Well, it is Friday and that means its Random Thoughts Of The Week time.

This week I want to talk about only one thing.

And it is over bulking.

I want to talk about this for two reasons.

First, I was reading a post on one of the more popular bodybuilding sites on the web and they mentioned a particular bodybuilder, who I won’t mention because I have talked about him a lot already.

They were saying that he bulks up too much in the off season.

And secondly, because winter is here and for most bodybuilders that means bulk-up time.

So you might be thinking,

What is wrong with bulking up?

Nothing, if and this is the big point.

Only if it is not taken to the extreme.

For example, let’s say you stayed on a pretty solid diet all the way through summer, but then the minute it got colder you ate everything in sight for two months.

So here you are in the middle of winter probably up twenty-plus pounds from where you ended the summer at.

This wouldn’t be so bad, if you were a professional bodybuilder, who had exceptional genetics, and takes some of the good stuff you cannot find at your local supplement shop.

I say this because, a lot of what they would gain would be muscle and second even if they did gain twenty pounds of pure fat, with their special supplements it makes it easier for them to burn-off the fat.

However, if a natural trainer did the same thing,

He would have to starve himself when winter was coming to an end,

Just to get back in shape for summer.

Plus, because he needed to go to extremes, he would lose a ton of muscle in the process, so any gains he might have made during his winter bulk would have been lost.

My point here is to be careful this winter,

Yes, enjoy yourself and have some sweets and stuff, but do not let it get out-of-hand.

Because you will pay for it, come the end of winter.

UNTIL NEXT WEEK

STAY THOUGHTFUL

For most of us, winter is either here or on its way.

So what exactly does winter have to do with building muscle?

Everything, actually.

Because winter is cold season.

And if you end up catching a bad cold, it can take a while before you get going again, and this could mean down time from the gym.

I do realize that for some people this could be considered a good thing because they are over trained and the cold will force them to rest.

However, if you are like me, skipping a workout is not really a great option so I thought I would talk about keeping yourself well.

First, however, I would like to point out that I am not a doctor and the following advice should not be taken as medical advice.

These are just my opinions and should be taken as such.

If you have any questions you should consult your doctor or health care professional before following my advice.

O.K.

Now that we gotten that out of the way.

Up first, on my list of things you can do to help keep yourself well.

Sleep, yes, good old fashioned sleep.

Yes, I realize that sleep is not the next big thing, but if you constantly go without enough sleep, there is a very good chance that you will get sick.

So please try for eight hours a night of uninterrupted sleep.

Oh, and as a side effect, you may find your self growing because muscles grow at rest.

Not when you are lifting some heavy iron at the gym.

Up next, is to make sure you are going to the bathroom regularly.

Yes, just like sleep cleaning yourself out is not the thing-of-the-moment, but if you are chronically backed up, I don’t feel this is a good thing for your overall health.

So make sure you are taking in enough fiber so that you find yourself needing to make a visit to the bathroom everyday.

Finally, make sure you get enough variety in your diet.

And by variety, I do not mean switching from chocolate chip cookies, to ones with chocolate chunks.

The variety I am talking about is more of an actual food based variety, for example, if you like apples and have one everyday try switching to oranges for a while and then maybe to mangos.

Same goes with vegetables, if you find yourself always having green peppers, try red for a while, and then yellow, or how about some hot peppers for a change.

By mixing it up you will get a greater range of nutrients.

I know you might be thinking,

Well I take a multi-vitamin, so I am covered.

Yes, I like vitamins too, but think of it this way, do you think science has discovered every single healthy substance.

I don’t.

So by taking in a wide variety of fruits and vegetables you ensure that you are getting tons of healthy stuff and some of it may not yet be known about.

CONCLUSION

I know getting sick isn’t something that most of us think about.

That is until we get sick.

So give my above stay healthy tips a try.

I know if you do you just might find yourself spending less time being sick and more time training.

And to me that’s a good thing.

UNTIL NEXT TIME

STAY HUNGRY

I remember the days when I was a kid, looking at the magazines and reading all the articles.

The author would mention that you really need to take in enough quality protein to grow.

And that, a good quality protein powder would really help.

Good advice.

But there was a problem with it.

First, I was just a kid who had no idea what a good protein powder was.

And second unlike today where you can go to one of the more popular bodybuilding sites and ask for help, there was no one around to ask.

So today I am going lay out one brand of protein that I have used and still use to this day.

And this is Optimum Nutrition’s 100% Whey Gold Standard protein powder.

Now, right up front I want to point out a few things.

First, I am not being paid by Optimum to say this, I just feel their protein is of good quality and is priced right.

Are there other places that I buy from, sure?

As I stated just recently, I love Dave Drapers Bomber Blend.

However, the one thing about Optimum is that they are available just about anywhere.

Second, you get what you pay for.

Third, they have tons of flavors, for me personally I like the double rich chocolate flavor and surprisingly I like this one better than their milk chocolate flavor, because I am usually a milk chocolate kind of guy.

CONCLUSION

I know this is a short post today, but I just wanted to give the young man or woman who has just started out on their bodybuilding journey a reliable source of protein.

Some will say that I left out various companies.

And I will admit that I have.

But again, I am trying to give the beginner a good quality brand that they can trust.

Once they become familiar with the bodybuilding landscape, they can decide for themselves when/if they want to try a different brand for their protein powder.

UNTIL NEXT TIME

KEEP FIT

Anyone who knows me knows that I really don’t like training my arms.

I know this might seem crazy to some, but it really is the truth.

However, I know most young men love training their arms, even though training your arms really is not the correct way to get bigger arms.

So I thought I’d write up a post on the proper way to curl, since most people who curl turn it into some weird exercise that does almost nothing for the arms.

First, right from the beginning I’d like you to start curling with an empty bar.

Yes, you will have to swallow your pride.

The reason I want you to start your curls with an empty bar is because most people use FAR too much weight, thinking that using more weight means more muscle growth.

The fact is, only when you ca use more weight with correct form will it do something for your arms.

Swinging up tons of weight will do nothing for you, except maybe getting your injured.

O.K.

So grab what ever bar you like to use for curling, then flex your biceps and lock your wrists and Slowly begin to do a curl.

Yes, you must keep your biceps flexed throughout he lift and you must do your curls without jerking or swinging.

Do the reps smoothly and in control, but not so slow that they would be considered super slow reps.

At the top, flex your biceps hard and then SLOWLY lower and get ready for another rep.

SOME POINTS

The reason I wanted you to lock your wrists is so you don’t cheat by bending your wrists.

With curls, you must learn to feel your muscles (the biceps) working.

Yes, you will need to use less weight, but think about this for a second, where do you want all the stress to be, on your lower back, shoulders, legs, or your biceps.

Of course your biceps.

So from now on when you do your curls, you must follow these two rules.

If you cannot keep your wrists locked throughout the movement then the weight is too heavy.

And, if you can’t keep your biceps flexed throughout the lift then the weight is too heavy.

Which means you must lower the amount of weight that you are using for curls.

It goes without saying that you should also keep your back straight and not swing the weight up, but you already knew that right?

CONCLUSION

The truth of the matter is that doing curls will not do much to help you build big arms, but I know that most young men will curl away in hopes of building a massive set of arms.

So I figure, if they curl the way I listed above, they will, at the very least, reduce the trauma to the rest of their bodies, by continuing to curl the wrong way, with too much momentum.

UNTIL NEXT TIME

THINK GAINS