All Natural - Secrets of the Natural Bodybuilder

Natural bodybuilding refers to bodybuilding without muscle enhancing drugs or anabolic substances. In other words natural athletes who choose to build their body with all-natural have to stick to a regimen of well structured bodybuilding diet along with some performance enhancing supplements like whey protein, creatine & l-glutamine. There are however other natural athletes who go all out ie they don't even use over the counter products to help them supplement their daily diets. Their nutrition consists solely on natural foods!

Natural bodybuilding is a very specific sport. There are national bodybuilding organisations that organize natural bodybuilding contests for men and women. For more information or if you are interested in entering a natural bodybuilding show please get yourself a copy of Natural Bodybuilding & Fitness magazine at your local newsagent. Some of these shows are drug tested and some are not. The choice on which one you compete is completely yours.

A natural bodybuilder must learn to build his body in the most precise way possible. Learning as much as possible about natural bodybuilding dieting, training, supplementation is essential if one is to successfully build a natural physique of national caliber.

One of the keys to a great natural body is persistence. I don't care how well you eat or how hard you train! If you do not have the necessary persistence to keep it up for months & years you will just be spinning your wheels with no results to speak of. Building natural muscle mass takes time - sometimes a lot of time! Always be patient and expect success through your nutrition, contest diet and training.

Along with persistence you need to set up some specific, clear cut goals for yourself. If you do not know what your goals are chances are you will not make significant progress in the gym. Short term goals set up every week are great for short term progress in the gym. For example you can set a goal of increasing your bench by 2 lbs in your next week's incline bench press session! Take these small goals and add them up over 6 months and they really make a big difference. Long term goals need to be set up as well. For example - "12 weeks from now my goal is to have lost 15 lbs or pure body fat and win my upcoming natural bodybuilding contest". You need to sonstantly remind yourself of your big goals in order to not lose track of the reasons you are training and dieting so hard. Reading your goals every day helps you stay on track, train harder and not cheat on your diet. Trust me! When you are carb depleted for 3 days and pizza is calling your name, a reminder of your goals is what puts you back in track.

Nutrition is probably half the battle to getting muscle to grow OR to burn body fat. A general guideline is to eat 12-13 calories per lb of body weight if you are trying to get ripped and 17-19 calories per lb if you are trying to gain muscle. 30% of your calories should come from protein, 50% from natural carbohydrates and 20% from healthy fats (olive oil, canola oil, flaxseed oil etc). Try to avoid sugars & processed foods at all costs. Most of all, make sure you get 1 gram of protein per lean pound of body weight per day no matter what! Hardcore weight training breaks down muscle fibers and it is absolutely necessary for our body to be able to recover from these hard workouts with the use of protein.

As far as working out is concerned, forget all you read in the most popular bodybuilding magazines in the market. The routines posted in most magazines by the "pros" will do absolutely nothing for you if you want to grow muscle naturally. Fact of the matter is, most people who start bodybuilding DO follow these routines blindly. They do the same thing week after week, expecting results but nothing ever happens. Sure they gain some strength in the beginning but plateaus soon hit them. They then decide to buy the next "magic pill or powder" in the market that will "jump start" their results. The result is a very rich supplement company and a very frustrated athlete. There is a large amount of information out there that is totally unsuitable for the majority of people who want to grow muscle naturally. My point is to educate yourself on how the body works before you start training haphazardly just because you read an article in a magazine. Stick to the basic exercises that have worked for years for most people and do NOT overtrain. Each muscle needs to be fully trained only once per week for muscle growth to occur. Ovetraining is the biggest single mistake most people do and is the reason why people quite bodybuilding & weight training.

Bottom line? You are either 100% natural or you aren't! There are no shortcuts and there are many obstacles. In the end however, you will be satisfied in knowing that you achieved results that are comparable to those of drug enhanced athletes, 100% naturally. Trust me, it's the best feeling in the world and it IS achievable. All you have to do is set goals, work hard, be consistent and have patience.


Kostas Marangopoulos is a certified personal trainer, natural bodybuilder and owner of one of the best bodybuilsing websites & forums on the web, BodybuildingApplied.com. To get Kostas' free monthy bodybuilding diet & training secrets newsletter, please visit http://www.BodybuildingApplied.com

Blog TopList

I've recently joined with the Blog TopList site which promotes the best blogs on the web. You'll see the buttons on the left of the page.

If you like this blog, please would you click the vote for me button. I can do with the help in getting onto the search engine listings!!

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Book Testimonial

"If Everyone Beginning a Bodybuilding or Fitness Program Were to Read This Book They Would Be GUARANTEED to Meet Their Goals!"

"Congratulations Marc! The foundational information you lay out in your ‘Beginner’s Guide to Fitness & Bodybuilding’ is the PERFECT starting place for anyone looking to begin a fitness program the RIGHT WAY!

You and I both know that there is so much bogus information circulating around the magazines and locker rooms out there that it’s easy for beginners to become confused and frustrated with their lack of gains. Heck…that’s why most of them quit after about 3-6 months of training!

If only everyone looking to begin a bodybuilding or fitness program could read your book, they would be almost GUARANTEED to meet their goals!

I particularly like the guidance you provided for staying motivated and on track with one’s program. This is one of the biggest obstacles to making consistent gains in any fitness program and this, along with your advice for proper exercise, eating and supplementation, simply proves your mastery of providing only the most cutting edge training tactics for your readers!"

Jeff AndersonCreator of the Optimum Anabolics Natural Bodybuilding Program

Marc David (right) is a natural bodybuilder and author of the eye-opening e-book, “Beginner’s Guide to Bodybuilding,” which teaches you how to eliminate fat without diets or supplements and build muscle quickly using safe and proven training and nutrition methods. Learn how to get rid of belly fat and turbo-charge your workouts by visiting: http://jacky1779.mda1125.hop.clickbank.net/

Have You Seen This Blog? Self Esteem Boosts.

Here's a blog that covers many interesting articles for teen bodybuilders: www.thesupplementblog.com
Yes, it contains ads for supplements but it also gives good information on the use (or not) of supplements for bodybuilding use.

It also has many articles for women bodybuilders. Natural bodybuilding tips. Articles that cover building self esteem through changing your body image - useful for people of all ages not just teenagers with body image issues!!

But we're not in the business of having image issues! We're in the business of finding the answers and getting started on the path to change. You can get the body of your dreams - you just have to do the work necessary to achieve it.

Finding what work is necessary and how to implement it check out the link below:
http://jacky1779.mda1125.hop.clickbank.net/

Absolutely Fabulous Abs!

How would you like to have a 6 pack of ripped abs, without crazy diets, thousands of crunches or relying on supplements?

Sound like your dream? Are abs a major source of problems to you? Right, its the one area that is dreadful to get the right response. You train and train but can't get the 6 pack effect. Possibly the 4 pack is OK but its those reluctant lower 2 that won't show through.

Well I've found the answer to your prayers!

Contained within the Beginners Guide to Bodybuilding and Fitness by Marc David is a special 24 page report on Ab Training specifically. It answers all your problems and includes specific, easy-to-understand information about abs, nutrition for ab training and 6 months worth of special ab workouts, to solve all your problems.

This report delivers exactly what it promises. It explodes the myths about ab training. It explains in straightforward language what you need to do to get the 6 pack hidden within you. The workouts involve a complete range of different targetted exercises with the correct numbers of reps and sets required to get the results.

As a complete beginner, you are only 6 months from the abs of your dreams or even closer if you're already halfway there.

Click on the link for more information from the man himself:
http://jacky1779.mda1125.hop.clickbank.net/

What IS a Healthy Diet?

What IS a Healthy Diet by: Chris Chenoweth

There is so much information about what is healthy and nutritious these days that it is very difficult to sort out the hype from the truth. Following a healthy diet can be accomplished by making some simple adjustments to your current diet. If you think it is just too much trouble to make some simple changes to improve your family’s diet, think again. Most people do not realize the incredible impact that a healthy diet has on our bodies, making the difference between poor health and good health.

Along with regular physical activity, a healthy diet is the most important factor that determines your weight. If you are overweight or obese, your chances of developing many diseases or conditions, including heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, osteoarthritis, and certain cancers, increase significantly.

EASY STEPS TO A HEALTHY DIET
Your first step to following a healthy diet is to make sure you include food from all food groups. Vegetables, fruits, whole-grains, legumes, lean proteins and low fat milk products should all be incorporated into your daily diet.

VEGETABLES – A diet rich in fruits and vegetables can lower the risk of heart disease, stroke, and cancer. It also contributes to a healthy weight, reducing your risk of obesity and the conditions associated with it. There are a multitude of vegetables to choose from, the healthiest being dark green vegetables like broccoli, lettuces, and kale, orange vegetables like carrots, sweet potatoes, and squash, and red vegetables like red peppers and tomatoes.

FRUITS – Eat a variety of fruits each day, canned, dried, fresh or frozen. Stay away from fruit juices as they can be high in sugar. (Unless you make the juice yourself.)

WHOLE GRAINS – Choose whole grain cereals, breads, rice, and pasta. Read the food label and make sure the grain that is listed such as wheat, rice, oats or corn is referred to as WHOLE in the list of ingredients. Whole grains are an excellent source of fiber. Fiber can help reduce your risk of diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.

LEGUMES – This class of vegetable includes beans, peas and lentils. They are low in fat, contain no cholesterol, are high in protein, and have phytochemicals, compounds that help prevent heart disease and cancer. They are also a good source of fiber. Add pinto, kidney, black and garbanzo beans, split peas and lentils to your daily diet.

LEAN PROTEINS – Choose lean meats, poultry, and fish. Bake, broil, or grill it. Do not fry! Beans, nuts and seeds also provide protein.

LOW-FAT MILK PRODUCTS – Eat low-fat yogurt, low-fat cheese or low-fat milk every day. Dairy products can lower your risk of diabetes and help build strong bones, reducing your risk of osteoporosis. There are a variety of foods that should not be present in your diet except in very small amounts. These foods, such as sugars, alcohol, and some fats, contribute to diseases and poor health.

SUGARS – Avoid foods containing sugar. You know what they are! Always check food labels to see how much sugar is present as some foods contain sugar that may surprise you.

ALCOHOL – Avoid alcohol. If you must drink, limit intake to one drink a day. Alcohol can increase your risk of many conditions including some types of cancers.

FATS – There are different kinds of fat in our foods. Some are detrimental to your health and others are very healthy.
1. Monounsaturated fats (olive oil, flaxseed oil, peanut oil and avocados)
2. Polyunsaturated fats (safflower, sesame, sunflower seeds) These fats raise your good cholesterol levels. To stick to a healthy diet, choose foods with these fats.
3. Saturated fat and trans fatty acids raise your bad cholesterol levels, contributing to your risk of heart disease. Limit your intake.
Saturated fats are found in beef, veal, lamb, pork, lard, butter, cream, whole milk dairy products and can be present in processed foods like frozen dinners and some canned food. Always check food labels before purchasing.

Trans fatty acids, the kind of fats that increase the risk of heart disease, are formed during the process of creating cooking oils, shortening, and margarine and are found in commercially fried foods, some baked goods, and crackers. When checking food labels, make sure the ingredients do not include hydrogenated fats.

Following a healthy diet is a necessary step for the improved health of you and your family. It is not difficult to make the simple changes necessary to change an unhealthy diet to a healthy one. The advantages, better health, longer life, and more energy, far outweigh any inconveniences you may experience.

For more information on a healthy diet for teen bodybuilding specifically, check out The Beginners Guide to Bodybuilding and Fitness by Marc David

just click the link below to check it out
http://jacky1779.mda1125.hop.clickbank.net/

What You Need To Know About Nutrition

This is a great article currently on the supersite bodybuilding.com written by David Robson, shown in the picture here.

It gives all the latest thinking about nutrition and breaks down in easy-to-understand terms just exactly what you need to be eating and why.

What are Macronutrients?
What are Micronutrients?
Why do you need to eat them?
When do you need to eat them?

Did you know that eating the correct food can make or break a training regime?

Why waste your time doing all the training if you are not feeding your body what it needs to break down the fat or to build up the muscles?

Check out the following link to get the full article with all the answers
www.bodybuilding.com/fun/drobson238.htm

Supplements - Your Natural Body

Your Own Natural Body Supplement

Calling all teenage bodybuilders! Did you know that your body actually contains everything you need to get and remain healthy?

That’s right; in ideal conditions you don’t need health nutritional supplements. Your body will do everything for you properly so that you can remain healthy for a long, active lifespan.

The problem is that most people today do not meet the ideal requirements for a healthy body and mind. There are so many different things going on in our lives and we often forget how our actions affect our natural body responses. The foods we consume affect how our body responds to stimuli in the environment. The food we eat also directly relates to how we feel on a daily basis.

As teen bodybuilders, you are aware, more than the average person, of how important a correct diet and food regime is to your health and performance levels. But how much should you supplement and when?

Health products, whole food supplements and health nutritional supplements are a great way to boost your body’s own natural defenses against disease and infection. You can create a healthier body and lifestyle for yourself with the aid of supplements.

Certain supplements are being used for many different things such as to treat colds and flu and build the body’s natural immune system to be better able to fight off these conditions. It is also proven helpful for treating AIDS and HIV symptoms and even insomnia. Supplements have proven helpful in people with addictions and treating symptoms of addition and withdrawal symptoms. They can help improve brain function and much more.

Where can you find these supplements? There is a current market for nutritional supplements online and many people are buying and selling them from the internet. You can also find supplements sold locally in health food stores, department stores and much more. However, before you just buy supplements from these locations (especially online) you need to know what you are buying and who you are buying it from. Don’t just trust anything that says “natural”. Make sure you know about the company and what goes into their supplements.

Why do supplements work? Body supplements can help you by giving your body’s natural systems an extra added boost to help it do what it would typically do anyway. You body has amazing capabilities and when you provide it with a little extra help, it can work even better. You can give your body added nutrients that it needs to keep you healthy and to fight off disease and infection. You can combine this with regular healthy exercise and a proper diet as well as staying as stress free as possible and your body will do the rest for you. The more you take care of your body, the better it will be at staying strong for you.

Remember that your state of mind can also play a big role in how you think and feel. If you want to get the most from your body’s own natural supplements, you can take additional supplements to help but you should also have a great attitude. Try to stay positive and mentally healthy so that your body has the best chance possible to do what it already knows to do naturally. There are steps you can take to reduce the stress in your life and also to help you deal with the stress. This is very important because it helps keep your mind free and clear so that it can function well and keep your body healthy also.

Always remember the importance of your own body supplement and the importance of taking care of your mind and body together as a jointed unit. When you do this, you will feel better, look better and enjoy a healthier, longer life.

Author: Iouri Kroukov is an associate writer for Biosuperfood.net with over 5,000 nutrients combined by nature in one health natural nutritional supplement , which helps with poor nutrition, boosts you energy and immune system, cleans your body and more

For further information aimed specifically for the teenage bodybuilder market on supplements, what to buy and where to get them, read "Beginners Guide to Fitness and Bodybuilding" by Marc David. He is an independent bodybuilder who writes from experience and gives honest-to-goodness proper instruction and help to get teenagers and other beginners off to the correct start in the bodybuilding world.
Click Here!

World's Strongest Man

As an afterthought - I've been watching the 2006 World's Strongest Man on TV this week. (Its showing in the UK on Channel 5)

I am tremendously impressed with the quality now being shown. Years ago, Strongest Man was a lot of huge men, many with big bellies and many of them with excess flab! Now though, they are surprisingly svelte, muscled and toned!

I was also pleasantly surprised by the age range: 20 years up to 56 years!

Kevin Nee from USA was competing yesterday and is the youngest competitor in this competition at only 20 years and 1 month. That's a world class competition!! And he held his own admirably, winning a couple of events, although not getting through to the final this year. I'm sure we'll see more of him in the future.

Not all teen bodybuilders are interested in this type of competition, however it does go to prove what can be achieved by young people with a lot of commitment and focus.

For those of you who are interested, the final of the competition is being shown in the UK on Friday at 8.00pm.

The Industry is Immense and is After Your Money - Beware!

Years ago, when I started bodybuilding in the early 1960s, there was not the money about to be spent on the sport; nor the terrific choice of supplements now available; nor the complex gym equipment, and, like you, I was starting out on a career of bodybuilding with absolutely no experience. I was at the mercy of other people's advice/opinions, information gleaned from magazines and books on the sport for gaining knowledge.

It was only with experience, gained within bodybuilding and as a PTI (physical training instructor), that I'm now able to differentiate between good and bad advice, good and bad products, etc. I am now able to recognise sales blurb for just what it is - about selling a product - nothing to do with whether or not that product is going to do me any good or be of practical benefit!

Its possible nowadays to save many hours of hard training and money by being able to differentiate between what is good and bad.

I am recommending to you a book which will explode many of the myths involved in the sport of bodybuilding. (For example, the myth that muscles will turn into fat if you stop training; gains can only be achieved with very heavy weights and many repetitions; etc. )

Bear in mind, you are what you eat and what you drink!

I suggest you get a copy of this book. It explodes many myths, tells it how it is, gives step-by-step instructions and provides many links to other websites and further information. It will help you save lots of money in the long run and ensure you are guided towards good health for a lifetime of fitness. (I will be writing a full review of this book package in the next week.)

The book is called "Beginners Guide to Fitness and Bodybuilding" by Marc David. You will already see a couple of his articles posted here. The package also contains several other documents on seperate subjects, such as Abs, Iron Magazine, How to Lose Most Weight and Gain Most Muscle, etc. Excellent value for money.

Just click the link below:-

http://jacky1779.mda1125.hop.clickbank.net/

Click Here!

New Year, More Time For You To Train

Happy New Year to all you teen bodybuilders out there!!

You know what they say "New Year, New You!" Its the time to make new resolutions, new commitments to goals, new commitments to yourself. Take the year by storm and start off as you mean to go on.

I've found a great article about time management which should be of interest to all busy bodybuilders. Finding the time to do just about anything is always an issue in today's lifestyles. Finding the time to fit in your training regime and diet management can be the start and end of a successful teen bodybuilding programme.

Good Luck and I wish you all a very successful New Year!


No Time For Your Bodybuilding Routine?
by Tony Farrell

Time is a major factor in your bodybuilding routine. It can cause you to focus your thought elsewhere, instead of your training. Your mind wanders onto something else while you perform a set of curls. You're thinking --
"Yep, I need to get this done later. Oh! What about that other thing I've got goin' on? Right, I'll finish up here quickly and get it done".

Get the idea?

Do you ever find yourself having a conversation in your head, all the while you're performing your training routine? Time waits for no man. It can interfere, especially when you don't have enough of it. It's often difficult to get the time to train, or do other things in your life. You can explain it anyway you like. But there's no getting away from the fact --
Everybody, Everywhere, Only Has 24 Hours A Day.

"So, how come others manage and I can't?" I hear you say. "Obviously they don't have as much to do as I have."

Like I said, we all have the same amount of time. Here's another comparison for you:
Look at rich people. They only have 24 hours in a day too. Yet they're still rich and others are working and are living on the bread line. That's a little extreme, I know. But, do you get what I'm saying here?

Here ¡s what it boils down to -- Time Management.

In this scenario 'Time Management' is the key to your bodybuilding routine, and your life too. If you don't manage your time properly, you're setting yourself up for a fall.
If You Fail To Plan - You Plan To Fail.
So, just how do you manage your time properly?

By allotting a certain amount of time per activity in your life. For each task, job or item you have to do in your life everyday, you must allot a certain amount of time to each one.

Don't just do this for your bodybuilding routine. Look at your life right now. Determine how much you actually do with each day. Write it down, including your bodybuilding routine.

Then count the number of activities you do on a daily basis. Once you've done this, determine how much time you can afford to all of these activities in a day.

Divide the time you have available between all the activities you need to do. Give a little more time to the things you place more importance on such as, your bodybuilding routine.

Then create a schedule around this. It's that simple. My suggestion is that you write those activities down and allot a certain amount of time to each one. The total time for all activities combined shouldn't exceed the time you have available each day.

Now what have you done?

You have just learned to manage your time. You now have time to do each activity each day. You can now devote the proper amount of time to your bodybuilding routine. This means that you will get your routine in at the appropriate times. And you will train properly, rather than rush through it in an effort to get onto someting else.

Tony Farrell makes it easier for you to achieve your muscle and fitness goals. Learn the essential 3 keys to paving the way to your goals. Get your free mini-course now. http://www.think-and-grow-muscle-and-fitness.com
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