Regrets in the younger years

[danny0880]

Hey guys,

Just wanted to asked experienced long term bodybuilders.

What mistakes and **** ups have you made in your younger years of training, and what have you learnt from these experiences.

This will assist younger bodybuilders and maybe provide faults that people have not considered or recognised.

Valuable input will be REPPED,

Cheers

[BankWalker]

No amount of training will overcome a crappy diet. Proper nutrition is the key to success.

[Medtreker]

Hey guys,

Just wanted to asked experienced long term bodybuilders.

What mistakes and **** ups have you made in your younger years of training, and what have you learnt from these experiences.

This will assist younger bodybuilders and maybe provide faults that people have not considered or recognised.

Valuable input will be REPPED,

Cheers

Substance use and abuse is Never good. Even the most common, like alcohol, is over rated and over hyped in society. After years, looking back from age 50 for example, you'll regret having wasted your youth on it perhaps. But you'd never find you missed out, had you never drank. A clean life is always best in the long term.

Bodybuild for health whenever possible, and not vanity (and THAT'S difficult!)

[John Prophet]

No amount of training will overcome a crappy diet. Proper nutrition is the key to success.

yep, getting fat and never getting UNfat

[meanmo]

No amount of training will overcome a crappy diet. Proper nutrition is the key to success.

Substance use and abuse is Never good. Even the most common, like alcohol, is over rated and over hyped in society. After years, looking back from age 50 for example, you'll regret having wasted your youth on it perhaps. But you'd never find you missed out, had you never drank. A clean life is always best in the long term.

Bodybuild for health whenever possible, and not vanity (and THAT'S difficult!)

^^^^ both of these are spot on!

[Tyrbolift]

I don't see what's wrong with doing it for vanity, as long as you remain humble and respectful towards everyone and realize it's only one aspect of your worth as a human being. Built folks can be absolute douchebags, and skinnyfats can be sparkling gems of a human being. But if it makes you feel better about yourself, then whatever it takes to get you there. Even if it's for vanity, you contribute to many others being inspired to live a healthier life.

[JerryB]

Hey guys,

Just wanted to asked experienced long term bodybuilders.

What mistakes and **** ups have you made in your younger years of training, and what have you learnt from these experiences.

This will assist younger bodybuilders and maybe provide faults that people have not considered or recognised.

Valuable input will be REPPED,

Cheers

I believed the myths about full squats when I started weight training. Leg development definitely lagged from it even by substituting with heavy leg presses and hack squats. Full squats are now one if my favorite exercises.

[nvrstopworking]

Just adding to what JerryB said.... I wish that I would have started doing the "Big 4" (Bench, Deads, Squats, OHP) right away when I first entered the gym 12 yrs. ago. These are pretty much the building block exercises in terms of strength and mass building and I'd imagine that you'd do very well JUST doing these from week to week.

[muttytwist]

My biggest f''up would have to be waiting till I was older to start. You can gain so much easier as a teen.

[Sothron]

For me it would just be times I let life get in the way and distract me away from the weights. I never let myself get out of shape, but definitely think about how I would look and feel had I never put them down. Now that I'm back on I will stay on. Not getting any younger and the next 'come back' may not be as forgiving as this one has been.

[Medtreker]

I don't see what's wrong with doing it for vanity, as long as you remain humble and respectful

Not arguing here, just detailing my meaning. Actually, vanity and humble are rather contradictory terms. So being humbly vain would be rather difficult. Don't you think? I'm not saying I'm Mr. Humble either. A driving factor in bodyduilding often is vanity, not that that's a good thing. What I meant was that one should not seek out ability to do harm to others through bodybuilding. This this often, especially in youth, ithe motive. Or simply wanting to be the "bigger guy."

I suggest to "attempt" bodybuilding purely for health reasons, only in terms of long lasting consequences. At age 50, those reasons make much sence, where at age 20, it seems to make more sence to be built big and strong, and look fearsom. Later, the health benefits become clear. So, to bodybuild for virtuous reasons, one would actually be thinking in terms of health, ability to care of others(family) due to own health. Ect..

But really, that's asking a lot from most guys. Truth is, healthy is one thing, and bodybuilding is somewhat beyond mere health. Vanity is virtually a part of bodybuilding's defenition(no pun intended).

[TouaregV8]

For me it would just be times I let life get in the way and distract me away from the weights. I never let myself get out of shape, but definitely think about how I would look and feel had I never put them down. Now that I'm back on I will stay on. Not getting any younger and the next 'come back' may not be as forgiving as this one has been.

This!

[ArchAngel'73]

I started when I was 15. I've never taken longer than 2 weeks off (due to injury) all these years. Experimented with all sorts of training programs and methods. Life long natural.
In this area I happily report I did nothing wrong and regret nothing.

But I coulda gotten my diet act together a whole lot sooner because no matter all those things I did right...it relatively amounted to jack sh*t 'cuz I ate like sh*t.

[meanmo]

My biggest f''up would have to be waiting till I was older to start. You can gain so much easier as a teen.

I can understand that, but the other side of that is sore joints. Lifting correctly is a huge factor obviously but as a college athlete and power lifter I have developed some chronic joint pain from over 25 yrs of lifting. I think id approach lifting with the same intensity but take more care to stay lean and flexible throughout. I still struggle getting adequate recovery, its just my nature and a little wisdom over the years would have probably saved me some discomfort..

[Dr.Griefo]

I have no regrets. When I was younger I did a lot more arms then legs but it was all part of the learning curve. showing up is 80% of the battle. Alot of people don't last for more than a month or two. If I could do it again, better diet, more legs, concentrate on compounds and access to the internet, which didn't exist ;-)

[GuyJin]

The only thing I'd add to the above good advice is to undertrain rather than overtrain. I realize that overtraining is a continuum rather than a "Boom! I'm overtrained" kind of thing, but most young guys tend to train too often, with too many sets, and try to go too heavy too often. They often take on programmes which they can't handle. If you read a lot of the threads in the Workout and Exercise sections, you'll understand. FWIW, as a beginner to intermediate, pick a programme you can handle and when you're ready, either up the volume slowly and/or increase the frequency slowly. You can't take on an advanced routine if you've only been training a few months. Try to be as objective as possible, ask for advice from someone who'll be honest with you, and then act on that advice. My two yen...

[jasnija]

probably for me it is nothing training related but instead it's the "substance" indulgement from my youth. By the age of 16 I was drunk on Yukon Jack in the alley with my friends EVERY night. Then we'd smoke some hootch and and have fun not remembering why we were there to begin with. then I'd miss school the next day and drink some more. A 16 year old shouldnt be having daily hang-overs. My Mom was an abusive alcoholic and I saw my self going down the same road. In my early 20s I stopped drinking and smoking. I soon got into playing sports more often (baseball and football aint fun when your hanging or still drunk from the night before) and then started lifting in my mid 20s. I have not looked back since and continue to stay alcohol and drug free for over 20 years!

[Brackneyc]

No amount of training will overcome a crappy diet. Proper nutrition is the key to success.

This. The End.

[latebloomingmom]

the know-how, tools you have learned in your youth, take them with you as you go on with your life. Do not let work, relationships, kids become your excuse for letting your health go downhill.

[ZazenZone]

Hey guys,

Just wanted to asked experienced long term bodybuilders.

What mistakes and **** ups have you made in your younger years of training, and what have you learnt from these experiences.

This will assist younger bodybuilders and maybe provide faults that people have not considered or recognised.

Valuable input will be REPPED,

Cheers

My most significant mistake, by far, was spending way too much time on heavy barbell lifts for the upper body. Dumbbells are far more body-friendly.

[camau71]

Comprimising correct form to lift too much weight resulted in injuries that I have to work around to this day.

[grubman]

There are 3 actual truths to bodybuilding IMHO that nobody told me in the day that I wish I would have known. 2 have already been mentioned and are certainly worth mentioning again.

Diet
Diet is key! Unfortunately, unlike the above posters, I found that crappy diet worked just fine when I was young. I was in great shape, cut, and about the biggest I ever have been. The joys of youth are that sometimes you can get away with this and still make great gains…but don’t be fooled! I look back and imagine where I COULD have gone if I HAD been eating right. More importantly, if I had been eating ENOUGH! The most important thing a kid doesn’t realize is that diet will determine your level of success.

Basic Exercises (and legs)
My god, start working out your entire body from day 1 with squats, deadlifts, and benches! Heavy, but good form. Especially make sure to work out your legs. The foundation you make in the early years will stick with you your entire life. For my first 3 years of lifting I didn’t do any leg work and I pay for it to this day. It wasn’t until a serious bodybuilder told me that my upper body would never get bigger unless I brough my lower body up to par, that I started working legs. I get great workouts for legs now, and can move some serious weight (at a weight of 155 I used to do full squats for sets of 12 with 315)…but I lack the size (I really have thin ectomorphic legs more than any other body part), definition, and muscle maturity in my legs that I have in my upper body.

Roids
I know we aren’t supposed to talk about it, but one thing I wish someone would have told me about are all the truths about steroids. For years I assumed I was going to look like Arnold after 5 years of training. If I would have known the truth, I could have set more “realistic” goals as a beginner. Not only that, but I would have looked into legitimate means of gaining muscle more seriously, like proper diet and a healthy lifestyle, instead of getting depressed because I wasn’t huge. Despite all the information out there, I think most kids think roids are a wonder drug and have no idea how they work, what they do, and why they should stay away from them.

Women
Finally (IMHO)…stay away from women that are only attracted to you because of your body! You might get laid more, but most of them are bitches. Stick with women who like you for your personality, and think your bod is an added bonus…you’ll be a lot happier and have less heartbreak.

[paqua17]

No amount of training will overcome a crappy diet. Proper nutrition is the key to success.

^^ This

And... I would have learned to execute exercises using proper form first rather than throwing around weight.

[grandulon1]

Hey guys,

Just wanted to asked experienced long term bodybuilders.

What mistakes and **** ups have you made in your younger years of training, and what have you learnt from these experiences.

This will assist younger bodybuilders and maybe provide faults that people have not considered or recognised.

Valuable input will be REPPED,

Cheers

For me personally (and most young guys) it was the ego trap. I lifted some ridiculously heavy weight in my younger years. Heavy weight is good only to a point. I've see it too many times, younger guy using a weight that is obviously too heavy for them and using improper form and technique. I too was guilty of this in my younger years. Luckily, the young body is somewhat resilient. As we get older, hopefully we get wiser, if not you're in for a painful old age. I used to believe the only way to get big was to use exceedingly heavy weights. After training this way for sometime, I was set back with bicep tendonitis and tennis elbow. The tennis elbow was extremely painful. It tool me a 1.5 years to eventually get rid of. During this time, I had to rethink my training. I wanted intensity, but I needed something easy on the joints. What I discovered were some of the best gains of my lifetime using lighter weight and more reps, with very little rest (almost none) between sets.
I now am not of the belief that to gain size you have to lift heavy. I feel great and no longer have any pain or tendonitis. If I were just starting out, I would be very conscience of smart training by using better form and more moderate weights.

[Brackneyc]

Know the difference between BBing and working out. The two are generally not the same thing. Oh, and eat for your goals. These two missed lessons cost me years of progress.

[NYkarate]

I don't see what's wrong with doing it for vanity, as long as you remain humble and respectful towards everyone and realize it's only one aspect of your worth as a human being. Built folks can be absolute douchebags, and skinnyfats can be sparkling gems of a human being. But if it makes you feel better about yourself, then whatever it takes to get you there. Even if it's for vanity, you contribute to many others being inspired to live a healthier life.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with working out to look good. If I wasn't so into martial arts, I would be lifting hard purely to look as good as I can.

To the OP, don't make the mistake so many of us have and that is to let other things in life take you away from working out. No matter how busy and stressed out you get, always make time for it and don't give up.

[KeithTheSnake]

Comprimising correct form to lift too much weight resulted in injuries that I have to work around to this day.

If I only knew then what I know now. Repped.

[tsoden]

tell me about it. I wish i had started this journey back in my early 20's or even late teens... back then however, I had so little confidence to stick with it.

If I only knew then what I know now. Repped.

[Karl_Hungus]

Sometimes I regret quitting for 10 years. But, I don't regret it too much considering what my routine was like back then. This was before the internet and my only source of information about training were my other friends who trained, who were largely as clueless as I was. I was way overtraining chest, not training back enough and not training legs hard enough. If I would have kept up with that routine for too many more years, I would have ended up injured with some serious asymmetries in my development. Overall, I think quitting was a blessing in disguise.

[roybatty6]

My mistake was giving up training from age 24-36.

Trying to make up for those lost years in the last year of training.

So, I would have to say "being consistent" is a good thing.