Good morning all and welcome to Coffee, Cake, and Weights. We have been working heavily on a lot of things and hope you enjoy what is to come. I am hoping soon to be able to expand my roster and be able to have more of y’all follow along with training programs.
For now, I have one spot left until July of this year. To apply, click here. The last spot will be filled by end of this month, May 2023.
So you want to train like a bodybuilder?
What does this entail? What does training look like? What does my nutrition need to look like? Is it hard? What is competing like? Should I compete?
These are questions we all ask ourselves before we pursue bodybuilding as a sport. If you can hack it, there is a lot in it for you if you decide to go pro. I know many who compete for fun and many who compete for a profession. Which one seems like it would entice you?
What is bodybuilding?
This is a sport of mental dedication, pushing yourself, and focusing on the goal.
From Britannica: “As a competitive activity, bodybuilding aims to display in artistic fashion pronounced muscle mass, symmetry, and definition for overall aesthetic effect.”
The sport itself takes mental discipline. Your workouts need to be completed as programed, there is no casual lifting here. Pushing yourself beyond what you thought you could takes a lot of internal motivation and discipline.
Your nutrition needs to be completed as programed. There is less eating for fun and more eating for what you want to accomplish. It’s a sport and many people partake, but the ones who had their head in the game come out on top.
Depending on the federation you wind up competing in, some of the athletes may be on PEDs. I do not condone the use of PEDs, but it is something to be aware of because it is more common than you think. Competing in a natural league such as the OCB guarantees that you all have even playing grounds. Competing in the NPC does not guarantee you have an even playing field as a natural athlete. Pick your competitions based on what you want to achieve.
Train like a bodybuilder
Bodybuilders train for hypertrophy. They tend to prefer moderate to high repetitions to lower, strength-based sets. I do recommend training be focused on the ‘big 4’ exercises — squats, deadlifts, bench press, and overhead press.
There are a lot of accessory training when it comes to training like a bodybuilder. You will notice there is emphasis on accessories and isolation movements to create a well-rounded and aesthetically pleasing physique that the judges will score you on. Be sure to check in with your coach on overall symmetry and distribution to ensure you will be judged well on your physique (this means no skipping legs for the men and no skipping arms for the women).
A typical bodybuilding workout for your quads may include exercises such as squats, leg presses, lunges, leg extensions, and hack squats. You could start with a warm-up set and then do 3-4 sets of each exercise, aiming for 8-12 reps per set. Rest for about 60-90 seconds between sets. Remember to maintain proper form and gradually increase weights as you progress.
We typically see 5-day splits when it comes to bodybuilding training, but your coach (or me) will help you with a training split that compliments your life balance and physique goals. I previously wrote on this topic, feel free to check it out.
Increasing weight is important for hypertrophy because it places greater stress on the muscles, which in turn promotes muscle growth and strength gains. As you progressively increase the weight you lift, your muscles adapt and become stronger, leading to increased muscle size and definition over time.
Training may entail things you just don’t like to do, exercises you might feel silly doing, or just look completely different than you are used to.
Bodybuilders focus on isolation movements to target and develop specific muscle groups. Isolation exercises allow them to focus on a single muscle group at a time and achieve greater muscle activation and hypertrophy. On top of that, isolation exercises can help bodybuilders improve muscle imbalances and weaknesses.
Just remember, this is a sport, and you need to train like you mean it in order to rank high.
Eating like a bodybuilder
The most common eating scheme of bodybuilders lately is tracking macros. Macro tracking is the process of monitoring and adjusting the intake of macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, and fats) in one's diet to achieve specific body composition goals. This involves calculating and tracking the amount of each macronutrient consumed to ensure proper balance and portion control.
Your coach will calculate these for you.
What’s important to note is that we need a high carbohydrate diet when preparing for a bodybuilding competition. Carbohydrates provide the body with energy, which is crucial for bodybuilders during their intense workout sessions. Additionally, high carbohydrate intake can help with muscle glycogen replenishment and protein sparing, leading to better muscle growth and recovery.
If you don’t like eating carbohydrates, this may be a shocker to you. Higher carbohydrate intake is better for athletes and high-performance individuals and can be correlated with lower bodyfat.
Another important feat is meal prep.
Bodybuilders meal prep to ensure they are consuming the right amount of nutrients to support their fitness goals. By preparing their meals in advance, they have more control over the quality and quantity of the food they eat, which can help them achieve their desired physique and performance. Meal prepping also helps bodybuilders stay consistent with their nutrition plan, which is crucial for making progress.
Is bodybuilding hard?
Before tackling if it is hard, I want to ask is it worth it?
You get to take your physique to new highs. You will feel an amazing sense of accomplishment if you partake in this journey to a new level of body goals. You get to understand fitness at a deeper level. You will fall in love with the process and become more confident in yourself.
I love the process and it’s ever changing and giving you new goals and challenges to reach toward.
What are some hard aspects?
A lot of people, and I mean a lot of people, find it very frustrating and difficult to stay on the course and trust a coach and the process. The food aspect trips up many people because it is easy to continually fall off of a diet even as a non-competitive athletic person. How many times have you seen someone, or yourself, lose weight and gain it all back because “treat yo’self”?
Some of the hardest parts about being a bodybuilder include strict dieting, intense and frequent workouts, dealing with potential injuries or pain, maintaining motivation and discipline, and managing the financial costs of the lifestyle.
Are you willing to give up a lot for a sport? That is what this is.
What is competing like?
The competition itself involves a series of events, including posing routines and mandatory poses, judged by a panel of experts. Contestants are evaluated on their overall physique, including muscle symmetry, size, and definition. The atmosphere at a bodybuilding competition is intense and competitive, with athletes pushing themselves to their limits in pursuit of victory.
What they don’t tell you is how amazing backstage can be. You see some of the fittest people in the world (depending on what show you are at) and a lot of humility. I have seen nothing but support for others, competitors hanging out and knowing that others have worked hard like they did and pushed their limits to come and showcase their months and years of hard work.
I personally had the best time of my life backstage when I was competing and it’s something you just don’t forget. After everything is said and done, you make new friends and you just stay pumped and ready for what comes next.
And if you placed high enough, you may just move up the ranks quickly!
Bodybuilding is a fun topic, it’s a fun sport, and the people you meet on the way are just amazing people. Everyone knows what hard work and patience can do for you and it brings new levels of humility to everyone involved. I have yet to see a stuck up honest worker.
If this is something you have been interested in, I recommend going and checking out a show before signing up for one and meeting some new people. You won't regret seeing some hard working, hardcore people.
Let me know what topics you want to discuss next or if you have a question that needs and answer. We are back next week with some more info ono training, nutrition, and everything you need to know to keep pursuing fitness in your life.