How to become a bodybuilder: simple guide to get started

 

Beginner’s Blueprint for Bodybuilding Success

You’ve decided you want to turn your life around, get in better shape, and become healthy. You want to get stronger, get in better shape, and start eating healthy, high-protein meals, and you want to swap the oversized hoodies for a gym t-shirt that fits you perfectly, but you do not know where to start. This article will give you a blueprint on how you should start and what it takes to keep going.

Step 1: Set a solid foundation

Ask yourself this: Why am I going to the gym? It is because I want to bulk up; I want to get shredded, or maybe even I want to gain strength. For each goal there will be a different approach in the way you train and eat.

For starters, the best thing to do is start by focusing on compound exercises like bench press, deadlifts, squats, and pull-ups. These movements will help get your muscles used to the tensions and stress that will be applied to them, and they will also help set a solid foundation of growth and strength gain.

Put in mind, when you first start going to the gym, you might feel out of place, but I can assure you that you are not. The gym community is one of the best there is. Everyone is always willing to help and give advice when needed or asked for. It is always nice to rock up to the gym with some nice men’s gym tops that will help you feel more confident and help you feel like you belong to the gym, instead of wearing an oversized hoodie that might make you feel like an impostor.

Step 2: Train smart (and hard)

When you first start your bodybuilding journey, you are filled with excitement and eager to explore and find out as much as you can right from the beginning. However, in this game, it is always better to take things slowly and steadily. One of the things that a lot of people, especially beginners, misunderstand is that the more the weight, the better. Well, what I am about to say might disappoint you, but that is completely false. Before focusing on weight, you must focus on form. You might ask, what is form? The answer is quite simple, and that is form is the way in which you execute each exercise to make it as effective as possible with the least probability of getting injured. You must focus on form before anything else. For every exercise you do, focusing on executing it in the best way possible, the most effective way, the way that will not get you injured, is crucial if you want to last long in the game and progress. You must understand that getting injured in the gym is no easy thing. Some injuries end careers. Some injuries cause people to stop going to the gym and pursuing bodybuilding. This is why you must be very careful, especially when you are just getting started.

Now do not get me wrong, but weights are also very important. It is very beneficial to track the weights you are lifting for each exercise from week to week, as this will highlight your progress, and you will be able to see in which area you are progressing and which areas might need some more work. It is very important to get used to progressive overloading. Now what is progressive overloading? Progressive overloading is increasing the weight or repetitions of an exercise each time you attempt it. This is why it is very important to track the weight and repetitions of each exercise that you do, as then you will be able to set goals such as trying to do an extra rep next time you do the exercise. To give you an example, imagine this week you did a 60 kg bench press for 10 reps. Next week you will aim to do 60 kg for 11 reps. If you manage to do the 11 reps (with proper form as we said earlier), then the week after you will try to go for 12 reps. It is usually advised that once you reach 12 reps with a weight, you should increase it; therefore, the week after that you will attempt 65 kg (for example), and you repeat the same process.

Finally, keep in mind that rest is important. It is not very smart to train 7x a week every week. Your body needs to recover, or else over time, your progress will start to slow down, and you will not see any results because you are not giving your muscles enough time to repair and grow. Instead of training 7 days a week, aim for 4-6 days of intense training. You cannot mention rest and recovery without sleep. Sleep is one of the most important factors when it comes to training, as it’s during sleep that your body releases growth hormones, repairs muscle tissues, and restores energy levels for your next workout. Ideally, you should be getting 7-9 hours of sleep each night.

Step 3: Focus on nutrition

Building muscle and strength is not just about going to the gym and lifting heavy weights, but they also heavily rely on nutrition. What kinds of food are you putting into your body every day? How much food are you consuming? What are you drinking? These are some questions you should ask yourself. I will start off by mentioning some of the things you should be avoiding if you want to see good results and become healthy as well.

Food you should avoid:

• All processed foods
• Sugars
• Sweetened beverages
• Deep-fried foods
• Trans fat

There are some more things that you should try to avoid, but in my opinion these are the most important things.

Moving on to what you should be consuming.

1-Protein.

You will need a high-protein diet, which could consist of fish, chicken, lean meats, and eggs. It is often said that the ideal amount of protein to be consumed if you are trying to build muscle is 1 g of protein per 1 lb of your body weight. So, if your current body weight is 150 lb, then you should try to aim for 150 g of protein. Now does this mean that if you don’t eat 150g of protein, you will not build muscle? No, you will still build muscle, but it might not be as optimal.

2-Carbohydrates.

They are your main source of energy. Some clean options are rice, potatoes, and oats.

3-Healthy fats.

Fats are important for a balanced diet, so make sure you include them in your. nutrition plans. Healthy fats include avocados and nuts. 

4-Hydration.

Hydration is something ignored by a lot of people, but it is crucial to performance and results. You should drink at least 2-3 liters of water throughout the day, and make sure that you are drinking this amount across the whole day and not chug it all in the morning or right before you go to sleep.

Step 4: Go with the flow

Do not worry too much about learning as much as possible in the beginning, because the truth is, the journey of bodybuilding is a constant learning process. As you progress, you will pick up new tips and information, whether it is from the internet or people in the gym. Even the most advanced bodybuilders, who some might look at and think that they know everything and have it all figured out, are still learning as they go and applying what they learn. Do not be afraid to ask people for tips and advice. The gym is not a scary place; in fact, some would say that the gym community is one of the best there is because everyone is there for each other, everyone is supporting one another, and everyone is willing to help when they could. Be a part of that community, and you will enjoy the journey even more.

To Wrap Things Up

You need to understand that the journey of bodybuilding is long-lasting but definitely rewarding. It might get tough at some points, but that’s the beauty of it. It challenges you and puts you in positions you’ve never been in. It is a journey of self-discovery and transformation. You will not just change physically by building muscle and gaining strength, but you will also change mentally. Remember, whether you’re rocking a classic gym t-shirt or elevating your look with performance-driven men’s gym tops, let every session be a stepping stone toward unlocking your potential, achieving the most, getting out the greatness within you, and becoming the best version of yourself.

Do not overthink it. Grab your gear, hit the gym, and you will thank yourself later.

 

Disclaimer: The tips and advice given in this blueprint is based off personal experience and general bodybuilding knowledge. Nothing here is science based and is guaranteed to work with everyone, because at the end of the day we are all different.