Bodybuilding is a term that conjures up extremely muscular men and women, lightly oiled and tanned, posing under bright lights in a competition, based solely on the sixe and symmetry of the individuals musculature. This type of bodybuilding, although very strenuous and demanding, is not in preparation for any other sport or athletic event. It’s simply to build the body.

We’re going to take a much broader definition of the body building, and relate the exercise required therein, to a wider variety of athletic endeavors, and activities of daily living.

As we’ve talked about weight loss, or a diet plan, we also spoke to the energy needs of the competitors, and the differences in the foods required providing the proper level of nutritional value.

It’s the same with bodybuilding. For example the football lineman builds his body by lifting very heavy weight loads, for a low number of repetitions. The general term for this type of body building is power lifting, designed for just that, to build the muscles involved to exert the maximum power. Holding back a 300+ pound opponent takes some strength.

Wrestling, on the other hand, requires the quick and repetitive use of a variety of muscle groups, overall a fairly long bout. This body building technique requires higher repetitions and more sets but considerably higher weight. A wrestler regimen also requires cardiovascular training and lots of stretching.

Body building for distance runners is very different, as much more emphasis must be placed on cardiovascular conditioning, as opposed to heavy weight training.

As you can see, there are a wide variety of body building techniques, and one is right for you. In general, leading fitness and sports medicine groups recommend: strength training, twice per week, involving, 8 – 10 different exercises, addressing all the major muscle groups. They also advise cardiovascular exercise (walking, jogging, etc.) for a minimum, of 30 – 45 minutes per day, five to six day per week.

You see, even the “Average Joe" needs body building.

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