What should you look for in home gyms? Well, I am going to write a brief little article about what I think someone purchasing a home should consider. Home gyms can be purchased just about anyplace. One may buy a home gym from Sears, Dick’s sports, and even television. However, most home gyms seem to have one thing in common. Largely, appear fragile and do not seem fabricated to be durable.

Another thing that I noticed the last time I checked out a home gym at a local shop, besides the mediocre quality, is that so many home gyms are not really home gyms. Really, they are individual parts of fitness equipment that are often contrived to accomplish 1 or 2 exercises very comfortably. Rather, they seem designed to work out merely legs or to work out simply chest, or to work out merely shoulders, or workout just abdominals. In Truth, there looks to be a great number of ab fitness equipment sold on late-night television half-hour advertizements.

Now, I’m not alleging that working out an autonomous body part is necessarily a wrong headed idea. But it seems to me that if somebody desires a home gym, then one ought to be searching for something that other home gyms ignore to supply, and that is the versatility. Or what appears to happen lots also is that if the home gym does offer versatility, it is stingily made.

So, what I would look for to try to weed out from the endless possibilities of home gyms available are two things. One, I would look for quality and expect for versatility. Of course, you need to be the judge of what to pay. We all know that the better the quality and the more versatility offered the more it will purchase cost. But the net result is that if you are serious about not only getting into shape but remaining in shape you need to purchase something that is durable and that you will not get bored of using in a couple months.

You need to possess the power to mix up your workout program in order to keep your muscles guessing. In addition, one simply can’t perform gym equipment that repeats the same exercise repeatedly. The body will adjust rapidly and you’ll cease to see results.

Fat reduction is something almost everyone battles with from time to time. The search for the most authentic weight reduction plan or the most effective workout regimen can last for years. On the surface, it looks as though the search is just about looking fit to please others.

You will bend over backwards to impress “them,” am I guessing right? In order to be successful, blissful, and draw in your lifetime partner, its required that you look fabulous to them. Hmmmm.

Unfortunately, this is to some degree true, however, appearing fit (worthy) is in truth about becoming in tune with your own self-respect, accessing a more vibrant worth that is not obtained from your appearance. “Dropping off weight” must not be the only question you ask. You must not relinquish the pursuit of losing fat, but at minimum consider this question: “How can I get to self-pride, self-esteem, and fitness on the inside, disregarding my external appearance?”

Chances are you’re already asking such a question, in your subconcious.

As you struggle with weight, the above question commonly dwells beneath your on-going weight battle. Since it remains there anyway, I am suggesting you make it top of mind. Make it your central issue. Make self-acceptance simply as worthy in importance to easy weight loss. There is absolutely nothing to lose.

After making improved self-esteem the target, together with a plan to lose weight, you open a door towards a much better you emotionally. You begin to visualize that there are new ways to resolve this problem, aside from just diets and exercising. Going for true self-regard causes you to stare the problem right in its eyes. You then start to uncover the core group issues.

It is strongly advised you get help if many wounds are surfacing. There are many good books and resources on weight reduction, self-pride, body image, and true self-acceptance that will take you to new directions.

But the issue and its solution originate with you. What I am trying to say is that the actual problem is not selecting a weight loss diet, or what to eat, etc. the real issue is self-judgment. That’s where it must start.

You only feel bad when among others if you are looking at your self through judgmental eyes. When you break free from self-judgment, no matter how worrisome it was, then you will have gotten to the source of the problem. You come out from that state by choosing to do so. You stay away from self-judgment about your body image or anything for that matter, by accepting how unhelpful it is, and at the same time learning ways to feel more self-esteem.

In women’s tennis, mental stamina separates the women from the girls, so to speak. The ability to remain mentally in control at all times is the mark of a true tennis star.

All athletes who aspire to be pros condition hard physically. They understand the importance of improving strength, proficiency, and endurance. They know it takes hours of challenges to the body to be sure it will perform at its best when it counts.

Yet many super-conditioned athletes choke when it comes to mental toughness. They lose to less qualified players. They become distracted by a noisy and disrespectful crowd. They let their emotions get the better of them when faced with double faults, unforced errors, or bad line calls.

A true champion has the following traits:

• She can concentrate in spite of distractions, both inside and external.
• She has endless self-confidence in her own ability to come out on top.
• She is able to control her emotions, not letting in pre-match jitters, anxiety, and anger.
• She is driven, patient, and consistent.
• She has a “killer instinct” and is determined by a desire to win.

Emotional control is of utmost importance for a champion. A champ who is losing a match 1-6, 1-5 and receiving serve knows that she hasn’t lost yet. She plays that game wise that if she breaks serve at this instant, the pendulum may very well swing in her direction. She doesn’t “psych herself out” when the chips are down.

Most players know the feeling of losing a match because they haven’t remained in control of themselves. They lost the match, not so much because their opponent beat them, but because they beat themselves.

All the physical training and coaching in the world can’t solve this problem. In a match between two players who are equally coupled in stamina and strokes, the one who has command of her mind and emotions will come out on top every single time.

Mental ruggedness is made, not innate. It takes practice, just like physical practice. One of the most powerful tools for mental training is visualization. Players picture themselves consistently delivering mastered shots, and continue the visualization up to and including receiving the trophy. Visualization exercises are done both on and off the court. Just before a match, champions oftentimes have pre-game rituals that include visualizing themselves playing their best and dominating their opponent.

Becoming a true champion involves hours of physical training and practice, but it also involves mental training. The player that recognizes the importance of mental training is the player that can truly meet her potential.

Knowing what a true tennis champion goes through to prepare for victory makes watching a tennis championship an even greater experience.

Muscles, the storehouse of energy in a living body, contract to help in the movement of different parts of the body. The general body composition consists largely of voluntary muscles. It is called voluntary because its contraction and movement is consciously controlled by the living being. Sometimes, these voluntary muscles contract involuntarily and refuse to relax and return to normalcy. This is called a Muscle Cramp. Muscle Cramps are forceful contractions that sustain for sometime and reappear, often till the muscles relax. Cramps can happen to any voluntary muscle, mostly bending or curling the affected muscle.

Muscle Cramps come from the vigorous use of muscles. Cramp can result when a muscle or group of muscles that acts together in the movement of a certain part of the body forcefully become involuntary. For instance, athletes often complain of Muscle Cramps in calf muscles. But when it affects the feet, the group of muscles in the fingers too gets cramps.

Muscle Cramps occur due to various reasons. These can be dehydration or excessive loss of body fluid due to vigorous exercise or activities of the muscle; or a muscle fatigue caused mostly from a long rest period for muscles in one position or exertion of muscles leading to injury. It may also happen from some kinds of muscle disease. It is not always necessary for the cramps to attack ‘over activated’ muscles. Muscle Cramps can attack even when the muscles are at rest or dormant for a very long time. For instance, sitting in the same position for a very long time can cause muscle fatigue and may later become a cramp. Most of the cramps come especially at night, like the cramps in the calf muscle. This last for some time till the bend muscles flex and relax.

Muscle spasm and Muscle Cramp may seem to be the same. But a Muscle Cramp, unlike a muscle spasm, affects only a certain muscle. The affected muscle bulges or rolls and hurts till it gets its normal shape. Cramps can thus affect anyone, anytime and anywhere. Muscle Cramps affect pregnant women too. Hence as a precaution, their diet is supplemented with calcium and magnesium. Cramps can be kept at bay through exercises, especially stretch exercises, a nutritious balanced diet and proper water intake.

Muscles provides detailed information about muscles, build muscles, muscle cramps, muscle diseases and more. Muscles is the sister site of Best Treadmills.

With this article, I just wanted to share with you one of my special muscle meal plans that I love. Surprisingly, it actually comes in the form of a salad, but it is killer!

I know the ladies will love this idea, but for all of you guys out there that think eating a salad makes you less of a man… Well, you haven’t tried my ultimate “salad on roids” yet!

Keep in mind that this salad is not low in calories. It’s not low in fat. It’s not low in carbs.

And guess what…that’s the whole point! It’s not low in anything, but it sure as hell is HIGH in everything under the sun that’s good for your body… just about every vitamin, mineral, antioxidant, and phytonutrient on the planet! And that means your body will receive all the nutrition it needs to maintain optimal hormonal balance, function at it’s highest capacity, keep your appetite satisfied for hours, and prevent any unwanted cravings.

Keep in mind that last point… when you fill your body with all of the nutrients it needs on a daily basis, you pretty much totally eliminate cravings! This happens because your body is satisfied and doesn’t need to crave any more food, because it has all of the nutrients it needs.

I’ve experienced this myself. Years ago, I used to crave sweets ALL THE TIME. But now that I eat the balanced diet that I do these days, I can’t say that I’ve had a craving in at least 5 years! No joke.

Alright, here’s the special muscle meal plan recipe:

The Ultimate Muscle Salad

approx 1-2 cups spinach leaves
approx 1-2 cups mixed leaf lettuce
shredded carrots
1/2 of a ripe avocado, diced
2 hard boiled eggs, diced (preferrably organic, cage free)
3 Tbsp chopped pecans
1/4 cup dried cranberries
top with homemade dressing made of balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, and Udo’s Choice Oil Blend (3/4 of total liquid should come from the vinegar)

Mix it all together and you’ve got one delicious and ridiculously nutritious salad. For an extra shot of antioxidants, wash it all down with some homemade iced green/white/oolong tea lightly sweetened with the natural sweetener Stevia or a little touch of raw honey.

Alright, now let’s look at the approx macronutrient breakdown:

Prot: 23 g., Carbs: 48 g., Fiber: 12 g., Fat: 45 g., Calories: 650

Now before you throw your arms up in disgust and call me crazy for recommending such a high fat, high calorie meal, keep in mind to scale back the portion sizes for your own caloric goal. The portions above are simply the portions that I use considering that my maintenance caloric intake is around 3000 calories/day. If your maintenance is 2000 calories/day, then scale back the portions accordingly.

Also, I don’t care about the high fat content of this meal… because every last gram of the fat in this meal is VERY healthy… from the pecans, the olive oil, the Udo’s oil, the fresh avocado… and yes, even the fat from the eggs is good for you!

How about the carbs? Well, out of a total of 48 grams, you’ve got 12 grams of fiber. That’s a pretty good ratio. Also, the healthy fats and protein in this meal will slow down the carbohydrate digestion, giving you a healthy glycemic response and steady controlled blood sugar.

Alright, so you’re probably also wondering why there isn’t a larger amount of protein. After all, protein is all the rage with bodybuilders, right. Well, actually 23 grams isn’t too shabby, especially considering 14 grams of that comes from the highly bioavailable protein from the hard boiled eggs. Also consider that this meal has a whole lot of healthy fats, which increases the utilization of your protein. This happens because your body does not need to use your protein for energy, and can instead use it for muscle building or maintenance, and all of the other various functions that amino acids are needed for in the body.

Overall, with this meal plan, you’ve got a great mix of healthy fats, good fibrous carbs, quality protein, and a huge diversity of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other trace nutrients.

Follow this link for more ideas on killer fat loss and muscle building programs. Michael Geary (CPT) is a recognized Fitness Expert, owner of http://BusyManFitness.com, contributing writer for Muscle & Fitness Magazine, and author of the internationally-selling book, The Truth about 6-Pack Abs ©2004-2006.

Perhaps Arnold said it best when he said NO PAIN, NO GAIN. Our mindset in today’s bodybuilding is that we want results and we want it now but many are unwilling to dedicate the necessary intense time required to achieve the results. Many would rather research the next quick fix drug than spend the time in the gym. As I say at the end of all my articles, “Sweat Eventually Hardens to Muscle”. I observe that 99% of the guys or gals that I see in the gym loaf through their workouts and for crying out loud don’t even work up a sweat. I can’t say it strong enough or often enough that your workouts need to be more intense, longer and more frequent. Don’t whine to me about overtraining… that is a modern day excuse for not doing you duty in the gym. Working out is serious business. I did these levels of routines and you can too. If you have made this far in this article, it appears to me that you are a cut above the rest and are serious about getting the most from your gym time.

Okay so what does it mean to work longer? Does it mean to spend 2 hours on chest and 3 on legs during a workout? Well not exactly but I think the idea of working each body part longer will add value. The focus of this article is to dispel the myth that working each body part one day a week is acceptable to achieving the results for competitive bodybuilder. Frankly it is not! If you really want to gain muscle size you have to force the muscle to grow.

Ever see the mammoth size of the thighs on an Olympic sprinter? I’d kill to have thighs that size. Do you think that sprinter only trained his legs once a week? Give me a break. He was on the track multiple days per week blasting the 50 Meter dash. And on the days he wasn’t running, he was training with weights.

It is not expecting too much for you to work you body parts twice a week!

If you want to be successful in bodybuilding, if you want to grow out of your shirt and pants, start working your body parts twice a week. The routines in this section will help you gear yourself to train muscle groups twice a week, attain adequate recovery time to achieve a rapid muscle growth. If you take this challenge:

* You will get twice a many workouts compared to regular guy in the gym

*Expect more dramatic and rapid muscle gains.

*Expect the routine to create better muscular definition and vasularity

*Expect the mind to feed on the physical success and further motivate you. You will look forward to your gym time.

Scott Jameson is a bodybuilder and trainer for over 30 years. He has a passion for bodybuilding and helping other achieve this success. He regularly applies the techniques in this article. See more of his articles at http://www.bodybuildingprogramzone.com

If you want to more information on a Bodybuilding Program - Check out the Zone, the site with a passion for you to succeed.

This article may reproduced on your website provided you acknowledge Scott Jameson as the author and must show link to http://www.bodybuildingprogramzone.com

Even without any formal education in anatomy and physiology, most people recognize that people have different body types. Bodybuilders have discovered over the years that these different body types respond differently to both training and nutrition. As a result, it’s vital that you become aware of what your body type is so that you can design an effective workout program to maximize building muscle.

Body type origins

Most of what we know about body types comes from the works of William Sheldon (1898-1977). Sheldon was an American psychologist who devoted most of his life observing and classifying the wide spectrum of human bodies. While teaching at several universities and doing valuable research he came up with a system for classifying people into three basic body types. The following descriptions are based on pure versions of each type. As we’ll see later most people have characteristics from all three types.

Ectomorphs

Ectomorphs are the “skinny” ones among us. They tend to have light joints and bones and their muscles are small. Their limbs are relatively long in proportion to the torso and the shoulders often exhibit a “drooping” appearance. Ectomorphs tend to appear longer than they really are due to the length of their limbs combined with a lack of muscle mass. The ectomorph is not naturally strong and will have to work hard for every ounce of muscle they gain. Ectomorphs make their best gains by following short, but intense, training programs. Ectomorphs tend to be nervous and shy types in social situations.

Mesomorphs

When it comes to bodybuilding mesomorphs are the lucky bastards. They have well-defined muscles even before they start working out and possess large bones. Their torsos have that nice v-taper and they are the owners of relatively narrow and low waists. Facially mesomorphs have clearly defined cheekbones and a square, heavy jaw. The face tends to be long and broad, and is square in shape. Because of their naturally high testosterone levels, mesomorphs have high sex drives and are usually fearless in situations. Mesomorphs have the best body types for building muscle.

Endomorphs

Also known as “fat” the bodies of extreme endomorphs are round and soft. Unfortunately for endomorphs, much of their excess weight is concentrated in the waist region. This combined with the fact that most endomorphs have short limbs gives the appearance of stockiness and dumpiness. The hands and feet of endomorphs are comparatively small, and the upper arms and thighs are often much larger than the lower parts of the arms or legs. Although often a stereotype, endomorphs are usually jolly in nature. Endomorphs build muscle fairly easily but they’ll always be fighting the weight issue.

Body Type Combinations

As we alluded to earlier, people usually don’t fall neatly into one of the three main body types. Although there are some people who are purely ectomorphs, endomorphs, or mesomorphs with little or no characteristics of the other body types, very frequently, people fall into mixed categories, such as ecto mesomorphs, or endo mesomorphs. One of your first steps in building muscle is to determine what characteristics you possess. Not only will this help your training but it also determines which muscle building supplements and fat loss supplements to use.

The previous information has been created by experts to help you increase your knowledge base about training and bodybuilding supplements. Be knowledgeable. Be informed. Make the right choice!

Bob Howard expert on bodybuilding and steroids. Are you looking for more of his building muscle articles? http://www.bodybuilding-news.net ©Article Bob Howard 04/07/2006

Bodybuilding is the sport of developing muscle fibers through the combination of weight training, increased caloric intake, and rest. Competitive bodybuilders display their physiques to a panel of judges, who assign points.

The sport is not to be confused with strongman competition or powerlifting, where emphasis is on actual physical strength, or with Olympic weightlifting, where emphasis is equally split between strength and technique.

Though superficially similar to the casual observer, the fields entail a different regimen of training, diet, and basic motivation. Bodybuilders aspire to develop and maintain an aesthetically pleasing (by bodybuilding standards) body and balanced physique. A bodybuilder’s size and shape are far more important than how much he or she can lift.

The growth and repair, however, cannot occur without the necessary building blocks. These are supplied by high quality nutrition. Bodybuilders require a very specialised diet. Generally speaking, bodybuilders require anything between 500-1000 calories (2000 to 4000 kilojoules) above their maintenance level of food energy while attempting to increase lean body mass.

A sub-maintenance level of food energy is combined with cardiovascular exercise to lose body fat in preparation for a contest. The ratios of food energy from carbohydrates, proteins, and fats vary depending on the goals of the bodybuilder.

Supplements can help muscle gain, although some are unproven and many are ineffective. Two supplements which have been proven to help bodybuilders gain and maintain size (without unhealthy side effects) are Creatine and L-Glutamine. Like all supplements, these only help if used in conjunction with a solid nutritional base and weight training program.

Some bodybuilders may use drugs to gain an advantage over results due to natural hypertrophy, especially in professional competitions. Although many of these substances are illegal in many countries, in professional bodybuilding the use of anabolic steroids and precursor substances such as prohormones are sometimes essential to competing in world-class competitions.

Most steroids allows the human body to be in a more anabolic state. Significant negative side-effects accompany steroid abuse, such as liver damage and negative feedback leading to a decline in the body’s own testosterone production, which can cause testicular atrophy and possible infertility.

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Technique in weight training is very important for achieving the expected progress, but also for protecting the body of the sportsman. The first important thing is to learn correctly the basic movements.

In this type of training there is a kind of classic set of exercises, which the sportsman needs to master from the beginning. This set includes exercises with free weights (dumbbells and barbells). While training with these, the movement is not imposed by any machine. When executed without the supervision of a fitness instructor, it is possible that these movements are done in a wrong way, a situation which increases the risk of accidents a lot.

One of the most frequent mistakes is an incorrect position of the spine. Some exercises (bench press, barbell curls) could involve exaggerated arching, while others (sit up bend , dead lift, squats, etc.) involve unjustified flexing (hunching).

These wrong positions can lead to unfavourable stress exerted over the spine, knees or shoulders. Besides, they can direct the effort to other groups of muscles than the ones intended. The result is that none of these are properly trained, because no exercises specific to the muscles are performed correctly. In such situations, the sportsman will only feel exhaustion in all his body and will not be able to direct and localize the effort in the zone which a particular exercise should mobilize.

Another example of wrong technique is exaggerated swinging for exercises which do not need impetus. This happens most often while raising the weights laterally for working on the deltoid muscles, when the sportsman wrongly flexes the knees and uses the lumbar muscles, arching his back too much.

Other mistakes are made when catching the bars. In the case of pull up, for example, and of pushing from behind the neck (for the shoulders), a too narrow catch will place the scapular-humeral circulation into a non-physiological, stressing position. Exaggerated bending forward during squat will force the spine, while lowering the thighs below horizontal position will stress the menisci.

Rowing from bending position and stretching back must be done with the back in extension; otherwise the risk of slipped disc might appear. Not using a belt when lifting very heavy weights can determine slipped disc, but also inguinal hernia or rupture of abdominal muscles.

The technique of breathing must be understood correctly. Breathing in instead of breathing out, blocking the thorax or not can affect the sportsman a lot. Generally, the sportsman must breathe out during the most difficult part of the movement and must breathe in during controlled coming back in position. Apnoea (blocking of the thorax) must be used only in the case of lifting heavy and very heavy weights; otherwise it is not justified. While making aerobic effort, it is necessary to have a particular breathing rhythm, a pace which can vary according to the cardiac frequency and lung ventilation.

All these examples support the idea that the presence of the fitness instructor during training is absolutely necessary.

Isabel Curini, fitness trainer and editor at http://www.healthfitnessworld.com HealthFitnessWorld.com - Health, Fitness, Body Building, Weight Loss, Nutrition - Articles and Resources.

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Other articles in this series looked at a number of exercises, mainly from the perspective of developing a comprehensive muscle building program. Sometimes we take things for granted, especially when it comes to performing the basic exercises that constitute the core of most bodybuilders’ training regimes.

It is useful, therefore, to describe in detail the processes involved in actually doing these exercises. This will help beginners to start out using the correct techniques before moving on to potentially more dangerous heavy weights. If it also helps more experienced lifters to redress some of the little faults that have almost imperceptibly crept in over the years, all the better.

In this article we’ll take a close look at the leg curl.

MUSCLES TARGETED: semimembranosus, semitendinosus, biceps femoris

STARTING POSITION

Assume a prone position on the machine and press the torso and hips against the pads.
Place the ankles behind and in contact with the foot pad.
Place the legs parallel to each other.
Hang the knees slightly off the edge of the knee pad.
Grasp the handles.

UPWARD MOVEMENT

Raise the pad by fully flexing the knees.
Keep the torso stationary and the hips and torso pressed against the pads.
Do not lift the hips or thighs off the thigh pad.
Do not lock out the knees.

DOWNWARD MOVEMENT

Allow the knees to slowly bend back to the starting position.
Keep the torso stationary and the hips and torso pressed against the pads.
Repeat or finish set.

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 Exercises to learn more about the issues covered in this article.