Every successful bodybuilder goes through a process which starts with preparing himself/herself mentally to go through a transformation with a positive and motivated approach, without giving up until the goal is achieved. One of the commonly made mistakes is trying to bulk up right away; bulking up was a term used in the 60s by some of the older bodybuilders who wanted to put on size fast. However if one wants to gain size and weight, it has to be the right type of weight with quality muscle. While it may be achieved gradually, it will look better and last much longer.
The bodybuilding process can be broadly divided in 4 steps:
Diet and Nutrition
To maximize the results from the gym workout, one must focus on the diet, as eating the wrong foods can be unfavorable to bodybuilding goals. Bodybuilding training and dieting is mainly divided into two phases: bulking and cutting. The bulking phase involves building of muscles, whereas the cutting phase is dedicated to preserving muscles while losing body fat. Including a variety of nutrient-rich foods across and within all the food groups in your diet can be beneficial. Avoid or limit alcohol, foods with added sugars and deep-fried foods, also in addition to your diet, whey protein, creatine and caffeine can be useful supplements.
Workout Regime
There are a number of ways of setting up a workout routine, one of the examples is – by splitting them by upper and lower body exercises or focusing on push and pull motions. And other ways of scheduling them are- performing workout every other day, or four days with three days off, and so on. Usually, the best routine is the one that fits in with your life. Many bodybuilders in India follow the old-school bodybuilding mentality of isolating each muscle group (back, shoulders, chest, legs and arms) on a five-day cycle. If one is trying to grow a certain muscle group, he/she would introduce a second workout on the sixth day.
Making the most of each session by targeting different parts of each muscle is the right way to remain focused.
Supplements and Use of Steroids
Bodybuilding supplements like protein powder, BCAA, creatine, etc. are commonly used by bodybuilders, athletes, etc. The reason why these are so popular is that they enhance the bodybuilding experience by boosting muscle growth and are a quick source of nutrients that get absorbed faster for quick and better results. Many of these products are enriched with various micronutrients that help in fulfilling the dietary gap and boost overall health.
Not all, but many muscle-building supplements are advertised by people who use performance-enhancing drugs, like anabolic steroids. This misleads many bodybuilders into believing that they can achieve the exact same bulked up muscular look by taking the supplements advertised. This causes many bodybuilders, especially those at the beginning of their journey, develop unrealistic expectations of what can be accomplished naturally, which may lead to body dissatisfaction and ultimately the urge to try anabolic steroids.
But, anabolic steroids are very unhealthy and linked to several risks and side effects. Furthermore, using anabolic steroids can increase your risk of heart disease, decrease fertility and result in psychiatric and behavioral disorders like depression.
Workout Equipment Efficiency
Gym workouts are a part of a bodybuilders workout regime, but knowing which equipment to use or which brand to use is also important, as usage of wrong equipment may lead to injuries and may not lead to expected results. A renowned brand would have equipment with superior biomechanics, machines that are user-friendly and help in isolating muscle groups to achieve targeted results. Equipment efficiency, results should be proportional to the efforts put in while working out, hence working out using the right equipment is extremely essential for a bodybuilder.
Bodybuilding India: Sports and Competitions
India is a one of the leading countries in sports and there are a number of games played. However, India focuses on very few sports such as cricket, tennis, and hockey; therefore, bodybuilding in India faces a setback from the country in terms of popularity, importance and recognition.
Hence, the IBBF (Indian Bodybuilders Federation) was formed to propagate and popularize the sport of bodybuilding in India; it is recognized as the only National Sports Federation for the sport of Bodybuilding in India by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. It is also recognized by the SAI (Sports Authority or India) and the NADA (National Anti-doping Agency).
Bodybuilding India is one of the sports which makes our country proud by winning many international competitions.
There are many competitions organised nationally and internationally that give the chance and opportunity to bodybuilders to show their hard work and efforts put in gaining fitness and building their bodies. Some of such competitions are Mr. India, Mr. Asia, some are government recognized association competitions, while others are athlete sponsored competitions and many more.
Making your body perfectly shaped and fit is mainly possible through exercising and bodybuilding is a part of it. Becoming a world-famous Indian bodybuilder requires a lot of hard work and dedication and being a renowned Indian bodybuilder is not easy. Some of the Indian best bodybuilders carve their bodies to the perfect muscular shape by involving themselves into extensive strength training and exercising day and night to keep themselves into the perfect body shape.
Sangram Chougule
Follow him on Instagram @sangram_chougule_official
Mahendra Chavan
Follow him on Instagram @mahendra_chavan_official
Vipin Peter
Follow him on Instagram @vipin_peter_official
Karuna Waghmare
Follow her on Instagram @karunawaghmare
Yashmeen Chauhan
Follow her on Instagram @yashmeenchauhan
Shweta Rathore
Follow her on Instagram @ishwetarathore
Career Options for Bodybuilders in India
Making a living for a bodybuilder may not be very easy but career options have surely opened up for both men and women bodybuilders in the last few years.
Women in India had kept themselves from entering the fitness industry. Fitness and the sport of bodybuilding in India had been largely dominated by men. However, with more and more people becoming aware of how imperative it is to look and stay fit, a lot of women today are making their way in the fitness industry wanting to not only stay fit but also helping others adopt fitness as a lifestyle. A very good example of such a woman is Sonali Swami, whose passion to stay fit made her into a fitness athlete.
Multiple job options can be opted for in the fitness centers such as Fitness Consultant, Personal Trainer, Group Trainer depending on the certification of the bodybuilder.
- Now-a-days celebrities hire personal trainers to prepare themselves for upcoming movies and transform their bodies accordingly. Once a bodybuilder gains certain experience, he/she can make their way to become a celebrity trainer even with the help of networking.
- Aspiring sportsmen and fitness enthusiasts do require proper training and support to prepare themselves for competitions. Experienced bodybuilders can become trainers specifically for competition training.
- Furthermore, in today’s world of internet, online training has become quite popular; bodybuilders in India can become online fitness trainers by having online training sessions and can even have their Youtube channel to make their mark and gain popularity.
In the past, around the 90s, when people talked about fitness sports in a country like India, they were referring to wrestling and martial arts training centers. However, with thousands of strength-training centers sprouting up all over the country, India is on it’s way to become one of the world’s largest bodybuilding hubs.
Earlier, it was every young athletic Indian’s dream to win a gold medal in wrestling, but today they look to the future and seek IFBB professional status, and Olympia victories across divisions from bikini to super heavyweights. This has marked an evident shift in Indian culture, and it has taken place rapidly.
