Friday, July 17, 2009

Muscle Building Tips for Teenagers to Achieve Success

By Ricardo d Argence

Teenagers are increasingly taking up bodybuilding. Building muscle and generally getting into better shape are admirable goals; done properly, the teen years can be one of the best times to begin bodybuilding. Teenagers may be nearly full grown, but beneath the surface there is still a lot of growth and development happening, meaning teens have different requirements for body building regimens than adults. The most important factors are the weights used, nutrition and rest.

Teenagers have stores of energy that the rest of us marvel at, and these energy stores actually cause trouble in a body building routine. Teens can go for hours and never seem to tire, because of this many will work out for hours on end focusing on one set of muscles.

The thought is that more is better; however, in weight training nothing is further from the truth. A rounded workout in which all muscle groups are worked equally is better. Once a muscle has reached a certain point there is no need to strain it further, in fact you can actually reverse your progress or worse yet cause injury.

It's common to see a young bodybuilder gravitate to the heaviest weight they see and overdo it. This can cause injury, so start off with light and medium weights. There'll be plenty of time for the heavy weights later on, so start small for now.

To many times nutrition is neglected in favor of massive amounts of supplements. While supplements can be helpful in moderation eating the right quantities of protein and fiber are more important. You see when you are training you are actually tearing the muscles and in order to heal properly and build they need proper nutrition.

Getting enough water is something else a lot of teenage bodybuilders overlook. Just remember that our bodies are 70% water and every important system in the body depends on water; and that goes double for your muscles!

The recommended daily intake of 64 oz of water should be taken as a starting point, not a goal. When you're actively weight training you'll need far more water than this to maintain the health of your joints and organs; and your training will yield better results as well.

While we're on the subject of things neglected by teenage bodybuilders, let's talk about sleep. It's while you sleep that testosterone and the important growth hormone IGF-1 is released. It's also when your body repairs itself and rejuvenates for another day " make sure to get an adequate amount of sleep every night.

Hitting the gym is only one part of what it takes to build muscle. If you want sustained, steady muscle growth over the long term, you need to take a broader approach and make sure you get plenty of sleep, plenty of water and the right diet as well. It may not be appealing to the average teen, but it's the only way to ensure bodybuilding success.

You can start weight training now and if you are into major physical sports like football it is imperative that you have a strong healthy body. Simply follow the tips above and you can have a safe productive work out.

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