Amateur bodybuilding and its role in men's life

I am glad to welcome each and every virtual guest of the Fitkis Club blog. Your faithful assistant and servant Vitakha Okhrimenko is in touch, and today it’s time to figure out what is called amateur bodybuilding and what is the main difference between amateur and professional bodybuilding. Today the article is aimed at the male audience of the blog , and next time I will publish an article about amateur bodybuilding for girls.

Ancient superstitions

Once upon a time, in the dashing 90s, bodybuilding was mainly associated in the worldly mind with bandits and impotent people. As a matter of fact, there was a small amount of truth in these views, because many representatives of the so-called organized crime groups emerged from the basement rocking chairs, which were very popular in those years. Now times have changed; people of almost all professions and life views are engaged in amateur bodybuilding.

As for amateur bodybuilding and potency, the existence of this bodybuilding myth is associated primarily with stereotypes that are more inherent in professional bodybuilding than amateur bodybuilding.

In a good way, amateur bodybuilding should not cause any harm to the body, only benefit.

As a matter of fact, this is exactly what I want to teach in my blog, why I created it in the first place. Even if you don’t understand why you should engage in bodybuilding to the detriment of your own health. Yes, by stuffing your body with steroids, the “chemist” will look much better and be stronger than you or me. But what next? If he does this to the detriment of his own body, and most importantly his own potency (!), then what’s the point?

At least somehow the use of anabolic steroids is justified by a professional approach: when an athlete goes to competitions and makes a career as a bodybuilder, and soon he may start making money on this addiction. When we are talking about 90% of trainees who train “ for themselves ,” it seems to me that there is no need to ruin the future for the sake of muscles.

But amateur bodybuilding undoubtedly brings only advantages! It increases longevity, improves mobility, improves mood and well-being, and the athlete’s energy level increases noticeably.

From the history of bodybuilding

Three key milestones determined the development of this sport in the last and current centuries.

The Beginning - Eugene Sandow

The first person who began to develop serious training programs was Eugene Sandow, he is called the “Father of modern bodybuilding.”
The most honorable award for a professional bodybuilder - the figurine of the winner of the Mr. Olympia competition - depicts precisely the pioneer of modern professional bodybuilding. Eugene Sandow, a native of Germany, began his career by demonstrating power tricks to the public. However, over time, he realized that it was not only the weight he could lift that was important, but also the beauty of his body.

He developed harmonious, powerful muscles and based his performance program on imitating the poses of ancient sculptors, demonstrating his muscles. Eugene took this show all over Europe and America.

In England, he created a network of athletic clubs, published a specialized magazine, produced training manuals, published his training programs, and in 1901 held the first bodybuilding tournament. He was even appointed personal trainer to King George V of England.

Eugene Sandow died in 1920, according to the official version, as a result of a stroke.

New Level - Wider Brothers

At the time when the Wider brothers entered the game, bodybuilding did not stand still, it had already reached a certain level: training manuals appeared, specialized magazines were published, gyms were opened, and competitions were held.

However, the brothers were able to take bodybuilding to a new level. It is with their name that the creation of the International Federation of Bodybuilding (IFBB) in 1946 and the beginning of the most prestigious competition among professional bodybuilders, Mr. Olympia, are associated.

It was thanks to the Weider brothers that Arnold Schwarzenegger, a bodybuilding legend who became Mr. Olympia seven times, came to America from Austria.

The story of Joe Weider, perhaps a key figure in the popularization of modern bodybuilding, a commercially developed industry with millions of fans, can be seen in the following video.

Modernity - World of Professionals

According to unofficial data, today there are about 300 professional bodybuilders in the world (to get a professional card, you need to win an international competition).

Each professional is assigned to a federation, which pays him money for training and competing.

Only professional members of the IFBB can participate in the Mr. Olympia competition. In addition, members of this organization are not allowed to take part in competitions organized by other associations.

The International Bodybuilding Federation holds competitions among professionals in various categories:

Mr. Olympia (male bodybuilding),
Miss Olympia (women's bodybuilding),
Fitness Olympia (women's fitness) and
Bodyfitness Olympia (women's bodyfitness),

In which the winners of intermediate competitions in the relevant categories participate.

Arnold Schwarzenegger holds competitions every year:

Arnold Classic (men's bodybuilding),
Miss International (female bodybuilding),
Figure International and
Miss Fitness International.

Also popular are the Mr. Olympia for Veterans competitions (for bodybuilders over 40 years old) and the Night of Champions.

What is the key difference between amateur and professional bodybuilding?

The main difference between amateurs and professional bodybuilders is their goals and methods. First of all, you need to understand that a professional bodybuilder is not only one who pumps and makes money from it, but one who adapts his entire life to the interests of bodybuilding. Those who give up most of the ordinary human joys of life for the sake of muscles, who do not drink or smoke, and spend all their extra money on medications.

Who cannot be sure whether he will remain a “man” after 50. And of course, someone who is genetically different from most people, in other words, a “genetic freak”. It is very difficult for a normal person like you and me to gain every kilogram of muscle mass. Another thing is these guys from the covers of fashion magazines, whose genetic mechanisms differ from the norm.

Amateur and professional bodybuilding have both different goals and different means to achieve their goals. Amateurs lift for the good and pleasure, while professionals do it to the detriment of their health, periodically training until they faint.

As a matter of fact, due to the difference in approaches, amateurs and professionals need fundamentally different methods of training with weights.

I already wrote about this in an article on how to properly create a training program in the gym, and even free of charge (that is, for nothing) I created individual programs for girls and guys in the gym using the example of my readers. Anyone interested - welcome.

"Mr. Universe"

The first such tournament was organized in 1948 in London by the editors of the British specialized magazine “Health and Strength”. The tournament was won by American John Grimek. Since 1950, competitions have been held under the auspices of the National Amateur Bodybuilders Association (NABBA), organized in the same year in Great Britain, and since 1984 - the newly created NABBA International.

It was at the Mr. Universe tournament that Schwarzenegger's career really began, winning once in the amateur category and three times in the professional category. In addition to Schwarzenegger and Grimek, three more legendary holders of the Mr. Universe title deserve special mention: Americans Steve Reeves and Bill Pearl, as well as Englishman Reg Park.

Currently, several dozen athletes representing various countries in Europe (including Russia), North and South America, Africa, Australia, etc. are taking part in the tournament.

Anabolics and amateur bodybuilding

I think that it is generally stupid for bodybuilding enthusiasts to use steroids. After all, you can create a powerful, attractive figure without their help, the main thing is to understand how.

Taking anabolic steroids improves the athlete’s body’s ability to recover quickly. That is, professionals can train twice a day, but for amateurs, 2-3 training days a week is enough.

Bodybuilding for naturals: a week-long training program for mass

Before you begin the training itself, remember the following points:

You cannot feel sorry for yourself during training - the growth of muscle tissue can only be provoked by the maximum load on it, so during training you will need to give your all.
Proteins in the diet should be allocated no less than carbohydrates.
You need to eat food half an hour before and half an hour after training.
Consumption of protein shakes is recommended.
The interval between workouts should vary from 48 to 72 hours - this indicator directly depends on the speed of muscle fiber recovery.

Bodybuilding training program for bulking men begins on Monday. The beginning of any activity is a warm-up: aerobic exercise, cardio or jogging. Warm up for at least 10 minutes so that you can prepare your body for the stress, get your blood flowing and warm up your joints. Each training day includes working out 2 muscle groups.

Plan for Monday, pump up the biceps and pectoral muscles:

Bench press with a wide grip on an incline bench. To warm up, use 60% of your working weight and do up to 2 sets of 8 reps. Then use your working weight and start doing 6 to 9 sets of 8 to 12 reps.
Bench press with a wide grip on a horizontal bench – 6 to 12.
Raising arms with dumbbells on a horizontal bench (working the pectoral muscles) – 4 to 15.
Isolated biceps exercise – concentrated dumbbell lift. Do 4 sets of 15 repetitions. Before you begin, watch a video of mass training with this exercise to correctly perform the technique.
The complex can include lifting the barbell while standing to the biceps.

Injury hazards of amateur bodybuilding

Be that as it may, amateur bodybuilding is very dangerous. And the problem is not that the exercises are poorly thought out or the gyms are insufficiently equipped. The problem is different: there are a lot of laymen involved in bodybuilding who don’t even want to hear anything about proper technique and safety. What are you talking about, they are much more concerned about the weight being squeezed or pulled out.

This is where injuries that are stupid in nature happen: a pancake falls on your leg, a dumbbell hits your face, or you squawk under a barbell. But no, to read an article about insurance in bodybuilding.

According to statistics, more than 90% of injuries in amateur bodybuilding occur while performing basic exercises with free weights.

And besides, often laymen who decide to show off their muscles on the beach simply do not know the technique of performing the exercise. They seem to be too lazy to study the technique, but they are too stifled to spend money on a trainer. By the way, I once wrote an article about whether you need a coach or not. I advise you to take a look and read.

It also happens that amateur bodybuilding may be contraindicated for health reasons. It’s fair to note here that you should remember the list of all your already identified sores (let’s bet there are three times more undiagnosed diseases in each of us than known ones) and with a complete list, drop by a sports doctor with a pertinent question: “ Can I engage in amateur bodybuilding or is it better to abstain?” ? " On this topic, I published a post on health and amateur bodybuilding.

"Mr. Olympia"

The annual international competition of professional bodybuilders "Mr. Olympia" has been held since 1965. The venue for the first tournaments was New York City. Then Mr. Olympia “changed its registration” more than once (several competitions were held outside the USA), but in recent years the tournament has always been held in Las Vegas.

The first Mr. Olympia in history was Larry Scott in 1965 (who repeated his success a year later). Arnold Schwarzenegger's record of 7 titles won between 1970 and 1980 was then broken by the "Black King of Bodybuilding" Lee Haney, 8-time Mr. Olympia (1984-1991). It is worth mentioning two more Olympic title holders. Dorian Yates, nicknamed the “British Hippopotamus,” at one time amazed everyone with his impressive dimensions and from 1992 to 1997 won 6 gold statuettes. He was replaced by Roni Coleman, who has now become a 7-time Mr. Olympia (1998–2004) and has every chance of repeating, and then possibly surpassing, Haney’s achievement.

The legendary documentary film with the participation of Schwarzenegger “Pumping Iron” (1977) is nothing more than a chronicle of one of the Mr. Olympia tournaments. The release of this tape contributed to the further popularization of bodybuilding.

Doping for bodybuilding enthusiasts

Of course, weighing every gram of food swallowed is the job of professionals. But for those who like to completely ignore this, it’s stupid.

For the most part, amateurs set the goal of training to gain muscle mass (exclusively for those who want to lose weight). And to do this, you need to slightly increase the amount of carbohydrates and add a lot to the percentage of protein eaten with food.

Of course, it would be nice to reconsider your diet a little: minimize harmful fats and fast carbohydrates, maximize the protein so necessary for muscles.

The coolest, in my opinion, doping for bodybuilding enthusiasts is the sports nutrition industry. And without going into details, remember one truth: if you gain weight, buy a gainer, if you lose weight, buy protein.

At one time (while my daughter was little) I stole baby food from my daughter and drank it after training. And I can safely say that such doping will make a lot of people sick! A prerequisite for bodybuilding enthusiasts is to drink plenty of fluids. Still water helps the body improve metabolic processes, and an athlete should drink at least two liters of H2O per day.