Bodybuilding Exercises

Top 10 Bodybuilding exercises ? back to basics training for ultimate muscle mass

In this age of $5000 strength machines and $8000 treadmills, it may surprise readers to learn that some of the best bodybuilding exercises can be performed for as little as $100! That?s right, you don?t need chrome and glitz to transform your physique. Long before Universal, Nautilus, and Hammer Strength, came on the scene, bodybuilders had been packing on muscle mass by training with good old-fashioned barbells.

The following (in no particular order) are our choices as the top bodybuilding exercises of all time.

Squats

Most authorities consider squats to be the best leg exercise. Period. One set of all out squats will do more for your lower body than 10 sets of leg extensions. Squats are also one of the most natural and basic of all body movements (let?s face it how often do you mimic the leg extension in the run of a day!) and target virtually the entire lower body.

Barbell Bench Press

The barbell bench press can be considered squats for the upper body. No pretty machine comes close to what this basic bodybuilding exercise will do for your torso. Long before the Pec deck started taking up space in gyms, bodybuilders were putting muscle mass on their chest, triceps, and shoulders, by training with barbell presses.

Deadlifts

Although long considered a powerlifting exercise, deadlifts are one of those exercises that often get neglected by bodybuilders because they take a lot of effort to do properly. But deadlifts will build you a set of python-sized spinal erectors as well as bestow on you that ?no neck? look. They?ll also do wonders for your hamstrings and thighs.

Chin-ups

Long before lat pulldowns transformed the way people trained their backs; chin-ups were tops of back bodybuilding exercises. The great thing about chins is that you can do them just about anywhere from a play ground to a basement. Unlike lat pulldowns, chin-ups require you to lift as well as stabilize your body (i.e. keep your body from swaying). This is what makes them so effective.

Barbell rows

If chin-ups widen your back and produce that much-coveted v-taper, barbell rows will give your inner back that dense, thick, meaty look. Unlike the more often substituted T-bar row, barbell rows have none of the balancing removed. You have to lift and balance the weight. There is no pivoting on the floor or being locked in a given plan of motion that may be unnatural for your body.

Seated Barbell Press

This is another oldie but goodie. Training with seated barbell presses will give your shoulders that cannonball look. Seated barbell presses evolved from the old standing press that was so popular with Olympic lifters and bodybuilders in the 1940?s and 1950?s. They?ve stood the test of time and you should be doing them.

Barbell curls

It?s safe to say that the first exercise performed on barbells when they were invented was a barbell curl. No cable or machine curl will come close to what these babies will do for your biceps muscle mass. They?ll also build up a phenomenal set of forearms. So if you want hams hanging from your shoulder joints you must add barbell curls to your bodybuilding exercises.

Lying triceps extensions

Lying triceps extensions, also called skullcrushers, are the triceps equivalent of barbell curls. They?re simple, basic, and will bring those horseshoes out for all to admire. So you can fluff with kickbacks or cable extensions or put some serious meat on your arms with this great bodybuilding exercise!

Push-ups

Push-ups go back even further than barbell exercises. Push-ups are the best bodyweight exercise for building the chest, shoulders, and triceps. By changing the height of the legs you can target different parts of the chest. They can also be done just about anywhere, whether the gym or in a hotel room while on the road. So drop and give me 20!

Crunches

Crunches will strengthen your abdominal core. They?ll also improve your posture and help protect your lower back. Crunches evolved from sit-ups, but unlike sit-ups they place less stress on your lower back and keep the hip flexors from contributing to the exercise. As with push-ups crunches can be done just about anywhere and should be the primary exercise in your abdominal routine.

Bob Howard expert on bodybuilding and steroids. Are you looking for more of his bodybuilding articles? http://www.bodybuildinginformation.com Article ? Bob Howard 5/5/2006

Bodybuilding: Volume Manipulation - Overtraining for Over-Growth

"How often should I go to the gym"? This is one question that always comes up in consultation with individuals seeking improvements in size OR strength. Unfortunately the answer is far from simple, and even the recommendations from various strength coaches can be completely opposite depending on the philosophy of the training advisor.

One may suggest that training frequency be reduced in order to allow increased recovery and sufficient muscular adaptation following a training stimulus. Increased rest may also be planned to prevent OR avoid a training plateau (when performance no longer improves despite administration of a training stimulus). The opposing view is to increase the training frequency in order to apply a greater stimulus to the muscle and demand a greater level of adaptation. Therefore, basing a workout design solely on training volume is not optimal.

Certainly, it is important to design the program with sufficient rest and recovery intervals so that the optimal training adaptations will be obtained from the effort given in the weight room. In fact, at the end of a training session, an individual is gets weaker throughout the workout. It is the recovery period between training sessions where tissue adaptation occurs and enables the individual to return stronger and bigger for the next training session.

The training volume of each individual workout can also be manipulated to allow for greater recovery OR an increased training stimulus. A reduction in the amount of sets OR repetitions will decrease the volume in a given training session. In contrast, performing additional sets is the best manner to increase the overall training volume of a workout.

Training intensity is the final variable that can be manipulated in the training prescription. It may in fact be the most important factor in determining the neuromuscular response. As a detailed description of the adaptations to different training loads is an article in itself, let us generally consider high-intensity (>90% 1 RM) loads as most effective in training the nervous system and moderate-intensity (70-90% 1 RM) loads most effective in stimulating hypertrophy of the muscle fibres. An individual that has been lifting consistently at a single intensity most certainly would benefit by varying the load for a short-duration training phase (i.e. 3-6 weeks).

Lifters stuck at a plateau may need to consider alternative & novel program designs to elicit further gains in performance. A "novel" training routine could be followed for a short period (2-4 weeks) and would stress the neuromuscular system in a manner that it is not accustomed.

This may promote adaptations in the neuromuscular system that could enhance immediate performance OR future training sessions. Each of the above variables can be manipulated within a single training program to help achieve maximal results in the gym.

I theorize that a period of overstress followed by a period of reduced training volume and frequency will result in even greater adaptations than normally occur with regular training frequencies and recovery intervals. The program is based on "tapering" strategies used by elite athletes prior to important competitions.

Tapering is defined as periods of high-intensity training followed by a brief "unloading" phase. In theory this may enable complete neuromuscular adaptation to the training stimulus and allows for rest and recovery prior to competition.

The basic concept of the following program design is similar to the "tapering" concept as the trainee reduces the training volume in order to allow for maximal adaptation (whether it be muscle growth OR maximal strength development).

WEEK 1

This week should be characterized by 6 full training sessions. A typical "bodybuilder" routine of a 3-day split, perhaps as legs, chest & back, and shoulders & arms would be performed. The split would be repeated twice and followed by a rest day. The intensity (weight OR load) is moderate (8-12 RM) and the volume is high. Exercises would be predominantly single-joint to isolate the particular muscles.

WEEK 2

Total training frequency is reduced by 1 session (~20%) and the training frequency of each body part is cut in half to a single session per week. Again, a typical "bodybuilder" routine is performed. The training split would be changed to 1 body part per day, for example, chest, legs, back, shoulders, and arms. The training intensity in this week would be higher (6-8 RM) for the entire program. Total weekly training volume is lower due to the reduced frequency BUT/ daily volume is greater per muscle group due to the isolated training routine.

WEEK 3

Four training days (2 total upper-body & 2 lower-body workouts). The intensity of this week should be slightly reduced from Week 2 for 1 of the 2 workouts per body split. For example, on Monday, a very intense lower-body workout (6-8 RM) may be performed, while a moderate intensity lower-body workout (10-12 RM) may be done on Thursday. Multi-joint exercises should be performed to recruit many muscle groups to compensate for the lack of isolation exercises. In fact, no direct work should be performed for the shoulders OR arms unless time permits at the end of the upper-body training day.

WEEK 4

A return to high-intensity training (6 RM) offset by the lowest frequency and volume of training over the course of the program. Three training sessions should be performed this week, in a similar split to WEEK 1. Allow for a full day of rest between each training session to provide the optimal recovery period. This program borrows from scientific principles but also is based on several theories of recovery. It is merely a suggested training routine that is extremely safe and may prove to be extremely successful in developing strength and mass. However, slight variations in the program may prove to be more successful between individuals. For example, a lifter may respond better to different lengths for each training phase. For example, some trainees may have greater success lifting in the high-volume phase for up to 3 week before entering a reduced-volume phase.

As well, one of the attractive attributes of the program is its flexibility. It should appeal to individuals that have varying levels of life commitments. For example higher volume phases OR increased training frequencies could be scheduled during relaxed times of a student's semester and then "tapering" weeks could be planned around exams to take advantage of an increased recovery time. Businessmen may consider overtraining prior to a business trip OR vacation.

It is important to maintain a distinction between tapering and detraining. Tapering permits the optimal adaptation to a stimulus while detraining indicates a loss in performance due to the removal of a training stimulus. It is important to reduce training stress only far enough that adaptation is allowed to occur at maximal levels, and not so that the organism returns to a pre-training state due to lack of stress.

It is important to determine exactly what length to time should be devoted to applying overtraining and how long should be committed to recovery emphasis. The length of the recovery period may depend on the training intensity just prior to the reduced frequency phase. As a rule, the final stage should be maximal intensity and the lowest volume.

The training program is certainly advanced in both theory and in the demands it makes of the trainee. It is not recommended that a lifter with less than 6 months lifting experience attempt this program. Certainly the first week of high-volume training at a high frequency will test the recovery system of even many advanced lifters.

The program was meant to provide a variation in the training stimulus, something that is generally recommended to occur frequently in an individual's resistance training regimen. The risk of injury in this training program is minimal provided proper exercise technique is followed. In fact, a study at McMaster University where subjects trained 6 days per week for 8 straight weeks resulted in only minimal minor overuse complaints.

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men?s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Bodybuilding: Building a Standout in the Crowd Chest

Since the beginning of bodybuilding time, men have wanted to build a chest that enters the room a good 2 seconds before the rest of their body. They want a chest that stands out and commands attention, a chest that steps up and sticks out. A broad chest that women seek to lay their head upon.

And ladies too, seek a beautiful chest, one that accents their natural assets. But they also want their chest to be sleek and feminine like the rest of their physique at the same time.

Well, achieving either of those goals is easily attainable with a thorough chest routine. And add a few expert tips and tricks into your overall plan, and you?ll have the chest of your dreams without the shoulder injuries of your nightmares.

Shoulder injuries have always been the rain on the chest training parade. Injuries are often due to overtraining, improper form, or simply not applying a back training ying to the chest training yang.

So when you do this routine, it will train your entire upper, upper body. By that I mean your chest, your rear delts, the rhomboids between your shoulder blades, your traps, and your rotator cuff muscles. From your ribs to your collarbone, at both the front and back of your body, your muscles will be exhausted, but trained to just the right level of exhaustion.

With just the right volume, but without overloading the shoulder joint, we are going to use basic chest exercises, but with a twist in a few cases, to make the most of the least. By training with supersets, you?ll get in and out of the gym if you do only the 6 exercises below. Talk about a beautiful chest fast.

While the full program offers the optimal volume for mega-chest-mass, I?ve included some substitutions for women that are a little concerned with adding too much mass too fast to their chests. So make sure to read training substitutions, included below the workout, so you can customize the program to your goals.

I?ve also included a summary of the methods, and a bonus instant chest building technique you probably never think of, after the workout. As well, a complete set of exercise descriptions is included at the end of the article.

THE UGN STANDOUT-IN-THE-CROWD CHEST workout

Superset 1:
Rest 60 seconds between exercises. Rest 90 seconds before repeating the superset.
A1) DB Flat Chest Press (4 sets x 6 reps) Tempo: 3-0-1
A2) Barbell Row or Seated Wide-grip Row (4x8) 2-0-1
Superset 2:
Do not rest between exercises. Rest 60 seconds before repeating the superset.
B1) DB Incline Press (3x8) 2-0-1
B2) DB Chest Fly (3x10) 3-0-1

Superset 3:
Do not rest between exercises. Rest 60 seconds before repeating the superset.
C1) Medium-grip Bench Press (3x12) 2-0-1

C2) DB External Rotation (3x10) 2-0-1
Female exercise substitutions:

Do only 2 sets of each exercise.
For exercise A1), substitute the maximum number of pushups you can do in place of the DB Flat Chest Press.

How to Instantly Increase Your Chest Size

This is something that everyone should be doing, several times per day. If you work at a computer, you should be trying to hold this position all of the time.

Here?s what to do:

In a seated or standing position, hold your arms down by your side. Externally rotate your shoulders so that your palms are now facing forward. Use the muscles between your shoulder blades to bring your shoulder blades together. Squeeze extra hard and pull your shoulders back by contracting your rear delts. At the same time, try to pull your shoulders down (you might feel a stretch running along your neck between your shoulders and your ears ? the more stretch you feel, the more you need to work on holding this position). This should pull your shoulders back and pop your chest out at least two inches. You should feel tension between your shoulder blades as your muscles work to hold that position. You might also feel a stretch in your chest. Now hold this proud posture as much as you can all day and when standing around in the clubs or in line at the grocery store. Trust me, someone will notice!

Exercise Descriptions

DB Flat Bench Press

Hold the dumbbells above your chest with your palms turned toward your feet. Lower the dumbbells to chest level. Press the dumbbells straight up above the chest. BB Row

Stand with your torso bent and parallel to the floor. Contract your glutes, brace your abs and keep your spine in a neutral position. Keep the lower back in a neutral position and your knees slightly bent. Grasp the barbell with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Row the barbell to the abdomen and bring your shoulder blades together. Slowly lower to the starting position and repeat. Do NOT round your lower back. Wide-grip Seated Row

Use a long bar and take a greater than shoulder-width overhand grip. Keep your arms and back straight, knees slightly bent. Row the handle back as far as possible bringing your shoulder blades together. DB Incline Press

Lie on a bench with the backrest inclined at 45 degrees. Hold the dumbbells above your chest with your palms turned toward your feet. Lower the dumbbells to chest level. Press the dumbbells straight up above the chest. DB Fly

Lie flat on your back on a bench and hold the dumbbells with your palms turned towards your body (palms will face each other). Maintain a slight bend in your elbows at all times. Slowly begin to lower the dumbbells out to your side until your elbows reach shoulder level. Don?t lower the dumbbells any further. At this point, squeeze your chest and bring the dumbbells up and in to the start position under control.

Medium-Grip Bench Press

Keep your feet flat on the floor, legs bent, and upper back flat against the bench. Grip the bar half-way between shoulder-width and your normal bench press grip. Keep the elbows close to the sides to emphasize the triceps. Have your spotter help you take the bar from the rack. Keeping your elbows close to your sides, lower the bar straight down to the bottom of your chest. Pause briefly and then press the bar back up above the chest in a straight line. DB External Rotation

Sit on a flat bench holding a light dumbbell (start with 5lbs). Bend your right knee and place your right foot on the end of the bench. Rest your right elbow on the top of your right knee and hold the DB in the bottom position. Slowly, using the small muscles of your rotator cuff, externally rotate the DB up and back until it is in the finish position (your forearm is perpendicular to your body at the top of the movement).

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men?s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit http://www.TurbulenceTraining.com

The Most Shocking Bodybuilding Myths Finally Revealed

The bodybuilding and fitness industry has the highest number of myths out there, even some of the 'professionals' are under the influence of myths. Knowing what stuff is true and what is false can be critical to achieving great results and staying injury free. This article should hopefully educate you and you'll be one of the few people that know the truth.

1.The workouts of professional bodybuilders are the best ? You want to become massive and ripped, so it makes sense to follow Mr. Olympia's routine...right? Wrong, Pro-bodybuilders are on a lot of steroids, therefor their bodies are capable of recovering faster from the workouts they do. If you or me did their workout for a while, we'd probably just over train and injure ourselves. Pro's also have many years of experience, meaning their bodies are capable of going through such vigorous workouts so often.

2.There is one, and one only perfect workout plan for everyone ? Some magazines or articles may try to say that there's only one workout that produces the greatest results for everyone. Funny thing is, I see hundreds of different perfect workouts! Everybody is different, a workout that works for you may not work for me, and so on. This is why it's important to educate yourself so you can make a workout thats 'perfect' for you. If you're a real beginner, you can get an experienced trainer to make a program designed exclusively for you.

3.(eg. Protein) supplement ABC is 500% more effective then (eg. Protein) supplement XYZ ? There are many supplement companies out on the market today, with a huge range of different brands available, its hard for consumers to choose one product over another. Thats why supplement companies say negative things about each others products to get a sale from you. They exaggerate the statistics by a long, long shot. At the end of the day, the difference between supplement companies is minimal in the single percentages. Unless the supplement company you buy from is your neighbor, who mixes the ingredients in his basement, its very unlikely that there's a 500% difference between the different big name companies.

4.You need to exercise to burn fat ? Nobody gains body fat because of a lack of exercise. You gain body fat if you eat more calories then you burn. For example; If your daily caloric requirement is 3000 calories, you only need to consumer 3000 calories that day.

If you consume more then 3000 calories you will gain fat.

If you consumer less then 3000 calories you will lose fat.

If you combine exercise to a good diet you will burn more calories, resulting in you losing fat faster.

James Penn is an expert at planning fitness training programs and especially abdominal routines. You can learn exactly what he teaches for free at http://www.firmupyourabs.com including abdominal workouts and abdominal exercises to help you lose abdominal fat.

Do Bodybuilding Supplements Really Work - Yes, They Do!

Bodybuilding enthusiasts and athletes have been using bodybuilding supplements since time immemorial.

Whether you are a beginner or a pro, you can use bodybuilding supplements so long as you know what you?re using and your objective behind using that supplement. All bodybuilders take protein supplements, creatine being a huge favorite and with good reason.

Creatine is a naturally occurring compound that supplies energy to our muscles. Bodybuilders supplement their creatine intake by consuming creatine monohydrate which is the best source of creatine compared to anything else in terms of purity and per-weight-of-material. Benefits of creatine include dramatic improvement in lean muscle mass in as little as two weeks; improvement in recovery rates with respect to muscle fatigue, and better performance in high intensity exercises. Creatine gives you bigger and better muscles.

Another popular supplement that delivers awesome benefits to bodybuilders is glutamine. L-Glutamine is an amino acid that is found in abundance in the muscle tissue. It can be safely consumed all year round. It plays a key role in cell voluminizing, anti catabolizing, and overall muscle maintenance. Glutamine helps in the process of generating Human Growth Hormone, which is necessary for muscle growth and metabolizing body fat. However its primary aim is that of promoting a positive nitrogen balance and muscle maintenance. Moreover, it is also required by the immune system to prevent sickness.

Proteins are amongst the most popular bodybuilding supplements available; this is because protein is the most elementary building block of our muscles. Ideally, we need 1-2 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight. Protein supplements are either low-carb or weight gainers.

Whey protein is easy to digest and is a popular post-workout supplement. Casein is recommended as a bed-time supplement as it can take anywhere between 2-7 hours to digest. Egg protein is the cheapest and most easily available form of protein. Vegetarians have soy to turn to. There are protein supplements available in the market that are a combination of soy-egg-casein-whey protein. These proteins are a handy for an anytime intake and they offer a staggered rate of protein absorption.

Pro-hormones or natural testosterone boosters are important for gaining lean muscle mass improving muscular strength and muscle size. 4-androstenediol or 4-AD is an anabolic prohormone booster. It is converted into testosterone in the liver. It is a pre-training supplement that helps weightlifters and bodybuilders to exert themselves to the maximum. Pro-hormones help bodybuilders by increasing the oxygen supply to the muscles, quickening muscle recovery, and reducing muscle loss.

Nitric oxide helps to increase the blood flow to muscles and is therefore of importance to bodybuilders who use it to deliver a greater amount of nutrients to their muscles, especially when the muscles are stressed.

Growth Hormones aid in tissue growth, tissue repair, fat loss, muscle gain, and boosting energy levels. They are also known anti-ageing agents. In short, growth hormones are crucial for bodybuilders. What adds to their importance as a bodybuilding supplement is the fact that the body?s capacity to produce them naturally decreases after the age of 30.

Mansi Aggarwal recommends that you visit for Bodybuilding Supplements.

Maximize the Results with Bodybuilding Supplements

Taking bodybuilding supplements is a great way to boost your performance while working out. Not only will you have more energy during your workout, but you will recover much quicker as well. You should also see results such as muscle mass, weight gain and fat burning in a much shorter time. In order to maximize your results, you will need to make sure you are following a few guidelines.

First, do not back down on your workouts simply because you are taking the supplements. They are meant to work in conjunction with strenuous, consistent workouts. In fact, you might notice that you can increase the intensity of your workout because you are on the supplements.

You also need to make sure that you are taking care of your body when you are outside the gym as well. You should be taking a multivitamin daily. There are several vitamins which have been designed with the needs of bodybuilders in mind. You also need to drink plenty of water. Some supplements can cause you to become dehydrated easily. You should follow a nutrition plan that is designed with your particular goals in mind. Get plenty of rest in order to help your body recuperate quickly.

There are some supplements which you need to take in certain ways in order to maximize the results. For example, creatine works great as a bodybuilding supplement but it is believed that your body gets used to it after a certain amount of time. Because of this, bodybuilders will often do a creatine loading phase which lasts about a week. After the first week, they will cut the dose in half and continue this for three weeks. This is called the creatine maintenance phase. They will then take a week or two off in the creatine recovery phase. This helps your body utilize the creatine without becoming used to it so you can continue to see an improvement.

Another simple way to maximize your results is to keep taking the supplements even when you have reached your goal. Some people believe that stopping the supplements can cause you to lose some of your muscle mass. You need to make sure that you are maintaining your body at its peak level. You might be tempted to stop using the supplements because you feel they are too expensive. The good news is that you can find discount bodybuilding supplements online. Discount supplements are the way to go if you want to be able to continue your program and maximize your results.

Natalie Aranda writes about health and fitness. Another simple way to maximize your results is to keep taking the supplements even when you have reached your goal. You might be tempted to stop using the supplements because you feel they are too expensive. The good news is that you can find discount bodybuilding supplements online. Some people believe that stopping the supplements can cause you to lose some of your muscle mass. You need to make sure that you are maintaining your body at its peak level. Discount supplements are the way to go if you want to be able to continue your program and maximize your results.

Exposing the Dangers of Bodybuilding: Five Mistakes to Avoid

Beginner bodybuilders can get caught up in the dream of obtaining their perfect body with pounds of rock solid muscle mass and impressive strength. If that is you, don?t rush your bodybuilding training. Doing so will cause injuries and delay your progress. Instead, take the time to learn these five dangers of bodybuilding so you can avoid them and become a successful bodybuilder.

One mistake you can make is eating in the wrong way. If one protein shake a day is good, then three a day will get you the results three times faster, right? Wrong. There is nothing wrong with your protein shakes, but the majority of your diet should be healthy, whole foods. Your body is working hard and needs proper nutrition to do its best, and don?t think you can trick it with shortcuts.

You need the right amount of protein, but don?t think that you can get that protein from a fast food joint and expect your body to be satisfied. Be sure to include nutrition dense fruits and vegetables with your meals.

Perhaps the biggest mistake made by novice bodybuilders (and unfortunately some who have been training for a while) is overtraining. Your muscles will not grow without rest, and you will end up causing damage if you train too often. If you do injure yourself while training, don?t think that you can work through the pain. Know your limits and stop if you do get injured and see a professional. Take the time to heal. Although it might be hard to stop training for a couple of weeks, not taking the time to recover might leave you benched for an even longer period of time.

Not warming up is such an easy mistake to avoid that it?s surprising people still expose themselves to injury by ignoring this danger. If you spend twenty minutes warming up before each workout, you?ll significantly decrease the danger of injury. Start with about five minutes of cardiovascular exercise to get your heart pumping. Then move on to four or five warm up sets.

The fourth mistake that beginners can make is not paying attention to form. Form is vital if you want to avoid injuries and sculpt the body that you want. The first step, of course, is to know what good form looks like. Study good form before you try to do any of the routines yourself. When you do start the routines, watch yourself in the mirror to make sure you are doing the exercises correctly. If you get too tired to hold the correct form, quit. Four reps in correct form is far more effective than eight reps in poor form.

The final danger of bodybuilding that you want to avoid comes from steroid use. It?s true that steroids will increase your size and your strength. But they are not necessary. You can create the body that you want without steroids. All you need is the proper training, diet, and rest. Steroid use can lead to headaches, increased blood pressure, altered thyroid function, and worse.

Bodybuilding, if done right, can be an excellent way to increase your strength and overall health. The dangers of bodybuilding can be minimized by those who take the time to gain the needed knowledge and train properly.

Take the action necessary to get the body you want today. Visit How To Start Bodybuilding to get your free copy of 8 Things You Must Do To Build Maximum Muscle Mass.

Body Full Workout-Bodybuilding and The Ab Best Workout For Both Men and Women

Today where men's sports almost always have its female counterpart, female bodybuilding is experiencing a crisis when it comes to a body full workout.

A body full workout and ab best workout in bodybuilding is a sport that combines weigh lifting, good diet, and rest for long term results. Bodybuilding was first designed as a male type of pursuit, but bodybuilding in women soon gained strenght. Female bodybuilding competitions began occurring in various places of the world and became very popular.

As opposed to female bodybuilding which was more hardcore, fitness competition with a body full workout and an ab best workout is now female bodybuilding with bodybuilders that get fit and toned without the muscle bulk. Now there is much focus on the stomach abs.

Male Bodybuilding Secrets

If anything, male bodybuilding is a more refined form of weightlifting for it takes into account the idea of aesthetic body shape, abs, tone, and mass of the entire body.

For some, male bodybuilding is simply a sport. In male bodybuilding, there are only four major aspects to keep in mind and that is:

1. Nutrition

2. Recuperation

3. Supplementation

4. Exercise

For the best results in male bodybuilding, abs and a body full workout, one must adapt the best training regimen. Good nutrition and supplementation are the top secrets to successful male bodybuilding. A common thought that any male bodybuilder knows is that if you're not growing, then you're not eating enough of the right types of foods.

Male bodybuilding also focuses not only in nutrition and exercise but in recuperation as well. This is very important to remember to keep in shape. Many people forget this secret and end up losing muscle after so much hard work.

There is also a system called highly intensive training and this is the major system applied by many male bodybuilding pros. It is incidentally the most taxing but the most effective male bodybuilding program out there.

This male bodybuilding system is focused around highly intense and infrequent workouts with emphasis on compound movements and progression to gain muscle. This system of male bodybuilding takes advantage of this tendency of the muscles to rebuild itself once broken down after a workout.

Intensive male bodybuilding training increases the extent of the break down of the muscle and helps increase muscle gains from a body full workout. This is a secret to keeping muscle for the longest period of time.

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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

How to Choose a Free Weight Home Gym

When you think of fitness gyms, they think of a large lumbering machine that will take up half a room. While there are many compact gym systems around these days, there are some people who simply prefer the better versatility of a free weight home gym.

There are some things to consider when making the choice between the best home fitness gyms and a system that is based on free weights. A gym machine undoubtedly will take up more space in your home, and this is a serious consideration for many people. Depending on the number of weight sets you wish to purchase, this can also prove the more inexpensive choice, as gym machines can cost well over a thousand dollars. But for some people, the best choice revolves around more fitness based reasons.

Many people simply prefer the versatility that free weights have to offer. Smaller dumbbells might be the best choice for a beginning fitness buff, but a weight set can be purchased in much heavier measurements too, and so are often preferred by the dedicated body builder. While even the best home gyms offer a specific and limited number of exercises, free weights can be used to perform many other exercises, and tests have shown that using weight sets can require 25% more effort than using machines, which of course, offers an effectiveness of 25% more.

Free weight sets require extra caution, however, particularly at the heavier weights. It is easy to cause injury by an incorrect movement, while the straight plane of movement that a machine offers can help prevent against this sort of accident. Many people also prefer a preset routine of exercises, and home gyms can provide this too, as there is specific equipment for performing specific exercises. Essentially, the difference between the two systems is one of preference, so try out different types of weight systems at your fitness gym before you purchase. With either system, you will get a good workout, so choose which is best for your own comfort and needs.

For more information, visit: http://www.best-home-gyms.com/

Kevin Urban is the editor at http://www.best-home-gyms.com, a site featuring reviews on the best home gyms for your workouts.