People who are serious about their body building are often subjected to intense stereotypes. The stereotype is that of people who cover their bodies in oil, grow their muscles to almost obscene proportions and then do no thing but lift half ton weights over and over again. Unfortunately the stereotype is not entirely off base. There are some people who do live that kind of lifestyle. Some body builders go the professional route and are paid enough to earn a living just to build up their muscles to crazy sizes. Of course, that is not the only reason to take up body building. The most important reason for anyone to start body building is to increase health. Body building is a fantastic form of exercise. If you are new to body building, here is the approach you should take.

Proper breathing is important. Breathing correctly is essential to a body building exercise routine. Holding your breath is a bad idea. You want to take in oxygen so that that oxygen can reach your muscles and keep them healthy. When you breathe you want to breathe from your diaphragm and not from your lungs. It is difficult to give your torso a proper work out if you don't breathe correctly because filling your lungs with too much air expands your chest too much to be able to do any real work. If you breathe from the diaphragm you are still taking in all the oxygen you need but it doesn't cause your chest to expand.

Set goals you know you can reach. Don't try to go too far too fast. Focus on goals that don't work against your health. This way you will build your body and get the high satisfaction that comes from being able to meet your goals.

When you meet your goals and succeed at your tasks then you can set your next goals. Setting goals by steps will keep you focused and happy and you won't be as tempted to take shortcuts. You cannot build muscles that are not already strong. If you to do body building too fast you might hurt yourself or get discouraged when you don't see the results you want as quickly as you wanted to see them.

The basic exercises that body builders do include (but are not limited to) squats, leg curls, lunges, leg presses, dumbbell raises, leg extensions, laterals, dips, flyes, ez-bar curls, pull ups, incline crunches, hanging leg raises and the "regular" cardiovascular exercises like swimming, biking and running. Make sure that you know how to do all of these different types of exercises and don't attempt them by yourself. You should always have a spotter when you are lifting, especially during the days when you are working on building up your strength for new weight limits. Lifting without having someone to spot you is dangerous because you won't have anybody to help you if the lift you are doing becomes to hard for you to do by yourself.

Body building has taken on an almost negative stereotype over the last few decades. The truth is that body building is a legitimate sport and type of working out and it is a wonderful way to increase your health and get in shape. As you work to increase your health, exercising regularly is important. Your muscles and other body systems need to be put to work on a regular basis if you want them to stay strong and keep your health levels high.