Bodybuilding is not complicated. It’s simple.
Here are the 5 essential principles of bodybuilding. Get these right and you will build a great body. Miss one of them and your results will be subpar.
1. Compound Exercises
Compound exercises should be the staple of your bodybuilding routine.
The big 4, namely squat, deadlift, bench press and shoulder press are enough to train 80% of your muscle mass. The rest of the exercises are only for assistance.
Be a minimalist. Keep it simple, stupid.
I train 4 days a week and each training session starts with one of the big 4 compound movements. You want to do these first because you are at your freshest when you begin your training.
If you train different muscle groups on each training session, those particular muscles will have enough time to recover.
2. Progressive Overload
If your training load is not progressing, you are not building muscle. You must learn how to apply progressive overload to your training regimen.
Fortunately, it’s simple and straightforward.
3. Keeping A Training Journal
If you are not keeping a training journal, you are shooting in the dark.
You MUST keep a training journal to record how much weight you lifted, for how many reps and sets for each exercise of every training session.
This way, you will be able to know if you are progressing or not. Remember, if you are not progressing, you are not building muscle.
4. Eating Right
If you are not eating enough, you can’t build muscle. Similarly, if you are eating too much you can’t burn fat.
Bodybuilding is a series of bulking and cutting. When you are building muscle, you eat more calories than you burn. Inevitably, you will gain some fat along with building muscle. Then you will have to cut to burn the extra fat you gained while keeping the extra muscle you built.
You must make sure that you eat enough protein, fat, and carbs. Learning to count your macros is easy, so I highly recommend you do it.
5. Consistency
Bodybuilding is a long game. Even at the fastest rate (that’s usually when you are enjoying your newbie gains), you will build a maximum of 1.5-2 lbs of muscle per month as a natural bodybuilder. And that’s when you are doing everything perfectly.
We live in an age of instant gratification. Unfortunately, nobody can build muscle instantly, even with steroids.
Most men start bodybuilding with great enthusiasm, but that enthusiasm seems to fade out quickly as the results are not quick and easy to come by.
Men with the best bodies are always in it for the long term.
The going will certainly get tough. You should never quit or take long breaks. Remember, if it’s easy it’s not worth doing.
PS – Bodyweight training is the best way to start bodybuilding. If you want to build an excellent muscular foundation with a solid bodyweight training program, check out Ripped with Bodyweight.