It takes more than just having big muscles to become a bodybuilder. If you have an interest in fitness and muscle growth, you can learn how to start training and nutrition properly to sculpt your muscles in a targeted and organized way, and at the same time how to enter the competitive world of professional bodybuilding as a beginner.
Steps
Part 1 of 5: Getting started
Step 1. Find a good gym
You can start getting fit and building your physique in your own home, with a basic set of exercise equipment, but without access to professional gyms it is not possible to become a bodybuilder on the same level as those featured on the covers of fitness magazines. If you want to become a competitive bodybuilder, it is important to find a good gym in your area where you can train. Some of the best bodybuilding gyms in the world include:
- Gold's Gym in Venice, CA.
- Original Temple Gym in Birmingham, UK.
- Bev Francis's Powerhouse Gym in Syosset, NY.
- Metroflex in Arlington, TX.
- Oxygen Gym in Kuwait.
Step 2. Learn about essential muscle groups and basic anatomy
Bodybuilders are partly athletes and partly artists. Like a sculptor uses clay or marble, a bodybuilder uses sweat and determination to train muscles and sculpt the body to a certain type of physique. Planning what you want to achieve from bodybuilding, how you want to shape your body, is a big part of the process. Get the following books to learn what you need to know about the body:
- "Gray's Anatomy".
- "The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding" by Arnold Schwarzenegger.
- "Bodybuilding: A Scientific Approach".
Step 3. Prioritize your goals
If you want to become a bodybuilder, it will be necessary to draw up a program at first, depending on the starting point of your body. Planning and sculpting will be an ongoing process, so you need to pause for a moment and engage with other bodybuilders and trainers to discuss which parts of your physique to intervene.
- If you are a little overweight, you need to focus on doing calorie-burning exercises at first in order to reduce your body fat percentage, well before you start worrying about increasing your pecs to look like a Greek statue.
- If you are already thin and want to start building muscle, start by developing your strength training program, focusing on the combined movements first, then moving on to isolation exercises, which target specific muscle groups that you have identified as missing mass..
Step 4. Learn the correct form for each exercise
It is very important to learn how to lift weights correctly: try to perform the various exercises of your workouts with an unloaded bar, then switch to the weight bar, to be sure you understand the basic movements first.
- Consider consulting a personal trainer for guidance, at least in the initial period. It is very likely that without someone to guide you you will train incorrectly, which can result not only in injuries, but also in a huge waste of time and energy.
- It is also important to go to the gym to learn from other bodybuilders. Join their community and learn how to train properly from athletes with more experience than you.
Step 5. Consult a nutritionist
Each person has a different metabolism, and in order to gain muscle, they will need slightly different supplements to their diet. A good idea is to discuss at least once with a nutritionist or other medical consultant to develop a diet plan specifically aimed at your body and what you want to do with it. It is impossible to formulate a diet plan that works for anyone, so you will need to have one that is specific to your needs.
Step 6. Find ways to pay your bills
Bodybuilders don't make much money, so the idea of becoming a professional bodybuilder is a bit like the idea of becoming a professional poet or painter - it will take your heart and soul, but you will also need to find out how. take care of the practical details. You will need to support your weightlifting business with some other type of work to be able to pay the bills.
- If you are a gym freak, consider becoming a certified personal trainer. This will allow you plenty of time in the gym to work out for free, and you will also get paid to talk about weights and train with other people. An ideal situation for an aspiring bodybuilder.
- Bodybuilders often easily find jobs for which being large helps. Consider positions like bouncer, guard, moving clerk, warehouse worker.
Step 7. Prepare for a long journey
It's important to know that you won't start deadlift one day and wake up as big as the Incredible Hulk the next morning. Bodybuilding takes a long time to get the desired results, but with the right effort and the right patience you will begin to see such results. It's not an activity for Sunday sportsmen who love action movies, it's a lifestyle to be maintained 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Think you have what it takes? Start training.
Part 2 of 5: Work out
Step 1. Develop your strength with cyclical workouts
The exercises to be performed will depend on the goals you set for your body, and on your level in the training process. Generally, however, it is advisable not to abandon the same essential combination movements used by most bodybuilders, and to keep them as the cornerstone of your training routines. Later you can incorporate isolation exercises and machines into your program as well, but right now you should focus on losing weight and gaining muscle mass, using the following exercises:
- Squat.
- Deadlifts.
- Stretches over the head.
- Bench press.
- Pull ups.
- Parallel.
- Rowing machine.
Step 2. Start with a moderate weight
Choosing the right weight to lift is important for stimulating the right type of muscle and avoiding injuries. First of all, you need to determine your max: the heaviest weight you are capable of lifting at least once. Find someone to supervise to avoid injury, and find your ceiling. Ideally, novice bodybuilders should lift 70% -80% of that single maximum rep for 6-10 reps of 3-4 sets. That is the optimal numbers of sets and reps for muscle growth.
- Once you have adjusted to such a routine, it is important to continue with 1-5 reps of a heavy weight (85-90% of the max), occasionally scattered throughout your weekly schedule. Don't push yourself too fast, or you'll risk injury.
- Use progressive resistance. Once you have progressed to the point where the weight you use seems light at the end of the 10th rep, it is important to increase the weight gradually to avoid stabilizing too much.
Step 3. Push yourself beyond the stabilizations
All bodybuilders will come to that point where they stop noticing the quick results that they could have noticed weeks or even days ago. Learning to diagnose and correct these stabilizations will help save you from injuries and at the same time propel you towards the desired results.
- If you want a muscle group to get bigger, you need to increase the weight you are training with, and decrease the reps.
- If you want a muscle group to tone up, you need to decrease the weight and increase the reps.
Step 4. Focus on specific muscle groups on specific days
As an almost universal trend, serious bodybuilders isolate their muscle groups by dedicating particular days a week to training them. You may have one day to train only your legs and abs, the next day to train your chest and arms, the next day to do your shoulders and back, and then an intense workout of the abs. Your last day of training can be dedicated to aerobic activity, followed by a two-day break to recover.
- Bodybuilders should do about 6-10 sets per body part each week, each of 6-10 reps for combined lifting and 8-15 reps for isolation movements, dedicated to specific muscles.
- Maintain a regimen that is effective for you. There is no one-size-fits-all way to organize your weekly schedule, but it helps for many people to keep it regular and consistent.
Step 5. Also do calorie-burning aerobic exercise
A lot of bodybuilders think that doing cardio negatively affects muscle gain, which is partially true, but it's also necessary to decrease your fat percentage as much as possible when starting out. Bodybuilders have to balance aerobic activity with building big muscles, which can be a difficult challenge.
- Doing cardio won't reduce your muscle mass, but it will make it grow slower. Either way, no one will be able to see those rock abs unless you burn the fat that covers them first. Get rid of the fat, and then build muscle.
- Try interval training, sprinting for 30 seconds at 10 mph, then jogging for 30 seconds at 5 mph. Do this for a minimum of 5 minutes, up to a maximum of what you can.
- Do cardio after you finish weight training, and train with weights for as long as you do cardio. Stop doing cardio when you think you're thin enough, and you can touch your arm muscles without feeling a layer of fat around them.
Step 6. Let your muscles rest and recover before starting a new workout
It is absolutely critical to incorporate recovery times into your training program. You can't just train continuously and think that doing so will increase your muscles more quickly: in this way you will suffer injuries. You need at least two days each week during which you don't train at all.
For a large number of bodybuilders, those are the days when other activities can be done: getting a tan, going on dates, doing laundry. Use these days to work on other things, so you can focus more on training during the other days
Part 3 of 5: Eating Properly
Step 1. Store calories the right way
Nutrition is one of the most relevant and important aspects of bodybuilding. You can lift weights seven days a week, train hard, and do all the cardio in the world, but if your nutrition leaves something to be desired, you won't see rapid, massive gains in muscle size and strength. Learn to eat the right amount of the right kind of calories to gain muscle mass the way you want.
To find out the number of daily calories you need to gain muscle mass, multiply your body weight in kg by 10, for a rough estimate of what each training day needs
Step 2. Eat large amounts of lean protein
Protein helps build muscle quickly, and it needs to be present in high amounts in your diet if you want to become a bodybuilder. Multiply your body weight in kg by 0.4 to find out how many grams of protein you should be consuming in a day. Daily protein intake should be around 20-35% of total calories.
- Lean chicken, beef, eggs, and legumes should be a significant portion of your diet.
- Most bodybuilders are pretty fed up with chicken breast and broccoli after a couple of months, so it's a good idea to buy a recipe book to help keep things interesting. Food is fuel. Treat it like it's work.
Step 3. Eat slow digesting carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are key to maintaining muscle glycogen stores that allow for maximum energy during workouts, and should make up about 60% of your daily calorie intake. Carbohydrates stimulate the release of insulin, an important factor for tissue growth.
- Eat most of your carbs on training days, especially post-workout. It's a great way to stimulate lean mass growth and minimize unwanted fat. You should also eat a full meal that has both carbohydrates and proteins an hour and a half after you finish exercising.
- Simple carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bananas and whole grains are excellent for this situation. They provide a quick insulin surge to maximize muscle anabolism.
- Limit low-glycemic carbohydrates, such as oats or fruit, to small portions to consume at other times of the day to help keep blood sugar levels in check and support lean mass gain.
Step 4. Consider adding protein supplements to your diet
Protein supplements, such as whey powder, are common among bodybuilders and benefit a wide variety of weightlifters; they are especially recommended if you are struggling to get your daily dose of protein through a simple diet.
- Protein supplements are most effective when taken within 30 minutes after training, so that the muscles can so quickly recover and thus grow. Another effective time to make a protein shake can be about an hour before training to help stimulate protein synthesis.
- It is advisable to take no more than 3 servings of protein supplements in a day, otherwise the protein intake becomes wasted, causing excess protein ingestion.
Step 5. Use healthy fat to boost testosterone
Healthy fats are an essential component of a serious weight gain program as well as a healthy diet. Healthy fats include nuts, olive oil, avocado, butter, and eggs; support testosterone production, and will help make muscle growth and recovery phases quicker.
- On days when you are not exercising and letting your muscles rest, it helps to adjust your carbohydrate and fat intake cycle. On rest days, increase fat and limit carbohydrates, because you are not exercising and therefore do not need the energy to burn that you get from carbohydrates.
- Avoid trans fats and other fatty foods rich in preservatives. Fried foods, cheeses and all foods that contain fructose syrup should be avoided during training.
Step 6. Stay well hydrated
Bodybuilders usually carry around cans full of water for a reason: you always need to be very well hydrated to get in shape. During workouts, you need to drink at least 0.3 liters of water every 10-20 minutes of exercise.
- Avoid sugary sports drinks and other liquids while exercising. Just drink water. After your workouts, you can drink some coconut water to replenish your electrolytes, or dissolve effervescent electrolyte tablets in your water, making for a homemade sports drink.
- Eat bananas and dates after workouts; these foods will help you recharge your electrolyte levels, keep your potassium levels high, and recover smoothly.
Part 4 of 5: Improving the Look
Step 1. Strike a pose after your workouts
The best time to pose and admire your artwork? Immediately after working on the muscles. When you feel big and pumped, it's because your muscles are swollen with blood. It is the best time to see your progress and appreciate the progress you are making, and at the same time to try out your poses.
Practice flexing all the muscles in your body together, trying to keep all the muscles taut at the same time, even if you will mostly end up bouncing your pecs. It is a workout in itself
Step 2. Identify the specific muscles you want to increase
When you are posing, this is a good time to check your symmetry, your progress in mass gaining, and to identify the areas you need to isolate or train more vigorously the following week. What needs to be smoothed out? What needs to be inflated? What exercises will you need to do to get the results you want?
It is usually a good idea to solicit comments and criticism from other athletes and bodybuilders at the gym. A lot of what you will learn about bodybuilding will come from this phase, where you will pose in the weight room asking others what you should change in your workouts
Step 3. Get the right equipment
While that's probably not the most important thing, if you're looking to be a bodybuilder, you might as well get hold of some clothes and accessories to help emphasize how big you are getting. Buy some nice posing costumes, tight shirts, and a good gym belt to help you stay confident during workouts. Weightlifting gloves are also a common purchase.
Step 4. Shave or thoroughly wax regularly
This is perhaps the most uncomfortable part to discuss, but bodybuilders like to eliminate anything that gets in the way of their muscles. This means scheduling regular total hair removal, especially before competitions. You don't have to do this all the time, but you have to keep your "temple" tidy, and it's usually common to shave your body a couple of times a month to keep everything under control, and then get a full wax before you go. to race.
Step 5. Get an even tan
To put it briefly, pale skin makes it harder to see muscles. Getting a tan helps create more contrast, creating shadows where muscles pop out over the rest. It is simply easier and more aesthetic to look at the muscles if the skin is a little darker. For this reason, it is necessary to tan safely on a regular basis to make sure your muscles look their best.
Don't forget about the underarm area. White armpits are a classic beginner mistake
Part 5 of 5: Going Professional
Step 1. Start participating in regional competitions
Regional open bodybuilding competitions are the way to enter the world of competition. They all start at the local level and gradually progress to the national level. If you are in good shape and want to gain experience, try to compete and see if you have what it takes to move to the next competitive level, and maybe even turn pro.
Step 2. Register with the IFBB to compete nationally
The International Federation of Body Building and Fitness (IFBB) governs all national and international bodybuilding competitions, including Arnold Classic, Mr. Olympia, and several regional championships. If you want to become a professional and compete nationally, you need to register with the IFBB and compete.
Step 3. Keep training
The world of competitive bodybuilding can be hectic, star-filled, bizarre, but there is one constant at its core: you in the gym, rattling and sweating. You must continue to find the time and strength to continue training your body and maintaining the sculpture you have created.
Step 4. Attract sponsors to go pro
The more competitions you win and the more your physique begins to speak for itself, the closer it comes to attracting sponsors, and thus essentially becoming a professional. This means that you will be able to earn enough money to be able to train all the time, without the worry (or at least not at previous levels) of having to do other things to fund your bodybuilding career. This is the dream every bodybuilder works towards, and it only comes true for a handful of people, equipped with the genetics and willpower to mold their bodies into physics worthy of the Mr. Olympia level. Keep working towards this goal.
Step 5. Diversify your skills
Bodybuilders who advance to the next level - like the various Arnold, Lou Ferrigno, Jay Cutler, Ronnie Coleman - are not only superior in physique, but also talented in other areas. Having the charisma and diverse talents to do other things will help you stand out from the crowd, as well as make you more attractive to sponsors.
