If bodybuilding was an easy thing to do, then the chances are that many fitness enthusiasts could have joined the sport. However, this unique and relatively popular sport requires specific training and a feed program to attain results.
You may even need to use supplements to achieve your goals. But is that all there is to know about bodybuilding, or are there exciting facts you ought to learn about the sport?
Find out more below.
1. You Need to Lift Heavy Weights Progressively
In addition to getting into an Anavar-only cycle, it helps to invest in progressive weight lifting to excel in bodybuilding. Remember that successful muscle-building takes a lot of muscle training and building, which means that you need to train consistently. What’s more, it is not just enough to train, but it matters how you train.
Invest in always adding weights as long as it is a gradual and manageable increase. The increased intensity is crucial as it helps your muscles to get enough stress to elicit fabulous results. Whatever amount of weight you start with, make sure to increase this every week of your training. Work with a trainer to achieve your progressive resistance training goals.
2. Food Matters
Investing in bodybuilding is not an easy deal. Besides the intense training and weight lifting, one must follow many specific dietary needs to succeed. For instance, it is recommended to eat at least one gram of protein for each pound of your weight. The reality on the ground is that you need a lot more protein than was previously thought to attain bodyweight and build muscles.
Enough protein is required to build muscles which is why you need to invest in this adequately. If you are unable to eat more proteins, make sure you stick to the recommended minimum. However, it helps to consume more if you want to become an excellent bodybuilder. Bear in mind that eating many proteins is crucial to your success in this career after intensity training.
Related: 10 Super-foods for Strong Healthy Bones
3. Sleep is Mandatory
Many people may not know this, but bodybuilders require getting enough sleep to build enough muscle and recharge for their next training session. Protein synthesis is boosted by sleep, which means making more muscle after getting enough rest. What’s more, good sleep comes with a lot of mental clarity that puts the bodybuilder in a great position to tackle all their training challenges the next day.
Additionally, sleep helps boost growth and testosterone hormones which in turn help with overall muscle growth. While eight or more hours are great for you, it helps to note that you must feed adequately to avoid the possibility of your muscle breaking down due to long hours without food.
Ensure that you eat a dense protein meal before bed, and the same immediately you wake up. Good sleep is crucial hence the need to prepare for it in advance. Avoid cigarettes and alcohol or TV watching before bed. Instead, take a warm shower right before bed and also listen to relaxing music. At all costs, avoid sleep medication and keep away from lots of carbohydrates in the morning.
Related: What’s the Difference Between Building Muscle Strength and Endurance- According to Experts
4. Take Care of Your Mental Wellbeing
Remember that every great thing starts with the mind. Having a positive attitude towards bodybuilding will ensure that you are positively ready to take the necessary actions to handle all challenges that come with intense training sessions. It is essential to have your mind focused on the end goal. Any setbacks should be gotten over quickly, and one’s mind must return to the end goal of the training. This way, they can stay focused and committed to the sessions no matter how difficult it seems.
Do all it takes to maintain a positive attitude, even if it means associating with specific people and ditching others. It would help if you also visualized success all the time and got into a habit of self-affirmations. Bodybuilding in itself is not the easiest sport. However, with focus, determination, and hard work, one can easily emerge victoriously.
5. Get On Top of Your Stress
You may do everything right but destroy your chances of success by simply failing to take charge of your stress levels. Stress is not something you want to have when training as a bodybuilder. Sort issues immediately as they arise and focus on muscle growth. Remember that eating right and daily muscle training is already stressful; thus, no additional extra strain should be added to this.
Stay off habits that are likely to stress the body further such as drinking alcohol, smoking, and abusing drugs. Ensure that your body’s cortisol levels are low. Being the stress hormone, high cortisol levels may trigger other adverse complications such as blood pressure, constricted arteries, thickening of the blood, and shutting down specific organs.
All these complications will hinder your success in bodybuilding. It is, therefore, best to stay away from all forms of stress and unnecessary strain. Eat and exercise regularly, stay optimistic, and tackle challenges as soon as they arise as some of the easiest ways to stay away from stress.
6. Do Some Aerobics
The common mistake many uprising bodybuilders make is forgetting to include aerobics in their training. Since the primary focus is on muscle building, the body requires aerobics to enhance metabolism, promote fat burning, and help eliminate wastes such as lactic acid.
In the end, all these processes help with muscle building since oxygen is best transported to your muscles when there are high metabolic rates.
However, make sure not to overexert yourself when doing aerobics. Low to medium level aerobics, say a 45 minutes’ walk is enough to get the desired results. Make sure the timing is also correct. Many people prefer brisk walks early in the morning as they do the trick quite fine.
7. Eat Fats
While there is a lot of emphasis on more protein and fewer carbs, do not forget to eat healthy fats. While saturated fats are discouraged because of their effect of causing diseases and certain severe conditions, it is a necessary evil for bodybuilders. Such fats from animals help boost testosterone and, in turn, support muscle size growth.
Final Thoughts
Bodybuilding is a unique journey for every person. Even though there are basics that everyone is expected to follow, the approach is taken when handling bodybuilding as a process should be specific to an individual.
The best move would be to work with a fitness instructor or trainer who understands the art of bodybuilding then create a schedule that matches your specific goals. It is persistence and consistency that matters in this sport.
