Female Bodybuilder
Female bodybuilder shows started in the late 1970’s when women began to take part in bodybuilding competitions. However, these contests can be traced back to the 1960s with such contests as Miss Physique and Miss American. These early contests were not really bodybuilding contests but they were mostly viewed as bikini contests. Contestants in these early contests were not judged on their masculinity but other factors like beauty were considered making the contest appear less like a beauty contest.
In 1978, the first US women National Physique contest was held. Henry McGee promoted the event and it was held in Canton Ohio. This contest is referred to as the first female bodybuilding contest because the contestants were judged solely on their masculinity but not on their beauty. From this date, several other contests have been held annually.
1980 saw the first contest of Ms Olympia that is mostly referred to as the most prestigious professional contestant event. The event became a major turning point in the sport of women bodybuilding. Its popularity and the figures presented by the contestants made the event to win a lot of admiration from many people across the United States of America. Due to this popularity, many women started training as bodybuilders. They also registered as contestants making the event a very competitive one. This raised the notch of female bodybuilding higher and it has remained there with some improvement to date.
In 1991, the Ms Olympia contest was televised live in the United States of America. This added a new dimension in the field of female bodybuilding raising the competitiveness in the event. Many people who had no chance of attending the event were able to see it live from their television sets. In the recent times, the event has been categorized into two classes for female competitors making the event more dynamic and interesting to the American public.
Maybe you’ve never seen a female bodybuilder contest. Maybe you have some preconceived notions about women bodybuilders. If you have interest in body building, weight lifting, fitness, or even just losing weight, check out the next women’s bodybuilding contest, you’ll be surprised at what you see and what you learn.
Preventing Injuries During Bodybuilding
Bodybuilding requires regular stimulation of the body’s muscles to promote the muscles to increase in size. However, in order to achieve steady gains and hypertrophy we also need to encourage more healthy adaptation of the body’s tendons, ligaments and nerves. Ligaments and tendons can easily be damaged as they are very rigid and not very flexible. Therefore, it is important that some time is acquired applying some work on the tendons and ligaments to allow them to adapt.
In order for the ligaments and tendons to adapt it is of importance to stretch slowly prior to your workout program. This point should not be left out if you are to prevent tearing. It requires about thirty seconds of good stretching to perform an adequate stretch. It is a good idea to stimulate the flow of blood to the ligaments and muscles with a warm-up aerobic session. This will increase the flow of oxygen and nutrients to the muscles and tendons and gets them ready for the workout exercises. These aerobic workouts also assist in stretching the tendons and ligaments, allow you to keep working longer and ultimately allow you to get ripped quicker.
During the work-out program it is ideal to have another training, or spot partner to help whilst using the weights. When you reach fatigue, your training or spot partner can help you to lift the weight and help avoid injury. Overstraining will be reduced by stopping the requirement to move the weights when exhausted. The duration of time between exercises or sets is of much debate. It is under debate whether longer will reduce injury. The problem with this advice is that we do still need to work the muscles and taking ninety to one hundred and twenty seconds in between the sets appears to be an optimal duration of time. This amount of time helps also to keep you focused.
The duration of time spent after working out is also as vital as the time before and during the routine. This is a critical time to focus on a stretching program as the tendons and muscles are now warmed up and flexible and as such are able to get more of a benefit from these particular routines. After the workout nutrition is also especially important to supply the ligaments, tendons and muscles with optimal supplies of nutrients, including protein and glucose to quickly repair all the exercise induced injury to the muscle cells. During the process of repairing the muscle cells often compensate by undergoing hypertrophy and therefore increasing muscle size and growth. The risks of experiencing and injury can be significantly lowered in the longer term as the tendons will also develop their strength and flexibility.
It is no surprising matter more and more people are taking up bodybuilding, trying to get ripped and doing weight training as we see many pictures nowadays and films of fit looking people. As more people start weight training and body building then there is a rising incidence of injury. You should be able to diminish the risks of potential injury by following the advice in this article.
Bodybuilding Tips, How To Keep You Motivated & Succeed
Success in the world of fitness is resultant of a variety of many different factors all of which depend on specific individuals. Each and every person will need to possess their own methods for focusing on their goals and that is fine. Some methods are consistently helpful from individual to individual. Following the basics of these concepts will definitely prove helpful to those that understand them. Here is a look at some of the top methods that will yield success.
Self-Efficacy. This has been shown to be one of the most important factors contributing to success in a workout program. Self-efficacy can be defined as your personal belief that you are in fact capable of performing the behavior or achieving your goal.
Family & Friend Support. When you take up a new exercise program your daily schedule will require a great many changes. This means you will need to alter some of the responsibilities of your time so that you can definitely find the time needed to commit to exercise sessions. With the help of a supportive family, your fitness goals will be much easier to achieve.
Perhaps one of your family members will need to take over the goal of cooking meals on specific nights of the week which will allow you to visit the gym. You may even have to alter your social circles with your friends to make your fitness sessions and, hopefully, they will be understanding.
A Positive Attitude. It is definitely helpful to maintain a proper workout program so as to go along with the plan and stay motivated and committed to your program and goals. Those that have the proper positive thoughts towards their dire need for exercise will find it helpful. Those that remain positive at all times will be able to stay focused on their goals in order to deliver the intended results.
An Action Plan. An action plan remains one of the most important aspects of any workout program or goal. An effective action plan aids in delivering results. It is as simple as that. You need a means of reaching your goals and do so and without any detailed account on how to actually achieve the plan, you will discover your goals next to impossible to meet. That is just the way things go!
Intrinsic Motivation. Intrinsic motivation is often quite misunderstood which is a shame considering how valuable and important it is in regards to boosting once chances of succeeding with fitness goals. Basically, what this type of motivation refers to is the act of performing something based solely on the notion that it is something that you love to do. This is a form of motivation that is quite common among athletes and those that take part in a hobby that they truly love to lose themselves in.
A Role Model. Role models are known to be extremely helpful in the process of achieving a goal. Through looking up to someone based on their performance, you will deliver a measuring stick that you can apply to your own goals and achievements.
Knowledge. Having a solid knowledge base is highly necessary when putting together a workout program of any variety. Those that may lack a strong knowledge base in fitness and weight training, could seek to consult a fitness trainer, physical education instructor, or anyone that has solid knowledge on the subject of working out. Such people’s experience can prove quite helpful and aid in delivering the much needed help you require. Those that are self-motivated could also explore magazines, books, or DVDs on the subject so as to gain a greater familiarity with the issue. Just be selective in your choice material to be sure you get the right items to review.
Through taking the proper time to ensure you incorporate each of these factors into your life before you launch an exercise program, you will discover that the odds of increasing your success are vast. So, why not follow these tips for success? They will help you out a lot!
Wheelchair Users Can Be Top-Class Bodybuilders
When Dan Smith was offered a guest spot at the recent Portsmouth UKBFF (United Kingdom Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation) Show he really felt all his training was coming together. His performance was such a success that he has been invited to another guest posing spot at the British finals on October 17th 2009, in Nottingham.
“This is such an honour,” says Dan. “It brings my goal of being a professional bodybuilder that bit nearer.”
Being a professional bodybuilder is a difficult enough goal for anyone to set their sights on but for wheelchair-user Dan it is an even tougher path. He made his bodybuilding debut in 2004. Tragically, a couple of years later he fell 20ft from a roof at work and shattered his T12 vertebrae, resulting in paralysis from the chest down.
“After the accident I spent about six months at National Spinal Injuries Centre in Stoke Mandeville. At first I lost a lot of weight. I wasn’t eating well and was suffering from muscle wastage. But once I was able to get to the gym I started to pick up,” he explains. “I’d always been active and found the specialised physio literally life-saving.”
Once home Dan kitted out his house with exercise equipment but realised that he could quickly become housebound that way. So he chatted to Paul Smith of Fitness Development who suggested starting back on CNP Professional supplements and getting into a regular exercise regime at a local gym again.
“I haven’t looked back since then,” says Dan. “Interestingly enough my upper-body muscle shape soon came back. Once you start exercising, a sort of muscle memory takes over and the definition and bulk quickly returns.
“My routine now is to train in the gym four days per week and do an intensive one and a half hours exercise concentrating on a different muscles each time, for example chest one day, arms another and so on.
“The CNP supplements have become an essential part of my training. They are brilliant. Being in a wheelchair I have to be careful with my fluid intake and don’t want to get any stomach problems. I am really confident using CNP’s products. They are easy to digest and don’t cause bloating. What’s more, they taste nice, and are easy to swallow. In the past I’ve tried others but they’re just not as pleasant.”
Recently Dan approached CNP for sponsorship since he was so impressed with the quality of their supplements and was regularly using Pro Peptide, Pro Recover, Pro Slam, Pro Vital and Whey Protein.
“When Dan came to us we were happy to offer him sponsorship in the form of supplements,” says Kerry Kayes, former champion bodybuilder and founder of CNP. “I was really impressed with the progress he had made getting back into shape and wanted to encourage him as much as possible. I was also able to offer him advice and suggest he start using Pro Creatine regularly for maximum muscle definition.”
After using Pro Creatine E2 ethyl ester for only a month Dan has already noticed the shape and quality of his muscles changing for the better. Pro Creatine E2 is supplied in tablet form, and is used by those wanting to increase muscle size, strength and power.
During training Dan uses his sticks quite a bit. He can now walk about 1/4 mile on level ground with them and is building on this distance all the time. “My muscles can feel tired after training but Pro Recover is especially formulated to help them recover without causing any damage.”
And on those days where the thought of training seems a bit much, Dan finds that Pro Slam gives him the boost that’s needed to put him back on the right track. With zero fat and zero carbohydrate, Pro Slam is primarily designed as a pre-training booster drink.
Dan is a very positive and highly motivated person. Alongside his professional bodybuilding goal and fund-raising activities, he would also like to own his own gym and raise the profile of wheelchair bodybuilders in the UK.
“With this sponsorship from CNP I can keep my body in tip top shape,” says Dan. “I can look forward to more guest appearances and hopefully competing in competitions one day.”
CNP Professional is one of the UK’s leading sports nutrition specialist companies. For more information visit www.cnpprofessional.co.uk, or call +44 (0) 161 320 1212 for sports nutrition advice and +44 (0) 161 320 8145 for sales.