When people look at body builders, there is often a suggestion that the word “vanity” is never far from their minds. After all, it is pretty much impossible to be a body builder without it being fairly obvious.
Even in a suit that covers up all the muscles, a long term body builder can often be hard to distinguish from a moving wall. But to assume that vanity is behind most people taking up body building would be unfair, and simply massively inaccurate.
There are many practical reasons why you would consider taking it up.
Quite apart from any competitive considerations, there is the fact that for most of us, situations will occur that necessitate a bit (or a lot) of heavy lifting. As well built as some of us may be naturally, heavy lifting still takes it out of you.
But if you have been working on the exact muscle groups that are required for the job, then you will be in a good position to get through such a task with a minimum of sweat. In fact, people will often pay you to do it for them. If you have been working those muscles for years, that’s pretty close to money for nothing.
Being able to lift and move heavy items is something that comes up again and again, if you are moving house for example. The simple thought of doing such a thing is enough to bring many individuals out in a cold sweat.
Those muscles may provoke envy in many, but they can also win you a bunch of respect.
You can do more or less anything competitively these days. There are competitions for things that maybe half a century ago would have been unimaginable in a competitive context, and as time goes on the field increases in size.
But it should come as no surprise that among the things you can do competitively is bodybuilding. It is something that has clearly definable and measurable results. And it fits in well with a competitive spirit, as it is something towards which you can train and put in a whole lot of effort.
If you are a relative novice to bodybuilding, there are competitions for the newcomer which are probably the best choice if you are feeling competitive.
The guys who have been competing for years are liable to make anyone feel somewhat daunted and even a little bit discouraged. The one thing that must sit as a caveat for any potential competitor is that it is not a pursuit for a shrinking violet.
In order to demonstrate the success of your body building regime it is necessary to pull some poses that would make the average person blush. But if you have been working on your physique and got it to a level that you’re happy with, why would you not show it off?
Most areas have regional competitions, and if you do well enough there there are many levels above that to which you can graduate. Perhaps someone reading this might go on to be another Mr Universe!
The benefits of body building for a physical boost are clear and proven. No-one can deny that there is a lot to be gained from a physical aspect from training well and putting in the effort required to build your muscles. But less attention is paid to the beneficial effects that training can have on a more personal level. Treating a body building regime as a personal project will see to it that you gain a sense of accomplishment at each step along the way – something which cannot be underestimated in terms of importance. The benefits of having a sense of personal accomplishment are well recognised, and there are many of them.
A good body building regime will contain a number of goals that you need to attain to keep the process on schedule and effective. In reaching these goals you will give yourself a well-deserved sense of accomplishment that will in turn drive you on to achieve more and hit higher goals. This sense of accomplishment transfers into everything you do, and when life presents you with challenges it gives you something to call upon that shows you do not fall back when life gives you something to take on.
There are so many reasons why body builders take up training. Some will do it competitively, some just for their own personal intentions. Whatever the reason it cannot be denied that a successful body building regime has many other effects beyond the building of muscles. It is up to you what your motivating factors will be, but personal achievement cannot be underestimated among the possibles.
If you were digging a hole, and the spade you were using had a shaky handle and a broken blade, you would take a lot longer to dig that hole than a guy with a well-made, new spade. If you were trying to play a guitar and it only had five strings, then you would not get such a great sound out of it as a guy with a new Fender. So when it comes to body building, there is something to be said for using new, efficient equipment. It may cost more than second-hand, and you could buy some cheaper weights, but would the saving justify the use of the poorer equipment?
Badly designed weights can work muscles in the wrong way. The advantage that you gain with better equipment is that, for the same amount of work, they give you far more than basic or poor equipment. There is little point in cutting corners when it comes to training – all that will happen is that you will struggle at some point down the line and you will regret it. At that point you may decide to upgrade your equipment – and all you will have done is delay the spending, incurred some extra and held yourself back.
Instead of this, ask someone who knows you, and who knows training what kind of equipment you should go for. Working with the right equipment is worth the effort and the cost, and will save you money in the long run. There is no point at all in half-measures where training is concerned.
Training to gain the shape that you have always wanted makes for an intensive regime of hard work and effort. You can never be in too good of a shape, so it is important to maintain a quality training regime, and it’s the word “quality” that is important. Quality wins out over quantity, every time. The key here is that if you get injured, you do not dwell on how it is keeping you from training. You have to accept that training must wait for a time when you can do it effectively, and in the mean time find something else to do.
If you are sitting about getting wound up about how you want to get back in the gym, then you will not be effective when you get back in there. All that will happen is you will take the first sign of recovery as a green light to get back in the gym and the training you will do once there will be a great deal less effective than it would be under normal circumstances. Efficiency and quality are the watchwords, remember. As much as you may want to get back in the game, realise that there is little point in training at half of your potential.
Find another way to fill your time – it doesn’t really matter what that is. It could be something slow paced like gardening, or anything else. Something that keeps your mind occupied is the key. If you are left idle, your mind will wander right back to the gym – and you will follow it there, which will not help.
