When I began my journey into body building , I knew little about muscle-building nutrition other than the standard “eat lots and lift heavy” rule. So that’s what I did. All through those early years , the only macro I ever worried about was protein. I never counted anything and ate what I wanted when I wanted it. I never felt guilty.
My goal was to be a bodybuilder. As a fan of the sport, I would watch my favorite athletes get insanely shredded for shows and then shortly after go back to eating massive amounts of food so they could come back the next year even bigger. the bigger the bulk the bigger that man I figured they had to be doing something right, so that’s how I approached my own nutrition.
This type of plan was actually difficult because I would get so big I’d struggle to cut back down in time for my next show. Bouncing around in this manner gave me a less than consistent approach to my nutrition.
I followed the help and guidance of a few top level guys in the sport and some of what they suggested worked very well, some of it just didn’t work at all. What i didn’t do enough of was looking at how i had changed from day one into what i had accomplished in recent times. Had i done this i would have seen that my best gains were achieved with a consistent approach.
I set my sites on a show or two a year maybe more and this is where the mistakes began.
For some athletes, staying lean all year works. For others, it’s a little harder. I fall into the second category. its not impossible but what i didn’t realise earlier was to be able to do this you have to continue to monitor everything and keep working almost as hard as in prep. Again consistency was lacking, to the general publicc or even the average body builder what i was doing at the time appeared to be consistent but to achieve what i wanted a higher degree of consistency would need to be implemented.
Upon evaluation i decided to put a three year plan in place to get to where i wanted to be.
No more three or four shows a yr i would now set a main show as my goal and work with this in mind a steal determination would follow.
I am a huge believer in fuelling the body and now keep my carb intake as high is as possible without getting too fat during the offseason. The better the fuel the better my body works. I can not expect to train like a machine if i don’t provide the fuel for the fire. Keeping a track of my food year round , weighing everything whether in prep or not gave me the guidelines of where my physique could go and how far i could push nutrition and still maintain a positive balance between condition and recovery.
Every day is groundhog day and its methods like this that has proved to keep my physique exactly where i want it as i head into my next prep with a positive mindset.
If like me you have tried to gain muscle and just hit the wall making little progress at times, then you need to listen to what i am going to say next. The most important factor in growing a strong muscular physique is not the latest supplement or the most internet searched training routines but simple and effective consistency.
You have probably heard this many times in the past along with inch by inch , try try again etc the list goes on. At the time you have probably brushed these sayings to one side and continued in your search for the secret i body building ..
Unfortunately, we inevitably learn that there is no secret hat can replace due diligence, determination, and, most of all, consistency. Despite the constant marketing efforts from the companies on TV and radio, the latest supplement or exercise machine will fail to give you as much benefit as a solid program followed over many weeks and months. Always remember that our greatest successes in life almost always come from many small individual choices over time. This seemingly small choices you make each day will have a cumulative effect over time.
Education is important and supplied with the right knowledge to go forward, but understand that any muscle building course will require significant effort over a sustained period of time. Personally, I’ve often chased the latest fad only to be disappointed and eventually go back to basics where i know my best gains have happened. Jumping from program to program will give you nothing. Reading this article without taking action will do nothing to build muscle, nor will an inconsistent effort in the gym. If you make a decision that you’re in this for the long haul, you have essentially guaranteed your success from the very beginning. Any flaws can be corrected, and any obstacles can be overcome as long as you’re committed to achieving your goals.
By Steve Obrien