When many people hear the term “bodybuilding,” they imagine huge men with magnificent muscles. Indeed, long-term participation in this sport helps to increase muscle mass. But first of all, such physical exercises are aimed at improving health, and only then at the beauty of the body. Bodybuilders, like any other athletes, often feel the need to lose extra pounds. Most often, “drying” the body begins before important competitions, when every gram of fat can spoil the standard indicators.
The right diet for a bodybuilder
First, you need to figure out what you need to eat to grow muscles and “burn” unsightly deposits on your stomach and sides. The diet of athletes involved in strength sports often consists of a large amount of protein foods. After all, this element is the foundation of muscle building.
It is believed that to obtain visible results, a bodybuilder must consume at least 2 grams of protein daily. Moreover, it is better that it be of animal rather than plant origin. It is recommended to fill the menu with lean meat, seafood, eggs and dairy products.
We must not forget about elements such as fiber and carbohydrates. Without these substances, the body simply will not have the strength to perform a quality workout. The main thing is to exclude “fast” food from your diet. Fast food, semi-finished products, canned food will provoke the body to deposit extra pounds, and not to build muscle mass.
Fruits, vegetables and other natural components of the menu help the gastrointestinal tract cope with any food and contribute to normal bowel movements. The best solution for a bodybuilder is grapes, apples, bananas, persimmons and walnuts.
Nutrition in bodybuilding for weight loss
Often, inexperienced athletes exaggerate the dosage of energy cocktails or lean too heavily on protein foods. In this case, the body simply does not have time to “melt” the incoming calories into sculpted muscles. To prevent this from happening, you need to follow simple rules.
- six meals a day (you need to eat every 3-4 hours in small portions);
- a hearty breakfast consisting of slow carbohydrates (buckwheat, semolina porridge, boiled eggs);
- a mandatory snack 2-3 hours before training (without energy, the body has nowhere to get “building material” for muscle tissue);
- drink plenty of fluids (it is advisable to drink mineral water without gas, or with the addition of a small amount of amino acids);
- After playing sports, you need to eat fast carbohydrates (a small amount of flour).
Simple ways to dry out your body
It is important to understand that “burning” all subcutaneous fat is a rather dangerous activity for health. Such procedures are necessary only for professional athletes before traveling to shows or competitions.
The most popular method among bodybuilders is the aerobic complex. It is necessary to give up strength training for a while and do cardio training, while reducing your diet by at least a third. The best option for proper “drying” is running and swimming.
When organizing nutrition in bodybuilding for weight loss, you need to understand that athletes are people too. Therefore, the principle of losing excess weight is approximately the same for everyone. The main difference is maintaining a delicate balance between controlling muscle mass and losing excess fat ballast.
There's no need to rush. If you lose more than two kilograms in one week, then this is a bad result. Such numbers mean a loss in muscle volume. Optimal indicators are 1-1.5 kg in 7-10 days.
Sample menu for the day when fighting subcutaneous fat:
- breakfast - 200-300 grams of boiled rice and buckwheat porridge;
- snack - vegetable salad;
- lunch - chicken breast or a small piece of beef with two or three tablespoons of rolled oats with milk;
- afternoon snack - kefir, low-fat yogurt;
- dinner - chicken broth, boiled beans, nuts.
Such a diet will allow you to maintain the results of your training and reduce body weight to the required values. The main thing is to remember that no victories in sports can replace health. Therefore, you should not put the beauty of the body at the forefront. Everything should be in moderation.
I am glad to welcome you, my dear readers! Lately, I have increasingly begun to listen to the letters and requests that I receive by email from you. So, the bulk of the “questions” are related to the coverage of various “pumping” issues, recommendations on sports nutrition, compilation, and just general bodybuilding advice. I understand perfectly well that when a person begins to deal with the issues of building his own body, tons of various contradictory information are poured out on him, and the brain simply becomes overloaded. This condition is especially relevant for beginners. What to do?
Well, as an option, I decided to generate something like a cheat sheet, which you can look at and find answers to the most frequently asked questions. This almanac (a series of tips) will help you systematize and “settle down” all the mess that may periodically arise in your head. Here we go.
Usually, if a person does not know something, then he either fills the knowledge gap himself (on his own) or asks for help from more experienced colleagues. We will try to “hook” both sides of the coin, i.e. We’ll get advice on bodybuilding from great bodybuilders, and we’ll systematize our existing knowledge ourselves.
So, let's start with the second one, i.e. We will organize all our accumulated information baggage into specific points.
Tip #1. Don't chase a ghostly target
Very often, after reading various “motivations” and watching “tearful” films about professional bodybuilders, a person is filled with enthusiasm to achieve similar muscle volumes, and as a result - fame, popularity and other miscellaneous things. However, after some time, he realizes that his results are very modest, and he definitely does not reach Schwarzenegger. The whole point here is that professional bodybuilders are literally “saturated” with various . Therefore, you should not create illusions and chase inhuman volumes; you can pump up muscles, but only within the limits of reasonable natural sizes.
Conclusion: set local goals (increase the volume of the biceps to... etc.) and record your result.
Tip #2. Working with free weights
First 1-1,5 year, forget about isolation exercises and various exercises. Your exercise arsenal should primarily consist of free weights. Also, work with dumbbells, weights, and equipment that uses your own body weight (push-ups, pull-ups, lunges, triceps between two benches, etc.).
Don't stick to the same program for more than six months. Try to change the type of exercise, intensity of exercise, angles of impact on the muscles once every 3-4 month. Don't get stuck on just one workout program. Proceed according to the principle: made a program - tested it - evaluated/recorded the result - made appropriate adjustments.
Tip #3. Progression of loads
The more weight your muscles lift, the larger they are. However, do not forget about the amount of muscle work (i.e. total tonnage lifted during training). Therefore, increase the weight of the apparatus only when you feel that this will not affect the total weight lifted during the workout.
Tip #4. Principle of priority
If you have a serious imbalance in your muscles, then first of all you need to pay attention to the lagging muscle group. Start your training by pumping up the problem group and only then move on to the main program. The muscles that most often require close attention are the posterior deltoids, calves and forearm.
Tip #5. Diet
Surely, after you started going to the gym and doing bodybuilding or fitness, you saw the results of your transformation in the mirror. To enhance this effect, adjust your diet instead 3 -x times (or when it happens) make it a rule to eat 4-5 once, every 3 hours. Keep your calories: for men 3000-3500 kcal, women – 2000-2500 kcal Keep a hamster diary :) with notes about what you need to “crack” during the day. Remember: the main building block of muscles is protein, pay close attention to its quantity and quality.
Read more about nutrition in the articles: , , .
Tip #6. Frequency of classes and rest
You shouldn't "donkey" in the hall 7 days a week 3-4 hours. Quite enough (at the initial stage) 3 workouts per week (every other day) 50-70 minutes. Remember, muscles do not grow while working in the gym, but after physical activity. Keep track of the amount of time you spend in the kingdom of morphea, it should be at least 7 hours.
Tip #7. Mental concentration
It would seem that this has nothing to do with it. The whole point is that man is homosapiens, i.e. a thinking creature, sometimes even too thinking and overthinking. Our brain itself completes pictures, images and sends certain nerve impulses throughout the body, including to the muscles. Therefore, if a person initially put a program into himself, what will he extract? 100 kg per 1 once, then he will do so. If he saw that the person in front of him did not take this weight, then most likely he would suffer the same fate.
Conclusion: always concentrate before the approach and put positive attitudes in yourself. Use the method of creative visualization, i.e. mentally scroll through the positive (you need) result and project it onto reality.
These will help you in pumping up the required muscle volumes, in addition, they will “take the most frequently asked questions off your tongue.” In turn, to become the next Mr. Olympia, you need something more vigorous than advice for mere mortals :), so we meet invaluable recommendations from bodybuilders of all times and peoples.
It's no secret that any person (especially if this is a beginner athlete) More than anything else, he loves to give advice: how to do an exercise correctly, how many approaches and repetitions to perform, and other miscellaneous things. There are simply a dime a dozen of such unsolicited advisers in the halls.
It seems like they’ve only been going for three months, but they’re already getting into “someone else’s monastery with its own rules.” I in no way condemn this behavior, I am simply stating the facts. All this arises for a reason, but from an ardent desire to help a fellow worker, to set him on the right path, so that he does not make banal mistakes and does not step on the same rake. In addition, leadership (instruction) is a generic trait of almost all representatives of the stronger sex, and there is no escape from it. Therefore, if you come across such an adviser (or you already are one yourself) – calm down, this is not your jamb :)), just listen calmly and let the person speak, because he does it based on the best intentions.
Bodybuilding tips from Arnold Schwarzenegger:
- “The race for great mass begins with training for great strength”;
- “Strengthen your body with strength training”;
- “Wait with bodybuilding, powerlifting is what will help you create a strong muscle foundation”;
- “The squat, bench press and deadlift are the alpha and omega of strength training.”
Conclusion: Most beginners do not have enough power to perform the most effective (mass-building) reps. 8-12 . Their pride pushes them to increase working weights to the detriment of the number of repetitions, as a result of which their number drops to the mark 6-8 . Working in this mode does not really increase either mass or strength.
The best natural DIY recipe:
- 200 ml milk, 4 chicken eggs, 100 ml curdled milk, honey;
- 2 glasses of orange juice, 3 egg yolks, 80 ml curdled milk, honey;
- half a liter of milk, 1/2 cups of proteins, 1 banana, vanilla ice cream, yogurt.
When performing a bench press, try not to fully straighten your arms at the top point. At full amplitude, the triceps and shoulders are included in the work, thus removing the load from the target muscle - the pectorals.
Lee Priest
Arms grow best from basic exercises, so if you want to achieve impressive volumes, then do: for biceps - standing biceps curl, for triceps - French bench press. Train these two muscle groups in one workout.
Tom Platz
Perform all movements in the exercises slowly and under control. Negative repetitions are what make big legs grow. Squats with a barbell on your shoulders are the best exercise for working your thighs.
Ronnie Coleman
Raising the weight of the projectile (positive phase) should be “explosive” in nature. Squeeze the projectile as if you were a spring being charged. The best exercises for comprehensive development of the back muscles are: bent-over barbell/dumbbell rows, T-bar rows, deadlifts.
Dexter Jackson
To get a good feel for your shoulders, perform the dumbbell swing exercise while sitting on an incline bench. My favorite abdominal exercise is... 20-25 repetitions.
Gunther Schlierkamp
The most lagging area of the pectoral muscles of most bodybuilders is its upper region. Therefore, it is best to start chest training with incline barbell presses. It is heavy bench presses that are the basis for building a massive chest. In addition to the classic execution of the bench press, resort to using it, alternating it with a barbell/dumbbells. Find exactly the exercise (and equipment) that will effectively increase the muscle volume of the pectoral muscles.
Fouad Abiad
“Pyramid” () leg press – this is the exercise that can “explode” your legs. With each approach, gradually increase the working weight, and so on until failure. This is also a great way to overcome stagnation in the growth of this muscle group, however, you should not abuse this exercise and perform it more often 2-3 once a month.
Nick Neilson
You can plan your workouts wisely, knowing the prevailing one. To do this, you need to perform the following test (from 2 steps) :
- Do an isolation exercise (barbell curl on a Scott bench) and find your rep max;
- Set the weight on the projectile to 80% (for example) from your one-time maximum, perform and count the number of “clean” repetitions (without assistance or violation of technology).
Test results:
- Fast twitch (white) fibers predominate – we were able to complete 4-7 repetitions;
- Intermediate fiber type – 10-12 repetitions;
- Slow twitch (red) fibers – 15 and more repetitions.
Argus
It is usually customary to train 3 once a week and on average rest between workouts 1-2 day. Many work this way (training frequency) disrupt the supercompensation cycle of muscle fibers, i.e. By going to the gym, we stop the natural process of muscle growth, and it starts only after recovery. My personal break from classes is 3-4 day, I advise you to try it too.
Here is a muscle group training program that will suit most beginners:
Mohamed Ali
Any training program will “explode” your muscles if you learn to recover properly and give your body enough time to replenish lost reserves. Try any of the proposed schemes for organizing the training process and choose the most suitable one for you:
- 1+1 (workouts every other day: Monday – training, Tuesday – rest, etc.);
- 3+1 (3 consecutive days of training, 1 - rest);
- 4+1 (4 training day, 1 - rest);
- 5+2 (5 days of training, 2 consecutive days of rest).
Unknown Mr. X
To increase your strength, try strengthening the accessory muscles involved in the movement. Let's say you have stagnation in the bench press, which means you need to strengthen the “pressure” by increasing the strength of the triceps. The results in squats do not improve, then work the long back muscles. This theory is suitable for any type of exercise.
Well, that’s all for today, the goals have been achieved, bodybuilding tips have been distributed, this means that everyone is happy :).
Afterword
Today in the article “tips on bodybuilding” I tried to combine and answer all the pressing questions of beginners in terms of organizing the training process, diet, etc. Of course, there are still many questions left unanswered, and we will raise them more than once in the future, but this is a completely different story.
Thank you for investing this time in yourself, well done, keep it up!
PS. Let's help as many suffering beginners as possible with these tips - click on the special buttons and share, share, share!
With respect and gratitude, Dmitry Protasov.
Diets are very diverse and there are countless of them. The thing is that they are aimed at different goals and, depending on these goals, the diet, methods and possibilities differ.
Such different diets
First, you need to consider the health status of the person losing weight. Losing or gaining body weight is stressful for the body and it is unlikely that anyone will succeed without causing harm to the body, just as a doctor will not be able to help a patient without performing an operation.
Not all people who go on diets want to look thinner. There are diets that are designed to gain a certain body weight. In general, the word diet is a shorthand designation for a certain diet, based on the goal.
Depending on the purpose, diets can be divided into several types:
· To improve health indicators (therapeutic diets); · Necessary for maintaining vital organs (diet style that must be followed based on medical indicators); · Aimed at weight loss (at the personal request of the person losing weight); · Directed weight gain diet(either by personal request or as part of a sporting competition); · Directed diet for gaining muscle mass.
Bodybuilder Diet relates rather to the last point, since this sport implies a certain gain in body weight, but far from the same direction as sumo. Muscle mass is extremely important for bodybuilders. As the name suggests, bodybuilders build their bodies themselves. We can agree that construction is often helped by medications and multivitamins, but in most cases it is still diet and exercise.
Diet for muscle mass: water
The basis of a bodybuilder's diet is the consumption of high-calorie and protein foods. It should not be confused with a regular diet aimed at reducing protein or carbohydrates. Everything is different here. Fruits and vegetables should be included in the daily diet, but make up only 30% of the entire menu, and then this is the maximum. Meals are divided into 5-6 meals so that the blood constantly receives nutrients and does not regard their intake as fat, since if with such a diet fat deposits begin, it is not possible to get rid of them, and under conditions of high-calorie nutrition it is not possible. You should completely forget about fast carbohydrates, not because flour, sweets and rich foods are not allowed, but because you should avoid consuming them before training. But after a workout, and a fairly intense one, you can eat a couple of gingerbread cookies, since a heated body is able to quickly process these carbohydrates; in addition, the secretion of the anabolic hormone insulin increases, which is of no small importance when gaining muscle mass.
How much and how to drink water?
Drinking regime becomes important here. If in other diets the volume of drinks per day should be about 2 liters, then with this diet you need to make sure that the body does not feel thirsty, otherwise it will begin to take water from the muscles, creating a deflated effect. You should always drink when thirst occurs, and the amount you drink per day should not be less than 3 liters of liquid.
The volume of what you drink, as well as the volume of what you eat, should also be clearly delineated between before 16.00 and after. The fact is that until 16.00 the body is more intensively able to process and absorb nutrients. So before 16.00 it is advisable to eat up to 70% of your daily diet. It should be noted that it is also important when exactly you start training. 2 hours before training you need to eat, and without the participation of simple carbohydrates. After training, you can take protein shakes 30-35 minutes later, but it is better to postpone a full meal until the next hour, or even two. As a reward for such deprivations, you can treat yourself to something tasty and sweet, but again everything must be coordinated and balanced.
Plateau stage
Another problem is when body weight stays the same, despite all the operations performed. The growth of lean body mass begins only from those moments when the energy consumption becomes lower than its income. That is, the body must receive energy in much larger volumes than it spends. To do this, you need to analyze how many points you have already increased the calorie content of your diet, and whether there are any changes. If everything has moved forward, then we can be happy for you, but there are cases when increasing protein consumption by 20-30 and 50% did not produce any results. This means that this increase in calories is not suitable for you personally and you need to raise the bar. Sometimes it comes to the point that the calorie content of dishes increases to 100%, and only after that the weight begins to shift from the plateau.
Such harmful healthy calories
But even here you need to act without fanaticism. You need to start adding calories slowly so as not to create unnecessary stress on the body and not overload it. If you do not follow this rule, you can cause irreparable harm to metabolic processes and metabolic processes. This mechanism is so complex that you need to “play” with proteins and carbohydrates professionally and preparedly in order to achieve good results.
The most common question is what fats can be consumed when dieting for muscles, so as not to gain “empty” kilograms and so that the muscles get everything they need to grow. One of the best ways to get everything you need is to eat seafood. The fats contained in them will give an effect immediately after introducing them into the diet.
Naturally, to achieve the best results, a simple diet is not enough, and bodybuilders add steroids to everything else. But when taking these drugs, you need to be attentive to yourself and the body’s reaction to all this action.
All kinds of protein, oxygen and protein cocktails are also a very good help in building muscles. Vitamins and minerals are a separate item. The fact is that a vitamin-mineral complex must necessarily accompany this diet, since the bodybuilder’s body does not receive enough of these same vitamins due to the fact that the intestines simply do not reach the point of breaking down greens and fruits in the way that should be done ideally.
The world is gripped by an obesity pandemic. There are more and more fat people around. Bodybuilding gives everyone a chance to become a lucky exception!
If you regularly read our magazine, you already know that over the past 50 years, the level of testosterone in the average male body has fallen by half. The unisex style owes its birth to this phenomenon. From now on, there is so little muscle on the body of young men that they are quite comfortable with clothes tailored for thin women. The most “fashionable” men's size has become 46, and this is not the limit! Marketers predict the birth of a fundamentally new size, when clothes with the tag “44” will no longer be tried on by short people, but by fully grown guys under 180 cm!
And yet the obvious muscle deficiency is not the biggest disaster. After all, testosterone not only builds muscle, but also prevents the accumulation of excess fat. The current widespread shortage of the main sex hormone has resulted in an equally widespread epidemic of obesity. However, if an asthenic build is just an annoying external defect, then excess body fat is truly terrible, since it destroys health.
The connection between excess fat and dangerous diseases has been reliably established by science. At one time, the same relationship was identified for smoking, which led to its complete ban in public places in the USA and European countries. However, as you understand, you won’t be able to fight obesity with prohibitions. This makes the problem even more pressing as the obesity “epidemic” grows and already threatens to have economic consequences.
Fat people get sick more often. According to American statistics, the treatment of diseases associated with obesity annually costs the state treasury an additional $100 billion, which is a considerable 9% of current US health care spending. At the same time, direct losses in the production sector due to missed work days, starting in 2005, amount to more than $4 billion annually. American airlines, forced by growing competition to reduce air ticket prices, are faced with a paradoxical problem - flights are costing them more and more, since planes crowded with overweight passengers are becoming noticeably heavier. As a result, engines have to waste more fuel. Just last year, US airlines spent an “extra” 1 million tons of aviation fuel to transport fat people.
At one time, physical inactivity was declared the main cause of excess weight. It is common knowledge that nature designed man as a muscular machine that, in the image of his primate ancestors, will spend all day on his feet. But it was not there! With the beginning of the computer era, humanity's lifestyle has finally become sedentary.
According to ubiquitous statistics, modern people spend up to 12-14 hours a day in a sitting position. This position contradicts the physiology of blood circulation. Under the influence of gravity, blood passively flows into the abdominal area, accumulates there in excess and forms the typical appearance of an office worker with a shapeless bloated waist, dystrophic lower limbs and buttocks resembling a flat tire.
However, if sport is suitable for combating physical inactivity, it is not enough for combating obesity. Science now believes that lack of physical movement is not the entire cause of the global obesity pandemic. Fundamentally new negative factors came into play.
You, our readers, should know about all this. Otherwise, you will fall victim to the same false illusion that brought millions of new fitness enthusiasts into fitness in the mid-70s. They believed that physical movement alone would be enough to lose weight. How many disappointments there were!
Nature has made the food we consume a living “bridge” between our body and the external environment. For all living beings on the planet, nutrition acts as a carrier of signals about seasonal changes in nature, which must be accompanied by mandatory hormonal changes. Who could imagine that one day a person would stop using the natural gifts of nature and begin to make his own food! Moreover, not knowing any other laws, he will begin to be guided by the simple pleasure that fatty and sweet foods bring!
Thus, diet errors should be considered the fundamental cause of excess weight.
The secret is that primitive man consumed only those fats that were “packed” inside natural food. In particular, he could only get animal fat paired with protein. As a result, the body has developed a unique mechanism for the absorption of fats, when a fat drop is covered with a shell of protein molecules. Protein becomes a “pass” for fat into cellular mitochondria, which convert fats into energy. The cell membrane will never allow pure fats into the cell. They will continue to circulate aimlessly through the bloodstream until they settle somewhere in a secluded corner of the body. The worst thing is if fats stick to the inner surface of vital vessels and critically narrow their lumen. As you know, meat consumption is lowest in underdeveloped countries. This is where the highest mortality rate is from cardiovascular diseases caused by blockage of the most important arteries.
So, it is not the fats themselves that are dangerous, but the lack of protein in the diet. It is she who leads to completeness. However, the traditional diet contains too much fat and not enough protein. Compare, the share of animal fat in European cuisine reaches 40%! Moreover, the daily menu contains no more than 15-20% protein.
If you took up bodybuilding to lose excess weight, know that fanatical training will not help you. It is much more important to radically change your diet - consume more protein (up to 3 g per kilogram of body weight) and a minimum of fat. Strength training should be combined with a special high-protein diet, which has little in common with the usual diet of millions.
You can still take a break from training, but a bodybuilder knows no rest from painstaking work in his own kitchen. This is what makes bodybuilding a very difficult lifestyle. However, the same difficulties guarantee a sensational result!
Scientific facts
An increase in body fat means an automatic decrease in testosterone levels in the blood due to its conversion into female estrogen
As the fat layer increases, the absorption of the hormone insulin by muscle cells deteriorates. This reduces the flow of sugar into the muscles and inhibits the formation of glycogen
Smoking and excess weight cause approximately the same harm to the body.
Reducing body fat can add 2 to 10 extra years to a person’s life. » About a third of overweight men suffer from erectile dysfunction (unstable and weak erections)
Those who are overweight often have headaches
The wider your waist, the worse your memory and lower your intelligence
Obesity increases the risk of sudden death from a blocked artery by a blood clot by 80%
At least 20% of children under the age of 12 suffer from obesity. After DO years, this figure rises to 70%.
Fat: some disadvantages
Prosperous economic periods in the history of post-war Europe have always been accompanied by an increase in obesity statistics. This is due to the fact that portions in cafes and restaurants were becoming excessively large.
At the expense of taxpayers, firefighters and ambulance services in the United States acquired especially durable stretchers for fat people. They can withstand a weight of 200 kg.
Fat people use more electricity and gas in their homes because they cook more food. Thus, they aggravate global warming.
At least half of European women wear size 50. In the early 70s, the most popular women's size was 46.
In the USA, fat people even travel short distances in cars. Not walking wastes an additional $3.5 billion in gasoline per year.
Bodybuilding and weight loss are closely related industries that complement each other. Losing weight through bodybuilding is a salvation for many people who have tried dozens of profitable moves from marketers.
Losing weight in bodybuilding is a natural process that requires:
- Knowledge about the training process. You will gain this knowledge as you read this section.
- Your work. You can increase your life efficiency with the help.
The basis of weight loss
Weight loss in bodybuilding is based on several basic principles, the understanding of which frees you from knowledge of many particulars:
- The principle of energy deficiency. To lose weight, your calorie expenditure must exceed your calorie intake. You can achieve this result using:
- Diets. Diet reductions. Example: the daily caloric intake for your body is 2500 units. You are currently consuming 2800-3000 calories daily, resulting in... To start losing weight, you need to create a deficit of 300-500 calories - reduce your intake to 2000-2200 units per day. Losing weight with one diet is associated with physical discomfort and a constant feeling of hunger.
- Training. Increased energy expenditure. In the same example, thanks to the combination, we increase energy expenditure to 3000-3300 units. Spending exceeds consumption, and a person begins to lose weight. This path involves the need to train a lot and often (in this example). If you consume approximately as much as you spend (your weight has been stable for the last 4-8 weeks), losing weight through exercise is the optimal method for shaping your figure.
- Training and nutrition correction. The optimal way to lose weight. We cut back our diet a little, almost imperceptibly, and start training. It looks like this: subtract 400 units from 2800 calories. We burn another 300 units on average through training. We reach the number “2000” at a norm (to maintain the current weight) of 2500 units. Due to this, we start the process of losing weight.
The main thing is to create an energy deficit. The good thing about training is that it speeds up your metabolism, which translates into an increase in your daily calorie intake. Conditionally: before the start of training, without taking into account the increase in energy costs and other factors, your metabolic rate showed a norm of 2500 calories per day. After 2 weeks of training – 2700 calories.
- The principle of load progression in. Training stress should constantly increase - this is the key to rapid weight loss and getting your body into optimal shape. At each (permissible - once every 2-4 workouts, depending on the body’s capabilities) training session, we increase the load. We add new exercises, weights, approaches and repetitions. Don’t be afraid: the severity of the training will not increase in your feelings. The body will gradually get used to each load taken. After six months, the sensations from squats with a 60 kg barbell will be equal to what you experience now when performing squats with 20 kg.
- Combination principle. Losing weight in bodybuilding is a combination of strength and aerobic exercise. We train different body systems, different muscle fibers and burn maximum calories for the fastest progress.
- The principle of gradualism. There is no need to guess about how to lose weight in a week, and then wonder why the lost kilograms came back so quickly. Losing weight in bodybuilding is a gradual but long-term weight loss for which you need to wait time. We all want quick results, but we don't want to realize that the 30 kilograms of fat that have been accumulated over 30 years will not leave you in a week or a month. Those men and women who rush into training without a system, without preparation, give up very quickly. The load must be increased gradually. Otherwise, there is an increase in the level of cortisol, a stress hormone, the influence of which drives the athlete into apathy, despondency and depression within 1 to 3 weeks. You need to approach training gradually in order to lose weight forever, and not just for 1 week.
- The pleasure principle. Training should be fun. Over time, when you begin to notice the results of your training, working on yourself will turn into one of the main pleasures in life. The point is the so-called reward system in the brain, which rewards a person for beneficial actions with pleasure hormones. In the first days of training, when the result is not yet noticeable, the body may perceive training as something harmful due to the destruction of its usual way of life. The process of getting used to training and starting to enjoy it significantly takes from 2 to 4 weeks. In order not to give up ahead of time, and to get not only a great figure, but also your favorite hobby, read the sections before starting training.
When and how much to train? Training stages
There are no exact recommendations regarding the frequency of training for weight loss. Approximately 3-4 workouts per week. This figure is not related to your individual characteristics. To understand how often you need to train, let’s divide the training process into 4 stages:
- Traumatization muscle fibers – training during which the body tissues being trained are injured. During training, muscles are destroyed, not grown! Cortisol levels increase, which needs to be reduced during the recovery process. Fans of everyday training should understand that their body does not have time to recover, and high levels of stress hormones lead to:
- The end of training after a few weeks. You simply won't have the energy to continue.
- The desire to reduce cortisol with food.
Hence the surprises in the style of “I exercise so much, but I’m not losing weight.”
- Recovery. Muscles, hormonal and nervous systems are restored. The water-salt balance is replenished, the violation of which threatens the bodybuilder with edema. Muscle pain is the main companion of the recovery phase. You can't train at this stage!
- Super compensation. The body is in shock from the new load. To overcome this shock and not get it again if a similar workout is repeated, a “reserve” of muscles is created and the tone of the nervous system increases. At this stage, you need to follow the principle of progression of loads and conduct training. This increases the efficiency of training in the gym to the maximum.
- Loss of super compensation. In the absence of training during the supercompensation phase, supercompensation is lost - muscles and other body systems return to their pre-training state.
You need to train only in the supercompensation phase!
Over time, you will learn to independently determine the best moment for training. For now, look out for the following “symptoms”:
- The muscle group you plan to train should not be sore. The athlete should not experience discomfort. At the same time, muscles that will not be trained in the upcoming workout may hurt. Muscle pain is a sign of the recovery phase.
- The thought of working out doesn't make you feel disgusted. Beginners often shock their psyche too much, which leads to nervous exhaustion and psychological fatigue. It is important not to confuse fatigue with laziness.
- The optimal training frequency for the average beginner is to work on a muscle group every 4-6 days. Focus on these dates when creating a weight loss program. Small muscles (biceps, triceps, deltoids, abs) can be trained more often.
Before you get acquainted with your first weight loss program, you need to understand: training in the gym is only 50% of success. No matter how hard you work in the gym, if after training you move to McDonald's for the next 5 hours and sweep away all the fast food on your way, there will be no weight loss.
Athletes who work on their figure in the gym do not have to strictly limit their diet. It all comes down to calories, the balance between spending and receiving energy.
To increase your weight loss rate and improve your health, use the following recommendations:
- Start counting calories. Find out your daily energy intake and, based on the figure obtained, adjust your diet. During the first week, do not make significant changes. Weigh yourself, then write down your daily caloric intake for 7 days in a row. After a week, add up the resulting numbers and divide the sum by 7. The result of the division is the average calorie content of your diet over the past week. Step on the scale. Weight has decreased by more than 2 kilograms - do not change anything in your diet. You can only make him healthier. Less than 2 kilograms, but more than 1 - subtract 200 calories from your current diet. Consume on average 200 fewer calories each day. Weight has decreased, but by less than 1 kilogram - subtract 350 calories. No weight loss - 450 calories. Increased by less than a kilogram - 550 calories. Increased by more than a kilogram - 650 calories. More than 2 kilograms - 750. More than 4 kilograms - 900. With a 95% probability, your weight will not increase after starting training. The exception is the case when, after training, a “bodybuilder” goes to eat fast food. Changing your caloric intake in this way is the best way to lose weight.
- Get rid of harmful, high-calorie foods. Eliminate only the most harmful things. Fast food, high-calorie sweets, fried foods, other high-calorie foods - start in that order. It is not necessary to give up everything at once, but one, the most harmful product, must be eliminated. Replace it with one healthy product. Continue making substitutions until you are comfortable with a healthy diet.
- Add low-calorie animal protein foods. Lean fish or meat is the best option. Chicken breast or pollock are healthy, low-calorie, and delicious sources of protein. Use seasonings to add flavor. An alternative to meat and fish is low-fat kefir or cottage cheese.
- Increase the amount of vegetables and fruits in your diet. They will be a complete replacement for junk food. Vegetables and fruits are a source of fiber, the consumption of which helps speed up metabolism and increase the rate of weight loss.
- Change the proportion B-J-U. The ratio of nutrients is important for the formation of the correct body structure. The correct B-F-U ratio is to get 25% of your calories from protein, 25% from fat, and 50% from carbohydrates. A deviation of plus or minus 5 percent for each of the nutrients is acceptable. Don't put yourself in a situation where your nutrient ratio looks like 15:50:35, which is how most people eat. A lot of unhealthy fats (mainly from fried foods, fast food), a lot of harmful carbohydrates and an almost complete absence of healthy proteins in the diet. This is bad “fuel”, which leads to poor health and the formation of a fat, flabby figure.
- Monitor your water-salt balance. Weigh yourself in the morning and evening. If weight fluctuations reach 2 kilograms during the day, you have edema. Edema is a consequence of a violation of the water-salt balance in the body. This is almost always due to insufficient consumption of clean water (not tea, not coffee, not juice) and high salt intake. Less often, the opposite situation occurs. When there is too much water and no salt. You need a balance that allows you to get rid of the puffy appearance and a few extra pounds.
- Use if you don't have enough time to cook protein dishes. The basis for losing weight is protein and amino acids, which supply the body with energy, preserve muscles and have a beneficial effect on the process of losing weight. Protein and amino acids can be obtained from regular foods. But if you don’t have enough time to cook, it’s advisable to use sports nutrition. Don't be afraid of unfamiliar words! Protein and amino acids are completely safe supplements. These are not steroids, which cause undoubted harm to the body.
- Losing weight in bodybuilding involves And. Use the principles of a healthy lifestyle and healthy eating if you want to speed up your progress. Changing your diet may cause discomfort for the first 2-3 weeks. Junk food triggers the release of the hormone dopamine, which makes your brain think about a tasty burger or juicy fried potatoes. In the first weeks of changing your diet, dopamine levels decrease. Then, the sensitivity of dopamine receptors decreases, and lower levels of dopamine are perceived as high. The need to consume junk food disappears. It is important to understand: it is not you who want to eat junk food, but your internal reward system, which is drawn to high-calorie foods due to an evolutionary error. Not long ago, consuming high-calorie foods equaled survival. Now there is no hunger, we live in an age of food abundance, but the reward system works according to old principles. The consequence is that instead of eating our quota, we consume a little more in case of hunger. This leads to obesity on a global scale.
- Don't give up healthy fats. Healthy fat intake should be 1 gram per kilogram of body weight. In girls, with low fat intake, work is disrupted. KD disappears, problems with women's health begin. Low-fat diets are also dangerous for men - problems with the hormonal system are expressed in decreased testosterone levels, decreased masculinity, energy and libido. Sources of healthy fats: fatty fish, eggs, meat, dairy products, nuts, seeds, oils (raw). Choose at least 2-3 sources of healthy fats and include them in your diet on a regular basis.
- Use the one day rule. This is a way to deceive the psyche, which is afraid to go in a new direction for a long time. Tell yourself: “Today I eat right, and tomorrow, come what may.” The next day, repeat the same. The psyche sees the immediate goal - to eat right today, and allocates resources for the implementation of this short-term task. With this mindset, it’s easier to lose weight than if you think that you’ll have to eat right for a week, a month, or your entire life.
Losing weight in bodybuilding.
There are many training programs floating around the Internet, the effectiveness of which tends to zero. Readers are offered static programs that help to lose a few kilograms, after which the rate of progress decreases.
We will use dynamic programs based on the principle of progression of loads:
Losing weight in bodybuilding. Week #1
Exercise | Approaches | Repetitions | ||
Chin Pull-Ups | 3 | 10 | 2 | 3 |
3 | 8 | 2 | 3 | |
Bent-over barbell row | 3 | 12 | 2 | 3 |
Standing barbell press | 3 | 8 | 1,5 | 3 |
Raising legs (knees) while hanging | 3 | 12 | 1,5 | 3 |
Plank | 3 | 30 seconds | 1 | 3 |
Jumping rope | 3 | 1 minute | 1 | — |
Exercise | Approaches | Repetitions | Rest minutes between sets | Rest minutes after exercise |
3 | 15 | 2 | 4 | |
Lunges with a barbell on the shoulders | 3 | 10 | 2 | 3 |
Standing biceps curl | 3 | 12 | 2 | 3 |
3 | 12 | 2 | 3 | |
Hanging Leg Raise | 3 | 10 | 2 | 3 |
Plank | 3 | 30 seconds | 1 | 3 |
Bike | 3 | 1 minute | 1 | — |
Losing weight in bodybuilding. Week #2
We increase the number of approaches and repetitions.
Weight loss workout 1. Back, chest, shoulders, abs
Exercise | Approaches | Repetitions | Rest minutes between sets | Rest minutes after exercise |
Chin Pull-Ups | 4 | 10 | 2 | 3 |
Bench press on a horizontal bench | 4 | 8 | 2 | 3 |
Bent-over barbell row | 4 | 12 | 2 | 3 |
Standing barbell press | 4 | 8 | 1,5 | 3 |
Raising legs (knees) while hanging | 4 | 12 | 1,5 | 3 |
Plank | 4 | 30 seconds | 1 | 3 |
Jumping rope | 4 | 1 minute | 1 | — |
Weight loss workout 2. Legs, arms, abs
Exercise | Approaches | Repetitions | Rest minutes between sets | Rest minutes after exercise |
Squats with a barbell on your shoulders | 4 | 15 | 2 | 4 |
Lunges with a barbell on the shoulders | 4 | 10 | 2 | 3 |
Standing biceps curl | 4 | 12 | 2 | 3 |
Standing dumbbell extension | 4 | 12 | 2 | 3 |
Hanging Leg Raise | 4 | 10 | 2 | 3 |
Plank | 4 | 30 seconds | 1 | 3 |
Bike | 4 | 1 minute | 1 | — |
Weight loss workout 3. Aerobic workout
Losing weight in bodybuilding. Week #3
We increase the number of repetitions.
Weight loss workout 1. Back, chest, shoulders, abs
Exercise | Approaches | Repetitions | Rest minutes between sets | Rest minutes after exercise |
Chin Pull-Ups | 4 | 12 | 2 | 3 |
Bench press on a horizontal bench | 4 | 10 | 2 | 3 |
Bent-over barbell row | 4 | 14 | 2 | 3 |
Standing barbell press | 4 | 10 | 1,5 | 3 |
Raising legs (knees) while hanging | 4 | 14 | 1,5 | 3 |
Plank | 4 | 45 seconds | 1 | 3 |
Jumping rope | 4 | 1.5 minutes | 1 | — |
Weight loss workout 2. Legs, arms, abs
Exercise | Approaches | Repetitions | Rest minutes between sets | Rest minutes after exercise |
Squats with a barbell on your shoulders | 4 | 18 | 2 | 4 |
Lunges with a barbell on the shoulders | 4 | 12 | 2 | 3 |
Standing biceps curl | 4 | 14 | 2 | 3 |
Standing dumbbell extension | 4 | 14 | 2 | 3 |
Hanging Leg Raise | 4 | 12 | 2 | 3 |
Plank | 4 | 45 seconds | 1 | 3 |
Bike | 4 | 1.5 minutes | 1 | — |
Weight loss workout 3. Aerobic workout
Losing weight in bodybuilding. Week #4
We reduce rest.
Weight loss workout 1. Back, chest, shoulders, abs
Exercise | Approaches | Repetitions | Rest minutes between sets | Rest minutes after exercise |
Chin Pull-Ups | 4 | 12 | 1,5 | 3 |
Bench press on a horizontal bench | 4 | 10 | 1,5 | 3 |
Bent-over barbell row | 4 | 14 | 1,5 | 3 |
Standing barbell press | 4 | 10 | 1 | 3 |
Raising legs (knees) while hanging | 4 | 14 | 1 | 3 |
Plank | 4 | 45 seconds | 45 seconds | 3 |
Jumping rope | 4 | 1.5 minutes | 45 seconds | — |
Weight loss workout 2. Legs, arms, abs
Exercise | Approaches | Repetitions | Rest minutes between sets | Rest minutes after exercise |
Squats with a barbell on your shoulders | 4 | 18 | 1,5 | 4 |
Lunges with a barbell on the shoulders | 4 | 12 | 1,5 | 3 |
Standing biceps curl | 4 | 14 | 1,5 | 3 |
Standing dumbbell extension | 4 | 14 | 1,5 | 3 |
Hanging Leg Raise | 4 | 12 | 1,5 | 3 |
Plank | 4 | 45 seconds | 45 seconds | 3 |
Bike | 4 | 1.5 minutes | 45 seconds | — |
Weight loss workout 3. Aerobic workout
Losing weight in bodybuilding. Week #5
We add approaches again.
Weight loss workout 1. Back, chest, shoulders, abs
Exercise | Approaches | Repetitions | Rest minutes between sets | Rest minutes after exercise |
Chin Pull-Ups | 5 | 12 | 1,5 | 3 |
Bench press on a horizontal bench | 5 | 10 | 1,5 | 3 |
Bent-over barbell row | 5 | 14 | 1,5 | 3 |
Standing barbell press | 5 | 10 | 1 | 3 |
Raising legs (knees) while hanging | 5 | 14 | 1 | 3 |
Plank | 5 | 45 seconds | 45 seconds | 3 |
Jumping rope | 5 | 1.5 minutes | 45 seconds | — |
Weight loss workout 2. Legs, arms, abs
Exercise | Approaches | Repetitions | Rest minutes between sets | Rest minutes after exercise |
Squats with a barbell on your shoulders | 5 | 18 | 1,5 | 4 |
Lunges with a barbell on the shoulders | 5 | 12 | 1,5 | 3 |
Standing biceps curl | 5 | 14 | 1,5 | 3 |
Standing dumbbell extension | 5 | 14 | 1,5 | 3 |
Hanging Leg Raise | 5 | 12 | 1,5 | 3 |
Plank | 5 | 45 seconds | 45 seconds | 3 |
Bike | 5 | 1.5 minutes | 45 seconds | — |
Weight loss workout 3. Aerobic workout
Losing weight in bodybuilding. Week #6
We increase the number of repetitions again.
Weight loss workout 1. Back, chest, shoulders, abs
Exercise | Approaches | Repetitions | Rest minutes between sets | Rest minutes after exercise |
Chin Pull-Ups | 5 | 14 | 1,5 | 3 |
Bench press on a horizontal bench | 5 | 12 | 1,5 | 3 |
Bent-over barbell row | 5 | 16 | 1,5 | 3 |
Standing barbell press | 5 | 12 | 1 | 3 |
Raising legs (knees) while hanging | 5 | 16 | 1 | 3 |
Plank | 5 | 1 minute | 45 seconds | 3 |
Jumping rope | 5 | 2 minutes | 45 seconds | — |
Weight loss workout 2. Legs, arms, abs
Exercise | Approaches | Repetitions | Rest minutes between sets | Rest minutes after exercise |
Squats with a barbell on your shoulders | 5 | 20 | 1,5 | 4 |
Lunges with a barbell on the shoulders | 5 | 14 | 1,5 | 3 |
Standing biceps curl | 5 | 16 | 1,5 | 3 |
Standing dumbbell extension | 5 | 16 | 1,5 | 3 |
Hanging Leg Raise | 5 | 14 | 1,5 | 3 |
Plank | 5 | 1 minute | 45 seconds | 3 |
Bike | 5 | 2 minutes | 45 seconds | — |
Weight loss workout 3. Aerobic workout
Losing weight in bodybuilding. Week #7
Once again we shorten the rest.
Weight loss workout 1. Back, chest, shoulders, abs
Exercise | Approaches | Repetitions | Rest minutes between sets | Rest minutes after exercise |
Chin Pull-Ups | 5 | 14 | 1,5 | 2 |
Bench press on a horizontal bench | 5 | 12 | 1,5 | 2 |
Bent-over barbell row | 5 | 16 | 1,5 | 2 |
Standing barbell press | 5 | 12 | 1 | 2 |
Raising legs (knees) while hanging | 5 | 16 | 1 | 2 |
Plank | 5 | 1 minute | 45 seconds | 2 |
Jumping rope | 5 | 2 minutes | 45 seconds | — |
Weight loss workout 2. Legs, arms, abs
Exercise | Approaches | Repetitions | Rest minutes between sets | Rest minutes after exercise |
Squats with a barbell on your shoulders | 5 | 20 | 1,5 | 3 |
Lunges with a barbell on the shoulders | 5 | 14 | 1,5 | 2 |
Standing biceps curl | 5 | 16 | 1,5 | 2 |
Standing dumbbell extension | 5 | 16 | 1,5 | 2 |
Hanging Leg Raise | 5 | 14 | 1,5 | 2 |
Plank | 5 | 1 minute | 45 seconds | 2 |
Bike | 5 | 2 minutes | 45 seconds | — |
Weight loss workout 3. Aerobic workout