Bodybuilding is an endurance sport.

Well, not in a literal sense! But you have to have a ton of endurance, stamina, and dedication to pour into it if you want to be successful. It can be a huge challenge for an average-weight guy to get into it, but that journey becomes much more difficult if you’re starting off unhealthy or overweight.

Take a look at this video from Buff Dudes. They get into the lived experiences of someone who goes from overweight to totally ripped, and they offer step by step instructions. There’s a lot of great insight in here, from creating your meal plan, to how to keep motivated when your patience at the gym is wearing thin.

And yeah, spoiler alert: it’s still a ton of work. But if you use all the resources available to you, you can work smarter, not harder. Best of luck!