Physical Fitness Exercises

Bodybuilding, sport concerned with increasing musculature through repetitive exercise with weights, and adherence to strict nutritional plans. It was originally known as progressive weight training, because participants use progressively heavier weights to stimulate muscle growth. Bodybuilding developed from weightlifting, but bodybuilders attempt to increase muscle size and sculpt the body rather than strive for increases in strength. Bodybuilding, weightlifting, and power lifting are closely allied and some bodybuilders participate in the other disciplines. Bodybuilding as a sport is popular worldwide, national championships being held in most countries and international championships on every continent. The principal international organization is the International Federation of Bodybuilders (IFBB). Bodybuilding has been included in the World Games: a quadrennial championship where sports under consideration for inclusion in the Olympic games are viewed.

A standard diet is high in calories and fibre and would typically consist of 60 per cent of carbohydrates, 35 per cent of protein, and 5 per cent of fat. Such a diet helps increase lean muscle mass and body weight.

Bodybuilders use a large variety of equipment, the main ones being barbells, dumb bells (short steel rods with fixed plates at either end), and machines. Machines are, primarily, of the cable and pulley variety: they have stacks of rectangular plates, with vertical guides, attached by drilled rods and pins to cables that pass around pulleys to handles which the trainee pulls to move the weights. These are described as "selectorized machines", because trainees can easily select different weights without needing to lift discs on and off the machines. Various horizontal and inclined benches are also used.

Working out with weights has a long history. One of the highlights of the ancient Greek Olympics was the display of the weightlifting prowess by strong men from around the world. These weightlifters were as legendary as the mythical giants Atlas and Hercules. During the ancient Greek and Roman days, weight training helped one acclimatize to wearing heavy metal armour, wielding heavy spears, swords and axes.

To this end, the Greek philosopher, Plato, enthusiastically advocated rigorous physical exercise for men and women. The decline and fall of the Greek and Roman empires, and the halt to the ancient Olympic Gaines led to a change in the common man's attitude towards weight training. During the Middle Ages, and through much of the post Renaissance period, weight training shrank to a small category of circus performers, boxers and strongmen competitors. The depiction of lean males in painting and sculpture of that period reflected the public distaste for bulky figures.

The advent of the Modern Olympic Games reawakened interest in weight training. The Games provided a platform for strongmen to show off their skill, and athletic coaches son discovered that a systematic weight training programme dramatically improved the performance of sprinters. The rising profile of Olympic Games paralleled the 2011 Century explosion in our understanding of blomechanics, sports physiology nutrition and the treatment of sports injuries. The popularity of motion pictures meant that bodybuilding became more than just a means to athletic goal; it was a way to sculpt one's body in the image of one's choosing.

Bodybuilding is simply one of the best exercises for both the sexes, for the young and the old. The risky behaviour of using anabolic steroids for bodybuilding is to be left out. There is a misapprehension that the weight lifting and weight training will retard the growth and height of the does. It is very false that the height and stature are decided by the genes and not by exercises.

Isometric exercises are another type of exercises, which does not involve any repetitions. For developing a muscle group, that particular muscle group is kept contracted for 10 to 15 seconds so that the muscle group gets its strength and shape. The results are very fast and the benefits are the same. Bullworkers, springs, lifting and holding weights at a contracted stage are all come under isometric contraction. There is a misconception that those who follow the regimen of isometric contractions will have nervous break down at a later stage. This is purely a fiction.