Powerlifting versus Bodybuilding

Powerlifting is a sport that evolved from bodybuilding, and many of the goals are somewhat the same. You can benefit from the practices of powerlifting if you are involved in bodybuilding and vice versa. The main difference comes from competition-in powerlifting your goal is to move as much weight as possible, while in bodybuilding your goal is to look as big and defined as possible.

Powerlifting competitions have three parts: the squat, the bench press, and the dead weight. You win a competition not based on how big your muscles appear to be, but rather, how much total weight you lifted. Competitors are placed into classes determined by factors such as experience and age, and are asked to lift in each of the three competitions. There's no need to tan, remove hair, or learn poses to be a successful powerlifter; instead, you should focus all your training time on building strength and stamina.

Powerlifters should stick to a healthy diet, just like bodybuilders. It is important to eat enough calories in a day to optimize muscle building, but you should eat the right foods. Stay away from bad carbohydrates, such as potatoes, and bad fats, such as fried foods. Instead, eat lots of pasta, green vegetables, and sources of protein. Depending on your body type, you may to cut back on certain foods to lose weight. Remember that powerlifting, however, is not a measure of body fat or definition, so packing on a few extra pounds won't effect how the judges view you. Losing body fat, though, will promote a healthier lifestyle altogether, and you will be able to feel better in the gym when you are weight training if you cut the junk food out of your diet.

Stick to a regular routine in the gym as well, just as you would when bodybuilding. You still need time off to rest so that your muscles recover and build between workouts. Also consider taking an entire week off every eight to twelve weeks. This method is used by many trainers and is found to be beneficial in most people because it reduces stress, allows your body to breathe, and helps you stay dedicated to your sport.

Overall, power lifting can be both beneficial to your health and rewarding in the competitive sector. Set goals for yourself with each competition and focus on winning against your own goals instead of simply beating the other lifters. By being dedicated to your diet and training and by keeping a positive attitude, you can succeed in the powerlifting world.

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Cutting Exercises: A Bodybuilding Myth?

One of the most common goals of fitness enthusiasts is to have low levels of body fat covering their hard-earned muscles. Whether the individual is an athlete that wants to look good in and out of uniform or a fitness instructor that wants to have ?toned? arms, everyone is looking for the most effective exercises to reach their goals.

There is certainly no shortage of opinions when it comes to training programs and exercises that trainers and magazines seem to promote to reach these goals, so it is understandable that many bodybuilders and gym-goers can be overwhelmed by information. But what really confuses me is the claim made by gym employees and fitness authors that certain resistance training exercises are for definition and ?cutting up?.

Believe it or not, but no strength coach or exercise physiologist has been able to prove that one exercise rather than others can promote more ?definition? or ?toning?! Can someone explain how leg extensions are a better exercise for muscle definition than squats? This article will dispel these myths and will reveal the best exercises for meeting the goals of increased muscle definition, which is the correct term for ?toning?, ?cutting up? or ?getting ripped?. In fact, let?s just eliminate ?toning? from our vocabulary all together.

First a little background for those without a long history of weight training experience. Bodybuilders (that includes any man or woman that is seeking to improve their body?s appearance!) traditionally perform a number of exercises for a body part during a single resistance training session. For example, in a chest workout one might start with bench presses, move to incline dumbbell press, and finish with dumbbell flyes or the pec-deck.

Now according to many personal trainers and fitness magazines, the rationale behind this type of program is that the pressing exercises are best for strength and mass development and the pec-deck would provide for definition. Also, people believe that these ?definition? exercises should be emphasized in order to develop a ?ripped? body (that is, low levels of body fat). Unfortunately, it seems bodybuilders and fitness buffs alike have been led astray, and the end result is a poorly planned program that does not lead to the desired results.

Next we need a brief, yet simplistic, review of human anatomy and physiology to reason why these ?cutting? exercises (i.e. pec-deck) do not do the job. For our purposes there are 2 components determining body composition, muscle and fat. For most people it is the amount of fat that is the limiting factor for them in the development of muscular definition and not the ?quality? of their muscle. If an overweight individual were to be stripped of all their fat, they too would have muscle definition.

On the other hand, a skinny individual can increase their muscle definition by lifting weights and increasing muscle hypertrophy (growth). The body cannot tell the difference between exercises! It responds according to the demands applied to the body. If you lift weights the muscle will grow so that it is stronger and can lift the weight easier the next time. If you eat too much and do not exercise, the energy is deposited as fat and your muscle definition will be lost. It is a very simple equation!

The pec-deck can still be incorporated into workout designs, but it is not the best exercise for promoting a better body composition. In fact, this isolation exercise recruits only the chest muscles and ignores the triceps and deltoids, unlike the previously mentioned presses. And remember that more muscles result in greater energy expenditure and a greater overall training stimulus.

Another myth that seems to propagate is that sets performed for a very high number of repetitions are most effective for ?cutting up?. Refer back to the basic anatomical principle that the body?s appearance is determined by the amounts of both muscle and fat, and most importantly that low levels of body fat are necessary for muscle definition. Using a lightweight to do a huge number of repetitions might not ?show off? your muscles better than using a moderate weight and performing a moderate number of repetitions.

Why not? Because there would likely be no difference in the amount of total calories burned between the two workouts provided each performed a similar exercise volume in the workout. The greater number of repetitions in the one workout would be offset by the greater intensity (weight) used in the other workout. However, a heavier weight will stimulate more muscle growth. More muscle results in a faster metabolism and theoretically greater energy expenditure at rest. So over the long haul the more intense (heavier lifting) workout may be the optimal choice for reducing body fat. In addition, larger muscles are easier to see!

Okay, so what is going to bring you the results (i.e. definition) that you want? Keep the exercises basic and intense (i.e. moderate to heavy weight). Most bodybuilders are better off to do 4-5 sets of bench and incline presses (for a total of 8-10 sets) rather than including 3 sets of pec-deck in the traditional manner. The volume of exercise will be the same but the difficulty of exercise will be harder and the cumulative effects will greater.

Aerobic exercise is not essential for low levels of body fat but can certainly promote greater cardiovascular fitness and help prevent excessive weight gain. Interval training has now been shown in 2 studies to be more effective than slow cardio.

So stick with multi-muscle strength exercises and interval training to burn more calories out of the gym. It really adds up to more calorie burn and less body fat. That is a far better approach than relying on cutting exercises.

And finally, make the proper dietary changes to promote muscle gains and body fat reductions. Nutrition is the #1 factor for fat loss. If you don't have good nutrition, no exercise program will help you lose fat. In the end you will be healthier and will achieve superior muscle definition!

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How Do I Start Bodybuilding - 4 Secrets For Gaining Muscle Fast

A beautiful body on a magazine can indeed be a product of modern technology. Many people ask how do I start bodybuilding?

To answer this question you need to know that no amount of physical activity can give you your desired body if it is not coupled with bodybuilding nutrition and a body total workout. Actually, it is the bodybuilding nutrition that is the most vital factor in building the best body. Exercise is a mere supplement to it.

Secret #1. Bodybuilding nutrition program encourages smaller and frequent meals rather than large and less frequent ones which can aid in how to get rid of love handles. This is so because frequent meals increase your metabolism. A pattern like not eating for a few hours after a large meal will make the body gain fat and lose muscle because the body will experience a catabolic state.

Secret #2. The body will then feed on the lean muscle tissues in place of the food that you are supposed to eat. A good bodybuilding nutrition program should have meals that include carbohydrates, protein, and fat in the right amounts. This is very important when asking the quesion how do I start bodybuilding.

Secret #3. Carbohydrates and protein should be about 40% while the remaining percentage is for fats. A very effective method in preparing that bodybuilding nutrition meal is to imagine the size of your clenched fist as the amount of food with carbohydrate content, and that of protein as the size of your open hand.

Secret #4. Nutrition supplements are a good addition to your bodybuilding nutrition plan. Bodybuilding supplements work well with a good bodybuilding nutrition program because it improves the metabolism in the body. Thse are the top 4 secrets you should know when you ask how do I start bodybuilding.

Your metabolism may slow down when dieting to achieve weight loss and build muscle and it is believed that exercise can help a great deal. First the metabolic rate can be higher when exercising and so help to burn off those extra calories and help weight loss and build muscle. Also exercising so that you gain more muscle can help to burn more calories as it thought that muscle burns calories more quickly than fat.

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Finding The Right Home Gym

It's no surprise that using a home gym is a terrific way to get into shape. You can conveniently exercise in a spare room or basement anytime of the day, and you are guaranteed to not have to wait for the equipment to be available. This is one of the biggest problems with using a public gym. During peak exercising hours you will find alot of competition for the stations. You can solve this by working out on a home gym.

So now that you've decided on setting up a gym in your home, which one is right for you? There are many different units available from many top companies such as Weider, Bowflex, and Nautilus. And each one of these manufacturers offers several different configurations of exercise equipment at varying prices. One way to avoid getting overwhelmed by information is to first determine what exactly you need from the equipment. This may sound trivial but it is a necessary first step.

Do you want to gain size and strength from working out on your home gym? Then you will want one that has many different stations targetting various muscles. You will also want one of the home gyms that has alot of weight so that you don't outgrow it quickly. Obviously these models will be more expensive, but they are worth it if you want to get bigger and stronger.

If you are looking for something that will help you lose weight and tone your body you may not need one of the top of the line products. You can browse the exercise units that have lower weights and less 'bells and whistles'. These are great for beginners or people who want to start working out but are not into bodybuilding. Spending alot of money is probably not necessary if you are in this category. Look at other cardiovascular exercise equipment like a treadmill or stairmaster as well. You can burn alot of calories on them and they are generally less expensive than home gyms.

Take a look around the internet to comparison shop once you decide on the type of home gym you need. You will be surprised at the difference in pricing, and many companies will ship the units for free. Try to find a reputable manufacturer, preferably one that has alot of positive feedback for their customer service. If you have problems later on you need to be sure they will stand behind their workout equipment.

It is important for you to just start exercising, especially if you have been neglecting your body for a long time. If this is the case check with your doctor to make sure you are fit enough to start an exercise routine. Go slowly at first, gradually increasing the intensity. Before you know it you will be losing weight and feeling more energized.

James McDonald writes for fitnesstrainingsource.com, a fitness equipment and informational website geared towards those people who enjoy working out in their own homes. You can find product information and recommendations, as well as helpful articles.