Building Muscle for Dummies

Have you seen Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger in the movies and dreamed of having those bulging muscles? Did you know that Schwarzenegger, who is currently the governor of California, had a 58 inch chest and weighed almost 250 pounds at the age of 21 without using any steroids or growth hormones? If bodybuilding isn’t your cup of tea and you think it’s impossible for you to bulk up, think again. You may not be the next Schwarzenegger, but it is absolutely possible for you to build strong and developed muscles without living full time in the gym.

It’s a common myth among men that increasing muscle mass and bodybuilding are the same. In fact, muscle- and bone-building programs have nothing to do with bodybuilding; rather, they’re a means to improve your physique and strength through a training regime.

Once you’ve investigated and busted the popular myths surrounding muscle and bone building, you can see that strength-training programs are not just for the young. In fact, even the elderly can benefit from strength training, as long as proper care is taken. Injuries during muscle-building activity are largely due to improper technique, lack of proper guidance, or incompetent trainers. So whatever your age, you can build big muscles and enjoy all the strength, power, and health benefits that come with them. In fact, if you’re on the “wrong” side of 50, you might benefit more from these programs than your younger counterparts, because strength training counteracts many of the negative effects of aging, particularly decreased bone density.

So, how will you find time to follow these training programs? You’re a busy person with a tight work schedule, after all. Well, strength-building workouts don’t have to be time consuming at all! You can devote just two or three weekly sessions of 20 to 25 minutes each and begin to reap the benefits in just a couple months.

However, you must pay heed to some preliminaries before you start with such a program: You need an experienced trainer to help design your workouts. Also, you must do some stretching and light aerobic exercise to warm up your muscles before starting the muscle building session.

You’re never too old and it’s never too late to start getting healthy and fit. Building the muscles and bones of your body is a great way to do so. It not only makes your body look beautiful, but it also makes you feel healthy and active and young.