How to start bodybuilding
So in this article we will cover a few basics on what you would need to start your bodybuilding journey!
What will you need to have on your checklist?
- A Gym membership
- A Goal in mind
- A training plan and diet plan that compliments your goal.
- Listen to your body
Why?
To start off, you will need a Gym membership, Bodyweight training will only get you so far to your goals.
You will need to add resistance training into your routine as well this will help with the following;
- Weight management, it does this as your body gains muscle it burns through calories more efficiently
- Improves stamina
- Improves pain management
- Improved performance in everyday tasks
Secondly will be the time you invest into your goal, having a goal set in your mind is around 25% of the journey complete you have an end goal and each training session in a step closer to reaching that goal, it will take thousands of hours but it will be worth it in the end.
Going a bit in-depth , set your routine out to where it will benefit you the most.
What we mean by this is everyone’s body is different (Image shown below)
The difference being setting out your workout that will benefit your body type the most for example;
An Ectomorph can focus on Weights for their session as opposed to an endomorph who would have to factor in cardio to every session they do.
The best route to go around would be starting off with compound lifts this is for All Body types however by the chart adjust your sessions accordingly.
Think of this starting off as your building blocks, your canvas that you will one day sculpt into your masterpiece.
Note* - A Compound lift is a lift that requires movement from more than one joint to complete the exercise. Example: A Squat requires a few joints working together to complete the exercise these being the; Hip, Knee, Ankle, joint.
This is the best route to go through as compound movements target several muscles at the same time during the lift meaning this assesses your base of strength and build muscle that will soon be used to mould into the shape you want it.
Secondly, is the time aspect , compound lifts produce compounded results, what we mean by this is you can get a lot of work done in a short period of time which not only benefits your schedule but also benefits your cardiovascular training as the elevated heart rate you will have due to the intensity of the workout will force your heart to keep blood pumping to your muscles to keep them fuelled and working.
Compound vs. Isolation:
Compound is a much easier form of lifting to track progress in, it will also help build up your base strength and size, as mentioned before then comes the “sculpting” part of bodybuilding. The isolation work, focusing on the volume of a particular muscle group whilst another muscle group gets the rest it needs.
The real challenge
What we mean by the real challenge is the diet portion of the bodybuilding lifestyle, this is the part that takes a LOT of discipline which you will need to teach yourself over time fuelling yourself with the right food and refusing any temptations around you like fast food restaurants etc.
Track your calories on a daily basis as it will be a good point to see where you are at currently, to gain size and strength your body will need to be in a state of calorie surplus (consuming more calories than you burn) over a period of time.
Tip - If you are struggling to fit in calories for the day you can always supplement using “mass gainer” shakes one we would recommend would be Pure Mass Advanced, as this is only a ¼ of the calories in normal mass gainer protein shakes and not too heavy on the stomach , you can find this here .
Adding all these factors together you will need to dedicate a lot of time and effort into preparing your food, training, other commitments such as work etc. , making sure you get enough rest between sessions.
It’s easy to get “into the zone” and over exert yourself because of the “no pain, no gain” phrase, HOWEVER in time you may reach a plateau and this is the time you should listen to your body, it is telling you it NEEDS rest.
It is alright to take a few days or even a week off from training to allow yourself to physically and mentally recover.
Remember you won’t lose all your hard work in a week.
Now to recap over what we have talked about in this article , starting your journey in bodybuilding it is best to have a goal set in mind with compound lifts, set targets bi-weekly or monthly (E.G. you want to bench press a certain weight by XX/XX/XXXX)
Also remember to keep yourself fed with the right foods, track your daily calories as to put on size and gain strength you will need to be in a constant surplus of calories than your body weight/height would usually need.
By doing all of these you will keep focused on your goals and tasks at hand