The anatomy of body building includes knowing what muscles are located where and how they are grown most effectively. It can be confusing, so as you read this article, find a mirror and locate the muscles on your own body. When you are body building, knowing the anatomy of your body can be very, very helpful.
Of course, you know where your neck is. There are two basic neck muscles that you can focus on in your body building. The upper trapezius runs down the back of your neck from the nape of the neck to the shoulder. The levator scapulae runs next to the first five or six cervical vertebrae in your neck.
The trapezius muscles run down your back from the nape of your neck to the waist on either side of the spine. In body building terms, these muscles are referred to as the trap muscles.
The deltoid muscles are located in your shoulders. The anterior delt is in the front part of the shoulder, the middle delt runs down the side of the shoulder, the posterior deltoid muscles runs down the back part of the shoulder. The rotator cuff muscle runs just below the anterior delt from the armpit straight out.
The muscles in your chest are the pectoral muscles.
Your tricep muscles are located in your arms. They run down the sides of the arms from shoulder to elbow. The biceps, on the other hand are located on the inside of the arm. There are also very distinct muscles in the forearms.
Your abs are located in the stomach area or abdominal region hence their name!
In the legs, you have the quadriceps muscles in the front or quads. The muscles in the back of the legs are located in the calf, or lower leg, and hamstring which is the upper leg.
Other major muscle groups you will want to focus on include glutes or the buttocks, the lats which are in the upper back, and the lower trap muscles which is the lower back.
Knowing your anatomy when you undertake a body building program is a very important part of effectively growing your muscles. When you know the various muscle groups in your anatomy, you can build those muscles and concentrate on them during your workouts. In body building, knowledge of human anatomy isnt difficult when you know what you are looking for. Know your muscles and succeed
in building your goals.
Being fit and healthy is the in thing. Actually, it really never goes out of style. That body is the most valuable asset you could have in your lifetime. Thus it is important that you take good care of it. Give it the proper attention it needs.
When it comes to ensuring and maintaining the health, the best option is to do cardio training.
What Is Cardio Training?
Cardio training involves any activity that requires the use of the large muscle groups of the body in a regular and uninterrupted manner. It elevates the heart rate between 60 to 85 percent of the fastest heart rate you could get.
Some of the usual cardio training activities are walking, jogging, running, aerobics, cycling, tae bo, swimming and rowing. Cardio training is considered an aerobic exercise as one is required to move from one exercise to another.
You can expect more energy and higher endurance after some time of regular cardio training.
2. Prevents Diseases
One could prevent heart diseases with regular cardio training. It is also helpful in preventing other variety of diseases like diabetes, obesity and even high cholesterol. The cardiovascular training strengthens the heart and the lungs. The low to moderated type of cardio exercises are required for people seeking to prevent diseases. Examples of these are walking, brisk walking or jogging.
3. Control Your Weight
With cardio training, you are able to burn more calories. This will help one who needs to lose weight. While those who already achieved their ideal body mass, the training will make it easier to control the weight.
Cardio training helps burn calories. However this generally depends on your current weight and the kind of cardio training you are undergoing. Better consult this matter with your physician or trainer, to know the proper type of training for your needs.
4. Lose Body Fats
Some people do not have problem with their weights. However, there may be some excess fats that keep bothering. Cardio training will help in getting rid of those. The activities involve the movements of large muscle groups. Regularly doing the training will make you leaner.
5. Get Rid of Boredom
Cardio training is fun. It pumps up your system. You will definitely feel more energized and on the go.
Recommendations to Better Enjoy the Benefits of Cardio Training
Cardio training is essential when you need to make health improvements. For starters, it is best to do the 30 to 45 minutes of exercises, 3 to 5 days a week. If you are aiming for weight loss, the training must be done 5 days a week. The more frequent you do it; the more likely it is that you will lose weight. However, avoid exhausting yourself too much in exercise. Avoid going beyond 45 minutes. Remember, it has to be done in a regular basis.
Start now. Walk or ride the bike around the neighborhood now. Follow that aerobics video you purchased. Set a goal and follow that goal. At the same time, modify your diet too. Eat healthy food.
As you increase in the fitness level, the intensity of the training must also increase. This is to have an area of variation and there should always be room for improvement. Implement this by intensifying some parts of the training. If you are into jogging or running, increase speed every 5 minutes for at least a minute or two. It is important that you challenge yourself, so as not to be stuck in a stump.
Avoid doing the cardio exercises before bedtime. You will have a difficult time sleeping if you do so as the energy level of the body will stay high for sometime.
If you are undergoing weight training too, do the cardio exercises right after, not before.
It is best to take a snack 30 minutes before doing the cardio exercises. Do not start with training in an empty stomach. This will not help in achieving the proper momentum when you train. At the same time, avoid indulging in large meals too before exercise. Just give your body the proper supply it will need to sustain exhausting movements.
It is good to do the cardio exercises outdoors. This way you can easily interact with nature and breathe fresh air. You can also simply enjoy going around the neighborhood as you get your system healthier by the minute. It is possible to make some friends among the people who also do their exercises.
Be consistent and stick with the training once you have started it. This is the only way that cardio training will benefit your body and your health in the long run.
The sport of body building, for many people, can be quite hardcore. By that, we mean it can be intense and all-consuming. But another way to look at hardcore body building is gaining mass and muscle tone in a natural way without the benefit of artificial hormones such as steroids.
Some people who are really into body building think of the sport as hardcore in and of itself. Building body mass and toning muscles involve hard work and dedication. Hardcore body building is having a commitment to shaping the best body possible with hard work and sweat.
Its easy for hardcore body builders to fall into the trap of obsession with the sport. They want to be the biggest and the best. The quickest way to achieve this is to take synthetic steroids or growth hormones. However, hardcore body building doesnt have to involve these substances. You can still grow your body without them.
Body building is a whole body and mind experience that focuses on training specific muscle groups and growing those muscles to often extreme proportions. This is achieved through a proper diet, a safe workout plan, and a mentality that lends itself to hardcore growth.
There are natural supplements on the market for the hardcore body builder that are safe to take and will allow amazing growth of muscles with the right weight lifting regimen. You have to be dedicated, you have to stick with it, and above everything else, you need to know how to perform the exercises correctly.
Body building as a sport creates beautiful, well-sculpted bodies in the men and women who are willing to work hard for their physiques. When you undertake a weight lifting program, you will want to pay special attention to the way your muscles respond to the weights and feel the resistance that the weights provide.
The old adage No pain, no gain really applies in hardcore body building. You must push yourself and your body if you are interested in sculpting a well-toned body. However, you must also be aware of your limits and not push too hard as you can cause injury to your body.
The sport of body building can be quite hardcore if you want it to be. If you are interested in becoming a hardcore body builder, you must pay special attention to each muscle group on your body and work it until it is toned and defined. Hardcore body building is not only a sport, its molding a beautiful body.
Most weight training program include this much repetitions for gaining muscle. The truth is this approach places the muscles with not enough tension for effective muscle gain. High tension e.g. heavy weights provides muscle growth in which the muscle grows much larger, leading to the maximum gains in strength. Having longer tension time boosts the muscle size by generating the structures around the muscle fibers, improving endurance.
The standard prescription of eight to 12 repetitions provides a balance but by just using that program all of the time, you do not generate the greater tension levels that is provided by the heavier weights and lesser reps, and the longer tension achieved with lighter weights and more repetitions. Change the number of reps and adjust the weights to stimulate all types of muscle growth.
2. Three Set rule
The truth is there's nothing wrong with three sets but then again there is nothing amazing about it either. The number of sets you perform should be base on your goals and not on a half-century old rule. The more repetitions you do on an exercise, the fewer sets you should do, and vice versa. This keeps the total number of repetitions done of an exercise equal.
3. Three to four exercises per group
The truth is this is a waste of time. Combined with twelve reps of three sets, the total number of reps amount to 144. If your doing this much reps for a muscle group your not doing enough. Instead of doing too many varieties of exercises, try doing 30 to 50 reps. That can be anywhere from 2 sets of 15 reps or 5 sets of 10 reps.
It is a gym folklore that you should not let your knees go past your toes." Truth is that leaning forward a little too much is more likely a cause of injury. In 2003, Memphis University researchers confirmed that knee stress was almost thirty percent higher when the knees are allowed to move beyond the toes during a squat.
But hip stress increased nearly 10 times or (1000 percent) when the forward movement of the knee was restricted. Because the squatters needed to lean their body forward and that forces the strain to transfer to the lower back.
Focus on your upper body position and less on the knee. Keep the torso in an upright position as much as possible when doing squats and lunges. These reduces the stress generated on the hips and back. To stay upright, before squatting, squeeze the shoulder blades together and hold them in that position; and then as you squat, keep the forearms 90 degree to the floor.
5. Lift weights, draw abs
The truth is the muscles work in groups to stabilize the spine, and the most important muscle group change depending on the type of exercise. The transverse abdominals is not always the most important muscle group. Actually, for most exercise, the body automatically activates the muscle group that are needed most for support of the spine. So if you focus only on the transverse abdominals
, it can recruit wrong muscles and limit the right muscles. This increases the chance of injury, and reduces the weight that can be lifted.