Bodybuilding For Beginners: Tips For Faster Results

10 Bodybuilding Tips For Beginners

Here are ten bodybuilding tips for beginners.

1. Set Realistic Goals

Having a proper plan before starting is crucial for a new bodybuilder. Training hard will get you far, but training smart will get you further. You need to decide what you want to achieve, and when you want to achieve it.

Be realistic. This is beginner bodybuilding. If you’re expecting to go from couch potato to Schwarzenegger in three weeks, you’re going to be disappointed.

2. Track Progress

How can you determine if you are on target if you have no idea where you started from and where you are now?

Take a pre-program photo, weigh yourself, and record chest, arm, leg, waist, and abdominal measurements by using tailor’s tape. Take weekly measurements to track progress.

Think about it: As you measure your muscle mass and see that you’re making incremental changes each month, this is going to fuel your motivation to keep going. It’ll also help you increase your drive and intensity during workouts.

3. Count Calories

While tracking progress, you should also track your calories. Depending on where you are starting from, you are either going to need to concentrate on building mass or burning fat.

Either of these will require you to know how many calories you are consuming so that you can create a caloric deficit (burning more than you consume) or a caloric surplus (eating more than you burn).

4. Keep Protein High

The bodybuilding diet for beginners should revolve around protein. Studies on natural bodybuilding have shown that a protein intake of between 2.3 grams and 3.1 grams of protein per kilogram of lean mass (your body weight minus your body fat) is ideal.

Protein contains the literal building blocks of muscle tissue. Not only is it imperative for proper recovery and avoiding overtraining, but it’ll also ensure you can achieve the muscle mass you want.

Healthy fats and complex carbohydrates are also important but when it comes to building mass, keeping your protein intake high should be prioritized.

5. Choose ONE Training Program And Stick To It

Hopping between different programs too often can sacrifice those results you want.

For bodybuilding newbies, it’s more important to find a comprehensive beginner bodybuilding program and follow it for at least 12 weeks (ideally more) than to always be looking for the next “best” exercise or one week program.

As a new bodybuilder, you’ll see good results from most bodybuilding programs for beginners. Focus on compound movements or those exercises that target the greatest number of muscle groups in one sitting such as squats and deadlifts.

Here’s a full-body workout program that you can do three times a week to start:

• Barbell Back Squats: 3 sets of 8 to 12 repetitions
• Rows: 3 sets of 8 to 12 repetitions
• Romanian Deadlifts: 3 sets of 8 to 12 repetitions
• Bench Press: 3 sets of 8 to 12 repetitions
• Mountain Climbers: 3 sets of 30 repetitions
• Burpees: 1 set to failure (do as many as you can)

6. Rest Properly Between Sets

Finding the ideal amount of time to rest between sets can seem daunting, but there is a general rule of thumb, depending on the type of workout you’re doing:

If you are training for hypertrophy (muscle growth), you’ll want to rest for 60 to 90 seconds between sets.

If you are looking to build strength, you’ll want to rest for two to three minutes between sets.

7. Focus On Recovery After A Workout

You don’t build muscle while in the gym; you build muscle once you leave the gym. How you dedicate time to recovery after a workout will affect your results.

A beginner bodybuilding program will generally start you off with lifting three times per week and resting four times per week. It doesn’t seem fun or glamorous, but you have to make sure that you are resting properly for those four days.

This doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be a couch potato for those four days. Rather, practice good nutrition, perform a light physical activity such as walking or jogging, stretch, and consider getting a massage.

8. Use Full Range Of Motion

Treat every rep like it is the most important rep of your life. Too many injuries are caused by bad technique. Bodybuilding is all about increasing muscle size, and strength is of secondary importance.

Because of this, you should aim to perform every exercise with a full range of motion. Rather than trying to lift as much weight as possible and shortening your movements, go full lighter weight and a concentrated and complete range of motion.

Remember: The deeper the range of motion, the more muscle fibers that are activated. The more activated muscle fibers, the bigger the muscles (assuming you are following up with proper nutrition).

9. Focus On Tempo

Lifting tempo, or the speed at which you lift, pause, and lower is crucial. Think of a bicep curl. Imagine curling the weight up as fast as possible and then dropping it down again within a second. This is poor form and lifting speed. Yet, you see so many guys doing this in the gym…

Don’t be that guy!

Now imagine slowly curling that weight up, squeezing your bicep as you go. You pause at the top of the movement, and then slowly lower the weight back down. During the lowering section, you are fighting gravity all the way.

The ideal lifting speed to build muscle is as follows:

• Lifting the weight (concentric): 2 seconds
• Pausing at the top (isometric): 0 seconds
• Lowering the weight (eccentric): 2 seconds

10. Sleep Enough Hours Each Night

Studies show that sleep is when your body releases the greatest amount of recovery hormones: testosterone and human growth hormone. This is essential for muscle growth. Increased sleep can lead to increased testosterone while interrupted sleep can significantly reduce testosterone.

The recommended amount is between seven and ten hours of sleep per night.

Sleeping more can also improve your gym performance, improve your mood, and help you to concentrate better. All of this is necessary for bodybuilders.