15 Amazing Bodybuilding Facts Simplified For Muscle Building

The world of bodybuilding revolves around the human body.

Bodybuilding can help a person lose weight and lead a healthier life. But there is so much more to bodybuilding than mere bench press exercises and fat loss programs.

Making an exercise routine part of our daily lives can lead to a healthier lifestyle. We live in an age where most of us spend the maximum time in a day in the seated position. Our sedentary lifestyle gives birth to numerous health-related illnesses. Type two diabetes is generally linked to people who do not engage in any form of physical exercise. Lack of exercise also makes way for people to gain excessive weight. This causes obesity, one of the principal sources of heart ailments.

Bodybuilding has the power to strengthen the stabilizer muscles that are present in the 'core' of our body and support our lower back. One should always note that to stay lean and in shape, gym-goers combine exercises such as the classic bench press and pull-ups with calisthenics and pilates. A combination of various types of exercises helps in weight loss in the long run.

Even though bodybuilding leads to muscle gain and better health as a result of that, a bodybuilder has to be careful while engaging in it. While lifting weights, a gym goer has to keep in mind the risks involved in the process. Any wrong move can lead to a serious injury. So, it is of paramount importance that novice bodybuilders engage with weight training under the supervision and guidance of a trained professional. Working out correctly is essential for long-term success.

What is bodybuilding?

When we hear the term 'bodybuilding', we imagine big, bulky men struggling to reach their objectives in gymnasiums. It is not incorrect, but there is more to it than that. In practice, bodybuilding could be any form of exercise that helps one to attain better physical shape. The type of exercise could vary from hardcore iron-aided exercises to carrying heavy pieces of logs or truck tires. Anything that forces the human body to increase its muscle mass amounts to bodybuilding. 

The essential idea around bodybuilding is to build muscle by engaging in activities that would lead to muscle growth and muscle mass. With an increase in the muscle mass of the body, the person would see a rise in body weight. Each muscle group requires a different set of exercises to activate its growth. Bodybuilding has gained a lot of fame in recent years following the boom in the health and fitness industry. Many celebrities in the world are full-time advocates of bodybuilding and other allied sports such as Mixed Martial Arts (MMA).

• For someone who has never indulged himself or herself in bodybuilding but wants to, there is always a place to begin from. Anyone can build their body as per the goal each has. No one needs to go overboard right at the beginning. A steady progression is far more healthy in the long run than mindless weight training.
• The process of building muscle can take up a lot of time. It happens gradually after a lot of hard work and patience. You need to be really cautious and careful that you do not hurry with your personal fitness goals. To build muscle, one needs to work slowly at first and then increase the load of the workout. Otherwise, there are big chances that the practitioner may get serious injuries.
• The human body consists of over 600 muscles. These are grouped into three categories: skeletal muscles, smooth muscles, and cardiac muscles. When we move our bodies, lots of muscles work together to make that happen. It is not the muscles of our body that are solely responsible for movement. To make the human body move and perform activities, the bones and muscles have to work in tandem with the nervous system. All these body systems are equally responsible for the proper functioning of the human body.
• These days, we find many 'magic' products that promise the fitness enthusiast super-fast results. The products we are talking about mostly come in the form of protein supplements. The whole idea behind the sale of protein supplements is that natural foods do not contain the adequate amounts of protein that the body needs to build muscle. So, the companies selling these protein supplements guarantee that their supplements will not only fulfill the protein requirements of the body but also give an additional push towards muscle growth. Now, we need to be very careful about these claims. There has been research done in laboratories that has shown that most supplements available easily in the market contain illegal drugs and artificial hormones in them. They may help bodybuilders in their quest to add more muscle, but in the long run, these supplements are believed to be dangerous for the body.
• Scientists have shown that long-term usage of unverified protein supplements can lead to a whole set of debilitating symptoms. Heat flashes, excessive rage, acne, increase in blood pressure, kidney damage, are some of the indications of long-term usage of supplements. This is not to say that you will not find good quality protein supplements in the market though. Always make sure that you consult your general physician or doctor before buying any of these products. The wrong purchase, coupled with the wrong set of exercises, could lead to serious outcomes. This is the only instance when bodybuilding becomes an unhealthy pursuit.

Bodybuilding History

Bodybuilding is an ancient physical sport. We find many examples of heroes and warriors in ancient Greece who were also great bodybuilders. Many of you would know about the Greek hero Heracles or Hercules. If you visit museums in Greece or other places, you will get to see statues of this celebrated figure. Like in Greece, we have archaeological evidence, which clearly shows that bodybuilding was a popular sport in ancient Egypt.

• Like Hercules, several other Greek characters are shown to have perfectly symmetrical physiques. These statues can be seen as a celebration of the beauty of the physical body. They are a constant reminder to us of what a person is capable of achieving with their body. The Romans, who inherited most of the classical tenets of ancient Greece, also focused on the connection between health and exercise. In the ruins of Roman cities, we find depictions of muscular figures lifting weights. Most lifters on the walls of the Roman buildings are those of gladiators.
• If you want to know and learn more information about these legendary fighters, watch the movie Gladiator (2000). The Academy Award-winning movie revolves around a Roman general who becomes a gladiator and ultimately challenges the authority of the emperor himself. We are confident you will enjoy it!
• If we fast forward from ancient times closer to our period, we find bodybuilding as a burgeoning sport in the early half of the 18th century. In this early phase of modern bodybuilding, the primary emphasis was brute strength, and it was dominated by men. The goal of the bodybuilder was to showcase his strength in front of a crowd of people. It was more of a profession than a personal endeavor.
• The most important figure in the modern-day sport of bodybuilding is a man named Eugen Sandow. He is depicted as a father figure of modern-day bodybuilding. Eugen Sandow was the first person in the modern era who understood the importance of not only strength, but also aesthetics. Unlike many of his predecessors, Sandow worked on the aesthetics of his body. In the existing photos of Sandow, you can see his beautifully shaped physique. His idea of a proper bodybuilder had both a strong and crafted physique. Eugen Sandow went on to establish bodybuilding as a professional sport and chaired the first recorded official bodybuilding competition in 1901. It was named The Great Competition and was won by a strongman named William Morray.

Golden Age Of Bodybuilding

Many sports historians believe that what is now known as the Golden Age of bodybuilding can be traced back to the incredible pioneering efforts of two brothers in post-World War II America. Joe and Ben Weider established the International Federation of Bodybuilders (IFBB) in the year 1946. This was followed by the inaugural MR Olympia competition in 1965.

• The Mr. Olympia competition is the World Cup of bodybuilding. Since its formation, the competition has gradually grown to become a worldwide phenomenon. Every winner of Mr. Olympia is awarded a bronze statuette of Eugen Sandow.
• This competition was made famous globally by none other than 'The Terminator' Arnold Schwarzenegger. He won the title a mind-boggling seven times. You may know him from a plethora of Hollywood action movies such as 'The Terminator', 'Commando', 'Conan the Barbarian'. He later went on to become a two-time Governor of the state of California.
• It was Arnold Schwarzenegger's documentary, released in the '70s, that gave the sport of bodybuilding a great push into a global audience. The documentary, titled 'Pumping Iron', follows Schwarzenegger as he prepares for the Mr. Olympia competition. One will also find other greats of this golden era, like Frank Zane, Lou Ferrigno, and Franco Columbu, in this famous documentary.

Benefits Of Bodybuilding

You must have seen huge muscular men fighting each other in Hollywood action movies. Action stars like Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson go to the gym daily to keep their body in peak condition. It requires immense effort, along with discipline and dedication.

Several views surround the diet that gym-goers need to follow if they opt for morning workout routines. What we find common is the idea of not eating anything heavy before going to the gym in the morning. It is never good to exercise with a heavy stomach. 

When a person eats a lot of food before they head out to exercise, the outcome is seldom favorable. It is because as soon as we eat, our body begins the digestion process. During this phase, blood circulation in the stomach and intestine increases manifold. This makes the brain less efficient in dealing with the changes that the body undergoes while training. You see, when someone is training, not only is the body engaged in the activity, the brain is also deeply involved. Hence, a light meal is preferable before a person starts with a workout routine, be it in the morning or during any other specific time of the day. Anyone who is thinking of starting to work out must remember that a light stomach helps the brain to focus better.

• Many researchers believe that the bodybuilding diet is one of the pillars of this sport. One has to understand that the body needs a nutritious diet to promote muscle growth. To build muscle, the bodybuilder must provide their body with essential nutrients. When you look at cars, you see them filling and refilling their tanks with petrol and the like. In a similar vein, the body requires an adequate amount of protein to help in the process of building muscle.
• Everyone needs protein in their diet. It is actually one of the most essential nutrients that a body needs from food. But when it comes to muscle growth, protein instantly becomes the most essential of all nutrients. Protein is made up of amino acids. These amino acids are the building blocks of muscles. When we eat food rich in protein, like eggs, meat, fish, the body breaks up the protein present in these foods into amino acids. These simpler forms of protein then get used by the body to form muscles.
• The third most important aspect of bodybuilding after exercise and nutrition is recovery. While most fitness enthusiasts go overboard with their exercise and nutrition plans, few concentrate on their recovery. After all the lifting and training, the body needs rest. When a person has returned from training and workout sessions, the next step to muscle growth is adequate sleep. Good quality sleep leads to faster muscle development and growth. It is during sleep that proteins and vitamins get synthesized by the body. Even when the target is weight loss, sleep determines how much fat is being destroyed to make way for muscles to take their place.