Bodybuilding summed up the intense act of exercising to create large muscle bulk that's not seen on many people. This is often done for competitive exhibition, where bodybuilders come together to be judged... but many people simply do it to challenge themselves, or because they like the look that can be provided by a bodybuilding routine. These people generally can't do it alone, so this article will serve as a guide to get started on your bodybuilding path.
So the first thing you should do is establish for yourself why you are wanting to do this. Is it for competition, or do you just want to impress that new girl at work? Consider what you want to accomplish and what your ultimate goal is. By doing this, you remove any doubt in your mind about whether or not you think you're doing the right thing, and you can fully commit yourself to the task at hand. You need a desire to achieve your goal, and you need some good inspiration, because as you can imagine, building muscle is not an easy task.
So now you can ask yourself if you believe it's possible for you to achieve. You need confidence in anything you do in life to achieve your goal, and building muscle is no different. Stop and think about how you're going to go about achieving your goal, picture yourself achieving your goal, and then form a strategy and daily plan to compliment your ultimate goal.
You've now mentally prepared yourself for the task at hand. The next step is to find a bodybuilding routine and nutrition plan that suits your body type, whether you're Endomorphic, Mesomorphic or Ectomorphic.
Did you know that a high percentage of people who set out to do bodybuilding select the wrong path for their body type? Avoid this mistake by checking out my website Healthy Living with Motivation.
Why Your Muscle Pumps Have Nothing To Do With Your Muscle Gains
Your back is firmly planted on the bench as you wrap your chalked hands around the cold, steel bar. Your training partner helps you un-rack the weight as you power the bar up and down, squeezing your chest and triceps on each grueling rep. You complete your 6 repetitions, re-rack the bar and stand up.
Your chest feels tight and engorged with blood. You take a look in the mirror, thrilled with how full and vascular your pecs appear. You feel strong, powerful, healthy and motivated to blast through the rest of your workout with your newly achieved “pump”.
Let’s face it, a pump feels incredible. For those of you who aren’t quite sure what I’m talking about, a pump is the feeling that you get as blood becomes trapped inside your muscle tissue as a result of resistance training. The muscles will swell up and increase in size, vascularity and tightness.
There is certainly nothing wrong with achieving a pump in the gym, and it is simply a natural result of intense weight training. However, contrary to what the majority of weightlifters may think, a pump is in no way indicative of a successful workout. Anyone who uses the intensity of their pump as a gauge for the effectiveness of their workout is making a costly error.
On countless occasions I've heard lifters raving about the massive pumps they get in the gym as they share methods for achieving the best pump possible. "Dude, this will give you a crazy pump!" If you have already been working out for a decent amount of time then you know exactly what I'm talking about. While a pump does feel extremely satisfying, just remember that it means very little in terms of muscle stimulation and growth.
A pump is simply the result of extra blood within the muscle tissue. Think of it this way: if I took a pair of 10 pound dumbbells and performed 300 reps of a bench press movement, I would achieve an incredible pump. If muscle pumps meant muscle growth, then super light weight, ultra high rep programs would be the most effective way to grow. Any serious lifter with half a brain knows that this simply is not the case.
Do you want to know how to truly gauge the success of a workout? Here it is…
Take your workout records (in terms of weight and reps) from the previous week and compare it to the current week. Did you improve? Were you able to either increase the resistance slightly on each exercise, or perform an extra rep or two?
If so, you had a successful workout, regardless of how much blood you were able to pump into your muscle tissue.
Building muscle mass and strength is all about training with 100% intensity on every given set and then striving to improve from week to week. If you are able to consistently achieve this, your muscle size and strength will increase faster than you ever thought possible, with or without a pump.
I hope this article cleared up your confusion on the issue of "muscle pumps". There's so much misleading muscle-building information circling around on the Internet these days that it can sometimes be impossible to know who to listen to. If you want to learn the truth about 14 other common, counterproductive "myths", visit my webste below for details.
About The Author
Sean Nalewanyj is a bodybuilding author, dedicated trainer and writer of top-selling Internet Muscle-Building E-Book: The Truth About Building Muscle. Learn why 95% of trainees in the gym will NEVER see any significant results by visiting his website: MuscleGainTruth
Know Your Bodybuilding Supplement - Methoxyisoflavone
Flavones are the latest big supplement to hit the market. Methoxyisoflavone is a non-hormonal anabolic compound that has been shown to reduce cortisol levels, increase protein synthesis and improve recovery from exercise.
Success By Body Building Advice
By our title you will believe this is about advice, please rest assured it is about more than that, our article is about motivation. Not necessarily motivation to start body building but to take a step to become healthy. To take the step to health you need to have a helping hand and that?s what we are hoping to promote by writing here today.
Body Building And The Body Building Supplement: Then And Now
Not long ago, going to get a body building supplement meant getting ready, grabbing the car keys, and driving across town to an anonymous strip mall filled with donut shops and industrial shoe stores. Asking the sales clerk for advice wasn?t much easier. Often, they were either die-hard lifters who couldn?t really relate to their smaller lifting cousins. Or, even worse, many were young teenagers more interested in seeing just how high the store speaker system could go before ?blowing? out. Luckily, times have changed.
5 Tips For Bodybuilding At College
When you come to move into college it can be an exciting and some testing time, especially if you are serious about your weight training and bodybuilding. As you'll no longer have access to your favourite gym or all the healthy food you'd normally be able to have at home and you'll probably find that sharing fridges and kitchens can be a headache.
Female Bodybuilding - The Benefits Of Female Bodybuilding
While bodybuilding has traditionally been seen as a man's sport, the popularity of female bodybuilding is becoming greater throughout the world But bodybuilding is not an easy task for women
Weight Loss, Exercise, and Bodybuilding Tips – Keeping Your Body-Fat Low: Part 6 of 10
Do you know that while you work out the muscles are being torn down verses being built up? This sounds illogical doesn't it? You would think that you are doing the opposite? Well, over time this is true, yet in the short term it is different. This is why I encourage you to eat a balanced diet to replace all the fuel used in the workouts.
Fitness First USA Sponsors Bodybuilding Contest
Fitnessfirstusa.com is proud to announce the sponsorship of a bodybuilding competition in Iraq for deployed US Service Members, family members, and support personnel.
New Bodybuilding Supplements Increase Strength and Muscle Without Steroids
Dr. David Summers, the creator of Stemulite, says that body builders and athletes are using these natural supplements (instead of steroids) to build and sustain strength and muscle mass.
Bodybuilding: Effective Ways To Handling Criticism
It's important to set the way we'll respond to different critics throughout the journey of achieving our personal and bodybuilding goals. As are other areas of life, Bodybuilding is a sport of opinion.
Know Your Bodybuilding Supplement - NO Nitric Oxide
Nitric oxide is a free form gas produced by the body in order to communicate with other cells. It is created when enzymes break down the amino acid arginine.
The Bodybuilding Race To The Top
From pro bodybuilding to baseball, steroids have taken the world by storm. Everyone is trying to get bigger than the next person, and the health aspect of bodybuilding has been thrown out the window. These chemicals are used to make you stronger, faster, leaner in a short period of time. They promise the world, but in the end they fail to deliver.
The Difference In Bodybuilding For Women
When we think of bodybuilders, we often automatically think of men with large, sculpted muscles competing for titles. But when it comes to the sport of bodybuilding, women have taken a larger role than ever ? working to build their own muscles and compete on the same level as the men. Subsequently, bodybuilding for women has become increasingly popular for participants and fans alike.
The Science Of Bodybuilding Supplements ? What Works, Really Does Work!
Bodybuilding supplements can be a minefield. With so many outrageous claims about sub par products that fail to even remotely deliver as promised or worse yet, companies unconscionably selling an absolutely useless product using the institutionalized fraud that is inherent in most of the muscle media it is no wonder.
Bodybuilding Videos
If you are looking to become bigger, you need to train big. You should train 3-5 times a week and keep your work out sessions as short as possible. Try to not let them run over an hour. Try to only work out on one muscle group per week or every 5 days. Never do two larger muscle groups while working out on the same day. The bigger muscle groups consist of your chest, back, and upper legs. Here is a idea of how to schedule your week:
Bodybuilding.com Announces 2006 Supplement Award Nominees
Bodybuilding.com announced their 2006 Supplement Award Nominees today recognizing industry leaders delivering quality products with high effectiveness. Leading the way with 15 nominations was BSN, followed by Optimum Nutrition with 11 and MuscleTech with 10. Winners will be announced live at this year’s Olympia Weekend - featuring Mr. Olympia, Mrs. Olympia, Fitness Olympia, Figure Olympia and others. This year’s event is scheduled for September 28 – October 1, 2006, in Las Vegas, Nevada.