Bodybuilding Newbie Workouts

Last Friday, me and my buddy went out to the gym for a workout and then we met some newbies doing professional routines. I noticed that they were doing 4 to 5 routines and already lifting too much weight for a starter. So what I did as an experienced bodybuilder, I thought them some instructions that will help them build muscles more effectively. I even assisted them on how to use the machines and telling them the exact weight they need to lift.

You should understand that newbies should do a simple but a very effective workout that will help them build muscles faster and safer. The most important thing to remember as a new bodybuilder is that you must always do the basics. There are times that newbies are using the routines of a professional bodybuilders and thinking that these will help them grow faster. But going into an advance and skipping the basic will only give you a risky training.

As a bodybuilder, I have learned that if you want to build good shaped muscles you need to know the basics of bodybuilding. Newbies need to understand that you cannot achieve anything without sacrificing and giving your full heart to it. So what are the basics of bodybuilding that all newbies must know?

1. Train one muscle group at a time
When beginning your workout, do not attempt to exercise all muscle groups in your body, you need to schedule if which muscle group that you need to workout each day. This will give you a balance muscle tone and a beautiful shaped body. You need to remember that every muscle group should be developed to avoid injury and imbalanced muscles.

2. Exercises
Beginners should stick with the basics for them to develop a foundation. Compound movement is the first exercise they need to do for a given body part.

3. Lifting weights
On your first workout session, you need to start with light weights that you can lift. When you already feel comfortable with it, that is the time that you will start adding more weights. Always keep tract of your training by making a record of your weights, reps and sets on your training log along with a list of your exercises.

4. Correct Form
Everytime you start any exercises on the gym, you must know the correct angle in lifting weights to prevent injuries and even accidents. Correct form allows you to perform the movement correctly and safer.

5. Rest between Sets
45-90 seconds is the normal range in taking rest between sets. Generally, you should rest until you feel recovered from your previous sets. If you want to focus on strenght, rest a little more longer but doing this you won't be able to lift as heavy and you'll be stressing your endurance.

6. Sets and Reps
A set is a combination of any number of reps on 1 exercise. A reps is a single execution of each exercise.

7. Frequency of training
For starters, train three times a week. You can do it on monday, wednesday and friday schedule. Your body needs rest for it to recover and enough nutrients for you to train that same m uscle group again.

8.Duration of training
Always remember that what matters is the quality of one's exercise measured by the intensity you make, not the amount of time you spend in the gym.

Organic Food for Bodybuilding

Organic food is still a booming trend and now high protein foods for bodybuilding is gobbling up the organic foods market. The main problem with the market now is that everything is just so expensive. It really costs more to maintain an organic farm I guess, farm animals are not injected with growth hormones that's why sometimes it takes twice the time for organic farm animals to grow to regular commercial size. The same goes with fruits and vegetables.

Benefits are a lot.

Naturally grown food gives you a bit more nutrients than food sprinkled with pesticides or injected with hormones. You won't have too much trouble thinking what chemicals are in your food. You won't worry if the genetically modified food you're eating will give you cancer. It will make you feel secure knowing you don't have to worry if you accidentally eat a lot of toxins in a day. 

Planning meals for organic food is a bit complicated though. The main constraint is the budget. Organic food is a lot more expensive than conventional food. It might be because of the scarcity of the food or there is too much demand and hype with organic food nowadays. Eventually, it will be very cheap but for now, we'll have to adjust.

If you want to really get fit, you'd exercise and try to live a healthy lifestyle by staying away from smoking, drinking too much alcohol and eating the right food this is the right path. Well, eating the right food just got a bit more complicated, one should eat the right organic food now.

Again, going organic is expensive and there are a few surefire ways to save. Here are some simple tips to follow when you decide to go organic.

1. Grow your own food. This is the cheapest way to save on organic food. Buy some seeds and plant your own in your backyard or in your front lawn. Don't worry about the neighbors, they'll appreciate what you do and soon your whole neighborhood will be planting crops. It's free exercise too!
2. Buy from farmer's markets. They don't have middlemen. Prices tend to go cheaper plus you can haggle for price cuts sometimes. Try to make friends with them or give them something for selling cheap food. Sellers have feelings too. Who knows, they might give you super huge discounts or even save what you need to buy in the future.
3. Buy in bulk. Since we are bodybuilders and there is a tendency for us to make a whole week's meal plan. Try to incorporate the same ingredients for a week but on different recipes. It's ok to eat the same meal though. It doesn't hurt to eat something twice in a week doesn't it? It saves time for other things too.
4. It's okay if you can afford everything. Buy only organic food you can afford. Save money for emergency purposes. Continuously eating non-organic food won't kill you immediately. Don't use all of you money for the sole purpose of bodybuilding! Get a life buddy. A balanced one that is.
5. Shop around. Look around. Ask people. Sometimes, it's just a matter of knowing where to buy. Do not stick to your old store for organic foods.
6. Don't be afraid to use coupons. Coupons always save money.
7. Don't go all out with organics immediately. Unless you're filthy rich you'll get overwhelmed with the price. Start with the food you eat the most. And then continue from there. The best once to start with are eggs, milk, banana, legumes and nuts.
   
   
   

So what do you do now? Prepare a meal plan. Preparing a meal plan is dependent on your nutritional needs. Do you need to gain weight? Do you need to lose some? You should consult your doctor or fitness coach on what's safe for your health. For most people who want to gain muscle weight, the ratio is 30% protein, 60% carbohydrates and 10% fat. For weight loss, it is 35% protein, 60% carbohydrates and 5% fat.

You can then consult other internet resources for meal plans and recipes. There are tons posted in other health websites, forums or you can find one from a magazine.

2011 Mr. Olympia Phil Heath?

I was hoping Jay Cutler would win this year's Mr. Olympia 20011 but the judges were correct in naming Phil Heath the winner of the contest. Phil Heath totally trounced the former champion Jay Cutler. I was rooting for Kai Greene too but then again, he's still needs improvement to trounce Jay Cutler and Phil Heath's awesome bodies.

Here's the results of this year's Mr. Olympia:


1. Phil Heath

2. Jay Cutler

3. Kai Greene

4. Victor Martinez

5. Dennis Wolf

6. Dexter Jackson

7. Toney Freeman

8. Brandon Curry

9. Ronny Rockel

10. Hidetada Yamagishi

Too bad for Kai Greene too, he focused on Mr. Olympia 2011 and ditched Mr. Universe. He already won Mr. Universe twice, maybe he wanted to finally win the highest title for all bodybuilders.

Dexter Jackson, the former Mr. Olympia didn't quite make it to the top 3. He's just top 6 now. What happened? He still looks good. But the Mr. Olympia judging seems to be focused on being bulkier than being just symmetrical nowadays. I personally think that that is too bad. People don't look nice anymore.

Mr. Olympia 2011 just finished but I'm very excited for next year's Mr. O! The rivalry between Phil Heath and Jay Cutler intensifies and the determined Kai Greene is just behind the two! Awww, I can't wait!

The Unsupportive Girlfriend of a Bodybuilder

My girlfriend and I just broke-up a few minutes ago. She got mad at me coz she went and logged-in my facebook account and saw a conversation with a cousin. She got jealous coz someone tried to flirt with me. I didn't even give-in to the girl. We've been together for the last three and a half years and still she has trust issues.

She doesn't even want me to workout coz she thinks it'll make me look better. She doesn't want me to look good. Damn it.


Every guy should have a supportive girlfriend.

Good riddance. 

London Riots

Went to work yesterday and I can't believe on what I saw in the news. I got startled by the violence of riots in London. It's scary there and when I went away today to go to work, the people there are still burning and looting stuff.

It's sad that some people are just doing it for fad. That's too sick. They could just do something good instead, even if they're just showing off. I think that's a better idea.

I wish there could be real life sentai or muscle police that could bully these people. 

Superheroes will be able to stop 'em.

My favorite Japanase Sentai show when I was a kid was Bioman and my American favorite is the original Power Rangers.

I always thought they wore cool costumes.

Now I think it's weird but I still miss watching these series!

But of course the more realistic solution is beating em rioters by the muscle men like us!

Muscle Police for the win!

But then again, I still prefer sentai.

I never imagined this situation happening in London anyway. Maybe, just maybe, sentai forces will exist in the future.

That I can imagine.

For now, I hope the police and the people of London would be able to fix it.

Recovering from Slump

My Grandpa died July 18th, 2011. I was totally devastated coz I live in my grandpa's house. I've always been a Grandpa's kid too. My dad left us when I was still a baby. I'm 100% sure that I'd turn gay if I didn't have my grandpa as a father figure.

I've never really lost a loved one at home so I'm still trying to adjust from it.

I haven't done any working out at all and I really should be doing something now. I try to do some heavy housework to compensate for lack of exercise. I simply couldn't concentrate right now. I'm getting better though and whenever I visit grandpa's grave, I feel better.

I think I can start working out again tomorrow.


We have a swimming party on Friday, I should look good. ^_^

On the other side, grandpa died at age 89. When he was in the ICU and I was holding his arms, his muscles where really hard. Grandpa always had an active lifestyle. He kept climbing our guava tree taking 'em and gave all our neighbors bags full of the fruit. He went out everyday with his bike and went home with something to thinker. He was a carpenter anyway.

Shame on me for being so inactive. I should adapt his lifestyle.

To my grandpa...




May you rest in peace.

A New Beginning

A couple of days I go I watched the movie "Diaries of a Wimpy Kid." I like the movie because it reminds me of myself years ago. I was totally unpopular among the girls and a simple smile from a crush was all it took for me to be happy. I never had the opportunity to talk to girls because I was afraid no one would even reply. I mean, who would even notice a wimpy kid like me. 

I blame my wimpiness from being so skinny. Any guy could bully me. I went to a public high school where every other person should be tough... Including girls. Bullies were everywhere. The first targets of bullies are always the skinny ones. Bullies thought twice when facing fat kids. Fat kids, when provoked, fight back and they do pack a punch. Skinny kids, punch weaker than girls. 

So yes. I can't blame bullies for choosing us weak kids.

My world changed when I saw this girl see. She wasn't the prettiest girl in school. I wasn't stupid enough to make a move on the prettiest. People would've clobbered me if I did that. People will clobber me even if they just had the slightest hint that I liked it. 

I wanted to get laid too. So all it did was a push of my manly hormones and there it was. I started working out. I kept joining other guys working out. If someone did 100 pushups in school, I'd try to go for 110. I did say “try” right? Coz I only managed to 90 reps. My point is, I strived. I did my best to become a better person. I hated being pushed. I hated being a wimp. I hated myself and I loved what I could become.

That was the start of my journey and The Muscle Diary will be my guide.

My journey to fitness.