Beginning is where it starts.

[Braaq]

Damn bro, nice reads. Nice to see a bodybuilder doing his research.

 

[Achilles]

Nice articles bro

 

[Fatality]

Thanks guys!!!

 

[Fatality]

Bump--Sorry for such a lagging update on this thread. I've been really busy with school with mid-terms and other family issues. (funerals) So, I've decided to start back up the research and you guys will definitely not be disappointed. I'll try to put in at least 2 articles a day for you guys. Well, I'll stop talking, here you go. This is just a simple thing for now, I'll get better ones later.

Deloading

You likely already know how incredibly important it is that you are always pushing yourself in the gym. Researchers have found that about 8/10 people aren’t lifting enough weights in the gym in order to see full effects they want. If you aren’t applying an overloading stimulus to your muscles when weight lifting, you aren’t going to be seeing a lot of results over time.

The body does not respond well to stable environment. It has an amazing ability to adapt to whatever demands you are placing upon it and once it does, it will no longer see the need to change. You can overcome this issue however if you are consistently increasing the way you stress your body so that it cannot adapt since it never knows what’s coming.

Therefore, a key thing you must be doing during your workouts is changing your routine. Either adding more weight, changing the reps, changing the exercises or changing the order. Any one of those factors will likely produce the results you are looking for.

It’s generally a good idea to change this all up about once every month or so, sometimes more frequently depending on how drastic the change is (weight increases could be made on a more frequent basis if you are growing considerably stronger with your workouts).

With this however, one change that you should implement every so often is a deloading week. What a deloading week basically is is a period where you will work at a reduced intensity and volume. Any well-constructed fitness program should have easier days and then harder days. This is a basic principle of periodization that most people have come to learn throughout their years of weight lifting.

If you are going 100% every single session in the gym, you are going to burn out. You need a few days a week where the intensity is at a reduced level, not only to give your muscles the break they need but to also rest the nervous system.

On top of this however, you should be taking whole entire weeks at an easier pace to really promote the recovery process. Some very highly trained individuals can assess their current body state quite well and will know when their body is asking for a bit more time off than the typical one to two days, however for the rest of the population, this full week deloading phase should come approximately once every three to four months.

You don’t need to just sit around on the couch for the entire week - some physical activity would likely help with the recovery process since it will get the blood circulating again, however for the most part this physical activity should be done at a leisure pace and for recreational reasons.

Try and do something that will get you out of the gym because in addition to this being a physical break, it will also double well as a psychological break also.

So make sure you are monitoring your fitness plan and how your body is responding. It’s definitely important to keep pushing yourself so you can continually make improvements with your time, however, just as important is making sure you are giving your body enough of a chance to grow back stronger so that you can keep pushing as hard as you do.

 

[Fatality]

Sorry it's been so long. Here's a good one for now.

Do's and Don'ts with weightlifting.

Sometimes it's hard to see the forest with all the trees blocking your view. In bodybuilding, it is easy to lose sight of the fundamentals and get caught up in the nitty-gritty details you read about in the magazines all the time. Time for a little checklist of Do's and Don'ts to make sure you're on track!
DO:
1. Be consistent. Hit-and-run doesn't work - you have to stick to your program and do your best every single workout. Try to make some kind of improvement every time you go to the gym.

2. Stick to the basics. Deadlifts, dumbbell presses, chins, squats, military presses and heavy bicep curls will never go out of style.

3. Allow yourself enough time to recover between workouts. Be sure to watch for signs of overtraining.

4. Eat plenty of high-quality food. Your diet should consist primarily of rice, pasta, oatmeal, vegetables, chicken, lean beef, tuna, and other staple foods of bodybuilders.

5. Sleep at least 8 hours per night. You need this time to recover as well as benefit from the natural boost of natural growth hormone that occurs during REM-sleep.

DON'T:
1. Avoid getting stuck in a rut. Doing the same things with the same exercises month after month will not challenge you. The difference between sticking to a program and being stuck in a rut is whether you change things around and make progress or not.

2. Substituting good food with supplements is a bad idea. Supplements are great for giving you an edge, and perhaps help you get the nutrition you need when on the go sometimes, but it can never take the place of real food. Plan your diet around solid meals, and use the supplements to cover pick up the slack in-between.

3. Never ignore budding injuries or signs of overtraining. Be sure to rest and/or talk to a doctor if you experience stubborn joint pain or similar symptoms.

4. Don't let what you read in the magazines get to you. If some juiced-up pro says he does dozens of sets for biceps, that doesn't mean you have to. If your experience tells you that 6 sets are enough, stick to it. Listen to your body.

5. Last but not least, don't lose sight of the big picture. Even if you may be on a plateau and motivation is low right now, there's only one way to beat it - by trying harder and training smarter. The reward will come when you get off the plateau and start making progress again. A positive attitude is everything.

 

[Fatality]

I'll try to pick up some more at a later time, right now, I still have a ton of h.w., what else is new?

 

[PrinceVegeta]

Wow.....awesome work man! it is really awesome of you to post all this information for us to use!! great job!

 

[PrinceVegeta]

Awesome stuff man!! grat of you to post all this quality information for everybody!

 

[Fatality]

Prince, thanks man. The only thing I ask for in return is respect and I get it. Not only from you, but by everyone. Thanks again, and it's my pleasure, I'm still posting more ATM.

 

[Fatality]

Bump! I'm pulling this thread out of the grave again and making it better. I'll first start off by talking about Animal Pak vitamins.

Animal Pak, Pure power. Pure strength. Pure animal intensity. For hard-core bodybuilders and strength athletes, nothing beats Animal Pak for maximizing gains in muscle mass, strength and performance. There is no better nutritional weapon available to fuel intense workouts. Spawning many imitators, the original Animal Pak is still loaded with the most advanced, highest quality bodybuilding nutrients. Each Animal Pak contains a powerful combination of cutting-edge mega-cycle vitamin & mineral complexes, performance enhancers, lipotropics, digestive enzymes and high potency energizers. Animal Pak consists of a perfectly balanced, time-released formula that is easily assimilated by your body for perfect bioavailability and optimum performance. There can only be one animal in the gym. Make sure you train with it.

Animal Pak is the #1 selling training pak in the world for seventeen years straight. Since 1984, more competitive bodybuilders have cut their teeth on the Animal Pak than any other bodybuilding supplement in history. Why? Simple. Animal Pak gets the job done. It works. First time. Last time. Every time. Nature, in all her ingenuity, has designed the human body as the ultimate performance machine. Fact is, since the dawn of mankind, our bodies have changed very little. When it comes to feeding our muscles, we still need the nutrients we get from our diets. But when it comes time to grow our muscles in a freakish way, we need the right combination and mega-doses of essential amino acids, carbs, vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids (EFAs). Only Animal Pak has what you need. You’re the kind of primal beast who trains with Animal intensity. You need plenty of the above, plus that little something extra only Animal Pak provides. That’s why we’ve also loaded the Animal Pak with performance optimizers such as PAK, IGF colostrum, nucleotides, lipotropics, L-arginine, Protogen A, eleuthero, and the like. In every pak, you’re blasted with a dizzying array of over 55 key ingredients which are delivered in the right amounts at the right time, every time. Each of the 11 tablets included in each pak has been specifically formulated to deliver the goods. By taking the Animal Pak, you prevent the formation of nutritional gaps.

Why should you care?
The greater your training intensity, the faster and larger these gaps grow over time. When this happens you eventually hit a plateau. You stop growing. Maybe you’ve already hit this wall. To make matters worse, if you take other supplements, these same gaps begin to render those expensive supplements useless. Many of today’s supplements rely on enzymes and other substances in your body to "activate" them. Nutrititional gaps mean these key activators may not function at all, so you may be wasting all of your hard-earned money on supplements that won’t or can’t work. Consider the Animal Pak as the cast iron skillet of your supplement program, your body’s first line of defense. If you train with weights, then you absolutely need to train with the Animal Pak. Remember, while most supplements have come and gone, precious few have stood the test of time. When you’re ready for the best, step up to the most trusted name in serious bodybuilding nutrition: Animal Pak.

If you are serious about your body then don't settle for anything less than the Animal Pak. It will blast your body with the key nutrients you require...and bring out the animal in you!

Some Animal Pak Benefits:

Animal Pak Optimal Muscle Mass
Animal Pak Strength & Performance Increase
Animal Pak Boost Energy
Animal Pak Increased Metabolism
Animal Pak helps with Quicker Recovery
Animal Pak is Protein Synthesis
Animal Pak is Muscle Definition,Vitamins & Minerals






Animal Pak Recommended Use

As the "foundational" supplement, Animal Pak should be a part of every bodybuilder's regimen. Every Animal supplement has been designed to work together, creating a unique, powerful, and comprehensive nutritional system. Animal Pak is your starting point.

As a dietary supplement for advanced bodybuilders, powerlifters and athletes, take one animal packet 30 minutes after the meal prior to your workout. For competitions and intense training sessions take two animal packets daily. Take with plenty of water.

 

[Fatality]

Professional bodybuilders look great during competition, and most of them believe that their 'ripped' physiques are at least partially the result of their carefully planned nutritional programmes. However, new research carried out by Janet Brill at Florida International University indicates that most bodybuilders have weighted down their minds with a load of nutritional bunkum. At best, these faulty beliefs waste bodybuilders' money; at worst, they may actually make it harder to produce the rock-hard physiques which bodybuilders desire.

After surveying 309 male and female bodybuilders, Brill discovered that the following myths about nutrition were prevalent:
Myth No. 1: Protein supplements are necessary to build muscle mass. Fact: Whenever a bodybuilder lifts a weight during a workout, carbohydrate - not protein - provides the necessary energy. Therefore, large amounts of carbohydrate are required to carry out the strenuous training needed to stimulate muscle growth. The excess dietary protein which bodybuilders consume isn't funneled directly into muscle production; in fact, the builders' bodies actually convert extravagant quantities of protein into carbohydrate, which is then metabolized for energy.

Myth No. 2: Carbohydrate loading just before a competition helps to 'pump up' muscles. Fact: When carbohydrate (glycogen) is stored inside muscle cells, water is stockpiled, too, so this belief seems logical at first glance. After all, maybe that accumulated water could make muscle fibres swell up a bit. However, if carbo-loading really produced a 'maximum pump' marathon runners would have gargantuan arms and legs instead of their characteristically scrawny appendages. Indeed, scientific research has shown that carbo-loading doesn't expand muscle-cell diameters at all.

Myth No. 3: Carbohydrate loading stretches the skin, making muscles bulge. Fact: Carbo-loading doesn't broaden the muscles, so there's no extra pressure put on the skin. Also, carbohydrate isn't stored in the skin, so there is no reason for the body's outer covering to change in any way.

Myth No. 4: Consuming extra quantities of sodium increases muscle definition. Fact: The hypothesis is that the additional sodium will pull water into muscle cells, making the muscles expand, but there is absolutely no evidence that this actually happens. In fact, the extra sodium is usually simply dumped into the urine.

Myth No. 5: Sodium restriction increases muscle definition. Fact: Again, there's no supportive evidence, but this widespread belief, the exact opposite of Myth No. 4, gives a good indication of the nutritional confusion which prevails among bodybuilders.

Myth No. 6: Bodybuilding magazines are the best source of information about sports nutrition. Fact: Bodybuilding magazines can't survive on subscription sales alone; they need the advertising revenues which they receive from nutritional-supplement manufacturers. It's doubtful that bodybuilding publications will ever bite the hand which feeds them; after all, contradicting the unverified nutritional claims made by supplement makers could lead to a loss of advertising.

Myth No. 7: 'Growth-hormone releasers,' including amino acids such as arginine and omithine, are effective alternatives to steroids for enhancing muscle growth. Fact: There's no solid evidence that the releasers have an anabolic effect.

Not surprisingly, Brill found that only 1 per cent of bodybuilders get their nutritional information from registered dietitians. The same percentage of builders derive their dietary information from family members and friends - or from television! In contrast, about 50 per cent of all bodybuilders receive their primary nutritional advice from other bodybuilders, and 17 per cent rely on bodybuilding magazines. Overall, 'someone who has recently won a contest is viewed as a far more credible source of nutritional information than a nutritionist or an exercise scientist,' notes Brill.

How do bodybuilders look so great - when their nutritional beliefs are so flabby? Well, we'll have to let you use your imagination to resolve that strange paradox.

'Pre-competition Dietary Practices of Competitive Male and Female Bodybuilders,' Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, vol. 26(5), p. S213, 1994

 

[Fatality]

The previous two articles can be found under the pponline.co website!