Body Development 101

Body building sounds too "muscle head-ish". Body sculpting sounds too "girl-ish". Thus, I settled on;


Straight Eye for the Straight Guy: Body Development 101




I must disclaim that there are endless variations of workout routines available out there. Some might work for you, some might not. The following is a tried and tested fundamental routine that has worked for me and has worked for millions. Live it, eat right and your dreams will come to fruition. Satisfaction Guaranteed*.

Before I digress, we must first come to terms with some basic science. In layman terms, muscle grows when it tears - micro-tears in your muscle fibres leave "gaps" which amino acids (protein) ingested in your diet fills. Working out is essentially stressing your muscles to a point where they experience damage, and this damage leads to the muscle fibers rebuilding and in turn, strengthening. 




Many beginners make the mistake of going to the gym, getting on every machine in sight and working out until they're too exhausted to even take a dump afterwards. In short, a major reason for many diet/workout failures is sometimes not the lack of effort, but rather overdoing it. 


Thus, building a body you can be proud of for years to come doesn't come about by an extreme period of sudden physical exertion - it comes via a committed, consistent lifestyle of eating right and following a suitable sensible and effective workout plan.










Personally, I follow a body-part workout routine. 3 days a week, 2 different major body parts each session. For example:

Monday
Shoulders and biceps


Tuesday
Rest/Aerobic activity (e.g. swimming, basketball, badminton, ping-pong, running)


Wednesday
Chest and triceps


Thursday
Rest/Aerobic activity


Friday
Back and core




It's also advisable to dedicate at least 2 out of your 3 workout days to performing squats and calf raises to avoid the Michelin Man syndrome - body like a tank, legs like a chicken. 

The reason for separating your workouts into different days for different parts lies simply in the fact that muscles need time and protein to rebuild and grow. Thus, concentrating your workout allows even and efficient muscle growth, as opposed to working out all your body parts on the same day. Doing the latter will result in diminished growth, as your daily protein intake will not be able to fulfill the protein requirements for rebuilding so many muscle groups at once. Plus, experiencing micro muscle fiber tears throughout your entire body will likely leave you feeling like a blob of jell-o when you wake up the next morning. 














Stay tuned for the detailed workout routine 
complete with photos 
coming up next on 


Straight Eye for the Straight Guy








*Straight Eye for the Straight Guy disclaims all legal liability arising from failed attempts. That makes the guarantee pretty pointless. I know.