Everyone’s got to start somewhere. Nobody is born with the ability to pump iron and crunch their way to a 6 pack. Often the guides I write are for the average guy who wants to build a bit more muscle. I leave the super in-depth stuff to those who live for their muscles and I think there is a need for some quite down to earth, basic guides to bodybuilding for beginners.
Go into many gyms and you’ll see the same thing. Groups of young men congregating around the free weights, looking in the mirror and not getting very far. If you don’t have the knowledge, the discipline and a plan, you will probably fail for a number of reasons:
- You get bored
- You become disillusioned because you’re seeing no results
- You realize it was more hard work than you had bargained for
So the thing you need as a new bodybuilder is a plan. You need to take some guidance. I’m not saying that this is the only place for a plan. On the contrary, there are hundreds of resources and while some of them are total garbage, many are gold. The No Nonsense Bodybuilding Guide is an absolute gem for beginners and will save you months, if not years, of heartache while trying to get the body you want.
Apart from this site, I heartily recommend you initially speak with your doctor if there is any history of health problems that could be exacerbated by strain of exertion. Then your next port of call should be an instructor at your gym. No gym worth their salt will allow you to start yanking weights without some sort of initiation or induction period. While this may seem tedious, it’s essential for your well being and health.
All that being said and done, here is my guide to
Bodybuilding For Beginners
If you’re starting off cold, and by that I mean, with no experience and at a poor level of fitness, I really think you should do all over body workouts for a short while, say a month. This will get you used to the machines, the weights, tracking your progress and things like
- The time of day you work out best
- What food works best for you before and afer your workout
Once you feel pretty happy with what’s happening and you’d like to advance to something a bit more awesome that’s really gonna rock your muscles, move towards splitting your workouts down to concentrate on 1 or 2 muscles groups at a time.
Of great importance is your warm up. And warm down. Luckily a warm up is simple. 5-10 minutes on the cardio machine of your choice and you’re set. The warm down, just as simple. 5-10 minutes of stretching. Remember, lifting weights contracts your muscles. Stretching them out really helps them grow.
For most of the following exercises I recommend 3 sets of 10-15 reps per set. The exceptions is abs.
Most people do crunches to build their abs, but there are other ways. Check out this abs workout, and you can do double the amounts of reps. Or more if you’re comfortable. Most abdominal exercises are not going to injure you if done slightly incorrectly. In fact I might even say, go for abs more than once a week if you like.
Day 1 – Shoulders (seated press, side and front dumbell raises) and Back (pull ups, pull downs, rows)
Day 2 – Arms (bicep curls)
Day 3 – Rest
Day 4 – Chest (bench press, incline press)and Abs (crunches, leg lifts, ab circle pro or the like)
Day 5 – Legs (squats, leg extension, leg press)
Day 6 – Rest
Day 7 – Rest/Abs
I find men try to work their arms much harder than the rest of their body, hence the day of rest after your arms day. Legs also I think really take a pounding, so a rest day after that too. Day 7 will be ok to stick another abs day in, but it’s not urgent if you’re happy with your progress.
This is where it starts to get hairy.
Your diet.
We’d all love to look like Brad Pitt on a diet of pizza and chips, but that ain’t happening. Brad probably hasn’t had a pizza in 20 years, although of course he’ll pretend to eat like a horse. Some tips:
- Start eating little and often, 4-6 meals a day
- Cut out processed foods – white bread, baked goods etc
- Reduce simple carbs – Potatoes and other starchy stuff, especially french fries and beer
- Increase protein intake – lean meats and healthily cooked eggs
Committment
Knowing all these things won’t help if you don’t have the gumption to just go ahead and do it.
Get yourself a workout diary and use it, every day. Keep note of your calorie intake, exercises done (weights and reps) and generally how you’re feeling healthwise.
Set yourself goals and review them periodically.
Nothing works better in a bodybuilding for beginners plan than simple hard work. It’s not easy to get the body you want, but it is possible.
Good luck!
