Well, in an effort to get myself motivated I am going to be writing this high intensity bodybuilding site a few times a week as long as I have time. This will be part a training journal but as I am not known for keeping things brief it will also rather heavily feature me talking about the many issues relating to high intensity training and HARDGAINER TRAINING in particular.
I will also be covering where to buy fitness equipment and just what I think about many bodybuilding routines and the bull that surrounds so much in the bodybuilding industry. If you are looking for anything to do with illegal growth hormones, the usual drug suspects and anything that is not down to hard graft and a few supplements then you may as well bugger off now. What this site will be about is getting motivated, building muscle and not wasting time doing it.
I am not a guy that likes hanging around in Gyms chatting and lifting heavy weights just for the sake of it. I believe in good form, getting the job done, and getting bigger muscles and getting strong in the most efficient way and as quickly as I can.
An Introduction To High Intensity Bodybuilding
First a bit of background detail. I am 36 now and have been dabbling in weight lifting and bodybuilding for well over half my life. I am a naturally skinny dude and was always thin and a hardgainer. Lifting weights helped me get a lot bigger and stronger and of the many different ways I have tried over the years to do this it is HIGH INTENSITY BODYBUILDING that has been by far the most effective way.
As of now, Nov 2 209 I have not trained for over 5 years. Yep, nothing. I am not as skinny as I once was in my youth as the years of training have left me with a solid foundation and I am a firm believer that all the heavy eating and training changed my body-type so I no longer have to eat in such large quantities to stay looking good.
Just over 5 years ago me and the good lady left the UK to live in Spain. Since then we have pretty much been involved in renovating an old stone cottage in the mountains. Hence no training. The work has been back breaking and has involved moving an insane amount of rock and rubble and basically building the house from the ground up. Training has simply not been an option as the work has been simply too heavy. There is absolutely no way that you can train heavy and hard and do the kind of physical work I have been doing.
Although not over, the majority of heavy work is now done, and I am going to return to getting the look of a bodybuilder by training again.
My Routine And Equipment
As of yesterday I set up my power rack which has been out of doors for five years but has weathered amazingly well. I have my collection of weights, a few bars, a trap bar and that’s about it.
Anyone who wants to maximise their results and trains at home should seriously consider a power rack. It makes training safer and easier and is by far the most valuable tool in my arsenal next to a trap bar. I will talk about that in another post though.
As I have had such a long lay off I am going to start of very light and slow. My muscles need to re-learn correct exercise form and I need to work up slowly to get back to some serious weight and start putting on the pounds.
If you are reading this and want some magic formula then go buy a dodgy e-book. This is going to be about what you really need to do to put on muscle, how much you should train and how hard you should train. As I am an advocate of high intensity training, once I am up to speed I will be going flat out to get the best possible results with the lowest amount of training. At my age this means two workouts a week (yes, just two), and they will, for now, be full body workouts.
I found in the past that even that can sometimes be too much, especially for my legs, but for now I will see how it goes. Bodybuilding routines are not set in stone and if there is one thing that i have learnt it is to listen to your body and change routines accordingly. Sometimes we should simply mix up our bodybuilding programs just to stave of boredom and have a fresh approach for a while. Here is the basics of a very good and very productive high intensity bodybuilding routine that I will be following for the time being at least:
- Trap bar deadlifts
- Chin Ups and Bent over Rows or Dumbell Rows
- Dips and Bench Press
- Shoulder Press
- Barbell Curls
- Shrugs
WTF I hear you say. Is that it?
Near enough yeah. Look, unless you have already got a good foundation in those exercises and have seen a marked improvement in both your size and your strength then anything other than a little variation on exercise selection and frequency or number of sets is pretty much futile.
If you do one all out set of Squats or Deadlifts then you don’t need to bother with leg curls or leg extensions and calf raises. Save it for the honing. Heavy duty training with a groaning barbell and maxing out for 15 or 20 reps for a set of squats will leave you gasping and you will take days to recover. When I was 18 I could do it 3 times a week but those days are over. Apart from anything else I know I will not recover if I perform trap bar deadlifts more often than twice a week and as the weight increases as I get back to form then that will probably change to less than twice a week.
High intensity training takes it out of you and if you are performing multiple sets and going full out then you better keep the number of exercises low. A handful of exercises performed intensely and to at least positive failure will see you growing and getting big immediately.
Even a hardgainer like me can get much bigger than your average person by training a few times a week. Don’t get me wrong I will never be HUGE, most people simply cannot. Unless you have totally superior genetics for bodybuilding you will never be a beast. You can get big muscles though and look great. You will be bigger and stronger than nearly everyone else your age and it will show. A broad back and good muscles that make you feel good and look good.
Hopefully you will come along for the ride with me. I will be talking about many issues that surround bodybuilding and will also be providing information on where to get equipment and what I feel is needed and what isn’t. For now let’s just get on with building muscle.