If you think that you win bodybuilding contests by taking supplements and eating special diets, you've been reading too many magazines for bodybuilders. Champion body builders are born, not made; and exercising against resistance, not eating, enlarges muscles. Many bodybuilders also use steroids or other banned substances, even though they will deny that in public.

The best body builders have the largest muscles. How large your muscles can grow depends on the size of your bones and the ratio of the length of muscle to tendon. Large muscles attach on large bones. Muscles that are too strong for bones can break them when they contract forcibly. Most people have a calf muscle that ends half way down the back of the lower leg to become a tendon that extends to the bottom of the heel. That's why most people can never be champion bodybuilders. If your calf muscle extends from the back of your knee to your ankle, you may have the potential to be a champion body builder.

Muscles enlarge only when you exercise them against progressively greater resistance. Many bodybuilders think that the more time that they spend in the gym, the larger their muscles will be. You do not have to spend many hours lifting weights. The greater the resistance, the larger your muscles become.

Dr. Gabe Mirkin has been a radio talk show host for 25 years and practicing physician for more than 40 years; he is board certified in four specialties, including sports medicine. Read or listen to hundreds of his fitness and health reports at http://www.DrMirkin.com

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