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This issue evokes a myriad of responses. Some will say that it is good to train while you are sick for the reason that you will probably warm the body out of the ailment. Others are totally against it. Well, training while sick is sometimes possible but generally speaking you should desist from doing so especially when the physician has personally instructed you to stay away from the gym. This is the sort of advice that young bodybuilders will tend to fight against because at this age one feels strong and boisterous. One thing that they don’t realize is that the body is not at its optimal best and as such any training done will yield below par results.

Another fact is that the body really requires rest to grow; if you decide to train through sickness coupled with the probability that you are on medication then you are placing yourself at risk of injury. Then again you might be suffering from a contagious ailment. Attending the gym will mean that you are placing your colleagues at risk because you might simply infect them with the same. That is quite selfish.

As you train the body responds by increasing its temperature, elevating the heart beat rate, sweating, and depleting the carbohydrates and fats more quickly. Simply put, the demands of your body are generally elevated. Suppose you are suffering from the flu which results in an increase of the body temperature it is quite obvious that by training you will take the temperature higher you are in effect making the situation worse.

The best thing to do instead would be to stay at home and get fully recuperated before you resume training. A few days will do no harm; the muscles will not evaporate into thin air. Let us consider some common ailments where people wrongly assume that they are okay when they are not.

The common cold- The common cold may be severe or mild. The mild symptoms may include a slight headache or sore throat and a couple of sniffles. In this condition you may be able to train. This is only if you feel that you are strong enough. Then again it will not be wholly advisable to do the regular intense workouts.

Instead you can settle for light aerobics. If the cold is severe, say for example that your chest has been adversely affected or if the cold develops feverish conditions in the body then it is advisable that you stay at home.
Influenza (The flu) - When you are under the flu it is prudent that you stay away from exercising completely. Even the light aerobics must be out of bounds totally. The flu affects the body more severely than the cold does. If you decide to train through the flu then you are making the condition worse. The catabolic properties of weight lifting will be adversely affect muscle development.

Nausea- Nausea is a condition that is mostly felt in the stomach area. In the event that you are nauseous or if you have a stomach virus you are advised to stay away from the gym totally until you are fully recovered.

Resources: Dane Fletcher is the world-wide authority on bodybuilding and steroids. He has coached countless athletes all over the world. To read more of his work, please visit either http://www.BodybuildingToday.com or http://www.SteroidsToday.com

Step 1 is to maintain proper mechanics and form. The importance of proper form cannot be overstated. This is one of the main factors that lead to optimal gains in strength and bench capacity. The crux of the whole matter is to be able to use the chest pectoralis muscles most efficiently. For proper form you must always make sure to stretch out fully before & after the workout. You can do two sets of 15. These will suffice. Make sure that your grip on the bar should neither be too narrow nor too wide. It should be slightly more than your shoulder width such that in the bottom position the elbows will be vertical.

How you lie on the bench really impacts on the success of the workout. You should have the back flat on the bench. The shoulder blades must be pushed together and one must always thrust the chest forward upon starting the lift. For safety and injury reasons always ensure that you have a spotter who will help you out when you are unable to lift heavy weight. Swallow your pride; you have all to gain and nothing to lose when you are injury free. Ensure that your feet are always on the ground and that your bum is flat on the bench. This will add to your stability and you will be able to summon all the strength that you need for the effort at hand.

It is mandatory that you place a firm grip on the bar before you lift the weight. In the event that it feels slippery, use chalk. Use chalk as often as you can to avoid any mishaps. Un-rack the weight slowly and gradually as you bring it to the starting point of the exercise. As you begin ensure that you breathe in as you lift and breathe out as you lower the weight. All the motions, particularly the lowering ones should be as controlled as possible. Any bouncing of the weight off your chest will dampen the training’s effectiveness.

Step 2 reminds you to make your chest the top priority. In as far as the bench press is concerned the most important body part is the chest. All other efforts should be slightly sidelined as you chest train. Give your chest a thorough workout ensuring that it is well prepared for the heavy task at hand. On a chosen day dedicate the session to training the chest and then give it adequate time to recuperate. This will impact positively on the chest strength and without doubt the bench press capacity will increase.

Step 3 enforces the need for adding progressive resistance. This is in total agreement with the fundamentals of bodybuilding i.e. making gradual increases in the load so as to stir more muscle groups into action. You can aim to make a 10% increase in say 8 weeks. This means that if you are currently capable of achieving 200 pounds weight then you will be aiming for (200 X 110%) = 220 pounds in the specified time period.

Resources: Dane Fletcher is the world-wide authority on bodybuilding and steroids. He has coached countless athletes all over the world. To read more of his work, please visit either http://www.BodybuildingToday.com or http://www.SteroidsToday.com

Many folks new to working out and weight lifting routines are not aware that your muscles do not grow while you’re in the gym. If you still think that all you have to do to grow big muscles is to hit the gym then you’re probably still struggling to meet your body’s full potential. I guarantee you bigger and better results if you just take advantage of the post-workout window of opportunity and feed your muscles exactly what they want to grow.

First things first you have to realize that your muscles do not grow in the gym. What you’re actually doing when you push and pull weights is stretching and tearing the muscles underneath your skin. That’s why you get a pump when you’re really hitting your muscles hard… it’s your body reacting by rushing blood to the “injured” muscles. So if you don’t grow while you’re working out in the gym when do you grow?

Your muscles begin to grow when you leave the gym and you stop abusing them! Matter of fact your muscles have an opportunity to start growing right after you leave the gym if you supply them with some crucial nutrients that they’re in desperate need of.

The crucial nutrients that your body and muscles need right after a workout are carbohydrates and protein. If you’re going to consume sugar this is the best time of the day to do it. Immediately following a workout your body is literally looking for something to burn as fuel because if you worked out the way you’re supposed to then you should have burned all the food you’ve consumed throughout the day and now your body is running on empty and your muscles desperately need to start repairing themselves.

There are three nutrients you can take to not only give your body fuel to burn but also give your muscles what they need to start growing!

The three nutrients you need to take are a simple carbohydrate or any kind of sugar really. Protein because your muscles are made up of protein and that’s what they need to grow. And finally you also want to take some kind of complex carbohydrate to give your body something to burn beyond the first half hour because sugar is normally broken down or stored within 30 minutes of consumption. Since you only have about 30 minutes to take advantage of this “post workout window of opportunity” the best way to consume all of these nutrients is usually in the form of a protein shake. There are many brands on the market that make protein shakes specifically for post workout.

If you really want to start growing you’ll also consume a solid meal consisting of a source of protein and some complex carbohydrates within a couple of hours of your workout. Any type of red meat, chicken, turkey or fish will do for the protein and rice or potatoes are my favorites for the complex carbohydrate side.

Once you realize that growing bigger muscles is more then just working out in the gym and going through your current, workout you’ll be on the fast track to getting huge and reaping the full benefits of your workouts. Taking advantage of the post-workout window of opportunity is step one to reaching your muscles full potential but it should have a pretty dramatic impact on your growth.

Resources: Find the right weight lifting routines at wickedmuscle.com and discover the perfect bodybuilding workout program for you!

Is height a factor in body building? This question kept us locked up in a debate with friends for quite a while. Some felt that short people are never good body builders as compared to the tall guys, while others view it otherwise. The proponents of tall chaps reason that a tall man is well built up thus more gigantic and appear stronger as compared to the short fellows. It is therefore worth revealing facts behind height and body building.

Doing the right train is a factor to consider. The way a short person is training may be that which is friendly to muscle development as compared to his tall counter part. For that matter, the short individual may have a more appealing body physique as compared to his tall brother.

It is the same time, approaching the right training experts may also help one develop good physique even if he is short. The trainer will enable the student understand his strong and weak points, since you can build better if you understand yourself well. Therefore regardless of ones height, if one knows how to press the right training buttons, whether short or tall, the result will be amazing since body building is all about the right physique.

Secondly, it is better to build your body using the natural diet than the use of steroids. For that matter therefore, if an individual can afford to balance between diet and necessary training, then ones physique will be better, whether short or tall. For instance if one tall individual is exposed to a poor diet and a short man has a balanced diet, then at the end of the day, balanced diet will carry the day, making the short guy a better body builder.

Consistency plays a major role in body building. This is just like any other result oriented activity where one will just get the fair share of his contribution. It is not expected that a tall chap who is not consistent in body building exercise will shine over a consistent short fellow. It is also worth noting that consistency is not synonymous to extended training hours. In fact taking much time lifting and training exposes one to more risks of accidents. Consistency should be reflected on the way one uses his training tips objectively to achieve the expected goals.

In a nutshell, what matters in body building is to increase the muscle mass against the fats one is able to lose. This can happen to anybody, irrespective of height factor. But there is an argument that if the two are exposed to same conditions of operations, then the tall guy may carry the day. The fact behind this argument is based on surface area. The tall guy has large surface area exposed for muscle building makes his outlook more appealing than the short guy. Whether this point of view is true or just a fallacy is debatable. But my stand remains that what counts is good training, and balance diet, others are secondary.

Resources: Dane Fletcher is the world-wide authority on bodybuilding and steroids. He has coached countless athletes all over the world. To read more of his work, please visit either http://www.BodybuildingToday.com or http://www.SteroidsToday.com

Establishing a training rhythm is a cardinal requirement of a serious body builder. How often should a body builder work out? For how long should each workout be? What considerations should a body builder have in mind when determining the appropriate training rhythm? This are but some of the most common questions asked by body builders regarding the frequency of their training.

To begin with, the frequency of a body building training program should be based on actual training days not on the days of a calendar week. Each individual body builder should set a single specific day per a training week for developing one or two distinct muscle groups. Thinking in the basic terms of the calendar week days like Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday etc can limit body builders potential and make it a bare routine.

The frequency of training should be thought of in terms of day one, then day two, day three and so on. There is no requirement whatsoever for training days to fall on any specific calendar week day. This ensures that interruptions are factored in adequately, like when a body builder falls ill, sleeping pattern has been altered, other duties have produced fatigue that demands rest etc. A body building trainee must work independent of the typical calendar.

Another consideration is that not all body muscle groups are developed with similar requirements or conditions. Each has a differing ratio especially the fast twitch and the slow twitch muscle fibers. Each features a unique recovery rate and adapts to training stimulus. The typical case is that large muscle groups especially quadricepts and glutes require extensive rest periods. The smaller muscle groups especially abs, shoulders and calves recover fast and more efficiently.

The question then remains; do advanced trainees need equal durations of rest after working out all body muscular structures? And the answer is definitely no, they should not. The appropriate approach to employ is to allow differing durations for rest measured by 24 hour days. Each recovery allowance’s duration should be determined by the workout intensity and a trainee’s physiological ability.

A body builder should also consciously monitor how he or she feels during and after a workout session and complement this with a third party’s expert opinion of performance. A training partner is especially helpful in pointing out obvious under or overtraining symptoms that the body builder might ignore. Some of these symptoms sometimes require immediate treatment with extended rest durations else they develop to too severe repercussions or cause injuries during workouts.

Initiate trainees are especially prone to over-reach their training quota because enthusiasm leads them to working far above their level of experience. The enthusiasm covers up for obvious under qualification and prompts them to stick to training programs which their individual personal genetics can not handle swiftly and progressively.

To determine training frequency, consider such points as the training range and intensity required, the particular muscle group being trained in terms of its architecture such as structural size and fiber content, the trainee level of experience and conditioning, dietary change demands, gender, age, genetic predisposition, physiological makeup among other factors.

Resources: Dane Fletcher is the world-wide authority on bodybuilding and steroids. He has coached countless athletes all over the world. To read more of his work, please visit either http://www.BodybuildingToday.com or http://www.SteroidsToday.com

The shoulder muscles are also referred to as the deltoids or the delts in the gym jargon. These are the muscles that are responsible for adding to the width and shape of the upper torso. This is what is absolutely required to present the total bodybuilding package. The shoulder is divided into three portions i.e. the posterior, anterior and lateral. The lateral portion is also known as the acrominal position. The shoulders are some of the most important muscles since they play a great role in the bodybuilding effort.

They give the body a more sculptured look when you consider the manner in which the waist area is made smaller in proportion. Each of the three parts of the shoulder has muscles that run in different directions to each other. It is then prudent to do exercises that will train all these muscles with optimal gains. There are various exercises that will help you to do this.

The shoulder press (your shoulder mass builder)- This is the mother of all the other shoulder training motions and as such it should be done first. For this particular exercise it is advisable that you stick to the front movements. The backward (behind-the-neck) movements are very unnatural to the body and in case a heavy weight is used then this can result in neck injury. The best tool to use when you are doing the shoulder presses will be the barbell press. You can also use the conventional barbell, the dumbbell or a machine.

The lateral deltoid workout (exercising the sides of the shoulder) - It should be your aim to introduce greater symmetry to the shape of your shoulders. To do this you cannot rely solely on the benefits of the shoulder presses; you have to train the shoulder evenly.

Upright rows- The effect of this exercise is realized by very few people. What most think is that this particular regimen works on the anterior muscles. It is not the case. Because your shoulder is affixed to the humerus which is a shoulder joint, the shoulder moves to the side. As a result this exercise works on the lateral muscles. It is important to remember the sensitivity of the rotator cuff. To avoid injuring it you should limit the humerus to movements that are parallel to the floor. The upright rows are equally effective as the lateral raises. You should not waste time doing both in succession.

The lateral raises- In doing the lateral exercises you should take a similar precaution of not allowing movements that are past what is parallel to the floor. Do not let the humerus move to the front rather you should ensure that it moves to the side of your body. Some people love doing motions that are akin to pouring water out of a jug. This is not advisable since if the weight is heavier than you can manage it may result in injury.

Be advised that symmetry of training is of the essence even in shoulder training. You should therefore not forget to train the front and back of your shoulders.

Resources: Dane Fletcher is the world-wide authority on bodybuilding and steroids. He has coached countless athletes all over the world. To read more of his work, please visit either http://www.BodybuildingToday.com or http://www.SteroidsToday.com