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Bodybuilding Question of the Month
by Sachet, Team IronLife.com Staff Writer & Admin @ www.ProActiveHealthNet.com
Back by popular demand! I posted this question about three months ago and received alot of PMs requesting a rerun. Since I still haven't asked it on every board, I'll be running it again in another three months.
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?
BASK8KACE - Mod @ SculptedByIron.com
"I was careful when I started lifting. Before I hit the gym, I had read Arnold's Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding from cover to cover and highlighted it. I was careful not to cheat or to put too much strain on my joints. I lifted hard. But, I wasn't growing. I had trainers and kenisiologists watch me do my exercises and coach me. I pushed so hard while working out that the big guys would occasionally make encouraging comments about how hard I worked. I was getting stronger, but I wasn't growing. I was 150 pounds, ripped to shreds. But, for all my learning and pushing and coaching, I wasn't growing. Why? Because I wasn't eating enough to grow. If could do it over again, I would do everything the same way, except I would spend hours upon hours perfecting my diet. Had I focused on eating right, I would be much bigger than I am today."
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Basskiller - Admin/Owner @ www.worldclassbodybuilding.com
"Looking around at the other members of the gym and trying to move the weight that they were lifting. Instead of just using what weight was right for me. Thus causing me some of my first injuries. With that said, use the weight that is right for you, not what is right for others."
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jipped genes - Mod @ www.worldclassbodybuilding.com
"aragorn told me once back on the fitness board that in weight training "sometimes less is more" it took me 2 years of over training before it finally dawned on me what he meant. You don't have to do 6 sets for each muscle group to get big, its counter productive."
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Stout1 - www.worldclassbodybuilding.com
"LESS IS MORE!!!! And getting your diet hammered out!"
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Blaze - www.worldclassbodybuilding.com
"Diet I now know what "eat big to get big" means. I used to hear it alot around my gym and think back to how much time was wasted not eating enough of the right foods to grow. Was always looking for that magic pill or cream when the real answer was right in front of me."
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AlmostThere - www.worldclassbodybuilding.com
"Using workouts found in bodybuilding magazines designed for genetic mutants is the dumbest thing I did."
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Dude - www.worldclassbodybuilding.com
"You got to remember that the routines from the magazines are from pros who are on virtually year round you wont make much progress if you train like them naturally"
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RippedStud - www.worldclassbodybuilding.com
"I would have to say over training and diet were my to big ones"
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Wannabbig - www.IntenseMuscle.com
"If I only knew then, what I know now. We have all heard it and most of us have said it numerous times.
Knowledge plays a major role in becoming a successful bodybuilder or anything else for that matter. When I joined the gym that I am currently a member of, I was given the tour, shown how to use some of the machines, how to perform a few exercises, given a program to follow, and then I was off to conquer the world. I watched most of the BIG guys in the gym and tried my best to emulate them the best I could. Matter of fact, I started writing down everything they did and for which body part and came up with my own routine. Trouble was I was doing about 5 to 6 exercises, 5 to 6 sets, and more reps that I could remember for each and every body part. I spent almost 3 hours in the gym EVERY SINGLE DAY. I figured more was better and by doing so, it would help me achieve bigger muscles faster. After about a year of doing this and not seeing the results that I wanted, I started going out and buying the bodybuilding magazines looking for new routines to do. I figured that the PROS knew what they were doing so I would do their routines. I had no idea that I was completely wasting my time, and after about a year or so, I decided that maybe this wasn’t for me and quit.
“What I knew then?” Absolutely nothing.
“What I know now?” Bodybuilding is not all made up of throwing heavy ass weight around. It is knowing your body, what it needs how much of it, how it works, nutrition for different phases of where you are, lots of rest so the body has time to recover and grow, the right supplements, and the proper way to train. It is not all about how much weight you can lift, how many times you can lift it, and how many sets you can do. It’s all about concentrating a perfect form, creating and sticking to a plan, setting your goals, and achieving them.
For me personally, I have found that I don’t need to spend more than about 45 minutes to hour a day 5 days a week in the gym. I go in and hit it hard, get my pump with a hard intense workout, and then leave. Once I get home, I make me something to eat and while eating, I reevaluate my workout to see if I truly gave it everything I had for that short amount of time that I spent in the gym. If not, then I bring up the intensity, talk less, and spend more time thinking about how I can perform my next set at 110% on my next workout.
Keeping a journal, in my opinion, is one of the most crucial elements of training. (Not only a training journal, but a nutrition journal as well) Not only does it keep you informed of your progress, but it also lets you know approximately where to start your next workout (so you spend less time thinking about what you need to do) and is one hell of a motivator when you constantly shatter your logbook. Without all of your tools in place, you are simply spinning your wheels."
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Johnnieo - www.IntenseMuscle.com
"I began training about 10 years ago because I saw a bodybuilding show on TV. I really thought it would be "cool" to be bigger than everyone else would. I started buying different muscle magazines and I threw a workout plan together for myself. I was training each body part twice a week about 2 hours per workout. I was going 2 times a day to the gym. I spent around 20+ hours in the gym a week. For the first year or two I probably gained about 10 total pounds. I could not figure out what was going on. The problem was that I was severely over training. That is the most common misconception with beginning bodybuilders. At the time, I assumed the more I trained, the larger I would get. Looking back now I can't believe I wasted the first few years of my "Bodybuilding Life" by over training.
When you train, you are physically tearing your muscle fibers. Then while you are resting, with proper nutrition and sleep, they are repairing themselves and getting bigger and stronger (also known as hypertrophy). When you over train you are tearing the fibers and you are not giving them adequate time to repair before you train that body part again, therefore, resulting in the lack of muscle growth. Your muscle fibers repair themselves the most while you are asleep. Amateurs tend to train too much and sleep too little. Sleep is one of the most important pieces of the "bodybuilding puzzle."
I do believe beginners need to spend a little more time in the gym than advanced bodybuilders do. This is only because beginners tend to not train as hard as the advanced guys. Once the experience comes, you can start to decrease the workout time and increase the intensity. Also when you get more experience with your body you will know when you are reaching the over training point. Just remember to train hard and definitely train smart."
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goldenear - Mod @ www.ChemicalFitness.com
"The one thing that I know now that I wish I were actually aware of when I first began training is food is the most anabolic substance you can put in your body. You can build lean body mass without pharmaceutical assistance as most all of us have experienced, you can even grow while employing poor training routines, or not training at all (e.g., during puberty), but you cannot build substantial amounts of muscle mass without feeding yourself ample amounts of carbohydrates, fats, and especially proteins. Quite the contrary, your body will actually metabolize its LBM under adverse circumstances.
When I first began training, I was not aware of the importance of nutrition vis-à-vis gains in LBM. Consequently, I hindered my own progress for several years. In fact, I didn't even know what whey protein was until I had nearly 3 years of training experience. Eating a bowl of cereal for dinner and calling it a night just won't cut it. If I had possessed the thorough understanding of nutrition's role in building muscle as a beginner, I am confident my muscular development would be at least 2-3 years ahead of my current level."
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dpsquat - Mod @ www.BeyondMass.com
"My advice to give someone is post workout nutrition. Early in my career I just ate my 5 meals a day. When I started to incorporate a PROPER post workout nutrition plan the lean mass started to come easy!. I have found that the body can handle the sugars even in a contest diet mode due to the speed at which ones metabolism is racing and how fast the body can replace the glycogen stores wasted during intense training A diet. ALSO I found by adding meal replacements I made better gains than when I just used a whey concentrate.
ON that I have found that the human body responds better to a BLEND of proteins verses just some cheap whey concentrate. 1 in 4 people have IBS irritable bowel syndrome and don't realize it. Most cheap whey's just pass on through and never get digest properly. With a blend of whey's your body can digest each of them a different time intervals supplying the body with need proteins. Also I have found that by adding a fiber supplement you can slow down the process by which your body breaks down the protein fractions. This in turn helps in utilizing more of the protein ingested and getting better results."
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LA - Mod @ www.BeyondMass.com
"1. Don't use the magazines for advice on supplements, training, eating, etc. They are really only useful for the fan of the sport of bodybuilding- not bodybuilding athletes. No one needs to be in the gym for 3 hours for example. BTW- the only place worse to get information from the magazines is from supplement companies (sometimes one in the same).
2. Eating correctly is way, way under rated for the beginner. Eating right from the beginning- with an emphasis on protein will jump-start any bodybuilding program. Isn't this the real "secret" to the Body for Life plan?
3. Be consistent and patient, quality gains only come over time. There really is no short cut, no magic supplement or magical steroid that will turn you into Ronnie, Arnold or even a well buffed porn star overnight! Show me someone who is successful at competition and I'll show you someone who has eaten correctly, been in the gym consistently and has made sure to get sufficient rest every day for years."
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Damien - www.FortifiedIron.net
"Don't overcomplicate things.
Start with a basic, frequent and heavy plan, don't jump right into speed work, accentuated eccentrics, clusters and whatnot. Just work the basic exercises and don't ignore the legs. Also, ditch isolation exercises for the most part."
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il campione - www.FortifiedIron.net
"There is no one correct way to train. If you don't vary your training volume and intensity, you'll eventually end up with injury or plateaus. This is why I've come to appreciate periodization".
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Rexer - www.FortifiedIron.net
"Squat, squat, squat!”
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Lighterwt - www.FortifiedIron.net
"^^^^ huge bump to that. Plus knowing how to properly train your back. A thick back is way cooler than a huge chest”.
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Spike - www.FortifiedIron.net
'My advice would be.. Do not, I repeat, do NOT think you know everything.
You never do. Find some dedicated people to train with. retired powerlifters are amazing guys to train with. Stay the hell away from gym that does not own a squat rack, a decent amount of weight and who tell you, you can't deadlift in their gym.
And one of the best things I could say to someone : Believe nothing, try everything."
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Strongenough2005 - www.FortifiedIron.net
"I would say when you first start lifting lift for form not power! Get your form picture perfect before lifting heavy to avoid injury! I found this out the hard way as a young lifter!... "
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Michael - Admin @ www.proactivehealthnet.com
"I would recommend to a new trainee to read as much info about training and nutrition as he or she could possibly find. Then I would experiment with different programs and diet for at least 6 weeks at a time and see which one seems to work the best.
I think one of the biggest things to avoid is doing the same exercises for each body part. The body is an adaptive organism and needs to be *shocked* with different stimuli to maximize growth. Whenever a plateau is reached I think the trainee should take a few days off up to a week, and then change the program or go to an entirely different program to keep the body from adapting. A new trainee should try to "keep the body guessing".
One of the worst things to do is to find the biggest guy in the gym and try to copy what he (or she) is doing. An advanced lifter would have a totally different program than a newbie.
The greatest gains are usually made in the beginning. Usually enthusiasm is very high during this time, and when complemented with appropriate diet and training these gains can be amplified."
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Thank you to everyone who took time out to respond to the question. They're all great replies and there's sure to be quite a few beginners reading this and feeling grateful that you just saved them from wasting time!
Special thank you to dpsquat for allowing me use his picture.
Til next month, stay safe~
~lacey
* Article by Sachet, Team IronLife.com Staff Writer & Admin @ www.ProActiveHealthNet.com.
* Back to This Issue's Frontpage
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