Beginners Guide To Bodybuilding

[Reiff]

I feel some of you may benefit from a beginners guide after reading the gym thread, so here we go..

Introduction

Okay, so you want a better body. You want women to stare as you strut your funky stuff around the pool. You want other guys to cower in the corner as you flex your chiselled biceps and make your pecs dance. You want a washboard stomach with beautifully symmetrical protruding abs. This guide will give you the knowledge but the hard work and dedication is up to you. If you want it bad enough and are willing to commit to a huge lifestyle change then read on…

Most people’s goals consist of losing fat, gaining muscle or a combination of the two. I will cover each aspect one by one but I think before we get started I should dispel some myths, both related to gaining muscle and to losing fat.

Part 1: Myths

Spot reduction

Doing 100's of crunches or situps will not make you lose fat around your stomach. This is achieved only through proper diet and cardio. You cannot lose bodyfat from one particular area.

Turning fat into muscle

It doesn’t happen plain and simple. On the flipside muscle doesn’t turn into fat either. The main reason many ex-bodybuilders get fat is because they continue to eat the way they did while they were training after ceasing to train.

Losing fat while gaining muscle

Again it doesn’t really happen as such. As a beginner it is possible for the first month or so of beginning to exercise. Other than that forget it unless you are taking a lot of illegal substances. To gain muscle you have to eat more calories than your body consumes in any given period. This will inevitably lead to some fat gain.

Higher reps + Light weight = Muscle toning

The word tone is banned from my vocabulary. There is no such thing.

What people refer to as muscle tone is achieved by low body fat. High reps with low weights will do nothing for the size of your muscles. However routines based around high reps can be beneficial to endurance and thus are useful to some athletes.

The more the better

Nope… Wrong again. This is probably the most common mistake made by those beginning to workout. Your muscles do not grow while you are lifting weights. They grow while you are resting. Therefore the time in between your workouts is equally as important as the workout itself.

When you overload your muscles through weight lifting you are effectively damaging them. When you rest the muscles rebuild. Then and only then do they begin to grow physically larger. The medical term for this is Hypertrophy but I will avoid using medical terms throughout this guide as much as possible to keep thing simple.

I only want to work my upper body, I’m not bothered about my legs

If you are not bothered about your legs then you are not bothered about your upper body. By neglecting your legs you will severely hinder the growth of your upper body. The human body tries to keep itself in balance. If your legs are too small your upper body growth will hit a brick wall. It is physically impossible for one body part to grow too out of proportion with another. Otherwise all the kids we see at the gym training only arms day after day would all have 20” biceps by now. Train your whole body, don’t question it just do it.

Part 2: Gaining Muscle (Diet)

The key factors involved in gaining muscle are:-

Diet

Workout

Rest

Each is equally as important as the other. If you neglect any one aspect you will be severely hindering your gains and in the case of diet, completely destroying them.

Diet is absolutely crucial therefore we will discuss this first.

To gain muscle your body needs fuel not only enough to perform the exercises you will be doing but to allow the muscles to grow. An average mans daily maintenance calorie level is about 2500. This means that if he eats 2500 calories per day he will neither gain weight nor lose it.

In order for any growth to occur, either fat or muscle, you need to eat more than your daily maintenance calorie level. This is non-negotiable.

Not only is it important how much you eat, but also what you eat. Here are some examples of good foods to eat while attempting to gain lean muscle mass:-

Beef

Pork

Chicken

Turkey

Tuna

Salmon

2% milk

Eggs

Cottage cheese 2%

Yogurt 2% plain

Whey protein powder (post workout drink)

Asparagus

Broccoli

Green beans

Cauliflower

Pasta

Potatoes

Rice (short & long grain)

Sweet potatoes

Egg noodles

Brown (& wild) rice

Oatmeal, rolled oats (slow cooked)

Multi grain bread

Olive oil (extra virgin)

Butter (unsalted)

There are of course many more good foods but these should get you started. Eating more than your daily maintenance level of calories in order to gain muscle mass is known in the bodybuilding world as “Bulking”.

Here are some rough guidelines you should adhere to when planning your bulking diet:-

1. Split your daily food intake into 5-6 meals. This will keep your metabolism high and ensure that your muscles get the nutrients they require all day long. Never go more than 3 hours without eating.

2. To get a good rough starting figure for the amount of calories you should be consuming take your bodyweight (lb’s) and multiply it by 18. Therefore if you weigh 170lb’s you should be consuming at least 3060 calories per day to begin with. If you find you are not gaining then up the calories. Aim for 1.5-2lb’s weight gain per week. Any more than this and you are likely gaining more fat than you need to be so cut back the calories slightly.

3. You need plenty of protein. You should try to eat at least 1 to 1.5g of protein for every lb you weigh. If you weigh 170 lbs then you should be eating between 170-200 grams of protein each day. Some people do not need quite this much; by all means adjust to suit yourself as you begin to learn your own body’s requirements.

4. A whey protein shake is a good idea straight after your workout. Your muscles are literally begging for protein at that time so feed them. Try to get in a full meal about 30 minutes to 1 hour after your workout also.

5. Do not under any circumstances skip breakfast. Aside from your post-workout meal this is the most important one of the day. You have been fasting for 8 hours while sleeping so your body will be craving food when you awake.

6. Each of your 5-6 meals per day should consist of a good helping of protein along with some carbohydrates and a little fat. For breakfast something like Porridge along with some scrambled eggs is very good to start with.

Okay you now have a rough idea of what you should be eating and how much. This is just the very basics in order to keep this guide from getting too large. Feel free to ask any more specific questions in the forum.

Part 3: Gaining Muscle (Training)

Okay so you have planned your diet right? You are now eating plenty of healthy foods and consuming more calories than you burn daily right? If not go back and re-read my section on dieting. If your diet is not up to scratch whatever you do in the gym will be in vain.

First of all lets discuss routines. There are many types of routines you can follow. What is right for one person might not be suitable for another. For the sake of simplicity in this guide I will be focusing on the standard split-type routine as I believe it is best to get the basics down for any beginner and to learn what suits your body. Once you have done this feel free to change things up and to try some of the more exotic routines available to you.

Other routines that you might want to look into are Full body type routines and similarly HST type routines. You can find all the information you need on HST style training here. While HST routines can be excellent for inducing Hypertrophy I would recommend you already have some experience of lifting before beginning one. Mainly because of the amount of calculation needed to work out what weights should be lifted on such a routine. HST requires you to know your 1 rep, 10 rep and 15 rep max lifts (reps will be explained in a moment) which obviously a beginner will not know.

Here is an explanation of the most commonly used terms in exercise routines:-

Rep – A rep or repetition is one complete movement of an exercise. For example if performing a bicep curl, 1 rep is one complete lift of the dumbbell/barbell including the negative (putting the weight back down).

Set – A set is quite simply a set of reps. While performing a set you do not rest between reps. You do however rest between sets. Many routines will state things like, Bench Press 3x8. This is telling you to perform 3 sets of 8 reps on the Bench Press.

Superset – A superset is when you move from one exercise to another without any rest. This can be extremely useful for inducing muscle growth in some routines. Some people love super-setting others hate it.

Compound exercise – A compound exercise or movement is one that exercises many muscles in one movement. These exercises are the ones that will put on the mass and make you grow. Always give priority to these exercises. Examples of compound exercises are: Bench Press, Squat, Dead lift.

Isolation exercise – Isolation exercises are exercises specifically designed to target one particular muscle. These should only be used to supplement a workout already based on compound exercises. These movements generally do not add much overall mass to your body. Examples of isolation exercises are: Bicep Curl, Tricep Extension, Calf raise.

Now that you understand the lingo lets move on to the actual split routine and explain why you are splitting things in this way. Here is an example of one such split:-

Monday – Chest/Shoulders/Triceps

Wednesday – Back/Biceps

Friday – Legs/Abs

Some people prefer to do their Chest and biceps together on the same day and some people prefer a 4 day split or a completely different kind. This is just one example and should not be treated as something which must be adhered to exactly.

Ok so in this example routine you are hitting each major muscle group once per week. Other types of routines will hit muscles more often such as HST. But for a beginner I would recommend starting with something similar to this as it is very easy to over-train when starting out. The idea is that you overload your muscles on one day then give them enough rest time to heal and to grow. This is why we split the routine up.

***Be sure to give your muscles adequate rest between workouts or you wont grow***

If you train a muscle group too often or if you are not eating enough you will find yourself overtraining. Less is often more when it comes to bodybuilding. Overtraining will prevent any muscle growth from occurring and it is even possible to lose muscle mass if overtraining severely.

In all weight lifting routines progressive resistance is the key. What this means is that you should be continuously upping your weights as you get stronger and bigger. All weight lifting routines designed for muscle hypertrophy are based around this principle. If you lift the same weight for a year you will see very little growth if any at all. To summarise, lift heavy! Light weights will not damage your muscles enough to induce hypertrophy. Sure you may get a good “pump” after performing them but you will not grow if it is too easy.

Now onto some important points to remember when putting together your own workout routine:-

1. Make compound exercises the basis of your routine. Do not neglect them in any way or you won’t grow.

2. As a good rule aim for 9-12 sets maximum for the larger muscle groups (Chest/Back/Legs) and 6-8 sets maximum for the smaller muscle groups (Biceps/Shoulders/Triceps/Calves)

3. To begin with I would recommend performing around 8 reps in each set. Some people like to perform as little as 5 reps and other like to go as high as 12. 8 reps is a good starting point. In general lower rep routines are used by power-lifters in order to add strength.

4. When you can perform 8 reps with very good, strict form then try upping the weight a little.

5.Forget the machines at your gym. Most of them are pretty much useless. Free weights will give you a far better workout since you activate many more stabiliser muscles. There are certain exercises for which machines can be a useful addition but in general you should ignore them and get straight to work with the free weights.

6. Get your form right! This cannot be stressed enough. This problem is rife throughout gym goers. If you can’t lift your weights with perfect form then lower the weight and start from there. You will get much faster results lifting with perfect form and a lower weight than if you were cheating by using other muscles to lift a heavier weight.

What actual exercises should you be performing and how do you do them? Well the best thing I can do here is to point you to a fantastic website which has a directory of exercises for each specific muscle group.

This website can be found here: Exercise Directory

Add this baby to your favourites. It is invaluable.

To help get you started I will post a sample routine based on the 3 day split I mentioned above:-

Monday (Chest/Shoulder/Triceps)

Flat Bench Press – 3x8

Incline Dumbbell Bench – 3x8

Skull Crushers – 3x8 (similar to lying tricep extensions)

Close Grip Bench Press – 3x8

Seated Dumbbell Military Press -3x8

Lateral Dumbbell Raises – 3x8

Wednesday (Back/Biceps)

Dead lifts – 3x8

Bent over one arm Dumbbell rows – 3x8

Chin Ups 3x8 (Or Lat pull downs if you can’t do chins yet)

Barbell Bicep Curl -3x8

One arm Dumbbell hammer Curls – 3x8

Friday (Legs/Abs)

Barbell Squats – 3x8

Dumbbell Lunges – 3x8

Calf Raises-4x10

Abdominal workout (Crunches, leg raises, whatever)

This is just to give you a rough idea. Many people will find that Monday would hit their triceps too much on this routine due to all the pressing movements. If that is the case then by all means switch your split around. As I said before a lot of people like to do Chest and Biceps together for this very reason. If however you are like me and find that you need to hit your triceps pretty hard in order to induce growth then this sort of routine would be good for you. As you can see this sample routine is heavily based around a 3x8 plan. I definitely think this set/rep range is best for beginners.

Remember your leg workout will also work your core out pretty well if you are squatting heavy. Many people find there is no need to do any further ab work. By all means throw in some crunches or whatever you like on that day.

No routine is perfect for everyone so you have to workout your own based on how your body is responding and of course based on what your daily schedule allows.

Part 4: Cutting (Losing Fat)

So there you are. You’ve been training hard, eating like a pig and it shows! You have added say 4 inches to your chest, maybe 2 inches to your arms and you now have legs like tree trunks! The only problem now is your stomach is protruding at an alarming rate. You have a layer of fat covering your perhaps once visible abs, maybe you are even looking a little chubby around the face.

Well do not fret; this section will give you some invaluable advice about losing the extra body fat you have accumulated whilst bulking. In fact this section should be of use to anyone wishing to lose fat, not just bodybuilders. To most bodybuilders and certainly all competing ones, gaining muscle is only half the equation. The other half is losing fat. More precisely losing fat while still maintaining as much of the recently gained muscle as possible.

The difficult thing about writing about dieting is that there are so many different diets out there. I can’t promise to cover them all but I can give you some good advice and recommendations based on my own experience combined with my lovely girlfriends’ nutritional knowledge. (She is a nutritionist)

Ok so here goes… If you remember in Part 2 of this guide I explained how to add muscle you needed to eat more calories than you burned up each and every day. Well for losing fat the opposite is true. You must consume less calories than you burn up each day. It’s common sense really.

One of the biggest mistakes commonly made by those wishing to lose fat is cutting calories too much. Or even starving themselves throughout part of the day. Without getting too scientific, when you eat too little your bodies metabolism slows down. When your metabolism slows less calories are burned just by simply being alive. This obviously is detrimental to fat loss. Not only will your metabolism slow down but your body will begin to feed off your muscle tissue. You will of course lose some fat if you cut calories drastically but you will hit a brick wall very quickly. Due to your metabolism slowing down you will probably find it incredibly difficult to get rid of the last layer of fat surrounding your abs.

If you have starved yourself down to your desired weight and then begin to eat normally again you will suddenly find that all that fat comes back. The reason for this is that your metabolism takes some time to adjust. After a period of starvation it will be incredibly slow. Therefore as you begin to eat normally again you will be consuming more calories than you actually burn up in a day until your metabolism finally speeds up to its normal rate.

Quite simply… If you want a six pack, do not under any circumstances cut your calories too much.

Contrary to popular belief, recent studies have proved that obese people actually have the fastest metabolisms of all. Not the skinny kids who constantly go on about how fast their metabolism is. The reason for this is that they eat a lot of food regularly; therefore their metabolism is constantly active and speeds up.

The speed of ones metabolism is not determined genetically. It changes speed depending on your eating habits. There are of course exceptions but for the most part this is true. Everyone has the potential for a fast metabolism. So if you are overweight you can no longer use the excuse “Oh but I just have such a slow metabolism.”

It’s complete rubbish.

Lets move on to some basic guidelines that should be followed whatever type of diet you decide to partake in:-

1. Eat regularly. Just as in the bulking phase, eat 5-6 meals a day to keep your metabolism high.

2. To get a good starting daily calorie figure for cutting multiply your bodyweight in pounds by 12-13. Adjust if need be after a couple of weeks. If you are a bodybuilder concerned about keeping your hard earned muscle then make sure you are not losing more than 2lb per week. If that is the case then you are likely losing quite a bit of muscle as well as the fat.

3. Don’t drop your calories over night. Remember it is extremely important to keep your metabolism as high as possible when entering a calorie deficit. Therefore it is best to drop your calories gradually. Once you find yourself losing fat keep your calories at that level.

4. Some form of cardio will aid your fat loss. Particularly if it is done on an empty stomach in the morning before breakfast. Research shows that fat loss from exercise done in this period will be increased by more than 35%. Personally I am an advocate of HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) type cardio for this. HIIT will cause fat to be burned for longer after the exercise is performed than regular cardio. Also it takes far less time to do and is arguably better for keeping muscle mass than regular cardio. Professionals used to recommend the typical low intensity, long duration cardio for fat burning. Recent research however has shown high intensity, short duration training to be superior. Particularly if you are aiming to keep as much muscle as possible. Take a look at the worlds top sprinters compared to the worlds top long distance runners. The sprinters are heavily muscled yet still very lean, while the long distance runners are all incredibly skinny.

5. Don’t just think about what you are eating, but what you are drinking also. Remember having 6 cups of coffee a day with 2 sugars in each cup is going to seriously mess up any diet you have. If you can’t go without that sugar in your tea/coffee then at least plan it in to your diet or better yet switch to sweeteners. The same goes for Alcohol. It is extremely calorific and full of carbs. And not complex good carbs either. Drink plenty of water and save alcohol for the odd celebratory occasion if you really want to have a good body.

Now let’s discuss some of the different approaches to dieting. There are many types of diets available to you. On a standard cutting diet you should take your bulking diet and lower the overall Carbohydrates until you reach the correct calorie intake for your weight. Bodybuilders should keep their protein intake as high as while they were bulking (Some might even want to up it slightly) and continue to workout as normal. Obviously during this cutting period some strength will likely be lost. Adjust your weights as necessary.

Something else you may want to do is cut your carbs out in the evenings and get your whole daily carb requirements during the day. This is by no means neccessary but it can be beneficial to a lot of people.

This is one approach to fat loss and as long as you are eating under your daily requirements for calories you will lose fat.

Another good approach is a diet based around the principles of Ketosis. The most famous of these diets being the “Atkins” diet. Despite its over-hyped media coverage and the subsequent bad press it has received, it is actually a very safe and efficient way of losing fat. All recent research done into such diets has proved to be very positive. Atkins did not invent the Ketone diet. Bodybuilders have been using it for decades. He just brought it to the publics’ attention.

On a ketosis diet the idea is to cut carbohydrates drastically. To counter this one must up their protein and fat intake in order to make up their calories. Having a diet high in protein and fat will actually suppress your appetite which can be highly beneficial. I won’t go into the science behind ketosis diets as you can easily find out more just by searching on Google for them.

If you take this carb-cutting approach your body will soon enter ketosis and you will lose fat at an extremely fast rate. This type of diet is incredibly efficient and despite what people may tell you is actually quite safe. Remember however that ketosis diets are designed for fat loss and generally not for maintenance. Once you have reached your target weight or body fat percentage you should begin to reintroduce carbohydrates in order to healthily maintain your current weight.

While using a Ketosis diet for fat loss is fine, for general healthy eating it is not advisable. Once you have lost your fat you should go back to eating a healthy balanced diet consisting of the correct ratios of Protein/Carbs/Fats.

My personal favourite diet for cutting is the CKD diet. Information can be found here:-

http://www.c-k-d.com/

This diet is a Cyclical Ketogenic Diet. What that means is that you are putting your body into ketosis for a period of time and then “Carbing” up to replenish glycogen stores and keep your metabolism from dropping too much. To summarise, on this type of diet you cut carbs during the week and then eat plenty of carbs and more calories at the weekend.

Ketosis diets are not for everyone, but if you stick to them properly you will lose fat very quickly.

Now that you have lost your excess fat... Go ahead and start bulking again!

And so concludes my beginners guide to bodybuilding/fat loss. I may not have covered everything here but at the very least it should give you some good starting points. I haven’t delved into the world of supplementation as I really feel this guide has gotten long enough. Before I leave you I will just make a couple of points regarding them.

Supplements are called supplements for a reason. Do not rely on them. Food is the most important thing to be consuming. All these “grow muscles fast” products are a waste of money. Although some people swear by Creatine and Glutamine I personally don’t use them. I have tried them in the past and found no noticeable difference other than Creatine made me retain far more water than I would have liked. Whey protein however is very useful as a Post Workout shake to quickly fill your body with nutrients. Don’t make it your main protein source however. Real food is far better. Save your money and buy a few extra steaks per week.

I searched the forum for anything similar to this but couldn't find anything, so i apologize if its similar to something thats already been posted.

There are loads of great website that will give you more advice with technical routines, diet information and supplements regarding what your goals are. This is just a basic beginners guide.

One of my favourite websites is http://www.muscletalk.co.uk/

GOOD LUCK!

Edited June 22, 2008 by Reiff

[Sonny Clarke]

Wtf - do your hands hurt?

Edit: i'm not surprised you were validated mate!

Edited June 22, 2008 by Sonny Clarke

[JonMack]

Very comprehensive post. Nice one mate.

[The Stig]

Favourited this bad boi!!! haha when i go back to training..... (cash and time flow restricting ATM) I wil be using this as a very very good guidline!! thanks for sharing

1 big question is what exercise can i do besides press ups to increase my triceps size?? As press ups don't cut it

Edited June 22, 2008 by The Stig

[BenLeacock™]

Woow, cheers man some stuff i want aware of. Very good read!

[Reiff]

Favourited this bad boi!!! haha when i go back to training..... (cash and time flow restricting ATM) I wil be using this as a very very good guidline!! thanks for sharing

1 big question is what exercise can i do besides press ups to increase my triceps size?? As press ups don't cut it

Dips and weighted pressups if your at home with only bodyweight to work with are my first thoughts

[The Stig]

Yeah i am slowly training at a very low level for the Marines but due to time and lack of money the gym is out of the equation but my C.V is pretty f**king amazing now well chuffed about that. Went back to rugby training the other day and cained everyone. Thanks man P.S i am plannign to take a gap year and train before going into the Marines after college and Uni if i go

[Reiff]

I cant be credited for this post as most of it is from articles i have read in the past. I thought it would help the majority of you that are interested or looking to get started in the lifestyle as it did me.

[Extreme_biker0]

That was an amazing post, a good read! Makes me want to go to the gym right now! Maybe after dinner though.

[Ash-Kennard]

ILY

[will]

T nation Could of saved you some time lol.

[ogre]

c+p power. i ended up skimming that but you need more detail on cardio. i think

[Davetrials]

Where can i find food groups for erm beginners, i hant a clue what a carb is lol

[Simpson]

A carb, its an old thing on motorbikes which controls the fuel mixture

I went to the gym once... it was bare eff

[Davetrials]

A carb, its an old thing on motorbikes which controls the fuel mixture

I went to the gym once... it was bare eff

bet ur diet of 16 tinnys of cider and 20 fags is doing wonders...

[BONGO]

Just because the thread post is huge, doesn't mean it's all gospel.

Personally, i think your weekly plan has a lot to be desired, due to overuse of crtain muscles, which are used to train other area's. A prime example is overuse of the triceps on monday, which will either severely limit your training of shoulders, if you train chest first, or vice versa.

The ideal plan would use a muscle, or group of muscles to failure, and then allow it maximum time to rest, by organising the plan to train other muscles that do not use the first muscles, and so on.

An example would be the plan i have always used...

Monday, chest and biceps... Chest uses triceps, so your aim would be to give them maximum time before use again.

Tuesday, chest is resting, triceps are resting, you train legs... once again, allow the legs to rest for as long as possible after tuesday,

Thursday, Shoulders, triceps... Shoulders use triceps, which by now have had 3 days of complete rest and are fresh to use to get shoulders to failure, then further fatique triceps to train them individually.

Friday, back. The back uses the biceps, which haven't been used since monday, and are fresh to train the back. This also means you then have the weekend to allow the biceps to heal. On the monday, even if the biceps are tired, they are not dependant to train the chest correctly.

I'm also surprised you've not talked about steroids at all. Youv'e talked about everything else, and covered it well too

Bongo

[ben_travis]

Random question, and probably a stupid one. however.

Is it possible to increase strength with out increasing build too much?

As an example, i know if i weight train and eat well at the same time, then i should increase in size (if my training is regular) however, i do not want to look 'massive' however, i would like to improve my actually strength!?

Possible?

[manxrider]

It takes years of hard work and dedication to become massive so I really wouldn't be worried about that lol.

And if you do more of a power lifters workout, there geared for becoming stronger not bigger where as most bodybuilding routines are all about gaining mass.

[Simpson]

bet ur diet of 16 tinnys of cider and 20 fags is doing wonders...

Its the happiness diet

[Balman]

Its the happiness diet

lmao simps just sum's you up really, thanks for that was really helpfull somthings about dieting in there that could help should be starting training again in september getin abit podgy just siting in the office and eating crap all day. Was good Cheers.

[munkee]

Since you are all loving the split body routines... heres something to throw in to the mix. I go to the gym regularily.. for a while now. I dont eat correctly at all so i dont grow, however to be fair i never wanted to look like incredible hulk i just love the personal challenge and my strength increases endlessly. Pound for pound id say im pretty damn strong which is what i do want to be. So here is a routine i have just started. Im really in to TBT.. total body training:

Day 1 Sets/Reps Rest Dips 6 x 3 @ 6RM 50 sec. Front Squats 6 x 3 @ 6RM 50 sec. Chin-Ups 6 x 3 @ 6RM 50 sec. Leg Curls 6 x 3 @ 6RM 50 sec. Seated Calf Raises 6 x 3 @ 6RM 50 sec.

Day 2 Cardio Cardio

Day 3 Sets/Reps Rest Flat Bench Press 5 x 5 @ 8RM 60 sec. Deadlift 5 x 5 @ 8RM 60 sec. Bent-Over Rows 5 x 5 @ 8RM 60 sec. Skull Crushers 5 x 5 @ 8RM 60 sec. Donkey Calf Raises 5 x 5 @ 8RM 60 sec. Barbell Curls 5 x 5 @ 8RM 60 sec.

Day 4 Cardio Cardio

Day 5 Sets/Reps Rest Incline DB Press 4 x 6 @ 9RM 70 sec. Back Squats 4 x 6 @ 9RM 70 sec. Upright Rows 4 x 6 @ 9RM 70 sec. Close-Grip Bench Press 4 x 6 @ 9RM 70 sec. Standing Calf Raises 4 x 6 @ 9RM 70 sec. Preacher Curls 4 x 6 @ 9RM 70 sec.

Day 6 Off Off

Day 7 Off Off

The basic science behind total body training can be seen in every sport. Take speed skaters and the cyclists in the olympics. What do they have in common? f**king huge quads... why? because their quads are hit everyday by their sport, regardless as to whether it is tired or needs time to heal/grow. The same goes for most builders.. everyones seen them. The overtanned huge guys, not exactly toned but under the exterior they got some serious muscle i.e. brickies.. once again why? cos the nature of their work requires them day in day out to lift and move heavy shit.

If a trials rider decides to go to the gym, get on any leg machine (i said machine over squat here for a reason) and see them dominate in comparison to their non biking buddies. Once again trials is a somewhat quad and calf dominated sport. They may not be all that in squats since your hamstrings play a part, the same for deadlift you end up with quite an imbalance between the two sets of muscles from biking so the test isnt as conclusive. But something like leg press in a machine (a close-ish substitute for a squat) you can keep racking up the weight. Most of us have ridden for hours and hours on end, day after day at some point yet we still progress and get more powerful. This is pretty much why im really anti splitting your workouts in to chest/back etc... you only really require this type of training when you are at high level. Yes it may work, but overall strength you arent all that. Theres nothing stopping you loving chest/back day and putting in 110% and then coming to legs and being like meh.. i cba.. and f**k all effort. Total body training ensures you keep on top of what gets wrecked, why have 1 day dedicated to your chest? when you can have 2 or 3 days when you hit it with a compound exercise allowing you to hit it with everything you got instead of a half arsed attempt after you have blasted your triceps doing some worthless shit exercise.

Edited August 1, 2008 by Spacemunkee

[hI-OOPS-CAPS]

oh its a shame to see wuch a good guide go to waste, of the bottom of the first page.

i think its rather interesting to see that obese people have the more hasty metabolism

[Davey]

The ideal plan would use a muscle, or group of muscles to failure, and then allow it maximum time to rest, by organising the plan to train other muscles that do not use the first muscles, and so on.

Bongo

I see your point, but his plan does work if you do the first day in the order he's put them in (unless I've missed something). Chest to failure first, which will still leave your triceps needing more, then shoulders, and finally triceps to failure, as these can be worked in isolation from other muscles (with the possible exception of abs which get used all the time for stability/posture).

Do you mention steroids because you have some knowledge, if so I'd like to hear it as I'm totally ignorant to their advantages etc, I always just think of them as an easy way to becoming a complete headcase with a bad temper and a tiny dick?!? If you can shed any light it would be good, but otherwise I see no place for steroids in this thread.

Davey

[BONGO]

You cannot train your shoulders with already tired triceps though.

I mentioned steroids, because it's one of the main myths that is misunderstood in bodybuilding, and one of the main ways that people inevitably think of when it comes to putting on strength and size, once they understand and realise the difficulties involved in naturally growing and enhancing.

I used steroids for quite a long time with reat results and whilst i would never advise anyone to do it, i would do it again and have no regrets, as i did it in the right way. I just thought that some talk about them would have been included in the thread at the beginning, as it was so throrough it seemed natural to include them somewhere lol.

your final paragraph does nothing other than prove the incorrect knowledge that people have (o don't have) about them. They don't alter your nob size, they slow down sperm production and decrease testicle size after prolonged excessive use, a small amount, and they can affect your aggression levels to varying degree's depending on the person, and the choice of drug and combinations used, and to what quantity. I didn't get 'roid rage', my balls didn't shrink at all, and it's never by any means an "easy way" out to grow. You need 100% commitment in your diet, and you need 100% commitment in the gym. Training until you can't touch your nose with our finger, until you have to slide down the tairs on your bum because your legs are too sore. When you can't turn over in bed because you're too sore, and when you have to sleep in a crucifix because you trained your chest so hard it's only position you can lie.

I'll never use steroids again because i'll never be able to have that dedication again, but that's the only reason. Personally, steroids where great for me and wen you do it properly, they'll give you a feeling of progress you just can't get any other way. Do your self a favour though and if you consider it, do a LOT of research in the library, internet and consult your GP first to learn everything you can before you make a choice. Make the choice, but do it with your eyes wide open .

Bongouilicus

[Davey]

see above

Glad to have been illustrative of your point

I imagine my knowledge of them is similar to most peoples in that it's derived from episodes of One Tree Hill or similar teen dramas, where the worst always happens and there's always a hidden "don't do drugs or take steroids" agenda.

Interesting read though, it sounds like it's just as hard work as doing it the natural way, but just perhaps a little quicker. I'd be interested to know exactly what it is they do, I mean I'm guessing they mess around with hormones and things, but do they just make your body do more/work harder or are they involved in the actual muscle growth? Isn't there a risk of doing serious damage like that?!?

Why did you stop, out of interest?

Davey