To some it's no more than a bunch of macho men trying to flatter their already over-hyped egos. To others it's the ultimate of sports, requiring dedication, persistence, and knowledge. Despite it's growing popularity, bodybuilding is still considered by many to be an obscure sport offering few redeeming qualities. It's too bad such archaic beliefs still exist as few forms of exercise offer the benefits of working out with weights.



Increasing muscle size and strength!

The most obvious benefit of bodybuilding is an increase in muscular size and strength. Working out with weights causes the muscles to grown in size and vastly increase in strength. Most forms of exercise are limited in this as there is no increase in resistance over time. Once the muscles become adapted to your bodyweight, they quickly plateau. Weight training on the other hand allows you to increase the resistance as the muscles get bigger and stronger.

Stronger bones!

Besides strengthening muscles, weight training also stimulates the body's bones to absorb minerals, thus making them stronger. Weight training is now recommended to older people as a way to combat osteoporosis.

Fat loss too!

One of the unknown benefits of bodybuilding is its effects on metabolism and fat loss. For decades women have been told that the key to fat loss is aerobics. But it's now known that the real key to losing fat is boosting your metabolism. Aerobics is very limited in its effects on metabolism. Working out with weights, however, produces what's called an afterburn. This means your metabolism is revved up and will keep burning calories even after you leave the gym. How many sports can accomplish this?

And for athletes!

For those who doubt the physical benefits of weight lifting look no further than professional and college sports? teams. Virtually all teams have strength coaches these days. By following a well-rounded bodybuilding routine, athletes not only perform better but are less susceptible to injuries.

Feeling good about yourself!

Besides its many physical benefits, bodybuilding has numerous other great qualities. As painful as strength training can sometimes feel, there is nothing more satisfying than the feeling after a good solid work-out. Bigger and stronger muscles and joints can have a dramatic impact on posture and a leaner physique tends to make everyone feel better about their appearance. The end result is improved self-esteem and increased self-confidence.

Knowledge is Power

It takes more than lifting heavy weights to build a great physique. You have to know how to lift, when to lift, and what exercises. Simply following the training routine of some professional bodybuilder is not the best approach. In fact such training may only set you back. Many such individuals are loaded up on steroids and other performance enhancing drugs. While these substances do allow bodybuilders to train harder and longer, such compounds are illegal and may cause severe side effects. Your goal in bodybuilding should be to develop a great looking physique that is also healthy. You should be thinking long-term health not short-term fix.

Besides training you also must be informed about what foods to put into your body. If you eat like crap you'll look like crap. Sound nutrition is just as important as bench pressing or squatting. You wouldn't put junk fuel into a high-performance racecar, so why put nutritional garbage into your body? You have to eat good to look good.

Closely related to nutrition is supplementation. All the best bodybuilders take supplements. Food supplements will help you build bigger, stronger, and leaner muscles, in a shorter period of time. But as with training and eating, there is much misinformation on supplementation floating around these days. You want to only buy the best bodybuilding supplements from reputable manufacturers. Don't just buy the cheapest supplements. Do some research and make an intelligent choice.