What separates professional bodybuilders from amateurs?
As we have seen in the previous article. It’s not genetics or body type, what separates professional bodybuilder from armatures is. Professionals focus on habits and goals, they stick to schedules, they strive to improve themselves every single day, and we grow after failure.
In this article, we are going to focus on YOU. We will tell you how to develop the three essentials, energy, stamina, and endurance. We will also talk about your metabolism and pain tolerance.
How to Develop Energy, Stamina, and Endurance
Lack of energy. That, is, in my opinion, the biggest hindrance to developing a freakishly good physique.
That said.
Bodybuilders don’t develop a good physique overnight; it takes time and lots of work.
Why you Should not Take Shortcuts
Eat clean, train hard and focus on habits. Yes, bodybuilders who take steroids grow faster, but steroids won’t make you!
By that I mean, you must have the structure, mindset and muscle capability to handle your size. Also, anabolic steroid abuse will make you grow breasts, it may hurt your fertility, it will ruin your hips, abusing steroids can reduce your good cholesterol, and it will shrink your testicles.
On top of all that, Mr. Olympia and other bodybuilding contests operate under the guidelines of the world anti-doping agency, meaning, competitors are subject to drug tests.
The point is, don’t assume that bodybuilding is easy because of anabolic steroids or human growth hormones.
How to Improve your Training Endurance
To improve your endurance you need stamina, stamina is simply strength and energy that allows you to sustain physical and mental effort for extended periods of time.
The importance of increasing your stamina is. it not only reduces fatigue and exhaustion; it also allows you to lift heavy while using less energy.
Some ways to improve your endurance
- Listen to music while training: this increases cardiac efficiency.
- Consume caffeine an hour before training: doing that will give you a boost.
- Do cardio to improve your cardiovascular health and breathing.
Build-up endurance
- more repetitions with light weights and fewer repetitions with heavy weights (find a balance).
- Be consistent with your training
- Add explosive movements to your training
- Combine lifting with cardio
- Reduce the amount of rest between sets
- Switch up your routine
Endurance Recommendations
For better results, we recommend formal training. If you can’t afford that, try this:
- Train 4/6 days a week (alternate schedule)
- For every two hours spent lifting light weights or moderate training, spend one-hour lifting or training heavy.
- 4-6 30-minute sessions of high-intensity cardiorespiratory workouts
Muscular Power and Vigor
Are you physically weak?
If you think that about yourself, there is no need to continue. I say that because, in bodybuilding, self-defeatism is your biggest enemy.
My advice, before you turn down a challenge. Resist the urge to walk away because it looks hard. If you fail at first, try again. You should also figure out what your needs are, and set realistic expectations.
In your journey, you will make mistakes, you will be tempted to use steroids and sometimes you will feel like calling it quits. What you must do is remember that you are human and forgive yourself.
There is also the issue of genes
Giving up because you have bad genes is an excuse that only losers use. Yes, some bodybuilders have been blessed with natural power and strength. But don’t try to be like them, instead, try to be you.
It’s all about sacrifice.
Are you going to work with what you’ve got or are you going to take drugs?
How to Build Muscular Power
- Medicine ball throw exercises.
- Base your training program around ‘compound movements’ such as squats.
- Train at least three times a week.
- Lift heavy.
- Supplement your routine with plyometric exercises such as clap push-up.
How to Increase your Metabolism
When you start lifting or working out, your metabolism increases naturally. But that’s not true for everyone. If you have a condition or if you don’t consume enough calories, skimp on proteins, drink sugary beverages or skip out on strength training. Your metabolism will slow down.
We recommend that you consume more than 4,000 calories every day and maintain a well-defined musculature. Now, you can’t do that sitting on your butt all day, can you?
If you are just starting out as a bodybuilder, you can improve your metabolism by increasing the number of meals you consume daily and by improving your food selection. We recommend a balanced diet.
Foods that Increase Metabolism
- Protein-rich foods such as lean cuts of meat, fish, eggs, legumes nuts, and seed
- Apple cider vinegar
- Coconut oil
- Drink plenty of water
- Fresh fruits and vegetable
- Complex carbohydrates.
Remember: Excellent nutrition and increased physical activity improve your ability to burn off excess fat and it boosts your metabolism.
How to Build Tolerance for Pain
“The longer we continue to work out, the greater our tolerance for discomfort can grow”. That is according to a study released and reported by the NewYorkTimes back in 2014.
Pain is a part of bodybuilding, that’s why they say, “no pain, no gain”
Question is, how do I get used to the pain?
There is no trick to it, you simply must get used to pain. But remember, pain is your body’s way of telling you that something is not right. When training, you get closer and closer to damaging your body. Pain tells you when to stop.
Think of it as a line from 0-10, where zero is the least amount of pain and ten is where you damage your body. Find your tolerance level and try not to go beyond it.
Some people can tolerate lots of pain and some simply can’t.
Conclusion
As you have probably noticed, there is much more to bodybuilding than building muscle. It is a sport that’s reserved for the truly dedicated. The three main areas you must work on are your form and structure, your muscle size and distinction and your power and ability.
You chose bodybuilding for a reason, find that reason. Use this guide to better yourself. you have the time and you have the energy. Use it.