Teen bodybuilding is growing at an alarming rate, as enthusiastic teens hit the gym every night of the week. I don’t blame them. Teen bodybuilding is one of the most effective ways to boost a skinny guys self-confidence and self-image. Did I also mention lots of attention and admiration from the ladies and respect from the guys. Teen bodybuilding does not just help out with vanity but promotes a nutritious diet, disciplined lifestyle, and strong work ethic.
So the question is, how is teen bodybuilding done right? Should teen bodybuilders read the latest bodybuilding magazines? Learn from their friends or a professional? Train every day or every other day? Rely on supplements? Start when they are done growing or earlier? Focus on endurance training heavy lifting? Teen bodybuilding has dozens of questions and many different opinions on each. Here is my top 10 tips to successful teen bodybuilding in no particular order:
1. Avoid Steroids
Duh! This might sound obvious and if you have not been offered steroids yet, make your stand now and be prepared to say ‘no’ when you get backed into a corner. Your body is flowing with more natural hormones than any steroid could replace. Don’t screw up your natural hormonal levels at such a young age. Even though all your friends might laugh at you for not conforming to the pressure of using illegal drugs, be a real man and train drug free. In the end your friends will respect you more for staying away from the dark side.
Now it is on to the second part of our avoid building muscle the wrong way series.
Building Muscle The Wrong Way #4 – Reading Bodybuilding Magazines
Did your last bodybuilding magazine promised 2 inches on your arms in 2 weeks? Did it tell you could increase your strength by 40% in one week? Did it show you the latest ‘arm program’ which looked the exact same as last months arm workout? I know this sounds extreme, but almost 90% of the information you see in bodybuilding magazines is dead wrong and only works for guys who are using steroids.
The modern mainstream bodybuilding magazines are really just muscle comic books written at a 6th grade level. They glorify drug-using bodybuilders and portray them as the picture of health. The cleverly combine two or three rehashed articles, a lot of pictures, gimmicks, sex and hype to sell this nonsense to millions. These magazines may have inspired millions by the pictures but they have also mislead millions.
Building Muscle The Wrong Way #5 – Taking Advice From A Guy Who Uses Drugs
Drugs allow you to train more often because of one’s increased ability to recover, but they also speed up normal physiological processes that normally would not occur, i.e. increased hormonal levels. Not only do bodybuilders take an ENORMOUS amount of drugs; they are also known to inject various substances into their bodies to give selected body parts that enhanced look. (more…)
How would you feel if you discovered that almost everything you were doing with building muscle was dead wrong? Imagine all the time, money and effort you have spent in the gym was contributing to building muscle – the wrong way! Everything you have read on building muscle has left you with little to show for your hard earned efforts…
There are dozens of muscle building mistakes that we all fall victim to which results in bringing you progress to a complete halt. Don’t be too hard on yourself, because like all things in life, building muscle is a learning process. That does not mean you must forfeit years of personal trail and error when we can learn the mistakes of seasoned trainers who walked before us.
Here are the first three biggest and baddest ways to building muscle the wrong way. Erase these mistakes from your thought process and you will be one step closer to earning beach body worthy status:
Building Muscle The Wrong Way #1 – Skipping Out On Your Cardio…
Before you disagree take note that I was once a long distance triathlon and running champion so my cardiovascular standards and perceptions of ‘fit’ are much higher than your local trainers or expert bodybuilding author. It drives me crazy when I hear fitness experts preaching that weight training is just as good for keeping your heart and lungs in prime condition. Who are they kidding?
Weight training, designed for bodybuilding, is almost useless for stimulating your cardiovascular system. Bodybuilding style weight training for your cardio is just about as good as spending the day playing video games. Sure, I know your leg training workouts and super sets make you feel like you sprinted up the street for 100 m but this is far cry from a optimal cardio system. (more…)
Are you a hardgainer struggling to gain muscle?, if so take a look at our hardgainer supplement tip for more muscle growth.
You’ve probably heard the term “you are what you eat”, right?
But it’s not exactly what you EAT that counts, but what you USE from what you eat.
And this couldn’t be more true for skinny “hardgainers’ who have a hard time growing muscle!
Why?
Because you can eat all the protein you want, but unless it makes it to your muscles to help them rebuild, you’ll continue to look more like Olive Oil than Popeye!
You see, “skinny” men and women tend to have an overabundance of the “stress hormone”, cortisol.
Cortisol actually plays a useful role in our bodies but for hardgainers, its catabolic effects are a real hassle as it inhibits important protein synthesis. (more…)