ATTENTION: The foll
owing article is for bodybuilders and other physique athletes looking to build muscle. Athletes training for specific sports or for function may not find it as useful, however the techniques listed could still be used in phases where hypertrophy is the goal.
There are many factors that determine how easily (or not) someone is able to gain muscle. Genetics are the biggest factor and this include things like hormone levels, receptors, type of muscle fibers, myostatin levels, ability to absorb nutrients, protein synthesis rates, etc. The other factors related to optimal muscle growth are more easily manipulated: diet, supplementation, training, determination, consistency, etc.
You migh
t be aware that resistance leads to growth in many ways, but you may not be aware that other factors can also contribute to growth. In fact, massage therapy can aid your growth in ways that you might never imagine.
Massage is usually considered a luxury, an occasional relaxing splurge, but the truth is that massage therapy is a form of alternative medicine that has bona fide medical applications; in most states it even requires practitioners to be licensed by the state medical board.
Bodybuilding isn't just a sport, it's a lifestyle. There's media in virtually every format imaginable from print to DVDs to the vast world of cyberspace. The theme is always a powerful one, where athletes' lives are scrutinized from their diets to their training methods to where they get their macros. But these larger than life men and women who help construct the fantasy world we all strive to be part of - are actually human. And as with any human, life happens.
As someone inter
ested in fitness, why not turn your passion for health and well-being into a career? While the most popular choice people make is to become a personal trainer, you could make a lot more money if you started a gym, opened up a supplement store, or developed your own supplement brand. While starting a gym or opening up a supplement store would require a lot of capital investment, creating your own line of supplements has some unique benefits. It’s less expensive than starting a gym or opening up your own store, and it pays far more than becoming a personal trainer. As a personal trainer, you would be trading time for dollars, but as a supplement manufacturer, your product could sell without you having to do it personally. You could, for instance, sell it from a website or get supplement stores to stock it on their shelves.
There are lots of challenges to overcome 
when you want to get in shape but knowledge isn’t one of them. There are pages and pages of articles about losing fat, losing weight, burning calories, eating healthier, building strength, etc. Knowing what to do isn’t the problem. The problem is doing what you know you need to do even when you feel like doing the right thing isn’t working!
