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Bodybuilding Question of the Month
by Sachet, Team IronLife.com Staff Writer & Mod @ www.beyondmass.com
I have asked several knowledgeable members among our online communities to answer a question on the topic of pumpin' iron. This gives us the opportunity to see several different perspectives to the same question. If something in their response sparks your interest, I have included their site addys so you can get in touch with them directly, rather than PMing me for their boards
However, if you have suggestions for question topics.. you're certainly encouraged and welcome to leave me a PM at http://www.IronLife.com.
Bodybuilding Question of the Month
Take a look back to when you first started training with weights. Most likely, there's been some trial and error and some mistakes made along the way. Based on, 'If I only knew then, what I know now', what advice would you give someone new to bodybuilding?
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WeirdAl - administrator@http://www.beyondmass.com/forums/
Probably the best advice I can give someone is to stick with it. Remember that this is a marathon, something to do for the long term, not a sprint.
I was into bodybuilding in high school and college, and felt like I had good genetics to gain muscle. I really enjoyed working out, and paid a lot of attention to what I was putting into my body nutrition wise. But then I let life distract me from the gym and my nutrition. It's not like it takes a ton of time to hit the gym for 30-45 minutes 4 times a week, especially once you get in the habit. But it's even easier not to, and to get out of your good habits and pick up bad ones.
Now that I've been back to bodybuilding for the last 4 years, I can't believe I didn't keep up with it for about 8 years there in between. And it pains me to think of the progress I could have made by now, especially when I think about the progress I have made!
One other thing I would add is the importance of having a plan. Had I had a plan laid out back then, I don't think I'd have gotten distracted.
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Pudgy - administrator@http://www.chemicalfitness.com/
The best advice i can think to give to someone new to the iron game is to decide on your goal , decide on your path , and then take the steps to reach what you want. It sounds simple enough. It isn't. As you immerse yourself more and more into bodybuilding you read more of the mags, more of the boards, you go to a few shows, the next thing you know your goal to lose a few pounds of flab and put on some lean muscle has been transformed into wanting to be 250 pounds and ripped. While this may be realistic for many it takes years of training, eating right and learning how your body responds to different stimulus to attain such a goal. Goals are important in any aspect of life, short term, medium term and long term goals. They are a scorecard for life. This is no different with bodybuilding, consistency is everything and having these goals, even if they continue to evolve may just be the mile marker you need to keep you motivated long enough to reach your 250 ripped.
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Newgirl - administrator@http://www.worldclassbodybuilding.com/
I would definitely think the answer to that would be:
If I knew that protein and eating were as important as lifting and training itself -- I would not have wasted two years in the gym making minimal efforts in terms of muscle building. Sure I got thinner -- but not any more shapely. If I knew I needed to eat more calorically and if I knew that I needed more than 150g of protein a day, I would be a lot closer to the body I desire by now.
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Slide - mod@http://www.IronLife.com
Some simple advice that I have finally learned within the past couple of years is you have to eat to grow. Sounds ridiculous, I know, but many people spend time worrying about what body part they should do on what day, etc., instead of wondering what their next meal(s) is/are going to be and preparing it.
After learning the 'eat to grow' principle, I have learned that I do not grow in the gym. This took a while, but I have learned to spend less time in the gym (quality vs. quantity) and more time resting and replenishing my body. The three biggest mistakes I made was not eating enough, spending too much time in the gym (six days a week for 2-3 hours), and not getting enough rest.
The advice here is to (again) make sure you are eating enough, training smart, and getting enough rest in order to grow. One other thing I would add is do not spend all of your hard earned money on 10 different supplements. Early on, I spent a ton of money on products that I didn't even know what they did. All I knew was people were hyping them, so I needed to take it. I learned that this was not the case at all. Keep things basic and always do your homework before making a supplement purchase.
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Archilles - valued member@http://www.beyondmass.com/forums/
My biggest mistake was trying to workout till I dropped and not eating the right way. A young lifter must realize that it takes just enough exercise to stimulate growth. Anymore exercise than that is not only a waste of time but also counterproductive. Also, what good does it do to stimulate growth and then not give the body the nutrients it needs to grow? Most young lifters think all it takes to grow is to workout heavy and hard. That is only 1/3rd of the equation it also takes sufficient rest and proper nutrition.
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Jjaden - valued member@http://www.IronLife.com
What a difference 8 years of training and knowledge can make to a physique. I started lifting at 18 standing 6'5 and weighing a whopping 165lbs. I thought that going to the gym 6 days a week and working chest and arms to failure on every set would get me huge.
Let's just say in the first year of training I had a broken rib, a torn rotator cuff and had gained a measly 15lbs. I quickly learned by watching what the gym vets were doing and absorbing every piece of information available on training/nutrition.
My second year by realizing Legs/Back were body parts that required training also, and that food and rest were as important if not more so than time spent in the gym I managed to put on a respectable 20lbs while keeping my body fat in single digits.
At this point I stopped throwing weights around haphazardly and concentrated on 'feeling' the muscle work. No longer punishing my joints and tendons but concentrating on the burning sensation within the muscle, making sure each repetition of each set is performed with acceptable form.
Since then I've learned many things in regards to supplements and the biology/chemistry behind muscle growth but learning to train my entire body, drastically increasing my food intake (As required for my naturally lean body type) and using correct form, were easily the most valuable lessons someone new to the gym can learn.
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DOUBLE J - mod@http://www.worldclassbodybuilding.com/
I started training in 1977 at the age of 13. Bodybuilding may have been in its heyday but training and its principles still had a long way to go.
At the time I started training it was in prep for Freshman football as an 8th grader. The routines were 5 major movements for 5 sets of five. 100% intensity on Mondays/ 80% on Wednesday's/ followed by 90% intensity on Fridays and repeat. This was in-line with what many strength coaches at the time championed as well as some power-lifters. BOTTOM LINE: Over training
As the mid-eights arrived all the rage in the Muscle Mags of the day were split routines that saw the novices lifting in the morning and in the evening at least 4 days a week. Each body part was worked at least twice a week. I imagine this was in an effort to explain why the Pro's were growing so much faster than us novices.
BOTTOM LINE: Severely over trained
In to the 90`s split routines were still very popular but the idea was as long as you worked out at least a couple hours a session that a body part may actually need a full week to recover.
BOTTOM LINE: Still over trained
Now days we bodybuilders have finally brought our programs down even further. While still following a once a week approach to working body parts we now spend less time in the gym and are seeing the best results yet. Injuries are down. Poundage's are up. Life outside of the gym seems a possibility.
Still, I feel safe to say if you think you are over training--you probably are!
Mike Mentzer in the 70's used to argue that one set to complete failure was all the stimulation a muscle(body part) needed. Maybe Mike was on to something?
Quote:
Goon - valued member@http://www.extreme-athlete.com/
Looking back, it was summer of 1980 in the basement of my parents’ home. It was just me and 120lbs of pure plastic coated cement power! Without any knowledge and all the will to be the next Mr. O, I picked the bar with all the weights on it. After all, even at the young age of 12, I knew that you must have to lift heavy in order to be that HUGE. My first curl. It must have looked like I was doing the limbo when my mother came down the stairs to do laundry and to make sure I wasn’t on the floor. Back arched, elbows forward and a beet red face to match, I completed my first ever barbell curl!! Go to the mirror and flex… no changes. I continued this every day for a week.
My mom, proud that I’m doing something healthy for the summer, bought me a copy of Muscle and Fitness and I read thru it feverishly over and over. I read about proper techniques, nutrition and a pull out the picture of my new hero…. Arnold. Armed with my "bible" and my loyal plastic coated cement weights I completed my first day and routine. I believe now with information much more readily available, today's new trainees have the advantage. I would suggest to any new trainee to join a weight training discussion forum and ask questions and read and read and ask questions again. I have found so much information and still learning to this day! Many people remember the times when it all started for them, like I had written above, and helping someone that is confused or challenge your own knowledge is what helps us grow literally and figuratively. It’s a learning process; Listen! You have to listen your body and know that you will not be Jay Cutler or Ronnie Coleman in just a few weeks and it has to become a full time commitment and soon everything will come naturally.
I'd like to thank all of this month's participants for taking the time to respond to my question and for being apart of the first edition of The Bodybuilding Question of the Month. I enjoyed corresponding with all of you!
~lacey
* Article by Sachet, Team IronLife.com Staff Writer & Mod @ www.beyondmass.com.
* Back to This Issue's Frontpage
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