Bodybuilding Workout

Archive for June, 2009

Body Builder Basics

A bodybuilder essentially maximizes their muscles to their fullest capacity or at by the amount with which the body builder believes is suffient, depending on whether they are working out for or in pursuit of a sport.

Those that go through body builder training are more likely to be called “body builders”. A bodybuilder therefore, usually does a lot of weight training and general working out to achieve what they want to achieve with regards to the musculature of their bodies.

Bodybuilding does not primarily focus on any particular gender, instead both male and female can take up the Sport. Of course, there are many more male bodybuilders compared to female, but women are not considered a rarity. If you would like to read more on body building for beginners click here…Basic Bodybuilding.

Resistance and Weight Training

A body builder must go through a lot of fitness and weight training to be able to reach their desired physique. They need to drive their that exercise and training so that the body can grow and to be able to handle the muscles that will grow as the bodybuilder gains muscle and mass.

Exercising also aids the cardiovascular system and thus allows the musculature  to handle the additional strain of lifting heavy weights as well as the additional weight that a body builder will develop. A huge body builder will have a difficult time coping with his or her weight if they are not used to carrying it around with them.

Weight training is the art of using weights or resistance to develop muscles instead of only exercising them. A keen bodybuilder requires a lot of muscle and weight training to enable them to build strength muscle. In weight training specifically, the person needs to constantly push themselves in order for the muscles to increase.

Resistance training is similar to weight training except, training with weights allows more freedom to move, since the weights are physically lifted unaided. In resistance training, as the name implies, there is a resisting force such as an elastic band or weights attached to the machine to remove some of the strain. If you would like to see more on starting as a body builder goto our Bodybuilding Basics page where you can watch a good introduction video.

Building Muscle

The concept for developing muscle mass is that when the body builder uses enough weight to challenge the muscles, they tear or rip (hence the term getting ripped). As the torn muscles start to mend, they become a bit like callouses that now add mass to the original muscles, making for bigger muscles. As the body builder consistently increases the weight that they lift, the healing and ripping action continues, adding again to their muscles mass. Supplement and Diet Overview

Nutritional Supplements and Diet are very important factors in bodybuilding. Supplements improve the body’s capacity to grow muscles as well as give the nutrients necessary for the body builder to grow them faster.

If you would like more body builder tips and learning to build muscle or if you would like more information on fitness and exercise in general (including fitness and weightloss programs), come to Bodybuilding4fitness.com via this link…Muscle Building and Fitness Programs.

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Weight lifting is a very effective way for you to control weight loss and at the same time ensure that you have a well-toned, well-defined body.  Along with a regimen that includes a healthy, well-balanced diet and a workout plan that provides a combination of different types of muscle building exercises, a weight lifting plan will do your body wonders.  In fact, it will improve your body ten-fold. You will be surprised at the amazing effects that will unfold before your very eyes.

What is involved in weight lifting? Well, it is actually using weights in order for you to develop strength in certain targeted areas as well as promote the growth of your muscles.  This also falls under the category of resistance training and it has lately been gaining popularity, as weight lifting enables you to target specific areas.  It really is a versatile kind of exercise.

In weight lifting, you lift and lower weights that are usually held by hand.  These weights are lifted in an extremely controlled manner.  You do not lift weights and quickly lower it down.  You raise it and lower it slowly and deliberately, exercising control the whole time.  Mind you, weight lifting involves doing a certain number of exercises that target different parts of your body.  These muscle building exercise are repeated a certain number of times within a set.

For a weight lifting routine to be effective, you should combine it with a good, balanced diet.The diet should be filled with healthy and nutritious food.  Another important combination is to add some cardiovascular exercises to your weight lifting exercise plan.  These three, when used in tandem, will do wonders for your body.

Here are some weight lifting bodybuilding exercises you can try: bicep curls, power clean, sit ups, bench press, shoulder press, calf raise, leg press, chest press, leg extension, back squats and lower back extensions.  This is just part of a long list of exercises.There are still plenty more on the list.  There are also quite a number of variations so you can experiment to find the exercises that best suit you and that can best develop the areas you want to build up.

Remember, a weight lifting routine should be recommended by a professional fitness instructor.  It should also

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Normally bodybuilding articles talk about how to build muscle, diet, training workouts, muscle building nutrition and so on, however whilst these are all really important there is one things slightly different I would like to introduce to you and your muscle building armoury. It is the reticular activating system (RAV).

The RAV works alongside the visual parts of our brain and directs our attention to certain things that our sub conscious has programmed into it, to be important to achieve our goals. The day to day actions, sights, sounds, preferences and so on that we get daily are all because of our sub conscious thought process that is continually operating.

Neuroscientists have now proven the vaildity of positive thinking and the law of attraction through various skeptic proof experiments. If you have never heard of the law of attraction before it is basically the asumption that ‘what you think about, you bring about’ or ‘thoughts become things’. Now previously this was considered a bit to new agey for most people however there is a growing acceptance of this approach worldwide.

Now it doesn’t matter if you take the neuro-scientists approach about it or the metaphysical approach to it because it will work either way. Therefore by reprogramming our subconscious mind it is possible to activate our RAV which in turn will ensure that we take the correct steps to achieve our goals as we will simply be recognisiing the most effective way to get there more easily. Some people will experience beneficial co-incidences that will significantly aid there progress, this is from uncommon but often gives this ‘law of attraction’ a slightly magical feel whereas in reality those things were probably there all the while anyway!

So how is this of any use to a bodybuilder? Well think about your current thought patterns. Precisely what is it that you are running through your mind on a daily basis. Are they thoughts like ‘losing weight is too difficult’ or ‘I never grow muscle fast’ for if they are then that is exactly what your RAV system is choosing for you to notice and act upon on a daily basis. It is therefore your everyday sub conscious thought process that you need to alter to positive muscle building thought processes such as: ‘muscle mass come quickly and easily’ or ‘I am getting huge fast’ and so on.

How exactly can these thought patterns be replaced? Here are a couple of things to try:

1)       Visualisation: first you need to set aside 5 minutes or so each day to do this. Very simply find a quiet spot and close your eyes and paint a realistic and crystal clear picture of precisely how you desire your physique to be. Large biceps, huge chest muscle, massive quads and such like, ensure that you can see as vividly as possible this vision and keep it in your mind with a sense of strong self belief.’

2)       Speak out aloud clearly and confidently simple statements like: I am extremely fit and healthy, I am huge and muscular, I am growing more and more each day and so on.

Do these every day. It will take a minimum of 30 days to start over riding your old thought patterns and to imprint the new ones but it will happen. Following that, keep doing them in order to continually reaffirm your new thought patterns.

If you doubt that this is effective then I suggest that you take a look at a few sportsmens autobiographies or sports studies books, I gaurantee that you will find these processes talked about in depth, especially visualisation which is an awesomely effective technique that deserves daily usage!

Ok with these positive thoughts and feelings in mind, go build muscle mass!

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The majority of body builders all have one thing in common, and that is that they crave for sugar, sometimes uncontrollably so. There are many possible reasons for a sugar craving, but there are two which are the more common reasons for having a sugar craving. The one is a plain and simple sugar addiction. The second one could be because the weight lifters overall body fat drops below 6%. If this happens your body wil begin to crave the intake of sugar.

There are a few ways to try and combat the sugar cravings and the first one is to try to keep sugar out of your diet altogether. Having sugar in your diet will then make you want more sugae, so if you cut it out of your diet completly then your body will no longer crave the sugar. another good way to beat the sigar cravings is to avoid eating foods that contain high fructose corn syrup. When you start body building, you really need to start looking more closely at the labels on the food you are buying. When you consume high fructose corn syrup, your brain will not get that “I’m full” message, therefore you will continue to eat and to crave more sugar.

You need to include lots of vegetables in your natural bodybuilding diet and do this all day. Many people are mistaken when they think that sugar will give them the energy they so imminently need. This is wrong, it may give you a short energy boost but then reality hits and you are bakc to feeling worse than before. Eating plenty of vegetables on the other hand will keep your energy levels up all day as they contain fibre. The fibre will keep you feeling full and will give you more energy and increase your metabolism, making it then easier to do all the activities you have planned for that day.

Eat more food that you have to chew, and fewer foods that you have to drink. Protein shakes are great way to increase your bodybuilding supplements, and provide lots of minerals and nutrients that you need, but you need to eat real food as well these supplements.  Your body will work a lot harder to digest solid food than it does liquid, eating real food will also increase your metabolism.

Stabilize your blood sugar levels with essential bodybuilding supplements such as Chromium picolinate, alpha lipoic acid, and flaxseed oil are all great for accomplishing this. Also try and take 200 mcg of chromium during your first meal of the day, and then take 100 to 300 mg of Alpha Lipoic Acid during all other meals, as well as 1 to 2 tbsp of flaxseed oil during those meals as we.

Last but not least, remember to drink plenty of water. This will not only help you to feel full, but will also prevent cravings that come about when one is becoming dehydrated. We do get sugar cravings when we start dehydrating!

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There is a lot more to natural bodybuilding than acheiving a perfect body. In reality body building can have psychological effects on the body builder as well. Body building is a sport where you are constantly being judged by your physical appearance, this in the normal world can be extremely harming to a person, especially if you feel you are being judged badly. So what could actually be more psychology damaging than that to anyone let alone a body builder. The fact is when you are in a competition, there is obviously only going to be one winner in the end. So what kind of effect can this have on anyone who does not come first.

There is something known as muscle dysmorphia, which can also be called and known as bigorexia. It can be an extremely common psychological problem amongst many body builders. What it actually is, is feeling that no matter how big you are when you are working out and body building, you will still feel incredibly small, and you may even go as far to try and cover yourself up with clothing. There is the danger that the body builder could go as far as to resort to steroids to become bigger, even though there is actually no need.

Body building can become a serious obsession for many of the people involved, and no achievement you do becomes good enough. This is mainly because body builders are constantly graded on how they look, and they are always striving to make it better. Many of the body builders are never satisfied with how they look and keep working out and maybe taking steroids to make themselves feel better. This can become a serious and damaging condition for anyone. It cna end up being fatal in some cases and can be extremely dangerous for the body builder.

Body building is more than a sport, especially to the people participating, it is not just a sport to these people it becomes their lifestyle. In order to be successful, the body builder is always focused on their workouts, their essential bodybuilding supplements, and their nutrition and diet, sometimes forgetting everyone else around them. The body builders have very healthy bodies and are extremely fit physically, this does not contribute to a healthy mind and personal well being.

To try and combat the negative psychological effects of body building try and make sure that you are living a life outside of body building. If body building is the only thing that you can discuss with others, you may have a  serious problem. Seek counseling to ensure that you are staying on track as well.

Finally, you want to be a well-rounded human being — from a physical standpoint, as well as from a mental standpoint. The sport of bodybuilding, and the demands that go along with it, make it hard, but it is not totally impossible!

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As we are all aware a good muscle building diet is critical to build muscle mass. What is also important is the timing of your meals. Around two hours prior to your workout is when I recommend you eat your meal. This should give enough time to mean that you don’t hit the gym when you are bloated or still feeling full and sluggish.

In an ideal world this preworkout snack ought to be something that you are used to and that you know won’t make you feel heavy and bloated as you want to be feeling your best to give your all in the gym. Make sure it contains slow burning energy such as that found in rice and oatmeal and that you consume the protein part first. If you don’t eat protein first then you are putting yourself at risk of becoming tired. This happens because both the protein and carbohydrate cause the body to release certain chemicals that affect the brain. Protein releases tyrosine which signals your brain to be alert and energetic whereas the carbohydrate triggers the release of tryptophan that tells the brain to become sleepy. Therefore always eat the protein first.

If you really want to know how to build muscle fast then great advice is to drink a protein and carbohydrate shake about half an hour before you workout. This will significantly boost your energy for your workout. Ingredients should include whey protein, maltodextrin, wxymaize or dextrose. Try to shoot for about 25 grams of protein and about 40 grams worth of carbohydrate. Doing this will raise your insulin levels which is one of the bodies strongest and most effective muscle building hormones. Furthermore it will also stifle the amount of cortisol that is made by your body which has a very bad impact on muscle building.

Remember that you aren’t going to breaking any personal bests in the gym if you are feeling tired and hungry when you start your workout. Always try to keep fruit or meal replacement powders or bars to hand should you ever not have time for a proper solid pre-workout meal.

Try and substitte your caffeine intake with green tea rather than a cup of coffee this is loaded with lots of anti oxidants aswell as having many other valuable health benefits. Finally, don’t forget to keep drinking water throughout the day also. Ok bear those things in mind and you’ll be hitting the gym in peak mode for an awesome muscle stimulating workout which you will be able to grow from because you will have had the correct muscle building nutrition.

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Because of our “get it yesterday mentality” everybody wants to know how to build muscle quickly. There are many ways to hasten your muscle building however the speed of your growth will depend on your desire and efficiency of your weight training program. There are those that seem to be able to increase their musculature rather quickly and then there are those that are what we call the hard gainers. There are things you can do to build your muscles quickly and increase both size and muscular strength regardless of your genetic potential. It’s important to include good quality protein by eating a high quality diet. Using free weights as opposed to using machines, and you must give your body adequate rest in between your weight lifting sessions.

You can reach your muscle building dreams by following this 5 point list.

Start Building Muscle Quickly Today

1. Nutrition
High quality meals must be consumed in small increments. Ideally it would be best to consume at least 5 to 6 small meals throughout the day. A good balance of fat, carbohydrates and protein should be present in each meal. This is crucial for you to be able to effectively fuel your workouts and maintain the right insulin and blood glucose levels. The protein you take in each day should be roughly equal to one gram per one pound of lean muscle mass. Your body can only take in about 25 to 35 grams of protein at any one sitting so you must begin to limit your protein consumption for any one sitting to this amount. Much more and it will just be a waste.

2.Protein
The most effective way to get the right amount of protein with the correct amino acid combination is to use a high quality protein supplement. Just because you are eating a diet rich in protein doesn’t mean that you are getting the best muscle building amino acids. You must supplement your diet to include more fruits and vegetables. Vegetables contain amino acids and are in an easily assimilated form.

3. Use Free Weights
To build muscle quickly there’s no substitute for using free weights. The growth of your muscles is in direct proportion to the amount of stress you place on them. Your muscles will grow stronger and bigger as you increase the weight you are lifting because your body must adapt to the added stimulus. Free weights workout a greater portion of your physique because you are using the smaller muscles to help balance and stabilize the weight you are lifting.

4. Workout without weights
Working out by just using your own body weight is a great addition to any weightlifting program. Once again you are bringing into play the ancillary muscle groups, which are helping perform each particular movement. To jump start your muscle building include pull ups and push ups in your training. Your strength, endurance and also definition will benefit from these exercises.

5. The Importance of Rest
Critical to your success is that you must understand that your muscles don’t get bigger and stronger while you are working out. Our muscles only get bigger when we’re resting. Avoid over training and make sure to get plenty of rest. When we lift weights we are actually breaking down the muscles at the smallest level and we must have the right amount of rest to allow these muscle fibers to repair themselves and get bigger. If you remember nothing else please remember this.

You can build muscle quickly as long as you are willing to seriously consider these factors and start using them as part of your daily weightlifting program.

I hope you enjoyed this article on how to build muscle quickly. I also did a review of a very high quality product you might want to take a look at here: The Truth About Building Muscle And for more great ideas on building muscle and getting ripped you will also want to visit Rocko’s site, you can see it here: Rocko’s Guide To Building Muscle Quickly

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Testosterone is an important element in building muscle.  This is actually a hormone that exists in both males and females but it is more concentrated in men.  Testosterone causes much of the male characteristics – such as a strong sexual drive, a deep voice, aggressiveness, and of course, muscles.  This hormone is located in the testicles (for men) and in the ovary (for women).  Because of what testosterone can do it is a highly popular ingredient in most bodybuilding supplements.

Body building affects your body, depleting some nutrients as you work out.  Thus, you need to have natural bodybuilding supplements to replenish what your body has lost during your body building regimen.  The supplements also nourish and strengthen your body.  One main hormone that is depleted during workouts is testosterone.  That is why it is necessary for you to take in testosterone supplements, just like the doctor ordered.

Having a low testosterone level can be marked by the following: a loss of energy and strength, as well as muscle mass.  Of course, this is not what you, as a body builder, would want to happen.  A low testosterone level also sometimes mean that you will find it hard to lose your body fat.  

Some men experience a deficiency in testosterone, some lose it even at the early age of 25.  Low testosterone levels also often means that the person is plagued by mood swings that leave one unhappy and depressed.

There are a variety of testosterone supplements available.  These are classified depending on the age ranges, as well as for the purpose of the supplement.  This means that you have to consult a nutritional specialist of a doctor before taking anything.It is important that you first check your levels of testosterone before taking in supplements and afterwards, you should monitor the level of this hormone present in your body.

Some testosterone supplements you can choose from include Eurycome Longfolia, Viaroid, 6-OXO and 17-HD.  What is important is that you should ask a professional first.  It is dangerous to take in supplements without first knowing the right type and the right dose for you.

Remember, body building is a lifelong sport.  Even if you plan to retire from the sport or if you have accomplished your goals in body building, you will need to make use of essential bodybuilding supplements.  Combine this with training sessions and regular exercise, along with some exercise and a good, balanced and healthy diet.  The combination will prove to be very potent in keeping you fit for your entire lifetime, even when you have stopped doing your body building workouts.

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Plenty of guys would love to grow some muscle. but the key to achieving successful muscle building is to do the training on a consistent level.

Muscle gaining should not be a short term goal. Don't start thinking that there are going to be massive changes in just a couple of weeks. You will need to decide which days of the week are going to be your training days. You will need to do this on a regular basis.

However it will not be neccessary to workout every day. Consistency is the name of the game, not quantity. You choose to train 2-3 days a week. It will depend on how much you can fit into your life. You should be aiming to train at least 2 times a week.

Try not to make the mistake that a lot of other people do. Avoid spending your hard earned cash on muscles pills and the like. This can come later when you are more advanced. You should find an effective muscle building program. Stick to it for a consistent period of time, and you will see results.

Most beginners run out and purchase magazines. Here they pick up the bodybuilding magazines. They get sucked in to thinking that they can be as big of some of those guys on the covers of the magazines. Forget it; for 99.9% of you out there, it is never going to happen.

The professionals are the exception and not the rule when it comes to building muscle. Not do they only have almost perfect genetics to build muscle, they also dabble consistently with steroids.

You don’t have their genetics and you certainly don’t want to be pumping steroids into your body. At the start you will need to approach this differently. Do not be led by the routines that you see in magazines. This is not for you. By following these types of routines, you would burnout pretty quickly.

Your focus should be on doing full body workouts in your training. Do not split your training for different body parts. The body grows faster if a greater number of muscles are hit at the same time. This is a routine that you can do for many months before you start split training.

You will also build a lot of muscle by doing it this way. You will only be required to use a small number of exercises. You will also need to look at your diet. Due to the stress being placed on the body, correct nutrition is vital.

Denying your body good healthy nutrition will result in your body unable to grow. This will lead to no muscle gains. Eat protein rich meals 5-6 times a day. This provides your body with the resources to grow.

There are many good bodybuilding programs out there. Once you have found one, stay with it. Try not too train too often. Eat a healthy diet. Try to rest more. These are the keys to gaining muscle.

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Of course, body building is a sport.  But it is not a sport that you should play exclusively.You know what, you can also use other kinds of sports to help you build your body.  Although these may be tiring and time consuming, some sports are great ways for you to build strength, balance and endurance, as well as muscle. Other sports are also great ways for you to relax and recharge.

There are a number of sports that will help you increase your endurance.  After all, endurance is a vital part in natural bodybuilding.  Some examples of sports that build endurance include baseball, football, track sports and basketball.  These sports involve a lot of running. Thus, you not only significantly improve your endurance, you also burn fat and enjoy an effective cardio workout.

Now, if it is balance you are after, you can try doing some gymnastics, rollerblading or skiing.  These sports require a great deal of balance, which results in helping you learn how to balance effectively, quickly and intuitively.You will be surprised by how much muscles you also work out with these sports!These muscles may be ones that do not even get the work out they need while you are doing a workout in the gym.

Yes, you can indulge in other sports while you are body building and this will not, in any way, affect your performance in body building.  However, you need to avoid getting injured, which is a common risk when you are indulging in sports such as rollerblading or football.  Having an injury is one way that other sports will hinder you from obtaining your goals in body building programs.  Body builders can actually participate in a variety of other sports.

There is this mistaken notion that if you want to bulk up, you have to avoid other sports that require agility and speed.  Wrong, you don’t need to slow down for fear that you will hurt yourself while paying a certain sport.  What you should keep in mind is that there are some sports that need body power.  For instance, in football, you have to push your way through the enemy's line of defense.  For rollerblading, you need a combination of power and strength.  Baseball, on the other hand, requires you to have power in order to hit the ball right out of the ballpark.Instead of fearing that you will have to slow down because of your bulk, you will be surprised to find that you are not slowed down in any way.  Rather, you have more strength than your other non body builder friends.

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