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As much as I love reading and researching bodybuilding, you’ll learn a lot more by simply testing different techniques on yourself. Whether it’s different types of diets, macronutrient ratios, training programs, etc - test it on yourself first. If you make a mistake, no big deal - learn from it.

Use your mistakes to leverage your success. Take each mistake as an opportunity to improve your results even more. Finally, use my mistakes to leverage your success. If just one person avoids one of these mistakes, then that makes this post worth it.

15. Thinking Chipotle was a great way to get more calories

Wow, I don’t know how I rationalized this one. I thought with my crazy fast metabolism that I really needed huge meals to pack on size - wrong!

14. Eating too many calories on a bulk

This is the most frustrating by far. At 150 pounds, I gained weight at 3500 calories, so I figured now that I’m 180 pounds, I need at least 4500 to gain weight. What really happened: I got Fat.

13. Skipping cardio on a bulk

Another reason why I got too fat. I’m not exactly the “runner” type, so I do cardio only as much as I need to. Next time, I’ll be doing cardio or HIIT twice a week - whether I’m trying to gain weight or not.

12. Checking my weight too often

I used to weigh myself every other day. I wanted to understand how my body weight fluctuated, but it made me more stressed. I recently fixed this one, thank god! Checking your weight once a week is so much simpler.

11. Inconsistent diet

Trying to keep track of my very variable diet on Fitday.com was a real hassle - and my results showed it. Eating the same exact meals (which I started 3 months ago) delivers much more consistent results.

10. Not paying close enough attention to my results

Somehow I didn’t notice that I was gaining too much fat, I just “pushed” it out of my mind and focused on my size - big mistake.

9. Thinking supplements are a waste of money

I like the old school approach of concentrating solely on diet and training. But I learned that on a cut, BCAAs are a miracle in recovery and reducing soreness.

8. Neglecting my weaker muscle parts

I still hate training my lats and biceps, but around 6 months ago I started to take those body parts much more seriously.

7. Expecting too much in too little time

I don’t think I’m alone on this one. What can I say? I want results now! But I’m learning to be more patient. I used to want dramatic results every month, now I align my expectations for achieving major progress in three month intervals.

6. Trying to get ripped by overdoing cardio

The only thing worse than getting fat is losing muscle. Last summer, I ran like Forest Gump and ate like a rabbit - losing tons of muscle. In 2008, I’m going to lean out by slowly reducing calories, not by overdoing cardio.

5. Looking in the mirror everyday expecting to look better every time

I used to mirror way too much and my mind played tricks on me. I’m sticking to tape measurements and body fat calipers for now on.

4. Not practicing what I preach

I admit it, even though I encourage people to eat vegetables, I neglect them. 2008 Solution: Make veggies their own meal.

3. Neglecting new ideas

I get comfortable with using the same workouts, routines, and rep ranges that I don’t want to change things. 2008 will be different.

2. Balancing my diet with my life

This one will be challenging to fix. It’s tough to balance my diet with my friends who want to go out to eat everyday. I’ll probably allow myself to eat out and cheat a bit more.

#1 Mistake: Not getting help

This was the biggest mistake of mine. I love reading and researching and I got think headed thinking I can learn it all from my own research. That, coupled with the fact that most trainers at (a lot of) public gyms don’t have enough experience with bodybuilding made me decide that I can do it solo.

Not in 2008 I won’t be. I have found a personal trainer who has over 15 years of experience in bodybuilding and has trained pro bodybuilders, and I plan on picking her brain.

What About You?

Now that I told my embarrassing mistakes, what are some of your mistakes? Make a list, not a mental one, and prioritize them. Try fixing the top 3 mistakes and focus solely on those. I know mine, do you know yours?

Diet is the biggest mistake made by all people. The reason why most people never see quality results is because they under eat and over train. A few extra protein shakes is not going to do anything.

You must eat big to get big. Gaining weight = gaining muscle. That does not mean solely protein; it means consuming a sufficient ratio of protein, carbs, and fats.

How Much to Eat

The number of calories you eat will ultimately make you or break you. To find out how much you should eat to gain wait, multiply your weight by 18. Eat that amount everyday for a week. If you don’t gain .5 - 1.5 pounds, add another 500 calories.

Slowly increase your calories week by week to continue gaining weight, but do so slowly. 1 pound per week is optimal.

What to Eat

Stick to only quality sources of calories.

Protein:

• Chicken breast
• Steak and ground beef
• Fish
• Pork
• Turkey
• Tuna
• Cottage cheese
• Milk
• Eggs
• Whey protein powder

Carbohydrates:

• Oats
• Oatmeal
• Brown rice
• Sweet potatoes
• Barley
• Yams
• Anything whole wheat

Fat:

• Almonds, unroasted
• Almond butter
• Natural peanut butter
• Mixed nuts, unroasted
• Olive oil
• Fish oil
• Avocado

Sample Diet

Here is a very simple “bulking” diet that you can split up into many different meals. Just make sure at the end of the day you’ve consumed the following:

• 1 pound of lean ground beef (720 Calories)
• 1 gallon of skim milk (1440 Calories)
• Dozen egg whites scrambled (120 Calories)
• 2 cups of Brown Rice (388 Calories)
• 3 cups of Rolled Oats (900 Calories)
• 2 tbsp of Natural Peanut Butter (190 Calories)
• Lots of fibrous vegetables such as Broccoli, Asparagus, etc.
• Assorted fruit
• A minimum of 1 gallon of water everyday

That’s just shy of 3,800 calories total - enough for the average 170 pound male to gain weight, considering he has a moderately active metabolism.

Meal Frequency

Focus on eating six solid meals evenly spread out throughout the day. It will end up being about every three hours. This will allow you to feed your body and muscles on a constant basis. Eating this frequently sounds intimidating, but once you get into the routine of it, your stomach will adapt and it will become habit.

How To Cook All This Food

Diets can look fine on paper, but once you start to actually cook it and eat, you start to realize that you need to practically become a full time chef just to gain muscle. Don’t stress about it though, you will get faster and more efficient as time goes on, remember this. For now, follow these tips

• Use an electrical griddle instead of pots and pans
• Buy a rice cooker
• Buy a food scale
• Weigh your meats, pre-cook them, then freeze them for the week
• Use Tupperware

How To Deal With Your Diet On-The-Go

We can’t just sit around our houses and cook all day, right? So, try this:

• Bring food with you in Tupperwear
• Find a fridge at work or school and try to use it
• Limit eating out to social occasions 2 or 3 times a week
• Eat at places where they provide nutritional information (Ex: Subway)

But I’m Afraid I’ll get Fat

Most guys are real sensitive about losing definition or their semi-defined six pack. But here’s a tip: you will never gain any weight until you let go of your fear of getting fat and losing your six pack. Just let it go and focus on eating big. If you focus on eating quality calories (and lots of them) you will be very satisfied with your gains.

Realistic results

If you combine the diet knowledge in this article plus good training and adequate rest, you can expect to gain around 1 – 1.5 pounds of quality weight per week. Any more than that and you’re sure to put on too much fat. Beginners may see faster results because their bodies haven’t adapted yet, where as more experienced gym goers may see slower results.

The only way to really see your success is by measuring. Just looking in the mirror everyday will be deceiving so I recommend using the following to gauge your results:

• Before and after photos
• Physical tape measurements
• Body fat percentage change
• Mirror and Scale

Before and after photos are definitely the most satisfying and realistic way to measure your success. Plus, it’s what I use to help me push through discouraging times. When I’m feeling down about my progress, I continually look back at my original before photo and remind myself of my success.

But whatever you do, do not quit. Keep sticking it out, eating big, and training heavy and you will achieve your results. It just takes hard work and patience.

Spending big money on supplements recently?

Supplements can get expensive, very expensive. But don’t get mad, get smart. Make your own supplements for dirt cheap. How? It’s actually very easy – simply buy the ingredients separately.

Most supplements (creatines, fat burners, amino acids) contain very similar (and cheap) ingredients. But when supplement companies combine these very basic ingredients into so-called “proprietary formulas” they charge a much higher price. Good for them, bad for you.

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People are well-known for signing up to a gym around the New Year, only to be back on the couch come February. It can be caused by a lot of things, such as intimidation, lack of results and motivation problems. It usually sounds like this, “I was too busy“, “I just never got around to it”, “That takes a certain type of person“.

To me, they’re all just rationalizations for having a less-than-adequate level of discipline. But that’s okay, because I challenge those same very people who have quit in the past to simply change their approach through these 2 steps.

1. Find an Awesome Workout Partner

I can’t stress enough how much easier and more enjoyable this makes working out. Bring a friend, co-worker, or family member next time you want to work out.

A workout partner will:

• Remind you to keep up the habit
• Motivate you to workout longer and harder
• Make your workouts more enjoyable and seem less tedious

It’s important that your workout partner be motivated and willing to work as hard as you. Someone with experience in fitness would be preferable, but not absolutely necessary.

2. Give it a Trial Run

When we think to ourselves about improving our body or mind, it starts off by us usually saying something in our heads like, “I should start doing _____ every day.” Sometimes it works, but usually it’s short lived. But saying you’re going to do something every day for the rest of your life is daunting. It’s far too intimidating of a thought to motivate me.

Instead, try motivating yourself by saying you’re going to work out three times a week for only 30 days. Consider it your “trial period.”

A trial period will:

• Reduce the intimidation factor of starting a new routine
• Allow you to build momentum in your new habit
• Let you decide if working out is something you truly want

If after your trial period you don’t feel like working out makes you happier, more energized, or more focused, then no big deal. Maybe it isn’t a good time in your life right now. Achieving a great body isn’t about working out a few times a week; it’s more of a lifestyle.

Bottom line - chances are if you can do it for 30 days and enjoy it, you can do it for much, much longer.

Summary

• Find a motivating workout partner
• Work out routinely for only 30 days
• After those 30 days, decide if it’s something you truly want to commit to

I stumbled upon this funny list at bodybuilding.com’s forums. It seems as though us gym rats have a lot in common.

1. You read muscle and fitness magazine for entertainment, not
information.

2. You have more Splenda in your house than table sugar.

3. You think of food in terms of functionality, practicality, and
finally taste, rather than the other way around.

4. You think of cardio, not scissors, when you hear the
word cutting.

5. You’ve learned more about the human body from lifting than in
Biology class.

6. You take more pills than your grandma who has arthritis and
high blood pressure.

7. You know the difference between oatmeal, rolled oats, and
steel oats.

8. You can’t remember what McDonald’s food tastes like.

9. You want to kill the person doing biceps and chest everyday.

10. You’d rather miss an important meeting or date than a
workout.

11. You won’t workout with your friends because you worked that muscle the day before.

12. You have a whole cabinet or shelf dedicated to supplements.

13. You see people at the gym more often than your family.

14. Immediately upon awaking in the morning, you check to see if your sore.

15. People give you weird looks when you get up to go to the bathroom 3 times in one hour.

16. You leave a social event or party because you need to eat Meal #7.

17. When lowcarb commercials start to really piss you off.

18. You laugh at the name Muscle-Tech.

What about you?

For me, just about every one on that list I connect with. Especially 1,3,10,11 and 14! What about you? Click here to make a comment