Common Mistakes Of Natural Bodybuilders

[m_donnelly]

A recent thread has spurred me on to pass on a little bit of my knowledge of competing in natural bodybuilding. I was never a top tier competitor but I did manage to place in the men's division of several weight classes when I was 19 and 20 years old, many years ago. I competed in both natural and "unnatural" competitions so hopefully I can pass on some useful information.

1. Training naturally is very different from competing on AAS so you need to disregard quite a bit of what you read in many publications. Ronnie Colemab is essentially a different animal than a natural competitor because of his genetics and the drugs.. Don't fall into this trap..

2. Weighy training during the cutting phase is different when not running gear. You're not going to keep up a high level of weight training volume while in a caloric deficit. Many natural competitors amp up their volume while cutting because they feel this is the best way to hold on to mass and to burn more calories. Unfortunately, they'll get the opposite results... You see, you cannot follow the same training routines as those competitors on AAS as you just will not recover while in such a calorie depleted state. Upping the volume results in overtraining and burned muscle mass. In my experience, the best way to train is to cut back on the volume and frequency of weight training while increasing the weight used. Now, I'm not talking about powerlifting weights but falling back on compound movements in the 5-8 rep range, 3 non consecutive days per week works well for holding on to size.

3. The majority of one's training should come from fasted cardio in the morning. A lot of competitors are under the impression that they need to burn as many calories as possible during cardio and they push it too hard.. You're just asking to destroy muscle mass if you're HR is above 130bpm during a fasted cardio session. Generally speaking, 5 sessions of 35-45 minutes of cardio is kosher for dialing down. Pay attention to the mirror those last few weeks and feel free to cut back on the cardio in those last few weeks. If you're nice and tight, then dial back and make sure you're holding mass. If you're not satisfied with the mirror, don't jump the gun and up the time on the treadmill; you'll waste away. Keep it consistent and see where you're at in a week or two. If you're still not at your best, pull out.

3. Dieting for a natural show isn't much different from an open one with one exception; your calories will probably be a few hundred lower as you won't have the benefit of the increased metabolism from gear. This is a generalization though and it varies from individual to individual. I always had to cut calories low to hit peak shape as I'm fairly endomorphic. Bear in mind, I said CALORIES, not carbs. Sooo many bodybuilders think they need to jump into a ketogenic diet at some point in their diet phase and they end up chewing up their muscle. The macro nutrient ratio varies from person to person; some guys get away with a fairly high carb count while others will have to drop them to 30% of their calories. Personally, I don't think you need to go lower than 30% if you're taking in the right kind of carbs; sweet potatoes, brown rice and oatmeal are basically the only carbs you need to take in (along with fibrous green veggies). This can vary according to your training as well; it's a good idea to up your carbs a bit in days you weight train as you'll recover better.

4. Many bodybuilders think they need to carb deplete and then load the week of the show.. I personally, have never had a positive experience in this regard as I was already depleted enough from low calorie dieting. Starting the Monday of the week of the show, I'd start adding carbs gradually. My rule was simple: I add a sweet potato in each day. By Thursday, I'd have an extra sweet potato tossed into my first four meals, depending on what I saw in the mirror. You have to be careful and pay attention to how you feel and what you see in the mirror. You may be a little insulin resistant after three months of dieting and you could end up adding body fat if you carb up too quick. And, always remember; being a little flat is better than being a little fat...

5. Drying out as a natural bodybuilder can be tricky as you don't have diuretics to fall back. I'd start off the Monday of that week drinking an extra two gallons of water a day, cut back to one on Wednesday and then drink half of normal on Thursday, stopping all water intake about 16 hours before prejudging. I'd then use the sauna to cut anything extra out. Your carb and water in take will all depend on what you see in the mirror. Bear in mind, you'll be fine either way if you've dieted down correctly.

6. In my opinion, posing routines for natural shows need to reflect the fact that you're natural. You're not a mass monster out there on stage so don't try and pose that way. Set up a graceful fluid posing routine that will show lines, symmetry, and your core. Doing repeated front and back double biceps and most muscular poses just make most natural guys look, well, natural! Personally, I moved in and out of a lot of side poses to show the judges how small my waist was in comparison to my chest, shoulders, back and thighs.

Take any of this information as you will. It comes from my own experiences and it may or may not do anything for you.

[Times Roman]

nice read!

[Papa Smurf]

Uhhhhhhhhhh Bodybuilding 101

[m_donnelly]

Uhhhhhhhhhh Bodybuilding 101

You're right but you'd be amazed at how many guys I've met and trained with that screw up some facet of what I posted.

Also, how many guys have you seen reading "Arnold's Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding", Flex or Muscle and Fitness (etc) thinking that those are good resources for bodybuilding?

[knuckles69]

Very interesting. Thanks

[kelkel]

Nicely written post.

[Doom44]

Good post mate

[belva]

I like it

[OnTheSauce]

Mistake #1 - staying natural

[BIGTIMEPUSH]

Mistake #1 - staying natural

Some of us Patrick cant find GOOD Gear we can trust. (AKA Me) So... we do things the natural way and just try our hardest to achieve the same look. Will it ever happen, No. But hey we all will be healthy and strong.

Anyways, Great post lots of good first hand experiences. Thanks