GordyR's Beginners Guide to Bodybuilding

Well my first day in the gym this year. This time I'm really giving it my best shot, I just seen some of my pictures from school and seen how badly I let myself go, this time I actually hate my body so there's an extra motivation :p. I've managed to shed 7 pounds in 14 days as well (so christmas excess gone at least). Didn't help that 2 friends already dropped out of it without even starting (new year resolution talk :rolleyes:).
 
Styles said:
Fool them. You'll be the one reaping the benefits.
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Exactly, i get a lot of people say "are you on steroids cos my cousin goes to the gym and he's half your size"

In my head im saying "Yeah but does he eat pure protein meals? Does he train every other day no matter what, never missing even one train in 12 months? Does he take supplements religeously? Does he train to quality programs known to put on mass?"

The truth is the answer is no, i know tons of people who go to the gym and aren't my size, for some its genetics, for some its diet, for almost all its pure dedication.

But in the end i just say "yep steroids"

It's just easier than spending 30 minutes talking about something the other person doesnt care about in the least and probably wouldnt believe.

The moral? Stick at it and do it for yourself, every time a training buddy lets you down use it as a reason to feel better than them and better about yourself. Because you know what? And as arrogant as this may be, if you train hard and you train well and you reap the benefits, you ARE better than them and you deserve it. The only people who would dispute that are fatter, smaller, weaker and less comitted than you, and lets be honest, who cares what they think :D
 
Crikey, it's certainly been a while. I'm tired as hell but for some damn reason I'm feeling good :)

Still it's been over 3 years since I used to go regularly and even then I was in college messing around with the machines mostly. Back then I mostly neglected any core and leg exercises (I did do rugby though and still have the thighs to prove it :p) so this time round I'd like to do a lot more squats and deadlifts (do not like them but hey it's not all fun). I've got half a plan on what exercises to do but don't suppose anyone else nice enough to suggest a nice plan for a beginner?

Diet wise I know what's suppose to go in my mouth (I'm the type that easily puts on weight) and I've been sticking well to it. Chocolate, crisps, junk food in general and soft drinks have been replaced by dried fruit, green tea, real juice and so on. I eat well above 5 a day now and manage to get 3 main meals with 2-3 snacks (usually fruit). I'm not a fan of eggs but starting eating those for breakfast and more importantly I've started eating breakfast in a first place. Vitamin wise I currently have Vit B complex, Zinc and Cod liver oil and for supplements I have whey protein, maltodextrin, creatine and taurine.

The biggest offender though is currently the hours I sleep, I usually get around 6-7 hours during weekdays and only get my full 8-9 over the weekends. Drink wise I've no problem, I'm now a very moderate drinker and don't smoke.

Overall feel like I'm in a good position, I'm only 20 so probably a good age to start weight lifting. Only problem is that my local gym is quite a busy place and a lot of lads come down in big groups making it rather difficult to get machines as I come on my own. Although there's a gym about 5 minutes away from my work (the non flashy type, a lot of doormen come down there) so I may try and see what that place is like.
 
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Ultra_Extreme said:
Exactly, i get a lot of people say "are you on steroids cos my cousin goes to the gym and he's half your size"

In my head im saying "Yeah but does he eat pure protein meals? Does he train every other day no matter what, never missing even one train in 12 months? Does he take supplements religeously? Does he train to quality programs known to put on mass?"

The truth is the answer is no, i know tons of people who go to the gym and aren't my size, for some its genetics, for some its diet, for almost all its pure dedication.

But in the end i just say "yep steroids"

It's just easier than spending 30 minutes talking about something the other person doesnt care about in the least and probably wouldnt believe.

The moral? Stick at it and do it for yourself, every time a training buddy lets you down use it as a reason to feel better than them and better about yourself. Because you know what? And as arrogant as this may be, if you train hard and you train well and you reap the benefits, you ARE better than them and you deserve it. The only people who would dispute that are fatter, smaller, weaker and less comitted than you, and lets be honest, who cares what they think :D
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Man I gotta agree with you there, I don't have as much mass as you, I am a big guy though, I know quite a few peeps and peeps who go to the gym, for example I've always been strong, naturally strong and I'd be lifting with a few peeps, then I didn't see someone for a few weeks and because I shedded a lot more fat and gained definition they kept questioning me if I was on steroids, I wasn't but I get what your getting at. I've noticed that a lot, people who go to the gym and work out a lot yet they don't exactly get bigger, it all boils down to diet at the end of the day.
 
I tried to do BOR's with a barbell today, but was feeling it way too much in my hams - regardless of the weight I was using. My back is flat and parrallel to the floor and I have a slight bend in my knee which I keep. I can't think what I'm doing wrong , I've been reading the guide on stronglifts.com and by looking at a mirror when doing the action with no weights I appear to be doing everything fine.

Also, on the same site, the guy says that each rep should be a dead lift of the weight - i.e. off the ground. Can the same be done with using just dumbells? I'm assuming yes, but want to check.

I am doing my 5RM's now so the weights will be heavy (for me anyway:p).
 
@if ®afiq said:
I tried to do BOR's with a barbell today, but was feeling it way too much in my hams - regardless of the weight I was using. My back is flat and parrallel to the floor and I have a slight bend in my knee which I keep. I can't think what I'm doing wrong ,
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Don't keep your legs/back rigid for a start, think this is worth a look. I do lying rows with a cambered bar (can probably be done with a ob too) you might find them better.
 
with regaurd to the bent row problem, try working on your SLDL's, you should be able to SLDL up to 4x what you can bent row. Thus after a few months training SLDL (maybe only weeks) holding a much lighter bar in that position will seem a breeze.
 
Thanks guys - I might leave barbell rows until my next course and just practice them for now.

Doing them in a lying postion seems worth a try, but we don't have a cambered bar so I'll try with an ob on Friday and see how it feels.

My 10RM SLDL's are 85KG, and for dumbell BOR's it's 28KG - so it seems about right.
 
Ultra_Extreme said:
with regaurd to the bent row problem, try working on your SLDL's, you should be able to SLDL up to 4x what you can bent row. Thus after a few months training SLDL (maybe only weeks) holding a much lighter bar in that position will seem a breeze.
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really?
i BOR around 80kg at the mo, no hope in hell of me SLDL repping 320kg :]
 
I've just read madcow's post on eliteforums which was very informative. I think I will practice it for a couple of weeks before implementing it into my routine....I've already got two new excerises lined up for my next course (front squats and HC2P) so this can wait for a while.
 
Morba said:
really?
i BOR around 80kg at the mo, no hope in hell of me SLDL repping 320kg :]
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its relative, for someone struggling to hold the bar in position it could be 4x but you know as well as anyone that the higher the weight the lower the ratios. For me its about 2:1 ill sldl 150k or so but im at the limit rowing 70+

wonder if anyone reps 320k SLDL's
 
@if ®afiq said:
Thanks guys - I might leave barbell rows until my next course and just practice them for now.

Doing them in a lying postion seems worth a try, but we don't have a cambered bar so I'll try with an ob on Friday and see how it feels.

My 10RM SLDL's are 85KG, and for dumbell BOR's it's 28KG - so it seems about right.
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if you can do 10 reps with 85k then what are you whinging about holding less than 30 for? You realise rows are compound and that its not just your back that gets worked rowing? I mean do you complain about forearm strain on bicep curls? or about you lower back hurting on heavy squats?

Im not having a go but you led me to belive you were having trouble maintaining position through weak hams, however the truth is you can hold the weight fine but dont want to or something, i mean OF COURSE its gonna hurt your hams they are engaged continuously, do i need to break it to you that weight lifting is a painful and difficult sport? I come away from heavy deads with no skin on my shins and blood in my shoes ffs. Just pointing this out
 
@if ®afiq said:
I tried to do BOR's with a barbell today, but was feeling it way too much in my hams - regardless of the weight I was using. My back is flat and parrallel to the floor and I have a slight bend in my knee which I keep. I can't think what I'm doing wrong , I've been reading the guide on stronglifts.com and by looking at a mirror when doing the action with no weights I appear to be doing everything fine.
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With BOR's I do them similar to Jay in the link $loth gave. Knee's bent and back about 30 degrees to floor, not parallel and keep the weight close to centre otherwise you'll be limited in what you can lift by simple physics for the rest of your life. You have to counterbalance the weight, I only weigh approx 100kg yet BOR upto 140kg... simply not possible doing it the way you are as the weight would pull me over.

Pull the weight upto your abs, I hit a slightly different spot every rep. The trick is to engage the lats and think of your arms as hooks and pull up hard as you can. Try and squeeze the lats at top and lower under full control. I find not letting your arms lockout at the bottom helps keep the lats working harder. If I let them lockout, I lose it and the set suffers.

This is the one exercise I use straps for the last 1-2 sets when going heavy. Otherwise it just turns into a forearm exercise as you battle for dear life to hold onto the bar! :D

Keep that lower back locked, whatever you do don't let it bend.
 
I have. They apparently work well because at the bottom of the lift, where you're the weakest, the resistance from the bands is low. As you get higher in the lift and therefore stronger, the resistance is much higher. Good stuff!
 
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