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It’s Thanksgiving and you know what that means: food, family, friends and Sexy Pilgrims…

It’s Thanksgiving and you know what that means: food, family, friends and sexy pilgrims. Check out Muscle Milk’s foray into the world of branded entertainment with the world’s first Thanksgiving R&B slow jam at sexypilgrim.com.

The video stars Tenacious D member JR Reed and tells the story of the pilgrim who never made it into the history books. Enjoy.

Happy Thanksgiving!

You’re Welcome.

I’m 16, and I’m a bodybuilder: My Outlook
By:  Kevin M. Manz

Part 1
You work out on a day to day basis, you look in the mirror on an hourly basis, and you eat in predetermined intervals, because the ultimate goal to look like a bodybuilder is your paramount objective. Everyone, of course at varying degrees, has been fostered to endure this type of lifestyle or have simply chosen to do it on their own. If you pull yourself out of this lifestyle momentarily, and look back on the skills gained, the lessons learned and the knowledge acquired, you will undoubtedly say it was all worth it. Although you don’t flee the threshold of the gym anxiously awaiting an inch on your bicep that night, each session is very rewarding. Psychologically, emotionally and physiologically, every grueling second spent in the gym is worthwhile. For people of all ages, of all body compositions, of all genders and even of all ethnicities, I will offer you the countless benefits of such an exhilarating sport and what I, a 16 year old devoted trainee, have acquired having been “around the horn”.

The Philosophical Viewpoint of Bodybuilding: Why do you play this game?

Every sport requires the utmost diligence, determination and devotion, but what really sets bodybuilding aloof from the others? Is it the central focus around barbells and rusty old plates? Probably not. Having competed in a bodybuilding competition, participating in an extremely stringent diet and coping with unnecessary stress, I can tell you it’s not because I get to grasp a 100 lb dumbbell. People seldom put themselves under unwarranted bodily stress if they don’t have to. In reality, people devote their life to bodybuilding because they either a) are unhappy with their current body image b) strive to embody the typical “jacked” guy in the gym c) need to improve strength, endurance or stature for a sport or d) simply feel insecure for whatever reason. Of course there are definitely other reasons looming around out there, but these are the most frequent based on my short experience.

    Now, before I go any further, most of you reading this are probably discrediting any insight from a 16 year old because you think “Hey, what does this kid know? He’s 16!” However, I can assure you, being a high school student, exposed to a myriad of different insecurities, most of what I have encountered I am sure you have as well.

    Taking the reasons I’ve mentioned into retrospect, I think most of you can extract one of the reasons and relate them to themselves. I know I can. But why are these insecurities so commonplace? Why does the vast majority, once the new yea rolls around, sign up for a gym membership? To me, the answer is quite lucid; the population is forced to conform under the public depiction of “normal”. In America, a manicured and beautifully sculpted body is extolled and held in high esteem. However, when one deviates from what is considered “normal”, a sense of inferiority sinks in. Insecurity, in my opinion, is the seed of bodybuilder where every beginner starts out. Eventually they flourish and become fixed on the sport as if it’s their incessant passion; their lifestyle. From here, people learn, grow (both metaphorically and physically) and develop a new and very different outlook in life. An outlook one never would expect to emerge.

Skills You Will Gain:  What makes this sport so special?

    Delving a bit into my past experiences with the sport, there are countless skills, elements and tools gained from being a bodybuilding enthusiast. First, if you have not endured the brutality of a diet, the monotony of a workout schedule, or experimented with the complexity of supplements, then I’m not sure you can relate. However, I’m sure you can imagine what each of these things would be like. Sustaining yourself off of bland chicken breast for two months because seasoning contains sodium is definitely not the pinnacle of the sport. What is the pinnacle of the sport, however, is the mental ability to stick with an excruciating diet and looking back at the end and saying: “I did that!”

   Devotion. Dieting is not fun, but learning to stick with something no matter how mentally dull it is, is a life-changing skill. Being a high school student, engulfed in the immaturity my school exudes, I can tell you, for fact, that most people can NOT stick to a diet regimen for any length of time. In fact, I’m sure it is the same everywhere; for adults, for athletes, for everyone. The capability to stay motivated and devoted is a skill gained from bodybuilding that applies to almost any practical situation. The training facet of the sport is just as mentally taxing as the dieting. Lifting, although some enjoy it, is typically a very stressful thing to do on a daily basis. I believe it could even be considered the culprit for most of the unused gym memberships lingering around out there. Bodybuilding, it takes devotion. It takes motivation. If you don’t have it yet, you will after playing the field for awhile. I guarantee you.

    Persistence. Throughout the sport, most will encounter a somewhat immoveable wall which we call a “plateau”. This term means that your improvements, your endeavoring goals, everything, comes to an abrupt halt. Not only are these sudden “flat lines” unbearably frustrating, but they strip you of all motivation to go back to the gym. Think about it, you aren’t improving, so why go? Why put in the effort? That’s the mentality most people tend to develop. What those people forget, though, is that these “plateaus” can be easily broken with the proper tactics. There are various methods to even avoid potential plateaus, which include: changing one’s workout routine, differentiating one’s diet (adjusting macronutrient breakdowns), swapping exercises, and even taking a break. The mindset of a trainee must be to carefully asses the current issue, to be persistent, and to not become flustered and quit. Giving up obviously serves as a temporary problem solver; but in the long run, one will lament such a hasty decision. If you can emblazon the simple phrase “never give up” in your head, you will, without a shadow of a doubt, succeed in bodybuilding and acquire the skill of persistence!

    Analytics. During a diet, during the strenuous road to a “newer you”, there will almost always be a problem. However, unlike a multiple choice problem administrated in school, this one lies dormant somewhere, and you need to go find it. There are many aspects to a training and diet regimen: sets, reps, specific exercises, splits, rest intervals, macronutrient breakdowns, caloric expenditure, hydration, sodium intake, supplement timing, and the list goes on. When one becomes fully assimilated into sport, you gain the ability to look within and analyze the potential reasons for whatever went wrong. This skill, however, is not one you’re intuitively blessed with from your mother’s womb; it is one that takes years to achieve. Analyzing your entire bodybuilding regimen will enhance and sharpen your skills to analyze external factors and practical data.

[ Read Part 2 ]

I’m 16, and I’m a bodybuilder: My Outlook
By: Kevin M. Manz

Read part 1 here.

Part 2

Empirical Lessons Learned Through Experience: Kevin Manz

    The sport of bodybuilding has been given a seemingly distorted reputation that I feel needs to be accurately addressed and substantiated. First off, if you were to arbitrarily ask someone on the street what he/she felt the true definition of a bodybuilder was, chances are, you would be unpleasantly surprised. People often tend to keep a superficial speculation on the idea of the sport without really thinking outside the box. They think hulky guys (or girls), overwhelming veins, an obtrusive physical structure — completely unnatural looking oddities — are the sport in a nutshell. What people tend to miss, however, are the small components that give bodybuilding its unique authenticity. Certainly not every bodybuilder casts a shadow the size of Michael Strahan and in most cases, people fall very short from that generalization. The sport is about much more than size, mass, and so on; it’s about having an adequate proportion of mass with aesthetically pleasing definition to complement. An imbalance in either of these elements could have a severe impact on your overall physique as well as your endeavor to emulate what the typical bodybuilder looks like.

? For example, on my competition day of OCB’s Eastern Seaboard States, I weighed in at a meager 125 lbs at 4% body fat. I was surrounded by a crowd of older guys who weighed a good 40-70 lbs heavier than me and carried a physique almost double the size of mine. Although a situation like this seems rather discouraging and casts a negative light of infirmity onto my image, it did precisely the opposite. Because I was clearly the smaller dog in the fight, I channeled my focus and began analyzing everyone from a judge’s standpoint. As I surveyed people backstage, I realized that I could potentially overcome the sheer brawn of the bigger contestants. I realized that most of them, although abounding in mass, simply lacked the definition and keenness that corresponds with their size. They were imbalanced — an aura in bodybuilding that is the linchpin to a person’s overall performance. Those few co-competitors clearly neglected the importance of the pre-contest diet which manifested itself during the award ceremony. The larger guys, putting their massive hull aside, generally placed lower than well-condition guys like…. me!

Unfortunately, some people as they are going through the contest preparation process fail to efface the “all bodybuilders are huge” misconception from their mindset. As a result, they are forced to swallow the depressive reality that quality, in all shapes and forms, trounces on quantity. Although having a large musculature factors heavily into the bodybuilding equation, it is obviously not the only factor. In fact, trimming away excess fat and tightening muscle bellies via sodium manipulation to develop the chiseled “look”, is the detrimental factor to one’s success.

As a bodybuilding website and a bodybuilding forum, factions of different people have different theories and approaches to succeed and get ahead of the game. Scientific claims buttress ones theory while converse evidence discredits another. However, I believe we can all come to a terse equation to polish the key elements of a successful bodybuilder:

Bodybuilding? Get Involved! Persistent Work Triumphs!

In the brevity of this article, I have mentioned some of the desirable characteristics that are confined within each and every individual. Although some opt or simply do not exude an aura of devotion, determination or persistence, or just don’t have a hobby to project those skills on, there is always a stepping stone where one can slowly become more involved. I certainly did not spontaneously grasp a barbell and label myself a bodybuilder. It’s a gradual assimilation process that each individual slowly needs to gravitate towards in order to attain a level of comfort before pursuing. However, when one completes the transition from an aspiring fitness enthusiast to a bodybuilder, a previous lifestyle decays as a new one emerges. Devotion, persistence, analytics, the whole nine, becomes the key components in life rather than a honed skill to stabilize motivation. Every aspect of bodybuilding, from the daunting hour of training to the post workout meal, stimulates the best within everyone to surface. Everyone has the capability to narrow their scope and go head first towards their objective, but bodybuilding casts a different light onto accomplishment. It’s your body that is the beneficiary. Your hard work and your will to succeed is manifested onto your body to be carried and flaunted around with you everywhere you go. People will invariably notice as you walk down the street that your body has flourished and evolved. Converting a limp and unwieldy body into something desirable and extolled by literally everyone is going to take some getting used to, but you will adapt. As you are getting ready for work, while mentally scrutinizing your body image as you try on different shirts and pants, a feeling of accomplishment will seep in. A feeling and sensation that is truly incomparable to anything else you have ever imagined.

This is what makes bodybuilding unparalleled to any other sport, hobby or pastime out there. Its authenticity is truly unbeatable.

“Think of yourself as on the threshold of unparalleled success. A whole clear, glorious life lies before you. Achieve! Achieve!”
                                        - Andrew Carnegie

Steps to Blast your way towards Muscle Gain
By: Christian Bonanno

Step # 1: Limited Amount of Energy

It is highly recommended that you train using high intensity for a period of approximately 20 - 30 minutes. This is so because scientists have discovered that the energy the blood contains as sugars starts to deplete after about 20 minutes. One has to be tricky enough to cheat the body by using this fact. Do as much intensive training as possible during a 30 minute period. The exercises should be repeated until failure to maximise muscle growth.

Step # 2: Training Frequency

Everybody needs to rest, especially when one needs to bulk up. Whilst you’re sleeping, the body gets energy and heals itself from the training. Lack of rest may result in one losing muscle tissue instead of gaining it. Sleep at least 8 hours a day.

Step # 3: Food Intake

If you are skinny and would like to bulk up, one of the most important things one must not forget to do is eating. When one starts to train, the body will need more carbohydrates, protein and fat. The foods chosen must be high quality food which bulk you up (meat, beans, egg whites, rice…) not food which only get you fat (sweets, food high in sugar).

I am going to give you a simple example, excerpted from one of Vince DelMonte’s newsletters. If you only have a budget of $100,000 you cannot build a house worth $150,000. The same applies to the amount of food one has to eat. One can’t gain muscle weight by eating low quality food.

Step # 4: Amount of cardio

People, sometimes argue about the fact that cardio is only needed when one needs to get slim. This, however, is a very common mistake. Cardio is important even when you are bulking up. The amount of cardio needs to be looked after.

The advantages of cardio are various:
i) Cardio makes your heart stronger. Your heart is vital to be strong if you are going to have a           big, muscular body.
ii) Cardio increases your lung capacity, thus your training sessions will start to get easier for you.
iii) Cardio decreases your amount of stress.
iv) Cardio improves blood circulation throughout one’s body.
v) Cardio increases bone density.
vi) Cardio increases you metabolism.

If you are trying to bulk up, I recommend you to do 20 minutes of cardio three times a week. This won’t burn too much calories and you will still benefit from the above advantages.

Step # 5: Heavy Weights - High Repetitions

When one trains using light weights, the body itself thinks that it doesn’t need to build any extra muscle because the weight used to train is already light for the muscle. Thus when using light weights, the body will start to burn body fat instead of build muscle.

In order to build muscle, one has to use heavy weights and the repetitions should be set high (about 6 – 12 repetitions each set).

You must keep in mind that throughout every session, your body must get approximately 5% better than the previous session. This might obviously involve in you doing any of the following:
i) Lifting heavier weights
ii) Doing more repetitions
iii) Doing more sets
iv) Doing your workout in less time than the previous session

Step # 6: Water is the driver of Nature – Leonardo da Vinci

As Leonardo da Vinci said, water is the driver of nature. Water also needs to drive your body, which is itself part of nature. After every workout, sweat comes out, which means that water is leaving your own body. This water must then be replaced by other water. I recommend you to try and drink 3 – 4 litres of water daily, especially whilst you are training and on hot days.

Step # 7: Intensity Cycling

Step # 8: Setting Goals and being Patient

Do you want to look like a bodybuilder from the Golden Era of Bodybuilding? Do you want to start looking like Greek gods? Set your goal to one specific bodybuilder (for example Charles Atlas). When you have set your goals, be patient and train consistently. If you feel exhausted or don’t feel in the mood of training, ask yourself the following question: “If my goal bodybuilder were me, would he have missed the training session?”. You will obviously answer “no”, and get on with the training. You must also be patient all the time. There was never a bodybuilder who woke up as a skinny or as a fat guy, and by the time he was going to bed he was looking just like a bodybuilder would.

The above tips are there to guide you on your way to become a professional bodybuilder. The myths below include the ideas which many people have about bodybuilding and which were the downfalls for those people who in the past tried to become athletes but because they were influenced by other people, turned out to grow up into too thin or too fat people.

Bodybuilding Myths

Myth # 1: Feel the burning effect in your muscles if you want to build muscle

This is absolutely NOT TRUE. When you feel a burning sensation in the muscles, it doesn’t mean that you are building more muscle. The burning sensation is simply felt when lactic acid is released in the muscle tissue whilst exercising.

Myth # 2: Pumping up to increase more muscle

It is true that when you feel good when you make a good post-workout pump. However, it is not true that the more pumped a workout is, the more effective the workout is.

Myth # 3: The more you work out, the more you will grow

Some people think that the more they train, the more muscle they will gain fast. This myth, is the downfall of most people who tried to become professionals in a very few time. Training more than normal, leads for the body to get over trained. When a body part is worked out properly, the muscle is said to take 5 – 10 days to heal completely.

Myth # 4: Considerable amount of sit-ups will result in you getting a fat-free tummy.

When you need to decrease belly fat, you will not remove the fat by doing sit-ups and crunches. By doing these exercises, you will be strengthening your belly muscles (which is still important, in other aspects) not burning fat.

Fat, first starts to get burned from the latest food intake. Example, your body will first burn your last few meals. Secondly, your body starts to burn the fat which has been in your body for the least time, and finally the body will start to burn your fat which has been in your body most. Normally, your belly is the first which starts to get fat, therefore you have to get rid of the other body fat before. To do this, you have to do cardio training sessions like cycling, fast walking, running, and rope skipping.

Myth # 5: Having large muscles, will make your muscles tighter and decrease your flexibility.

This lie has been going on since the 1930s. The “muscle-bound lie” was invented by companies  which were selling isometric exercise programs. These companies’ goal was to convince people not to do any exercises which concern barbells. This lie was invented simply because it wasn’t practical to send barbells by mail.

Myth # 6: If the pros do it, so should I

You can’t compare your body with that of a professional bodybuilder. If you are training drug-free, your body can’t heal itself as fast as the bodybuilders’. Another concept is that their body is supported with more muscle to lift the heavy weights than the amount of muscle that you have.

Myth # 7: The best way to build muscles is to keep them guessing

This bodybuilding philosophy comes from people who don’t know the muscle growth process. Muscles do not respond with growth just by performing another type of exercise. Muscles only understand the concept of pushing, pulling, extending, and contracting. They will not start to grow larger if instead of lifting iron weights you start to lift bags of sand, if they obviously weigh the same.

Myth # 8: You have to train more than three times a week using weights if you want to gain muscle

It is true that most steroid-assisted bodybuilders train daily using weights; however we people who don’t take any steroids aren’t doing anything wrong if we train three times a week using weights. You will still gain loads of muscle if you work until failure on each set and each repetition in your routine. Remember that you should think quality not quantity. The only problem one might find is keeping fat-free on this training routine. Therefore, one had to keep himself stricter as to what food he should eat.

Myth # 9: Weightlifting equipment should be used in order to stimulate the most muscle gain

Scientific research has shown that most of today’s exercise machines lack the proper eccentric component of an exercise that’s necessary to stimulate muscle tissue to grow. For reference, you may read the article “Research Confirms that Bodybuilders Should Pay Heavy Attention to Negative Rips” written by Bill Phillips on page 18 of the February/March issue of MM2K. To date, the most effective means of resistance exercises ever invented are those using free weights like dumbbells and barbells. These exercises include the dead lift, the shoulder press, the bench press, and the squat.

Beware of What You might Be Currently Drinking!

Would you purposely take a “Corn Syrup Solids” capsule? How about a nice “Fructose” shake to kick start the lean mass gain and fat loss process? Unfortunately, this is what many bodybuilders unknowingly do. We drink our MRP and assume that it is for the best, but in reality, it could be doing more harm than good. With fat promoting maltodextrin and other cheap, filler carbohydrates, we are left with subpar results, a flabby waist and even worse, these cheap but tasty ingredients can also lead to bad health issues. What kind of “health” supplement is this?

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The Solution 5 Protein Blend contains the most advanced protein blend ever seen including ProCream - a unique whey protein/high-phospholipid complex, Whey Protein Isolate, Whey Protein Concentrate and a PEA Protein complex.

This blend of protein provides you with the perfect ratio and mix of amino acids along with controlled rates of dispersion that provides your body with the protein it needs when it needs it.  

Getting the Most Out of Your Diet

Healthy Carbs and Fiber are a must for everyone for overall health and wellness as well as proper digestion of protein. You also need antioxidants from fruits and vegetables and digestive enzymes to ensure that you get the most out of your meals.

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Hey New Guy: Bodybuilding Advice for the Beginner in all of Us

Remembering the ‘Little Parts’

We’ve all got ‘em.

Little Parts—wrists, calves—maybe a deltoid or two.  Parts that just don’t grow—parts that we hate to train, because they don’t blow up.

They don’t pump.

They lag behind—worse, they make us feel like we’re missing out on a great workout—(for some body part we can pump—) every single time we hit them.

So we don’t.

Hit them, that is—and if we do, we don’t do it as often—if we do, we don’t do it as hard.

Its basic bodybuilding psychology, really; we focus on the muscle groups that make us feel good.  The muscle groups that we know we can count on for results—the body parts we know will swell every single time we work them.

We’re visual beasts, us bodybuilders—and we want to leave the gym or the basement or the club feeling like we’ve accomplished something.  

We want to leave feeling like we look as huge as we’re feeling.

Before we know it, a pattern develops—and before we know it, we’ve got Little Parts.

All of a sudden, they’re staring back at us in the mirror—those imperfections, those flaws in-an-otherwise-flawless physique.  They’re holding us back, affecting our symmetry, our proportions—and, if we’re blessed enough to get up on that stage—they’re undoubtedly holding us back on those judges scorecards.

So, what’s the fix?

The best advice (—for those of us cursed with Little Parts, and for those of us not yet blown-up enough to notice them— )is to incorporate them, wholeheartedly, into our workout routines.

It reads easy, sure; trust me, though—if you’re developed enough everywhere else to have Little Parts, then you’ve developed habits of not training them in the first place.

So,

Yes, this means priority training.

Yes, this means looking like a fool wrist-curling five pounds.

And, yes, this means you’re not always going to pump the way you would on a regular arms day.

Put in the work—

–convince yourself that you can catch those lagging calves up to your massive quads—

–and maybe—

–just maybe—

–you can make your Little Parts a bad memory.

Hey New Guy: Bodybuilding Advice for the Beginner in all of Us
The Adonis Complex

Admit it, tough guy: you spend more time in the mirror than your mammy, your lady, and all your lady’s friends put together.

And while they’re making sure their hair falls just so, you’re obsessing about everything else, aren’t you?

Hell, that hair could be losing faster than the Lions on Sunday, and your follicles would be the last thing you scanned in your reflection.

No, you’re obsessing about every inch—every gain, every loss (–perceived or otherwise) in every body part you crushed out in the gym this week.  

The slightest change in the fit of the T-Shirt you threw on means that your protein intake is too low.  

You’re looking deflated in the mirror downstairs, so you run to the bathroom off the master suite to double check.  

Because, hey, the lighting in there is better anyway.

God forbid you have to let out the belt a notch during a cutting phase; you’d never eat solid foods again.

…

The truth is, as bodybuilders, it’s our job to measure.  To scrutinize.  To analyze and overanalyze every aspect of our training, nutritional, and social routines, and calculate how they maximize—or detract—from our potential in the gym.

Or, in other words, obsess.

It’s our job to obsess.

About ourselves.

Sure, we could argue that we’re looking at our physiques as a sculptor might look to a lump of clay (–lump, depending on your definition of ‘your definition’) but in all reality, we’re narcissistic creatures.

It’s the price we pay, willingly, to emulate the physiques of others we’ve obsessively studied.

There’s the argument that, on some psychological level, we suffer from a type of body dysmorphic disorder—a chronic mental illness in which we can’t stop dwelling on flaws in our appearance—be they real, or imagined.

I mean, by definition, BDD involves obsessing over one’s ‘appearance and body image, often for hours a day.’  I don’t know about you, but I spend at least an hour in the gym, and for that hour, I’m sure as hell obsessing over my chest.  Or my triceps.  Or biceps.  

Rinse, wash, repeat, given the routine I’m crushing out.

And then, of course, there’s the hour before the workout; the hour I spend imagining the workout, licking my lips in anticipation—waiting for that glorious swell, that pump I need to get me through the afternoon.

Heaven forbid, if I have to go to the mall, that I’m not cranked.

And then there’s the hour I spend (much to my girl’s dismay) recounting my triumphs on the squat rack, or the chinup bar, or the bench press.

But I’m a bodybuilder, right?

It’s not like I’m some waifish model, vomiting in the bathroom because my ass looks a tad large before a runway walk.

No, they’ve got problems.

I’m a bodybuilder.

Totally different.

Right??

Hey New Guy: Bodybuilding Advice for the Beginner in all of Us
Knowing when to walk away

So you’ve been at this for a while.

Yeah, you know every variation of every exercise ever created—you can hit your upper chest sixteen different ways, and you’ve forgotten more about bicep curls than Flex could ever hope to know.

You’re no longer a Bodybuilding beginner—you’re the master.  
Right?

Wrong.

You’ve got habits, is all—ways of training, ways of approaching training, ways of thinking about training.  You’ve hit a plateau, and you don’t even know it.

See, the moment you decide that you’ve learned everything there is to learn about Bodybuilding, you level out.  You become complacent—hell, before you know it, you may even become disinterested.  

In order to avoid this—in order to give your ‘batteries’ a chance to recharge, and, in order to realize that, no, tough guy, you don’t know everything there is to know—
–you walk away.

Now, to any Bodybuilding enthusiast worth his squat rack, this is murder.  After all, walking away means not training—not hitting those delts on Friday afternoon, not relishing the killer pump that comes only after the hardest of presses.

Walking away means sitting your ass on the couch, when you should be on the floor, repping it out.
Walking away is weakness.
Walking away is torture—walking away is murder.

And walking away might just be the best thing that ever happened to you.

Now, before you blow your fuse, you can relax—this still is a Bodybuilding article after all—and by no means do I mean you walk away forever.

(Because, again—to the hardcore—walking away=murder.)

You do, however, force your ass out of the gym—and into the park, or onto the beach—or yeah, the couch—and you take a little time off.  Time off from training; time off from thinking about training.

Let your mind get excited about the idea of getting back on the weights; let your body ache for that pump—hell, let your head fool you into thinking that you’re shrinking every single second you spend away from that crossover machine.  (You’re not—maybe in your time off, you’ll stop being stubborn and actually believe those fitness articles that tell you rest is the key to growth.)

Trust me—by the time you’re back at it, the pumps will feel better, the results will be better, and who knows—you might just view the whole Bodybuilding thing in a new light.

By some small miracle, you may even admit that, no matter how much of yourself you’ve invested—you’re still, really, a Bodybuilding beginner.

And that isn’t such a bad thing after all.

Hey New Guy: Bodybuilding Advice for the Beginner in all of Us
Study up.

Studying. Sucks.
Maybe worse than squats suck—and we all know squats. Suck.
The thing is—squats work—maybe more than all other exercises put together, and that is why they’re a staple of the every bodybuilder whose picture you admire in every bodybuilding magazine you buy.

Guess what else works?

Chances are, if you’re reading this, you take time.  Time in the gym, busting out your routine (–hopefully, it includes squats–) time in the kitchen, slaving over egg-whites and sweet potatoes—time committing yourself, one-hundred percent, to the sport and the science of bodybuilding.

Chances are, you’re set in your ways—back & bi’s, chest & tri’s—and who could blame you?  If you’ve seen any kind of results with ‘the way you do things,’ why change?
Why study?

Because you can bet your ass the guy in the magazine does.

As mentioned, there is a science to bodybuilding.  An ever-changing science—hell, break out one of your magazines from five years ago; I guarantee half of the nutritional and training recommendations have been revised or outright revoked in your latest edition of the same publication.  

The reason is simple: competition.

Every year, new companies, supplements—new bodybuilders—are vying for their time in the proverbial spotlight; a little bigger, a little better, a little stronger than the one before.
That pill, to make the striations pop—that amino acid chain, to better enhance whey protein synthesis—that new exercise, to hit the posterior deltoid harder.

The great thing about all of this rampant competition—boundaries are broken and breakthroughs are made.  Everyday.  And all you—the new bodybuilder, the fitness enthusiast, or the un-converted spectator—has to do to take advantage???

Study.

Take it all in—be a sponge; absorb every relevant—and non-relevant—piece of information you can.
Study Dexter’s posing routine, to see how he captured the ‘O.’

Re-read Arnold’s Bodybuilding Encyclopedia; see which exercises have stood the test of time, and which have been scientifically proven incorrect.  (And yeah, the jury’s still out on the pullover-to-expand-your-ribcage-thing.)
Discover why casein should be your go-to protein before bed—and read the article next month that tells you it shouldn’t.

Be a student—admit that (–and this one’s hard, fellas–) you don’t know everything there is to know about bicep training, and that it couldn’t hurt to hear some variations on the good-ol’-fashioned curl.

Who knows; your guns might thank you.

–And, if you can learn to admit that you don’t know everything to your girl, I guarantee she’ll thank you too.  
(I realize that’s asking a lot, but remember—Rome wasn’t built in a day.)

Ask me how I learned that.

Long Road to Success: Chest
By: Jude Murray

Jude Murray
06 Aug. 2009

Long Road to Success: Chest
How many times have you had this experience… You walk into gym, and hear something that sounds like a woman in labour. You walk further into the gym, and there, on the flat bench, you find the source of the noise. There he is, the gym’s resident ego trainer, underneath far too much weight for him to handle, bouncing it off his chest and half repping it like there is no tomorrow. From the looks of it, his intention is not to build a mind blowing chest, but to crack his sternum clean in half. But he keeps at it, believing that by pushing a ridiculous weight, far beyond his capabilities, he will become a muscle bound god.

The irony of this situation is that he is built like a twig…

The Enigma
Why is it that so many people battle to build the chest of their dreams, or any other body part for that matter? What is it that they do wrong? They think, “I go out and buy all the bodybuilding mags, I follow the pros workout plans to the tee… Why do I not make the gains I had hoped for? “ Well there is your first mistake.

The first thing you need to understand is that the pros are genetically gifted athletes, who have access to the most advanced supplements and training methods known to man. Also, the majority of pro bodybuilders are on steroid cycles. All these factors combined make up the perfect environment for developing your body to and beyond its limits.

But, no matter how big our egos may be, the vast majority of us are not on the cutting edge supplements available today. We do not have trainers with decades of experience to assist us. And those of us who are health conscious are not steroid users. Therefore, we are not professional bodybuilders… Is that a light-bulb I see?

How is it done?
Thinking back to the situation described at the start of the article, what mistakes can you pick out? Well I’m about to tell you about these often made mistakes, why you should avoid them, and then lay out the guidelines for building an impressive chest, the right way.

These are the two biggest mistakes made by those looking for a great body.

1. Going too heavy (or ego training)
We are told over and over again to pile on the weight when we are in the gym. But, what we don’t understand is that, what is meant by that piece of advice is that we should push weight that will challenge us personally, not a pro bodybuilder. What we should always remember is that every person is created different, and therefore we will all respond differently to different forms of exercise.

We have many options open to us: Rep ranges, and varying numbers of sets, to name a few.

Rep Ranges: In general, most people will grow in size and strength by using a 8-12 rep range. I have personally had success using this rep range.

Another popular rep range to train in is the 4-8 rep range. This is generally used in strength training, but many people have found this rep range very effective in putting on serious size.

My advice would be to utilise elements from both these techniques in your own training, because they each have their own benefits. Training in a low rep range will result in a strength increase, which in turn will result in you being able to shift more weight when training in a higher rep range. More weight equals a higher volume. A higher volume equals more size! This is a win, win formula that many avid gym goers have found to be very effective.

Number of sets performed: This is an important factor in your training that must be tailor suited to each individual person. Perform too few sets, and you will not see any gains, as you will not be stimulating enough muscle fibres. Performing too many sets will result in overtraining, which will lead to wrecking any gains you have already made. Generally, one warm up set followed by 3 working sets will work well for most lifters, but this principle varies from person to person and also depends on what type of exercise is being performed.

A rule of thumb is this: Devote more sets to compound lifts than to isolations moves. For examples, on a chest day you would do 4-5 sets for Flat Barbell bench, but only 3-4 for Fly movements, such as the Pec Dec, or the Cable Fly. I recommend this principle as compound lifts activate more muscle fibres than isolation moves, which equates to more growth.

Tweaking the basic number of sets to suit your body will be the most effective. Try changing the amount of sets you perform for each body part in small increments, until you are satisfied with the gains you are making.

When using either of these techniques, always remember to use an amount of weight that will be challenging to you personally. Never sacrifice good form for extra weight on the bar. This leads us to the next mistake many people make.

2. Using bad form to lift more weight
Leave your damn ego at the door! This point ties in well with the first, because a by product of using too much weight is poor form. Look, cheating has its place in building muscle, but it is an advanced technique that should be used sparingly. The majority of us do not have the experience to cheat correctly, so rather leave it out all together.

I am by no means saying that you should use a weight that your 3 year old niece can lift. Rather that you lift the maximum weight you can lift, with good form. On the flat bench, this means you will use a full ROM, bringing the bar all the way down to just above your chest, performing the negative phase in a controlled manner, and then performing your positive phase in an explosive manner, extending to just before lockout. This also means you will NOT bounce the bar off your chest, or skip out your negative phase by “ dropping “ the bar. The first will more than likely leave you with a cracked sternum, and you will be cheating yourself if you do the second, as the most muscle fibres are recruited during the negative phase.

Now to put your new found knowledge to good use.

Putting it into practice
When you step into gym on a chest day, your goal is to build the chest of a champion, and not to hurt yourself. So you need to apply what you know. But now, what schedule should you use?

My chest day will generally look like this:
Dips 4×12 ( Warm up )
Flat Barbell Bench 4×15,12,10,8
Incline Dumbbell Press 3×10-12
Incline Fly’s 3×12 OR
Cable Crossover 4×12

I have had very good results with this Chest plan, as it works the chest from a variety of angles. If you want to emphasize upper pectoral development, do Incline movements first and go with the Incline Fly’s. This schedule will look like this:

Dips 4×12 ( Warm up )
Incline Dumbbell Press 3×10-12
Flat Barbell Bench 4×15,12,10,8
Incline Fly’s 3×12
                
I would also recommend doing some form of cable crossovers on this schedule as this exercise stretches the Fascia Muscle in your chest, which allows for more muscle development. ( This is not a proven theory, but many people have had practical success with using this principle. )

Every 6 weeks you should change things up a bit in your schedule. For example: Doing Flat Dumbbell Press instead of Flat Barbell Bench, and by including some Hammer Strength Presses every now and then to work your Middle chest. The reason for this is that your body is intelligent, and it will eventually become accustomed to whatever stress you place on it. So making small changes to your schedule every 6 or so weeks will shock your body into growing further.

Another thing that will greatly assist you in building your dream chest is realizing that no matter how hard you train in the gym, you will not build muscle without a good, clean diet and supplementation plan. Your body needs fuel to keep it going, so you need to supply it with that fuel. No one else will. I would recommend doing extensive research into diet and nutrition, as well as supplementation. You will find many great articles on these topics on Bodybuilding.com.

Conclusion
So in conclusion, who do you want to be? The ego lifter? The angry guy on juice? Or would you rather be the guy who has carved out a chest of legend through hard work and consistency? Once you have the knowledge, the choice is yours. My advice would be to take the knowledge, and use it. You will thank me down the line, when all your gym buddies who didn’t listen have severe joint, tendon and liver issues.

Thank you for your attention, keep strong.

Jude