NOTE: The diet in this article is aimed at bulking up (gaining weight in muscle), but the exercise routine is general (may be used by people who want to be fit and trim, whether they want to lose or gain weight). As a general rule, aerobic exercise of any kind, for at least 12 continuous minutes at your Target Heart Rate, is the way to go to lose fat. The ideal combination is a mix of bodybuilding (weights) and aerobic exercises, split on different days of the week, and always starting and ending your routines with stretching exercises, to avoid injury and keeping flexible/nimble muscles and joints.Well, some of you guys already know who I am; for those who don't, before I became a MTF, I was a high-level bodybuilder, my arms were bigger than 18 inches, naturally (no steroids). I did bicep curls for reps with more than 220 pounds (no one else at the gym could do this) and I did all that without ever touching steroids (taking testosterone). I really want to help you guys because I know I can, I spent more than 5 years of my life becoming a top athlete before my feminine side really took over, and I really want to share with you the world of knowledge I acquired while being a bodybuilder.
Now, please bear with me, this is very long but very useful, specially for beginners. There may be lots of typos and spelling errors, because it's lengthy and I had no time to spell-check it thoroughly.
Next are some ideas to get you started, with special focus on avoiding injuries and making sure you get results from day one, BEFORE you ever hit the gym --
most of the ideas described here are based on Arnold Schwarzenegger's book: "The Education of a Bodybuilder" and my own experience as a bodybuilder.Start for maybe a couple of months with free hand exercises, in your case as FTM, geared to emphasize your upper body. I'll mention some specific exercises later. Following I'll describe the main aspects of starting an exercise routine, from square one.
WARNING: BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE, SPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE NEVER EXERCISED INTENSELY BEFORE, OR ARE OF AN OLDER AGE, OR HAVE ANY KIND OF SERIOUS DISEASE:
PLEASE CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN AND ASK HIM/HER TO GIVE YOU GREEN LIGHT TO START A FREE-HANDS TRAINING PROGRAM AT HOME, AND IF IT'S THE CASE, TELL HIM/HER YOU PLAN TO START A WEIGHT-TRAINING PROGRAM AT THE GYM, A COUPLE OF MONTHS LATER. WHEN I STARTED BODYBUILDING FOR THE FIRST TIME, I WAS 16 YEARS OLD AND IN OPTIMAL PHYSICAL SHAPE, SO I HAD NO PROBLEMS OR INJURIES AND I WAS ABLE TO PROGRESS INCREDIBLY FAST, AND I WISH THE SAME THING HAPPENS TO YOU!
WHEN TO EXERCISE?
The best time to exercise is: about an hour before you eat, or two hours after a full meal. Always eat something about two hours before exercising, to have the necessary energy for a workout.
NEVER TRAIN right after or before a meal.
The hour doesn't matter, but if the place is cold, you should ve very careful and really warm up with stretching exercises and sets with high repetitions, before starting a hard workout.
WHAT TO WEAR?
Wear something comfortable always, and cotton-made (the best sweat absorber). If weather is cold, wear a tank top and a sweatshirt with pants; if it's hot, shorts and a tank top.
BREATHING
Correct breathing general rule: Breath in (inhale) when there's no pressure, breath out (exhale) when there's pressure. IOW: Inhale when you prepare to lift the weight, exhale while you are actually lifting the weight, pretty simple. When doing very demanding exercises, like squats or lunges, it is best to fill both your chest and stomach (diaphragm breathing). You accomplish this when your stomach bloats up first and then your chest, while inhaling. It is best to inhale solely through your nose (the air is 100% clean this way) and exhale through your mouth, although for very demanding exercises, like heavy-weight squats, inhaling from both nose and mouth is advised.
EATING FOR GROWING MUSCLES
To gain muscles fast, you need a high-protein high-calorie diet. Your body can utilize only 30-50 grams of protein per meal. It is by far better to have 5-6 smaller meals a day, than three large ones. You should eat every 3 hours approximately (example: 7 and 10 am, 1, 4, 7 and 10 pm). That doesn't have to be followed religiously, but it is best to have a 2 1/2 and 4-hour space between meals, as a margin.
Milk, lean protein from animals (fish, meat, chicken breast) protein shakes with fruit and vegetables are the basis of a bodybuilder's diet. If you're a vegetarian, you must really emphasize on protein shakes, from soy protein and soy milk, and include lots of beans, lentils, peas and similars, for protein and fiber, and it will be essential for you to take amino-acid tablets, because plant protein don't provide you with all the necessary amino-acids that animal or milk protein does. This article is generally aimed at people with "regular" diets including everything, though.
Below is an example of a bodybuilder's diet:Breakfast should include a lot of protein ( a large milk-protein powder shake, maybe a piece of beef or fish) and some fruit. A couple of slices of non-fat whole-wheat bread.
Mid-morning snack should include protein again, but in smaller amounts: a meat/fish sandwich with vegetables, milk or yogurt with fruit.
Lunch should be similar to the earlier snack, only larger: two sandwiches, two glasses of milk and more fruit.
Mid-afternoon snack: Similar to mid-morning snack or a smaller version of breakfast
Dinner: meat, fish or chicken breast (at least half a pound), lots of vegetables, specially green leafy ones, uncooked is much better, --be very careful on cleaning/washing/sterilizing/disinfecting them (whatever applies in your country); some people just wash their vegetables with running water; I personally don't trust that, so I do disinfect them colloidal silver drops dissolved in water, soaking them for a few minutes, after I washed them thoroughly; others use iodine or chlorine drops; others just wash them carefully in running water, but I don't trust doing only that myself-- milk and some potatoes or cheese (cottage cheese or similars are the best option), a big pasta serving or rice.
Supper: A protein drink like the one in breakfast, only smaller, or a sandwich with some fruit.
**FREE HAND EXERCISES**
VERY IMPORTANT BEFORE STARTING:Always do a general warm-up session before starting the exercises.
Warm-up: Run in place or jump a little bit for about a minute (to start blood flowing through your system). then:
Do a few stretching exercises, for the areas you are about to work. You have to hold the stretch WITHOUT FORCING THE AREA for about 15-20 seconds. Knowing how to stretch is very easy: When you contract one muscle, the opposite one stretches, examples: You contract your back you stretch your chest and vice-versa; same for biceps-triceps, quads-hamstrings, back-stomach, front-back and left site-right side of neck... Get the idea? remember always: Don't force yourself (because forcing a stretch could cause rupture=injury) and hold the stretch for about 15-20 seconds.
Stretching before and after your workout is very important because will accomplish several things:
* will prevent muscle injury because of forcing muscles before they are ready to contract with force
* will keep you nimble (flexible), which also avoids injury, specially from delicate areas like the back, hips, neck and shoulders
* will prevent you from looking "muscle-bound", that is, that ugly look many bodybuilders have, where they look "contracted" all the time, with the muscles bent all the time (big and ugly)
**FREE HAND WORKOUT ROUTINE**
It is advisable to do this day on-day off (weekdays) and two days off maybe, on weekends, because muscles need rest to grow, but mainly to avoid getting bored/stuck, which happens frequently among bodybuilders, specially with people not very committed to exercise and to anything in general, who are excited at first but later lose interest and could even drop it.
It should take you about an hour, and each exercise you should do no less than 10 repetitions per set, a minimum of 3 sets of each one. when it comes to free hand exercises, there's no upper limit to the number of repetitions, but, as a general rule, if it seems way too easy to do, say 50 reps or more of any exercise non-abdominal or waist related, you probably may not be utilizing correct form (contracting the muscle all the way, properly), and doing an exercise incorrectly is generally speaking a waste of time and energy and a big risk of getting injured.
EXAMPLES OF FREE HAND EXERCISES (for more examples, check on video sites like YouTube, although I provide plenty of links to exemplify, on here)
The following list is found here:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/becker20.htmPlease look under "suggested Exercises"; there are links for you to see how each exercise is done.
**Deep Knee Bends (squats)** --You may search for "squats" on YT.Here's how squats should be done --personally i prefer to put my hands on my neck, but my technique is exactly as shown below:
Now, if you really want to get motivated, the following video is a must-watch (note: you may disregard Arnold on this one, because he's not applying a correct squat technique. Instead, he's bending his back too much, to a dangerous angle; but Ed Corney, the guy with the mustache, is on the contrary doing perfect squats, and I believe they are squatting around 375 pounds! --I think each disk is 55 pounds, the bar is 45, you do the math: (55*6)+45!, and that was a zillion years ago!)
**Chin-ups or Pull-ups** NOTE: THIS IS BY FAR THE BEST EXERCISE EVER, TO BUILD SHOULDER WIDTH, A FEATURE MANY FTMs WISH TO DEVELOP; the trick for me was to do the "behind the neck" version (which many say it is more injury-risky) for both pull-ups (free weights) and pull-downs (with machine), as my priority, and leave the regular "popular" version (chin up, chest-touching version) as a secondary exercise. I never got injured from doing that, but I always made sure I had a very good warm up before starting the exercises.
I mentioned a variety of examples of that exercise, here:
https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,84448.msg597954.html#msg597954Look for Reply #4 , in case you don't get directly in there.
Then, scroll down to:
2) HOW TO REALLY, REALLY BROADEN YOUR SHOULDERS,
I thorougly describe the exercises that helped me really broaden my shoulders, my back, build powerful biceps and indirectly help develop my trapeze muscles.
Now, for those who might say "hey, I can't do that, I don't have a chin-up bar at home!" That's no excuse, guys, are there doors in your house? Then, simply google this: (exactly as I write it, quotes included) "Doorway Pull-up Bar", there are thousands offered at very affordable prices --even 30 dollars or so-- so go get yourself a bar, install it on your door, and do as she does below --look at her arms and shoulders, many genetic guys would like to have those!
**Push-ups**(IMPORTANT NOTE: Most beginners will have to start with "Bent Knee Push Ups", because they lack strength in their shoulders and triceps; I highly recommend this version instead of the regular one, because the latter could REALLY injure your shoulders!).
Here's A GREAT example of several versions of the push-up exercise, that are less demanding than the "popular" one; in fact, she shows a whole push-up routine, which in and of itself, could be most of your free hand-training routine for a day, combined with chin-ups as i explained above,if you are really focused on getting broad shoulders!
Notice her shoulders are broader than her hips, she's a perfect example! also, please don't mind her kids running around, i guarantee you based on my years of experience as a bodubuilder, she's doing the exercises in perfect form, in spite of the distraction!
**Crunches****Hyper-Extensions**Sorry, I'm kind of tired of writing now, if I see a good response to this, I promise I'll consider writing another post on a SPLIT (DIVIDED) WEIGHT-LIFTING ROUTINE, to be done at the gym and using machines and free weights which is suitable for more advanced athletes, or for people who followed the routine above, at least for several weeks and are ready to really pump up their muscles!
Take care you all!
Your exercise-loving friend
Bibi
P.S. Any questions about exercise, diet, supplements or any other thing (even about me, haha!) are welcome, I love helping others because I know what many of you are going through, trying to change your bodies radically, and that's a very difficult thing to do, but very worth the effort!
