- What is Bodybuilding:
Bodybuilding is a "lifestyle". The difference between bodybuilding and fitness can be summarized as follows: Fitness, as the term suggests, focuses on fitness in general.
The developments of strength, flexibility and explosiveness can have different priorities.
In bodybuilding the objective is mainly in the visual, which means that strength training dominates. This can be supplemented with cardiovascular exercises, but then with the first goal to burn body fat where development of fitness is only an additional benefit. This priority also provides accent differences in strength training compared to, for example, weight lifting and power lifts.
(Kai Greene and the legend. Source: google)
- The bodybuilding lifestyle
Although the amount of muscle mass has increased over the years among professional bodybuilders, it is up to the bodybuilder to determine which goal someone with bodybuilding wants to achieve. For one person, this is an "athletic" body for the other an enormously muscular body. This is reflected in the different classes within bodybuilding competitions. There are several bodybuild unions worldwide, the largest being the IFBB. Bodybuilding is often associated with the use of anabolic steroids, growth hormone and other anabolic agents. Partly rightly, since the use of this indeed occurs frequently. On the other hand, there are millions of natural bodybuilders who want to achieve their results naturally, although the use of nutritional supplements among them can be popular.
Training scedule's for bodybuilding are aimed at providing sufficient stimulus and recovery time for muscle growth. There are countless different scedule's for bodybuilding available but as a rule these will all take into account the "right intensity and training volume" and the "right degree and distribution of rest". What is "right" is constantly being debated by practitioners and science.
However, there are a few things that come back in most schemes:
0- A distribution of attention across the different muscle groups.
0- Different muscle groups spread over the week (split) or by training all muscle groups "fullbody"
0- Combinations of muscle groups such as: Large and small muscle group, upper and lower body, "push & pull".
0- 24-72 hours rest between (in) direct training of the same muscle group.
0- Three or more exercises per muscle group.
0- Three or more sets per exercise.
0- Between 4 and 15 reps per exercise.
0- 45 minutes to one and a half hours per training session.
Schemes can deviate from this by differences of insight, but in most of them many of the above elements will come back.
To continuously stimulate the body to muscle growth, progression and variation are very important. Regardless of which schedule is chosen, it is important to follow this period progressively (heavier, more reps etc.), but then to provide variety. This can mean switching to a different schedule, but also things like changing some exercises, the sequence, type of execution, number of reps etc can provide the necessary variation.
(Jay Cutler. Source: google)
Bodybuilding supplements are supplements to the daily diet that indirectly or directly help in gaining more muscle mass, more strength or less body fat.
The most populair supplement is protein, it can be very hard to get enough protein from food.
Other supplements such as the popular creatine are aimed at providing more strength and energy. It's help you to train much heavier and harder (higher intensity and / or volume). Because of this more results can be obtained from the training.
The international supplements industry is very extensive. There is a lot of competition and new supplements are continuously being developed whose effect is not, hardly or insufficiently demonstrated. It is also possible that there are non-listed and prohibited substances in supplements. A critical attitude towards supplements and the willingness to read carefully into the substantiation is recommended.
0- Supplements can facilitate the achievement of your goals in terms of daily dietary intake. For example, drinking a protein shake can be an attractive alternative to eating 8 eggs early in the morning. :)
Thank you for reading my blog about bodybuilding.
Soon free schedules and more tips and advice about fitness and bodybuilding.
