Case in point: does Rocky defeat Soviet hardman Ivan Drago with the help of his talking robot, high-tech training equipment and a team of nutrition advisers? Meanwhile your mate who read this article will be pulling in more women than a Viking landing party fitted with bionic cocks. Of course the pros and fake natties can train for hours every day and isolate muscles with a seven day split — they have chemicals and god-knows-what pumping through their veins.
The old-school bodybuilders, many of whom actually competed as world class weightlifters, programmed their routines exclusively around getting stronger. The only difference between pure strength training and bodybuilding, according to Park, is that it is vital for bodybuilders to increase caloric intake to predicate enhanced muscle growth. Put the time and effort into improving your form; read articles and books, watch videos, get a mate to film you and watch it back, consult a professional strength coach.
To make size and strength gains from a weightlifting programme you need to be adding weight to the bar as often as possible progressive overload. Reg Park was a firm believer in the notion that progression should be gradual and take place over a long period of time. For him, consistently ramping up the weight and always training to failure was a surefire way to lose confidence and enjoyment in your workouts.
As Lee mentioned in his last article , being consistent with your training trumps everything else. While many lifters nail certain elements of their regimen, failing to be consistent in every area, be it exercise selection, diet, sleep, will leave precious gains on the table.
And if a routine is not working for you, 9 times out of 10 the issue lies elsewhere diet, rest, etc. Indeed, the number one rule regarding supplements is that they should be used to supplement your food intake and not replace it. For example, so many lifters get hung up on not missing a protein shake during the anabolic window, but for the rest of the day they will freely miss meals and eat crap.
Make a note of the weight you lift, how many sets and reps you do, how much rest you take, your daily macros, your bodyweight, the address of the guy who curls in the squat rack along with printed instructions of how to manufacture a nail bomb — whatever data aligns with your goals.
So there we have it, ten lessons from the golden era of bodybuilding, a time when things were simpler and better. Henry is the founder and editor of GymTalk. Workout Tips. Your email address will not be published.
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Totally agree with all that you are saying and it obviously worked for the bodybuilders of days gone by. I also have taken part in many marathons and am a fan of running — and also love bodybuilding. Firstly, yes, I am absolutely suggesting you trade in your 3 day split based around isolation exercises for a full-body routine, for every reason I have listed above!
I follow most of these and have seen great results over the years, whether they be actual strength gains or improved health. Since you have catches in your movements, I highly suggest stretches for hours at a time, instead of lifting for a while.
You would be amazed at what good can come from stretching by using a stretch jungle gym, or a wall and your finger tips and toes catching on something for resistance. I think to build muscles you have to do both compound and isolation exercises and at the same time take your protein supplements because protein is an essential nutrient required to build muscles.
Would I be better off doing chinups for my biceps, which would also give me a push to pull ratio? A routine such as the one you have posted above would certainly stimulate growth initially — but, from personal experience here, the body will quickly adapt to the stress of high volume. So my advice would be to move to a more progressive, strength-orientated programme similar exercise selection but with deadlifts and, by all means, add in some volume-orientated isolation work as well curls for the girls. I push for as many clean reps as possible on both sets and if the total amount of reps for both sets is 15 I increase weight.
Regardless, I would still recommend a strength-focused routine for consistent, long-term results. Movements such as deadlift are way more effective in the low-rep range — plus high-rep deadlifts are often synonymous with poor form, which will leave you open to injury. You want to keep that bar moving make sure you are hydrated, keep a bottle of water to hand at all times. Even if I go up 1 pound for one set while keeping rest period the same, I consider that a personal best.
By split routines, I chiefly mean the approach of training chest one day, shoulders one day, arms one day, etc. This is nowhere near as effective as full-body training, for the simple reason that training a major lift such as squats only once a week is far less productive than training it several times per week.
Although I agree with your sentiments that enjoyment, consistency and progressive overload should be key factors, I completely disagree that split training can be more beneficial for the natural lifter. Anyways, I think I might just continue with what I was doing Greyskull Phraks variant and switch up the assistance I was doing to make things a little more interesting. Thanks for putting this out there, and to make sure I hit the quota for fun words: piss fuck cunt ass cumbubbles pissflap-palooza.
Read Save Women Men. Search the site Search. Posted on 13 Nov 12 min read. Well, listen up. No, he chops logs, pulls a sleigh and runs up a fucking mountain. When it comes to bodybuilding fuel, keep it natural and keep it old fashioned. Do everything it takes — your body will thank you for it in 30 years time! For all you know, that Scottish guy started his journey by lifting lighter weight than you. If a programme works for you, stick with it, at the very least for a whole cycle, if not years. No supplement can make up for hard work and a disciplined diet.
Nail the basics first and then you can start introducing supplements. Get it all down! Signing off So there we have it, ten lessons from the golden era of bodybuilding, a time when things were simpler and better.
Henry Croft Henry is the founder and editor of GymTalk. You may also like. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Mark Harding. Great article! Thank you! Henry Croft. Thanks Mark — and good luck with your training! Let me know if you have any questions at all. Hi Henry. Nice touch, with Mr.
Bean as well, Thanks Rolandas. Hi Rolandas Thanks for your kind words — much appreciated! Alex King. By far some of the best words of wisdom for people who are go to the gym.
The humour in your article is also something that keeps the reader very captivated. Vipin Kumar. I found your article very relevant, thanks. Cheers Vipin! Not sure about doing Full Body Workouts for bodybuilding. I train clean and do a 3 day split using isolation exercises and do great with that. Is that what you mean? Are you a bodybuilder? Have you competed? What kinds of gains are you making training in this fashion? Hi goodfella, thanks for reading and commenting. Give it a go and let me know how you get on!
As for me, I am not a bodybuilder, nor have I ever competed. This article definitely hits on the main aspects of bodybuilding. My main question to you is about training for overall wellness. Right now I have a torn MCL, a bad lower back, and a bit of a neck pain.
Juan Amaya Tulane. Hi Juan, thanks for your comment. Absolutely brilliant article, had me in stitches. Only just started training with free weights, mainly to build strength. So, I believe these tips will be very useful for me in the medium to long term. Well done Henry! Hi Charles, thanks for stopping by. Appreciate the kind words — and good luck with your training!
Rohit Singh. Nice post Henry. Hi Rohit. Other than that, agree with your comments. Hello Henry! If you meet the rep goal for your sets you increase weight. For example, I might get 9 reps the first set, and 5 the second.