ATHLETE COLUMN
DYLAN RIDLEY
BODYBUILDING MISCONCEPTIONS
Greetings fitness freaks, fanatics and enthusiasts. In this column I’ d like to share some of the misconceptions I had about bodybuilding when I first started, and how my education, professional life, and the time I spent working with the top coaches in SA have helped to set them straight.
When I started bodybuilding and weight training I was powered with enthusiasm, excitement and energy. I was ready to grow and build muscle like a beast and shred like a pro. In the first few weeks I wanted to look like Jay Cutler as soon as possible. This was a lofty goal considering I had no training history, and I didn’ t have a diet or supplement programmes in place.
At this stage I believed that I could achieve my goals by training five days a week, two hours a day, without eating the proper foods or using supplements. My approach consisted of lifting the heaviest weights possible with no thought given to form or proper technique, with a focus on the“ feel good muscles” – all the muscles I could see pumped up in the mirror that made me look good, such as shoulders, traps, chest, bis and tris. I, like many newcomers, totally neglected all the other body parts, such as quads, hammies and back.
So, as you would imagine, I didn’ t improve much. I got injured and wasn’ t healing quickly enough. Out of sheer frustration and desperation due to the lack of gains I started following all the wrong advice in the hopes of finding a quick fix. I bought every supplement and performance enhancer I could get my hands on and chugged down shake after shake – mass builders, whey protein, creatine, BCAAs, glutamine, testo boosters, pre-workout drinks, intraworkout drinks, and post-workout drinks, day after day. But I completely neglected the fundamental requirement of eating 6-8 well balanced meals a day.
Then came the weekends; time to party. Feeling all jacked I would hit the town with the boys, consuming alcohol to all hours of the morning. On the way home we’ d grab any food that was available – the greasier the better.
Come Monday, feeling all depressed and still hungover from the weekend, I would hit the gym, look in the mirror and think“ where have all my gains gone? Where has all my hard work gone to?” I think this is a story that many readers can relate to.
Thankfully over the years I’ ve been coached and mentored, and have picked the brains of some of the most knowledgeable people in the industry; the greats like Chris Scott, Marius Dohne, Mario van Biljon, Andrew Hudson and Chris Pillay.
THIS IS WHAT I’ VE LEARNT FROM THEM AND HAVE APPLIED TO MY BODYBUILDING APPROACH: ✔ There are no quick fixes. Only time, effort and sacrifices will help you achieve your goals. ✔ You must have a plan. ✔ Meals, supplements and training are the three pillars of bodybuilding. If you do not have a strong foundation your bodybuilding career will crumble.
✔ Read, read, and read some more. Take in as much knowledge as possible. You can never know enough.
✔ Don’ t be afraid to experiment; try different training programmes and different diets, One man’ s poison is another man’ s meat!
✔ Never sacrifice good form for heavy weights. Leave your ego at the door.
COBUS VAN DER MERWE
LEARN FROM MY MISTAKES
If I look back at my personal journey – two decades in the world of bodybuilding – I admit that I have made a few mistakes. Hopefully by sharing them you can learn from my experience and avoid making the same mistakes over and over again in your quest to pack on more muscle, size and strength.
As a novice I got my inspiration from reading international muscle magazines where all the professional bodybuilders were featured. I actually believed that they were lifting those heavy weights they were holding during their photo sessions. As a starry-eyed youngster I tried to emulate these pros in the photos and posters. I ended up almost injuring myself in the process while trying to lift the heavy poundages I believed they were lifting. It was only later on that I eventually realised that they were actually only posing with tons of weights to make the photos more dramatic for the magazines. I only started to grow bigger when I started to train with lighter weight, with my primary focus on lifting with perfect form and feeling the muscles work. That’ s not to say that heavy weights don’ t have their place and cannot build muscle, but always remember to first, before lifting any dumbbell or barbell, stay true to form. If you’ re too arrogant to open up your training repertoire and use various methods your gains will come to a halt.
Another lesson I learnt the hard way was the exclusion of proper training techniques for my glutes, hamstrings and lower back in my earlier gym sessions. Young and upcoming athletes who are serious about the sport of bodybuilding and who want to have long careers must implement extra work to strengthen and improve these areas. If they don’ t, they will only become weaker as they get older. And please make time for stretching your muscles and working your core in your workouts. Your body will thank you later for it. You don’ t want to become older and live with a weak lower back that gives you problems as this can have a major impact on your mobility.
It is also wise to learn from the best and save up your money to tap the knowledge of reputable coaches with international experience on how to train and eat properly, particularly if you want to compete. To be the best you need to learn from the best. Access experience sooner rather than later in your career. I only started to work with a coach later in my career and could see the difference it has made in a very short time.
Another mistake I think youngsters are making is to compete in far too many shows year after year and they don’ t give their bodies enough time to recover and grow before stepping on to the stage again.
There is also a total unhealthy preoccupation with monster size among teens and novices, with a complete disregard for well proportioned, aesthetically pleasing physiques that could earn them titles at shows. Rather start by designing your workouts with the goal of bringing up weak areas. Remember, it is always a welldefined and ripped physique that wins shows.
Lastly, I used to cut out all fats during my pre-contest phase when I was prepping for a show. I failed to add good fats to replace some of the calories lost from the carbs that I cut out. I also eliminated water too soon before a show and this also had a negative impact on my conditioning. I now only limit water 12 hours out from a show.
106 Muscle Evolution