Whether your goal is to build muscle, get stronger or simply feel more confident, bodybuilding is one of the most rewarding journeys you can take. This guide is designed for beginners who want clear, no-nonsense advice. You’ll learn the basics of training, nutrition and mindset – everything you need to build a very strong foundation for long-term progress. The foundation in bodybuilding was necessary for me to personally be able to progress later down the line. It’s where you build a solid base and strength, learn about nutrition through trial and error, and where you find out if this is something you want to continue pushing onwards with.
Training Basics: Laying the Foundations
Within the foundations, it’s all about building a solid layer of strength to the physique. The focus should be to go towards the basics and building strength through compound lifts. These are multi-joint movements that train several muscle groups at once, and are perfect to do when you are a beginner. This is not just to build strength in the muscle but also to build strength in your joints and tendons as well as your skeletal system. This type of lifting with compound movements is perfect for this.
The Big Five Compound Exercises
And what muscle groups are involved during the movement:
- Squat – builds legs and core
- Deadlift – trains back, legs, core and grip strength
- Bench press – develops chest, shoulders and triceps
- Overhead press – builds shoulders and arms
- Barbell row – strengthens and develops the back and biceps
If you want to try this out as a full-body routine I would recommend doing three sets on each movement and performing 6-8 reps within each set to get used to the movement.
Understanding the Terminology
Set – a complete group of consecutive reps of an exercise that are performed without rest in between
Reps – a single complete movement of an exercise such as one deadlift or one overhead press
Warming Up
A very important segment before you actually start lifting. To warm up for the session above we would need to do a full body warm up routine. Getting started on a bike or treadmill and walking or pedalling slightly faster than average speed to increase heart rate and get blood flowing, 10-15 minutes should be enough. You shouldn’t be out of breath at the end, but you should be warmer and heart rate should be slightly elevated.
You can then start a circuit that includes: press ups, pull ups, bodyweight squats and lying leg raises. Perform each of these movements 3 times and perform 10-15 reps on each. You should be fully warm by now which means you can move onto your first movement.
Movement-Specific Warm-Ups
Warm ups for the movements should also be performed. For example – squats. More bodyweight squats can be done to warm up your knees and build some blood flow in your lower body.
Start then with just the barbell and perform a comfortable set. From there you will be able to know how much weight you can add onto each side of the barbell to perform your safe 3 sets of 6-8 reps. You should be focusing on form before you add on any load to any of these movements. Once you feel confident, then increase the load slightly. This is then called progressive overload and is the secret to long-term growth.
Nutrition & Recovery
You can’t out-train a bad diet. To build muscle, your body needs the right fuel.
The Basics
PROTEIN – This helps to build muscle. You should be aiming for 1.6-2kg per kilogram of bodyweight daily. Some sources of good healthy wholefoods to use to reach this total would be:
- Chicken, turkey
- Whole eggs, egg whites
- Low fat beef
- Salmon, cod
- Whey, Greek yoghurt
CARBOHYDRATES – This is where the main energy source comes from for your training. Basic carbs sources to choose:
- White rice
- Pasta
- Sweet/white potato
- Oats
- Breads
- Fruit
FATS – Supports hormones and recovery. Food sources:
- Avocado
- Nuts/nut butters
- Olive oil
- Salmon
Sample Full Day of Eating
To aid in recovery and hypertrophy:
BREAKFAST – Whole eggs, bagel, oats, jam and/or peanut butter, mixed berries
LUNCH – Chicken breast/thigh, white rice, peanut butter, mixed vegetables
SNACK – Greek yoghurt, honey, nuts
DINNER – Salmon fillet, potatoes, mixed vegetables
EVENING SNACK – Whey protein shake, banana
Recovery
SLEEP – aim for 7-9 hours of sleep per night
HYDRATION – 2-3 litres water daily – this should increase if you are more active through the day
REST DAYS – very important, this is when you will actually grow. We break the muscle tissue down in the gym and it recovers and grows back bigger and stronger when we are resting. Alongside good nutrition, sleep and hydration.
Motivation & Mindset
Motivation gets you started, but discipline keeps you going. There will be days where you don’t feel like going to the gym and training, and days where you might question your progress and work ethic. This is totally normal. The real progress comes from the fact of showing up everyday. Early on bodybuilding taught me that the mind builds the body and body and mind work in sync. You should set goals, stay consistent, stay accountable and trust the process. Results will always follow consistency and hard work.
Supplements – Support, Don’t Depend
As it states in the title, supplements are to be supplementary to your daily diet which we covered in the nutrition section. They are not magic and are to be used as a last resort or mainly for convenience. For example, if you have just finished training but are out and about and away from home, utilising a whey protein shake after you train is a more quick and convenient option than having to wait till you get home to have your chicken and rice.
A good protein powder, creatine and multivitamin is a good place to start for beginners. The rest should come from your diet and training. Master those before you start worrying and spending money on the latest supplements when you just don’t need to.
Competing
Competitions in bodybuilding happen pretty much all year round within different federations across the UK, Europe and America which are the main places where events and competitions are held.
To summarise competing, I could write a whole section on this but my goal is to get to the Mr Olympia competition which is held in America. This is the Super Bowl or the Premier League of bodybuilding. It’s not easy to get there as you have to work your way through the ranks which takes years, starting with amateur shows to try and get your pro card, which gives you professional status so you can then compete in pro shows. You then have to win a pro show which gets you an invitation to the Mr Olympia which is held in October and there is only one of these shows per year. Around 15 guys in the world for the category Open Bodybuilding will get an invitation, so it’s a very prestigious event and is the goal for the majority of competitive bodybuilders. A very small percentage of bodybuilders will ever make it to the Olympia but it’s a dream many have like myself. For me right now I’m working my way up the amateur leagues to eventually get my pro card in a few years, so I can then move into the professional league and start again with working my way up. ‘Offseason & Prep’ go hand in hand with competing and is a subject I will go into more detail on in my next article.
Final Thoughts and Summary
Bodybuilding is a marathon, not a sprint – it’s a lifestyle. I’ve lived this life 24/7 365 days for the past 10 years and I’m still early on in my journey and career. It teaches patience, structure and respect for the process. Everyone has to start somewhere, and if you focus on mastering the basics and working on the foundations – training smart, eating well, recovering properly and staying consistent – the results will come, but it will take time and perseverance.
I have built and continue building my physique on those same foundations, which I still go back to every day.
Because in bodybuilding, the basics never stop working.
This guide originally appeared in Liverpool Fitness Magazine
