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Weight Loss Exercise

Bodybuilding Workout For Building Muscle Mass


The most important thing you need for a successful bodybuilding workout is to be consistent. There is no getting around this: if you do not plan your training and do it at the right times, you will not be able to build muscle mass half so effectively.

Of course that does not mean training 24/7. Rest and recovery is vital: the muscles must have a chance to grow and build between gym sessions. However, you do need to decide how many days you will train and what you will do during each session.

If your bodybuilding workout sessions are too frequent, you will simply be frustrated by not seeing results. That is, unless you are very careful in planning which muscle groups you will work each time. If you truly want to train every day then it is possible to figure out something that will work: you would just need to work on fewer muscles in each session.

But there is another risk with working out too often and that is what happens when you cannot get to the gym for some reason. Maybe you go on vacation or you take a few days sick. It can be very difficult to get back into a seven day a week routine after a break. Training four or five days is easier to pick up again, at least for most people.

Four days could be enough for a beginner. In that case you could hit each muscle group once a week, or a maximum of twice. You would not end up with an elaborate bodybuilding workout routine but that can be all the better. Simple is often best when it comes to any kind of fitness or bodybuilding routine.

Keep in mind that bodybuilding has different requirements from strength training. While both bodybuilders and strength trainers can lift more weight than the average guy on the street, the strength trainer will be more concerned with numbers and the bodybuilder more concerned with muscle size and appearance.

You need to be clear about your goals because there are differences in how you train. For a bodybuilding workout you are going to be doing more reps with shorter breaks between series.

Do not compare yourself with others. This is almost never a useful thing to do in life. Track your own progress of course but only look at how far you have come, do not look at how much better or worse you are doing than some other guy at the gym. Especially, if you are bodybuilding, do not get hung up on how much weight you are lifting. That is not the important question, as we said above.

Anytime that you cannot make it to the gym, have some backup exercises that you can do at home. Pushups, squats, chair dips, crunches and similar floor exercises are very easy to do at home. It is a good idea to have dumbbells in the house and maybe a barbell if you have the space.

When you are following a bodybuilding workout at home, remember that it is still important to plan your routine and not to over train any muscle group.

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Weight Loss Exercise

Workout Clothing: Why It Is Important


Workout clothing might not be top of your list of things to consider when you are planning your workout routine but it is important for a number of reasons. Check out all of the points below and we are sure you will agree that it is worth spending some time and money selecting the right workout clothing.

Many of the reasons for having dedicated fitness apparel for wearing at the gym are psychological. Workout clothing puts you in the zone. Your mindset can have a huge effect on the success of your fitness or bodybuilding training, so pay close attention to this.

If you think about it for a moment, you will soon see that if you go to the gym or work out at home in your regular clothes, you are much less likely to take your training seriously. You will not pay so much attention to form or treat this as an important activity in your life.

Having the right clothes also increases your confidence. When you look like somebody who works out, you will feel and act like somebody who works out. ‘Fake it until you make it’ works here as in so many other aspects of life.

Workout clothing is important for comfort too. It is vital that your body can move freely during your training program, so you will not want anything too tight or restrictive. Your training program should only be limited by your body’s strength and endurance, not by your clothes. Heavy fabrics like denim are out; stretch fabrics are in.

Tanks that leave the armpits open can prevent your workout clothing becoming uncomfortably sweaty. Tanks are also great for showing off the results of your training. Arms, shoulders, backs and even the chest and abs are clearly displayed in a well designed bodybuilding tank. Sports tanks are usually looser in the body and cut higher under the arms.

Women’s workout clothing includes sports bras and tops as well as all types of leg wear from shorts through Capris to sweatpants. Short skirts suit some sports like tennis and badminton, while anybody including yoga in their workout will prefer leggings that allow a full stretch without flopping the way that other pants might.

It may seem weird to be thinking so much about workout clothing, especially for guys, but consider this. Pretty much everything important that we do has special clothes. Big events like weddings and funerals, of course; but even things that we do every day have their own ‘costume’. Most people wear different clothes for work than they would wear on the weekend, even if there are no dress rules for their job.

So wearing the right clothes in the gym helps your training program in many ways. It puts you in the zone for getting fit. It means that your mind will be much less distracted than if you went on wearing the same T shirt that you had on all day. Finding it hard to believe that the right workout clothing could actually improve your performance? Try it.

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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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