Posts Tagged ‘bodybuilding’

Can Growth Hormone Boosters Enhance Muscle Growth?

Many experts feel that supplementation with growth hormones offers exciting possibilities to adult bodybuilders, especially those aged over thirty. They should not be taken by anyone aged under twenty. In the past growth hormone was available only in injectable form but recent years have seen the development of HGH precursors and more advanced delivery systems. The most popular means of taking growth hormone boosters today include sub-lingual spray, homeopathic pills and capsules containing HGH secretagogues.

That’s all very well, but do these supplements have any place in bodybuilding? To answer this, we’ll need to look first at what growth hormones actually do.

Human Growth Hormone is responsible for the regulation of insulin, protein synthesis, transportation of amino acids across cell membranes and fat metabolism. Clearly, these are processes that are of relevance to serious bodybuilders. Users have reported higher energy levels, enhanced libido and greater cardiac output. In addition, superior immune function, lowering of blood pressure and improved cholesterol levels have been documented. Add in other potential benefits like improved sleep, shorter recovery times, quicker regeneration of damaged muscles and you can begin to understand why some experts are excited by the possibilities offered to bodybuilders.

No adverse side effects have been reported when used as directed but persons aged under twenty should not use growth hormone boosters without consulting a health care professional familiar with HGH therapy.

Choosing The Right Bodybuilding Supplement

Before wasting your money on a pile of bodybuilding supplements you really need to work out what you are hoping to achieve. Don’t lose sight of the fact that sound nutrition forms the basis of any muscle building program and no amount of supplementation with the latest and greatest products will make up for bad eating habits. The bottom line is, bodybuilding supplements should be used IN ADDITION to regular food, not INSTEAD OF it.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s go on to think about what supplements could be of use and this is something that can only be determined by your physical and performance goals. Don’t make the mistake of copying your training partners or believing all the garbage spouted in magazine ads. Decide first what you want to achieve and then choose the supplements that will help you reach your goals.

To help you make an informed choice, the most popular and useful bodybuilding supplements available today are listed below, broadly divided into two goal-related categories.

Determined to build muscle? This cannot be achieved without dedication, sheer hard work and sound nutrition. With a solid foundation in place you can help the process along with supplements like creatine, whey protein, prohormones, testosterone boosters and amino acids.

Need to lose fat? There is no point in building awesome muscles if they’re covered by layers of fat. Once again, the key to success is hard work but you can boost fat loss by using products from supplement categories that include fat burners, stimulant-free products, appetite suppressants and carb blockers.

Many more supplements are available to support your bodybuilding endeavors. These include energy boosters and products aimed at enhancing the condition of your mind and body. As we progress through this series of articles we’ll look at each of these in turn.

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? 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 WEIGHT GAIN SUPPLEMENTS AND STERIODS 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.

Tibulus 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 please remember 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.

Arm Exercises For Beginning Bodybuilders

Most people new to bodybuilding pay a lot of attention to building big arms, sometimes to the point of overtraining. Don’t forget, the arm muscles are brought into play during most exercises aimed at other body parts so care must be taken not to overdo things.

Having said that, the arms are complex body parts in their own right and deserve a properly focused exercise program. In basic terms the arm consists of three main muscle groups:

1. Biceps brachii – two muscles at the front upper arm that run from the elbow to the shoulders.

2. Triceps brachii – three muscles at the rear upper arm that run from the elbow to the shoulder.

3. Forearm – several smaller muscles that run from the elbow to the wrist.

There are seven classic exercises that will allow beginners to get off to a good muscle building start without overstraining their bodies. For all of the exercises that follow, use a weight that is light enough to allow between 10-15 reps.

Three biceps building exercises are recommended for beginners:

1. Standing barbell curl – 3 sets of 10-15 reps.

2. Alternative standing dumbbell curls – 3 sets of 10-15 reps.

3. Preacher bench curls – 3 sets of 10-15 reps.

Three triceps building exercises are recommended for beginners:

1. Dips – 3 sets of 10-15 reps.

2. Close grip bench press – 3 sets of 10-15 reps.

3. EZ bar lying extensions – 3 sets of 10-15 reps.

One forearm building exercise is recommended for beginners:

1. EZ bar reverse curls – 3 sets of 10-15 reps.

As with all exercises you need to take care in scheduling specific body parts. To begin with you should incorporate your arm exercises into a program similar to the one suggested below:

Day 1: Biceps, Back, Abs

Day 2: Hamstrings, Shoulders, Abs

Day 3: Quads, Forearms, Calves

Day 4: Triceps, Chest, Abs

For the first couple of weeks complete one set but then add one set each week to a maximum of three. At the end of three months you will be ready to move on to more intensive intermediate level exercises.