Bodybuilding in College: It Can Be Done!

Transitioning from high school to college is difficult for most people, but bodybuilders may find that being away from their home gym and kitchen is extra tough. The first week or so may be a little intimidating, but bodybuilders can stay successful in college with high levels of dedication and motivation. When you enter college, set your goals for the year and try to motivate yourself to stick to your workout and diet plans.

College meal plans vary, but nothing about college food is good for a bodybuilder. Many colleges offer plans that include three meals a day at most, but your diet will probably call for more meals each day of smaller amounts of food. Don't load up at the cafeteria if that's not what you are used to doing! Instead, invest in a small refrigerator for your dorm room. Set aside some extra money each week for food, and schedule your classes so that you have enough time to eat. Most professors don't mind if you carry a snack to class, so if you must take a class that's during your normal mealtime, have some energy bars or protein shakes on hand as a back up plan. When you do eat in the cafeteria, make healthy meal choices. It's ok to splurge on one or two rewards, such as pizza or ice cream every week, but in general, stick to the foods you would normally eat at home-eggs, grilled chicken, bran cereals, salads, cottage cheese, and the like-even if there's a buffet of other things available.

One of the first things you should do when you get to college is explore the gym and weight facilities. Note the hours of operation-most schools are aware that students have busy schedules, so your gyms will probably open early in the morning and still be open late at night, but get a copy of the schedule so you never have to question the times. If the gym is too small or inconvenient for you schedule-wise, check out the gyms in town to see if any would better suit your needs. Students even get discount memberships at some places.

Lastly, be conscious of your other habits. Continue to get enough sleep even with your new workload, and be aware that activities such as smoking will only have an adverse effect on your health. A big part of college for many students is drinking, and you will probably be faced with this as well. If you are just bodybuilding for the sake of looking and feeling good, a few beers every week won't hurt you as long as you are responsible, but drinking is out of the question for competitive bodybuilders. Not only will it pack on the fat, but drinking will also cause you to lower your levels of testosterone and become dehydrated. Volunteer to be the designated driver instead, and you will find that it is easy to fit in while still maintaining your healthy lifestyle.

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Whey Protein and Bodybuilding

Most bodybuilders would agree that supplementing with whey protein is an important element in achieving serious muscle gains. This article will examine the facts relating to whey protein as a supplement and help you decide whether you need to follow this particular strategy. Whey protein is produced during the process that sees milk turned into cheese. It is also found naturally in dairy products, eggs, soy and vegetable proteins but none of these compares in quality to whey protein powder. It also scores highly in providing the branched chain amino acids (BCAA's) that are important in the building and retention of muscle. Whey protein is highly favored by bodybuilders because it provides the necessary building blocks to produce the amino acids that the body uses to build lean muscle tissue. Many studies have shown that whey protein contains the perfect combination of amino acids, in just the right concentration for optimal performance in the body. It is also thought that whey protein has a role as an anti-oxidant and immune system builder. It is best taken in powder form mixed in juice or milk, spread throughout the day to maintain a positive nitrogen balance. Serious bodybuilders often consume up to 150 grams each day but as a rule of thumb, daily protein intake for active trainers can be calculated by taking your weight in pounds and multiplying by 1 or 1.5. But remember, you need to work out how much protein is taken from food and other sources, and then spread the remaining whey protein balance over the day. Whey protein is a relatively safe supplement but no more than 30 grams of protein should be taken at one sitting as excessive single doses could overload the liver. The safety of whey protein has been well documented in many scientific studies and there is clear proof that taken consistently, coupled with regular exercise, it will result in meaningful muscle gain. You can find out more about the muscle building benefits provided by whey protein at the web site listed below.

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Positioning Of The Spine During Bodybuilding Workout

Although the entire body needs to be properly positioned during bodybuilding workout, the axial skeleton and its immediate attachments are of greatest concern and require particular attention. Correctly positioning and stabilizing the spine, neck and pelvis during resistance-training exercises are especially important. To see better how these areas should be positioned during exercise, you should first be aware of how they are positioned when held or stabilized aat ret. Not everyone has the same degree of spinal curvature, and some may have spinal abnormalities. If you or someone you are training has any of these abnormalities or any type of back problems, be sure a doctor is consulted before beginning any exercises program.

Different schools of thought exist regarding the spine and exercise. Some people advocate flattening the back during most any exercise in which a bench, pad, or some sort of outside support is present. The theory behind this concept is to reduce the stress on the spine, intervertebral disks, and lower-back area by bracing them against a support. Flattening the back actually requires most people to tilt the pelvis posteriorly. The spine is in its strongest position and the disks are under the least amount of compression when the spine, neck and pelvis are all in a neutral position with the normal arches and curvatures intact. With this in mind, we prefer to do most every exercise while keeping the lumbar spine and the cervical spine in a neutral position. The only change is a slight degree of extension or straightening through the thoracic religion. To do this, we simply pull the shoulder blades together and lift the chest slightly up and out while maintaining the ntural arch in the lumbar and cervical regions of the spine. An example of this would be soldiers standing at attention with their shoulders back and their chest out. This spinal positioning is called a ready position.

Positioning the spine in this manner supports weight more efficiently and still allows for the least amount of intervertebral disk compression in the cervical and lumbar regions. Instead of bracing the lower back by flattening it, you should maintain the natural arch in the lumbar spine. Maintaining this position will require stabilization from the muscles throughout the back, particularly those of the lower region. This is an added benefit. These muscles will be working to stabilize what is a natural and desirable spinal position while the targeted muscles are working against the resistance. Muscles of the trunk and lower back are typically weak links in most individuals. Using this positioning will help to strengthen and stabilize these weak links rather than pacifying them. Isn't strengthening weak muscles one of the reasons we do resistance training in the first place ?

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Training Gear For Bodybuilding

Bodybuilding is a constantly evolving way of life. As you progress through different levels you may need to pick up additional training aids and equipment to help you advance to the next level.

I have been involved in bodybuilding for over 30 years and therefore feel infinitely qualified to advise you on the items you will need for bodybuilding training.

First I will cover the basic equipment needed by someone who is going to a commercial gym to train. By the way, it is my recommendation that anyone who is serious about bodybuilding go to a gym. You will progress much more rapidly and have access to all the best equipment plus you have the added benefit of the environment and the possibility of acquiring a training partner.

The basic equipment you will need for weight training starts with a sturdy pair of shoes. I prefer the shoes made for weight training or a good cross training shoe. DO NOT buy the shoes with the gel in them. When training legs with heavy weights I have blown the gel right out!

Next you will need comfortable shorts, or if you prefer sweatpants. The important thing here is flexibility. You do not want something tight and constricting. You may opt to wear something like under armor tights underneath for support which are very stretchy but you outerwear should be loose.

You shirt should also be loose, again you may wear underarmor if you choose, but you want to have a loose shirt like a T-shirt or tank top that will allow you freedom of movement. As you progress and become stronger you may elect to wear a power suit on heavy lifting days if you gravitate towards powerlifting.

I recommend you wear nothing on your head as this can cause over heating and in my experience is conducive to headaches. To take care of the sweat, bring a towel. It is also good gym etiquette to wipe your sweat off the equipment you have been on.

You will definitely want a good weight belt if you intend to train seriously at all. Squats and deadlifts should be at the core of a beginners routine and should be used in some form all throughout your life so invest in a good weight belt. When I first started the only thing available was the leather weight belt, now other materials are available and may be more comfortable.

I personally do not wear gloves during training as I prefer to build the calluses and toughen up my hands, however if you are concerned about calluses or you don't have a very good grip gloves may help you.

Gregg Hall is a business consultant and author for many online and offline businesses and has been bodybuilding for over 30 years. Get your training gear at http://www.sportinggoodsupply.com

Know your bodybuilding supplement - l-tyrosine

L-tyrosine is a non-essential amino acid that plays a role in the creation of protein. The body can make it from the amino acid phenylalanine but nutritional sources include animal meats, wheat, oatmeal and seafood.

It performs a multitude of important roles in the body including the alleviation of depression, enhancement of thyroid efficiency, strengthening of the immune system, prevention of neurological degeneration and protection of the skin.

Bodybuilders find it useful for several reasons:

1. It offsets the stress and fatigue associated with intensive training.

2. It helps in the retention of muscular protein.

3. It heightens mental alertness thus helping to offset mental fatigue.

With any amino acid supplement overdosing can lead to weakness and nausea so care should be taken in applying small doses and increasing them gradually until an optimum level is reached. Bear in mind that many protein powders and other supplements are fortified with amino acids so check the labels carefully. The manufacturer's instructions should be followed in all instances.

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.

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