Add Up To One Inch On Your Arms In 3 Workout!

Every guy wants bigger arms! There really is no bodypart that says "big and powerful" as clearly and obviously as a big pair of python arms.
I get a ton of e-mail from guys wanting to maximize their arm training. I've created optimized routines for many but if you want a 'quick and dirty' method that delivers high intensity overload and results that you've never experienced before... here it is.
The Big Hurdle
First I have to tell you the biggest hurdle most people face when wanting to increase their workout intensity and their progress in the gym. This first step results from the fact…yes fact…that over 90% of the regular trainees in your gym are overtraining. And once your body is in an overtrained condition no routine can help you.
The first priority of your body is to fully recover. Then, and only then, will it go to work creating new muscle. So step one of my Add One Inch to your Arms Workout is to take two weeks off all strength training! I can hear the groans now. "But I "need" to work out 3 times a week." No you don't. More likely you've turned a love of the gym into a too-frequent training schedule. Hey, if I liked getting my hair cut it wouldn't help me to go to a barber 3 times a week. Growth takes time. That's a fact you need to face if you want to train rationally.
So if you lack the mental toughness to handle the above hurdle, you might as well stop reading this. This routine won't do anything for guys in an overtrained state. These are the guys who haven't added any size to their arms in months. But they train more than anyone else. See the connection? The exception, of course, is for guys just starting out and for guys who understand training frequency and have adjusted their training days to compensate for their ever-increasing intensity of workouts. Those wonderful people can do this workout today.
The Workout
Years ago I conducted a study to measure the relative intensity of all the common arm exercises. (And other bodypart exercises, by the way.) This brief article won't permit the space to explain all that was measured and analyzed so I'm going to give you the conclusions. These exercises will add the most muscle to your biceps, triceps and forearms. Guaranteed.
Seated Biceps Curl: Sit on a bench and rest a barbell in your lap. Take a shoulder-width underhand grip on the bar and curl it upward toward your chin. Use a weight that is so heavy you can only perform eight reps. This exercise allows you to use more weight than you normally would because the seated position limits the range of motion. Try to curl 150% of your normal biceps curl weight. Perform one set of eight reps, rest 30 seconds then increase the weight 10% and perform as many reps as you can.
Close-Grip Bench Press: Do yourself a big favor and perform this exercise in a power rack or on a smith machine. Limit the range of motion to the top third of your range. By limiting the range of motion you will be able to hoist a much heavier weight and it's that big weight - not the range of motion - that triggers new muscle growth. Grip the bar with your hands spaced about six inches apart and contract your triceps to lift the bar off the support and to full extension. Use a weight that is so heavy you can only perform eight reps. Again, with this restricted range you should be able to use at least 50% more weight than normal. Perform one set of eight reps, rest 30 seconds then increase the weight 10% and perform as many reps as you can.
Forearms tend to be neglected in most workouts but these two exercises are fabulous at generating an awesome intensity of overload to these highly visible and impressive muscles.
Seated Wrist Curls: These are performed from the same position as the biceps exercise, above. With an underhand grip on a barbell, rest your wrists on your knees so your hands extend beyond your knees. Allow the weight of the bar to force your wrist toward the floor. Use your forearm muscles to power the weight back up. Perform one set of eight reps, rest 30 seconds then increase the weight 10% and perform as many reps as you can.
Wrist Curls Behind the Back: These are performed by holding a barbell behind your back with your palms facing backward. It helps to have the bar on a rack to start or to have a training partner place the bar in your hands. The heavy bar will naturally hang down and your wrists will be in a relaxed position. Use your forearm muscles to power the weight up by bending your wrists. You can use a lot more weight on this exercise than you think you can. Go heavy. Don't worry about getting a full range of motion. Perform one set of eight reps, rest 30 seconds then increase the weight 10% and perform as many reps as you can.
Each time you perform the four exercises in this arm workout try to increase your weights by 15-25%. Doing the same workout each time gets you nowhere. It's all about making progress. Progress drives new muscle growth.
Perform the above workout three times over the next twelve days. Avoid any other arm training during this time. You can also train your other muscle groups and you can perform all the low intensity aerobics you want during this time. But remember, if you started this program in an overtrained condition you won't see results.
Done the exact way described, this routine will add new muscle strength and very significant size to even the most developed arms.
Have a great workout.

3 Ways Bodybuilding Helps you avoid Cancer!

Cancer evokes fear in many because we often see no warning signs. A person goes from apparently healthy to being diagnosed with cancer. And, all of us have heard stories of people with an incredibly short period of time between diagnosis and death.
Is cancer an inevitable diagnosis for some of us? Not necessarily. There are many steps you can take to decrease your risk of developing various types of cancer.

What Is Cancer?

Cancer starts when abnormal cells divide out of control and invade other, healthy body tissues. Normally our cells grow and divide then die when they become old and/or damaged. These cells are replaced with healthy new cells. When the DNA within our cells becomes damaged this process can go haywire and normal cell growth and division is disrupted leading to cancer.
Risk Factors

There are over 100 different types of cancer. The National Cancer Institute(NCI) has outlined the risk factors for many types of cancer on their website. In addition, NCI outlined overall risk factors for developing cancer. These include:
Age
The longer you live the likelihood of developing cancer increases.
Diet, Physical Inactivity, Alcohol Use, Overweight
More on this later.
Tobacco Use
Smoking, dipping, secondhand smoke, you name it, tobacco sucks. It makes you smell bad and look older too. Besides looking wrinkled with pursed lips, smokers have an increased risk of developing cancer of the lungs, larynx, mouth, esophagus, bladder, kidney, throat, stomach, pancreas, cervix and acute myeloid leukemia (cancer that starts in blood cells).


Sunlight Exposure
Have you ever walked into a tanning salon that carries signs saying their beds are UVB free? They may be UVB free but if they tan you, you are getting harmful rays. UVA rays, the kind that cause wrinkling and skin cancer. If you want a tan, use the spray on stuff or lotion and don't believe what the people working in a tanning booth tell you.
Ionizing Radiation
Ionizing radiation comes from radioactive fallout (from nuclear power plants or plants where they test the production and use of atomic weapons), radon gas, x-rays, and other sources.
People exposed to radioactive fall have an increased risk of leukemia and thyroid, breast, lung and stomach cancer. X-rays provide very low doses of radiation and the benefits of x-rays as a screening tool far outweigh the risks from radiation exposure.
Certain Chemicals And Other Substances
Some of these chemicals include asbestos, benzene, benzidine, cadmium, nickel, and vinyl chloride.
Some Viruses And Bacteria
Human Papillomaviruses (HPVs): Some strains of HPV cause cervical cancer and HPV may put you at risk for other types of cancer.
Hepatitis B And Hepatitis C: These can increase your risk of developing liver cancer.
Human T-cell Leukemia/Lymphoma Virus (HTLV-1): Increases a person's risk of lymphoma and leukemia.
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV): HIV increases one's risk of certain types of cancer including lymphoma and the rare cancer Kaposi's sarcoma.
Mono (Epstein-Barr virus, EBV): Infection with mono has been linked to an increased risk of lymphoma.
Human Herpes Virus 8 (HHV8): This virus is considered a risk factor for Kaposi's sarcoma.
Helicobacter Pylori: The virus that causes stomach ulcers, H pylori, can increase your risk of developing stomach cancer and lymphoma in the stomach lining.
Family History
Cancer actually doesn't typically run in families. However, melanoma and cancers of the breast, ovary, prostate, and colon can run in families.

Bodybuilding Can Help Decrease Your Risk Of Developing Some Types Of Cancer

You can decrease your risk of developing many types of cancer by leading a healthy lifestyle and controlling environmental factors as much as possible. Luckily, as a bodybuilder, you are already following the recommendations from top scientific organizations for decreasing your risk of developing cancer:
Avoid Excess Alcohol Consumption
Drinking two or more drinks per day increases your risk of developing cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus, larynx, liver, and breast. The risk increases with greater alcohol consumption and it also increases if you pair alcohol with cigarettes.

As a bodybuilder, if you drink, you drink either rarely or in extreme moderation. Drinking does not build the body of champions inside or outside. And if you smoke, start doing intervals. Soon you'll realize how much smoking impairs your lung capacity.
Maintain A Healthy Weight And Engage In Regular Physical Activity
Being overweight and being a couch potato both increase your risk for cancers of the breast, colon, esophagus, kidney, and uterus.
If you are a bodybuilder you have both of these areas covered. What you are doing to look fabulous on the outside and attract people of the opposite (or same if you prefer) sex, will also help you decrease your risk for some types of cancer.
Eat A Good Diet
Approximately 30-40% of all cancers are linked to one's diet. Experts recommend eating a diet high in fiber, whole-grains and antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables for preventing cancer. Those who choose organic produce are decreasing their risk of ingesting unhealthy pesticides and herbicides. A few dietary don'ts:
• Avoid smelly or moldy foods (they may contain aflatoxin)
• Do not cook oils on high heat (240°F or above)
• Avoid cured, dried or preserved meats (like dark beer, they contain nitrosamines)
• Avoid burning or charring meat. If you do overcook it, cut those parts off and discard them.
• Avoid fried and charbroiled meats.
• Minimize your intake of smoked foods.
If you are a bodybuilder, you also very aware of your body and notice when something doesn't feel right. Keep in mind that having one or more risk factors doesn't mean you are doomed to a future cancer diagnosis. In fact, according to the NCI, most people who have risk factors will never develop cancer.

Additional Tips To Help Prevent Cancer

If you take a look at many of the viruses and bacteria listed above, you'll see that they are preventable. Her are some additional tips to help you prevent cancer:
• Don't share needles with anyone.
• Avoid unprotected sex (and no the pill doesn't protect you from disease). Is one night of spontaneous fun worth a lifetime of disease?
• Consider getting the vaccine that prevents Hepatitis B and see your doctor if you have stomach problems that won't go away (get tested for H pylori).
• If you are traveling to a foreign country, see CDC's website for the vaccines you need and additional tips on staying safe and healthy.
• If you think you have a family history of a certain type of cancer, talk to your physician for additional tips on prevention and screening.

Sodium Needs For Athletes

High sodium diets have recently been linked to a number of health risks in many Americans. However, athletes must consider that due to their increased activity and excessive sweat production, they are actually at risk of having too little sodium in their blood stream during training and competition. Athletes do indeed, have special sodium requirements. Because sodium is lost in sweat, it is more important for individuals who exercise at high intensity to get adequate sodium before, during and after exercise. This is even more critical during ultra-endurance competition.
Risks Of Hyponatremia
Hyponatremia, a low concentration of sodium in the blood, has become more prevalent in endurance athletes. The Hawaii Ironman Triathlon routinely sees finishers with low blood sodium concentrations. Adequate sodium balance is necessary for transmitting nerve impulses and proper muscle function, and even a slight depletion of this concentration can cause problems.
Ultra distance running events that take place in hot, humid conditions, and have athletes competing at high intensity have conditions prime for hyponatremia to develop.
Causes Of Hyponatremia
During high intensity exercise, sodium is lost along with sweat. An athlete who only replaces the lost fluid with water will contribute to a decreased blood sodium concentration. As an example, consider a full glass of salt-water. If you dump out half of the contents of the glass (as is lost in sweat), and replace that with water only, the sodium concentration of in the glass is far less and the water is more dilute. This often occurs in the bloodstream of an athlete who only hydrates with water during excessive sweating. The result is hyponatremia.
Studies have shown that athletes can lose 2 (or more) grams of salt per liter of sweat. If you consider that athletes may lose up to a liter (or more) of sweat each hour, you can see that over a long endurance event (12 hour race), it is not unimaginable that an athlete could sweat out 30 or 40 grams of salt. Replacing this loss of sodium during the event is critical to performance and safety.
Symptoms Of Hyponatremia
The early warning signs are often subtle and may be similar to dehydration; nausea, muscle cramps, disorientation, slurred speech, confusion, and inappropriate behavior. At this point, many athletes get into trouble by drinking water because they think they are dehydrated. In fact, water alone will increase the problem of hyponatremia. At the most extreme an athlete may experience seizures, coma, or death.
Treatment Of Hyponatremia
At the first sign of nausea, muscle cramps, disorientation, an athlete should drink a sodium containing sports drink, such as Gatorade, or eat salty foods. If possible, an athlete should plan ahead and estimate his or her fluid loss and need for sodium replacement during the event, and stay on a hydration schedule during the race. If the symptoms are extreme, a medical professional should be seen.
Prevention Of Hyponatremia
The best way for an athlete to avoid such problems is to plan ahead. Tips and recommendations include:
• Use a sodium containing sports drinks during long distance, high intensity events.
• As there are no steadfast guidelines for everyone, it is important for an athlete to understand his or her individual fluid needs.
• Weigh yourself before and after training and drink enough sodium based sports drink to offset any fluid loss during exercise
• Increase salt intake by 10-25 grams per day several days prior to competition. The increased sodium concentration will allow additional hydration with water to remain balanced so that the dilution of blood sodium does not occur.
• Avoid use of aspirin, ibuprofen, and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents as they may increase the risk of hyponatremia in athletes.
• As many triathletes are taking these medications, they need to be aware of their detrimental effect on performance. Additional, chronic use of these medications often mask the bodies own warning mechanisms that alert athletes to pain and injury. Athletes should be discouraged from excessive use of these medications.