Author: rxbodybuilders

MMA (mixed martial arts) fighting is extremely popular these days. Fight revenues from television pay-per-view are through the roof, and it seems MMA-style gyms are popping up all over the country. Many athletes from the fields of wrestling, football, and yes, even bodybuilding, and throwing their hats into the MMA ring. Professional bodybuilder Chris Cook moved from a mediocre rookie year in the IFBB to more success in the amateur MMA ranks, where is currently a rising star. If you are a bodybuilder looking into MMA training, or an MMA fighter looking to bring up your strength and power, you…

There have been approaches being taken by different body builders. Some of them have been productive while others have brought havoc in the profession. Many articles have been written to instruct body builders on the best way of training and there have been very many measures put in place to ensure that this is done in the proper manner and practiced effectively. However, there are still body builders who risk their lives in the pursuit of better results and this article is therefore a reminder of proper body building and how it should be carried out. Overtraining is one of…

Every ambitious bodybuilder will go into the gym with only one thing in mind. To work those muscle tissues he had planned to work on until they can hold it no more. The mission appears destined for destruction of the muscles, which is far from the objective. The objective is to provide the maximum level of stimulation. This ideal is at the pinnacle of the bodybuilding career. In fact, all the upcoming bodybuilders out there are better advised to take this mission with them at heart every time their mind switches to weightlifting mode. It is the best-known way of…

Walk around any gym in the world, and you’ll likely see some pretty silly events going down. Sometimes it will be a weak looking person attempting to bench press about 100 pounds more than he should be, with an equally scrawny training partner above him rowing the weight above him loudly. Often, we’ll see men brave enough to enter the squat rack, but lacking the courage to complete repetitions more than one-eighth of the way down. And there’s always the young man training biceps without training them at all. You know the type. He’ll curl the dumbbells so violently that…

If you’ve ever seen the Terminator series of movies featuring bodybuilding legend Arnold Schwarzenegge, you have learned one lesson, and learned it well. We cannot trust the machines! They have been sent back in time to destroy civilization, blow things up, and otherwise ruin peoples’ days. In bodybuilding, machines get a bad rap as well. Any time you look over at the machines in your gym, it’s very likely you see some devices being used by less-than-serious lifters, with less-than useful weight. Machines are easier and safer than free weights. The safety issue can be important to those with less…

Body building beginners especially are fond of asking how often they should train. This is a very important question, for it can determine success or failure of a body building program within months after initiation. If for instance you train to the optimal intensity on Tuesday, should you hit the gym again on Wednesday or should wait until Thursday or even Friday? What determines our training frequency? What kind of training frequency facilitates optimal muscle mass and strength development? The question applies to both the beginner and the intermediate or advanced body builder. The answer to these pertinent questions lies…

We work all year to build ourselves up. We train heavy, eat big, sleep a lot, and use various supplements to boost our bodyweight, drop fat, and build muscle. We grow physically stronger, and over time our health improves as well. Better cardiovascular system oxygen flow, more efficient digestion, and great balance in enzyme levels in the blood mean we are healthy, vibrant, and on the right track. However, in our efforts to achieve our best possible shape and health, we do often take it just a little bit overboard. We become ill, or we injure something due to just…

Q: Is it important for bodybuilder’s to train the neck and, if so, what exercises are the best? A: Yes, it is important for a well rounded physique to have a muscular neck. A thick neck, offset by huge sloping traps, is the epitome of raw power and manliness. A physique without good neck development is, quite simply, incomplete. Think of the last two Mr. Olympia’s – Coleman and Yates. Without thick, muscular necks they would not have been able to stand head and shoulders above the competition. Apart from the aesthetic appeal of a thick, strong neck, developing this…

Q: What do you think of cable exercises for the legs when preparing for contests? Do you think they are beneficial or take too much energy away from size-preserving exercises like squats? A: Everyone is different. I’ve seen guys get ready for shows still doing squats, leg press and hack squats, with absolutely no finishing type exercises and look separated, sharp and cross striated. I’ve also seen guys do lunges, leg extensions and other specialization exercises and look fantastic too. I think it really knows how your legs respond to stimulus. Do you, for instance, respond well to either high…

The best kind of training is the style that you’re not currently using. This applies to cardiovascular exercise, as well as the routines employed for individual body parts and the entire body split. Today, let’s examine a quadriceps training routine that challenges us to start with the low-weight, high intensity work, then move up to some higher-weight, lower-volume training. This will ensure both the slow- and fast-twitch muscle fibers are trained adequately! Start this training routine with leg extensions. Your first set should be the lightest, highest-repetition set of your day. Aim for fifty repetitions! At the conclusion of this…