There is no need to be a bodybuilding failure. Everyone has a certain amount of muscle- and strength-building potential.
If you are not making the progress you should be, take stock of the situation and make the necessary changes.
Something must be preventing you from making progress. Therefore, it is no use going on and on in the same old way, needlessly holding back progress. Take a close look at all the factors involved in your training and check to see that everything is in order.
Are You Following a Basically Sound, Progressive System of Training?
If not, then obviously it will be impossible to get good results. Follw a sensible system that is progressive in nature, so that you aren't either under or over training, but are always training at the proper level to suit your capabilities.
Are You Training Regularly?
You won't succeed with a haphazard approach, missing workouts because you can't be bothered. Unless there is a good reason never miss a workout. Without this determination and persistence nothing worthwhile will be achieved. This is the foundation of success.
Are You Adopting the Correct Mental Attitude?
When training, dismiss all negative thoughts from your mind. If you have any problems in life, put them to one side during your workout. Try and keep a calm and relaxed mind. Put your thoughts on what you want to achieve. Never mind what anyone else around you is doing. Keep to your training schedule; do what is right for you.
Are You Dissipating Your Energies?
Are you drinking and smoking? Are you getting enough sleep? Remember your body needs enough rest to recuperate from your workouts, so that gains can be made.
Are You Forcing Your Muscles to Work Harder and Harder?
To force your muscles to grow you must make them do more work than that to which they have become accustomed. If they are used only to performing the same task week after week they will stay the SAME size and strength. So make sure that you force them to work harder and harder by always adding more weight whenever possible. Try to add weight every week, however small the increase. When you reach a sticking point, then change the exercises in your schedule so that the muscles are worked from a slightly different angle thus stimulating them further. This can be done in any case about every eight weks.
Are You Taking an Adequate Diet?
If not, then change it. You must have a diet with the necessary nutrients to build up your body. Include good wholesome food, rich in vitamins and minerals. Enough protein is required to repair the tissue broken down in training. Get enough good quality energy foods to keep your energy level at a high peak, such as wholegrain foods, raw fruits and honey. Food supplements can be taken to supplement your normal diet.
Are You Building Enough Bulk?
If you want an impressive physique, you will not acquire this by training for definition. Train for bulk first of all, THEN work for definition. To build bulk you must use low repetitions with heavy weights, forcing your muscles to work harder and harder. Eat high calorie bulking foods. When you start getting bulk then you can increase the number of repetitions, alter your diet and bring out the definition you need.
If you want a well-developed powerful physique, it is essential to go through tough training sessions working all your major muscle groups, forcing out repetitions with the heaviest possible weights to force muscles into new growth.
Additionally, to get the full power and growth benefits from your workouts, your diet has to be just as effective. Proper foods build big powerful muscles, but if you are eating the wrong foods, you will never build a good physique. Remember, the kind of body you build depends on the kind of foods that you eat.
What Are These Proper Effective Foods?
In general they are the natural foods. Simple foods that have not been tampered with. Foods such as lean meat, fish, poultry, fresh fruits and vegetables, milk, eggs, natural whole grain bread and nuts. These are natural foods -- the ones thtfeed the muscles the necessary nutrients to grow on.
And the foods to beware of? They are the foods that have come from a factory. Ones that have been so refined and tampered with by the adding of harmful chemicals, preservatives and coloring that they have lost nearly all their natural goodness and muscle-building value.
This includes foods such as cakes, pies, soft drinks, white bread, white flour products, ice cream, etc. These foods give you plenty of calories, but "empty" calories, depleted of the vitamins and minerals and the complete proteins your muscles need.
These empty foods build only fat weight, not muscle. The real muscle building foods are the natural ones However, "natural" foods doesn't mean only those foods sold in a health food store. Although health shop foods are mostly natural and usually organically grown, without the use of chemical fertilizers or sprays, there are plenty of foods in the supermarket that can qualify as good foods.
If you are lacking weight and bulk, you need bulking-up foods that are high in calories -- yet also have lots of vitamins, minerals and protein. Include plenty of these high calorie foods in your diet. They will add extra pounds fast. But be sure to concentrate on wholesome foods. It will help to have the calorie counts of all common foods, and well as the protein, fat, and carbohydrate contents.
When definition is wanted, the best foods are the high protein, low calorie variety. Building definition means draining the excess fat from between the muscles and beneath the skin. Once this fat has been drained away, all the muscles will stand out and "separate" from each other, producing that cut up look.
The secret of good definition is to cut down on all carbohydrate foods while increasing the protein foods in your diet. This means cutting down all sweets, soft drinks, pies, etc., and eating more lean meats, skimmed milk, and eggs, etc.
Also increase the tempo of your training so that your body will be forced to call upon its body fat for energy reserves and your increased protein intake will make sure that you maintain your muscle size.
Again, natural foods are best for building definition. Nearly all manufactured foods are high in fat building carbohydrates and low in vitamin-mineral content.
The best energy foods are the natural carbohydrates -- fresh and dried fruits, honey, whole grain cereals, and nuts. These foods provide quick energy that lasts. Manufactured carbohydrates provide a quick but short-lived energy boost which is followed by fatigue. This is because sugar in artificial foods enters the bloodstream too quickly and upsets the blood-sugar balance of the body.
In planning your everyday diet choose any foods that will build muscle and power. Ask yourself the question, is it a natural food or has it been manufactured or tampered with?
Remember . . . you are what you eat! So get rid of junk foods and eat those of nutritional value instead. This is a must for all bodybuilders, weightlifters and powerlifters.
If there are any other reasons which might be affecting your training, such as illnesses or dental problems, then get those attended to quickly. Prevention is better than cure, so have periodical checkups with the dentist and doctor and lead a regulated and healthy life.
Your health is the most precious thing you have, so gear everything, including your training towards this end. Then not only can you enjoy good health, but avoid bodybuilding failure.
Enjoy Your Lifting!
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