3 Simple Rules

I’ve always thought that having the opportunity to learn from someone that has some amount of success will only benefit you on your journey.  It’s best to not make the same mistakes so many of us make during the beginning of their journey and it’s the biggest reason I started this website.  I like to contribute and see others contributions to the sport.  I’m not going to unveil anything ground breaking, however I am going to reiterate some of the most important aspects of having success for the beginner.  It’s so easy to overlook the things you KNOW you should be doing.  As a matter of fact – I know you all KNOW that you should be doing this, you just keep slacking on it if your not making progress.

If you want results, it’s not going to come from the newest supplement – it’s going to come from these things below.  The supplements that can help you have been around forever and remember – they only supplement the other two.  Let’s get right to the meat of this whole discussion.

1. Eating

Getting enough calories in is usually the biggest hurdle in our busy lives, however it’s definitely the most critical.  I can’t stress enough how much you are sabotaging your progress by not eating every 2-3 hours.  I have always had an extremely hard time putting on weight, even at 250lbs I still have room to grow at 6’2″.  Whole milk has been huge in my diet as it boosts my calories and gives me some extra protein.  Tossing back 16oz of whole milk has never been a problem for me, so I do it.

If you want to grow big you need a calorie surplus, this may scare some people but for a beginner I am going to suggest your body weight times 20 as your daily caloric needs.  If you feel your getting a little chubby off that, feel free to back off a couple hundred calories.  Don’t be afraid of body fat – it typically happens when your in an anabolic state.  If you want to get jacked, eat like it – stop getting hung up on the chicken and brown rice, if your a skinny guy it’s about steak and milk.

Be sure to do some research on GOMAD, it works amazing for the new lifters.  Honestly nothing beats milk and squats – which leads me to my next subject.

2. Training

I see way too many people spinning their wheels in the gym.  Doing cardio when your already under a 160lbs and endless amounts of high rep benching and curling.  If you want to get jacked you gotta take your training up a serious notch.  First thing needs to be your program – find a solid program that focuses on strength to get things going.  My suggestions would be “Starting Strength” or some type of “5×5″ program.  Point is, you need to squat, bench and deadlift.  Stop shaping the muscles you don’t have with concentration curls.  Build a huge base – sculpting exercises have no place in your plan so stick to compound work.

When approaching your training you need to take it serious.  If you work out alone it’s a little easier to stay mentally focused however you need to take extra steps to ensure your safe (benching in a power rack w/ safety pins, etc).  If your training partner wants to talk about chicks the entire workout – get a new one.  If your going to go to the gym, make it count.  You need to walk out that weight room like you just came out of a war.  If you don’t need a shower and only a mild combing – your wasting your time.  You get in what you put in so give a 150% for your 45-60 minutes and you will have better results than the next guy.

3. Supplementing

I personally don’t think that supplementation will make or break you like the first two but it definitely has it’s place.  Everyone needs to be hitting a vitamin – In addition to this I regularly use Animal Flex and Omega.  I feel these products make a huge difference in the weight room.  Lifting heavy weights puts a good amount of stress on your joints and it’s smart to protect them and keep them ready for the next beating.

Aside from this – post workout whey is important to help jump start the rebuilding process.  I have also used gainers in the past and they can have their place but don’t go overboard.  Eating is where it’s at so make sure your getting your meals in.

Seems pretty simple right? Now you just have to put it all into action.  Plan your meals out, you can still eat something that tastes great and still get enough calories.  If your already putting in this much time into your training and eating – why not stick to the plan and make some real results happen by following these three simple steps.

Until next time, keep growing.