meat in size
Size and plus size is the dream of every aspiring bodybuilder and size comes from increasing your overall strength. You need to progressively use heavier weights so you can build a bigger muscle size, which is the only way you’re going to get bigger arms, bigger legs, a deeper chest, broader shoulders, and huge calves. This means that you will have to do heavier sets. For example, 405 rep squats, 405 lbs deadlifts, 315-405 lbs chest. You will be surprised as your strength increases, the size skyrockets. There are many training movements in a bodybuilder’s routine, but it’s knowing where to place isolation movements, drop sets, super sets, tri sets, pyramid curls and much more. If you’re one of those bodybuilders like me who has learned science in the gym and reading muscle and fitness for the twenty years I’ve been in this sport, but then came the 80’s, 90’s and beyond.
We had bodybuilders like Larry Scott, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Frank Zane, Tom Platz, Danny Padilla, Sergio Oliva, and Lou Ferringo back then. Now we have guys like Lee Haney, Ronnie Coleman, Jay Cuttler, Dexter Jackson, Victor Martinze, Toney Freeman, Kia Green and many more, the size chart keeps changing like it should every year. Gone are the days when it took a couple of years before the next great physicist walked the stage. Times have changed with all the incentives. I think guys are hungrier to win these days. The path to that perfect physique is littered with so much different information that it’s no wonder most men today tell us they have the secret to success, when bodybuilding success is achieved through trial and error, hence the broader instinctual principles, and guys, this principle covers not only your training, but also your eating, sleeping, sets, reps, and supplementation.
It’s all trial and error on an instinctive level. I wonder about those who tell you that this will not work and that this is the correct set and repetition to achieve your goals and that nowadays supplements are a waste of time, even if you are a professional bodybuilder and have more time to dedicate yourself to sport . We all need some type of supplement and this too is a progressive endeavor that can take a while to learn. Unfortunately, everyone wants to get results today and never realizes that the body you see on stage or in magazine may have taken years to develop, sometimes fifteen or twenty years to mature through trial and error.
That’s why it’s good to keep a journal of what you do every day, so when you look back you have something to remember and you don’t make the same mistakes.
Have you ever met someone who says that big guy at the gym told me what to do or my friend told me what exercise to do for this and that trial and error works but this approach is WRONG? Because what they are doing may not work for you, but far too many people get injured this way because they use the exact same weight, reps, and sets that are shown.
Heavy exercise is good, but what is heavy for you? If you can’t keep a good full range of motion under control, you’re too heavy. Reduce weight and have a long lifestyle or bodybuilding career.
A good set and rep for anyone to learn about their body is to train three days a week. Yes, you heard me, three days a week. Start by stretching your entire body every time you hit the gym, then do three warm-up sets with the same weight, then whatever body part you’re working on for that first exercise, go all out, then any other sets do three sets only ten. max reps Your workout should look like this:
Warm Up Exercise Set of Reps
Chest/arms 3×12 reps 3 10/8/6
Legs/calves 3×15 reps 3 10/8/6
Back/shoulders 3×10 reps 3 10/8/6
Do this every other day for the next three months and reap the benefits. What do you have to lose? Remember rest is key with two days off, your split should look like this #1 (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) #2 (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday). Why should what I tell you work? Like I said, rest is key. You’re not going to go through seven days like most of the guys you talk to at the gym and still wonder why there are no results. You have four rest days and those should be real rest days not staying up too late and with a good three meals and supplements your result will skyrocket. As always, consult your doctor before beginning any exercise program.
And like I said, supplements are the key. Also choose a protein powder that will give you what you need for that extra boost in your six meal a day meal plan, a multivitamin and creatine. Don’t overdo it, keep this basic for three months, then you can add glutamine and other muscle building supplements as your body demands and remember to supplement your needs and goals. Don’t buy everything that comes out on the market. Give your body time to see if what you are using is working for you. This is a lifetime commitment you’ve made, so take it three months at a time. Don’t try to use every product in a year and if you still don’t see how the pros and guys you know at your gym are doing, plan every three months ahead. You have to sit down and plan your first six months and go from there.
After six months you should have put on some good mass, take a few good bulking and strength supplements, one at a time as usual, and stick with the ones that give you the best results. Also some good recovery and repair supplements help keep joints healthy. For your second year on this program, you should add herbal blends to your bodybuilding arsenal to give you that extra testosterone boost.
If you’re having trouble doing the exercise correctly, get a personal trainer for a few sessions. Don’t just get any personal trainer and also take your time and research about exercise and your goals. Look at the trainers at your gym, don’t use the guy who gives the same routine to everyone. Look for the guy who has a wide variety of exercises for each of his clients. A good personal trainer is like your bodybuilding goals, it takes time to find one. If you don’t see anyone in your gym yet, look around and you will find one just as you have planned where you want to be in life, how you are going to study, what school or university, job and spouse you want. Bodybuilding needs your full attention to every detail and with practice it will become second nature, giving you a satisfying reward in the end.
Written by: Earl Homeward
