The Beginning...

If you're like many others interested in bodybuilding, your first questions about bodybuilding probably are; what do I do? How do I start? What kind of routine should I use? And how and where am I going to train? Well, in reality, there are millions of answers to those questions, and also thousands of books. so I'll try to answer these questions to the best of my knowledge in a "Readers Digest" condensed version", and going by my experiences and what has worked for me. I'll take you aboard my ride of discovery.

The first thing that I did, and will advise, is to realistically look at myself and what I wanted to achieve. Of course, I looked through all the muscle magazines, as all of us that aspire to be muscled have done. And it occurred to me, after a lot of exhaustive workouts that my body will always be of a certain type. I am thin boned by nature, and I soon discovered that I would never have the thickness of a 280+ pound linebacker. But I could be the best that I can be, and once I accepted that, a lot of the gym anxieties went away.

There is a lot written about the different bodytypes: ectomorphs, which are us thin boned typed, mesomorphs, which are the gifted types, with the ability to build muscle easily, and the endomorphs, which have a tendency towards the big fleshy side. The first thing is to see where in this genetic mix one fits in. However, there are no absolutes. Not everyone is a pure ectomorph, mesomorph or endomorph. We all possess certain characteristics of each group. And as the differences go even deeper, this subject can take up an entire encyclopedia! so I suggest, as I've had to do, read everything that you can on this particular subject.

Once you've determined your base, it's time to ask: how far do I want to go? Well, if you really want the type of muscles that really make people take a second look. We are talking adopting bodybuilding as a lifestyle, not just heaving weights around in the gym and trying to impress others around you. A lifestyle change....scary words, huh? Well, It has it's ups and downs...but if you want to bad enough, bodybuilding is worth the little sacrifices. This is what bodybuilding meant to me: eating 5 to 6 times a day in well balanced meals, getting a good 8 hours of sleep each day, drinking in moderation (if at all), a good quality protein powder (being a "hardgainer", the more calories the better), and various supplements. Yes, I had my run in with a lot of expensive and ineffective supplements.

Once I learned more about bodybuilding, exercises, my routines and how my body was responding to the workouts and diets, it was much easier to make wiser decisions in the purchase of supplements. And I also learned the best supplement is QUALITY FOODS! I remember Arnold Schwarzenegger once saying that you "had to have the clay there first before you mold a statue. That is a paraphrase, but I feel that he was right on the nose. You're tearing down your body, so you need the materials in your body to rebuild. Those materials are calories....quality calories! Again..READ! I know, there's a lot of reading involved. And if possible, read quality material. The muscle magazines have their place, and yes, the pictures are terrific. But these are champions, and in some cases, genetically gifted champions. And you've got crawl before you can walk. Yes, you will get useable info from the muscle mags in time, but if you are just starting out, you've got to start with the basics. Those mags are motivational, though. :)

Well, I hope the intro didn't scare you off of our sport! Don't worry, we will touch upon all of these different aspects of bodybuilding throughout this primer, so do not feel intimidated or be confused. It takes time, but it is definitely worth it. It was for me!

Okay, now it's time to move on to the other basics: the gym, the equipment, and some movements and routines. Are you ready? Okay, well grab your weight belt and let's get started!

Part 2: The Equipment ...... Home