Bodybuilding

Whats more important when it comes to bodybuilding, Nutrition or Lifting?

Main

Bodybuilding is 80% Nutrition and 20% Lifting. That means eating is the most important factor when it comes to bodybuilding and usually means succes or failure in bodybuilding. You basically eat to grow. If you think you had a good workout then it depends on what you eat for the rest of that day, the next day, and for the rest of the week for that matter.

Introduction: Is Bodybuilding that hard of a sport?

I have been into bodybuilding for nearly 4 years now but recently just started to get serius about it. I just want everyone to know about my biggest mistake that I did in bodybuilding that I hope no one else makes. For about 3 years I have been overtraining and undereating! I had a two day split that I worked out every single day just about! Upper body one day then Lower body the next and I continued that for the longest time ever. I never really thought about my nutrition at all. I had no idea what protein really did and never really bothered about it. I always never looked forward to my workouts and trust me that was a real bad feeling. Just knowing that i would come home from school and workout for 3 hours and do it again the next day. At the time I thought I was doing the right thing. I never bothered to look at the internet for information about it or read any articles. I just thought that weightlifting was the only thing to bodybuilding. Don't get me wrong though, I did not do this for 3 years straight. I like, would do it for a long while then take a long break then do it again. Anyway, those days were bad memeries. I now know a hell of a lot more about bodybuilding and it all seems so easy to me now. Once you know how to do it it's not hard at all, infact it is so damn easy! So read on...

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Nutrition

Nutrition is the most important factor when it comes to bodybuilding. You need food to make your muscles grow. If your into bodybuilding you should know every thing about this important topic. Here are some quick tips about nutrition: You should eat all the time, dont just eat 3 big meals a day, you have to eat about 6 or more small meals a day in order for your muscles to grow, and make sure you are getting plenty of protein in your meals. I can sit here and write a huge article about this topic, but since other web sites have all ready done that for ya just go over to the right and read some good articles on nutrition. Like I said before Nutrition is the most important factor when it comes to bodybuilding and it determines how big your muscles will grow after a workout.

The Workouts

Protein - Bodybuilder's #1 nutreint

As I mentiond before workouts is only 20% of the battle when it comes to bodybuilding. Working out is important to make muscles grow. I workout 3 or 4 days a week. I have a four day split: chest & tricpes, back & bicpes, shoulders & calves, and legs. I work each muscle group once a week and each workout session is no longer then an hour long. Trust me more is not better, i have been there and done that and i know that less is better. You should train each muscle group no less or more then 5 to 9 days (legs are an exception) I train legs everyother week (every 14 days) And my legs are growing just fine. Machines or Free Weights? I use all freeweights becasue it puts the natural resistance on the muscles and makes them grow better. Free weights allows for better muscle mass growth. I consider machines a waste of time in my opinion. Stick with the basics like bench press, incline bench press, nosebusters (lying tricep extention on bench with e-z curl bar), chin ups, pull ups (dont use a LAT machine, i bought one and does nothing for building muscle mass), curls, military press, lateral raises with barbell, rows, shoulder shrugs, calve raises with barbell, squats, and deadlifts (i consider deadlifts one of the best exercises you can possibly do to get real strong). Heres my workout routine: Day1 - Chest & Triceps Day2 - REST Day3 - Back & Biceps Day4 - REST Day5 - Shoulders & Traps & calves Day6 - REST Day7 - Legs & neck (note: i only do this day every other week) Repeat.... Heavy or Light weight? If your going for muscle mass, which almost is what every one is going for, you need to go very heavy in the 4-6 rep range. Just about all bodybuilders go with heavy weight. Rep Ranges Now, I dont know if this is exactly correct but i'd say this is pretty accurate: 1-3 is strenth 4-6 is muscle and strenth 7-12 is purly muscle mass, and 13-over is for endurance Sets 4-7 sets for large muscle groups (chest, legs, back) 1-3 sets for smaller muscle groups (triceps, biceps, traps)

Muscle is protein. Bodybuilders need more protein then regular people need. Regular people need about 1/4 grams of protein per pound of body weight. Bodybuilders need about 1.0 - 1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight. This does't mean that you have to eat more meat or food to meet those recomendations, you supplement your diet with protein. And one of the best ways to do that is to go to the Protein Factory. There you can find the right kind of protein that fits your needs. I personally get 75% soy and 25% CFM whey, only because thats real cheap and I dont have that much money, although if you have a lot of money I recommend getting more whey. Also, dont take just one big protein shake a day, spread them out in smaller amounts throughout the day. I take 4 servings of protein shakes a day with 40 grams of protein in each serving, so thats a total of 160 grams of protein just from supplements a day, since I weigh 225 I try to get about 225 - 335 grams of protein per day. Its good to take a protein shake right when you get up and right before you go to bed. Always take a protein shake right after you get done lifting, and a good formula to use after lifting is the P.T.F. (Post Training Formula) at the Proteinfactory. That way you get a good amout of complex carbs and whey protein. Protein right after lifting is the MOST important time you should take protein.

Do you need to go to a gym to get big?

Absulutly no! I hear a lot of people complain saying, "The only way to get big is to go a gym". That is not correct. All you need is one good barbell and a chin-up/pull up bar, a curl bar, and a bench, thats it. You dont need dumbbells (although it might help a little bit), You dont have to go out and buy the latest machines. Dont even think about buying a bow flex, solo flex, or any other machine. Dont bother with any ab machines or any thing in that nature. Save your money and dont bother going to a gym, with less then 500 dallers you can get your own home bodybuilding gym. Whats the point of going out of your way in a day to travel all the way to a gym to workout for about 1 hour then go all the way home? When all you have to do is just stay home and complete your short workout and then get on with life. Dont make your workouts the most important thing thing that you have to do, just do it at your own home.