If your dream is to become the best shape of your life someday, you’re going to get all kinds of people thinking you’re crazy and they’ll call you delusional, thinking it will never happen to you. It can happen for you. My advice is, you can’t listen to anybody. Don’t care what anyone thinks. Don’t let other people think they can bring you down. When I first started. People thought I was crazy. I got criticized by changing my eating habits. I ditched most junk food, and now I eat mostly clean. I mostly want to eat healthy things now. Even though I want to eat mostly healthy, people still call me crazy. Whenever I avoid something that I think doesn’t look healthy enough, people will give me this look like, “WTF is wrong with you”. It’s almost like a crime that I have to stay off a bad nutrition.
The same will happen with your dreams and goals in bodybuilding. Whether you want to get bigger, leaner or get a six pack, people will laugh at you. Whether you want to compete or become a personal trainer, you’ll get criticized. That’s the problem with bodybuilding. You want to follow your bodybuilding heroes who inspired you to get into it, sure enough, people will tell you those guys used steroids like you haven’t heard that before.
Bodybuilding is about you. Not about other people. It’s about doing what you want to do. In bodybuilding, you have your own freedom and your own control. So you can feel free to do whatever you want. You just got to have the confidence and go for what you want. Prove people wrong that you can do this. If you want the ladies to like you even more when you take your shirt off, and they go crazy over you, that can happen. The key to success is not listening to anybody. The critics just want to see you fail ’cause they are jealous and that’s why a lot of them try to bring you down.
It is possible that you can make yourself go from skinny to a muscular giant, without any use of drugs or supplements. You just need to step it up and prove everyone wrong. I proved everyone wrong just by getting into bodybuilding myself and people didn’t think I could do it. Well, I did it and am doing it. I got a good enough physique, six pack abs and all. I promise I’ll post new progress pics soon. The reason I haven’t posted new ones in a while ’cause I was waiting for better results. Maybe I’ll post new ones this weekend.
Kev
K'Brocking 
no one was doubting or criticizing you in that other blog post. They were offering realistic advice and opinions.
Sure, you can get a nice physique, build muscle and even add mass naturally. But you will never get as big as Arnold or Scott Steiner, or Hulk Hogan or anyone like that without growth supplements.
Another factor limiting how big you can get is what you have to start with. The body can increase only so much.
You can get bigger than what you are, even up to a decent size, but going at it naturally will take much, much longer. And you will need a LOT of money for food. Guys the size of Arnold in his prime have to consume 8-10 THOUSAND calories a day. EVERY DAY!
Muscle burns far more energy than fat, and when you pack on that much muscle, it will burn an extraordinary amount of calories even when you are at rest.
To get that big, you will also need to spend 6-8 hours or more in the gym every day. Not trying to shoot you down. Not trying to criticize you. Just keeping it real.
Check out this book:
or this one by Arnold himself:
No matter what people say. I still believe it’s possible that you can get big and become a giant, even without use of drugs & supplements. For evidence and proof of that, I’ve already gotten kind of big, even when I’ve just started working out 5 years ago. I’m about to post new progress pics, for even more proof.
To give you a bit of reality check myself, supplemental products can be just as dangerous with all the various chemicals thrown in them. Believe it or not, getting really big and huge can be done successfully. Bodybuilding goes way back in the old days when supplements and drugs weren’t even around, back when bodybuilding wasn’t a popular sport. Jack Lalanne is pretty much proof that you can get a competitor’s like physique without the use of drugs & supplements ’cause they weren’t around back in his prime.
I already own, Arnold’s “Modern Bodybuilding” book and it’s informative stuff. That’s where I’m getting all the bodybuilding info from. I know what I’m doing and know how to get there. It may take me 10 or 20 more years to get a huge physique but I’ll do it.
Kev
Like I said before, workout each body part really hard once a week, eat clean most of the time with 5-6 healthy meals a day, get plenty of sleep and resting, do plenty of cardio, you’ll get bigger like that guaranteed. Getting a large physique can be possible. There have been plenty of amateur bodybuilders out there that have done it. If they can do it, so can I.
My advice, is don’t be a “know it all”, if you’re not into bodybuilding yourself or haven’t even tried it. I don’t take advice from people who aren’t into bodybuilding. It’s better taking workout tips and nutrition advice from experienced lifters.
Kev
You are totally wrong on so many things, dude. To be a big bodybuilder you need to consume at least 1 gram of protein per pound, a day. You don’t take in as much calories as possible, ’cause that’s gonna make you fat. You have to eat a lot of high protein/low carb meals. You also need to take in healthy carbs, healthy fats, and fibers.
You also don’t workout 6-8 hours a day, that’s over training. All you need is a 3-4 day work out split, with a few hours each of those days.
You need plenty of resting and healing, so your muscle can repair and grow with the protein you take in. When you workout really hard, it breaks down all the muscle, and you need days off in between workout days for healing. Getting 8 hours of sleep a day will do it too.
Kev
I don’t claim to be a know it all. But I do know know nutrition and fitness. I have a couple of years of courses and classroom study. I also owned the weirder book I recommended. As a competitive cyclist, I also had weight training routines.
If you want to add weight, you need to consume more calories than you burn. Since the weight you want o add is muscle, you will need massive amounts of protein to get it.
And just because you eat a lot, it doesn’t mean you will get fat. It’s what you eat and how you work out. I’ve been on 5000 calorie a day diets and not gained weight. And my diets were 40-50% carbs and sometimes as much as 30% fat.
You diet according to your goals. You are getting a lot of good information, but you are missing key pieces. I dont think you have a full undestanding of nutrition and how it works.You should take an online nutrition class. Just something basic. Look into a local community college. They should have something that runs around six weeks. It will help you immensely.
I’ve been lifting for twenty years. I don’t know why you think we’re “doubters”, it’s just a matter of fact….you cannot get THAT big without steroids. You’re not big now, I’ve seen you. You look great and have a nice build, but you are not even 1/8 the size of your hero. The one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight is a guideline, not a rule. That will help you build muscle, but is not going to get you huge. The evidence is in your progress. You HAVE been lifting for a long time, you are no longer a beginner, and to still are far from being huge. Plus, genetics are probably not in your favor, and you’re pushing 40,which is going to slow progress way down. Stick with your routine but do not fool yourself into believing you have competitive potential.
Kaptain is right about the calories. You are on a fitness plan, not a plan to gain mass. Take a look at pro bodybuilders in the off season….they are FAT. They consume 10,000 calories a day to support growth, but before the season starts, they cut.
Id like to add that you have to understand how the body works too. Where it gets its energy from. Calories. Calories equal energy. And a muscular physique requires a lot more energy to maintain than a fatty physique. Even at rest and even when sleeping, a monster physique will burn a lot of calories. The body will primarily go to fat before muscle first to burn, but if fat level,gets too low, then the body will start burning muscle to survive and function. That’s one reason for all the fat in the of fseason. It’s a means of protecting the muscle.
If you burn more calories than you take in, you lose weight. If you take in more calories than you burn, you gain. You want to gain. S you need a lot of calories.
But to take it a step further, that’s where type of calories in. A bodybuilder will need to go heavy on the proteins. As a cyclist, I lean more towards carbs. I do no want to gain and I don’t want to lose either. But in a race, I can easily burn 7000 calories. So I need to take in that amount. Ad it’s more than just types of calories. I have to pay attention to glycemic index of what I consume, or I will get bogged down and not be able to race.
Lemmy can do a better job explains nutritional needs for mass building than I can, but the principles are all basically the same.
Whatever. Everything people say is just an opinion, not factual. There is also no slowing me down even as I get older. You can still become at your best even when you’re in the 40’s – 50’s. I never said that I have competitive potential, if somewhat and somehow, I get so many people say I look good enough to be ready for it, never say never. I’m just saying it could be a possibility to compete, not saying it’ll definitely happen. My goal is to get bigger still. I want monster arms, a big chest, and huge legs, I’ll find a way to get there. I’ll prove everyone wrong, somehow. If that’s what it takes to eat a lot of calories, I can do that too.
Kev
A lot of people want to act like I don’t know what I’m doing or don’t know what I’m talking about, again, that simple piece of advice I gave in this post, “not listening to anyone”, is key to success.
Kev
Ok, then never take anyone else’s advice again ever, even though they’re tying to help, because even though you kep saying you’re still a beginner and still learning, obviously you know everything about bodybuilding.
I do a lot of research and reading, in a short time. I know what I’m doing, trust me. I make it a rule that it’s a bad idea to take advice from other people, and you must do your own thing. Everyone has different views and opinions, on bodybuilding. I like to do things my way.
Kev
But aren’t you taking advice from Arnold? And aren’t you always on here giving advice to musicians? You, my friend, are the one that acts like a know it all.
I know you’ve been tormented and picked on in the past by people. Lots of people. But not everyone is out to get you.
Lemmy knows what he is talking about. I know what I am talking about. We both speak from experience. I take advice from people all,the time. Because, in spite of all the studying and research I’ve done, both formal and casual, I still do not know everything.
The bottom line though, if you’re only on a 1500 calorie a day diet, and even if your nutrition is properly balanced and consumed 5-6 times a day, you will never get bigger. You will maintain an awesome physique. You will even gain a little weight, but that’s just because muscle weighs mor than fat.
But at that level of dietary intake, you are burning everything you consume. And that equals balance and maintenance. Not growth.
You just don’t like that anyone could possibly have some input the you don’t agree with and shrug it off as “opinions”. Whatever, man.
Don’t get me wrong, I do like people helping me and giving me advice sometimes, it just pisses me off that people shoot down my dreams like they don’t care. Happens every time, I want to do something. They’re call doubters for a reason.
Kev
Everyone in this thread offered you valuable advice and you basically told us all to piss off
Yes, I like getting advice and workout tips from people, but it must be done in a certain way if you want it to be taken seriously. Starting out by not saying their goals is never gonna happen. Other than that, I’m cool with advice. It’s just rude to shoot down their goals.
In bodybuilding forums and blogs, the fitness community are always helping people out in a positive way without saying anything negative, not shooting down their goals. Just kindly helping them out. If people want to get big and compete, the fitness community online will help each other, they wouldn’t point their fingers at you, laugh and say, “It’s never gonna happen”. Those guys in the fitness community will help get you there.
Kev
On another note, the whole point of Arnold releasing his “Modern Bodybuilding Encyclopedia” is ’cause he wanted to help people try and get a body like his. He wanted to pass along what did to him. It’s the holy grail in bodybuilding and the book really works. I learned a lot from it myself. Used a lot of workouts from the book as well, including the Arnold Press for shoulders.
Kev
It’ll be better if people would say positive things like, “Good luck, hope you make it”. But nope, everyone wants to say things like, “It’s not gonna happen, sorry”. That’s how negative things can get in bodybuilding, but that’s okay. It’s good motivation, makes me want to keep going and prove people wrong even more.
Kev
Dude!! Seriously now…we are NOT shooting down your dreams. We are trying to HELP you. We’re not saying you can’t do it. We’re just trying to point out that you can’t do it with the plan you are on. I said it in the very first post-you CAN get bigger. But you need to go about it the right way.
What you are saying is the equivalent of believing you can win a marathon by studying and learning how to walk really fast.
Does Arnold’s book give his actual diets? Weirder a book does
Ok, well I’ll keep an eye on where you are in five years. If you’re still not looking like 1980 Sylvester, you can tell me to go f myself.
Challenge accepted. I’ll do whatever it takes to get there, that is kind of my goal to look like Sly back in the Rambo days. I’m 100% positive, it is possible to get there without ‘roids or supplements. Clean eating and strict diet is key. I can make it happen.
Kev
Saying “it’s not going to happen” is not always negative. Its just reality. It you said you were going to get in your car and drive cross country, but not stop to by gas because you are going to drive real slow to conserve gas, would I be negative in saying you will never make it?
Or are you just setting an unrealistic goal that I am pointing out?
If you want the Rambo physique, you can get there. But NOT with the plan you are on now. You will need to work out a LOT more, and you will need to radically increase your dietary intake. Massive amounts of food isn’t always a bad thing. With the right balance, and the fit workout, you can do a lot of what you want. And no matter what you think, time is working against you. As you get older the body loses its ability to build and you will have to work even harder for gains.
Go to one of those fitness forums, or better you, seek out a body building nutritionist and have them write a dietary plan for you to obtain the physique you want.
You certainly have your work cut for you, and it’s not going to be easy. S good luck. I would love to,see you prove us all wrong. And I sincerely mean that. Because when somebody proves me wrong, that means I learn something.
Think about it. Bodybuilding goes way back in the 1800’s, back in the days when there was no such thing as steroids and supplements.
And on top of that, you can’t blame Arnold’s body on steroids either, he may have used a little bit back when it was legal in Austria, but he really worked hard to get that body naturally too. I’m sure he experimented with ‘roids, but it wasn’t responsible to get that big body. He really did the work.
Read this article, it does a nice job defending Arnold’s physique and backing it up with pretty good facts.
http://stronglifts.com/arnold-schwarzenegger-steroids-build-muscle/
Kev
Dude, steroid were legal in the US also. The first edition of the Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding actually had a whole section dedicated to training with steroids. Why do you refuse to believe this?
Arnold admitted for years that he used steroids for a little bit when he lived in Austria. He tried it a little bit, but later on in the years, he was against it and he tried to help get the drug banned over the years. Arnold did it naturally, the way I see it.
Kev
No one is denying Arnold did the work. He absolutely did. But it was the steroids that got him there. Steroids aren’t a miracle drug. If he did all those steroids and just sat around all day, he would be nothing more an a huge blob.
Of he only dabbled in it, he wouldn’t have dedicated an entire section in his book to it. You’re the most confounding human I’ve ever conversed with. I could tell you the sky was blue and you’d find a way to argue that it was actually green.
The reason he added a section about steroid use in the “Modern Bodybuilding” book ’cause he knows a book about bodybuilding is not complete if it doesn’t have a section on steroids in it. I think he even said he used to experiment with them in his past in that book. I mean, just because he has a whole section on steroid use in the book, doesn’t mean he’s addicted to them. He just wanted other bodybuilders to be aware of them and think twice first before deciding to experiment with them.
Kev
*facepalm*
No one is saying he is addicted to them. But the fact of the matter is, is that he used steroids to get big. You don,t need to use them forever. Steroids induce and assist growth in ways that natural means can not.
That does not mean that you can not grow without them. You absolutely can. But a non steroid user will never get as big as the steroid user. End of story.
Yep, everyone wants to blame steroids on everything. It’s pretty common in bodybuilding which is pissing me off. Like I said before, when I get big in size, people will probably accuse me of using ‘roids too. How the hell do you know if these guys use ‘roids? Do you have any scientific proof to back it up with? No. People saying that bodybuilders use steroids is just speculation. Period.
Kev
And back in the 1800s people weren’t as big as they are today.
Steroids were used as a shortcut to get the size. Once you have the size, you can maintain it. But getting that big without roads is nearly impossible, unless you start in your teens while you are stil naturally growing.
If Arnold never took steroids, it’s likely he would not be as big as he was. Look at him now. The mass he had in his prime is gone. He still looks good though. And it is absolutely possible to maintain that physique naturally. But he will never be as big as he used to be.
“And back in the 1800s people weren’t as big as they are today.”
Look up Eugene Sandow, and then tell me if he didn’t have the big physique.
Look at him now. The mass he had in his prime is gone. He still looks good though. And it is absolutely possible to maintain that physique naturally. But he will never be as big as he used to be.
Of course, he no longer has the big physique anymore, ’cause he’s like, 65 now. That’s what aging does to ya. Arnold still works out and he’s still in good shape, though.
Kev
Now you are contradicting yourself on the age thing. You say way up at the top that age doesn’t matter, but then you claim that’s what aging does to you.
That’s only part of it in Arnold’s case. I can assure you that he does not eat or workout like he did in his prime.
But it is clearly obvious that he does still work out and eat right. Just not on the same level. And that is what you are not understanding, I believe. The level you need to take EVERYTHING to to get what you want.
Sly is 66, older than Arnold, and he is still in great shape. He’s in better shape than Arnold. Sly’s been seen shirtless many times recently and he’s still pretty massive.
Kev
Did I say anywhere that people do not have big physiques? NO.
All I said was that they are not AS big. Work on your reading comprehension.
Dude, there are plenty of huge bodybuilders in the 1800’s, look ’em up. I just pointed you out one of them, Eugene Sandow, who looks big enough to me.
Kev
Hes not that big. Hes muscular and cut. But hes nowhere near arnolds size or the size of any other steroid using bodybuilder. You are completely missing the point.
Judging by that photo, they look pretty much the same size, except Arnold’s pecs are bigger, that’s about it. Other than that, Sandow was pretty massive.
Kev
Compare the arms and lgs. Sandow was around 200 pounds. Arnold was what…around 300?
I have more mass than sandow, but im nowhere near as muscular.
I think you are confusing big with definition/cut/ripped.
200 pounds is not big in terms of bodybuilding.
Actually Arnold was about 220 – 250 around his competition days, maybe a little lower. Arnold wasn’t that big in weight back in those days even though, it may look it. He explained it all, in his new book, “Total Recall”.
Kev
Anyhow, there are many different ways of getting bigger gains and muscles. Everyone has their own different ways of doing things. Some prefer the 5-6 small meals a day thing, some prefer the 5,000 – 10,000 calorie a day diet, some do intermittent fasting or “If It Fits Your Macros” or whatever you wanna call it. They just do whatever works best for them. I go for the 5-6 meals a day thing but that’s just me.
I do like learning different ways to do fitness though. I do workout hard every week and train like a monster. I do my best. Everyone have different views. I’ll repeat for the last time, that you can get big naturally without use of drugs. It can be done. I don’t see how you couldn’t. My last reply to this.
Kev