Now is the time to kickstart your bodybuilding journey. If you ever feel stuck or you’re struggling on getting started, I have good news for you! This is also applicable to those who are having a hard time being consistent, or to those who are not seeing any results and is now, losing motivation.
Guess what? Pro bodybuilder, James Hollinghead shared a great guide for beginner bodybuilders with the title, “What I Wish I Knew When I Started”. In his video, he provided great information that will help you big time! A legit informative video that you won’t regret watching.
The Basics of Bodybuilding by James Hollingshead
Here is the video for you. I suggest you focus and take this one seriously. James did a great job in explaining the basics of bodybuilding together with his recommendations.
This is just the first of many. James uploaded a couple of videos about bodybuilding basics. I suggest you focus on this first one for now. Understand and apply it in your training. However, if you want to binge-watch James’ bodybuilding basics videos, you can do so by clicking here.
Anyway, here is the breakdown of the video for you.
Really Simple Things but is Something You Should NOT NEGLECT!!
Most bodybuilders didn’t really have a good start because they do not have all the important information in the beginning and a lot of mistakes had been made.
James here discussed the most simple, yet most important information that will prevent you from committing the mistakes most bodybuilders do.
1. Training Frequency
A lot of people who love the gym, and love training go there daily because they enjoy it. However, going to the gym every day is, realistically, a hindrance to progress.
Yup, you heard it right. It is a hindrance to progress. You have to understand the importance of a “rest day”. You are going to the gym to break down muscles so if the frequency of breaking that muscle is more frequent than recovery then only one thing is gonna happen. You will either stall or regress.
Recommended Training Frequency
As a start, you might want to train at least 3 days a week.
You can train upper, lower, or push-pull legs. Fit those in your 3x/week schedule.
Considering James, who is an advanced bodybuilder, takes a rest day off after two days of training so every third day he rests. He takes a lot of calories that help him with recovery and he sleeps a lot as well.
2. Nutrition and Food Intake
What you put in your body, food-wise is what allows you to perform in the gym and also recover from the gym sessions.
When you start going to the gym or bodybuilding, it doesn’t mean you need to start taking protein shakes and supplements. The truth is, you need to get a good hold of your nutrition and your intake of food.
If you are under-eating, progress is not gonna occur. It is very important for you to be mindful of what you’re eating.
Food Intake Recommendations
Regular people eat 3x a day. As a person who trains, you should take more than that because you are doing more than a regular person does. You can try at least 4 meals a day.
(The suggestions below are ideal for those who weigh around 150-160lbs)
As a guideline, if you want to have a good amount of protein, aim for at least 30 grams per meal for a starter.
Carbohydrates need to present as well as it is the fuel for the gym, also is the fuel for the mind, and also the fuel that keeps your metabolic rate and metabolism in a healthy place. Get at least 50 grams of carbs per meal, for times a day.
You might also want to supplement some fats for health purposes. A good fish oil maybe a couple of times a day, or use olive oil on some of your meals maybe 10 grams.
Everyone’s Needs Are Different!!
Be aware of yourself. If you are muscular or around 200lbs, then obviously, your food intake should be higher than that. Maybe shoot 70 grams of carbs and 50 grams of protein per meal, or even 30 grams of fat a day.
There are no set numbers for this but as you get stronger and larger, the requirements will go up and you are able to train more intensely. This is something that is going to be progressive over a period of time.
Keep a Food Diary!
This post contains affiliate links that might earn me a commission for every click and purchase that will be made from it. For full disclosure, you can click here. Write down what you eat on a daily basis. This will be very helpful for you because if you ever seek the help of someone else, you can always show them what you have been doing and they will have enough information to help you go forward.
Having a food diary will help you keep an eye on your food. You can get cool notebooks and planners here.
Be always aware that they are progressive and you can’t always eat the same diet. You will have to change it as you go forward.
Don’t Forget Your Water!!!
You would have to be very conscious of your water intake as well.
Bodybuilding is very very tough on the body and you sweat a lot. You have to replace the water you lost. Take between 4-6 liters of water a day.
In the smaller region, 4. In the larger region, 6. As long as you’re hitting those kinds of numbers, you should be okay.
3. Training
When you’re starting, it is best to keep everything on paper. Like with the food, keep a diary with you.
You need to be organized. Plan out your week ahead so you can visualize and understand what you got coming ahead.
Suggested Training
The fundamental exercise James suggests for anybody, in the beginning, is always gonna be free weight-based stuff because it will help you learn the basic mechanics of training.
If you learn how to squat if you learn how to barbell row if you learn how to incline bench press, deadlifts, the chances are that all of those movements will teach you everything you need to know about stability, control and you’ll be able to fly when you do other things.
Push-pull legs are highly recommended since you won’t be training every day. And you need a lot more rest in the beginning.
At first, you don’t need to have high volume, you don’t need to do loads and loads of sets because your body’s not going to be capable of such.
Try one set heavier, one set lighter
Do 8-10 reps for your heavy set and then reduce the weight by 20% and maybe do the 15-20 mark.
The ideal number of sessions is five to six. Start with the larger body part and work yourself down to the smaller.
Example:
When you’re doing push day, start with the chest being the larger part of the body then move to the shoulders and then finish with the triceps.
Leg day. do the hamstrings first, quads, and then calves.
You have the most amount of energy when you first arrive at the gym so try to deal with the hardest exercise and hardest loads from the beginning.
There you go! Be Sure to Watch James’ Video about Bodybuilding Basics because He goes deep in Explaining all those Stuff.
I highly recommend you subscribe to his youtube channel as he posts really good stuff there.
Check back here next week for a new post!
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