Beginning Bodybuilding
Scientific Foundations for Creating a Lean and Muscular Physique
Jake Wojciechowski, CPT, BS, Professional Natural Bodybuilder
Copyright 2020 Jake Wojciechowski
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
ISBN-13: 9781234567890
ISBN-10: 1477123456
Cover design by: Art Painter
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018675309
Printed in the United States of America
Contents
My Backstory
My name is Jake Wojciechowski and I enjoy fitness, nutrition, dogs, music, playing guitar, craft beer, and spending time with friends and family. I am a NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine) Certified Personal Trainer and an OCB (Organization of Competitive Bodies, a drug-tested organization) professional natural bodybuilder. I have competed in seven shows over the span of six years. I am also an online fitness and bodybuilding coach. In 2020, I started my own training business, Woj Training Systems. I have been training (resistance exercising with purpose) consistently for close to nine years but have lifted weights my entire life.
What This Book is About
I wrote this book to provide a reference to you during your own fitness journey and creating your dream body. We all have our own reasons why we want to begin a more active and healthy lifestyle. My reasons were, first, to try to be able to beat a bully up and, second, to get attention from girls. These are poor reasons, but motivation is motivation. Whatever your reason, its important you keep your initial motivation in mind along your fitness journey, especially when starting out. Your goals and sources of motivation will change as your journey progresses, but its important to understand and remember why you wanted to make the change because the first few years of adopting this lifestyle will be the most difficult.
I want to be clear that this is a very general outline of bodybuilding and fitness. There is so much information about specific topics like training, nutrition, rest, and recovery it would be impossible to completely cover them all in one brief text, and that is not my intention. I aim to provide you with the information you need to be successful in building your physique without fluff.
This book provides scientific information about what works and what doesnt work in regard to obtaining a better, healthier, sexier you. I wrote this book because the fitness, health, and nutrition industries are so saturated with garbage and untrue information that its very hard to determine what actually produces results and what does not. I want to give you the honest and effective tools you need to achieve your goals with no false promises and no nonsense. This book is based on my own experiences of trial and error and what the current scientific evidence presents. When devising your fitness plan, you must consider what is effective according to not only scientific research and experts (be careful with who you consider an expert), but also your personal preferences, which will allow you to enjoy the journey and be consistent with the steps required to achieve your goals.
Doing Your Own Research
It is important to mention that data and conclusions from scientific studies can be skewed any which way to provide any kind of desired outcome. When doing your own research, be careful of this. Its important to look at the author of the study, who funded the study , and the type of study that was conducted . Determining the author and the funder of the study may help you determine if data has been manipulated to show a certain outcome from the study. As for what kind of study was performed, there are levels of evidence that describe how the study was conducted. These levels can help determine how trustworthy the type of study that was conducted was. The levels describe the method of the study and how the data was obtained. The levels are as follows, with 1 being generally considered the most trustworthy and 6 being considered being the least trustworthy (Burns, Rohrich, & Chung, 2011).
1. Meta-analysis and Systematic Reviews
2. Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs)
3. Cohort Studies
4. Case-Control Studies
5. Case Series, Case Reports
6. Editorials and Expert Opinion
I will do my best to make sure that you do not have to do much research outside of this book to reach your goals. However, if youre hungry to learn things outside the scope of this book, doing your own research is great. It is important to know and remember that what might work for you may not work for someone else, and vice versa. A lot of success in regard to fitness and nutrition is about doing something that you enjoy and that is sustainable while being effective for you . Just because your favorite Instagram influencer eats a certain way or does a training technique does not mean it will work for you or even be enjoyable for you. I may discuss something that works for me and is enjoyable for me, but you may find it doesnt work for you or isnt enjoyable for you. I will give my honest perspective that I have gained through years of experience about what works, what is sustainable, what is most effective, and what is most enjoyable for most people (not everyone).
Who is This Book For?
This book is written for anyone that is interested in creating their best version of themselves and their physique. This book is not just for people looking to get a six-pack or look great on stage someday. This book is for anyone man, woman, old, or young looking to gain confidence and independence, to develop their mental and physical strength, to create a positive self-image, and to enjoy the way they look . Bodybuilding is a very empowering practice, and anyone can do it. Each of our journeys are different but taking the initial step into beginning your bodybuilding journey will change your life forever for the better. This book is not intended to treat, cure, or diagnose any medical condition. Consult your healthcare provider before beginning any exercise or diet program.
Starting Out
Now that the background information is out of the way, lets get into why you are here: to achieve muscular hypertrophy (muscle growth), to lose fat and get ripped, to get stronger, or to just feel better about yourself. This book will not help you become the next Mr. Olympia or dominate the next local powerlifting meetThis book is about bodybuilding.
Wait, you dont want to wear a thong and put oil on yourself and go on stage and flex in front of people? Dont worry. Bodybuilding is, according to Dictionary.com, the act or practice of exercising, lifting weights, etc., so as to develop the muscles of the body. My personal definition of bodybuilding, and the definition that will be used throughout this text,is developing and revealing your skeletal muscles to look better. If your goal is to lose weight or to tone to look good, you are bodybuilding, or you should be bodybuilding as far as Im concerned. If you want to look good on the beach or naked, you should be bodybuilding. If you want to get rid of that stubborn fat around your waistline, you want to bodybuild. The thong and oil are reserved for competitive bodybuilding, which this book will not discuss.
This book will be dedicated to lifestyle bodybuilding, which is getting stronger, getting leaner, and looking better while living life. So, I urge you, please do not be afraid of the term bodybuilding. It does not always mean you will be a tanned piece of jerky flexing your muscles for people to admire, and it does not always mean you will be some dumb meathead wearing work boots and a torn, ripped stringer tank-top to the gym. In fact, to truly become successful at bodybuilding, you need to be intelligent and well-educated.
