A Monetized, Quality Bodybuilding Blog

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
1

Hello everyone,

I am writing to all to hear opinions on something that I am heavily interested in starting, a quality bodybuilding blog. Blog business are practically free to start and require almost no overhead as they can be bootstrapped completely.

Being that I am a registered dietitian and aspiring natural bodybuilder and simply love to write, I thought this is a type of blog that would be near effortless to run, being that I simply love this sport, as well as nutrition.

I cannot say that I have scoured hundreds of bodybuilding blogs. However, I believe there are few of them. And most of the ones that I have seen simply provide information on how skinny dudes can “gain mass”, you know - tips and tricks.

I do not want a blog like that. I want a blog for the people such as the ones found on this forum, men and women who take bodybuilding quite seriously - people who “live” for this!

Though we might not be the next Dorian or Ronnie, we attend events, perhaps compete, personal train, buy magazines and information products, and follow the sport as closely as people follow baseball, football, and basketball. I want a bodybuilding blog that caters to the bodybuilding everyman.

For this blog, I have some ideas:

  • Interviews.
  • Contest updates and footage (since I attend many)(pics and/or video clips).
  • My personal experiences and insights on bodybuilding
  • Nutrition.
  • (Perhaps) some training advice, though I would not to turn this into a “strength and conditioning” site.
  • Product and supplement reviews (basically shameless plus of products I truly believe in).
  • Comments section.
  • Promotion of my services as an RD - nutritionist.
  • Full blown articles written by myself or guest writers.
  • Anything else that tickles my fancy.

I would like to title it something like:
“The Bodybuilding Everyman” or “The Bodybuilding Layman”

What does everyone think. I am quite serious about starting it as it is low risk and will be about something I love and can be updated and worked on from the comfort of my own room.

I would like CONSTRUCTIVE criticism and pessimism (yup, i I think its warranted before starting a business, even though one like this can be started with ten bucks). Those who have nothing but destructive cynicism and negativity - please don’t comment.

Thanks to all.

2

[quote]Bricknyce wrote:

For this blog, I have some ideas:

  • Interviews.
  • Contest updates and footage (since I attend many)(pics and/or video clips).
  • My personal experiences and insights on bodybuilding
  • Nutrition.
  • (Perhaps) some training advice, though I would not to turn this into a “strength and conditioning” site.
  • Product and supplement reviews (basically shameless plus of products I truly believe in).
  • Comments section.
  • Promotion of my services as an RD - nutritionist.
  • Full blown articles written by myself or guest writers.
  • Anything else that tickles my fancy.

I would like to title it something like:
“The Bodybuilding Everyman” or “The Bodybuilding Layman”

[/quote]

If you’re seriously intent on creating a blog site, than I say go for it. I do have a few questions:

  1. What would make it different from sites such as T-Nation, where these same resources are readily available?

  2. Is your intent to ultimately promote your business or create new revenue streams? For example, advertising fees, supplement store, newsletter subscriptions, etc.

  3. What would be your marketing strategy to promote the site? Recruiting members from exisitng sites is typically viewed as SPAM and can have an obvious detrimental effect.

Hopefully, you don’t view my questions as being critical. My profession is sales and consulting so I like to understand the big picture…

Whatever you decide, good luck.

3

Stop talking about it and just do it!

4

Do it and make it unique.

Keep me updated, ok?

5

Unless you personally train tons of people, I would approach the blog as “your personal journey in bodybuilding”.

As for topics I would

  • Frequently repeating the basics.
  • Frequently repeating the basics.
  • Frequently repeating the basics.
  • Helping beginners cut through trends in the fitness industry (which are more market based than anything else)
  • Discussing issues that confused you at some point (ex: I just recently learned that there probably isn’t that much of a difference between “high volume” and “high intensity” programs. Just the former counts their warm up sets and the later do not.)

etc…

If you do train people, get their consent and post progress pictures, before and afters, focus on basic problems they’ve encountered and how they’ve surpassed them.

6

how do you get paid doing this?

7

[quote]Protoculture wrote:
Unless you personally train tons of people, I would approach the blog as “your personal journey in bodybuilding”.

As for topics I would

  • Frequently repeating the basics.
  • Frequently repeating the basics.
  • Frequently repeating the basics.
  • Helping beginners cut through trends in the fitness industry (which are more market based than anything else)
  • Discussing issues that confused you at some point (ex: I just recently learned that there probably isn’t that much of a difference between “high volume” and “high intensity” programs. Just the former counts their warm up sets and the later do not.)

etc…

If you do train people, get their consent and post progress pictures, before and afters, focus on basic problems they’ve encountered and how they’ve surpassed them.
[/quote]

I came back to type a better, more comprehensive reply and you did it better than I could have! Good job.

Very interesting point about the volume/intensity subject. Seems right on.

I’d like to see a cutting sense of humor. And the main thrust of your blog (IMO) should be–as we discuss here often–that what we see working in the gym, over decades with thousands of bodybuilders trumps double-blind scientifc studies all day long.

8

[quote]derek wrote:

Very interesting point about the volume/intensity subject. Seems right on.

[/quote]

Like I said, I just learned of this recently from a T-Cell thread.

I always considered myself a low-volume guy, because I’m only able to perform a few balls-to-the-wall sets for the same body part in one session without burning out quickly thereafter.

One of two things always happened when I tried to follow traditional high volume training:

i) After the first set (which I had already warmed up to thinking it was supposed to be with my max weight) I would be so wrecked that the reps in the following sets would drop dramatically. Needless to say I was wasted from all the sets to failure I performed.

ii) I’d lower the weight to some ridiculous amount just to finish the prescribed sets/reps. Of course I wouldn’t get much results because I was using pussy weights by my standards.

Two undesirable results because I didn’t realize that all the other guys promoting this system were actually ramping up in weights (ie: warming up).

So if their 10RM for the back squat was 495lbs it would look like this:

495 x 40% = 200# x 10 reps for set 1
495 x 60% = 300# x 10 reps for set 2
495 x 80% = 400# x 10 reps for set 3
495 x 100% = 495# x 10 reps for set 4

Voila! 4 sets completed while being able to maintain intensity (defined as %1RM)!!!

So simple… man I’m stupid …

PS: Sorry for the thread hijack

9

Hello?

I see opinions, where’s the OP?

Inquiring minds want to know.

10

All I can say is that Bricknyce is one of the best posters on this site, and I hope he follows through with this plan. I have pm’d with him and he is a wealth of info and we all have something to gain by signing on to this.

sub’d

11

You don’t want to use ‘layman’ because you said you don’t want to have a ‘tips and tricks’ section, which is usually geared FOR the layman.

Check your PM.

12

sounds like an interesting idea even though this site already provides everything you described either way I’m incredibly interested in this and would greatly appreciated being notified if this idea happened

13

[quote]Polish Rifle wrote:
Bricknyce wrote:

For this blog, I have some ideas:

  • Interviews.
  • Contest updates and footage (since I attend many)(pics and/or video clips).
  • My personal experiences and insights on bodybuilding
  • Nutrition.
  • (Perhaps) some training advice, though I would not to turn this into a “strength and conditioning” site.
  • Product and supplement reviews (basically shameless plus of products I truly believe in).
  • Comments section.
  • Promotion of my services as an RD - nutritionist.
  • Full blown articles written by myself or guest writers.
  • Anything else that tickles my fancy.

I would like to title it something like:
“The Bodybuilding Everyman” or “The Bodybuilding Layman”

If you’re seriously intent on creating a blog site, than I say go for it. I do have a few questions:

  1. What would make it different from sites such as T-Nation, where these same resources are readily available?

  2. Is your intent to ultimately promote your business or create new revenue streams? For example, advertising fees, supplement store, newsletter subscriptions, etc.

  3. What would be your marketing strategy to promote the site? Recruiting members from exisitng sites is typically viewed as SPAM and can have an obvious detrimental effect.

Hopefully, you don’t view my questions as being critical. My profession is sales and consulting so I like to understand the big picture…

Whatever you decide, good luck.
[/quote]

Thank you for your feedback.

  1. I think it would be different from T-mag, simply from the fact that it will be my personal blog and will solely dedicated to things related to bodybuilding and nutrition.

In addition, there are very few bodybuilders that also have formal academic training in dietetics and nutrition and are also RDs. I can only think of Olympia competitor Colette Nelson and NPC competitor and T-Mag contributor Lonnie Lowery. So, the nutrition information is going to be different.

I am interested in areas of nutrition not related to just getting jacked, particularly Nutrigenomics and food science and technology. That might require a whole other blog link dedicated to dietetics, however.

It will also not have a hodge podge of forums, most of which have nothing to do with bodybuilding. I do like off-topics but this will not be included in my blog.

The blog will also be through my eyes only, except for the occasional guest writer, if one was to ever come about.

There will also be more contest footage and talk of the bodybuilding world and photographs of bodybuilders. This will be a “bodybulding-centric” blog, having little to do with the athletic training and strength and conditioning world, topics that are common on T-mag.

To me, T-Mag is more of an online magazine, not a blog - not someone’s personal diary or thoughts on a field. Ron Harris has something like this on his site. He used to write for this site and ONLY dealt with bodybuilding.

Finally, when thinking of my blog, I was not thinking about how to compete with other online magazines like Bodybuilding.com or T-Mag. I am thinking of my personal blog and how to compete with other blogs of the same nature, very few of whom actually have photographs and talk about the sport in a journalistic fashion.

  1. The intent is not to solely promote my nutrition counseling. I am an honest and transparent person and want a stream of income that works in my sleep - when not working that is. I definitely need to become more blog and net savvy in order to implement my idea successfully. However, I do know that blogs do earn money through Google Adsense and affiliates.

  2. That is something I am still thinking of. I do not intend to recruit people from other sites such as T-mag. However, viral marketing is free game (ie: My Space, Facebook, etc.) By the way, T-mag is more resembling a social networking site, come to think of it.

Your questions are not negatively critical at all. They are useful.

Thank you!

14

[quote]LiveFromThe781 wrote:
how do you get paid doing this?[/quote]

This is an area I am still educating myself on. Google Adsense and affiliates is where some dough comes from for blogs. I am going to purchase some books on blogging and refer to the other useful sites on blogging, such as Pro-Blogger and www.stevepavlina.com.

15

[quote]trextacy wrote:
All I can say is that Bricknyce is one of the best posters on this site, and I hope he follows through with this plan. I have pm’d with him and he is a wealth of info and we all have something to gain by signing on to this.

sub’d[/quote]

Thank you, Trex.

16

[quote]Protoculture wrote:
Unless you personally train tons of people, I would approach the blog as “your personal journey in bodybuilding”.

As for topics I would

  • Frequently repeating the basics.
  • Frequently repeating the basics.
  • Frequently repeating the basics.
  • Helping beginners cut through trends in the fitness industry (which are more market based than anything else)
  • Discussing issues that confused you at some point (ex: I just recently learned that there probably isn’t that much of a difference between “high volume” and “high intensity” programs. Just the former counts their warm up sets and the later do not.)

etc…

If you do train people, get their consent and post progress pictures, before and afters, focus on basic problems they’ve encountered and how they’ve surpassed them.

[/quote]

Thanks for the ideas. I would push the basics.

But I would want this blog to follow the sport as well. And also, to have interviews with people in the bodybuilding world: competitors, judges, contest-prep advisors, and so on. I believe that there is not much new under the sun. But people do really are entertained by what goes on behind the scenes. That is not boring - to most, I believe. I have heard people on this site requesting more interviews with BBers doing their thing and articles really pertaining to this sport and lifestyle. CT has the best articles for this on the entire site. He is my favorite author here for this sole reason.

17

[quote]Nate Dogg wrote:
Stop talking about it and just do it![/quote]

“Do something about it!” is the most useful command in all advice giving, I believe.

I just came up with this idea last week, so I just wanted to know what some others thought of it and if there would be an audience for it.

Thanks!

18

[quote]Protoculture wrote:
derek wrote:

Very interesting point about the volume/intensity subject. Seems right on.

Like I said, I just learned of this recently from a T-Cell thread.

I always considered myself a low-volume guy, because I’m only able to perform a few balls-to-the-wall sets for the same body part in one session without burning out quickly thereafter.

One of two things always happened when I tried to follow traditional high volume training:

i) After the first set (which I had already warmed up to thinking it was supposed to be with my max weight) I would be so wrecked that the reps in the following sets would drop dramatically. Needless to say I was wasted from all the sets to failure I performed.

ii) I’d lower the weight to some ridiculous amount just to finish the prescribed sets/reps. Of course I wouldn’t get much results because I was using pussy weights by my standards.

Two undesirable results because I didn’t realize that all the other guys promoting this system were actually ramping up in weights (ie: warming up).

So if their 10RM for the back squat was 495lbs it would look like this:

495 x 40% = 200# x 10 reps for set 1
495 x 60% = 300# x 10 reps for set 2
495 x 80% = 400# x 10 reps for set 3
495 x 100% = 495# x 10 reps for set 4

Voila! 4 sets completed while being able to maintain intensity (defined as %1RM)!!!

So simple… man I’m stupid …

PS: Sorry for the thread hijack [/quote]

The thing is that the high volume crowd states that you should stop two reps short of failure, or in Charles Staley’s advice, stop the set when your speed slows down, which can be quite a few reps before failure.

I find such training quite unenjoyable and absolute drudgery! Always holding back and loafing around a gym in what seems to be an endless workout is no fun to me.

I do not go to all-out death set failure on the big basic exercises like bench press, squats, rows, and chinups. I stop when I feel the next rep will be done in bad form. I do take the easier, isolation exercises to failure as its safe and not going to burn me out.

I do agree with Dorian, Dante, Alwyn Cosgrove, Jason Ferrugia, and Ian King in that if you are able to complete a prescribed amount of sets greater than 2 with the same weight, then its almost definite that you were not pulling out all the stops in your first 1 to 2 sets - you really weren’t taking it to the limit. So, I and they ask: “what is the point of all this high volume shit?!”

When I lowered my work sets to 1 to 2 per exercise, my physique took off.

Dorian made his biggest transformation from '92 to '93. This is the year that he lowered his work sets to 1 and decided to really push the food, to bulk up. If you see old photos of when he won the NOC, he was considerably lighter, though did look like a Greek god.

19

[quote]Protoculture wrote:
Unless you personally train tons of people, I would approach the blog as “your personal journey in bodybuilding”.

As for topics I would

  • Frequently repeating the basics.
  • Frequently repeating the basics.
  • Frequently repeating the basics.
  • Helping beginners cut through trends in the fitness industry (which are more market based than anything else)
  • Discussing issues that confused you at some point (ex: I just recently learned that there probably isn’t that much of a difference between “high volume” and “high intensity” programs. Just the former counts their warm up sets and the later do not.)

etc…

If you do train people, get their consent and post progress pictures, before and afters, focus on basic problems they’ve encountered and how they’ve surpassed them.

[/quote]

I don’t personally train. I am interested in promoting my services as an RD. But perhaps that would be better through a nutrition/dietetics blog.

Thanks.

20

[quote]Bricknyce wrote:
Protoculture wrote:
derek wrote:

Very interesting point about the volume/intensity subject. Seems right on.

Like I said, I just learned of this recently from a T-Cell thread.

I always considered myself a low-volume guy, because I’m only able to perform a few balls-to-the-wall sets for the same body part in one session without burning out quickly thereafter.

One of two things always happened when I tried to follow traditional high volume training:

i) After the first set (which I had already warmed up to thinking it was supposed to be with my max weight) I would be so wrecked that the reps in the following sets would drop dramatically. Needless to say I was wasted from all the sets to failure I performed.

ii) I’d lower the weight to some ridiculous amount just to finish the prescribed sets/reps. Of course I wouldn’t get much results because I was using pussy weights by my standards.

Two undesirable results because I didn’t realize that all the other guys promoting this system were actually ramping up in weights (ie: warming up).

So if their 10RM for the back squat was 495lbs it would look like this:

495 x 40% = 200# x 10 reps for set 1
495 x 60% = 300# x 10 reps for set 2
495 x 80% = 400# x 10 reps for set 3
495 x 100% = 495# x 10 reps for set 4

Voila! 4 sets completed while being able to maintain intensity (defined as %1RM)!!!

So simple… man I’m stupid …

PS: Sorry for the thread hijack

The thing is that the high volume crowd states that you should stop two reps short of failure, or in Charles Staley’s advice, stop the set when your speed slows down, which can be quite a few reps before failure.

I find such training quite unenjoyable and absolute drudgery! Always holding back and loafing around a gym in what seems to be an endless workout is no fun to me.

I do not go to all-out death set failure on the big basic exercises like bench press, squats, rows, and chinups. I stop when I feel the next rep will be done in bad form. I do take the easier, isolation exercises to failure as its safe and not going to burn me out.

I do agree with Dorian, Dante, Alwyn Cosgrove, Jason Ferrugia, and Ian King in that if you are able to complete a prescribed amount of sets greater than 2 with the same weight, then its almost definite that you were not pulling out all the stops in your first 1 to 2 sets - you really weren’t taking it to the limit. So, I and they ask: “what is the point of all this high volume shit?!”

When I lowered my work sets to 1 to 2 per exercise, my physique took off.

Dorian made his biggest transformation from '92 to '93. This is the year that he lowered his work sets to 1 and decided to really push the food, to bulk up. If you see old photos of when he won the NOC, he was considerably lighter, though did look like a Greek god. [/quote]

Would you consider, say… Levrone a high volume guy, by any chance?