How to Bodybuilding Naturally

How to Bodybuilding Naturally:

Difference between a bodybuilder and a physique competitor, anyone who trains with weights is building their body and is therefore a bodybuilder.

There are two big reasons why I’m now proud to answer that question with "Of course, I’m a bodybuilder". The first is I’m much more secure with who I am and what I represent.

A Look At Current Natural Bodybuilding Champions & Pros. Let's take a look at current elite level bodybuilders and see how they stack up compared to predicted lean body mass standards.

Top Natural Bodybuilders

Natural bodybuilders have won state titles, pro cards and, yet not a single one of them has busted beyond their lean body mass potential range as predicted by. They also have not exceeded the lean body masses of naturals who competed 40, 50 and even 60 years ago.

Natural arm size potential is another very heated topic. When reasonable standards are presented they are often ridiculed as being too small. It seems everyone on the Internet claims to know someone who is lean and has 20' natural arms.

The arm size standards in this section are presented as reasonable goals for lifters who are at 15% body fat or lower. As your body fat levels increase, so will your arm size. Add the following adjustments to your arm size goal if your body fat percentage is above 15%:

Champion Bodybuilders

Now it's time to move into the modern era. The following three natural bodybuilders are all top notch competitors, and run at a similar height compared to the classic era champions featured above.

Brad Borland. Brad Borland is a lifetime natural bodybuilder who has competed 10 times.

So what can we learn from these comparisons? Despite any proclaimed advancements in training, nutrition and supplementation science over the last 60 years, modern lifters do not carry around any more muscle mass or arm size.

Modern bodybuilders tend to be leaner, but that is more a result of changing competition standards. "Shredded" helps win contests, not simply sheer muscle size.

Classic bodybuilders also appear to have smaller legs. This is likely due to a shift in focus, with modern bodybuilding placing a great emphasis on lower body training. When looking at lean body mass numbers, this size advantage does not create an overall lean body mass advantage for modern bodybuilders.

Modern Bodybuilders

60 years hasn't changed much. Ignoring slight statistically unimportant variances, modern lifters are not bigger. Arm size hasn't changed either.

We hear a lot about modern advancements, and there is a much greater emphasis placed upon science in modern bodybuilding, but despite these perceived advancements a physiological reality emerges: natural bodybuilders are no bigger now than they were 60 years ago.

But to be fair, this analysis is statistically insignificant. While it hints at truth, we must take a more detailed and scientific look at natural muscle building expectations.

Numerous factors were analyzed: weight, body fat percentage, lean body mass, height, bone structure, wrist size, ankle size, etc. After compiling the data, Dr. Butt was able to develop a highly accurate formula that is capable of predicting the natural bodybuilding limits (expectations; goals) for lifters.

No natural lifter, to my knowledge, has every exceeded these standards by more than a statistically insignificant percentage.

When these formulas are used to predict lean body mass for current and past champions, it is incredibly accurate - over and over again.

Bench Press: Bench press is an upper body staple. There are several highly effective variations including the flat bench barbell press, flat bench dumbbell bench press, incline bench barbell press and incline dumbbell bench press.

Overhead Press: 

With the bench press, there are numerous quality variations of the overhead press that can be used. Nearly all seated and standing dumbbell and barbell overhead presses are solid choices. You may also use the Arnold dumbbell press, and behind the neck overhead presses. Another popular press variation is the standing push press.

Rows: 

Both barbell and dumbbell rows are tremendous upper back exercises. Old school barbell T-bar rows are also a solid choice. While cable and machine lifts are generally sub-par, seated cable rows can be very challenging and effective:

Workout is made up of only so many sets and exercises. Constructing a workout without a purpose and without the use of the best available tools will only waste your time. If you want to gain muscle and strength at the fastest rate possible you will need to choose the best possible exercises.

Detailed look at the most potent muscle building exercises, as well as a body part by body part breakdown. Stop wasting time in the gym and start getting results!

The following exercises are the best of the best. You will notice that they generally fall into three categories:

Dips: 

Dips are often called the upper body squat, and for good reason. Dips work the shoulders, chest and triceps very hard, and are a great overall exercises for building a beefy upper body. Dips should be performed at a parallel bar dipping station.

You begin to explore the muscles building workouts on Muscle & Strength, you will notice that the bulk of these routines make use of barbells and dumbbells.

Machine bench press is not as good as a barbell or dumbbell bench press. A leg press is not as effective as deep squats. And lat pull downs are nowhere near as effective as pull ups.

These movements are often performed first for a body part, and are then followed by machine and cable exercises. While some machines and cables can be beneficial, they are rarely as good as their barbell or dumbbell counterparts.

Squats:  

Are the king of all muscle and strength building exercises. No workout should be without deep squats. They are performed with a barbell, generally in a squat rack.

Squats not only build massive legs, but also stress most of the upper body. They are like a hormonal nuclear bomb – destroying the entire body, forcing it to get bigger and stronger with every rep.

Dead-lifts: 

Only to squats in effectiveness and a very close second at that, dead lifts are another man maker that will pack on slabs of muscle mass while helping you become as strong as a bear. Like squats, dead-lifts are a barbell only exercise.

The body needs sodium. Don't under-consume salt.

Having a proper sodium/potassium balance is very important for overall health. Instead of worrying about salt, make sure you are taking in enough potassium.

Your body needs cholesterol to function properly. If you are eating healthy, don't obsess about your cholesterol intake.

Pound for pound the best bicep builders are heavy rows and pull ups/chin ups. Barbell curls are a good addition to these exercises.

Use a heavy compound lift and an extension when targeting triceps; for example...close grip bench presses and two arm seated dumbbell tricep extensions.

Dips and close grip bench presses are potent triceps builders.

Want big arms? Remember that the triceps makes up 2/3 rds of your arm size.

Lagging traps? Try the combination of heavy dead lifts, power cleans, power shrugs, heavy behind the neck presses and heavy rows.

Don't discount full body workouts. Prior to the steroid era they built some amazing physiques. Even Arnold Schwarzenegger himself was weaned on full body routines

Heavy rows are the best rear builders.

Isolation exercises stalling and becoming hard to add weight without compromising form? Switch to a machine isolation exercise instead; one that allows a higher range of progression.

Perform your compound exercises first while you are fresh.

Training for failure is not necessary, and generally involves more risk than reward. Stop a set when you feel like you might fail on the next rep.

Don't train with poor form. If your exercise form starts to deteriorate during a set, stop the set.

Performing the bench press with your arms flared out at 90 degrees is one of the worst things you can do for your shoulders. Being your elbows in to about a 30-60 degree angle, give or take.

Don't bounce bench press reps off your chest. This is dangerous in many ways.

Don't curl in the squat rack. The squat rack is sacred, and for squatting.

When bench pressing make sure your elbows are directly over your wrists. With your arms at a 30-60 degree angle from your side, this will help you find a natural grip width.

Close grip bench presses are NOT performed with your hands 6 inches apart. This is a good way to injure your wrists. Tuck your elbows at your side, and make sure your wrists are over your elbows. This will help you find the proper width.

Eating 180 to 240 grams of protein per day isn't going to harm your kidneys. Eat your protein.

Eat a variety of protein foods...meat, chicken, fish, eggs, milk. Each protein source has a difference amino acid profile, so variety is a good thing.

Lifting weights will not stunt your growth.

Creatine is a quality choice and has been extensively researched. Try it for yourself.

Work big muscle groups before small muscle groups.

If you are using a split, separate your shoulder and chest days as much as possible. Both are "pressing" days and utilize the same muscle groups to different degrees.

Beginners...rest as much as you lift. For every lifting day you want a day off. Your body is responding to the intense demands of lifting and you need plenty of rest and food.

Stop calling yourself a hard gainer. Focus on getting your bench press to 300, squat to 400 and dead lift to 500. Once there, look in the mirror and see if you're still a "hard gainer."

Muscle building takes years, not weeks or months. Don't forget that.

If you really want to learn something interesting, ignore how a bodybuilder trains now, and find out how he trained the first 2 years when packing on mass.

Train most compound exercises between the 5-12 rep range. Heavy weight works best with moderate reps.

Train most isolation exercises between the 8 to 15 rep ranges. Lighter weight isolation lifts work best with a few extra reps.

Muscle soreness is not a be all, end all indicator of workout effectiveness.

Beginners...stop focusing on "the pump." A pump won't help if you're using wimpy weights.

Eat some protein 60-90 minutes prior to lifting, but don't train on a full stomach. Use whey protein if you have to.