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We have all felt it the day after a heavy lifting session at the gym. Your arms might feel a little heavier than usual, or it might be somewhat painful to walk up a flight of stairs. Soreness is a natural part of muscle building. While muscle soreness is expected, have you ever stopped to wonder how it affects your progress and performance? Is soreness good? Why does it happen in the first place? Here’s what you need to know about muscle soreness. Weightlifting Clothes Why Do We Get Sore? That tightness and pain you feel the day after an intense workout is caused by micro-tears in your muscles. The muscle growth process is the result of this tearing and subsequent repair. Any time you do a more intense workout than usual or involve new muscle groups, you’re looking at a day or two of soreness. However, these tears will heal, and over time those fibers will become stronger. Is Muscle Soreness Good or Necessary? While soreness essentially means that you put your body to work during t

Personal record (PR) lifts are an important milestone in your weightlifting journey. Every time you aim for a PR, you are getting ready to break through your barriers and set a new standard for yourself. They prove to you and the world that you are progressing and reaching new heights. When it comes time to put on your weightlifting clothing and hit the gym for a PR attempt, there are a few things that you need to keep in mind. These five tips can help you get ready to succeed on your next attempt.  Bodybuilder Clothing Get Plenty of Sleep This tip starts before the day of your PR attempt, but it extends into the day of. Sleep is essential to recovering after past workouts and preparing for your big lift later in the day. Get a full night’s rest by heading to bed at the right time. It might take some planning, but getting 7 to 8 hours is crucial to have all the energy and focus you need when you step up to the bar for your PR lift. Whether you have to pack your bodybuil

No matter what your strength-training routine is, how often you target each muscle group, or what your rotation looks like, there are a few lifts that you need to include in your plan. Compound lifts can help improve strength across various muscle groups and provide whole-body benefits that you just don’t get with isolation movements.  Bodybuilding Clothes There are a few exercises that stand above the rest. These should be the pillars of your weightlifting routine because of their effectiveness, widespread use, and straightforward mechanics. Grab your lifting clothes and head to the gym to incorporate these four lifts into your routine. Barbell Squats Leg day is integral to any workout routine, especially for bodybuilders. You use your legs almost all day, every day. It is crucial to make sure they are strong and trained. Plus, they are key to a good all-around aesthetic. Nobody wants to be the guy who skips leg day. When planning your lower body workout, you can’t forg

Yoga might seem like the furthest thing from throwing some iron around in the weight room. However, even the most intense bodybuilders can find value in the practice. Yoga has been around for thousands of years, and it is one of the most popular forms of exercise in the country. It’s an excellent way for bodybuilders to stay healthy and fit in new ways.  Bodybuilding Apparel Yoga can help you build muscle strength without lifting weights or straining your joints, and it can help you improve overall performance and overcome injuries. Pull on your bodybuilding apparel and get ready to stretch and move in new but beneficial ways. Improved Flexibility By stretching and strengthening your muscles and tendons, yoga can improve your flexibility in critical areas that are often tight from regular lifting. This includes your shoulders, hips, hamstrings, and chest. Practicing yoga and improving your flexibility can help prevent injuries which can keep you out of the gym for days,

Like it or not, leg day always comes back around. You’ve worked out your chest and back, and suddenly it has come full circle again. Even if you want it to be over as quickly as possible, you must make sure you have a well-rounded leg day routine. That way, your muscle gains can be balanced.  Bodybuilder Clothing Of course, the central pillar of any lower body routine should be squats. The barbell squat is one of the most fundamental compound movements. But what about after that? Grab your bodybuilder clothing and try out these three exercises to complement your squats on leg day. Barbell Hip Thrusts This lift is essentially a weighted version of a glute bridge and is a great accessory to your squats. It mainly targets the glutes but also works out the hamstrings and quads. Barbell hip thrusts can help you improve your squats as well, so next time you’re in your weightlifting clothing at the gym, try adding it to your routine. Place a bench behind you and sit with a bar above you

Are you ready to be in top shape for the summer? It’s the perfect time to add high-intensity interval training (HIIT) to your regimen. You won’t have to spend all day at the gym. Instead, throw on your bodybuilding clothing , and do your HIIT workout anywhere you want. It’s much easier at the gym with equipment, but you can still get a good workout in at home, around your neighborhood, or on a big grassy hill at the park. Here’s what bodybuilders need to know about HIIT workouts. Bodybuilding Clothing Burn More Calories in Less Time HIIT might be better than fasted or steady-state cardio if you want to burn calories and lose fat. HIIT burns calories in a shorter amount of time thanks to the intensity, especially when compared to steady-state exercise. This is also why you won’t have to spend the entire day on the treadmill or elliptical. You can get in, do an intense workout, and get on with your day, which makes it the perfect complement to your lifting routine. Increase Your Resti

What happens when you have a bad bodybuilding competition? Your tan wasn’t right, you weren’t cut enough, your poses were off, or something else tanked your chances of winning. What can you learn for next time? Who should you talk to for tips? Grab your bodybuilding apparel , get back in the gym, and get ready to try again with these tips. Bodybuilding Apparel Learn From Your Failure First, you need to identify your mistakes. What went wrong? If you can’t think of anything, ask yourself, what did the other competitors do better? The key goal is to find where you can improve your competition game. Maybe you couldn’t hold your pose long enough, or something went wrong with your tan. You might be able to ask around if you aren’t sure what you did wrong so that you can learn and grow for the next competition. It can help to have your support group watching for you, catching anything you might miss in the excitement of competing. Get Back to the Gym Once you know where you need to impro