You’ve heard of it before, but what exactly is body building? Is it when you build your muscles to huge proportions and stand on a stage and flex to a crowd of admirers and judges? If this is what you think, then the answer may surprise you.
Definition
Body building, by definition, varies depending on who is asked. Some experts agree with the age-old vision of people working their muscles until they’re larger than life, but other experts have a different idea. They believe that body building is nothing more than developing your muscles to their fullest potential by using diet and exercise as advantageously as possible.
For the sake of this article, let’s look at it as the sport of developing your body to show-worthy standards. What does it take to be a body builder?
Requirements
To become a professional, you can’t just get there overnight. You have to make very deliberate choices over a long period of time that, collectively, get you a body worth flexing. Some of these include:
- Working out, of course. Body builders have a strict exercise regimen that’s very important to building the muscle structure they need in order to compete. While most people looking to tone their body lift lighter weights for more reps, body builders lift heavier weights for fewer reps. Their goal is to exhaust their muscles as quickly and as safely as possible.
- A diet that supports your body the best it possibly can. Most body builders eat very high protein and the only carbs they’ll touch are complex ones, such as brown rice and oatmeal.
- Eating often – like every 2-4 hours. Because they have such grueling physical workouts, body builders require constant nutrition to fuel their body and muscles.
- Supplements. Most people don’t get huge bodies muscle bound bodies without adding some extra vitamins, minerals and nutrients to their diet via pills and powders.
- Rest. Yes, to allow your muscles adequate time to heal and grow, they have to be allowed to rest. Although they may spend hours at a time at the gym, body builders make sure to give their muscles 24-48 hours before working them again.
There you have it; the keys to being a great body builder. Follow these guidelines and you’ll be on your way to flexing your muscles to a room full of admirers!
