What it Takes to Be a Bodybuilding Winner

Anybody can look at those beautiful sculpted bodies that are on display at a bodybuilding competition and wish they had such a shape.  But it doesn’t take a genius to look around and realize that most people are not perfectly formed like bodybuilders are.  What may shock some fans of the sport is that there was a time when those perfect physical bodies were not the ultimate example of physical fitness that are on display on that stage.  The men and women who are successful in bodybuilding got there because they knew what it takes to be a bodybuilder and they were willing to go all out to achieve that goal.

To be successful as a bodybuilder, you will need to develop a long-range plan that covers work out goals, diet and lifestyle choices.  Anything related to your body must be covered by that bodybuilder development plan.  The types of workouts that you will engage in will depend on two things.  First, they will depend on where you are in your state of physical fitness.  The stages of development for someone who is starting out overweight is much different from a potential athlete who needs to "bulk" up so there is enough structure to support the large muscle base of a bodybuilder.

The second thing that determines how your workout plan is your bodybuilding objective.  Everybody who puts themselves under the discipline of bodybuilding may not be doing so for the purpose of competing in bodybuilding shows.  The bodybuilding regimen of exercise and muscle development is also useful for weight lifters, wrestlers, fighters and many other athletes who need better muscle development to become winners.  Each person setting out to conquer the discipline of bodybuilding may have different goals.  So their workout program should be customized to fit those goals.

It may go without saying that to be successful in bodybuilding training, you will need a good workout facility and a trainer.  You can work out at home without guidance and there have been some success stories where athletes who did that reached the heights of the bodybuilding world.  But a good gym and trainer can make all the difference in helping you stay focused and achieve an outstanding workout each time to exercise.

Probably the most dominant personality trait of a successful bodybuilder is dogged determination to succeed.  It is going to take months and months of difficult, strenuous and continuous bodybuilding training to get one of those bodies you see on display at competitions.  Your discipline will require absolute devotion to the task and that devotion will mean that bodybuilding must become the number one priority in your life every day of your life.  It is not a figurative saying that a successful bodybuilder eats, sleeps and breathes bodybuilding because the discipline of building the perfect shape impacts your recreation time, your diet and even your rest time as well.

To become a successful bodybuilder, you will need to have a broader focus than just working out.  Nutrition is an essential part of bodybuilding.  Your diet not only must give you a well rounded nutritional plan to keep you healthy, it must be tuned to the needs of your body as it undergoes the dramatic changes that intense exercise cause.  You may need to use a dietary supplement such as a protein drink to assure that you are giving your body everything it needs to be a winner.  Your trainer can help you with designing a bodybuilder's diet plan to fit your workout plan.

Finally, your time of rest and recovery is just as important as your workouts.  Much of the work of muscle development happen during the rest time when you are sleeping between workouts.  To devote yourself to intense training and neglect your sleep is a formula for failure as a bodybuilder.  So pay attention to this part of your physical needs because it will make all the difference in how fast you advance toward your workout goals.

You are doing well already in getting what it takes to be a bodybuilding winner because you are reading and learning about the process of development you must go through to become a bodybuilder.  Education, training, diet, rest, a good trainer, a place to workout and the support of your friends and family will all work together to make you a success.  When you have all those things and you combine them with your unstoppable determination to be a success, you will achieve your goal and get the body you want because you set out to be a bodybuilding winner.

Developing the Heart of a Champion

When you watch great athletes achieve amazing things in any sport or competition, it is a thing of beauty to behold.  It is common when watching such a thing to hear a commentator say that a particular athlete has a heart of a champion.  That is a beautiful sentiment but it deserves some further reflection.

When you are beginning your own route to greatness in the world of bodybuilding, becoming a champion is the ultimate success that lies ahead for you.  So developing a heart of a champion is just as important as working out religiously and maintaining strict discipline over your diet and rest routines when you are not in the gym.

There is no doubt that one of the most outstanding traits an athlete displays when you notice that he or she has the heart of a champion is an unwillingness to quit.  This is more than just stubbornness.  It takes a deep commitment to the sport and to your preparation to keep on pushing even when you don’t feel like it or when it doesn’t seem like you are making any progress.

You can be assured that every champion you see winning the top honors in his or her sport had days where they thought they would never win or when they lost and wanted to give up.  But they didn't give up and that is what makes them champions.

Thinking through how you will develop the heart of a champion points out that winning a top level competition requires both mental and physical discipline.  In order to stay with the rigorous training needed to become a champion bodybuilder, you have to have the mental calm and determination to hit the gym for every workout.

That means you will need to develop a mental toughness and ability to focus that is equal to what the champions have.  Becoming a champion in your heart and mind may take some work to be able to get "in the zone" on demand.  So give some attention to your ability to focus and sustain your determination.  That is an aspect of your inner strength that may need training and development as much as your muscles do.

A champion always has a firm vision of his or her goals.  You will not achieve the heart of a champion the day you walk out on stage at an international bodybuilding show.  You must develop it long before then when you prepare for your first local show and every step along the way.

That means you must be able to focus on the goals that are just ahead in your path to greatness.  But you must never take your eyes off of "the city on the hill" which is your ultimate quest for greatness.  That vision of greatness will sustain you in the hard times and take you to greatness, one step at a time.

You can see the resolve to win at all costs in the eyes of a true champion.  That means that the heart of a champion will settle for nothing less than greatness because his or her sport has that high a priority in life.  This doesn’t mean that you sacrifice home and family and things that are dear to you to win at bodybuilding.  But it does mean that your bodybuilding career has such a high priority that distractions from your goals cannot hold your attention.  It means you focus constantly on your goal of winning a bodybuilding championship even when you are not working out.  It is your number one priority in life and nothing will deny you that championship.

It is good to be considering how to find that champion within yourself in this discussion today.  If you looked within and did not see the heart of champion in there yet, that is no reason to despair.  It takes time to "become" a champion and part of that transformation is getting your mind and heart fixed on greatness and developing the resolve to not be discouraged from that goal no matter what.

If you can get to that point that you cannot be beaten even when you have a set back and that nothing will stop you from reaching your goal of winning the top honors in a bodybuilding competition, that is the heart of a champion you must have to succeed.  And it is that inner will to win that will take you to the top in your spot.

What Does a Great Bodybuilding Routine Look Like?

You are ready to take that step to begin losing weight and gaining muscle.  But what should you do.  Knowing what a great bodybuilding workout should look like is difficult if you do not have someone training you or you aren't a seasoned bodybuilding veteran.  But any great bodybuilding workout should have a few common characteristics.

The first characteristic is that the workout should be short.

You should aim for about sixty minutes.  Make sure the workout is no less the forty-five minutes, and no more the seventy-five minutes.  The reason you do not want to go less than forty minutes is because your body has just gotten to it peak during the workout for fat loss and muscle gain.  Quitting now will defeat the point of the workout.  If you go longer than seventy-five minutes, the hormones that cause you to burn fat and build muscle will decrease and the workout will no longer be effective.

The second key thing to remember about your workout is that you do not need to rest for long periods of time.

The longer you rest, the more your heart rate will drop, which will take you out of your fat burning zone.  In order to keep you heart rate up you should rest for no more the ninety seconds between set and exercises.  Another reason to not spend too much time resting is because you want to pack as much into your workout in those seventy-five minutes as you can, if you are wasting precious time sitting around, you will not be getting anything out of your workout time.

Something else you should remember is that while you should consume a lot of water during your workout.  But don't drink too much water all at once.  Take just a few sips between sets and exercises to keep yourself going.  If you chug half your bottle of water while you are working out, it will just sit in your stomach.  It cannot be absorbed that fast, especially while you are in a workout.  Drink small amounts at a time, so as to avoid any discomfort.

If you are trying to gain muscle mass you want to do heavy weights for about five to ten repetitions.  If you are trying to lose weight and look sculpted then you should use a lighter weight and do about twelve to twenty-five repetitions each time.  Choose a weight that you can control throughout all of the reps. If you start having to throw your body into it just so you can lift the weight, then go down some.  The key is to have slow and controlled movements, allowing the muscles to achieve their best potential.

The final characteristic that all great bodybuilding workouts should have is keeping your workouts varied and cycled.

If you do the same routine over and over, not only will you get bored and lose all enthusiasm that you had, your body will learn the routine, and it will not have any effect.  Try different exercises, working out in different places, using more or less weight, and having more intensity or less.  Putting some variation in your workouts will keep the results coming and will keep you interested.

Becoming a Champion Bodybuilder

To say that becoming a great bodybuilder is an all consuming passion is an understatement.  To reach the level of success in bodybuilding that you can compete in local or national shows is going to take a full time commitment of time, energy and resources.  It is a noble ambition to want to win the top honors of the bodybuilding world.  But even with the lure of that big trophy, that goal is not worth giving up the rest of your life for.  So you must find ways to balance your life so that you continue to take care of the priorities of job, family and community while giving your all to your goal of winning at a bodybuilding competition.

Timing is everything.  There are times in life when you simply cannot afford the time to give a high priority to bodybuilding training.  Take into consideration what is going on in your life and what lies ahead.  You may have other demands on your time like parenting, a new marriage on the horizon or work demands that will compete with your desires to advance in your bodybuilding career.  If the other demands on your life are under control, that may be the perfect time to start training for a bodybuilding championship.  If not, keep the dream alive in your heart and work to get your personal and work life stabilized so you can give your bodybuilding ambitions the time they deserve.

It is possible to organize your workouts so you can attend to your daily duties and still make progress on your bodybuilding goals.  It could be that the best time for your workouts is early in the morning before work and family demands are so pressing.  Be flexible so you can pick up your program the next day or shift your workout to another time if something comes up.  Don't be so focused that you neglect your family, friends and work to continue your quest for bodybuilding greatness.  You don’t want to look back after you win that championship and regret what you gave up along the way.

Your diet and sleep are just as important to your bodybuilding goals as your exercise program.  It will take some planning to make sure that the right kinds of foods are on hand and prepared for you each day.  If you have a partner or spouse who will help you with that shopping and is ready to help you get the sleep you need, that will be a huge benefit to your success in preparing for bodybuilding competition.  But don’t make it someone else's job to make sure you get the diet and rest requirements you need to be ready to work out everyday.

It is a good move to get help from those who are a big part of your life in going after your goal of bodybuilding competition.  If you can get your family, friends and even your work peers and management on board with cheering you on to greatness, they will also do all they can to make sure you get your workouts regularly.  If you do your research, you might be able to find a workout facility where you can get a great bodybuilding workout while the family enjoys exercise options that they would like.  In that way, you are working out and being a great family man at the same time.  That is a good combination.

Bodybuilding Exercise the Healthy Way

There is a right way and a wrong way to get in shape for a bodybuilding competition.  When you see a very pumped up bodybuilder like we think of when we see a movie like Pumping Iron, those athletes seem to be able to perform almost superhuman feats of strength.  But the truth is they achieved their high level of athletic ability through hard work and knowing how to develop their bodies through healthy habits.

Healthy bodybuilding is not just for professional athletes who are going to go on to compete in championships and win awards.  For millions of people, a healthy approach to bodybuilding means staying in shape as the years advance and fighting off sagging muscles and lack of physical strength.  This is about more than just looking great in a swimsuit.  Learning to exercise and work out in a healthy way is about a healthy lifestyle for life.

Too often, someone who is enthusiastic to get in shape goes about it all wrong.  The sad news that there is a right way and a wrong way to exercise and get in shape.  So let's go over some tips on how to avoid the mistake people make so that your bodybuilding program does it the right way.

•    Take It Easy!

When you start working out, you want results.  While that early enthusiasm is good, you have to be careful you don't throw yourself at the program too aggressively and overdo it in the first couple weeks of your bodybuilding regimen.  That can lead to problems with your development and burn out.  Set short-term goals that are achievable.  Plan to stay focused on your bodybuilding goals for the long haul.  Better to lose 20 pounds over six months time and they stay off then to lose a bunch of weight up front and then stop working out and gain it all back.

•    Get Help!

If you want to use bodybuilding equipment, it is wise to take a class in how to use it correctly.  The potential of injury if you use this kind of equipment incorrectly is too great and an injury can end your bodybuilding program.  Even if you are going to use free weights, make sure you know what you are doing and you know how to work with a spotter so you don't incur an injury while working out.  The kind of exercise it takes to see real results is strenuous.  So take advantage of people who understand how to exercise in a healthy way so the program you are developing is beneficial and safe for you.

•    Eat Right!

Almost certainly, the goal of your bodybuilding program involves a significant change to your shape.  Most of the time, that means losing weight.  It is good to examine your diet and fine tune it so you eat the right amount of good foods.  But just like you should not "get radical" about exercise, use some common sense in how you diet.  Avoid fasting or cutting your diet so dramatically that you feel like you starving yourself to death.  That is unhealthy overall and it will lead to burn out when you finally give up and start to eat again.  A healthy diet is sustainable for a month, a yea or even for life.

•    The Most Important Tip…

Is to have fun.  Make sure the program of exercise you design is something you like to do.  Not everyone has to run five miles a day and spend an hour under the weights.  There are dozens of types of exercise you can use to accomplish your bodybuilding goals.  If you design a program of exercise that you look forward to each day, you will stick with it.  And that is the only way to see real progress in what you want to do in your bodybuilding program.

Pumping Iron Alum Frank Zane Brains Plus Brawn

If you are like most people, when you see a bunch of bodybuilders, it is easy to think they have a lot of muscle but very little above the neckline in the way of intelligence.  But when the movie, Pumping Iron came out and the sport of bodybuilding exploded on the national scene, the men who were the "stars" of that movie were the best the sport had to offer.

If you were to ask yourself, which of these men flexing their muscles in Pumping Iron already had a master's degree in education from Wilkes University and had taught chemistry and mathematics, that bodybuilder's name would be Frank Zane.  If you asked yourself which of them would go on to earn more advanced education from Cal State with a degree in experimental psychology, that bodybuilder would also be Frank Zane. While many of the bodybuilders who were showcased in Pumping Iron were highly intelligent and crafty individuals, there may be no better example of the perfect blend of brains and brawn than the wonderfully proportioned Frank Zane.

We should not be confused that when Frank Zane brought his impressive education and intelligence to the sport of bodybuilding, that did not mean he was not a serious contender for the top honors of the sport.  Zane won the Mr. Olympia competition three years in a row.

What made Frank Zane stand out on a stage full of well-sculpted bodybuilders is he possessed the second smallest waistline in the bodybuilding sport.  That tiny waist combined with Zane's wide and muscular shoulders created a perfect V look that was striking, artistic and beautiful.  This body design was no freak of nature.  It was a careful creation of a man who understood the dynamics of bodybuilding and used his powerful mind to create a look that would serve him well in world-class bodybuilding competitions such as the one that is showcased in the movie, Pumping Iron.

Frank Zane may not have enjoyed the fame and success of one of his competitors in Pumping Iron, the intimidating Arnold Schwarzenegger.  But Frank Zane held the distinction of being one of the few bodybuilders to have defeated Schwarzenegger in the 1968 Mr. Universe competition.  That win was just a single victory in the 20 year career in bodybuilding that Frank Zane enjoyed.  Before he retired in 1983, Frank Zane had won Mr. America, Mr. Universe, Mr. World and Mr. Olympia competitions.

The methodical and scientific approach that Frank Zane brought to the discipline of bodybuilding earned him the nickname "The Chemist".  Zane precise use of science and training as part of the reason he had a reputation of being able to bring his body to an exact perfection for bodybuilding and to do it precisely on the day of competition.  Small wonder when Frank Zane walked out on stage to compete in a bodybuilding championship, he was a versions contender each time the other bodybuilders faced him.

Upon his retirement, Zane went on to write many bodybuilding books to pass his vast storehouse of knowledge on to others in the sport.  Any bodybuilder who wants to set out to get that perfectly proportioned symmetrical body that was a Frank Zane trademark can do it employing his carefully formatted program that he called B=EARN which stood for Total Bodybuilding = Exercise x Attitude x Rest x Nutrition.

To win like Frank Zane, his students had to be just as smart and just as disciplined as Frank Zane.  But the one thing that this phenomenal bodybuilder that audiences admired in Pumping Iron proved was that brains plus brawn results in a very successful bodybuilding career.

Healthy Nutrition Concepts for Bodybuilders

It does not matter how often you work out or how hard unless you have good nutrition to back it up.  Just because you workout a lot, that does not mean that you can eat whatever you want.  You have to make healthy choices in your eating habits to enforce what you do in the gym.

Eat whole or organic food as often as possible.  Do not eat products that have a lot of preservatives or manufactured ingredients in them.  You should avoid boxed food or meals as often as possible, as well as many other foods.  You will need to be very aware about what is in your food if you are serious about losing fat and gaining muscle.  It is okay to have a pizza or some other kind of “cheat” food occasionally.  But make sure you keep it just that, occasionally.

Here are some foods that are not only great for you, but still taste good.  In order to get the essential fats that you need, try eating nuts, fish, real butter, and using products like olive oil, or flax seed oil, instead of the traditional oils.  To get your carbs eat products made from whole grains only.  These foods literally use the whole grain of wheat, which captures all of the nutrition in it.  Also, try brown rice and oats.

Be sure to eat a lot of veggies and fruit as well.  These foods can have complex nutrients and minerals that digest slowly and have much less chance of becoming fat.  It is very easy to buy fresh fruits and veggies at the produce section of your local grocery store, and many frozen veggies are now sold in bags that can be steamed to preserve nutrients.  Never boil veggies, this takes all of the nutrients and minerals out of them, and puts them in the water, which you will not be drinking.  Always steam veggies or eat them raw.  If you want them cooked, try stir-fry or baking them.  Do not fry or boil veggies.

Another important key for good nutrition is to eat often.  The best thing to do is to have six mails a day.  This does not mean Sunday dinner size meals each time.  This is small meals.  An example would be, and apple with whole wheat toast, and a glass of skim milk for breakfast, and then having fruit and cottage cheese in between lunch and breakfast, then having a turkey wrap in a whole wheat tortilla or pita bread with a bottle of water and carrot sticks for lunch.  Keep the meals small and sensible, but have more meals each day than the standard three.

Eating more meals during the day boosts your metabolism.  The rule of thumb is to eat every three hours.  Always eat your breakfast, as they say this is the most important meal of the day.  Also, plan a meal right after your workout.  This will replenish your body after you burned all of the calories.

If you are hungry, eat!  Just make sure that you are eating the right things.  If you eat the foods mentioned here, you can eat more without gaining as many calories.  Remember that even if you have a great training program in place, if you don't have a nutrition program to back it up, all of your work will be for nothing.