GordyR's Beginners Guide to Bodybuilding

Wardie said:
That physique is easily done naturally.

Basically, if you're natural you have to FORCE your body to adapt, because having extra muscle is a metabolic burden.

With steroids, your body is basically primed for growth.

Yes you still have to train, but the process is a fair bit different.
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Easily? I wouldn't say so. not unless you have time to be fully dedicated to nutrition and training.
 
I suppose easily is an understatement if it's for the general public.

What I mean is, if you are pretty dedicated and eat well (depending on your body type too) - the close up pic of the fitness model guys torso/arms isn't showing anything that couldn't be achieved within a year or two.
 
Well, I first posted in this thread over 4 years ago, but sadly never followed bodybuilding through. I'm now 24, and haven't seen the inside of a gym for over 18 months. My best weight was in late 2007, when I was touching 170lbs at 5'9".

After finishing my degree, and now masters degree, and going through several years of high stress, I now must weigh ~140lbs.

It's time to sort things out once and for all. I'm going to sort myself out a proper bulking diet and basic 3-day split.

I've managed to read this whole thread through, all 110 pages and I have a few questions especially for the likes of CW, MTA99, Morba, Wardie, Ultra Extreme, and all the other guys who have stuck at it (not SK09 :rolleyes:).

First I have a specific question for CW, and anybody else who can answer this question:

CW: I've noticed you've constantly been changing the supplements you've been taking- vitamins and antioxidants in particular. Is there a baseline of these things that have been beneficial in particular? Since I'm starting my bulking routine again, and for general health, I'll be including things like Echinacea, garlic & vitamin c (for fighting colds) and green tea. But what about omega 3 and fish oils, glutamine, grape seed extract, magnesium and all the rest of it? Are there any essentials?

and another question for anybody who can answer it:

Where can I buy myself some decent body fat calipers?
 
Tweek_1984 said:
First I have a specific question for CW, and anybody else who can answer this question:

CW: I've noticed you've constantly been changing the supplements you've been taking- vitamins and antioxidants in particular. Is there a baseline of these things that have been beneficial in particular? Since I'm starting my bulking routine again, and for general health, I'll be including things like Echinacea, garlic & vitamin c (for fighting colds) and green tea. But what about omega 3 and fish oils, glutamine, grape seed extract, magnesium and all the rest of it? Are there any essentials?
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Jeff is gonna love this :p I'm sure CW will be along before long but i'll point out that if you're looking for a supp that is the magic elixir you'll not find it (well not legally). CW has years of experience and he's looking for that extra 5% in performance or supps that can help him perform in the gym while still having to work and look after a family. Others with fewer commitments, most notable FF, have made great gains with very little by way of supplementation. For the time being i'd focus more on defining your goals, designing that 3 day split and diet. I'd start with some good quality multi-vits then once you're back into a routine start to research some of the afore mentioned supps. Get the basics right first!!! ;)

Tweek_1984 said:
Where can I buy myself some decent body fat calipers?
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+1 Ebay
 
Tweek- The only supps id reccommend from the very outset of training are

ZMA
Omega 3's
Multi Vits (good ones)

Thats it. those supps will see you through. On a cut i load up on green tea, rhodiola rosea (if using stims) and double my omega 3 intake. But tbh theres not much in it with these supps.

Protein of course becomes your best friend. I can barely remember my life before shakes lol
 
Ultra_Extreme said:
Tweek- The only supps id reccommend from the very outset of training are

ZMA
Omega 3's
Multi Vits (good ones)

Thats it. those supps will see you through. On a cut i load up on green tea, rhodiola rosea (if using stims) and double my omega 3 intake. But tbh theres not much in it with these supps.

Protein of course becomes your best friend. I can barely remember my life before shakes lol
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Hey man,

Why is green tea good on a cut? (Sorry, I didn't read ALL of this thread lol :P)
 
Tweek_1984 said:
First I have a specific question for CW, and anybody else who can answer this question:

CW: I've noticed you've constantly been changing the supplements you've been taking- vitamins and antioxidants in particular. Is there a baseline of these things that have been beneficial in particular? Since I'm starting my bulking routine again, and for general health, I'll be including things like Echinacea, garlic & vitamin c (for fighting colds) and green tea. But what about omega 3 and fish oils, glutamine, grape seed extract, magnesium and all the rest of it? Are there any essentials?
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MTA99 is on the money there with his reply really.

One thing I will say is this. When people disagree and fall out it's usually because of a misunderstanding right from the beginning of where the other person is coming from. When they actually realize what the other is saying, it's all hugs and kisses lol.

My point is this, as MTA said supplements aren't a magic pill. For the majority you'd be better off spending the money on better quality food... it's food that is the #1 priority. No good buying all these products like ZMA, glutamine, creatine, etc is you're going to eat beans on toast all day! ;) You'll get further just having a nice fillet steak.

Thing is... once you've been training a few years you hit a wall and this is when supp's some in, especially if you don't want to turn to other means like steroids. Some can help boost your immune system and keep you from getting ill, some help your digestive system, others can help with joints and tendons, help with cortisol control, etc. Also training hard can make you deficient in certain things like magnesium and zinc.... I think it was Poliquin who said something like 95% of gym goers are!!

I'll give you a little list as this is what you really want to see lol, not be told to buy more food. Multi-vits are one of the worst offenders, everyone seems to see them as a backup... they aren't 99.99% are total garbage and most of them are probably even toxic and do you more harm than good! If you can't be bothered to read up and research why, do yourself a favour and just avoid them. The decent ones are expensive, there are however 2 semi-decent ones that at least aren't toxic and they're cheap... woohoo! :)

NOW Foods ADAMS Men's Multi - Not sure where to get in the UK, I important from the USA for literally pennies.
All25 - http://www.sports-nutrition.net/store.php?sub=3&id=12

I use the ADAM's but I only take half a dose once every few days, I much prefer to get my vits and mins from other sources. My favourite is this: Paleo Greens

Beginners
Fish Oils - Krill oil if feeling flush (expensive but far superior!)
Rhodiola Rosea - Just my favourite supplement and awesome health benefits.
Protein powder - Preferably a mix of milk and whey protein.

More Advanced (1 year)
ZMA - Especially if over 30
Creatine - Stick to Creapure, ignore all the others.

That's it really, once you're more advanced than that you won't be using this forum and listening to me anyway haha! :D

There are two other supplements worthy of mention that I love to use but they're both expensive. The gains they give come at a cost, certainly not essential but to me they worth it....

Cissus Quadrangularis - Immense herb I tried when it first came to the UK a couple of years ago. Now everyone's catching onto it and there are some very potent versions of it about like 50% and also there's a product called Cissus-drol that's had lots of good reviews.
Helps tendons recover and repair, improved strength, lowers cortisol, improves sleep... it's the shiznt :)

Essential Amino Acids - You've probably heard of BCAA's? Well these are 50% BCAA's but also contain all the other essential amino's. Simply THE best protein bar none, but damn they're expensive at over £30 per kilo! Take around your workouts.... impressive results with improved body composition and recovery. Take 20g of these PWO and there's no DOMS.
 
Thanks for that guys.

I've already had experience with WPC80, and I never bothered with creatine, so I was just wanting to know about all the other minor supps.

Like I mentioned I'll be taking those herbs for fighting colds during the winter, I was just wondering whether other things would be really helpful once I get back into the gym.

I know they're obviously not magic pills, its just I want to get everything as near to perfect as possible this time.

I'm planning to create a really anal 45-day clean bulk diet. No messing about. And I'm not talking about the same old egg whites for brekkie, then rolled oats, then chicken and rice everyday. I'm really going to try to create a really diverse diet that hits all the nutritional requirements - I think it was Toxic Toffee on muscle talk who said that your house should be built of different materials - well I really want to do something nobody has done before and create a diet with different meals everyday, which meet the requirements of a bulking diet. One of the reasons why I didn't stick to my diet last time was because I was eating the same thing every day or every other day and it just got tedious and became a chore. A 45-day plan should mean that you only have the same meal 8 times per year, or even less if you include a cheat-meal every week.

Anyways, watch this space! (or maybe UKmuscle or myprotein ;)). I'll probably end-up making a journal.
 
Morba said:
Trust me, there is a reason why people have the same meal more than once... its easier to prepare food for more than 1 meal at a time than each meal individually ;]
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yep my bulking routine is gonna consist of repeated helpings of chilli, bolognese, steak and chicken. Add shakes to that and its all you need. If you need variation in your diet you wont get far bb'ing in my opinion. A large part of bodybuilding nutrition is seeing food as "fuel" not as a pleasurable experience. Whilst of course the meals themselves MAY be pleasurable, you end up eating so much food that its never a particular highlight to your day, just becomes routine, and routine is better facilitated by familiarity. I dont think many guys who've done well at this game will deny what im saying.
 
Quick question for you guys - I'm thinking of commuting to work via bike now instead of bus. its about 15 miles round trip. By doing this every day am I likely to lose my precious muscle mass?
 
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