Stick to these principles for at least the first 3-6 months of training if you are new to bodybuilding. Your needs will be vastly different from someone who’s been lifting consistently for more than 12 months – don’t try to copy an advanced trainee’s methods.

Never blindly follow anyone’s advice, including mine! These are general, rule-of-thumb, principles that have proven to be an effective basis for a beginner bodybuilders training (of course you should keep a lot of them in mind even if you are advanced!). Everyone’s different. By keeping these principles in mind you will be able to enjoy impressive gains while, over time, learning what works for you and how to experiment safely with different training methodologies.

I’ve separated these principles into 3 equally important sections – training, resting and diet. I consider them equally important because if you neglect any single one of these you will get nowhere at all!

Training

• Train a muscle group no more than twice a week. Training too frequently will slow your progress. Twice a week is a good starting point for beginners. This may increase or decrease as you become more advanced and adapted to weight training.
• Focus! You’re not at the gym to socialize, you’re there to train – and train hard! Keep your goals in mind at all times, concentrate on every set, put as much of your mind into your training as you do your muscles.
• 8-12 slow reps for most exercises – 2 or 3 seconds to lift up, and lower down (generally slower than most people in the gym will lift!). This works well for building mass, and is a good starting point for beginners.
• 3 sets per exercise maximum. Too many and you’ll just get burnt out and not gain. Aim for about1 min rest between each set – but make sure keep the rest times consistent.
• 1 – 2 exercises per muscle group. Totaling 3-6 sets per muscle group.
• Focus on the big, compound exercises: Squats, deadlifts, bench press, rows/chinups, etc. (learning correct technique for these is critical!). These larger exercises will stimulate more muscle growth throughout your entire body than smaller exercises like bicep curls.
• Strive to go up in weight with each set, not down. Your first set should be light enough that you can increase the weight for the next set, instead of having to drop the weight because of fatigue. Your body will respond better to steady increases in weight, rather than decreases.
• Don’t train until failure. Each set should end at least 1 or 2 reps short of the maximum amount you could complete without assistance. Training to failure will be counterproductive for beginners. Select the correct weight so that you can complete your target reps. Note: don’t avoid failure by wussing out with light weights! It’s important you learn how to train (extremely) intensely without training to failure!
• Keep workout short and sweet. 1 hour is more than enough (including the time it takes for warming up and cooling down). Make sure you don’t spend too long resting between sets – 1 min is plenty.
• Warm up. Warm up before your whole workout, and warm up for each new exercise. It’ll save you some annoying injuries down the track. Take the time for a proper cool down routine after your workout.
• Technique, technique, technique! Poor technique with light weights is just as likely to put you out of action as it is with heavy weights. There’s no excuse. Learn proper technique for every single exercise, no matter how big or small.

Rest

Rest is as important as training hard. No rest = no gains (or even losing muscle!).

• Sleep is very important if you want to build mass and strength – get your full quota at night. If you can’t, or you get tired during the middle of the day, squeeze in a power nap wherever and whenever you can.
• Don’t start a workout feeling sore from a previous workout. It probably means you’re not fully recovered. If it happens consistently, your body may take longer to recover – schedule more rest days between your workouts. As a complete beginner, however, you’ll naturally be quite sore after your first handful of workouts.
• Try not to work your muscles too hard outside the gym. Give your muscles every chance you can to let them recover. Too much manual labor in your job, for example, might mean you’ll need to factor in additional recovery time between your workouts.
• Keep moving. If you sit on your backside for days waiting for the next workout, you’ll probably find yourself much more stiff and sore. Go for a walk, do some stretching – improve your flexibility, go for a light swim. Do everything you can to keep blood flowing through your body and to stop yourself from stiffening up. Just make sure it’s not excessively strenuous.

Diet

Diet is especially important when it comes to bodybuilding. You ARE what you eat, literally. Eating healthily is a must, but bodybuilders need to go a little further for packing on quality muscle:

• Increase your protein intake – to around 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. Keep the protein intake spread out as much as possible – your body cant make use of too much protein all at once.
• Increase your caloric intake – particularly if you’re fairly skinny. If you’re packing on fat with your current diet, however, you might be getting more than enough calories! Junk food is NOT your answer to increasing your caloric intake!
• More fruit n veg. You’ll need to bump up your vitamins and minerals intake – they’ll help your body recover. Bodybuilding (indeed any intense physical activity) can also put its toll on your immune system, so eat healthily.
• Eat smaller but more frequent meals. Since you’ll probably need to eat more to gain muscle mass, 6+ smaller meals will often be better than 3 big meals. You’ll get less bloated and your body will absorb the nutrients more easily when they’re spread out.
• Quality fats and cholesterol are your friend. Yes, cholesterol can help you build muscle. If you don’t get enough in your diet, don’t bother with the gym. The low cholesterol craze only really applies to sedentary people. Of course don’t go overboard! But you’ll need more than the average person.
• You don’t need supplements. Apart from a bit of protein powder that can help you increase your protein intake, you won’t need any other supplements while you’re a beginner. You’ll just be wasting your money at least for the next 6+ months.