The bodybuilding physique is rated highly within the fitness industry as it shows the hard work, determination and dedication it takes to achieve it. There are often positive comments made toward big leans like “He must a bodybuilder, what an amazing body”.
So where did the bodybuilding physique really come from? Ideally, it all starts with the ancient Greece statues of Michelangelo. Around the mid-20th century, the term “the bodybuilder physique” got more used towards muscular, well-shaped, proportionately, defined physiques.
5 Steps to build a bodybuilding Physique
- Perform muscle-building and strength-training
- High Protein Diet
- Intake of Supplements
- Rest and Recovery
- Consistency
Building a bodybuilder’s physique is not easy but doesn’t mean it’s impossible. As we all have different physiques some of you might be lean or obese or skinny or underweight, which means you will have to take a slightly different approach to others. There are 3 main keys to building a bodybuilder’s physique which is: training, diet and resting.
1. Perform muscle-building and strength-training workouts
Your primary focus should be on weight training where you should be targeting muscle and strength training workouts. In order to build muscle you need to challenge your body with progressive weight training exercises. This essentially means increasing your weights over time to grow more muscles.
Bodybuilders tend to focus more on compound exercises as they target multiple muscle groups at the same time. Also, they are more effective when building muscle and strength. Some of the compound exercises are:
- Bench press
- Shoulder press
- Leg press
- Squats
- Deadlifts
- Pull-ups
- Lats pull-downs
When it comes to building a bodybuilder’s physique, it is best to follow workout programs which consist of both compound and isolated exercises. This ensures that muscles are developed evenly and stops plateaus from happening. Some of the sets, reps and rest times should look like the following:
| Reps | Sets | Rest | Aim |
| 8-12 | 5 | 2 mins after each set | Muscle building |
| 15 | 3 | 2 mins after each set | Muscle building |
| 3-5 | 2 | 1 min after each set | Strength building |
| 5 | 5 | 30 seconds after each set | Strength building |
2. High Protein Diet
A good healthy diet is one of the key steps to building a bodybuilder’s physique.
Ideally, you should be having a high-quality protein diet with a good amount of carbohydrates and healthy fats. This will increase muscle growth. After a workout, your muscle is broken, hence why we feel the pain day after your workout. This is where protein comes in as it helps with muscle repair and growth.
Carbohydrates are essential too as they will provide energy to your body. Having a good amount of energy will result in a good workout. Multivitamins and fats will help with hormone production and good health.
You should be following a diet plan for your own body type. It’s good to track your Macros and calories and it will support muscle growth and recovery. Furthermore, ensure that you are in the calories surpluses which are burning more calories than calories consuming. This should come from healthy food, not junk food.
3. Intake of Supplements
Supplements are a bodybuilder’s best friend. They help you go the extra mile. However, they should not be a replacement for a healthy diet and consistency. Supplements can be seen as an add-on.
Here is a list of supplement that bodybuilder takes:
- Protein Powder
- Protein powder helps when adding more proteins to your current diet.
- BCAA
- BCAA helps with muscle recovery, leading to muscle growth and improvement in performance.
- Creatine
- Creatine stores water and helps increase the levels of creatine and phosphocreatine (PCR) within the muscle. This leads to muscle growth and enhancing power.
- Pre-workout
- Pre-workouts enhance performance as it provides a good amount of energy for your workouts.
- Mass Gainers
- Mass Gainers help with putting on weight as it contains a good amount of calories, and a mass gainer shake is considered to be one liquid meal. So, adding it to your meal can make a huge difference.
- Must Read: Best Mass Gainers for bodybuilders
- Multivitamins
- Multivitamins help with muscle growth, strengthening and development.
- Must Read: Best Multivitamins for bodybuilders
4. Rest and Recovery
Resting your muscle is very important as they grow while resting, not when working out. Therefore, you should give your muscle rest of 48 – 60 hours of rest time before training them again. Bodybuilders usually train different muscle groups each day so have a good amount of recovery time for each muscle. Also, a good amount of sleep which is considered anywhere from 7 to 9 hours is important for muscles to be repaired and built while sleeping/resting.
Some of the recovery techniques are very useful such as stretching, massage and foam rolling. This will reduce muscle soreness, and increases flexibility and muscle recovery.
5. Consistency
Achieving a bodybuilder’s physique will not happen overnight. It will take time. The results will show over time with consistent training, diet and resting. You just have to trust the process and follow your workout and nutrition plan. Since it’s hard to be consistent you need to remove all the distractions and approach the process with the right mindset and you will see the results.
It’s highly recommended to consult with a fitness professional or a sports nutritionist for a personalized program.
Also Read: Average height to bodyweight for bodybuilders
How many calories do bodybuilders eat a day?
The average calorie intake for a bodybuilder can vary as there is different weight group and height in a bodybuilding competition.
Average Calories for Men bodybuilders
- Off-Season: 3500 – 4000 kcal/day
- Diet Season: 2200 – 2500 kcal/day
Average Calories for Women bodybuilders
- Off-Season: 3000 – 3500 kcal/day
- Diet Season: 1800 – 2200 kcal/day
How do bodybuilders build muscle so fast?
Yes, bodybuilders build muscle fast. Do they cheat or are they in god mode? Well, there are soo many reasons why bodybuilders build muscle so fast.
- Good clean diet
- Resistance training
- Progressive overloading weight
- Sufficient rest and recovery
- Supplements
- Steroids
- Consistency
Bodybuilders do not just focus on one area they focus on every area like diet, rest, training, supplements, and steroids and more importantly they keep it consistent.
Some bodybuilders do take steroids as it speeds up the process of building muscle and strength. They take in a cycle which motivates them to stay consistent with their plan as it will have no effect on them. It’s recommended not to take steroids like GOLF or DEBO, etc as they may have a bad effect on your body. So, do your research before using steroids.
How long does it take to get a bodybuilder physique?
Getting an ideal bodybuilder physique can vary from person to person as there are so many factors like diet, genetics, training experience, level of fitness and recovery.
- For a beginner, who is new to the fitness industry can take anywhere from 1 – 3 years time to achieve a bodybuilder’s physique.
- For intermediate and advanced levels it can take anywhere from 6 months – 3 years time to achieve a bodybuilder’s physique.
Do you need steroids to get big?
No, steroids are not needed to get big but they sure can speed up the process. This is why some bodybuilders take doses of steroids but when on steroids, you need to train harder, intake more calories, and take a good amount of rest for it to work.
In conclusion, the main area to work on is diet, workouts and rest time regularly to achieve a bodybuilder’s physique. Also, the intake of some multivitamins and supplements increases your workout performance.
