Body Building for Males

When you start a body building program, be aware that this has generally always been a male sport.  That doesn’t mean that females can’t be body builders, but male body building has always been the norm.  The reasons are far reaching actually.

Males naturally produce a large amount of testosterone in their bodies.  Testosterone lends itself to longer, more intense workouts.  It’s a natural part of male body building.  Testosterone makes men more aggressive, and as a result, they are able to work out more intensely.  That means their muscles work harder and grow larger because of their body building program.

When the talk begins to turn toward male body building, it’s natural to speak of body building supplements.  Many males can benefit from body building supplements just as many females can.  However, because of the male anatomy as well as the naturally produced hormones by men, they can benefit much more by adding supplements to their workout programs.

Males are better able to focus on body building because of their natural constitutions.  Their muscles are just waiting to be worked to the point of toned as opposed to females.  That’s not to say that females are not able to work out with the same intensity as males.  What it means is that men grow differently that women do and so do their muscles.

When males are undertaking a body building program, they need to keep in mind a few specific points. Among these include maintaining an adequate diet that will give you the vitamins and minerals that you need to bring the nutrition to your muscles that will help you to build muscle mass.

An effective male body building program also needs lots of rest as well as lots of water intake.  You need to hydrate yourself along with your muscles to make sure that the water works for the good of your workout. 

Body building for males means working muscles beyond what you ever thought they could do.  As a male, you are naturally able to build your muscles because of the hormones that you produce.  That makes you at an advantage over the women, but not always.  The effectiveness of a workout depends on how hard you work your muscles and how you concentrate your energy.

Body building for males requires you to concentrate on certain muscle groups so that you can make some huge muscle mass.  If that is your goal as a male body builder, then by all means, pursue it!  Male body building means making a gorgeously toned body while becoming fit and trim at the same time.  

Body Building for Girls

The term “girl” is generally thought of to be a young female, but when we’re talking about body building for girls, we’re really referring to female body building for teen girls.  Body building isn’t a sport just reserved for the male sex.  Girls can get strong, fit, and toned just like boys although their approach needs to be different.

Girls need to set realistic body building goals when they are trying to figure out just what they want to accomplish with their weight training.  Some girls just want to lose weight.  Others would like to become toned and firm.  Still others are using body building as a way to excel at sports.  Set goals and keep those goals in mind during workout programs.  Don’t lose sight of those goals and use them as motivation to keep going.

Guys – especially teen guys – produce much more testosterone than girls do, so remember that, as a girl, you won’t be building muscle in the same ways as your male counterparts.  You can, however, tone your muscles and sculpt a beautiful body when you keep an eye on the end result you want to achieve.

When it comes to nutrition, girls who are starting a body building routine need to keep a few things in mind.  First of all, girls need different nutrients than boys.  They require much more iron due to blood loss during menstruation, and they also can benefit from more protein.  Protein provides muscle building material in the body, so it should be consumed both through diet as well as supplements.

When speaking of supplements, girls should shy away from testosterone replacement supplements.  These types of artificial substances can make a woman or girl look more like a man and can seriously impede health.  While they will make your muscles grow stronger and quicker, they should still be avoided for girls who are body building seriously.

Keep in mind that both girls and boys who are body building need to get lots of rest.  This is very important for any young person, but when you are working your body, you really need to get a lot of rest.  Muscles are grown when the body is in a sedentary state.  While you sleep, your muscles will grow and you will be repairing any damage you’ve done while working out.

Get the advice of an adult before you undertake a body building program.  It’s very possible for girls who want to use body building as a fitness program to make beautiful bodies that they can be proud of.  Just be sure you do it safely and know what you are doing before you start.  Then watch the results and enjoy what you’ve done!

Body Building for Fitness

People undertake the sport of body building for all sorts of reasons, but fitness is probably the biggest one of all.  There’s no doubt that people who take the time to focus on the muscles in their body and honing them to a chiseled state are probably among the most fit of athletes.  We can easily use the terms body building and fitness interchangeably with each other.

We are a fitness conscious society, and body building fits in nicely with that concept.  Fitness means more than just losing weight and having a trim body.  It means living a healthy lifestyle and chiseling the best body you can through a variety of methods.

Body building for fitness is a great way to become the person you’ve always wanted to be.  Because becoming an effective body building means having the proper diet, you will realize a level of fitness you never knew was possible.  You should eat a well-balanced nutrition plan that gives you the nutrients you need to have a great body.

Because you are eating in this way, you will be giving your body essential nutrients that will make you healthy just by consuming them.  Body building requires a very specific diet with lots of protein and lots of carbohydrates.  Body builders are also very aware of what they are putting in their body, so fitness is achieved in the diet just by concentrating on what you eat.

Body building also requires a demanding workout schedule where you lift weights and perform exercises that focus on specific muscle groups as well as specific muscles.  When you begin to chisel those muscles, they become very well defined and healthier.  That’s why body building is great for a fitness regime.

Fitness is very important in living a healthy and full lifestyle.  Staying fit both in body and mind contributes to a sense of well-being that you won’t find when you are neglecting your health.  It is a million dollar industry that helps us stay fit and trim, and the help is out there aplenty when you look for it.

Body building for fitness is the best way you can go about not only losing weight but also gaining body mass and becoming stronger.  When you achieve the level of fitness you are desiring, you will be able to look in the mirror and be proud of what you see.  Why?  Because you did it yourself and you did it for YOU!

Body Building for a Woman

Men aren’t the only ones who can build a great body.  Body building for a woman is a great way to lose weight, get fit, and look great.  An effective body building program won’t make a woman look muscular necessarily.  This is one reason why many women hesitate to start lifting weights and exercise intently.  What a good body building program for a woman will do is sculpt a beautiful body that you can be proud of.

Body building in general started gaining popularity in the 1970’s after the release of the movie “Pumping Iron” starring Arnold Schwarzeneggar.  It was about this time that the women’s liberation movement began rising in popularity as well.  As women started standing up for their rights, they also began to exercise their options to do what men were doing – and that included body building.

Now, there are two categories of body building women:  those who work for health and those who work for competition.  Of course, any body building program for a woman will have great health benefits, but those who want to compete will find themselves working in a different way.

Many women hesitate to start a body building program because they don’t want to look like male body builders with huge muscles and oversized shoulders and legs.  But women are different from men in that they cannot naturally produce the huge amount of testosterone that men have which contributes to large muscles in men.

Body building for a woman is more about sculpting muscles to look toned and strong – not to become large and massive.  It can happen for those women who choose to use illegal substances such as steroids.  But body building for a woman who chooses the healthy route will simply make a chiseled body that looks and feels great.

Many people think the female body is naturally a work of art, but it’s easy to get off track with the stresses of every day life – especially for women.  They are expected to hold to a pre-conceived ideal of what a woman is supposed to look like.  But every woman is different just as every woman’s body is different.

Body building for a woman can make her more confident, feel better about herself, and look great in the process.  Many people think that the strong, chiseled muscles that female body builders have IS the ideal of what a woman is supposed to look like.  Getting healthy and staying healthy is important for everyone.  Body building for a woman can help get her there and stay there.

Body Building Exercises

In a body building program, the exercises that you do can make all the difference between an effective program and one that won’t do much good.  The good thing is that there are many, many body building exercises you can incorporate into your workout that will help grow your muscles and keep you fit and trim.

For big legs, you’ll want to do a lot of barbell squats and dead lifts.  The resistance you are putting on your legs when you perform these types of exercises will push your muscles to make them grow.  That’s the point of an intense workout program in the first place.  Lifting weights with your legs instead of your arms will help the quadriceps and hamstrings become tight and fit.

When working your arms, the body building exercises you should count on will consist a lot of barbell and dumbbell curls and well as bench presses.  It’s easy when performing these exercises to just concentrate on lifting the weights, but what you really need to do is focus on the strain the weights are putting on your arm muscles.  Really push them as you are lifting and feel how they are working in response.

Great abs are formed much in the same way as any other muscle group.  They need to be worked, strained, and pushed in order to become toned.  You can get that toned, sculpted look by doing simple sit ups and crunches, but weights can help too.  Try hanging from a chin up bar and lifting your knees up, or get on a machine specially designed to tone the ab muscles.

When working the upper back, a pull-down bar machine will make all the difference in the world.  This is a two handled curved bar that is attached to weights with a pulley system.  You pull the bar down with your shoulders behind you.

It’s important when choosing body building exercises that you pick the ones that you are physically able to do.  Then be very conscious of the way the exercise is supposed to be performed.  If you don’t pay special attention to your form, you risk injury which can set back your body building program significantly.

Do your research on what types of body building exercises will work specific muscle groups and then incorporate them into your workout regimen.  Pick a variety of exercises that will make your body everything you dreamed it could be and do them on a regular basis.  The reward is a toned, fit body that you can be proud of!

Body Building Equipment

Generally, people think of body building equipment as weight machines.  While weight machines are some of the best ways to work specific muscle groups, there is still a lot of other body building equipment you can use to help tone and work your muscles to their fullest potential.

Of course, you will want to have some type of weights to help you with your body building goals.  A stable weight bench and some barbells as well as dumbbells will help you workout at home.  If you’re not able to get to a gym, having these types of weights at home will contribute to your workout program and help you build your muscles in an amazing way.

An exercise ball is a cheap way to work your ab muscles and make them strong.  You simply roll over the ball and perform sit-ups while using the resistance that the ball can give you works your abs.  Exercise balls can be purchased in many places including discount stores like Wal-Mart, and are relatively inexpensive when you consider what they can give you in the long run.

Body building equipment doesn’t have to be expensive.  You can actually come across some great deals when you search out the types of machines that you want to enhance your workout.  Check online and look in the classified ads of your local newspaper to find Nautilus machines as well as treadmills or stair step machines.

You should look for reliability in body building equipment before you buy.  This is especially true if you are buying a machine with pulley systems.  Look at the cords and see if they are strong and not frayed.  If there is any sign of stress on the pulleys, don’t buy it.

If you are looking to buy some body building equipment from a large company, be sure that they are reliable and offer a guarantee.  It’s convenient to have your own weight machine in your home, but if it doesn’t give you the workout that you need, you’re just throwing your money away.  

The equipment you use when you are undertaking a body building program can be very important.  You will want to choose the type of equipment that will give you maximum results and contribute to your goals not take away from them.  There are many places you can go to get this type of equipment, but know what you are looking for before you buy.

Body building equipment can greatly enhance your workout sessions and tone your body to new proportions.  Use the equipment that will work the parts of your body that you want to concentrate on and then watch your muscles thrive!

Body Building DVDs

Ever since the movie, “Pumping Iron” starring Arnold Schwarzneggar came out in the 1970’s, body building movies and instructional tapes have become big business.  With the advent of DVD technology, body building instruction has been taken to a new level.  The amount of product on the market today in the field of body building DVDs is amazing.  You can find almost anything you need on the subject when you look.

The subjects of body building DVDs are as diverse as the sport itself.  You can find videos on things like posing, training, competing, and much more.  The medium of DVD is an amazing way to learn all sorts of things about the sport of body building.

Many magazines have made their own body building DVDs for their subscribers to buy that will address issues like how to perform certain exercises correctly and what judges look for when assessing competitors in body building contests.  Muscle and Fitness magazine alone boasts over 20 titles in their DVD arsenal.

Being able to see a body building expert execute specific exercises correctly on DVD can be invaluable in your quest for a great body.  You can read all sorts of material about how to do an exercise, but actually being able to SEE the exercise being done correctly can help you mimic movements and keep yourself from injury.

If you can’t afford a personal trainer in your body building quest, having a body building DVD can be the next best thing.  Experts in the field have put together videos that show you how to go about undertaking a body building program.  They also offer up some great motivation for continuing your workout program as you watch them work out their already chiseled muscles.

When you begin to get involved in body building contests, having a prior contest on DVD can guide you toward a winning performance.  You can never have too much information when it comes to researching what makes a winning body builder.  Seeing people who have won these competitions perform their poses and play to the crowd will allow you to take ideas from them and put your own personal twist on them.

Finding body building DVDs is not difficult.  You can go to a variety of websites and order them.  This would include amazon.com, overstock.com, and even ebay.com!  The titles that are available are as diverse as they are plentiful.

Body building is a sport that requires great determination and stamina as well as commitment to the goals you have set.  Body building DVDs are a great way to not only learn about the sport, but to become the best at it that you always dreamed you could be!