A FAQ for the bodybuilding Reddit

This is a FAQ for the bodybuilding subreddit. It is a collective effort from all the people you're likely to encounter here and is required reading if you wish to post a self.bodybuilding post, because many questions have been answered previously in depth.

You should also read the /r/Fitness/ FAQ, which addresses many general fitness questions that also get asked here.

---

Outline

---

All Questions

---

Content

---

Getting Started

How do I ask for help?

If, after reading this FAQ all the way through, you find that your question is not answered, then feel free to post a question. We need lots of information about you in order to give you advice. Everyone is different and not everything works for everyone.

Things which should be included in your post for help:

• Weight, Height, Sex, and Age
• Your Bodybuilding intentions (bulking, preparing for competition, just looking better, etc)
• Any injuries or disorders that we should know about? (rotator cuff, knee problems, back injury, etc)
• What you've already tried, if anything

Ok, how do I get started in bodybuilding?

First, you will need to bulk up--to "build" your body--that's why it is called "bodybuilding". This involves weight training and proper nutrition. Find a mentor in the sport, or use us to help you along, but don't try and figure it all out on your own. Then, if you are so inclined, you may want to show off what you've accomplished in a competition. Before you compete, you'll have to "cut" to get lean and ripped so that your muscles won't be obscured by fat or water. More information about weight training, bulking and cutting can be found in this FAQ.

Common Abbreviations, Initialisms, and bodybuilding Lingo

• A 'rep' is a repetition: one complete movement of the exercise you are performing.
• A 'set' is a number of reps performed in a row.
• Sets of repetitions are typically recorded as sets x reps. For example, 3x10 squats.
• When recording or posting your sets and repetitions, make sure to include the weight of the bar. For example, a standard barbell (most weigh 45lbs, or about 20kg) with a 45lb (20kg) plate on either side would be 135lbs (61kg), not 90lbs (41kg).
• 1RM One Rep Max -- The maximum amount of weight that can be lifted one time.
• 5RM Five Rep Max -- The maximum amount of weight that can be lifted five times in a row without taking a break (aka "rep", short for "repetition"). Most beginners on a weight program should be training with five reps to maximize strength gains, thus will will be more familiar with their 5RM than their 1RM. For estimation purposes, a trainee's 5RM is normally about 85% of his/her 1RM.
• ATG Ass-to-grass or ass-to-ground -- A type of barbell back squat also known as a "full squat" and is performed by squatting low enough that the trainee is nearly sitting on the ground. This type of squat is commonly used by people training in the Olympic lifts, while most powerlifters choose to only go deep enough that the hip is below the top of the knee (aka "hit parallel").
• BCAA Branched-chain Amino Acid -- Within the context of Fittit, BCAA's are a supplement combination of three amino acids (building blocks of protein): leucine, isoleucine and valine. Generally taken to promote the increase in lean mass and reduce recovery time.
• BF% Bodyfat Percentage -- The amount of a person's body weight that is due to body fat. This is the preferable metric compared to Body Mass Index (BMI) but is more difficult to determine.
• BP blood pressure
• BF Body fat -- often used when referring to body fat percentage (e.g. I'm at 10% BF)
• DOMS Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness -- The muscular aches felt in the 1-3 days that follow a strenuous workout.
• PR Personal Record -- The maximal amount of weight an individual has ever personally lifted.
• PWO Postworkout -- Generally used in the context of food or a beverage consumed immediately after a workout, "PWO shake, PWO meal, etc."

Bulking/Weight Gain

I am skinny. How do I put on weight?

First and foremost, you need to do strength training. If you want weight, and don't want it to be fat, you need to train your muscles. Secondly, you need to eat more - especially protein. Healthy fats and carbs should also be increased, and most people aim for 3000-4000 calories a day. Experiment starting on the low end and increase as needed.

This thread has some great information regarding how much protein you should be eating. Typically 1-1.5 grams per pound of bodyweight.

Eating more can be very hard for some skinny people. The Gallon-Of-Milk-A-Day (GOMAD) diet has helped quite a few skinny people put on muscle mass, but it is not for everyone; consider adding half a gallon a day and eating more. Also, read the bulking portion of this article (minus the product recommendations).

Snack on calorie dense foods. Eat nuts such as almonds, cashews, and peanuts throughout the day. Also try eating two tablespoons of peanut butter a few hours after every meal (it won't affect your hunger).

High Calorie Meals

One of the easiest ways to make sure you're eating consistently is to eat the same few meals repeatedly. Here are a few high calorie meals to try out.

General

• Have a protein shake. Total calories: ~800
• Also try a Svunt shake Total calories: ~1600
• Herman_Gill also has a great shake recipe Total calories: ~1500, ~450 per serving

Breakfast

• Scramble 5 large eggs with at least 25 grams of cheddar cheese on top. Have 4 slices of buttered toast on the side and drink 2% or whole milk. Total calories: ~1500
• Try Zahrada's Protein Pancakes with lots of peanut butter on top, milk to drink, and 5 slices of bacon. (Note: Be sure to add 1/2 scoop of protein powder as suggested in the comments) Total calories: ~900

Dinner

• Meat Slop by Silverhydra is great to make in bulk

Tips and Tricks

• Keep a journal. Whether it's for calories consumed or weight lifted, it doesn't matter. Buy a dedicated book for this, record your numbers, and write down how you feel. This may seem stupid, but you will benefit from it in a few weeks time when you look back at it.
• Do one step at a time. Start with your diet.
• One cheat day a week may help keep you going, but don't go overboard. Eating 7 cakes on a cheat day isn't going to help you. Putting the cheat day on a normal weekday, rather than a weekend, is usually a good idea, to keep from binging

---

Nutrition

General

What is the most important rule to follow for a healthy diet?

Some say eat whole foods. They say eat foods that are basically in their natural state and didn't need to be processed to be edible. You can be very lax with this rule, by allowing yourself sugar (controversial as any form of sugar triggers appetite especially if avoiding carbs) and salt as long as you add it yourself; or you can be strict, by excluding olives and legumes. The choice is yours. Just stick to whole foods.

Maintaining enough vitamins, minerals (including proper levels of salts like sodium and potassium) and proteins while limiting carbs, sugars (of any form including "natural" sugars like those found in whole fruit and natural fruit juices) and calories is by far the most important rule to a healthy diet regardless of their source and whether or not they are "natural" or "whole". Repeated studies have shown that having excess body fat, type 2 diabetes and weight gain are resultant from eating and storing more calories than one burns. Eating too many of any form of calories whether from whole foods or not will cause these problems. A Newcastle University team has recently (2011) discovered that Type 2 diabetes can actually be reversed by an extreme low calorie diet alone (http://www.ncl.ac.uk/biomedicine/news/newsitem.htm?id=diet-reverses-type-2-diabetes).

There is no evidence which excludes "whole" foods calories from this fact and whole grains are some of the highest calorie, low vitamin foods around. There is also no evidence that calories from low fat or high fat foods are any different from other calories for weight control.

Calories are calories and as long as you have a source of essential vitamins they are the same.

Fat calories are not "worse" than other calories. In fact fat has many essential vitamins and no health risks contrary to popular beliefs. Native peoples in the far north got virtually all their vitamins from the fat and organ meat of the animals they ate as there were no vegetables in that climate, and before the introduction of modern processed foods they had extremely low rates of heart disease. Additionally the linking of saturated fats to heart disease is a myth and has been completely dis-proven. The most recent studies including a meta study of over 347,000 people across 23 years (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20071648) showed no increase of cardio vascular problems from consumption of saturated fats. Fats are essential for many bodily functions including metabolism and brain function. Best estimates are that congestive heart disease (arterial clogging) comes from too many blood sugar peaks brought on by over consumption of sugars, carbs and starches at rates higher than your body can control their effect on blood sugar (another reason to avoid carbs and sugar) and perhaps over consumption of calcium which is a also component of arterial clogging.Heart attacks themselves are often now linked to inflammatory response of the body reacting to changes in injured or scarred arteries (which may explain why small doses of anti inflammatories like aspirin reduce the risk of heart attack.)

So what's the dietary answer? Make sure you get your vitamins, protein, minerals and salts and fluids you need from somewhere and don't consume more total calories than you burn each day regardless of what type of calories they are (unless you are bulking). Other than that try to avoid things that likely aren't good for your body such as preservatives and other non nutritional substances of unknown effects that can be avoided.

Which diet plan is the best?

There is no best. There are many paths to maintaining a good diet and losing weight. Some methods work better for some people, other methods for other people. The important thing to understand is that people are different in their tastes and lifestyles but not in their body metabolisms by any large degree. Resting body metabolism between extreme athletes and unfit people vary by less than 5% which means it has virtually no impact on how much you can eat or burn in daily decisions. You should be prepared to experiment and find what works for you so that you can maintain a diet that avoids an excess of calories over your lifetime however actively you choose to live.

In the end, the "best diet" is the one that you will stick to.

How can I form a dietary plan that works with my busy schedule?

First we need to know your goals. Are you trying to gain or lose weight, or something more specific? Generally, you can take one free day a week, and cook up a good amount of food. Healthy chicken breasts can be cooked at one time and refrigerated for the next week or two. The same with rice. Peanut Butter and Jelly makes a versatile, portable sandwich should you be somewhere without a fridge in need of food. Nuts are a healthy, portable snack. Scrambled eggs can be left on the stove to cook on low heat as you do your morning routine. Carrots make a good, portable snack or meal addition.

Is it possible to gain muscle while losing weight?

You need to do away with preconceptions about weight. Just think of what you're saying "gain muscle while losing weight", well gaining muscle is gaining weight, but you'd be gaining lean mass and not fat. A better question would be "Is it possible to gain muscle while losing fat?" Which is absolutely possible and the best option you got :) A combination of better diet + cardio exercise and weightlifting = gain muscle, lose fat. Again forget about weight, depending on your body type and your current situation you might stay at around the same weight or go down then up, that's not exactly bad as long as you're losing fat and the weight comes from muscle. You'll still look and feel better :)

Should I take supplements?

Studies have shown that simply taking a daily simple multivitamin supplement can help one avoid a huge number of health concerns that arise from vitamin deficiencies in modern eating practices. It is extremely difficult to get natural levels of vitamins from even whole unprocessed vegetables today because the actual farming soil has been depleted over years of over farming - vegetables simple don't have the same levels of vitamins and minerals in them that they had 100 years ago. Furthermore, the other primary source of vitamins in food is from animal fats and organ meats such as liver which modern guidelines and eating practices tend to limit. Thus the two primary sources of necessary vitamins vegetables and meat fats no longer provide enough essential vitamins for the average person and a multivitamin supplement can be essential.

The other huge benefit of taking a multivitamin is that lacking vitamins often cause food cravings which leads to the intake of more calories. So if you make sure you are getting the vitamins and minerals your body needs with a multivitamin supplement you may not get as many hunger cravings which may cut down on binge eating.

Other Supplements are just that -- something to take in addition to (not instead of) regular food.

Diet is generally more important than supplementation, but certain supplements can be useful for achieving fitness goals. Many supplements make doubtful or exaggerated claims, so do your research before purchasing them.

• What supplements do you know work?

Supplements commonly taken for health purposes are:

• Vitamin D
• Fish Oil
• Creatine

What are the effects of alcohol consumption on fat loss?

One of the breakdown products of ethanol is acetate. Overview of ethanol metabolism

Presence of acetate in plasma reduces plasma level of free fatty acids 70-90%.

By reducing FFA you are in essence reducing the availability of fat to be used for energy. You will burn the glucose in the blood and the energy from the alcohol, not fat. Drinking often has been found to increase abdominal obesity and negatively affect weight loss.

This doesn't mean all hope is lost for a healthy lifestyle and alcohol though. Most of the problems occur when alcohol is consumed alongside unhealthy foods. (Where your body would normally metabolize the foods, the alcohol takes precedence and the foods essentially go to body fat). A good article and collection of sources on the matter can be found here.

How much should I eat?

That depends on your basal metabolic rate -- the number of calories you need daily just to maintain your weight (no loss or gain) and go about your daily activities. It also depends on whether you want to lose weight (cutting) or gain weight (bulking). If you are cutting, your body can only take weight loss at a rate of about 1-2 lbs per week, maximum, without losing muscle too. Your best bet is to track everything you eat and determine your calorie intake; add (subtract) 3500 calories for every pound of weight you lost (gained); and that's your BMR. Once you've determined your BMR, take an amount less by 500 calories (3500 calories per week -- which corresponds to about a pound of fat) and use that as a target average. Try to get between 0.5gm and 1.0gm of protein per day per pound of lean body mass (your total body mass, minus the total fat); and make up the rest of your calories with (good) fats and carbs.

How much protein should I eat in one sitting?

According to this article how you divide your daily protein intake is not important to your muscle gains. Thus, you can simply divide the total protein up into multiple meals, or you can eat it all in one sitting. This is because, while your body can only absorb protein at a certain rate (and that rate depends on the kind of protein you're absorbing), it will keep absorbing it until its gone completely through it. So feel free to do 6 meals of 20-30g protein each, or two big meals of 60-90g protein each -- as far as your gains are concerned, they're the same.

How do I get the rotten milk smell out of my protein shake bottle?

Put a mixture of 50% vinegar and 50% water in it and let it sit overnight. Wash it afterwards and it should smell like plastic again.

Eggs? Won't they make me die a horrible cholesterol-induced death?

No - eggs are chock full of vitamins and minerals. Serum cholesterol levels are mostly unaffected by dietary cholesterol. There is both scientific and anecdotal evidence supporting this idea. Furthermore high cholesterol is not associated with the actual risk of heart attacks and cholesterol is essential for many bodily functions including metabolism and brain function (your brain is largely cholesterol).

---

Weight Training

General

I need help finding a weight training program. Help.

Try the programpicker website. It has collected all the standard information we have in this FAQ, reduced the number of questions to a bare minimum, and recommends the best program for you to meet your fitness goals. (Note: most bodybuilders will want to pick the +muscle -fat option from this website).

I'd like to isolate a specific muscle using barbells/olympic bars/body weight/a cable. What exercise can I do?

Check out this click map (for males) or this one (for females); click on a muscle, it will take you a list of appropriate exercises, with full descriptions on form.

I have a bad injury, please help me train around it.

Joint Injuries

Joint injuries require lots of extra help. Joint mobility work is necessary and should be done every morning. This typically involves joint circles (except for the hinge joints: elbow, fingers, knees, etc. Never "circle" hinge joints). The best recommendation I've seen is to do a number of joint circles equal to your age, both clockwise and counterclockwise. If you have a popping or creaking joint, double this number. If it is painful, move slower and triple the number.

It may also help to put light pressure on the joints and work them out. For instance, doing standing pushups against a wall is a great way to help a shoulder injury. Doing "squats" while lying on your back will help a knee injury. The key is to move them, and put stress on them, but not a lot. Your body will respond to stress by making things stronger.

Muscular Injuries

RICE - Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. Additionally, non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are helpful to reduce pain and swelling.

As for applying ice, there are many recommended ways to do this, I will provide one: apply ice for 10 minutes, then no ice for 20 minutes, and repeat as often as possible. Ice causes a vasoconstriction. When you remove the ice the vasodilation brings fresh nutrient dense blood into the injury site to speed recovery. This is similar to contrast bathing.

Note that if an injury and pain persist for longer than a few days, you should see a doctor. Do not trust some random internet FAQ to heal you.

Is weight training harmful?

Yes. With additional strength and muscle mass, you will become irresistible to the opposite sex, which which will raise your risk of STDs, and cause you to lose sleep and productivity, due to the numerous additional opportunities for casual sexual activity.

You may also lose friends, who enjoyed having the "fat guy" or the "scrawny dork" around to make them look better by comparison.

But seriously, while there is a risk of injury with any physical activity, the potential for harm in an inherently controlled environment like a gym or weight room is substantially less than many "safer" sports, such as cycling (collisions with pedestrians and automobiles), soccer (near ubiquitous ACL tears, especially for women), or even tennis (tennis elbow).

The most frequent causes of injury in strength training are a) using too much weight, or b) not using proper form.

(This is why you see those horrible youtube powerlifting / weightlifting injuries. Competitors are trying to lift the MAXIMUM amount of weight, and are willing to accept the risk of injury. This is FAR different than lifting in the gym, where you are trying to lift a substantial amount of weight in a safe and sustainable manner.)

The response to this is NOT to use the weight machines, which appear safer, but actually can create muscle imbalances due to involving fewer muscle groups and moving along fixed pathways that may not align with your body's geometry, but to learn to do the exercises properly with free weights, beginning with just your bodyweight or an empty bar, and gradually adding weight in 5 or 10lb increments until you find the appropriate weight for your ability.

Make sure to lift with your muscles, and not with your joints. If your muscles are sore, that is a good thing. If you are feeling joint pain, figure out which muscles are weak or imbalanced, then focus on strengthening them for a week or two, before returning to the exercise. (E.g. if you're having shoulder pain when bench pressing, check your form, then make sure your anterior deltoids and rotator cuff muscles are sufficiently strong, before continuing to bench press.)

There are numerous benefits to strength training. In addition to gaining muscle mass and strength, your body's resting metabolism will increase, your hormone production will increase, making you feel more confident, your skeletal system will become stronger, making you more resistant to osteoporosis, etc., etc., etc.

I have muscle soreness two days after my last workout. Should I workout again today?

It sounds like you're experiencing Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS). You should workout again today, and you'll notice that this decreases in intensity over the next couple of weeks.

If I don't feel Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) the day after, am I working hard enough?

Yes. You were probably feeling DOMS because you recently started your workouts. Over time, DOMS goes away.

What type of shoes should I wear for weight lifting?

Flat soled shoes (Vans, Airwalks, Converse, etc) or minimalist footwear such as Vibram Five Fingers, Feelmax shoes, or even water shoes. Barefoot is also ok, but be careful not to smash your toes. If you're going to be squatting a lot or doing the olympic lifts, dedicated weightlifting shoes with a raised heel can help your form. exrx article on weightlifting shoes

Which should I do first, cardio or weights?

Since fatigue from cardio first can result in poor lifting form, the general consensus is to lift first. Read more about it in this thread.

Here are are few sites with additional options: This site offers a Upper/Lower split routine that is pretty decent and straight-forward. Or try these sites: this list or this list and do it.

When should I stretch?

Assuming you have already addressed posture and body alignment issues, and are working on mobility, stretching can be a nice addition to your arsenal. Just remember that stretching alone won't fix most flexibility issues as they tend to be related to body alignment. Static stretching is typically done after a workout, when muscles are fatigued - this means the muscles that fire as part of the stretch reflex won't be as strong and you will be able to stretch a little bit more. Static stretching before a workout, contrary to popular belief, does not help prevent injury and can actually cause a slight decrease in strength for a period of time and possibly make injury more likely.

---

Contest Prep/Conditioning

How can I find a contest?

Posing

Where do I get posing trunks?

What about music?

How do I measure my body fat?

There are five main methods (in ascending order of accuracy): bioimpedance meters, calipers, hydrostatic weighing/air displacement, DEXA (aka DXA) scan, and MRI. The later three require very expensive, specialized medical equipment and can not be done at home. You can get a volumetric measurement for about $50-100 from a clinic or university (check with the physiology, kinesiology, human performance, sports medicine, or equivalent department) that has a BodPod? or pool. DEXA scan can also be an option, but will typically be more expensive and might be overkill. An MRI is definitely overkill and only used for scientific studies involving body composition.

Calipers can be accurate (and are the cheapest method), but requires that the person conducting the measurements have a lot of experience in order to get an accurate read. Inexpensive plastic calipers can be purchased online and many gyms that offer personal training services will be able to measure you as well.

Bioimpedance meters can be bought for about $30 online and take about five seconds to use. Their accuracy can be all over the map though and is dependent on a lot of things, including your hydration level. If you use it first thing in the morning, it can be a good way to track your relative fat loss progress, but don't put too much faith in the absolute readings. Also: if you do buy one, get a handheld type, the models that are integrated into a bathroom scale are wildly inaccurate.

- Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percent_body_fat

That's too hard. How can I estimate my body fat by sight?

You can find a picture guide to bodyfat % here.

Some general guidelines:

1. Full House = No visible muscle definition. Bodyfat level = over 20%.

2. Hard = Some muscle separation appears between delts and upper arm. Abs are still not visible. Approx. bodyfat level = 15-19%

3. Cut = More muscle separation appears particularly in the chest and back, outline of the abs begins to appear slightly. Approx. bodyfat level = 12-14%

4. Defined = Muscle separations get deeper in the arms, chest, legs and back, and abs appear when flexed. Approx. bodyfat level = 10-12%

5. Ripped = Abs are clearly visible all the time, vascularity in arms is prominent, chest and back separation is obvious, and face is starting to appear more angular. Condition can be held indefinitely. Approximate bodyfat level = 7-9%

6. Shredded = Striations appear in large muscle groups when they are flexed. Vascularity appears in lower abdomen and in the legs. Condition can be held for several days with careful dieting. Approximate bodyfat level = 5-7%

7. Sliced = Muscles and tendons begin to appear in the face when chewing, striations appear everywhere and vascularity appears everywhere. Bodyfat levels are close to 3% and subcutaneous water levels are near 0. Condition can only be held for a few hours at a time. Not a healthy condition to stay in due to lower water level.

---

Resources

Comprehensive

• Brain Over Brawn free eBook
• Body by Science, by John Little and Doug Mcguff

Diet

• Restaurant Calorie Directory, a directory of restaurant nutrition information and calorie calculators.
• swole.me, a website which can plan specific meals for a diet within macro and calorie constraints.
• In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan
• The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan
• What to Eat by Marion Nestle
• Advanced Sports Nutrition by Marion Nestle
• Table of Diet supplements, sorted by Effective/Not Effective/Dangerous from Kreider et al. 2010 *Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition*
• Overview of the Hormones; Leptin, Cortisol, Insulin, Testosterone as well as Triglycerides

Supplementation

• Examine.com - The Science behind Supplements, Fitness, Health & Nutrition
• Supplements Subreddit

Exercise

• StrongLifts 5x5 by Mehdi
• Greyskull LP by strengthvillain
• Beast Skills: Tutorials RAWR
• Strength Training for Young Athletes by William J. Kraemer
• ExRx An exhaustive resource covering every exercise imaginable.
• Workout-Routine.com Over 50 different workout routines to consult or download (.pdf)

Software and Tools

• Jefit Weight lifting log for Android
• Gym Buddy Weight lifting and cardio log for iPhone
• Podrunner Free Workout Music Mixes
• Fitocracy (Still in Beta) A MMORPG style fitness game where you level up for doing fitness based activities
• Music Gym An iOS app that plays songs from the chorus and skips tracks by double tapping the volume buttons.
• FitnessBliss A web application that lets you manage your workout routines.
• http://www.strstd.com/ A web application that creates a 5/3/1 training scedule for you based on your current stats.
• Google Docs spreadsheet for the 2nd edition of 5/3/1. Includes the recommended options for assistance exercises. Green cells are the only ones you edit, and you can only edit after saving a copy. Copy/paste will just copy the values in the cells, not the formulas.

Calorie Tracking Sites

• My Plate Web, iPhone and BB
• SparkPeople Web, Android, iPhone and BB
• myfitnesspal Web, Android and iPhone
• FatSecret Web, Android and iPhone
• FitDay Web and iPhone
• DailyBurn Web and iPhone
• Lose It! Web, Android and iPhone

---

Meta /r/bodybuilding

Behavior which can get you banned from /r/bodybuilding

The mods tend to ban lightly, but they do exercise judgement in banning people, and aren't held to fixed rules about why people get banned. If they see clear anti-social behavior, they'll ban you. You can always message the mods to appeal why your behavior constructively contributes to a bodybuilding-centered conversation. While it won't get you banned, please refrain from posting about powerlifting or general fitness, since there are other subreddits for these topics.

• If you post NSFW material, particularly if it is unmarked and especially if it does not constructively contribute to the bodybuilding-centered conversation, you can be banned. There are plenty of places to find and put NSFW material on the internet, and /r/bodybuilding isn't going to be one of them. This subeddit should be readable by your 10 year old cousin.

• If you post pictures of other people that were never meant to be publicized (ie from their facebook page), you can be banned.

How to tell someone to read the FAQ

Copy and paste the following into your comment:

We have collected answers to basic questions like your's **[right here](http://www.reddit.com/help/faqs/bodybuilding)**.