The days when body builders took steroids to boost their muscle mass have long gone, and those who attempt to use anabolic steroids in an attempt to get a competitive edge run a very high risk of being caught and stripped of any titles they have won some would say that being caught is inevitable.
So how, then, do body builders manage to build such huge muscles that seem far larger than those of other professional athletes? Is it because they spend so long in the gym and are very dedicated? Well, yes, body builders have to have great dedication, but they also take supplements. These supplements are 100% legal and dont have the nasty side effects of the old anabolic steroids, such as roid rage . You will find several products that are designed to boost your bodys levels of anabolic hormones or are describes as having an anabolic effect .
Unlike the old illegal steroids, these bodybuilding supplements do not add any hormones into your system. Instead, these supplements stimulate your body so it produces more of its own androgens and testosterone the male hormones that enable bulky muscles to be laid down on the skeletal frame. Some of these body building supplements increase energy levels as well common ones include creatine, NOx (nitric oxide) increasers, HGH (human growth hormone), and ZMA (which is a combination of zinc and magnesium, both of which are vital in testosterone production). These supplements are either used singly or in a stack or combination of several products. Some lines of body building supplements include products that come ready stacked for ease of use to see some examples of common pre-prepared stacks(complete with celebrity endorsement by a Mr Olympia champion) , follow this link.
Of course, thats not all. Muscles arent built of air. All body builders take protein supplements and eat a very high protein diet. When building muscle mass and this advice works for those who want to look a bit more toned or bulk up, as well as for those who want competition-level muscle bulk taking a high protein supplement, usually in a shake or as a bar, is essential. This protein should be taken in combination with a small amount of glucose. The powder type of bodybuilding supplement is particularly handy for increasing the amount of protein in the diet, which all bodybuilders do.
Casting a glance over a discount supplier of these supplements, you can see that the protein supplements available to bodybuilders (and others) come from a range of different sources. Dairy-sourced protein supplements are the most commonly seen, with whey a popular choice, closely followed by casein (casein, just in case you were wondering, comes from the curds in the combination enjoyed by the legendary Miss Muffett before the spider arrived: curds & whey). Egg protein is also very popular and is suitable for those with dairy intolerance. Egg protein is sourced either from the whole egg or from the egg white only (just as an aside, powdered egg protein is also used in tree plantations its applied to young trees to deter rabbits and hares from nibbling on them). And for vegetarians, soy protein supplements are also easy to find.
Other supplements that are commonly marketed as bodybuilding supplements but can be taken by anyone include multivitamin tablets and diet pills, especially the types of pill that increase energy levels and/or the metabolism, as this not only strips away excess fat (no point in having a really ripped torso and abs if those abs are buried beneath a spare tyre) but also supplies the extra stamina needed for the gym sessions (an hour or more) needed to build serious bulk.
Bryan Green is the writer of, The Best Bodybuilding Supplements! You can find more information at BSN and Bodybuilding Supplements at Bodybuilding Supplements
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
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