WEEK FORTY-EIGHT :: What Would You Change If You Could Go Back In Time? [Archive]

View Full Version : WEEK FORTY-EIGHT :: What Would You Change If You Could Go Back In Time?

webmaster

10-27-2005, 05:11 PM

------------------------------------------------------------

TOPIC: What Would You Change If You Could Go Back In Time?

For the week of: Oct 27th - Nov 3th
(Wednesday @ Midnight Is The Final Cut).

-------------------------------------------------------------

No one begins training perfectly. Beginners probably make more mistakes than anyone else. Many of us did not train properly when we first began. We either trained the muscle too much, too little, didn’t use proper form, didn’t have a solid routine, didn’t have a solid diet, etc. We must often think to ourselves - if we could have just started the right way, we would have the perfect bodies.

If you could go back to day one of bodybuilding and start over with the knowledge / experience you have today, what would you do differently and why?

What kind of changes would you make in your routine, or diet?

BONUS QUESTION: For someone beginning bodybuilding/fitness, what is the number 1 thing they should know from start to finish?

-------------------------------------------------------------

Don't discuss any other topic in this section. ONLY discuss the question above.

The best response will get $75 in credit to use in our online store! The other good responses will be used in an article on the main Bodybuilding.com site, with the poster's forum name listed by it. Become famous!

Thanks,
Will
Webmaster
Bodybuilding.com

perldog007

10-29-2005, 11:19 AM

WEEK FORTY-EIGHT :: What Would You Change If You Could Go Back In Time?

If you could go back to day one of bodybuilding and start over with the knowledge / experience you have today, what would you do differently and why?

Way back in time. The year is 1974. Gym class. We, the mighty Saunders Seminoles are gathered around coach Buckman and the modern scourge of strength training, the Universal gym. Mercury Morris has one in his home, this must be exactly the thing. Thankfully, our betters do not assume that ole Mercury's recreational substance regimen would also benefit us, the children. I, the chubby one who gets beat up for exercise by other students have found my salvation.

Coach explains progressive resistance to us. According to the wisdom at the time, (that would be whatever article coach Buckman had just read) increasing reps will give us big, weak, posing muscles. Increasing weight will give us strong muscles that will not look impressive. Fifteen reps of 50 to 65% of your tested one rep max and three sets is something that coaches seem to do everywhere.

Both wrestling teams I am on use a protocol like this. Of course wrestling back then means cutting weight through what we now know to be nonsensical dehydration and malnutrition.

I am trying to get buff, every season I get weak and my unacceptable level of body fat is growing every time the season ends. In 1977 I am not going to have this anymore. I get a bench, a weight set from Montgomery Ward, and a copy of Franco's "Winning Bodybuilding" along with the inspirational copy of pumping iron. My diet is largely handled by Dr. Mom. Dr. Mom reads a lot of books by Adelle Davis. Adelle dies of some kind of bone cancer, Dr. Mom reads other stuff.

There is a stigma attached to bodybuilding. A lot of people in the weight room are quick to exclaim that they are getting stronger, not bodybuilding.

Just before going on active duty with the Navy I join a "spa". There are some big guys there exhibiting strange behavior and freakish growth. I take a supplement that contains adrenal glands of cattle or some such. I start behaving strangely, they take away my bottle of ground up glands in Orlando at recruit training. It is 1979. For the first of many times, I am giving up on bodybuilding for a while.

In 1982 a chubby petty officer is unleashed on the civilian world. Now constantly surrounded by attractive women and not by unshaven men on ship, my appearance takes on new importance.

A lot of "light bulbs" were around then and still exist to this day. Guys who pumped up their upper bodies and have chicken legs. I remember being privileged to work on a movie set and getting to meet Bubba Smith in 1982. Bubba had an upper body to rival the gods. His legs weren't bad except his calves.

Not the case with one of the grips on the set. A young man showing obvious signs of steroid use with little itty bitty chicken legs. The man bets me he can beat me in any lift since I am a butterball and out of shape. He forks over his C-note when I take the stack for fourteen reps on the standing calf machine at a gym in Atlanta. I break the Franklin at Wendy's to try their triple. A vicious cycle of heartfelt effort, defeat, disgust with rebound is already in motion and will continue for the next two decades.

I try nearly everything for a while. In 1986 I find myself getting the crap pounded out of me by a skinny guy named Kevin who is in our dojo for some reason. Some reason to do with administering pain one would presume. Three days later Kevin Killer Watts is the NABF middleweight champ. He wears his hat from the Ninja Academy in the post fight interview. I am so swelled with pride that it aggravates the bruises a little.

I think that to this day if you absolutely positively have to get your skinny young ass kicked, you can go to twenty three and a half South Little Rock Avenue in Ventnor New Jersey. You will be required to pay a nominal club fee and sign a consent form. Stand by, they will get to you in a few after you stretch and warm up. Seriously, if the Perkins family is still training, they are among the best. I still love you Sensei!

By 1987 the tough guy mentality has gotten out of hand. I fancy myself a warrior. Public records reflect that on October 7, 1987 a fugitive bonded by the Toll bond agency of Camden New Jersey is remanded to Burlington County Jail by a lone unarmed blackjack dealer who takes himself way too seriously. Somehow I have gotten onto a path that has nothing to do with looking better and living well. A nasty rebound has to be just around the corner. Yup! here it comes.

Transition to dart throwing and beer drinking for a while. We won't talk about other indescretions as young impressionable minds are at play here. I drove a taxi in Atlantic City in the eighties and my colleagues call me the "MadMan" on the c.b. radio, enough said.

I join my share of gyms and make some progress, always followed by overtraining and rebounding. I am told to eat six times a day, but have never really gotten into the science behind that admonition. Every time I walk into a gym they take me straight to the cardio equipment. By the time the "trainer" lets me even smell the iron, there is nothing left in the bank. A stream of failures becomes a river.

While I am a security guard at Union Station in Washington D.C. during the early '90s, a Nordic Track Ski Pro Classic machine transforms me into a fat guy that can run down wise-acre cabbies and sixteen year old shoplifters. Kinda cool.

A nasty traffic accident in 2000 almost takes my right leg. No rebounding for a few years, just straight downhill.

By 2005 all things incorrect have taken their toll. My vision is blurred. I am a diabetic (http://www.teenbodybuilding.com/rockie6.htm). I believe that the fitness measures I have taken, if compressed into a brief enough time period, would kill six or seven Navy Seals before breakfast. Something is not quite right here. I decide to do some serious learning. A lack of heart hasn't been my problem.

I am a classic sucker for a good sales pitch. I have bought every one of them in the realm of fitness. First I change teams from the sheep to the wolves and become a salesman. Then I acquire some knowledge with this marvelous thing Al Gore has given us, before he takes our precious internet away. I find bodybuilding.com.

Now the people who see me every day are amazed at my progress. Ones who haven't seen me for a few months are shocked.

What kind of changes would you make in your routine, or diet?

From thirty years of gaining knowledge on what won't work;

I firmly believe that it is easier to make the body follow the mind than it is to make the mind follow the body. I would have written out some goals in 1974 and recited them day and night. I would train my mind first, before anything else.

In the disclipline of diet, I would have eaten more often. While in high school and in the Navy, I would have tried to have snacks with some protein between "regular meals".

I would have tried to take in fruit in the morning, and complex carbs, fat, and lean protein every meal. I would have skipped the fat phobia of the eighties and the next phase of carb phobia.

Back in 1974 at the age of thirteen, I would have done bodyweight (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/mahler57.htm) exercises until age sixteen. Then, in addition to pushups, pullups and squats, I would have perfected my clean and jerk, snatch, overhead press, squat and deadlift before doing anything else. After a year or two of this I would have gotten into bench. At age eighteen or nineteen or so I would have started doing some bodybuilding, using dumbbells (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/planet14.htm) above all else. This would have given me a great foundation and core, along with fantastic stablizers.

If I had it to do over again, I would have tried to avoid machines to the extent possible for the first eight years. For validation of this concept, look at some pictures of the old time strongmen in Pavel's (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/mm2.htm) books, or at a picture of the great Sandow (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/drobson61_1_big.jpg).

I would have wrestled without the insane dehydration. Karate or some other martial art (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/evan5.htm), say one class a week, is a fantastic idea for stretching and cardio.

For getting big I think I may have done several years of dojo first before trying full contact training, maybe skipping this altogether. Letting an elite boxer use you and your brother students for human punching bags on his way to a title is really tough and macho sounding, it doesn't make your muscles any bigger. Cool story for your kids though.

Manhunting and other stupid tough guy displays of mindless testosterone, bozo idea at best. That clown on cable, "DOG THE BOUNTY HUNTER", reminds me of how ridiculous my mental state had gotten. When you get big and strong you will know it, the world will know it, and you will not feel the need to go around proving it. Leave the macho crap for those who have something to prove. You are a bodybuilder and your awesomeness as a human specimen is not in question. Read "Pumping Iron" for a great Arnold quote on the subject.

Besides, it is easy for the wild man or woman to get opportunities to mate. Very hard for the same to keep a mate and that means loneliness and real pain, no matter how appealing the wild-life seems.

perldog007

10-29-2005, 11:20 AM

BONUS QUESTION: For someone beginning bodybuilding/fitness, what is the number 1 thing they should know from start to finish?

The journey is better than the inn, young warrior.

This is not a hobby, a sport, or even a lifestyle. It is a life, and a good one at that. After thirty years of floundering I have learned this. It is not about how you end up, we all end the same way. No one gets out of this world alive.

It is about how you travel the road. Goals are not the end game, they are about milestones. Set yours well, burn them into your subconscious by repetition, make better ones as you go along.

The road may bend and twist, but always must continue on. If you are not getting the results you want, perhaps you should change what you are doing. But don't quit. Taking a break is another matter altogether. Take it from me, don't let your rest period stretch to a year. A week off should be sufficient unless you have a serious injury.

Don't be fixated on a lofty goal that is the end of your road. We are all headed to the end of the road, why hurry? Bodybuilding and fitness is a life that will enhance your being. The sacrifices can seem extreme at times. They will all be paid back many times over in benefits.

When I am selling a car, I have to overcome the customer's fear of parting with their money by pointing out the advantages of ownership. What we are afraid of giving up, time on the couch with the remote and junk food, is not much to fear to be sure. What we gain from the sacrifice of time and comfort is quality of time and a confidence that takes satisfaction beyond comfort.

I am still very much a plus sized male. (that means fat, "for all you rebel motherf***ers", Courtney B. Vance as "Doc" in Hamburger Hill) Yet the progress I have made in my journey has had an ex-collegiate football player in his twenties asking me for nutrition and exercise advice. Very gratifying. More than worth the unhealthy meals I have deprived myself of and the minor discomfort of a workout. My wife beams with pride. I feel like a much younger man, and in fact run circles around the kids on the lot at work.

I don't need reading glasses anymore and I can buy pants off the rack in a regular store. If I never made anymore progress, that would be reason to continue on my road. I know that there are more rewards coming, BECAUSE THE ROAD IS THE REWARD!

Do me one favor young warrior, don't pass on the right and always drive safely. Thanks for reading and may you be blessed on your journey!

Dallas68

10-29-2005, 05:44 PM

Done by the dallas68

If you could go back to day one of bodybuilding and start over with the knowledge / experience you have today, what would you do differently and why?

HONESTLY I wish I could go back in time to that day so I could do it right to eat my oatmeal, digest my protein and use my carbohydrates to their full potential yet our scientific community has not perfected time travel so here we can only wonder how much better we could have looked.

Well I think back to how my life with bodybuilding began it was not merely a fun and egotistical start I was a very fat young boy and I could not stand it anymore. I could balance my coke on my stomach while watching the TV and my brothers made fun of me both of them were skinny. I would play pointless play station games in the hot summer sun until I had created a pool of sweat on the couches. I was lazy kid.

So of course this affected me deeply and my parents were always trying to get myself active hell I couldn’t run around the damn neighborhood once although I was one of the best in my swimming team I was still a fat boy.

Anyhow I reached standard 5 and started to look good because of age and being taller I of course became popular yet I still looked like absolute rubbish compared to my body now. So my emotional levels were not normal.
It was when I reached high school that I started rugby a highly skilled and physical sport that melted fat off me and
I by some odd grace I cannot fully remember started to lift weights. I remember when I would go and mess around doing triceps pushdowns so badly but these old bodybuilders helped me, talked to me and I realized one day I want to do what these guys do.

So this leads me to tell you that I have before I got truly serious in bodybuilding changed myself so drastically I look at old photos of myself and I think what the hell were you eating brother?

So I am here now at the age of 16 and already having gained tons of information with full appreciation and grace towards bodybuilding.com that has provided me with incredibly helpful tips.

Without a plan you shall be lost.

I Would have made sure I had told my parents my plans, made sure they knew what I was doing and that I would not hurt myself because my parents did worry a lot. It was my commitment yet I kept it to myself I would have been less selfish.

I would have taken the maturity bodybuilding gives you and actually transfer it to my friends, colleagues and family as I still was not a totally nice person.

Dallas68

10-29-2005, 05:45 PM

What kind of changes would you make in your routine, or diet?

I would have trained every body part. As many young people and posers do is they train chest, and arms along with furiously wrong abdominal training. So you end up not receiving as much muscle and then you could give up. This is the worst thing to do because bodybuilding teaches you about:
Dedication
Commitment
Patience
Knowledge

What I would definitely change on day one. I would firstly sit down and write out exactly what is going to happen hour in hour out and day in day out to make sure I reach my goals.

So I for example when I was younger I would obviously want to cut down and rip my fat away so I would find and research articles and find the best one type it and stick it in my room.

Then the training the part I truly enjoy the most I would have set up a good split as I would have been a beginner and would thusly need more time and rest in-between.

So I would start with whatever body part is lagging behind if my back and shoulders were not up to par then I would adjust my split to make sure I hit them on the first day. This is better because at the beginning of the week you have rested and you’re ready to go mentally.

And along with that I would have made sure I did a mixed kind of cardio to really shock my body.

I would have already set my diet to have six meals, small but with enough protein enough carbohydrates, good fats and a small supper.

THE BIGGEST THING I WOULD HAVE CHANGED

I would definitely change the one cheat meal per week rule although I do know your body wants to know it is not starving and wants sugar but then that’s why you eat loads of small nutritious foods and carbohydrate dense so that you don’t have sugar cravings. You should be satisfied.
Like those chips say once you pop you cannot stop! The sweet or chocolate you eat on your holy cheat meal day sends signals to your brain and therefore you need more and more
chips are your worst enemies here. So that is out of the question

Supplementation

Would make sure I knew that they are not magic pills that somehow could make me look like Lou Ferrigno from one months use. 

So the essentials come into mind
Multi’s
Protein (the deciding factor in your muscle gain)
Fish oil
Green tea
The green tea is there because for my personal plan I would have wanted to help raise my fat burning capabilities.

Multi’s I have used animal pak and I know it is expensive I felt it helped me with my growth I know it doesn’t actually grow your muscles but it makes sure you have no gaps and your body is full of energy so therefore I had better workouts. So you can use any regular Joe multivitamin at least you’re covered.

Protein this is what makes or breaks you as soon as you get more than a gram of protein per pound of body weight everyday then you will hit the anabolic jackpot. You can get so much from food that supplements are really for when you’re trying to hit high grams of protein. Proteins such as whey protein and the like have many advantages to health and nitrogen balance.

So here it is

Sunday: arms, abs

Monday: legs, cardio

Tuesday: OFF

Wednesday: Chest, Back, cardio

Thursday: Shoulders

Friday: Light Cardio

Saturday: OFF

FOOD

Morning:
Oatmeal, yoghurt, fat free milk

Snack:
Sandwich with tuna or you can have normal canned tuna

Lunch:
Chicken or beef pieces

2nd snack
Yoghurts or protein shake

Before workout
Protein either shake or tuna

After
Banana, protein shake (preferably) potatoes any complex carbs or simple sugars

Dallas68

10-29-2005, 05:48 PM

BONUS QUESTION: For someone beginning bodybuilding/fitness, what is the number 1 thing they should know from start to finish?

START TO FINISH YOU HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHAT YOUR DOING THORUGHOUT YOUR LONG TIRELESS JOURNEY INTO MUSCLE YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THERE WILL BE IMPROVEMENTS, TRIUMPHS AND THERE SHALL BE DISSAPOINTMENTS AND MAJOR SET BACKS SO BUCK UP!

RIGHT NOW MY CHEST HAS A MAJOR STRAIN AND I WORK AROUND IT YOU HAVE TO KEEP STRIVING BROTHERS!

NEVER EVER LOSE YOUR TENACITY FOR THIS AWESOME SPORT AND ONE DAY YOU WILL UNDERSTAND THE TRUE MEANING OF STARING OVER THE EDGE OF THE ABYSS....
GOOD LUCK I WISH MORE AND MORE PEOPLE COULD JOIN OUR BB COMMUNITY TO AVOID THE OBESITY EPIDEMIC I COULD HAVE BEEN A STATISTIC DO YOU WANT TO BE ONE?

I DIDNT THINK SO

deviltrainee

10-29-2005, 08:30 PM

I dont expect this to win but would just like to put my two cents in. Im just 16 and the thing i wish about lifting is that i had started when i was younger. I was working out in my schools gym the other day and a freshman i had never seen before was maxing out and got up to 235, being a junior and being able to bench less than him I was pretty ashamed of myself. Also i have often thought "what if i had started when i was younger.... imagine how strong i could be now!"

The second thing i wish i had done when i was just starting is leg workouts. I have played a lot of sports but the year i started i wasnt doing any sports, i didnt run, i didnt squat, i didnt do any leg stuff and i just wish i had been smart enough to.

Bonus

They should remember that they make huge gains at first but they should not be discouraged once the gains slow down and that if they keep without bodybuilding/working out will not be a chore. It will be part of their life. When i go 3 or more days without working i cant sit still for more than a couple minutes at a time and I have to start doing pushups. They should not be discouraged by people being bigger than them either. I remember when i was just starting I would not bench because I was embarassed about how little I could do compared to "everyone else"(who were mostly the football players that are the same strength as me now).

MantisShrimp

10-30-2005, 01:47 AM

If you could go back to day one of bodybuilding and start over with the knowledge / experience you have today, what would you do differently and why?

The most important concepts are always meta-concepts or general concepts affecting other concepts, so that is what I will address.

Concept 1.

Perseverance. I would first BURN INTO MY MIND the basic truth that slow and steady wins the race. Perseverance is the MAIN aspect of successful training. Look at your pros, what is the one thing they all have in common? Is it that they are just ten times meaner than the average lifter? No. Do they have better genetics? Some say so, some disagree. Do they take more drugs? Not rly, plenty of guys use and never get huge. What they all have in common is that they have been doing it for many years, and doing it consistently. They have the commitment gene.

Concept 2.

Knowledge is power. Period. Not just for nerds or in classrooms, knowledge of your sport translates directly into more physical power as well, because it impacts what you do and then your results change. Everyone here has tons of stories about the ignorant idiots they see in their gyms, the "funny guy at gym" threads are among the most popular. Fact is, people waste hours and hours and even years of their effort and intensity working on programs which are only half complete, lacking in nutrition, or sleep, or proper form, or periodization, or any one of the main concepts that people "in the know" consider critical to training and BBing. The BRAIN is a MUSCLE and it can atrophy as well as hypertrophy, if you are after muscular hypertrophy, you need to train your brain the same as your body, by constantly reading and trying to improve your methods. You don't want to be the kid squatting on the swiss ball, or the cardio bunnies trying to spot reduce ab fat. Effectiveness is all about working smarter, AND harder. Life is learning. You never know enough. Anyone who is truly wise, like the O'Rly owl for instance, understands that for however much they learn, there is always that much more to know.

Concept 3.

Training is an art. The thing that makes art indistinguishable from pure science is that art often has a scientific or techncial basis, which is then built upon by intuitive decision making, or some "undecipherable acumen or skill." This is what art is, and this is how training is. You cannot simply pick someone else's workout, grab a diet plan, and get great results. No matter what programs you choose, you are going to have to improvise some of it, that is the art of BBing and training. You must customize each aspect to fit in with the unique mental, physical, social, financial, et al. aspects of what makes you uniquely you. For example, my program tends to involve the careful and tactical application of melatonin when I overcharge myself with cardio or caffeine, and this is done on feel entirely. This is not written into someone's program this is personal synthesis, this is art. Do not be afraid to wing it, or trust your gut. Artistic decisions are often made on the fly, while training as well. For example, making the spontaneous determination that you really burned your delts on military press, and deciding to do crushers for tris today instead of close grip bench press, even tho CGBP was planned. Flexibility, artistry, biofeedback, and intuition.

Concept 4.

Nostalgia isn't what it used to be. Hindsight is 20/20, and monday morning quarterbacking may have its uses, but the only practical value of reflecting is to bring back knowledge and information for the NOW in which you are living. Brooding on the past is a very unproductive way to sabbotage your NOW. If you have problems with the past, reconcile them quickly and truthfully, and then move on. If you believe in fate, then you know that whatever you did before, and wherever you arrived before, was only prelude to where you are now, and it had a purpose, which was to bring you to where you are. If you have a deity, trust that he/she/it/Xenu has a a plan for you, and that past errors were part of your maturation. If you do not worship, take comfort in the fact that your mind is the source of your destiny, and noone controls that mind but you.

Concept 5.

Model others, do not envy them. Paying attention to the actions and activities of others is only so useful in so much as you use their successes and failures in order to steer yourself more effectively and predictively. Envy only creates frustration and a sense of overwhelm, so never dote on what someone else has done, and never fantasize about their level of success and what it must be like to BE them, you must only identify WHAT it is about their accomplishments that attracts you, and then decipher it like a code, or analyze it like a science, until your successes become like their successes. If possible, contact them and ask them directly, and save yourself some wasteful guesswork. Also be mindful of the artistry concept above, not everything done by another will work for you, different people have different goals, genes, lifestyles, chemistry. This is the concept of detached interest. All of life is a scientific curiousity, done for its own sake, and for knowledge and growth, the end does not justify the means, the end is the means, the journey is the destination. Anyone who realizes this cannot be envious, and they will enjoy maximal concentration.

BONUS QUESTION: For someone beginning bodybuilding/fitness, what is the number 1 thing they should know from start to finish?

Know your goals, know your reasons, get at the WHY of what you do, and make sure it is as permanent as your commitment to showering, or working a job, or breathing. You do not train to get a girl, to reach a certain bench value, or to look good on a beach 3 months a year. These are helpful motivations, but they are sub goals, the overarching, main meta-goal has to be ethics oriented. As I said above, the end is the means. Results are the side-effects of an ethic, the ethic is the means and the end. That ethic includes many facets which are not immediately apparent to the average person who wanders into a gym and starts to mimic the people he/she sees there. Don't be the guy squatting on the swiss ball. This may be physical education, but you still need to RTFM. :p

I would also tell them to come to BB.com and buy a lot of supplements. :rolleyes::D

mivi320

10-30-2005, 06:16 PM

What would you change if you could go back in time?

Intro

Think back to when you first began training. If you were anything like most beginners, you must have made several mistakes. Mistakes such as training too much, not eating enough to support growth, training with sloppy form, or even following too complex of a routine. Fast forward to the present tense. Hopefully, you learned from your mistakes and have set out on the right path of pursuing your bodybuilding and fitness goals. But we often must think to ourselves - if we could have just started the right way, we would have the perfect physiques.

My story

When I began bodybuilding, I was a weak 87 pounds at a height of about 5'2. I was suffering from depression, getting picked on at school by bigger guys, combating anorexia, and dealing with several family and emotional problems. As a result, instead of my doctor prescribing me some expensive medication to rectify my problems and health issues, she prescribed me to the sport of bodybuilding. Her husband was a former local competitive bodybuilder and was the owner of a local gym, so she had clearly been around bodybuilding long enough to recognize the amazing benefits it has to offer. I honestly thought she was crazy when she prescribed starting a serious weight training and diet program, but I was willing to give it a shot.

I began going to the gym two or maybe three times a week. I remember wearing baggy clothing to the gym to mask my scrawniness. I felt so small compared to the 220 pound beasts putting up 305 for reps on the bench press. That didn't stop me, and I continued to go the gym. After one month of serious training and diet, I was still at a weak 87 pounds. I was discouraged, but I was determined to better myself and get bigger. I thought that failing to gain any weight after one month of training was a byproduct of not going to the gym enough. So I increased the number of times I went to the gym to 6 days a week. Big mistake.

After completing one month of training 6 days a week, I had lost weight. I was down to 85 pounds now. I was extremely frustrated and rather discouraged. I had thought about giving up on the doc's "prescription" of bodybuilding, but I was sick and tired of being small. I was sick and tired of getting picked on and bullied at school. It was time to get my life in order and improve my overall health. It was time for some serious gains in muscle mass.

Slightly discouraged, but completely driven and focused on bettering myself, I began reading several books about bodybuilding. I learned about bodybuilding.com through a close friend, and read the articles religiously - absorbing as much information as I could. I set up a simple training routine and structured a "bulking diet." I was ready to embark on my new journey...

If you could go back to day one of bodybuilding and start over with the knowledge / experience you have today, what would you do differently and why?

Fast forward to present tense. I'm now 70lbs. heavier than I was then with 12% body fat. My personal life and mental health couldn't be better. I plan on competing in my first competition next year. I often think back to when I first began bodybuilding. I wasted several months of potential gains because I was simply overtraining. Overtraining is when you train too hard or too frequently for your body to recover from your workouts. I was training too hard and too frequently.

My diet for those first couple months of training wasn't the best either. I was only eating 2-3 meals a day, mostly junk food. I was lucky if I even got 100g of protein in. I also failed to get in adequate sleep, which hurt my gains.

If I could go back to day one of bodybuilding with the knowledge and experience I have today, I would have chosen a much better approach to training. More isn't always better, and I failed to see that within those first couple months of training. Training tears down the muscle fibers and repair of those broken down fibers occur through proper rest, nutrition, and sleep. When you overtrain (as I did), the muscle fibers tear and the body doesn't have an ample amount of time to recover before you tear the muscles fibers again in the gym. When you overtrain, your body cannot grow and sometimes your muscles may even become weaker or smaller! I experienced a loss in size from overtraining, and if I could go back to day one, I would train much smarter.

What kind of changes would you make in your routine, or diet?

First off, I would cut back from training 6 days a week to 4 days a week at most training each body part once a week. Doing so would allow for maximal recovery and prevent overtraining. My routine I used when I first started out went something like this:

Monday-Upper body
Tuesday-Lower body
Wednesday-Upper body
Thursday-Lower body
Friday-Upper body
Saturday-Lower body
Sunday-Off

Cleary, this was a recipe for overtraining.

I would make some major adjustments to my training, hitting each body part once a week on a 4 day split. I would have used this routine if I could only go back to day one of bodybuilding:

Monday- Chest, Triceps
Tuesday- Off
Wednesday- Back, Biceps, Abs
Thursday- Off
Friday- Shoulders
Sunday- Legs, Calves

This routine allows for the muscle fibers to repair and generates more hypertrophy (muscle growth) than it's counterpart.

I would also make changes in my diet. Like I said earlier, I was only eating 2-3 meals a day. Most of it junk food. I failed to get in enough protein to support growth, and often made the mistake of skipping breakfast because I simply wasn't hungry. Big mistake. Here's what a sample menu would like for me when I first started:

Breakfast- Often skipped because I wasn't hungry.
Lunch- 1 peanut butter and jelly sandwich on white bread, a bag of potato chips, 2 donuts.
Snack- 1 banana, 2 tablespoons peanut butter, milk.
Dinner- Whatever my mother usually cooked. Usually 4-6 oz. of meat, a potato, and veggies.

Clearly, not a bodybuilding friendly diet.

If I could go back to day one, I'd change my diet to look like this:

Breakfast- 1 cup of oatmeal, 10 egg whites, banana.
Second Breakfast- 1 banana, almonds, protein shake.
Lunch- 1 cup Brown Rice, veggies, 6 oz. chicken breast.
Before training- 1 banana, 1 cup oatmeal, 1 scoop whey protein.
After training- 50g dextrose, 1 scoop whey protein, handful of strawberries.
Dinner- 1 cup Brown Rice, veggies, 6 oz. fish fillet.
Before Bed- Casein protein shake, 2 tablespoons peanut butter.

Now that's what I call a recipe for some major gains in muscle mass!

For someone beginning bodybuilding/fitness, what is the number 1 thing they should know from start to finish?

The number one thing to know from start to finish in this game of bodybuilding and fitness is that getting results takes time. At times, it may seem as if you're progress has stagnated and you're going nowhere. You may become frustrated and discouraged. However, if you remain determined and focused on your goals, anything is possible. Rome wasn't built in a day and either was that perfect physique of your favorite bodybuilder or fitness model. With the right mindset and determination, you'll accomplish your goals! I know you will!

Mike

Blap Blaow

11-02-2005, 05:52 PM

IF YOU COULD GO BACK TO DAY ONE OF BODYBUILDING AND START OVER WITH THE KNOWLEDGE / EXPERIENCE YOU HAVE TODAY, WHAT WOULD YOU DO DIFFERENTLY AND WHY?

WHAT KIND OF CHANGES WOULD YOU MAKE IN YOUR ROUTINE, OR DIET?

This could potentially be a huge list! Mainly because I find that I am always learning and adapting to the things I learn. There are actually some things I learned today I wish I had done a long time ago! That being said bodybuilding is always a learning curve, no matter how advanced you are- the steepest part of that curve being when you first start out.

DIET

A proper diet is fundamental to the success of any bodybuilder. Without the correct nutrients and calories you are simply unable to build your body or fuel it properly. Just a FEW of the things I wish I had known;

- Proteins are the building blocks of muscle- you NEED a good amount in your diet

- carbohydrates provide energy- simple and complex carbs are VERY different entities and must be treated as such in a well planned diet

- fats are important a variety of metabolic activities- nothing to be scared of if you chose fats from good sources

- Pre- and Post- workout are two of the most important times of the day for the bodybuilder in terms of diet

- Whey protein aren’t steroids. Sounds stupid but when I first started out I felt like I was doing something underhand by buying whey

- Long periods of sleep can result in a catabolic state if pre-bedtime diet isn’t planned properly

The moral of the story? I wish I had known just how important a proper diet was when I first started.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/topicoftheweek41.htm

REST

Both proper sleep and recovery periods between workouts are VITAL in the success of any bodybuilder. Sleep is the optimum time for growth and repair and with the correct number of zzzz’s hours along with the correct pre-bedtime nutrition you can help yourself tremendously in building mass. Unfortunately I never appreciated this until I started researching into bodybuilding properly. Now I aim for a good 8-9 hours every night with very few exceptions and have noticed the results.

Recovery between workouts also helps in growth and recovery of trained body parts and helps avoid that dreaded overtraining.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/behar2.htm

COMPOUND EXERCISES

When I first started lifting I had no idea what a compound exercise was. For all I knew it was some kind of chemical. Only later did I find out that including compound exercise in your workout has a great number of benefits including working stabiliser muscles (not just the targeted muscle) and giving you a great anaerobic workout too if you’re pushing yourself hard enough!

Now that I know better I try to include at least one major compound exercise per workout- including deadlifts, squats, military press and bench press.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/cyberpump39.htm

LEGS

Unfortunately I was one of ‘those guys’ you see in the gym pumping my triceps, pounding my biceps, drilling my chest and working my shoulders. Legs, however, were a different story. Whilst I had a scheduled leg day it was deliberately put on Saturday mornings. This meant that there could be (and often were) 1001 excuses for not making it to the gym that day- most excuses revolving around a late Friday night! Whilst I would reschedule my workouts for missed chest/arm/back/shoulder workouts, the dreaded leg day was always given a bit of slack and I rarely made up for a missed session. I now know better.

Building legs is important for a number of reasons. Firstly, people look stupid with tiny legs and a big upper body. I realise that some people’s goals differ from others but down the road this lack of symmetry can be plain silly. Also, it has been argued that building any muscle group up results in an increase in testosterone, which assists in further muscle development. Also, more muscles means an increase in basic calorific requirements which means your body requires more fuel to maintain itself. Result? Potential for less fat storage.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/dimaggio8.htm

HYDRATION

I simply didn’t drink enough of it when I first started. Meals were accompanied by a token glass of orange squash to ‘wash it all down’. The only water supply I had in the gym was the water fountain which I would sip out of between sets- but nothing major. Oh, how little I knew…

The simple fact is water is VITAL to your body. It is the medium in which all of the body’s metabolic reactions take place. It is important in the digestion and absorption of foods (extremely important to the bodybuilder). Supplements such as creatine NEED it for best results. And bodybuilders sweat a LOT of it out. Bottom line- drink up!

I currently aim for around 6.5 liters of pure water per day (excluding other liquids).

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/animalpak21.htm

DON’T EXERCISE ON AN EMPTY STOMACH

In my case this was more relevant to cardio. I would often run first thing in the morning without any kind of breakfast based on the ‘fact’ that you would burn fat this way as your body would have no other fuel source. Bad idea. The fact is that your body prefers to ‘save’ fat as a last resort energy source. You have to remember your body is designed to survive, not to look good. In fact the human body prefers to utilize muscle for energy rather than use up potentially precious fat reserves. Yup- that means while you’re running on an empty stomach you may be using up more muscle than anything else.

Simple solution; I now drink a whey/carb shake about an hour before any cardio session. This means I can no longer get out of bed, lace up my shoes and pound the tarmac, but it does mean I save that precious muscle.

RESEARCH

How did I overcome all of these typical beginners mistakes? Simple- I put my head down and did some research. The internet can be a great resource and it usually only takes a little common sense to filter out the good advice from the bad. Bodybuilding.com has been an amazing resource in my research and I owe a lot of my knowledge to the articles on the main site as well as the discussions in the forums. I am learning every day and I hope to do so for quite a while to come.

BONUS QUESTION: FOR SOMEONE BEGINNING BODYBUILDING/FITNESS, WHAT IS THE NUMBER 1 THING THEY SHOULD KNOW FROM START TO FINISH?

In my opinion beginners generally do not realise the importance of a good diet and the potential it has to increase the results of your training by an indescribably massive amount. I know that when I was first starting out I knew NOTHING about proper nutrition and now have come to realise it is by far one of the most important aspects of bodybuilding. Proper nutrition is the key to seeing results, whatever your goals, and is extremely underrated by beginners. ‘Proper’ nutrition obviously depends upon your means and goals but the Supersite and the forums are excellent places to learn and develop.

I sincerely hope some of my experiences will help beginners avoid some of the traps that I fell into when I first started out.

Thank you for reading

moot

12-02-2005, 02:17 PM