The Side Effects of Bodybuilding Supplements

Many body builders turn to discount bodybuilding supplements in order to achieve more noticeable results in a shorter amount of time. In addition, supplements can help to maintain energy levels so that workouts can be longer and more effective. However, both brand name and discount supplements can cause side effects, which should be considered before starting a supplement regimen.

One of the most popular bodybuilding supplements is creatine. Creatine monohydrate is used to increase muscle fullness and body mass. It also helps in shortening the recovery time after an intense workout. Creatine can cause your muscles to retain water, which can lead to dehydration in some people. Also, there might be up to a five pound weight gain during the first week. There are no major known side effects of taking creatine, but some people experience gas, bloating or diarrhea during the first few weeks of use.

Glutamine is taken by those who are doing frequent intense workouts. It is an amino acid that occurs naturally in your muscles, and it also works to help maintain your immune system. It can become depleted through diet or hard workouts, and a supplement can help to keep up immune response. There have been no reported side effects.

Andro supplements have received a lot of negative press as androstenedione is banned at the Olympics. However, andro supplements are not illegal and many believe they help build muscle mass and strength. Andro supplements cause an increase in female sex hormones. When taken by men, it can cause breast growth as well as a decreased sex drive. It also increases the risk of heart disease.

Caffeine is used to burn fat in a way that discourages fatigue. It can increase concentration and some feel it helps with motivation. It also has an effect on muscle contraction. It can be easy to take too much caffeine because many people also drink soda, coffee, or eat chocolate while taking the supplements. If too much caffeine is consumed, side effects include heart palpitations, nervousness, irritability, dehydration and diarrhea.

As with any type of medication or vitamin, you should make yourself aware of the possible side effects of the drug to determine whether the benefits of taking it outweigh any negative outcomes. While many supplements do not have any side effects, some have side effects which should make you think twice before purchasing them. All it takes is a little bit of research and you should be able to take supplements without having to worry about any unwanted results.

Natalie Aranda writes about health. Many body builders turn to discount bodybuilding supplements in order to achieve more noticeable results in a shorter amount of time. In addition, supplements can help to maintain energy levels so that workouts can be longer and more effective. However, both brand name and discount supplements can cause side effects, which should be considered before starting a supplement regimen.

Nutrition - The Six Food Groups for Bodybuilding Success

Everyone knows that nutrition is about the most important element in the scheme of things for a bodybuilder. The quality and quantity of the food that you eat - and the times that you choose to eat it - makes a significant difference in the way that you look, feel and develop. Food is also crucial to energy in the gym, and is often the unnamed culprit in a bad workout session.

But barring sticking with cans of tuna and cooked yams, or chicken breasts and brown rice, nutrition can be a mystery to a lot of newbies and seasoned competitors alike. Most stick with just a few staples in order to simplify, but it may not be serving their every need - either in the gym or up on the stage.

The 6 Food Groups

Usually, nutritional bibles will show a pyramid with grains/cereals, proteins, dairy and fruits and vegetables as the 4 food groups. For bodybuilders, it's a bit different and probably looks more like this: Meats/ ProteinsCereals/ GrainsVegetablesFruitDairy ProductsOils/ NutsA bodybuilder's food intake for peak performance and peak condition should include something from each of these groups, but the ratios are greatly skewed from what is typically espoused by nutrition bibles.

Ratios are approximately:

Off Season: 40% Meats/ Proteins10% Grains/ Cereals20% Vegetables (Starchy and unstarchy) 10% Fruit10% Dairy10% Oils/ NutsPre-Contest: 40% Meats/ Proteins5% Grains/ Cereals30% Vegetables (10% starchy and 20% unstarchy, leafy green vegetables)30% Oils/ NutsFruits typically are cut out in the last 5 or 6 weeks. As long as vitamin supplementation occurs, it's not an appreciable deficit.

Typically, we are told that 60% of our diets should come from carbs, 20% from protein and 20% from fat. But let's face it... eating like this is a sure-fire recipe for bodybuilding failure! Following the above plan is much more likely to create the kind of physique you want, and provide the energy you need to succeed in the gym and up on the stage.

Calories - Do they Count?

In this age of low carb diets (and bodybuilders have been cycling carbs for much longer than it's been in fashion) it's easy to think that calories don't count! But, in fact, they do. Don't ignore calories - it's one of the biggest mistakes that a bodybuilder can make! That means, don't ignore the fact that what you take in, carb-free/ carb-light or not, still counts. Sure, it counts much more when you include complex carbs back into the picture during an off season phase, but calories count anytime. Fail to count them and you set yourself up for bad habits that spill over into the off season.

Get in the habit of counting calories during a pre-contest phase, and you'll probably be fine. Once you add starchy vegetables, such as potatoes and additional grains, such as rice, you won't go astray.

For a 200 pound bodybuilder, here's how calories should look:

Off season (growth): 3000 Off season (maint.): 2500 Pre-contest (fat loss): 1800

Eating Quality and Quantity in the Off Season

Off season and mass building aren't synonymous with Burger King or McDonald's. Occasionally, this kind of food is okay, but in general, they are not their own food group and are not the best quality food to feed your body.

It merits mentioning that eating a large quantity of calories during an off season phase is crucial to success. But it should also be mentioned that the quantity must also include quality. Simply shoveling 3000 calories of any kind of food into your mouth isn't the way to address mass building.

Think of feeding your body in the same way you would a new home project. Do you want linoleum in your kitchen, or ceramic tile? Would you build your home with recycled lumber and expect it to last for 30 years, or would you be better off using brand new lumber? Would you want to use sandpaper on your roof, or wood shake or ceramic tile? These are all important decisions in what your final product looks like, and how enduring it will be.

Think of food and feeding your body during a mass phase in the same way. Eat steak, chicken, and other quality protein, good carbs like potatoes, yams, oatmeal, and fats such as olive oil and nuts. Just eat more of it than you would during a pre-contest phase.

Dane Fletcher is the world's foremost training authority. He writes exclusively for GetAnabolics.com, a leading online provider of testosterone and creatine. For more information, please visit http://www.GetAnabolics.com.

Bodybuilding Supplements - Some Helpful Information Before You Buy

The human body needs a certain amount of different nutrients in order to function properly. 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 the body's needs, especially when it needs an extra boost of energy such as 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.

Bodybuilding nutritional supplements are normally 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 and help keep them healthy. Fat burning pills are important supplements in this category and they help to speed up the process of the body's metabolism in order to release energy. Bodybuilding supplements are also sometimes referred to as energy boosters or mass builders.

Creatine is also a kind of bodybuilding supplement. Normally a nutritional supplement 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. Supplements rich in nitric oxide also work well as bodybuilding supplements. They usually come in the form of tablets and capsules, but some are also available in liquid & powder form. Creatine and Nitric Oxide are the most popular mass building bodybuilding supplements in the industry today.

When exercising there is a possibility that you can cause damage to your joints. There are certain supplements that are capable of preventing joint injury. They usually consist of chondroitine sulfate and glucosamine sulfate. Testosterone boosters, growth hormones and a blend of herbs and vitamins are also very effective bodybuilding supplements. These supplements help to raise the body's own testosterone levels and therefore increase strength greatly.

Muscle building and energy boosting drinks are available that 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 a variety of 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. This way they are easier to take and provide the instant energy boost needed just like energy boosting drinks. MRP is mostly recommended for bodybuilders who have no prior experience and require large quantities of energy boosting substances to keep them fit and healthy. There are a lot of different meal replacement packs to choose from so be sure to narrow down your goals and then search for the best product for that purpose.

Nutrition bars, commonly known as meal bars or protein bars are also important to mention when considering bodybuilding supplements. Before using any kind of nutrition bars, don't forget to consult a health expert because sometimes these bars contain additives that might not 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 their doctor before consuming any type of nutritional supplements. Meal bars can be eaten just before working out, just like with any pre-workout energy drinks. These bars are perfect if your always on the go or are limited for time due to today's high stressed way of life.

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 dietitian before you consume any of these supplements.

Christopher DiCicco is an owner of a online Nutritional Supplements Store http://www.flexhealthnutrition.com/details/shop/BN-026 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 to name a few. http://www.flexhealthnutrition.com/details/shop/BN-023

Body Building For Females - Female BodyBuilding Tips Revealed!

Body Building is not something that is typically associated with women. When we watch the television, and see action films, we're more likely to see figures such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, replete with rippling muscle, then we are to see musclebound women. Yet body building for females is becoming increasingly popular, as more and more women are looking to improve not only their fitness levels, but also their levels of strength. Additionally, female bodybuilding is not only about looking musclebound, but about achieving a muscle symmetry, that women can feel proud of. In essence its all about choice.

Female bodybuilding offers a route towards toned muscles, good health, and satisfaction with the way you look. And in practice, it's not actually that different from male bodybuilding in terms of actually working out. But there are differences in terms of the physiology involved. The most striking of these is that because men have much higher levels of testosterone, and women have much higher levels of estrogen, this affects the way, that each respective sex reacts to exercise. Testosterone levels being higher means that men build muscle much more easily, whilst higher estrogen levels in women can mean that they may tend to store fat more easily than men (not a good thing. If you wish to take bodybuilding seriously!) However, as professional female bodybuilders have shown, this can be overcome if you take the training seriously enough.

One common misnomer that women have, is that they don't wish to do bodybuilding exercises, because they believe that if they stop, that the muscle will immediately turn to fat (something that no one wants!) This in fact, is not true though. And if you stop exercising, the muscle will not be transformed into fat, but it may well disappear, over time. If you don't use it, then you will lose it! Fat build up comes because you are consuming more calories than you are burning, and in fact, exercise is a key part in turning this on its head, because exercise increases your metabolic rate, which has the effect of you burning more calories for all of the activities that you do.

If you are a woman and are considering body building for females, then don't be put off. Instead, take charge, and become a pioneer! The truth is, that it's your body, and how you choose to present it to the world is up to you to decide.

For more information about bodybuilding for females and other bodybuilding resources. Visit http://www.NewsDepo.info where you can also learn about the best weight lifting exercises

Women bodybuilding, determining your body type.

An article describing how to determine your body type. Female bodybuilding.

One time, a successful bodybuilder once told me that bodybuilding is 80% knowledgeable training and 80% nutrition. It is quite obvious this strong-armed man did not have strength in math, but never the less he was successful in pursuing a bodybuilding lifestyle. Wait a minute that was me who said that. Oh boy.

To determine what kind of nutrition and training you should follow, you must first determine what type of body style you have. It is not imperative to do this but it does help you achieve your desired effect. The three types of body styles are Ectomorph, Mesomorph and Endomorph.

Ectomorph: This type of person has a hard time putting on weight. That includes fat or muscle. Typically a thin, wiry type of build. In the bodybuilding circle this is a hardgainer. This person can eat anything all the time and will not gain an ounce. Usually a tad bit high strung. Just like someone hooked them up intravenously with double strength espresso. At the office, they can eat a bag of chips and wash it down with a soda and then go to break eating even more. For a bodybuilding diet this person can eat all the bread, rice and potatoes they want. Ectomorph must do enough cardio work to keep the heart healthy.

Mesomorph: This type of person can generally put on muscle very easily. They have more of an athletic build. Broad shoulders, wide back and thick thigh muscles are some of the characteristics of this type. This person does have to watch what they eat or they will be adding fat on their body. This person might have an aggressive type of behavior. Do first, ask later mentality. For the bodybuilding diet, eat enough calories to maintain and build muscle, but keep it a very clean and healthy diet or you will put on the fat. Do enough cardio work to keep the fat off. But dont overdo it or you will waste away your hard-earned muscle.

Endomorph: The only thing this type of person has to do is look at food and they gain weight. And not the right kind of weight. Some possible characteristics are narrow shoulders or a pear shaped body. Watching their diet is a big problem for this person. This person might have to monitor their health more closely for heart disease later in life. This person must strive to keep an active lifestyle to burn the calories. The bodybuilding diet, eat low calorie foods such as vegetables and fruits. Preferably in whole and natural form. Protein should come from very lean sources.

You can be a combination of two or even all three-body types. You can be a bodybuilder no matter what type of body you have. Its just that some will have an easier time than others will. After deciding on the type of body you have you can adjust your workout accordingly.

The author, Kevin Doberstein is a writer for www.nature-boy-bodybuilding.com. The site is dedicated to natural bodybuilding and preserving nature and wildlife. Water, forest, soil and wildlife conservation is paramount to Nature boy. You can contact Nature boy at natureboy_bodybuilding@hotmail.com

Home Gym Workout Routines

Home gym workout routines can take the hassle out of staying healthy. How often have you claimed your busy schedule as the reason you could not get to the gym? How many times have you skipped a workout you knew would make you feel better because the fatigue of traffic and the pace of a gym with trainers were too much for your work weary mind?

Well, say good bye to the excuses standing in your way because home gym workout routines are the answer for your busy schedule. The key to a successful home gym workout routine is scheduling yourself time.

Even though you are working out at home, you still need to hold yourself accountable to your own body. Setting aside a little time will make your workouts less stressful because you will already have that time framed for the activity.

Home gym workout routines can be tailored to meet your specific needs and available equipment. Try a treadmill workout routine to get yourself started and you can do that today. With a treadmill walking program you can work legs and even tone abs and arms.

You should always consult your physician before beginning any workout regimen, because they can help you tailor your routine to your health needs and abilities. Begin with moderate walking twenty minutes a day and this can go a long way to decrease your stress load, increase your energy level and tone your muscles.

The great thing about a treadmill workout routine is you can do it year round in any weather condition. A treadmill walking program can be done as you read the newspaper or make evening calls or it can be a time of complete peace and isolation. Adding small hand weights can afford upper body toning even as you walk.

Your body deserves your attention, and your schedule need not stand in the way. Try a home gym workout routine today to shake away the cob webs from your body and you'll start seeing amazing results.

This article is supplied by http://www.treadmill-info.com/ where you will find valuable information, ratings, reviews, articles and buying tips before you make the investment in quality fitness equipment. For more fitness related articles go to: http://www.treadmill-info.com/articles_1.html