Bodybuilding Definition: The practice of strengthening and enlarging the muscles of the body through exercise. (An average bodybuilder doesn't look like those roided up balloons you see on TV)
I get a lot of questions on GaG asking about fitness and what I did to look the way I do. I'm by no means an 'expert' but I'm going to share how I got to where am I at today and what worked for me.
So I'll start off by telling you all there are no secrets or special diet that will get you there. It's consistency guys.. that is all it is. Genetics do certainly play a big role in bodybuilding but it isn't everything. If you have bad genetics that just means it will take you longer to reach your goals. You will still eventually get there. All it is is consistency.
Know your body type (there are three general body types and they are categorized like this)
1) ECTOMORPH
An ectomorph is a typical skinny guy. Ecto’s have a light build with small joints and lean muscle. Usually ectomorph’s have long thin limbs with stringy muscles. Shoulders tend to be thin with little width.
TYPICAL TRAITS OF AN ECTOMORPH:
Small “delicate” frame and bone structure
Classic “hardgainer”
Flat chest
Small shoulders
Thin
Lean muscle mass
Finds it hard to gain weight
Fast metabolism
Ectomorphs find it very hard to gain weight. They have a fast metabolism which burns up calories very quickly. Ecto’s need a huge amount of calories in order to gain weight. Workouts should be short and intense focusing on big muscle groups. Supplements are definitely recommended. Ectomorphs should eat before bed to prevent muscle catabolism during the night. Generally, ectomorphs can lose fat very easily which makes cutting back to lean muscle easier for them.
2) MESOMORPH
A mesomorph has a large bone structure, large muscles and a naturally athletic physique. Mesomorphs are the best body type for bodybuilding. They find it quite easy to gain and lose weight. They are naturally strong which is the perfect platform for building muscle.
TYPICAL TRAITS ON A MESOMORPH:
Athletic
Generally hard body
Well defined muscles
Rectangular shaped body
Strong
Gains muscle easily
Gains fat more easily than ectomorphs
The mesomorph body type responds the best to weight training. Gains are usually seen very quickly, especially for beginners. The downside to mesomorphs is they gain fat more easily than ectomorphs. This means they must watch their calorie intake. Usually a combination of weight training and cardio works best for mesomorphs.
3) ENDOMORPH
The endomorph body type is solid and generally soft. Endomorphs gain fat very easily. Endo’s are usually of a shorter build with thick arms and legs. Muscles are strong, especially the upper legs. Endomorphs find they are naturally strong in leg exercises like the squat.
TYPICAL TRAITS OF AN ENDOMORPH:
Soft and round body
Gains muscle and fat very easily
Is generally short
"Stocky" build
Round physique
Finds it hard to lose fat
Slow metabolism
Muscles not so well defined
When it comes to training endomorphs find it very easy to gain weight. Unfortunately, a large portion of this weight is fat not muscle. To keep fat gain to a minimum, endomorphs must always train cardio as well as weights. Usually supplements may not be needed as long as the person has a high protein intake in their diet.
SOURCE: https://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/body-types-ectomorph-mesomorph-endomorph.html
NUTRITION:
This can be pretty intimidating to most when it comes to bodybuilding and fitness. Guys... trust me when I say this. IT'S REALLY SIMPLE. I don't eat salads all day starving myself. I don't count every calorie on point. Fuck that shit.. I actually eat very well..
So all you need to know is what Macronutrients are. They are what makes up a calorie. They consist of
-Protein
-Carbohydrates
-Fats
Now to gain weight you are going to need to be at a calorie surplus. There are multiple tools online where you enter your weight and height and it will tell you how many calories you should be eating a day. A good rule of thumb is 500 above maintenance for bulk and 500 under maintenance for cutting bodyfat.
What types of foods should I fill my macros with?
You need a certain amount of protein, carbs, and fats a day to balance out your diet and help you gain muscle. A typically bodybuilding ratio of these macros is 40/40/20. So that means you want you need to look at a plate and say okay.. That is 40% protein.. That is 40% carbohydrates.. and that is 20% fats.. You should train yourself to look at every meal like that.
Now you are probably wondering what foods I should be eating. I always like to tell people to avoid the center of grocery store.. always roam on the outskirts because the outskirts is where the natural wholes foods are. The inside of the store is all that processed shit that your body can't digest properly. Good bodybuilding nutrition is based off whole foods. I'll break down every macro and give you some examples.
A good example of a protein source would chicken or fish. No processed chicken tenders and no fishsticks bro! I'm talking plain chicken breast. Some good ol' tuna or talipia. For carbohydrates you want to aim at slowly digested carbs.. a good example of this is Oats or Brown Rice. Last but not least you need your fats. I'm not talking an In-N-Out burger. I'm talking avocado.. olive oil.. raw almonds.. the good fats.There you have it.. the staples to any lifters diet. Obviously you could find more sources for each one of your macros. I'm not going to list them all. I'm trying to keep this as basic as I can. Just remember that it should derive off of whole/natural foods.
WATCH OUT FOR IIFYM BROS:
If it fits your macros.. it has gotten huge hype over the years. Guys I'm going to tell you something crazy. What you put in your body has no effect on body composition what so ever. I could get ripped off of eating Chipotle every single day if I wanted to. As long as it fits your macros that's all that matters. This is true.. That being said if I eat chipotle and burgers all day I'm going to feel like shit most of the time. I'm not going to have much energy in the gym and I'm probably going to have some poverty facial aesthetics because I'll be all greasy n oily all the time. Why are we doing all this in the first place guys..? Health. Don't be a radical IIFYM enthusiast.
Concluding Diet:
So I'm going to wrap this up telling you that there are a lot of sources that help you count your calories to get the hang of things. No need to hand write.. If you have a smartphone you can download an app called "MyFitnessPal" There is a barcode scanner built into the app. You literally just scan your food and enter the amount of servings in. Eventually you will get to the point where you won't even need to use this app and you can eyeball everything and calculate it in your head.
I didn't mention micronutrients but this is important too. Micronutrients will take forever to explain and I promised to keep this simple. Just be sure to eat a serving of green salad and or vegetables on a daily basis. Also be sure to include a good amount of fiber into your diet.
Guys you make your diet taste great. Learning to cook is a lot of fun. Most guys my age don't know how to cook anything other than fucking poptarts and toast. Don't be like them. Be healthy.
Training:
Okay so a beginner getting into bodybuilding needs to focus on compound movements to build a solid foundation. Key compound exercises are Bech Press, Deadlifts, and Squats. Incorporate all of these exercises into your weekly plan.
So bodybuilding is about isolating a certain muscle or muscle group to bring them out in proportion to the rest of your body to create an overall aesthetic. Therefore you need to separate these muscle groups on different days to let them rest and recover. REMEMBER that muscles need to rest. A natural bodybuilder needs a 48 rest priod for a muscle to recover. The recovery period is when the muscle is actually growing. Here is a typical 4 day split.
-Shoulders
-Legs
-Chest/Tricep
-Back/Biceps
I'm not going to go over all the exercises to train all of these muscle groups because it would be a HUGE list. Like I said just be sure to incorporate all of those compound movements into your split. There are plenty of sample plans online.
Key thing to remember about building size is that it isn't who is lifting the heaviest weights. Guys.. I usually fucking curl 35 lbs dumbbells. I lift incredibly light most of the time and I always get weird looks because I'm the biggest guy @ my gym. I don't care if some caked up Jessica in a sports bra is staring at you at you from a distance. You better pick up to 20 dumbbells instead of 60s if it means better form. You are there for you. Disregard everyone else. When I'm in the gym.. I put my headphones on and they don't come off till I'm done training. Jessica is going to want your nuts even more once she sees your results. DON'T lift with your ego. It will only lead to injuries. Take it from somebody who used to be an ego lifter.
You are focusing on isolating that targeted muscle group. That means form is everything. You need to get that mind muscle connection. If I'm training my lats that day I'm going to clear my mind and focus only on my lats. I'm going to hit every exercise with precise form. I'll come down SQUEEZE... then slowly rise keeping the contraction on my lats during the whole movement. Getting that blood flowing into your muscle is called the pump. It feels amazing. Arnold himself described it as feeling as good as cuming. You shouldn't be swinging or fucking up your form for heavier weight. The only thing you are doing is recruiting other muscles to help out which defeats the purpose. Remember you are only training lats that day right? You are only cheating your self by doing cheat reps.
Supplementation:
Okay don't go out an buy a bunch of supplements guys. Most supplement companies are the biggest crock of shit in the fitness world. They target the naive and novice lifters. The only real supplement that really works are anabolic steroids. That is the truth. So all you guys need is. The pictures of the products I use
-Multivitamin/Fish Oil
-Whey Protein to drink after workouts
-Monohydrate Creatine (Creatine isn't a must but it certainly helps)
Here are some words that might motivate you or very well piss you off. (Don't have to read)
Guys lifting and being a bodybuilder is amazing.. I feel incredible.. honestly feel like superman some times. My sex drive is incredible high. My skin looks great. I have more energy. My natural testosterone levels are incredible high in comparison to your average guy.
I can't describe how good of a feeling it is to walk into a public place and see guys suddenly grab their girlfriends hands and give you a disapproving look. Catching women eye fucking you becomes a frequent occurrence. You talk to them and all of sudden they are playing with their hair. Random guys come up to you asking for advice... All of this honestly feels fucking AMAZING guys. A lot of people say I have a huge ego but guess what.. I don't fucking care lol. I've earned my spot in the aesthetic community. I earned all of the above. Guys want to look like me when it comes time to take off their shirts at the beach but I bet they don't want to be me when I wake up at 5AM to down a bunch of egg whites and go on a morning run. Or cooking three hours out of my day. Or fucking taking my body to the absolute limits every single day to the point where I feel like I'm about to fucking pass out but I keep going. They don't want to be that guy. They just want to have the perks.
You don't have to live this lifestyle to be an average bodybuilder and have a good physique. You have to know though.. to get to the level that I am at today takes a lot. You have to sacrifices a huge chunk of your life. I'm an engineering student guys.. I study countless hours a day. I spend two hours in the gym a day. I hate cold food so I'm always home cooking my meals. I don't have much of a social life when it comes to going out drinking and partying. I don't do like that shit anyways to be honest. It's a sacrifice that I personally am willing to pay. I already had my years of partying. An occasional girlfriend/FWB is all I need. You can't be a rockstar and be successful in this sport guys.
I get a lot of steroid accusations.. while I have nothing against bodybuilders who are on the juice I'm staying natural at this point in my life. I've come close and thought about it for a long time but I never injected in my life. I take steroid accusations complimentary. Let the skinny faggots talk all their shit on you because when you are coming up and building a physique.. you are going to get a lot of haters.. A LOT. Let them tell you that you are stupid.. let them tell you that you are a steroid junkie.. let them tell you that you are compensating for a small penis LOL. Trust me all of the above happens and I find it hysterical how insecure guys really get to the point where they try and bring you down. Just smile at them like I do man. I know I'm happier in my life than they are in theirs.
Just a quick note guys. There a lot of women on GaG that like to hate on muscle. Disregard them lol. Most of them are lying or they are typical basement dwellers. I'm not saying that all of them fall into this category but most women appreciate a nice proportioned physique with low bodyfat. I'm living proof of this. I looked like a normal guy before.. The bigger I get the more attention I get. I'm 213 lbs 6"1 today and I don't even have to approach anymore. It was honestly day and night for me.
GOODLUCK guys. If you have any questions feel free to message me. I absolutely love this shit and will be happy to help any of you out.
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