The Muscle and Fitness Rock Hard Challenge

If you ever read a Muscle and Fitness magazine before, maybe you will find an exercise program that is known as the rock hard challenge. The Muscle & Fitness is a bodybuilding and fitness magazine published by American Media, Inc. besides the Flex Magazine. The challenge itself is a kind of exercise program held by them every year.

The fitness program itself I think is good enough to be performed, especially supported by programs that proved successful sculpt the body, nutrition guides to help maximizing the workout results, lose weight and increase muscle mass.

The Pro's of the Plan

In this plan, all the exercise programs must be done in approximately 3 months / 12 weeks. The idea is to target light exercise and weight training alternately for one week, with the exception of one day for recovery. However, the program is always evolving, so the type of exercises you will encounter will be slightly different from the previous years.

In this program, you will also get information about supplements and eating plans. Like the other fitness programs, the muscle and fitness rock hard challenge also sponsored by a supplement company, the Muscletech, Inc. Some of their products, such as: Phase8, Hydroxycut Hardcore Elite, Push10, and Anotest. All of them have been adjusted to your needs, whether for recovery, boost workout, lose fat or build muscle.

You do not have to worry about the exercises you should do. On the official website of the muscle and fitness, you can find thousands of articles and hundreds of videos about exercises. You can use them as guides in order to build your athletic body. Additionally, the Muscle and Fitness's team also provides a chance for participants to win rewards more than $ 1,100 (prize of the year 2013). That sounds nice, does not it?

The Con's of the Plan

The only problem in this program is the limited time required. I think 12 weeks sounds absurd to transform a fatty / skinny body shape to a muscular one. Unless you are a professional in terms of bodybuilding, so you understand what kind of foods you should consume daily, how many, how often and what kind of exercises that suits to your body. I know that in this program we will be taught how to do it properly, however we really need a proper amount of time for doing that and learn it.

My conclusion

The rock hard challenge is still worth to do, in order to obtain your ideal body shape. I know that this program is not easy for most people, especially those who are busy. However, I hope that you can think this as your first step towards a better living. If you are not successful this year, the next year is still there for you.


Erwin is a sports enthusiast, loves things related to sport, sweat and fight. Sometimes he pours his thoughts in articles. One of them talks about the muscle and fitness.

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BEST Ectomorph Workout Helps Skinny Hard Gainer Kid Pile On 30lbs Of Rock Solid Muscle In Weeks

Are you one of those guys that can't put on any weight or muscle no matter what you try? If so, then you're what we call an ectomorph or hard gainer and this ectomorph workout is exactly what you need. It helped me put on 30lbs of rock solid muscle mass in a few months.

If you do fit into the ectomorph body type I wouldn't worry too much because around 75% of all people fit into this category although to varying degrees. The problem is that the training and diet information available on the internet is not targeting the needs of the hard gaining ectomorph and that's why some people succeed on a routine plan when others fail miserably.

The ideal ectomorph workout is not one that keeps you in the gym for hours on end every day. Also you shouldn't have to keep eating until you feel like you're going to be sick.

The secret ingredient of a good ectomorph workout is its ability to raise testosterone production in the body.

Unfortunately the supplement companies want us to believe that consuming large amounts of protein is what makes us put on muscle mass, that is totally incorrect. The weight training and bodybuilding industry is a multi billion dollar business and they make money from people like us who want to build a great physique, they would go out of business if we stopped buying their products.

What they don't want you to know is that testosterone is the key to adding muscle especially for an ectomorph. I bet you've spent so much money on protein and carbohydrate drinks but have nothing to show for it. Think about it this way the one product that everyone knows can add serious muscle size are steroids, and what do steroids do? You've got it; they increase testosterone production in the body.

Therefore the core exercises in an ectomorph workout have to be those exercises that stimulate testosterone production and can be a natural alternative to dangerous steroids.

Be warned the following ectomorph core exercise can give you some serious muscle mass to rival those gains of steroid freaks in the gym. The ultimate exercise that has to be part of every ectomorph workout is the:

Squat - This exercise is the ultimate testosterone booster exercise. It will help you build muscle mass all over your body. As you begin to increase the weight you'll notice even more of a difference. Try doing 3 sets of 5-8 reps. Once you can comfortably do 3 sets of 8 reps the increase the weight. If you can do 2 sessions of squats a week you will have massive gains all over your body.

You might have people accusing you of taking steroids but who cares because you know you're 100% natural.


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Build Rock Hard Muscle Just Like the Pro Bodybuilders

Have you ever wondered how the Mr. Olympia winners get their amazing physiques? Take for example Ronnie Coleman, Jay Cutler, and even past greats such as Franco Columbo, and Arnold Schwartzenegger. Truth be told I'm sure every single one of the above mentioned has used steroids at one point or another, But using the tecniques I will outline you can still get an amazing body without juicing, shooting up, roiding out, or doing steroids! I just used some of the street names to throw in there.

Now bodybuilding has come quite a long ways in the past years. Arnold was around 6'2" tall and 240 pounds with around six percent bodyfat when he won the mr. olympia. Jay Cutler and Ronni Coleman are around 5'9" to 5'11" and around 335 pounds with 4 percent bodyfat, which is absolutely ridiculous. Now not all of us want to look like this. Instead we would much rather prefer a models body or just a big, cut, look. Not disgustingly big.

Now lets get start, first of all they got this big through a ton of dedication, hard work, and heavy lifting with added cardio. Which most likely consists of a type of cardio called H.I.I.T (High Tensity Interval Training.) They also do whats called bulking and cutting. Bulking consists of eating a plentiful amount of good foods, usually 500 calories above their maintenance amount of calories. This would result in the gaining of about 1 solid pound of muscle per week. This is called a clean bulk. Pro bodybuilders usually do whats called a dirty bulk. This is when they just eat a ton of food, or go on whats sometimes called the "see food diet" where they eat everything in sight sometimes exceeding 9000 calories a day. This results in around 5 pound gains a week. Not all is muscle though. The sole purpose is just to get big no cardio is included in the bulking phase.

The cutting phase is bit different but has the same principles. When contest time or summer comes around they need to get into the best shape of their lives. They will than cut their calories weekly and only consume good fruits, lean meats, vegetables, and protein. This will help them maintain all the muscle they have gained while still cutting all the ugly fat they gained in the winter. To speed this process up they use cardio daily. They still workout hard and keep the workouts intense. Than finally a few days before contest they will cut their water intake to lose the final water weight, which will make them look more vascular and shredded. So thats how they do it, they gain in the off-season and cut in the on-season. You to can tweak this a little bit and follow the same principles to get a great built body. Good luck getting that great summer body


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Tips to Build Bigger Muscles - Gain Lean Muscle Quickly

Do you want to gain more lean muscle?

A lot of bodybuilders find it hard to gain lean and hard muscle. Here are some simple and easy steps that can help you pack in more lean muscle quickly:

1. Eat More

If you want to build more muscle, you need to train hard and consume enough food. Your muscles grow with a proper mix of workout and diet. Some of the best foods that can help with clean bulking include salmon, chicken, lean beef, quinoa, oats, sprouted grain breads, avocado,olive oil, coconut milk etc.

2. Have More Protein

If you want bigger muscles, you must feed your body with enough protein. It helps with rebuilding and recovery.

Your muscles do not grow in the gym but in the kitchen.

Some of the best sources of protein include lean meat, fish, poultry etc. Organic eggs are an excellent source of protein and cholesterol that your body needs to produce more testosterone. You must include them in your diet.

In addition to this, it's also a good idea to supplement your diet with whey protein. It happens to be the most popular bodybuilding supplement.

3. Do Not Cut Carbs from your Diet

Though limiting carbs is good for increasing lean muscle, eliminating them completely can be counter productive. A lot of studies have shown that carbs can provide you with valuable calories that you need in your workout. Not just this, they can also help balance hormones in your body.

Brown rice is an excellent source of such carbs. It can also help boost testosterone in your body.

4. Get Enough Sleep

Your body needs exercise, food and sleep to grow. Lack of sleep can disturb growth hormone production in your body and hamper growth. Thus, getting enough sleep is important. Stick with eight hours as a guideline.

5. Go Heavy

If you aim is to build muscle and bulk up, it's important to lift heavy weights. Lift as much weight with which you can do just five to six reps per set. This can soar your testosterone levels as well as tear muscle fiber.

6. Use a Good Bulking Supplement

A lot of anabolic supplements exist in the market. Some of them are highly effective and can help you grow bigger and leaner muscles without negative side effects.

Top of the line supplements contain ingredients like l-leucine, l-arginine, l-valine, cystein etc. and not only increase muscle mass in the body but also helps boost HGH levels naturally. Such supplements have an edge over other competing brands.

So, if you want to get bigger and bulkier, check out the most powerful anabolic muscle gainer that has been getting incredible user reviews.


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Tips on How To Gain Muscle Fast

Have you been wanting to add some muscle mass or simply become more cut? Let us discuss a few tips about how to pile on muscle mass quickly.

Tip #1: You have to lift

Profound huh? The only way you're sure to add more muscle is to always lift and lift explosively. Lift the weight quickly and lower slowly. Gaining muscular mass needs the muscle fibers to tear and break down.

The only means to make this happen will be to apply force that is definitely beyond the bounds of the muscle comfort zone. If you happen to be only starting out with free weights, make sure you proceed S-L-O-W-L-Y. You don't want to rip or even pull a muscle. It's an extremely painful experience as it will certainly set you back several weeks or months based upon the severity of the injury.

Begin with lighter weight. Your muscles will likely be sore the first few work out routines so restrict work out routines to 1 - 2 times per week up until you build up to regular routine. Then you should gradually increase your workout frequency.

So make it to the gym or even grab some barbells, and dumbbells and go to train.

Tip #2: Perform multi-joint exercises

Singular joint exercise routines merely work individual muscles and therefore will not quickly build muscles. The solution to rapid muscle gains is training with heavier weight and singular joint exercise routines pretty much don't cut it.

You need to perform multi-joint exercise routines such as squats, dead lifts, and bench presses. Multi-joint workout routines enable you to make use of more heavy weight and work far more muscles by fifty percent the amount of time.

Tip #3: Lift heavy weight

To be able to build lean muscle, it is necessary to lift enough weight that ends in muscle failure at the end of each and every set. You need to be executing 3-8 sets of exercises with 8-12 repetitions per set. Be sure to lift sufficient weight that will allow you to maintain your good form for the duration of the exercises.

Tip #4: Eat a lot of nutritious food

It's extremely important to consume plenty of highly nutritious foods whenever you are working to build lean muscle mass. However don't eat useless calories for example commercially processed foods as well as sugar. You must eat healthy proteins for instance, free range chicken, grass-fed beef, healthy fat sources like avocados, coconut milk, and healthy carbs like yams, whole grains, and beans. To be able to pile on 1-2 pounds of muscle each week, you must intake at the very least 3,500-7,000 additional calories per week.

Tip #5: Supplement

In combination with good quality nutrition, muscle-building nutritional supplements put the icing on the cake. They support as well as greatly enhance the superior nutrition you are fueling your whole body with.

The ideal nutritional supplements to use to gain muscle really fast are 1 ) a superior quality protein powder, ideally whey protein.

Top quality protein powder is shown to increase fat-free lean muscle mass together with strength as well as 2 ) a testosterone maximizing supplement to naturally elevate the amount of free testosterone in your body. This helps with maximizing strength and performance.


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How To Build Muscle Quick - The Best Way To Get Bigger and Get Ripped Faster

If you talk about bodybuilding with anyone who has some experience on the subject, inevitably the topic of supplements will arise. For the longest time people have been looking for the strongest combinations and ingredients, specifically natural ones that will maximize their workouts and strengthen recovery while decreasing recovery time in order to optimize muscle growth while speeding up the process discover how to build muscle quick.

Of course, many bad supplements have brought on bad press that affects all performance enhancing supplements. The most common stigmatized supplements that the average person associates with bodybuilding are anabolic steroids and human growth hormone. Though relatively few bodybuilders use them, the perception is that most do and that the majority of muscle-building supplements have adverse effects on the body.

Thankfully, there is a growing supply of products, many of which contain the product arginine (which stimulates the production of nitric oxide). Studies have shown both bodybuilders and skeptics alike that you can take these supplements to maximize the effectiveness of your workouts without putting yourself at a dangerous health risk and is one of the best ways for how to build muscle quick.

The fact of the matter is that people looking to beef up and get larger aren't the only ones who will benefit from this supplement. Those trying to get toned and lean can use it too, because it is designed to maximize the results of just about any workout program, allowing for faster results, whatever the results are designed to be.

When the body takes in arginine, it is converted into a gas called nitric oxide. While our bodies generally have a small amount of nitric oxide stored perpetually, it is only expended when the body deems necessary, then restored with whatever foods we eat. But to get a longer term benefit from nitric oxide, it's critical to bolster the body's reservoir.

Nitric oxide works to relax and expand the body's blood vessels, making it easier to flow a larger amount of blood through and, ultimately, increase the productivity of a workout. This blood increase provides more endurance and promotes the growth of lean muscle mass. So whether you are opting for a cardio workout or are trying to bulk up, you will see faster results using nitric oxide than with a workout by itself.

If you are scouting the market for a safe, productive and natural way to lengthen your workout and maximize its effectiveness to quickly achieve bigger muscles, nitric oxide-growing arginine is just what you are seeking if you want to build muscle quick.


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Get Rid of Man Boobs! Home Workout Solution

First off, I don't want to mislead you. There is no 'secret' exercise that will magically make your man boobs go away. HOWEVER, let's take a look at a few strategies that we can employ that have a good chance of helping you to get rid of man boobs:


Increase testosterone with strength workouts focusing on lifting HEAVY for low repetitions
Increase your body's levels of fat-burning human growth hormone (HGH) by doing several High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) workouts per week
Eating less (combined with training more) to create a calorie deficit - and gradual fat loss, week after week.



The Importance of Testosterone

Although general opinion suggests that you cannot 'spot reduce' fat, actual experience shows that hormone levels play a large role in where we accumulate fat.

Just look at the differences between men and women. Women's higher estrogen levels make them accumulate fat in their breasts, hips, and butt. Men, on the other hand, tend to gain fat in the stomach.

More specifically, body builders who abuse steroids (basically overloading their bodies with synthetic testosterone) eventually cause the body to produce excess amounts of the female hormone estrogen. This leads to fat accumulation in the breasts, also called man boobs or gynecomastia.

So, since injecting testosterone obviously isn't the way to go, we need to maximize our testosterone levels, NATURALLY.

Lifting heavy weights in the 4-8 repetition range can help the body release greater amounts of testosterone.

Increasing Testosterone With Heavy, Compound Lifts

As far as testosterone release is concerned, nothing beats movements like the squat and deadlift. Your body is forced to move A LOT of weight, and muscle groups are maximally activated from head to toe.

So, ideally, you would want to buy an Olympic weight set, get a couple sessions of coaching on proper form (crossfit trainers are great for this sort of advice), and do 2-3 general strength workouts per week consisting of the following sorts of movements:


Deadlift or Squat
Horizontal Pushing Motion (Dumbbell Bench Press, Dumbbell Incline Press, etc.) or Vertical Pressing Motion (Dumbbell Overhead Press, Military Press)
Horizontal Pulling Motion (Dumbbell Rows, Weighted Body Rows) / Vertical Pulling Motion (Weighted Pullups)
[To keep your body balanced, perform horizontal pushing motions on the same days as horizontal pulling motions, vertical press on the same day as vertical pulls]



OK, But What If I'm On A Budget?

Coaching - Proper form is essential to preventing injury, but you can learn most of what you need to know by checking out YouTube - there are several EXCELLENT deadlift form videos there, for example.

Equipment - It is pretty hard to beat an Olympic weight set. Even if that's all you have, you can at least do deadlifts, which many agree are the ULTIMATE strength movement - especially for hormone activation. Check out Craigslist for deals, these sets can often go for around $100.

If that doesn't work for you, experiment with sandbag training. Get an old army surplus duffel bag, buy a few bags of pea gravel and throw them into the dufffel, and practice lifting that. You can do A LOT with this simple piece of equipment, and it shouldn't cost you more than $15 or so.

As for the pushing and pulling motions, here are a few excellent options - remember you can add weight as you gain strength by throwing some pea gravel into your backpack.


Horizontal Pressing Motions - (Decline Pushup - place your feet around 2 feet off the ground. For more difficulty, try it on a DIY suspension trainer (do a Google search for several excellent tutorials).
Vertical Pressing Motions - Handstand pushups (once you have developed pushup strength), sandbag overhead press, jackknife pushups (check YouTube for details)
Horizontal Pulling Motions - Body row on DIY suspension trainer (elevate feet for more difficulty)
Vertical Pulling Motions - Pullup (no pullup bar? throw a rolled up towel over a beam), weighted Pullups (tie some weight through your belt)



How to Get Rid of Man Boobs - HIIT Training to Boost HGH and Burn Fat

HIIT consists of doing short, intense intervals of exercise followed by short rests. One option is one minute exercise, one minute rest, repeated several times.

Here are a few suggestions:


Fat Burning HIIT Jumprope Workout - After a few minutes of warming up, alternate one minute of high knees sprinting with one minute of slower, double leg hops. Continue for 10-15 minutes.
Burpees Intervals- Burpees (do a YouTube search for instructions) are a PHENOMENAL total body conditioner. Alternate 60 seconds of burpees with 60 seconds of easy jumping jacks, for a total of 10-15 minutes.
Sprint Intervals - Alternate 60 seconds of intense running with 60 seconds of easier walking, for a total of 10-15 minutes.



Again, these are just a few ideas. Feel free to increase or reduce work and rest periods as you see fit.

Doing a few workouts like this every week will boost fat-burning HGH. Follow each workout with a brisk 20 minute walk to take advantage of your body's fat burning state.

Eat Less

There are many approaches to dieting for fat loss, and some work well for certain people and not for others. For starters, I would like to suggest a simple idea:

Eat until you are no longer hungry, NOT until you are full!

Eating a little less, while upping your activity with the workouts we just covered, will help you to gain muscle while gradually losing body fat, INCLUDING that excess male breast tissue.

Summary

So, here are three ways to attack your goal and get rid of man boobs:


Boost testosterone and muscle mass with heavy strength training
Increase levels of fat-burning HGH with HIIT interval training
Eat less to create a calorie deficit



Now all that's left is for you to get busy!


If you found this article interesting and for more info on fat loss workouts and homemade workout equipment, check out my blog at http://homeworkoutblog.com/

See how I have successfully lost 30 pounds of fat, built strength and muscle, and overcome chronic injuries all at home.

Take care and good luck!

-Ian

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