Saturday, May 23, 2009

Bodybuilding Supplements-What You Should Know Before You Take Them

Everybody needs a different amount of nutrients in their diets. These nutrients include vitamins, minerals and proteins. The body needs these nutrients every day in order to function correctly and to defend itself from various kinds of diseases. Sometimes a balanced diet is not sufficient enough to fulfill all of your body's needs, especially when it needs an extra boost of energy like in the case of bodybuilding. There are many different kinds of nutritional supplements that are available to help with bodybuilding and they are becoming increasingly popular these days. They are all useful for people who want to build strong muscles and want to improve their overall muscular physique. Some of them are NO2 supplements, Hi Protien Supplements and Weightlifting supplements.

Bodybuilding supplements are usually composed of a blend of some vitamins, minerals and natural energy vitalizing substances. These substances are useful to promote the growth of muscles and tissues that have been broken down from hard workouts. Fat burning pills are another important supplement in this category and they help to speed up the process of metabolism in order to release energy. Bodybuilding supplements are sometimes referred to as energy boosters or mass builders. NO2 supplements help to bring the bodies blood flow and oxygen to the worked out areas at a greater pace insuring that the body is able to recuperate faster. NO2 supplements also give you that ?pumped? up feeling long after your workouts are over.

Creatine is also a kind of bodybuilding supplement. Creatine will not only assist you in exercising longer but will also help in quicker restoration of strength after program sets. Normally a nutritional supplement like Creatine is made by combining several different substances that work better and faster when combined than individual substances. Creatine enhancers are used to increase its effectiveness. Creatine phosphate is the energized form of creatine and functions as an energy storage reserve. Supplements rich in nitric oxide (NO2) also work well as bodybuilding supplements. They usually come in the form of tablets and capsules, but some are also available in liquid form.

When exercising it is possible that you will cause damage to your joints. Unfortunately, like the wearing of tires on a car, the connective tissue that cushions our bones will continue to wear out as we get older. There are certain supplements that are capable of preventing joint injury. They usually consist of Chondroitin sulfate and Glucosamine and sulfate. Glucosamine is an amino sugar derived from the chitin of shellfish and is used by the body to support healthy joint structures. Chondroitin complements Glucosamine and works synergistically to provide optimal nutritional support..

Muscle building and energy boosting drinks are readily available are very easy to consume and equally effective. Although there is no real alternative to eating a proper balanced diet, sometimes due to a lack of time we are not able to include all the natural nutrients in our everyday meals. To address this deficiency, you can take nutritional supplements. Testosterone boosters, growth hormones and a blend of herbs and vitamins just to name a few are also very effective bodybuilding supplements

Meal replacement supplements are normally found in the form of powdered material and more commonly known as meal replacement powder or MRP. These are rich in protein and fatty acids, so that they can provide the necessary energy boost required by the body. MRP can be mixed in water or milk before consuming. They also have RTD or Ready To Drink versions which are readily available and are more for the ?on the go? type person. .They This way they are easier to take and provide the instant energy boost needed just like energy boosting drinks. MRP is recommended for bodybuilders who require large quantities of a Hi Protien Supplement to keep them in an anabolic state.

Nutrition bars, commonly known as meal bars or protein bars are also important to mention when considering body building supplements. Before using any kind of nutrition bars, don't forget to consult a health expert because sometimes these bars contain additives that might be harmful to some people. If you are on any other medication to treat a disease, for example if you are an insulin-dependent diabetic patient then you should always ask your doctor before consuming any type of nutritional supplements. Hi Protien bars can be eaten just before working out to give your body some extra pre-workout energy.

Some natural substances like probiotics are also used in bodybuilding nutritional supplements. These are healthy bacteria that are naturally found in the digestive system, these help with the proper digestion of food. Eating a prescribed amount of these supplements daily helps to speed up the digestive process. If you don't know where to start then you can search for bodybuilding supplements on the Internet including fat burning pills and energy boosting supplements, but make sure you talk to your Doctor before you consume any of these supplements.

A healthy diet and exercise program will ensure that you live a healthier and longer life. Always remember to research any nutritional supplement and talk to your doctor before taking anything. How you take care of yourself today.

Christopher DiCicco is the owner of the online Nutritional Supplements Store http://www.Flexhealthnutrition.com and has been involved with health and nutrition for over 20 years. He has written many articles on such topics as Nutritional Supplements, Bodybuilding supplements, weightlifting supplements, vitamins and minerals to name a few. He also offers training and exercise information on his site for free. There are over 4000 different supplements from all of the top manufacturers. You will find everything you need and get some of the best prices and fastest shipping there.

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Monday, February 9, 2009

The Biggest Muscle Building Fallacy in Bodybuilding

I?ve just read yet another article about bodybuilding which only shows more evidence that writers of this sport or hobby are only too happy to regurgitate the same old tired out information that?s useless at best and a complete crock of doodie at worst. Frankly, I?m getting a little tired of it. And I don?t like seeing other natural bodybuilders spin their wheels by latching onto pseudo-scientific malarkey that only keeps them groping in the dark for something that works.

You?ll probably be surprised to find out which widely-embraced and beloved theory I?m prepared to debunk. No, it?s not the one about muscle being incapable of turning into fat or fat turning into muscle. I think even your average five-year-old knows that by now. Neither is it the one about muscles not growing directly from workouts but rather from recuperating between workouts. I have non weight-training, nerdy friends who already have that figured out.

No, this is about the much coveted, yet completely erroneous ?muscle confusion principle?. For clarity, let?s look at some common assertions that this silly concept hides within:

?You need to ?shock? your body by changing your routine.?
?Once you do a routine for awhile, your muscles get used to it and stop growing.?
?You need to change your bodybuilding exercises to keep your muscles guessing.?
?Muscles won?t continue to grow unless you keep them ?confused?.

Let me straighten this out: Muscles don?t need to be confused, baffled, perplexed, puzzled, bewildered, disconcerted or befuddled.

They also don?t need to be ?shocked?.

What they need in order to continue growing is to be systematically overloaded and recuperated. Let me repeat that: Systematically Overloaded and Recuperated.

Here?s another piece of startling information. In order to systematically overload and recuperate your muscles, you could feasibly use the same exercises in the same sequence for the next twenty years. I?m not saying you need to or should ? only that you could. You could do it and keep gaining muscle mass as long as you know how to accurately and unremittingly overload and recuperate your muscles.

To check the validity of my claim, simply apply your rational faculty. Why would your muscles need to be ?tricked? or ?confused? in order to grow? Although they might be connected to neuro-transmitters present in the nervous system, they?re not equipped with little micro-brains that need to be fooled.

Simply put, they?re made out of actin and myosin; two proteins that need to be broken down in order to start the process of recuperation that possibly leads to compensatory size increases.

Notice I used the word ?possibly?. If we break the tissue down and don?t allow enough recuperation to not only repair the damage done but also build compensatory strength and size, our muscles simply won?t grow. They?ll stay the same size or even worse, become a little smaller. That?s what can happen from extreme over-training.

Where did ?Muscle Confusion? Originate?

The stimulus that started and perpetuates the muscle confusion lie is another common phenomenon and myth in bodybuilding: the ?pump?. This is a phenomenon because it really occurs; people do get a feeling of expansion in their muscles after working them. It?s a myth, however, from the standpoint of believing that this sensation represents evidence of muscle growth. A pumped sensation in a worked muscle is caused by a back pressure of blood flow and lactic acid in the capillaries. It has nothing to do with inter-workout recuperation and compensatory tissue growth. Therefore, regardless of whether a change in our workout routine causes us to imagine or actually feel a better pump, it?s not an indication of real progress.

But the facts haven?t stopped it from feeding the muscle confusion myth. People will swear up and down that their change of routine has given them a better pump and a subsequent resumption of progress. My objections are only proven correct when these individuals possess muscles that haven?t grown at all six months or a year later.

Why ?Muscle Confusion? can hold you back

Frankly, too much adherence to the muscle confusion principle can cause feedback confusion. If we change our exercises and routine too often, we won?t accumulate enough feedback to tweak our volume strategy and put it in to the momentous gaining zone. I?ve seen people change their exercises every week. I?ve even been one of those people (years ago). Would you like to know where all that ?muscle confusion? got me? Absolutely nowhere ? nadda - Zilch! I had good workout pumps. But I experienced no gains at all from massive confusing and befuddling of my muscles and entire body.

Some people claim they need to change their bodybuilding exercises once in a while to alleviate boredom. That?s fine, as long as it?s not so often as to hamper the ability to read feedback and make adjustments that lead to actual gains.

Personally, I never get bored in the gym. There?s something so exciting about seeing continuous muscle growth happening naturally and directly on my formerly hard-gainer body. It blows away any fleeting sensation I might have once gotten from merely changing an exercise in the name of? ?confusion?.

Scott Abbett is the author of HardBody Success: 28 Principles to Create Your Ultimate Body and Shape Your Mind for Incredible Success.

Scott is a certified fitness trainer and a certified Master Practitioner and Trainer of NLP. You can view his own phyical transformation by visiting http://www.hardbodysuccess.com

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Tuesday, June 17, 2008

The Interconnection Between Bodybuilding And Fitness

Enthusiasts of bodybuilding know of the hard work that is required to achieve and maintain the sculpted bodies for which they aspire. A regimented diet is certainly a large component of bodybuilding ? cutting fat and focusing on lean protein to feed the muscles of the body and maximize nutrition. But when it comes to achieving the ideal look that most bodybuilders are after, the connection between bodybuilding and fitness is undeniable.

Bodybuilding and fitness are so inseparable because the building of muscle mass is so largely dependent upon intense and committed workouts. Bodybuilders will tell you of the hours upon hours that they dedicate to the gym ? doing cardiovascular work, stretching, and engaging in significant weight training. For those in competition, this training is imperative to success. Any competitor will tell you that bodybuilding and fitness go hand in hand; without one there is no other.

For many embarking upon bodybuilding and fitness, there must be small steps taken in order to work up to a full exercise regime. To achieve maximum fitness it is imperative to combine cardiovascular work with core training and weight training. Cardiovascular work may include everything from running and walking to dancing and kickboxing. To follow, intensive core training such as Pilates or yoga will work to strengthen abdominal muscles, improve flexibility, and keep muscles limber.

But when it comes to bodybuilding and fitness, nothing does more to build and maintain muscle mass then weight training. Whether using weight training machines or free weights, lifting weights ? when done correctly ? will bolster and sculpt muscle mass throughout the body. Bodybuilders rely on weight training to achieve their fitness goals. However, it is most important that if you don?t have experience with weight training that you have professional instruction in order to learn the proper techniques. Weights, when lifted incorrectly, will only serve to injure rather than improve muscles.

For those looking to improve their bodies and even compete in bodybuilding competitions, it is imperative for them to incorporate a consistent regime of diet and exercise into their lives. For this reason, bodybuilding and fitness will continue to be an inseparable and lasting combination.

For easy to understand, in depth information about bodybuilding and fitness visit our ezGuide 2 Bodybuilding.

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