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Alternatively Endo
Yoga and Endo: Yoga brings great benefits to anyone wishing to practice. It can be especially beneficial for those who, like me, have Endometriosis. I have found through regular practice that Yoga helps to bring clarity of mind, focus and...

Benefits Of Building Muscle
Building muscle has several important health benefits other than looking good at the beach. Muscular fitness can be defined as the strength, muscular endurance, and flexibility that are needed to carry out daily tasks and avoid injury. ...

Bigger body muscle bars...
Here is how to eat your way top massive gains Commercial Calorie bars are not new and they are not cheap, a good bar will cost you $2-$3 dollars a bar and I personally don't think they are worth the money... for that kind of investment I would...

Ephedra: It's Not Just for Weight Loss Anymore
Americans are buzzing about the FDA’s recent decision to reverse the ban on ephedra and ephedrine supplements in the United States. Known as the “world’s oldest medicine,” ephedra has been used for thousands of years for its variety of healing...

No Time For Your Bodybuilding Routine?
Time Is a major factor in your bodybuilding routine. It can cause you to focus your thought elsewhere, instead of your training. Your mind wanders onto something else while you perform a set of curls. Your thinking -- "Yep, I need to get...

Nutritional Supplements: The Amazing Vitamin C
Body The real facts about Vitamin C may surprise you. First of all what is Vitamin C? Vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin. Unlike the oil soluble vitamins such as A and E, Vitamin C cannot be stored by your body. Since Vitamin C is not stored by...

 
Why Less Is More When Trying To Build Muscle

One of the biggest myths I deal with as a personal trainer is that many people still believe it takes hours in the gym to build muscle and get a lean, muscular physique.

Not true.

In fact, the best results I've seen, both with my own training as well as clients, come from spending no more than 3 to 4 hours a week in the gym. And that's the time spent weight training and doing cardio each week.

I spend no more than 3 hours a week weight training and my online clients spend the same amount. And we achieve great results.

So if you're currently spending more than 3 hours a week weight training, you may be seriously limiting your gains by overtraining.

You see, when trying to build muscle, its not the amount of time spent that matters. It's how you spend that time.

Muscle growth occurs from stimulating the muscle with heavy weight (overload)then allowing the muscle to rest and recover. Proper rest and nutrition during this time is vital.

By working out too much and too often, you don't allow your muscles the needed rest. And this is the time in which the muscle repairs itself from the effects of intense training. And if a muscle does not recover, it does not grow or get stronger.

So it's important you spend no more time than necessary for muscle stimulation to occur.

I've used this analogy a lot before with clients, but let's do it again. Suppose you want to get a tan. There's a certain amount of sun you need. Too little sun and you will not get a tan.

But too much sun and you'll get a burn and not the nice dark tan you wanted. And what happens if you get a burn but keep going out in the sun


anyways, still trying to get a tan.

Right! You can seriously get injured with 3rd degree burns. You don't increase your chances of getting a tan. Too much sun in this case does not bring about the desired result.

So if you're after more muscle growth and you're already lifting a lot, the last thing you want to do is spend even more time in the gym.

The main goal of all the human body's systems is to keep the body in equilibrium, or balance. By lifting too much too often, you throw off this balance mechanism and as a result, your body will actually start working against you.

So you have to find that balance that works for you.

With your weight training, too much lifting will prevent your muscles from recovering and they will not get bigger. Too little and they will not grow either. Again, you have to find that balance that works for you.

You can use the "3 hour a week" time limit as a guideline, but learn to "listen" to your body. If you're weight lifting 3 hours a week but you feel drained, tired, sore, or sluggish, that may be too much time.

Others can work out longer and still get results.

Everyone's different so the time spent in the gym will vary. You have to do what's right for you.

So start making better use of your time spent in the gym. Shoot for quality over quantity and you'll build more muscle in less time spent.

About the author:

Most people are dead wrong in how they train to build muscle mass. Shawn Lebrun shows you, step by step, the correct way to build muscle and lose fat in less time. Visit Shawn Lebrun Fitness.com now