Bodybuilding: Why You Shouldn’t Take Steroids

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In bodybuilding, getting muscle mass is important. However, you need to remember that bodybuilding is not something that you can rush. It requires commitment and dedication and will take years until you really get to your goals.

People with no dedication and wants to achieve their goals at the soonest time possible resort to taking steroids. It is a known fact that steroids can help in gaining muscle mass at a very short time. Synthetic hormones can make your muscles look beautiful and let it grow quickly but you have to remember that taking steroids can do more harm than good to the body.

So, what can steroid do to you?

First, steroids have been linked to infertility. It aggressively lowers the sperm count and it will eventually cause you to become sterile.

For men, taking steroids in a long term basis will cause you to grow female features. It can get you to grow breasts and it will eventually increase the female hormones in your body.

For females, if you want to look, walk, and talk like a man, then taking steroids as part of bodybuilding can and will enable you to do so. Never use steroids in any way as it eventually has disadvantages and harmful effects to the body than it has advantages.

Another harmful effect of steroids is that it is related to heart diseases. Studies have found that taking steroids can enlarge the heart. Some bodybuilders may have a strong looking body because of steroids but they have a weak heart. In fact, there are some bodybuilders who took steroids to gain muscle mass who have died at a very early age because of heart related conditions that were primarily caused by steroids.

Also, although steroids do encourage muscle growth at a rapid rate, they actually make it less conducive for the muscles to really build strong muscles.

If you want to achieve your goals in building muscle mass and having a great looking body, then you should do it the natural way without taking any synthetic hormones, such as steroids. Not only that natural bodybuilding is healthier, but it will also be much more satisfying when you achieve your goals.

Synthetically enhancing your muscles may get you to get muscles at a faster rate, but with the serious negative effects of steroids in the body, you might want to stick to the natural methods. Through the natural methods, you will not only look strong and healthy, but you will be really strong and healthy.

Diet and Body Building

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Experts say that body building is 15% exercise and 85% nutrition. Your diet is one of the core pillars of building and maintaining quality muscle. This is why you should consider all the important foods, as well as the ones that can ruin your physique and dampen progress. It is vital to rely on basic and natural foods that will yield the most productive results. The diet plan will differ depending on your actual body type.

The 3 Essential Items

1. Carbohydrates.

These are the main energy source of the body to perform various tasks, functions and activities. The pancreas releases insulin, a hormone after carbohydrates is taken in the body. Insulin is vital for body builders since it takes the carbohydrates then stores them in the muscle or as fat. Insulin takes the amino acids or protein to be sheltered within the muscle for repair and recovery. Carbs should be taken in adequate amounts, or else you risk storing a lot of fat from the surge of insulin.

Complex carbohydrates are good sources of energy and are classified into either starchy or fibrous. Starchy carbs tend to be digested very quickly, more likely being stored as fat.

Examples of complex carbohydrates are oats, wheat and brown rice. Starchy carb examples are pasta, breads and white rice. Fibrous carbohydrates include carrots, broccoli and spinach which are good for digestion. It is recommended that body builders eat about 1.5 to 3 grams of carbohydrates for each pound they weigh daily.

2. Protein.

This is the most important element for building muscle. Every tissue in the body is created from protein such as muscle, skin and hair. Protein boosts metabolism by 20% when consumed, plus creates a timed release for carbohydrates so that energy is sustained sufficiently for a variety of activities.

Experts recommend body builders to eat at least 1 to 1.5 grams of protein for each pound they weigh daily. Good protein sources should be low in fat such as tuna, selected red meats, turkey and chicken breast.

3. Good fats.

Hormones are created from fats and all cells in the human body contain fat. It is important to consume adequate amounts of healthy fats to ensure that chemical reactions and hormone production are optimal. There are 3 fat types namely saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. Saturated fats should only be consumed in very small amounts since it can lead to heart and cardiovascular problems.

Examples are coconut oil and palm oil. Monounsaturated fats contain essential fatty acids that help lower cholesterol levels. Examples are natural peanut butter, fish oils and olive oil. Polyunsaturated fats do not affect cholesterol levels. Examples are corn oil, sunflower oil and soybean oil.

Rules to Live By

A body builders diet should comprise of small frequent meals. Calculate how much protein, carbohydrates and fats you need on a daily basis, and then spread them out evenly among the number of meals per day. Fats should comprise no more than 10% to 15% of each meal.

Ideally, meals should be eaten every 2.5 to 3 hours. Taking in small frequent meals will help your body digest food better, prevent hunger pangs, as well as boost metabolism which enhances fat burn. Large meals of 1 to 3 times a day can cause insulin spikes.

Get your nutrients and essential elements from whole solid foods. If you plan to take supplements, these should only function to fill in any lacking item to complete your recommended dietary allowance, and not as a staple meal. Take a vitamin supplement as well. Drink 8 to 12 glasses of water per day. You may store a whole gallon then consume it throughout the day.

About Calories

Determine your lean body mass with the use of a caliper or other known methods or devices. Calculate your daily base caloric intake by multiplying your lean body mass by 12. The Divide the total into the number of meals you plan to consume per day.

You can then evenly spread out the foods you have selected to ensure that you are taking equal amounts of calories per meal. Keep a log book about your diet and make the necessary changes as necessary. It is advised to cycle your calorie intake over the week or month to boost metabolism and enhance fat loss.

The Importance of Chemistry in Body Building Supplements

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While its tempting to buy the hottest body building supplements on the market, its important to realize the underlying chemistry of these supplements and how that chemistry affects the body. While attempting to increase muscle size, these supplements might have surprising and unwanted side affects.

Water and creatine are excellent examples of why people need to pay attention to the chemical make-up of anything they might purchase First, consider the water molecule. Water is a truly amazing substance. Water can dissolve just about anything. Thats why living things require it in order to get the most out of their nutrition and biology. Water is able to dissolve things because it binds with other chemicals. Water starts by breaking the molecular structure of compounds into ions or parts of a molecule. The ions, depending on their charges, will bind with either the oxygen or hydrogen in water. This changes the way water functions because the addition of other compounds can either help or hinder how water is absorbed in the body.

Creatine is another substance that bonds with just about anything. Creatine is composed of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen. All of these elements are found in water, the body, and any nutrients that the body uses. While this can be helpful for providing increased energy and nutrition to muscles, it also will magnify the affect of anything lying around. In other words, if theres excess water in the system, the creatine can bring the water through the body in such a way as to cause bloating and other digestive discomfort.

If other supplements are in use such as steroids, hormones, proteins, and vitamins, creatine will magnify both the positive and negative affects of these substances. Therefore, its absolutely important to know the chemicals present in the supplements being used, but its also of equal importance to know what affects these supplements produce while in the body.

There are loads of supplements that will certainly increase muscle size. Two of the most dangerous supplements are steroids and hormones. Steroids are used to increase the growth of muscle.

These should be taken under the close supervision of a doctor, and theyre not recommended for recreational use. Steroids are best used for people with asthma and persons recovering from surgery and illness. Taken as a fitness supplement, steroids will yield bigger muscles. But theyll also yield changes in mood and temperament. As they bond with other substances, their affects may be seriously magnified or modified. This is also true for hormones.

Testosterone is most commonly associated with muscle growth. Its best not to take testosterone unless of a hormonal condition. Otherwise, testosterone will produce side affects such as changing vocal range, extra body hair, and uterine cancer in women.
In men, the bonding of testosterone to other compounds can create feminine hormones that will change the nature of the male reproductive system. Therefore, its important to be aware of the way in which these and other supplements affect the body.

Chemistry might bore most people to tears. But on the topic of body building supplements, its absolutely important to know the basic chemistry of these compounds and how theyll positively and negatively affect the body.