| For successful bodybuilding you have to learn to | | | | muscular growth. |
| control and reduce the stress in your daily life. Have | | | | For successful bodybuilding it is essential you keep the |
| you been desperately trying bodybuilding but have not | | | | stress levels under control. There are various therapies |
| yet got encouraging results? Ever wondered why? | | | | that may be of use to you. You may start with |
| Maybe, the stress in your day to day life is preventing | | | | learning some relaxation techniques like deep breathing, |
| you from getting the dream body. | | | | yoga, meditation etc. These techniques help you by |
| High levels of stress are not just unhealthy for the | | | | deliberately relaxing your mind. You would feel fresh, |
| body but also inhibit the body's ability to build muscle. | | | | lighter and stimulated rather than feel tired, bogged |
| Stress directly affects the ability of the body to build | | | | down and disillusioned. These therapies focus on |
| the lean muscle and makes it more difficult. Therefore, | | | | encouraging a feeling of well-being in the individual and |
| in spite of your doing all the right exercises and having | | | | sooth the hassled nerves. They help by increasing the |
| the correct diet, the results are far from satisfactory. | | | | intake of oxygen and rejuvenate the body. |
| Let us first understand by what exactly we mean by | | | | Increase of Oxygen intake helps increase the |
| stress. The dictionary meaning of stress is "the | | | | production of Adenosine Triphosphate or ATP as it is |
| response of the body towards any external stimuli that | | | | commonly known as. ATP is the energy storage |
| may cause fear or pain or similar responses". Stress is | | | | house of the body. Whenever the body is in need of |
| not to be dreaded, on the contrary stress can be | | | | energy ATP is broken down to ADP (Adenosine |
| beneficial too if channelized in the right direction. Stress | | | | Diphosphate) and if the need arises to AMP |
| can be due to work, personal affairs, meetings, | | | | (Adenosine Monophosphate). All the muscular |
| deadlines and many more such reasons. Stress | | | | contraction in the body requires ATP as it is a |
| activates the body's natural mechanism to "fight". | | | | constant source of energy to the muscles. Thus, as |
| Like everything else in our life, stress too is beneficial | | | | and when ATP is used the body also needs to |
| only when in control. Too much of stress can produce | | | | regenerate ATP for future usage and this is where |
| disastrous results. Increased stress causes the adrenal | | | | breathing exercises come in the picture. |
| cortex to release higher amounts of Cortisol. Higher | | | | For successful bodybuilding you have to consciously |
| amounts of Cortisol are extremely detrimental to the | | | | try to control the stress in your life. Include a few |
| body as its retards the repair of functionality of | | | | relaxation techniques to combat the stress as and |
| muscles and slows its repair too. Cortisol increases the | | | | when it comes and see your exercising efforts pay |
| protein breakdown in the body leading to lack of | | | | off with a wonderfully sculpted body. |