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After choosing your weightlifting guide and learning about nutrition there are still other things that are useful to the bodybuilder. Some of these are bodybuilding supplements. Protein powder is the first supplement that many weightlifters will suggest. This helps you consume more calories and more proteins. Put the powder in water or milk and drink it. Others will suggest a powder that is specifically for weight gaining. In a few shakes you can add an extra twelve hundred calories to your daily intake.

Although many people don’t need help gaining weight, additional protein is quite important. The most effective bodybuilding supplements for this is milk in the form of whey powder. This is abosorbed quickly by the body and is easy to digest. Some people prefer soy powder, which is significantly cheaper. It is not as good as whey and it is suggested that other bodybuilding supplements be used with it. Another possibility is to eat plenty of eggs, the only thing is that most people get tired of the taste.

Although most people will not refer to milk as one of the bodybuilding supplements others say it is. If you could drink a quart of milk several times a day you would get the protein you need since you would consume thirty-two grams in each quart. Bodybuilders have the tendency to have specific diets so they don’t get enough vitamins sometimes. Therefore it is recommended that along with whatever bodybuilding supplements you are taking you should also take a daily multi-vitamin.

Another of the popular bodybuilding supplements is creatine and glutamine. Creatine happens to be a muscle builder. It quickly builds muscle mass because its stored right by it. The interesting thing about this one is that it tends to hold the water around the muscles and so makes the muscles look bigger than they actually are. Over time muscle mass will replace this water. Glutamine is expensive but is good because it can assist in muscle repair. If you are working on a bodybuilding program you do not need to use all of these. Choose the ones most suitable to help achieve your goals.

For more info… Check out the Top 8 Bodybuilding Books

After all the hard work that you poured into your body, are you ready to go to the next level?  After all, you have spent a lot of time building your muscles by training, adding vitamins and supplements to your diet, eating the right kind of food and resting.  You have come to the point where you have your body just the way you want it to.  Another step forward would be to join body building competitions.But, as with body building, it is a process that has different elements that you should think about.  Let us take a look at the various aspects involved in these competitions.  This exercise will help you assess whether you are ready for these contests.

First, you should take a look at the various websites that provide information about the different bodybuilding program competitions you can join.Here are some websites you can look into:

http://www.npcnewsonline.com/
http: //www.usbf.net/
http: //www.wnbf.net/
http: //www.worldnaturalsports.com/
http: //www.inbf.net/
http://www.nanbf.org/
http://www.snbf.com/
http: //www.nationalgym.com/nga/index.php
http: //www.naturalbodybuilding.com/

The first thing you should look for before you even joining would be to check whether you are actually qualified to join.  Also consider that some of these contests charge fees for entry, as well as entry deadlines.Scope out the whole scenario before giving it a try.

After you have decided to join a competition and have selected the contest you want to enter comes the hard part.  First, you need to go on a diet.  Remember that it is necessary to shed as much body fat as you can while ensuring that your muscle mass is maintained.This can be done with the help of a healthy and nutritious diet, plus muscle building exercise supplements.Keep in mind that for every three pounds of body fat you lose, you end up losing one pound of muscle.  So, when going on a diet, ensure that you do not lose too much of your muscle.

Another thing you need to learn is how to pose.  Posing allows you to show off your muscles in the best way possible.  Learning to pose is important.  This is, after all, how muscle building program competitions are won.You may have an excellent physique, but you may lose out to someone who is better at showing off his muscles.The basic poses you have to learn are: the Front and Rear Double Biceps, the Side Chest, the Front and Rear Lateral Spread, the Side Triceps and the Abdominal Pose.

You should also get a tan, as the chances of your winning without a tan are slim.  So hurry over to the closest tanning booth.  You can also make use of competition tans.  These are some of the products that are specifically designed to help body building competitors get that winning tan.

And finally, be sure that you are a member of the organization hosting the contest.More often than not, these contests require that you are a member of the organization.  Other things you will need include posing trunks (about two or three), some music (that will provide the needed “ambiance” while you are posing, and also some tanning lotion and snacks. Bring snacks that are rich in potassium and protein.  Another thing that should be on your list is some posing oil, plus an assistant to help you apply the oils and lotions before the competition.

‘Why am I not getting any bigger?’ is one of the most common question from bodybuilders around the world. After all you are training hard, with good muscle building nutrition in your diet, yet your gains are still minimal. The sense of frustration after all of the months of effort is tremendous and can be really demotivating. So precisely what is the answer? Well, there are a few likely causes, see if any of these ring a bell with you, together they show you how to build muscle:

1) Are you eating enough? Under eaters could be the real name for many hardgainers. As this is frequently the reason for small muscle gains. Eating lots and often is the key to weight gain in bodybuilding! Eating every two hours is a good guideline and will enable you to take on board as many calories as possible. Make sure you snack lots on food such as: dried fruit and nuts, yoghurt, cottage cheese,  cereal and milk, protein bars, fresh fruit, and protein shakes, etc

2) Are you getting enough protein? To build muscle mass fast you should aim for 1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight daily. Great sources of protein include: chicken, fish, turkey as well as dairy products. You need the excess calories in order to grow so don’t be overly worried about purchasing the low fat type. Sure you need quality calories but make your life easier and eat everything, remember you can go through a cutting up stage in a few months time. Taking whey protein shakes  is another great way to get on board quality protein, purchase the big 5 pound tubs to get the most for your money.

3) Have your routines gone stale? If you can reel off your routine from the top of your head then that probably means you have been doing the same for thing for quite a while now. Your body is not going to grow if you are not providing stimulating workouts with lots of variety. How about varying things around using, super sets, drop sets, partials, negatives and so on. You may just try doing the same routine only backwards and se how that change works, how about doing 10 sets consisting of 10 reps for just one exercise like the benchpress (get ready to be sore!) or even allow yourself a week off from working out and let your body totally recover. There are endless variations that are possible make sure you use them.

4) Are you getting enough down time? Did you ever see anyone walk into a fitness centre workout and then come out having put on half a stone of muscle? Never. Clearly then your muscle do their growing at home after you have pumped out. You will certainly be limiting your muscle growth if you are not getting enough rest time. If anything you should be giving yourself too much time to grow as opposed to too little. Try reducing your workouts to working out once muscle group per week. Also reducing the number of sets per body part, how about a maximum of 3-5 really intense sets per body part per workout. Think that is not nearly enough, give them a go and see what happens!

5) Is your water intake high enough? You will limit your progress if you don’t get an adequate supply of water. In order to grow, your muscles need copious amounts of water. Take a bottle of water with you, leave it in the car and always sip on it.

So the question we began with: “Why am I not growing quicker?’as you now know has potentially many answers. Answer with extreme honesty the above questions and if you need to make a few changes then do so. If you are not hitting just one of the above guidelines then you may possibly have found the probelm underlying your limited growth. Change is required if more than one of these points is not being addressed by your bodybuilding lifestyle. Certainly there are a huge variety of reasons why you aren’t building muscle mass fast but they are the typical probelms. Now hit the weights and starting building muscle mass!