The best bodybuilding routine for you will combine smart training with enough rest and proper nutrition. It will also fit your schedule and change as you progress from a beginning to intermediate to advanced bodybuilder. Shorter workouts done right are more effective than longer workouts that become boring, according to "Bodybuilding 201," author Robert Wolff. There is no one-size-fits all bodybuilding program.
Balance
The best bodybuilding program for you will create balance based on your particular needs. You have some body parts that grow faster and respond to training better than others. Often a muscle on one side will grow faster than the one on the other side. That means you must identify which body parts need to be increased in strength and size and adjust your training to accommodate this goal, says Wolff. More weight, more sets or more reps are all effective for this catch-up work, depending on what's practical for you. Usually it takes 60 days or less to catch up a body part.
Progressive Strategy
The best bodybuilding program will be progressive. The only way to grow muscle is to increase the amount of resistance for each exercise you do. Your goal will be to perform additional reps or add weight. If you want to build mass, try a push-pull routine in which you divide your body into pushing muscles like the triceps, chest and deltoids and pulling muscles such as the back and biceps, suggests "Natural Bodybuilding," author John Hansen. This intense type of routine trains each muscle group twice a week and utilizes different intensities of exercise for each muscle in each workout. For example, one day will feature heavier weights and the other lighter weights but more repetitions. A push-pull is appropriate for an intermediate bodybuilder. If you are a more advanced bodybuilder you will need more rest than this program provides, however, and will need to avoid routines that include two large muscle groups such as the thighs and back. These are both large muscle groups that you utilize a great amount of energy to train due to the amount of weight you'll use.
Rest
The best program will build in enough rest, which "Static Contraction Training," authors Peter Sisco and John R. Little call the most misunderstood -- and overlooked -- element of bodybuilding. The amount of rest you need is actually dynamic, meaning it changes as you advance with your training. When you begin a bodybuilding program you need about 24 hours of rest between workouts. As you get stronger you will require double and then triple that. Your rest requirement is directly correlated to your strength and the amount of work you are able to do during a workout. When it comes to the important elements of training, rest is second only to the training itself and twice as important as diet, the authors note.
Nutrition
A top bodybuilding program will give proper guidance on a nutrient-dense and well-balanced diet. While protein is often the emphasis in bodybuilding, eating too much of it at the expense of quality carbohydrates will hinder your training. That's because your body uses protein only as a minor energy source when you work out. On the other hand, this nutrient has a critical role in building muscle mass, and you do need more of it than someone who does not bodybuild. The amount you need is related to where you are in your training program. Your protein needs will actually decrease as you progress, notes the American Dietetic Association. The association recommends consuming 0.63 to 0.77 g per lb. of body weight daily and focusing on fish and lean poultry and meat, eggs, low-fat dairy products, soy products and legumes. Too many calories from protein will be stored as fat.
Consuming enough carbohydrates will help you prevent early fatigue. Consume 2.3 to 3.6 g per lb. body weight. Focus on whole grains, fruits and dairy. Take in 20 to 35 percent of calories from quality fats. A diet too low in fat leads to nutrient shortage and will harm your progress. Fats from seeds, vegetable oils, nuts and fish are best. While supplementation gains the lion's share of attention in bodybuilding magazines and the marketplace, you need supplements only if you are nutritionally deficient in some way, note Sisco and Little.
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