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Weight Loss Exercise

Body Building At Home: Can It Be Done?


So can you do body building at home? That is, can you effectively work and build all of the necessary muscles to have a toned, sculpted and overall big muscular body without all of the specialized equipment that you will find at a gym?

Of course, you could set up a home gym with your own equipment and then there would be no problem following a routine for body building at home. But let’s assume that you do not and cannot have a fully equipped home gym. What are the bare essentials that you need for effective body building?

Unfortunately you are not going to be able to do body building at home successfully with no equipment at all. There is no way that you can hope to build serious muscle mass without some weights.

Dumbbells are cheap and easy to store in the smallest apartment or dorm room. If you really do not even have the money for those – for example if you are a teen with no job and a tiny allowance – then you could start out by using plastic water bottles, the kind that you can easily grip in the middle. However, you will soon want to move up in the weights, so plan on saving your allowance or asking for a set of dumbbells for your next birthday, Christmas or as a random gift from any family member who is feeling generous.

Hint: you will find that family members are much more likely to buy stuff for you if they can see that you are going to use it and get the value out of it. If you ask before you even start working out, they may say no automatically. If you ask after you have been working out regularly for a month, the answer may be very different.

The next thing that you will need is a flat/incline adjustable bench. This will cost you a little more and it takes up more storage space too but it greatly increases the number of exercises that you can do. The bottom line is that an adjustable bench is going to be essential if you plan on doing any serious body building at home.


Finally, a barbell with a set of barbell weights completes the basic equipment. You can manage with either dumbbells or a barbell, you do not strictly need both, but if you have the space and a few more dollars this can add variety to your workout.

Your workout can then include bench press exercises with and without weights, and the full range of dumbbell or barbell exercises (rows, curls, extensions and raises). Be sure to plan your routine so that you are covering different muscle groups each time. Do not work out every day but have two or three rest days in the week.

So how long will it take before you see results? It would be great if we could bulk up overnight, but that simply does not happen. Be patient, keep to your routine as you planned it for body building at home and you should start to see results in a couple of weeks.

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Weight Loss Exercise

How To Build Body And Muscle Fast


Finding out how to build body and increase muscle mass is simple. It really comes down to two things: working out, and giving your body the right fuel.

1. How To Build Body Working Out

Obviously, body builders have to train. There is no shortcut here, although of course there are ways to increase the effectiveness of the training that you do. The first of these ways is to make sure that you have an efficient bodybuilding workout routine.

This means deciding which exercises you will do on which days. It is vital to plan this because each muscle needs at least one full day recovery time between workouts. The workout breaks down the muscle and the recovery time is when it builds up again, stronger than before. That’s why more training is not necessarily better.

To build muscle size rather than strength, aim for sets of around 10 reps with a short rest of around 1 minute between sets.

The importance of good form cannot be over emphasized. You must learn to do each exercise correctly in the beginning when you are learning how to build body and have somebody check your form from time to time too. A qualified trainer is best. If you must learn from a video, at least have a buddy there to watch that you are doing everything correctly. You cannot work out and look in the mirror at the same time.

You need to push your muscles to fatigue, so that they are stressed enough to trigger the muscle building during recovery time. However, you should never exercise beyond the point where you have good form. Your last rep should be the last one that you can do with perfect form. If you get tired sooner, reduce the weight; if you could have done several more, increase it.

It helps to have a buddy to act as spotter when you are figuring this out, especially on a bench press. They can help you with the weight and avoid accidents if you find you have lifted one rep too far.

2. How To Build Body With The Right Fuel

When you want to build muscle rather than fat it is vital to have the right food. Avoid junk and sugary foods and concentrate on proteins and complex carbohydrates. Drink plenty of water through the day. Cut down on alcohol.

Proteins include meat and dairy but also beans, nuts and seeds. There is even some protein in vegetables. Complex carbohydrates are whole grain carbs such as brown rice, whole grain bread, oatmeal, corn etc, plus fruit and starchy vegetables like potatoes and carrots.

Most bodybuilders add whey protein, creatine or other supplements to their diets. Remember that these are not intended to replace a healthy diet, only to supplement it.

During your workout, choose a sports drink that includes protein as well as carbs. This is the best combination for reducing muscle damage plus fast muscle building and recovery. Follow this with a high carb drink or snack within a half hour after your workout, to stimulate glycogen production.

Eat often and eat smaller meals to keep your body’s supply of fuel steady and even. Figure out some healthy snacks. When it comes to learning how to build body and muscle mass, it is much better to have 5-6 small meals than 2-3 large ones.

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Weight Loss Exercise

A Body Building Routine That Works


Finding a body building routine that works is not as easy as many beginner bodybuilders think. First, there is such a huge number of possible routines. This is not surprising when you consider how many muscle groups there are to work and how many possible exercises there are for each one. When you think about all the combinations you could make, you can see that the number of possible workout routines for body building is almost infinite.

Copying somebody else’s routine is not usually the best way to go. You are not going to develop the same body as the current Mr. Universe by reading up on his routine and doing the same thing yourself. It is very unlikely that your body is ready for exactly the same workout that he does right now.

A Starting Body Building Routine

A Body Building Routine That Works

Starting Body Building Routine

So what do you do? If you are just starting out, then probably any standard beginner body building routine will do fine. It is true that what works for one person will not necessarily work for anybody else but in the beginning it is okay to figure out your best plan by trial and error.

However, you do need to be sure that your workout routine covers all of the bases. Check it out against the following scheme. And if you want to plan your own body building routine, this is a good way to go.

First, note down all the muscle groups that you need to work. That is pretty much all the muscles in the body. Do not forget the core and especially the muscles of the back. It is dangerous to overdevelop the chest, shoulders and abs while neglecting the back because you can so easily cause an injury there.

Then choose an exercise that works each group. This could involve dumbbells, a barbell, or gym machines such as the bench press. Some exercises will work out more than one muscle group.

Now you are ready to plan your body building routine so that each muscle group is worked around twice a week with at least one full day of rest between. It is good to give yourself a couple of days of complete rest from working out, too.

Watch Your Results – Is your Body Building Routine Working?

What if nothing seems to be working? First, consider whether you are giving your muscles enough rest. Bodybuilders who do not get the results they expect are often guilty of overtraining. Remember that the muscles are broken down during your workout. The time that they build mass is during the recovery time. So do not be tempted to overtrain.

Second, look at other factors such as your diet. Are you getting the right amount of protein and carbs at the right times? Have you looked into possible supplements that you might take?

Lastly, keep in mind that it is good practice to change your routine around from time to time. This counters boredom and more importantly, works the muscles a little differently than what they may be used to. You will often find that changing out one ab exercise for another or using a different press at the gym will be the catalyst that you need to start gaining muscle mass again. All of these tips will help you figure out a body building routine that works.