Bodybuilding For Teens

Bodybuilding can be a very healthy and rewarding activity forteenagers for a number of reasons aside from the obviousphysical benefits. However, due to their youth and the naturalchanges occurring in their bodies, parents often wonder if thetraining regimen of a teenager needs to vary drastically fromthat of an adult? Most of the dangers relating to teenage bodybuilding actuallyhave more to do with the "teenage" portion of the equation. Noone, other than teenagers, would argue with the fact thatteenagers can behave impulsively and can be prone to ignoringthe precautions and rules they find themselves faced with. Obviously, this doesn't apply to all teenagers, but it issomething that needs to be taken into consideration. There has been a longstanding belief that heavy weightliftingcan actually stunt the growth of bones. The basis of thebelief is that heavy weight lifting can speed up growth plateclosure, prematurely stopping the bone growth. This has beensuggested, but not proven, but weight lifting at an early agecertainly hasn't stunted the growth of the many professionalathletes who started young. However, they may be exceptions tothe rule and the jury is technically still out with nodefinitive proof in either camp. Regardless, the danger is only really associated with heavyduty lifting and only occurs prior to a teenager reaching fulldevelopmental maturity. Though it obviously varies fromteenager to teenager, the average age of full developmentalmaturity is 15 and very few teenagers under that age arepumping heavy iron. A teenager shouldn't try to simply emulate the workout routinesof the adults that he or she may see at the gym. The odds arethat any adult worth emulating in the gym has been training foryears and has vast amounts of experience and training, which theteenager is lacking. While trainers are a good idea for everyone, they areespecially important for teenagers. Bad habits in weighttraining can lead to serious injuries and the U.S. ConsumerProduct Safety Commission states 12% of the annual accidentsinvolving weightlifting equipment involved children between theages of 5 and 14, and 35% involved people aged 15 - 24. A good trainer will help a teenager develop the proper form,which is critical to avoiding injury. A trainer can also helpreign in a teen who, in excitement and immature reasoning, maytry to use weights that are simply too heavy. Another danger for teenagers is the disturbing trend towardssupplement overuse. Again, this can attributed to a lack ofintellectual maturity and experience, but teenagers seemespecially prone to sucking into the mythology that supplementsare a magic key to building muscles and looking better. Despite what they may believe about their own thinkingcapacity, teenagers are especially receptive to advertisementsand magazine hype. The fact that a majority of bodybuildingmagazines are owned and published by companies who also producesupplements isn't widely known. Obviously, these companies aregoing to use the magazines they produce to push the productsthey produce.so don't believe everything you read. Realistically, teenagers are under no greater risk than adultswhile working out as long as it is done properly andintelligently. The key to ensuring that it's done this way isadult supervision and guidance.About The Author: Gray Rollins is a featured writer forMuscleProgram. To learn more about teenage bodybuilding, besure to visithttp://www.muscleprogram.com/teenagersandweightlifting-arethereadditionalrisks/and check out our review of Burn The Fat athttp://www.muscleprogram.com/burnthefat/

Lose Weight - The One and Only Way

By: Gerald Meyer There is only one way to lose weightThere really is only one way to lose weight. You have to burn more calories than you use in a day. It sounds clinical and counting calories is probably going to be involved. Every weight loss program on the market today uses one or a combination of the following methods. So whether you do it yourself or through weight loss programs, this is the only way you will lose weight. Find many to choose from at www.natural-weight-loss-programs.com.1. Eat less caloriesEat less calories than you use in a day. You have to make your body convert stored fat into calories for energy. This doesn't necessarily mean you have to eat less food. But you are going to have to modify your eating habits. More on that later. Unfortunately, your body can also use muscle as energy too. As a survival instinct, your body is programmed to keep as much stored energy as possible. When you start to eat fewer calories than your body normally uses in a day it will begin to think that food is not as plentiful. You will begin going into starvation mode. Your metabolism will slow down to use as little energy as possible to get through whatever hard times your body thinks it is going through. Fat is the storage vehicle for your body's energy. But energy can come from both fat and muscle. Muscle, however, uses energy (calories). So it makes sense that your body would use your muscle first (through catabolism) and then go after the fat. Your body's main initiative, after all, is to keep you alive as long as possible. So it's going to be somewhat of a battle to balance out getting rid of fat over muscle. That's why exercise is so important when trying to lose weight. Read on for the important benefits of exercise.2. ExerciseExercise will preserve the muscle you have, and it will increase the amount of fat you burn. As long as you are not eating more than normal to compensate for the exercise, you should be burning more calories and hopefully building muscle which will require more energy and thus also burn more calories even when you aren't exercising. It's always good to check with a health care professional before beginning any exercise program to see how much exercise you are allowed. Of course, different exercises will use more calories than others.3. Raise your metabolismWhile exercise can help to raise your metabolism there are other natural weight loss programs and pharmaceutical ways to go about it too. Several natural programs can be found at www.natural-weight-loss-programs.com. Again, check with a health care professional before using any kind of products to raise your metabolism. Even some of the natural ones can be dangerous to your health. Your thyroid is what controls your body's metabolism. It's a small gland located in your neck. Hypothyroidism and other conditions may cause it to function less than normal. If you have trouble losing weight, it may be an indication that you need a thyroid supplement. Your doctor can determine this by doing a simple blood test. It may return things back to normal so you can lose weight easier. Doctors can also prescribe weight loss medications, which not only suppress your appetite, but they also boost your metabolism to enhance weight loss. Stimulant medications can have other adverse side effects such as increased heart rate and high blood pressure. Fortunately, there are some natural alternatives that do not have these side effects and can help you lose weight. One of the more popular supplements today is green tea extract.Article Source: http://www.nulife-weightloss.com/articlesGerald Meyer is a registered pharmacist and provides advice on many weight loss programs available today. Natural weight loss programs can be found at www.natural-weight-loss-programs.com . Try a free sample of TsuNoni while you're there. TsuNoni is a tasty and powerful blend of green tea and Noni.