Bodybuilding Cheat Sheet

The key takeaways for beginners – dosing training volume correctly, training close to failure and timing your bulk or cut right.

Supplements: what actually works

Supplement	Priority	Tip
Creatine	High	3–5 g of creatine monohydrate daily, year-round – the best-proven, cheapest muscle supplement there is.
Caffeine	Medium	3–6 mg/kg about 60 minutes before hard sessions for a performance boost.
Protein powder	Medium	Only as a gap-filler when real food doesn't cover your daily target.
Everything else	Low	BCAAs, fat burners, testo boosters – save the money, spend it on food and sleep instead.

The 3 golden training rules

Factor 1: Volume is your main lever

Concept: The strongest growth stimulus isn't a supplement, it's volume – roughly 0.4% more muscle thickness per extra hard set. Tip: Aim for 10–20 hard sets per muscle group per week, training each major muscle at least twice.

Factor 2: Close to failure, not into failure

Concept: From about 2 reps in reserve you already capture nearly the full growth stimulus – total failure mostly just costs more recovery. Tip: Take most sets to 1–3 reps in reserve, and honestly estimate that number after every set.

Factor 3: Double progression

Concept: No growing stimulus, no growth – a training weight that stays fixed loses its effect over time. Tip: First climb through your target rep range (e.g. 8–12), then increase the weight once you hit the top of it.

Bulk or cut?

Pick a direction: Choose muscle gain (surplus) or fat loss (deficit) – maximising both at once doesn't work.
Bulk in a controlled way: A moderate surplus for 0.25–0.5% bodyweight gain per week – more mostly builds fat.
Cut without losing muscle: A deficit for 0.5–1% bodyweight loss per week, keeping protein and training hard.
Steer by the weekly trend: Check your weekly average bodyweight and adjust calories in small steps, never off a single day.

Protein: amount, spread, timing

Topic	In short
Daily amount	About 1.6 g per kg bodyweight maximises growth – more brings no extra benefit on average.
Spread & timing	3–5 meals of roughly 0.4 g/kg across the day – total amount matters more than exact timing.
While dieting	Up to 2.3–3.1 g/kg of lean mass in a calorie deficit protects your muscle.

Avoiding injuries

Warm up dynamically: Use the RAMP principle instead of static stretching: raise, activate, mobilise, then warm-up sets.
Balance your shoulders: Balance pushing and pulling volume, keep elbows and range of motion pain-free.
Keep your back neutral: Brace your core on deadlifts and rows, keep the weight close, never round your back.
Progress smart, sleep well: Small progression steps and enough sleep are your best protection against injury.

Pro tip: Muscle grows in your sleep, not in the gym: training is only the stimulus, 7–9 hours of sleep is the answer. If strength drops despite hard work, recovery is the leak – deload for a week instead of pushing harder.