Simply put, squats are the most difficult, intimidating and painful exercise for muscle building that you could possibly have in your arsenal. They require massive amounts of discipline and willpower to perform correctly.

After you have performed a set of squats to failure, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. They are also a challenging exercise for muscle building to master from a technical standpoint.

All this aside, squats are probably THE most effective, growth-producing exercise for muscle building that you could possibly include in your workout routine.

They will pack more size and strength onto your lower body than any other exercise for muscle building out there, and due to their high level of difficulty, they also force your body to release higher amounts of important anabolic hormones such as testosterone and growth hormone. This increased secretion of hormones will pack muscle size onto your entire upper body as well.

In addition, this exercise for muscle building causes what is known as a “spillover effect”: a strength gain in almost all of your other exercises. When I started squatting to failure, my bench press virtually increased by 20 pounds overnight. If you’re looking for an exercise for muscle building and you don’t already squat, you’d better get started.

Quite simply, they really, really work.

Unfortunately, many people have yet to experience the benefits of heavy squatting. It seems that people will come up with just about any excuse they possibly can in order to steer clear form the squat rack.

How many times have you heard the all too common “They’re too hard on my knees”, or “I heard they stunt your growth.” What do I say to that? Nonsense!

If you’re in the gym with the goal of maximizing your total body muscle gains, exercise for muscle building is an absolute must.

Proper Squatting Technique

For safety reasons you should always perform your squats in a power rack or cage. This way you can adjust the height at which you clear the bar, and you can drop the bar on the safety pins if you need to bail. The safety pins should be set at just below the depth you are squatting and the J Hooks should be set at about the level of your nipples.

At all times during the squat your head should be pulled back, your chest raised and you should have a slight arch in your lower back. You should always be looking straight ahead, and at no time should you be leaning too far forward, or be looking up or down.

Step up to the bar, placing your hands at about the same width as a bench press. Before clearing the bar, make sure it is placed evenly along your traps. The bar should rest on the lower portion of your traps and across your rear delts. It should almost feel as if the bar is going to roll off your back.

Now that you have cleared the bar, take only as many steps back as necessary. Most squat injuries occur when backing up, so make sure that you only back up as far as you need to. Your feet should be placed about shoulder width apart or slightly wider, and they should point out at a 45-degree angle.

Take a big, deep breath, and make your descent. You should not lower yourself straight down, but rather as if you were sitting in a chair behind you. At all times your knee must remain in line with your feet, and they should never bow in. Lower yourself until your thighs are at least parallel to the ground.

As soon as you have reached the bottom position, rise up immediately. Do not relax in the bottom position! Drive up with your heels and straighten your back as quickly as possible.

Once you are in the upright position again, take another deep breath, and continue the lift until you have completed the desired number of reps.

Final Thoughts

You have all the reason in the world to get into the squat rack, so go ahead and do it. Treat this lift with respect and you’ll be shocked at the resulting muscle gains. I would recommend performing your squats once per week, for 2 sets of 5 to 7 reps. Focus on pushing yourself hard on this exercise for muscle building and continually strive for more weight and more reps.

To learn about more about this highly effective, growth-producing exercise for muscle building, as well as other exercises that you can include in your routine, visit www.MuscleGainTruth.com. Most trainees have no idea how to pick and choose the proper exercise for muscle building and they dramatically limit their gains as a result.

Get on the right track today with building mass muscle and discover more of the best exercises for muscle building at Muscle Gain Truth.

Reducing fat can be a real challenge if you don’t go about it the right way. Most people seem to think that if you cut back on your diet, you’ll be able to lose fat. Sounds logical, doesn’t it? If your calorie intake is less than your calorie expenditure, you should be on the right track.

Well, the truth is a little more complicated. If you just try and reduce the number of calories you consume, you will lose weight. But, in addition to fat, you will also end up losing muscle. When you start to lose muscle, your body’s metabolic rate drops, and when this happens, you will find it more and more difficult to keep the fat off.

Yes, it’s a vicious cycle. But is there any way out? Let’s look at five tips for reducing fat that will help you lose weight without reducing muscle.

Tips for reducing fat #1: Get plenty of sleep. Your body needs at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night in order to relieve itself of stress and begin to burn body fat effectively. When you stress your body due to sleep deprivation, your fat burning mechanism slows down and your body tends to store fat more easily.

Tips for reducing fat #2: Stay away from processed foods and foods containing simple sugars like cakes, white bread, cookies, and other snacks. Such foods not only fail to reduce fat, but they actually put fat into the body for storage.

These foods get broken down into glucose, which stimulates the release of insulin from the pancreas. Insulin puts as much glucose into the liver as it can (in the form of glycogen), but the rest of it goes straight into the fat cells.

Tips for reducing fat #3: Stick with lean cuts of beef, like sirloin or ground beef. These are very useful when combined with a fat reduction exercise plan and will help build lean muscle mass. Muscle tissue weighs more per square inch than fat tissue, but it gives your body a higher metabolic rate so that you burn fat faster.

Tips for reducing fat #4: Don’t forget to eat lean white meats like chicken, turkey, and fish. Although fish does contain some fat, it’s in the form of healthy omega-3 fatty acids, which are actually good for cardiovascular health. Chicken and turkey offer lean proteins that build muscle mass and increase your metabolic rate.

Tips for reducing fat #5: Of all of the tips for reducing fat, this tip is the most important. If you really want to lose fat, you need to hit the gym and train with weights. “Weights! ” you say, “but what about cardio? ”

Yes, cardio also has a role to play in fat loss, but not as significant a role as weight training. If you want your body to become a fat burning furnace, you need to train with weights.

This is because weight training directly impacts your fat burning rate, since muscle is metabolically active tissue. When your body is operating with a higher metabolic rate, you will tend to burn fat faster.

To make the most of these tips for reducing fat, you should follow a systematic fat reduction program that addresses both the key elements of fat burning—nutrition and exercise.

For more tips for reducing fat and a review of a program that will help you to burn fat like never before, click the link below…

The Best Fat Loss Program