You’ve probably heard this at some point: protein helps you lose weight. When I first started weight training I think I heard it about 10 times until I did some research on why! So today I’m going to go 3 ways that increasing your protein intake can help you burn more fat and build a better physique.

Before I get started, what you have to understand about protein is that your body does not store it like it does carbohydrates. When you do not have enough protein required to perform bodily functions, your body will sacrafice muscle tissue for protein. If you’re weight training you definitely do not want this, and even if you’ve not listing weights you don’t want it.

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I’ve been watching Jim Cordova for a while now, especially considering the world natural bodybuilding championships are coming up soon. This guy is a true genetic freak! 100% natural lifetime drug-free athlete! Yet he has physiques matching IFBB pros. Amazing.

Keep an eye on him, I believe he still hasn’t reached his peak.

Jim Cordova:

If you’ve ever bought supplements you’ve probably heard of the natural testosterone booster, ZMA. Today I’m quickly going to run through what ZMA does and some of the benefits of taking zma supplements.

I am not going to go in-depth about ZMA supplements, so if you have any further questions about ZMA leave your question in the comments at the bottom of this page.

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Two of the most common lagging areas for many weight trainers are the lower back and hamstrings. Because you can’t really physically see these body parts they’re often neglected. For anyone who is over 40 I don’t have to underline the importance of having a strong back, especially if you’re training with heavy weights. And as far as hamstrings go, pull your shorts up and do a side pose in the mirror. What’s missing? Although hamstrings are much smaller than the quads and glutes, having sizable hams really adds some width to your upper legs.

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I get a lot of emails from confused weight trainers who know a lot about lifting weights, but not a lot about building a good weight training diet/supplements program to back it up. When answering emails I have often used my diet program as an example of a good well rounded muscle growth plan.

So I am going to post a sample slice of my daily weight training diet routine, including the supplements that I take as well. This is simply meant to be an example that you can build on to create your own diet plan.

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I try a lot of supplements, especially protein powders. I like to try out what mixes good, what tastes good and what gives you the most bang of your buck. I have tried dozens of protein powers over the years, probably quite a few you haven’t tried! So I thought I’d post some of them up in case you might want to give them a go.

All these protein powders are decent value for money and taste good, I wouldn’t post ones that I didn’t like! These are all whey protein products, not weight gainers etc. If you have any comments or have tried any of these let me know in the comments at the bottom of the page!

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When you’re new to weight training you pretty much follow workout routines straight out of the book and don’t have the knowledge to put your own spin on them, and generally don’t know enough about how your individual body works and how it reacts to different types of training. Weight training and muscle building is a constant learning curve. You speak to the most experienced bodybuilders, athletes and coaches and they all say (well, the good ones do) that you should never stop learning.

That being being said, there are some rules that apply to weight training. Rules that you need to know in order to understand training, and tailoring your training program to your needs. Here at what I consider, the rules of weight training…

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