Bodybuilding for Your Body Type

No two human beings are alike, so it should make sense that no two human beings can train the same way either. The key to successful bodybuilding, as any professional will tell you, is to know your body-know your limits and know how your body will respond to certain conditions. That said, to help optimize you bodybuilding workout, evaluate your body type. Everyone in the world falls into one of three categories: ectomorph, mesomorph, and endomorph. By determining your body category, you can help find the lifestyle that is perfect for you. As always, check with your doctor before changing your diet and workout schedule.

Ectomorphs are people who naturally have little or no fat. Usually, ectomorphs are tall and have longer limbs as well. Because of their build, most ectomorphs opt for endurance sports, like running, but if you fall into this category, you can also become a world-class bodybuilder. To start, ectomorphs need to up their calorie count and eat it more throughout the day in smaller meals. Try to increase your intake by at least 500 calories per day to help you put on the weight. Eating more does not necessarily mean eating anything, so ectomorphs need to have a high calorie but healthy diet to be successful at bodybuilding. Also, if you are an ectomorph, cut most of the cardiovascular activity from your workout and focus purely on intense weight training. Don't overtrain, but get into the gym every 3 or 4 days for a hard full-body workout that targets all muscle groups. It is difficult for ectomorphs to gain muscle mass, but with lots of dedication, it can be done.

Mesomorphs are the people everyone envies. They're the folks you see who eat lots of junk food, yet still have the "perfect" bodies. One trap mesomorphs easily fall into is the mindset that because they can skip workouts or eat pizza without any visible effect, it is having no effect on their bodies at all. This is not true-good genes gave you a good body, but things such as heart disease will effect you just as easily as the next person. Mesomorphs shouldn't have to change the amount of food that they eat, but if you fall into this category, make an effort to eat healthy foods and lots of good carbohydrates. At the gym, you can choose to do a full-body training session, but it will probably be more beneficial to you to target and define muscles in specific areas.

Endomorphs also have no problem gaining muscle mass, but unlike mesomorphs, these people also have no problem gaining weight. Diet control is the key to successful bodybuilding for endomorphs-eat smaller meals spread out throughout the day and cut out the junk food. Also, drink a lot of water and try to stop eating for the day about 3 hours before your bedtime. Endomorphs shouldn't have any problem becoming muscular, but they need to hit the gym for lots of cardiovascular workouts as well-every day if possible. This will help the fat melt from your body so that you can begin to see the muscles you are defining.

Whatever your body type, bodybuilding can be the perfect sport for you. Be sensible about your habits and be dedicated to the sport, and you will find that definition and muscle mass can be accomplished.

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Submit Gear and Gold's Gym Bridge the Gap between Bodybuilding and Mixed Martial Arts

Gold's Gym, Training Ground, and Submit Gear Inc. are working together to create a training facility like no other.

The first of five Gold's Gym locations will be re-opening in October located at 2440 Cawthra Rd. in Mississauga. The new 45,000 sq. ft. facility will be introducing mixed martial arts classes consisting of Muay Thai, Boxing and Jiu Jitsu and will be managed by Kru Gerald Ching of "Training Ground" . The gym will have a designated martial arts area consisting of a full size boxing ring, octagon, and floor space for classes.

There are more people training today in martial arts than ever before. With today's tough competition, one of the key aspects to becoming a successful mixed martial arts fighter is impeccable physical conditioning.

"It makes perfect sense to offer weightlifting, cardio, and martial arts all under one roof" says Joe de Barros, president of Gold's Gym.

Other features of the new location include: indoor basketball court, indoor beach volleyball (instructed by Canadian Olympic Team member Kara Zakrzewski), juice bar, hairdresser, esthetician, child playroom, personal training, nutrition counselling, and a pro shop.

Gold's Gym will also be the first Canadian distributor of Submit Gear fight apparel, an online Mississauga-based clothing company (www.SubmitGear.com) which sells athletic apparel for fighters and fans. "We've just recently introduced our wholesale program, and to have Gold's Gym as our first Canadian distributor in my hometown is very exciting" says Mark Chiappino, owner of Submit Gear Inc.

For more information on the new Gold's Gym Mississauga location, visit www.GoldsGymMississauga.com

The Scary Truth About Soy Protein and Bodybuilding

Marc David

Inevitably there?s a myth that soy protein is horrible for bodybuilding and that if you are any where near serious about working out or building muscle you will stay away from it. In fact, some sites show ?studies? that soy protein and soy products can be detrimental to your health. And while it?s true that early claims of soy wonders might not be entirely true, there?s also myth that soy protein is bad.

First off, there?s a concept called the Biological Value Scale that was developed to measure the quality of specific proteins. It basically rates how efficiently your body will use a given protein source. The higher the BV (biological value), the more amino acids and nitrogen your body is retaining from the foods you eat. In sum, it becomes a way to measure the potential for quality muscle growth and strength.

There was a time when egg whites were at the top of the BV with a score of around 100. Since then, whey proteins have toped out the scales around 106-159 BV. This means that whey protein is better used for quality muscle growth.

But first a warning!

This doesn't mean that all you would utilize is whey protein for all your needs. Many times bodybuilders will use a variety of proteins depending on the BV and the times of day and if they just finished a workout.

Let me explain? Your protein needs in the morning are different then the middle of the day and are different again AFTER a workout and again different before bed.

All this means is that no one protein is the best for any given time. But before I get lost... let me show you the biological value scale in a simple form.

Type of Protein :: Biological Value Rating

Whey: 106-159 Egg: 100 Cow?s Milk: 91 Fish: 83 Casein: 80 Beef: 80 Chicken: 79 Soy: 74 Wheat Gluten: 54 Kidney Beans: 49

For all these reasons, you can and should see that soy protein is listed lower. That just means it?s not the most anabolic of proteins for optimal muscle growth.

But don?t get me wrong...

This doesn't mean you shouldn't eat soy protein if you enjoy it. It simply means that barring any religious beliefs or personal preferences, soy would not be the ideal protein source for enhanced muscle gains. This doesn't mean you cannot have it or that it?s bad for you.

In fact, let?s continue on with a little example.

John Q. Public 13% body fat 184 lbs 160 lbs of LBM (lean body mass)

For simplification we'll just say that for every LB of LBM (pound of lean body mass) John wants to get 1 g of protein.

John should be consuming 160 g of protein a day.

Here?s where the myth and some problems come into play! Read carefully.

If you get a vast amount of your protein from less BV sources then optimal (beans, soy) you will not prime your muscles for optimal anabolic growth. John shouldn't be getting 150+ grams of soy protein a day IF he wants to create the most muscle mass and he has no personal reasons not to use better quality sources.

John also won?t be in jeopardy of losing muscle or wasting his efforts if he ingests small quantities of soy proteins because he likes them. Having soy in his cereal is not going to make a difference.

The myth that soy will cause men to produce estrogen is when VAST quantities are ingested. Far beyond what any rational person would want to do on a prolonged basis.

A bodybuilder that has soy will not feel any differences, be any less anabolic then another person who does not consume soy at all.

Fact: A long-term metabolic balance study in young men to assess the nutritional quality of an isolated soy protein and beef proteins (VR Young, A Wayler, C Garza, FH Steinke, E Murray, WM Rand, and NS Scrimshaw) was published in 1984 by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, Jan 1984; 39: 8 - 15.

After 84 days of two groups, one totally isolated soy protein and the other on beef proteins, found a conclusion that:

"Body cell mass measurements did not reveal any deterioration in protein nutritional status. These observations confirm the prediction, derived from previous short-term nitrogen balance studies, that the nutritional quality of isolated soy protein is high and that this plant protein can serve as the sole source of essential amino acids and nitrogen for protein maintenance in adults."

So let me summarize and review...

Soy is not the most biological available source for optimal anabolic muscle growth. If you were to finish a workout, you would want to ingest some high quality whey protein vs. soy proteins. However, simply having soy doesn't mean it?s bad for bodybuilding unless you are getting a majority of your protein from soy products. Then it?s not optimal. You?d also need to ingest quite a bit on a daily basis for any negative effects of soy to manifest (specifically aimed at males in this sentence).

Home Gym Equipment

When you are setting up a gym in your home, you will need about ten basic pieces of equipment to make it successful. If you are setting one up for a male, you will probably want to make sure some of the weights are heavier to meet their needs. First, you will want a 50llb dumbbell set. A good dumbbell set which includes a set of 5llb, 8llb and 12llbs dumbbells. Dumbbells are essential in toning any body because they create lean, defined muscles which give you a sleek look as well as help burn more calories. You also are going to need a barbell set. Barbell sets are good to go along with dumbbell sets because they target different areas of the muscle, giving you an all around better workout. To help you with your weight lifting, you can purchase a pair of weight lifting gloves, which will allow you to have a better grip on the bar, as well as protect your hands from calluses.

Now that you've got all your weight's set up, you are going to need something to work out on. If you're budget allows, you can purchase a weight bench, which allows you to do exercises of all kinds. However, if you can't afford to buy a weight bench, you can buy an aerobics step, which allows you to do many of the same exercises. You can also use an exercise ball to do your exercises on, which is very popular because they help increase balance, and core strength. After you are done your work out, you need to stretch, so a mat would be useful so you avoid rug burn, as well as bruising you're spine. These are the basic necessities for any home gym, but if you find you're self wondering what exercises to do after you've got you're gym set up, you might want to purchase a workout book as well.

Logan writes about various topics. This article is free to re-print as long as nothing is changed, all links remained intact, the bio remains in full and the tag is not added to any of the links. Thank-you

Home Gym Equipment

When you are setting up a gym in your home, you will need about ten basic pieces of equipment to make it successful. If you are setting one up for a male, you will probably want to make sure some of the weights are heavier to meet their needs. First, you will want a 50llb dumbbell set. A good dumbbell set which includes a set of 5llb, 8llb and 12llbs dumbbells. Dumbbells are essential in toning any body because they create lean, defined muscles which give you a sleek look as well as help burn more calories. You also are going to need a barbell set. Barbell sets are good to go along with dumbbell sets because they target different areas of the muscle, giving you an all around better workout. To help you with your weight lifting, you can purchase a pair of weight lifting gloves, which will allow you to have a better grip on the bar, as well as protect your hands from calluses.

Now that you've got all your weight's set up, you are going to need something to work out on. If you're budget allows, you can purchase a weight bench, which allows you to do exercises of all kinds. However, if you can't afford to buy a weight bench, you can buy an aerobics step, which allows you to do many of the same exercises. You can also use an exercise ball to do your exercises on, which is very popular because they help increase balance, and core strength. After you are done your work out, you need to stretch, so a mat would be useful so you avoid rug burn, as well as bruising you're spine. These are the basic necessities for any home gym, but if you find you're self wondering what exercises to do after you've got you're gym set up, you might want to purchase a workout book as well.

Logan writes about various topics. This article is free to re-print as long as nothing is changed, all links remained intact, the bio remains in full and the tag is not added to any of the links. Thank-you