ncomplete proteins come from "plant products", beans, rice, etc. They must be combined in order to supply the body with the 9 essential amino acids it needs. Ladies and gentlemen, now that you see how important consuming protein is let's look at how much should be consume and what types.

The world health organization and many national health agencies have independently conducted studies, which (even though they differ slightly) all conclude our daily protein requirement should be between 10% to 15% of our daily caloric intake. If you eat 2000 calories a day that equates to 50 to 75 grams of protein.

Protein needs of individuals vary in nature. To estimate your personal protein needs you will need to take your current weight in pounds, divide it in half and then subtract 10. The result is a rough estimate of how much protein you should consume.

If you do not already do so, read food lables, then buy your food uncooked and cook it healthfully. If you do not take anything else from this article that last sentence is paramount.

your schedule is hectic and you are just too busy and do not have time to eat high protein foods then bars and powders can be substituted. A lot of bars on the market are loaded with other "not so good" man made additives, trans fats, aspartame, saturated fat content (over 3.5g), etc.

Whatever you decide to eat, keep the 5:1.6 g carb-to-protein ratio in mind.

Obviously, the closer you get to your workout time, the smaller the meal should be

Many protein shakes and sports bars are designed specifically as pre-workout nutrition and have the precise nutrient ratio you need. They also have the added advantage of being portable, which can be convenient for those who hit the gym on the way home from work.

If you are stuck without your favorite supplement at hand, fat-free chocolate milk will suffice -- according to Mohr, it provides the exact carb-to-protein ratio as a pre-workout shake. The fat-free part is important though -- fat digests slowly and can weigh you down when you least need it.

Supplements are simply convenience products, and are not necessary to good nutrition. You can get the same benefit from whole foods, but this requires more planning and label reading. Fat-free yogurt with fruit and granola works, as does a whole-grain bagel with peanut butter.

Timing is important -- even the perfect meal can leave you flat if you eat it too early or weigh you down if you eat it too late

The actual amount of carbs and protein you eat depends upon how much time will elapse before your workout.

f your only pre-workout nutrition is a regular meal, eat it about three or four hours before you exercise so the food has time to digest. Otherwise, your full stomach will be susceptible to upset, and the nutrients won't be available in your bloodstream when your body needs them. Smaller meals can be eaten two or three hours prior, but stick to a small snack if you only have an hour to go.

Supplements are by far the easiest way to ensure you get the proper ratio in an appropriately-sized food source.

For a larger meal, a turkey sandwich on whole grain bread with lettuce and tomato is a nearly perfect pre-workout meal, and bananas or fruit juice can be a last-minute snack for quick energy.

Egg Protein This is the most old school type of protein. Surely you remember the movie Rocky where he drinks the eggs before training. This is actually very dangerous to do as it can lead to several illnesses and poisoning.

Fortunately there are egg white protein products available and of course you can separate the yolks and cook the whites so you can get your egg protein this way. It's a rich source of BCAA's and arginine.

Milk Protein comes from cow's milk after the water has been removed and most of the carbs and fat have been taken out. Milk protein is actually the source of two other proteins we covered earlier; whey and casein. You have had milk since childhood unless you are lactose intolerant.

here are two forms of milk protein. The first is Milk Protein Concentrate. When the whole milk is filtered most of the carbs and fat are removed. The process that does this is known as ultrafiltration. The second type is Milk Protein Isolate. When the milk is processed even more, this leads to the isolate. The milk protein isolate is 85% protein. Despite the fat and carbs being taken out, much of the whey and casein remain.

Soy Protein Soy Protein is derived exclusively from soy beans. Soy protein provides a healthy way to get non-animal protein into your diet. They're great tasting, natural and can have a plethora of healthy effects on the body. It is ideal for high protein/low carbohydrate diets. Soy protein is approved for those who are lactose intolerant, and can be used as a meat substitute for vegetarians. Much more than just an ingredient for a protein shake, Soy protein can be used for cooking instead of flour, producing high protein foods that are extremely low in fat - a bodybuilder's dream come true!

Beef Protein The protein that is derived from beef after the cholesterol and fat has been removed is known as Beef Protein. This one has really grown in popularity over the past couple of years and is relatively new when it comes to protein supplementation.

The only type of beef protein available is Beef Protein Isolate. This type has been broken down from larger fragments into smaller ones like both whey and casein isolate. It is best to take beef protein in the morning or around your training.

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.

As a bodybuilder, your workouts are designed to promote hypertrophy, or muscle growth. According to Marc McDougal of Bodybuilding.com, to promote hypertrophy you should perform two warm-up sets. Your repetitions should be in the four to six range.

The amount of weight you should use in your warm-up sets is based on percentages of the weight you plan to use in your working sets.

For example, if you plan to use 200 pounds for 10 repetitions in your working sets, use 50 percent of that weight for your first warm-up set. Your second warm-up set should be 80 percent of 200 pounds, or 160 pounds.

If you are gearing your workouts for increasing your strength, you will be working toward improving your one-repetition maximum lift on various exercises. Consequently, you will be lifting relatively heavy weight with fewer repetitions. In this case, perform between three to five warm-up sets. Increase the weight on each warm-up set, and perform between one and six repetitions.

Avoid performing your repetitions during your warm-up sets too quickly. If you perform your repetitions too quickly on a cold muscle, you risk injuring yourself. The repetitions should move through a complete range of motion at a slow and controlled tempo.

For example, if you plan to do work sets of three repetitions with 250 pounds, the weight you use for your warm-up sets would be percentages of 250 pounds. Your first warm-up set would be 50 percent of 250 pounds, and you would perform five repetitions.

The ectomorph has a fairly easy time losing fat so they will will generally not need to do as much cardio for fat loss. Two or three times per week should be plenty. An ectomorph trying to gain muscle may need to lay off cardio training completely in order to have enough recovery energy available for their body to even build muscle. Once or twice a week should be the maximum cardio frequency. Even weight training may need to be less frequent (two or three times per week) in order to see results

Moderate-intensity cardio training, such as jogging or swimming, will need to be done a little less frequently. This type of training requires more energy both to perfom and for your body to recover from. A person trying to lose fat can generally perform four to six moderate-intensity sessions per week at around 20 to 30 minutes each. A person trying to gain muscle should reduce this amount to two to three sessions per week.

This type of hard training should be done less frequently than the more moderate forms of cardio as it is much harder for your body to recover from. If you are training for fat loss, you should do at least two but no more than three high-intensity cardio sessions per week. If you are training for muscle gain, once or, at the most, twice per week should be the limit.

High-intensity training is extremely effective for fat loss as it not only causes you to burn a lot of calories during the activity, it also raises your metabolism for a long time after the activity is done.

This would mean an ectomorphic person looking for muscle gain and doing low-intensity cardio training could do cardio two days a week at a minimum to maintain cardio capacity while trying to gain muscle.

While it is technically possible to train for a marathon and weightlifting competition at the same time, it is doubtful you will do well at either one, and run the risk of injury secondary to over-training. If your goal is general strength and conditioning, a few weightlifting training sessions a week and cardiovascular exercise on your off days will improve strength, power and health. If you wish to do well at one activity, you need to specialize. If you go for a limit run the day before a weightlifting meet, you are going to be too tired and sore to lift very much. If you snatch and clean heavy the night before a race, you are going to be stiff, sore and slow, so only you can determine how much of each.

Exercise you perform when your energy supplies are low is less effective and more likely to result in injury.

If Your Goal is Increasing Muscle Size and Strength Increasing muscle size can best be accomplished by lifting weights first when the body's main source of energy for muscle contraction (glycogen) is high. If you do a hard cardio workout before lifting, you deplete glycogen, which makes the workout ineffective.

If Your Goal is Burning Calories for Fat Loss If your primary goal is to burn as many calories as you can in a single session, it's probably best to do cardio first and lift weights next. There isn't any magic behind this; it's simply easier for most people to burn more calories per exercise session when they do cardio first.

If Your Goal is Increasing Cardiovascular Endurance In order to build and maintain cardiovascular endurance, you should perform endurance exercise first, when you have plenty of energy for long-distance exercise. Add resistance exercises 2 to 3 times a week, either after or separate from the endurance work in order to develop muscular strength and reduce your risk of injury.

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.

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.

The American Council on Exercise suggests male athletes maintain a body fat percentage between 6 and 13 percent whereas female athletes should aim for between 14 and 20 percent. With this body composition, you can expect to see visible muscle gain more quickly.

Building muscle size requires fatiguing the muscle within eight to 12 repetitions of a given exercise in each set. Performing greater repetitions--20 to 25 per set, for example--yields muscle endurance, but this may not translate into visible muscle definition.

To maintain muscle size and strength, engage in at least two resistance workouts weekly. To increase your fitness level, however, perform strength-training workouts every other day. Contrary to popular belief, you do not build muscle while lifting weights; you build it during the recovery time. In the gym, you're actually breaking down the muscle and producing microscopic tears. The muscle repairs itself during the down time, yielding size and strength gains over time. Consequently, eliminating rest days to see muscle gains sooner will only backfire.

Because muscles are made of bundles of fibers, achieving muscle size and strength gains quickly requires targeting all of a muscle's various fibers. A single exercise, such as biceps curls, targets only one segment of the biceps muscle fibers.

To target the remaining fibers, work the muscle from different angles by performing other biceps exercises, such as chin-ups, hammer curls and seated angle curls. The National Academy of Sports Medicine recommends varying exercises with every workout, versus waiting until weekly or monthly intervals to make program changes.

Performing exercises that target multiple muscle groups simultaneously--such as a one-leg squat with reverse wood chop--burns more calories, maximizes strength gains and saves time.

GOALS Create mini goals. Don't just expect to put on a ton of muscle in one year without checking yourself along the way. Set weight-gain goals every 2-4 weeks and evaluate the results. If you fall short, make an adjustment for the next goal. When you stop setting goals, you stop critical thinking and stop making gains.

MAINTAIN Every 8-10 weeks, take a couple of weeks to prevent a plateau. Don't stop training, but back off a little and let your body recover. Stop trying to get stronger and don't push sets to failure. After two weeks of maintaining your previous gains, go back to 110%. Reduce your calories during this back-off phase as well. This gives your body a break from digesting and utilizing all the food you nee

FST-7 This is the advanced training technique I've used with all my athletes.

Basically, you train that bodypart heavy as you normally would on any given day, keeping the rep range at 8-12, but on the last exercise you perform the 7 sets to finish off that particular muscle, with minimal rest in between to get the best pump possible.

Alternate the first exercise between dumbbells, barbells and machines. Use them all each workout, but change the order and angle. On all chest moves, you must arch your back, throw your chest high and keep your shoulders back. This takes the shoulders out of the movemen

Low-rep flat-bench presses (fewer than eight reps) are a quick way to tear a pec. Use a full range of motion on all exercises. The only exceptions are intensity multipliers used on the last set. When you reach failure, push your muscles further with assisted negative reps or partials. Lean forward on dips to emphasize chest.

Work the angles. There are three sides to the shoulder muscles and countless angles to hit them. Sit, stand, lean; barbell, dumbbell, machine; use them all. Start the workout with a press. Hit the big compound movement while you're strongest. Don't be afraid to work your rear delts near the beginning or middle of the workout. If you always do them at the end they will never grow!

Warm up your shoulders, chest, triceps and rotator cuffs before training. The shoulders are vulnerable to injury. Try seated lateral raises to really isolate the side delts. This is my favorite move to build round shoulders!

BALANCE YOUR PROTEINS: Take in protein of all types from all sources — fast acting, slow acting, whey, casein, egg, fish and animal proteins (beef, chicken, turkey, etc.).

WHERE'S THE BEEF: Beef is great for offseason growth. In addition to the amino acids, you get tons of B vitamins, iron and testosterone-boosting fats.

JUNK IT UP: Don't be afraid to eat some junk food once or twice per week. This boosts your metabolism and gives your body a different type of fuel. Stick to the "clean junk." These are calorically dense, but not super greasy foods. Examples are pasta, burgers, steak, sweet potato fries and cheesecake.

If you want to grow, insulin spikes are your friends. You just have to time them correctly, like breakfast and postworkout. These are the times to have some fast-acting carbs that quickly replenish glycogen stores.

Although online bloggers often suggest that lifting multiple sets is necessary, your body gains the same benefit from one set of each exercise. An appropriate weight is one that fatigues your muscles after between 12 and 15 repetitions

Although a disciplined routine typically produces higher strength levels in about a month, you'll hinder your progress if you test your muscles two days in a row. Resistance exercise promotes strength through a cycle of exhaustion and regrowth.

An effective workout tires your muscles and triggers an alarm response --- or an adaptation process that allows the muscles to adapt to the challenge and strengthen for increased activity. Any muscle tested to a healthy level of fatigue often causes soreness and needs a minimum of 48 hours of rest. Your best chance to continue strength development and avoid muscle deterioration comes with a schedule that lets you work the muscle in your upper body on day and your lower-body muscles in the following workout.

You'll have the greatest chance to meet your strength-building timeline by warming your muscles prior to a resistance workout with up to 10 minutes of mild aerobic exercise, including a brisk walk. Stretching your muscles at end of a workout is also beneficial in order to reduce discomfort and stiffness. Begin a resistance regimen only with your physician's consent.

Train your pectoral muscles twice per week. Include exercises like decline pushups, incline chest press, bench press and chest flys for three sets of 12 to 15 repetitions. Lift with light to moderate resistance to avoid placing too much strain on growing tendons and cartilage. Don't compromise form in an attempt to lift too heavy

Just Because You're Skinny Does Not Mean You Will Have A Six-Pack

Abdominals Are A Muscle, Too! You want your arms to be bigger, your shoulders to be broader and your chest to be fuller, correct? And what is the solution to making these muscle groups increase in size? High intensity weight training, overload, consistency and a healthy surplus of calories. Starting to sound familiar? The same goes for your abdominals. Your abdominals are a muscle group that requires the same formula and attention and are not any different from other muscle groups. For some reason many consider abdominals to be a 'special' body part that requires a different set of rules and a completely different formula for training.

To get thick, dense abs - the ones that 'pop' out - you must train them with intensity and overload. Here are some practical tips you can apply to your program so that you can be the 'man' or 'gal' at your gym with a ripped and muscular six-pack. Then I will provide a sample

If your abs are your worse body part, then why do you keep training them last, at the end of your workout? Which muscles group will receive the highest priority when you train? The ones done at the start of your workout or the ones done at the end of the workout? Of course, the exercises done at the start of the workout while you have the most energy and focus.

he typical response is "Nobody does abdominals first..." That is pure BS. This just supports the notion that many people who work out don't ever question what they hear or do. They want to be spoon-fed answers and follow the trends of others without thinking for themselves. I ALWAYS train abdominals first in a workout if they need the highest attention.

What's going to receive better results? A muscle group that is trained one time a week or two times a week (assuming you recovered prior to the second workout commencing)? Of course, the muscle that is trained 2x a week. The more stimulus on a muscle, the more growth. That is why professional athletes are professional athletes. They have conditioned their bodies to such a high amount of stress that they are able to train more frequently.

Right now some of you can see a perfectly set of staggered abs that are wide and thick and separated by a line down the middle. Some of you have the classic four-pack which is four big abs with a smooth lower section. Some of you have tiny cubicle boxes sitting high on your abdominal wall. Some of you have the picture perfect eight-pack that makes people's jaws drop.

If building a sexy six-pack is on your 'to do' list for 2007, then start training abdominals 2-4x a week. I will teach you in a moment how to split your abdominals up into two different days based on movement.

To train your abdominals safely and effectively you must know the basic movement patterns of your abs and train them within all sub-categories: Truck Flexion (upper abs) Hip Flexion (lower abs) Rotation (obliques) Lateral Flexion (obliques)

Perform this workout at least two times a week separated by at least 48 hours rest. You should experience a deep muscle soreness after each one of these workouts. Focus on using a load that causes failure within 8-12 reps and then move to the next exercise. This is a non-stop circuit. Rest 1-2 minutes and repeat until you reach 4 sets total. Exercise Sets Reps Tempo Rest Hanging Leg Raises 1-4 8-12 311 - Rope Crunch 1-4 8-12 311 - Reverse Crunch 1-4 8-12 311 - Weighted Ball Crunch 1-4 8-12 311 1-2 minutes

As said earlier, buiding razor sharp abs is not the easiest task in the work but nor is it the hardest. The above abdominal exercises will help you build a deeply separated and evenly placed set of abs in little time. The truth is that if you can't see your abs, then the best exercise for your abs will be better diet.

Conclusion This is not going to be an easy routine, but stay motivated and focused on each rep and you will get that six pack that will impress everyone at your gym and will keep that pants size down to a number you won't be ashamed of.

MODIFY YOUR ABS ROUTINE. There isn't a specific abs routine that will work better than all others, but changing your abs routine will maximize the results.

UNDERSTAND THE TRUTHS AND MYTHS ABOUT ABDOMINALS. We all have abs. Unfortunately, some of us have to work harder than others to attain visible ones. Doing 1,000 sit-ups per day is not going to make your abs just magically pop out, but getting your body-fat levels very low will allow your abs to appear.

For a male to able to be see his abs, he has to be roughly at 12 percent body-fat and lower. For a female to see hers, she needs to be at roughly 14 percent and lower. If you can get your body-fat to those levels, you will start to see your abs.

A healthy breakfast is the most important meal for a reason - it jumpstarts your metabolism for the entire day. Not just any breakfast, though. Unless you want a muffin top, skip the muffins and opt for protein, healthy fats and complex carbohydrates. Emphasis on the protein. Can't go wrong with eggs.

BE COGNIZANT OF THE FREQUENCY OF YOUR ABS TRAINING. It is important to train your abs at least three times per week for a beginner and intermediate fitness enthusiast. For the advanced gym guru, train your abs about every other day to build them properly.

DON'T GET SMACKED BY SUGAR, STARCH AND SALT

IMPLEMENT A VARIETY OF CARDIOVASCULAR EXERCISES. Cardio helps you lose fat.

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. If you believe you can do it, you will do everything necessary in your power to attain that goal. Your mind will help guide your fitness goals and if that goal is to attain great abs, then, provided you do the necessary work, it will happen for you.

Perform double-leg toe reachers. These exercises are beneficial in toning and strengthening the upper rectus abdominis and the transverse abdominis, which is the muscle that runs around your waistline. Holding a medicine ball or kettlebell in front of your chest makes the exercise more challenging. Lie on your back and bring your legs straight into the air. Hold the medicine ball in front of your chest and straighten your arms so the ball is in the air. Engage your abs and lift your chest straight toward the sky. Keep looking straight up and lower your chest. Repeat the move, keeping your arms and legs engaged and as straight as possible.

Combining a healthy diet with exercises that work the three abdominal muscles will help you get muscle definition in the abs. As with any exercise program, consult your medical professional before beginning these workouts.

Plyometrics is a protocol used to develop strength, speed and power for various types of sports.

Plyometrics require your muscles to contract while overcoming a lengthening phase and producing maximum strength in the shortest amount of time. According to Denis Knowles of Coachr.org, the faster a muscle is stretched, the greater the power output during the contraction phase of the muscle.

Hansen states that to perform faster and with greater strength and speed, stretching helps to elongate your stride or ability to move.

Stretching should concentrate on elongating your muscle overall and focus specifically on the sport you engage in. This is for two purposes: passive stretching elongates your muscles and helps them warm up and also cool down from everyday activities and training.

Second, dynamic stretching related to your sport works on the elastic properties of your muscles and connective tissues.

Dynamic stretching works on your nervous system that coordinates movement, power and strength so you can produce more power, strength and speed.

This is an exercise that can be done at your local football field. Start off on the goalline and jump as high and as far as you can off your dominant foot. When you land, go as high and as far as you can while bounding off your opposite foot. Continue in this manner until you have bounded for 20 yards. Then sprint for 20 yards. Follow in this patten until you get to the opposite goalline. You will have bounded 60 yards and sprinted 40 yards. Then turn around and go back in the same manner. This will increase explosiveness in your legs and help you run faster.