Did you know that only 46 percent of adults in the United States of America meet the CDC’s physical activity guidelines for aerobic exercise? Getting into shape provides a number of benefits to your life ranging from more functional strength to a boost in confidence and a longer lifespan. One of the best ways to get into peak shape is to dedicate yourself to becoming a bodybuilder.
Adding more muscle and getting rid of unwanted weight requires a weekly workout schedule, eating the right diet, and exercise. Making the worst mistakes for bodybuilders in any of these areas will keep you from meeting your fitness and bodybuilding goals.
The good news is that you’ve found the perfect guide to learn all about the 12 worst mistakes that you can make after you set out to become a bodybuilder. Keep reading this article and start meeting your bodybuilding goals today!
1. Not Eating Enough Food
You will put your body through a lot of stress and strain in the course of becoming a bodybuilder. It’s important that you’re consuming enough calories on a regular basis if you want to start putting on lean muscle mass. Your body will not have the fuel that it needs to help you make the most of these exercise sessions and you’ll end up wasting your time.
It’s best to find yourself in a calorie surplus each day if you want to start seeing results with muscle building. Those extra calories that you’re taking in are what provide the fuel that your body needs in order to make it through each workout session and daily routine. Your muscles also need those calories to repair themselves and grow as you recover from your workout.
Counting calories isn’t perfect, but it’s a decent way to gauge if you’re eating enough food. A great way to determine your ideal caloric intake is to take your weight in pounds and multiply it by 16. You’ll get a rough idea of the number of calories you should consume each day.
2. Not Consuming Enough Protein
Food is important, but you also need to ensure that you’re eating enough protein if you plan on setting bodybuilding goals and then reaching them. Your body will not function at its best without ample levels of protein. It also allows the process of protein synthesis to take place, making it much easier for you to build more muscle.
The purpose of each of your workouts is to break down the muscle tissue in your body with micro-tears. The protein that you consume makes it easier for your muscle tissues to repair themselves so that your muscles come back larger than before. Sticking to a weekly workout schedule and eating plenty of protein is a guaranteed way to gain more muscle mass.
A good rule of thumb is to shoot for 0.8 grams of protein per pound of body weight. If you weigh 200 pounds then you need to aim for 160 grams of protein each day in order to make the most of your diet and exercise.
3. Not Drinking Enough Water
Another mistake for bodybuilders that you need to aim to avoid is failing to drink enough water each day. This is especially important when it comes to your weekly workout schedule. Your body will struggle to keep up with the demands of your workouts if you’re not staying hydrated each day.
Your body has a composition that is 66 percent water, and 66 percent of that water is located in the body’s muscles. The cells within your muscle tissues are made up of a mixture of protein and water. Any goals that you have of gaining mass need to include plenty of water in addition to more protein.
It’s best to strive for eight glasses of water each day in order to keep your body at optimal hydration levels. Another idea is to drink half of your body weight in ounces each day. If you’re 200 pounds then you’d want to make sure that you’re drinking at least 100 ounces of water each day.
4. Overdoing Your Training
Training is essential if you want to build the perfect body, but there is a point where you’re training too hard. You need to remember that your training sessions are breaking down your muscle tissues. It’s logical to believe that more frequent and longer workouts are better for building muscle mass.
In fact, working out too much will prevent your body from healing the tears in your muscle tissue adequately. You should focus on giving your body the rest that it needs to make the most of your training sessions. Not only will your body hurt if you’re overworking it but you’ll add to the stress levels in your body and mind.
An influx of stress hormones will result in a weakened immune system and bodily injuries. It also puts a ton of strain on your nervous system. Avoid over training at all costs.
5. Not Sleeping Enough
Sleep is just as important as diet and exercise when it comes to developing the body of your dreams. The sleep that you get each night plays a big role in how your muscles grow and develop. Nutrition plays the primary role when it comes to growing muscle tissue, but getting adequate sleep is a close second.
Your body uses sleep each night to recover from the stress that you’ve put on it over the previous day. If you’re sleep-deprived then your body will experience higher levels of stress. This results in more body fat, lower energy levels, and a negative experience at the gym.
6. Not Getting Enough Carbs
Carbs also help when it comes to meeting your bodybuilding goals. You need to make sure that you’re consuming enough carbohydrates to keep your system running at optimal levels. Paleo diets are great for people who are looking to become leaner, but it’s not a great fit for someone who is looking to add muscle mass to their body.
Your body needs the energy to burn when it comes to your workout schedule, and it gets that energy from the glucose that comes from carbohydrates. You will b able to push your body further and get more from each trip to the gym. That will result in seeing the growth that you’re hoping for on your journey toward becoming a bodybuilder.
The best way to consume carbs when you’re becoming a bodybuilder is to focus on complex carbs. This means eating wild rice, oats, and yams on a regular basis. Look for creative and fun ways to add these carbs to your diet.
7. Not Lifting Enough
The amount of weight that you lift during each lifting session is also important to think about if you’re worried about the main mistakes of bodybuilders. A good rule of thumb is to up the weight if you’re no longer feeling challenged by your workout sessions. At that point, you’re wasting your time and gas to drive to the gym and not push yourself.
You should also avoid doing an exercise that you’re capable of doing 20 or more reps with. This is an obvious sign that you need to add more weight to this exercise. Aim for a weight that is challenging when you’re doing 10 to 12 reps.
The weight should be challenging enough that it’s difficult but light enough that you can still maintain great form. Picking up bad habits from trying to lift too much weight is a recipe for disaster. You could suffer serious injuries from lifting with poor form.
8. Lifting Too Fast
You also need to consider the pace that you’re using when you’re performing different lifts. One of the worst mistakes for bodybuilders who are trying to gain strength and grow muscle is to perform the lifts too fast. Your muscles need some time under tension in order to get the most out of your workouts.
This resistance is what allows the muscle to start growing. You should never complete 10 reps in less than 15 seconds as this means that you’re not giving your muscles enough time under tension and you’re wasting energy with your workout. Each set should last around 40 seconds if you want to get more from your workouts and start building the body of your dreams.
9. Ignoring Supplements
Supplements play a big role in becoming a bodybuilder, and it’s a huge mistake to write them off. There are a ton of options out there that you should consider using if you want to get more energy or enhance the process of protein synthesis. A great option to consider if you’re looking for some help with reaching your bodybuilding goals is to buy sarms.
SARMs are designed to provide many of the same benefits that anabolic steroids provide, but they do so in a way that doesn’t include harmful side effects. They are far more selective when it comes to binding to tissue in the body, as they’re designed to bind themselves to the muscles and bones.
Some SARMs are perfect for someone who wants to add mass or bulk while also getting denser bones. Others are great if your goal is to burn unwanted fat, and you can stack some of these SARMs together to get the best of both worlds. Keep in mind that some SARMs do require post-cycle therapy to get your hormones back in order after your cycle comes to an end.
10. Using Poor Form
No matter how challenging the weight that you’re attempting to lift is, always ensure that you’re using the proper form. Many men get an ego about form and try to lift weights that are too heavy and which results in preventable injuries. Make sure that you can control the weight with great form throughout the lifting action.
A failure to control the weights is negative for your workout because you won’t ever get to work out the muscles that you’re trying to target. You’ll end up engaging and overworking your joints, which could result in a serious injury that destroys all of your progress. Always lift in front of a mirror so that you can check your form and prevent these injuries from happening.
11. Not Stretching Enough
Many people complain that stretching is a waste of time, but the older you get the more important stretching your body is. Never skip stretching after you finish your workout. Getting a good stretch in after your workout helps to speed up the recovery process from your workout that you’ve just finished.
It’s also the best way to get your body ready for the next training session. You will experience tight and sore muscles after your workout if you don’t take this last step in your weekly workout schedule. It also helps to stretch the muscle fascia so that your muscles have more room to grow after you’ve finished your daily lifting session.
12. Running Too Much
Cardio is an important part of becoming a bodybuilder, but you need to find a healthy balance with cardio. Cardio speeds up your recovery process and promotes overall health, but too much running will cut into the gains that you’re making by eating right and getting after it in the weight room.
Too much cardio will result in atrophy of your muscles, which will result in your body getting mixed signals about your fitness goals. It will not know if you’re trying to build more muscle or get rid of mass when you’re focusing too much on cardio. Do enough cardio to boost your health but avoid going overboard.
Avoid These Costly Mistakes for Bodybuilders Today
If you plan on building the perfect body then you need to take all of the proper steps for sleep, diet, and exercise. You can’t afford to make the common mistakes for bodybuilders if you want to gain the mass that you need to step into the bodybuilding profession. Consider using supplements for bodybuilding and sticking to a strong weekly workout schedule to reach all of your goals.
