Many people think of bodybuilding as just trying to build the biggest muscles we can. And that’s not quite true.

Bodybuilding is about building one’s ideal physique. And, while that includes achieving bigger muscles, it also means achieving balance, symmetry and aesthetics.

But there are those who do try for building the biggest muscles they can, which there is nothing wrong with.

Unfortunately, many of them employ substances which, while helping to achieve their goals faster, and in some cases achieve more than they could naturally, also result in serious health conditions such as Type 2 Diabetes, something which is becoming more and more prevalent amongst bodybuilders today.

In this article we’re going to cover the use of steroids and insulin injections, why they're used, how they work, and how these significantly increase the risk of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes down the road.

In this article we're going to cover something that is key to increasing the overall endurance, performance, and recovery ability of an athlete.

But while it's very important for an athlete, or anyone into fitness of any sort — it’s also important for anyone who is just wishing to raise their overall health and energy levels.

This is because, no matter where we're starting from, very high or very low, if we address it, we can significantly raise not just our energy production and performance abilities, but our overall health, across the spectrum, possibly even removing health troubles we thought were: "just they way it is."

It's called VO2 Max. V is for Volume, O2 is for Oxygen, and Max is for Maximum.

VO2 Max literally means the maximum amount, or volume, of oxygen that your cells are currently able to utilize during intense exercise, before you burn out.

Note the word currently.

Because when we raise the maximum amount of oxygen each cell can take in and use, so that they're able to and do use more, we end up raising energy production, performance, endurance, our ability to recover, and possibly even reverse conditions we thought would never go away.

And it's not hard to do.

So let’s dive in.

Most people, when they hit 50, and definitely when they hit 60 or 70, start to lose muscle mass and strength. And most of them think this is just a matter of aging.

But, while aging is definitely a factor here, there is much more going on that is speeding up this process.

I’m 74 years old and I still run in Ironman Triathlons.

I’m strong, I’m lean, and I have more energy than many people half my age. And I’m not alone in this.

So, obviously, age isn’t quite the factor most people think.

But there are key differences between those of us who still keep our muscle and strength, and those of us who don’t. And they’re not genetic.

They’re points that anyone can apply to themselves to start increasing strength and muscle mass again, no matter how old they are.

Most people think of electrolytes as something to take when they’re dehydrated. And this is true.

But there’s much more to it than that.

They allow your nervous system to function, your cells to function, and energy to be created.

When they’re low we can get brain fog, have headaches or back aches or feel exhausted.

They’re even necessary for protein synthesis for recovery and muscle building, and this slows down when we don’t have our electrolytes.

And they’re absolutely vital for hormonal creation and balance.

So let’s take a good look at what electrolytes are and what they actually do in the body. Because they’re very important.

What speeds up the aging process and what can we do about it?

There is something called accelerated aging, where aging happens years or decades before it should. And it’s becoming more and more common.

In this article we’re going to dive into exactly what causes accelerated aging, especially aging in our 30’s, 40’s, 50’s… and even our 20’s.

We’re going to cover exactly what is happening to our cells, what is doing this, how this affects aging, and what we can do to prevent it.

Growth Hormone (GH or HGH) is a key hormone that helps us build muscle and burn fat.

Your muscles are made of cells that have been fused together into muscle fibers. And on the outside of these fibers are things called satellite cells.

When you work out you damage cells in the muscle fibers. To fix this, your body releases Growth Hormone, Growth Factors (other hormones) and Testosterone. These tell the satellite cells to start replicating to both repair and replace damaged cells in the muscle, and also to add more cells, increasing the muscle fibers in size.

In the last article we covered cortisol, a hormone which, among other things, acts to break down our muscle, breaking down the proteins in it into amino acids, which are then converted to energy sources such as sugar.

At the same time, it holds onto body fat and acts to raise body fat levels, while also preventing protein synthesis for new muscle growth.

But it also lowers key muscle building and fat loss hormones, so let’s cover what those are and how to maximize their production and use within the body for best results.

Did you know that factors such as diet, exercise, toxins, sleep, stress and more can affect how able our DNA are to make new, healthy cells? This is actually a huge factor in aging.

If our DNA can't make new cells properly, but instead make "faulty" cells, then, as our body is nothing but cells, over time our body begins to slowly degrade.

We see it in our skin, our strength, our energy levels and our overall health. This is half of what we call "aging."

But it doesn't have to be this way. This is a created situation. And we can reverse it.

When we look at the fact of aging, or getting older, we often measure it in two ways:

The number of years we’ve been on this earth, chronologically.

And the amount of decay that’s set in: fatigue, lower energy, poorer fitness levels, poor sleep, loss of muscle, physical conditions, etc.

But, while we’ve come to see the second as the inevitable result of the first, it’s actually not. It’s the result of getting biologically older — accelerated aging before our time.

We don’t realize this because our view is obviously based on what we’ve seen for decades now. And what we’ve seen is not good.

But this isn’t a natural situation. It’s a created one.

If we want to actually increase longevity, increase lifespan and increase overall health and ability during the entirety of that lifespan, then we need to define what we’re talking about and, even more, compare the current “norm” we’ve become accustomed to… to what not only can exist, but does exist in other places today.

 A person should be able to live past 100 years old, with high energy levels, strength and mental ability, doing what they want without the need of twenty different drugs to keep them going, and then pass away peacefully.

And not only should that be the case, but in places outside of our “modern world” — called Blue Zones — it is the case. Quite routinely.

Water retention is swelling in some part of the body, usually the feet and ankles, caused by large accumulations of fluid in the spaces between the body’s cells or in the blood vessels.

But it’s a symptom of something, not a condition in its own right.

And, while it can be caused by specific physical conditions of the kidneys, heart or circulatory system, most cases are actually due to lifestyles or diet, and they’re pretty easy to fix.

But there are many things that can cause this, so let’s jump in and see how this all works so you know what to do to help you.

In the last article we covered how many companies selling natural sweeteners such as stevia and monk fruit, knowingly or unknowingly cut their product with artificial sweeteners by 60% or as much as 100%.

They can do this because the only way to tell for sure is to do very extensive chemical testing.

Yet these artificial sweeteners can pose real health risks, from heart trouble to gut trouble.

And they're in about 99% of non-sugar sweetened products today.

But if it takes thorough chemical analytical testing to be absolutely sure it's natural, and you probably don't have access to that, what can you do to know what's real or not?

Well, there are a few ways.