Learn to Take a Break

Getting into the gym to work out and build one’s muscles up is a highlight of the week for many of us, no matter how many times a week we do it. It can allow us to work through the tension of the rest of the week, give us time to think things through while also expending some energy. It would not be going too far to suggest that there are many of us who view training as an indispensable part of our weekly routine. However, a training regime does need to have breaks built into it if it is ever going to be effective and worthwhile.

The benefits of training regularly are proven. It would be easy to conclude from this that any time spent training makes those benefits all the greater, and within a certain limit this is true. But for training to have the long term effect that we are looking for it will be necessary for you to take regular breaks in order to kick back and relax. Going at a hundred miles per hour all the time will have one result only – burn-out. The ill-effects of that are worse than not training at all.

If you simply live to train, you will miss the opportunity to get things out of life that effect you positively on a mental and physical front. When you are relaxed and happy, the body releases chemicals that you need in order to keep an upbeat mentality. Without that mentality, any setback in your training regime may well be met with resentment and anger, and the result will be poor or non-existent training sessions.

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Keeping in Shape

Although body building is principally seen as something largely cosmetic – there is not a heck of a lot of practical reason for having arms wider than a small tree – there are reasons beyond the aesthetic effects of it for sticking to a regime. Not least of these is that a good body building regime can have a knock-on effect on your general good health. As long as it is a measured and defined program, a body building regime can be one of the best things you ever do on the auspices of good health.

Your heart requires exercise. One of the most frequent contributory factors in a heart attack or heart disease is a sedentary lifestyle. As much fun as it may be sitting on a couch watching television and eating nachos, it does not make a recipe for a long life. It will also give you less chance of successfully running for a bus. By training often and well, you will lose the fat that makes your energy levels so low.

Additionally, staying in shape will allow you to do so much more. If you have kids, being able to join in their games is something on which you cannot put a price. Kids seem to have boundless energy, and if you do not have an exercise regime to keep you in shape, their energy will seem unmatchable. Being able to keep up with them will allow you to play more of a part in their games, and make parenthood all the more enjoyable.

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Good Body Building Foods

Our bodies are complex machines, which demand to be looked after in the best way possible. This means that you have to put the right kind of food, in the right quantities, into it and at the same time show some kind of respect to limits – there is no point hammering away in the gym when you have a pulled muscle because it won’t build as well as it could, and your body will not thank you for the extra pain. Bear in mind that body building exercise has at least three stages – preparation, activity and recovery. For each of those stages you will need to follow the rules in order to benefit.

To begin with you will need good “energy food” which allows you to maintain the workout. This includes – indeed, is dominated by – carbohydrates, or “carbs” as they are often referred to. This food is like the gasoline that makes a car run, and is there in such foods as rice, pasta, bread and potatoes. It is exactly the kind of food that, without an exercise regime, can make you put on weight. This makes it extra important that you are thorough with the exercise element of your body-building plan.

You will also need proteins. Mostly these come in the form of meat (it must be lean meat) and dairy products. This is the muscle-building part of the diet – think of it as the tune-up that gets extra performance out of your car and gives it that extra grunt. Lean beef or pork – not sausages, and if you want a burger it should be 100% beef – as well as eggs and milk are great sources of protein.

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