Bodybuilding Tips

Everyone has either heard of or is familiar with the sport of competitive bodybuilding. The female component, which is known as women bodybuilding, began in the late 1970s as women began to participate in competitions. Now, more than three decades later, women bodybuilding is a large part of the sport and has begun to garner the respect that it has strived for since it’s inception.

Although physique contests for women can actually be documented in the 1960s, they were little more than bikini contests. The first true women bodybuilding competition is regarded as the one held in Canton, Ohio in 1978. Promoted by Henry McGhee, the first United States Women’s National Physique Championship was the first competition where the entrants were judged solely on their muscularity as opposed to how well they looked in swimsuits.

By 1979, more women bodybuilding competitions were being held. The sport, however, did not possess a sanctioning body until 1980. Known as the National Physique Committee, this organization hosted the first women’s nationals and became the top amateur level competition for women bodybuilding in the United States. Additionally, 1980 marked the first Ms. Olympia competition, which is the most honored competition for women bodybuilding professionals.

As the sport continued to grow and increase in overall popularity, competitors found themselves needing to train harder and improve their overall muscular physique. By the 1980s, women bodybuilding was no longer a bikini contest or seeing who could pose in the highest heels. Now, it was becoming a popular sport with championship titles and increasing fan attendance.

With films that have been produced in honor of women bodybuilding competitions, coverage on major television networks and despite some controversies along the way, women bodybuilding has more than proven it’s ability to remain in the ranks of this popular sport. As further proof, the IFBB established a Hall of Fame in 1999, which would honor bodybuilding’s top athletes. To date, 14 women bodybuilding competitors have been inducted. Among them, Carla Dunlap, Cory Everson and Rachel McLish, Bev Francis, Lisa Lyon and Abbye Stockton, Kay Baxter, Diana Dennis, Kike Elomaa, Laura Combes, Lynn Conkwright, Ellen Van Maris, Stacy Bentley and Claudia Wilbourn.

In late 2004, the IFBB introduced a new rule that required women bodybuilding participants decrease their amount of muscularity by 20%, which is now referred to simply as the 20% rule.’ The rule applies to those whose physique requires the decrease. In 2005, another rule was introduced that would abolish the weight class system beginning with the 2005 Ms. Olympia.

In addition to women bodybuilding, there are two additional categories that are closely related and often held as part of the same event. The fitness competition includes a swimsuit round, along with a round that has the entrants judged on their performance in aerobics, dance or gymnastics. The second category is a figure competition, which is a newer format, and has the participants being judged exclusively on their symmetry and muscle tone. This category focuses less on muscle size than does women bodybuilding.

Although women bodybuilding has continued to grow in popularity, the prize money remains significantly less than is awarded to male bodybuilders.

Yes. Ask that question to a “bodybuilder” or a “weightlifter” and you should get a load of an answer. While it is accurate that bodybuilders and weightlifters will train with weights – they are two distinctly different sports, with two very distinct goals to achieve, especially when we are referring to them on the professional or semi-professional status.
A professional or competitive bodybuilder is mainly concerned with a sculpted look. Most are striving for an a body image that displays off a cut and hard and defined muscle mass to its most visual appearance. A weightlifter on the other hand is primarily with lifting weights to develop muscle and increase strength. Now each of these sports combine weight and strength training and that is where these is crossover, and very likely the cause for much of the sometimes heated debate. However the way a person trains, and by training we mean lifestyle, and most especially as this relates to diet and nutrition, will be the utmost departure point between “weightlifters” and “bodybuilders.”

Lose Weight
The ultimate end result in a bodybuilding competition is ripped and lean muscles, and definition as defined in the bodybuilding world of competition means the most muscle and least amount of fat. Bodybuilders strive for zip body fat, and yet that may not be possible, hordes of competitive bodybuilders have percentages of body fat in the 2 -4% area. However this is of a far less of a concern to a weightlifter. A weightlifter most particularly a highly competitive weightlifter dominates his or her competition by lifting the most weight – period. So he will workout each specific muscle group to maximizeincrease the strength in the specific areas of their competition. Putting it in other words, the muscles that are most important during a Snatch or Deadlift competition. However the competitive bodybuilder, winning a competition has little to do with or how much you can lift, but how well your overall physique looks. Most of the muscles on a competitive bodybuilder should look symmetrical, and proportional, therefore they must work out all parts of the body evenly.
If you are not hoping on competing in either athletic sport the distinction may not really be that all important to you. However, the discussion spells out how critical it is to clearly pinpointyour ultimate goals as to why you are lifting weights. Are you looking to improve physique? Enhance your strength and stamina? Possibly a little of both? If you are not a competitor, it really matters less what you call yourself, then what you want to ascertain with weightlifting. When you know what you want to get out of a weightlifting regimen you can then craft a series of routines, exercises and lifestyle changes to achieve those goals. Bodybuilding

Many men and women are turning to weight lifting as a form of exercise because it does not cost a lot and is very rewarding. Weight lifting is becoming increasingly popular in the homes. Many people prefer to keep fit at home because they feel intimidated by the people at the gym. Weight lifting is a very basic way of building muscle. It includes using weights which come in different sizes. To get the most of the weightlifting, use heavier weights. You can buy a set of weights which include various sizes, this will be beneficial because you can start with a light weight and work your way up. Weight lifting supplements are available in many forms. You can choose synthetic weight lifting supplements from reputable companies like Twinlab, Weider, Prolab or EAS if you want to build a large mass of muscle fast. This way can be harmful to your health, though. On the other hand, you can choose from a variety of natural weight lifting supplements to help you build muscle naturally. Natural weight lifting supplements come in the form of essential vitamins and minerals as well as other specialized weight lifting supplements depending on your specific goals.

Weight lifting equipment needed include:

Barbell This is a steel bar measuring around 2.2 metres long. These are used in the Olympics and weigh 20kg.

Dumbbell This is a weight which is usually held in one hand and is usually used in pairs. There are two different types of dumbbells which includes a fixed weight and an adjustable weight.

There are some health benefits that come along when you start to lift weight. The weights work by stretching and strengthening the muscle. A group of muscles can be strengthened through a series of repeated exercises. People who want to lose weight can begin slowly and work up to a program that includes aerobics, weight training, and stretching exercises. These exercises burn calories, strengthen muscles and bones, and help prevent injury. Each is important for overall health and well being.

Weight lifting programs help you to gain muscle because it gives different ways of exercising. A weight lifter needs diet, training and rest. All are equally critical to success. Fail to account for one factor and you will fail to maximize your muscle building capability.

Weight lifting is a hobby for many people. They enter competitions to see who can lift the most weights. The order of the competition is up to the liftersthe competitor who chooses to attempt the lowest weight goes first. If they are unsuccessful at that weight, they have the option of reattempting that lift or trying a heavier weight later (after any other competitors have made attempts at that weight or any intermediate weights). Weights are set in 1 kilogram increments (previously 2.5kg increments), and each lifter can have a maximum of three lifts, regardless of whether lifts are successful or not.

Building muscles is commonly known as bodybuilding. Bodybuilding is the process that develops the muscle fibers through the combination of various weight lifting techniques, sufficient nutrition and adequate rest. One who does all these is a bodybuilder. Apart from self satisfaction and healthiness, this is also one of the important sports. In this, bodybuilders show their physiques with various gestures and postures against the panel of judges. Bodybuilders are judged by their aesthetic appearance. The muscles are exhibited through a combination of fat loss, tanning (or tanning lotions) and oils. This combination offers lightning or shining of each muscle to look more attractive and to judge easily.

To build the muscles, there is no age bar. Generally when an individual is adolescent, bodybuilding can be started. Continuous exercises and different ways to lift different weighs will make the body in shape. Bodybuilding is generally looked by cuts and curves of the body. Each of the muscle can be trained to be stronger. Though all the muscles in the body can be shaped up; biceps, thighs, back, chest and abdomen are major areas where cuts look more attractive.

There are innumerable gyms and bodybuilding centers available in the market. These gyms are fully equipped with latest instruments for developing the muscles. These equipments include various sizes of dumbles, multi-exerciser, weight lifting instruments, chest developer, abdomen developer and many more. A person, who coaches you how to build a body, is generally well built and contest winner.

Along with all these heavy exercises, the most important expect of the bodybuilding is meeting the appropriate need of nourishment. The high levels of muscle growth and repair surely requires specialized food plan. In other words, bodybuilders require some extra calories to meet their needs. During exercises, calories burn a lot, muscles consume energy and hence they are to be fed up regularly and heavily.

The carbohydrates play essential role in bodybuilders as they give the body energy to deal with hard training and so the recoveries. One who wants muscle building; seek out low-glycemic polysaccharides and other carbohydrates those are slow to digest. These all release energy in a stable fashion as compare to high-glycemic sugars and starches. However, it is advisable to consume quickly digesting sugars in a form of pure dextrose or maltodextrin after their workouts to restore their energy levels. They also require protein in abandon quantity.

There are some functional proteins like motor protein that includes myosin, dynein and kinesin generate the power, which is exerted by contraction of muscles. Bodybuilders generally require splitting their foods into five to seven meals a day with regular intervals and timings. The whole idea is to increase the basal metabolic rate and so to increase the strength level.

There are dietary supplements for bodybuilding. These supplements are available in pills or capsule forms. They contain vitamins, amino acids or fatty acids to aid the health. The category may also include herbal supplements, which increase the vigor and nourish the entire body systems especially musculo-skeletal system.

Women have long since been ruled by the fear that if they pick up a dumb bell, they will immediately become Hulk-like in appearance. Rest assured that you can incorporate a strenuous weight training regimen into your regular fitness routine without any such repercussions. Furthermore, the benefits of weight bearing exercises are especially important for women.

Adults begin to lose muscle mass at a rate of approximately one half percent after the age of twenty five. That doesn’t sound like much until you think about it cumulatively. The average person will have lost seven and one half percent of their muscle mass by the age of forty. Furthermore, we begin to lose bone density after the age of thirty. This combined loss results in weakened bones and joints, an increase in body fat percentage and a decrease in overall basal metabolic rate (meaning you burn less calories in a day). There aren’t any medications to counter these natural effects of aging (I bet you feel great knowing that you peaked at 25), but that doesn’t mean you have to give up without a fight.

The best way to fight bone and muscle loss is weight training. So, why is it more important for women than men? Men are born with more muscle tissue than women, affording them a little more time before they see or feel the same effects. Also, one of the many side effects of menopause is an accelerated rate at which these degenerative processes take place.

Still not convinced? How about these additional benefits:

1) Increased Basal Metabolic Rate (you burn more calories even at rest).

2) Higher levels of HDL or “good” cholesterol

3) Decreased Blood Pressure

4) Reduced sedentary risks

5) Reduced risk of osteoporosis

6) Stronger joints resulting in less risk of injury

7) A stronger, leaner physique

Increase overall well-being

9) Increased muscle strength and performance (daily tasks become easier)

How do I get started?

How many times have you heard women say, “I just want to tone”? I don’t know who invented this catch phrase, but as a trainer, it is my pet peeve. Lifting three pound weights and doing hundreds of reps will not help you to increase muscle mass; this kind of repetition can in fact lead to injury. When lifting weights you should lift 8 to 10 repetitions for muscle groups located in the upper body and 12 to 15 repetitions for the larger muscle groups of the lower body. Each set, or group of repetitions, should be a struggle and you should rest for approximately a minute in between. Research indicates that three different exercises should be performed for each muscle group and one set of repetitions is recommended per exercise. (Some trainers believe that you need to perform at least three sets, but recent studies have shown that there is really very little benefit from doing more than one). The last few reps should take everything ounce of strength that you can muster. Please seek out a trainer for proper form and instruction. Most gyms offer introductory training for no charge.

If you are still worried about packing on too much muscle, rest assured that most women do not have the body composition to ever be Ms. Olympus. Even professional female bodybuilders generally need steroid or hormone therapy to achieve large bulky muscles (there is the occasional woman with the genetics to achieve this look naturally, but it is rare).

Now that you understand the benefits of a strength training and realize what an important part it plays in achieving overall good health; get in there, pump some iron and enjoy your road to a sleeker, stronger and healthier you.

Eating muscle building foods does help you get the edge and build muscles much faster than just eating normal foods. Muscle building foods that is refereed here is not some engineered freak food, it just carefully selected natural foods that contain high in protein that can help you accelerate your muscle building process. Building muscle is not as simple as just hopping into the gym, lift a few weights and you will get results. It requires much more than that. Number one, you need an excellent workout plan and then, you need a solid diet. Just imagine you are a homebuilder, even with the best tools and blue print, you cannot build if you do not have enough cement.

You get results from your workout when you rest, not when you are working out. During your workout, you are tearing your muscle in microscopic scale, and your muscles will recover and grow bigger when you feed them with muscle building foods like protein. You cannot get big muscles by just eating bread and beans. You need foods that contain complete amino acid profiles.

You have to include these power muscle building foods in all your meals. Consuming them bit by bit, spread throughout the day can increase the absorption rate of these foods in you body. Eating a large portion at once will not work because your body cannot absorb all the nutrients at once. Here are mini lists of muscle building foods that can help you build lean muscle that is rock solid in no time!

Muscle Building Foods 1

Beef is an all time favorite in a body builders diet. Roughly, 100 grams of beef contains 30 grams of high quality protein. These proteins are high BV protein, which means that, if you consume 100 grams of steak, 30 grams of protein will be absorbed by the body and utilized for protein synthesis. The steak, which contains the highest protein, is the Silverside lean. This is a good choice of steak because it also contains very low fat, 5 grams of fat only. There are many ways you can cook beef. The best way to do it is to roast it because this way of cooking uses very little oil. For a quick meal you can also buy beef strips and stir fry it with vegetables, onions and chili using olive oil.

Muscle Building Foods 2

Famous body building food number two is the all time favorite, eggs! Eggs are such a power food for building muscles because it the eggs whites contain no fat and although the egg yolk is high in cholesterol, it provides Omega 3, which is good fats. Eggs are also a source of protein, which contains a complete amino acid profile. Eggs are very easy to get, dirt cheap and convenient to bring around. One egg contains 6 grams of protein, 3 grams in the yolk and 3 grams in the white. There are tons of ways to cook eggs. The best way to cook eggs for dieting is to cook in hard boil or half boil, then eat it with a bit of soy sauce, this is good method of cooking because it contains low fat. To kick out of the boredom, make scrambled eggs with olive oil and chili.

Muscle Building Foods 3

Another fantastic lean source of protein is poultry. Chicken and turkey is a very good source of protein, low in fat, cheap and easily attainable. Although some parts of the chicken are high in fat, like the thigh, it is ok to eat it if you take the skin. 100 grams of chicken can give you 30 grams of high quality protein. The good thing about poultry is that it taste really good in sandwiches, salads, roast as well as stir fried.

Muscle Building Foods 4

When your parents say, eat your fish, they are right. Fish is also a powerful muscle building food because it is low in fat, high in protein and high in omega 3. Although fish is slightly more expensive that the other sources, having fish twice a week is good enough. The fishes that are high in protein are lobster, haddock, mullet and saithe. If you want convenience, go for tuna fish. Tuna fish is also very high in protein; a can of tuna can easily supply you with 30 grams of protein. Tuna have become a more desirable choice because it can be use with sandwiches, salads and other dishes. Tuna comes in handy cans than be ripped open. Some even comes in airtight packet so that you can carry it around.

Muscle Building Foods 5

Do not forget about milk and soy! This stuff is good stuff. Although they may appear as liquid, they are a good source of protein and when taken with meat, they compliment the amino acids supplied by the meat. 100 grams of tofu made from soy contains 8 grams of protein. One glass of low fat milk contains roughly 8 grams of protein. You have to be careful not to over do the milk because milk does contain lots of fat. Choose the low fat or the pasteurized version.

There you go, five choices of muscle building foods to fill up your menu. Make sure you include protein in all your meals, spread them out evenly in a day. Try to shot for 2.0 to 2.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight for positive nitrogen balance. This will give you optimum results along with intense weight training.

In this article, we will cover information that you need to have for a successful weight-training program.

There are a few key rules that you have to follow.

The key to any weight training or bodybuilding program is to have a set of goals of what you want to accomplish and when you want to accomplish your goal. This is your long-term goal.

A large portion of the battle is in your brain. You will have to execute your plan to accomplish your goal but once it is on paper it then is just a matter of mechanics.

Speaking of mechanics lets go over some of the basics to determine you schedule.

If your goal is to tighten and tone your muscles, sets of 13 to 20 reps will help you to develop endurance, with some increases to muscle size and some increase in strength. Make sure you do not rest much in between sets and quickly change your exercises. With this plan, you should work each muscle group 2 times a week.

The opposite side of this coin is building strength, power, and size of the muscle group. This is taken care of by performing 1 to 5 reps per set and 4 to 7 sets per exercise. Lifting at 80 to 100 % of your limit and waiting 2 to 6 minutes between sets. When you are a more advanced trainer you will probably only want to exercise a specific muscle group every 3 to 4 days.

The next important thing in your arsenal is your diet. If you want to look fantastic, you can’t be eating all that fast food stuff.

Some of the staples of proper nutrition for bodybuilding are:

1. Good protein from lean meats. Lean meats are not that marbled steak, although there are good choices of lean red meat in bison. Another good source of lean meats is tuna that is not to say you have to eat eight cans a day.

2. Another excellent source of protein is from the lowly egg that has been persecuted in the media. Eggs supply a complete protein, which contains ALL essential amino acids for us. They also give us great amounts of vitamins and minerals including Vitamin A, B6, B12, riboflavin, folic acid, choline, iron, calcium, phosphorous and potassium. It has been spoken of as the perfect protein.

3. Make sure you get some good complex carbs from fiber rich foods. Avoid the simple carbs and focus on fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, stay away from highly processed carbohydrates.

4. Water is a great transporting of waste products that you need to get rid of after a good work out.

There it is – Some simple but essential items that you need to plan for and do during your body building days.

A bodybuilding supplement review is a great tool whether you are just beginning a new workout routine or if you are an experienced bodybuilder. With bodybuilding supplement reviews, you can get the latest information about a variety of products on the market today.

The reviews are often posted by experts or other users who have tried the products. As such, you can save money by reading what they have to say before buying it. A bodybuilding supplement guide typically lets you know the positive and negative effects each product can have on your body, too.

One of the leading online muscle supplement reviews can be found at Supplement Judge. On this site, you can get many bodybuilding supplement reviews to help you make a decision. Users rate supplements by product so you can easily search for a specific product and read what others have to say about it.

If you are looking for the best supplements in a specific category, you can even click on one of the many categories (such as General Health, Fat Loss, and Testosterone Level) in order to read bodybuilding supplements reviews of different products in each category.

You can then compare which ones are the right ones to help you meet your goals. It also has a top-rated list for the best reviewed supplements and options to buy products directly from the site for an added measure of convenience.

Another site that offers muscle supplement reviews is Bodybuildingforyou. At this website, you can find bodybuilding supplement reviews that compare the qualities of different brand names. This site also provides users the opportunity to post and read reviews of vitamins and other types of supplements so you can find everything you need at this page.

With an easy-to-read appearance and user-friendly features, this bodybuilding supplement review site is neither intimidating nor overwhelming. For added convenience, visitors can post questions and answers in the site’s forum or you can even chat live with other users who have experience with supplements.

One of the simplest websites where you can find muscle supplement reviews is at Body Fitness Guide. On this site, you can find basic explanations of bodybuilding supplements as well as short but informative reviews of the products and brands. This site is ideal for beginners who are just starting out in their bodybuilding routine.

By reading bodybuilding supplement reviews on this page, you can get information to help you find the right products to help you meet your goals. You can also use this site as a quick reference because it lists the ingredients in many of the bodybuilding supplements and also information regarding their possible side effects and benefits.

Reading bodybuilding supplement reviews is an excellent way to find the best products for your specific needs. You can read what other people have experienced with different products and the effects that they have noticed. You can also do price comparisons so you can be sure to get the most effective products for your money.

Other sites even provide ways that you can talk with other users in case you have questions or concerns. You can likely find other bodybuilders to answer your questions through chatting or reading forum discussions.

Bodybuilding supplement reviews are an ideal way to make informed and educated decisions regarding the supplements you choose.

Part of my warm-up routine at the gym involves asking my girlfriend if she might like to get off the elliptical machine and lift weights with me. No way, she answers invariably, I dont want to get big. I never really gave her response much thought until recently, when I began to see it as part of a larger pattern- I have a number of female friends, and every one of them avoids the weight room like I avoid chick flicks and shoe stores. Oh, they all go to the gym- but not a single one would pick up a weight unless her life depended on it.

The more I thought about it, however, the less profound this trend seemed; ever since the early days of Muscle Beach, the weight room has been synonymous with grunting, muscle-bound guys and their perfectly-shaped and sometimes frightening female counterparts- not exactly an inviting place for the casual-exercising woman. Im even frightened by some of the people in the weight room, and Im not a small guy. But if you take the intimidation factor out of the equation, most women my age still refuse to do any type of weight training. I decided that I needed to dig deeper to find the root of the problem.

I thought hard about my girlfriends response- it seemed to me that her only objection to lifting weights was that she wanted to remain bulk-free. I didnt blame her for that, but I also knew that she didnt really understand how much work it takes to build any kind of muscle. Being somewhat of an amateur bodybuilder, muscle gain is my top priority at the gym, and I focus just about all of my free time and energy on it outside of the gym. I eat five meals a day, taking in almost 3000 calories in an effort to pack on the pounds, as well as training 5 or more days a week. Any gains I see are slow and small, and if I ever decided I was getting too big, I could easily tone down my training and eating. Aside from occasionally polishing off a pint of Ben & Jerrys, my girlfriend eats next to nothing, and shes certainly not the one grunting to push out that last rep at the bench press station.

Normally I wouldnt care that my girlfriend didnt want to do something I liked- she can do, or not do, anything she pleases- but what upsets me is that shes depriving herself of a great form of exercise without a great reason for it. Weight training has been proven to have all sorts of positive effects on your body- it increases your metabolism and elevates your bodys levels of euphoria-inducing endorphins. It also improves strength and bone density- not to mention that it helps you to look and feel great. Even running or doing other cardiovascular activities will not give you the same kind of benefits that weight training can. There really is no reason not to train with weights if youre going to do any sort of exercise.

I have since sat down with my girlfriend and assured her that lifting weights would not turn her into the next Chyna. After a long talk and a little bit of pleading, I convinced her to lift with me at the gym the next day. She was initially very reluctant, but she eventually got a feel for the different exercises, and is now into the habit of lifting a little bit in every workout. She reports to me constantly how much better she feels, and regrets not getting started with weights sooner. She has since lost weight and gained some great muscle tone. All her friends notice a difference in her, too, and sure enough, theyve all started their own weight training programs.

Now when were at the gym, my girlfriend bugs me to get off the treadmill and lift with her! With my girlfriend swearing by weights, I consider my own mission accomplished. I know that weight training may not appeal to everyone, but to any skeptics out there, I urge you to try it for a few months and see the huge change it can bring to your body, your attitude, and yourself. You wont regret it!

If youre serious about building big, muscular biceps, then this is the list for you! But before I give you my Top 5 list for biceps-building success, let me explain my exercise selection criteria.

First, the exercises on this list are simple and for beginners who need a solid foundation in biceps-building fundamentals in order to achieve long-term success from their workouts. While these exercises are simple, theyre not easy. Their simplicity lies in the intuitive benefits that come from each biceps-building movement and the fact that you can do these exercises with a minimal time commitment. But getting the most from these exercises will still require careful attention to training technique and workout variety the 2 keys to biceps-building success that are not always easy for beginning bodybuilders.

If youre wondering whether youre a beginning bodybuilder, heres my general rule. Youre a beginner if youve been training your biceps once or twice per week for 6 months or less. Youre also a beginner if you been trying to build your biceps for more than 6 months with exercises other than those provided on my list. Why? Because if you havent mastered the biceps-building exercises listed in my Top 5, youre not ready for the intermediate or advanced workout methods that youll eventually need to build truly Awesome Arms.

Second, to make my Top 5 list, the equipment needed for each biceps-building exercise must be universally available. That means that you can do all of these exercises with dumbbells, an EZ-curl bar and a basic workout bench which you can find in any gym or health club. You can also do these exercises at home with a very small investment in this equipment for your home gym. Theres no need for fancy machines or trendy gimmicks here.

Finally, each of my Top 5 biceps-building exercises will help you to simultaneously build mass, shape and power in your biceps, triceps and forearms. These muscle areas are directly targeted during each exercise to maximize growth and efficiency from your workouts.

Now that Ive told you how I created my list, here are the Top 5 exercises for building the big, muscular biceps that you desire! Theyre not listed in any particular order, so theres no reason to think that one particular exercise is better than another. You must decide what works best for you through experimentation with each exercise. But rest assured that any biceps-building program that includes all of these exercises will definitely add inches, symmetry and power to your GUNS.

1. EZ Bar Preacher Curls

The EZ bar preacher curl is one of my all time favorite biceps exercises. The preacher bench is a terrific training tool as it forces the biceps to work in relative isolation from the back and shoulders. Unlike standing barbell curls which usually involve biceps-cheating torso swing, preacher curls keep your arms at an angle that forces your biceps to provide the leverage needed to lift the weight. The EZ curl bar offers both narrow-grip and wide-grip hand positions. When you use the narrow grip, your hands are in a semi-neutral position and therefore increase involvement of the brachioradialis in the curling motion. If you have no experience with preacher curls, you should probably begin with the narrow-grip position.

As you become more experienced with this exercise you should move to the wider grip as it forces supination or a palms up positioning of your hands. Since the biceps function primarily as a hand-supinator, the more you supinate your hands the more resistance you will place on your biceps. If youve got the potential to build biceps peaks, EZ bar preacher curls will certainly tap that potential.

2. Standing EZ Bar Curls

As an alternative to the EZ bar preacher curl, standing EZ bar curls with back support are a great biceps builder. When performed while standing with your back leaning slightly against a wall, standing EZ bar curls force your biceps to lift the weight without the wasteful torso swing that will cheat your biceps of the benefits of this exercise. As mentioned previously, the EZ curl bar has narrow and wide hand-grip positions. If you have no experience with EZ bar curls, you should probably begin with the narrow-grip position. With increased experience in this exercise you should use the wide-grip position to supinate your hands and increase the workload on your biceps.

3. Dumbbell Preacher Curls

The dumbbell preacher curl is another one of my favorite biceps builders. This exercise really allows you to make the mind-body connection so essential to biceps-building success. While many competitive bodybuilders use this exercise exclusively as a shaper during pre-contest training, the dumbbell preacher curl also works as a tremendous mass builder when used in a pyramid cycle. In fact, this exercise is the best high intensity bodybuilding movement for simultaneously adding size and shape to your biceps.

4. Concentration Curls

As the name suggests, this exercise places concentrated resistance on the biceps when performed properly. Besides building your biceps, this exercise also stresses and develops the brachialis. The brachialis is a true forearm flexor. It originates on the lower anterior surface of the humerus, ends on the anterior surface of the coronoid process of the ulna (the large bone on the inside of the forearm) and is visible on the outside of the upper arm between the biceps and the lateral head of the triceps. Development of the brachialis and biceps gives the front of your upper arms that thick, dense look that says mess with me at your own risk!!

5. Seated Alternating Dumbbell Curls

This exercise is one of the best biceps builders ever as long as you sit on a bench that has a back rest to prevent torso movement. Too many people do this exercise either standing or sitting on a bench without back support. In order to make sure that your biceps get the most work from this movement you must stabilize your torso so as to prevent any jerking motion. Also, remember to supinate your hands throughout each repetition to stimulate maximum growth for your biceps.

So, there you have it my Top 5 list of biceps-building exercises for beginning bodybuilders. Try them, have fun with them, and make sure that you use safe amounts of weight and proper training technique with every exercise.

Supplements! Weight lifters and body builders never have enough. They are the one exhaustible item we need. So how to choose for them?

With so many supplements available, the average person may not be able to effectively discern what would be best for the body builder in their life. But there are some guidelines that you can follow:

STAY AWAY FROM INFOMERCIALS- slick TV ads and eye-popping magazine layouts are good for one thing- separating you from your money. Many serious body builders know that the claims made in infomercials and expensive magazine ads are a bunch of horse hockey. Not only would you be wasting money, but you may even insult the person you are trying to bless.

DO RESEARCH- there are many non-controversial supplements that hard working body builders would love to have. I find that most everyone uses (or should use): Protein Powder, garlic capsules, Creatine, Green Tea extract, Hawthorne Berry extract, amino acids or Milk Thistle extract. These are basic items and do not have the controversy behind them like some stimulants or pro-hormones do. Again, stay away from anything that’s the latest fad or super-duper whatever. A good place to do research is beyond-a-century.com. They have up to date info on basic herb extracts with no hype.

GIFT CERTIFICATE- if you do not have the time, or research is just an ugly thing to you, buy a gift certificate from bodybuilding.com. They are the largest on-line bodybuilding website and have excellent information and writers. Anyone that is seriously weight lifting knows who they are and would love a gift certificate from them.

Eating is something that we all do, with varying degrees of success. Have a look around you and observe how and what people eat. You will probably find that very few of us actually take the time to enjoy our food, or even take care to choose food that is good for us. Convenience is the key word in our busy modern lives, to the detriment of tasty and nutritious ingredients. Enjoying healthy food is the first step in building a harmonious relationship with your body as food touches all your senses before reaching your stomach. By giving food you can expand someone’s horizon, improve their health capital but first and foremost appeal to their taste buds and give them pleasure!

There are many ways you can give food, many types of food you can give and as many variations on the theme as your imagination can come up with. From restaurant vouchers to cookery lessons, from fine food hampers to a box of chocolates via home-made jams and cookies there is a food gift out there that fits your budget, the occasion and the personality of the person you are giving the gift to. The perfect food gift doesn’t have to be expensive to make an impression, and by being creative you can really come up with something original. You don’t even have to be a cook to use food as the perfect gift: a personalized sentiment on a store-bought cake can be as effective and delicious as the result of fine home baking!

Have some fun with it! Our relationship with food only becomes a problem when we lose sight of why we eat: food is more than sustenance, it is meant to be a source of pleasure.

While majority of the population are tackling obesity, but you are one of those who is on lookout for gaining weight. Yes obesity is a health risk and but is the lean and thin body type a good thing? Health wise lean and thin is better than being obese but having a perfect body is still better than lean and thin body.

For that doing exercises and maintaining a healthy diet regimen can serve the purpose. But doing exercises alone would not help someone get the body he aspires for. To get that physical feature an individual also needs to have body building supplements and a protein rich dieting program.

Most of the food supplements are not main meals but some of them available today are meal replacement powders. More popular body muscle supplements have Protein, Calcium, Phosphorus, Chloride, Copper, Manganese, Zinc, Micro-Lactin, vitamins and other nutrients as its major ingredients. These minerals are necessary to grow muscles or rejuvenate the affected muscles.

Body building supplements cannot help you gain a healthy body if you are not dieting and training correctly. These supplements give you the much needed nutrients quickly which helps in increasing strength and decreasing time to rejuvenate the muscles. Vitamins and amino acids help in minimising the side effects of weight training and speeds up the recovery process of the muscles.

How long can you go on having liquids, fruits and vegetables? There comes a time when you start carving for something else. To gain muscle one needs to have more than what a normal dietary habit can provide. Body building supplements are there to provide you a cheap solution for your nutritional need.

These body building supplements are safe and some offers free samples of their products and if the sample supplements work for you then you can buy it. Body building supplements are a craze in the US and UK amongst the people with lean and thin body type. An individual’s body type can be differentiated into various types and genetic factor is the determinant factor which decides it. If your parents have small body frame it is certain that you too would have small body frame.

But before taking body grow supplements one should consult a weight trainer. He is right person to advise you on what kind of minerals are required by you to gain weight. He or she can decide your nutritional supplement when you provide him the correct information on your diet habit. Following a healthy diet habit coupled with exercises and body building supplement can get you the desired result.

So, leave your past behind and enjoy the healthy future ahead. But make sure that in an effort to gain weight you do not put on too much of it as too much of it would lead you to Obesity. And obesity is a future health risk.

What is natural bodybuilding? Natural bodybuilding is building your body without the use of harmful and illegal substances such as HGH and steroids.

Many bodybuilders that you see with huge muscles have, in fact, used HGH, or human growth hormone, and steroids in order to build their massive physiques. However, these individuals are harming their bodies and likely shortening their life spans.

It is possible to build your body without the use of these harmful chemicals and that’s what natural bodybuilding is all about. You need to learn the secrets of natural bodybuilding. If you hope to build a massive physique the natural way, you’re going to have to learn the tips and tricks of the natural bodybuilding pros.

These secrets to natural bodybuilding can be found on the internet, they can be found in books and they can even be learned by asking natural bodybuilders that you meet in the gym. Natural bodybuilding is definitely the way to go, as who wants to cheat in order to achieve their goals? Not cheating makes reaching those goals that much sweeter.

Supplements

Let’s be clear here. The secrets to natural bodybuilding involve bodybuilding without the use of illegal or banned supplements. This does not include supplements.

There are many natural supplements that you can use to give yourself an edge over the competition. In fact, in order to build your body, you are going to have to consume lots of protein and this protein can be found in many supplements, such as whey protein powder. If you ask natural bodybuilders, you’ll learn that the secrets to natural bodybuilding involve the use of many of these natural supplements. So don’t be afraid to stock up on these supplements so that you can encourage your muscles to grow to the size you’d prefer them to be.

The Internet

The internet is loaded with secrets to natural bodybuilding. There are many natural bodybuilders who just love to post their secrets online. Be wary, however, of any sites that require you to pay for the information.

There’s lots of free information regarding secrets to natural bodybuilding so don’t fall for any scams that tell you that you’ll achieve the physique you want in record times. Bodybuilding of any type takes time and dedication and nothing can be achieved overnight, let alone bodybuilding.

Books

Some secrets to natural bodybuilding can be found in books. These books will teach you what to eat, how to eat, what exercises to do and many will have illustrations showing you proper form. Proper form is important so these books with illustrations are perfect for showing you exactly what to do.

The Gym

Finally, the gym is a great place to find secrets to natural bodybuilding. After all, if you can watch a fellow gym member show you what to do, that’s a better teacher than an internet page or book would ever be. So good luck with your secrets to natural bodybuilding and with building the physique you want without the use of illegal and banned substances.

A healthy life equals healthy eating. This means a consistent healthy food intake. To make sure that our bodies receive the right food nutrients everyday,aim for the 3 Gs. These are the food groups for a healthy balanced diet. The 3 Gs food groups are: GO, GROW and GLOW.

GO – is the body ENERGY-GIVING FOOD which contains carbohydrates, starch and sugar. Starches and sugar are sourced from plant food such as fruit, vegetables, cereals and pulses are excellent sources for Energy-Giving foods. Bread and rice are also good sources of carbohydrates.

GROW – is the BODY-BUILDING FOOD which contains protein. Protein plays a very important role to most of our body functions and the maintainance and repairing of cells; and growth. Meat,fish, eggs, poultry, milk, dairy foods, peas, dried beans and nuts are good sources of protein.

GLOW – is the BODY-REGULATING FOOD which can be found in fruits, vegetables and water. Make sure to have at least five fruits and vegetables a day and around eight glassess of water a day. These will help regulate body funtions.

However, if you follow a certain type of diet programme as reccomended by your doctor or are allergic to any of the foods stated in the three different food groups, please consult your doctor beforehand.

I want to build muscle, I want to have big muscles, what must I do? The answer is simple! Start lifting weights, set your goals, eat proper and rest!

Here are some tips to help you start:

First tip is: Set your goals! Do not be over optimistic, do not be over pessimistic in setting your goals. Just be realistic! No one can become a bodybuilding champ over night. Do not fool yourself, today I will lift 10000 pounds and tomorrow I will look like Terminator. Start by knowing your body and you will quickly learn what is a realistic goal for you. Write your realistic goals down, make a schedule. People make plans in their head and forget them, write your plans on a paper. Read your goals, follow a schedule. When you will feel down, look at your goals and what you already achieved and your mood will go up. Follow a routine of your schedule! Make yourself a training program and follow it. Once you get in a rhythm, you will feel great and your body will be grateful!

Next tip is: Ask people, learn more about training, about lifting weights! It is true the bodybuilding is a individual sport, but do not be afraid to ask people for the advice, ask your trainer, ask a friend. Trust me, people will help you if you ask them nicely. Knowledge is power is also true for bodybuilding.

The following tip is: You must overload/stress your muscle! Only way to build your muscle and gain strength is to stress your muscle. Bigger weight means bigger muscle! Do not over exceed yourself as you might heart yourself! Warm up by lifting smaller weights. Start slowly, use smaller weight, less repetitions, then steadily add more weight, and later more repetitions. If you would always lift the same amount of weight, then your progress will stop. So try to add more repetitions with lifting the same weight or add more weight with the same repetition or decrease the rest time between your repetitions.

The last tip is: Proper nutrition and proper rest! You may set your goals, lift heavy weights, but without proper nutrition and proper rest there will not be any progress. Your muscle as your body needs energy to work. The energy comes from the proper nutrition! Without proper nutrition you will be easily tired, so believe me when I say that proper nutrition is the key. The proper nutrition will have 40% of Carbohydrates, 40% of Protein and 20% of fat. The muscle growth happens while you sleep and rest so it is very important to rest and sleep properly.

Follow this tips, be patient, work out, eat, rest properly and you will get the body you want.

It is fun lifting weights, you will feel better and be healthier!

Body Building is fun and you can easily adapt your body into stylish muscles. The best way of building muscles is body building and exercises that will add up mass to your body and you will be able to make your body look elegant than ever. For body building, diet plays an important role and using good diet can help you to build muscles in short period of time.

There are also some foods that help people to make fast muscles without going for heavy exercises and weight lifting. You can add these foods to your regular diet and can see their effect soon. These body building foods are aids to boost up your energy and stamina to build muscles and provide high protein to your body. These proteins help your body to enhance hormones and you can workout for long period of time.

Some foods that are rich of proteins and nutrients are egg, bean, dish, chicken, meat and dairy foods. You should regularly use them in your diet with definite proportion and be sure to use a balanced diet.

There are number of different supplements available in the market to build up muscles quickly but natural foods are always preferred over them. There is no side effect of using natural foods but surely some supplements do have. Natural foods also give you rich source of energy. It is good if you include vegetables, fruits like apples, banana etc, rice and wheat in your daily diet in specific proportion (please consult a physician to know the how much calorie you need in a day and what proportion you need in foods. This diet plan helps to build up mass for your body that can be converted into muscle through workout.

If you want to get a solid and model figure you must be punctual in exercise. You should use some fruit like banana or apple before exercise and after exercise milk shake of any fruit is a good choice. Most physicians recommend juice of pomegranate after exercise. It gives you good amount of energy and makes your stomach work in a better way. If you are serious in building up your muscles then you should abide by a good diet plan.

Weight lifting and weight loss go hand in hand if you also eat the right foods. Because you are using double energy while weight lifting compared to cardiovascular exercise, And weight lifting builds muscle tissue, which we all know burns more calories while resting as well, so you turn your body into a weight loss machine.

During active weight lifting you burn up to 15 calories per min, which can add up over the course of a workout routine. For comparison to about 7-8 calories burned per min during cardiovascular exercise. A combination of weight lifting and cardiovascular exercise is key to continued weight loss. You can lift weights 3 days per week and cardiovascular training for 2-3 days a week for low intensity workouts.

Not only do you burn more calories while weightlifting you will also increase the amount of calories and fat while you rest or sleep. This is because you body needs more nutrients to keep growing and to function properly; this increases the more muscle you build. Eating properly will help a great deal when weight lifting and losing weight.

Your diet is key to the success of your weight lifting and weight loss goals. Eat 5-7 small meals per day, containing protein, carbohydrates, and essential fats. Do not eat any junk food, stay away from pastas and white breads. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables because they are quick used by your body, which will give you more energy and make you feel better while weight lifting.

Basically, The more lean you are, the more calories your body will burn off.

Here why that works, when weight training you burn about twice as many calories then cardio training per minute. And when you finish working out with the weights you body continues to burn calories and to maintain muscle your body needs to burn many calories, it’s like lighting a fire in your body.

We recommend you do at least 20 mins of weight training and about 40 minutes of cardio, this could be running, jogging, walking swimming, or even playing a sport, as long as you are active for 40 minutes.

Exercises to loss weight:

1. Do exercises using only one arm at a time while standing, like arm curls, shoulder press etc..

This will cause you to automatically use your core and legs to stabilize yourself, you will burn more calories, as well as tighten you stomach and work the specific muslces you are working on.

So the bottom line is that weight lifting is a great way to lose weight and keep it off. You will lose weight faster with a combination of weight training and cardiovascular training throughout your routine. Eat small healthy meals throughout the day to increase your weight loss and prepare your body for weight lifting.

When you look at all of the different types of bodybuilding supplements available in the world today, deciding which ones are best for you can be a difficult thing to do. A review might not be as useful as you would think because it is not focused on how the supplements would work for you specifically, but rather it is a look at how they work in a general sense.

A rating of supplements has the same drawback to it and that is why whether you are interested in buying an organic bodybuilding supplement from your local health food store or else finding them online, you need to understand what would be good and bad for you and then apply that information to your search for the best bodybuilding supplements.

The first thing that you need to think about is your body condition. If you are relatively out of shape, then using professional bodybuilding supplements right off the bat might actually do more harm than good to your body.

This is because just like with everything else in life, your body has a great ability to adapt to gradual changes, but a poor ability to adapt to quick changes. Over time (and a relatively short time in most cases), you can train yourself to sleep shorter hours each day, eat less and of course exercise better with the best bodybuilding supplements.

However, the best bodybuilding supplement for you right now is the one that allows you to gradually move from your current shape towards your ultimate goal. For instance a bodybuilding bulking supplement can come later once you have lost your extraneous weight and are ready to really start training your body for strength, but if you use it right away it may not be the best choice for the task at hand.

Perspective in all things is very important and when it comes right down to it, the term ‘best’ as it applies to bodybuilding supplements really means the best for the job at hand. No supplement is the best in every single situation and you will be successful at using bodybuilding supplements when you find the ones that work for you and your specific situation.

So do a personal inventory of where you are at now, then do some further research on all the various types of supplements available. Consider all of your options before making a decision to be certain you are making the correct choices for where you are at now.

To supplement or not to supplement – that is the question on more bodybuilder’s lips than ever before. Are they safe? Have you ever wondered what works and what doesn’t?

Lets have a look at the basics.

There are various reasons why athletes may be interested in supplementation.

* Concern about getting adequate nutrients from our food

supply.

* Suspicion of pharmaceuticals.

* Belief that diet alone will not achieve optimal nutrition

Supplements include the following:

* Vitamins

* Minerals

* Amino Acids

* Herbs

The concerning thing about supplements is that anything classified as a dietary supplement is not required to meet any FDA or other standards! Think about that! there are no regulations in place that guarantee the safety or purity of something sold as a supplement.

They are also not made to meet the similar safety requirements as prescription drugs or any other manufacturing standards. They are not required to meet product potency or purity ratings and are not required to prove the effectiveness of any health claim that is made.

Studies suggest that a number of supplements may deliver on advertising claims. However, trainees are spending large sums of money on products that have little or no proven usefulness.

Personally I find the use of supplements over rated and as with strength training, supplementation asks the same question

“If a little is good then maybe more has to be better”

Supplementation and steroids started to proliferate when volume strength training became the training system of the day. Young strength trainees slaving in the gym for five to six days a week was seen as normal. All this without making any progress or putting on any size whatsoever.

They then turned to the latest supplement or steroid thinking that this is the magic bullet to put on that added muscle when all the time they were just plain

“Overtraining”

The cold hard facts are that the majority of the regular trainees in your gym are overtraining. The sad reality is that the type of training that you find in bodybuilding books and magazines (and used by the stars) are irrelevant to the majority of

the population and has a high failure rate.

If more bodybuilders started using more infrequent, short, high intensity weight training sessions, followed by the required amount of time to recover and become stronger…

“Most of the Muscle building supplements and steroids available today would not be needed”

. The bottom line on weight gain supplements

* Before taking a supplement try to make modifications to your

diet that might achieve the same goals.

* Only choose products that show the amount of active

ingredients on the label that are required.

* Be aware that “natural” does not mean ‘safe’

* Some herbal supplements may have unpleasant side effects.

Listed below are some popular bodybuilding supplements available on the market today:

Creatine monohydrate

Creatine was first introduced to the market place some eight years ago and has since become the most popular bodybuilding supplement of all time.

Creatine is said to significantly increase lean muscle mass, improve performance, increase energy levels and speed up recovery rates.

Creatine also stimulates the uptake of amino acids in the proteins, which means that the more that it’s used the more muscle that may be grown.

Dosage: A loading phase of 20grams a day for the first five days then a maintenance phase of 5grams a day from then on.

Whey Protein isolate

The highest yield of protein currently available and is extracted from milk. This is another popular supplement for athletes and bodybuilders because of its high proportion of amino acids.

It is supposed to be high in potassium, which is essential

for muscle growth and is an antioxidant and a good immune system builder.

Dosage: 20gms – 100gms a day.

Tribulus Terrestris

Tribulus terrestris is a plant that grows in many tropical and moderate areas of the world and is very rich in chemical compounds such as saponins, flavonoids and alkaloids.

Tribulus terrestris is supposedly a testosterone enhancer and increases sex drives in both men and women.

Dosage as per bottle.

Glutamine

Is a non-essential amino acid, which makes up to 60% of the amino acids in the bodies muscles. Glutamine containing products are protein shakes and good quality protein powders; it can also be added to protein shakes for added potency.

Dosage: 5grams to 15 grams per day.

So there you have it, a supplement is something added to the diet to make up for a nutritional deficiency or imbalance, they are not intended to substitute for eating a balanced diet. If they are to be taken at all they should only be used to supplement the diet and not replace it.