7 Simple Steps To Beginning Bodybuilding (Part 1 of 2)

When I was 16, I asked myself this very same question that I received from a frustrated 16 year old. It went something like this...

"A Little Help Please! I am 16 and I am VERY skinny! I don't have much fat on me so... you could almost see my bones if I am not wearing anything baggy. I only weight 105 lbs and I know I am tooth pick mainly because I don't eat too much." - Frustrated and Skinny

You have NO IDEA of how close that cry for help sounds like me. When I was 16, I took a picture of myself in front of the family Christmas tree. Somehow I convinced my sister to take the picture and I flexed with all my might.

For those who are curious to see what I really did look like, the picture is at:

http://www.beginning-bodybuilding.com

Scroll down. You'll see it. It's 100% un-edited. I didn't even remove the glow in the dark plastic eagle necklace I found somewhere.

Anyway, your question was the same thing I wondered myself. I was 16 and tired of being skinny. I thought I did everything I could to gain weight but I was wrong. And I'm going to give you 7 simple steps you can do today to get on the right track to healthy weight gain and make that cry for help, a shout for joy!

If I could get into a time machine I would go back and hand myself a small brochure called:

7 Simple Steps To Beginning Bodybuilding

This would be written by me for me. But I'm positive the next few steps will apply to you as well and any other 16 year olds out there who are frustrated but are in a position to waste a lot of time if they start down the wrong path.

Please don't be confused... these simple steps are for anybody, no matter what age, male or female, who might be looking to start off on the right foot and not waste a lot of time.

Okay, so what can you do? Let's go step by step and figure this out.

Pre-Requisite - Body building isn't just about getting massive. It's not just for men. The word should actually be two words all the time so there's no confusion. You are building your body. That can mean anything to anybody. So the first step is...

1. Pick A Goal

No matter what, if you don't have a short term and long term goal in mind, you'll just wander around, like a zombie with your arms out, going to anything in sight. And 5 years later, you'll wonder what the heck happened!

Having a clear goal is the ONLY way to start. If you want to gain, maintain or lose, that is a goal. Know what you want before you start.

You'd be floored to find out just how many people are frustrated with their results but when asked exactly what they are trying to do, they have no idea.

2. Figure Out How Many Calories A Day You Need

In your case, you say you are skinny and tooth-pick like. But in the next sentence you state you know you don't eat.

[Snap Rubber Band On Wrist Here For Behavior Modification]

When I was 16, I didn't eat either, I skipped many meals (especially on weekends) and I tried all kinds of protein powders and supplements when I was clearly failing at nutrition.

My mom would cook big meals and I'd barely finish my plate before running off to do something. All the while wishing I was bigger and not so skinny.

There's so many simple ways to calculate your calories. That should be your very next step. Once you know what you want to do, you need to know your nutritional intakes in order to obtain that goal. It's not going to be hard at all but if you don't know, you cannot possibly get anywhere.

In other words, if you don't know how many calories a day you need for a certain goal, then don't expect anything different.

3. Figure Out How Much Protein You Need A Day

It's the building blocks of muscle and it's also the only way you are going to build more muscle or keep the muscle you already have today.

Even for burning fat, it's proven that getting enough protein will actually make you leaner.

Again, there's very simple formulas for this that do not require a degree from MIT to perform. And once you know how much protein you need every day, it's really easy in Step 4 to find out if you are getting what you need.

These steps will be continued in part 2

Marc David is giving away free memberships to his Teach Me Bodybuilding 'private list'. To get your own subscription, visit http://www.beginning-bodybuilding.com while charter subscriptions last

The End of Call Center Entrepreneurship: And the Flowering of Offshore Outsourcing

There have been few entrepreneurial ventures in business history as rewarding as the offshore call center. Within Asia, there are numerous tales of entrepreneurs who made tons of money for themselves by creating substantial value for their customers and employees.

A recent one is Ambergris Solutions Inc. in Manila. The company was started a few years ago by three young entrepreneurs with little money of their own and even less call center experience. They had a lot to learn about running a call center, and it took 18 money-losing months before they stumbled upon their first paying customer. But over the two and a half years that followed, their business grew explosively to almost 3,000 employees serving a roster of blue-chip clients. A couple of months ago, controlling interest of the thriving enterprise was sold to a large Canadian IT organization called Telus International in a deal valued at $43.5 million. Many would agree this was an adequate paycheck for just a few years of work.

This story gives the impression that starting a call center in Asia is an easy path to fast riches. However, just a week or so after the announcement of the Ambergris deal, Gartner Inc. released an astonishing report that said, "As many as 70% of the top 15 Indian business process outsourcing start-ups will cease to exist in the coming months." Gartner added scathingly that "despite the hype, only a small fraction of customer service outsourcing will be done at offshore locations."

Dropping Like Flies

The two situations might seem contradictory, but they aren't. Margins in the call center sector have declined steadily over the past couple of years as customers demand lower bill rates and agents insist on higher salaries. The result has been a squeezing out of the smaller (and often newer) operators, which are unable to spread their fixed costs over a larger base of revenue producing agents. Throughout India and the Philippines, there has already been significant rationalization (i.e. closings, buyouts, mergers, etc.) in the call center industry, and Gartner is probably right to say that more are to come.

The Telus purchase of Ambergris, like IBM's purchase of Daksh eServices Pvt. Ltd. in India and numerous others, shows that the call center sector is now exclusively a game for big-boys -- it has become a "mature industry," as they say in MBA school. The days when someone could start a little call center of his own and learn the business along the way are finished.

So what's a greedy young entrepreneur to do now?

The pioneering efforts of the call center sector have proved that the concept of offshore outsourcing can succeed exceedingly well. (Actually, manufacturing proved this years ago, but let's not go into that.) In most large companies, however, answering telephone inquiries is a microscopic part of their overall business. The big opportunities in business process outsourcing are still to be realized.

This fact is shown in the diversity of the services offered by the current batch of outsourcing entrepreneurs. Here are a few examples of companies operating just in the Manila area: XMG Global IT Research and Advisory Inc. prepares high-end IT research, YellowAsp Corp. creates layout designs for printed circuit boards, Forssman Asia Pacific prepares construction design drawings, Key-In Data Solutions does claims processing, Primesoft develops advanced Web applications, VinciWorks designs online training programs, and Pulse DesignTech offers electronics design services. The list goes on and on.

The large IT services firms and the call center companies are jumping on the business process outsourcing bandwagon too. CapGemini has large facilities in three locations in China providing accounting and human resources outsourcing services. IBM's non-IT outsourcing operations are quickly becoming larger than those of IT in the Philippines.

A quick look at the Web site of IT consulting giant Accenture Ltd. reveals an astounding diversity of services. Under "Outsourcing" in the "Services Offered" section, there are Accenture Finance Solutions, Accenture HR Services, Accenture Learning, Accenture Procurement Solutions, Accenture Business Services for Utilities, Accenture eDemocracy Services, Navitaire Inc. and Accenture Insurance Services. By comparison, only two IT-related services are listed in the entire section.

Two of the world's five largest call center companies don't even call themselves call center companies anymore. ClientLogic Corp. is now an "international business process outsourcing provider." StarTek Inc. says it's a "global provider of business process outsourcing services."

It's clear that the difference between outsourcing today and outsourcing yesterday is significant. Whereas before, just a few business segments were growing rapidly (say, call centers and IT), now there are multitudes in the same situation, with countless more sure to follow. Some business leaders I have spoken to have used the phrase "tipping point" to describe the current life-cycle stage of services outsourcing. One fellow I spoke to thought the phrase "business process outsourcing" wasn't descriptive enough to express the vast diversity of the current environment. He felt a better phrase was something along the lines of "everything-anyone-can-possibly-imagine-as-being-outsourced outsourcing."

So, we shouldn't be overly concerned about missing the gold rush in offshore call center outsourcing. The business process outsourcing mother lode is just around the corner, and the opportunities are wide open. Greedy entrepreneurs everywhere should rejoice.

Richard Mills CFA is President of the World Outsourcing Providers Association (WOPA). The organization serves providers and customers of offshore outsourcing services. WOPA aims to improve the probability success of offshore outsourcing ventures by sharing best practices across organizations and countries.

e: info@outsourcingproviders.org
w: www.outsourcingproviders.org

Find Out Why Bodybuilding Supplements May Not Be Necessary

To supplement or not to supplement - that is the question on more bodybuilder's lips than ever before. Are they safe? Have you ever wondered what works and what doesn't?

Lets have a look at the basics.

There are various reasons why athletes may be interested in supplementation.

* Concern about getting adequate nutrients from our food
supply.
* Suspicion of pharmaceuticals.
* Belief that diet alone will not achieve optimal nutrition

Supplements include the following:

* Vitamins
* Minerals
* Amino Acids
* Herbs

The concerning thing about supplements is that anything classified as a dietary supplement is not required to meet any FDA or other standards! Think about that! there are no regulations in place that guarantee the safety or purity of something sold as a supplement.

They are also not made to meet the similar safety requirements as prescription drugs or any other manufacturing standards. They are not required to meet product potency or purity ratings and are not required to prove the effectiveness of any health claim that is made.

Studies suggest that a number of supplements may deliver on advertising claims. However, trainees are spending large sums of money on products that have little or no proven usefulness.

Personally I find the use of supplements over rated and as with strength training, supplementation asks the same question

"If a little is good then maybe more has to be better"

Supplementation and steroids started to proliferate when volume strength training became the training system of the day. Young strength trainees slaving in the gym for five to six days a week was seen as normal. All this without making any progress or putting on any size whatsoever.

They then turned to the latest supplement or steroid thinking that this is the magic bullet to put on that added muscle when all the time they were just plain

"Overtraining"

The cold hard facts are that the majority of the regular trainees in your gym are overtraining. The sad reality is that the type of training that you find in bodybuilding books and magazines (and used by the stars) are irrelevant to the majority of
the population and has a high failure rate.

If more bodybuilders started using more infrequent, short, high intensity weight training sessions, followed by the required amount of time to recover and become stronger...

"Most of the Muscle building supplements and steroids available today would not be needed"

. The bottom line on weight gain supplements

* Before taking a supplement try to make modifications to your
diet that might achieve the same goals.
* Only choose products that show the amount of active
ingredients on the label that are required.
* Be aware that "natural" does not mean 'safe'
* Some herbal supplements may have unpleasant side effects.

Listed below are some popular bodybuilding supplements available on the market today:

Creatine monohydrate

Creatine was first introduced to the market place some eight years ago and has since become the most popular bodybuilding supplement of all time.

Creatine is said to significantly increase lean muscle mass, improve performance, increase energy levels and speed up recovery rates.

Creatine also stimulates the uptake of amino acids in the proteins, which means that the more that it's used the more muscle that may be grown.

Dosage: A loading phase of 20grams a day for the first five days then a maintenance phase of 5grams a day from then on.

Whey Protein isolate

The highest yield of protein currently available and is extracted from milk. This is another popular supplement for athletes and bodybuilders because of its high proportion of amino acids.

It is supposed to be high in potassium, which is essential
for muscle growth and is an antioxidant and a good immune system builder.

Dosage: 20gms - 100gms a day.

Tribulus Terrestris

Tribulus terrestris is a plant that grows in many tropical and moderate areas of the world and is very rich in chemical compounds such as saponins, flavonoids and alkaloids.
Tribulus terrestris is supposedly a testosterone enhancer and increases sex drives in both men and women.

Dosage as per bottle.

Glutamine

Is a non-essential amino acid, which makes up to 60% of the amino acids in the bodies muscles. Glutamine containing products are protein shakes and good quality protein powders; it can also be added to protein shakes for added potency.

Dosage: 5grams to 15 grams per day.

So there you have it, a supplement is something added to the diet to make up for a nutritional deficiency or imbalance, they are not intended to substitute for eating a balanced diet. If they are to be taken at all they should only be used to supplement the diet and not replace it.

Gary Matthews is the author of the popular fitness eBooks Maximum Weight Loss and Maximum Weight Gain. Please visit http://www.maximumfitness.com right now for your 'free' muscle building e-course.

Bodybuilding, Weight Loss and Exercise Tips Goal Setting for Long Term Results.

 Goal setting means you have to think ahead, have some faith, and ask for help!

My name is Greg Ryan. I am a fitness expert, professional bodybuilder personal, trainer to movie stars, former employee of Kathy Smith and over 50, 000 hours of paid personal training sessions under my belt. For the last twenty years I have been able to continually make progress, stay consistent and have some fun in my quest to be in better shape.

Not because I am anything special, or know some magic formula, but because I have learned a few goal and program setting techniques that I would like to share with you. Start incorporating them into your plan today and notice the difference tomorrow.

The very first question I ask each new client that comes to me is this, How long have you been on the same workout program? With out fail most if not all say, Over six months. Then they do not understand why they are not progressing.

Rule 1:

Change your routine up every twelve weeks: Your body adapts to exercise like our bodies adapt to taking antibiotics. For some reason after a period of time it gets use to the same routine. 

Rule 2:

Rest period between twelve week segments: Take a few days off between the twelve segments refreshes you and allows your body to recuperate.

Rule 3:

Keep to ball rolling: There is a let down after you have reached your goal. When you realize that you are going to reach your goal start thinking of the next one. This keeps the momentum going, and decreases the chance of having a let down. 

Rule 4:

You need a carrot: You need some tangible reward for your efforts. Something urgent, something you just have to have. Find it and it will motivate you in the down times. 

Rule 5:

Follow an intensity curve: With in the twelve week segment ramp up your intensity levels in your workouts. Start at eighty percent and by week two you should be at 100 percent.

Rule 6:

One main goal a year: Set one big goal a year with seasonal ones leading up to the big one.

Start with these and see how your motivation goes up through out the year.

START LOSING WEIGHT THE RIGHT WAY FOR GOOD TODAY! FREE MINI COURSE click here www.resolutions.bz Discover the common sense way to lose weight with out dieting  Greg Ryan is a best selling author, former employee of Kathy Smith, and high profile fitness expert.

BREAK

Moving from beginner to intermediate level bodybuilding

By now you've made significant progress in your bodybuilding career. For the past three to six months you've learnt how to perform the core lifting exercises in a technically correct manner. You've also conditioned the body and developed sufficient core strength to prepare yourself for a whole new level of intensity. Hopefully you've also built some rock solid muscle! But that's only the beginning.

In recent weeks your workouts have probably lost some of their effect so, even though you're lifting bigger weights, your muscles now need even greater stimulation to generate maximal growth. Don't expect miracles though - from this point onwards, every little bit of improvement will take even greater and more intensive work than before.

Because you'll be working your muscles more intensively, they'll also need more recovery time to adapt and grow and that's why you'll be reducing your workouts to three a week. Each primary muscle group trained will now need one full week to recover. After being used to whole body sessions and more workouts per week it may seem as if you're not doing enough but the point is, you'll be working your muscles very, very intensively and making better use of your time.

As you gain more experience you'll be able to tweak or re-design your basic muscle building program to suit your own individual needs, but the program described here should provide a useful starting point. What I'm proposing is basically a 3-split of the body on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

MONDAY (Chest, Triceps, Shoulders)

1. Chest Exercises

Incline dumbbell press - this is a compound exercise that targets the chest but also works the triceps and shoulders to a lesser extent.

Pec-deck flye - this is an isolation exercise that works the pectorals.

2. Triceps

Dips - this compound exercise targets the triceps but also works the chest and shoulders.

3. Shoulders

Front military press - this compound exercise targets shoulders but also works the triceps.

Dumbbell lateral raises - this isolation exercise works the shoulders only.

Bentover dumbbell laterals - this isolation exercise works the rear delts.

WEDNESDAY (Back, Biceps, Forearms)

1. Back

Front lat pulls - compound exercise that targets lats but also works the biceps and mid-back.

Deadlifts - compound exercise that targets the back and quads but also works hamstrings, calves and glutes.

Dumbbell rows - compound exercise that targets mid-back but also works biceps and lats.

Dumbbell shrugs - isolation exercise that works traps.

2. Biceps

Dumbbell biceps curl - isolation exercise that works the biceps.

Dumbbell hammer curls - isolation exercise that works the biceps.

3. Forearms

Barbell wrist curl - isolation exercise that works the forearms.

FRIDAY (Lower Body)

1. Legs

Squats or leg press - compound exercise that targets the quads but also works the hamstrings, calves and glutes.

Leg extension - isolation exercise that works the quads.

Leg curls - isolation exercise that works the hamstrings.

Standing calf raise - isolation exercise that works the gastrocnemius calf muscle.

Seated calf raise - isolation exercise that works the soleus calf muscle.

You could start this program by aiming for two sets of 8-10 reps per exercise but as your strength and size increase you should really introduce techniques that boost the intensity even further. This can be achieved in a number of ways including the use of pre-exhaustion, super sets, partial reps, isometric contractions and forced reps. These techniques are covered in detail elsewhere in this series of articles.

Richard Mitchell is the creator of the bodybuildingadvisor.com website that provides guidance and information to athletes at all levels of bodybuilding experience. Go to Bodybuilding Advice to learn more about the issues covered in this article.

Know your bodybuilding supplement - methoxyisoflavone

 Flavones are the latest big supplement to hit the market. Methoxyisoflavone is a non-hormonal anabolic compound that has been shown to reduce cortisol levels, increase protein synthesis and improve recovery from exercise.

During tests that led to the issuing of a patent for methoxyisoflavone the following findings were noted:

1. It was found to be more anabolic than anabolic steroids without any of the side effects.

2. It increased lean body mass significantly within 30 days while producing no androgenic effect.

3. Cortisol levels were reduced and nitrogen levels increased considerably.

Flavones can be safely taken by men and women who want to boost their lean muscle gains without risking the hazards associated with taking anabolic steroids. A dose of 400-800 mg can be taken daily, split over two doses. Its effects can be enhanced by taking it with protein due to the ability of protein to force nutrients into muscle cells.

Methoxy can also be stacked safely with ZMA to maximise testosterone gains, or ecdysterone to increase protein synthesis, maintain a positive nitrogen balance and keep the body in an anabolic state.
Richard Mitchell is the creator of the bodybuildingadvisor.com website that provides guidance and information to athletes at all levels of bodybuilding experience. Go to Bodybuilding Advice to learn more about the issues covered in this article.

How Do I Find Discount Gym Equipment

A great way to get that new gym you've been looking for is to find home gyms at yard sales. This opportunity is a great one that is often overlooked. Yet it's quite simple to find home gyms at yard sales. This is because people often by exercise equipment on a whim and end up not following through on their New Year's resolutions, leaving old home gyms sitting. Other people just like to upgrade in order to get the best workout possible. Whatever the reason, you can get great deals at yard sales.

The first thing to remember when you find home gyms at yard sales is to ask questions. The more questions you ask the better idea you will have of how good a shape the equipment is in. You will want to ask when they bought it and how often they used it. You may also want to ask how often they cleaned it and did maintenance on it. Also remember to ask if it has been sitting around for a while and if so, how long? These are all good things to ask. It may prevent you from buying a home gym that wasn't properly taken care of or has been sitting around for too long and is more likely to have problems.

Once you ask questions when you find home gyms at yard sales, you will also want to look the equipment over yourself. Double-check everything that they said by carefully examining all the equipment. Make sure there are no pieces missing, including screws and rubber safety pieces that should be on sharp corners. Check how well oiled the machine is and ask to look at the manual if they still have it. This will give you a better idea as to how the original product should look. You will also be able to see from the manual what kind of care the equipment should get and be able to check and see if it was taken care of properly. Aesthetics may or may not be important to you. A few chips are not as bad as missing equipment and missing screws however. But do be sure to ask for a price break if you feel you need to.

One last thing to keep in mind when you are going out to find home gyms at yard sales is the prices. Make sure you are fully aware of how much certain machines may cost brand new. This will give you the information you need, just in case someone may try to sell it to you at a brand new price. This also gives you a starting point from which to bargain, based on the condition of the equipment at the time you buy it. Knowing the real value of certain gyms is always recommended before you go out and buy one used at a yard sale or other similar place.

When it comes time to find home gyms at yard sales, you will want to keep these ideas fresh in your mind. Many of them will help you to save not only a huge disaster but money as well. When you finally find the one that is right for you, you'll be glad you took the time.

Check out http://www.homegymsreview.com for more articles on 'weider home gym' and 'cheap equipment gym home'.