Training Methods for Strength and Muscle Gain

 By Chris G Pap

In previous articles, we described various training methods that helped you succeed and reach the targets you have set. The method we will be showing to you in this article is one of my favorites and is guaranteed to make you stronger and bigger in a relatively short time frame. Just a few weeks later you will start noticing some benefits in both strength and mass.

It is a training method called 21 or its alternative variation called 28. The concept is to perform the same exercise in three or four different ways. So, how exactly is this training method being carried out?

Let us say that biceps are scheduled in our today's workout. Starting with the 21 variation of the method, you grab a curl bar and do six regular reps. Continue by doing another six reps only this time you do the motion from the middle and up to the top and you complete the exercise by doing another six from the lowest point up to the middle of the motion range. It is important not to rest between the different moves.

The muscle burn and the feeling of your muscles being on the verge of exploding is unique! You can apply this method to all exercises in every muscle group that you train. Go easy on the weights at the beginning until you have adjusted properly and you have learned the technique. It is also important not to cheat. If you feel that you cannot complete the exercise, then consider reducing the weights or the reps.

The 28 variation of this great strength training method is actually the same as the 21 plus an extra set of reps that are being performed slowly. After completing the six regular reps, continue performing six reps extra slow and then do the upper half and the down half movement. The aim of this extreme training method is to give your muscular system a shock that will trigger the muscle growth procedure. As to the question how long to stick with this program, I would suggest 10 weeks max in order to avoid muscle adaptation.

Do not forget that even the best workout plans need to be combined with proper nutrition, supplementation and recovery time in order to give you 100% percent results. Patience and persistence are also two factors that are necessary while you work hard in the gym.
Keep those muscles pumping!

Chris G Pap
Since 1993 involved in bodybuilding and fitness area. Visit the following link for more info about bodybuilding, supplementation, workout routines and nutrition.

http://www.strengthtrainingmuscle.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_G_Pap

what you should learn about bodybuilding nutrition

 what you should learn about bodybuilding nutrition


In bodybuilding nutrition is just as necessary if less necessary than the hard work it self. Anyone who is serious about his body and needs to create correct gains, ought to view his body as a building. you cannot build a building if you don't have bricks or cement. even if you have thousands of employees who are willing and are prepared to build .


I have seen and that i am certain you have seen similarly, people who move to the gym and put in so much hard work then instantly go and eat trash or maybe do the full opposite and starve themselves. you need to be informed and disciplined when it comes to bodybuilding nutrition.

1.Eat a large and complete breakfast with an outsized quantity of carbohydrates and protein. this can help to hurry up your metabolism and provides you sustained energy throughout the day. i know the majority skip breakfast owing to a busy schedule however the power of a good breakfast goes an extended means in your path to healthy living.

2. Drink lots of water shoot for about eight full glasses per day. Flooding the muscles with water permits them to soak up more nutrients and thus build muscle at a quicker rate.


3. Eat meals consistently each 2-3 hours to permit a consistent offer of protein to feed your muscles. Meals like chicken, salmon, steak, potatoes, veggies are all nice decisions and make certain to cook in advance.

4.Develop good pre/post workout nutrition with solid protein shakes. this is very important in repairing muscle tissue and can play a key role in your gains.

5. protein ought to be the focal point of your diet and every one of your meals ought to contain AN adequate quantity. Muscles want high quality protein to absorb and rebuild so don't let them go hungry.

6. Snack in a healthy manner with peanut butter, nuts, cottage cheese, canned tuna etc. put down the bag of chips and soda and have a pleasant healthy and pleasurable snack.

7.Eliminate fats and excess sugar. while this seems like a no brainer people have the insane concept that by working out they'll eat no matter they want. eating cheeseburgers and Twinkies could sound okay however the reality is fast food and sweets completely kills your diet.

Be simple on fats and sugars. and try and avoid junk food it only hurts your gains it doesn't improve it in anyway. eating healthy and feeding with discipline equals nothing however pure growth. so this is what body building nutrition is concerning.

Natural Ways To Gain Weight - Two Simple Ways To Gain More Weight

By Rob Domarkas 


In this article I would like to share with you two natural ways to gain weight quickly and easily. The fact is that to gain weight you don't need supplements, you don't need pills or powders, all you need to focus on are proven and tested principles and without wasting too much of your time let me share them with you.

Change your eating habits
It does not matter whether you want to gain or lose weight - nutrition is the single most important thing. You see, both fat loss and weight gain is all about energy in and energy out. When you are trying to lose weight you want to make sure that your daily energy output is greater than your daily energy input, whereas when you are trying to gain weight you by all means want to make sure that your daily energy input is greater than your daily energy output.

To gain weight, to make your body grow you need to give your body way more energy (calories) than it actually needs. I know that this probably sounds a little bit confusing, but all you need to do is to simply use one of the thousands of caloric calculators that are available online, figure out your caloric needs and then add extra three to five hundred calories on top of your actual caloric needs.

Start lifting weights to gain high quality lean muscle mass
When trying to gain weight you need to be really careful because if you will fail to exercise all of the extra energy that you will get from your new diet will be quickly converted into fat and instead of gaining high quality lean muscle mass you will be gaining useless body fat.

To prevent this from happening I highly recommend for you to start lifting weights. Simply start slowly and start training at least three times per week. Here are some tips for you to get started.

• Follow a body split workout plan and train large muscle groups on different days.
• During your workouts focus on big compound exercises such as barbell squats, bent over rows, deadlifts, military press and so on.
• Do no more than twelve repetition per set and never do more than four sets per exercise.
• Do no more than four exercises for large muscle groups like chest, back or legs and do no more than two exercises for smaller muscle groups like biceps or triceps.

For more information about how to gain weight check out my latest Squidoo lens about the easiest way to gain weight at http://www.squidoo.com/easiest-way-to-gain-weight

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rob_Domarkas

How To Become A Bodybuilder

By Oleg Donetss 

This article is mainly oriented on novice bodybuilding athletes! Now you are going to have a chance to learn how to become a bodybuilder in a competent and fast way. If you're thinking that you will effortlessly attain all your goals by doing muscle workouts in your local health club, you are mistaken.

This occurs very rarely. However, regrettably in most cases it won't. Are you aware that more than 30% of beginners abandon their bodybuilding routines forever within two first months? I don't dare to state the percentage of novices who abandon their workout after two months. Fundamentally, there are reasonable reasons why it happens.

Assistance from a trainer is vitally important for beginners, and when there is a lack of attention from a trainer, then a rookie has a valid reason to give up. However, in fact, the real causes why so many rookie athletes abandon their workouts are:

· Poor psychological strength for strenuous workouts.
· Being unsure of which exercises to do and how to do them.
To make things simpler for you, this comprehensive "How to Become a Bodybuilder" article is split in subtopics and every one of these will reveal the key components in details. In this post I'm going to completely cover the first two key components, which will certainly enhance your chances to avoid that, mentioned earlier, sad statistics. Lets get started!

Great Attitude
No matter how good and powerful you feel at the moment, this won't help you in your muscle building if you're not psychologically prepared for the workout. In this situation you'll always seek, and trust me, easily find excuses to skip your next workout. Sustaining a high level of determination is vital to successful accomplishment of your goals! For anybody who is serious about bodybuilding, you need to ask yourself what is the main reason you are pursuing this goal.

You could be interested in bodybuilding competitions, or perhaps you want to keep yourself healthy or even only desire to look fantastic while you are on the beach. Regardless of the reason, you need to keep it on your mind continuously so that you can make yourself do something.

Individuals that can inspire themselves and survive the first 2 months of consistent workouts will have bigger chances to continue exercising. And the those who are not mentally strong will miss one training session, which is a sure way to skip yet another and the other one after. Therefore, in order to avoid this wrong path, you need to each and every time encourage yourself by reminding why you have started developing your body.

Think of the great feeling you'll have when you finally build your muscles and look all shaped up. Also, kind of social responsibilities are quite powerful in this matter. For this reason it's so vital that you have a training partner. I recommend you to find a training buddy because the competing spirit between the two of you will spark your enthusiasm and therefore not only it will make your workouts more productive but also will cause you to not miss workouts.

Furthermore, you need to embed bodybuilding workout routines in your usual life. The workouts should be what you are, an important part of your everyday routine. To succeed, you will have to become one with the bodybuilding process.

Bodybuilding Is a PROCESS
To help keep the optimistic attitude and support your enthusiasm, you need to realize that building muscles is a PROCESS. It does take time to notice any transformations of your body, even though you will feel perceptible increase in strength within few first workouts.

Unlike the rapidly growing physical power, the increase in muscular mass takes relatively longer time, typically several weeks, and therefore requires just patience. The reason why bodybuilding is a process is that the proteins your muscles use take time to synthesize.

Don't feel anxious in case you have no significant results. You ought to simply be doing the workouts in an appropriate manner, which you can find on this website. And you'll surely get positive results in appropriate time. I guarantee that! One of my teachers always told me "grant a necessary respect to the process". Regardless of what that process is!

In my case, this didn't really relate to sport accomplishments but, in fact, these genial words are appropriate to whichever goal you pursuit. You should imprint this genial thought in your thought process. This can supercharge your positive attitude toward every achievement you need to accomplish, not only toward body building process.

There's always a time frame involved when there is a goal to be achieved. You will improve your chances in being successful when you carry on doing what has to be done. Moreover, should you stick to every and each of our directions for bodybuilding novices accurately, you won't just discover how to become a bodybuilder and have first good results fairly fast but you will also prepare yourself and acquire a necessary basis to the next level - advanced bodybuilder.

You should NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP whenever you face the difficulties on your way to achieve goals in your daily life.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Oleg_Donetss

Top Tips on Bodybuilding Books - What You Need to Know

 By Balu Pierre

Bodybuilding books have real value to them if you find the right ones. You can take them everywhere with you and they can be great companions on your journey towards building the body of your dreams.

This article will be about what to look for in bodybuilding books as there are many books offering no real value. I have fallen intro a lot traps with marketing hype about bodybuilding books and with the result of me being disappointed and having spend money that could have been used elsewhere.

Bodybuilding Books - Tips on What to Look For
-Tip #1:
The first tip is to look for the author. Does the author have a nice physique, has he or she made the changes themselves or are they just giving advice from what they have read.

-Tip #2:
Is there a workout plan with a daily schedule on what to train on each day and does it include a plan for cutting, building mass or some combination of those.

-Tip #3:
Is there a nutrition plan explaining what to eat and what the purpose of the different foods are. And does it explain how you can combine the different foods. And it should also include a plan for building mass and a plan for losing fat and/or weight.

-Tip #4:
Does it include a how-to plan? A how-to plan is how you perform each exercise. It is very important that you work on your exercises efficiently as you want to gain as much from them as possible and squeeze as much muscle out as possible.

When you know how to work on each exercise you will avoid injuries and thereby not slow down your process on building muscle.

-Tip #5:
Is there a supplement plan on what supplements are beneficial for muscle growth. Supplements has a lot of benefits if you use the right ones and can make a change in how you perform your exercises, your energy level and how well you recover from the workouts, just to name a few.

-Tip #6:
Does the bodybuilding books you are looking at include any general tips on how to build muscle and general facts about bodybuilding. The good bodybuilding books are like your personal coach who you can ask any questions to.

Bodybuilding Books - Don't get scammed
-Tip #7:
Do the bodybuilding books you are looking at have any reviews and are there any people who have gotten results by using the tips in the books. This is a great way to separate marketing scams from real value.

These are just some of the tips you should have in the back of your head when looking for bodybuilding books or any books for that matter. Don't be scared by the tips, but rather congratulate yourself on having taken a decision to change your body because that alone is a huge step.

If you follow the above tips on bodybuilding books you will avoid falling into scams like I did when I started out. Look for bodybuilding books that you have a good feeling about and start your muscle building journey with a BANG!

Are you tired of not being able to wear the clothes you want, not feeling comfortable in your body, not liking what you see in the mirror and not being able to go to the beach? Then visit http://MuscleBuildingProgramReviewed.com to make your Dream Physique become a Reality...
Don´t waste anymore time, let me teach you how you can totally Transform your body. Visit us Now for the Best Bodybuilding Trainer.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Balu_Pierre

Nutrition Plan The Basics

By Michael Takahashi 


Lets be honest the word "Diet" is a word most people dread to hear. Being on a healthy nutrition plan or "Diet" is the key to your goals, either gaining maintaining or losing weight. This is the first diet plan of WORKOUTNOOB, a diet plan that everyone can utilize and implement is a great start. Lets start with the first step your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate ), For a Male of a height of 5 foot 11 inches, 220 pounds and age 25 would have a BMR of 2168.3. What does 2168.3 mean? It is how much your bodies uses to keep your weight at what it is. To loose weight you would eat a caloric deficiency of 500 which equals 1600 calories. This number may go up if you have a cardiovascular workout during your week. ( you can find more on this at BMR how do I implement it click here ) This means in order to loose weight your caloric intake should be obviously less then 2168.3, or in this case 1600.
Breakfast Sample diet.
- 1 whole egg and 2 egg whites cooked to your preference.
-1/2 cup of a lifestyle high fibre content cereal and 1 cup of 1% milk.
-250-500ml water
Snack Sample #1
- 250ml of v8 juice with 1 serving of cheese
-250-500ml water
Lunch sample diet
- Half can of Tuna, with your choice of seasoning along with 1 tomato
- 2 slices of whole grain bread.
-250-500ml water
Snack sample # 2
-2 tbsp Peanut Butter, 4 stalks celery
-250-500ml water
Dinner sample diet #1
-4-5 oz Steak or Chicken cooked to your liking
-1 cup mixed veggies
-250-500ml water
In order to meet your caloric needs you either add or subtract the basic diet plan portions. Cardiovascular training will greatly increase weight loss compiled with a nutrition plan. Now that you understand the very basics to caloric and diet needs go out there and reach your goals. If you ever need motivation check out motivation tab.

Writer for [http://www.workoutnoob.com]

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Takahashi

Why 'High Calorie Meal Plans' Are Natural Bodybuilding Nutrition Nonsense

 By Scott Abbett


You see them all over the Internet - 'high calorie meal plans' purported as necessary for going from skinny runt to 'muscular he-man' with the simple application of a one-workout-per-week bodybuilding training routine. "Experts" tell you to pump heavy iron, eat every three hours, and take in 3,000 to 5,000 calories per day and, voila, those massive quantities of excess calories will miraculously be converted to slabs of powerful and shapely muscle. This simple-minded prescription is one I personally adhered to twenty years ago. The result? I ended up with more body fat than muscle and an eating addiction more intense than what it had been prior to my having official approbation by the "high priests of bodybuilding" for being a downright pig.

Do you need to "eat a lot" in order to build muscle? Are 'high calorie meal plans' a necessary component of natural bodybuilding nutrition? Or is there a low threshold to the law of diminishing return in this context: Too much food ingestion requires processing energy by the body; energy traded from the reserves necessary to undergo the muscle building recuperation process itself? If the latter is the case, then body fat accumulation might be the lesser of detriments from excess calorie consumption; the greater being a hindrance to the very muscle building progress that the under-developed natural bodybuilder is seeking.

My Bad Experience with 'High Calorie Meal Plans'
In the late eighties and early nineties, very high calorie meal plans were the rage in bodybuilding. As high as 10,000 calories-per-day consumption were being encouraged in certain bodybuilding circles. This simple-mindedly ridiculous eating protocol was the fuel behind the marketing machine that promoted "weight gainer powders" that eventually reached the excesses of packing around 1,400 calories in a single serving. Smack-center on the receiving end of those marketing messages was... uh... well... "yours truly." I was more than happy to hear that my gluttonous habits were justified by the earnest and worthwhile endeavor of building muscle and strength. Consequently, many of these high-calorie, sugar-packed "meal supplements" sat on a shelf in my pantry right next to the high-calorie foods that competed with them for space in my stomach.

Of course, I hit the weights like a madman. I did "compound exercises" (squats, bench presses, dead-lifts, T-bar rows) because these movements were supposed to make me big. Well, actually, it was the combination of these so-called "testosterone releasing exercises" and all the high-calorie healthy protein and carbohydrate foods I was consuming that had been promised to make me "big."
Did the 'high calorie meal plans' put weight on me? You bet they did. But it wasn't the kind of weight that was typically associated with bodybuilding. I managed to eventually brandish a 38-inch waistline and a tipping of the scale that exceeded 230 pounds. As if the food addiction I'd already had wasn't bad enough, now I had one that included 1,000 calorie bodybuilding smoothies and a lethargy-inducing, incessant food coma problem; not good.

An Example of Why 'High Calorie Meal Plans' don't make sense for Natural Bodybuilding Nutrition
I'll never forget an answer to a question I heard at a bodybuilding seminar back in 1990. The two-hour presentation had attendees asking personal questions of a Mr. Olympia competitor who had placed as high as second in that biggest of bodybuilding contests:

"How much muscle can you gain in a year?" asked one of the audience members.
Keep in mind - this was asked of a genetically gifted athlete who admitted to all of us that he was on regular cycles of anabolic steroids and growth hormone drugs.

"When I was in my teens, I could gain up to ten pounds of muscle per year." He answered. "Now that I'm twenty-seven, I'm lucky if I add on two pounds of muscle per year."

So with his genetics and pharmaceutical enhancement, he gained ten pounds of 'solid weight' (muscle) in a year. This was his fastest rate of muscle growth. When we divide those ten pounds of muscle per year by 365 days, we get nearly.03 pound of muscle per day.

Ask yourself: How many extra calories does it take to activate tissue recuperation for gaining.03 pound of muscle each day?

We know the formula for gaining body fat. With 3,500 calories being present in each pound of fat, a mere 500 calories above maintenance is required each day to gain a pound of body fat in a week. That's a gain of.14 pound of fat each day. If we assume we need as many calories to gain muscle as we need to gain body fat (big assumption), we can subtract.03 from.14 to get.11 and then multiply.11 by 500. This gives us 55, which we can subtract from 500 to get 445.
If we need as many calories each year to gain ten pounds of muscle as we do to gain ten pounds of fat - we'd need approximately 445 daily extra calories (above maintenance) to make it happen.
Wow... approximately four-hundred fifty calories each day? That's about half a serving of dessert at the 'Cheesecake Factory.' More nutritionally speaking, it's a small can of tuna, a half cup of oatmeal, a banana, and an apple; not exactly a 'high calorie meal plan' if you're currently maintaining your weight on a 2,000 calorie-per-day diet.

Conclusion
Energy is required of the body to digest and process the mega calories from a "high calorie meal plan." This is often wasted energy that could have otherwise been utilized to actually build some muscle. When we consume food that amounts to 3,000, 4,000, and 5,000 calorie per day "meal plans", the simple fact that muscle tissue grows at a slower pace than these calories can be utilized for their contribution to its growth makes the meal plans prescriptions for fat gain.

Twenty five years of natural bodybuilding has shown me this: Utilizing an effective muscle building schedule/routine is higher in importance for progress in "solid weight gain" (muscle) than is following a supposedly tailor-made plan of natural bodybuilding nutrition. After all, if your muscle breakdown/recuperation timing ratio is not optimal, all those well-timed bodybuilding meals will contribute little to that.03 pound-worth of recuperation needed each day. In other words: the calories could end up on your waistline while your solid flesh remains underdeveloped.
That's from a guy who's speaking from experience.

Scott Abbett is the author of HardBody Success: 28 Principles to Create Your Ultimate Body and Shape Your Mind for Incredible Success. To see his personal transformation, visit http://www.hardbodysuccess.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Scott_Abbett

Natural Bodybuilding Tips For Women

By Elle Nash

I'm going to teach all you women how you can do natural bodybuilding. This is the safest and healthiest way to do it. As women, we don't build muscle quite as well as men, but we can still advantage of every opportunity and become better at this.

• The Bodybuilding Diet: IF you haven't done it already, you're going to have to say goodbye to the conventional diet that ever other person follows. The average person eats two to three meals a day. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. Breakfast is often skipped. What you're going to have to start doing is eating meals more often and eating smaller portions. This will move you from eating 2-3 meals a day to 5-8 meals a day. The reason is simple, you need a consistent flow of nutrients throughout the day to repair muscles. If you follow the 2-3 meals a day, you're going to have significant amounts of time where you're not getting any nutrition. You need to be eating smaller meals, more often.
• The Evening Eating: This sort of plays on the first point about the diet. When you're at the evening, you have to follow different rules. Obviously you're going to sleep and that will last a good 8-9 hours. You need nutrition during that time, so in the evenings you need to cut down your carbs and stick with protein and fat. The combination of protein and fat will allow you to prolong digestion and have it last most of the night.
• Sleep: You're going to have to have a respectable sleeping pattern. Sleep has to be about the most underestimated factor in bodybuilding. You can't escape it. You have to have a good long night of sleep to build muscle. If you're only sleeping 5-6hrs a night, that's not good enough. You need at a minimum 8hrs. I seen people that had a hard time putting on muscle and losing weight simply because they weren't getting enough sleep.

I'm currently offering a free womens bodybuilding course. If you're interested you can goto Free Womens Bodybuilding Course.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Elle_Nash

Bodybuilders Nutrition for Optimum Bodybuilding

 By Linda S Barker 

Bodybuilder's nutrition - what's the first thing that you are taught in grade school under the basic subject of nutrition? Usually, it's the categories of food and what they give, such as go, grow and glow foods. Children learn things like bread is a go food because it falls under carbohydrates which gives our bodies energy and that too much sweets is not good because our systems need a balanced diet.

In much the same way, those who want muscle growth must learn the primary things under bodybuilders nutrition in order for them to know what and what not to eat. This way, they can achieve the best results and combined with the proper exercises, will begin to get toned and sculpted the healthy way.

Eat Frequently
All of the professional trainers and those who have attained maximum muscle mass say the same thing about bodybuilders nutrition: smaller and more frequent meals throughout the day are better than three large meals. Why? It's simply because the more often you eat, the faster your metabolism becomes. This equals more fat loss and you prevent your body from going into its catabolic state, or the state wherein muscle growth stagnates, which happens after 3 or 4 hours. This is when your body thinks it is hungry and uses your lean muscle tissue up, leaving the fat, something you don't want. So eating every 3 hours ensures proper muscle growth, plus you replenish energy lost while doing heavy weight-lifting or cardiovascular exercises.

Eat the Right Amounts
As everyone learns in grade school, not eating a balanced diet is bad for you. The same is true for bodybuilders nutrition, although the proportions are quite different from the average person's diet. The ideal amounts are: 40% protein, 40% carbohydrates and 20% healthy fats. If you ingest too little to too much of one thing, the results might be disastrous for you. You might get over fatigued, lack the energy and strength to finish your workout sessions or train for several weeks without seeing any changes. The Bill Phillips method of measuring is to use your closed fist as a measure for a portion of carbohydrates and your open palm to measure a portion of protein.

Eat Calories in a Cycle
As your body changes, it also adapts. So when your metabolism gets used to a certain amount of calorie intake, it may stay there and you'll have difficulty getting it up again. In order to avoid this while buffing up, follow caloric cycling, meaning rotate the amount of calories you take in weekly. For example, high caloric intake for 5 days straight followed by 2 days of low caloric intake, or 2 weeks of high caloric intake followed by 2 weeks of low caloric intake. That way, you'll keep your body on its toes as it adjusts in order to support your strenuous activities and your metabolism won't stagnate. With such as a part of your bodybuilders nutrition plan, you can't go wrong and you'll find that eating healthy and following a proper dietary regimen will yield great success.

Linda S Barker takes pride in all the women she has helped achieved their dream physique by giving them a firm foundation of what is required in the workout programs, their diet and their mentality. Her mission is to bring fresh and up to date information about how all the things one needs to get them closer to the results they want to achieve.

Visit her site, howtobuildmuscleforwomen.org for more information on products which are currently absolutely the best ones in the market today.
Click Here to get started right away.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Linda_S_Barker

Natural Bodybuilding Nutrition - Building a Good Body Building Diet Plan

 By Kostas Marangopoulos 



Beginning a new nutrition program is never easy, especially for beginners. If you are looking to learn how to structure your diet for building muscle and adding mass then follow the following proven principles of proven success.

Bodybuilding nutrition does not have to be a chore as many people think of it. You certainly do not have to starve! A bodybuilding diet plan is very healthy, and includes all of the major food groups, making it a complete nutrition solution that you can incorporate into your lifestyle. A sound nutrition plan has to include all of the essentials for health but muscle growth as well.

Therefore, a bodybuilding diet plan has to be higher in protein and healthy fats than most other diets. It's also higher in energy potent carbohydrates and uses much different types of foods than most people consume in their normal daily eating habits. Bodybuilding diets do not include most of junk foods and unhealthy treats such as candy full of simple sugars, fried foods, white flour products and alcohol. If you want to follow a healthy lifestyle then you certainly must minimize your consumption of these unhealthy treats.

Here's a sample bodybuilding diet plan that will work very well for pretty much anyone who is looking to add muscle mass. Depending on your weight and body fat levels, you may need to increase of decrease the amounts of foods consumed.

Meal 1: 6 egg whites, 1 yolk 2 slices low fat cheese, 3oz oatmeal, 1 apple or banana, 1 cup of low fat milk.
Meal 2: 6oz tuna in water, 1 whole wheat bagel, 1 tablespoon low fat mayo, 1 tomato.
Meal 3: 8oz grilled chicken breast, 2 baked potatoes, 2 cups salad, low fat dressing.
Meal 4: 4oz turkey breast, 2 slices whole wheat toast, 2 slices low fat cheese, 1 cup of low fat milk.
Meal 5: 8oz grilled steak, 1.5 cups brown rice, 2 cups salad or steamed vegetables, 2 tablespoons olive oil for dressing.
Meal 6: 6 egg whites, 1 yolk, Half cup oatmeal, 1 cup low fat milk.

You can also include a daily multivitamin supplement to ensure you are getting all of the essential micronutrients needed for proper muscle growth and recovery.

This diet plan will provide you with all essential proteins for muscle building, carbohydrates for ample energy & glycogen replenishment and healthy fats for additional calories. Try to space meals three hours apart and always remembers to drink plenty of water throughout the day.

Kostas Marangopoulos is a natural bodybuilder, nutrition consultant, freelance writer and editor-in-chief of one of the best natural bodybuilding websites on the net, BodybuildingApplied.com
His educational background includes a Master's degree and he is also a certified personal trainer (CPT) with the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). Kostas' educational and informative bodybuilding articles have been featured on hundreds of leading websites including the most complete Natural Muscle Building Diet site online, NaturalMuscleBuilding.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kostas_Marangopoulos

Bodybuilding Diet - 9 Step Checklist to Build Muscle Fast

By Alex Vaughn 

Creating an effective bodybuilding diet is the most essential aspect of any muscle building plan. Even if you have the best weight lifting routine known to mankind, you can forget about putting on size, you can absolutely forget about adding muscle mass if you fail to consistently follow a high quality diet plan. So hit the back button now if you're not serious about eating to gain muscle...
...Still here? Good.

Now I'll continue by laying out the 9 steps you must follow to guarantee your bodybuilding diet plan is on on-point. No extras. No frivolous BS. Just integrate these simple steps into you muscle building plan, forget about all the distracting details that you can find on the vast abyss that is the Internet; then simply add water and watch your muscles blow up like balloons.

1. Choose Your Goal. More specifically, decide on your short-term goal. Many of you reading this may want to lose fat while gaining muscle, but you will see significantly more rapid results if you focus on one goal at a time. From this point on, I am assuming your goal is to gain muscle mass.
2. Calculate Your Caloric Needs. If you remember one fact from this bodybuilding diet article, then make sure you remember this: You must consume more calories than your body burns per day if you want to gain muscle. As a starting point, consume 18 calories per pound of your bodyweight (i.e. total calories = 18 x bodyweight in lbs). You may very well need to eat more or less than this, but remember it's an estimate.
3. Calculate Protein Intake. Your muscles need protein to physically increase your muscle mass. Consume 1.0 - 1.5 grams of protein per pound of your bodyweight (i.e. grams of protein = 1.0 x bodyweight in lbs). To figure out how many calories this is, multiply your daily protein intake (in grams) by 4.
4. Calculate Fat Intake. Dietary fat plays a vital role in a laundry list of body functions, related to both general health, energy and muscle building. So don't skimp on it - And FYI, eating fatty foods does not equate to being fat. Start by eating 30% of your calories from fat. To convert calories of fat into grams of fat, divide your daily fat intake (in calories) by 9.
5. Calculate Carb Intake. Carbohydrates give you energy, but technically, your body doesn't even need them to survive (which is why we calculate carb intake last). But just because your body doesn't need carbs, it doesn't mean that you shouldn't have any. Okay, so now to calculating: You know how many total calories you need per day; and you also know how many of those calories will come from protein as well as how many will come from fat. So, to find the number of calories from carbs that you should eat per day, simply subtract protein calories and fat calories from total calories. In mathematical terms, that's: Calories from carbs = total calories - (protein calories + fat calories). To convert calories of carbs into grams of carbs, divide your daily carb intake (in calories) by 4.
6. Eat Pre- & Post-Workout. Be sure to eat meals before and after your workout. Pre-workout nutrition fuels your muscles and provides your body with energy for the ensuing workout. In simple terms, post-workout nutrition halts catabolism (the breakdown of muscle caused by weight training) and triggers anabolism (the building/re-building of muscle). For pre-workout nutrition, eat 0.25 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight as well as 0.25 grams of carbs per pound of bodyweight. For post-workout nutrition, eat 0.25 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight and between 0.25-0.5 grams of carbs per pound of bodyweight. Fats are optional for both meals. These meals can be solid, "regular" meals; or they can be liquid meals, using weight lifting supplements such as whey protein and dextrose.
7. Foods to Eat. I am a proponent of flexible dieting. It's much more productive to eat foods that you enjoy eating; restricting so-called "unhealthy" foods from your diet will make you less successful in the long term, and you'll constantly be grumpy. That said, you can't eat candy and junk food all day long without expecting to gain some hefty lard rolls on your pouch. Eating too much junk and greasy foods makes you fat because it produces a surplus of calories. So what to eat then? A large portion of your food should be common sense "healthy" foods, but never deprive yourself of a food you crave - Assuming you follow this one condition: Make sure you still hit your caloric requirements (step 2), protein intake (step 3), fat intake (step 4) and carbohydrate intake (step 5).
8. Drink Water. Water is a true life force. Everything and everyone needs it. And you, in your muscle building pursuits, need a lot of it. Although it varies between people, and there are many factors that can influence your optimal water intake requirements, most people should try to drink about 1 gallon per day of high quality H20.
9. Test & Modify. Put it into practice. Don't expect for your bodybuilding diet plan to work like a charm the first time around. You'll likely have to adjust the total calories up or down until you strike a balance. Aim for a steady rate of lean weight gain. On average, pure beginners can expect about 1-2 pounds per week (although a portion of this will be water weight). Check the mirror or take pictures; drop the calories if you start to resemble the Michelin Man. More experienced lifters will be should aim for a slower rate of weight gain (unless you want to be a fat blob) since it is more difficult to build muscle after the beginner stage.

Now take the relatively little time needed now to implement these directions and create a bodybuilding diet that actually works! Seriously. It takes a maximum of 20 minutes, but it will guarantee success in the years to come. It's the best time investment you can make.

Alex Vaughn invites you to visit http://www.myweightlifting.com, where you'll find the complete guide to creating a perfect bodybuilding diet. The site is absolutely free, and you will also be able to access a growing database of detailed weight lifting exercise tutorials, a complete guide to training, as well as supplement reviews, anatomy lessons and other valuable resources.
Are you tired of the utter BS, straight-up lies, and contradictory strength training & bodybuilding information that plagues the web? Yes? Well lucky for you, MyWeightLifting.com is here to save your day - If you're truly ready to get serious about improving your body, then visit the site and learn how to build muscle and gain strength the right way. As you begin to dwarf everyone in the gym, you'll laugh as they scratch their heads in confused amazement.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alex_Vaughn

The Best Foods For Muscle Gain

 By Jason T Boyd

Looking to pack on more lean muscle mass? If so, one thing that you absolutely must do is look at your diet program. If you don't provide the raw materials that your body needs to rebuild up this lean muscle mass tissue, you won't be seeing results. It's really that simple.

You can't build something out of nothing, so diet must be there. So which foods are going to be most optimal for reaching your muscle building goals? Let's give you a brief run-down of the best foods for muscle gain.

Steak
When building muscle, steak is a terrific protein source to eat. Choose grass fed varieties for a healthier nutritional profile and you'll get high quality protein, healthy fats, as well as iron, which is required to sustain your energy level.

Salmon
Another good source of protein is salmon. Salmon is going to provide the amino acids your muscles need along with the essential fatty acids that will foster a leaner body composition and overall health. You should be aiming to eat salmon at least twice, if not more often, each week.

Cottage Cheese
The final protein source that's a must-have muscle building food is cottage cheese. Cottage cheese is a form of protein known as casein, which digests much more slowly in the body. For this reason, it's a great option to have before you turn in to bed for the evening. By eating this, you ensure your body gets a steady flow of nutrients.

Dry Oats
On the carb side of things, you can't go wrong with dry oats. When building muscle, since you do have higher calorie requirements, avoid cooking the oats as they'll take up too much space in the stomach, making it difficult to get in enough calories. Instead, serve them raw like cold cereal or consider mixing them in with your protein shakes.

Bagels
Another good carb source that is classified as one of the best foods for muscle gain is the bagel. Bagels are more calorie dense than bread and make for the perfect post-workout food choices. Eat these to immediately boost your calorie intake by 300-350 calories.

Nuts and Nut Butter
Finally, make sure you get your healthy fats in. Nuts and nut butter are perfect for this and will provide a small dose of fiber as well. Almonds, pecans pistachios, walnuts, and natural peanut butter are all terrific sources of healthy fats.

So keep these best foods for muscle gain in mind. If they aren't part of your diet, start making them a part of it today.

Need eating advice to build muscle? Many articles at my site http://www.myhealthandfitness.net.au/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jason_T_Boyd

What is the Right Bodybuilding Nutrition?

 By Terje Brooks 

Health and fitness to most people usually means cardiovascular exercise. It implies dieting as well as weight loss, lean waists along with calorie counting. In a gym, the typical male or female spends most of his or her time on a treadmill or elliptical exercise machine; if they lift weights whatsoever, it's with minimum resistance. Women especially fear muscle; they fear looking cumbersome in bathing suits or getting the appearance of being big.

Nevertheless, for both professional bodybuilders and typical individuals seeking to be in peak condition, bodybuilding, as well as bodybuilding nutrition, is vital to understand. The proper balance of fat loss and muscle mass gain will help anyone achieve their fitness ambitions, as well as make it easier over time to sustain those outcomes.

Consuming Versus Hunger
The biggest misunderstanding in fitness is that consuming less is better. In reality, it is almost never of concern how much is eaten compared to what exactly is eaten. Bodybuilding nutrition depends on a balanced diet plan, that contains sufficient carbs, fats and also proteins. Without all of these components, no bodybuilder could achieve success in their sport, and the average jogger would easily plateau.

Carbs are fuel for your body, and they have to be taken in order for your body to perform. Lacking the necessary carbohydrates, any workout is going to be cut short; rather than your body losing fat, it will actually store fat when it believes it's starving. Fats also are necessary elements of bodybuilding nutrition, but they should only be eaten moderately. However, these are essential to appropriate digestion as well as breakdown of vitamins, and without having them, nutrition will pass through your digestive system without ever being used for good.

Proteins, on the other hand, are the key to bodybuilding nutrition. Proteins are utilized to develop muscle; without them, muscle mass cannot be built. Whilst runners and other cardiovascular exercises aim only at burning fat, bodybuilders aim at building muscle as well. Be aware that muscle, over time, has more fat burning abilities than running; muscles burn off fat simply by existing, even when the person is sleeping, which means they can reduce weight without exercising whatsoever.

Nevertheless, bodybuilders as well as other athletes need to eat all 3 of these nutrients to be able to win. Even bodybuilders require some cardio exercise. Regardless of how much muscle they develop, none of the cuts or toning is going to be apparent if they are hidden under layers of body fat. Female bodybuilders particularly should work hard to maintain bodybuilding nutrition; estrogen stores fats while testosterone creates muscle mass, placing women at a unique genetic downside. Women will need to include more substantial cardio routines, and also make sure that even their weight training sessions provide longer reps and sets to keep their heart rates increased.

Terje Brooks has been writing articles online as well as off-line for many years now. Terje is not only a specialist in health and fitness, you can also take a look at his website about 4 Slice Toasters, that contains reviews on KitchenAid 4 Slice Toaster and related products.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Terje_Brooks

The Guide to a Healthy Body Building Diet

 By Mark O Johnson

Here's one big question that people usually ask once they start hitting the gym: What is a healthy body building diet? It is actually a normal question for someone who is trying to get healthy and lean. It is unfortunate, however, that you cannot eat just about anything. There are bodybuilding experts who believe in eating foods that make you feel good, so they do not count calories and they are not huge fans of "the right diet". Many of these bodybuilding experts find it ridiculous that a lot of people are making eating good way too complicated.

There are many bodybuilders who have been in the industry for quite some time now and they have their own rules when it comes to eating the right food. They are not dietitians and nutritionists, but many of them have managed to build and maintain a ripped condition for years. Here are some few rules that you can observe when it comes to a healthy body building diet:

a. Drink as much water as you can. This is probably the best advice that you can get. Water is crucial to the body's functions. It flushes out nasty chemicals from the body. The first thing that you have to do when you wake up in the morning is to drink a glass of water. Hydrate yourself immediately after sleeping. Can you drink something else aside from water? Unsweetened tea is a good drink. You can also enjoy dark coffee every now and then, but stay away from soft drinks, fruit juices and alcohol.
b. Learn to enjoy protein shakes. Typically, people who are building muscles need to take supplements like vitamin C, oat bran, vitamin E, phosphatidyl choline, cayenne, selenium, B-complex and niacin. You can wash them all down with a glass of protein shake.

c. Get your carbs from fruits and veggies. Avoid white bread, noodles, cereal, potato, rice and pasta. You can eat as much fruits and veggies as you want. If you want to be lean, you need to eat green. Include veggie salad in your meal at all times. Lettuce, for one, is a really good source of vitamins. Do not eat carbs after 8 pm.

d. Know where to get your proteins. Get your protein from eggs, chicken, fish, turkey and beef. Do not overdo it, however, with the beef. You can also get your protein from beans and legumes, but the protein you will get from these vegetables is not as complete as the protein you would get from meat.

A healthy body building diet need not be bland. You can still enjoy your beef and a cup of dark coffee. You just have to make sure that you observe your portions and you choose the right foods when it comes to your carbs and proteins.

Building muscles requires a healthy bodybuilding diet. Grab great tips on bodybuilding nutrition and diet from the expert! Know the right diet that can help you build your muscles fast!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mark_O_Johnson

Body Building Foods - Tips For Picking The Right Bodybuilding Diet For Maximum Muscle Gains

 By Darin Sewell

The right bodybuilding diet is critical to your success as a weight lifter and bodybuilder. The correct diet not only allows your body to repair the damage done by lifting weights and grow new muscle but also stay lean and muscular at the same time.

The problem with the traditional way of eating to accomplish these goals are that they are normally boring and the food is bland and hard to eat making staying on your nutrition plan difficult, so what is a serious strength athlete to do!

First You Need To Avoid Bland Foods
The first step is you have to make your meals enjoyable and something you can look forward to and not force yourself to eat. Look I do not care what your will power and dedication levels are if you try and live on chicken breast and brown rice you will go nuts and eventually go off your diet.

Realize Boring Foods Hurt Progress
This inconsistency will set you back and the pattern will repeat it self over and over and you will never make serious gains! I know this may seem hard but you need to alter your sources of proteins and carbohydrates and use them to make good anabolic meals!

First off the average bodybuilder and weight lifter goes right to the boring old standbys for protein and carbs without realizing the huge amount of alternatives that work just as well. These standbys are normally chicken breast and eggs with brown rice for carbs

Make Your Meals Exciting Again
Imagine if you will instead of sitting down to chicken and brown rice again tonight you sat down to a bison burger on a whole grain bun! Or what about baked fish with a three bean salad? Sounds a lot better doesn't it! Well lets look at some alternative sources of protein below
Good Sources Of Protein That Are Enjoyable To Eat!

• Bison
• Salmon
• Turkey
• Cornish Hen
• Ground Sirloin
• Lean Cuts Of Red Meat
• Pork Tenderloin
• Veal Cutlet

This is just a short list but as you can see there is quite a bit more available to you then just plain chicken and eggs to get your protein. The nice thing about the variety above is that you can make a lot of different dishes with them. This variety can keep your meals fun to eat and muscle building as well!

But What About Carbohydrates
No protein source will do the job of building muscle by itself, to get the fuels yo need for your workouts you need complex carbohydrates. Without the proper amount of good carbohydrates your body will start using the protein you need for muscle growth as fuel. So what are some good sources of complex carbohydrates?
Good Complex Carbohydrate Sources

• Whole Grain Bread
• High Fiber Breakfast Cereals
• Kidney Beans
• Navy Beans
• Lima Beans
• Wheat Based Pasta
• Oatmeal With Fruit
• Nuts and Edible Seeds
• Wild Rice

Combining These foods In To Delicious Recipes Is Easy
Just telling you what these foods are is good but you need to learn to prepare them into meals that are both delicious and nutritionally balanced. To do this I recommend you grab a good Anabolic Cookbook. On my blog I have reviewed one that has over 200 Easy to prepare delicious meals that will help sky rocket your strength and mass. Check it out at http://www.getmusclemassfast.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Darin_Sewell

Muscle Building Workouts - Basic Exercises for Bodybuilding Beginners

 By Talha Azeem

Muscle building is the most favorite among men. There are some people who live for bodybuilding. It is also a passion among young boys to build their body to attract females. This is 80% true for most guys. Others do bodybuilding simply to maintain their shape. If you ask which parts of the body you want to improve then all they want is huge muscular chest, bigger arms and six packs. That's all most guys want to achieve in their bodybuilding journey.

Here I am going to discuss some basic bodybuilding workouts which are best to build upper body in a V-shape. They help to gain some muscle for guys which are starting bodybuilding.

Bench Press:
Bench press works on your chest and is the most efficient workout for your chest. Lay on a flat bench in a well balanced way while your face facing upwards. Grab a bar and position your grip with equal to the distance when your biceps and forearms making an angle of 90. Lift your bar and push it upwards till your arms are fully stretched. Now take it back slowly and slightly above your chest. This completes your 1 rep. Now repeat it with 10 reps and then take a 1 minute break. Repeat whole exercise 3-4 times.

Flying:
Flying isolates your chest and bring them in a wide position.
Sit on the bench and grip both hands on the handle. Slowly bring them in front of your chest and let them go back. This is your 1 rep. This way complete 10 reps and take 1 minute break. Repeat whole exercise 3-4 times.

Pully:
Pully works on your wings. Sit on the bench and grab the hanging bar with full wide grips on both sides. Pull the bar slowly till it touches behind your head and slowly let the rod go back to the starting position. This is your 1 rep. This way complete 10 reps and take 1 minute break. Repeat whole exercise 3-4 times.

Cable Rowing:
Rowing also works on your wings. Sit on the seat while your feet on the flat surface. Grab the handle of the machine and pull it till it touches your abs. Remember don't move backwards while pulling and your back must be straight. Slowly bend yourself slightly and let it go back. This is your 1 rep. This way complete 10 reps and take 1 minute break. Repeat whole exercise 3-4 times.

Standing Curl:
Standing curl mainly focuses on your biceps. Take a rod while standing and make your grip equal to shoulder width while your palm facing in the direction of your face. Lift your rod slowly till it comes in front of your chest. Remember to fix your knees and then lift the rod. This completes your 1 rep. Do it again till 10 reps. Repeat whole exercise 3-4 times.

Alternate Dumbbell Curl:
This workout is similar to standing curl but you've to take dumbbells instead of barbell rod. Take dumbbell on both hands while you are sitting and your palm facing in the direction of your face. Lift your right dumbbell till your arm is bent fully while keeping your knees still. Then move your dumbbell back slowly to staring position. Do this with your left dumbbell. This completes your 1 rep. This way complete 10 reps and take 1 minute break. Repeat whole exercise 3-4 times.

These are the basic exercises with light weights which you have to do during your first 10-15 days then you will move to further exercises. These exercise will help your body to build its shape and then you will be able to lift heavier weights.

Remember to take sufficient amount of protein, carbs, and skim milk after every 3-4 hours to ensure proper building of your muscles.

Here you can find a complete guide to build muscle, which contains essential information on muscle building workouts and proven weight training, diet, and other important aspects of bodybuilding. Visit Muscle Building For Skinny Guys

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Talha_Azeem

Basic Bodybuilding Training Tips To Build Muscle Mass Fast

 By Dane C. Fletcher 

If you are one of the countless populace out there looking for a right and smart means to increase your muscle mass, then you must read this piece! Many people have their own reasons why they should undergo body transformation, but whatever their reasons are, there are a lot of ways for you to spin the clock and establish fast in gaining muscle mass you desire.

There are many various approaches to greater muscle mass. Workout is the product of time, effort, and self-discipline. But before you get concerned into this type of exercise in search for the perfect body in the shortest-dated attainable time, it is necessary that you must learn the ABCs of building mass workout to surely be familiar with your body and the route of gaining muscle mass. You should remember that proper workout should institute aptness with the demands and fit for the body.
You've perhaps noticed quite a few ads for supplements and many other perfect body aids that assert to be speedy ways of building muscle. They are not just expensive but not effective as well. With the present crisis of today, money matters a lot for average earning people, therefore they make sure their venture in building mass workout wouldn't be of waste.

Eating a well-balanced diet and eating the right kind of foods makes you healthy and helps build strong bones and muscles. With the implementation of a good exercise and articulating the significance of weight training that focus in helping you tone and strengthen your muscles, right timing must also be strictly observed. Putting too much pressure on yourself, tarnishing your building mass workout by doing too much and spending too much time at the gym may possibly lead you to disappointment and dissatisfaction leaving you worn-out and exhausted without attaining the image you want.

With the combination of these strategies, achieving the muscular body figure you wish for won't be impossible. When doing building mass workout, you have to be a person with an optimistic mind, body, discipline, and patience in order to reach your goal.

Getting the muscles you desire would not happen quickly, but it will happen if you strictly follow a suitable schedule. Remember that you don't necessarily need to exercise strenuously. Giving yourself a break, letting your body relax at proper intervals is also important and I must say the best way to have fun while enjoying watching your body transform into a perfect one! A good workout plan, indeed.

Dane Fletcher is the world's most prolific bodybuilding and fitness expert and is currently the executive editor for BodybuildingToday.com. If you are looking for more bodybuilding tips or information on weight training, or supplementation, please visit www.BodybuildingToday.com, the bodybuilding and fitness authority site with hundreds of articles available FREE to help you meet your goals.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dane_C._Fletcher

Basic Bodybuilding Nutrition

 By Alexi G Sachlikidis 

Many bodybuilders believe the right nutrition is ultimately responsible for as much as 80% of a bodybuilder's success. It is true that what you eat is a large contributor to body composition and how quickly you are able to achieve your bodybuilding goals. Below are five basic guidelines for bodybuilders to use when planning your diet.

1. Get Enough High Quality Protein
All of the muscles in your body are formed from protein, and so it is important that you get enough extra protein in your diet to accommodate the muscle growth you are trying to achieve. Animal protein, is significantly more usable that the protein you can get from plant or vegetable sources. The protein present in egg white is one of the best sources of protein, as around 90% of it is absorbed easily by the body. The protein in milk is also readily absorbed, followed by white meats such as chicken and fish, and then by red meats.

2. Avoid REFINED Carbohydrates
I want to make it clear that carbohydrates are a vital part of any diet and should not be omitted unless you have some medical reason for doing so. However you should be trying to get your carbohydrates from unrefined and fresh sources like fruit and vegetables, and whole grains. The beauty of these types of carbohydrates is that they are Low GI foods, which provide lower peak but more long-lived sources of energy. Refined carbohydrates such as white flour and white sugar are High GI foods and provide large yet brief bursts of energy in the form of glucose. Because you can't use all of this energy at once, you have a short-term surplus which often gets stored as fat. It also leaves you flat and hungry once the short-term effects have worn off.

3. Minimize Animal Fats
All types of fats contain substantially more calories than either protein or carbohydrate. Animal fats however can be more harmful to the circulatory system, in particular the heart, than vegetable fats. This is relatively easy to do by avoiding egg yolks (which are quite fatty), eating fish and skinned poultry and avoiding high fat meats like pork.

4. Drink Lots Of Water
I don't think I need to go into this much, but dehydration has been shown to reduce performance levels. While you might want to reduce your fluid consumption immediately before consumption to make yourself looked more ripped, it is important that you keep you fluid levels up in your training to ensure that you are operating at your peak. Keep in mind that you will sweat quite a lot in the gym so you need to add extra water on top of the average 8 glasses a day that is a general recommendation.

5. Eat Four To Five Smaller Meals A Day
We are usually taught to eat three big meals a day, however if you are serious into your bodybuilding you might want to consider eating 4 or 5 smaller meals each day. By eating smaller meals more frequently you provide more consistent nutrient and energy levels for your body throughout the day, instead of large peaks and troughs. This also makes digesting meals a bit easier for your body as it doesn't have large volumes to content with.

These are just five of the many dietary recommendations for bodybuilders. They are some of the more fundamental recommendations however, and if you follow these guidelines you are well on the way to correct nutrition for bodybuilding. The next think you might want to consider is how much protein and energy you need to consume each day I order to meet your energy needs.

Alexi has studied and worked in the health and fitness industry for over 10 years and specializes in health, lifestyle and fitness topics. Alexi has a number of websites that provide valuable information on equipment that helps you get the most out of your training sessions. You can read all about weight lifting gloves for women at his website on Harbinger Gloves.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alexi_G_Sachlikidis

What's The Best Food for Natural Bodybuilding? Bet It's Not What You Think

 By Mark A Ament 

Bodybuilding The Natural Way
Looking at some of the best natural bodybuilding supplements on the market thre are two ingredients common to most of them. The first is hemp seeds or hemp seed powder shows up in many of them because of it's incredibly high percentage of protein - 24% by weight. And second is Maca powder, which natural bodybuilder rave about. Looking further into the nutritional details of Maca, I discovered that there's a very good reason for that.

Why Natural Bodybuilders Love Maca Powder From Peru
I uncovered 7 major reasons why people interested in building their bodies naturally use and recommend Maca Powder.

1. Maca raises energy in a balanced way - Let's face it, if you want to build your body, you've got to exercise and move and to do that you need energy. One of the properties of Maca is that it boosts energy, but it does so in a balanced way, unlike caffeine, carbohydrates or sugar. This gives you increased endurance and muscular stamina which allows you to work out longer and more intensely. Interestingly, a boost in energy is one of the reasons people indigenous to the Peruvian Andes have traditionally used Maca. At high elevations where oxygen is scarce, Maca supports faster muscle recovery. Maca nutritional profile
2. Maca is a good source of quality protein - Maca powder contains 4 grams of protein per tablespoon. There is some debate among natural bodybuilders as to how much protein a person should have daily, but the average recommended is about 1.5 grams per 1 KG of body weight. If you weigh 60 KG, for example, you would take 90 grams of protein or so. That figure is based on animal proteins, which are harder for the body to assimilate. Vegetarian bodybuilders need to consume less protein because the body breaks down plant proteins easier. Maca, although not nearly has high as hemp seeds in quantity, is indeed a high quality source of vegan based protein. If you take just 2 tablespoons per day, you already get 8 grams of protein in addition to Maca's other benefits.
3. Maca is anabolic - The word "anabolic" itself means "building up muscle," and that's something Maca helps to do. Several of the natural bodybuilders I researched attest to this fact. Jeff Anderson of naturalbodybuildingtips.com says: "My day always starts with a protein shake. This typically consists of a vegetarian protein source like rice, pea or hemp protein, or some combination of the three. Blend 30-40 grams of protein in 8oz of organic coconut milk and 8-12 oz water. I also add a banana, some mixed frozen berries, a Tbsp of cacao nibs, and 2 Tbsp maca powder to naturally increase my testosterone to build more muscle."
4. Maca balances hormones for both men and women - Maca works as an adaptogen, which means that it adapts to the needs of a specific body based on health condition and gender. Both men and women can benefit from taking Maca for increased athletic performance and bodybuilding because it stimulates the production of balanced levels of appropriate hormones: testosterone for men and estrogen for women. That makes Maca unique among all supplements for muscle building.
5. Maca reduces the size of the prostate - Studies have shown that Red Maca in particular reduces the size of the prostate gland. This is important of course for older men. But it's also important for any males who have ever tried steroids of any kind. Steroids enlarge the prostate, which can lead to some life threatening consequences. Taking Red Maca appears to remedy the situation.
6. Maca is suitable for vegan and raw food vegan bodybuilders - There are some amazingly accomplished natural bodybuilders who've created their strength exclusively through raw food vegan foods. Quality Maca, like ours is always vegan (unless in gelatin capsules) and raw (not treated with heat) except for Gelatinized Maca.

Does Maca Really Work as A Supplement For Muscle Gain?
Although Maca has been used for over 3000 years stretching all the way back to Incan warriors who took it in training and preparation for battle, it only became known outside of Peru in the 1980s. Since then natural bodybuilders and athletes have used it in their training. Here are few examples:

• Stephen Alrin (a.k.a Thor Bazler), author of "Raw Power - The Power of Raw Foods, Upwerfoos and Building Strenght and Muscle Naturally" has used Maca for years and includes it in all his natural raw food bodybuilding supplements.
• Mike Adams, the Health Ranger of http://www.naturalnews.com says this about Maca: "Many bodybuilders use instead of artificial steroids have long been on the natural power of Maca tuber. Maca naturally stimulate the body's own production of testosterone and it gives visible results in strength and endurance sport."
• Peter Ragnar, who has performed various world class feats of strength as a 100% raw vegan, told us that he has gotten great gains in strength using Maca and hemp seed powder.
• Finally, Bijan Anjomi, who captured the title of "Mr. Universe - Natural Division" three times - in the years 1993 and 1994 at ages 51 and 52 - - and finally in 2003 at age 60, did so as a vegan and taking Maca.

Maca is now also making it's way into the mainstream. Here's what Dr. Oz said about it on Oprah Winfrey's website:
"In the heights of the mountains, Peruvian tribesmen get energy by sucking on maca (Lepidium meyenii) plants. This turnip-or radish-shaped vegetable from the mustard family has been used as food and medicine, to promote endurance and improve energy, vitality, sexual virility and even fertility. The data on its increased energy effects seem strong, but the reported side effect is insomnia. It can be obtained in a powder at many stores (Whole Foods, etc.) or from reputable dealers on the Internet. A single teaspoon (that's the dose in the studies) can be added to blender drinks, pancakes and other food products. The teaspoon keeps you going all day long."

How Much Maca To Take For Natural Bodybuilding
Most bodybuilders and athletes I know and talk to take between 1 and 3 tablespoons of Maca per day. At those levels one kilo (2.2 lbs.) of Maca powder will last 45-60 days.

Finally if this article has you curious, I invite you to check out the best selection of Maca Products and Maca information anywhere. Red, Black, Cream, Gelatinized Maca and more from The Maca Team. http://www.raworganicmaca.info

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mark_A_Ament

Body's Natural Body Building Supplements

Right now, the athletes, bodybuilders and health enthusiasts are more aware of the supplements that are healthy and unhealthy. They know that using of steroids as muscle mass grower is prohibited. They prefer healthy foods and hard work in order to achieve their most aimed body, which are stronger, leaner and well-formed muscles.

These supplements contain nutrients that are good for building muscles. These types of supplements are better because they not treated with chemicals that may cause harm to your body later on.
Some of the natural bodybuilding supplements are:

Protein - it is important in our cell in the body. Protein is used for making and repairing the damaged tissues due to intense activities. It is also a building block of cartilages, skin, bones and blood. Protein is a macronutrient that means a huge amount is needed in the body daily. High amount of protein intake daily is necessary because the body cannot store protein unlike fats and carbohydrates. When the body needs protein, the only way to intervene with it is to take enough protein. Good quantity of protein will more likely shed off your fats while feeling full because protein are the most time consuming during digestion process. The good sources of protein are brown rice, meats, eggs, nuts, legumes, and tofu.

Carnitine - is produced by the liver and kidneys. Their main purpose is the transportation of fats in the cell for the metabolism of fats, the product would be energy. This energy will help the bodybuilder to prolong the training because there is enough energy supplementation. It helps you to decrease fats and at the same time gain muscles. Red meats, asparagus, poultry, avocados and peanuts are some foods rich in carnitine.

Glutamine- works as a natural bodybuilding supplements by maintaining the muscle mass by preventing the muscle from breaking down, prevent infections by boosting the immune system, maintains cell volume and hydration, it the most needed nutrient for intestines because it maintains the structural integrity of the colon. It also helps in recovering from a draining workout and stress of the body builder. The good source of glutamine includes beef, chicken, fish, dairy products and legumes.

Creatine - are found in tunas, salmon and red meats. The foods rich in protein are more likely rich in creatine as well. This is a very good natural bodybuilding supplements because it produces an extra energy for workouts, decreases the feeling of having fatigue and promote gaining of muscle weight.
Food is the primary source of having a good and healthy body. Although there are times that, the food we eat cannot sustain the energy needed by the body during workout that is why it is recommended that you, as a bodybuilder, will take natural bodybuilding supplements.

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