Big wide shoulders are a critical component to a well balanced muscular physique. Having big round deltoids will give you that nice V-tapered look and help you fill out an X-large T-shirt

What you’re going to get below is a complete dumbbell shoulder workout to help pack on some muscular mass. We’re going to be using super sets in a circuit routine to hit all 3 heads of the delts and pump up your shoulders like crazy.

And the best part is this entire routine shoulder routine can be done with just a set of adjustable dumbbells, so it’s perfect for those of you who workout at a basic home gym.

To recap the home gym shoulder workout…

The first super set is:
Front Dumbbell Raises & Dumbbell Shoulder Press

The second super set is:
Side Dumbbell Lateral Raises & Dumbbell Shoulder Press

The third super set is:
Bent Over Dumbbell Raises & Dumbbell Shoulder Press

Do the first super set, rest 1 minute.
Do the second super set, rest 1 minute.
Do the third super set, rest 1 minute.
Repeat for a total of 3 super set circuits.

Shoot for 10-15 reps for each exercise.

Give this shoulder workout routine a try for yourself and then leave me a comment below letting me know how you like it.

Join The “Inner Circle” Coaching Club…

And if you would like to work with me personally and get your very own customized diet and workout program for building muscle, burning bodyfat, and getting in your best shape ever. Then make sure to sign up for the Total Fitness Bodybuilding “Inner Circle” Coaching Club at: www.TotalFitnessBodybuilding.com

Learn The “Short-Cut” To Quickly Building
A Ripped Muscular Physique… For-FREE!

If you are looking to get in your Best Shape Ever, then you’ve come to the right place. Let me be YOUR Muscle Building Coach who helps you build a stronger, leaner, more athletic physique!

Click PLAY To Watch The Video Below…

These are the same training tips and tricks that I used personally to transform my body
from a small and skinny 135 pounds to a big, ripped, and muscular 210 pounds!

Click Here To Download Your Copy Of The “Bodybuilding Quick Start Kit” for FREE…

 

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There are three distinct categories of the human body:

The endomorph, characterized by a preponderance of bodyfat.

The mesomorph, marked by a well-developed musculature.

The ectomorph, distinguished by a lack of either much fat or muscle tissue.

Obviously, most people are not going fit exactly in one category or another. We tend to have a combination of the 3 body types. But knowing which of the 3 body types you predominately lean towards can help you structure your workouts and nutrition program to better meet your fitness goals.

Here are some general training and nutrition guidelines to follow for each of the 3 body types…

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Ectomorph

Ectomorphs need to focus their efforts of gaining muscular bodyweight.

Heavy weight training will help ectomorph’s stimulate muscle growth. Slower paced workouts with longer rest periods (i.e. at least 2 minutes between sets) will allow heavier weights to be lifted and thus help stimulate more muscle growth. Ectomorph’s also need to train less frequently in order to give their body plenty of time for growth and recovery. 3 weight training workouts per week would be ideal.

Cardio and other aerobic activities should be kept to a minimum until you are happy with your current bodyweight. This will conserve calories and allow them to be utilized for muscle growth.

Ectomorph’s need to make sure that they consume more calories then they burn off in order to have a caloric surplus from which to grow from. Ideally they should not go any longer then 2 hours without eating something. Each meal should contain protein and starchy carbohydrates. While the diet should be focused around natural unprocessed foods, some higher fat foods like peanut butter, red meat, whole eggs, and full fat dairy products can be added to the diet to help increase the caloric intake.

Ectomorph’s have really fast metabolisms so the risk of gaining bodyfat is low. And even if they do gain some bodyfat during the mass building phase, they will easily be able to get rid of it once they return to a lower calorie diet.

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Endomorph

An Endomorph’s biggest problem is losing bodyfat and keeping it off.

Weight training will help endomorph’s develop a better muscle to fat ratio in their body and therefore speed up their metabolism. Ideally endomorph’s should train at a fast training pace (very little rest between sets and exercises) to help burn up more calories during their workouts.

A minimum of 30 minutes of daily cardio, preferably done first thing in the morning before eating, will help burn up stored bodyfat and help increase the metabolism. Moderate intensity activities like brisk walking, bike riding, and cardio machines at the gym are ideal.

Endomorph’s need to eat less then maintenance calories in order to burn up stored bodyfat for energy. 5-6 small meals spaced out every few hours during the day. These meals should be based around lean protein and green veggies. The only time starchy carbohydrates should be consumed is immediately after exercise. At these times the body is primarily concerned with replacing muscle glycogen and the carbohydrates will be unlikely to get stored as bodyfat after exercise. Obviously, sweets, junk foods, and heavily processed foods should be eliminated from your diet, except for an occasional treat once or twice per week.

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Mesomorph

Mesomorph’s tend to be in the middle of the road as far as muscle mass and bodyfat. They generally have a naturally fit body, but to maintain it or improve it they need to exercise and diet correctly. Most successful bodybuilders have this body type.

Weight training can be done more often and for longer sessions then would be good for an ectomorph, but mesomorph’s still need to be careful not to overdo it. Depending on the individuals fitness goal, a mesomorph could focus on the guidelines suggested for an ectomorph and gear their training towards gaining muscular bulk. Or they could focus more alone the guidelines outlined for the endomorph and gear their training towards fat loss and getting ripped.

A lot of mesomorph’s like to cycle their training by bulking up and gaining muscle mass during the fall and winter months. And then switch to training for fat loss during the spring and summer months, in order to have a lean fit looking physique for the summer.

Eventually ectomorph’s and endomorph’s can take on a similar training cycle pattern as their physiques get more developed and they begin to take on some of the characteristics of the mesomorph. But they will still have a tendency to need more work on their trouble areas (i.e. gaining size for ectomorphs and losing fat for endomorph’s).

When a mesomorph is happy with their muscle size and leanness they can simply train to maintain it by sticking to a good healthy diet and performing moderate cardiovascular exercise several times per week to keep the bodyfat in check.

==============

Conclusion

When you know what body type you have and then train and eat properly for your body type, you will make much better progress with your workouts.

Your goal should be to look as close as possible to a mesomorph. With the correct exercise and diet this is an attainable goal. And while some people may have to work harder then others to either gain muscle or lose bodyfat, progress is possible regardless of genetics. And very often people with a stronger work ethic and more determination will be able to overcome their limitations and surpass those with better genetics.

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Get Your Very Own Customized Diet & Training Program
Designed EXACTLY For Your Individual Body Type!

Let Lee Hayward help you get into your best shape ever with a personalized diet plan and customized training program + one-on-one online coaching and support to ensure that you maximize your progress. Whether your goal is to lose bodyfat, gain muscular bodyweight, or increase strength Lee can help get the results you want.

Join The Total Fitness Bodybuilding “Inner Circle” Coaching Club Today!

Click Here For More Info…

What you’re going to get in the video below is a complete push up workout that you can do at home without any exercise equipment.

You’re also going to get some advanced push up variations that you can do using rubber fitness bands for added resistance. And don’t worry if you don’t have a set of rubber fitness bands, because you can order your very own set of Heavy Duty Adjustable Tension Rubber Exercise Bands from: www.BodyLasticBands.com

Push ups are great extra exercise that you can add to any workout routine to help speed up growth in the chest. So if you find that your chest is a stubborn muscle group for you, then simply doing a couple sets of push ups everyday can help spur on new muscle growth because you are regularly flushing blood and nutrients into your pectoral muscles.

Give these push up exercise variations a try for yourself and then leave me a comment below letting me know how they work for you.

Join The “Inner Circle” Coaching Club…

And if you would like to work with me personally and get your very own customized diet and workout program for building muscle, burning bodyfat, and getting in your best shape ever. Then make sure to sign up for the Total Fitness Bodybuilding “Inner Circle” Coaching Club at: www.TotalFitnessBodybuilding.com

Do you want to get on the FAST Track for packing on lean muscle mass and blasting away that stubborn bodyfat?

Well if so I’ve got good news…

Just head on over to my brand new website:

www.TotalFitnessBodybuilding.com

Because right now I’m in the process of setting up my “Inner Circle” Coaching Club Members with their very own Fast Track Programs.

You see rather then just making up generic “one size fits all” workout and diet plans. I’m going to use the actual members from the “Inner Circle” to create step-by-step training,
nutrition, and supplementation programs for:

So if you would like to be apart of this, just sign up for the “Inner Circle” Coaching Club and then go in on the forum and send me your stats.

I’ll need to know…
- Your age, height, weight, and bodyfat percentage.
- How long you’ve been working out.
- What your diet been like up until now.

And be honest, if you’ve been “On and Off” in the gym, or if you never really paid attention to your eating, then say so… (I won’t get mad, I promise )

After all we’re only human and the goal of the “Inner Circle” Coaching Club is not to be perfect, but to make progress. And being totally up front and admitting where you are right now is the first step to getting to where you want to go.

So again, just go to:
www.TotalFitnessBodybuilding.com <<--Click Here

Sign up and post your info in the Muscle Building Fast Track forum and I’ll chat with you there.

It’s quick and simple to prepare and it makes a great vegetable side dish to go along with any meal. All you need is some zucchini’s, your favorite spices, olive oil, and a frying pan…

Of course having a stove to cook it on helps as well

Here’s What You Gotta Do…

Cut the zucchini length wise into strips. Pre-heat your frying pan over medium heat. Add in some olive oil to prevent the zucchini from sticking to the pan. Lay the zucchini strips in the pan, spice them up with garlic and herb seasoning (or whatever spices you like).

Cook on both sides until they start to caramelize and are lightly browned.

That’s it, quick, simple, and tasty.

Give this one a try and then leave me a comment below and let me know how you like it.

Would You Like Have A Customized Muscle Building Nutrition Program?

In order to maximize your muscle gains in the gym you need to fuel the machine. And one of the services I offer through my Total Fitness Bodybuilding “Inner Circle” Coaching Club is providing you with daily meal-by-meal eating plans with the exact foods to eat in the right amounts – all plotted and mapped out specifically for your body type and your fitness goals.

Just click the link below for more information…

www.TotalFitnessBodybuilding.com <<-- Join The "Inner Circle" Coaching Club!

I took the time sit down and read each and every one of the entries to narrow it down to just 20 deserving winners. I did my best to pick a diverse group of people from different ages, fitness levels, and from different parts of the world to help lay the foundation for the “Inner Circle” Coaching Club.

Here are the 20 winners in no particular order:

- Adnan Alam
- Leigh Cambre
- Tyler Hedderson
- David Bye
- Adiel Rozinov
- Joe Oborny
- Siddharth Gaur
- Lonnie Rogers
- Ronan O Sullivan
- Rosie C
- David Amaya
- Michael Price
- Scott Rowe
- Michael Dahl
- Eric Acevedo
- Chenxiao Gu
- Alexander Duncan
- David (last name left out)
- Jamie (last name left out)
- Kevin (last name left out)

Note: I’ve already contacted each of the winners and confirmed them via email.

Whether you were selected or not I trust that you found this blog contest helpful in verbalizing your goals publically and focusing in on what you really want to achieve with your fitness goals in 2012.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to respond. Your stories have inspired me. It’s nice to know that all the time and effort I put into my website, videos, and training programs is appreciated and has had such a positive impact on so many people from all over the world!

Frequently Asked Questions:

As you can imagine, since I announced that I would be creating a Total Fitness Bodybuilding “Inner Circle” Coaching Club I’ve been getting swamped with questions, and right now I want to take the time to answer the most frequently asked questions right here:

What Exactly Is The Total Fitness Bodybuilding “Inner Circle” ?

The premise of the “Inner Circle” is simple… As a member you are going to be able to work directly with me and get side-by-side coaching. You’ll get all the tools you need from specialized workout programs, customized diet plans, and supplement schedules. But most important, you’ll get ongoing training and guidance from a “Real Expert” in a small and supportive group coaching environment.

How Much Will This Coaching Program Cost ?

I’ll reveal that on Monday when this program goes LIVE!
But let me just say that I put a lot thought into the price. I surveyed my followers to get their feedback, and 77% said that they wanted to sign up as a paid monthly member if I were to offer this type of group coaching program.

And I believe that when you operate from that mindset, it’s a WIN – WIN situation for everyone. So I made sure to set the price so that it is very affordable for literally anyone who wants access to it.

Why Do I Need A Coach?
Why Can’t I Just Follow Programs From Books And Videos?

Well you can… There are A LOT of great books, articles, and videos out there that can help you build muscle. However, the gains you make from following them are often short lived. And before you know it the program will have run it’s course and you’ll be left scratching your head searching for the next “Miracle Muscle Building Program” to follow.

You see the problem with just following books, videos, and generic online workouts is that they only provide a “One Size Fits All” program. But when you join the Total Fitness Bodybuilding “Inner Circle” Coaching Club I can go a whole lot further. By guiding, instructing, and addressing your personal and individual needs that cannot be addressed in a book or video.

Becoming a members of the coaching club will give you an Interactive Experience with a seasoned muscle building coach. My goal is to save you from wasting your most precious resource – Time – and ensure that you develop a lean muscular physique in the quickest and healthiest manner possible.

To Whom Do You Recommend This Coaching Program For?

Literally anyone who is serious about getting in their best shape ever can sign up as a member of the Total Fitness Bodybuilding “Inner Circle” Coaching Club. The best part about an interactive program like this is that it will be customized based on your individual needs.

So regardless if you are young, old, male, female, or if your goal is to build muscle, lose fat, etc. I will work with you personally and help customize a training and nutritional system that’s Right For YOU and your schedule.

What If I’m Not a “Young Buck”, Will This Still Work If I’m Older?

It’s interesting because as I was reading the blog comments I found that over a third of the replies came from men between 40-65 years of age. And right now I’m actually coaching my father who is 61 years old. Since I’ve been working with him to improve his eating and set him up on a structured weight training program he has been making some of his best muscle gains. Each week he is getting stronger on all his lifts in the gym. It’s really exciting to see that kind of progress, even at his age. Some of my previous coaching students have gotten in their best shape in their 50′s and 60′s. So if you believe that age is just a number than I don’t see any reason why you won’t experience consistent muscle gains by following along with the “Inner Circle” Coaching Club.

I’m A Female – Will This Program Work For Me?

Yes, women can follow along with this program as well. Although the majority of my online followers are male. The training and nutritional strategies that I cover will work just as well for women. The whole idea of there being a difference between a Man’s Workout and Woman’s Workout is really nothing more then a bunch of BS to try and sell “female fitness programs”. The truth of the matter is that both men and women have the exact same major muscle groups and those muscles need to be trained with the same exercises. A prime example of this with my girlfriend Trish. We both workout together as training partners and do the exact same workouts set for set, the only difference is the weights we lift (Trish lifts more then me ). This type of training has helped her to develop a national level figure competitor physique. Most women that I know personally would much rather have this type of body, compared to the bone thin anorexic model’s body.

So if you are looking for a serious training program to follow, and not some pink dumbbell “girly workout”, then come on board. The “Inner Circle” Coaching Club will be just the thing to help you develop that lean, athletic, hard body physique!

I’m A Complete Beginner And Wonder If I Should Try This?

Man up and stop wondering! Getting quality coaching from someone who has already achieved what you want to achieve is the quickest way to reach your goals. Within the “Inner Circle” I have a complete Beginners Fast Track Program outlined that will help move you towards building a lean muscular physique. Don’t forget, I will work with you personally and help customize a training and nutritional system that’s right for you and your current fitness level.

What If The Coaching Program Doesn’t Work For Me?

Well if you come into the program with the attitude that it’s not going to work… Then it probably won’t work for you… My belief is that a program does not fail you; only you can fail the program.

You see within the “Inner Circle” I’m going to provide you with my very best training programs and customized diet plans. Then we’ll be constantly going through the process of Monitoring Your Results and Modifying Your Program to ensure that you make the gains you want to make. In fact, this process never ends. Because as you become more advanced as a bodybuilder your body will change, and your training and nutritional needs will change as well.

I’ll use myself as an example;
The diet and training programs I followed when I was a skinny teen looking to bulk up varied A LOT from the diet and training plans I followed when getting ripped for competition. And you’ll experience the same type of thing as your body changes, your diet and training routines will have to change accordingly.

Each phase of your physique transformation will require a different approach to diet and training.

It is a constant cycle of Monitoring Your Results and Modifying Your Program. However, you can “short-cut” this process and save yourself years of trial and error by working with an experienced coach who has already achieved what you want to achieve. And that’s exactly the service that I’m going to provide you with in the Total Fitness Bodybuilding “Inner Circle”. So the only way it “Will Not Work” is if you don’t follow through with the program.

But let’s just say that you do sign up as a member and then later on decide that this coaching club isn’t for you, then you can simply cancel your membership at anytime and we’ll part as friends.

There are NO Contracts to sign and NO Loop Holes to jump through. After all I only want to work with people who really want my help and are serious about participating in this coaching program. If you don’t want to be a part of the program, then I’m not going to try and keep you here against your will.

If you have any other questions about the Total Fitness Bodybuilding “Inner Circle” Coaching Club that I haven’t covered, please feel free to post them below…

And keep an eye on your e-mail inbox… We’re literally just days away from launching this interactive muscle building coaching program!

all the best,

Instead I’m going to DOUBLE IT and
GIVE AWAY 20 FREE MEMBERSHIPS!

(This is HUGE and the biggest Give-A-Way I’ve ever done!)

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Last month I posted a blog asking for your feedback about a Private Bodybuilding Coaching Club that I’m putting together…

You can check out that blog post below:
http://leehayward.com/blog/bodybuilding-coaching-club-survey

As you know, I provide A LOT of muscle building training and nutrition advice via my blog, e-mails, facebook, and YouTube videos. And I’m still going to keep doing all that stuff and continue to make workout training videos, blog posts, etc.

However, as a result of all the tips and advice that I share online, I get several hundred e-mail every single day from guys asking me to help them with their workouts, help them with their diets, and basically coach them with reaching their bodybuilding and fitness goals.

As of this writing there are 35,000+ subscribers following me on YouTube. And 22,000+ followers on Facebook, plus there are tens of thousands more who just follow my website and don’t even have a Facebook or YouTube account.

As you can imagine, Thousands Of Followers = Hundreds Of e-Mails…
And as much as I would like to sit down and answer each and every one of those e-mails, it’s physically impossible, there just aren’t enough hours in the day.

So instead of simply ignoring them, I’m going to provide an “Inner Circle Coaching Club” for guys who are really serious about taking their training to the next level and who want to work with me personally.

I’ve already surveyed my followers about what they would like to see offered in this type of Private Bodybuilding Coaching Club and the overall response was very positive. I received some great feedback and 77% of my followers said that they would be willing to sign up as a paid monthly member if I were to offer this program.

I’ve been working my tail off over the past month and putting together my very best tips, tricks, workouts, and diet plans together to create a Kick Ass Group Coaching Program. Basically I’ll be providing you with all the program templates to follow and then I’ll work with you personally via the private members forum and live video chats to help personalize them to your individual situation.

In addition to that you’ll be able to keep your own online training log and track your results. Post your workouts, your meals, keep track of your stats and post progress pictures. This way I can follow along with your training in real time and provide you with on going feedback about your progress. This will help to hold you accountable to follow through and stick with your program and develop the lean muscular physique you want.

The Total Fitness Bodybuilding “Inner Circle” Coaching Club is almost ready to go LIVE, all I need now is some guinea pigs to help me test it out

So I’m going to GIVE AWAY 10 20 FREE MEMBERSHIPS right here on my blog!

To enter to win one of those 10 20 FREE Memberships all you have to do is post a comment below this post (reply form is at bottom of the page) with the following response:

So please keep your financial situation to yourself, and instead focus on your personal fitness goals and how being a member of this group coaching program will help you reach those goals quicker and with less frustration.

I’m going to keep this blog contest open for the next 48 hours and then I’ll personally review all the replies over the weekend and announce the 10 20 Lucky Winners.

So give it some thought and make your answer count!

all the best,

- How do I workout ?

- Etc…

Now while all the training and nutrition “How To Stuff” is certainly important,
it’s only part of the process.

The KEY that’s going to make or break your success and actually keep you on track is your “Mindset”.

The ability to actually visualize yourself with the type of lean athletic body that you want (and believe that you can achieve it) is just as important as all the how to information.

When it comes to the Mindset & Inner Game of success there are all kinds of things that people use to get the edge… Everything from; goal setting, affirmations, visualization exercises, hypnosis, and all kinds of psychological mumble jumble.

Now while I do believe that many of these methods can help. The best method of developing the belief that you can succeed is to simply model someone else who has already achieved what you want to achieve. When you can see an example of a regular guy taking action and getting extraordinary results that will help inspire you to take action yourself.

It gets you thinking: “If He Can Do It, So Can I…”

For most people seeing Mr. Olympia add another trophy on his mantel isn’t as inspirational as seeing that skinny kid bust his ass in the gym and get buff.
Or seeing that overweight guy trim down and see his abs for the first time.

We can relate more with the struggles and challenges of the average Joe who is hitting the gym and trying to get in shape while juggling work, school, family, and other responsibilities. More so then we can relate to the genetically gifted professional athlete who has a paid sponsorship to simply eat, sleep, and workout.

So that’s why I’m going to regularly feature some of these real world success stories and shine the “Total Fitness Bodybuilding Spotlight” on the unsung gym heros who are taking action and getting impressive results!

This spotlight feature is “Brad Kelly”…

I have always believed everything in life happens for a reason, you may not know it now, but the hardship you are battling will have clear significance farther down the road. And every great journey or story has its ups and its downs, and my story is no different.

I grew up and still live in Panama City, Florida, a healthy kid, until the age of 12. I remember it like it was yesterday, laying in my bunk bed and waking up abruptly in the night vomiting. Little did I know what seemed like a small inconvenience at the time was something that would dictate my life for many years. After being sick for almost 2 years the doctors agreed my problem may be extreme allergies constantly aggravating my stomach so I began taking two allergy shots a week for 4 years. I spent weeks in hospitals, missed a whole year of highschool in a hospital homebound program and met many different specialists all over the country.

After being sick for many years in 2006 I had a major surgery called Nissen Funcdoplication at Emory Hospital in Atlanta, GA. The surgery alone never completely solved my sickness but it did help. Here is a picture of me directly after my surgery weighing only 120 pounds.

And this is where it all begins to turn around, in 11th grade I was accidently put into weightlifting as a “scheduling mistake” but as a surprise to me I enjoyed it. at 120 pounds and being sick for so long I will never forget the first time I benched and could barely do over 100 pounds. However I fell in love with weightlifting and had many great memories, I continued workout out every day at school and even got a second weightlifting class (one at 1st period and one at 6th). With the help of my weightlifting coach, Coach Pratt, by the time I graduated after only training under 2 years I was 190 pounds and had tripled my bench press from 100 to 300 pounds!

Thanks Lee, you are a true help.
Brad Kelly

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Thanks for sharing your success story with us Brad.
You are a real inspiration and a great example of
the positive changes that one can make by following
a healthy bodybuilding lifestyle.

all the best,

P.S.
If you have a personal success story that you’d like to share, please let me know in the comments below and I’ll get in contact with you about being featured in the Total Fitness Bodybuilding Spotlight.

This move is a unique shoulder press variation where you alternate back and forth between pressing the barbell to the front of the head and to the back of the head.

Begin by un-racking a barbell much like you would during a military press.

Press the barbell so that it’s a couple inches over your head and then lower the barbell behind your head. Then press the barbell back up so that the bar is a couple inches over your head and bring the bar back to the front. This would constitute one rep.

The main difference with this move is that you are alternating pressing the bar to the front and to the back of the head. And you are moving the bar non stop and keeping constant tension on the shoulders during the entire exercise. You don’t lock it out at the top like you would in a normal shoulder press. This is a great move for working the entire shoulder complex and it also helps to increase mobility in the shoulder joint.

Now this is quite challenging, even when just using the empty barbell. Most people don’t have muscular endurance and work capacity to perform 100 total reps. So if you can’t perform 100 total reps at first that’s ok, just work within your means and strive to get more reps each workout.

When you can perform 100 total reps consistently then you can start adding weight to the bar and pyramid up in weight with each set and lower the reps like you would for normal shoulder presses and really push yourself with the Bradford Press. But just start out using the empty barbell for high reps and master proper form and technique first.

Give this move a try in your next shoulder workout and then leave me a comment below to let me know how it works for you.

And if you would like to see more unique Shoulder Workouts, make sure to check out my Complete Shoulder Workout Playlist on YouTube.

While I normally focus my blog content around sharing quality muscle building workout tips and bodybuilding diet advice, and that’s probably the reason you are here now. However, all that “How To” stuff is based around one thing:

Actually Putting Those Training Tips To Use And Getting In Your Best Shape Ever!

So today I’m going to shine the spotlight on one of my online followers who has been taking action and making some impressive gains in the gym.

Below are some pictures and an e-mail that I received recently from Alejandro Buzzi.

I wanted to share his success story with you because it’s an inspirational example of
Real People Getting Real Results!

Hello Lee,

Your fan,
Alejandro Buzzi

Great Job Alejandro, thanks for sharing your results.
I love hearing Real Life Success Stories like this.
It’s makes all the time and effort I put into my
website, videos, & fitness programs worth while.

all the best,

P.S.
I’m planning on making the “Total Fitness Bodybuilding Spotlight” a regular feature on my blog. So if you have a success story that you’d like to share, please let me know in the comments below and I’ll get in contact with you.

Baked Salmon Nutritional Info:
- 4 oz serving (i.e. 115 gram serving)
- 233 calories
- 14 grams of fat – mostly healthy omega 3 fats
- 0 carbohydrates
- 25 grams of protein

Start with lining a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Grease or spray some PAM on the foil to keep the salmon from sticking.

Lay out your salmon filet on the baking sheet. (I like to get my salmon from Costco as they have the best prices around for meats and fish).

Add salt, pepper, garlic, and spices according to your personal taste preferences.

Bake in the over at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes (Time will vary depending on how thick the salmon filet is and how well you like it cooked.)

Half way through I like to switch the oven to broil and turn on the top heating element. This will help cook the fish from both the top and the bottom.

That’s it, simple, quick, and clean up is easy because we used aluminum foil on the baking sheet so there is little mess involved.

Give this baked salmon recipe a try for yourself and then leave me a comment below letting me know how you like it!

And if you would like to get over 200 delicious & healthy muscle building meal ideas, I suggest you pick up a copy of the Anabolic Cooking Cookbook at: http://www.AnabolicCooking.net

Want More Recipes Like This…?

If you would like to get 200+ delicious and healthy high protein muscle building recipes, then I highly recommend that you pick up a copy of “Anabolic Cooking”. This is the Bodybuilder’s Cookbook and it will help turn you into a Super Cook in the kitchen!

www.AnabolicCooking.net <<-- Click Here To Download Your Copy Now!

1) Developing The Upper Chest.
2) One Side Of The Chest Is Bigger Than The Other.

So that’s why I’ve put together a specific chest workout video that will address both of these issues.

What we’re going to do in this workout is target exercises that work primarily the upper pecs.

So we’re going to do:
- Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
- Incline Dumbbell Flys
- Low Pulley Cable Crossover Flys
- Push Ups with the feet elevated

All of these exercises will place the workload on the upper pecs to help fill out and build muscle in the top of the chest.

In addition to that, because we are using dumbbells and cables for our chest exercises, each side of the chest will receive an equal workload. You see sometimes when you do barbell or machine exercises the stronger side can over compensate for the weaker side. However, when you do dumbbell exercises both sides are forced to perform the exact same amount of work and thus help create equal development over the long term.

Give this upper chest workout with dumbbells and cables a try in your next chest training session. Then leave me a comment below letting me know how it works for you!

The thing I really like about Pull Down Cable Crunches is that they hit the abs from a unique angle. They are one of the few ab exercises that allow you to train your mid-section from the standing position.

The key to getting the most out of this move is to do multiple sets to really fatigue the abs. Start off with moderate weights and shoot for 4 sets of 15 reps. But as you get stronger you can increase the weight and perform even higher sets if you like.

Just watch the video clip below to see this exercise in action!

Extreme Fat Loss: How To Get Ripped To The Bone Shredded In Record Time. If You Are Already In Good Shape Now, But Want To Step It Up To The Next Level & Get In Awesome Shape. Then This Is The Advanced Fat Loss Program For You! If one of your bodybuilding & fitness goals is to get ripped in time for hitting the beach and pool parties this summer, then you need to start training for it NOW!

Have you ever wondered what to eat, how much to eat, when to eat, what foods are good, what foods should you avoid, etc…?

Well I’m going to put an end to your fat loss confusion right here and right now with a simple easy to follow meal-by-meal Extreme Fat Loss program.

This is a complete DVD program plus printable diet and workout “cheat sheets”. Just print them off, stick’em on your fridge, and follow it. It’s really as easy as that, no thinking required!

You can get your copy now at: www.LeeHayward.com/dvd

Which one should YOU use to help achieve your muscle building goals?

I get a lot of questions like this from my online followers…
They just want to cut through all the confusion and figure out which one they should use, what’s the best value for their money, and how they can maximize their muscle gains…

This is a common question I hear:

“Lee, I’m 24 years old, 5’10 tall, and weigh 173 pounds. My goal is to bulk up and gain as much muscle as I can. But I don’t want to get gain any fat either. Should I use a Protein Powder or a Weight Gainer to help me gain lean muscle?”

Then they usually list out a bunch of different brands of protein powders and weight gainers, and ask me to rank them as to which one is the best…

But before we can answer this question we need to step back and just look at protein powders and weight gainers for what they really are… A source of quick convenient liquid nutrition. That’s it!

Most advanced bodybuilders, myself included, don’t even consider protein powders or weight gainers to be “supplements” at all, but rather just a convenient food source. For example, do you consider drinking a glass of milk taking supplements? Probably not… Well, drinking a protein or weight gainer shake is pretty much the same thing, except it’s a more concentrated source of liquid nutrition.

So don’t be fooled by all the hyped up magazine ads that feature jacked up bodybuilders saying that the key to their success is drinking “Super Duper Muscle Builder 4000″.

You need to read between the lines when it comes to any advertising.
For example; just because Mr. Olympia drinks protein shakes, that doesn’t automatically mean that the protein shakes are what caused him to win the Mr. Olympia.

To break this down further and show you how supplement ads will sometimes play off this, just look at the following example… Ronnie Coleman drinks bottled water. AND… Ronnie Coleman won the Mr. Olympia. So There For… Bottled Water is the key to winning the Mr. Olympia.

Now we all know that drinking water is important, not only for building muscle, but for life in general. However, this doesn’t mean that drinking bottled water is the “magic secret” that will cause you to build the ultimate body of your dreams.

The same thing applies with protein powders and weight gainers. Yes protein is an essential nutrient, one that we all need in order to live. But protein powder doesn’t have any special muscle building properties over normal high protein foods. Regardless of what the advertisements say, or who the paid spokesperson is, these products are nothing more then a convenient meal replacement alternative.

So now that we’ve gotten the marketing hype out of the way, let’s get into the meat of the article and answer the question…

Protein Powder OR Weight Gainer – Which One Is The Best?

There are 3 main categories of protein supplements:

1) – Protein Powders
These powders are almost all isolated or concentrated protein, with only trace amounts of carbohydrate and fat. A typical scoop of protein powder will have 20+ grams of protein and only a couple grams of carbs and / or fat.

2) – Weight Gainer Powders
These powders are usually a combination of both carbohydrates and protein. Generally they will have a 2 to 1 ratio of carbohydrates to protein. A typical serving of weight gainer powder (which is usually a couple large scoops of powder) will have 60+ grams of carbohydrates and 30+ grams of protein. Along with a few grams of fat.

3) – Meal Replacement Powders
These powders are also a combination of protein and carbohydrates. But they generally have a 2 to 1 ratio of protein to carbohydrates. A typical serving of a meal replacement (which usually comes in a pre-packaged individual serving pouch) will have 40+ grams of protein and approx. 20+ grams of carbs.

The best bang for your buck and the one I recommend everyone use is… Pure Protein Powder!. This is a staple that should be on everyone’s grocery list. I recommend either a whey protein isolate or a protein isolate blend such as Iso-Smooth 4 Protein Blend. The average person needs to get more protein in their diet, NOT more carbohydrates, so that’s why I personally use and recommend protein powder as the top choice.

Now with the others, weight gainers & meal replacements, they are totally optional and only really need to be used for extra convenience.

Meal Replacement Packets are good for when you on the go and can’t sit down for a sensible meal. All you have to do is pack a shaker bottle and a bunch of meal replacement packets with you and you can have instant high protein meals meals anywhere. Now because of the packaging they are expensive, about twice the price of protein powder on a per serving basis. But I have a cheaper “home made” alternative for meal replacements that you can use with pure protein powder as the base ingredient. You can check it out in the video clip below:

However, you can very easily make your own post workout Protein & Carb shake with pure protein powder and simply add in the carbs yourself. This is usually cheaper then buying a weight gainer powder. You can buy Maltodextrin (a carbohydrate powder) in bulk at stores that sell Home Brew Beer & Wine Kits. You can also buy Dextrose (a simple sugar) at these home brew kit stores as well, and simply add them to your post workout protein shake.

Just mix your post workout shake so that it has about 80 grams of carbohydrate powder (a 50/50 mix of maltodextrin & dextrose would be ideal) and 40 grams of pure protein powder. This will give you the ideal 2 to 1 ratio of carbs to protein.

Shop Smart & Save Money On ALL Of Your Supplements…

These are just a couple little “sneaky tricks” that you can use to save money on your supplements while still maximizing your muscle gains in the gym!

If you would like to learn more tips & tricks like this, then I suggest you pick up a copy of the “Homemade Supplement Secrets” e-book. This is a complete user guide to deciphering all the misinformation out there about bodybuilding and fat burning supplements.

ALL of the research has been already done for you by analyzing the REAL science behind which supplements are purely worthless… which ones show some promise… and which ones will provide you with the powerful results you’re looking for 100% guaranteed!

But not only do you get the FACTS behind the popular bodybuilding supplements… You also get STEP-BY-STEP recipes that ANYONE can follow to begin EASILY making your OWN supplement formulas right in your very own home for pennies on the dollar.

Learn ALL of the shady tactics you need to be aware of so you’ll be able to make an educated decision EVERY TIME you evaluate the latest “breakthrough” miracle supplement!

If you are tired of spending your hard-earned money on “hyped up” bodybuilding and fat loss supplements that promise all and deliver NOTHING, then this e-book is a MUST READ…

Check out www.HomeMadeSupplements.net for more information…

This is an e-mail question I got the other day from one of my online followers. It’s a very common question that I get on a regular basis so I decided to post this one for the benefit of all my readers…

Question:

Lee,

Thank You,
Roger

=============================================

Answer:

Hi Roger,

Of all the exercises out there I think I get more e-mails asking for variations to squatting than anything else. People will complain that squats hurt their knees, hurt their back, hurt their shoulders, or that they are just plain scared of doing squats.

And you know what, I think every single bodybuilder, weightlifter, or powerlifter out there has felt all these things to some degree or another.

After all no body in their right mind can get under a loaded barbell like that and say it “feels good”. I personally hate doing squats, but I love the results they provide. So for one workout a week I just bite the bullet and squat! Now any squat variation is a good exercise because it’s a big basic compound movement works multiple muscle groups.

Barbell Squats

Squats move your entire body through space while doing the exercise. This really stimulates the central nervous system and triggers a high level of neuromuscular activation compared to exercises where you just move your limbs.

But in all honesty I still think nothing can replace the good old fashion barbell squat. It’s a brutally tough exercise and the fact that it’s so tough is what makes it so effective. Now you can mix up the squat variations you do (i.e. a few weeks of dumbbell squats, a few weeks of front squats, a few weeks of back squats, etc.)

You can even change things up from time to time and do leg presses or hack squats as a easier variation. But you should always come back to regular squats as a foundational exercise in your workouts. You’ll find that as you make gains in the squat, the rest of your body will grow in proportion.

Now back to your original question about dumbbell squats; they are ok, but once you work up to any amount of weight at all they can be quite awkward to perform. And squatting deep with dumbbells is hard because the weights usually hit the floor before you truly do a “full squat”.

Dumbbell Squats

Hip Belt Squats

An alternative that you may wish to try are Hip Belt Squats. This will allow you to squat big, and squat deep, without placing stress on your back, shoulders, etc. It’s a better alternative to dumbbell squats in my opinion.

IronMind sells the hip belt squat attachments. But if you’d like more info about how to actually get the most benefit from this exercise. My friend and old school bodybuilder Dennis Weis (aka: The Yukon Hercules) has written a cool little e-Book called:

Hip Belt Squats ‘The Great Anabolic Equalizer’

This training guide will show you how to incorporate Hip Belt Squats into your leg workout routines for developing the ultimate in explosive quads. You will learn in explicitly calculated detail one of the best exercises for blasting your quads and hamstrings into the piston action force of a kangaroo kick.

Build large impressive KILLER QUADS! loaded with power and slabs of undiluted muscular refinement. The information in this e-Book training guide is encapsulated for easy, quick reading and effective application.

You can order your own copy now and get instant download access for just $9.95.

Just click on the “Add Item To Cart” button below to buy the
Hip Belt Squats ‘The Great Anabolic Equalizer’ e-book for only $9.95

The triceps make up 2/3′s of the upper arm mass. So when it comes to stretching that tape measure, you need to focus on building up those tris.

In the video clip below you’ll learn a killer tricep mass building exercise called the:

Tricep Extension & Press!

It’s a hybrid move of a tricep extension and an incline dumbbell press. This allows for heavyweights to be lifted and doesn’t place much stress the elbows. This move will make a great addition to your arm workouts to help you pack on solid mass and build bigger more muscular arms!

P.S.

If you’d like to get a complete Mass Building Workout Program to follow, be sure to download a copy of my “Blast Your Biceps” program at: http://www.BlastYourBiceps.com

This is a 3 Phase Mass Building System that will help you pack on as much as 2 inches of solid muscle mass to your upper arms in as little as 8 weeks. While also getting Bigger and Stronger in all your major muscle groups as well.

To learn more about how you can quickly increase the size of your arms and gain lean muscle mass all over, just Click Here for more info…

www.BlastYourBiceps.com

It’s a safe bet that pretty much every guy who has ever picked up a weight would like to have a well developed chest.

The chest has always been regarded as one of the most powerful muscle groups in the body and it’s usually the top priority with most workout programs.

How often have you seen a program written out that started like this…
Day 1: Chest

And to prove my point, just walk into any gym on Monday afternoon and you’ll see the benches lined off with eager young lifters training chest and trying to find an answer to the age old gym question: “How Much Can Ya Bench?”  

Well, in this workout we’re going to leave the bench press alone. And instead focus on pumping up the pecs with a Killer 3 Exercise Chest Circuit Routine that will help spur on some new muscle growth!

This Workout Consists Of:
Dumbbell Flys: 10-15 reps (stretch exercise)
Low Pulley Cable Flys: 10-15 reps (peak contraction exercise)
Push Ups: rep out til failure (mid-range exercise)

Do 1 set of each exercise.
Keep the rest short between exercises, 30 seconds tops.
Then rest 2-3 minutes after each circuit.
Repeat for 3-4 circuits.

Give this workout a try for yourself,
then leave me a comment below letting me know how you like it…

Some people left me comments saying that they could not adjust the cable cross over station at their gym. So they wanted to know if there was a variation to the standing rear delt cable fly exercise that I demonstrated for working the rear deltoids.

So in this video I’ll show you that exact same exercise, but instead of doing it standing from a middle pulley, we are going to lay down on the floor using the low pulley cable. Most gyms should have a low pulley set up similar to this. So you should be able to do this exercise as part of your shoulder workouts to build up the rear delts and upper back.

If you would like to get more shoulder workouts like this, you can watch my
“Shoulder Workout Video Playlist”.

Also make sure to friend me up on facebook so we can chat and keep in touch!
http://www.facebook.com/total.fitness.bodybuilding

Give these shoulder exercises a try in in your own workouts, and then leave me a comment below to let me know how they work for you!

If you are looking for an alternative to cable machines, I highly recommend that you order a set of Adjustable Tension Rubber Fitness Bands from: http://www.BodyLasticBands.com

These are adjustable resistance bands that allow you to vary the resistance based on the exercises you are doing. And these bands start at just a few pounds of tension and go all the way up to over 250 pounds in tension, so they are strong enough for ANYONE to get a good workout with.

Just Click Here for more info…

Sound simple?
Well it is. But there are many different combinations and variations of the Super Set that you can use to make it an incredibly powerful training technique in your workouts:

Such As:
- Antagonist Muscle Super Set
- Pre-Exhaust Super Set
- Post-Exhaust Super Set
- Staggered Super Set

We’ll cover the different Super Set variations in this blog post.

Antagonist Muscle Super Set

An antagonist muscle Super Set is when you exercise opposite muscle groups.
For example, doing a set of bicep curls followed by a set of tricep push downs.

Antagonist muscle Super Sets are excellent for allowing you to compress workout time while maintaining high strength levels. They are my personal favorite kind of Super Set. When you work an opposing muscle group directly after the original muscle it helps to actually INCREASE strength in the second muscle group when you work it.

A great example of an antagonistic Super Set would be to train biceps and triceps together. So you would do a bicep exercise like standing barbell curls, followed by a tricep exercise like tricep push downs (or vice versa). That will be one “Super Set”. You would then rest for a couple minutes and proceed with your next set and so on. Not only will this save time and work the muscles harder, but it will give you an incredible pump throughout your arms as well.

The best muscle groups to pair up for Antagonist Muscle Super Sets are:
- Chest & Back
- Biceps & Triceps
- Quadriceps & Hamstrings

Pre-Exhaust Super Set

In a pre-exhaust Super Set you work on the same muscle group with an isolation exercise first, and then follow up with a compound exercise immediately after without resting in between sets. This is a great way to help build up your stubborn muscle groups.

For example; let’s say your chest is a stubborn muscle group for you that isn’t growing well. In this case you probably have a hard time feeling your pecs working when doing chest exercises like the bench press. So a great way to work around this problem is to start with an isolation exercise to pre-exhaust your pecs first, before moving on to your compound exercises after.

So you could start with a set of pec deck flys, immediately followed by a set of barbell bench presses. That will be one “Super Set”. You would then rest for a couple minutes and proceed with your next set and so on.

The pec deck flys will isolate, pump, and pre-exhuast your pecs before you move on to the bench press. Which is a compound pressing exercise that not only works the chest, but brings the triceps and shoulders into play as well.

Here are some good examples of Pre-Exhaust Super Sets:

Shoulders:
- dumbbell side lateral raises + barbell shoulder press

Chest:
- pec deck fly + bench press

Biceps:
preacher curls + standing barbell curls

Triceps:
- tricep push downs + close grip bench press

Legs:
- leg extensions + squats

Post-Exhaust Super Set

Another version of super setting is the post-exhaust method. This is the exact opposite of the pre-exhaust Super Set. So instead of starting your target muscle with an isolation move, and finishing with a compound move. You start with the compound move first, and finish with the isolation move afterwards.

This still works the targeted muscle hard, but it will allow you to lift heavier weight for the compound exercise because your targeted muscle group is not pre-exhausted yet. One method isn’t necessarily better or worse, there are pros and cons to both pre-exhaust and post-exhaust Super Sets. But you could cycle through doing several weeks of pre-exhaust style Super Sets, and then several weeks of doing post-exhaust Super Sets to reap the benefits of both variations.

Staggered Super Set

This type of Super Set pairs up training totally unrelated muscle groups. And it’s a great way to “sneak in” extra training for stubborn hard to grow muscle groups. For example; let’s say your calves are a stubborn body part for you. One way to get extra calve training into your workouts is to Super Set in calve raises with your other body part workouts.

For example, when doing your chest workout you could simply add in a quick set of calve raises after each set. So once you finish up a set of bench presses, go over and rep out a set of calve raises. Then rest a couple minutes and repeat. This would be considered a Staggered Super Set.

You could also do the same thing with abs. Just toss in a set of crunches or leg raises in between your other exercises.

Adding in Staggered Super Sets work best with smaller non taxing muscle groups such as abs, calves, forearms, etc. You wouldn’t want to stagger set in a big move like deadlifts with your regular workout routine because the deadlift is such a demanding exercise in itself. But you could easily stagger set in calve raises, crunches, or wrist curls with pretty much any other workout.

Super Sets are a VERY effective technique. Give one of these Super Set variations a try in your next workout, and then leave me a comment below letting me know how it works for you!

I bet you’ll be amazed by how much they jack up the training intensity of your workouts and help stimulate new muscle growth!

I’m always looking for new ways to improve the quality of bodybuilding & fitness coaching that I provide my online followers, such as yourself.

As you know, I do provide a fair bit of training and nutritional advice via my blog, e-mails, YouTube videos, and interacting with folks on my facebook page. And I’m assuming it’s because of that stuff you are here reading this blog post right now

In addition to that, I also offer e-books, DVD’s, and customized diet and training programs for guys who want to work with me personally and get more direct help with reaching their bodybuilding and fitness goals.

Now I’m still going to keep doing what I’m doing with regards to sharing training videos, blog posts, etc. But I’m working on creating an even higher level “Inner Circle Coaching Club” for guys who want to work with me personally and have me coach them directly.

You see every single day I get several hundred e-mail from guys asking me to help them with their workouts, help them with their diets, and basically coach them with reaching their bodybuilding and fitness goals.

As of this blog post there are 33,000+ subscribers following me on YouTube. There are 21,000+ followers on the Total Fitness Bodybuilding Facebook Page, plus there are tens of thousands more who just follow my website and don’t even have a facebook or YouTube account.

So with thousands of online followers, you can imagine that equals hundreds of e-mails. And as much as I would like to sit down and answer each and every one of those e-mails, it’s physically impossible, there just aren’t enough hours in the day.

So rather then simply ignoring them, or passing them off to my customer service staff. I’m going to provide an “Inner Circle Coaching Club” for guys who are really serious about taking their training to the next level and who want to work with me personally.

And this is where I NEED YOUR HELP…

You see I’ve got a good idea of how I want to organize this coaching club. But since this is meant for YOU, I want your feedback as to what you would like to see offered in this program.

So I’ve put together a short 10 question survey that I would like you to answer below:

Please Answer My 10 Question Bodybuilding Survey. <<--Click For Survey

It will only take a minute of your time and this survey will help me get a better idea of what your individual needs are and how I can better serve you in the future. So please fill it out now while you are here on this page.

And if you have any questions or comments, please post them. I’d love to hear your feedback and chat with you about this in the comments section below.

thanks in advance
Lee

And if you don’t have access to cable machines, you can also do all of these exercises using adjustable tension rubber fitness bands, such as the ones from http://www.BodyLasticBands.com

The benefits of using cables for your shoulder workouts is that they keep constant tension on the deltoid muscles at all times. You get a better range of motion and resistance right from the start and all the way to the top of each movement.

We are going to start with side lateral raises for the side delts.
Then move on to front cable raises to hit the front deltoids.
Then reverse cable flyes to target the rear head of the delts.
And finally we’ll finish up with upright cable rows to work the entire upper back and traps.

For each exercise start with a light warm up set using about 50% of your top working weight.
Then perform 3 heavier sets of 10-12 repetitions per exercise.

Give this workout a try in your own routine and then leave me a comment below to let me know how it works for you!

If you are looking for an alternative to cable machines, I highly recommend that you order a set of Adjustable Tension Rubber Fitness Bands from: http://www.BodyLasticBands.com

These are adjustable resistance bands that allow you to vary the resistance based on the exercises you are doing. And these bands start at just a few pounds of tension and go all the way up to over 250 pounds in tension, so they are strong enough for ANYONE to get a good workout with.

Just Click Here for more info…

According to Wikipedia they define Overtraining as:

Overtraining is a physical, behavioral and emotional condition that occurs when the volume and intensity of an individual’s exercise exceeds their recovery capacity. They cease making progress, and can even begin to lose strength and fitness. Overtraining is a common problem in weight training, but it can also be experienced by runners and other athletes.

And just like a lot of the valuable stuff you’ll find on Wikipedia, that definition of overtraining is pretty dam accurate in my opinion.

The big problem I find with most of my coaching students and website followers is they pretty much “know” what overtraining is, but they can’t really tell if they are overtraining in their own workouts or not.

The root of all this confusion comes from the fact that what is overtraining for one person, is not necessarily going to be overtraining for another person. We all have different levels of fitness, different levels of work capacity, and different recovery rates. Not only that, but all of these factors will change within the individual as they get more experienced with their workouts and get in better physical shape.

A common e-mail that I get at least a dozen times a day is one of my followers will send me a copy of their workout routine that they are following and then ask me:
“Am I Overtraining or Is My Routine Ok?”

And you know what I CAN’T accurately answer that question. Anything I say will only be an educated guess. Only YOU can truly tell if you are overtraining or not by monitoring your progress (or hiring a coach who is going to monitor your progress for you).

But I’ll give you some guidelines here within this article that you can use to help monitor your progress. This will allow you to decide for yourself if you are overtraining and if you should make changes to your workout routine, or if you can keep on doing what you are doing.

=======================

1. Strength Gains
Are you making strength gains with your workouts? You should strive to constantly improve your strength on a regular basis by either getting an extra rep on your sets, or adding an extra 5 pounds to the bar.

This is what we refer to as “progressive overload”. Now obviously it’s not alway going to happen each and every workout, but you should be seeing some noticeable progress in your strength as the weeks go by, especially if you have been tracking your workouts in a log book.

For your major lifts like bench presses, squats, deadlifts, rows, leg presses, etc. it should be fairly easy to make 5 pound jumps in weight on a regular basis. For the smaller isolation type of exercises like bicep curls, lateral raises, flyes, etc. the gains will come slower. After all there is a BIG difference between adding 5 pounds to a 200 pound squat compared to adding 5 pounds to a 20 pound dumbbell curl.

So right now do a quick self evaluation…
Have you been making steady strength gains over the past several weeks? Have you been able to set some new personal records with your major compound lifts? If so then chances are you are NOT overtraining.

However, if you have been lifting the same weights for months on end, or even worse you had to reduce some of your poundages on certain lifts, then you may very well be overtraining.

Gaining strength is one of the most easy to measure signs of progress with your workouts. And if you are not moving forwards, then you are moving backwards, it’s as simple as that.

=======================

2. Changes In Bodyweight
Another measurable way to monitor your progress is by keeping track of your bodyweight. Any unexplained changes in your bodyweight could be a sign of overtraining.

For example, if you are currently training to gain muscular size and bulk and you are hitting the gym hard and consistently. But you find that your weight is actually going down, when it should be going up, then you may very well be overtraining.

On the other side of the coin, if you are training for fat loss and you are following a very strict diet, doing regular cardio, and hitting the gym consistently. But you are still not losing any weight, or worse you are even gaining weight. Then this maybe a sign that you are overtraining.

You see your body has to be coaxed into making progress, you can’t force it. When you try to force your body to change it sometimes backfires and does the opposite of what you want. And one of the ways it does this is through unexpected weight changes.

A prime example of this is with a lot of overweight people who try and diet themselves skinny. Have you ever known someone who went on a borderline starvation diet or maybe even cut back to eating just one meal a day in effort to lose weight?

What usually happens is that their body basically says “F-ck You” and it ends up clinging to all the stored bodyfat for fuel, while burning up precious lean muscle tissue in effort to slow their metabolism down. It does the exact opposite of what the dieter is trying to accomplish. In fact they may actually gain fat in this calorie deprived state.

Some words of advice that you should follow when trying to change your body, be that gaining muscle or losing fat, is that most people “over estimate” how hard improving their physique will be… But they “under estimate” how long it will take…

Bottom line, you don’t have to force yourself, torture yourself, or any such thing. You just have to be consistent with the basics over the long term in order to get the results you want.

=======================

3. Energy & Motivation
The first 2 guidelines are concrete and measurable. Meaning they are actual numbers that anyone can monitor and instantly see if there is any change or not. But this 3rd guideline is more subjective and you have to be extra cautious when monitoring subjective things because human error and inexperience can really screw things up.

If you have been training hard and consistent for weeks or months on end and then all of a sudden you find that your strength, energy, and motivation for your workouts start to drop then this is very likely a sign of overtraining and it’s your body’s way of telling you that you need a rest.

But the problem here comes with less experienced fitness enthusiasts who often times mistake lack of motivation from plain old laziness as “overtraining” and then they may end up backing off with their training, when in fact they need to do the exact opposite and kick themselves in the butt and push it even harder.

For beginner and intermediate level bodybuilders it’s best to focus primarily on the concrete and measurable guidelines to determine if you are on the right track with your workouts and avoiding overtraining. But as you get more advanced in your training and you get in tune with your body, how you “feel” will be more accurate.

=======================

A prime example of this occurred within my own training just recently…
During my contest prep for my last bodybuilding competition my daily routine consisted of approx. 2 hours of cardio, weight training workouts, as well as posing practice all while following a carbohydrate and calorie restricted diet.

Now a mild form of overtraining is actually quite normal for competitive bodybuilders in their pre-contest phase, especially when their main concern is pushing the limits with burning off as much bodyfat as possible.

But eventually things can take it’s toll. So occasionally when I’m feeling physically and mentally run down, even during contest prep, I purposely take a couple days off from training entirely…

No Cardio. No Weight Training. No Posing.
And I purposely eat more food as well to help fill out my liver glycogen stores and aid with my recovery.

After just 2 days of this I feel like a new man, I’ll literally gain about 5 pounds (mostly from the extra carbs and water weight) but I’ll be physically and mentally stronger and ready to kick it back into high gear and push it hard again.

Having this sense and knowing when to push it hard, and when to back it off is critical as you get more advanced. It will help keep you on the edge with your workouts and moving yourself in the right direction towards your bodybuilding and fitness goals.

=======================

If you’d like to learn more about how you can push your training to the limit, while avoiding the negative pitfalls of overtraining. Be sure to check out my “Hardcore Muscle Building DVD”. This killer weight training muscle building workout program will show you how to push your muscle gains to the limit by training your body past the point of muscular failure. But at the same time, it will allow for adequate recovery time between training sessions to maximize your growth and strength gains. You can check it out for yourself right now at: http://www.LeeHayward.com/dvd

That’s because just very recently I did:

“The Great Canadian Cardio Workout”

And captured some very inspirational footage on film…
I think it’s worthy of a Hollywood Production myself. At the very least it should rank high in a Canadian film festival

Anyway, before I made the video I posted the following on my facebook page:

======================================
Yesterday I did the “Great Canadian Cardio Workout” and made a video of it… I’ll be posting it up within the next day or two, but any guesses as to what that cardio workout might be?

If you can guess the correct answer for what my “Great Canadian Cardio Workout” is you might win a prize
======================================

And as you can imagine there were some very interesting reply’s such as:
…Rowing
…Canoeing
…Chopping Down Trees
…kayaking
…Ice Fishing
…Lumberjack Wood Chopping
…Skiing
…Hockey
…Cross Country Skiing
…Wrestling Bears
…F*cking a moose? (yes someone actually posted that)
…Cutting Wood
…Chasing Your Dog
…Horseback Riding
…Mountain Biking
…Tree Climbing

Now all of these were good answers, except for the one about the Moose…
But non of them were right. Until “Bob” guessed the right answer and won the prize!

Please share your comments below…
I’m sure this video will make for some interesting blog comment discussions

When it comes to building up the upper back you can’t beat Barbell Shrugs. They are one of my all time favorite mass building moves for the trapezius muscles, but they also work the arms, grip, etc. So I consider them one of those “Must Do” exercises for overall muscular development.

One of the best ways to maximize the effectiveness of barbell shrugs is to do them in a Pyramid Sets fashion, start off light for high reps, then each set work your way up in weight while reducing the number of reps.

Now that’s nothing new, in fact most people will do pyramid style sets in their workouts where they start off light and work up in weight with each set. However, doing a Full Pyramid of going up and then coming back down in weight is not so common, but it’s a very effective way to stimulate maximum muscle growth. In this workout I’m using it for shrugs, but you can apply it to any exercise / muscle group that you are trying to improve.

For example, in the video clip below I go through a complete workout using:
Set 1: 135 pounds for 25 reps
Set 2: 225 pounds for 15 reps
Set 3: 315 pounds for 10 reps
Set 4: 405 pounds for 10 reps
Set 5: 315 pounds for 10 reps
Set 6 225 pounds for 15 reps
Set 7: 135 pounds for 25 reps

After you perform the full pyramid set workout like this your traps will be on fire and you’ll stimulate some new muscle growth in your shoulders and upper back.

Just watch the video clip below to see this actual workout…

Give this technique a try in your next workout, and then leave me a comment below to let me know how it goes!

After all pull ups and chin ups are among the hardest bodyweight exercises, but they are also some of the best moves you can do for building a HUGE Muscular Back!

And that’s why I’ve put together a simple to follow instructional training video called:

The Progressive Pull Up Program!
“How To Master The Pull Up & Build A Massive Muscular Back!”

Click Here To Get Your Copy!

It’s no secret that the key to building a huge V-shaped back is mastering pull ups and chin ups. Show me a guy who is really good at pull ups and you’ll show me a guy who has a HUGE muscular back!

If you struggle with performing pull ups and chin ups then you need this program NOW! Because it will take you through a complete graduated pull up training system.

All basis are covered here. Right from the beginner who can’t even do a single pull up with body weight, right on up to the advanced muscle-head who can bang out multiple sets of weighted pull ups!

The entire “Progressive Pull Up Program” is covered on downloadable DVD, all the exercises and workouts are explained and demonstrated in detail. Watch and learn how you can ‘Blast Your Back’ by mastering one of the best upper body exercises of all time – The Pull Up!

Click Here To Get Your Copy!

In fact, if you did an informal survey and simply asked the biggest and strongest guys in the gym if they have ever injured their shoulders during training, I’m willing to bet that the vast majority of them will say YES!

The root cause for most shoulder injuries is an imbalance between the front and rear heads of the deltoids. Very often guys will over work their front delts with bench presses, dips, overhead presses, etc. and the rear delts will receive only a fraction of the training volume in comparison.

This uneven development compounds overtime and eventually leads to injury. Now most of the time it’s only a minor pop or strain, but sometimes it can lead to a full blown tear in the rotator cuff muscle or tendon (which can be a real bitch to heal) and will hinder all of your workouts in the gym.

I’ve posted a video clip below that shows some exercises you can do in your workouts to help prevent rotator cuff and shoulder injuries from occurring. And if you already have a shoulder injury now I’ll show you some moves you can do to help rehab that injury so you can get back to normal training ASAP.

After you give these exercises a try, please post a comment below and let me know how they work for you…

Some Love It… Some Hate It…

But regardless of how you feel, it’s a must in order to get ultra lean and ripped.

Practically every bodybuilder and fitness competitor that I know of does cardio (and lots of it) in order to get ripped for competition.

Even though cardio works great for burning bodyfat, you run the risk of also burning up some of your hard earned muscle mass in the process. During cardio your body not only burns fat for fuel, but it can also dip into your skeletal muscle tissue and use it as a source of easily accessible Amino Acids to help fuel your exercise efforts.

This is definitely something we do NOT want to happen. This is why you often see folks who do excessive cardio training looking flat, scrawny, and stringy… NOT the look you’re after if you are training to be a bodybuilder. You want to have a big, full, and defined physique – Not skinny and flat looking.

So how do we overcome this dilemma?

Simple…
Just take a serving of Branched Chain Amino Acids before you do your cardio workout.

Research has shown that taking Branched Chain Amino Acids can keep you anabolic even while you do cardio! In fact, supplementing with BCAA’s has been shown to increase protein synthesis by 33% while at the same time decreasing catabolism.

What I suggest you do is take a serving of BCAA’s right BEFORE you start your cardio workout. And another serving right AFTER you finish your cardio workout.

If you are going to do an Extra Long cardio session (1 hour or more) you can even take a serving of BCAA’s right in the middle to help keep your body in an anabolic state.

It’s OK to take several servings of BCAA’s like this because they are basically just super fast absorbing protein that gets easily and rapidly used by your working muscles. Your body will resort to burning bodyfat and the BCAA’s for fuel…
Saving your hard earned muscle mass!

You can (and should) also use this BCAA’s supplement trick with your weight training workouts as well. It will work wonders for keeping your body in an anabolic state and maximizing your muscle gains during any type of exercise or activity – Be it cardio, weight training, or playing sports.

Click Here To Get High Quality Pharmaceutical Grade Branched Chain Amino Acids Shipped Right To Your Front Door!

But any exercise is better than no exercise. So to a certain degree all strength training exercises that you do can be beneficial. But there is a specific way to rank exercises from those that provide the lowest level of muscle stimulation, to the those that provide the highest level of muscle stimulation.

In this blog post I’m going to share that exercise ranking system with you. So you can use it to help save yourself time and maximize your gains in the gym, by picking the most productive muscle building exercises, in the right order, for your workouts.

Compound vs. Isolation Exercises

Compound exercises work multiple muscles across more then one joint. Squats, Bench presses, and Deadlifts are prime examples of compound exercises. They are often referred to as the “Big 3 Lifts” because they are the 3 powerlifts used in powerlifting competition.

Just by doing these 3 exercises you work virtually every muscle major muscle group in the body. Squats primarily work the quadriceps, hamstrings, hips, glutes, spinal erectors, and upper back. Bench presses mainly work the chest, shoulders, and triceps. Deadlifts heavily work the entire back, hips, glutes, hamstrings, as well as the grip and forearms. Because these exercises involve so many muscle groups, you can handle a lot of weight with these big basic compound exercises.

Now there are a lot more compound exercises besides squats, bench presses, and deadlifts. Most pressing and rowing exercises fall into the category of compound exercises as well. Shoulder presses, bent over rows, dips, chin ups, etc.

Isolation exercises on the other hand generally focus on working one major muscle group across a single joint. Dumbbell flyes, leg extensions, and bicep curls are examples of isolation exercises. These exercises are smaller movements and you are greatly limited in the amount of weight you can lift, compared to bigger compound exercises.

Now I should also point out that technically there are no “True Isolation Exercises”, all exercises will bring in multiple muscle groups as stabilizing and supporting muscles. Heck, even now while you sit in your chair reading this blog post you are working your spinal erectors, abs, obliques, etc. just to sit up straight. So our main focus here is not on “every single muscle”, just those we are working for muscle building purposes.

Free Weights VS. Machines

Free weight exercises are typically classified as barbell and dumbbell exercises (kettle bells would also fall into this category as well). Basically they are exercises that you do with no outside support. You are responsible for lifting, supporting, and balancing the weights using your own strength.

Machine exercises are what you’ll find a lot of in most gyms these days. They are basically fixed exercises with handles, pads, pulleys, or foot plates that you push or pull against to lift the weight. Now even though you have to exert effort to actually lift the weight, the machine itself balances and supports the weights along a fixed path.

There is less actual muscle stimulation from machine exercises as compared to free weight exercises. The whole act of balancing and supporting free weight stimulates your body at a higher level. You have to be more aware of what you are doing, there is a greater risk of injury with free weights as they can move in all directions, shake, wobble, etc. All this extra movement activates your central nervous system to a much greater degree.

But on the other hand machine exercises are valuable because they can work the muscles from different angles and ranges of motion that are simply not possible with free weights. With free weights we are limited by gravity and only have resistance when lifting up. However, with machines you work against the resistance of pulleys and cables so you can have resistance in all directions and angles based on the particular machine.

Which Exercises Are The “Best”?

• Some people believe that compound exercises are the best because you can work multiple muscle groups and lift more weight.




• Others believe that isolation exercises are very important for targeting and isolating individual muscles because you can focus directly on those particular muscle groups more efficiently.




• Some people believe that free weights are the best because they put your body in a real 3 dimensional lifting environment and provide more muscular stimulation.




• Others believe that machine exercises are important because they work the muscles from different angles and ranges of motion, and they are generally safer to perform.

Now all of these arguments are valid and there are pros and cons to each exercise variation. But I personally don’t like to think in absolutes of only doing one or the other. Instead I like to focus on how to combine the different exercise variations to maximize muscle stimulation and get the best overall muscle building results.

After all, the whole process of working out is just a means to an end. We’re only using these exercises to build muscle and get in shape. We not here to nit-pick over which one is better than the other.

The Best Approach For Maximum Muscle Growth

When training a body part, I typically like to start off with a big basic compound free weight exercise right at the beginning. This provides high intensity muscle stimulation when I’m feeling fresh, strong, and energetic. So if I was training chest for example; I’d start with some form of free weight bench press variation, such as the barbell bench press.

After working the muscles hard with a free weight compound exercise. I generally like to move on to an isolation exercise to really target and isolate the particular muscle group I’m working. So in the case of a chest workout I may do dumbbell flyes.

By this stage of the workout muscle fatigue is starting to set in. But I don’t want to call it quits just yet, I still want to do another exercise for my targeted muscle group to really “finish them off” so to speak.

This is where doing a machine exercise can work really good. You can train the muscles from a unique angle and because the weight is balanced and supported by the machine, the risk of injury is much lower compared to doing another free weight exercise.

So in the case of a chest workout I may move on to some variation of a chest press machine and really grind it out. Knowing that I can push myself hard and train to failure with no risk of getting pinned under a heavy barbell.

In Conclusion

As you can clearly see, there is no one “Best Muscle Building Exercise”. It all depends on the individual and what stage you are at in your workouts. Each exercise variation has a time and place where it can be utilized to help with your workouts.

This simple process of going from a basic compound free weight exercise, then moving to an isolation exercise, and finally onto a machine exercise is an awesome way to select your exercises for each one of your body part workouts. It will help you get the best muscle building benefits from all the different exercise variations.

And if you’d like to see this entire exercise selection process in action for yourself, and get a complete muscle building workout system that you can follow to take your muscular development to the next level. I highly recommend that you pick up a copy of my “Hardcore Muscle Building Program” 2 disc DVD set.

This program will show you how to train beyond muscular failure to achieve maximum muscle gains in the gym. This is a serious muscle building workout program that incorporates high level advanced training techniques to maximize muscle stimulation.

Just click on the link below to get your very own copy…

Hardcore Muscle Building 2 Disc DVD Set

DVD # 1 Chest, Shoulders, & Triceps
DVD # 2 Back, Biceps, Legs, & Abs

Item is currently in stock.
You can order from anywhere in the world and and get FREE Rush Delivery Shipping!

Click Here For More Information…

Do you try and fix the problem by wrapping a towel or foam pad around the barbell?

This is a very common problem, especially among people who are new to squatting. But there is a specific exercise that you can do to fix this program and eliminate the pain in the neck you get from squatting.

This exercise is called the HISE SHRUG – it was invented back in the 1930′s by Joseph Curtis Hise. He was also the same guy who first came up with the 20 rep squat program which has helped countless men pack on solid muscular body weight.

Joseph Curtis Hise

Joseph Curtis Hise was a true weight lifting pioneer. Joe started lifting weights during the early 1930′s. At this time he just couldn’t get his bodyweight over 200 pounds. But he later read about the squat in Mark Berry’s magazines and gave it a try. By including high rep squats as a regular exercise in his workouts, Joe gained a whopping 29 pounds, tipping the scale at 229! He continued experimenting along this line and finally reached a bodyweight of 298, with an arm measurement of 19 inches, a chest of 56 and thighs of 33 inches. Even today such girths are considered fantastic but in those days they were simply beyond comprehension. Joe’s results helped make the 20 rep squat program “World Famous” for gaining solid muscular bodyweight. Hise published articles in many of the old time muscle magazines and indirectly helped thousands of guys get bigger and stronger. Joseph Curtis Hise passed away September 1972.

To perform the Hise Shrug all you have to do is shoulder a barbell just as if you were going to do a set of barbell squats. But instead of squatting with the weight you are just going to shrug your shoulders as high as you can, hold the peak contraction for a split second, then lower your shoulders down.

By regularly doing this exercise you’ll build up your traps and upper back and also toughen up your shoulders so that you can build up your pain threshold to squat with a bare barbell across your back with no pain what so ever.

So if you have trouble squatting with the bar on your back, do the Hise Shrug 3 times per week. Just do a few easy sets of 10-20 reps at the end of your workouts and build up the weights gradually over time. Just by regularly getting the bar on your back and doing this move frequently will quickly toughen up your shoulders and traps. Within about 6 weeks of doing this you’ll eliminate the shoulder discomfort associated with squatting and be able to focus entirely on getting the most benefit from squatting.

Give this exercise a try in your workouts and leave me a comment below letting me know how it works for you…

And if you would like to try the Famous 20 Rep Squat Program that Joseph Curtis Hise used to Pack On Mass and Bulk Up… Just click on the link below:

http://www.LeeHayward.com/squats.htm