This article is written primarily for the beginner bodybuilder.
This could be someone who has been training for a very short period of time with some initial knowledge of weight training, but who is unsure of what they're doing, or someone who has never picked up a weight.
A lot of beginners start out by looking for a "Magic Bullet" (usually in the way of supplements) that will pack on kilograms of muscle in days.
Usually these people have been training only 3-4 weeks, training everyday, with no real solid knowledge of required protein intake, recovery or kilojoule intake.
To top it off, the training routine they use is hardly ever logical for their experience level! Generally these "trainees" have no guidance, are over-training and generally burn out quickly, they subsequently give up.
There's no reason for this! With this article, my aim is to give people a logical guide to starting out and to give them direction to long term success.
By getting them off the ground in an appropriate way, maybe they'll stay in the game for awhile.
Walking into a gym without knowing what you are doing can be very intimidating, especially if there is no one to guide you.
A large number of new lifters find themselves in that situation or are training at home on a cheap lightweight bench with a bar and a few plates.
Mistakes are therefore common.
Mistakes could include the types of exercises you're doing, how long you work out session, the number of days per week, exercise form and bad eating habits - too little food, or not the right type.
The first thing should not be to pick up a weight, but instead to set some goals.
Why? Goals give you direction and also hold you accountable for achieving them, especially if you tell others about them.
What sort of results do you want? Why are you working out to start with? Most guys want to build some size and reduce body fat, to look leaner.
Some people want to lose fat and tighten up, retaining and adding some but not a lot of muscle.
Regardless of your aims, you need to wright it down, as opposed to keeping it in your head - otherwise your likely to change it later on when results are slow.
Aim to make you goals: S pecific - know exactly what you want M esurable - take records and measure your progress A ttractive - you must really want what your aiming for R ealistic - make sure it's achievable T ime frame - you don't want to gain 10kg of muscle, you want to gain 10kg of muscle by X date With the huge amount of information available today, there is no real reason not to have a sensible yet basic concept of what your aims are.
I plan to cover some of the basic concepts now, however there is a lot more to know as well, which will require further guidance.
Basic Concepts Many new bodybuilders, regardless of age, start after seeing a photo of a current/past bodybuilder or actor .
Examples are Arnold Schwarzenegger or Brad Pitt in the movie Fight Club.
Naturally, you want to have a body like the person in the picture, and as quickly as possible too.
Always be the best you that you can be.
Pro bodybuilders have good genetics and drugs on their side.
That is no excuse however for not building good size and possibly even competing, using natural methods.
Just be realistic about your goals.
So, what can one expect in terms of gains (muscle) and losses (body-fat)? Every person is different to the next, we have different lifestyles, and age plays a big role, exact numbers are therefore impossible to quote.
Without being specific, most new lifters see impressive size and strength gains in the first six months of training.
In terms of numbers, depending greatly on the factors listed above, 5-7 kg.
of muscle is possible (11-15lbs.
).
Seven kilograms would be high end, thus requiring some strict effort.
The above estimate is based on the assumption your plans are natural bodybuilding, drugs are a personal choice, but certainly not recommended.
Anabolic steroids can weaken the immune system - the body's defense against germs and diseases.
They can also lead to liver damage or cancer, regardless of your age.
Brain function and bone growth can also be affected.
I'm a natural bodybuilder, I'm not going to pretend to be an expert on steroids affects on muscle gain, it does however make sense from a knowledge standpoint to be aware of what they are and what they do.
Your First Routine In the table below you will find a classic 3-days a week, full-body routine, training Monday-Wednesday-Friday.
It is useful mainly for getting a feel for the exercises and working on your form.
Beyond this it is of little use, the reason being is this type of routine allows for next to no recovery.
Given you're just starting out, you need to understand how critical proper recovery is.
Growth will not occur if sufficient recovery is not allowed for, regardless of your level of experience.
Recovery cannot happen from visiting the gym 6 days a week for hours on end.
The workout below is useful as discussed, and should be used for the first month.
This is to allow you to develop good form, rep performance and getting a feel for what exercise works what muscles.
After your first month, you should use a split routine, this will allow you to train much harder and to apply more exercises.
A split type of routine enhances recovery significantly.
EXERCISE Crunches - 20-30 Reps, 2 Sets Squats - 12-15 Reps, 3 Sets Leg Curls - 12-15 Reps, 3 Sets Flat Bench Presses - 10-12 Reps, 3 Sets Chin-ups - 10-12 Reps, 3 Sets Presses Behind The Neck - 12-15 Reps, 3 Sets Tricep Push-downs - 10-12 Reps, 3 Sets Barbell Curls - 10-12 Reps, 3 Sets Standing Calf Raises - 15-20 Reps, 3 Sets Your first month is mainly about learning how to perform the exercises correctly, you should be using a weight that easily allows you to execute the recommended number of reps.
Trial and error with weights really is the easiest and fastest way to get started.
Make your first session of trying different weight to allow comfortable working weight.
There are more complicated ways to work out starting weights but this method works well enough.
Proper performance, diet, rest and many other factors is critical.
Doing an exercise with poor form can easily lead to injuries, not eating enough or the right food does not allow for growth, these factors and many more can limit your progress.
The point is to make the muscles work hard in a methodical fashion, and to consume the right food at the right time.
This could be someone who has been training for a very short period of time with some initial knowledge of weight training, but who is unsure of what they're doing, or someone who has never picked up a weight.
A lot of beginners start out by looking for a "Magic Bullet" (usually in the way of supplements) that will pack on kilograms of muscle in days.
Usually these people have been training only 3-4 weeks, training everyday, with no real solid knowledge of required protein intake, recovery or kilojoule intake.
To top it off, the training routine they use is hardly ever logical for their experience level! Generally these "trainees" have no guidance, are over-training and generally burn out quickly, they subsequently give up.
There's no reason for this! With this article, my aim is to give people a logical guide to starting out and to give them direction to long term success.
By getting them off the ground in an appropriate way, maybe they'll stay in the game for awhile.
Walking into a gym without knowing what you are doing can be very intimidating, especially if there is no one to guide you.
A large number of new lifters find themselves in that situation or are training at home on a cheap lightweight bench with a bar and a few plates.
Mistakes are therefore common.
Mistakes could include the types of exercises you're doing, how long you work out session, the number of days per week, exercise form and bad eating habits - too little food, or not the right type.
The first thing should not be to pick up a weight, but instead to set some goals.
Why? Goals give you direction and also hold you accountable for achieving them, especially if you tell others about them.
What sort of results do you want? Why are you working out to start with? Most guys want to build some size and reduce body fat, to look leaner.
Some people want to lose fat and tighten up, retaining and adding some but not a lot of muscle.
Regardless of your aims, you need to wright it down, as opposed to keeping it in your head - otherwise your likely to change it later on when results are slow.
Aim to make you goals: S pecific - know exactly what you want M esurable - take records and measure your progress A ttractive - you must really want what your aiming for R ealistic - make sure it's achievable T ime frame - you don't want to gain 10kg of muscle, you want to gain 10kg of muscle by X date With the huge amount of information available today, there is no real reason not to have a sensible yet basic concept of what your aims are.
I plan to cover some of the basic concepts now, however there is a lot more to know as well, which will require further guidance.
Basic Concepts Many new bodybuilders, regardless of age, start after seeing a photo of a current/past bodybuilder or actor .
Examples are Arnold Schwarzenegger or Brad Pitt in the movie Fight Club.
Naturally, you want to have a body like the person in the picture, and as quickly as possible too.
Always be the best you that you can be.
Pro bodybuilders have good genetics and drugs on their side.
That is no excuse however for not building good size and possibly even competing, using natural methods.
Just be realistic about your goals.
So, what can one expect in terms of gains (muscle) and losses (body-fat)? Every person is different to the next, we have different lifestyles, and age plays a big role, exact numbers are therefore impossible to quote.
Without being specific, most new lifters see impressive size and strength gains in the first six months of training.
In terms of numbers, depending greatly on the factors listed above, 5-7 kg.
of muscle is possible (11-15lbs.
).
Seven kilograms would be high end, thus requiring some strict effort.
The above estimate is based on the assumption your plans are natural bodybuilding, drugs are a personal choice, but certainly not recommended.
Anabolic steroids can weaken the immune system - the body's defense against germs and diseases.
They can also lead to liver damage or cancer, regardless of your age.
Brain function and bone growth can also be affected.
I'm a natural bodybuilder, I'm not going to pretend to be an expert on steroids affects on muscle gain, it does however make sense from a knowledge standpoint to be aware of what they are and what they do.
Your First Routine In the table below you will find a classic 3-days a week, full-body routine, training Monday-Wednesday-Friday.
It is useful mainly for getting a feel for the exercises and working on your form.
Beyond this it is of little use, the reason being is this type of routine allows for next to no recovery.
Given you're just starting out, you need to understand how critical proper recovery is.
Growth will not occur if sufficient recovery is not allowed for, regardless of your level of experience.
Recovery cannot happen from visiting the gym 6 days a week for hours on end.
The workout below is useful as discussed, and should be used for the first month.
This is to allow you to develop good form, rep performance and getting a feel for what exercise works what muscles.
After your first month, you should use a split routine, this will allow you to train much harder and to apply more exercises.
A split type of routine enhances recovery significantly.
EXERCISE Crunches - 20-30 Reps, 2 Sets Squats - 12-15 Reps, 3 Sets Leg Curls - 12-15 Reps, 3 Sets Flat Bench Presses - 10-12 Reps, 3 Sets Chin-ups - 10-12 Reps, 3 Sets Presses Behind The Neck - 12-15 Reps, 3 Sets Tricep Push-downs - 10-12 Reps, 3 Sets Barbell Curls - 10-12 Reps, 3 Sets Standing Calf Raises - 15-20 Reps, 3 Sets Your first month is mainly about learning how to perform the exercises correctly, you should be using a weight that easily allows you to execute the recommended number of reps.
Trial and error with weights really is the easiest and fastest way to get started.
Make your first session of trying different weight to allow comfortable working weight.
There are more complicated ways to work out starting weights but this method works well enough.
Proper performance, diet, rest and many other factors is critical.
Doing an exercise with poor form can easily lead to injuries, not eating enough or the right food does not allow for growth, these factors and many more can limit your progress.
The point is to make the muscles work hard in a methodical fashion, and to consume the right food at the right time.