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 Part 2. By: Stuart McRobert
My previous article gave the first wave of 11 major bodybuilding mistakes you must avoid. Here are 11 more, for a total of 22. Even if you're making just one of the 22 mistakes, you'll be limiting your progress. And if you're making many of these mistakes, you may be killing your progress. Eliminate the mistakes and kick-start your progress!
Accurately record all your rep counts and poundages used. As the weeks go by you need to be able to see small but gradual improvements in weights lifted and/or reps performed -- i.e., PROGRESSIVE RESISTANCE.
  Click Image To Enlarge. How Can You Know Where You're Going If You Don't Know Where You've Been?
Training time, other than during dire emergencies, must be SACRED. Protect your privacy while you train.
 Click Image To Enlarge. Nothing Comes Between You & Your Workout! Ignore all intrusions. Do this to honor your need for the 100% focus required for terrific workouts.
Rest generously between workouts. Despite adequate recovery time being so PIVOTAL, many bodybuilders minimize recovery time and maximize workout frequency, and as a result don't progress. Make FULL recovery a priority. Muscles grow BETWEEN workouts, not during them, and only PROVIDED you allow enough recovery time.
Sleeping well and in sufficient quantity is a vital component of good health and CRITICAL for optimal recovery from training. If you're training hard, then eight hours of quality sleep EACH night should be your MINIMUM.
 Click Image To Enlarge. Are You Getting Enough Sleep? If you rely on an alarm clock most mornings, you're not getting enough sleep. Go to bed early enough so that you wake in time NATURALLY in the mornings. Give your bodybuilding recovery greater priority than late-night TV and socializing.
Nutrition is a HUGE factor behind bodybuilding progress. Make the time to prepare and eat good meals. To gain size you MUST consume a slight caloric surplus. Muscle doesn't grow out of fresh air. But the calories must be high quality to provide the abundance of nutrients needed to recover from hard training.
Junk food will slow your progress. Feed five or six times a day. Consume a gram of protein per pound of bodyweight. Eliminate all unhealthy fats -- e.g., margarine, fried food, foods that contain hydrogenated oils (check labels!) -- and enrich your diet with healthful fats, i.e., virgin olive oil, and omega-3 essential fatty acids from flax seed oil and oily fish such as sardines and mackerel.
Additionally, eat generously of vegetables, fruit and unrefined grains. There's much more to good bodybuilding nutrition than protein, as vital as protein undoubtedly is.
Your body has limited resources. Bodybuilding training is very demanding, and together with moderate cardio work that's a big total load on your recovery resources.
 Click Image To Enlarge. You're Already Pushing Your Recovery Resources. Other than two brief cardio sessions each week in addition to your bodybuilding training, minimize if not eliminate all other demanding physical activities, to enable your body to focus on meeting the recovery demands of your training.
Without good health you can't train consistently. Without training consistently you can't make good progress. And without good health you can't recover optimally. Good health is at the bedrock of bodybuilding. Don't wait until you no longer have your health before you appreciate it. Look after yourself so that you minimize your chances of getting sick. Avoid harmful activities and environments. Even overtraining and/or under recovery will make you sick. Take your health VERY seriously if you want to maximize your bodybuilding progress. Health is wealth.
If you weigh the same now as you did a year ago, you can't have bigger muscles UNLESS you've substantially reduced your body fat. Many bodybuilders don't eat enough in order to grow, or are so overtrained that they'll never grow even if their nutrition is perfect.
Set realistic but challenging short-term goals, e.g., 15 pounds on your bench press, and quarter of an inch on your upper arms; give your absolute all until you reach the targets, then set new goals. Be a driven, goal-achieving bodybuilder.
Set no limits on yourself, but don't expect the impossible. Just live for the next bit of progress, and then the next, and then the next. Bit by bit you'll build bigger muscles. Muscle Building Products: Creatine Monohydrate Products Sorted By Top Sellers Here. Protein Powders Sorted By Top Sellers Here. Glutamine Products Sorted By Top Sellers Here.
You must be a model of dedication, commitment, and persistence. Compromise on any of the components of bodybuilding, whether inside or outside of the gym, and you'll compromise on your progress. There's just no room for compromise if you want to make excellent progress. Motivational Podcasts:
Stuart McRobert Recommend this article to a friend by e-mail here! Visitor Reviews Of This Article!
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