It’s fairly obvious that no two humans beings are exactly the same, thus it should come as no surprise that different people need to train in different ways and have different bodybuilding routines. One of the primary factors that will help you become a successful bodybuilder is to understand your own body, to realize what your limits are and to appreciate how your body will react under stress. Therefore in order to make the most of your bodybuilding routines and workouts you must know your body type and understand how it will affect your training.

Scientists have developed a body type classification system based on a number of factors and everybody falls into one of the following three categories (you may fall in-between, as these are quite generalized): endomorph, mesomorph and ectomorph. Once you have established your body type, you can them adjust your bodybuilding routine, training program and lifestyle accordingly. You should also speak to your doctor to get their advice before you start training and to get a check up.

The first category we shall look at is the endomorph body type. Endomorphs usually find it really quite easy to gain muscle mass, but also they find it very easy to put on weight. Thus having a great deal of self discipline is required to control your diet if you’re to be a successful bodybuilder. A great tip for endomorphs is to eat 6 small meals at regular intervals throughout the day to ward off hunger and snacking on junk food. Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated and don’t eat anything for at least a few hours before going to bed to facilitate fat loss. Endomorphs tend not to have too much difficultly putting on muscle mass, however if you want good definition in your muscles you’ll need to do plenty of cardiovascular training such as running. Doing this should increase your muscular definition by burning off excess fat. If you can, do your cardio training after your weights to burn off even more fat.

The next category we shall look at is the ectomorph body type. These are people who are generally tall, thin and have long arms and legs; they naturally have virtually no fat. Most ectomorphs often find themselves in endurance sports such as x-country running or athletics (high jump), however they can and do also become professional bodybuilders. The main thing that ectomorphs need to do is to start eating more of the right healthy foods, thus increasing the calorie intake to put on weight and build muscle. They should focus on weight training as opposed to cardio vascular training and train to failure so you can’t lift the last weight of a set. Make sure that you’re lifting weights at least 3-4 days a week, with a rest day between sessions to allow optimum recovery and muscle growth.

The final category are the mesomorphs, which fall in between the other two categories and are often the envy of the other two body types, as mesomorphs find it easy to build muscle and keep off fat. However, this can often lead to a false sense of security as having this mindset leads to missed training sessions, which eventually catches up with them. If you are a mesomorph just starting bodybuilding, don’t change the amount you eat, but eat healthier and make sure you are eating enough protein to facilitate muscle growth. Mix up your training sessions to incorporate both full body work out sessions and those to target specific muscle groups to improve definition.

It doesn’t matter what your body type is if you want to be a successful bodybuilder, just adjust your training routines and your eating habits accordingly. Be dedicated and passionate and you will achieve your goals.

Time Is a major factor in your bodybuilding routine. It can cause you to focus your thought elsewhere, instead of your training. Your mind wanders onto something else while you perform a set of curls. Your thinking –

“Yep, I need to get this done later. Oh! What about that other thing I’ve got goin’ on? Right, I’ll finish up here quickly and get it done”.

Get the idea?

Do you ever find yourself having a conversation in your head, all while you’re performing your training routine?

Time waits for no man It can interfere, especially when you don’t have enough of it. It’s often difficult to get the time to train, or do other things in your life. You can explain it anyway you like. But there’s no getting away from the fact –

Everybody, Everywhere, Only Has 24 Hours A Day.

“So, how come others manage and I can’t?” I hear you say. “Obviously they don’t have as much to do as I have.”

Like I said, we all have the same amount of time. Here’s another comparison for you:

Look at rich people. They only have 24 hours in a day too. Yet they’re still rich and others are working and are living on the bread line. That’s a little extreme, I know.

But, do you get what I’m saying here?

Here’s what it boils down to –

Time Management: In this scenario ‘Time Management’ is the key to your bodybuilding routine, and your life too. If you don’t manage your time properly, you’re setting yourself up for a fall.

If You Fail To Plan - You Plan To Fail.

So, just how do you manage your time properly?

By allotting a certain amount of time per activity in your life. For each task, job or item you have to do in your life everyday, you must allot a certain amount of time to each one.

Don’t just do this for your bodybuilding routine. Look at your life right now. Determine how much you actually do with each day. Write it down, including your bodybuilding routine.

Then count the number of activities you do on a daily basis. Once you’ve done this, determine how much time you can afford to all of these activities in a day.

Divide the time you have available between all the activities you need to do. Give a little more time to the things you place more importance on such as, your bodybuilding routine.

Then create a schedule around this. It’s that simple. My suggestion is that you write those activities down and allot a certain amount of time to each one. The total time for all ativities combined shouldn’t exceed the time you have available each day.

Now what have you done?

You have just learned to manage your time. You now have time to do each activity each day. You can now devote the proper amount of time to your bodybuilding routine. This means that you will get your routine in at the appropriate times. And you will train properly, rather than rush through it in an effort to get onto something else.

Split bodybuilding routines and workouts

Stop for a minute and think about your current bodybuilding training strategy. In order to achieve maximum results, you should be following a progressive and logical schedule. If you are new to working out you are probably performing a full-body workout. Full-body workouts are excellent for beginners because they are easy to follow and implement. However, their biggest disadvantage is that they only allow you enough time to perform one or two exercises for each muscle group. If you try doing more, you’ll never be able to train the last couple of muscles with any degree of intensity. Of course the way around this is to start doing split routines.

What exactly are split routines? They are a method of training your body to create more intensity. Instead of hitting all the muscle groups in one bodybuilding session, you divide the body into sections, training a couple of muscles each day. While there are plenty of different ways to combine muscle groups, split training has some general guidelines to consider:

Primarily do compound exercises before single-joint ones.

Try to divide the body so you are doing approximately the same amount of muscle mass each day.

Try to limit your workouts to no more than 60 minutes duration.

Modify the exercises in your routine every 4 to 6 weeks.

Change the muscle groupings every 8 to 10 weeks.

The great thing about splitting your bodybuilding program is that each muscle group can be worked with greater intensity. Unlike full body workouts where you’ll need to pace yourself to hit all the muscles, split routines allow you to put maximum effort into training only a couple of muscles. You don’t need to hold back or pace yourself. In addition, you can take more rest days to achieve greater recovery (as in the case of a two-day split workout performed four days a week). The choices are almost endless when it comes to splitting up your workouts. Although no ideal split routine exists, the right split routine for you can be chosen based on factors like your time availability, genetics, exercise experience, and goals. Therefore, how you split your routines depends on preference as much as it does science.

One factor that should never be overlooked is recovery. Rest is an essential component of bodybuilding at any level. Whatever training split you decide on, make sure it allows for rest days in between.

The main benefits of split training versus a full body program include:
• reduced time in the gym
• Less chance of overtraining
• Higher intensity levels
• Sharper concentration
• More energy
• Increased strength

Here are some examples of potential bodybuilding split routines:

Routine 1
Day 1: Legs and arms
Day 2: Chest, Back, and shoulders
Day 3: Rest
Day 4: Repeat Day 1
Day 5: Repeat Day 2
Day 6: Rest
Day 7: Rest

Routine 2
Day 1: Chest, Back, Biceps
Day 2: Legs, Shoulders, Triceps
Day 3: Rest
Day 4: Repeat Day 1
Day 5: Repeat Day 2
Day 6: Rest
Day 7: Rest

Routine 3
Day 1: Legs
Day 2: Rest
Day 3: Chest and Back
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Shoulders and Arms
Day 6: Rest
Day 7: Rest

Routine 4
Day 1: Legs
Day 2: Rest
Day 3: Chest and Triceps
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Back and Biceps
Day 6: Rest
Day 7: Shoulders
Day 8: Rest