GordyR's Beginners Guide to Bodybuilding

This is a great thread but i have one question:

Im not sure if i ave missed it somewhere, but how long should i have in between each set or exercise?

eg: 3x8 on one ex then 2x8 of another.. low long between each set of 8 reps and then how long before moving onto the next exercise ..or is it imeadiate?

Thanks
 
A week after posted my earlier message I realised something was seriously wrong.

My motivation was dropping - What was once something I enjoyed, became something I began to hate... getting myself out of bed at 5:30am (work starts @ 7:30 - I have to start early) to do the cardio I'd been doing. On top of that I couldn't get much quality sleep, sex drive plummeted, a knee injury had occured that prevented me from running fast (a week earlier my bike broke, so I had to take up running) and I was getting weaker at the gym :confused: . Desire had left me in all forms - I felt depressed.

I started going mad at myself for loosing my motivation, but then I came across a thread in the skinnyguy private forums, it was entitled 'Overtraining - Causes and Corrections'. I read the thread and sat back in realisation "So that's what was wrong!".

On the program you are supposed to take a 2 week break every 12 weeks. I'd been training for 17 weeks solid up until that point trying to get my body in top condition for holiday... Big mistake.

I'm currently taking a 3-4 week break to give my body plenty of time to rest and I'll go back onto the program mid September with a 2 week fatloss to start and then 10 weeks weight gain. I'll lose a lot of muscle during this time, but it's all about long term maintenance, not short-term mess up my body and never be able to do it again.

I should have some great photos for summertime next year :)
 
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Techincally you can't lose muscle, but what I meant was lose muscle mass. If you don't stress your muscles they will get smaller.
 
Gadge said:
i was under the impression your body cant loose muscle?
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Thats all down to wording...

You can't lose muscles, but you can lose muscle.

Like AdamSee said you are not actually losing muscles, the ones you have are just getting smaller. Just like you don't actually gain new muscles when you workout, your current ones just grow larger.

So for all intents and purposes you can lose muscle.

If a 200lb male crash diets down to 150lb's. A LOT of the weight he loses will be down to loss of muscle.
 
GordyR!

I felt i had to post my thanks for your guide, it sounds just like what i need, and have started lifting weights yesterday based on the exercises you suggested.

Mon i did:
(Chest/Shoulder/Triceps)

Flat Bench Press – 3x8 4x4.5kg
Incline Dumbbell Bench – 3x8 2x4.5kg
Skull Crushers – 3x8 2x4.5kg
Close Grip Bench Press – 3x8 2x4.5kg
Seated Dumbbell Military Press -3x8 2x4.5kg
Lateral Dumbbell Raises – 3x8 2x2.3kg <--i couldnt handle bigger weights and do it properly, doh!

do you have any advice on the weights im using? ...im just starting. i can realy feel my triceps this morn!

...shock! i had a pic in my head of u as a big heavily built guy from all the talk of weights, but ive just seen your pic in the "show us your girlfriend thread" lol

Thanks again
 
TechnoScream said:
do you have any advice on the weights im using? ...im just starting. i can realy feel my triceps this morn!
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Don't worry about the weight too much, it's form that's important. However, I'm not sure you're pushing yourself adequately by benching two 4.5kg dumbbells.
 
i was benching with a barbel... 18kg,

the dumbells im not sure if they are 4.5kg or 9kg ....they are plastic ones from argos, a set of six, these are the larger blue ones and they say 4.5kg on each end but didnt feel heavy enough to be 9kg...

might have to pick up some larger ones... it was my first day tho :p

*edit* i just looked it up, i think they are only 4.5kg each i might have to see if i can find some larger ones then..
 
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TechnoScream said:
...shock! i had a pic in my head of u as a big heavily built guy from all the talk of weights, but ive just seen your pic in the "show us your girlfriend thread" lol
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Those pictures were taken quite a while ago after a massive "cutting" phase that I took a little too far. I am much bigger now. :) I actually had food poisoning while I was out there in Turkey and didn't eat for a couple of days. It was awful, I just shrunk!

This pic gives you a better idea of my physique back then. It was taken on the same holiday.

36lw2lh.jpg


I am quite tall and "long boned" so pictures of me can often be quite misleading. My arms in the above photo were around 15.5" (They are now over 16")

My goals have always been very different to most peoples. I have always gone for the "lean" look. I only got into weight-lifting in the first place due to modelling. Obviously the "heavily built" look was not going to get me much work. If I wanted to be any bigger I would just bulk, bulk, bulk and bulk. But I have no wish to do so so I just maintain myself at this level.

Right now I am sitting at around 180 lb's with a bodyfat percentage of 6%. In those pics I was around 155-160 lb's with an even lower bodyfat percentage. In fact unhealthily low to be honest. While bulking I have been as high as 200 lb's. Unfortunately I don't have any decent, recent pics.

Since beginning weight lifting I have gained around 40-50 lb's of lean muscle. I was very skinny before. :p

Whether your goals are like mine; a lean athletic body. Or are for something much bigger, the process and techniques are still the same. I just "cut" a lot more often. :)
 
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at what rate where your arms growing? it took me approx 8 weeks to gain 0.5inch on my arms, now 15".
 
Just a little update on how my training has been going. I've got a new program after a couple of months of my basic one, although I know what a lot of you think the instructors there are really good, anyway I got a new program a few days ago:

Day 1

Warm up:
Cycling, interval training 10 mins.
Top xt, 5 mins.

Chest:
Smith Machine; Chest Press, 28kg 8x4.
Incline Dumbell Press, 10kg, 8x4
Flyes (flat bench), 5kg, 12x3. Follow each set with 12 press ups.

Shoulders:
Dumbell Shoulder Press, 7.5kg, 8x4.
Lat Raises, 3.5kg, 12x3.
Front Raises, 3.5kg, 12x3.
Shoulder Press (machine) (not sure on weight) 8x4.

Triceps:
Tricep pushdowns (machine) (not sure on weight) 12x3.
Tricep Bench Dips, 10x3.
Tricep Kickbacks, 3.5kg, 12x2.

Rower 2000m mid-high resistance.

Crunches, 20x4.
Advanced Crunch (legs raised), 15x4.

Stretches.

Day 2

Warm Up:
Treadmill, interval, 10 mins.
Top xt.

Back:
Lat pulldown (machine), 12x4.
Seated row (machine) 8x4.
Single arm row, 10kg, 15x3.
Assisted chins (machine) 10x3.

Legs:
Ball Squats, 8x4.
Static Lunges, 7.5kg(?), 8x3.
Knee Extensor (machine), 12x2.
Leg curl (machine), 12x2.

Biceps:
Barbell Curl, 10kg, 10x4.
Preacher Curl (machine), 12x3.
Dumbell Curl, 7.5kg, 10x3.

Stretches.

So far i've put on about 1.5-2 kg in weight, i've got a pretty good diet going with lots of carbs, proteins (been getting lots of eggs for breakfast). I'll take a pic soon. Also in about a week i'm going to do a 12 weeks with recording my diet, training etc and take a before and after pic.

[edit] Pic:
PICT0004-2.jpg


Sorry for the bad picture, had to put it on timer, no one else around.
 
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I made a post about 4 months back on wanting to start training, but work kind of got in the way due to a very hectic summer.
I now have a decent period of time in front of me to start again. Just to recap I'm around 9st 5lbs, and around 5' 8". I'd like to be closer to 10st+ if possible.
I'm going to invest in some protein shakes to help boost my intake for the day, as I don't have the time to prepare that many small meals a day. My plan was to eat something like this:

Breakfast (8am): Bowl of Prorridge mixed with raisins or honey
10am: Protein shake with semi-skimmed milk

12:30: Lunch: First big meal of the day, something like a cooked chicken breast or salmon fillet with potatoes and vegetables. Muller Rice for pudding..

3pm: Wholemeal sandwich with something like turkey and pickle, or chicken & salad in it. Banana for energy for later.

6:30pm: Gym for an hour.

7:30pm: Protein shake with semi-skimmed milk

8:30pm: Dinner: Second big meal. Steak and mash, or chicken stir fry with rice.

10:30pm: Snack of some kind before bed.

Should this sort of diet be ok for me? Is it ok to have 2 protein shakes a day? I'm hoping they can provide around 60g of protein a day as I struggle to eat that much in one day!

Thanks
 
To me it looks pretty good, you might want some advice from someone else on the protein shakes intake though, although a good shake is Reflex. The diet is good as it will be keeping your metabolism up (eat every 3 or 4 hours), but I would cut out the snack before bed.
 
I am a habitual snacker unfortunately, but if I have the big meal at aroudn 8:30-9 then the snack probably won't be necessary!

Also is it necessary to maintain high protein intake even on days that you don't go to the gym? Surely if you intake all that protein, then don't exercise then the body wastes it? Or is it stored for days? Ta :)
 
Your muscles build when you are not working out, so protein is neccesary on days that you don't work out, as you are body building (or as I assume as you are posting in this thread) I would workout every other day instead of every day. Usually people workout 3/4 times a week for 12 weeks, then have 2 weeks rest.
 
best advice ive had it try to double your protien intake, i should take around 180gms a day but i'm more near 300grms aday. Just eat loads of meat!!
 
How you intake that much protein?? Even with 2 protein shakes a day, 300g is something like 3 sirloin steaks, 3 chicken breasts and 3 tuna steaks!
 
Raider said:
How you intake that much protein?? Even with 2 protein shakes a day, 300g is something like 3 sirloin steaks, 3 chicken breasts and 3 tuna steaks!
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I just doubled up on the shakes, i know its bad practice but it seems to be working with me, i have 4 scoops per shake/3 times a day, so theres 150grms already. Then i eat porridge everyday, ommlettes (3 large eggs) and bacon or chicken fillets, tuna butties, and when i get home i'll have either steak or chicken again. Maybe have a few nuts throughout the day also.
 
Ok I just bought a tub of the Banana Whey Protein from H&B (I don't think they're a competitor!!).

Just tried 1 scoop with some milk, and it tasted fine! Just like Nesquik!

Only thing that put me off was the small lumps, kind of like drinking milk that's gone off. Any hints and tips on how to avoid lumps? Ta :)
 
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