Justy
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JUSTINS BODYBUILDING EXPERIENCE. BY "JUSTY"
MY MOTIVATION
In late 2009 I had personal issues which drove me to having a build up of anger, to which I wanted to either release or avoid. A good friend at the time invited me along to his local gym to keep me busy and to let out frustration. I loved it, and having the feeling of being physically exhausted plus the additional release of endorphins got me hooked. A week or two later I signed up to my local gym, and started to go 3 days a week with some friends. It became an interest. I didn’t consider supplementation until a month or two into gym, when I saw my friends getting on it – and didn’t want to get left behind in terms of progress. The more I went to gym, the more I learned, the more I enjoyed it, the bigger I got. It became an obsession. I started looking at nutrition on foods I ate including calories, fats, carbohydrates, and especially protein. It became a lifestyle. Squats and deadlifts are my saviour, protein shakes, and lunk behaviour. Since starting gym, and changing my diet accordingly, I’ve gained 23Kg, been through countless buckets of protein with a strict diet, and am now a much happier, confident person. For me, bodybuilding promotes prioritisation, responsibility, healthy exercise, good nutrition, and an overall healthy lifestyle.
I've had many people ask me questions about gym, so I've decided to write this report to cover common terms, diet, my supplementation, my meal plan, training, my routine when bulking, my routine when geting ripped, lifestyle, and other material.
COMMON TERMS
Mass Muscle Gain
This can also be seen as "bulking". What is bulking? I define bulking as when you increase your daily calorie intake to gain more muscle mass whilst lifting heavy weights with 6-10 reps.
Lean Muscle Mass Building
This can also be seen as "getting ripped". I define "getting ripped" as keeping/slightly reducing the regular daily intake of calories whilst gaining lean muscle mass. I tend to stick to a lower weight (than when bulking) that is bearable for up to 5 sets using tempo plus the use of drop-sets.
Tempo
When looking at an exercise, a tempo is made up of 4 different numbers, where each number represents how long (in seconds) an action within a repetition will take. Every exercise has 4 parts in the tempo. An example is provided below.
Tempo: 4-0-2-0
Tempo: FirstAction-PauseBeforeSecondAction-SecondAction-PauseBeforeRepeatOfRepetition
Tempo (e.g. bench press): LowerBarToChestOver4Seconds-PauseFor0Seconds-RaiseBarOver2Seconds-PauseFor0SecondsBeforeRepeatOfRepetition.
DOMS
Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. In my opinion, this is where the muscle fibres tear during training. I aim for pain after every session; otherwise I’m not happy with my efforts. Having a high-intake of protein allows the fibres to repair stronger and makes your muscles bigger.
DIET
A diet consists of what you put in your mouth. For me it’s a combination of food and supplements. Epic DOMS, epic great. If you're hungry it's too late. You should never starve yourself prior to, during, or after gym. Starving meaning skipping meals that you know you should be having. It’s personal preference as to whether or not you like to exercise in a fasted state or not. I personally don't like training on a completely empty stomach. Surprisingly, exercising in a fasted state doesn't effect performance.
Food
Bodybuilding is 70% diet, 30% gym. Some people are under the preconception that if they do 100 push-ups every day, they’re going to get huge muscles. This is wrong. They’re going to get stamina, and may gain a little bit of lean muscle mass, but nothing in comparison to what they could if they had a proper routine and were supporting everything with a serious diet. Nutrition is key.
Metabolism
Taller, thinner people have a faster metabolism. It’s naturally easier for people with a fast metabolism to lose weight (fat and muscle). It’s harder for people with a fast metabolism to gain muscle mass. Shorter, larger people generally have a slower metabolism. It’s naturally easier for people with a slow metabolism to gain weight (muscle and fat). It’s harder for people with a slow metabolism to lose fat. Pepper, pepper on your toast, boosts your slow metabolism the most.
Creatine
This is used in a fair few supplements. My understanding of Creatine, is that (when taken) it is stored in muscles to assist the user in pushing out an extra repetition or two. Creatine is naturally found in meat. Creatine can injure the kidneys, liver, and heart if not taken as directed, and if the user takes it for lengthy periods of time (e.g. 1 month). It's recommended that you cycle off Creatine for a while to let it get out of your system, before getting back on it.
BCAA’s
Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAA's) are said to be metabolised by the muscles, rather than normal Amino Acids which are metabolised by the liver. BCAA's influence muscle growth.
Protein Powder
This is the foundation of supplementation. Protein can assist in every aspects of fitness from weight loss to recovery from injury, and muscle mass gaining. Interesting fact - 80% of the protein found in milk is slow-release protein (casein) and can take up to 7 hours to digest.
Pre-Gym Supplement
These are supplements that can be taken before gym to boost energy levels during gym. They quite often contain Creatine, BCAA’s, and Protein.
During-Gym Supplement
These are supplements that can be taken during gym. These often contain small amounts of protein, with methods of delaying lactic acid build up, helping the body burn more fat, hydrating, and keeping natural levels of energy up.
Post-Gym Supplement
These are supplements that can be taken after gym. These often contain high amounts of protein to assist in recovery, and can contain extras to assist muscle development.
Side-effects of Supplementation
I found the first time I started to take pre-gym supplements, I was incredibly energetic. Having something that increased the nitric-oxide intake meant I was capable of doing more repetitions and training harder; but when I stopped a set, I had a throbbing migraine. I couldn’t stop or rest at all due to the migraine being active when I was inactive. The migraine lasted for 5 hours. Some supplements can also prevent you from falling asleep. In my experience, I’ve noticed that my rate of dreams have increased when I’m on supplements, and sometimes can cause me to be a little bit restless at night time. Creatine can injure the kidneys, liver, and heart if not taken as directed, and if the user takes it for lengthy periods of time (e.g. 1 month).
Fat Loss
Although I haven’t specifically targeted “fat loss” by itself, I’ve picked up a few things from friends.
I recommend 40-75 minutes of cardio 5 times a week. It can be more interesting if you're walking around your suburb vs a treadmill. Cardio can be walks, stair climbs, jogging, cross trainer, bike riding .etc.
You can consider cutting things out of your diet that are high in sugar cause they put your body in a fat storing stage (i.e. orange juice, lollies, some breads .etc). Canola Oil and Vegetable Oil can also prevent fat loss - consider using butter for cooking instead. Always drink plenty of water. No more alcohol. You need good fats to lose fat (avocado, butter, nuts, coconut .etc). A good serving for nuts would be approximately 12-16 at a time. I would also consider the use of light/non-fat milk, low fat yoghurt, eggs, and baked beans.
Breakfast is surpsingly not the "most important meal of the day" - but I never skip it or skimp on it. Your body is at it's fastest metabolic rate when you wake in the morning, so I try to get a good deal of my recommended daily intake of calories in at breakfast time.
Being hungry isn't okay - you should have a good 3-5 healthy medium sized meals each day. When you're hungry, your body eats muscle more so than fat. If you decide to calorie count, research what the recommended daily intake for a person your age is, then subtract 300-400 calories or so from it - and that should be your goal for each day for the sake of burning fat.
See training section for High-Intensity Interval Training, and My Routine When Getting Ripped.
MY SUPPLEMENTATION
I only use supplements which are legal to use within Australia. This means no steroids.
I’ve tried many supplements in the past, and found that some gave me better results than others. Below is a complete list of supplements I’ve tried, and on what basis I've taken them (i.e. daily, before gym, during gym, or after gym), so there will be duplicates within the list. Keep in mind that I don’t take all of these daily. I have a specific stack of supplements that I take daily, which are mentioned later in the report. What I take can be substituted for other supplements, and what I've tried in the past is just my personal preference. Most supplements should not be taken by anyone under 16 years of age, pregnant women, or people with certain medical conditions (as mentioned on the packaging of certain supplements). Read the Creatine section, and Side-effects of Supplementation for more information.
Daily supplements
Pre-gym supplements
During-Gym Supplements
Post-Gym Supplements:
My Current Supplement Stack
Out of the lists above, I currently use these supplements in conjunction with each other:
My complete stack is worth approximately $305. Each supplement will be purchased, used, and replenished at different times because the number of servings and frequency of use differs between supplements. Bodybuilding isn’t cheap, but whoever wants the lifestyle bad enough, will pay for it.
MY MEAL PLAN
Keep in mind that this is what I've been eating, and it's working for me. Everyone has different food preferences, and everyone gets different results from different diets. You should find what works best for you. Some things change in my diet every now and then, but I've given an overall view on my general diet. Eating until I feel sick (without regurgitating) works for me when bulking. Too hungry? Too late. I always aim to be content, and it's gotten me results.
Breakfast:
Plus:
Or:
Morning-Tea:
Lunch:
Pre-Gym:
During-Gym:
Post-Gym:
Dinner:
Before bed:
With the option of:
TRAINING
Everyone is different when it comes to training times. I train Monday, Wednesday and Friday in anytime between 3pm and 9pm. I feel as if I can't perform adequetlly in the gym in the morning, as I am not a morning person. However, some people feel the opposite way, and feel like they are weaker in the afternoon/night time. Testosterone levels are higher after just waking up - thus "morning wood".
Warm-Up
Take supplements before gym. Some people choose to do a few minutes of cardio before they get started to get the blood pumping – I don’t, but it’s all personal preference. The adrenaline of walking into a gym with a goal of finishing my routine within a certain amount of time is enough to get me going. For those who decide to do a warm-up, I think 5-10 minutes on the cross trainer would be suitable.
Drop Sets
I only do drop sets when I'm trying to build lean muscle mass. But what are they? This is when you start off on a high weight in an exercise, do as many repeitions as you can until almost failing, dropping the weight to become slightly lighter, and repeating until you have no weights left. This can be frustrating when doing drop sets for deadlift or bench press, as it takes time to remove weights from the bar, so it's helpful if you have a mate who can drop the plates off for you. Drop sets - drop a plate. Really helps if you've a mate.
Super Sets
This is when two exercises are completed with minimal rest between the two (whilst working opposing muscle groups). An example of the muscle groups that could be worked together include chest/triceps, or back/biceps.
High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
This is great for burning fat. It involves a slow start of cardio (e.g. 2 minutes), then a moderate pace for a shorter time (e.g. 1 minute), then a sprint (e.g. 30 seconds). The cool-down will be a slow pace also (e.g. 2 minutes). The HIIT session should be something similiar to this:
warm-up
moderate pace
sprint
moderate pace
sprint
moderate pace
sprint
moderate pace
sprint
moderate pace
sprint
moderate pace
sprint
moderate pace
sprint
moderate pace
sprint
cool-down.
Breathing-Techniques
I believe that breathing techniques increase the physical oomph when lifting heavy. If you take a deep breath on the first motion of the repetition (the first 2 parts of the tempo), and breath out when completing the repetition (the last 2 parts of the tempo), you may notice a slight difference in strength.
Form
I've seen many people start off in the gym lifting heavy weights with terrible form. But what is form? This is the safest/correct method for performing an exercise. There is no point in performing an exercise if you're not capable of doing it properly. You should lower the weights to achieve correct form so your muscles benefit the most, and you avoid injuring yourself. You should achieve a full Range of Motion (ROM) when doing repetitions. E.g. when doing bench press, you should lower the bar to touch your chest (but not bounce off your chest), and push the bar out until your arms are straight. It dun matter about the rest. It ain't a rep if it dun touch your chest.
The best example of bad form that I can think of, is when I saw a group of 3 male teens attempting bench press. One teen got on the bench and started on 60Kg - he lowered the bar about half way to his chest, and needed a spot by the 3rd repetition. He got 8 terribly formed repeititions. He then decided to show off to his mates and up the weight to 80Kg. He continued to have terrible form, and the spotter looked like he was struggling just as much as what the teen on the bench was from the first repetition onward. I wanted to tell them they were doing it terribly wrong, but I figured that someone who has form as terrible as what they did (with the ridiculous weight they had) wouldn't be willing to listen to anyones opinion.
Stretching
During gym, I stretch inbetween every set depending on the muscles I use (dynamic stretches) to try and prevent lactic acid build up, or at least slow down the process of it. I tend to perform dynamic stretches which means I'm not holding the muscle in place for an extended period of time. For dynamic stretching, think of a bench press like motion whilst standing (without the bar), only a little bit quicker - don't pause or hold the stretch for any period of time. If I stretch after gym, I'll hold the stretching exercise for 10 seconds (static stretching).
MY ROUTINE WHEN BULKING
When bulking I aim to lift 3 sets of heavy weight - no more, and no less. I tend to get 10 repetitions for the 1st set, 8-10 repetitions for the 2nd set, and 6-8 repetitions for the 3rd set (due to fatigue). I always put the weight up for each set. I've supplied my general mass muscle gain routine below.
Day 1:
Back:
One-Arm Row x 3 sets.
Cable-Bicep-Curl x 3 sets.
Chinup x 3 sets.
Lat Pulldown x 3 sets.
Biceps:
Barbell Bent-OverRow x 3 sets.
Dumbbell Biceps Curl x 3 sets.
Day 2:
Chest:
Barbell Bench Press x 3 sets.
Incline Barbell Bench Press x 3 sets.
Decline Dumbbell Bench Press x 3 sets.
Cable Crossover x 3 sets.
Parallel Bar Dip x 3 sets.
Dumbbell Flye x 3 sets.
Triceps:
Overhead Triceps Extension x 3 sets.
Triceps Kickback x 3 sets.
Day 3:
Legs:
Back Squat x 3 sets.
Machine Leg Extension x 3 sets.
Dumbbell Lunge x 3 sets.
Machine Leg Press x 3 sets.
Dead Lift x 3 Sets.
Calf Raise x 3 Sets.
MY ROUTINE WHEN GETTING RIPPED
This is what I do for when I want to gain lean muscle mass, and burn fat (slowly). I use tempo, and perform drop-sets. I also aim for 3-5 sets depending on the exercise. I use a much lower, more tolerable weight when using tempo. I start off on a high weight when performing drop-sets. I stick to a tempo of 4-0-2-0 when doing this routine, but I've seen personal trainers using a tempo of 4-4-2-0. HIIT (see fat loss section under diet) should be added to this routine, but I haven't yet implemented it.
Day 1:
Back:
One-Arm Row x 4 sets (tempo 4-0-2-0).
Cable-Bicep-Curl x 3 lots of drop-sets .
Chinup x 3 sets.
Lat Pulldown x 3 sets.
Biceps:
Barbell Bent-OverRow x 4 sets (tempo 4-0-2-0).
Dumbbell Biceps Curl x 5 sets (tempo 4-0-2-0).
Day 2:
Chest:
Barbell Bench Press x 5 sets (tempo 4-0-2-0).
Incline Barbell Bench Press x 5 sets (tempo 4-0-2-0).
Decline Dumbbell Bench Press x 5 sets (tempo 4-0-2-0).
Cable Crossover x 3 lots of drop-sets.
Parallel Bar Dip x 3 sets.
Dumbbell Flye x 5 sets (tempo 4-0-2-0).
Triceps:
Overhead Triceps Extension x 3 sets (tempo 4-0-2-0).
Triceps Kickback x 3 sets.
Day 3:
Legs:
Back Squat x 10 sets (tempo 4-0-2-0).
Machine Leg Extension x 3 sets.
Dumbbell Lunge x 3 sets.
Machine Leg Press x 3 lots of drop-sets.
Dead Lift x 3 lots of drop-sets.
Calf Raise x 3 sets.
LIFESTYLE
Boosting Testosterone Naturally
There are many ways to boost testosterone naturally. Some of the easiest methods include reducing stress levels, ensuring you have plenty of vitamin C in your diet, and reducing temperature of the body (i.e. where the testosterone is produced). Avoid wearing restricting/tight jeans, and underwear when you can. Sexual stimulation also boosts testosterone production.
Recovery
8-10 hours is said to be adequate for general rest (sleep), any less than 7 hours rest and your testosterone levels will suffer.
Genetics
Some people ask questions like "why are my abs uneven - am I doing my exercises wrong?" .etc, but it all comes down to genetics. Muscle shapes and symmetry is usually defined by your genes. Some people are better at different exercises involving certain muscle groups than others because of this.
Motivation
Having a gym buddy to train with can really help if you feel like you need more motivation. Shut up. Lift the weight. Do it now, then add a plate.
Gym Attire
What do you wear in a gym? Enclosed footwear (sandshoes), shorts or trackpants, tank top, or t-shirt. Gym isn't a fashion statement. You wear to gym what you have to wear - you get in, you train, you get out. From personal experience, if you have a favourite white t-shirt - don't wear it to the gym. Occasionally grease comes off the dumbbells and gets on your clothes. Grease grease everywhere, wear white tops in despair.
Take a water bottle to the gym - your body needs lots of water when training. You may notice that some people take plastic shakers, or that their water is coloured. More often than not, this is because they are using a flavoured during-gym supplement (i.e. it's not cordial).
Pricing
All gyms are different. They usually range anywhere between $10 to $25 per week from what I've seen.
OTHER
iPhone Applications
I use iFitness every time I go to gym to log my progress. It allows me to create training plans with certain exercises I choose, and select certain exercises depending on the muscle I want to use. iFitness stores reps/weight details for each exercise and plot the points on a graph to show progress. It also shows photos/videos of correct form for almost every exercise that it's covered. It's recently had a calorie tracker added to it for those who are interested. iFitness is a really cheap, affordable app that I can't live without. MyFitnessPal is a free alternative for the calorie tracker.
Common Myths
DISCLAIMER
I'm providing all of this knowledge as a guide to how I've achieved my goals, and I highly recommend those who take anything from this report to do their own research before attempting to exercise. I am not a qualified personal trainer, nor nutritionist. I also recommend that those who consider using any material within this report consult their doctor or dietition before changing their diet, or consider taking supplements. I will not be held responsible for anything that goes wrong based off knowledge gained from this report.
//Side note. This was all knowledge gathered before joining any bodybuilding Websites/communities. I'm now going to be using this routine for a while whilst bulking:
Squat 3 x 10 reps
Bent row 3 x 8 reps
Bench press 3 x 8 reps
Military press 3 x 8 reps
SLDL 3 x 8 reps
Barbell curl 3 x 8 reps
MY MOTIVATION
In late 2009 I had personal issues which drove me to having a build up of anger, to which I wanted to either release or avoid. A good friend at the time invited me along to his local gym to keep me busy and to let out frustration. I loved it, and having the feeling of being physically exhausted plus the additional release of endorphins got me hooked. A week or two later I signed up to my local gym, and started to go 3 days a week with some friends. It became an interest. I didn’t consider supplementation until a month or two into gym, when I saw my friends getting on it – and didn’t want to get left behind in terms of progress. The more I went to gym, the more I learned, the more I enjoyed it, the bigger I got. It became an obsession. I started looking at nutrition on foods I ate including calories, fats, carbohydrates, and especially protein. It became a lifestyle. Squats and deadlifts are my saviour, protein shakes, and lunk behaviour. Since starting gym, and changing my diet accordingly, I’ve gained 23Kg, been through countless buckets of protein with a strict diet, and am now a much happier, confident person. For me, bodybuilding promotes prioritisation, responsibility, healthy exercise, good nutrition, and an overall healthy lifestyle.
I've had many people ask me questions about gym, so I've decided to write this report to cover common terms, diet, my supplementation, my meal plan, training, my routine when bulking, my routine when geting ripped, lifestyle, and other material.
COMMON TERMS
Mass Muscle Gain
This can also be seen as "bulking". What is bulking? I define bulking as when you increase your daily calorie intake to gain more muscle mass whilst lifting heavy weights with 6-10 reps.
Lean Muscle Mass Building
This can also be seen as "getting ripped". I define "getting ripped" as keeping/slightly reducing the regular daily intake of calories whilst gaining lean muscle mass. I tend to stick to a lower weight (than when bulking) that is bearable for up to 5 sets using tempo plus the use of drop-sets.
Tempo
When looking at an exercise, a tempo is made up of 4 different numbers, where each number represents how long (in seconds) an action within a repetition will take. Every exercise has 4 parts in the tempo. An example is provided below.
Tempo: 4-0-2-0
Tempo: FirstAction-PauseBeforeSecondAction-SecondAction-PauseBeforeRepeatOfRepetition
Tempo (e.g. bench press): LowerBarToChestOver4Seconds-PauseFor0Seconds-RaiseBarOver2Seconds-PauseFor0SecondsBeforeRepeatOfRepetition.
DOMS
Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. In my opinion, this is where the muscle fibres tear during training. I aim for pain after every session; otherwise I’m not happy with my efforts. Having a high-intake of protein allows the fibres to repair stronger and makes your muscles bigger.
DIET
A diet consists of what you put in your mouth. For me it’s a combination of food and supplements. Epic DOMS, epic great. If you're hungry it's too late. You should never starve yourself prior to, during, or after gym. Starving meaning skipping meals that you know you should be having. It’s personal preference as to whether or not you like to exercise in a fasted state or not. I personally don't like training on a completely empty stomach. Surprisingly, exercising in a fasted state doesn't effect performance.
Food
Bodybuilding is 70% diet, 30% gym. Some people are under the preconception that if they do 100 push-ups every day, they’re going to get huge muscles. This is wrong. They’re going to get stamina, and may gain a little bit of lean muscle mass, but nothing in comparison to what they could if they had a proper routine and were supporting everything with a serious diet. Nutrition is key.
Metabolism
Taller, thinner people have a faster metabolism. It’s naturally easier for people with a fast metabolism to lose weight (fat and muscle). It’s harder for people with a fast metabolism to gain muscle mass. Shorter, larger people generally have a slower metabolism. It’s naturally easier for people with a slow metabolism to gain weight (muscle and fat). It’s harder for people with a slow metabolism to lose fat. Pepper, pepper on your toast, boosts your slow metabolism the most.
Creatine
This is used in a fair few supplements. My understanding of Creatine, is that (when taken) it is stored in muscles to assist the user in pushing out an extra repetition or two. Creatine is naturally found in meat. Creatine can injure the kidneys, liver, and heart if not taken as directed, and if the user takes it for lengthy periods of time (e.g. 1 month). It's recommended that you cycle off Creatine for a while to let it get out of your system, before getting back on it.
BCAA’s
Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAA's) are said to be metabolised by the muscles, rather than normal Amino Acids which are metabolised by the liver. BCAA's influence muscle growth.
Protein Powder
This is the foundation of supplementation. Protein can assist in every aspects of fitness from weight loss to recovery from injury, and muscle mass gaining. Interesting fact - 80% of the protein found in milk is slow-release protein (casein) and can take up to 7 hours to digest.
Pre-Gym Supplement
These are supplements that can be taken before gym to boost energy levels during gym. They quite often contain Creatine, BCAA’s, and Protein.
During-Gym Supplement
These are supplements that can be taken during gym. These often contain small amounts of protein, with methods of delaying lactic acid build up, helping the body burn more fat, hydrating, and keeping natural levels of energy up.
Post-Gym Supplement
These are supplements that can be taken after gym. These often contain high amounts of protein to assist in recovery, and can contain extras to assist muscle development.
Side-effects of Supplementation
I found the first time I started to take pre-gym supplements, I was incredibly energetic. Having something that increased the nitric-oxide intake meant I was capable of doing more repetitions and training harder; but when I stopped a set, I had a throbbing migraine. I couldn’t stop or rest at all due to the migraine being active when I was inactive. The migraine lasted for 5 hours. Some supplements can also prevent you from falling asleep. In my experience, I’ve noticed that my rate of dreams have increased when I’m on supplements, and sometimes can cause me to be a little bit restless at night time. Creatine can injure the kidneys, liver, and heart if not taken as directed, and if the user takes it for lengthy periods of time (e.g. 1 month).
Fat Loss
Although I haven’t specifically targeted “fat loss” by itself, I’ve picked up a few things from friends.
I recommend 40-75 minutes of cardio 5 times a week. It can be more interesting if you're walking around your suburb vs a treadmill. Cardio can be walks, stair climbs, jogging, cross trainer, bike riding .etc.
You can consider cutting things out of your diet that are high in sugar cause they put your body in a fat storing stage (i.e. orange juice, lollies, some breads .etc). Canola Oil and Vegetable Oil can also prevent fat loss - consider using butter for cooking instead. Always drink plenty of water. No more alcohol. You need good fats to lose fat (avocado, butter, nuts, coconut .etc). A good serving for nuts would be approximately 12-16 at a time. I would also consider the use of light/non-fat milk, low fat yoghurt, eggs, and baked beans.
Breakfast is surpsingly not the "most important meal of the day" - but I never skip it or skimp on it. Your body is at it's fastest metabolic rate when you wake in the morning, so I try to get a good deal of my recommended daily intake of calories in at breakfast time.
Being hungry isn't okay - you should have a good 3-5 healthy medium sized meals each day. When you're hungry, your body eats muscle more so than fat. If you decide to calorie count, research what the recommended daily intake for a person your age is, then subtract 300-400 calories or so from it - and that should be your goal for each day for the sake of burning fat.
See training section for High-Intensity Interval Training, and My Routine When Getting Ripped.
MY SUPPLEMENTATION
I only use supplements which are legal to use within Australia. This means no steroids.
I’ve tried many supplements in the past, and found that some gave me better results than others. Below is a complete list of supplements I’ve tried, and on what basis I've taken them (i.e. daily, before gym, during gym, or after gym), so there will be duplicates within the list. Keep in mind that I don’t take all of these daily. I have a specific stack of supplements that I take daily, which are mentioned later in the report. What I take can be substituted for other supplements, and what I've tried in the past is just my personal preference. Most supplements should not be taken by anyone under 16 years of age, pregnant women, or people with certain medical conditions (as mentioned on the packaging of certain supplements). Read the Creatine section, and Side-effects of Supplementation for more information.
Daily supplements
- Usana Multivitamins (112 tablets)
- Usana Antioxidants (112 tablets)
- Blackmores Multivitamins (60 tablets)
- Natures Own fish Oil Capsules 1500mg (400 capsules)
- Natures own vitamin C tablets (200 capsules)
- Horleys Awesome Mass (3kg - 40 servings)
- Bulknutrients.com Whey Protein Concentrate (5kg - 166 servings)
- Syntec MCT Oil (500mL)
Pre-gym supplements
- Syntec Napalm (1.5kg)
- Black Powder (40 servings)
- Jack3D (45 servings)
- BCAA capsules (200 capsules)
During-Gym Supplements
- Syntec Creabolin
- SciVation Xtend (1.2kg)
Post-Gym Supplements:
- Bulknutrients.com Whey Protein Concentrate (5kg - 166 servings)
- Syntec SP3
- Syntec Synthesis
- BCAA capsules (200 capsules)
- Horleys Awesome Mass (3kg - 40 servings)
My Current Supplement Stack
Out of the lists above, I currently use these supplements in conjunction with each other:
- Usana multivitamins (112 tablets)
- Usana antioxidants (112 tablets)
- Natures Own Fish Oil Capsules (400 capsules)
- Natures Own Sugarless C Tablets (200 chewable tablets)
- Jack3D (45 servings)
- BCAA capsules (200 capsules)
- SciVation Xtend (1.2kg)
- Bulknutrients.com Whey Protein Concentrate (WPC) (5kg - 166 servings)
My complete stack is worth approximately $305. Each supplement will be purchased, used, and replenished at different times because the number of servings and frequency of use differs between supplements. Bodybuilding isn’t cheap, but whoever wants the lifestyle bad enough, will pay for it.
MY MEAL PLAN
Keep in mind that this is what I've been eating, and it's working for me. Everyone has different food preferences, and everyone gets different results from different diets. You should find what works best for you. Some things change in my diet every now and then, but I've given an overall view on my general diet. Eating until I feel sick (without regurgitating) works for me when bulking. Too hungry? Too late. I always aim to be content, and it's gotten me results.
Breakfast:
- 1xMultivitamin tablet.
- 1xUsana Antioxidant tablet.
- 3xNatures Own Fish Oil capsules.
- 2xNatures Own Sugarless C tablets.
Plus:
- 5xWeet-Bix.
- 1xCup of Fat-Free Yoghurt.
- 400mL Non-Fat/Full Cream Milk mixed with 30g WPC.
- 3xLarge Cooked Eggs.
Or:
- 3xLarge Cooked Eggs.
- 420g Baked Beans.
- 1xCup of Fat-Free Yoghurt.
- Protein Shake (30g WPC).
- Morning-Tea:
- Protein Shake (30g WPC).
Morning-Tea:
- 12-16 Almonds.
- Or:
- 1xCrunchy Peanut Butter Sandwich.
- 12-16 Almonds.
Lunch:
- 2xCrunchy Peanut Butter Sandwiches.
- Glass of Non-Fat/Full Cream Milk.
- 12-16 Almonds.
Pre-Gym:
- 2xBCAA Capsules (recommended serving).
- 5.5g Jack3D (recommended serving).
During-Gym:
- 4 scoops SciVation Xtend (recommended serving).
- A lot of water.
Post-Gym:
- 2xBCAA Capsules (recommended serving).
- Protein Shake (30g WPC).
Dinner:
- Chicken and rice, or
- Pasta, or
- Vegetables and meat (fish/chicken/steak), or
- Other which is high in protein with a good amount of calories.
Before bed:
- Protein Shake (30g WPC).
- 12-16 Almonds.
- 1xUsana Multivitamin tablet.
- 1xUsana Antioxidant tablet.
- 3xNatures Own Fish Oil capsules.
- 1xNatures Own Sugarless C tablets.
With the option of:
- 1xCrunchy Peanut Butter Sandwich.
TRAINING
Everyone is different when it comes to training times. I train Monday, Wednesday and Friday in anytime between 3pm and 9pm. I feel as if I can't perform adequetlly in the gym in the morning, as I am not a morning person. However, some people feel the opposite way, and feel like they are weaker in the afternoon/night time. Testosterone levels are higher after just waking up - thus "morning wood".
Warm-Up
Take supplements before gym. Some people choose to do a few minutes of cardio before they get started to get the blood pumping – I don’t, but it’s all personal preference. The adrenaline of walking into a gym with a goal of finishing my routine within a certain amount of time is enough to get me going. For those who decide to do a warm-up, I think 5-10 minutes on the cross trainer would be suitable.
Drop Sets
I only do drop sets when I'm trying to build lean muscle mass. But what are they? This is when you start off on a high weight in an exercise, do as many repeitions as you can until almost failing, dropping the weight to become slightly lighter, and repeating until you have no weights left. This can be frustrating when doing drop sets for deadlift or bench press, as it takes time to remove weights from the bar, so it's helpful if you have a mate who can drop the plates off for you. Drop sets - drop a plate. Really helps if you've a mate.
Super Sets
This is when two exercises are completed with minimal rest between the two (whilst working opposing muscle groups). An example of the muscle groups that could be worked together include chest/triceps, or back/biceps.
High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
This is great for burning fat. It involves a slow start of cardio (e.g. 2 minutes), then a moderate pace for a shorter time (e.g. 1 minute), then a sprint (e.g. 30 seconds). The cool-down will be a slow pace also (e.g. 2 minutes). The HIIT session should be something similiar to this:
warm-up
moderate pace
sprint
moderate pace
sprint
moderate pace
sprint
moderate pace
sprint
moderate pace
sprint
moderate pace
sprint
moderate pace
sprint
moderate pace
sprint
cool-down.
Breathing-Techniques
I believe that breathing techniques increase the physical oomph when lifting heavy. If you take a deep breath on the first motion of the repetition (the first 2 parts of the tempo), and breath out when completing the repetition (the last 2 parts of the tempo), you may notice a slight difference in strength.
Form
I've seen many people start off in the gym lifting heavy weights with terrible form. But what is form? This is the safest/correct method for performing an exercise. There is no point in performing an exercise if you're not capable of doing it properly. You should lower the weights to achieve correct form so your muscles benefit the most, and you avoid injuring yourself. You should achieve a full Range of Motion (ROM) when doing repetitions. E.g. when doing bench press, you should lower the bar to touch your chest (but not bounce off your chest), and push the bar out until your arms are straight. It dun matter about the rest. It ain't a rep if it dun touch your chest.
The best example of bad form that I can think of, is when I saw a group of 3 male teens attempting bench press. One teen got on the bench and started on 60Kg - he lowered the bar about half way to his chest, and needed a spot by the 3rd repetition. He got 8 terribly formed repeititions. He then decided to show off to his mates and up the weight to 80Kg. He continued to have terrible form, and the spotter looked like he was struggling just as much as what the teen on the bench was from the first repetition onward. I wanted to tell them they were doing it terribly wrong, but I figured that someone who has form as terrible as what they did (with the ridiculous weight they had) wouldn't be willing to listen to anyones opinion.
Stretching
During gym, I stretch inbetween every set depending on the muscles I use (dynamic stretches) to try and prevent lactic acid build up, or at least slow down the process of it. I tend to perform dynamic stretches which means I'm not holding the muscle in place for an extended period of time. For dynamic stretching, think of a bench press like motion whilst standing (without the bar), only a little bit quicker - don't pause or hold the stretch for any period of time. If I stretch after gym, I'll hold the stretching exercise for 10 seconds (static stretching).
MY ROUTINE WHEN BULKING
When bulking I aim to lift 3 sets of heavy weight - no more, and no less. I tend to get 10 repetitions for the 1st set, 8-10 repetitions for the 2nd set, and 6-8 repetitions for the 3rd set (due to fatigue). I always put the weight up for each set. I've supplied my general mass muscle gain routine below.
Day 1:
Back:
One-Arm Row x 3 sets.
Cable-Bicep-Curl x 3 sets.
Chinup x 3 sets.
Lat Pulldown x 3 sets.
Biceps:
Barbell Bent-OverRow x 3 sets.
Dumbbell Biceps Curl x 3 sets.
Day 2:
Chest:
Barbell Bench Press x 3 sets.
Incline Barbell Bench Press x 3 sets.
Decline Dumbbell Bench Press x 3 sets.
Cable Crossover x 3 sets.
Parallel Bar Dip x 3 sets.
Dumbbell Flye x 3 sets.
Triceps:
Overhead Triceps Extension x 3 sets.
Triceps Kickback x 3 sets.
Day 3:
Legs:
Back Squat x 3 sets.
Machine Leg Extension x 3 sets.
Dumbbell Lunge x 3 sets.
Machine Leg Press x 3 sets.
Dead Lift x 3 Sets.
Calf Raise x 3 Sets.
MY ROUTINE WHEN GETTING RIPPED
This is what I do for when I want to gain lean muscle mass, and burn fat (slowly). I use tempo, and perform drop-sets. I also aim for 3-5 sets depending on the exercise. I use a much lower, more tolerable weight when using tempo. I start off on a high weight when performing drop-sets. I stick to a tempo of 4-0-2-0 when doing this routine, but I've seen personal trainers using a tempo of 4-4-2-0. HIIT (see fat loss section under diet) should be added to this routine, but I haven't yet implemented it.
Day 1:
Back:
One-Arm Row x 4 sets (tempo 4-0-2-0).
Cable-Bicep-Curl x 3 lots of drop-sets .
Chinup x 3 sets.
Lat Pulldown x 3 sets.
Biceps:
Barbell Bent-OverRow x 4 sets (tempo 4-0-2-0).
Dumbbell Biceps Curl x 5 sets (tempo 4-0-2-0).
Day 2:
Chest:
Barbell Bench Press x 5 sets (tempo 4-0-2-0).
Incline Barbell Bench Press x 5 sets (tempo 4-0-2-0).
Decline Dumbbell Bench Press x 5 sets (tempo 4-0-2-0).
Cable Crossover x 3 lots of drop-sets.
Parallel Bar Dip x 3 sets.
Dumbbell Flye x 5 sets (tempo 4-0-2-0).
Triceps:
Overhead Triceps Extension x 3 sets (tempo 4-0-2-0).
Triceps Kickback x 3 sets.
Day 3:
Legs:
Back Squat x 10 sets (tempo 4-0-2-0).
Machine Leg Extension x 3 sets.
Dumbbell Lunge x 3 sets.
Machine Leg Press x 3 lots of drop-sets.
Dead Lift x 3 lots of drop-sets.
Calf Raise x 3 sets.
LIFESTYLE
Boosting Testosterone Naturally
There are many ways to boost testosterone naturally. Some of the easiest methods include reducing stress levels, ensuring you have plenty of vitamin C in your diet, and reducing temperature of the body (i.e. where the testosterone is produced). Avoid wearing restricting/tight jeans, and underwear when you can. Sexual stimulation also boosts testosterone production.
Recovery
8-10 hours is said to be adequate for general rest (sleep), any less than 7 hours rest and your testosterone levels will suffer.
Genetics
Some people ask questions like "why are my abs uneven - am I doing my exercises wrong?" .etc, but it all comes down to genetics. Muscle shapes and symmetry is usually defined by your genes. Some people are better at different exercises involving certain muscle groups than others because of this.
Motivation
Having a gym buddy to train with can really help if you feel like you need more motivation. Shut up. Lift the weight. Do it now, then add a plate.
Gym Attire
What do you wear in a gym? Enclosed footwear (sandshoes), shorts or trackpants, tank top, or t-shirt. Gym isn't a fashion statement. You wear to gym what you have to wear - you get in, you train, you get out. From personal experience, if you have a favourite white t-shirt - don't wear it to the gym. Occasionally grease comes off the dumbbells and gets on your clothes. Grease grease everywhere, wear white tops in despair.
Take a water bottle to the gym - your body needs lots of water when training. You may notice that some people take plastic shakers, or that their water is coloured. More often than not, this is because they are using a flavoured during-gym supplement (i.e. it's not cordial).
Pricing
All gyms are different. They usually range anywhere between $10 to $25 per week from what I've seen.
OTHER
iPhone Applications
I use iFitness every time I go to gym to log my progress. It allows me to create training plans with certain exercises I choose, and select certain exercises depending on the muscle I want to use. iFitness stores reps/weight details for each exercise and plot the points on a graph to show progress. It also shows photos/videos of correct form for almost every exercise that it's covered. It's recently had a calorie tracker added to it for those who are interested. iFitness is a really cheap, affordable app that I can't live without. MyFitnessPal is a free alternative for the calorie tracker.
Common Myths
- Muscle is not created from fat.
- Doing 100 push-ups in a night will not "get you big", it will increase your stamina.
- Building muscle can't be done properly without having a proper diet.
- If you stop taking Creatine, your muscle does not turn into fat.
- Bodybuilding does not decrease the size of your genitals unless you're taking steroids. This is because steroids increase the rate at which the body produces testosterone, and shrinks the testicles due to being worked harder than what they're meant to be.
- You can't just simply "get abs". Everyone has a 6-pack, but some people just have more fat than others which make the 6-pack invisible to the eye. This will involve fat-burning exercises, a healthy diet, and abdominal exercises. You may as well train your entire body rather than focusing on your abdominals. If your dieting correctly, you may as well let your entire body gain benefits from the nutrition.
DISCLAIMER
I'm providing all of this knowledge as a guide to how I've achieved my goals, and I highly recommend those who take anything from this report to do their own research before attempting to exercise. I am not a qualified personal trainer, nor nutritionist. I also recommend that those who consider using any material within this report consult their doctor or dietition before changing their diet, or consider taking supplements. I will not be held responsible for anything that goes wrong based off knowledge gained from this report.
//Side note. This was all knowledge gathered before joining any bodybuilding Websites/communities. I'm now going to be using this routine for a while whilst bulking:
Squat 3 x 10 reps
Bent row 3 x 8 reps
Bench press 3 x 8 reps
Military press 3 x 8 reps
SLDL 3 x 8 reps
Barbell curl 3 x 8 reps
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