Benefits of Training With Proper Bodybuilding Gear

Life is composed of the things we do for ourselves and even for others, but at times we tend to be copycats to what many people do especially from the popular culture that tarnishes the individual image. If there is one thing that most people like doing is to copy exactly what others have done and they fear to be original. In body building the worst thing that you can ever do is to 'fit is someone's shoe' just like the saying goes. Taking common advice liturgy literally can cause a lot of trouble for many. Body building is an individual choice and in no way can two people copy each other directly.

It is true that some people may want to look like the successful people but always take precautions in this. There is usually body building which is normal and there is what one may name 'Arnold Schwarzenegger' form of body building. Definitely, these two cannot be the same. Always feel free to try out any of them provided you know where it is taking you, with its benefits and dangers. Safety measures remain common in any of them in order to practice healthy body building.

The 'Arnold Schwarzenegger' form of body building may not suit for everyone. There is a group of people who can simply make it without too many vigorous exercises or steroids intended for muscle build up. For many people their body building work outs do not need any use of drugs, they are just normal, bear in mind that there are dangerous to life when you adopt steroids for body building and there for take precautions if your type is not as complicated for competitions take it cool and practice it as a gradual process, you may find yourself in trouble of having diseases emanating from steroid use. Let every one work be your way and not a copy from others.

Always bear in mind that bodies are different and not all bodies are expected to be that big and this is natured. Even if they are pampered with all sorts of initiatives they still won't change as rapid as many people may want. At time a lot of muscles can result to inability of the body to hold and carry the extra weight and thus resulting to the bone structure suffering the effect of the overload. As a result they can ache and at times the individuals may suffer arthritis or serious problems just because of trying out 'Arnold Schwarzenegger' style of body building that does not even suit you.

What is important in all these is to know and understand your body even before starting any type listed above. Remember that any choice you make can influence you the rest of your life and bear in mind that what you start is very difficult to stop or even reverse. With respect to body building any method adopted tends to be very much addictive and hence it calls for a lot of keen interest in the choice. Also take time to learn what you can handle and what can challenge you and surely with this you can make the best decision ever that will not compromise your body building plans.

Dane Fletcher

Dane Fletcher is the world's most prolific bodybuilding and fitness expert and is currently the executive editor for BodybuildingToday.com. If you are looking for more bodybuilding tips or information on weight training, or supplementation, please visit http://www.BodybuildingToday.com, the bodybuilding and fitness authority site with hundreds of articles available FREE to help you meet your goals

Bodybuilding in College - Eating on Campus at the Cafeteria

Here are a few basic guidelines to follow when eating at your schools' cafeteria.

Chicken Breast

Giving you around 25 grams of protein and only 4 grams of fat per chicken breast, it is always a great choice. Make sure you are looking for sources of chicken that are broiled, grilled, sautéed...basically anything but fried chicken, or chicken that has too much "mystery" sauce on it (you know you have seen that chicken) . You want to be looking for the plainest looking chicken breast. A lot of cafeterias actually have a grill section where you can get a plain grilled chicken breast. Also if you wish to add any flavor to the chicken, try some low-fat healthy condiments such as lemon juice and pepper, ketchup or barbeque sauce. Avoid dipping your chicken in ranch dressing (yes I have seen people do this, which on another note, don't dip your pizza in it either). It will simply make you fat, not muscular.

Eggs

Ok, so with eggs it is pretty simple. Avoid too many scrambled eggs and fried eggs. Although the yolk of the egg is high in proteins and nutrients, it is also very high in saturated fats. That said if you get an omelet made only with egg whites you have a lot of protein with a lot less fat, compared to an omelet with whole yolks in them. Typically, I will reach for the hard boiled eggs. First, they are not cooked in any time of oil, second I can grab about eight of them take the yolks out and eat just the egg white. Note, I do not want to say the yolk is bad because it is not since it is also rich in protein and nutrients, but if I am already eating fats from other sources such as milk or meats, I will not need any more. So balance out, eat some egg yolks but maybe drop the whole milk.

Red Meats

Hamburgers in college are amazing. They are delicious. However, although I won't say not to eat them, because even I do, just keep in mind that most colleges typically use 20% fat meat in their hamburgers, so one will provide you with a whole lot of saturated fats. Try and choose white meats such as chicken and fish, but also cheat in a hamburger every once in a while so you can stay sane and add some extra calories those days when you really need them. Another suggestion is that if you are going for the hamburgers maybe get a few, but lose the buns and eat them with some brown rice or potatoes.

Steak is a great option in the cafeteria, since it will typically be leaner than the hamburgers. And it wont come with all the nummy cheese and bread that make it much less healthy.

Salads

Salads can be a great source of fiber, vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants. You can never eat too many vegetables. This is one thing that many college people forget. When you are consuming more food than regular trying to build mass, you also need to eat more vegetables maintain an alkaline body state as well as to get that very needed fiber to help in the digestion of all those proteins and carbs you will be eating. So when reaching for salads just remember the greener the better (spinach! I'm a big fan) and avoid fatty dressings like ranch, Italian, etc. Use vinegar dressings or olive oil, low-fat dressings are ok just look at how much fat is in the other food you plan to eat, every gram adds up.

Cereals, Breads, other Cabs

Try and choose unprocessed cereals and breads such as bran cereal or whole wheat bread. This way you can lessen unneeded insulin spikes, although after workout you may want to reach for the white bread and the Rice Krispies for a change. For breakfast, oatmeal is also a good alternative to sugary cereals (I like my oatmeal with cinnamon, honey and flax meal).

Because you are going to be pounding heavy a** weights in the gym everyday, make sure you are getting a good amount of healthy carbs into your diet. Colleges typically serve carbs in the forms of french fries and pizza.Try to avoid these most the time because of their high concentration of "bad" fats. Choose things like rice, baked yams or potatoes, and pasta. These will give you the fuel much needed without the loaded fat.

Conclusion

Follow these basic tips and you'll be in good shape to start packing on some good size and keeping your fat deposits low. Visit Bodybuilding at College to read more articles and buy your favorite supplements and good prices.

Alexander C.

Bodybuilding at College is a growing site that provides college students with bodybuilding articles and supplement reviews

Anaerobic Training Approach to Bodybuilding

There are always differences among professional on the best measures to adopt in order to gain muscles as a bodybuilder. It is a common belief among many people that anaerobic training holds the key to increased muscle mass. It is also taken as truth the suggestion that anaerobic training will lead to greater chances of enhanced endurance levels and long-term muscle consolidation. Due to the higher levels of testosterone in men than women, there is ease of achieving hypertrophy in the former group.

Taking increased dosages of testosterone is another common option which makes many body builders reliant on anabolic steroids for maximum muscle growth. Medical prescription is a requirement which ensures that all those bodybuilders who violate this rule are disqualified from taking pert in future competitions. Steroid users get an unfair advantage in competitions and this beats the rationale behind competitions.

Taking of substances containing anabolic steroids is a sure way of increasing results, but has severe psychological consequences. The health issues raised are the greatest hindrance to their acceptance within bodybuilding fraternity. There are some basic guiding principles which have been agreed on by experts in this field. The problem is that are sometimes contradicted by new research. For instance, progressive overload viewed by many as the most compelling principle behind success of hypertrophy, such that you only need to increase the reps weight-lifting measures and number of sets in order to get growth. This creates a situation where experts come up with complicated arrangements involving reps, sets and weights in order to provide a winning bodybuilding formula. For example you need to keep the number of sets the same by doing more reps and keeping the weight constant. For instance, it is a common belief that 15 reps will not be enough to increase your body weight. Just make sure that the efforts are enough to stimulate growth.

Damage of muscle fibers as a result of hypertrophy is called micro trauma. The muscles damaged are the tiny ones. When micro trauma takes place, due to strenuous training, the response provoked by the body is that involving overcompensation. This is replacement of the damaged tissues with others and even adding more as a bodily defensive mechanism. This prevents future muscle damage. This is why you have to have to overload your body system in order to experience any form of growth. As the body overcompensates, the general trend is towards adaptation. With adaptation comes resistance to stress.

For every bodybuilder, anaerobic exercises can be made intense enough to initiate an anaerobic mechanism. It is also important as a measure geared towards increasing resistance and reducing the stress that characterizes newcomers into bodybuilding. Skeletal muscles are the greatest victims of micro trauma. The new muscles combine with older cells and they are strengthened in the process. The satellite muscles are believed to be the secret that comes with success in muscle hypertrophy. They are key to the increase in the size of sarcomeric cells and they lake the cell as a whole appear larger and more compact.

Dane Fletcher

Dane Fletcher is the world's most prolific bodybuilding and fitness expert and is currently the executive editor for BodybuildingToday.com. If you are looking for more bodybuilding tips or information on weight training, or supplementation, please visit http://www.BodybuildingToday.com, the bodybuilding and fitness authority site with hundreds of articles available FREE to help you meet your goals

Mass-Building Routine For Stellar Biceps

Very often, bodybuilders will make the decision to develop a truly standout body part. They know that balance and symmetry is important - but they come to the realization that for their own personal satisfaction and happiness, it's time to come up with one body part that just makes the judges, friends, and family stop in amazement. For this sake of this article, we're going to focus upon biceps.

Let's give biceps their own day, and let's make it count! We'll train 5 of 6 days a week, and we'll continue the rest of our routine as normal. But we will torture those biceps into growth with a lot of sets, a lot of movements, and more intensity than we've ever seen. Let's design a custom biceps workout for growth.

Barbell curls

Use the EZ-curl bar for these, as you're going to be training heavy and you don't want to risk any inflammation of the wrist. Keep the rep range in the 6 to 8 solid form repetitions, and then end each and every set with 2 to 3 sloppy reps. Your form can go to the wolves - use the back and hips to raise the weight, the keep very strict form when lowering the weight for negatives.

Alternate dumbbell curls

There should be textbook form. You're just completing 4 sets of these to build and maintain that solid foundation of biceps muscle that is needed before you can build upon it with isolation movements, as will be the three exercises that follow.

Hanging alternate dumbbell curls from a 45 degree incline bench

Lie face down on an incline bench. Let your arms hang down, and start with a 20 pound dumbbell in each hand. Of course this will seem to light, but this pumping set will really allow you to focus upon the feel of the movement and prepare for your other upcoming sets. Complete 3 to 5 sets of this movement in the 10 to 12 repetition range.

Seated concentration dumbbell curls

It's time to feel the burn! One arm at a time, with your elbow placed upon your thigh, complete these burning sets of concentration curls. Try to feel the burn in every single muscle fiber you have. Keep your music loud and try not to even think about the repetitions. Your only goal is to just keep that weight moving and to feel the burn in every ounce of your being.

Cable bar curls

At this point, you should be thoroughly exhausted. On all sets, you'll want to use slow form and focus on the burn. Curl until you can't move those arms anymore!

Remember, the biceps will be trained on their own day, so you don't have to leave anything in the tank for triceps, forearms, or cardio. You spend an hour on biceps, and you shuffle off to the showers and grab a whey shake. Reward yourself with a nice T-bone steak that night as well - your body will be able to make great use of the protein and fats following this tough workout!

Dane Fletcher

Dane Fletcher is the world's most prolific bodybuilding and fitness expert and is currently the executive editor for BodybuildingToday.com. If you are looking for more bodybuilding tips or information on weight training, or supplementation, please visit http://www.BodybuildingToday.com, the bodybuilding and fitness authority site with hundreds of articles available FREE to help you meet your goals

College Level Bodybuilding Tips

This time is your time, from birth to age 18 it's been about you and your family, after graduation it's all about getting a good job, finding a better half and eventually settling down. However, from the age of 18 until whenever the time is that you graduate - you get to make every decision for what you're going to do and who you're going to be. Whether it's earning your degree, finding your calling in life, or finding yourself.

All of the decisions you make during the time that you spend in college will most likely decide where you spend your time working and making a difference for the next 30 years, who your colleagues and friends are going to be, and the person the world sees you as. If you are spending your time in college drinking without break and eating without concern, you will leave college with a very unhappy liver, a much larger belly, and no outline or pattern for how you eat, drink, workout and basically take care of your body. These effects may not be present now, but bad habits formed now will really take affect once your metabolism starts to slow around age 25. The decisions you make in college about your body will no doubt lay the foundation for your physical behavior for the years to come.

While in college, it's beneficial to develop a strong foundation of disciplined eating, consistent training, and healthy sleep patterns. When you leave school and really begin to work and/or start a family, there is an endless amount of things that will deter you from keeping and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. If a plan is developed throughout college on dieting and exercising while balancing the rest of your life, it will be easier once you're out of college. Each day will be started automatically with a healthy breakfast, which will give you mental clarity and physical strength that the majority of people neglect. A time for exercise and working out will already have a slot in your schedule, instead of going week to week trying to plan when you'll work out.

During the college years, your testosterone is at the highest level it will ever be. This is a huge advantage. Most older men would give anything to have the natural high levels of testosterone that you have in your body at this time. Many universities have excellent weight training facilities, and buffet cafeterias full of all the protein and clean carb sources that are needed for muscle building. Time is also a factor; you will most likely have more time to concentrate on you body during college.

College is an ideal time to take advantage of building your body into what you want. You don't want to become obsessed with it, but little decisions throughout the day can have huge benefits over the course of college, as well as the rest of your life. So be sure to take advantage of all the healthy opportunities you can find!

Dane Fletcher

Dane Fletcher is the world's most prolific bodybuilding and fitness expert and is currently the executive editor for BodybuildingToday.com. If you are looking for more bodybuilding tips or information on weight training, or supplementation, please visit http://www.BodybuildingToday.com, the bodybuilding and fitness authority site with hundreds of articles available FREE to help you meet your goals

Diet Supplementation For Female Bodybuilders

The most essential elements for women bodybuilders are vitamins and mineral formulas. To be specific, vitamin C should be divided into 3 equal portions and each portion should be taken after every meal throughout the day. This means during breakfast, lunch and supper.

Calcium is the most appropriate of all minerals to the female bodybuilder. The compound from which it is absorbed into the body is called calcium citrate. To add onto the minerals, you ought to take Chromium Picolinate which is best taken together with the necessary fatty acids which come from many animals such as fish and cattle. In fish, the products are called fish oil. Other options include extra virgin olive oil and flax-seed oil.

To boost the effectiveness of these supplements, it is advisable that women bodybuilders use meal replacement procedures of their choice which should go hand in hand with the supplementation program. The rationale for this is to add the valuable calories and protein content to the body in order to aid with the demanding metabolic needs of the female bodybuilder. Moreover, women, especially those who are not anywhere near the menopause bracket, usually go through a mineral loss period when they undergo their menses. These lost minerals need to be replaced because at no one time should the bodybuilder's body be in a starvation mode.

Supplementation has been found to aid in the enhancement of performance although many upcoming bodybuilders continue to treat supplements with too much scepticism. For those who are not afraid, (and there is honestly no need for fear because the record of supplementation is straight), it is recommended that you go for Creatine or alternatively, you may choose Glutamine. These are the two supplements which can supplement each other and are also most effective if they are administered one after the other in your supplementation schedule. This means that you may take Creatine for the first week and then switch to Glutamine in the second week. This gives you the much-needed space for the female bodybuilder to evaluate which one is best for her.

These two supplements generally share the same qualities and it is these same qualities which are mirrored in the anabolic steroids. You may experience a feeling of freshness and alertness which are also the case with anabolic steroids. Other intrinsic effects include increased sugar levels, and an increased metabolic rate. They are without side effects as they don't have the features of hormones.

Alternatively, there is an alternative for the wary female bodybuilder who is not comfortable with all the above options for one reason or the other. The option of bonus supplementation is another avenue you can try on and see if it will help you achieve your fitness dream. Their role is to aid with the arduous task of burning excess fat while at the same time providing the stamina and motivation for more and more workouts. These include bodybuilding faq which aid in the abs fat burnouts, the Rox Review and Tetra Review, both of which are ideal for general bodybuilding and fat-burning needs.

Dane Fletcher

Dane Fletcher is the world's most prolific bodybuilding and fitness expert and is currently the executive editor for BodybuildingToday.com. If you are looking for more bodybuilding tips or information on weight training, or supplementation, please visit http://www.BodybuildingToday.com, the bodybuilding and fitness authority site with hundreds of articles available FREE to help you meet your goals

Effects of Muscle Hypertrophy on Bodybuilders

Muscle hypertrophy refers to growth as well as increase in the size and volume of muscle cells. Muscle hypertrophy is of great significance to bodybuilders and is affected by age, nutrition, steroids and exercises. The latter factor is the one that is of concern to most bodybuilders. During adolescence, hypertrophy takes place at the highest rate. There are other short terms which are common to most bodybuilders among them strength training and anaerobic exercises. These measures all strengthen the muscles which are involved in respiration.

On the other hand, aerobic exercises have a lower intensity and are not ideal for muscle hypertrophy. It can lead to long-term increase in the size of muscles because protein intake increases immediately after exercising. Endurance training in athletes results in drastic reduction of body fat, requiring an increased intake of amino acids and carbohydrates.

Two types of muscle hypertrophy are common. One is sarcoplasmic hypertrophy which results in increase in the amount of sarcoplasmic fluid within the muscle cells. This is often accompanied by growth in the size of muscle cells. Myofibrillar hypertrophy leads to muscular strength and this comes with increased muscle size. Myofibrillar hypertrophy is divided into two processes. One of them leads to increase in the volume of nuclei within the muscle tissue while the other leads to growth and increase in the contractile material which is supported by an individual nucleus. This second process is the usual way of defining muscle hypertrophy.

Hypertrophy that arises as a result of strength training among bodybuilders is a combination of two processes one of which is contraction. The other process is experienced by professional athletes and endurance athletes. It results in neural drive which stimulates the muscle contraction process. Measurable gains can be realized once the bodybuilder learns how to use the muscles for his own fitness benefits. The second process refers to the unregulated mechanism, which is rather difficult to explain in general terms. It is best elaborated using terms such as up-regulation which begins to trigger a ubiquitous messenger mechanism into action. Genes have a lot to do with what happens to the muscles including their growth. It only becomes difficult when one is trying why muscle hypertrophy as a result of strength training fails to occur in some of us and cannot necessarily be well compared to gains accruing from actual strength of the body muscles. Furthermore it is not possible for muscles to grow in size without increasing in strength.

Muscle fibers are made up of myofibrils which are maintained through protein synthesis. There is a limit to the size of a mature fibril. After this size is reached, it splits these events are observed even inside every muscle fiber. In other words, hypertrophy occurs as a result of growth of each muscle cell and not an increase in the number of individual cells. When the rate of uptake of amino acids by muscles decreases, there is an inhibition of protein synthesis. This makes muscle hypertrophy a very integral approach of understanding how bodybuilding can be enhanced.

Dane Fletcher

Dane Fletcher is the world's most prolific bodybuilding and fitness expert and is currently the executive editor for BodybuildingToday.com. If you are looking for more bodybuilding tips or information on weight training, or supplementation, please visit http://www.BodybuildingToday.com, the bodybuilding and fitness authority site with hundreds of articles available FREE to help you meet your goals