There is no question at all that many people shy away from bodybuilding because they believe that they would have to take steroids in order to build a good amount of muscle mass. This is not true and it is perfectly possible to build muscle naturally, providing you follow a few basic principles.
Tip #1: Don’t over train
People get confused when we talk of overtraining. Overtraining occurs when you find yourself not being able to fully recover between training sessions.
If you don’t recover between training sessions, and you continued training in the same manner ignoring the signs to arrest or take it easy, you will find you get a sticking point which can be very difficult to get out of — or even worse you will begin to go backwards in your progress.
Overtraining may be, it may be through training too long (never train for longer than an hour if you are a natural trainee) or it may be because you are doing too many exercises, sets or reps.
Look into why you might be overtraining, and make it right.
Tip #2: Eat only the best quality protein
We all know how important protein is, to all bodybuilders. What is little-known throughout the bodybuilding world is that different types of protein have vastly differing properties.
Steroids enhance protein absorption into the muscles, and because you are trying to build muscle naturally you need to be sure you eat the sources of protein which are naturally more absorbent.
Those sources of protein are: Eggs, Whey, Milk, Cheese, Fish, Beef and Chicken.
Tip #3: Only bulk all out for 4-8 weeks
Many natural bodybuilders in a desperate attempt to park on a lot of muscle go on baulking phases which last months and months or even years. This is too long, as although baulking phases are only effective for a short period of time before the central nervous system starts to build less muscle, and the digestive system becomes less efficient at absorbing nutrients.
I recommend you bulk for the said period, then lay off for a while and maintain… switching your diet from high protein to a more vegetable and roughage based diet for a week or two, drinking plenty of water to clean it out, priming it for the next bulk.
After a month of maintaining and allowing your central nervous system to recover, you can then bulk all out again for another 4-8 weeks.