Eric R Helms

If you have been consistently training for over 6 months and you haven’t made any meaningful progress, check your big rocks. Most lifters major in the minors for years on end before it finally clicks.

When it comes to strength and hypertrophy training, it’s better to try too few things than too many things. At least you’ll know which of the few mattered. And you can always add more tools later.

Bodybuilding is one of the easiest sports to fit into a normal life with a normal job. It’s one of the few sports that typically require less than 10 hours in the gym per week for even the highest level competitors. Don’t make it harder just to feel more hardcore.

The most experienced athletes will never tell you it’s more complicated than you think. They will never tell you the basics don’t matter. They will likely tell you you’re doing too much or thinking too much.

RPE is generally a more useful tool for powerlifters than bodybuilders. It’s also more useful with heavy compound lifts than with accessory exercises in general. If you’re making progress without tracking RPE ratings in your training at all, there’s no need to start.

Don’t forget about liquid calories. Notice when they’re getting in the way of your fat loss goals. Look out for where you could include them to support your muscle gaining goals.

Most of our athletes do best with 3 to 4 lifting days per week. Doing 5 and 6 training days is typically reserved for people with schedules who only allow very short sessions.

Your first contest prep will be the hardest thing you’ve ever done. By your third contest prep season, you’ll be so surprised you made the first one so difficult, even though you’re in better shape now. Give yourself the years to allow for this progression.

Strength athletes have to squat. Bodybuilders do not. There’s no need to include axially-loaded, high fatigue barbell movements unless you’re sure the positives outweigh the negatives for you and your goals.

TEST your maintenance calories. Don’t assume a calculator got it right. Track your intake while tracking your bodyweight FOR WEEKS in order to understand the relationship between those numbers. It’s the only valid way to go about it.

Protein is important, but so is your training. If your protein is so high that you can’t fit enough carbs in your diet to have energy for your workouts, you might want to make some changes. (Easier to do this when you aren’t deep in prep, of course.)

Read as many studies as you want. But if you can’t bridge the gap between the latest scientific information and practical implementation, your results will suffer.

For bodybuilders, VISUAL PROGRESS is what you’re chasing. Body weight is useful to measure, but it’s not the main thing.

Track what matters, but not more than that. If you can’t hit calorie and protein targets, don’t be worried about leucine or potassium.

Most supplements are a waste of money. If your nutritional intake and habits are not in order, you can almost guarantee buying more of them won’t help you.

One of the earliest signs of burnout is lack of motivation. Before your body feels beat up, your brain might be giving you signs you need to ease up. Make sure you’re paying attention.

Food is fuel, but it’s not a punishment. Unless you’re very deep into a contest prep diet with a strict goal and deadline without many options, you shouldn’t dislike what you’re eating. Ever. Even during standard fat loss phases.