In no disrespect to weight lifters, but bodybuilding and weight lifting are two totally different mindsets and training techniques. People will ask me the typical questions in the gym, “How much do you bench press? How much do you squat?" Quit frankly, I do not know. I do not pay attention to that part.

Weight lifters lift the weight, bodybuilders FEEL the weight. Becoming a bodybuilding champion is not determined by how much you can lift on a certain day, but how you look and how you got to that look on a certain day. Beauty contest it is not, but an art form it has become. Sure you have to lift a certain amount of weight; however achieving champion status has more to do with nutrition, training technique and discernment than lifting a given amount of weight.

Nutrition as a Science:

Becoming a champion bodybuilder is a mixture of food and science. The right types and amounts of foods at the appropriate times all need to fit into a scientific formula in order to achieve the ultimate goal at the precise time. Food combining, calorie cycling, mineral supplementation, and vitamin taking are just a few important elements to any championship performance.

Training Techniques:

To achieve a champion physique has mostly to do with three things; genetics (what cards you are dealt with), developing a program for you, and hard work. Exercise and body part rotations, sets and rep variations, and intensity level manipulations are all things to be aware of constantly.

Discernment:

Champion bodybuilders become masters at knowing their body’s reaction to foods, exercises, and mental games played in their heads. Bodybuilding is not only a science but an art. While internally focused it may be, learning about ones body is no more taught than in the sport of bodybuilding. Learning how your body will react and keenly keeping your body off guard and adapting requires a discerning spirit. While most will see only muscles on the exterior it is the work of art on the inside that is priceless. It is there where champions hold their most prize possessions.

Here are some bodybuilding techniques that have won many of championships for me:

1. Design your workout programs in twelve week cycles.

2. Exercise each body part twice in seven days.

3. Exercise your chest, back and leg muscles prior to your shoulders and arms.

4. Alternate between strength (heavy) training and endurance (light) training days.

5. Set a time frame to your workout session.

6. Learn to take an active recovery period. Overtraining can end a career!

7. Learn to workout with your eyes closed.

8. Leave your ego at the door. Go by the feel of the weight not the amount!

9. Alternate between machines and free weights.

10. Have fun and realize you will never know everything!