TEEN BODYBUILDING ADVICE

What's up everyone, welcome to the video. So when I sat down to do this video, I said to myself, hmm, you know, how do I structure this? How do I get my point across? And I said, it's simple. What would I say to my past former pre-lifting self? What advice would I give if I was to go back in time and talk to Rob Jr.? So here are the points I want to make. Let's kick it off. Okay, so I want to go through a few points that some younger guys just getting into lifting need to hear, and this is in no particular order. Number 1: you set unrealistic goals. You expect to see results in 2 weeks instead of 2 years. You gotta understand that this stuff takes time, and all those amazing physiques that you've seen have got years and years of hard work behind them. I've been lifting for the guts of 5 years now. It's kind of like getting braces, you know, it takes time but it's definitely worth it. Yeah, I'm getting pretty white. Number 2: Consistency is everything. Just like with anything in life, you can go to the gym for 2 weeks and then just fall off the wagon, not go for another 2 weeks, and you're literally just spinning your wheels. Same goes for diet, training, everything. Consistency is just— it's just so important. Should you cut or bulk? I get these guys coming to me and they all say they want to get shredded or aesthetic or a six-pack, and And they must have body dysmorphia of some sort because they've nothing to cut down to. If you've got no muscle, no foundation, how can you go on a cut? Because you've nothing to reveal. The only time a teen should really go on a cut is if they're overweight. And I'm not talking about, you know, a little bit tubby. I'm talking about medically overweight. So I'm going to say the majority need to focus on eating enough to support their training. So many guys come to me and say they're a hard gainer, and more often than not, they're just an under-eater. Yeah, you may have a really fast metabolism, but nothing that can't be solved by just eating more calories. It's not that complicated. If you are not gaining weight and your training and your sleep is on point, then simply increase your calories. Look to gain about 1.5 to 2 pounds per month. And this may sound like very little, but imagine you gain 24 pounds of muscle in a year. That would make your physique look completely different. Also, a lot of younger people will see people like myself who often have to cut down for competitions or events, and they don't realize that I've spent many, many years bulking. I never went on a cut until I was around 20. So, you know, don't think I haven't done my years of bulking like a motherfucker. And in my opinion, I still could have done with a few more years of lean gaining or bulking, whatever you want to call it. Time spent in a caloric surplus. Make sure you're eating enough calories too, because I've heard of a few guys and they're taking like a weight gainer shake called Turbo Bulk 4000, and just because of the name, they think there's like 4,000 calories per scoop. So take some of that and eat nothing else for the rest of the day. This is actually quite common. Maybe track your food intake for a few days just to give you an idea of what portion sizes look like, but don't get too caught up in the numbers and just focus on eating enough quality food sources. Also, don't overly restrict yourself. Your younger years are some amazing years, so, you know, go out to eat with your friends, you know, go on a date with a girl, you know, don't be afraid to eat out, enjoy yourself, and have fun. That's very important. Don't be that guy who turns down a date with a 10 out of 10, heavenly blessed, beautiful Beauty, because you gotta stick to your diet, bro. I've been there. Don't do it. It's not good. Another big mistake is going into the gym without a plan, like I spoke about a few videos ago. If you go in there without a plan and just randomly hop around machines, you're literally pissing into the wind. And while we're on the topic, program hopping is another thing. So that's when you follow one program one week and then just decide you want to follow another one the next week. How do you expect progress if you keep changing up your routine. Not tracking your workouts and not gaining strength. If you go into the gym week after week, lift the same amount of weight for the same amount of reps, you're giving your muscle no reason to grow. You're giving it no stimulus to change. Seeing as most of you will be new to the gym, you don't need an advanced training program or something really complex. Just go in and simply add weight to the bar over time when you can. So write down what you lifted one week on your compound movements and aim to beat that over the next week or two. Here's where I really messed up, and I was trying to train like the pros. I would open up like a fitness magazine, see like Mr. Olympia, and just be like, oh, Mr. Olympia, he's the best, so I'll just copy his routine. Not taking into account the amount of anabolics you need to take to compete in top-tier bodybuilding and the amount of work over the years these guys have put in to get where they are. Following a routine like this will only be counterproductive to you. Ignoring compound movements. A lot of younger guys that I see in the gym— and hey, look, I'm guilty of all of these, by the way— but they just ignore compound movements and they do things like, you know, curls and chest flies and all the kind of easy stuff. If you go out of your way to avoid the exercises that are hard to do, your physique is going to reflect this. Focus on getting stronger while using proper form. I know when you go into the gym you want to show off to the chicks, you want to get one up on your mates, But trust me, if you use proper form, you will get much better results and much faster results too. Bouncing the bar off your chest during benching, rounding your back on deadlifts, half squatting— you're just sacrificing your own progress. Not to mention, I find it much more impressive that when I go into the gym and I see someone executing perfect form on a movement, I find that more impressive than just someone lifting a weight that's blatantly too heavy for them to handle. Not getting enough sleep. Sleep is just so important. A lot of people forget about it because they think training, nutrition, and then they forget about sleep and recovery. Especially if you're growing, it is just so beneficial for you to get enough sleep. Aim for 8 hours a night, but you know, of course, just get as much sleep as you can. So this means if you want to make some progress, you're gonna have to stop staying up all night playing Call of Duty. Now for supplements, and this is just the most misunderstood part of everything, despite being called supplements. You know, it is, it's in the name, you supplement your training and diet. So you've got to have your training and diet completely sorted before you even think about supplements. Teens tend to think they're the most important part of any routine, whereas the opposite is true. The majority of supplements don't do anything, and then the ones that do have evidence behind them, personally, I don't think there's much point taking them when you're a beginner or a teen because you're gonna make great progress as is. So why not save them until later down the road and you've hit a plateau, and that 1% edge may actually make a difference. As for whey protein, I'm sick of people saying that is a supplement. It is a byproduct of dairy, so it is just as much of a supplement as cheese is or milk or yogurt. Whey protein is just a source of protein, just like how pasta is a source of carbohydrates or avocado is a source of fat. I'm sure you don't think pasta is a supplement or is avocado a supplement. Another question is, will weight training stunt my growth? And this is actually a myth, and some researchers are even coming out and saying that weight training, because it increases bone density, it can actually help you grow a bit taller. So as long as you don't injure yourself, you'll be absolutely fine. And again, this goes back to using proper form. So I'm gonna wrap things up here, guys. These were just some really quick points. I think it's just important for a lot of younger guys to hear, and they often get, you know, confused about things. This is what I wish I knew back in the day. I'm also going to link a ton of resources that you should definitely check out in the description box just for you guys. Plenty more vids coming. Hope you enjoyed. Leave it a like if you did. Oh, and also I forgot to mention that I'm having a clearance sale on all LF gear because I'm going off to Texas in a week, so I want to get rid of them before I go. Thank you so much for the support. Keep it real. I'm out.