Muscle & Bodybuilding

The Myth of Female Muscle and Women’s Bodybuilding

Is this what you see when you picture a female bodybuilder?

I’d like to clear up one of the common misconceptions surrounding women’s bodybuilding and the development of female muscle. First I must state that it is safe to assume that any post written by this blogger about bodybuilding or any other sport for that matter, always refers to natural, drug free athletics and competitions.

For many people, the mention of female bodybuilding invokes images of juiced up, square jawed, wig wearing Lou Ferrigno look alikes with a set of double D implants as their only claim left to femininity. While there certainly are female bodybuilders that fit that description, it should be noted that it does not exist in the sport of natural female bodybuilding. In fact, without the use of substances like anabolic steroids and synthetic growth hormone, it is biologically impossible.

Whey Protein Powder for Bodybuilding Nutrition

Whey protein powder is the highest quality protein available and should be a staple of proper bodybuilding nutrition. Whey protein is a by-product of milk and considered the gold standard of protein with it’s rich source of branched chain amino acids (BCAAs). There are numerous benefits of whey protein including increased muscle growth and physical performance, weight management, healthy aging and improved wound healing. Fortunately it can be easily supplemented into a diet designed for muscle building.

Bodybuilding Tips on How to Avoid Overtraining

Periodically I’ll be posting some bodybuilding (muscle building) tips in order to help you achieve the best possible results from your training efforts. These muscle building tips will include what to do and just as importantly what not to do.

Overtraining is one of those ‘not to do’s’ yet it’s something I see quite frequently. So many athletes adopt an ‘all out, balls to the wall’ (pardon the language) attitude towards their workouts and end up experiencing the  effects of overtraining syndrome. The theory of working harder, longer and more frequently for increased gains sounds logical enough, but without adequate rest and recovery you’ll actually end up regressing.

Bodybuilding Supplements – Does Creatine Work?

When it comes to the best muscle building or natural bodybuilding supplements, creatine is basically the gold standard. Creatine is supplemented in the diets of many bodybuilders for numerous reasons such as speeding up recovery rates, improving performance and increasing energy.

What is Creatine?

Creatine is a naturally occurring compound produced by our bodies, used to supply energy to our muscles. It is produced in the liver, kidneys and pancreas, then transported to the muscles through the bloodstream. Once creatine reaches the muscles it is converted into creatine phosphate which is used to regenerate the supply of Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) . Simply put, creatine increases the amount of energy that is available to our muscles, potentially allowing us to work harder and/or longer. By increasing the intensity, effort and volume of our workouts, over time we can generate more muscle mass.

Compound Exercises Best for Muscle Building

If you’re looking through muscle building workouts or bodybuilding programs, you’ll most likely notice a combination of isolation and compound exercises.

Isolation exercises are simply that. They isolate a particular muscle group through the movement of a single joint. Some examples would be the leg extension, where the only joint in motion is the knee, working the quadriceps. Hammer curls isolate the bicep through movement of just the elbow. The lateral raise isolates the deltoids through movement of the shoulder.

Complete Protein and Muscle Building Nutrition

When it comes to muscle building, nutrition should be considered just as important as your muscle building workouts. Carbohydrates and fats play an important role in the muscle building diet but ensuring you consume adequate, high quality, complete protein needs extra attention.

In order to consistently build muscle, your body needs to be in a state of positive nitrogen balance. Nitrogen is a chemical element found only in protein. Maintaining a positive nitrogen balance means that you are retaining more protein than you are using.

How to get more from your Workout Programs

As I was sweating my way through one of my workout programs at the gym yesterday, I couldn’t help but notice something that seems to have become very common in many exercise routines. More and more I witness total complacency and lack of focus. A lot of the members I encounter are going through the same workout programs at the same level of intensity for years on end. While they may have the best of intentions and I give them full marks for getting to the gym, the results simply aren’t there. Perhaps you have found yourself in the same fitness rut. With just a few simple changes and a little more focus during your workout, you can make some huge improvements and reap the full benefits of your fat loss workout or muscle building workout.

A Workout for You – Whatever the Occasion – No Excuses

1. Set yourself a goal

• Are you doing the right workout?
• Do you know how to apply the right workouts to your goal?
• Will you actually know when you have reached your goal?
• Do you even have a goal?

Setting a goal is the single most important thing you must do before you start any project or regimen – including working out to get in shape. In fact it’s the first thing you need to do before you even change into your gym clothes.

Could you ever imagine leaving your house on a journey and having no idea where you are traveling to? As soon as you get to the airport, bus station or railway station, you will have your first dilemma. Where am I going? If you adopt this lax approach then you will end up going around in circles and you will never actually achieve anything.