete the 300 workout.
With this knowledge it is important to note that you might take time to be able to complete the full 300 workout, don't despair if you don't manage it first time. Remember to think like a Spartan Warrior and persevere to achieve your goal of carrying out the full 300 workout.
The 300 workout unveiled
The idea behind the 300 workout is that you have to complete 300 reps total over a number of different exercises without a break and in the quickest possible time.
The exercises used in the 300 workout are:
Pullups - 25 reps
Deadlifts with 135lbs - 50 reps
Pushups - 50 reps
24-inch Box jumps - 50 reps
Floor wipers with 135lbs - 50 reps
Single-arm Clean-and-Press with 36lbs Kettlebell - 50 reps
Pullups - 25 reps
For those of you who know these exercises I am sure you can see this is quite a feat to complete with no break between reps.
Exercise definitions
For those who are unsure what each exercise is please find a definition of each exercise below.
Pull Ups - Also called chin ups are where a person holds onto a bar with their body dangling below (no support) and pulls themselves up so the bar comes to their chin before returning to their starting position.
Deadlifts - Lifting a bar from the floor to waist height using your legs and lower back, always ensuring your arms are kept straight and not used in the lift.
Pushups - Also called press ups are when a person lies flat on their stomach and uses their hands at shoulder width apart or wider to push their body off the ground leaving only their toes and hands on the ground. The person will then bring their body down towards the ground again till their nose touches the ground before pushing back up.
24-inch box jumps - Jumping onto and off a 24-inch box
Floor Wipers - Lying flat on your back and holding a barbell in front of you at arms length the same as when you start a bench press you. Lift your legs (keeping them straight) straight up and to the right before returning to the starting position and bringing them straight up to the left and repeating.
Single-arm Clean-and-Press - With a Kettlebell in front of you squat down and pick up the Kettlebell lifting it to shoulder height before squatting slightly and pushing the Kettlebell above your head in a shoulder press.
Who completed the 300 workout?
Not all the actors that attempted the 300 workout and of those that did many took a very long time to finish. The person who finished in the quickest time was Andrew Pleavin with a staggering time of eighteen minutes and eleven seconds,
Andrew Pleavin played Daxos, one of the Arcadian soldiers. Andrew Pleavin was born in 1968 in Birkenhead, England and is a black belt in martial arts which he attained at the age of 18. It is his martial arts background that really helped him push through the 300 workout in such a quick time.
300 Workout Summary
This is a grueling workout and even though the actors of the film 300 only carried this workout once as a test of strength and endurance just before filming it is still worth putting into your workout.
I would suggest carrying out the 300 workout once every week or two as part of a larger training regime so your body improves through overall conditioning, endurance and strength.
What is good about the 300 workout is that it not only supports those who want to build muscle it also supports those who carry out martial arts, boxing, athletics and sports games such as basketball and football.
Just another gentle reminder
I know I mentioned this at the start of this article but please remember that it is not certain that you will be able to complete this workout in its entirety the first time you carry it out.
It may take a few attempts to complete the full 300 workout so keep pushing yourself to achieve it and once you have, keep pushing to improve your times and add heavier weights!!
300 Workout
Have you ever tried the 300 workout out before? Do you want to try it out? Or had you never heard of the 300 workout before reading this article?
Where ever you fit into the above please endeavor to give the 300 workout another go, you will certainly be pleased with the results.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2418316
In this film the men who played the Spartan Warriors and other warriors of famous Greece all had muscular and toned bodies, even without the CGI graphics added at the end of filming.
Many have heard how the actors who played the 300 Spartan Warriors had a grueling training regime that finished with the now famous 300 workout routines program. For those who are new to the 300 workout you are about to find out that the actors and stuntmen in the film 300 really did push themselves to the limits to condition their bodies for this immense film...its not all CGI graphics you know!
What is the 300 workout all about?
The 300 workout is actually a one off test of strength and endurance the actors of 300 worked towards throughout their grueling training regimes.
From the feedback post filming it is understood that only half of the actors were of a training level at the end of their grueling few months training regime to try the 300 workout. Further still out of the actors that were ready to try out the 300 workout only a small number of these actually managed to complete the 300 workout.
With this knowledge it is important to note that you might take time to be able to complete the full 300 workout, don't despair if you don't manage it first time. Remember to think like a Spartan Warrior and persevere to achieve your goal of carrying out the full 300 workout.
The 300 workout unveiled
The idea behind the 300 workout is that you have to complete 300 reps total over a number of different exercises without a break and in the quickest possible time.
The exercises used in the 300 workout are:
Pullups - 25 reps
Deadlifts with 135lbs - 50 reps
Pushups - 50 reps
24-inch Box jumps - 50 reps
Floor wipers with 135lbs - 50 reps
Single-arm Clean-and-Press with 36lbs Kettlebell - 50 reps
Pullups - 25 reps
For those of you who know these exercises I am sure you can see this is quite a feat to complete with no break between reps.
Exercise definitions
For those who are unsure what each exercise is please find a definition of each exercise below.
Pull Ups - Also called chin ups are where a person holds onto a bar with their body dangling below (no support) and pulls themselves up so the bar comes to their chin before returning to their starting position.
Deadlifts - Lifting a bar from the floor to waist height using your legs and lower back, always ensuring your arms are kept straight and not used in the lift.
Pushups - Also called press ups are when a person lies flat on their stomach and uses their hands at shoulder width apart or wider to push their body off the ground leaving only their toes and hands on the ground. The person will then bring their body down towards the ground again till their nose touches the ground before pushing back up.
24-inch box jumps - Jumping onto and off a 24-inch box
Floor Wipers - Lying flat on your back and holding a barbell in front of you at arms length the same as when you start a bench press you. Lift your legs (keeping them straight) straight up and to the right before returning to the starting position and bringing them straight up to the left and repeating.
Single-arm Clean-and-Press - With a Kettlebell in front of you squat down and pick up the Kettlebell lifting it to shoulder height before squatting slightly and pushing the Kettlebell above your head in a shoulder press.
Who completed the 300 workout?
Not all the actors that attempted the 300 workout and of those that did many took a very long time to finish. The person who finished in the quickest time was Andrew Pleavin with a staggering time of eighteen minutes and eleven seconds,
Andrew Pleavin played Daxos, one of the Arcadian soldiers. Andrew Pleavin was born in 1968 in Birkenhead, England and is a black belt in martial arts which he attained at the age of 18. It is his martial arts background that really helped him push through the 300 workout in such a quick time.
300 Workout Summary
This is a grueling workout and even though the actors of the film 300 only carried this workout once as a test of strength and endurance just before filming it is still worth putting into your workout.
I would suggest carrying out the 300 workout once every week or two as part of a larger training regime so your body improves through overall conditioning, endurance and strength.
What is good about the 300 workout is that it not only supports those who want to build muscle it also supports those who carry out martial arts, boxing, athletics and sports games such as basketball and football.
Just another gentle reminder
I know I mentioned this at the start of this article but please remember that it is not certain that you will be able to complete this workout in its entirety the first time you carry it out.
It may take a few attempts to complete the full 300 workout so keep pushing yourself to achieve it and once you have, keep pushing to improve your times and add heavier weights!!
300 Workout
Have you ever tried the 300 workout out before? Do you want to try it out? Or had you never heard of the 300 workout before reading this article?
Where ever you fit into the above please endeavor to give the 300 workout another go, you will certainly be pleased with the results.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2418316
Exercise Smarter, Not Harder - The Top 10 Ways to an Effective Workout
You have a busy life, yet have made the commitment (or will be making the commitment) to enhancing your health and fitness through exercise. Learn the top ten effective ways to maximize your time at the gym. Follow these tips to a focused, results-driven workout.
1. Know Why.
Knowing why you are exercising is paramount to having the motivation to continue. Make a list of at least 5 reasons (more is better) why exercising is important to you. Be as specific as you can.
Start each statement with "I will workout ___ days per week for _____ minutes so that I can/am...."
Keep one copy of this list in your planner and one in your gym bag. Read the list when you schedule your weekly workouts (see #2) and while you are warming up for your workout routines program (see #5).
2. Plan when you will exercise.
We've all heard that it is important to schedule your workouts just as you would schedule any other important appointment. You have heard it so much because it works. Bottom line; schedule your workouts in your day planner each week.
3. Plan what you will do at the gym.
For the most effective workout, it is best not to decide what you will do at the gym while you are walking into the gym. Instead, decide what activity you will do prior to hitting the gym doors.
That way, you will have a focused workout before one foot hits the treadmill.
You may consider recording you workout plan in your day planner. For example:
o Monday 6 a.m. Treadmill 30 minutes and Lift
o Wednesday 5:45 p.m. Stair climber 40 minutes
o Thursday 6 a.m. Lift
o Friday 6 a.m. indoor cycling class
4. Plan to eat a snack.
Having a healthy snack prior to or after a workout serves many functions. Here are some suggestions specific to the time of day you workout.
Morning exercisers, pack a snack for after your workout.
Typically, morning exercisers are unable to tolerate a complete breakfast before their workouts. In this scenario, the post-workout snack not only provides much needed nutrients to aid the body recover for the workout, but also will prevent getting over hungry too early in the morning.
Evening exercisers, have a snack 30-60 minutes prior to your workout and on your way home from the gym.
The evening exerciser can be sidelined by hunger and opt. for dinner instead of working out. Snacking 30-60 minutes prior to your workout provides the energy required for the workout and prevents getting over hungry and potentially skipping the workout.
After their workout, most evening exercisers head home to make dinner. If this is true for you, I would encourage a small snack on your way home from the gym to prevent the extreme hunger most evening exercisers experience while making dinner (and the accompanying mindless snacking that occurs while cooking dinner).
If you do not feel the need for the snack that you packed after your workout, do not feel obligated to eat it. Get in the habit of packing it, though. Having that snack available might just be a lifesaver one evening.
5. Warm-up
Be sure to give your body and mind at least a 5 minute warm up. Warming up means hopping on a piece of cardio equipment at an easy pace and slowly progressing until you feel warmer and are breathing slightly harder for 5-10 minutes. Warming up helps prepare the body physiologically (the body takes a few minutes to understand that it will be exercising) and psychologically.
Use these precious 5-10 minutes wisely. Read your reasons for exercising and consider how the workout you are about to embark upon will ultimately get you closer to your goals.
6. Enjoy the Journey
It would be unrealistic to believe that you will absolutely love every single part of every single workout; however, there is no reason to agonize through it either.
Choose exercises that you enjoy. You should never have to do an exercise you ate. The choices of effective exercises are endless and there is bound to be one that you enjoy, or at least can tolerate.
7. Be Balanced.
In general, at the end of the week, your workout time should be balanced in the following manner:
o 30%-60% should be dedicated to strength training.
o 35%-55% should be dedicated to cardiovascular training.
o 5%-10% should be dedicated to stretching.
For someone who exercises 3 days a week for 60 minutes a day, their time could be divided like this:
o 30 minutes cardiovascular exercise
o 25 minutes strength training
o 5 minutes stretching
Also, keep in mind these tips on balancing your workout:
o Spend equal time on upper body and lower body strength training exercises.
o For every exercise you do for the front of the body, do one for the back of the body.
8. Bring Water
With even modest water loss (1%-2%) due to sweating, workouts feel more difficult and performance decreases. To replace the water lost through sweating, sip water throughout your workout.
Although, the amount of liquid lost during exercise depends on the type and intensity of the exercise and your particular sweat rate, most people lose 17 to 50 ounce of sweat during one hour of vigorous activity.
Unfortunately, humans do not have a very accurate thirst mechanism. In fact, by the time we are thirsty, we are already dehydrated. So, instead of using thirst as a cue to drink water, take sips every few minutes. A good gauge of hydration is the color of your urine. Ideally, a well-hydrated person will have pale-yellow urine. Dark yellow urine indicates dehydration.
9. Reward Yourself
Give yourself something to look forward to at the end of the workout. This could be a simple mental high five, extra time to stretch, or a few minutes in the sauna.
Reward yourself for exercising for over longer periods, too (i.e. a week or month). Consider buying yourself a new workout shirt or socks, downloading new songs, or getting a new magazine to read during cardio.
Whatever you do, recognize the accomplishment you have achieved by sticking to your workout plan.
10. Change and Progress Your Workouts
To continue to maximize results from your workout, it is paramount that you progress the intensity of your workouts and vary the exercises.
That means, recording your strength training workouts to ensure continual progression in weight and varying the exercises so that your muscle are always challenged.
To accomplish this, follow these guidelines:
o Do at least 2 different cardio machines or types of cardio each week (i.e. treadmill, kickboxing, elliptical, stair climber, step class, etc.)
o Do at least 2 different intensities of cardio each week (i.e. one workout could be a comfortable pace and the other workout could include 1 minute bouts of high intensity, followed by a 2 minute recovery repeated several times).
o Change your strength training exercises every 4 weeks.
An effective workout does not happen by accident; however, the preparation does not have to consume your life, either. Start with #1 and define your reasons for exercising. Then, continue to progress through the ten ways to an effective workout until all qualities are present in your workout. There is no need to work through them sequentially, feel free to tackle the one you are most confident about first. In no time you will be having the most effective workouts of your life.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/973900
1. Know Why.
Knowing why you are exercising is paramount to having the motivation to continue. Make a list of at least 5 reasons (more is better) why exercising is important to you. Be as specific as you can.
Start each statement with "I will workout ___ days per week for _____ minutes so that I can/am...."
Keep one copy of this list in your planner and one in your gym bag. Read the list when you schedule your weekly workouts (see #2) and while you are warming up for your workout routines program (see #5).
2. Plan when you will exercise.
We've all heard that it is important to schedule your workouts just as you would schedule any other important appointment. You have heard it so much because it works. Bottom line; schedule your workouts in your day planner each week.
3. Plan what you will do at the gym.
For the most effective workout, it is best not to decide what you will do at the gym while you are walking into the gym. Instead, decide what activity you will do prior to hitting the gym doors.
That way, you will have a focused workout before one foot hits the treadmill.
You may consider recording you workout plan in your day planner. For example:
o Monday 6 a.m. Treadmill 30 minutes and Lift
o Wednesday 5:45 p.m. Stair climber 40 minutes
o Thursday 6 a.m. Lift
o Friday 6 a.m. indoor cycling class
4. Plan to eat a snack.
Having a healthy snack prior to or after a workout serves many functions. Here are some suggestions specific to the time of day you workout.
Morning exercisers, pack a snack for after your workout.
Typically, morning exercisers are unable to tolerate a complete breakfast before their workouts. In this scenario, the post-workout snack not only provides much needed nutrients to aid the body recover for the workout, but also will prevent getting over hungry too early in the morning.
Evening exercisers, have a snack 30-60 minutes prior to your workout and on your way home from the gym.
The evening exerciser can be sidelined by hunger and opt. for dinner instead of working out. Snacking 30-60 minutes prior to your workout provides the energy required for the workout and prevents getting over hungry and potentially skipping the workout.
After their workout, most evening exercisers head home to make dinner. If this is true for you, I would encourage a small snack on your way home from the gym to prevent the extreme hunger most evening exercisers experience while making dinner (and the accompanying mindless snacking that occurs while cooking dinner).
If you do not feel the need for the snack that you packed after your workout, do not feel obligated to eat it. Get in the habit of packing it, though. Having that snack available might just be a lifesaver one evening.
5. Warm-up
Be sure to give your body and mind at least a 5 minute warm up. Warming up means hopping on a piece of cardio equipment at an easy pace and slowly progressing until you feel warmer and are breathing slightly harder for 5-10 minutes. Warming up helps prepare the body physiologically (the body takes a few minutes to understand that it will be exercising) and psychologically.
Use these precious 5-10 minutes wisely. Read your reasons for exercising and consider how the workout you are about to embark upon will ultimately get you closer to your goals.
6. Enjoy the Journey
It would be unrealistic to believe that you will absolutely love every single part of every single workout; however, there is no reason to agonize through it either.
Choose exercises that you enjoy. You should never have to do an exercise you ate. The choices of effective exercises are endless and there is bound to be one that you enjoy, or at least can tolerate.
7. Be Balanced.
In general, at the end of the week, your workout time should be balanced in the following manner:
o 30%-60% should be dedicated to strength training.
o 35%-55% should be dedicated to cardiovascular training.
o 5%-10% should be dedicated to stretching.
For someone who exercises 3 days a week for 60 minutes a day, their time could be divided like this:
o 30 minutes cardiovascular exercise
o 25 minutes strength training
o 5 minutes stretching
Also, keep in mind these tips on balancing your workout:
o Spend equal time on upper body and lower body strength training exercises.
o For every exercise you do for the front of the body, do one for the back of the body.
8. Bring Water
With even modest water loss (1%-2%) due to sweating, workouts feel more difficult and performance decreases. To replace the water lost through sweating, sip water throughout your workout.
Although, the amount of liquid lost during exercise depends on the type and intensity of the exercise and your particular sweat rate, most people lose 17 to 50 ounce of sweat during one hour of vigorous activity.
Unfortunately, humans do not have a very accurate thirst mechanism. In fact, by the time we are thirsty, we are already dehydrated. So, instead of using thirst as a cue to drink water, take sips every few minutes. A good gauge of hydration is the color of your urine. Ideally, a well-hydrated person will have pale-yellow urine. Dark yellow urine indicates dehydration.
9. Reward Yourself
Give yourself something to look forward to at the end of the workout. This could be a simple mental high five, extra time to stretch, or a few minutes in the sauna.
Reward yourself for exercising for over longer periods, too (i.e. a week or month). Consider buying yourself a new workout shirt or socks, downloading new songs, or getting a new magazine to read during cardio.
Whatever you do, recognize the accomplishment you have achieved by sticking to your workout plan.
10. Change and Progress Your Workouts
To continue to maximize results from your workout, it is paramount that you progress the intensity of your workouts and vary the exercises.
That means, recording your strength training workouts to ensure continual progression in weight and varying the exercises so that your muscle are always challenged.
To accomplish this, follow these guidelines:
o Do at least 2 different cardio machines or types of cardio each week (i.e. treadmill, kickboxing, elliptical, stair climber, step class, etc.)
o Do at least 2 different intensities of cardio each week (i.e. one workout could be a comfortable pace and the other workout could include 1 minute bouts of high intensity, followed by a 2 minute recovery repeated several times).
o Change your strength training exercises every 4 weeks.
An effective workout does not happen by accident; however, the preparation does not have to consume your life, either. Start with #1 and define your reasons for exercising. Then, continue to progress through the ten ways to an effective workout until all qualities are present in your workout. There is no need to work through them sequentially, feel free to tackle the one you are most confident about first. In no time you will be having the most effective workouts of your life.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/973900
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