Body building is as much of a science as it is physical exercise and these principles must be adhered to if you want real results. Use Compound Movements-one of the biggest mistakes that new bodybuilders make is they start performing isolation exercises before they’ve really built any muscle. This means that core exercises such as squats, bench presses, and deadlifts should make up the bulk of your routine. Don’t work out EVERY day-although just about everyone has heard this principle, few workout warriors pay attention to it. The fact is, muscles build during rest phases, not active ones. If you simply work your muscles out all the time they will cease to grow and can eventually shrink over time from over training. Instead, take at least a day or two off per week to allow your muscles time to repair and grow.

Go heavy for maximum results-while maintaining safety using a spotter, lifting heavy weights is integral to your gaining serious muscle. It is okay to start out light in the beginning, but once your muscles begin to build you’ll have to increase the weight over time to ensure consistent progress. Protein is your friend-you have to eat protein if you want to build muscle, bottom line. This means lean meat, fish, and chicken and for those of you who are vegetarian, you may have to supplement your diet with protein powders in order for you to get enough protein to build the muscle that you desire. Easy on the cardio-while cardio exercise is great for burning fat, doing too much can burn off some of the calories you may need to provide your muscles with energy and their ability to grow. It is often recommended to do your cardio work opposite the days you do your weight training workouts.

Losing excess fat has been the goal of just about every man and woman at some point in their life. It seems we’re always fighting the Battle of the Bulge and looking for better and easier ways to lose fat quickly. This is never truer than it is for bodybuilders or those who simply want to look their best. Excess fat will ruin the physique of even the most active individuals. Working to shed those pounds not only makes you look better, but it can have a profound effect on your overall health as well.

The fact is, it’s not just a simple as exercising consistently to lose all the fat that you want. While exercising can get rid of significant amounts of fat, the real keys to losing excess fat and getting into ripped bodybuilding shape is a combination of doing the RIGHT exercises and having a near perfect diet. One of the best fat burning exercises in existence is called HIIT. This stands for High Intensity Interval Training and it is used by professional athletes of all types to get into incredible cardiovascular shape as well as get their bodies into ripped physical condition. The principle is simple, you simply exercise at intervals that consist of about two minutes of light to medium intensity aerobic exercise followed by about 30 seconds of all out intense exercise.