Why You Won't Gain Muscle Mass

Why you don't gain muscle mass, the most common reason

Many people come to me complaining about how a hard time they are having gaining muscle mass. What amazes me though is how the same problem seem to keep coming over and over again. Many people train a lot, and put a lot of effort at that part. That is good, but thats no help if their body cant profit of it.

So what is the problem? I like to think of it this way. You have a building site with a lot of qualified workers and engineers. But your workers and engineers spend all day looking for the materials they need to build. Now, how much do you think they have managed to build when the day is done if they don't find it? As you probably understand, the building site is your body and the workers is your body after a workout, trying to add muscle mass.

In order to gain muscle mass you need to have a positive calorie balance, which means you have to gain weight. Replacing fat with muscle is theoretically impossible, although it is possible to a certain very limited level in the start. Many people gets into a hard dilemma knowing this. Shall they gain muscle mass(bulk) or get thinner and remove some fat(cut).

Bulk or cut?
This is the hard part. In my opinion you have to be consistent with your goals. You have to decide what you want to do in order to make progress. If you are already overweight I would put my health first, and try cutting. Being overweight is dangerous and is the cause of many dangerous deceases. If you though are relatively slim, fit and healthy you could try bulking. In the end, it's all up to you!

7 Healthy Carbohydrate Sources

We need carbohydrates to stay healthy and have enough energy throughout the day. Yes, you can gain fat by carbohydrates. But this is usually due to excessive intake or carbohydrates with a high glycemic index. Eating to much and to high glycemic indexed carbohydrates spikes your insulin levels and eventually slows down fat loss and gives your body a signal to start storing the excessive calorie intake as fat.


I hereby present to you 7 healthy carbohydrate sources!

1.) Oat (oatmeal) is cheap and good.
2.) Brown rice is a very healthy carbohydrate source to use in your food.
3.) Peas and beans
4.) Potatoes
5.) Vegetables. The more colorful the better for your body! Broccoli is very healthy and keeps your hunger down if you are dieting.
6.) Fruits. But be aware, some has a very high glycemic index like bananas.
7.) Bread with a lot of fiber.

10 Easy Ways To Motivate for Weight Training

I have been weight training for about 5 years now and through my experience I would gladly like to share my personal tips for keeping myself motivated from January to December each and every year!

Motivation is often hard to get, especially if you are training alone. It's also dangerous if you loose your motivation and thereby the hang of it.

1.) When you start weight training. Don't look to much on your muscle gains. Try to motivate yourself by your strength gains. This is way easier to motivate in the start.
2.) When you have been training for a while. Let your own look motivate you. Think about the hard work you have put through to get this.
3.) Find a training partner who is even more motivated then yourself.
4.) Take pictures of your progress.
5.) Look at motivational movies at youtube.
6.) You are allowed to drop a workout once in a while if something important happen or you get sick. But you are NOT allowed to skip more then a week a couple of times a year.
7.) If you are not on a diet and are bulking; motivate yourself by thinking of all the good food you can eat after working out which turns into muscle mass.
8.) Get some new clothes for working out in.There is a lot of cool stuff out there if you just look a bit around.
9.) Time for you. Time to take a break from kids, family or other demanding parts in life.
10.) Watch the classic "Pumping Iron" from the 1970s with Arnold.

How to get a flat stomach - the truth

First we have to get something straight. I am not writing this blog to lie to you about training and dieting. There is simply no fast and easy #1 exercise to get a flat stomach. After all, it's not even a stomach exercise which will give you a flat stomach.



If your stomach isn't flat, it's because you have to much fat on your stomach. Fat can not be removes and certain places on your body one part at the time (except with surgery). Forget all the special stomach-exercises. It's not working, and never will. But the help is here.

What do you have to do? You have to get rid of a lot of fat. The fat situated on your stomach can be hard to get rid off. The only way to do this is healthier food and more exercise which leads to a calorie deficiency. There is NO WAY around this. Stomach exercises will not make any difference as long as you don`t already have low body fat on your stomach to show off the abs situated below the fat. But to be honest, everyone has abs below that fat.

How to get rid of the fat?
- Eat healthier. More protein, less fat, less carbohydrates. Tip: Try to get a decent amount of protein in each meal, eat salads as carbohydrates, and avoid the fatty sauces and dressings. Fish is ok though.
- Eat smaller and lighter meals
- Exercise more. Combine running and weight training. Running "kills calories", while weight training builds muscles which consume calories.
- Dont comfort yourself with unhealthy food after training. If that's the case, you could rather drop the exercise and not eat the food.
- Remember it's actually easy math:
Calories into your body - Exercise =
Positive -> You put on fat
Neutral -> You stay the way you are
Negative -> You lose fat

Good luck!

Healthy and proteinrich foods

Protein is important. Your body relies on it to build muscle mass and you to stay healthy. The problem is often finding the right foods to compose your meals to get a decent protein level in it. But stay calm, the help is right here:


Some good protein rich foods are:
Eggs
Milk
Quark and cottage cheese
Lean meats
Fish
Beans, lenses, tofu
Protein supplements (Whey, Casein)
Some others with reservations are:
Cheese (be aware of the fat level)
Yogurt (be aware of the sugar)
Peanut butter (be aware of the fat)
Nuts (be aware of fat and salt)

10 Easy Ways To Get In Shape Through 2009

As the first post in this blog I present to you ten easy ways to get in shape for 2009! This is ways me and my friends have learned through all the years we have been working out and eaten healthy.

If we can, you can to!

1.) Start working out. There is simply no way out. Find an activity you can enjoy! There is plenty to choose from; tennis, jogging, hillwalking, lifting weights, swimming and more.
2.) Make sure your activity makes you sweat and breathless. To be hones: Light activities is FAR from optimal.
3.) Ask a friend to join you. Everyone has a friend who either works out, or would like to start. Competition or simply encouragement is good, plus it makes it even more social.
4.) Replace certain foods with healthier alternatives. Meat farce with ground beef, regular Pepsi with Pepsi Max, regular cheese with light cheese and the list goes on.
5.) Cut some of the dressing or sauce on your foods. Remember 1 dl of fat is nearly 1000kcal!
6.) After working out, do not cheat on yourself by thinking that you now deserve something unhealthy.
7.) Try getting some protein in every meal. Good protein sources are milk, beef, fish, shellfish, eggs and different types of white and red meat.
8.) Do not cheat on yourself by skipping your training. If you are not feeling 100% that day, head to training anyway and do what you can. Very often you quicken up after warming up a bit.
9.) In stead of the previous chocolate, fast-food and Coca Cola, spend some money on your training wardrobe.
10.) Take measurements and pictures and see the progress. This is maybe the biggest motivators when you see your progress!

Good luck!