8 Bodybuilding Guidelines for Beginners

People decide to start lifting weights for various reasons. Some do it for recreation and health, while others work out with intention to step on stage. For some bodybuilding can be just a hobby, but for others it can be a lifestyle. No matter what your goal is, here are a few bodybuilding tips that will help you get going.

Make a plan and set realistic goals

Divide your path in small steps and implement them one at a time. This way you won’t get disappointed because your end goal is far away. Instead you’ll be happy because of implementing your steps one by one.

Remember, you cannot become a pro or step on stage in a month or a year (in a few years for that matter). All the great athletes have been down this path. If bodybuilding is a hobby to you – enjoy it – you will eventually learn something from your experience.

Educate yourself

You can find tons of information about training, diet, rest and bodybuilding overall on the internet. Some of it is good and some … well not so good. The more you learn the more easily you can distinguish the good form the bad info.

Keep a log

It may seem like a funny idea, but keeping a log can help you in the long run. You can open the log one day and see what worked for you and what didn’t work.

You can keep track of the weights, sets and repetitions you used, does this setup work for you and do you need to change something. You can also keep track of your diet to see what macro-nutrients lack, or are in excess in it and make the necessary corrections.

Pick a good workout routine

Beginners get in the gym and start doing whatever comes to their mind or copy what others are doing – usually giving high priority to exercises such as the bench press and biceps curls while neglecting their legs, back, shoulders etc.

If you want to have a well balanced physique, you need to give every muscle group the attention it deserves – and prioritize the weak muscle groups. Not choosing a balanced routine will result in building a disproportionate physique and even heavy injuries.

Related: The Top 5 Workout Programs for Putting On Size and Strength

Eat a balanced diet

Diet is probably the most important part of the equation. Without a good diet you can’t build muscle or lose fat, no matter how good your workout routine is. Here are a few guidelines you need to follow when you are composing a diet.

– Eat enough protein – about 40-45% of your daily calories should come from protein if you want to build muscle. Your protein should come form sources such as chicken, beef, fish, eggs and low fat dairy product. Here is a list of high protein foods you should have in your diet.
– Eat complex carbs and fiber – about 30 % of your calories should come from carbohydrates. Try to eat mostly complex carbs like brown bread, brown rice, pasta and lots of vegetables. Cut simple sugars or eat them immediately after your intense workout.
– Eat healthy fats – they should be about 25-30 percent of your diet. Use sources like fish, seeds, nuts, and supplements such as fish oil and flax seed oil.
– Drink more water
– Cut the processed foods you eat.

Give your body the rest it needs

Rest plays a huge role in bodybuilding. Your body recovers and builds muscle while you rest, not in the gym. While you sleep two of the most anabolic and muscle building hormones are released – growth hormone and testosterone.

This is why you need to give yourself about 8-9 hours of quality sleep every night.

Do some Cardio

Do some cardio exercise. It will help you build endurance, increase your work capacity, lose fat and stay healthier. You can start by adding 2-3 thirty-minute sessions a week and fine tune from there.

Be patient

Like I mentioned before you have to be patient – every good athlete went down this road once. There will always be bigger and better bodybuilders than you, but that doesn’t mean you have to compare yourself to them. Just be constant and work on improving yourself bit by bit – eventually you will get there.