Due to the numerous amount of my Spartan Alliance supporters asking questions, its time to introduce a new blog segment where I answer your very inquisitive fitness questions to the best of my abilities. If you have a specific question that is not on this list, please follow me @spartan_alliance25 on Instagram and follow Spartan Alliance Fitness group on Facebook and shoot me a DM!
Question 1 (Ms Gewa): “I want to build my upper body, do you have any tips?”
Building muscle is not as easy as many people think it should be! When you first begin working out, you shock your body, and you are able to quickly lose weight and build muscle at the same time. However, your body begins to adapt and specific training is then needed in order to continue to add muscle and lose weight. The best advice I can give for building specifically your upper body is:
1) Stick with compound movements like bench press, shoulder press and bent over rows
2) Make sure you are consistently hitting the muscles you wish to grow (twice a week for maximal results)
3) Confuse the muscle! Do not do the same workouts week in and week out, make sure to switch it up so the muscle never fully adapts to the exercise
Question 2 (Mr Brown): “Hey Warrior! Is it possible for a naturally slim person to gain muscle mass and bulk up?”
Amazing question, and of course anything is possible Mr Brown! Like I stated in the first question, building muscle for the average person isn’t the easiest task, and this tasks gets increasingly more difficult for an Ectomorph. An Ectomorphs metabolism is faster than the other 2 body types, therefore they burn the necessary fat/ energy needed to maintain muscle on their frame. The best advice I can give for a “hard gainer” is:
1) Eat, eat, eat!! The amount of calories your body naturally burns is actually hurting your chances to put on any weight, therefore you have go on a bulk. Eat clean and eat often and make sure that protein intake is sufficient!
2) Compound movements are your best friends! Make sure a lot of your lifts works more than one muscle at a time in order to recruit the most muscle fibers. Isolation workouts are needed as well, however it would be best to do exercises that focus on multiple joints moving at the same time
3) Leg workouts are a must in your regimen. Due to our leg muscles being the largest muscles in our body, they release the most muscle building hormones that are needed in order to gain that body you have always wanted!
Question 3 (Ms Mnisi): “I have a question, any advice for getting rid of HUGE arms?”
This question relates back to one of the first blogs I had written which is “Can you spot reduce?” (click the link to read) Unfortunately the answer is no. In order to lose things like “lunch lady arms”, love handles, fatty thighs etc; you will have to lose weight as a whole. One aspect of exercise that you can control is which areas you want to strengthen. The best advice I can give for this issue is:
1) Figure out your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) and eat 50 – 100 calories under your rate in order to entice a healthy weight loss.
2) Stay away from sugar! Sugar spikes your insulin, which increases the chances for you to retain fat.
3) Keep Moving! Of course, these are all tips to lose weight, which is going to be the only viable way you can get rid of those problem areas! (of course yours truly has one of the most advanced fitness programs available!)
Once again, thank you all for your continued support and look out for Part 2 of The Alliance Question Time! If you have any questions, or wish to be featured in this segment please follow me @spartan_alliance25 on Instagram and or follow Spartan Alliance Fitness group on Facebook and shoot me a DM!
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