ravadongon

What Are The Most Common Training/Nutrition Mistakes Athletes Make?

By Ravadongon

Being a high school athlete can be tough. Time is scarce and it can be hard to manage your training with your academic work and leisure time. Everyone seems to be throwing different tips and ideas at you, whether they’re qualified or not, and it can be hard to know what to take on board and what not to. You are bound to make some mistakes, there’s no doubting that, but what matters is, how long you take to identify and correct these mistakes. This article will help you decipher some common mistakes made by athletes, that you may be making, and the ways in which you can correct these mistakes.

Training

Mistake 1: No Goals

As the old saying goes, “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” How often do you see young athletes walk straight into the weights room and ask their training partner:

“What’d’ya feel like doing today, mate”
“Uhhhh….. I dunno, maybe chest and biceps”
“Yeh that sounds good”
“What exercise are we doing first?” and so on it goes….

Far too often if you ask me…By not setting goals you are lacking a sense of direction in your training and you will often not seek the progress you desire as a result of this.

Correction 1: Set Goals And Work Towards Them

Everyone who is successful plans, sets goals and has an objective for everything they do. From the top businessmen to the top athletes, they all share something in common. They set goals. Setting goals is simple and easy to do, yet the benefits they provide are invaluable. Goals focus your attention and clarify what you are trying to achieve. Here are some quick tips on setting goals:

1. Make sure your goals are measurable: A vague goal, such as "I want to be fit," doesn’t give you anything in specific to strive for. Be decisive in what you are going to achieve and when you are going to achieve it e.g. "I want to be able to run 3km in less than 12 minutes, by January 2006."

2. Be realistic: Insure your goals are physically achievable. If you set your expectations too high, you will become frustrated and lose confidence in yourself. Make sure, however, that your goals are not too easy; they should be challenging enough for you to have to work hard to achieve them.

3. Set short-term goals: These should be used as stepping stones to your long-term (ultimate) goals: If your long-term goal is to squat 350 pounds by the end of 2005, then set short-term weekly or monthly goals of the weight you will need to squat to achieve your long term goal. It is a lot easier to accomplish a goal one day or week at a time, such as increasing 2.5 or 5 pounds a week, than it is to think that you need to increase your bench press by 50 pounds.

Mistake 2: Insufficient Recovery

As you may here your coach or training partners say “no pain, no gain.” This, more often than not, is the basis of all poor training regimes. Allowing your muscle tissue to rebuild and repair the microtraumas (small tears) created as a result of training, is the key to increasing muscle strength and size. By training when you are in pain you are only hindering your opportunity to make progress.

Correction 2: Allow For Sufficient Recovery Between Workouts

The key to accommodating sufficient recovery for your muscles is by listening to your body. If your muscles you will be using during a workout are significantly sore prior to that workout, then you are overtraining. Your training regime should be constructed so that you are able to recover completely before a workout e.g. you should not do sprints the day after heavy lower body weight training. It is important to stay consistent with good nutrition, (which I will discuss in more detail later) insure that you consume adequate amounts of protein (~1g/lb of bodyweight), which play a large part in the repair of muscle tissue. If you continue to have trouble with recovery, then techniques such as post workout static stretching (which you should be already doing), contrast showers, and ice massages will also be of assistance to you.

Mistake 3: Training Like A Bodybuilder In The Weights Room

A bodybuilder’s primary goal is muscle hypertrophy. An athletes primary goal is increasing strength and power (in the weights room that is). Muscle size is still important in athletics to a small degree, but strength and power greatly outweigh it. After all a lighter athlete who can generate the same strength and power as a heavier athlete will have an advantage in that respect and having the biggest ‘pecs’ and arms on the team doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to be your teams best player. Unfortunately a lot of athletes are clueless about weight training and because a lot of their coaches are clueless too, they end up training like a bodybuilder with too many high repetition and isolation exercises, as well as using numerous muscle fatigue techniques such as drop sets, super sets, partial reps and pre exhaustion.

Correction 3: Train Like An Athlete In The Weights Room

Of the ten components of fitness, 3 of these can be trained in the weight room, strength, power and body composition (specifically hypertrophy). The best way to go in terms of strength training exercises, are free weight compounds, which work on overall strength with numerous muscle groups working together as synergists, while you should only use isolations to work on weak points.

In terms of the program, periodization is what I and many others believe to be the best tool at developing these components. Instead of only training one of these qualities at a time, you train multiple qualities over a period of time.

The 3 most common types of periodization are Linear (AKA Western Style), Conjugated and Undulating.

Linear Periodization consists of a macrocycle, the overall training cycle usually lasting the length of one season (i.e. 1 year), which consists of mesocycles, 4-6 week training phases that concentrate on a specific area e.g. anatomical adaptation (muscle hypertrophy), maximal strength (development of strength), conversion (converting strength into power), maintenance (maintain developed strengths during in-season) and transition (recovery phase). Each mesocycle consists of a microcycle, which is manipulated to fit the goal of the mesocycle and will generally last around a week. Linear periodization is much better than normal training, however it’s major flaw is it only trains one particular area at a time, while the other areas are left to deteriorate, and for that reason I am not a big advocate of it.

Conjugated Periodization is basically a system where you alternate different purpose workouts. A classic example is Westside Barbell, with the Max Effort (strength) and Dynamic Effort (speed) days. Another example is the Strength/Hypertrophy split. Conjugated Periodization, in my opinion is the best form of periodization, because you are working on multiple qualities at the same time.

Undulating Periodization is a system of training where you vary sets and repetitions for exercises. For example for flat barbell bench press on weeks 1 and 4 you may do 4x4, weeks 2 and 5 you may do 2x8 and weeks 3 and 6 you may do 3x6 (you can do the same for other exercises or choose different variations of sets and reps). The best example of a commonly known training practice that uses undulating periodization is HST (Hypertrophy Specific Training).

Mistake 4: Not Warming Up Properly

Just the other day I saw my school rugby team have a training session in the weights room and not one of them warmed up properly. A few of them cycled for a minute or so, and some were doing some static stretches (which should be done after the workout), but the large majority went over to the bench press rack and leg press machine and started performing working sets without even bothering to perform any warm up sets. How a coach could allow this I do not know, but I guarantee if they continue to do this they will see quite a few injuries by the seasons end.

Correction 4: Warm Up Appropriately

Warming up is very important before any workout, whether it be before a 100m sprint or before maxing out on bench press. But the question you may be asking is why is it important? The answer is because it prepares muscles and joints for greater levels of activity, and also primes CNS to fire. It also has numerous other benefits such as:

- Reducing muscle stiffness (which is directly related to muscle injury)
- Increases speed of contraction/relaxation of the muscles that have been warmed up
- Removes lactic acid accumulated during previous workouts
- Increases blood circulation to muscles
- Increases efficiency of oxygen usage by warmed up muscles (hemoglobin releases oxygen more readily at higher muscle temperatures)
- Neuromuscular coordination is improved by warming up before performing a movement

Add to the list above, it’s simple and easy to do. All it requires is a 5 minute jog, a few minutes of dynamic stretching and some general and specific event drills (e.g. if you are going to be squatting heavy then perform warm up sets working your way up to your max).

Mistake 5: Ignoring Weaknesses

I’ll use another old saying “a chain is only as strong as it’s weakest link.” How often do you see high school athletes ignore a total part of their training because they no it’s their weakness, and because of their egoistical ways, don’t feel the need to show everyone. Unfortunately for these athletes, weaknesses are often highlighted against high class opposition, so if you want to be the best you better start working on those weaknesses and turn them into strengths.

Correction 5: Work On Improving Your Weaknesses

Working on weaknesses can be hard if you are an egoistical person, so if you are remind yourself about that old saying I mentioned earlier, you will only become a better athlete if you do work on your weaknesses.

There are 5 steps in designing a training program to work on your weakness:

1. Set a goal (see section 1)
2. Select tests to assess your teams current level of fitness, and conduct these tests (tests of your fitness e.g. max strength, anaerobic power, aerobic endurance, anaerobic endurance, agility, max sprint, body composition etc.)
3. Conduct gap analysis (seek the areas of fitness that need to be improved from the results of your tests)
4. Construct a training program (one that works on improving weaknesses and maintaining strengths)
5. Monitor progress (every month review your training, make any adjustments if you feel the need)

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My Weight Training Log - http://ironmass.com/forums/showthread.php?p=112673

For Full Journal visit - http://forum.athletes.com/showthread.php?t=2466 or http://charliefrancis.com/community/...ad.php?t=11822.

ravadongon

Nutrition

Mistake 1: Junk Food

It can often be hard to eat correctly with the large amount of junk food out on the market at the moment. Often it’s much more convenient and the easy way out to just pinch a quick meal and drink from the cafeteria then it is to make your own lunch. Unfortunately because of the lack of good quality macronutrients, junk food doesn’t help you perform at your best and can often make you more sloppy.

Correction 1: Stick To Clean Foods

You’ve probably heard this plenty of times from many people, but what constitutes a clean food? Well simply put clean foods are unprocessed foods, composed of good quality macronutrients. An easy way to find clean foods is to look on the packaging (if there is any) and identify any ingredients that don’t constitute the actual product and are there to preserve the food or enhance the flavour. Unpackaged foods are in general clean foods.

Here is a list of clean foods that you can’t go wrong with:

Good Protein Sources
- Lean Meat (beef, lamb, chicken, fish etc.)
- Skim Milk
- Protein Powder
- Eggs
- Cottage Cheese

Good Carbohydrates Sources
- Oats
- Whole Wheat/Grain Bread
- Whole Wheat/Grain Pasta
- Sweet Potatoes
- Brown Rice
- Rolled Oats
- Fresh Fruits
- Fresh Vegetables
- Legumes (e.g. beans, lentils)

Good Fat Sources
- Olive Oil
- Fish Oil
- Flax Seed Oil
- Nuts (inc. Natural Peanut butter)
- Seeds

Mistake 2: Poor Macronutrient Timing and Ratios

Whether it’s too much protein and not enough carbs, or not enough protein and too much carbs and fats, many budding athletes can’t seem to get the ratios right to get the most out of their performance. Not only this but their timing in terms of quantities of macronutrients is also off, and this also holds them back.

Correction 2: Good Macronutrient Timing and Ratios

John Berardi, a famous exercise and nutritional biochemist, suggests that you should have meals of protein and carb (minimal fat) and protein and fat (minimal carbs) during the day. 3 meals should be protein and carb and 3 meals should be protein and fat. He believes this because “insulin's primary function is to shuttle glucose into skeletal muscle, it also carries many other nutrients to their storage sites; this includes lipids (fat). Carbohydrate ingestion stimulates a large insulin secretion and fat ingestion raises blood lipid levels; therefore, the combination is a no-no.”

Even though I don’t live by this, it is a good guideline for me to follow. I recommend you structure protein and carb meals as your breakfast and meals around your workout times (before and after), and any other meals should be protein and fat meals, with minimal carbs.

Mistake 3: Dehydration

Athletes require a lot of water, there’s no doubting that. As you probably know, around 55-65% of our body is made up of fluid, and if an adequate amount of water isn’t consumed then heat illness and cramping can result. I know many athletes will know the importance of staying hydrated, but not many choose to do it and use soda and other canned drinks as their main source of hydration for the day, which isn’t ideal.

Correction 3: Stay Hydrated Throughout The Day

This is the simplest mistake to explain and correct. All it takes is to carry a sports bottle around with you and keep refilling it during the day. Not hard is it, so make sure you do it.

Mistake 4: Reliance On Supplements

Creatine has really become quite big recently and athletes seem to think it’s a miracle supplement and works like magic. Creatine is a great supplement but unfortunately this isn’t the case and it won’t do miracles for you unless you have some good nutrition to back it up. Many athletes don’t realize this and end up wasting a lot of money on creatine and other supplements, that never end up giving them results because of this.

Correction 4: Use Supplements As Supplements

Another easy one to explain. Supplements are called supplements for a reason, they are an addition. If you are eager to see good results with creatine or any other supplement you’ve bought, look no further then your nutrition. If it is not sound, you will not be getting your money’s worth so make sure it is so you can enjoy the added benefits your supplements bring.

Mistake 5: Poor Breakfast

Breakfast is definitely one of the most important meals of the day. But how many athletes actually have a good, wholesome breakfast that gets them off to the right start to the day. Too many athletes think a quick cup of coffee, a bowl of cereal on the run, or one of those quick fix ready to drink meals will suffice, but the fact is, it doesn’t.

Correction 5: Good Breakfast

A good breakfast may seem like too much trouble to go to, but in reality it is quite easy to prepare. After sleeping for around 8 hours, your body is low on amino acids and carbohydrates, which are a key to staying anabolic. Because of this you must get these nutrients into your body as soon as possible after you wake up. Personally I like to get in around 25% protein, 65% carbs and 10% fats, for breakfast. Here are some of my favourites for ‘brekkie’ are:

Liquid Meal

Blend the following…

1 scoop of whey protein
1 cup of skim milk
½ cup of rolled oats
1 banana
2 fish oil caps (optional)

Solid Meal

5 eggs (1 whole, 4 whites)
1 glass of Skim Milk
1 Wholemeal bread
1 Piece Of Fruit

Making Sure They Never Happen Again…

The best way to learn something is to do it yourself. For example, it can be tough trying to remember the recipe for a meal you’ve just watched someone cook, but I can guarantee if you wrote down that recipe and cooked it yourself, you would more than likely remember how to cook it next time, without the recipe. Likewise if you realize you are making a mistake with your nutrition or training, then if you read about how you should be training or eating and implement it yourself, you will not forget the correction you have made and it will stick with you as the correct way, rather than if someone always designs your workout routine and diet for you always. So don’t rely on others to always help you, make things happen yourself, and become a better athlete for that.

Tips For a NOOB!

With either advice coming from here there and everywhere, or no advice at all, it can be tough when starting out. Here are my tips to any beginners…

Training

Weights Room

- Set yourself goals, identify weaknesses, and correct them
- Work with free weight compound exercises primarily, only use isolations to work on weaknesses e.g. if your pulling strength is poor, use isolation work on biceps, rear deltoids and other muscles involved in pulling, to help improve it.
- Work all muscle groups. Don’t just work on the old “chest and biceps”, include training for all major muscle groups.
- Use good form always. “Quality over Quantity”, not the other way around.
- Warm up and cool down properly. One of the many things work in the weights room is meant to help with is injury prevention. Getting injured in the weights room is the last thing you want.
- Use periodization and diversity to avoid plateaus from occurring.
- Allow for sufficient recovery in your routine. You won’t make progress unless you get the required rest.
- Don’t take advice from any old personal trainer/coach. Make sure that person is suitably credentialed, and if you are unsure, post your routine, that they have given you on the forums for the experts to critique.

On The Field

- Set yourself goals, identify weaknesses, and correct them
- Work on all aspects of your fitness required for your sport e.g. if you play a power dominated sport, work on your anaerobic endurance, agility, acceleration and anaerobic power, more than other aspects, likewise if you play an endurance sport work on your aerobic endurance and local muscle endurance, more than other areas.
- Use diversity in your drills/routines, to avoid plateaus.
- Allow for sufficient recovery between workouts.
- Taper off your training during the inseason, and aim to maintain all aspects of fitness during the season, while in the offseason, work on improving fitness.

Nutrition

- Eat clean food and avoid junk/processed foods.
- Get enough calories in during the day so you’re energy stores aren’t depleted (unless you are trying to lose bodyfat – which really should only be done in the offseason)
- Space your meals out. Try and get in lots of smaller meals instead of only a few big meals. It’s a much easier way to get down more food, and helps to improve your metabolism
- Eat 1g protein/lb of bodyweight, from good quality complete protein sources
- Eat carbohydrates leading upto (to provide energy) and after (to replenish depleted glycogen stores) exercise. Use the glycemic index to figure out what type of carbohydrates you should be consuming e.g. low GI before and high GI after exercise.
- Eat healthy fats, when slowing down digestion is the aim e.g. leading upto bedtime, so proteins can be digested slowly to keep your body anabolic throughout the night
- Make sure you eat a proper breakfast i.e. good quality protein source and low GI carbohydrates.
- Have a cheat day every now and then (2 weeks for me) to keep you sane!

Conclusion

Obviously there are a lot more mistakes athletes make, that I could dwell upon, but these are the ten I believe are the most common. It’s these common mistakes that young athlete’s may think, ‘what’s the big deal’, that don’t allow them to achieve maximum performance levels. If you can identify these mistakes in your training and nutrition, and make the required adjustments and corrections, then you’ll be well on your way to becoming a better athlete.

__________________
My Weight Training Log - http://ironmass.com/forums/showthread.php?p=112673

For Full Journal visit - http://forum.athletes.com/showthread.php?t=2466 or http://charliefrancis.com/community/...ad.php?t=11822.

ravadongon

My Mistakes

I like many others, have made my fair share of mistakes when I first started off training seriously to improve my athletic abilities. Thankfully, I realized these mistakes and went about correcting them.

Training

My Mistake 1: Training Like A Bodybuilder In The Weights Room

When I first started off I received the help from a PT at the school gym. He set me up a program that was mostly composed of machine orientated exercises and more isolation exercises than compounds, along with a reasonably high repetition scheme and no strength work. I used this routine along with others provided by him, for my first 6 months in the weights room. After reading in the sports section and bodybuilding.com I finally realized my mistakes. Unfortunately I paid the price when the new season came around…

My Correction 1: Training Like An Athlete In The Weights Room

After noticing my bad performance during that season, and reading up on how athletes should train, exercises and muscle groups that were of particular importance to the sports I play and general structures of routines I should be using. I went about setting things straight. Though I’m still in the process of that, I am starting to notice my work in the weights room is relating to slight improvements in my sporting abilities.

My Mistake 2: Not Working Adequately On All Components Of Fitness

I thought the weights room would be the answer to all my problems, when I began training seriously as an athlete. I neglected any skills training such as anaerobic and aerobic endurance, agility and max sprint speed, and just hit the weights 3 times a week. I again paid the price when the new season started…

My Correction 2: Working Hard On All Areas Of Fitness

With my training structure and routine being a horrible mess, and very few aspects of my overall fitness being covered, I once again had the job of turning things around. I ended up reading a great article by Raphael Brandon, which illustrated to me what aspects of my fitness I needed to look at, and how I could test these areas, to see if I was at an acceptable level. From this I tested all the areas of fitness mentioned in the article and have now developed a plan to improve the areas, which I am deficient in.

My Mistake 3: Poor Warming Up

Whether it was sports training or weight training I never thought much of warming up. I would often jump under what I benched last week straight away and started benching it or arrive late at sports training and get straight into the drills, without any warm up whatsoever. The end result, was some nasty shin splints and general soreness in my shoulder joints.

My Correction 3: Sufficiently Warming Up

After recovering from my shoulder and leg problems, I decided it was time I started avoiding these injuries instead of allowing them to happen like I had in the past. I wrote an article in bodybuilding.com’s TOTW, “WEEK THIRTY-TWO:: How Important Is Warming Up”, that summed up what I had learnt about warming up and even cooling down properly to prevent injuries and general soreness from occurring. Being involved in that TOTW, not only helped enforce what I had learnt, but also helped me learn more about injury prevention, by reading others articles.

Nutrition

My Mistake 1: Eating Junk Food

I was a lanky, skinny bloke to start off with. I had trouble gaining weight in the past, so I opted for a diet that contained a fair amount of calories, and a fair amount of junk food as well. Foods like packet noodles, sausage rolls, chicken nuggets and meat pies were all regulars in my diet. Sure it wasn’t as much junk food as my fellow schoolmates, but it was enough to make me put on quite a bit of fat along with the muscle.

My Correction 1: Eating Clean

This was hard for me to do at first. It’s always difficult to make changes, especially when you’ve been doing it for so long. Eventually I got used to eating more clean food and I felt much better than I ever had before. I was eating plenty of lean meat, wholemeal grains, fruits and vegetables and I felt really energized and my performance in sport was much improved because of this small change.

My Mistake 2: Poor Pre And Post Workout Nutrition

A typical pre workout meal for me consisted of nothing, maybe half a sandwich if I hadn’t finished lunch that day, but more often that not nothing. A typical post workout meal for me consisted of chicken nuggets, maggi noodles and a can of coke. Little did I know that nutrition around workout time was one of the most important times to take in good quality nutrients, and as a result, my progress during these workouts suffered.

My Correction 2: Good Pre And Post Workout Nutrition

This was an easy change for me to make. I read a few articles outlining the importance pre and post workout nutrition whilst browsing on the internet one day and realized how much I was doing wrong, and how easy it was for me to improve my nutrition during this period of time. Again writing an article myself, for bodybuilding.com’s TOTW, “WEEK THIRTY-SEVEN :: What Is A Proper Pre, During, And Post Workout Nutrition Diet?”, helped enforce what I had learnt and allowed me to see more ideas which others had written about.

My Mistake 3: Poor Hydration

I used to always come home with headaches and stomach cramps after heavy training sessions, and hated it. I knew I had to make a change soon, because it was not only painful but hindering my performance on a lot of occassions.

My Correction 3: Sufficient Hydration

Another easy change for me to make. As simple as filling up a 2L old coke bottle (with water of course) in the morning, taking it to school, drinking little bits regularly during the day. Since I’ve been doing this, I haven’t had stomach cramps or headaches any more.

Thanks for reading.

Ravadongon.

__________________
My Weight Training Log - http://ironmass.com/forums/showthread.php?p=112673

For Full Journal visit - http://forum.athletes.com/showthread.php?t=2466 or http://charliefrancis.com/community/...ad.php?t=11822.

chlaxman

Good post. I know I made a lot of those mistakes before I actually started researching what I was doing and trying to accomplish as an athlete. Definitely a good read for everyone.

__________________

NYCmitch25

Lots of good info. Even though I follow a lot of this advise its a great reminder. Good job

Peaked_18

Ja, good post.

bigDman

You mention test to test yourself and find your weekest point. and how you read an article with a bunch of test to do you think you could post that up

You also mentioned 2 article you wrote in TOTW on bb.com do you think you could post them up


and what are the ten components of fitness

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COME CHECK OUT MY JOURNAL

Pj-Macx

Lots of really good info Rav...

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powerman2000

1. Thou shall train with the utmost intensity.


We’ve all heard the phrase "work smarter, not harder." The bodybuilder thinks just the opposite, "Train smarter AND harder."



If you want to be freaky you have to approach each workout as a test to push yourself out of the comfort zone. And have the determination to get as much muscular stress as possible into your workout. Reach for new heights with each workout and don’t be satisfied with 2nd best.

Perhaps you aren’t going to be the next Mr. Olympia. And maybe others around you progress faster. A true warrior won’t use others as an excuse! Or for that matter make excuses at all! A true warrior will strive to be the best they can be! Never just go through the motions. This is the main philosophy behind shock techniques. By constantly cycling your shocks and changing your workouts around, your brain will never be able to adapt to your workouts, and as a result you will have to increase your intensity to keep up with your routines! Destroy the weights and wreak havoc on your muscular system!



2. Thou shall stay Consistent.


You can't make continuous improvement by training and dieting in spurts. Unless you're sick or injured, there's no excuse not to go to the gym.



I’ve heard them all from, “I’m just too busy” to “It’s just too hard with my schedule”, blah, blah, blah. If you really want to you can make the time. And that’s the key to being a champion in anything…you really have to want it! Bodybuilding is a difficult sport. You have to have the desire! You just have to plan and organize your time better.



Make up a routine and stick to it! Of course breaks are good, but they should be pre-planned and never longer than two weeks.



3. Thou shall eat often.


You need a consistent supply of nutrients to achieve maximum growth. Eat a meal every 2-3 hours. I know it can be tough, but you have to pre-plan your meals if you live a hectic lifestyle. I understand how tough this can be. I recently graduated, but I understand the “working over-time, going to school full-time” life style. I find the easiest thing to do is on your off day, bake a whole bunch of chicken breasts and sweet potatoes. This way if worse comes to worse and you’re in a huge hurry you always have a body building meal for on the go. Remember your muscles grow at the dinner table and in the sack, not in they gym. Food is the most anabolic compound on the planet. Don’t cut your gains short by lacking in this area! Protein is the #1 friend of the body builder. Protein builds muscle, and keeping it readily available for your body at all times is crucial for consistent gains. It’s what builds muscle during a bulk, and spares it during a cut or maintenance cycle. Aim to get 20-40 grams of protein with each small meal, or at least get one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight per day. If you are bulking I’d recommend 1.5 to 2 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight!



4. Remember to Sleep and keep it Sacred.


When you are asleep, growth hormone is released and this is when a lot of the muscle recovery takes place. A lot of people have the working out and nutrition aspects right but severely lack in the sleep department. If you are getting insufficient amounts of sleep, you're depriving your body of its best chance to grow. To avoid this, make sure to get at least 8, preferably 9 hours of sleep every night. Lack of sleep can quickly lead to overtraining. I’ve experienced this myself several times. You bust your ass in the gym all week and run on 4 or 5 hours of sleep a night. This is terrible on the body. You can’t expect to demolish your body, then not give it the chance to re-heal! This can often make you sick and sluggish. Sure, your muscles grow during the day when you rest, but the majority of growth happens during REM sleep, which only occurs during deep sleep. Another important thing about sleep is when its over and you wake up! When you've been asleep for 8 hours, you haven't eaten anything and you are in a severe state of catabolism (anti-growth). This means your body is really low on amino acids and carbohydrates. This is a huge no-no if you expect to get any results from your workouts.



The best way to smash the starvation of your muscles is to have a big breakfast as soon as possible when you wake up. Even if you like to get ready and get things done around the house before eating breakfast you should at least have a protein shake as soon as you wake up. Make it a habit! I too am one of those that can’t eat as soon as I wake up, but shoveling down a quick shake is no big deal, and can aid in restoring your anabolic state big time! Also, if you work out early, I’d recommend getting a lot of carbs with your breakfast for workout fuel.



5. You shall have no other liquids before me….Drink water!


Staying hydrated is important for everything from digestion to endurance. Don’t expect to eat 2 grams of protein per day and go skimpy on the water. If so you’re flushing your protein down the drain…literally! The bottom line is that your body depends on water to remain in top condition. Just like a car needs gasoline. As soon as you get dehydrated you're weaker, less mentally alert, and in general in less than perfect condition.

Water = Anabolic state! Aim for a gallon per day! Of course more is better!



6. Thou shall Stretch.


By taking stretching seriously you can maintain and improve your flexibility. In addition to getting better blood flow (which gives better pumps) and decreasing the risk of injury, your flexibility will help your workout form as well. It will also let you get a fuller range of motion which can lead to more muscle growth! Tom Platz was infamous for this and was more flexible than most Olympic gymnasts! I recommend stretching before, after, and in-between sets! A body builder should never just be sitting there looking off into space while in the gym! Also utilize the fascia stretching program Jacob describes in his article about muscle memory! The results of this are nothing short of a miracle!



7. Thou shall not use supplements in vain.


Supplements like creatine, multi-vitamins, chromium and glutamine are great! But you can never depend on supplements alone to carry you forward in this sport. In other words, don’t use them as an excuse for a lacking diet. Supplements should be just that. Just supplements to a balanced diet. Supplement with whey and casein, but don't expect it to bail you out if your diet is lacking in solid protein sources. You need a variety of protein sources in your diet such as beef, chicken, steak, salmon, and tuna. Just like with your workouts, switch your protein sources around for optimum growth!



8. Thou shall not ignore cardio.


Cardio increases your overall cardiovascular state, which is crucial in compound exercises such as squats, pull-ups and dead lifts. If your lungs can't process enough air, you'll be exhausted by oxygen depletion, not muscular failure, by the end of your set. Your heart is the strongest muscle in the body, train it as such. Cardio sessions WILL increase your stamina in the weight room. Nothing looks more ridiculous than a 200 lb. body builder who gets winded after he walks or jogs for five minutes. (Except maybe a 200lb. body builder with a huge upper body and chicken legs.) Try to get at least 2-3 cardio sessions per week. During a bulk, the idea is to save energy for growth, but you still need some cardio. Other wise when cutting time comes around you dread it and you have a hard time getting in 10 minutes worth. During a bulk I aim for around 2, 20 minute sessions per week. This can also keep body fat levels in check during a bulk! As for cutting I may include 3-4 sessions a week when I am trying to get really ripped. Again, just like your weight lifting routines, change your forms of cardio around. This week walk fast on a treadmill, next week use a stationary bike, next week swim, the next week run outside. This can actually shock your body into new levels of ripptitude!



9. Thou shall continue to obtain knowledge.


Learn as much as you can about body building! Read books, articles, and essays about body building, the muscular system, human biology, etc.



Observe in the gym, talk to more experienced lifters! There is always more to learn!



Use positive thinking to keep things enjoyable and new. Test and try new things.



If you get bored easily switch your routines around on a regular basis, or try a new exercise or shocking principle.



Remember body building is supposed to be fun!



10. Thou shall have no other exercises before me!


Of course……SQUAT!



Squats are perhaps the kings of all exercises. Not only does it build superior muscular and cardiovascular strength and stamina, but it releases an insane amount of growth hormone in the body! Not to mention it will increase bone density, mental toughness, and produce legs that will blow the competition away!



Don’t be a poseur!



Keep these commandments sacred and you will prosper!

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Don't forget to periodize
Best BP 507 lbs *competitive*
Best Squat 705 lbs *competitive*
Best DL 650 lbs *competitive*


Guns don't kill people, men who come home early do.

My workout log http://www.ironmass.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6247

ravadongon

Fitness Testing -
http://www.brianmac.demon.co.uk/eval.htm
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/peak29.htm

Articles I wrote on bb.com TOTW I reffered to -
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/topicoftheweek32.htm (3rd)
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/topicoftheweek37.htm (3rd)

Nine components of fitness -

__________________
My Weight Training Log - http://ironmass.com/forums/showthread.php?p=112673

For Full Journal visit - http://forum.athletes.com/showthread.php?t=2466 or http://charliefrancis.com/community/...ad.php?t=11822.

bigDman

thanks alot rava

__________________
COME CHECK OUT MY JOURNAL

GameDayDog

Good definitions... I just wanna be big tho... so I can knock the athletes out...

Peac