Body Building: Software

All bodybuilders wish to have a powerful physique. That is why they are bodybuilders in the first place. Body building software can be a huge advantage to bodybuilders because it provides them with technical information on how to train, what to eat, and when to rest for maximum recovery in order to get the maximum benefit out of each and every workout session and meal.

If you believe that body building is nothing more than weight training and cardiovascular exercises combined with well planned high nutrition meals then you are mistaken. There is a whole lot more to bodybuilding than simply that. You also need to know how to train, how much to train, when to train, and when to give yourself a timeout. The same applies to all that you eat.

It is not enough to simply go by what seems right. Body building software is like a personal trainer that can keep on the straight line to maximum growth and strength.

Besides being educational body building software also has the added benefit of accurately keeping track of all your activities and your growth and performance. You may use the software to plan and record your day to day routines, calculate the calories you used in your workout and how many you are going to take in your meals. All this makes it easier to know where you are going on a daily basis.

The best way to look at body building software is in the sense of a partner that is constantly giving feedback on your performance and indicating areas where you need to work harder. It will help you fine tune you entire routine to get the most out of everything you do for your body.

Body building software is quite affordable so there is no need to worry about the cost. There are many software available that can suit any budget. As with any other software the cost of the one you buy will depend on the features built in. Just shop around and you are sure to find one that covers everything you need and also fits in your budget.

Some of the best body building software are actually written and even include videos of well known fitness trainers and expert body builders. These also include useful information for all bodybuilders. The software includes a questionnaire that covers things like age, gender, fitness level and so on in order to create a customized fitness plan for anyone using the software.

There is also body building software that comes with prediction capabilities that help you visualize the sort of results you may expect by following specific routines for specified periods of time.

Body building is as much an art as it is a science. There are technical and skill based factors that determine the outcome of everything you do in the gym or at home.

Body building software is simply a tool that helps you to do everything right while keeping track of your accomplishments and suggesting areas of improvement.

Body Building: For Women

For the longest time female bodybuilding enthusiasts were cowed down by the cry that ‘women do not belong to bodybuilding’ and ‘it’s a man’s sport’. Even women themselves were of the opinion that bodybuilding was not particularly ‘feminine’ since weights and muscles supposedly didn’t ‘look good’ on women. It took a long long time for this attitude to change and for women in the field to be finally taken seriously.

Today, however a large number of women have managed to successfully break out of this stereotype and taken up bodybuilding and fitness training at a professional level. A variety of women take part in the regular bodybuilding competitions happening all over the country, all of them look ‘feminine’, fit, beautiful and stunning all at once.

Women who want to take up bodybuilding often hesitate about looking ‘manly’, but they couldn’t be further from the truth. A great physique is not necessarily a masculine trait. A number of female bodybuilders are downright beautiful women, in the conventional sense and their built up body has just added to their glamour, not taken anything away. If you exercise consciously and with a well-defined goal you to can preserve you womanly softness despite having developed a bulky body. In fact the entire notion of looking ‘manly’ when gaining muscles is absurd since men and women are structurally different and no woman, no matter how much bulk she manages to add in terms of muscles can possibly look like a man!

This is because men in general have a different stature than women and women almost never become as big as a man regardless of how muscular they may become. Contrary to popular belief bodybuilding has often been known to make women feel more ‘feminine’, a large number of men too find such women particularly attractive. But that apart, bodybuilding is known to augment one’s level of confidence to a large extent.

Women who engage in bodybuilding claim to feel ‘more confident’ and ‘in control’, a feeling that slowly permeates through every aspect of their life.

It doesn’t matter what your particular body type is, you can be slight or big boned, tall or tiny but you’d still be able to reap benefits of bodybuilding. This is because bodybuilding is not the same thing for everyone and different bodies can be built up in different manner. For instance if you are slight begin with small weights instead of heavyweights, which can be harmful for you. However if you are slightly broader and stronger use medium sized weights, which will be far better for you than the small weights used by small framed people.

No matter what your final objective is chances are you’ll find a great little niche within the bodybuilding circle for yourself. The bodybuilding circle has been known to accommodate everyone from the chance amateurs, who is seeking nothing more than a well toned body to a really serious professional who is primarily interested in winning all contests. Gone are the days when female bodybuilders were considered to be shiny young things clad in skimpy little bikinis and therefore ogled at mindlessly. Today female bodybuilding has earned itself the sort of respect every sport desires to.

Body Building: The Art

There are various kinds of bodybuilding but at the basic level all of them involve growing muscle hypertrophy to the greatest extent possible by means of a proper diet, regular rest and proper weight training. Bodybuilding is considered by many as a means of beautifying the body, in much the same way as a temple is beautified with carvings. But while many engage in body building simply due to the fun involved in it many others are into competitive bodybuilding and regularly participate in body building contests where their physique and appearance is judged by a series of judges.

Bodybuilding at a competitive level often involves obtaining, developing and preserving a well-worked out, aesthetically pleasing body and balanced physique. All competitive bodybuilders work towards certain standards set in the circuit and thereby try and prepare themselves according to what judges at a contest might expect them to be like.

Competitive bodybuilding lays a lot of emphasis on posing in various ways so as to show off every muscle in the body. Body builders practice all the poses they assume during the shows while preparing themselves.

Right posture, posing and of course the right amount of development of the muscles is what earns favor with the judges at these contests.

A body builder need not be particularly strong! It’s true, despite being expected to be engaged in rigorous weight training bodybuilders are not ultimately judged according to their strength but rather according to the shape and size of their body.

All those who engage in bodybuilding, even at an amateur level know how taxing it is. Bodybuilders all over the world not only have a stringent exercise regime, but also a rigorous diet. Above all however it is the level of their discipline which helps them clinch matters and earn a body worth showing off in a contest.

Bodybuilding is nothing like sports such as weight or power lifting because, as we mentioned previously, it lays less emphasis on the strength of the muscles acquired and more on how aesthetically pleasing the muscles and the whole form of the body is. Thus either sport is based on totally different fundamental principles and can therefore hardly be compared.

Bodybuilding is of various types. There is of course female bodybuilding, which has gained popularity with time, then there is teenage body building, natural body building and of course the regular professional bodybuilding.

Professional bodybuilding is all about participating (and then winning) competitions authorized by the IFBB. Only if the builder manages to go through with the qualifying rounds of these at an amateur level and thereby earn a ‘professional card’ can he/she hope to participate in contests of the kind. Once they win these contests the builder will be given a chance to participate in the Mr. Olympia contests, which is deemed to be the greatest title in this field.

The popularity of teenage and female bodybuilding is a recent factor and shows how popular the sport has become with both teenagers as well as women. Teenage bodybuilding is really a stepping-stone for future bodybuilders, most of who begin on their quest to bodybuilding fame and fortune during their teenage years.

Body Building: Equipment

Body building truly became a craze from 1970, mostly due to the movie Pumping Iron featuring, no prizes for guessing, Arnold Schwarzenegger. While trying body building, it’s important that you consider your goals first. Is it to build muscle mass, to lose weight or to tone up?

The equipment you choose to use whether at home or gym, depends upon these factors. The most basic need served by body building, as the name suggests, is to develop muscles mass. For this you need a pair of free weights which, apart from being the most effective body building equipment, are also the least expensive. Add to this the fact that they are portable, come in a variety of designs and you know why they sell like hot cakes. Free weights are the most useful fitness equipment as they can be adapted to your workout by increasing the weight as you get used to your current program.

Body building is also a sport now and for those interested in training for the profession, a proper routine in consultation with a specialist and a doctor would be advisable. As far as the fitness regimen goes, a weight bench with a set of barbells from ten to forty pounds is ideal for building large muscles. Just work your way up gradually to the heavier weights.

For those who don’t want the definition of the professionals, dumbbells are the way to go. Easy and portable, one can even get a pair of aquatic dumbbells to practice in the pool. This is especially for those with back problems and arthritis. Pull- up bars and push up stands are great for toning your upper body and arm sculpting, as they take it through all its paces. Focus on frequent but less number of reps for toning and intense reps twice or thrice a week if you want bulk. Dip stands on the other hand, give your wrist that extra support and help in strengthening your arms and hands.

Whether a professional or otherwise, keep in mind that you need to alternate and supplement your exercise routine with the adequate nutrition and rest. Body building is tremendously taxing and you need to take care if you don’t want to end up hurting yourself. Even though you might want to work out everyday, remember that your body needs to recuperate between workouts.

Depending on your fitness level, aim for one to five serious workouts per week and gradually increase the intensity and duration of your workouts.

Finally, be patient. If you have never exercised in your life till date, chances are you will take some time getting used to it. Make a routine, consult a doctor and a specialist, get proper nutrition and stick to your regimen. Your efforts will be rewarded in due time.

Body Building: Supplements

When it comes to bodybuilding supplements, what can help you immensely is the ability to come to a decision.

Muscle building can be brought about effectually and in a natural way by supplements such as vitamins and minerals. The market has also seen a rise in the use of artificial supplements. These are known to have potentially damaging effects but bodybuilders choose them for their capacity to produce a spectacular result in a short period of time.

One of the leading contenders in the bodybuilding supplement market is called Cell-Tech. This supplement, once added to your protein shake, enhances creatine in the body. This is an ideal supplement to be used after an arduous workout since it serves to replace the burnt out cell mass.

The sugar used up during the workout is also replenished by Cell-Tech. There is an immediate surge of insulin in the body on the ingestion of Cell-Tech that prevents you from feeling the after effects of fatigue after the workout, allowing you to continue with your normal day to day activities.

However, a salient point that is to be made is that the key factor in the bodybuilding routine is not an external supplement but internal motivation. If you are determined to build your muscle mass and lift weights regularly in a disciplined schedule then it would be as effective as consuming steroids.

Weightlifting, being a natural method of bodybuilding, is probably better. After consultation with a physician it is not even potentially dangerous. Another fact that you must keep in mind is to add a certain degree of variety to the routine. Otherwise, the muscles adjust themselves according to the exercises and do not develop.

Other than weightlifting other excellent supplements that may be used are vitamins and minerals. A multi-vitamin pill taken daily can help your body to absorb more vitamins and minerals in general.

It is good to make certain that your consumption of good fats is in the right proportion. Good fats and flax oil are present in foods like peanut butter. These are necessary for muscle building, though only if taken moderately.

All these techniques and pointers are useful but what is of paramount importance is the need to follow a strict diet chart. A plan of nutrition and food must be made. Also avoid large meals and invest in several small ones as that helps your metabolism to increase and burns fat.

For maximum benefit to body it is wise to consider integrating calorific cycles into your routine. If you want to lose weight then you could have high calorific intake for three days and low for two. An appropriate bodybuilding diet would have the right proportion of these constituents i.e., carbohydrates (40%), proteins (40%), and fats (20%).

The best bodybuilding supplement is thus generated within the body itself. Muscle cells undergo division and multiplication in this unique natural process. Vitamins and foods loaded with minerals is the healthy approach to bodybuilding.

Thus, traditional weightlifting and exercise scores above synthetic supplements in many respects.

Body Building: Diets

If you want to flaunt a great physique and body and have started working out, then you must realize that a good diet also helps you go a long way.

The diet is often ignored during the course of a bodybuilding program. While the imperative is working out, diet is no less significant. It helps to make the muscle mass leaner, and your body fitter. It maintains energy levels and loses the flab.

A bodybuilding diet program is all about knowing what foods you might consume and how you can take care of the various nutrients that you require by incorporating them in your diet plan.

If your eating routine is not healthy enough then it is time to bring about a few necessary changes. This is vital for a healthy and fruitful lifestyle, a disease free life, and a healthy body.

The following are some pointers that can assure you of the success that you desire, provided you follow them:
1. Carbohydrates are a must. It is required to develop the muscles that store glycogen. It also helps to maximize athletic prowess.

Carbohydrates must be eaten in their minimally processed form. For instance, whole wheat should always be preferred over white bread. Carbohydrate should contribute to approximately 50-60% of your total calorie intake. This depends on the workout as well.

These are some of the foods, which are full of carbohydrates and recommended as part of your diet - wild rice, squash, oatmeal, baked potato, pumpkin, whole wheat bread, brown rice, or a sweet potato.

2. Protein is also an essential constituent of the diet, and also very important for an athlete in the process of bodybuilding.

Next to water protein is the most plentiful substance found in the body. It is found throughout the human body - muscles, skin, bone, and the blood too. If you are training and building on body strength, then protein is required to build muscle mass.

Of the total calorie intake 15-20% should be protein. Protein rich foods that may be recommended during strength training are turkey, salmon, lean ground beef, low fat cottage cheese, egg whites, chicken breast, and sirloin steak.

3. Water is vital for workouts. Drink plenty of water. It is indispensable in sustaining the performance level of the workouts. For intensive routines a glass of water (8 oz) is a must every 15 to 25 minutes.

This is again necessary to maintain the metabolic rates and strike a balance between the various nutrients. It will help to burn off calories faster and more efficiently.

However it is important to consult a physician before venturing into a diet or rigorous exercise. Healthy eating and bodybuilding are synonymous.

Body Building: Exercises

Perhaps the most simple and efficient exercise to build the body, not necessitating starting gear, is the leg squat. Later weights used across the shoulders and hands can also lead to considerable muscle increase.

And still, it can be one of the most effective exercises you can use to maintain muscle tone and build definition in pretty well all of your leg muscles.

The leg squat is so simple and easy an exercise to perform that it can be done while being engaged in some other activity. So even while attending phone calls or while cooking, you can keep one eye at the stove and also do the leg squat. Of course, it’s important to be careful.

So multitasking isn’t a problem with quite a few exercises

For the leg squat, comfort is a priority, and not feeling well or being up to it can be quite dangerous. Doing it incompletely or doing it poorly can be even more damaging than not doing it at all.

This is how you prepare yourself for the leg squats:
1) Firstly you must stand with your legs placed apart. The most convenient width between the two legs would be shoulder width. Loosen your body y giving yourself a little shake.

2) A succession of deep breaths should follow, and the breathing should ensue from the stomach rather than the chest.

3) It is important to relax. Concentrate on your body and try to gauge how able your body is to take the exercise.

4) Gradually lower your body while beginning the leg squat. Bend gently down at the knees. When you go down do remember to exhale.

5) Stop and hold on for a few seconds at the lowest point. This is most important in the whole of the exercise. Inhale when you raise your body.

This is an easy exercise but immensely beneficial. You will find your muscles tightening over a period of time.

The number of reps is up to you. Don’t start big initially as that can prove to be damaging. As you increase you’ll gain strength and vice versa. You can slowly increase the number as you progress, and you will realize that it is not as simple and more taxing than you at first believed.

Beginning with leg squats is very good for the legs. After a bit you can use small weights and even advanced working out simply means progressing to larger weights across the shoulders.

It basically implies working out the muscles in the leg. Selecting a few muscle groups to add more pressure on to also means adding variety.

For instance, standing with toes directed slightly outwards would work on the muscles of the inner thigh.

On the other hand, if the toes point inwards the reverse happens and the outer thigh gets worked on.

Leg squats as the foundation of your bodybuilding routine will definitely take care of your legs. However it is important to take ones time and gradually build up the reps and the weights.

Body Building: Safety Measures

Bodybuilding requires hard work and tremendous discipline. To build your body you will have to work extensively with heavyweights and irons, to ensure that neither of these have a detrimental effect on your muscles or injure you in anyway you will have to take a few safety precautions. Start by reading up a lot of material on careful bodybuilding practices like those that instruct you about appropriate weight lifting methods and ways to warm up and cool down etc. In the next section we will discuss a few essential techniques you must exercise at the gym.

Always begin with a proper warm up and end with a warm down session. Each should take no less than 15 minutes. Take 5 minutes to jog and at least 10 minutes to stretch your muscles and prepare them for what’s coming and only then plunge into the exercise regime. Remember to go from low to high. Start with the lighter weights and slowly go up to the really heavy weights. Let your muscles get accustomed to the idea of lifting weights and prepare themselves to use up the body’s strength.

Identify exactly how far you can go. No one except you yourself can decide how far you ought to go, since only you know what your limits are. Its good to challenge your limits but don’t overdo it and end up straining yourself, even the best of bodybuilders can cause terrible damage to their body when they are strained.

Remember, bodybuilding might involve evaluations at contests but the process itself is not a competition so you don’t have to prove yourself to anyone. Take your own sweet time to prepare yourself to take on heavier weights. In case you feel like you are overexerting yourself, simply ease up and take hold of a lighter weight. Definition and muscle amplification is a result of calculated restrain and not uncalculated risks such as those involved in lifting excessively heavyweights.

Get yourself a spotter to watch your moves when you are working with particularly heavy weights. Your spotter should preferably be of your own strength and someone who can help you out with a tough spot in case he/she finds you submerged in a troublesome situation. To ensure that they are loyal to the cause however make sure you act as their spotter as well. Most bodybuilders ask their training partners to spot for them. Spotters are essential for getting you out of a particularly tough weight situation. A number of people hurt themselves while working with weights. If unfortunately you too experience such an accident your spotter will help you out, contact the gym staff and take you to the hospital if required. Even if you do not get caught in such a soup your spotter will help you stay motivated and keep you focused on your immediate goals. You can return him/her the favor by doing the same for him/her.

As soon as you get a basic idea of your training program and know the exact forms you should take in order to ensure that the program proves beneficial for you start working in front of the mirror to see if you are staying true to the forms you have been advised to take.

A number of people hurt themselves simply by assuming the wrong positions while training. Watching yourself on the mirror ought to keep you from making such mistakes.

Body Building: The Basics

Though bodybuilding appears to be a modern day activity it has its ancient roots dug deep into 12th Century India, where the very first training methods and bodybuilding related diets first emerged. Within 300 years bodybuilding had become a phenomenal success in India and people from all over the world were following their lead. To assist their bodybuilding attempts people created their very first dumbbells and weights during this time. With the creation of the first weights weightlifting and bodybuilding found its foremost element.

In the western world bodybuilding came to be recognized as a great sport only in the 1800’s when bodybuilders such as Eugene Sandow came to the forefront. By the early 1900’s people felt a growing need for the introduction of contests that would validate the hard work of those who built their body. As a result, the bodybuilding competitions, which have become such a quintessential part of the whole regime today, came into being. Sandow was one of the frontrunners of the initial bodybuilding movements and was named the father of Modern Bodybuilding. To make sure his voice and ideas about bodybuilding found its way to the people he made frequent public appearances, organized exhibitions and, more importantly, started the pioneering fitness magazine ‘Physical Culture’.

It was Sandow who finally pushed the authorities of the Olympic Games to include weightlifting as one of the events. Thanks to his efforts weightlifting came to become one of the main attractions of the Olympic Games from the year 1896. Even today it is one of the most viewed events of the games.

With the arrival of bodybuilders such as Charles Atlas in the bodybuilding circuit in the early 1900’s the sport became even more widespread and lucrative. Quickly his legendary ads spread all over the place and penetrated deep the deepest psyche of all American men. Everyone in the world wanted to be just like him!

Quickly more and more exercise equipments started gaining popularity in the market. People were now getting conscious of the way they ought to train, the way they ought to eat and the equipments they ought to purchase in order to sculpt their body into shape. The fitness industry was only now shaping into the form we are acquainted with presently.

With the emergence of the Tarzan and the Hercules movies between the 50’s and the 70’s bodybuilding became something of a rage. Everyone was now raring to go and achieve a body as beautiful as Steve Reeves.

Cashing in on the cult status of bodybuilding was entrepreneurs such as Joe Gold (who found both, the Gold’s Gym as well as the World Gym) and others.

Bodybuilding was now struggling to segregate itself from weightlifting and become a sport by itself. During the 70’s yet another bodybuilding phenomenon by the name of Arnold Schwarzenegger was to take the world by a storm with his perfectly carved body. Later he would enter the Guinness Book of World Records as the best developed man in the world and thereby begin a cult of sorts.

Body Building: For Teenagers

Teenagers can benefit from bodybuilding in a number of ways. Bodybuilding is of course a great way of keeping in shape and maintaining good health. However bodybuilding can allow you far greater rewards than a mere good body. Read on to know more.

A number of parents are concerned about the kind of effects severe exercises (such as those necessary for bodybuilding) can bring about to a teenager’s body. A teenager’s body, as we all know, undergo a number of natural changes. Hence, parents are concerned that the additional strain of heavy exercises might prove detrimental to the teenager’s growth. While there is no real proof to suggest that exercising can harm bodily growth most gym instructors are of the opinion that teenage bodybuilder’s often suffer from a particular problem that has much to do with their being a teenager. This problem concerns the usual impulsiveness related to being a teenager. Teenagers enjoy breaking rules and disobeying instructions, while this might be a fun thing to do usually in the gym while working with weights nothing could be more harmful than being a rebel. Bodybuilding is all about discipline, and teenagers do not, as a rule, like discipline. This is the sole problem that plagues all teenage bodybuilders.

Many people believe that working with heavyweights can stop bones from growing. They justify their claim by pointing out that lifting heavy weights can quicken the closure of growth plates, thereby stopping their growth far before they are supposed to. While this logic sounds watertight it is yet to be proven as true. Also, groups opposing this theory have pointed out that most professional athletes (many of whom had begun training with heavyweights at a young age) have not strictly adhered to this rule and remained stunted. Thus, as of now, there seems to be no solid proof to suggest whether or not weights affect a certain individual’s growth.

Even if working out with particularly heavy weights does actually have an affect on the bones of teenagers even then none of them are really in much danger. This is because such an effect can really be harmful only before a teenager reaches a certain level of maturity, and majority of teenagers reach the full extent of their growth by over and around the age of 15. Now, surely no 13 or 14 year old will be pumping iron to build his body and thereby getting his bones all arrested!

Apart from the growth issue there is the issue, which we already discussed and which concerns the basic problem of being a ‘teenager’. Most teenagers feel out of place being neither adults nor children, as a result they try to hasten their life and ‘grow up’ quicker than they are likely to naturally. This ‘quickening’ causes many of them to try and emulate everything from the walk to the talk and even the workout regimes of their seniors. Obviously this can prove a disaster since teenagers are not technically supposed to do things that an adult does. An adult bodybuilder has far more stamina and experience than a regular teenager, as a result emulating him can prove taxing and even dangerous for a young teenager.

To ensure that they don’t end up hurting themselves real bad by trying and imitating better trained adults all teenage bodybuilders should preferably hire a trainer for themselves.