Written by IFBB Pro George “Da Bull” Peterson III
14 January 2021

 

George-Peterson-Muscle Building For Beginers-Slider

 

PQ:

Da Bullpen

 

By George “Da Bull” Peterson III

 

Peterson front lat

 

Muscle Building for Beginners

 

Q: George, I am 15 and have been training for just over a year now. What is this best training and nutrition advice you could give to someone that is my age?

 

A: I was a full 10 years older than you when I started, but I can definitely relate to being a beginner and trying to find the right information. The best investment I made in terms of training knowledge was a copy of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding. It’s well over 700 pages and has photos showing you how to properly do hundreds of exercises.

 

As far as eating, all your meals should consist of a protein, a carbohydrate, and a vegetable. You want to eat a complete meal like this five times a day, about every three hours the whole time you’re awake. You should measure out your portions so you can make adjustments up or down depending on your results. For instance, start out with 5 ounces of protein, 6 ounces of carbs, and a cup of veggies. If you’re not gaining any weight, increase by an ounce each for protein and carbs, and so on. Pay attention to which foods your body seems to digest well, and which foods give you an upset stomach or seem to sit in your belly for hours and hours.

 

Take your time and be patient. I know at 15 you want to see results very quickly, but understand your body still has so much maturing left to do. Build a nice, solid foundation of size and strength. Be sure to warm up, use good form, and avoid “stunt lifting” that can get you injured. You want to be training and gaining for many more years!

 

Finally, be on the lookout for people who can help you. When I first started out, I met someone who helped me get to another level. Then I met someone who helped me get beyond that, and so on. It’s you building your own body, but remember there are many others who have knowledge and experience to pass on to you that can help you avoid making mistakes and make faster progress.

 

Peterson biceps

 

Olympia Training Split

 

Q: What was your training split while getting ready for the Olympia? Are you hitting weights twice a day now?

 

A: No. I’ve never done two weight-training sessions per day. I train once a day, almost always in the afternoon. My current training split is:

 

Sunday: Chest

Monday: Active rest: calves, abs and cardio

Tuesday: Shoulders

Wednesday: Back

Thursday: Active rest: cardio

Friday: Arms

Saturday: Legs

 

Other than calves, I hit every body part just once a week. My coach Justin and I are both huge advocates for rest and recovery as being crucial to muscle growth. Working a muscle too often leads to overtraining, and you can actually end up losing muscle mass over time. This schedule has worked very well for me as I have consistently added quality muscle year after year.

 

Peterson deadlift

 

Tattoos and Bodybuilding

 

Q: What do you think of tattoos and bodybuilding? Other than having them on the forearms, where a lot of pros seem to get them, do you think that it can hide the deep details in the muscle when on stage in other areas of the body?

 

A: It all depends. I’ve seen some guys with full back pieces that did take away detail in their rear poses. It’s not too bad if the tattoos aren’t too big. I have a few tattoos on my shoulders and on the outside of my arms. They’re small and hard to notice. But if you have a big eagle flying across your chest or your back, that can be distracting and take away from the lines and flow of your physique. If you plan on competing, especially if you aspire to be a pro, I would take it easy on the ink and restrict them to the arms and shoulders. I can’t leave out the factor that your skin tone/complexion plays in all this. Obviously, I have dark skin and my tattoos are black ink. Once I have a couple of coats of Pro Tan on, you can’t even see them at all. If you’re very light-skinned, all your tattoos are going to stand out that much more, even when you have your stage color on.

 

Peterson dumbbell press

 

 

Lagging Delts? Hit All 3 Heads

 

Q: My delts are really lagging; any ideas for what I should be doing?

 

A: Make sure you’re hitting all three heads of the muscle in every workout – the front, sides, and rear deltoids. A typical shoulder workout for me is seated dumbbell presses, dumbbell lateral raises, dumbbell rear laterals, shrugs, and upright rows. That routine covers all three heads, so try that. Use good form and strive to feel the individual heads of the deltoids working with every rep rather than just throwing weights around. Also, with any lagging body part, you might want to consider having your high-calorie day or cheat meal on the day you train it. If you’re going to have Five Guys or whatever, make sure all those calories are going to good use!

 

Ronnie: Most Inspirational Olympia Champion

 

Q: Of all the great Olympia champions, who inspired you the most and why?

 

A: I’d have to say Ronnie Coleman. When he won his first Olympia title in 1998, I was like wow, look at this guy! I’d never seen a human being with that level of extreme development. The first video I saw was him winning, and then I started watching his training videos. I knew I would never lift as much weight as he did, but it was still so motivating to watch. It hypes you up!

IG:  georgep_dabull

Online coaching info at http://www.dabullcoaching.com

 

Redcon1 Stack

Upon Waking 

Double Tap powder, 1 scoop 

 

With Breakfast 

GI Juice, 1 scoop

 

Pre-workout

Total War, Big Noise and MOAB all together, 1 scoop each

 

Post-workout

Breach

2 scoops

 

Middle of the Day

Double Tap caps, 3 capsules 

 

Evening

Silencer, 3 capsules 

 

Before Bed

Fade Out, 1 scoop

 

Redcon stack

 

 

For more information, visit redcon1.com

 

 

 

 

 

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