Sorry but there just isn't one, full stop

 

But there are so many bodybuilders out there that think there is. Gear doesn't grow muscle it just helps you get their a bit quicker. It’s all about diet; it's true what they say. WE ARE WHAT WE EAT. A good diet an intense training programme and lots of rest get these three things in the right balance and your gains will be quality. I opt for quality rather than quantity, yet there are a lot out there who go for the opposite. I have competed with bodybuilders who have 2 stone on me, but on the stage the quality far outshines the quantity and I make them look fat in comparison. So here is the regime that I stick to all year round, and it works for me.

I hope it works for you.

The knowledge.

the basics:

The soul objective of the competing bodybuilder is to bring down body fat whilst maintaining muscle mass. This is the Holy Grail, and each and every one of us uses different methods to achieve this result.  I will explain in detail the methods I use; this may not work for everyone as we are all genetically different.

Trial and error is the only way to find out what best works for you. But there are so many bodybuilders out there who get stuck in a rut and never do reach their potential. Because they fear the unknown.

I was one of these people once, it takes some bottle to experiment but you just have to grab the bull by the horns and go for it.

When preparing for a competition we always seem to compare with our last time on stage. I have since come to terms with the fact that we always come in different each time, so forget the comparison and let everything unfold, if you’ve done your homework- dieted hard and put the intensity into your training then that’s all can be expected of you.

Just relax enjoy the day, I know so many bodybuilders who stress on the day, this isn’t good at all.

Each competition I go into I go in feeling confident, and I am the man to beat. I find that this well being only helps bring my condition to its peak.

In short, be positive. Think winner; after all if you don’t enjoy the experience then why put yourself through all this.

These days I don’t have to diet that hard as I eat pretty much clean all year long, so it is just a matter of eating my self into condition. I will eat junk food from time to time just to keep me sane.

20lbs max for me is the extra weight I will put on off season. So many of you put far too much weight on in the off season. It is not unusual for 4-5stone to be added. This is not only very hard on the body but also when dieting to remove this excess you loose to much muscle mass. This is only my opinion you may think different, as I said earlier what works for one may not work for another.

Training I find that the basic exercise is the most productive method of adding muscle mass. I.e. bench press, squats, dead lifts. But don’t fall into that category of using loads of weight that you just really can’t handle. Keep the weights heavy by all means but know your limits. I find using a weight that I can handle and do the exercise strict, feeling the muscle being worked and trying to isolate that body part for maximum results.

Diet is one more fundamental part of the bodybuilder’s regime and one that is often neglected, and is probably the most important thing in putting on lean mass.

In short I think of myself as being a baby, baby’s need to be fed every 2 hours to maintain there potential growing capabilities’. I employ this in my diet.

You can train as hard as you like as long as you like, but if you don’t back it up with good nutrition then you won’t get the results you expect.

Supplements this again is one thing many of you ignore, in my eyes there is no substitute for quality supplements’ I take a wide range of supplements of which I will go into depth later.

Rest This is another very important aspect of growth, it is recommended that we have at least 8 hours sleep to maximise full growing potential.

I can honestly say that when dieting my sleep patterns go out of the window. I probably get about 4 to 5 hours tops. And in my experience this is also true for many body builders.

DEPLETING & CARB LOADING

I have read so many different methods of depleting and loading up with carbs. I myself have tried several ways to see the body’s reaction, and this is the method I find works best for me.

I usually take 4days to carb deplete, then a further 3 to load up. On depleting I total zero my carbs just consuming protein as my calories, this consists of 3-4 meals of turkey breast daily plus 8-10 whey protein shakes also. This I find keeps me feeling and looking quite full. Most bodybuilders I know cut out their whey 2-3 weeks out from competition, in fear of holding on to water. I believe that if you are in good condition and you have dieted well. Then you won’t hold any water, water needs something to hold on to i.e. FAT so if you don’t have the fat then you won’t hold the water.

I always seemed to go really flat in my early days of competing, but I think I have found they key to holding onto as much size as possible whilst achieving a very tight and hard physique.

During this phase there are a lot of bodybuilders ‘’loose it’’ and go and get it all wrong on the last fine tuning. Peaking when you want it to is another thing we all strive for. The amount of times I hear I looked fantastic the day after, or two days after. No good then, you need to look good on the day of the contest. So timing it is an art in it’s self.

The majority of bodybuilders fear the loosing lbs during this phase and will panic and start throwing carbs down, don’t take this road because the leaner you can get carrying the mass with it will make for an awesome physique on stage. Once you start to carb load you will start to inflate and feel fuller, once pumped you will look better again stretching the skin for that shrink wrapped look.

My preference for carb loading is on the first day of loading I consume 1 medium size sweet potato every hour upon going to bed. The second day I and consume 1 every 1 & half hours. On the third and final day I will consume 1 every 2 hours up till about 6pm. Maybe earlier just depending on how I am looking.

I will also eat maybe 3 turkey breast each day of carb loading, also I will carry on with the whey protein up until 6pm this is when I cut all fluids and start the drying out process. Just sipping if need be.

On the evening before the contest my last meal which will be at approximately 9pm, I will consume 1lb of fillet steak and 4 poached eggs, and I will wash this down with a bottle of dry white wine this too will also help in the drying out process.

On awakening on contest day I will consume half a lb of fillet steak with another 4 poached eggs and half a cup of black coffee with brandy. From now on I will keep to sugary foods for fullness and vascularity. I.e. chocolate-rice pudding-apple pie.

In the pump room back stage I will retouch my tan and approximately 30mins before going on stage I will start to sip brandy to bring out vascularity and get a good blood flow. I will also eat lots of chocolate during this time. Don’t pump up to much the judges will pump you up during call outs on pre-judging. Most competitors go like crazy pumping up, the muscle will only hold its pump for a short period of time before you start to deflate, once again it is timing and knowing your own body and what works best for you. This is why I mentioned earlier it is a good idea to experiment, it’s the only way you’ll find what your body reacts to best.

If you plan to compete then pick a few contests prior to the main show you have targeted for, and try different methods of depleting and carb loading.

( DON’T FEAR THE UNKNOWN, HIT IT HEAD ON )

 TRAINING

Get this right and you will hit your targets quicker, the one thing I cannot stress enough is don’t use stupid weights trying to impress someone in the gym the only one you will be cheating is yourself. And the chance of injury will become greater so keep the weights manageable and try to get muscle mind connection. And isolate the muscle group you intend to work.

A good method to start with for anyone just starting in bodybuilding is four sets per body part i.e. 12reps 10reps 8reps 6reps.

Raise the weight on each set to a weight you will fail on at the desired repartition.

Also remember that when building a physique it comes as a whole package, the amount of good physiques on the bodybuilding circuit that just look incomplete due to lack of development i.e. legs and detail in the back are quite abundant.

So remember WHOLE PACKAGE. Work every body part with the same intensity and you will get a good overall growth pattern. Thus resulting in good shape,

Symmetry, muscle mass and balance. Get all these aspects in good sync and you will do well.

I will also add that it is good practice to change your routine from time to time. The body is a very clever and complex thing and will get used to the exercise in hand. So change your routine to shock the body into growing again. By stimulating the muscle with a different approach.

As for which training routine to adopt there are so many I can mention, so don’t get stuck in that rut by using one method of training. Find three routines you enjoy doing and alternate them, maybe four weekly cycles.

As for training a popular method would be (Monday, Tuesday. Thursday, Friday) Using (Wednesday Saturday and Sunday) for rest and growing.

Another good method to adopt would be negative reps. Try and incorporate them into your training routine.

How long should you train on each session?

One hour maximum after this time your body will go into catabolic thus resulting losing all your hard gained muscle. This would be okay for someone wanting to speed up the cutting up process but you must accept that you will loose valuable muscle also using this method. Slowly spread over a period of time will result in a better end result, thus achieving good definition while holding onto more muscle. This is your ultimate goal...

The need for a good training partner is essential in my view. You cannot make maximum gains training alone; you always seem to have a limit and do not full fill maximum stimulation to the muscle. If you can then have two training partners, it is less likely that both will miss a training session on the same day.

There will be days you just can’t get motivated, a good training partner will do this for you likewise if he or she has a bad day then you will bring them through.

And not forgetting the forced reps as these cannot be achieved training alone, these forced reps will kick in every muscle fibre and lead to good overall growth. Once again stressing the need of a good training partner.

And warm up for at least fifteen minuets before each training session. To get blood into the muscle and increase the muscles flexibility, this will reduce the chance of injury. As the saying goes prevention is better than the cure.

It is also good practice to warm down after each training session, this flushes the muscles of lactic acid and toxins built up during intense training.

                                                                     

THE DIET:

‘’We are what we eat’’ keep this in mind all the time. By maintaining a quality & clean diet you will maximise your gains, and add lean mass steadily.

A good healthy diet should consist of good proteins i.e. turkey-chicken-white fish & oily fish-eggs and of coarse red meat from time to time will benefit you.

Carbohydrates i.e. oatmeal - sweet potatoes-white potatoes-brown & white rice- pasta-rice cakes- Broccoli - green vegetables - Fresh and dried fruit.

Try and incorporate some good fats into your diet i.e. salmon –mackerel-sardines are a good source of good fats, avocados- almonds also are a good source and are ideal for snacking on.

Flax seed oil is a good supplement to add to your diet for this purpose.

How much food and how often, myself personally I don’t weigh and measure my food I know my limits and eat accordingly, I usually try and maintain an eating pattern of every 2 hours. This consists of 3 to four sit down meals each day and eight to ten protein shakes per day when getting ready for competition. Off season I consume at least 6-8 each day

One day each week I have a break from the hard dieting and eat much what I like. Usually on Sunday’s this does not mean that I pig out all day, this must be done sensibly. It keeps me sane and motivates me for the following week.

Incorporated into my diet also are numerous supplements, I have the benefit of sponsorship, by in my opinion the best supplements on the market. I am not being biased on this, but one only has to look at the results in all the major contests to see that Ultimate-Nutrition is way up their every time. Need I say more?

Here is a list of the supplements I use all year round.

Whey protein 90% + – L – Glutamine - desiccated liver - alfalfa and kelp - tribulas & horny goat weed - testo power - amino acid boosters – vit C - vit B Complex – zinc – milk thistle – primasorb – omega 3 – calcium – creatine.

FLUIDS

During contest preparation I will keep my fluids high I consume at least 8-10 litres per day, a high water intake will flush the system of toxins also water is a good for mobilizing fat and will aid in the removal of fat with a calorie controlled diet.

A high water intake will make you feel bloated and full this will help you when dieting and feeling hunger cravings.

FEELING DRAINED

This we all feel when hard into the diet, lethargic and the body is a dead weight it is hard work to get around. One thing I do and it does me a world of good, when this feeling strikes I will eat 4-6oz of hard cheese this fills me and takes the hunger pains away. Dont be tempted by throwing loads of junk down. Your nearly their now don’t throw away all that hard work you’ve done. And this too is were drinking lots of water also helps, it will keep you hydrated and energized to a degree.