How to Live more like a Natural Bodybuilder (and why you need to)

Posted on August 28, 2023

 

Bodybuilding might be last thing you want to do in this life.

 

Or it may be somewhere at the top of your list!

 

But for the purposes of a clear message, try to erase any stereotypical images that come to mind when you think of a bodybuilder.

 

Then, cast aside the thought of competing on stage … unless you’re inclined.

 

What you’re left with is natural bodybuilding with a twist.

 

Non-competitive natural bodybuilding is essentially a dietary, exercise and lifestyle focus that can make a positive impact on quality of life and lifespan—backed by a tremendous amount of scientific research.

 

That’s right … tremendous.

 

Here's a taste.

 

In 2018 a systematic review and meta-analysis of 2 million men and women published by the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation the authors concluded:

 

"High levels of upper- and lower-body muscular strength are associated with a lower risk of mortality in adult population, regardless of age and follow-up period."

 

These lifespan benefits become more apparent the older we get, though they're far from exclusive to the age group.

 

 

Though it’s best to adopt bodybuilding-like healthy lifestyle practices as early as possible, it’s never too late to start.

 

Whether you're seventeen or ninety-seven, resistance exercise and improved overall lifestyle can style have a positive impact.

 

To bodybuilders, cardio is often seen as the enemy, with the belief that it is a gains-stealing activity.

 

But you don't have to become a low-bodyweight marathon runner to gain the health benefits of regular aerobic exercise.

 

Zone 2 (aerobic exercise) and VO2 max (anaerobic exercise) training deliver extreme health benefits that need to be part of any exercise program that is health focused.

 

The ultimate goal is to live like a healthy natural bodybuilder who also has a strong aerobic exercise capacity.

 

Sure, you can parade around in a tank top and let everyone know about how hard you've sculpted your guns over years or decades. 

 

But you don't have to either.

 

The point is, weight lifting doesn't have to be about expanding your ego as fast as your muscles.

  

Resistance Exercise

Obviously, you won’t be gaining much muscle without regular bouts of intense resistance exercise.

 

Unless you’re seriously under muscled to begin with—but those types of gains only last so long.

 

What does it take to gain muscle, assuming we’re starting from an average muscle mass situation?

 

Well, a bit of light calisthenics or easy lifting won’t get the job done.

 

 

When you break it right down, weight training is simply about moving an object from point A to point B.

 

In order to move this object, contracting muscles pull on tendons which attach to bones.

 

Thus the end-point of the limb that bears the weight is pulled or pushed from our torso.

 

And so the stress of resistance exercise isn’t just on muscle, it’s on bone and soft tissue as well.

 

And yes, you do get increases in bone mineral density as a result of resistance exercise.

 

This is important, especially as we age.

 

Did you know that hip fractures are a significant cause of mortality in old age?

 

In Australia, of people who break their hip pass-away within one year according to research published by the Archives of Osteoporosis in 2023.

 

If we have stronger bones we can prevent breakages, which becomes incredibly important in our more advanced years.

 

 

And if we are more coordinated and have stronger muscles, we can perhaps grab onto something and prevent a fall, or at the very least brace properly for impact with the floor.

 

The jacked action heroes we’ve all seen in films for decades are singular personalities—often portrayed as showy, masculine and aggressive.

 

Yet, resistance training and even lifting heavy weights doesn’t need to have anything to do with this mindset.

 

You can meditate or say a prayer between sets if you want to, or sip on an organic coconut water throughout your training along with some deep breath work.

 

How you approach weight lifting and with what mindset can be as unique as you are.

 

The choice is yours in how you choose to incorporate such an integral component of healthy living into your lifestyle.

 

The evidence is clear though, having more muscle mass, greater strength and engaging in regular resistance exercise are each independent factors that have been scientifically verified to extend your life and make you feel better in the process.

 

 

You do need to be generally healthy though to begin this process, because resistance exercise is physically demanding, as is the recovery process.

 

Each amino acid placed in sequence in a muscle fibre costs us four ATP (energy) molecules!

 

Having the energy and motivation to regularly exercise with intensity can be hard. 

 

And the recovery process can be equally taxing. 

 

For reasons not yet fully elucidated, muscle protein synthesis gets blunted the older we become.

 

And so building muscle mass as young as you can, will ensure you have a maximal amount in your older years when you really need it.

 

Energy Restricted Diet

If there’s one thing bodybuilders do well, it’s keeping lean year-round.

 

Sure they pack on a little more fat mass in the off-season to fuel training and muscle growth.

 

However, energy intakes are never unrestricted and body fat levels are closely monitored.

 

This means particular months of the year are devoted to gaining muscle (with some fat mass in the process).

 

 

While other times target fat loss and energy restriction.

 

If there’s one point regarding the human condition that is abundantly clear: obesity and overweight are serious global health issues.

 

They have been for decades.

 

Currently, 60% of Australians are either overweight or obese, conditions which are associated with greater healthcare use and lower productivity.

 

The health benefits of restricting your energy intake and maintaining a healthy fat mass cannot be overstated.

 

In the old days, the best method for tracking energy values of foods was with a reference book, a calculator and a set of kitchen scales.

 

Fortunately, with the evolution of the smart phone, we have apps that are free and easy to use.

 

You will still need a quality set of kitchen scales that measure down to 0.1g (100mg), however.

 

Entire recipes can be added into these apps so you can weigh out your portion size and let the app do the rest of the work.

 

Sure, the first week or two might feel like some kind of bad nutritional joke, as you find yourself lost in calculations, measuring and learning the ins-and-outs of the app.

 

But after a few weeks, you'll be able to breeze through the process without breaking a sweat.

 

And this can keep you on track so you can ensure you eat enough quality protein each day, and perhaps don’t overindulge in carbohydrate rich foods, such as rice, sugar, pasta and bread.

 

These are both important macronutrient goals for longevity and a healthy body composition.

 

Monitoring your energy intake is a great way to ensure you don’t overdo it each day and perhaps don’t under eat on days when perhaps you’re stressed or haven’t slept well.

 

The ultimate goal here is to attain a healthy fat mass level, with plenty of muscle mass, and to maintain it for life.

 

What else do Natural Bodybuilders do?

Protein much?

Yes, bodybuilders eat a lot of quality protein.

 

And they typically go for high bio-availability protein sources that trigger muscle protein synthesis, facilitating muscle recovery and growth.

 

This dietary focus is important for more than building muscle though.

 

A recent scientific study indicated that protein intake is associated with reduced all-cause mortality in older individuals.

 

 

Some believe that too much dietary protein is problematic; that it can damage the kidneys, create acidity and leave us with digestive issues.

 

But the science is in folks.

 

The only evidence of protein intake impairing healthy kidney function relates to too little.

 

That’s right, if you under eat protein, this may adversely impact kidney function, as indicated by the journal Nutrients in 2019!

 

The human body tightly regulates acidity and alkalinity, though you do need to eat an overall healthy diet.

 

For instance, eating four fried eggs on a plate without any other nutrition is not ideal.

 

You may want to add in a breakfast salad with fresh greens, capsicum and beetroot or some cooked vegetables, such as mushrooms and spinach.

 

These can assist in balancing the pH. There is some evidence that as we age, the body can have a difficult time in regulating pH, so providing some assistance can be a good idea with a “balanced” diet.

 

Sodium bicarbonate taken away from meals is also an effective way to assist with acid and alkaline balance, with evidence indicating that is has a minimal effect on blood pressure despite the high sodium content.

 

If you struggle with poor digestion and find that protein rich food is something you tend to avoid, you may have impaired stomach acid levels.

 

Stomach acid, called hydrochloric acid, is essential to sterilize the incoming bolus (food), and unfold proteins in preparation for digestion.

 

Without enough stomach acid, we are left open to protein maldigestion and pathogenic bacterial overgrowth in the digestive tract.

 

Where to start?

 

Obviously, if poor digestion is a real problem, seek the advice of your healthcare practitioner.

 

However, soothing and healing ingredients can be a great place to start, such as turmeric root, aloe vera inner leaf gel, slippery elm inner bark powder, marshmallow root powder, L-Glutamine and more.

 

Once some healing has taken place in the gastric mucosa for a few months, you may find that drinking fresh lemon juice taken with a protein meal may assist with digestion.

 

Alternatively, Betaine Hydrochloride tablets may assist you here, if lemon juice is a bit difficult. This isn’t pure betaine or trimethylglycine (TMG). It needs to be Betaine HCL.

 

If you want to give lemon juice a go, just be sure to rinse your mouth afterwards to remove the acids so as not to negatively impact your dental health.

 

Lemon juice is highly acidic with a pH of 2, the same as hydrochloric acid.

 

So what are the best dietary protein sources available?

 

It’s simple: lean meats, fish, eggs and dairy.

 

Secondary sources of a lower quality would be peas, beans, lentils, grains, nuts, seeds and other vegan sources.

 

Just sticking to the nutritional facts.

 

Animal protein sources tend to not only have a higher protein percentage, but to also be of a better quantity in terms of their amino acid balance.

 

Protein powders are also ideal for use, such as whey, pea, rice and casein, as well as essential amino acid supplements.

 

If you have a lot of digestive issues and struggle to eat enough protein food, you might like to start with easier digesting supplements, such as whey or rice, or any hydrolysed protein powder, like hydrolysed whey or pea protein.

 

One gram per pound of “ideal” bodyweight is a solid daily target for your protein intake.

 

Preferably spread this protein out into three or four meals daily, with each meal containing a minimum of 25 grams (especially breakfast) in order to trigger muscle protein synthesis.

 

Healthy Lifestyle

Growing muscle isn’t necessarily easy.

 

Of course, it all depends on how much you have to begin with.

 

Some have a difficult time gaining a substantial amount of muscle at any age (starting from an average baseline).

 

It requires a focused and consistent training ethic, adequate dietary protein and calories, as well as a healthy lifestyle that promotes recovery.

 

Keeping yourself in a healthy overall condition is a long-term commitment.

 

Yet, it’s crucial to hitting your daily nutrition and exercise targets.

 

Quality sleep, stress management, appropriate natural supplements and more are all mainstays for natural bodybuilders.

 

Basic health supplements for anyone are essentially a fish oil (or vegan EPA and DHA), a Multivitamin and Mineral, Vitamin D (unless you know you have adequate sun exposure).

 

In fact, a recent study showed that Omega 3s not only provide these crucial long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids EPA and DHA for cellular health, but they are also anabolic.

 

Other natural supplement hacks for muscle gain are:

• Creatine
• HMB
• EAAs
• Protein Powder
• Natural Testosterone Support

 

Whether you’re male or female, if your free testosterone levels are low, you may be lacking in motivation to train with the intensity required to gain muscle (or get to the gym in the first place).

 

Boosting you testosterone level (of you are low) naturally won’t necessarily give you a profound muscle building advantage, it will just make you feel healthier.

 

There are many nutrients and plants that assist in regulating this hormone, such as zinc, boron, fenugreek, tribulus, shilajit, tongkat ali and much more.

 

Micronised creatine monohydrate is the best form to use, with an essential amino acid formulation ideally based on the work of Dr Robert Wolfe.

 

Quality sleep that is sufficiently deep, without waking frequently, is essential to overall health and recovery from exercise.

 

With stress management, such as regular meditation, prayer, spiritual or counselling when needed, experience a refinement of mental and emotional wellbeing.

 

This can make it so much easier to accept positive changes and let go of unwanted negative baggage that may be holding you back.

 

 

Zone 2 + VO2 Max

Hitting the treadmill or stair master may not seem like the most exciting undertaking.

 

With exercise, it’s up to you to create an approach that is at least a little bit interesting.

 

For some, variety is key, which means changing it up on a regular basis, while others like the simplicity and familiarity of hitting a similar program each time.

 

The main thing is: find the exercise method that is the most enticing (or least boring) so you can get your exercise done regularly.

 

"Exercise might be the most potent “drug” we have for extending the quality and perhaps quantity of our years of life."

Ref: PeterAttiaMD.com

 

Zone 2 training has become quite fashionable of late, which is steady-state aerobic exercise that is low to moderate intensity and done for hours each week.

 

There are a number of methods that can be used to help you understand if you are engaged in zone 2 training, such as blood lactate levels.

 

However, unless you have a few hundred laying around for a lactate monitor and the test strips (greatest expense), you may need to use other signs to assess whether you’re actually exercising in Zone 2.

 

These are your ability to speak freely during exercise, with a little strain, and whether you can breathe sufficiently through your nose or not.

 

 

You should be able to hold a conversation during Zone 2 exercise, though the person you’re speaking on the phone should be able to detect that you are indeed exercising.

 

This is the perceived level of exertion method for assessing your Zone 2 status, and is much better than the heart rate method.

 

On the other hand, VO2 Max training, or Zone 5, is high intensity anaerobic exercise that really gets your heart rate firing.

 

This type of training is not for the faint of heart and typically involves exercise that is performed at maximal effort for four minutes, followed by four minutes of Zone 2 recovery.

 

With a solid foundation of Zone 2 and Zone 5 exercise, you are supporting mitochondrial health and overall level of fitness, both of which are essential to quality of life and longevity.

 

Just don't forget to stay hydrated. And with plenty of low sugar and natural options, there's no excuse!

 

Conclusion

If you had a choice, would you rather drive around in a banged up old van or a flashy Mercedes?

 

So is it vain to choose a lean and muscular physique to live in, when the quality of life and length benefits are so apparent?

 

Surely not innately.

 

With a splash of cardio and a strong health focus, reap the benefits of a natural bodybuilding lifestyle.

 

If you’re new to health and exercise, the most essential point is take your time, don’t try to change every aspect of your life at once and don’t give up, even if you throw the towel in for a day or a week.

 

Ultimately, the only way to truly fail is to give up entirely—permanently.

 

If you’re ready to try a natural bodybuilding approach, enjoy the process and experiencing what it feels like to be physically strong and fit.

 

There are few moments in life that can’t be enjoyed more fully without improved overall health and conditioning.