Some people react more favorably to the more short duration, high power anaerobic exercise (such as sprinting or weight training) as compared to longer duration, low power aerobic exercise (such as walking or jogging). The main reason for this is muscle fiber type.

There are two main types of fibers in your muscles.

Slow Twitch: These are also known as Type I muscle fibers. They are responsible for long-duration, low-intensity activity such as walking or any other aerobic activity.

Fast Twitch: These are known as Type II fibers (they are divided further into Types IIA and IIB). They are responsible for short duration, high intensity activity. Type IIB fibers are built for explosive, very short-duration activity such as Olympic lifts. Type IIA fibers are designed for more moderate-duration, high-intensity work such as weight training.

The difference for some people is the ratio of slow twitch to fast twitch muscle fibers. A marathon runner may have 80% slow twitch fibers in his or her legs and, therfore, be an amazing aerobic athlete.

An athlete such as a sprinter may have 80% fast twitch muscle fibers in his or her legs and be an amazing anaerobic athlete. This type of person would not react favorably to aerobic exercise due to the high percentage of fast twitch fibers in their legs. They would tire quickly because most of their muscle fibers are designed for short bursts and, most likely, would lose motivation rapidly.

So how do you determine what is going to work for you the best?

For most of us we are not one extreme or the other, most of us mere mortals are a relative mix of the two major types of muscle type and therefor we can mix up our training and do a combination or do what we like the most.

Some of us will tend towards one type or the other though and this can be easily determined by looking at pictures of ourselves when we were younger (or should I say less fat) and our underlying body type was easier to see.

If you look at me as a teenager you can see that I was very slender and so I had more of the slow twitch fibres whilst my brother was more muscular so more of the fast twitch fibres.

Look at a picture of a marathon runner vs a sprinter ….which one do you look more similar too?

“I’ve successfully lost X of the Y pounds I want to lose, but now I am stuck at the same weight even though I’m sticking to my diet. How can I start losing again?”

Here’s the answer… You’ve reached a plateau (which is normal), and — it’s time to shake things up! —

Plateaus are a fact of weight-loss life, so don’t get down on yourself. In fact, now is exactly the time to pat yourself on the back: Look at how far you’ve come and be proud of it! Then you can determine if this is really a plateau — or if you have simply reached your ideal weight.

I know as well as you do how attempts at weight loss can drive us crazy. According to the numbers, we can seem to be doing everything right, and yet nothing seems to happen.

The first step is to stop focusing on the scale. Often a change in the scale just reflects the pounds of body fluid you lose and gain every day rather than how much fat you’ve lost or gained.

Also, you can lose inches of fat without losing weight when you gain muscles, because muscles weigh more than fat (but look a heck of a lot better). So if you can’t rely on the scale to tell you how you’re doing week to week, what can you count on? Use a measuring tape as your another tool to measure your success.

The science of weight loss is not a mystery — you must decrease the energy in (calories) and increase the energy out. One of the best ways to increase our energy out is to increase our activity level. That means…

Exercise

In any weight-loss program, exercises is a crucial part of the formula. If you’ve stopped losing weight, it’s time to start exercising more or increase your workout intensity. Here are several ways you can alter your training routine to push you past the plateau.

* Add variety
If you’ve been walking, try cycling or swimming. Increase the intensity of your cardiovascular or aerobic exercise by adding short bursts of higher-intensity movement, such as sprinting. These intervals should last 30 to 60 seconds and be followed by less intense exercise for two or three times the length of the burst. Start by adding one or two of these intervals to your routine, then increase the number as you improve your conditioning. Work out with a friend or a personal trainer. This may motivate you to pick up your pace.

* Intensify your workouts
Adding a few extra minutes to your routine, occasionally picking up the pace or tackling a hill or two can help you burn extra calories. Your 20 to 30 minutes of daily walking is good, but adding more time or trying new activities, such as bike riding or swimming, will help boost calorie burning.

* Add some muscle
Try some strength-building types of exercise, such as weight training or calisthenics. You’ll build more muscle, which burns more calories than fat, *even when you’re sleeping.*

Watch Your Food Intake

A strict exercise regimen is crucial in a weight-loss program, but the fat won’t come off if you’re hitting the potato chip aisle on a regular basis. Here are simple dietary changes you can make to help you lose the fat.

* Drink a lot of water
Drink a glass before you treat yourself to a second helping or an unnecessary snack. This helps you feel fuller. Eat foods that are high in fiber – they, too, help fill you up (the body doesn’t digest fiber).

* Add some weight-loss supplements
Natural weight-loss products contain herbs to boost your metabolism, burn fat and help you curb your cravings for carbohydrates. If you’re not using any weight-loss program, a plateau is a good time to start.

* Check your eating habits
Sometimes when the pounds start coming off, we’re not as diligent as we were at the beginning. Portions start to creep up in size, and more sweets find their way into our diets. A food log is a good way to keep track of what you’re putting in your mouth.

As you ease off that weight plateau, maintain your persistence. Your weight loss probably will be about a pound a week, and you may land on another plateau. Make adjustments as needed with your activity level.

In the end, you should view hitting a plateau as a good thing. Why? It means your body has less fat to lose, which explains why the weight isn’t coming off as readily. And remember: It’s best to lose weight slowly and sensibly so you can make changes that you’ll keep for life.

There are many reasons for plateaus and therefore many solutions. If you address the above issues, you’ll achive the weight-loss results you desire. And enjoy your improving fitness level and better health.

This article was provided by http://WeightLossGold.com. Visit their site for proven tips on burning fat and losing weight. We recommend their FREE newsletter. Send a blank e-mail to mailto:subscribe@weightlossgold.com to subscribe.

by James McLain

How to build chest muscles is not just about bench pressing a bar bending with weight. First and foremost it is about applying the fundamental muscle growth concepts that assure faster and more consistent muscle gain.

If you are a skinny Ectomorph body type this is even more important as other body types can get away with being a bit slack on these points for a time, it is just that a hardgainer hits that plateau of weight gain faster. The reasons for this could be one of three things that relate to building blocks of bodybuilding.

1. Not Eating Enough – Without enough fuel the body cannot put energy toward muscle repair and growth. The higher your metabolism the harder it is to eat normally and gain weight. If you are not gaining fat and not gaining muscle from your workouts you need to eat a LOT more calories than you think.

2. Not Enough Rest – Another problem many guys who are not getting the chest muscle increase they want is that they are not resting enough. Muscles grow only when they are at rest and when you are sleeping. Good, solid sleep is essential to muscle growth and giving you enough time to do this is also important. Hitting the gym every day may feel like you are achieving something but you often just make yourself tired and stress the muscles that have not been repaired yet resetting the growth!

3. Not Enough Weight – I do not mean you are not gaining enough weight, or maybe that is your problem but if you want to have huge pectoral muscles on your chest you also need to be lifting huge weights! Muscles only use the energy from food while you rest to grow once you have stressed them to the point you create tiny tears in the fibers. These tears get repaired and layer of muscle tissues is built around it making it bigger and stronger. Makes sure you aim for heavy weights and intensity for best results.

With that being said having a muscular, broad chest with big, noticeable and strong pectorals is a great feeling. They command attention from everyone who looks upon you and are a symbol of manliness and confidence. If you follow the rules above and incorporate these exercises into your workout routine you should give yourself the best chance at an amazing upper body.

Push Ups

The humble push up is the best place to start working on building bigger chest muscles. It also works your shoulders and triceps making it a great upper body exercise. This will only take you so far but adding some weight on your back as you do this can increase the intensity.
Make sure when doing push ups the keep a straight back and to keep your butt low. Go all the way to the floor without touching it before you lift yourself back up to get the most out of each rep. If you are just starting on bodybuilding this is a good way to get prepared before loading up on heavier weights.

Bench Press

The bench press has an iconic reputation as a core exercise for many bodybuilders. This is well deserved as it basically a reverse of the push up replacing your body weight with a barbell weight. The same muscles are used but you can push them to even more extreme limits for better muscle growth.
When bench pressing make sure you have a spotter with you if you are suing a barbell as dropping one can be very dangerous. Breathe in as you lower the bar and out when you lift and always keep your bum on the bench and your feet on the floor!

Dumbbell Flyes
Another great chest exercise is the dumbbell fly. This exercises a range of motion not used as much with the other exercises listed and so targets different muscle fibers for greater all round growth of the chest muscles.
Make sure when doing flyes to keep your elbows slightly bent at the lowest point and straighten them at the highest point. On lowering make sure to do it slowly with resistance and the lower you go the better the stretch and muscle stress.

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