Over-thinking the basics of what it takes to grow:
I was once told that Ronnie Coleman was the perfect bodybuilder. Why? To put this in the nicest way possible, Ronnie didn’t know too much about food, competing, supplements, and the whole nine. And that made him great because he was a sponge that would do absolutely whatever Chad Nichols told him without a second thought, because, well, in his mind there really was no other way. With the emergence of the popular bodybuilding Internet boards in the early 2000’s people where now equipped with the ability to share information and knowledge. But sometimes with more knowledge often comes more complication. Not only that but every Tom, Dick, and Harry who just finished 5th in the novice class local show is going to feel the need to share their prophetic like opinion on nutrition, training, and of course gear.
Human Growth Hormone, insulin, IGF-1, peptides, HBCD’s, hydrosalates, IM vs. Sub-Q, Pre-workout vs. Post workout, low dose vs. high dose, ok, I think you get the picture, these are all the hot topics in today’s bodybuilding world. Are all of these things important to your success as a bodybuilder? Most of them, yes, for sure, but let me explain something. In my time competing I have worked with some of the best coaches in today’s industry all of which are also competitors and picked their brains quite vigorously. Let me tell you the thing that makes each and everyone of them successful as a bodybuilder, they know how to do the basics really fucking well and for a long fucking time. Do they know about these supplements, yes, do they know protocols and how these things work in your body, yup, they do, but guess what all of them is more concerned about getting meal 2 in then making sure their insulin protocol was done that day at 11:53 am and then there GH was taken at 2 pm to off set the… blah blah blah… you get the idea. Look if you can’t wake up, cook seven meals a day, eat them on time, and hit your macros, follow your pre-contest diet, it is never going to matter exactly if you took your GH IM as oppose to sub-Q, you are probably never going to see a national stage. As my buddy Justin Harris likes to put it “eat steak and rice six times a day, train heavy, train hard, take your supplements, and rest”…. That’s some witchcraft right there. Bodybuilding is starting to turn into more of a fashion statement then being understood anymore for what it really is, hard, gritty, painful work-done for years on end.
Now let me back track slightly, is science important, yes, in fact it is amazing how it has helped bodybuilders to transform their physiques over the past decade. What I’m really getting at here is for the guy who has been lifting consistently for a couple years and eating pretty well, putting on a good amount of mass, and wants to do his first show. First off, man, I applaud you, you are doing great, right now, you are doing it because you love it, we all know the feeling, it is why we started. But now he sees a bodybuilding forum and he sees all the gear discussions, all the opinions, he feels lost in the shuffle. He is so concerned about affording his GH and what gear source is legit that he is beginning to back track. This is what I see happen so many times with guys with great potential. Man, get back to the basics, get back to what was working for you, and when you feel your ready to make the next step, don’t look to the forum, or the local “guru” at the gym. Look to a coach, one who you have researched and respect to take you to the next level. One who can look at you and your situation, physically, mentally, financially, even emotionally and say let’s do this, this is what I think is best for you. More times than not you will be surprised that more changes are going to be made to your basic diet then anything else in your regimen.
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