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Bodybuilding While Working Full Time

guss

guss

MuscleHead
Aug 11, 2010
380
189
Many of us don`t have the luxury of being able to focus all of our attention on bodybuilding. Unless your getting paid by a sponsor or making some serious cash doing bodybuilding shows, you almost have to have a stable job to afford the necessities that are needed to having a good body. Assuming most of us work the typical eight hour job, how do we achieve balance between work, bodybuilding, and all the other things we deal with on a daily basis. This article was written for the bodybuilders who want to bodybuild as well as work a full time job.

When we come home from work, most of us feel to tired to even cook dinner, let alone exercise. Not only do we have to motivate ourselves to put down the remote and hop on the treadmill, but we also have to sacrafice some things for the sake of bodybuilding. We have to develop a balance between our jobs, bodybuilding, family, and our social life. Who wouldn`t rather go to a club with a group of friends instead of going to the gym putting yourself through an hour of torture? This is when dedication becomes very important.

When we bodybuild we already create a bit of discipline for ourselves so making sacrafices is just a part of the game. It`s going to become tougher to maintain that discipline when working a job full time because of all the added stress a job can do to you. You have to be able to persevere through all the obstacles. Once you do that, you will feel on top of the world once you achieve your fitness goals. Just don`t get cocky and have to restart the process all over again. Set yourself up with a goal to improve on the goal you just met and never become satisfied.

So how can you accomplish any of your fitness goals when your locked up a job eight to ten hours a day? It`s very simple! Get organized. Write down everything you can do to achieve your goals. You also need to write down everything that gets in your way of achieving those goals and always look for a way forward. If your job is manual labor where it is physically demanding then you should consider work as part of your training routine. That way you kill two birds with one stone so to speak. Find out how many calories you`ve burnt throughout the day working and replenish your glycogen stores during and after work. Then you can exercise some of the muscle groups you didn`t hit at work and you will feel good about yourself for making an attempt to better yourself.

You are going to have days where you feel overworked, stressed, and feel that everything in the world is coming down on you. These are the days when you should treat yourself to something out of the ordinary like a cheat meal or consider going out to the club with a group of friends. Just keep everything in moderation. You can can accomplish anything you want in life if you stick to your plan of attack and stay focused. Good Luck.
 
Mindlesswork

Mindlesswork

Crusty Poo Butt
Sep 21, 2010
1,395
33
Structuring training and diet around a busy work schedule is the most challenging thing ever. It is hard to train after a grueling day at the office or when gallivanting around on errands not to mention eating regularly.

Maybe some good advice and suggestions for the busy bb'er are in order
 
B

bigjoey

Member
Sep 18, 2010
16
1
Ok nice beginning but speaking as a competive bodybuilder it's time management. one has to learn how to use time better. I cook my meals usually on sunday afternnon and tuesday and thursday. Living in NYC my fridge isn't huge. So time management is impt. I work 2 jobs and i still train 1.5 hrs a day thats including cardio. Workouts shouldnt be 2.5-3 hrs long every day . if they are then your wasting a lot of time. my average leg workout is 28 sets with my trainig partner it takes us about 1 hr and 15 mins. I have a cook book designed for bodybuilders to help plan out their meals with recipies. if you want it let me know. it's in pdf formant. Hope this helps some.
 
slicwilly2000

slicwilly2000

VIP Member
Sep 14, 2010
1,955
305
I'd like to have that cookbook bigjoey.

Slic.
 
J

jmhester1956

New Member
Sep 21, 2010
3
0
Honestly, I had some of my best gains during the worse time of my life. I was working a high stress job on base during the busiest time of the "wars", was on call 24/7, my wife was recovering from cancer surgery and radiation, and I was the only care giver and bread winner we had. I knew that if I didn't take an hour out of the day to let it just be me and the iron, I was going to go nuts. So you know what I did? I put together a bunch of dumbells and a bench, got my lazy butt out of bed at 5:00 AM and hit the weights. It was quiet for about an hour with just me, the cats, and the cold steel. I did a 5 day split and never missed a day. Even if I got called in at 2:00 and got back home at 4:00, 5:00, it was workout time. If I had to rush my wife to the emergency room (it happened more than once), the weights were still there waiting for me after I got her to sleep.
I never took one moment away from my wife or my job. I just worked it in no matter what happened. I'm not saying this to be a martyr or something. It might have been a little selfish in hindsight. I'm just saying, where there is a will, there is a way. I'm also saying that all the fancy routines in the world, all the gear, all the protein shakes, and pre-workout powders will never make up for consistency.
In the words of Dante, do it like your brushing your teeth. Let's face it, even a bad workout is better than doing nothing at all.
 
pux888

pux888

MuscleHead
Oct 1, 2010
1,256
65
Ok nice beginning but speaking as a competive bodybuilder it's time management. one has to learn how to use time better. I cook my meals usually on sunday afternnon and tuesday and thursday. Living in NYC my fridge isn't huge. So time management is impt. I work 2 jobs and i still train 1.5 hrs a day thats including cardio. Workouts shouldnt be 2.5-3 hrs long every day . if they are then your wasting a lot of time. my average leg workout is 28 sets with my trainig partner it takes us about 1 hr and 15 mins. I have a cook book designed for bodybuilders to help plan out their meals with recipies. if you want it let me know. it's in pdf formant. Hope this helps some.

Post it up dude!
 
GodSize

GodSize

Member
Sep 23, 2010
33
0
Ok nice beginning but speaking as a competive bodybuilder it's time management. one has to learn how to use time better. I cook my meals usually on sunday afternnon and tuesday and thursday. Living in NYC my fridge isn't huge. So time management is impt. I work 2 jobs and i still train 1.5 hrs a day thats including cardio. Workouts shouldnt be 2.5-3 hrs long every day . if they are then your wasting a lot of time. my average leg workout is 28 sets with my trainig partner it takes us about 1 hr and 15 mins. I have a cook book designed for bodybuilders to help plan out their meals with recipies. if you want it let me know. it's in pdf formant. Hope this helps some.

Is that the "Muscle Cooks Anabolic Cookbook" (Anabolic Cooking) ?

I bought it and the recipe's are really KICK ASS

To add to the post though, I don't consider myself a "bodybuilder" as such anymore. I DO like to improve my physique, and get bigger, however I do not have the time or dedication to label myself as a bodybuilder. I work over 60 hours a week as an automation engineer, and am also in University part time completing my masters in business administration. Among this I still have family responsibilities to take care of. So time? No. Not really.
 
Last edited:
tightglutes

tightglutes

TID VIP Lady Member
May 1, 2012
1,730
437
It can be done you just need to love the sport and be able to have the discipline to do it. If I did not love it would not see me getting up at 430 to do cardio. BTW a good fat burner is a must... for the extra bust
 
tightglutes

tightglutes

TID VIP Lady Member
May 1, 2012
1,730
437
Boost,...... want my edit button please :)
 
oldschool1967

oldschool1967

VIP Member
Aug 6, 2011
1,649
172
I spent 25+ years lifting and working.It requires 100% motivation, 100% determination.My first wife(uggg) tried everything in her power to discourage me, My wife now encourages me every step of the way. When I was on first shift, I got up at 3 a.m. out to the gym by 3:30 a.m. second shift, at the gym by 10 a.m. I was never of a 5 p.m workout person, I found out once I got my workout under my belt, life could throw whatever it wanted to at me because I was done. I do understand alot of people like lifting later in the day because they already have a few meals down, which never really bothered me, empty guy or not.
 
ajdonutz

ajdonutz

VIP Member
May 23, 2012
814
147
It definitely takes dedication. Sometimes its discouraging after a rough day, go to the gym, have a shit workout, go home feeling weak and depressed.. but buck up and hit it harder next week.
 
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