How To Gain Weight And Build Muscle

If you've set the goal to focus on building more lean muscle mass to reshape your body, there are many different elements that you're going to want to consider.

Many people think that all they have to do is walk into a gym and pick up a few weights, but building muscle is much more than just that.

More and more men are seeing the covers of magazines and striving to look like the ideal 'model' that graces the cover but in their quest, they're approaching their workouts and diet in the wrong manner.

Let's have a look at some simple tips that you should remember to help you build muscle more effectively and reach your end goal.

Getting Your Diet In Order

The very first thing that you must do is make sure that your diet is in order. Simply put, if you're not feeding your body the quality nutrients it needs to generate more lean muscle mass, you'll be facing a losing battle. You can't build muscle out of thin air, so the right food at the right time is imperative.

First, start making sure you consume at least three meals each day and with each of these meals, take in a high quality source of protein such as chicken, lean beef, fish, eggs, low fat dairy products, or seafood. Along with this, pair together a slower digesting carbohydrate source such as oatmeal, potatoes, whole wheat pasta, or brown rice. These will supply your body with the energy it needs to get through your workouts as well as complete the muscle building process.

Fat is also important when trying to build muscle in moderate amounts because it's necessary to keep your testosterone levels higher and will also help you get your calorie intake up high enough to promote lean muscle mass gains.

Focus on the healthy fats that come from olive oil, nuts and seeds, fatty fish, flaxseeds, and avocado. These are going to promote healthy much better than saturated fat or trans fat varieties. Omega fats are especially important to take in and will be found in fatty fish, flaxseeds, and walnuts.

Finally, make sure that you add some fresh fruits and vegetables to your meal plan as well. You don't want to overdo the volume on these as they will fill you up quickly and don't provide all that many calories, but three or four servings of fruits and a few servings of vegetables each day will ensure you maintain proper health.

After you've formed your diet, stick with it for two weeks and if you aren't seeing muscle growth, start doubling up on some of your servings to boost your calorie intake higher. Likewise, if you're gaining fat while building muscle, reduce your food intake slightly as this indicates that you're consuming just a few too many calories total.

Finally, be sure to stay adequately hydrated to promote optimal energy levels and cleanse the body. Aim for 1.5 liters of water per day taking in another 2-3, 8 oz. glasses around the workout period.

Being Smart With Your Workouts

Moving on to the workout side of things, make sure that you are lifting with intensity. If you want to build muscle, you need to give your body a reason to build that new muscle mass.

Focus on performing compound exercises primarily, which are movements that will work multiple muscle groups all at once. Good examples of this include the bench press, squat, deadlifts, shoulder presses, bent over rows, pull-ups, push-ups, lunges, leg press, and step-ups.

Pick two exercises per muscle group and aim to complete 4-8 sets total amongst those two exercises.
In addition to that, if you're looking for power development, aim for 3-6 reps per set performed while if you're aiming for pure size growth, take it a little higher up to 6-12 reps per set.

If you're someone who wants to focus on muscular endurance, then aiming for 12-20 reps per set will be ideal.
Try and devise a program plan that allows you to work each muscle group two to three times per week, making sure that you take at least one day off between working each muscle group and one day off for complete rest each week.

If you can put all of these tips together with your approach while making sure that you're getting at least eight hours of sleep each night to boost your recovery and muscular repair, it won't be long before you have a new body looking back at you in the mirror.

Horse Racing Handicapping Factors for Turf or Dirt Races Are Not Always the Same

When we handicap horse races we use factors or attributes to evaluate the horses and estimate each runner's chance of winning. Races run on dirt often shape up differently than races that are run on turf. The first place to start estimating the value of each handicapping factor is to study your local track or the venues that you play. For instance, the inner turf course at Belmont plays differently than the Widener Turf Course.

Playing horses with early speed on the inner turf course at Belmont makes sense because the front runners fare well. Therefore, pace is one of the two top factors in the dynamics of the race. Speaking of racing dynamics, the dynamics of a race are what actually happens while the horses are in motion and the race is being run. Pace is a way of estimating position and energy during the contest.

Pace is important in all races, but those horses that can set good early fractions and have a little in the tank to finish the race are likely candidates to win on tracks such as the inner turf course and most dirt tracks. On other turf courses the pace scenario, while important, is often much different. Slow early fractions and a leisurely pace lead to a furious charge at the end of the race. In those races class and speed are more important.

Class horses win on turf when it appears they are overmatched by a speed ball. Cheap early speed steals many more races on the dirt than on turf where heavier going leads to fatigue late in the race. Some jockeys do try to steal turf routes by getting so far ahead they can't be caught, but that racing strategy rarely works. Once again, if you know how your turf course plays you'll have a better chance of spotting horses that fit the race model.

Another sometimes overlooked angle is to have a list of sires who produce winners on a particular track. The progeny of some sires seem to do well on certain courses and knowing which horses should get special consideration due to their sire is helpful. When handicapping dirt races that may still be the case.

Dirt races and speed go together well. Using speed figures alone won't keep you in the black as a handicapper, but they do matter. Combining speed and pace is the best way to overcome the challenge of mastering race dynamics on dirt. Class still matters, but if I could only use two of the three factors, class, speed, and pace when handicapping on dirt, I'd choose speed and pace.