The dream of a sculpted and firm butt is nowadays shared by both men and women. Mother nature seems to have blessed some individuals with a stunning backside more or less for free, while others must dedicate a lot of time and effort in order to get that booty they're dreaming of.

After our leg muscles, one of the largest groups of muscle is our back. The back can be divided into deep and superficial muscles where the deep muscles consist of those who move and stabilize the spine. The superficial ones are most commonly referred to as m. latissimus dorsi, m. trapezius, and the shoulder blade muscles m. rhomboideus minor, m. rhomboideus major, as well as the long, straight muscle m. erector spinae. These are the ones mentioned in daily speech and are what we usually target in the world of bodybuilding.

In order to effectively and intensively take on a certain group of muscles, it is important that we, first of all, understand its basic anatomy. Where is the muscle located and what is its actual function?

Does it feel too time consuming to get yourself to the gym a couple of afternoons a week even though you are well aware of the fact that summer is just around the corner and your shape is far from the desirable? Do not despair. Building a great physique requires neither a gym membership nor any advanced equipment. In fact, you do not even need to leave your comfy home to get a tough and qualitative workout in. A determined mind, structured and realistic planning as well as some space to move around in can get you far in the project of home exercising.

Abs. Sometimes abs seems to be something essential and something that most people want, especially when it comes to getting in shape for summer. It is like abs are the number one measurement for how fit one is, which I totally disagree with. You can be fit without having a six pack, because you will not get a six pack just by working out.

If you ask five different people about which five exercises are by far the best for building arms, the answers will probably vary drastically. On the other hand, what many lifters have in common when it comes to training arms is the lack of planning, more than just performing as many series as possible and then repeating the same procedure again a few days later. To achieve a pair of impressive biceps or these rock hard “horseshoes” on the back of the upper arms, it is not enough to just repeat the same exercise over and over again until they miraculously announce their existence. If you want to take your physique from average to outstanding, you need to work through the full range of muscle fibers, attacking them from different angles and in different ways.

It is not without reason many of us ditch the chance of taking the stairs if an elevator is available, or that coaches around the world challenge their athletes to run up and down stairs inside big stadiums or office buildings. Not only running, but walking up and down stairs as well, is a very effective way to exercise the heart and several other muscles.

When training legs, back, chest, arms or other muscle groups you most certainly use appropriate weights to get results faster. This concept, however, does not always seem to apply when we are dealing with the abdominals. It is often seen that additional weights are ditched and instead replaced by classic crunches or sit-ups and countless reps.

The flu season tends to be both long-spun and involve the vast majority of us. Regardless of how strong your immune system is, it is more or less inevitable that you will find yourself a victim too since we on a regular basis share so much public space. Many athletes ask themselves the same question every time they have been sick, and it is whether or not it is wise to get that workout done and in that case what intensity would be appropriate. The answer depends on several factors.

While most bodybuilders like to emphasize the importance of sleep when the ambition is to gain muscle mass, there are just a few of them who mention the level of relaxation we can achieve as a complement to these night hours. The most effective way to connect body and mind is through meditation, and how this is actually done can be read in my previous article "Meditation in your life".

August is coming to an end and fall is getting closer. To many people this means that it’s time to get back on track after vacation which may feel stressful since it can be hard to find motivation after a long and beautiful summer. To get you excited to get back to your training routines and good habits we are listing four fun outdoor activities to try this fall!

When we talk about fitness we mean the body's ability to perform a submaximal (ie. an intensity that is less than maximal) work for a long time. Physical fitness is a measurement of the body’s aerobic capacity, the amount of oxygen that the body can be supplied with measured in the unit ml/(kg*min). This means that physical fitness also is a measurement of how well the heart and vascular function works - the reason why it is important to do cardiovascular training.

Do you want to build muscles but are unsure how to start? Or have you been training for a while but hasn’t seen any results for a while? Here are some valuable facts that hopefully can help you on your way to a fitter and healthier body.

I am often asked: "How do you stay motivated to work out?”.