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How many times have you seen people in the gym doing 20 sets of biceps or chest in one session? Do you think an absurd amount of volume will give you the desired results? If it were that simple, everyone would have incredible results, which is not the case. The truth is that if we can handle that much volume in a single workout, it is most likely that we are not working very hard. Results are not derived from how many sets you do, but how you do them. If you want to improve a weak point, the thought should not go through adding sets to the gutter just because. The most important thing is to focus on quality. Is the technique on point? Is movement quality present throughout the the set? And intensity? Were you that close to failure? Or were things just getting uncomfortable? The list goes on and on…. Before even picking up the weights, look at what you have in front of you: Concentration and intention in each session, in each set and in each repetition will dictate a much superior result. MAKES EVERY REP COUNT! Go into the set with pure focus and intention and be sure that each repetition will get you closer to your goal. Raise the intensity and cut mindless amounts of training volume. If you really extract as much as you can from each repetition, you will find that your volume needs are not as high as you thought. When it comes to hypertrophy, more is not always better. Better is better! Quality > Quantity: ALWAYS!
Do you think there are mandatory exercises for an athlete who wants to maximize muscle gains? As bodybuilders, we select our exercises based on the tissues we want to stimulate, then use them as a vehicle to generate adaptations (manipulating load, sets and repetitions). However, it is also up to us to customize these movements to allow for more comfort, stability, mobility and overall hypertrophy. It's no secret that most people in the gym do the most popular exercises: • “Are you going to train chest? You have to barbell bench press”; • “Are you going to train legs? You have to do barbell back squats.” Sometimes it seems to be the law for a training plan, and a lot of people get attached to certain moves because they feel they should be mandatory. Yes, compound exercises are kings when it comes to building a good physique! The foundation of a great physique is built through these movements (squat variation, hip hinge, vertical and horizontal press/pulls), while isolated exercises are implemented to fill in gaps. However, the selection of an exercise must be done individually and not by the most popular route. This social pressure can sometimes hamper our progress. We are putting these movements in our training when they are not always the most favorable to potentiate hypertrophy. The trade off is not always positive, having the cost of producing more fatigue and potentiating injuries, generating the same or even less stimulus in the target muscle than other exercises. Of course if your goal is to get stronger at the bench press, squat and deadlift, then obviously you're going to have to do bench press, squat and deadlift. But if that's not the main focus, there are several other ways to enhance muscle gain. Obviously this selection is very individual. If athlete A has incredible results doing barbell free squats, he should continue to do so. But it's not the law, and it won't be ideal for athlete B. Athlete B implemented an alternative (such as a squat hack), being able to intensify his training more, have more comfort and reduce the probability of degradation in the quality of movement. By this I mean, if you want a great physique, bet on compound exercises. But be smart and specific in what you choose.
Natural bodybuilding is a topic that many find to be controversial. This is because most people underestimate the potential of a physique without any drugs. Misinformation is one of the main points of so much controversy surrounding the subject. In my opinion we have two types of “athletes”. Those who love the sport of Bodybuilding, and those who like the idea of looking like a bodybuilder. Now, those who do this just for the aesthetic part, will more easily take other routes without having any kind of notion of their potential. He or she who chooses to stay natural, is choosing an inevitably slower path of progression. A path that requires years and years of pure work, strategy and, above all, consistency. You don't do it for attention or money. Instead, somewhere during the process, you fell in love with everything that involves bodybuilding. I'm not saying that an assisted athlete doesn't do it, because I don't want to generalize or evade the topic. However, when we look at a well developed natural physique, we can be sure that the athlete breathes the sport. They are usually well-informed people when it comes to training and nutrition. This is because to achieve a high level physique, knowing that the recovery ceiling of a natural is less than an assisted one, requires a lot of strategy. The result we see is the result of the effort made long enough to reach that level. Years of good habits, thousands of training sessions and endless hours in the kitchen. Yes, the bases will always be the same, but the path will be much longer. That's why we know that a natural athlete is willing to excel every day for an enormous period of time to achieve a certain result. This result, with drugs, would be achieved in much less time (if the effort implemented were the same). This article is not to attack assisted athletes, nor to say that Natural Bodybuilding is better. I have immense respect for both sides, and I strongly respect the athletes who practice it. This article serves to show the reality of this sport. And now back to the initial topic: Natural Bodybuilding, is it worth it? Yes it is! Every second! And all athletes who do so will certainly continue to enjoy the journey for the rest of their lives!
Maintaining productivity and competitiveness in the off season can be challenging, especially when they have a very long duration (2 or more years). So, here are some points that can help you in this regard: - Keep the routine you had in your fat loss / contest preparation phase: - Meal timing and food selection somewhat constant (allowing a little more flexibility); - Continue to have a daily step goal; - Practice posing, take pictures and be critical. You will have a better idea of what you need to improve. - Have a plan for the next season : This helps us to draw up a good plan, taking into account the time we have to improve. Failure to do so can lead to off-seasons that are too long, loss of focus, and results can fall far short of what they could have been, even with a longer off-season. - Think session by session : The results in this sport are very slow, and we have to see the small improvements as victories (Ex: One more rep than in the previous session). If we are more focused on reaching a certain weight or lifting a certain load, it can delay our progress with excessive weight gain or injuries (been there, done that). - Hire a coach: There are several benefits in having a coach by your side. But in the off season, for me, perhaps the most important is the fact that it gives you a greater sense of responsibility. Always having someone you have to show all the work you've been doing and who reminds you of your long-term goal can be a big help. - Wear the shirt of the team/federation you are representing during a workout : This helps me to remember that, despite doing this for me, there is a federation behind that I am representing and I want to do it in the best way. Therefore, it can always be a source of focus and motivation. - Having a picture of me on my last fat loss phase as a wallpaper : It may seem self-centered, but looking at the cell phone is perhaps the most common action we have during our day, and seeing that image often will remind me of the amazing experience I had on stage and the version I have to get over myself. . All of this can help you remember the bodybuilding lifestyle and keep you engaged. And you, do you have any other topics to add? Write about something you know. If you don’t know much about a specific topic that will interest your readers, invite an expert to write about it.
