Four Diet Myths

Bodybuilding - 4 Diet Myths

Myth 1: Certain Food Groups Should Be Eliminated - Many fad diets emphasize the elimination of certain food groups or eating primarily only one or two food groups. Your body needs a balanced diet that supplies you with the diverse nutrients that will keep you healthy.

Your body needs water, vitamins, protein, fat, minerals, energy (carbohydrates), fiber, and oxygen. Eating a diet rich in fruits, veggies, grains, nuts, and seeds will help you rebuild your immune system, which will in turn help you to stay healthy.

Myth 2: You Have To Eat Meat To Get Enough Protein - Your body needs 30 grams of protein each meal. Meat and dairy products are very high in sodium and fat. Fruits and vegetables have at least one gram of protein in them.

Myth 3: Eliminate Fat From Your Diet - Your body needs 50 grams of fat each day. You don't want to eliminate fat completely from your diet because it helps your joints and muscles work smoothly.

Raw nuts, olive oil, and avocados are a rich source of nutritious and healthy fats. Look closely at the foods you buy and stay away from hydrogenated fats.

Myth 4: You Have To Go Hungry To Lose Weight - The average woman should never eat less than 1,200 calories/day and the average man should never eat less than 1,800 calories per day.

If you feed your body natural foods, then you'll have no need to go hungry. You can pretty much eat all the fresh fruits and vegetables you want, and it will not adversely affect your weight.

In order to maximize the nutritional value of your foods eat them in as natural a state as possible. Avoid chemicals, especially those found in water. Fluoride, for example, is a poison.

By getting back to nature and the foods your body was designed to run on, you can stay fit, maintain an optimal weight and build up your immune system so that you live a longer, more energetic life.

7 Reasons You Might Not Be Losing Weight

Bodybuilding - 7 Reasons You Might Not Be Losing Weight

1. You Starve Yourself Only To Compensate Later - Some people often think that by having a light breakfast and lunch they will be doing themselves a favor since their total daily calorie intake will be lower.

If anything you should reverse the meals so that breakfast is your biggest meal of the day since you will have lots of time throughout the day to utilize the energy you consume at this meal. If you must have a late night snack, simply calculate that into your day so you have planned for it. Obviously it likely cannot contain 500 calories but in most diets there is definitely room for 100-200 calories before bed.

2. You Don't Have A Set Place To Eat - It's that easy for the weight to add up if you are not careful. So choose one place in your house to eat and eat there and only there (this will likely be the table). Doing so will force you to pay more attention to what you are eating and prevent you from eating for reasons other than hunger.

3. You Aren't Getting Enough Protein - Protein is essential for proper functioning. What some people forget to realize though is that eating slightly higher protein diets can actually aid in weight loss. The reason behind this is because the body uses energy whenever it digests food.

Protein happens to require the most energy for the digestion process so your total net calories will be lower. Because of this, assuming you are eating the same amount of food, when you eat more protein over carbohydrates and fat, your body will actually be taking in fewer calories.

4. You Are Afraid Of Fat - You must get fat into your diet, not only to maintain healthy skin, hair and body functioning but also because it keeps you feeling fuller for a longer period of time. Staying full means less eating later on, less calories consumed and more weight loss for you! All because you decided fat really wasn't all that evil.

5. You Can't Remember What You've Eaten - Similar to the concept about not having a designated place where you are going to eat, forgetting what you have eaten earlier that day can also lead to weight gain. Furthermore, often people do not "remember" any of the beverage calories they have consumed and in this day and age, beverages can add up.

6. You Don't Have A Set Eating Schedule - Generally speaking, most people are going to do better on a diet when they have a set schedule that they eat around. This means planning out what times of the day you are going to eat and hopefully even going as far as planning out the exact foods. If you can do that and are also able to track how many calories are in the food you are consuming, dieting is an easy game.

7. You Associate Eating With Other Activities - Breaking this connection is a very hard process once the habit is made. For some people it won't be the TV but might be surfing the Internet or reading a book. Whatever you love to do, if you associate food with this hobby, you are in for trouble. This is yet another reason why it is good to have one designated area for eating (preferably NOT your couch) and stick to it.

Differences between Male and Female

Bodybuilding - What Are the Differences between Male and Female ?

The differences between male and female bodybuilding is evident at all levels of participation. It is important to make this distinction, as bodybuilding is enjoyed at all levels and encompasses the recreational, amateur and professional/competitive level bodybuilder. Certainly there are far more recreational bodybuilders than professional.

At the competitive level, females are at a disadvantage in a direct comparison physiologically for the purposes of bodybuilding as it currently judges its competitors. Bodybuilding at the competitive level is judged by primarily by the competitors mass, definition, proportion, symmetry, stage presence and posing routine among other things.

Females can compete through the same hard work to obtain all of the ingredients that a great bodybuilder is judged by except in the area of muscle mass. Testosterone levels and fat metabolism mechanism are the major difference in the physique differences.

Women do not have nearly the same amount of testosterone as males and this translates into the finished product that one sees onstage with far less mass. All things being equal, a female will have significantly less muscle mass than the male. Furthermore, the manner in which the female body metabolizes differs from the manner in which males do.

Females generally have higher fat percentages than males, and they store it in different areas of the body, (hips and thighs, rather then the abdomen as males do). The body can more easily metabolize fat in the abdomen area then it can the thigh and hips.

A further difference is that in many female bodybuilding competitions there are contests with titles that include words such as "fitness" in them. These contests seem to cater to the more accepted stereotype of the beauty and agility of the female body, rather than the muscular. These contests do not exist for male competitors.

Other differences include a lower number of participants at all levels, though this is particularly true at the competitive level. Part of this has to do with the difference in available money for male bodybuilders versus their female counterparts. This extends to bodybuilding magazines and endorsements (how often have you seen a female bodybuilding on the cover of a mainstream bodybuilding magazine?).

At the recreational level, in general, males engage in higher levels of bodybuilding supplement purchases, magazine purchases and bodybuilding equipment. Since the business is geared to males, it pays more to be a successful male bodybuilder, and in turn, males gravitate to the sport more than females.

Deadlift

Bodybuilding - Deadlift

If I could only choose one exercise to train, it would be the deadlift. The deadlift works just about every muscle in the body and will make you stronger and more solid than any other exercise. Executed properly it is completely safe and will ramp the strength in your lower back and legs tremendously. Here is how it is done.

Place a barbell in front of your feet and stand up straight right behind it. Bend over to pick up the bar and as you do, make sure to push your butt out as far as you can as if you are attempting to sit in a chair behind you. Bend your knees slightly and keep your eyes forward at all times. Make sure that your knees track in the same place as your feet. In other words, if your feet are turned out, make sure that you knees go in the same direction rather than letting them buckle inward.

Start the exercise from the bottom up. In other words, start the deadlift, by picking the weight off of the floor. Breathe in right before you pick up the barbell and hold your breath until you stand up completely on each rep. Make sure that you lock out on the top of each rep.

Some Tips To Maximize The Deadlift -

- Crush the barbell as hard as you can on each rep.

- Flex your triceps to ensure that your arms are locked out. Do not shrug the barbell, let the barbell pull your shoulders down.

- Keep the barbell as close to your body as possible on each rep.

- Stand up until your knees are locked out on each rep, but do not lean back at the top of each rep.

Bench Press

Bodybuilding - Bench Press

Lie on down on a bench and place your feet firmly on the floor to each side. Do not place your feet on the bench or have them in the air. Move up the bench until the barbell is at eye level. Make sure that you have a spotter whenever you bench press. Have your spotter give you a lift off to get the barbell off of the bench rack.

Lower the barbell to your sternum, pause for a second and press the barbell back to the starting position. Try to press in a straight line rather than an arc. Breathe in as you lower the barbell to your sternum and hold your breath as you press the barbell back to the starting position.

Holding your breath will allow you to get tighter and lift more weight. However, make sure to clear this breathing pattern with your doctor if you have high blood pressure or any heart problems. Holding your breath while training will cause a temporary increase in your blood pressure, so make sure to err on the side of caution.

Some More Tips For A Better Bench Press -

- Crush the barbell as hard as you can on each rep. Imagine that you are trying to rip the bar apart laterally.

- When you press the barbell away from you, imagine that you are trying to push yourself through the floor.

- Flex your legs, butt and stomach while bench-pressing for maximum stability.

Effective Arm Training

Bodybuilding - Effective Arm Training

In order to effectively recruit muscle fiber from the biceps and triceps, one must make sure to completely isolate them when using the above exercises. In any variation of barbell or dumbbell curls or extensions, make sure you use strict and proper form. With the biceps, in the starting position of an exercise keep your hands shoulder width, hanging at your sides.

Begin to curl the weight upward towards your chest in an arc at a medium pace, and slowly extend in the opposite fashion. Make sure to avoid a swinging motion, keep your back straight and upper arms motionless, only moving the forearms through the given range of motion.

Come to a complete stop before beginning each half of a rep. Maintain an effective range of motion by keeping your reps just out of full contraction and extension.

This keep the tension on the biceps, don't lock out on the top or bottom of the movement. Same goes for the triceps, with extensions make sure you perform each rep as strict as possible.

In the starting position of an extension, keep your hands generally 4 - 8 inches away. Begin to extend the weight upward in a smooth fashion, following the same guidelines. Keep your upper arms motionless.

Utilize the same concept of full effective range of motion, just as with the biceps. With close grip bench presses and dips, make sure you press in a straight line and again, don't fully lock out or extend.

4 Ways to Breathe Life into your Dying Workout

Bodybuilding - 4 Ways to Breathe Life into your Dying Workout

1. Switch Your Workout Style - Lack of variety in a workout quickly leads to boredom. Working out is just like any other aspect of life. If we get bored we quickly lose interest and sleep walk through the workout as a result. It's just like having a job. If you go to work every single day and do the same thing every SINGLE day you quickly lose interest in what's going on.

There are so many types of workout styles available. Search on Superset, German Volume, Pyramid, Cable, Dumbbell, Circuit, Straight Set, Total Body Complexes, or Push/Pull and you'll see just what I mean.

2. Increase Weight 10-15% On Each Exercise - One of my favorite ways to kick start a workout is to add 10-15% of my normal resistance to an exercise. If nothing else it gets your attention. All too often we get attached to the amount of weight and reps we're accustomed to doing. 3 things happen here:

- Comfort
- Lack of Growth
- Boredom

All of which are terrible for the drive and excitement needed to keep a dynamic workout in tact. Adding more weight also allows you to refocus on what is going on. You are forced to focus and push yourself to get that weight off your chest!

3. Add The Element Of Surprise To Your Music Selection - While the iPod is great for your workout it can also be a curse. Last month I listened to the same 3 play lists for 6 days a week. Needless to say I got bored... really, really, really bored. Mixing up the music is a great way to get you rejuvenated and provide that extra spark. When your music gets style try this:

- Set the player to random
- Switch musical genres (rap to rock, rock to rap, house to heavy metal, etc)
- Find some old music you haven't used in a while

Music is a powerful motivator in the gym. Use it to your advantage.

4. Perform Challenging Exercises - Some of the equipment in the gym can get very lonely. The Dip/Pullup stands, hack squat machine, Olympic bars (deadlifts, squats, overhead press), and plyometric boxes (explosive jumping) are all woefully lonely. Befriend them. Crank out some pullups, do a deadlift or 2, stack up some plyometric boxes and perform a set of jumps.

These exercises are the most rewarding in the gym. On top of that there is NEVER a long line of people climbing over each other to do pullups. These exercises are the most challenging but they are also the most rewarding.