Most intermediates and advanced bodybuilders are in my opinion well catered, for in today’s muscle magazines. the terminology and highly technical contents of current muscle journals can appear almost frighteningly complex to the huge potential influx of would be bodybuilders. Wanna be muscle man (and women) on flicking thorough the beefcake mags, see photos of top competitors and ‘stars’, whom they may or may not wish to emulate. The truth is THOUSANDS OF MEN AND WOMEN HAVE NO DESIRE FOR AN EXCESS OF MUSCLE AND VASCULARITY, most wish to use weights as a vehicle to help them achieve physical normality, i.e. to gain or lose weight, and to improve their physique or strength to an acceptable level of macho manliness or feminine beauty.

As an introductory article for neophytes (beginners) wishing to commence weight training/bodybuilding, I hope the following general advice is of some use in preparation perhaps for greater ideals. Briefly – basic Bodybuilding.

Lets have no excuses, age is no alibi for avoiding exercise. Training with weights, barbells, or dumbbells, can be adjustable to suit the strongest or weakest, young or old. The whole beauty of barbell training is that it is progressive, with resistance for your muscles ranging from using the empty bar to as heavy a poundage as you care to try and lift.

So your fist step is to purchase a basic barbell and two dumbbells, with as much weight in discs as you can afford. Make sure you have a variety of discs, especially some small ones to use as progression, adding to them when able, to provide resistance for your ever growing strength. You will also require some squat racks and a good strong bench, slightly less than shoulder width wide and about a metre and a half long and half a metre high above the ground.

Used mainly for the popular bench press exercise, plus barbell or dumbell pullovers to expand the chest, and dumbell flying exercises to pump up the pectoral (chest) muscles. You can also perform bench height squats (knee bends), seated curls etc. Construct a sturdy bench form thick planks on strong supports if you have basic carpentry skills, or know a friendly woodworker. Better still, is to purchase one of the readily available multi-use benches advertised elsewhere in BBM.
These adjustable benches allow an even greater range of exercises including incline angles and many benches have extra attachments which you can buy in stages to add to your home gym. By the way, all the foregoing information is given under the assumption that, like thousands of other new bodybuilders, you will be training at home in your own HOME GYM.

Beginners need basic all round schedules, regardless of their shape or size, you must resist the initial urge to train isolated body parts, or try out advanced schedules. The best routine for a beginner consists of about 8 to 10 exercises, using those exercises which bring into play the MAJOR MUSCLE GROUPS, i.e., upper arms and shoulders, chest, back and legs. Smaller groups such as neck, forearms and even calves, are exercises enough initially in these basic moves. It’s only later when more advanced that you will be required to work on specialized muscle groups.

So suitably and sensibly attired in a track suit or similar training apparel (again much of which is available form the advertises) the best period for most people to exercise is about two hours after their evening meal which means for most of us, commencing training about 7 or 8 o’clock in the evening. Shift workers or those who have to work other hours, can come to their own arrangements by experimenting, finding out when they feel at this best or most energetic.

A beginners schedule should never take more than one hour to complete. If it takes longer either you are doing too much, or you are taking too long in between exercises. It is healthier to keep moving from one exercise to another, rather than to take longer breaks and let your muscles cool down. Most important to prevent injuries and get the circulation moving it is essential to spend several minutes of mild bending, stretching and performing various free exercises of calisthenics in preparation for the tougher exercises to follow, i.e. WARM UP.
Remembering the basic rule that you always attempt to maintain an upright spine by keeping THE BACK STRAIGHT whenever picking up weights from the floor, a good starting exercise for your schedule in the STANDING PRESS BEHIND NECK. This is a superb exercise for developing shoulders (i.e. DELTOIDS see your muscle chart) and upper arms (TRICEPS), this type of overhead movement eliminates any risk of excess back bending which can occur when pressing weights overhead in front of the head.

To commence the exercise, the easiest way is to have the bar loaded across upright squat racks; about 20 kg would be enough for most beginners. Duck under the bar and remove from the racks on the back of the shoulders, behind the neck with a fairly wide grip and press overhead to arms length. Hold momentarily, then lower to shoulders, again behind the neck. Perform the required number of repetitions (for beginners it is best to try 10) then replace the bar on the racks. No racks??? Then you must lift the weight from the floor to your chest, jerk press it overhead, lower behind your neck and commence the exercise from there. We may need at this point to explain another couple of basics, i.e. that one complete movement of an exercise is termed one repetition or 1 rep. The general rule for how many repetitions or reps are to be performed varies according to your aims. Low reps of 3 to 6 are normally used when training for strength, medium reps of 6 to 12 are by experience proven to be best for most people to stimulate muscle growth, and finally high reps of 15 to 30 or more are usually employed on reducing or fitness schedules.

The chosen number of reps are then performed, this being known as one set. Total beginners, very young or older people are advised to use only one set of each exercise or movement, however, after a time lapse when the muscles and general condition of the trainee improves, then more sets can be incorporated in your routines. An intermediate trainer, say after six months, would normally have progress to 3 or 4 sets, whilst real advanced bodybuilders may use as many as 10 sets of each exercise, taking this much because their muscles are now used to hard work. To save time and space, sets and reps in schedules are usually written as 3 x 10, which is three sets of ten repetitions. The second exercise to learn is the mainstay of most good schedules, a movement which brings into play the important areas of the upper legs, and makes huge demands on the lungs and circulation. Known universally as the ’king of exercises’, the deep knee bend squat.

To practice, take the loaded bar across the shoulders from off your squat racks and with heels on a thick plank or a couple of barbell discs to help maintain balance, lower yourself into the deep knee bend or squat position, if you can, it will always help if you also have a training partner or ‘buddy’ to watch out, help you keep control of the barbell, help lift weights on and off you (i.e. in the bench press) and to give vocal encouragement and some competition. The breathing technique for squats as with most other exercises is to take a full breath at the beginning of the move, squat down, and then breathe out on the way up. Take another full breath and repeat.

One set of twelve repetitions (1 x 12) with about 25kg should suffice for a total beginner, use even less if you are unsure of your strength, in fact you will need several workouts just to discover how much weight to even make a start with in your early schedules. Each new workout you should try to add extra small discs onto the bar, gradually increasing the poundage to force your muscles to work harder and grow to compensate for the demands made upon them with your exercises. Remember not to hurry things or try to rush progress, make steady but constant progress, and graduated increases.