If you have been looking into bodybuilding and thinking about how you want to tackle it, you'll find that one thing that you keep running into is mentions of protein. It is essentially the building block that your body uses to build muscle and you can bet that your body needs it!
There are many different types of proteins out there, but at the most basic level, you are going to find that they have essential amino acids in them that are vital for the growth and the health of the cells, tissues and muscles in your body.

 

If you are someone who is an athlete or a bodybuilder or even if you just lead a fairly active lifestyle, you are going to find that there are plenty of reasons for you to be looking into proteins and what they can do for you.

When you are looking at bodybuilding, it is one of the most important things that you can think about. You'll find that though it is good for you in the long run, it is actually something that can be very tiring and wearing on your body at the moment!

When you are working out and doing everything you can to make sure that your muscles grow at the fastest possible rate, you'll find that small amounts of damage are all too common. Protein is what your body uses to repair the muscles that are damaged in the average workout, and you'll find that they also make you stronger than you were before.

 

Luckily for you, there are a number of different places where you can get good protein. There are plenty of bodybuilders out there who use whey, due to the fact that it is a protein that is loaded with amino acids and potassium. Similarly, egg whites are another good place to get this nutrient and getting some is as easy as a stop to the supermarket. If you are a vegan or a vegetarian, you may find that soya beans are going to work best for you. In general, if you have no dietary restraints, you'll find that that lean red meat s a great way to get protein into your diet.

 

Of course, you may not have the time or the inclination to prepare food in this fashion and this is where supplements come in. Supplements are usually found in powder form and you can mix them up into drinks and shakes or you can take it in the form of a capsule or pill. This is a good idea when you are on the run and don't have time to do shopping, and if you are looking at working out on a regular basis, this is a great way to make sure that you regain those vitamins and minerals that you can lose.

Remember that part of good bodybuilding is making sure that you are taking good care of your impaired or overworked muscles. Protein supplements are good way to make sure that you are on the right track and that you are going to get stronger, faster!

by ezinearticles.com

Mind Games;
Powerful Mental Strategies For Getting More Reps Out Of Every Single Set You Do

Want to learn how to take your body further than you ever thought possible?
Your mind is the real key to achieving unbelievable results.

Peak performance is a state of mind. No matter how prepared your body is, if your mind is not functioning at the top of its game, your performance will suffer. This is true of any sport and extremely true in weight training. Your muscles may do the actual work, but what is sending the message to do that work? Your mind!

There are many techniques you can use to help your mind push your body far beyond what you may believe you're capable of. These mental tricks can help you get more results out of every single set you do.

1. Rewards
Say you're finishing the last few reps of a set. It's starting to hurt and you're ready to quit. Imagine someone just offered you a million dollars to get one more rep. You would find a way to get that rep. Use other offers that would motivate you to keep going, e.g. pizza if you're on a diet.

2. Ghost Spotters and Lighter Weight
Imagine someone spotting you. Imagine this ghost spotter helping you finish that rep. You can always try imagining the weight is less than it actually is, too.

3. Magnetic Force If you're doing dumbell presses, imagine they are two powerful magnets that are irresistibly drawn to each other. If you're curling, imagine your eyes as magnets attracting the bar towards them. If you're benching, imagine the bar being repelled by your chest. This technique is especially useful on that last, slow rep. It will help you squeeze a little extra out to finish the rep.

4. Chopped-Up Sets
Here is a trick you can use to get the most out of high rep sets.

When the going gets tough, start doing consecutive small sets of five reps. When you can't get five reps, do sets of three reps. When three reps seems impossible, convince yourself to do just two more reps. When you can't do sets of two, tell yourself just one more rep. Keep trying to get just one more rep until you can't move.

Breaking it up like this will allow you to get many more reps than counting straight through one big set. You can do this right from the start as well. If you are doing a set of fifteen reps, do a set of five, another set of five, a set of three, then a set of two.

5. Pain Management
Pain tolerance is a big factor in weight training intensity. The more pain you can take, the harder and longer you can push. A good way to fight pain is to tell yourself that it is not your pain; it is somebody else's. It sounds crazy but it works.

You can also try the Corsican Twin technique. Imagine the pain you are going through is being felt by someone you don't like. The more you put yourself through, the more punishment they take. It also helps if you're a little masochistic. Really hard trainers learn to love the pain (remember, we're not talking injury pain but hard work pain).

6. Self-Reprimand
To push harder, you may want to try self-reprimand, i.e. telling yourself how lazy you are, how small and weak you are. You should react by vigorously trying to prove yourself wrong.

7. Self-Praise
Self-praise is also good. Tell yourself how big and strong and powerful you are and how this weight is child's play.

8. The Little Voice In Your Head
Reprogram the little voice in your head. Most people have a little voice in their head that warns them not to do things that may seem unreasonable or threatening, e.g. you better not do that or you'll hurt yourself, you can't lift that much, this hurts, let's quit. This voice can undermine your confidence to lift extremely heavy weight or get those last few reps.

Reprogram your little voice to tell you things like: that felt pretty good, let's add more weight or you can do another rep. Don't get too out of control but don't be scared. You can usually do more than you think you can and you never know until you try. Don't automatically assume you'll never accomplish anything or you never will.

9. Unreasonable Goals
Set almost unreasonable but achievable goals for yourself. Say for example, you know you can curl 50 pounds for ten reps. Set the goal of twelve reps and fight madly to get those twelve. It gives you the incentive to improve.

10. Competitions
Have competitions with a training partner or with yourself. Whoever gets the most reps with a certain weight or percentage of bodyweight has to buy dinner. Challenge yourself to break personal bests and reward yourself when you do. This type of competition can dramatically increase intensity.

11. Explosive Imagery
Just before a set, put images of explosive power in your head, e.g. rockets, artillery, a stampede, explosions, etc.  This form of imagery will start up your adrenaline and give you a little extra kick in the pants to get your set going. Imagine this explosive power rocketing the weights you are using.

12. Mind In Muscle
Try to put your mind in the muscle you're working. Try to consciously fire the muscle fibers.

13. Contact Getting a spotter to just touch you and not push can give you extra force. This is partly psychological and partly physical. The contact of body's energy fields can actually give you a little extra lift. It is not all in your head and it is not all quackery. It does work.

14. Ratcheting
When the going gets tough, imagine your muscles as ratchets; stopping, redoubling the force, pushing a little more, stopping, redoubling, etc.

15. Positive and Negative Stimuli
When doing exercises where you are pushing something away from you, e.g. bench, imagine the bar as a negative stimulus (somebody you don't like, a chainsaw, etc.). When doing exercises where you are pulling something towards you, imagine the bar as a positive stimulus (somebody you do like, a chocolate cake, etc.).

16. Donald Duck
If you find your inner voice speaking negatively, change the voice so it sounds like Daffy or Donald Duck. You won't be inclined to take it so seriously.

17. Enjoy It
Learn to enjoy the pain. Eat it up.

18. Borrow Energy
Borrow energy from other people. This can be done before a set or when the going is getting tough. Using a mirror or looking directly, look at someone squarely in the eyes. Give them a smile or a nod or a psychotic grin and imagine yourself drawing energy from them. At that point, two people are focusing their energy on the set. You may or may not make friends with this one.

19. Mentor Imagine you have a mentor or someone you are trying to impress standing over you and watching as you do your set. Imagine they are encouraging you and pushing you harder and harder. 20. Threats Threats can also work. If someone put a gun to your head and said "do three more reps," you would find a way to get those reps. Imagine this situation to get those reps.

By Nick Nilsson

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Successful body building at most times involves a radical lifestyle change. The current lifestyle of a new body builder always changes perhaps to the rate of how radical that current lifestyle is. Initiating a serious body building lifestyle simply means accepting hard training and strict dieting as a way of life. Research has however established that these two are but some of the important elements, merely partial elements incorporated in the big picture. There is one other requirement that means success or failure in body building, and it is the most important.

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