Bodybuilding is easy once you know what to do to get results. One of the nice benefits of gaining muscle mass is you will burn a portion of your fat during the time you are building muscle. The reason is two fold. First, it takes energy (calories) to repair and build muscles.  Second, the more muscle mass you have, the more calories your body will use throughout the day.

Basic Bodybuilding Exercises

For those of you who are just starting out lifting weights, you need to focus on the big muscle groups to gain the most out of each workout. You will see more results building these bigger muscles rather then exercising smaller, individual muscles. Some exercises that focus on the larger muscles are…

• Bench Press – develops the whole Chest and Triceps
• Bent Rows – develops Back and Biceps
• Squats – develops Thighs and Calves
• Barbell Curls – develops Biceps and Forearms
• Calf Raises – develops the Calves

Rest & Recovery

The time period of rest is very important to the growth of muscle mass. Between bodybuilding workouts, you will have to rest your muscles at least 48 hours after each workout. The harder you exercise, the longer you need to rest the muscles. When starting out, you need to take it slow and get your body used to the new stress it will under go. If you workout too hard in the beginning, you may injure yourself or become very sore and may not be able to lift until your muscle(s) recover. This is a lost of weight training time you can avoid. Also, if you do not give each muscle the right amount of time to rest, you will stunt the growth of your muscles.

Listen To Your Body

The human body is amazing. It communicate to you every minute of your life. All you have to do is pay attention to what it is telling you at any moment. For example, during each exercise, tune into the muscles that are being worked…

Is there pain in the joints…

Possibly you are using bad form or too much weight or it maybe a small injury from the last workout which you did not notice.

Learn the Burn…

This will take several weeks, but once you get this right, your growth should improve. Too much burn will cause soreness during the rest period and not enough burn will result in little muscle growth.

This is just a small sample of what you can learn from paying attention to your body.

Henry Chervenka