Effective Tips to Help You Grow Bigger Muscles

Every person who stepped into a gym somehow aims to have bigger and stronger muscles. The problem, however, has always been how to do it. Is having a weight training program enough to guarantee a significant increase in your muscle size and strength? Apparently, it isn’t. To help you succeed, we have compiled a list of the most effective ways to develop your muscles.

Tips on How to Increase Muscle Size

1. Do not starve yourself

According to fitness experts, eating more calories and regularly doing body weight strength training leads to muscle growth. You’ve got to understand that the more calories you intake, the more muscles you can build.

2. Increase your protein intake

Protein is considered the building blocks of muscles. Proteins enable the muscles to rebuild and recover. Ideally, you should have 1 to 1.5 grams of protein for every lean pound of body weight.

3. Do not stay away from carbs

Many people believe that in order to lose weight and develop muscles, they should cut down on carbs. Studies, however, emphasize that protein supplements are not the only essential factor in building muscles. It is said that carbohydrates are a hormone-balancing component that works to maximize the body’s gains following workouts.

4. Do not ignore dumbells

Many fitness experts recommend using dumbbells alternately with barbell during body weight strength training. They explain that dumbbell presses recruit more muscle fibers and open up the chest, which leads to the growth of muscles in the area. 

5. Get enough sleep regularly 

In order for your weight training program to yield positive results, you have to make sure also that you get enough amounts of sleep. This is because it is when you are asleep that most of your growth hormone is released, which is an important element for growing muscles.

6. Go heavy

If you are fit enough to lift heavy weights, then go ahead because this can boost the testosterone levels in your body. However, for those who don’t have the capacity to lift heavy weights, occlusion training is the answer. Using your BFR restriction bands wrapped around your limbs, you may lift light weights and still get bigger muscles.

7. Change your workout routines from time to time

An effective weight training program is one wherein you are made to do a variety of exercises. This way, your body and your muscles will not get used to the movements you make. The more your body is guessing, the more effective your workout will be.

8. Use blood flow restriction training

Blood flow restriction training is a method you can incorporate with your body weight strength training program. With reliable BFR restriction bands, you can develop bigger muscles even while doing low resistance workouts only.

How to Make the Most of Your Weight Lifting Program

Many trainees believe that they are doing really well in the gym. What most of them don’t know is that they are not being as efficient as they could be. When you engage in any weight lifting program to develop your muscles, you have to realize that your exercise technique matters a lot and can determine your success. In fact, the weight lifting routines and techniques that you do can also influence your risk of getting an injury. 

Below you will find some very useful tips that will help you make the most of your training:

Change Your Cycle

The best weight lifting program is one that does not require you to use the same intensity, frequency, and duration of your cardiovascular workouts all year long. If you want to increase muscle mass, do aerobic workouts at a minimum (once or twice per week, for 20 minutes each time). And if you want to get lean, you should increase your cardio training to up to four times a week. Be sure also to alternate your cardio techniques so that your workout will not be boring.

Cardio Should Be Separated from Lifting

Many trainees who do intense weight lifting routines are worried that cardio training may prevent them from totally recovering from their high intensity training. Well, it actually depends on how and when you perform your cardio workouts.

To get better results, you should perform your cardio routines and weight lifting routines on separate days. By doing this, your cardio will not affect the benefits of your lifting to the size and strength of your muscles. But if you need to do both on the same day, do an aerobic exercise that will focus on the parts of your body that your weight lifting didn’t work on that day.

The ‘Fat Burning Zone’ Is Not True

Many people believe that one has to work out continuously for 20 minutes in order for the body to start burning fat. This is just a myth. You have to understand that your body makes use of more energy when you train at high intensities. Doing cardio intensely for 10 or 15 minutes can actually benefit your body a lot.

The best thing to do is stick to interval workouts that involves short bursts of intense movements, and active recovery periods. This is proven to be the best approach for fat loss.

Consider Occlusion Training

Occlusion training is a new workout technique that has benefited a lot of athletes and body builders. Using this method, you can increase muscle size and strength even with low intensity workouts. All you need to do is wrap your limbs using BFR restriction bands during your low intensity workouts. Check out BFRBands.com to know more about occlusion training.

How to Get Your Body Ready for a Physique Competition

Now that you’ve signed up for a physique competition, it’s time that you start your preparations to make sure you present your best self on stage. But you might also begin to wonder how you’re going to begin your preparation? What are you supposed to do first? You know that you need to diet and so strength and weight training, but what’s next?

Don’t feel lost! Here is the guide you can use to start your preparations:

Have a Specific Prep Plan

If your ultimate goal is to win the physique contest, then you must now exactly what you should and shouldn’t do to achieve your goal. It is important that you start with smaller, short term goals before you jump into bigger ones. The more realistic your goals are to start with, the more likely you will succeed. Be sure to write everything down, especially your weight training strength program, so that it will be easier for you to track your progress along the way.

Hire a Trainer or a Coach

Especially if it is your first time to join a physique contest, you will need the help and guidance of an experienced coach or trainer. He or she will take care of planning your preparation to ensure no time is wasted.

When choosing a trainer, get someone you trust and someone you can work with well. You may ask a potential coach for some references, training packages, photos of previous clients, certifications, experience, and so on. What’s important is that you get someone who has the knowledge and experience that will help you achieve the body you desire in a specific period of time.

After you’ve found a trainer to work out with, be sure to listen to nobody else. Many people will tell you that you should be doing certain heavy weight lifting exercises, or other techniques, but you’ve got to give your complete trust to your trainer. Your trainer knows your body more than anyone else, so you’ve got to stick to your plan.

Get Mentally Ready for the Competition

When joining an important competition such as a physique contest, you need to be mentally prepared for it. The preparation will be lengthy, and you may not get your desired results as quickly as you want, but you can’t be frustrated ahead of the contest. You may talk and seek advice from those who have joined such contests in the past. You should ask about their experiences, so you may have an idea of what to expect.

Final Tip

Incorporating blood flow restriction to your strength and weight training will also help you develop bigger muscles rather quickly. Ask your trainer about it, and plan together how you may use it to your advantage.

How to Incorporate Blood Flow Restriction into Your Exercise Routine

Blood flow restriction training is all about restricting the circulation of blood in the working muscle. Occlusion training bodybuilding is achieved by wrapping a restriction band or even an ordinary blood pressure cuff around the limbs during a workout. The objective of blood restriction is to control the flow of blood without totally preventing arterial circulation.

Several research studies have been done to assess the effects of occlusion on the growth of muscles. The results of such studies have been nothing but amazing and compelling. According to research, applying occlusion on bedridden patients can help in preventing muscle weakness and atrophy. This can happen even without doing any form of training or exercise.

Interestingly, another study showed that even walking under occlusion can significantly improve muscle size and strength. But if you want to experience the real and maximum hypertrophic benefits of blood flow restriction training, it has to be applied in conjunction with low resistance exercise.

Incorporating BFR into Your Workout Routine

There are many ways you may incorporate blood flow restriction into your own training. For instance, you may do occlusion training legs and arms by doing the regular exercise routines you have for your limbs.

After several studies, blood flow restriction experts seem to have agreed that the best approach to get the best results is to use occlusion as a ‘finishing’ technique. This means that you will follow the usual workout routine in your first session, and then perform a couple of sets of blood flow restriction training as you end your routine.

Weight Training Tips to Build Muscle Using Occlusion

It is true that blood flow restriction training can be used with almost any form of exercise, it is said to work best with those exercises that require single-joint movements. Among these exercises are leg extensions, triceps press-downs, and bicep curls among others. There are multi-joint exercises also that you may perform, such as rows, squats, and other pressing movements.

When doing occlusion training bodybuilding, be sure also to use light weights only. As a general rule, the ideal loads are at 30% of 1Rm for a particular exercise. In addition, it is ideal that you keep your rest periods at around 30 seconds only. These short rests will help increase metabolic stress as well as the pooling of blood in the muscle being trained. 

Final Thoughts

Keep in mind that the purpose of occlusion training bodybuilding is to limit the flow of blood through the veins, and not through the arteries. Thus, you have to make sure you wrap your BFR Restriction Band just tight enough to restrict venous blood flow. The good thing about using BRF restriction bands is that they are designed to be easily adjusted for proper wrapping of the limbs.

Wondering What Occlusion Training Is? Read This

We all have to admit that the idea of using occlusion training wraps during weight training seems a bit off, especially in terms of its safety. Also referred to as blood flow restriction training or BFR, occlusion is a process wherein wraps or restriction bands are used to restrict blood flow from the muscle areas being trained. These wraps or bands are applied just tight enough to control venous return. It is important, however, that the muscles be not wrapped too tight so that arterial blood flow to the muscles will be maintained.

What Research Suggests

According to research, the use of BFR during weight training bodybuilding can result in significant gains in muscle size and strength. In a study conducted in 2012, it was found that NCAA Division 1 football players were able to increase their 1-RM bench press by as much as 7 percent, and their squats by around 8 percent throughout a 3 week training period using BFR and their traditional strength training methods.

There are a number of other studies conducted to assess and prove the effectiveness of occlusion training for muscle size and strength building.

How Does Blood Flow Restriction Work?

There are various explanations and theories on why and how BFR can result in increased muscle size and strength. According to experts, the hormone response that BFR induces is one of the main reasons such type of training is really effective.

A study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology proved that occlusion training leads to the increase of growth hormone levels to as almost 300 times of baseline. In a separate study on BFR, similar results were obtained. Needless to say, this hormonal response is good news for those who are looking for ways to increase the strength of their muscles.

Another theory is that occlusion can promote protein synthesis, and it also induces the production of heat shock proteins. The heat stock proteins are the ones responsible for preventing protein oxidization and repairing damaged protein, which leads to net protein synthesis.

How to Do Occlusion Training?

It should be noted that occlusion training is not designed to serve as a replacement for traditional weight training bodybuilding. Instead, it should be considered as a potent supplement to enhance muscle strength gain. This training is also an excellent method to maintain muscle strength and lean mass when the person undergoing training is nursing an injury.

Reminders

When performing occlusion training for strength building or condition, it is important to use occlusion training wraps properly. Don’t apply your BFR Occlusion Training Bands too tight. Also make sure that you do not overwork or push yourself too much when you are under occlusion. Keep in mind that this method is designed for low resistance training only.

Occlusion Training – Can It Work for Women?

Would you believe if I told you that you can get stronger and bigger muscles doing less work and lifting less weight? You would probably not believe me, and may even think I am to offer you some sort of muscle gain formula. Well, the purpose of this post is to introduce to you this popular trend in muscle building - restricted blood flow training. Essentially, this training method makes use of a light tourniquet or an elastic band to restrict blood flow to a working muscle.

Is Occlusion Training a Proven Effective Method?

When it comes to efficacy and effectiveness of occlusion training results, several studies have been conducted and proven that occlusion training produces similar results to those of traditional high-load training. The study conducted by Moore et. al. showed that blood restriction training can increase muscle strength, and can also improve neuromuscular functioning. Meanwhile, Yamanaka et. al. discovered that occlusion training results in increased muscle strength and hypertrophy.

Occlusion Training and Metabolic Accumulation

Researchers also found that doing restricted blood flow training can enhance metabolic accumulation. This means that the restriction band you use to wrap your muscles keeps all the metabolic products of exertion in the muscles instead of letting them get flushed out of the body. As a result, there is a release of anabolic growth factors, as well as increased production of protein.

Can Occlusion Training Replace Heavy Lifting?

While a number of research studies produce positive occlusion training results, it is important to remember that this kind training should not be used as a replacement for heavy lifting. Occlusion training chest exercises, for instance, are an ideal therapy for those people who aren’t able to lift heavy loads.

How to Incorporate Occlusion Training into Your Exercise Routine

Using an elastic restriction band like BFR Restriction Bands, the first thing to do is wrap it around the joint right above the muscle you wish to train. The band should be tied tightly enough to obstruct blood flow, but not to cut off the blood supply totally.

Occlusion training is often incorporated with body weight isometric training. For example, when you do a set of pushups, you may occlude at the shoulders, and then hold your pushups for about 10 seconds at different angles throughout the movement. And during your weight training, you may go for 50% of your max, which won’t be as difficult for you to do.

Occlusion or restricted blood flow training may be extremely difficult and very uncomfortable. But then again, this is a relatively easy method for growing bigger and stronger muscles. This method is easy to do as well. All you need to have is a reliable muscle wrap, such as BFR’s blood flow restrictionbands. 

What’s the Real Deal with Blood Occlusion Training?

Restricting blood flow to the legs and arms during blood occlusion training might seem crazy, but several studies have proven that this training method is very effective in increasing muscle size. In fact, a lot of sports therapists and muscle building experts are backing up this unique hypertrophy technique.

What is Blood Occlusion Training?

Before we go on to explain how occlusion training helps increase muscle size and strength, let us briefly explain first what blood occlusion training is. Blood flow restriction training, or occlusion training, involves restricting the flow of blood in the veins of a working muscle in order to increase muscle size. This may sound strange to you, but there are many facts that will prove how effective this strategy is. But just like any kind of training or even weight lifting for strength and increased muscle size, blood occlusion training will only work when you do it right.

How Does It Work?

In the world of sports and body building, so much time and effort is spent finding ways to increase blood flow. Thus, the idea of restricting or blocking it definitely surprises everyone. Well, completely restricting blood flow in the limbs is not how occlusion training works.

In a blood flow restriction training, a device, such as knee wraps, blood pressure cuff, or a restriction band, is wrapped around the top of the arms or legs. The pressure should be just enough to obstruct the flow of blood to the veins, but NOT the arteries. This is a crucial thing to remember. The arteries must not be blocked so that blood may still flow to the limb.

How Is It Done?

Experts recommend using BFR walking in order to get accustomed to this technique first. Injured athletes and individuals are also advised to use the BFR walking first also. It also turns out that shorter rest periods of around 30 seconds each time can help increase muscle size more.

When it comes to the tightness of the wraps or bands around your limbs, it is perceived that a level 7 of tightness on a scale of 10 is ideal. You should actually feel how tightly you should wrap your muscles. Just make sure you block the veins only, and not the arteries.

In terms of the wrapping device to use in blood occlusion training, there are a couple of things you can use. Many trainers use wrist wraps for the arms, and knee wraps for the legs. If you happen to have blood pressure cuffs, they may work as well. But ideally, you want something that’s designed for blood flow restriction. Occlusion Training Bands by BFR Bands are highly recommended as they are very easy and safe to use for occlusion training.

Everything You Need To Know About Blood Flow Restriction Training

Blood flow restriction (BFR) training is one that makes use of a restrictive wrap around the limbs during lifting or other dynamic exercises. The goal of this kind of training is to obstruct blood flow without necessarily affecting the circulation of blood in the body. By using resistance training bands, it becomes easier for the blood to flow into the muscles.

What Does Research Say about BFR?

Several studies have been conducted on the hypertrophic effects of blood flow restriction or BFR. In some clinical trials involving BFR, it was found that simply occluding the flow of blood of a bedridden patient can help prevent muscle weakness and atrophy. What’s even more amazing about this is that the patients did not perform any training at all.

Another study was performed to see how restricting blood flow to the legs can enhance the effects of even the simplest muscle building activities such as walking. The result of the study clearly indicated that restricting blood flow to the legs using resistance bands can result in the significant increase in muscle size and strength.

How Does BFR Work?

It is said that metabolic stress has a lot to do with the effectiveness of blood flow restriction training. To put it in simple words, metabolic stress is the accumulated training byproducts known as metabolites. This kind of buildup is common and frequently happens when the training is performed while blood circulation is restricted.

It is also believed that such byproducts can improve anabolism through different mechanisms, including cell swelling, release of growth factors, and other systemic agents.

What Should Be Used as a Wrap?

When it comes to choosing a tool that you will use as a wrap, you’ve got several options actually. There are belts, pneumatic cuffs, and even exercise bands that are designed for this purpose. Some people would also go for the classic elastic knee wraps, which should be long enough to wrap around the limbs several times.

Keep in mind that the placement of the bands or wraps is very important. For instance, you have to make sure that you place the wraps as high as possible on whichever limbs you are training. If you are trying to build muscles on your upper arms, you should wrap your resistance bands high on the biceps. And if you are to use it for your thighs, the bands should be wrapped under the fold of the buttock.

If you use your resistance bands too low, there is no chance that you will achieve optimal blood flow restriction, and this can significantly affect your training or muscle building strategy. BFR Bands are designed to offer excellent restriction of blood flow from the working limb and straight to the targeted muscles.