Obviously there is no specific ‘one size fits all’ approach to bodybuilding. We all have different body types and metabolisms as well as aspirations and determination. Nevertheless, some basic advice has been proven applicable to nearly everyone.

Base your bodybuilding program on heavy compound exercises such as bench presses, squats, dead-lifts and leg presses. Complete your workout in an hour or less, otherwise you risk overtraining and under-recovering.

Resting is key- When understanding recovery it’s worth remembering that muscle growth is stimulated in the gym, but the actual growth takes place when at rest. To enhance this process don’t train more than two days without a full day off.

Protein is what builds and repairs muscle tissue, so make sure you’re getting enough. For most trainees 1gram of protein per pound of body weight per day should be sufficient. Your protein intake should be spread throughout the day in 5-7 smaller meals which are easier to digest.

Protein powders could provide for some of those meals. A protein shake containing 30-50 grams of good quality protein and 60-100 grams of carbohydrates will be absorbed more quickly and increase insulin levels to get the carbohydrates and amino acids into muscle cells for optimal gains in size and strength.  While the use of dietary supplements is not entirely necessary for natural bodybuilding, they can speed up your progress. The top three recommendations are quality protein powders as mentioned above, especially a blend of casein, whey and egg albumin taken before bed or in place of a whole food meal.

Creatine and Glutamine- Creatine whose benefits include increased strength, nitrogen retention, cell voluminization and lactic acid buffering. Finally, there’s glutamine which has multiple benefits for anyone training regularly. These include enhanced immune system glycogen storage, increased production of the antioxidant glutathione and natural growth hormone release.

There are multiple factors, as well as opinions, to consider when determining how much rest your muscles require between workouts. In brief the main factors can be divided into three groups:

What you can’t control, such as genetics and age.

Factors related to your workouts such as past experience, how intense your workouts are, what other exercise you do and what you do on rest days.

What you can control outside the gym, including diet, drug use (medicinal or otherwise), sleep, stress and overall mental strength.

In genetical terms there are both fast and slow muscles. Fast muscles are designed for quick explosive movements as in sprinting, jumping and power lifting. These muscles require more recovery time than the slower muscles used in endurance activities such as jogging. Your body type will probably be biased one way or the other as in the case of marathon runners compared to shot-putters and this will affect which muscle fibers are used and how your training should be slanted.

Your program routine and focus will also determine your required rest periods. In general, a full-body or compound workout tends to require days of complete rest to recover whereas with isolation type workouts your recovery days can be spent working other muscle groups. Workout intensity is another issue especially if yours is not as intense as it could or should be. Of course, the more intense the workout the more recovery time required, but if two days after your workout you can still lift the same weight for the same exercise and reps, you probably weren’t at your maximum lifting intensity. Intense workouts require approximately one week recovery time, whereas with less intense workouts two days should be sufficient.

Eat five times a day at 2-3 hour intervals. This keeps you saturated with the amino acids and glycogen from protein and carbohydrate sources that you need to push abnormal muscle growth. This also prevents muscle loss due to a bodily starvation reaction to heavy workouts.

Focus on compound movements such as squats and presses for maximum efficiency of effort and to work as many muscle groups as possible in fewer sets. This also gives you more recovery ability outside the gym.

Don’t over-train. Do no more than two days in a row and 30 all-out sets per workout. Overtraining reduces muscle weight and your system needs a break too. After 4-6 weeks of high intensity training take a full week off, or reduce your intensity for two weeks. This will promote new muscle growth.

Take a protein drink after every training session. Boosting insulin levels after an intense workout promotes protein synthesis and leads to faster muscle growth.

Finally, just stay cool. Avoid stress. This can drain energy which could be better used for muscle growth.

Here’s a New Year’s list of 14 strategies to help increase a fat loss fitness regime. The more of them you use the more successful you’ll be.

Eat more protein 30% of your total daily calories should come from protein. Protein protects muscles from breakdown when calories are low and liberates stored energy.

Eat more green veggies Cabbage, spinach, lettuce and broccoli are nutrient rich and calorie poor. They also help maintain the body’s acid base balance. Starches such as sweet potatoes, brown rice, quinoa, etc are better eaten after workouts.

Include some saturated fats in your diet such as butter and coconut oil and unsaturated as in flaxseeds, nuts and olive oil.

Avoid unplanned snacks and junk food Drink water not sodas. Unplanned snacking can ruin your fat loss goals. Clean out your kitchen and fridge of any processed temptations.

A weekly meal plan is essential to a fat reduction program. It helps monitor your progress and enable accurate adjustments as well as reducing unplanned snacking. Smaller, more frequent meals prevent muscle breakdown when low on calories.

Branched Chain Amino Acids – BCAAS – promote protein synthesis, lean muscle growth and recovery. They also help burn fat when carbohydrates are low.

Get enough sleep. ZMA, a body building supplement, can help you relax and get a good night’s sleep.

More tea, less coffee. Green tea is calorie free and contains an antioxidant/caffeine mix that helps weight loss.

Fish oil aids overall health and wellness and decreases heart rates enabling you to workout harder and burn more calories.

Use compound movements for lifting heavier weights using more muscles and burning more calories.

Get more exercise outside the gym. Walk, don’t drive over shorter distances. Park further away at work or when shopping.Take the stairs, not the elevator.

High intensity training results in greater fat loss. Try interval sprinting, resistance training and low intensity steady state cardio.

Set goals and visualize success.

Pre and post workout nutritional shakes will help recovery and build muscle while dieting.

Many women are turned off from training as they have the wrong impression that lifting weights is something men want to do to build big muscles.  How your body adapts to working with weights is determined by your genetics.

We’re all guilty of it: rushing headlong into our strength training routine without the requisite stretching and then rushing through our warm down. How conscious are you of your flexibility? Can you still touch your toes? Do you still want to be able to do this as you get older?  Yoga could be the power lifter or strongman’s new best friend and you don’t need an incense filled room to do this either.

Insulin is a hormone that regulates glucose metabolism in the body, when the pancreas detects a rise in glucose it pumps out a corresponding level of insulin to manage it.

1. Build your strength: It doesn’t matter whether you’re trying to lose weight or get fit or tone up – you need strong muscles.  The best way is to use progressive resistance with significant weights until a decent base level of strength is reached.

2. Focus on your weakness: Become aware of your body and what parts are not so strong.  Focus on these muscles when you are working out, really feel them and create the intention to make them strong.

3. Step to it: Do not underestimate the power of brisk walking for a restorative effect on both the body and the mind.

4. Keep it fresh: Switch up your conditioning workouts to prevent boredom setting in. Conditioning is very option-friendly: jump rope, treadmill, medicine ball work, cross trainers, rowing machine, medicine ball work.

5. It takes two (or more): If you can, try and train with a partner or group, it will help sustain your motivation.

6. Take care of your joints: Respect your body and quieten your ego: If your joints are hurting, reduce your training frequency. Chronic elbow, shoulder, and knee pain always benefits from decreased exposure. Taking fish oil may also help.

7. Don’t train the same muscle too often: If you are already very strong, a frequency of three times a week or more per muscle group is extremely difficult to program effectively. When you’re strong, you do a lot of damage to the area every time you train it and that damage usually requires more than two days to heal.

8. Hang out: Inverted sit-ups are pretty hardcore but are super effective on your abs. Don’t be intimidated by the set-up and boots – but remember to work with someone, as once you have finished you will be pretty tired and need help getting down. Try to do them at least once a week.

1. Heavier- increasing the weight will make the exercise harder but don’t neglect your form, you only want to go as heavy as you can keep the form correct for.
2. Standing exercises- if your used to doing a seated shoulder press for example try a standing shoulder press it will be much harder as you need to balance and engage your core more than with a seated shoulder press.
3. Increase the range of motion- performing fuller reps moving through a large range of motion will not only make the exercise harder but give your muscles a much better shape as much more of the muscle is being worked..
4. Slower- performing reps slower will keep them under pressure for longer.
5. Making the surface not balanced- using a Bosu for example to perform squats is much harder than doing them on the ground as you need to balance a lot more.
6. Short rests- taking shorter rests between sets leaves you with lower energy and fatigued muscles to perform the exercise.
7. More reps- as obvious as the heavier option, more reps keeps your muscles under stress for longer.
8. Super sets- performing two exercises back to back with no rest.