It’s a shame that any person should go through life without ever realizing their true physical potential. Humans were created to be physical beings. We weren’t meant to sit in offices or stare at screens all day.
While there are certainly benefits of living in an advanced society, most of us have lost the inherent connection with our bodies. The less active we are, the more our bodies become simple vehicles of transportation. But our bodies have so much more potential.
If you’re looking into bodybuilding for beginners, you already know this to be true on some level. However, building a phenomenal physique is just as much a chess game as it is a physical endeavor.
We’re here to provide some insight. Keep reading for a step-by-step guide on the bodybuilding basics.
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Identify Your Goals
First, you need to identify what you want to get out of bodybuilding.
Do you want to improve your physique so you will have more confidence? Do you want to be more fit so you can run around with your kids without getting winded? Or do you want to go all-in and compete in bodybuilding competitions?
Write your goal and break it down into smaller, more manageable milestone goals. For example, if you want to get down to 8% body fat, give yourself monthly goals that lead up to it.
More importantly, establish your “why.” Why do you want to achieve your goal? What personal meaning and value does it have?
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Understand Your Genetic Limitations
Next, understand that no matter how hard you work, you might be limited by your genetics. For example, there are three major body types:
- Mesomorph
- Ectomorph
- Endomorph
Mesomorphs are naturally well-built. They can add muscle and drop fat with relative ease. In terms of bodybuilding for beginners, they’ve won the genetic lottery.
Ectomorphs are thin and have very little body fat. While this characteristic makes it easy for them to look lean or “shredded,” they have a harder time building muscle mass.
Endomorphs have naturally bigger body frames and are often referred to as “big-boned.” They can put on muscle easily and tend to have greater strength potentials. However, it’s easier for endomorphs to gain fat and harder for them to lose it.
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Learn Proper Lifting Functions and Techniques
One of the most important bodybuilding tips is to spend time with a lifting coach, personal trainer, or experienced lifter for the first few months. You must learn proper lifting techniques to avoid injuries and maximize progress.
Furthermore, you need to learn what exercises to use for each muscle group. This way, you can learn more about how your body works. You will also be able to design your own programs in the future.
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Focus on Compound Movements
Learning how to gain muscle fast is about learning which exercises are the most effective. In the case of bodybuilding, you need to focus primarily on compound movements or exercises. Compound movements are those that use multiple muscle groups and joints.
The major compound exercises include:
- Squats
- Deadlifts
- Pullups
- Bent-over rows
- Bench press
- Dips
- Shoulder press
Compound movements are more effective because they call upon the most muscle fibers. Naturally, you’ll be able to lift more with compound movements, as multiple muscle groups are used.
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Implement Progressive Overload Theory
The most important lesson on how to start bodybuilding for beginners comes down to ensuring results. How can you make sure you’re moving forward, rather than spinning your wheels in the gym and obtaining minimal results?
The answer lies in progressive overload theory. Progressive overload is the science of forcing muscle growth and strength through marginal increases in demand. In other words, you must outperform yourself from one week to the next.
For example, if you complete 3 sets of 10 bench press at 100lbs in week one, during week two, you could:
- Bench press 100 lbs for 12 reps
- Bench press 100lbs for 10 reps with an additional set
- Bench press 105lbs for 10 reps
In any of the above examples, you’re forcing your body to do more work. The key is to be consistent with progressive overload theory.
Write down every set, rep, and weight on your workout days. That way, you can look back to ensure you’re making improvements.
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Fine-Tune Your Diet
One of the most important muscle-building tips is learning how your diet affects your performance, gains, and attitude. Earlier, we related bodybuilding for beginners to chess. No component of bodybuilding is more like chess than the art of fine-tuning your diet.
Everyone’s body is different. There is no generic formula that will help you build muscle and burn fat at the same time. Start with the bodybuilding basics of nutrition, then perfect your personal diet.
Begin by calculating your BMR. You need to know how many calories a day you’re burning. Then, based on your goals, you can put yourself in a calorie deficit or surplus.
Finally, break your food intake down based on macronutrients. If you’re looking to build muscle, we recommend a diet consisting of 30% protein, 20% fat, and 50% carbs.
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Invest in Quality Supplement
Lastly, no bodybuilding for beginners guide is complete without covering bodybuilding supplements. There are supplements available for burning fat, building mass, recovering, boosting your energy, improving your focus, and more. Here are some of the most common over-the-counter supplements:
- Protein powder – to help build mass
- BCAAs – (branch chain amino acids) to help build muscle fiber and recover from hard workouts
- Fat burners – thermogenic compounds and appetite suppressants to help lose fat
- Creatine – increase muscle gain and improve performance
- Multi-vitamins – to provide the vitamins and minerals you need to function at full capacity
- Pre-workout – to boost energy, increase focus, and improve performance
More extreme supplements, like SARMs, have been shown to significantly improve muscle strength, performance, recovery, and size. If you’re interested, you can learn where to buy SARMs here.
Want More Bodybuilding for Beginners Advice?
Clearly, bodybuilding for beginners is a little more in-depth than walking into a gym and throwing weights around. If you want the best results, follow the advice listed in this article. And remember, consistency is key.
And for more health and fitness advice, stick around for a while. Our blog was created to help people like you attain their goals, no matter what they are. Check out some of our other articles before you go.
