Bodybuilding - It's a Way of Life

Bodybuilding like many other sports requires determination, time and willpower. Some people take up bodybuilding to compete at the top levels and make a career out of the sport, for others it is a hobby and a way to bring discipline to their lives. Whatever the reasons for someone deciding to become a bodybuilder, it soon becomes apparent that simply going to the gym a few times a week a lifting some heavy weights will not get you anywhere.

To change the shape of your body and grow huge muscles the body needs to get a combination of good nutrition, plenty of rest and of course the right exercises. These are the three basic elements required to start changing the shape of your body. Sure there are other things on the market in the form of supplements that can go a long way in helping to reach those goals and help you look after your body along the way but without those three basic elements you will be fighting a useful battle.

Nutrition:

Nutrition will be the most important part of your bodybuilding routine. Without the right nutrition you will be doing more harm than good to your body and, in any case you just won't see the desired results. Basically, if you don't eat right then you are wasting your time in the gym.

Good nutrition means feeding your body plenty of the foods that it needs to help it grow. You need to get the right balance of Protein, Carbohydrates and, fats to keep your body in the optimum position for growth at all times. There are many different ratios of protein, fats and carbohydrates which are determined by individual goals but as an example someone who weighs 160 pounds and is say 5ft 7inches, looking to gain muscle size might consider a ratio of 50% Carbs, 25% Protein and 25% Fats. This is a good ratio to start at but will need constant reviewing and tweaking to find the one that works for you.

To stimulate muscle growth then your body must be in a constant anabolic state which means feeding your body the nutrition it needs every two to three hours. Eating small meals every two to three hours consisting of protein, carbohydrates and fats will ensure you get all the benefits from your hard work in the gym. If your body lacks the nutrition it needs then it will go into catabolic state which is the opposite of anabolic state. In a nutshell your body will begin to break down tissue to meet its daily nutritional needs. This is not a good state for your body to be in especially if you are trying to gain size and muscle.

Workout:

Just as you have to pay very close attention to you nutrition, so you have to take your workout seriously to be a bodybuilder. Many beginners wrongly assume that to build big muscles you have to try and lift the heaviest weights. While lifting heavy sets of weights does play a part in bodybuilding it is not the most important. The most important part of lifting weights is to get your form right. This means lifting the weights correctly in a way that isolates the muscle you are trying to work and prevents injury. Long term bad form in the gym can weaken a muscle and mean you it won't develop as it should. For beginners it is important to get lots of practice in the technique of lifting weights - which should be slow and controlled - by only lifting manageable sized weights and slowly progressing as you become used to the technique and become stronger. Bodybuilding is not something that should be rushed.

Another thing to consider is a thing known as "muscle memory". The muscles in or bodies are very adaptable and after a few months of doing the same exercise routine they will have adapted and become used to it. After this you will only be getting minimal results from your workout. To stimulate maximum growth from your muscles you will have to trick them by constantly challenging them. This means changing your workout routine and varying the intensity from time to time. As you become more aware of you bodies receptiveness to bodybuilding you will know how often to change your routine but basically you should be looking at trying out various workouts such as heavy sets with less repetitions, light sets with more repetitions and supersets which means you do not rest between sets.

The internet has plenty of suggestions of various workouts that can help to stimulate muscle growth. Trying out different ones will not only help to keep the muscle growing but it will also stop you from getting bored in the gym. You should always be looking to challenge yourself in the gym, and if something isn't working then change it. All our bodies are different and one routine might work wonders for one person but be absolutely useless for another.

Generally a bodybuilder will use each day to give one muscle group a thorough workout (called a split). You only need to workout for forty five minutes to an hour and your weekly schedule could look something like this:

Monday

Chest and Triceps

Tuesday

Back and Biceps

Wednesday

Rest

Thursday

Shoulders

Friday

Legs

Saturday

Rest

Sunday

Rest

Rest:

So many people underestimate the importance of rest and a common beginner mistake is to rush into the gym and start throwing around heavy weights seven days a week while still partying hard and surviving on five hours sleep per night. This will yield little to no results. You've got your nutrition in good order, you're eating a balanced six meals a day, you train hard five or six times a week and you're looking forward to your muscled new body. The rest day is when the magic happens.

The growing of the muscle does not happen during your gym session, this only stimulates growth. During a weightlifting session the muscle fibres stretch and tear making way for new muscle tissue and when you rest the body goes through the process of repairing and strengthening the muscle. This where keeping the body in an anabolic state, as mentioned above, becomes even more important because without the right nutrition this process will breakdown and cause the body to go into a catabolic state which will ruin all your hard work.

It is important to give the muscles enough time to strengthen and repair as long term over-working of the muscle could cause the muscle to weaken and you will become more susceptible to injury. Many bodybuilders work out a timetable where they allow themselves two or three important days of rest and five days training (as in the example above). Depending on what your lifestyle will allow you could consider something like Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday as a rest day and using the other days as workout days doing one muscle group each as mentioned above. Giving your body enough time to rest and recuperate is just as important as the workout and the nutrition.

Conclusion:

Making sure you get all the above mentioned elements write will enable you to turn into an effective bodybuilder. Whether you intend to do compete as a professional or just body build as a hobby, you need to make sure that the three elements, nutrition, your workout, and rest, are all in place and properly planned out. There are things to aid you further in your goals such as supplements and various workout techniques, but without the three basics in place you will only minimal results, if any.