The guarantee is there and I do like workouts using bands for resistance. The 10 Minute Trainer offers that. If you try it, please stop back here and leave a comment.

The Tabata method of HIIT, which is the most popular, calls for you to sprint for 20 seconds and follow that by a 10 second rest period. You repeat for 8 sets.

You need to be in good condition to do this and you should start out modifying this. One good way is 30 seconds intervals followed by 30 second to 1 minute rest periods.

Anyway, I did 6 sets yesterday at 20/10. But my last 2 sets were not what you would call sprinting. It felt like I was but it was obvious the full speed was gone by that time. But I ran them as hard as I could anyway. I ended up walking a mile back home because of where I finished. That was definitely a cool down period.

The point being I was toast after that. But the training effect was there and there is no doubt it will help me increase my fitness level even higher than it now is. And, for those of you who don’t know, I’m now 62 years old and still running and exercising hard.

“I remember a friendly argument with Burn the Fat author Tom Venuto. It all started when I told Tom how I was eating and training for my last peak. A peak is where you lower your body fat and try to maintain as much muscle mass as possible.

“There’s just no way I could ever get in shape eating and training like that,” says Tom. “Sure you could man…what are you, a mutant?” Tom fires back, then me, then Tom….and so it goes. (I really didn’t call Tom a mutant. That was creative liberty.)

So why are so many fitness pros like Tom freaked out about my training and nutrition plan? Simple: I claim it burns fat while building muscle at the same time. Every time I read an article by some doctor or expert claiming it’s “biologically impossible” to gain lean muscle mass on a hypocaloric diet (a diet low in calories) I just laugh.

I do more than make claims–I have proved this to be true many times. I’ve had my body fat hydrostatically measured during several peaks. In all but one I showed an increase of muscle mass and a decrease of body fat during a 12-16 week period. The one time I didn’t show an increase in muscle mass when was I was training the most in the gym. That may not make sense right now, but it will in a moment.”

Watch the Free Video to See What He Means. It is well worth your time.
7 Minute Muscle

I’ve discussed this in past posts and articles. High intensity workouts do work. You have got to watch this video.

If you have a home gym or are putting one together, don’t get too carried away with equipment in the beginning.  Maybe even never. My recommendations for a simple home guy are

• exercise ball
• adjustable dumbbells
• chin up bar
• treadmill
• cables (optional)

The treadmill is an option but I like it a lot. I prefer to run outside but there are plenty of days here in Ohio when that is just not feasible. I use a Wii program when I run on the treadmill and I will talk about that in a future post.

An exercise ball is not a gimmick and I highly recommend one. I also feel a chin up bar is a must if your goal is developing strength and muscle and is overlooked a lot by home exercisers.

A good set of exercise cables gives you a  variety of exercises and is a good investment.

I’ve been asked about the abs belt. You know, the one that says you wear it while watching t.v. and it tightens your ab muscles? Right.

There are weight machines such as the Nautilus and Bowflex and  the Total Gym and others.  I like the looks of these and I would think they might be worth a look if someone is interested but I would try them out first before making an investment. The thing about them is they do require you  to work so that’s a good thing. The amount of space they take is a downside to many of us.

Have ever wondered why your muscles stopped growing after a few months of training even though you are training very hard? Here are 7 reasons why your muscles stopped growing and how to get your muscle to grow again.

• You are training too hard – Every time when you train your muscles intensely, you are actually breaking down your muscles. So your muscles need to recover from the damages you inflicted on them. So train each muscle group only once or at most twice a week.

• You are training too long – Keep your workout intense but do not workout more than an hour each time. After 45 minutes of intensive training, your cortisol level will increase. This hormone is known to destroy muscle cells.

• You are sleeping too little – You need to sleep more for good muscle growth. Your muscles grow when you sleep. So sleep more than 8 hours a day and watch those muscles growing fast.

• You are abusing alcohol – Alcohol is known to break down muscle mass plus many other body destruction ability.

• You do not change your workout routine – You must change your workout routine every 6-8 weeks. Your muscles adapt to your routine and stops growing.

• You do not progressively overload your muscles – You must try to increase your reps or weight every time you next train a particular muscle group. Otherwise, there is no reason for your muscles to grow.

• You do not eat sufficient protein – If you want to build bigger muscles, you must eat more protein. Protein is the building block for your muscles. It is recommended that you need 1 gram of protein per pound of your body weight equivalent. If not enough protein is consumed with your normal diet, do supplement with protein shakes.

There you are, the 7 reasons why your muscles stopped growing even though you are training hard. There are many more methods on how to grow your muscles bigger but these 7 reasons and how to overcome them will be sufficient for an average bodybuilding beginner.