We want to make as much progress as we can in the shortest amount of time, this is normal. I want to be bigger NOW, i want to be peeled NOW. Unfortunately bodybuilding and physique development is not a sprint. It is more like a marathon. One of the most important factors in building an impressive physique is consistency over long periods of time.

Now, the point that I am getting at is not to rush things. A common problem I see a lot of guys who are new to the game make is making crazy adjustments to their plans on a weekly basis. I see guys who think "ok its bulking time, im going to raise my calories from 3000 to 5500 and watch the massive gains just pile on week after week". what actually happens is that within a few weeks these guys digestion is ruined, they begin to get fat quickly, and soon they are unable to eat much of anything at all. All of their meals become forced feedings more or less. They stop gaining weight, which is probably a lot of body fat anyways, and want to push MORE DRUGS.

Similarly with cutting i see guys start a cut and immediately drop carbs to 0, add fasted cardio 5 days a week for 45 minutes, and add fat burning drugs. What happens? After 3-4 weeks of massive weight loss (which a good portion is probably muscle that has starved off), our friends progress has stalled. He isnt able to loose much more bodyfat. The problem is that he started off with such drastic changes, that at this point it is hard for him to do anything else. He cant drop his carbs any lower, he is already doing tons of cardio, and he cant add anymore fat burning drugs safely.

I myself have fallen victim to this mind set in my younger years. It is any easy trap to fall into when you are new. My suggestion to solve this problem? Always make the smallest changes possible.

What I mean when I say the smallest changes possible is:

Lets take our first friend, the guy who wants to bulk. Rather than jump from 3000-5500 calories over night, you will find a much smoother transition into your new bulking diet if you do it slowly. Maybe the first week you add 25g carbs (100 calories) extra each day. The thing is, that yes you do need to be in a caloric surplus, but there is a limit to what your body can handle and use to grow. if being in a 500 calorie surplus is good, being in a 2000 calorie surplus is not better. So assuming after the first week our friend has added 25g carbs and things are going well, the next week he adds another 25g carbs. Maybe the third week he adds 25g carbs and 5g fat. This way your body is able to use the extra food for muscle growth. There isnt a huge excess of food that is turned to bodyfat, and since the changes are gradual, your digestion remains excellent. 25g of carbs a week may not seem like a lot, but after a 16 week cycle your carbs will have gone up by 400g. if you started your cycle eating 300g carbs, you will end it eating 700g. These numbers are not set in stone, these are just examples. The slow changes will help your body ease into the extra food.

For our friend who is dieting, I suggest the same thing. The same rule applies here, if a 250-500 calorie deficit per day is good, a 1000-1500 calorie deficit is not better. I take a similar approach here. As long as i am making progress, I do not change things. I might start my cut with no cardio and at 450G carbs and 80g fats for example. As long as I am loosing fat, there is no need to change things. Once fat loss stalls, i might drop carbs by 25-30g. The next stall i might drop another 25g carbs and 5g fats. The next stall in my progress i might add 20 minutes of cardio 3 times a week. This way, i make as much progress as i can with the smallest changes. I hold onto the most muscle possible, and I always have room to make changes.

A similar example can be applied to drugs. if you did great on 500mg test, there is no need to add more. Maybe after a few cycles of 500mg test you have grown significantly and the results arnt what they used to be. Now would be the time to consider adding either maybe slightly more test or another compound. Again, more is not always better. And by keeping drugs at the minimal amount needed for growth, you set your self up for a good, long, healthy career in building muscle. It should be noted, that you cant out drug a bad diet. People will try because they here stupid stuff like "you can eat anything on tren and get peeled". That is simply just not true. People want to believe it because it gives them an out to eat pizza and burgers.

When looking at longevity in bodybuilding, your drug regimes will make a big difference. Notice that there are guys out there who dont seem to age, guys like Dexter Jackson. He is a little better each and every year. Bodybuilding has been a fountain of youth for him.

Then there are guys like Justin Compton or Aaron Clark. They have made tremendous progress in a short time. I mean no disrespect to them at all, but it is clear that rushing the process has aged them prematurely. We can see what it has done to their faces, I wonder what it has done to their insides.

Anyways this is just my experience and a problem i see a lot of younger guys getting into bodybuilding having. If you enjoy the process, take your time, and are intelligent in how you approach bodybuilding you will make progress. Happy growing!