The Basics Of Body Building Workouts
October 29th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
If anything were absolutely required in order to make body building workouts successful, it would be consistency. This is an absolute and those who don’t approach their workouts with this in mind simply won’t find themselves very successful in their goals. Now, this does not mean that a person needs to train every single day, twice a day, for 6 months in a row. If you aren’t specifically training for the Mr. Olympia contest then you probably won’t want to go that route!
However, if you are looking to get in shape, burn fat, build muscle and increase your health you’ll need to set aside a few days a week for your body building workouts and then you’ll need to make those workouts worthwhile. If your training is infrequent then results will either be minimal or they’ll be non-existent. If you want to succeed then you are going to need to invest the time that is required.
Four Day A Week Program
On a baseline level, if you are a beginner and you need some quality body building workouts to follow it would probably be best to dedicate 4 days a week for a mass building program. During this 4 day a week program, it would be best not to hit any body part more than once a week and make the entire week a cross training routine that hits the entire body.
Cross training here refers to mixing up exercises for body parts and doesn’t necessarily refer to mixing cardio workouts into the routine, but if you did wish to add cardio there’s nothing wrong with that at all. While this may not seem like an elaborate workout program that’s because it Is not an elaborate one! Instead, it’s a very simple program that is quite helpful and effective and can greatly aid in achieving one’s goals.
Additional Notes
If you can not make it to the gym, however, you may wish to perform bodyweight exercises like pushups, chair dips, etc. These types of body building workouts may not have the same effectiveness as training with free weights, but they’re definitely better than doing nothing at all.
Additionally, if you’re sore and do not feel like training…take time off. Yes, sometimes it’s best to just take a little break as opposed to forcing yourself. This way overtraining and needless injuries will be avoided. Remember, it’s always best to train properly and to train smart.
The Truth About Body Building Supplements
October 29th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
Do body building supplements work? This is a common question that a lot of people may have when they walk into any health or nutrition store and see the large volume of powders, pills and other products that flood store shelves. Now, this is a very fair question to ask, but it’s unlikely that anyone in the store will say that they offer a product that doesn’t work!
However, people need to be realistic about what they expect body building supplements to be able to offer. They aren’t miracle products that will pack on 50lbs of muscle nor will they magically burn off 10lbs of fat. Body building supplements have their particular values, but these values and benefits are based on realistic nutrition and science and not over the top advertisements. Well, that’s not entirely accurate. Often, the advertisements and their claims act as substitutes for actual science and this is unfortunate.
The Magazine Days
In the early days prior to the great expansion of nutrition shops all across the USA, virtually all body building supplements were sold via mail order through body building magazines. These ads were generally bombastic and promised that the person who took the supplements would develop a body builder physique of massive dimensions.
Now, this is a bit of a stretch! However, within the hyperbole was some truth – these supplements are helpful. However, they won’t pack on a massive amount of unrealistic muscle. So what is it the body building supplements will actually do?
The Supplements
Different body building supplements do different things. In general, however they are designed for building mass and reducing fat. In terms of mass building, there’re those supplements which increase testosterone production, there are creatine supplements that help the muscle retain water, there’re supplements that aid in providing significant calories without excess fat and then there’re those protein supplements that aid in the repair of muscle after a hard workout. The fat loss supplements either suppress appetite or they speed up heart rate to burn more calories.
While this may seem somewhat mundane it’s because it is an explanation of what these products actually do without any hyperbole that attempts to sell a particular product. While this isn’t over the top, it is accurate and accuracy is what you want when selecting a product. Or would you prefer to take the word of a nutty over the top ad campaign instead?
Bodybuilding Routines Work Differently For Each Individual
October 29th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
Depending on who designs them, bodybuilding routines can vary to an extent that spans quite a few routines or many, though you can expect that the best routines are those that provide the required results in the shortest possible period of time.
Thus, most people would rather choose bodybuilding routines that will maximize the benefits accrued while causing them to perform as little work as is possible, which has given rise to a greater demand for the best in bodybuilding routines.
Copying Is Not The Answer
For budding bodybuilders, it may come as a small surprise to learn that achieving the type of body Arnold Schwarzenegger has isn’t all about reading up Pumping Iron and copying the moves that Arnie made in his prime. Thus, those who feel that copying bodybuilding routines like those used by a Mr. Universe or a Mr. Olympias may end up a bit disappointed when their bodies don’t become the sculpted masterpieces that Arnold achieved or those of other Mr. Universes.
There’s nothing wrong with copying these bodybuilding routines except that you cannot hope to achieve exalted levels in as short a space of time since these routines won’t provide you with those kinds of results in less time than is absolutely necessary. And, what works for one person need not work with another person and no bodybuilding routines will provide the same results for everyone, and it does mean using different weights and different exercises as well as different amounts of reps after which you can then expect to have the sculpted body that you so much wanted.
Thus, you should be prepared to go through trial and error phases and success and failure will also rise and fall as you try and modify your bodybuilding routines to suit your needs the best.
Another important consideration for you to carefully take into account is the need for change, because even if particular bodybuilding routines are working well for you, they still require modifying the routines through the addition or elimination of certain exercises which will then help chisel your body the way that you want. Additionally, bodybuilding routines can be enhanced further by taking the proper nutrition that will aid your routines.
It’s also necessary to realize that bodybuilding routines shouldn’t be performed longer than is absolutely necessary, which in most instances would be no longer than 75 minutes in a single session and that the maximum sessions you should perform your routines per week shouldn’t exceed five. Beyond that, your body may actually wilt under the strain and in any case by overdoing the routines, you’ll need a longer recuperation period.
Your Guide To The Essentials Of Body Building Home Gym Equipment
October 28th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
You do not necessarily have to shell out the big bucks to join a sweaty gym half way across town in order to be a body builder. You can create your own workout nirvana with body building home gym equipment. This means you can end up saving on membership dues over time and you do not have to put up with anyone else’s egos.
Another upside is that you can listen to your choice of adrenaline pumping music and you can wear what clothing you want as well.
So do you know what body building home gym equipment you should invest in to create a cut body? There’re a few essentials that you should not do without plus a few "it would be nice to have" pieces of equipment as well.
Dumbbells and Barbells
The most versatile of all your body building home gym equipment has got to be adjustable dumbbells. You can perform a vast array of muscle pumping exercises with them and they create a more cut physique. This is because it takes more effort to stabilize the dumbbells which in turn kick starts those muscle cells to create more mass.
Barbells, specifically the Olympic variety, are the second most important piece of body building home gym equipment you can invest in. These will allow you to add on or take away weights during your training and are also the best way to add muscle bulk more quickly.
Weight Benches
A weight bench, specifically an adjustable one with a leg curl and extension attachment is optimal for your body building home gym equipment. This versatile weight bench allows you to work your muscles in different ways besides what the dumbbells and barbells can do. If you add the optional bar pull down attachment, you can virtually perform every weight exercise possible.
Chin Up And Be a Dip
Both a dip station as well as a chin up bar with a squat rack can add another dimension to your workout. This body building home gym equipment will take you far past the dumbbell performance and challenge you physically just as a dip station where you work against your own body weight.
Protection Items
While not an actual piece of body building home gym equipment, protection items like weight belts and gloves are essential for your safety when pumping iron. The gloves will help keep those sweaty hands for hindering your grip on those weights. The weight belt will help stabilize your back and abdominal muscles to avoid injury.
There’re a several other things you can invest in when it comes to your body building home gym equipment. A calf raising machine, cable and pulley weight system, easy bars and even an exercise ball can all add an additional element to your workout routines.
The 2 Main Body Building Programs Explained
August 4th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
Body building is a sport a lot of people are not entirely familiar with mainly because they generally only hear about the results of contests and generally not about the actual training that is involved in such preparation for the contests. In addition, most people work out in gyms to keep in shape and generally follow the same workout all year round.
When you are training for a body building competition, there will be a need for two separate body building programs in order to achieve the ability to enter a contest. These two phases will be clearly examined and explained herein. The body building programs are the off-season phase, the pre-contest phase and the contest phase.
Off Season Phases
The off season phase involves body building programs that focus on mass building. That is to say, during this phase the goal is to get as huge as humanly possible and not worry so much about definition. Now, this weight gain must be primarily muscle since packing on excess fat will not do anyone any good. It will simply make the pre-contest cycle significantly more difficult and that is a self-defeating venture.
So, instead you need to watch diet closely and to perform a significant volume of mass building exercises. That means the primary exercises to be done during this phase will involve serious compound exercises such as military presses, bench presses, etc. This cycle typically runs several months and requires much consistency in order to effectively be undertaken.
Pre-Contest Phases
The pre-contest phase is commonly refers to the 6 to 8 weeks that precede a competition and involve a "shredding" process where the goal to be achieved is definition of the muscles. This involves a significant amount of isolation exercises which target single body parts as well as a great deal of cardio…repeat…a great deal of cardio.
Of course, the other area of consideration that is critical during this phase is diet. When people think of body building programs they often think of exercises as opposed to the quality diet that is the epicenter of all body building programs. No matter how hard a person works out or how much time they put in exercise, all work will be completely thrown out the window if a poor and sloppy diet is employed.
As such, it is critical not to eat poor quality foods or to eat any type of food at levels of excess that could prove self defeating.
