Bodybuilding Essay, Research Paper

Bodybuilding Essay Bodybuilding is one of the fastest growing sports in the world. It is a great challenge, and a great success. There are many aspects in becoming a great bodybuilder like, having good nutrition, a choice of good supplements, good training hours, good preparation for competition, and a good mind frame. If all these aspects are met then there is a future. NutritionA large percentage of a bodybuilder’s success is determined by how well they effectively apply knowledge to nutrition. The limiting factor to the ultimate success of your workout is what happens after you leave the gym. Nutrition consists of macronutrients and micronutrients. The macronutrients consist of protein, carbohydrates, fat, and water. The micronutrients are vitamins, minerals, and trace elements. The best source of nutrition is through whole foods. A bodybuilder should never allow the use of supplements to overshadow the consumption of whole foods. For a bodybuilder the most confusing part about the sport is making sure of good nutrition and diet.Scientists have discovered that for a more effective workout, the bodybuilder should increase their daily intake of protein. Protein provides the materials for muscle growth, energy consumption during periods of intense stress or injury, repair of existing tissue levels, synthesis of new tissue, and synthesis of hormones, neurotransmitters, and enzymes. No matter what a bodybuilder’s goals are, they will need to increase in their daily protein intake. They also stress that the bodybuilder does not overload in protein because this could result in kidney damage.Along with protein, carbohydrates are an important source of fuel for the body. They supply the most accessible and utilized energy source, and are responsible for two percent of the total available human fuel reserves. There are two different types of carbohydrates, being simple sugars and complex carbs. Simple sugars are in two categories such as monosaccharides and disaccharides. A monosaccharide is a single sugar such as glucose, fructose and galactose. A disaccharide is a double sugar such as sucrose or lactose. These types of carbohydrates only allow for a burst of energy, and they release insulin, so they are not recommended for bodybuilders, for they have to repeatedly use their muscles. Complex carbohydrates contain three or more molecules of simple sugars. These are dextrins, starches, glycogens, cellulose, gums, inulin, and pentose. These are found in potatoes, pasta, bread, and vegetables. These types of carbohydrates are very enhancing for a bodybuilder, they can be used or burned for a longer time then simple sugars.Fats are also an important need for a bodybuilder, but not too much. Just like everyone else, fat protects a bodybuilder’s organs, and acts as fuel for the body, insulates the body and provides building blocks for other substances. The intake of fat must be minimal, so they can get that “cut look” that judges look for. The required fats and amino acids must be ingested though, in either whole foods or specific supplements. Water is another extremely important bodybuilder need. Water is required for most of the body’s processes. In muscular contraction about seventy-five percent of the consumed energy is lost as heat, so if there is a deficit of water the body will over heat. Water also acts as a shock absorber and lubricator for various joints and structures.Vitamins are vital cofactors required for a bodybuilder, and are enormously important. They are organic compounds and cannot be synthesized by the body and must be obtained primarily from the diet, and secondarily, from the supplements. No one food contains all vitamins. The best source for meeting you vitamin requirements, are fresh whole foods. To meet these requirements would mean that a bodybuilder would have to eat almost all day. So nutritional supplements take on a role of a practical necessity.Minerals play a role in regulating many body functions. They act as catalysts in nerve response, muscle contraction, and nutrient metabolism. They also influence optimum hormonal production. A bodybuilder must meet all the nutrition requirements to be a successful competitor. Nutrition is the most important need that a bodybuilder must meet, or the result could be damaging to the body. SupplementsNo matter how great fresh fruit is, a bodybuilder could never eat enough to maintain the amount of energy that is needed to successfully weight train. The use of supplements has been called nature’s genetic equalizer. There are many reasons why a bodybuilder might find a use from supplements like to gain weight, to increase thermogenesis, to decrease body fat, to prepare for training or competition, and to aid in recovery from training or injury. More muscle equals more strength equals more cuts, scientists say. The higher a bodybuilder’s goals the more likely supplements will play a role in their training. There are many different supplements going from weight gaining powder to steroids, and the effects of each will be different on every person. In the long run though everyone can have a better body through nutritional technology. One of the more popular supplements is creatine monohydrate. This bumps up the amount of reps by giving the tired out muscles increased leverage advantages, that will increase strength. The increased strength and the resulting increased weight lifted results in an increasing amount of stress within the muscle. This makes the muscles grow at a faster pace, and with a larger volume. Supplementing with creatine can enhance athletic performance by increasing available instant energy, increasing muscle strength, improving endurance and delaying muscle fatigue, and helping spare muscle fibers for increased gains.

Protein supplements are also very common with bodybuilders. There are two distinct areas of protein, maintenance and growth. For a bodybuilder to grow they need protein. Every bodybuilder should intake different amounts of protein, according to the size of their body and their weight. Unlike creatine, protein is definitely needed to get big. There are twenty-two amino acids that have been identified as vital, for proper growth. The body contains fourteen of them but the other eight come from protein rich foods such as, meat, poultry, fish, eggs, milk, and cheese. Protein contains the materials to build muscles, blood, skin, hair, nails, and the internal organs. So for a bodybuilder to get oversized muscles they will have to take large quantities of protein. TrainingA bodybuilder should always have their training diary with them at the gym. This show organization and preparation, which makes everything else easier. For a full workout a bodybuilder will usually train using weights three days a week, for sixty – ninety minutes. Also, doing aerobic workout two days a week, for 1 hour. Some bodybuilders get obsessed with training and end up over training. This is when stress accumulates beyond the body’s ability, and then it results in failure to exercise. The symptoms of over training are losing body weight, losing strength, having trouble falling asleep, loss of appetite, and feeling a reduction in training energy. To cure over training the bodybuilder should go to the gym two or three times less then usual, keep the food and supplement intake at normal levels, and relax. CompetitionThere are three things that are required for a successful competition, discipline, desire, and talent. A bodybuilder should give themselves about twenty weeks to start training for a competition. The more time a bodybuilder spends in the sport, the closer to contest time they can begin their preparations. One of the most important parts of getting ready for a competition is achieving a calorie deficit. A way that a bodybuilder could achieve this is by keeping a log of everything they eat, to calculate the amount of calories they are eating. Their goal every week should be to eat three calories less, per pound, this should start their diet. They should also stay away from any snack foods, due to the release of insulin and glycogen shutdown. This is the exact opposite of what they are trying to achieve. The water requirements during these twenty weeks are that they should drink eight ounces of water for every twenty pounds of weight. Their amount of water should also increase under the conditions like, hot and humid weather, working outdoors, during illness, and when on low carbohydrate diets. During the last two days before the competition, the bodybuilder should be cut off from any water intake, so that they get that “cut look”. If they remain drinking water, then their muscles will look full and round, when the judges want to see edges. There are types of supplements that are made that help the cutting process like, creatine, chromium picolinate, and vanadyl sulfate. Also, to increase the rate at which they burn fat they can take thermogenic herbs like, ephedra, guarana, white willow bark, ephedrine HCL, caffine, and aspirin. The intake of these substances will help their chances in winning the competition. It is also a wise choice for a bodybuilder to leave room in their schedule to do some aerobic activity. This is to coax the fat off the body. They should do this for one hour six days a week, if the bodybuilder has never competed before then that schedule would be too intense. They should only do aerobic exercise for twenty-five minutes and three days a week. There training should stay the same and they should not use any heavier weights. They should not complete any forced reps though, because this could be damaging to the body since they are dieting now, and might not have enough energy. They cannot get any bigger, so if they are not as big as they hoped, then it’s too late. A bodybuilder should always have a positive frame of mind, during the last few days before competition. If they don’t feel confident, then they will not do well. Long Term EffectsThere are no negative long-term effects for bodybuilders, unless they were using a strong enhancing drug. The effects only have positive outcomes in the way that they will be healthy and will probably remain muscular, for a long period of time. With the size of the muscle fibers being so tremendous, this will not have a negative effect on their body in later years. So bodybuilding does not harm the body, unless the bodybuilder was irresponsible with their choice of supplement. With becoming a successful bodybuilder there are many requirements that need to be fulfilled. They need to be dedicated to the sport, and always have a positive frame of mind. They have to have the right diet and take the right supplements. If the requirements are not met then a bodybuilder will not succeed.

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