What Are the Best Rest Times Between Sets for Muscle Growth: Short, Medium, or Long?
If your strength training goal is muscle growth, your rest time between sets is one of the most critical factors of your exercise program. But which is best: Short, Medium, or Long?
Muscle building vs toning: What's the difference?
While muscle gain is a pretty straightforward concept, toning and the differences between the two seem to cause a lot of confusion. Let's break it down shall we!?
5 Training Methods to help you break through a weight training plateau
You're eating well, training hard, and giving your body sufficient rest, yet you're stuck in a rut. What gives!? Unfortunately, weight training plateaus happen to us all. Whether you're a beginner, intermediate, or Mr. Olympia, you will no doubt have or will experience at least a few weight training plateaus along the way. Loss in strength, failure to hit rep counts, irritability, lethargy, frustration, lack of motivation, and little to no progress are all telltale signs that you've hit a training plateau.
Pre-sleep nutrition: Boost muscle recovery before bed
Sleep and recovery go hand in hand. Nothing is more restorative than a good night's rest. Athletes are no strangers to the "optimize everything" mentality that's often needed in the gym for optimal athletic performance and constant PR-shattering. Now, you may be able to optimize your sleep schedule and nighttime routine to improve your training sessions the next day without sacrificing sleep. Meet pre-sleep nutrition, your key to boosting overnight recovery and muscle growth.
Water: The Miracle Chemical That Helps Build Muscle
Water, the miracle chemical, “drug” and nutrient that helps build muscle. Experts agree that hydrating is a crucial ingredient for successful bodybuilding, weight loss (fat loss), and building body mass.
Creatine: The Good, The Bad, and The Bulked-up
Creatine is an amino acid that is found mostly in your body's muscles as well as in your brain. Many know the role amino acids play in protein synthesis, but limitations in the ability to transport and/or store creatine can impair metabolism. Increasing the availability of creatine in tissue may enhance cellular metabolism and thereby lessen the severity of injury and/or disease conditions, particularly when oxygen availability is compromised, like during high-intensity exercise.
How much muscle can you gain in a month?
Whether returning to a training program or just beginning, the first month brings up the age-old question: Can I look like Daniel Craig as James Bond or Alicia Vikander as Tomb Raider in 4 weeks or less? The answer is no, you probably can’t! However, you can add muscle mass and start your journey to the body composition you desire.
Clean Bulking vs Dirty Bulking: Which is best for muscle growth?
Bulking refers to a gradual increase in the number of calories you take in combined with intense weight training. Any calorie intake beyond what your body needs to maintain your current bodyweight is a calorie surplus that your body can then use to build muscle. But which is better, clean or dirty bulking? We have the answers!