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Eat more often to keep your metabolism elevated and to constantly supply your muscles with nutrients. Have a meal as soon as you get up and do not go more than three hours without eating for the rest of the day. Combine protein and complex carbs in every meal. Turkey tenderloins with a baked yam and steamed cauliflower is a meal example.

Perform cardiovascular exercise to lose weight. Do any type of cardio that you enjoy, such as jogging, brisk walking, cycling, swimming, elliptical training, rowing or stair climbing. The American College of sports Medicine recommends 60 to 90 minutes of cardio for weight loss.

Lift weights to build muscle mass. Spend most of your workout time doing compound exercises. These involve more than one muscle and joint working at once. The end result is faster gains in size and strength. Perform exercises such as bench presses, military presses, back rows, squats and dead lifts. Aim for 8 to 12 reps and three or four sets of your exercises and work out three days a week, alternating with cardio days.

Utilize a maximal amount of weight with your exercises. This will ensure that you fully tax your muscles and gain a maximum amount of size. Have a spotter on hand whenever possible to assist you.

Feed him high portions of low-fat, healthy foods. Muscle mass cannot be gained without the fuel provided by food. To gain weight, he will need to consume more calories than he burns. To gain half a pound of muscle per week, he will need to eat 250 more calories more per day than he has been eating, according to exercise physiologist Joseph A. Chromiak.

Add protein to his diet. Select protein sources that are relatively non-fatty, such as baked fish and poultry, advises the Harvard School of Public Health.

Provide a dark and quiet sleep environment for him, and make sure he gets eight hours of sleep every night. It is during sleep that the body repairs damaged muscle tissue and builds muscle mass.

Consume Enough Protein "I eat enough protein. I probably ate around 50 grams today." Now if this sounds like you, we are in some serious trouble. That is unless you are a 60-pound child whose major energy expenditure for the day is playing with your Tonka Trucks. Ok, down to the serious stuff here. If you don't eat optimal amounts of protein, you will never put on the muscle mass that you so much desire. You are also hindering your strength gains as well. If you are going up a weight class and you aren't eating the proper amount of protein, guess what?

have some of my athletes consume between 1.25-1.5 grams of protein per pound when trying to pack on size.

# 5 Maximize Your Carbohydrate Intake

# 6 Bump Up Your Fat Intake

Milk…It does a body good! You should have known this would be on the list. Milk is the drink of all strength champions throughout history.

I knew you would like this one. What true powerlifter wouldn't? Now again, don't get me wrong here. The point is that you should increase you lean meat consumption during a mass phase. Note I said lean meat consumption. This doesn't include bacon, ham, sausage, deli meats, beef jerky, or pepperoni sticks.

. Increased Workout Intensity Translates To More Muscle Mass

One of the first reasons why you need to start taking creatine is because it will help to increase your overall workout intensity, which means you will achieve a higher level of muscle mass.

The creatine will allow you to keep pushing hard in the gym at a time when you would have previously had to decrease the load or stop entirely, so this helps in terms of building muscle faster.

Better Muscular Contraction Means Enhanced Sports Performance:

The second reason to take creatine is for athletic performance. If you're involved in sports that require stop and go type of activity, creatine is going to come in very helpful for you.

To put this into perspective, a player in a game of hockey taking creatine would not only be able to go harder with each shift he's on the ice, but he'll be able to last through more shifts total throughout the game.

Quicker Atp Re-Synthesis Equates To Frequent Training Sessions:

Third, creatine is going to allow you to train at a higher frequency, which also means quicker and more significant muscular gains.

The more frequent you are able to stimulate a muscle, the faster it will grow bigger, provided that it has had the opportunity to fully grow back after the first stress load that was placed upon it.

Since creatine helps increase the recovery rate of the muscle cells, this means you may not require as much total rest time in between each workout you perform.

So if you're someone who commonly takes a few days off between each full body workout, using creatine may allow you to cut this down to just a single day between workouts. Over time this will translate to more workouts and will make a difference on your results from month to month.

Higher Glycogen Levels Generates Huge Muscle Pumps:

Fourth on our list of reasons why you need to use creatine is because of the muscle pumps you'll get. While muscle pumps don't necessarily help you out physiologically in terms of building muscle mass, they will help with motivational levels.

There's nothing like seeing a muscle grow at the end of a workout to motivate you to get back into the gym and do it again a day or two later, and since creatine causes a higher level of water retention in the body, the muscle pumps you'll experience will go up.

Faster Sprint Performance Increases Metabolic Rates And Fat Loss:

Finally, the last reason why you should consider investing in creatine as one of the muscle-building supplements you use is because it'll help you increase your metabolic rate.

If you're currently looking for fat loss, how many calories you burn on a daily basis will have a significant impact on how quickly you see progress.

Since sprint cardio training is one of the best ways to boost your metabolic rate and sprinting relies strictly on ATP as a fuel source, supplementing with creatine allows you to have a better sprint performance during your weight loss phase.

If you do make the decision to utilize creatine with your training program also remember to perform the loading phase first as this will be critical to getting the muscle cells fully saturated right from the start and allowing you to see the biggest benefits from taking the supplement.

Day 3: Cardio Cardio Cardio Only Day 4: Back/Triceps/Calves Exercise 1 Dumbbell Pullover 2 warm up sets of 10-12 reps, 1 working set of 8-10 reps to failure Desired weight (increase weight between sets) Exercise 2 Close-Grip Pulldown 1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 1 working set of 8-10 reps to failure Desired weight (1 min rest between sets) Exercise 3 One-Arm Dumbbell Row 1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 1 working set of 8-10 reps to failure Desired weight (1 min rest between sets) Exercise 4 Wide Grip Cable Row 1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 1 working set of 8-10 reps to failure Desired weight (1 min rest between sets) Exercise 5 Barbell Deadlifts 1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 1 working set of 8-10 reps to failure Desired weight (1 min rest between sets) Exercise 6 Triceps Pushdown 1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 1 working set of 8-10 reps to failure Desired weight (1 min rest between sets) Exercise 7 Lying Triceps Extensions 1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 1 working set of 8-10 reps to failure Desired weight (1 min rest between sets) Exercise 8 Seated Triceps Press 1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 1 working set of 8-10 reps to failure Desired weight (1 min rest between sets) Exercise 9 Calf Press on Leg Press 1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 3 rest-pause sets to failure Desired weight (10-15 sec rest between sets) Exercise 10 Seated Calf Raise 1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 1 working set of 6-8 reps to failure Desired weight (1 min rest between sets

Day 5: Delts/Traps/Abs Exercise 1 Dumbbell Shoulder Press 1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 1 warm up set of 8-10 reps, 1 working set of 6-8 reps to failure Desired weight (1 min rest between sets) Exercise 2 Side Lateral Raise 1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 1 working set of 8-10 reps to failure Desired weight (1 min rest between sets) Exercise 3 Low Pulley Delt Raise 1 set of 6-8 reps to failure Each arm Exercise 4 Reverse Dumbbell Flyes 1 warm up set of 10-12 reps, 1 working set of 8-10 reps to failure Desired weight Exercise 5 Barbell Shrugs 1 warm up set of 12-15 reps, 2 working sets of 8-10 reps to failure Desired weight Exercise 6 Upright Row 1 warm up set of 12 reps, 2 working sets of 8-10 reps to failure Desired weight Superset 1 Knee Ups 3 working sets to failure Crunches 3 working sets to failure Superset 2 Cable Crunch 3 sets to failure Decline Reverse Crunch 3 sets to failure .mainheader h1 { position: relative; color: #ffffff; line-height: 115%; vertical-align:bottom}.mainheader h1 span { background: url(http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/images/2009/maingrade.png); background-repeat: repeat-x; position: absolute; display: block; width: 480px; height: 31px; } .subheader h2 span { background: none; filter: progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.AlphaImageLoader(src='http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/images/2009/maingrade.png', sizingMethod='scale');}.subheader h2 { position: relative; color: #ffffff; line-height: 115%; vertical-align:bottom}.subheader h2 span { background: url(http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/images/2009/maingrade.png); background-repeat: repeat-x; position: absolute; display: block; width: 445px; height: 31px; }Get A Printable Log Of Day 5. http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/printlog2.php?firstname=Steve+Cook&name=Day+5%3A+Delts%2FTraps%2FAbs&num_exercises=18&Exercise[]=Exercise+1&Sets[]=0&Exercise[]=Dumbbell+Shoulder+Press%2C+1+warm+up+set+of+10-12+reps%2C+1+warm+up+set+of+8-10+reps%2C+1+working+set+of+6-8+reps+to+failure+&Sets[]=3&Exercise[]=Exercise+2&Sets[]=0&Exercise[]=Side+Lateral+Raise%2C+1+warm+up+set+of+10-12+reps%2C+1+working+set+of+8-10+reps+to+failure+&Sets[]=2&Exercise[]=Exercise+3&Sets[]=0&Exercise[]=Low+Pulley+Delt+Raise%2C+6-8+reps+to+failure+&Sets[]=1&Exercise[]=Exercise+4&Sets[]=0&Exercise[]=Reverse+Dumbbell+Flyes%2C+1+warm+up+set+of+10-12+reps%2C+1+working+set+of+8-10+reps+to+failure+&Sets[]=2&Exercise[]=Exercise+5&Sets[]=0&Exercise[]=Barbell+Shrugs%2C+1+warm+up+set+of+12-15+reps%2C+2+working+sets+of+8-10+reps+to+failure+&

Motivation is key! My Motivation comes from a deep love for weights and to see how far I can push myself everyday in the weight room. I want to be the best I can genetically be. As healthy and as strong and lean as possible. I sometimes have to remind myself not to overdo it. As I've gotten older I realized how important recovery is. Ultimately I want to be the next Steve Reeves... I want a body that is appealing to the masses. My goal is to have the perfect balance of size, shape and symmetry.

While good quality supplements can make a difference (especially when dieting) they aren't an excuse to have poor nutrition and sleep habits. By taking the right supplements for your goals and in the right amount, one can achieve results faster than without supplementing. It's important to know exactly what you are putting into your body. Follow the instructions...just because some is good doesn't mean more is better!

A:  First, let me emphasize that our bodies already produce creatine naturally.  Did you ever watch the transformers when you were a kid?  Well if not, there were groups of robots called " combiners. "  They would join together and form an even larger and more massive robot, crushing everything in their paths!  Our liver does the same thing with the three amino acids, Arginine, Glycine and Methionine.  It combines them to form creatine, much like the constructicons combined to form devastator!  Ok so that was a lame example, but it explains the process quite nicely.  

Q: What exactly does creatine do?

1. Creatine works mainly to increase our Creatine Phosphate System

2. Increases The Pump!

3. Increases The Reparation Process of Bodybuilding.

Q: How exactly does Creatine Apply to An Athlete?

A:  Simple, it does so by enhancing your creatine phosphate energy system.  This does a number of things: 1.  Increases explosion - Most athletes notice more explosiveness after utilizing this supplement 2.  Allows yourself to push yourself harder and longer. 

Q: What are the side effects of Creatine, and in General how safe is it? A:  As stated above, creatine is not, and I repeat not a hormone.  Therefore it does not have the side effects associated with any Prohormone or illegal steroid. There have been hundreds of studies done on creatine that all show that it is a safe supplement. To further prove its safety two an a half million kilograms of creatine were consumed in the United States alone in 1999!  That statistic alone speaks volumes about the safety and efficiency of this supplement!  Not only that, but creatine has been the number one supplement on the market for almost a decade and no one has reported any adverse side effects from it. ( aside from the ones I listed above. )

: I don't workout, but do you think that creatine will build muscles and help me to lose fat?

No!  If you don't workout I cannot imagine what supplement would help you.  Creatine provides your muscles with more short term energy - but that is wasted if you do not exercise them. If you take creatine you should push yourself even harder in the gym. The idea is with more energy you should be able to workout harder. A harder workout leads to increased muscle mass.

Q: Since Creatine makes you gain weight should I not take it on a cut?

Yes, creatine causes your body to hold water, but that is a good thing!  The fact that your muscles are super hydrated even on a cut is fantastic.  I see absolutely no correlation between taking creatine and our body storing fat.  If anything, creatine will assist us in maintaining more lean mass while dieting.  In my mind there is no point to discontinuing the use of creatine while trying to burn fat.

Can I take Creatine and Protein at the same time?

Firstly, protein is a food product.  If you couldn't take creatine and protein at the same time, then you would have to be a strict vegetarian and still you would end out consuming around 40 grams a day just from normal foods.  To top this off, creatine is not much use without a significant protein intake.  What is the point of pushing your muscles further than they are used to, if you are not going to provide the amino acids necessary for their repair?  

Which supplement is Better Creatine or Protein?

:  ( I probably get asked this question at least once a day through email.)  Amino acids are the building blocks of our muscles.  If you do not get enough than there is no point to working out.  Creatine is an outstanding supplement, but if you have to choose from getting at least 1 gram a day of protein or getting your creatine then opt for the protein.  However I do want to stress that creatine is an excellent supplement.  In fact for assistance in muscular gains I would rate it second only to whey.

Do you feel that creatine is cheating?  I want to earn my muscles the hard way and don't want to cheat to get them.

( I can't stand these types of questions!!! )  Yes, you would be cheating.  You would be cheating yourself out of great gains by not supplementing with it!

s there anything I can take to make creatine a more effective supplement?

The first thing I would like to emphasize is that creatine will not work if you are not properly hydrated!  It relies heavily on this, so you must drink tons of water, if you want optimal results from it.  Super hydrating your body will also improve your weight room pumps tremendously!

What is the best method, dose wise, of taking creatine?

For creatine to produce optimal results, muscle stores must be topped off or saturated with it.  To accomplish this you need to load the creatine for 5 days at 20-25 grams, spread out throughout the day into 4-5 servings.  This is the quickest and in my opinion the " best " way to saturate your muscles with creatine.  Following this phase, all you need is to take 5-10 grams a day to maintain your saturation levels.  After this, any creatine you take will be excreted as creatinine.

Do I need to Cycle Creatine?

My recommendation is to load for 5 days, followed by a 5-10 gram maintenance dosage for 4-6 weeks.  Following this, there are two particular strategies: 1.  You can take one to two weeks off and then start the cycle over.  Many athletes attest to receiving a better results this way.  2.  However, several athletes will never come off of it.  They will load it for 5 days, maintain for a few weeks and then reload again.  This is increasingly becoming the more popular method of usage.

If you are willing to spend a substantial amount of time and energy each week on gaining muscle, then "how long does it take to build muscle", will be a process that takes much less time.

This is fine if you're an actor, but if you lead a normal life, this type of regimen isn't very practical. Although the objective of gaining muscle is reasonable, you should not allow it to become an obsession that rules all aspects of your existence.

Take for example the seemingly overnight transformations that can be observed in some actors that are preparing for specific film roles. These types of dramatic results will only be possible when training is a very big part of your weekly routine. The actors that we mentioned commonly train 7 days per week, twice each day, when getting ready for a film.

n the first 2 years that a novice is training, 15-20 pounds is a reasonable goal for muscle gain. This standard applies to individuals 17 years of age and older. Subsequently, 2-3 pounds of muscle growth each year is typical, for the next several years. These numbers are general guidelines, and your genetics will play a role in your specific results. Therefore, the question of "how long does it take to build muscle?", doesn't have one simple answer. We can only look at what is typical.

Day 2: Quads/Calves Exercises Standing Calf Raises6 sets of 8-10 reps Seated Calf Raise6 sets of 8-10 reps Leg Extensions5 Sets 15,12,12,10,10 reps Barbell Squat6 Sets 12,12,10,10,8,6 reps Leg Press4 Sets 12,10,10,8 reps Smith Machine Squat

Exercises Standing Military Press4 Sets 12,10,8,8 reps Seated Dumbbell Press4 Sets 10,10,8,8 reps Barbell Shrug4 Sets 15,12,12,10 reps Smith Machine Shrug3 Sets 12,12,12 reps Side Lateral Raise3 sets of 12,10,8 repsone arm at a time Front Plate Raise3 Sets of 12,10,8 reps25,35,45lb plates

Barbell Curl4 Sets 12,10,10,8 reps Dumbbell Alternate Bicep Curl4 Sets 12,10,8,8 reps Standing Dumbbell Reverse Curl4 Sets 12,10,10,8 reps Preacher Curl3 Sets 12,12,12 reps Dumbbell One-Arm Triceps Extension4 Sets 12,10,10,8 reps Weighted Bench Dip4 Sets 15,12,12,10 reps Lying Triceps Press4 Sets 12,10,10,8 reps Triceps Pushdown3 Sets 12,10,10 reps

Day 6: Back/Hamstrings Exercises Barbell Deadlift4 Sets 15,12,10,8 reps Bent Over Barbell Row4 Sets 15,12,10,8 reps One-Arm Dumbbell Row4 Sets 12,10,10,8 reps Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown4 Sets 12,10,10,10 reps Seated Leg Curl4 Sets 12,10,10,10 reps Hack Squat4 Sets 12,12,10,8 reps

Barbell curls This is one of the most common biceps exercises as well as one of the most effective. This classic biceps exercises is great for building mass inyour biceps.

While protein-rich foods don't cause digestive problems by themselves, eating a lot of them may leave less room for high-carbohydrate foods in your diet, which tend to have a lot of dietary fiber.

More severely, taking in too much protein could raise your risk of serious diseases including cancer, heart disease, and liver or kidney problems. Partially, that is because so many protein-rich foods are also high in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium, all of which can enhance risk factors for those diseases. If you choose plant-based proteins instead of animal proteins and full-fat proteins, your personal risk may not be quite as high.

Protein contains calories -- sometimes more calories than carbohydrate- or fat-rich foods. Although it can help you gain lean muscle mass, eating protein in excess of your body's needs will result in fat gain.

The question of how much protein to eat can be a tricky one because the right amount for one individual may be far too much for another. MayoClinic.com recommends getting between 10 percent and 35 percent of your daily calories from protein, or about 50 to 175 g per day.

You can also calculate recommendations based on your body weight. Dr. Melina Jampolis, physician nutrition specialist for CNN.com, suggests getting about 0.8 g of protein per day per kg of your body weight.

Unless you're following a diet that is very unbalanced, you're likely not at risk for eating too much protein. It's also important to realize that some protein is essential for health, since protein-rich foods build and repair muscle and bone tissue, satiate hunger and provide energy. If you have concerns about the protein amounts in your diet, talk them over with your doctor or a registered dietitian.

Your pre- and post-workout meals should be in the form of a protein shake made with a minimum of 48 g of protein, skim milk and fruit

he protein in skim milk stimulates muscle synthesis better than the protein in soy milk. Carbohydrates like fruit enhance muscle tissue building when combined with protein powder. The amino acids in protein powders are more quickly absorbed into your bloodstream and your muscle cells compared to meat and chicken, optimally enhancing muscle growth.

Protein powders are dietary supplements and must not replace all the sources of protein in your diet. Healthy options of high-protein foods include lean chicken breast, turkey, mackerel, lean meat, low-fat dairy and salmon. Chicken breast, turkey and mackerel are high in magnesium, a mineral essential for optimal muscular contraction

Lean red meat is high in iron, necessary for effective transport and use of oxygen, giving you maximal energy. Low-fat dairy products are rich in calcium, another minimal necessary for muscular contraction. Salmon is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which helps to reduce muscle soreness and inflammation.

Plant sources of protein like beans, rice, wheat, nuts and seeds are incomplete proteins. This means such plants are missing at least one essential amino acid. If you do not eat animal products, combine two different sources of plant protein such as beans with rice, seeds, corn, wheat or nuts. Consuming multiple sources of plant protein ensures you eat all the essential amino acids your body needs to build muscle.

This translates to about 28 to 40 calories from protein per 1 lb. of body weight each day. Previous recommendations have suggested protein intake in excess of 1.5 g per 1 lb. of body weight.

Protein is composed of amino acids, which provide protein with its ability to promote tissue growth and meet other bodily needs. The body can produce many of these amino acids on its own, although nine are deemed "essential" because the body can not manufacture them. The best sources of protein for building muscle are those that contain all nine essential amino acids. Meat, eggs, dairy products and soy have all essential amino acids.

Whey and casein protein are two popular protein supplements in the fitness industry. Both of these proteins come from milk extract and can be effective stimulants for new muscle growth, especially when combined with carbohydrates.

If you are not a weightlifter, you still need a certain amount of protein each day. Most healthy adults need 0.4 to 0.5 g of protein per 1 lb. of body weight each day

Endurance athletes, on the other hand, need about 0.6 to 0.7 g of this nutrient per 1 lb. of body weight. Protein should generally account for about 10 to 15 percent of your total calories daily.

If performed on a regular basis, cardio exercises can improve your cardiovascular system and increase your chances of living a longer life.

Most healthy adults should aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio five days per week or 20 minutes of vigorous-intensity cardio three days per week, according to the American College of Sports Medicine.

20 to 34 years 39.3 40.6 40.3 39.3 40.6

Males 47.8 50.0 47.9 46.8 48.3 Females 29.9 30.4 32.0 31.1 32.1

35 to 44 years 50.8 51.2 51.8 52.8 52.7 Males 62.0 63.1 62.3 63.6 64.3 Females 38.8 39.2 40.9 41.4 40.3

Protein intake must be increased

Fats are also essential to healthy diets for muscle building, but these should be healthy fats such as olive oil, flaxseed oil and nuts

Cut out sugary drinks like soft drinks and alcohol.

Whey protein powder is especially effective for muscle building and easy to consume. A scoop of whey protein dissolves easily in water or milk.