Saturday, September 17, 2005

Bodybuilding Tips: Eat Right to Build Muscle

Welcome to your Health & Fitness Report !

One of the first things that any bodybuilder learns is that
your body requires the right nutrients to build muscle.
No matter how much you work out and exercise, without the
proper building blocks, your body will not be able to build
the muscle that you want.

A bodybuilder's diet isn't just a matter of calories. It's
important to consider where those calories come from, what
sort of nutrients they're made from, and even when and how
often you fuel your body with them. Physical trainers and
sports nutritionists have come a long way since the days
that they recommended a huge steak and a lot of pasta for
dinner.

While the importance of protein in a bulking up diet hasn't
changed, it's now only one of many recommendations for diet
and nutrition while you're trying to build your body. The
focus these days is on total nutrition - a healthy balance
of proteins, carbohydrates and other essential nutrients.

Instead, experts suggest splitting your calories over six
meals, spaced out over the course of the day. Your first
meal should be immediately after rising, your last about an
hour before bed.

Your body needs six basic groups of nutrients:
Protein is the basic building block of cells for your body.
In bodybuilding, it helps repair cells, builds and repairs
muscle and tissue, provides energy and helps regulate the
metabolic processes of your body. While training, you need
to eat at least one portion of protein with every meal, but
red meat is no longer the favored protein source. Whey,
chicken, fish and other seafood provide complete proteins
that are easily digested by the body and translated into
lean muscle mass.

Your protein should come from a low-fat, high quality
source. While red meat is fine on occasion, the added
calories and saturated fats can play havoc with some of
your bodily systems. Plan on fish - tuna fish is fine, as
is shrimp or scallops - at least three times a week. Eat
chicken, cheese, eggs or legumes as well. Don't forget that
peanut butter is an excellent source of protein, too!

Fats have an undeservedly bad reputation in weight loss and
nutrition circles. Your body needs some fat in order to
build and repair itself. The trick is in eating the right
fats in the right amounts. Fats break down into three
types - saturated, mono-unsaturated and poly-unsaturated.
The unsaturated types are the kind you want in your diet.
They add essential fatty acids to your diet that you can't
get anywhere else. Fish is one of the best sources.

Another vital indredient your body needs when you're trying
to bulk up and define those muscles is plain, old ordinary
water. You need just about 1/2 ounce of water for every
pound of your body weight daily to stay healthy and build
new tissues. The bigger you are, the more water you need.
An easy way to be sure you get plenty of water (and yes,
you can drink those fancy new fruity waters if you want) is
to drink 2-3 8 ounce glases of water with each meal.

Your body also requires minerals - non-organic compounds
that are found in plant and animal foods - to process and
rebuild itself. Calcium, magnesium, iron, manganese and
zinc are just a few of the minerals that your body needs in
order to function properly. The only way to be sure to get
all the minerals that you need is to eat a varied diet, or
to take a mineral supplement that includes the recommended
daily allowance of all the minerals your body needs.

Minerals are inorganic compounds that our bodies don't
create, but need. That means that they must be consumed
in your diet. These include iron, magnesium and zinc,
which your body uses for building strong muscles.

Information about bodybuilding can be found at RHONE Bodybuilding.
Bernie Latton is the staff writer, you will find resources,articles and more information at:http://www.rhonebodybuilding.com

Friday, September 16, 2005

Exercise Tips

Welcome back !

To stay healthy of course! They~ve been drumming it into
us for decades now, in case you hadn~t realized. For those
of you that have, you either take time out to exercise at
home or pop down to your local gym. This has become an
increasing trend due to the huge advantages that exercise
can have to each and every one of us.

1. Expectant mothers can partake in light exercise as
gentle as a 20 minute stroll and this have a massive
impact on her well being. Anxiety levels can be lowered,
insulin usage can be improved, weight can be controlled,
litheness and vigor increased and the birth can be made
much easier. They can recover far earlier after the baby~s
arrival too.

Before you start any form of exercise chat to your doctor
to make sure you will not be putting yourself at risk. If
the doctor says go for it, start slowly and gently at
first and only when your body gets used to it should you
up the pace. Follow exercise instructions too as you could
end up hurting yourself if you do it wrong.

When you exercise always make sure you carry some natural
foods that contain sugar with you such as fruit or dried
fruit and protein foods. This is because exercise can
decrease the amount of sugar in your blood and if you feel
starving and don~t resolve it quickly this could lead to
what~s known as hypoglycemia.

One of the most important aspects of exercise is to pay
attention to your body. For an example, if you are
exercising and you notice your stomach becoming overly
hard, chances are you are working the muscles too hard.
Therefore, to avoid strain, simply stop to allow the
muscles to rest. Then when the abdomen becomes softer,
begin exercising again but without the same level of
intensity as before.

Other key things to know when exercising are that if you
begin to feel dizzy, lightheaded, or experience pain other
than workout pain, stop. A common injury seen with
exercise has to do with the back, especially if lifting
weights or twisting and turning. To avoid this, make sure
your movements are fluid and not choppy. If you are
involved with aerobics or a type of exercise that does
require twisting and turning, be very carefully.

6. Don~t exercise when it~s boiling hot. If you~re looking
to get dehydrated then go ahead but this should be avoided
at all costs. Always imbibe plenty of liquid such as
Gatorade sports drinks or good old water. Not just when
you have finished but preceding and throughout the
duration of your exercise too. Finally just remember that
if you~re looking to lose some flab and change your body~s
shape you don~t have to pummel it with overexertion in
hard exercise. Cardiovascular exercises such as swimming
and walking can have just as good results and are not as
hard on your joints.

William Himble is the owner of Exercise Nuts which is a
superior Internet resource for exercise information.
For more information, please visit:http://www.exercisenuts.com