Make the Muscles, Man
Basics
Ten years of lifting has taught me one thing...there are basics you can't avoid if you want to succeed...whether you want the "toned" look or something more.
Knowledge, practice, patience. You won't get very far without any of them.
Knowledge of the exercises, of nutrition, of anatomy, of yourself.
Practice of the basic moves...squats, benches esp. need lots of practice before they work.
Patience...as much as you may want it, you can't get huge or built or cut or 'buff' overnight.
Training
So many men in the gym (and some women) get far into advanced routines without knowing the basics...how to lift, what to lift, when to lift.
Squats, Benches, Deadlifts, ...I see them done wrong everyday, and they are among the core exercises, the ones that will separate a built body from a 'buff' body. Also, buff guys tend to shy away from them, squats especially, because they're too hard or too scary.
They are the hardest power moves, but if you learn them properly, you are on the road to 'thick'. Read, get advice, watch someone who knows, read some more. But learn them well, and practice them a lot.
How much, how often...another mistake...doing an advanced routine before you're ready, or because someone told you it was great for 'cuts' etc...
If you don't have a foundation, you gotta build one. Three days a week, basic moves that work the major muscle groups...squats, benches, barbell curls, dips...and keep it to an hour. Get those muscles working first, get the connective tissue strong, get your body used to the idea...and take your time.
As you get into more advanced routines, don't set up a routine that takes more than an hour...you'll find yourself overtrained in no time. Work efficiently and you'll be out in an hour. I've gone over quite a bit, but I've allowed for recovery after.
The best for me is this:
One to two bodyparts a day, with a day to two rest after I've done them all, the latest being,
Day1 Legs
Day2- Chest/Bis
Day3- Rest
Day4- Back
Day5- Legs
Day6- Delts/Tris
Day7- Rest
But that's just a sample....I juggle routines a lot to keep things interesting and so I don't plateau (although I still do). Sometimes I will put Back and Hamstrings together, then do Quads and Abs. Sometimes I will throw Forearms with Back or Delts.
The logic behind it is simple
One thing I've noticed, especially amongst guys that want to be 'buff', is the neglect of the posterior muscles...back, hamstrings, rear delts, even triceps sometimes. Just because you can't see them doesn't mean you shouldn't work them. A great back makes everything in the upper torso hang right, and your shoulders may be as wide as heck, but without the rear delts they'll still look skinny. And hamstrings...if you've ever seen a pro bodybuilder, you've seen how big they can get...quads will look wacky if there isn't some development behind em.
The posterior muscles don't just balance the look, they also balance the function. If you have a lot of power in the front, but none in the back, you're asking for trouble somewhere down the road. BALANCE- DON'T FORGET YOU'RE BUILDING A MACHINE, NOT JUST A PICTURE.
Legs- How many times have you seen guys with great torsos and no legs? Does it ever look good? Work those legs...it hurts, but it's a great reward when you get some mass down there. Besides, working large muscle groups like the legs has the added benefit of making the whole package inspired to grow.
Form- I saw it the other day...a little guy with a good physique yanking away on the lat pulldown, straps on his wrists, lifting way more than he could control. Basically, most of the work came from his lower back, and most of the momentum he built up removed the benefits to his lats. Learn control...true that controlled cheating can add to the intensity, but not at the expense of doing the exercises with weights you can control and use correctly. My rule of thumb...if you can't feel the muscle working, you're using too much weight. Don't start cheating until you can do the moves well enough to get a pump in the muscle you're working.
Wisdom from a pal...don't forget, a bodybuilder is not a weight lifter. You are lifting to build and sculpt. Don't focus on how much you are lifting. Challenge yourself to increase the poundages, but remember that you're in the gym to build a body. If you can bench 3 plates, but your pecs suck...well, you're doing something wrong.
I haven't even touched on Nutrition although it will be 70% of your success. You have to start reading to learn how food works. You have to see food as another supplement first, and for enjoyment second. And, if you think you're eating enough, but aren't gaining, you probably aren't eating enough. Most guys are a bit shocked when they find how much food it takes to gain some mass.
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