BODY BUILDING DIET

In body building, your diet is one of the most effective weapons you can have if you want to achieve maximum potential.  The diet is so important to the body builder as it not only supplies the body with the energy needed to perform your exercises as well as giving you the nutrients you need to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

A good body building diet will include a lot of protein.  It is critical for building muscle, losing fat, and contributing to the overall health of our tissues and organs.  You should be consuming 1 gram of protein for each pound of your body weight.  Body builders should increase that amount to a gram and a half per day.  Good sources of protein include meat, fish, and milk.

Carbohydrates should also be a big part of the body building diet.  Cars are a major source of the fuel our body uses for activity.  You should include complex carbohydrates in your diet through starches and fiber.  That means eating pasta, whole grain rice, and whole grain breads as well as potatoes. 

Believe it or not, fats are also an important part of a body building diet.  Our bodies need fats to function correctly and efficiently.  They are an energy source for the body and regulate most of our bodily processes.

The key for including fat in your diet is to consume the good fats as opposed to the bad one.  Good fats are the unsaturated ones found in olive oil or flaxseed oil.  Unsaturated fats are ones that are liquid at room temperature.  Saturated fats can clog your arteries and lead to health problems, so they should be avoided as much as possible.  Animal lard and butter are saturated fats and are solid at room temperature.

You should also have adequate fiber in your bodybuilding diet.  Fiber helps your body flush out impurities on a regular basis and helps contribute to weight loss.  Some good sources of fiber are whole grain as well as nuts and seeds.

Finally, you will want to include a lot of vegetables in your diet as well as a moderate amount fruit.  Fruit can cause you to retain water and contribute to a larger amount of sugar that you would otherwise need.  However, vegetables contain essential vitamins and nutrients that your body needs to operate efficiently.

A good bodybuilding diet is one that is balanced and nutritious.  You should consume the majority of your protein and carbohydrates in the morning and eat five or six small meals daily instead of three large ones.  A good diet is important to an effective body building, so know what your body needs and then go for it.

BODY BUILDING COMPETITIONS

When you are serious about body building, the next logical step is to enter a body building competition.  You’ve worked hard to sculpt the perfect body, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t want to stand up next to others who have worked just as hard and have an impartial third party decide who has the best body.

Keep in mind that body building competitions can be very intense events and the competition can be just as difficult.  You have worked to make sure your muscles are as toned as you think they can get and you have prepared for the contest, but you need to be at the top of your game when you enter the competition.

What’s important in body building competitions?  Actually, there’s a lot involved. 

To begin with, be sure you have a nice, deep, dark tan.  That means going to a tanning bed many weeks before the contest.  If you’re not comfortable with a tanning bed, you’ll need a spray-on tan the day before the contest.  Be aware, however, that many spray-on tans could make you have an orange cast.  What you are striving for is a dark look that will make your muscles pop out.

You will need to put some serious thought into the type of music you use for your posing routine.  You will want to have music that gets the crowd excited and pumped up as much as you are.  If you have music that contributes to your poses, you will most likely be a winner.

The biggest image of bodybuilders in the mind of the general public is that of a greased up guy who is flexing freaky looking muscles.  Some body building competitions prohibit the use of oils on the bodies of the participants.  Be sure you know the rules before you start competing.  But be aware that oils can make the muscles stand out in a much bigger way.  Follow the rules of the competition that you are in.

You will need to be sure that you are wearing something that will show off ALL of your muscles.  However, use caution. If you are a man, a skimpy swim suit will do just fine – much like that is made by Speedo.  For women, you will want to wear a bikini in a body building competition, but be sure it’s tasteful.  It’s not “Girls Gone Wild”, so make sure you promote your professionalism.

Bodybuilding competitions are great places to showcase a body that you’ve worked hard to make beautiful.  Don’t have unrealistic expectations, but get in it to win it!  You deserve it!