Try and name a sport that you can participate in even if you are an old person. Chances are, you will have a hard time naming even one. But if you named bodybuilding, you are dead on right.
Bodybuilding is the art and science of developing the musculature of your body via certain kinds of physical exertion and diet whose end goal is to showcase the body for competitive exhibition. The most popular kind of bodybuilding exercise is weightlifting or weight training.
What makes bodybuilding so appealing is that it is a sport that everyone of any age can participate in. The only requirements are that one be in relatively good physical condition, has access to gym equipment, and can financially afford the lifestyle it demands.
What are the different types of bodybuilding workouts? Well, it depends first on whether your body type is that of an ectomorph, endomorph or mesomorph.
An ectomorph is considered the slow gainer among bodybuilding types. He needs to slow down his hyper metabolism in order to gain muscle size and strength. This means his exercise routine should be severe enough to trigger muscle growth yet short enough to avoid nervous drain.
An endomorph, on the other hand, has a sluggish metabolism. He needs some kind of stimulating exercise every session in order to rev up his metabolism. Also, an endomorph should restrict his calorie intake due to an over-efficient digestive system that makes him gain weight easily.
The luckiest among the body types (as far as bodybuilding is concerned) is the mesomorph. A true mesomorph is able to gain muscle even with little effort on his part. Mesomorphs can be said to be gifted with muscle-building abilities, the Chosen People of bodybuilding.
No one belongs solely to one body type. Most people can be said to be a mixture of the three. However, one body type usually dominates a person’s build so that it is relatively easy to categorize bodybuilders.
Despite one’s body type, there are common techniques to follow when bodybuilding. These are:
- Keep a training diary so that you can monitor your progress and determine what you should aim for in the future.
- Pay attention when lifting any kind of weight to avoid injury. Carelessness is probably the foremost cause of injuries in bodybuilding.
- Choose the types of exercises that can contract as many muscle fibers as possible during one set. This will maximize the effectiveness of the core repetitions which make up most of one’s training.
- Warm up properly prior to doing any exercise to prevent injury.
- Don’t change the technique of doing any exercise unless you know what you are doing. Experimenting is another cause of injury.
- Don’t do those exercises which are known to cause tendon or joint damage.
- Good exercise style prevents injury. So keep proper form while exercising.
- Learn to distinguish between the pain caused by lactic acid build-up within the muscle, and the pain caused by a serious injury. Mistaking one for the other could cause you to keep exercising despite being injured, thereby worsening the injury. Rest if you are injured.
- Practice stretching before working out. This also helps you ward off injuries.
Hopefully, these tips will help you enjoy participating in the sport of bodybuilding.
