How to exceed in Bodybuilding ?
Bodybuilders aim to bulk up, eat more, and train heavier to gain muscle mass. However, bulking up takes more than just eating and training hard. It has to be executed properly or else you will not only gain muscles but fats too, and it will jeopardize your bodybuilding goals.
1. The importance of a good alimentation
To achieve your bodybuilding goal, you need to educate yourself about proper nutrition, supplementation, and hydration. You probably have heard of bulking and cutting – two different things usually done by athletes and bodybuilders. Basically, they need to bulk up to gain muscles and cut down before the competition.
Bulking means eating foods high in calories to gain weight, most importantly, muscles. Bulking is done during the off-season. On the other hand, cutting pertains to eating low caloric food to lose weight and muscles. Cutting is done during competition season. The primary goal of bulking and cutting is for athletes and bodybuilders to get in their top shape and enhance their overall performance.
If you are not an athlete or bodybuilder, you don't have to go through bulking and cutting, although good alimentation is needed to build a healthy body. Just make sure that when you do bulk and cutting, you do it under the supervision of a professional to get the most of what bulking and cutting have to offer.
2. Master your training
Training can be done in many different ways, but all have one goal in mind and that is to improve your health and fitness. Your choice of training method has a significant impact on your training outcome. Below are some of the commonly practiced training methods:
- Resistance training – It improves strength, power, and muscular endurance. Resistance training equipment includes resistance machines, dumbbells, barbells, and kettlebells.
- Plyometric training – It aims to increase the power and strength of athletes.
- Continuous training – It comprised of a low-intensity exercise for a long period of time without a break. It aims to improve the strength, endurance, and stamina of athletes.
- Fartlek training – It is a Swedish term for speed play, a form of continuous training, which aims to improve the athlete’s agility and strength.
- Interval training – It includes exercise/work followed by a period of rest. The aim of interval training is to improve muscular endurance, cardiovascular health, speed, and recovery time.
- Circuit training – It is a combination of different exercises called stations and performed one after the other.
3. Give your body time to rest
Rest is as important as proper nutrition and working out. While you are working out, your body tissues are under stress. Hardcore workouts can break down the muscles causing microscopic tears. This is why it is of utmost importance to give the body ample time to rest to help the muscles, bones, nerves, and tissues to rebuild and grow back stronger.
Rest and sleep also stimulate the natural production of growth hormone, which plays an important role in the repair and rebuild of muscle tissues after the workout. Without adequate sleep and rest, all your bodybuilding efforts will be thwarted.
4. Reach your goal faster with supplements
Bodybuilders and athletes take supplements to further enhance their muscles, improve their strength, and improve overall athletic performance. some of the commonly used supplements are the following:
- Whey protein – It is easily absorbed in the body at a rapid rate, which is a big help, especially after performing strenuous physical activities. Regular consumption of whey protein promotes the growth of lean muscle mass and improves muscle protein synthesis.
- Creatine – It works best for gaining weight, building muscles, and improving strength. It helps the muscles produce energy during high-intensity exercise and strenuous physical activities.
- Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAA) – They are the building blocks of muscle tissues and helps a lot in helping the body recover from injuries. Taking BCAA regularly will enable you to gain muscles and speed up the body’s recovery process. The top notable benefits of BCAA are the following:
- Decrease muscle soreness
- Increase the growth of the muscles
- Reduce exercise fatigue
- Beneficial for the liver
- Prevents muscle from wasting
Bodybuilding aims to improve not only the physical physique but as well as the body’s stamina, strength, and endurance. Some people over train thinking that they would be able to reach their goal faster. Little did they know they are causing more harm than good.
The proper way to reach your bodybuilding goal is to pay attention to your nutrition, exercise routine, take the necessary supplements, and give your body ample time to rest and recuperate.
