By Chad Tackett

Strength training is exercise that uses resistance--for example, weights--to strengthen and condition the musculoskeletal system, improving muscle tone and endurance. "Strength-training" is used as a general term synonymous with other common terms: "weightlifting" and "resistance training." Physiologically, the benefits of consistent strength training include an increase in muscle size and tone, increased muscle strength, and increases in tendon, bone, and ligament strength. Strength-training has also been shown to improve psychological health as well, by increasing self-esteem, confidence and self-worth.

 

These improvements have a great influence on our physical performance, metabolic efficiency, physical appearance and risk of injury. I'll go into each of these in detail, outlining some very exciting benefits of a good strength-training program that most people overlook or don't realize.

 

Improved Physical Performance and Appearance

One important result of strength training is increased physical performance. Muscles quite literally utilize energy to produce movement, functioning as the engine or powerhouse of the body. Strength training increases the muscles' size, strength, and endurance, which contribute to improvements in our work, our favorite sports and hobbies, and our general day-to-day activities.

 

Another benefit of a good strength-training program is its effect on our overall appearance and body composition, which can directly influence self-esteem, self-worth, and level of confidence. Take, for example, a 170-pound man who has 20 percent body fat--34 pounds of fat weight and 136 pounds of lean body weight (muscle, bones, organs, water, etc.) By beginning an effective strength training program, he replaces five pounds of fat with five pounds of muscle. He still weighs 170 pounds, but he is now 17 percent fat--with 29 pounds of fat weight and 141 pounds of lean body weight. Although his body weight remains the same, his strength, muscle tone, and metabolism have improved, giving him a firmer, more fit appearance.

By Tony Meyer

You have decided to start bodybuilding. So you have your own expectations of how it will be and what you will get. May be your primary goal is just to get rid of unwanted fat to look more attractive and younger? Or you are interested in competitive bodybuilding? This sport - the bodybuilding - is good for everybody.

Here are some points before you start

* Be realistic - set up your goals and follow them. To see significant changes in strength and mass takes time, probably two - three months, but persistence and dedication is what you need.
* There is no program that's right for everyone. Every training person has different motivations, desires and genetic potential, and each must make his or her own adjustments in putting together a particular program.
* You should consult your physician if you are over 40 or have had any sort of previous injury or impairment.

If you are starting bodybuilding for the very first time (means that you have never lifted anything heavier than a hamburger) I would advise you to start from the exercises without weights. Try the following routine:

Build Your Foundation First

By Sean Nalewanyj

Let me ask you…

Have you packed on at least a good 15-25 pounds of clean, muscular body weight since you began your muscle building program?

Are you moving poundages on your squat, deadlift, bench press, row (and every other major compound exercise) that all feel substantially heavy for your body?

Have you added at least a couple of inches or more to all of your major muscle groups?

Are your clothes fitting significantly tighter? Are your friends and family noticing measurable changes in your physique? Are you generally beginning to gain a reputation as a muscular guy that people aspire to look like?

If you didn’t easily answer “yes” to all of the questions I just outlined above, then worrying about the smaller details of your physique is quite simply a waste of time at this point.

As a well known muscle building author, I receive all sorts of emails every single day from aspiring natural bodybuilders around the world. They’ll ask me questions such as…

“What can I do to target my inner chest?”
“Which exercise is best to build up the lower biceps?”
“My rear delts are lagging behind my front delts. What should I do?”

If you’re still in your bodybuilding “youth” and don’t already have a considerable amount of muscle mass to show for your efforts, I would strongly suggest taking these types of questions and eliminating them from your mind until you do.

By: Alex Stewart

13 Mistakes By Teens

Have you ever heard the statement that "Youth is wasted on the young" or "I wish I could be in my teens again"? If you are a teenager and heard that statement you are probably looking in the eyes of a middle-aged mom or dad and have no idea what they are talking about.

To you being a teen comes with many restrictions, can't drive, can't drink, don't make any money at the crummy job and have to go to that school thing that always gets in the way of a good time.

What this "old person" in front of you is trying to say is that the youth always are making mistakes and not taking advantage of there time and energy as a teenager. I am a big believer that experience is the best form of learning.

Once you experience something you know how your body will respond to that stimulus negatively or positively. But sometimes it is better to listen to someone older and more experienced about what things you should and should not do. This will save you a bunch of time and energy in anything that you do.

By: Scott Duncan

Don't get caught up in the training routine's that the pros put out in the magazines, those will only lead to over-training. Remember these guys are on steroids and have all day just to lift, eat, and rest. They don't have to go through 7 plus hours of school and all that other junk we have to do.

The routines they do are good for them, but may not be good for you. You have heard many times before, no two people are created equal, and this applies to bodybuilding also. So when it comes to training go back to the basic compound exercises and keep it simple.

It is very important to not neglect any muscle, especially your larger muscles, like legs and back. Those are two commonly neglected muscles, and the two muscles that if you get them big everything else will follow. You should base your routine around the compound exercises, these are exercises that involve multiple muscles to help move the weights.

For example bench, you are primarily working out your chest, but you are also getting help from your front delts and your triceps. I will list the main compound exercises for each primary muscle.

Energy Flows. Your thoughts are magnetic all contain a specific frequency. In other words, they are energy. Therefore you always get more of what you focus on. This is true for everything including natural bodybuilding. Like water and electricity it will always follow the path of least resistance.

Over the past thirty years, the once ???cult hobby??™ of bodybuilding has become an incredibly popular mainstream sport. Unfortunately this has led to an influx of greedy companies, corrupt magazines and self-appointed fitness experts that feed on the naivety of their targets. To help you avoid confusion, I will clarify in this article what the beginner bodybuilder must focus on to train and build muscle.

Become a Great Teen Bodybuilder

If you want to be a good teen bodybuilder then carry on reading this article. I am going to tell you about basic teen bodybuilding. This article will tell you about reps and sets, how much weight, how many days, goal setting, motivation and more!

How Many Days

To start off with, you need to know how may days you can train each week. When you start bodybuilding 3 days a week is ideal. When you get more experienced you can train 4 and 5 days a week.

Also, any bodybuilder will recommend you to train 3 days a week and each body part one a week. So, say you trained Mon, Tues and Fri.

* Mon: Chest, Biceps and Abs
* Tues: Back, Calves and Shoulders
* Fri: Quads, Hams, Triceps and Abs

Training

If you want to get big, you need to train big (like you haven't heard this before) so let me break this down. Train 3 - 5 times per week and keep your sessions short. By short I mean under an hour. Train one muscle group per week or every 5 days... do not combine 2 large muscle groups on the same day. Your big muscle groups are chest, back and upper legs. Below are three examples for splits:

3 Day Week

Mond: chest, tris, calves
Wed: back, bis, shoulders
Fri: thighs

receive emails every single day from aspiring muscle-builders all over the world, and one of the most common questions I’m asked is “does drinking really affect the muscle growth process?”

I’m sorry to say it, but yes, too much alcohol will almost definitely have a significant negative impact on your muscle-building results.

The bodybuilding debates will never end. The endless arguments over how an effective muscle-building program should be structured will most likely continue until the end of time.

This thread is for newbies looking for cycles for specific goals.

Now before I get started, I have to emphisize that your diet is the key to achieving your goals. All cycles can be turned into a bulking cycle or cutting depending on your food consumption.

*Clomid therapy: 36 pills. 300mg day 1, 100mg next 10, 50mg final 10.

First of all, what does "3x3" mean? 3x3 stands for training the "big three" (squat/bench/deadlift), three times a week. This may sound like too much, but there is no assistance work. You just squat, benchpress and deadlift each workout, three times a week. 3x3 works on the thought that since every lift includes all these muscles that doing the main lift is the best way to increase it.

Conventional wisdom says that a significant loss in strength is inevitable while dieting and/or pursuing body composition training. However, my experience has shown that "conventional" approaches rarely lead to World-class results in any field of endeavor. In almost any case people who experience astounding success are not utilizing "common herd" methods, and neither should you.

Unfortunately, yesterday's "day-of-rest" was not a very restful one. However, I feel good enough to start this last round of workouts. This schedule was perfect because I am finishing this round on Saturday, which puts me exactly one week out from the contest perfect timing!

I like to take a week off from the gym before a contest. By doing this, my body has a chance to fully recuperate from the damage caused by training. As I have a chance to recover, the striations and marks of separation really start to come in, and by contest time, my conditioning looks that much better.

Pre-Contest Diet 1
Level: IFBB Professional
Competition: Mr. Olympia
Start Time: 20 weeks out
Goal: 3% bodyfat
Off-Season Weight: 225-230
Competition Weight: 195-200

Macronutrient Manipulation

Five months is usually plenty of time to manipulate protein, carb and fat intakes until you get results. If you've never prepared for a show before, 20 weeks is also useful because it allows your body to get used to new changes gradually. "At 20 weeks out, my basic plan was to eliminate any food that was not beneficial. In other words, stop eating crap. For the first 4 weeks, I ate a lot of red meat, tuna, chicken, and protein drinks. I didn't count calories, fat, or carbs. It was not difficult because I was eating a ton of food. I was never hungry, but if I was, I would eat. It wasn't a big deal to eat this much because I didn't have to make a weight class."

Summer is slowly fading into Fall, swimsuits are spending more time in the dresser drawer, and another bodybuilding season is winding down. Did you accomplish your physique goals to make 2006 your "best ever?" I saw many bodybuilders do just that as I have the privilege to work with clients from coast to coast. Before I can dig into their program, however, I usually get asked, "Indiana? Where's that? What's in Indiana? What do you do in Indiana?"

What makes a good bodybuilder a great bodybuilder? What separates the winners from the losers? People can argue it is knowledge, genetics, what he takes or determination. Some can argue it's all four which to a degree is right but without determination no matter how genetically gifted you are you will not get anywhere without determination.

There are many techniques and tips that will make arrive at your contest in top shape. I have read many and tried some during my preparation for my last contest. Let's take a look at these tricks.

Sodium Load/Depletion

Sodium (Na) inside your cells has a water retention effect. So what you want to do is to "trick" your body into shuttling out excess sodium. To understand how this works, I'll quote Layne Norton who is majoring in biochemistry:

Counting, counting, and more counting. It seems to never end. Tracking the number of grams in this, the number of calories in that is a meticulous, time consuming and most of all, mind boggling experience. Although, the nutritional labels help, many of us fail to realize exactly what it is saying and how important the information is!

To help those lost souls looking for the answer, in this article, I will talk about the things that have helped to make my life easier while dieting. I will hopefully provide information that helps you when determining what is good for your diet