Get Lean First, then Build Muscle

Muscle building happens at different rates at different times of your life. If you first start working out in your  late teens or early 20’s you get a big initial growth burst because of juvenile muscle growth being stacked on top of the beginners burst that everyone gets.

Adonis Index Junior Winner David Donoghue

Adonis Index Junior Winner David Donoghue

This is what the Adonis Index is all about

This is what the Adonis Index is all about

Once you reach your mid 20’s the fast growth stops and you have to accept that growth takes more time and effort and patience. This is the revelation that our Adonis Index Open Junior category winner David Donoghue has learned during is time with us as an Adonis Index community member and now contest winner.

In todays podcast David shares his experiences with muscle building and some of the things he has experimented with and how he got into the phenomenal shape you see him in here.

The message is pretty clear. Bulking and cutting simply doesn’t work. Spending years and even decades overweight just to build a few pounds of muscle is hardly a good way to go about getting in shape. You could end up spending all of your 20’s and 30’s as a fat guy telling yourself the lie that you’re ‘bulking’ and one day will cut down. This is a big mistake and many older guys are struggling with this. But David is smart and at only 25 years old he’s already got this figured out and will never make the mistake of being trapped in the endless bulking cycle.

The first key is giving yourself permission to be light and accepting that your bodyweight can’t tell you how good your body looks.

Getting to a lean bodyfat level you’re happy with should be your first step, then from there spend your time in the gym building muscle. At this point you can be ready to push it hard in the gym, and that is exactly what you need to do to build muscle…you gotta push it HARD during every workout.

It’s the difference between ‘working out’ and ‘training’. When David started ‘training’ is when the results really started showing up.

John

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About Allen Elliott

Allen is the Editor-In Chief of the Adonis Index Blog, bringing you weekly articles on contest prep, transformation testimonials' and much more!

Additionally he is a published Fitness Personality, Certified Personal Trainer, and National Competitor in the NPC Men's Physique Division.

Last but not least, as an Adonis/Venus Index Transformation Coach, he works to provide guided solutions for people who sincerely strive to meet their fitness goals.

Being a fitness model and competitor gives him a lot of valuable insights that nobody else talks about. Among other things, he will teach you how to prepare for a live show or a fitness photoshoot yourself.

Click here to get more from him.

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