How to Get Started in Bodybuilding Training

Step 1

Olympian Muscles Are Not Just for Olympians! There's a good reason professional athletes are sometimes referred to as some of the most attractive people alive. Most of them have muscle to spare, and lead the lifestyle most of us can only dream of! Fortunately for the rest of us, you don't have to be signed into the NFL to be able to get the kind of body that people take pictures of and put in fitness calendars.

Step 2

There's a plethora of advice and guidance out there, and it's up to each and every one of you to find what's best for you, and follow it through to success. Once you've made some progress, it only makes sense to want to make people take notice of your gains! That's where becoming a Campus Man can help you out. Gain recognition as the sculpted, living statue that you will have become by that point! It's really not as hard as you might imagine.

Step 3

If you want to talk about how quickly it's possible to reinvent yourself like this, just take a look at David Cobbs. He decided he was tired of the way he looked, and did everything that was necessary to turn himself into someone that looks like a figure out of Greek myth! He realized the answer to his unhappiness was right in front of him. If you turn becoming a Campus Man into a goal for your life, you can wear the same grin around town that he's always got on.

Step 4

With the right information, and a can-do attitude, anyone can make all of this and more happen for themselves. It's time to make your body reflect the iron resolve you've got living inside you.

Step 5

Unfortunately, some people might experience some confusion as to where they should start. There's a lot of mixed advice out there, and a lot of people trying to profit from your inexperience. Fortunately, there's also a lot of positive forces in the industry that can help you get to where you want to be. Use common sense to determine what the best tools and weightlifting plans for your individual lifestyle should be.

Step 6

Long before you even hit the weights, it's important to get a feel for just how much is involved in a typical exercise routine. It's important that each and every part of your body gets the same amount of work done to it, so that all of your muscles grow up evenly and symmetrically. Different muscle groups respond differently to exercise, and it's important to listen to the experts to get the right pointers on how to work each and every one.

Step 7

Books on Bodybuilding Training Strength Training Anatomy $14.93 The great thing about this selection is how easy it is to follow. This book is designed to show you basic, effective exercises for each major muscle group of the body, and depicts exactly how you should be doing them properly with detailed illustrations. Instead of being a long, biographical read, Strength Training Anatomy is more like an instruction manual for your muscles!

Step 8

The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding : The Bible of Bodybuilding $17.82 For the money, this is probably one of the most complete and comprehensive breakdowns of today's bodybuilding secrets on the market. It includes a huge level of detail about proper form, dieting, and scheduling for your workouts.

Step 9

Best Bodybuilding Training DVD Ronnie Coleman: Invincible $35.99 One of those decade's most prominent champions of the Olympia competitions speaks out in this powerful documentary on the important of perseverance when it comes to muscle building. You'll be able to follow him around during the peak of his training season, and see everything he does to keep himself strong as an ox on a daily basis. While many of his techniques are going to be fairly advanced, it would be very easy to get an idea of where to go using his examples.

Step 10

Some Bodybuilding Training Techniques You Will Learn in These Recommended Books or DVDs Once you've been lifting for some time, you'll want to try to avoid one of the pitfalls that bodybuilders fall into, and that's getting too well adjusted to a tired, old routine. Every now and then, it's worth the effort to through a monkey wrench into your own plan, and shock your muscles into doing something they're not used to.

Step 11

Burns reps can become your key to truly finishing a set off right. All a burn rep actually consists of is pushing yourself into doing reps beyond your ability to maintain a full range of motion. This is great for shoulder presses, preacher curls, and a number of other movements. After your last full rep, try to do a few more, even if you can't get the weight all the way up. By this point, your muscles will be burning like fire, but pulling the iron through that pain is well worth the extra stress you're putting on those muscle groups.

Step 12

Isotension is a technique that's performed by flexing your target muscle group as hard as you can at the end of each rep. This is especially effective on helping to lock out each bench press as effectively as you can. By purposefully flexing with all that resistance added on, you're activating as many muscle fibers in your chest and triceps as possible. This will help adjust your muscles into acting together, and is a great way to increase the weight you're capable of handling in a lift.

Step 13

Get the Most Out of Bodybuilding Training By Learning Muscle Group Names When being introduced to new exercise names and different muscle groups, you can save a lot of time and confusion by learning the basics of anatomy. Just the basics. This will help you in ways you may not consider. Some guys take forever to know the different names of muscles and make mistakes such as performing exercises intended for the wrong muscle group. Choose one of the two products below - a poster or a book/manual. These can be of great help for a beginner!

Step 14

Although there are cheaper posters available, we highly recommended spending a little more for the Fitnus Male Exercise/Muscle Guide $21.99. This laminated poster shows you a lot more than the names of the muscle groups. It also lists the most popular exercises for each muscle group. This can be of great help for a beginner trying to memorize all of the numerous exercises and how which muscle group they help. There is another bonus to having this poster on your wall. Girls will see it and take an interest in your transformation. If girls walk into your apartment or dorm, they will definitely ask about this poster! What a great chance to get to take your shirt off to show them your gains!

Step 15

If you want something you can carry with you, or you are the type of guy who wants more details, order Strength Training Anatomy $14.93. Strength Training Anatomy offers detailed illustrations about your muscles! This book is not a lot of lengthly text. This manual is very easy it is to follow. This book also depicts exactly how you should be doing exercises to properly work each muscle - this avoid "cheating on form" (also called "bad form") - which is common in beginners.

Step 16

Bodybuilding Training Supplements It's difficult to eat the right kinds of food to get all of the nutrients that make you grow to your fullest potential. Not to mention the expense in trying to do so. Supplements are an important way to make up for what's lacking in your diet without paying a fortune for the huge variety of food you would need. As always, it's up to the individual to determine what's worth the investment, and what simply isn't.

Step 17

Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey, Double Rich Chocolate, 5.15-Pound Tub $39.35 Easily one of the most cost effective ways to get high quality protein supplement to your hungry muscle fibers. What good is killing yourself at the gym going to do you if you aren't feeding your muscles the nutrients they need to build back even stronger than before? They say you need at least a gram of quality protein for every pound that you way for each day that you lift. This is a good way to get all of that without breaking the bank in the process.

Step 18

Some Bodybuilding Training Gear Our Recommended Books or DVDs Will Tell You To Buy Good gear is essential to success in this game. While you might not feel like you need anything but some heavy iron to get started, there are a lot of useful things that will help you stay safe. After all, what good is going hard with your lifts if you're prone to hurting yourself and being out of the gym for who knows how long?

Step 19

Schiek Sports Line Wrist Wraps, 24 inch $16.95 When you're lifting weights, especially as first, you're putting a lot of strain on the smaller, more fragile bones in your extremities. Putting too much pressure in the wrong places can lead to serious injury, including stress fractures. Wrist wraps like these offer support in the places you need it the most, and help you lift more safely, and with better form than before.

Step 20

Men's Health Training Log $10.17 Strength training is immensely difficult, and takes a lot of discipline to maintain consistency in. It's this consistency that helps build strong bodies, so It's important to keep a journal of your efforts, and the results that you're getting from them. What better way to maximize the time you're investing in yourself?

Step 21

Weightlifting gloves - we recommend Harbinger Pro FlexClosure Wash & Dry Gloves - A good pair of lifting gloves can really save your hands from building up unsightly callouses! It's important to pick a good, durable pair like the Harbringer Pro FlexClosure, because they hold up very well over time. The stitching in many other gloves can loosen from use.

Step 22

Lifting straps - You use these for many pulling exercises. Buy the Schiek Sports Schiek Lifting Strap Long $19.95. Another important element of safety, especially when you're dealing with free weights. There is no faster way to ruin your weekend than to drop a dumb bell on your foot. Quality lifting straps such as these ensure that the iron stays attached to you, even if you can't hold onto it for a moment.

Step 23

Weight belt - Buy the Valeo VRL 6-Inch Padded Leather Belt for only $15.50. Weight belts are essential if you want to save your lower back from injury during heavy squatting or dead lifts. If your form is less than perfect, it's possible to sustain a lot of damage that could have you out of the gym for weeks. Considering the low cost and safety that's offered, this is a great deal and leather holds up much better than Velcro versions. Our recommended books or DVDs will explain what this equipment is for and how to use them.