This Months Nutritional Advice!

My recommendation of ingesting at least one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight on a daily basis can be more closely adhered to if you follow these tactics for getting the most out of your protein intake. Train correctly, "read" your body, do what works for you and overload without overtraining.

Eat Six Meals A Day
This important principle of bodybuilding nutrition will allow you to get in your desired amounts of nutrients. It's not crucial to have equal or specific amounts of protein and carbohydrates at each meal, as long as you distribute the intake of your nutrients in a pattern that makes it as simple as possible for you. Smaller and more frequent meals will have a more beneficial effect on insulin levels.

Eat (or Drink) A "Meal" Every Two To Three Hours
Timing nutrient intake also can lead to greater and faster gains. The best time to schedule a high-protein meal is before, during and/or after a workout. Eating close to your workout will help reduce protein breakdown, enhance synthesis and storage of protein and glycogen in muscles, and promote an anabolic hormonal environment. Before bedtime is another key time for protein intake. If you are really serious, you may want to experiment to see if planned intake during the night works for you.

Drink At Least One Ounce Of Water Per Two Pounds Of Bodyweight Daily
Combined with clean eating, multiple meals and appropriate supplementation, sufficient water intake will have significant effects. Since protein metabolism requires water, you should always increase your water intake when substantially increasing your protein. Water flushes the body's cells and is the primary vehicle for eliminating toxins that can obstruct recovery and growth. Adequate hydration is mandatory for optimal immune function. Drink as frequently as possible, even if only a few ounces at a time. Remember to drink with meals. Before and during training is also a key time for water consumption. It is permissible to add some juice for flavoring to your water, but by all means, keep drinking.

Rely On Whole Foods As A Foundation
Get plenty of uncooked and unprocessed fruits and vegetables into your diet. Solid foods are digested relatively slowly and they allow you to control the rates of nutrients released into the bloodstream. Solid foods also enable the gastrointestinal tract to more efficiently and effectively process increased calories, particularly of protein.

Bump Up Protein Intake With Protein Supplements
Protein supplements will help you to get in the protein you need for the greatest possible anabolic response. Of course, you will eat whole foods as often as you can, but protein supplements allow you to overload protein intake easily.

This Months Workout Advice!

Regardless of genetics, everyone can make dramatic physical changes by bodybuilding. Understand your genetic strengths and weaknesses, and then use that knowledge to help you achieve the muscularly proportionate physique you desire. Although few people fit entirely into one category, it is best to think of your shape when you were a teenager to see which category fits you best. Here are the three most widely accepted somatotypes, or physique classifications, and some training suggestions.

Body Type No. 1: Endomorph

Characteristics: Large bones, wide hips and waists, short muscles. Slower metabolism means easily gains fat.

Tips:
Focus on restricting and burning calories, Regular cardio is a must. Stick to moderate reps (8-15) to gain muscle mass, which will utilize more calories than fat. Don't restrict carbs too much, because endomorphs frequently exhibit less energy than the other somatotypes. Don't let your small clavicles, coupled with a larger pelvic girdle, dissuade you from trying to improve your V taper. Accentuate side-delt and upper-lat development, and do minimal work for hip and oblique muscles.

Recommended Exercises:
Side laterals and upright rows with a shoulder-width grip. Pullups and pulldowns to the front will help add to your visual width. These recommended exercises should probably be done early in your workout, when you are at your freshest.

Body Type No. 2: Ectomorph

Characteristics: Thinner bones and longer limbs. Naturally thin. Narrow shoulders, hips and waists. High energy levels and a high metabolism.

Tips:
Consume more calories and protein, while conserving energy. For the most part, avoid cardio. Keep workouts short, heavy and intense, with low reps (6-10) for the basic compound lifts. Don't train large bodyparts more frequently than once every four days. Get plenty of sleep for recuperation and strive to take in easily digested protein within two hours of bedtime. If you are too thin and want to fill out your limbs, fully stretch each bodypart before and after training it to help your muscles reach their maximum length.

Recommended Exercises:
Focus on movements that emphasize the lower area or lowest muscle of a bodypart, such as cable rows and one-arm dumbbell rows for lats, and hack squats and leg extensions for quadriceps.

Body Type No. 3: Mesomorph

Characteristics: Naturally muscular with larger-than-average bones and rib cages. Most pro bodybuilders can be classified as this somatotype. Tend to gain muscle easily, and yet they are the most prone to overtraining, because they tend to see gains quicker.

Tips:
Although a mesomorphic bodytype is the best for bodybuilding success, each bodypart should be worked only once a week, with routines that combine high intensity with moderate volume.

Recommended Exercises:
As long as it's working, stick to a traditional program with the right combination of compound and isolation movements, with reps in the 8-12 range for most.