How to Train Like a Bodybuilder | Athlete Guides

Bodybuilding requires hard work and serious commitment. Your training, nutrition, recovery, and cardio must all be on point if you want to make it big.

From the basics to workouts and what to eat, here’s everything you need to know about training like a bodybuilder. 

What is bodybuilding?  

Let’s start with the basics. Bodybuilding is one of the most difficult and demanding sports.

Months and years of hard work go into getting the perfect physique for show day, with bodybuilders alternating between strict phases of “bulking” (gaining mass) and “cutting” (losing body fat).  

At competition, bodybuilders showcase their muscular development in front of judges who score based on symmetry, definition, and proportion in comparison to others competing within the same category. 

What does it mean to train like a bodybuilder?  

Bodybuilding training is mostly based on traditional weight and strength training, especially during bulking phases. During cutting phases, more cardio-focused training is included. 

Strength training differs between bodybuilders and is usually dictated by parts of the body they want to focus most on developing.

As stage day approaches, the focus becomes more about maintaining muscle rather than building it. 

Bodybuilding workouts typically consist of large compound movements like deadlifts, squats, bench press, and rows, alongside isolated movements to target specific muscles like triceps, biceps, shoulders, core, and any others identified as needing to be worked on. 

Rep ranges tend to change as the season progresses, and more steady-state cardio is introduced, like walking, running, biking, and HIIT-based training.