Body Building basics for beginners

Beginner Body builders don't skip this page. here you will find very important knowledge for beginners weight training and work out for beginners

Isolation vs Compound

Compound exercises work supporting muscles too and are generally done for mass and overall strength gain. Isolation exercises work specific muscles or even part of muscles. It is very common among bodybuilders to do compound exercises for some months and when they are satisfied with bulk, they do isolation exercises to rip off the unnecessary bulk and get that chiseled look.

Fat vs Muscles

Fat and muscles are two different things. No amount of weight training will remove the fat or convert it to muscles. To lose fat you need to do aerobics & dieting. Muscles are hard, fat is softer. You gain fat when you eat more calories than you burn. Fat gain goes hand in hand with muscle gain when bodybuilding because you've to eat too many calories although fat gained this way is not much and doesn't look bad because of bulging muscles. You can never gain lean muscles. Spot reduction is a myth.

How Much Repetitions

Repetitions decide the results of exercises. If they are less then 5, you gain more strength and less (negligible) muscles. 5-10 Reps enhance muscle growth. 10-15 Reps help build endurance. So, you should ideally use weights that take 6-12 reps to reach exhaustion. You work from lower to upper weight wise and rep wise. This is called pyramid technique.

How Much Weight

1rm is the weight with which you can do no more than 1 rep. Of course it varies for different exercises. This is a good measure of weights you should lift. You should lift from 50% to 80% of your 1rm for regular bodybuilding. For strength training you should lift to up to 90% of 1rm. If you can't find the 1rm, use weight with which you can do no more then the reps you sought.

What & When To Eat

Proteins are necessary to build the muscle structure. Carbs/Fat are required for energy supply. Vitamins, Minerals and Water are necessary for normal bodily processes. You should eat some carbs and protein rich easily digestible diet (preferably liquid) within 1 hour of workout. Take a carbs and protein diet (very light so that it may not mess with blood supply)before exercise too so that your body has the required stuff when it needs. Water is very essential. Eat lots of water all day long, before exercise, in between workouts and after workouts. This will ensure that muscles remain fully hydrated. Hydrated muscles recover fats. Lots of water also help vascularity so that you have those much sought veins. Always go for mineral water. Distilled water may dehydrate you (osmosis). Eat often and never miss a meal. In regular meals eat lots of eggs, meat etc. Milk is an excellent source of protein.

How Much To Rest

In between sets, you need to take rest for about 30-90 seconds. You should rest only as long as you may feel able to do another set. If you rest more then that, your body cools down increasing the risk of injury. Smaller muscles need less rest then the bigger ones. For example, biceps are small and legs are big. For splits, you need to rest for a day or two. Again smaller muscles need lesser rest. If you delay the next split too much, you won't gain mass that fast. If you do more often, you'll over train.