There ar emany myths surrounding the sport of body building, just as there are in many sports. Some of the most common myths and misconceptions are as follows, hopefully this short guide will clear up a few questions that you may have about body building.

1. All muscle builders use steroids to become bigger than they are. This is a myth, it is true that some body builders choose to use steroids to become bigger, but not all of them do. Body building takes massive amounts of hard work. It will also requires such things like supplements and proper, healthy nutrition. You can start to build those muscles without the use of steroids, but it will take longer, and of course not taking steroids takes away the danger associated with steroids.

2. The amounf of food that body builders have to in take is massive compared to every day people. Some of this is true and some of it is false. Muscle builders do need to eat more that part is true, they are not just eating more though they are eating more often instead. They usually eat around 6 small meals, that are extremely healthy instead of the standard 3.

3. The gym becomes the body builders home! Muscle builders do have to use the gym, yes. It is an extremely common misconception that body builders spend all their time in the gym. There are usually in and out of the gym in 1hour, maybe less. Professional and successful body builders realise that your muscles grow while resting, not when working out, and overtraining can cause injury.

4. Follow exactly a professional body builders routine. This is definately a common mistake that many people new to body building make. Every persons body  building routine will be different and specific to that particular person. Which ever routine you follow that another person has done, may not meet your goals or wants as every persons is different.

5. You need the best and most expensive equipment. While it is true that you get what you pay for, a cheap and standard set of weights will do the same thing and have the same effect on your body as the most expensive set. It is all about knowing what to do with them that is important, not how much dollars you spent on them.

There are many myths surrounding muscle building as a sport, beware of what people tell you and make sure you research fully into everything, so you will exactly whether something is a myth or a fact.

When exercising, one of the most important things you can do, is to drink plenty of water. Everyone needs water or some other form of liquid to survive, whether you exercise regularly or not. We need all of the following to live, oxygen, water, food and plenty of rest and sleep. The sleep allows our bodies to recover from the days activities.

Protein is also very important to muscle builders and you may be having plenty of protein in your diet and through supplements, but unless you are getting you daily intake of water, you may as well not bother. The protein needs water in your body to be able to fold into ints 3 dimensional shape. Cells also need water to function properly so that we can survive.

Whether we exercise regularly or not we are always losing water from our bodies, it can happen in many forms such as swetaing, urinating, crying and also evaporation. We will dehydrate if our body is getting rid of the water in our bodies quicker then what we can replace it. The results can be fatal if left too long before rectifying. The symptoms and some of the effects of dehydration include some of the following, dry mouth, dizziness, weakness, dry nasal passages, heart palpitations, not being able to sweat, heat exhaustion heat stroke, confusion and sometime and more seriously death.

If you are a muscle builder and you are exercising regularly and intensively and you are not getting nearly enough water that you need, you will not be able to work out as effectively, you will not be able to lift heavy weights as you will feel weaker than before. Unless you are properly hydrated whilst working out intensively, you will not be able to complete your training regime properly.

If you are working out you need to listen to what your body is telling you, do not stick to the 8 glasses a day rule, you may need more if exercising. Look for the changing colour in your urine, it should be light coloured and not dark. If it looks dark, you need to start drinking more fluids.

You may not actually like water, but it comes in many forms and can be intaken through many methods. Decaf coffee and tea count as your water intake, so do fruit juices and fizzy pop, just as long as they are the sugar free versions. Even eating vegetables and plenty of fresh fruit will help you with your water intake.