GordyR's Beginners Guide to Bodybuilding

I have a tendency to go on so bear with me. Basically I was never really a fit type of person, had weight problems when was younger but when year 9 came I managed to land myself in my school Basketball, Rugby and Football team (wasn't really a good school in terms of sports so wasn't that hard to get in the team). So basically since that till year 11 I was quite fit considering how much cardio I did in all trainings. When I went to college I joined a local rugby team and was going to gym. However, during my time in the gym I didn't really do any serious work, neither did I have any program, I would just mess around and do reps on whatever machine was free. Still that kept me relatively fit and gave me a little extra strength.

However, Christmas came and so my routine went out the window. We all manage to get ourselves up after that but the thing is that I never did (same goes for rugby, not sure if people will even recognise me if I come back). It's been over a year now and only recently did I bring myself to go to the gym again. Problem is during that resting period I gained around 1.5 stone and I'm now at 16.5st/105kg. Now I'm not actually that small (6 foot 2) so it's still doesn't look that bad on me, just a bit of a belly and lost the definition I had. The worst part is my fitness. I died after 5 minutes on a trendmill at a steady 6pmh.

So basically I'm now sort of back in the gym but of course got bad motivation issues as I'm starting over again combined with embarassment as I can't lift nearly as much as other guys can (and I look like I can lift a fair bit with all that extra weight on me). Also my diet would probably scare Miss McManus the Whale herself (got a bit of sweet tooth you see).

Now what I'm doing at the moment is my usual stuff which is a bit of everything. Usually start off with 3 sets of 10 reps of Bench Press on Smith machine, but the rest is just random stuff I feel like doing varying from cable machine to bicycles. Now I know that I need high carb food before the workout for enery and then protein after the work out for muscle repair (done A level Biology so know a bit of how the body works). However the biggest problem I have is my breakfast, always eat crap like last nights takeaways or something cooked in a microwave. From what I read here most people prefer eat oats, omeletes/eggs for breakfast but I'm not very fond of eggs nor oats really, anyone got any other suggestions? Also from what I understand having the same routine for every work out isn't a good idea and people seem to spread things out (like arms on monday, chest/back/abs on wednesday and so on). Now I don't drink that much (no I'm not a mormon I just don't tend to drink as I used to due to my behaviour when under influence) so at least that's not a problem and I don't smoke either. Also at the moment my muscles feel very stiff and hurt badly after work outs which is expected since they are repairing themselves and that malarkey, however it's quite bad and I can't go to gym for at least 3 days if I want to do anything productive, is there anything I can do to minimise this time? I also seems to have "clicky" joints in my shoulders when lifting weights is that something to be worried about or should I just take a few cod liver tablets?

Thanks in advance.
 
neoboy said:
So basically I'm now sort of back in the gym but of course got bad motivation issues as I'm starting over again combined with embarassment as I can't lift nearly as much as other guys can (and I look like I can lift a fair bit with all that extra weight on me).
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Do not concern yourself with what the other guys are lifting, no matter what gym you go to there will always be guys who can lift more than you. :) I would suggest doing more free weights, and doing the bench press on a proper bench. Sort yourself out a proper routine, whether it's splitting specific body parts for certain days or 2 full body workouts a week mixed in with some cardio. Do not become a candidate for over training, as I have quite recently. I've now sorted my routine out and have made some really good gains. :)

Fitness levels will drop naturally if you do not keep up with any form of exercise. You'll regain that fitness once you are in a proper routine and stick to it. :)
Have a read through the diet section in this sticky because from the sounds of your post you are not eating heathily.(Pg1)

I occasionally have clicky joints and knees, but they usually go away after a while. Possibly try stretching and warming up before exercise, it may help. It's quite natural for joints to click, but if it causing pain there's something obviously wrong and you should seek medical advice.
 
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Oakesy2001uk said:
I wouldent mind doing some cardio for the fitness side of things. will this mess up my bulking?
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It won't mess it up, but it might slow it down.

Doing cardio will burn the calories and energy you are trying to store. Guess it depends how good your bulking programme is and how harsh the cardio is.
 
Since sorting out a new workout regime two weeks, after my month or so of overtraining I have made some gains YAY

I've added 1/2 inch to my arms, my calves, chest, 1 inch to my legs and 4lbs to my weight. :) My pecs have also levelled out, thank God, I was getting worried.

Very happy indeed. However, I seem to be suffering from tennis elbow, my left arm which I think is naturally my stronger arm even though I'm right handed, the elbow is quite sore and is bigger than my right elbow. I've just finished my chest, shoulders, triceps and traps routine 15 minutes ago. I had accidentally banged my left elbow on the end of my barbell yesterday which was really painful at the time and quite sore all of last night. I'm sure it couldn't have helped either.

But I definitely feel that it was coming on anyway but dismissed it in the past. Anyone suffer from the same, I'm not seeking medical advice because if it gets worse I'm going to the doctors.
 
How many 'points' are there in a stone.
Im trying to work how how much ive lost.
Ive dropped from .6 to .13 according to the scales.

Thanks. :)
 
BoomAM said:
How many 'points' are there in a stone.
Im trying to work how how much ive lost.
Ive dropped from .6 to .13 according to the scales.

Thanks. :)
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No idea how many "points" but there are 14 pounds in a stone.
 
Guys asked before and I don't rteally want to make a seperate post but what meals do you make in advance to take to work with you? Just looking for any kind of insperation to be honest...

Injured my foot playing footie so haven't been to gym in the past week :( ....
 
pabloB said:
Guys asked before and I don't rteally want to make a seperate post but what meals do you make in advance to take to work with you? Just looking for any kind of insperation to be honest...

Injured my foot playing footie so haven't been to gym in the past week :( ....
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Hi mate, planning all of your meals is a near impossible task.

What I tend to do, is get up nice and early, and have a protein shake, a banana and a bowl of oats to kick start the day.

I take something like pumpkin seeds or some other healthy nut/seed to snack on mid morning to keep my metabolism high. Midday I try to have a few big sandwichs (brown bread) with either beef or chicken. Failing that, tuna.

Perhaps another banana for mid afternoon to keep energy levels high, especially if I'm going to be doing lifting later on.

A shake when I get home followed by a big meal, usually meat/fish and veg. Steak is a great meal to have a few hours after a work-out. But this isn't always possible. I try to make sure I have at least 4 good protein rich dinners per week, and on the days where I'm given less healthy dinners, replenish with an extra shake.

Then another bowl of oats and perhaps a shake if I'm still peckish a few hours before bed.

Try to stick to an eating schedule most days of the week, and in terms of diet you won't go far wrong.

I've also started cutting down on coffee whilst at work, as it deydrates and only causes tiredness later on.

Thats about it really, your food intake is obviously going to depend on your tastes but try to centre it around protein, fatty acids and carbohydrates, and of course fruit is always a bonus.

Oh and don't forget to drink plenty of water to aid digestion and hydration.
 
Tony Soprano said:
there are 14 pounds in a stone, so from your post, so you've lost just under 5 pounds :) (4.7 to be precise)
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Is that good?
I only started this diet thing on the 15th, and ive been averaging 2 trips to the Gym a week.
 
iCraig said:
Hi mate, planning all of your meals is a near impossible task.

What I tend to do, is get up nice and early, and have a protein shake, a banana and a bowl of oats to kick start the day.

I take something like pumpkin seeds or some other healthy nut/seed to snack on mid morning to keep my metabolism high. Midday I try to have a few big sandwichs (brown bread) with either beef or chicken. Failing that, tuna.

Perhaps another banana for mid afternoon to keep energy levels high, especially if I'm going to be doing lifting later on.

A shake when I get home followed by a big meal, usually meat/fish and veg. Steak is a great meal to have a few hours after a work-out. But this isn't always possible. I try to make sure I have at least 4 good protein rich dinners per week, and on the days where I'm given less healthy dinners, replenish with an extra shake.

Then another bowl of oats and perhaps a shake if I'm still peckish a few hours before bed.

Try to stick to an eating schedule most days of the week, and in terms of diet you won't go far wrong.

I've also started cutting down on coffee whilst at work, as it deydrates and only causes tiredness later on.

Thats about it really, your food intake is obviously going to depend on your tastes but try to centre it around protein, fatty acids and carbohydrates, and of course fruit is always a bonus.

Oh and don't forget to drink plenty of water to aid digestion and hydration.
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Superb mate cheers for that
 
neoboy said:
Anyone heard of Weider supplements and is it any good?
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No, but if you're after supplement reccomendations, Reflex Instant Whey is the best IMO for flavoured whey. Mixes great.
 
In the same boat as you neoboy, im 6ft3 though. My target is 14 or 15 stone and I always did cardio, and just bicep/chest for weights. After seeing gordys post, talking to family, friends, etc I made my own plan and change it every 6 weeks (you need to surprise your muscles for some good growth) I do back/bicep, chest/tricep and shoulder/legs on different days of course. I do cardio before each weight training session.

If I was you I would try out different techniques for each body part and see which you like. I laughed when you said you felt embarassed about lifting heavier weights, you going to the gym for you or to say "RAAAAH" and lift a few reps so everyone looks? The word t*** comes to mind when guys do this, like I lift 30kg on the bench x 20, have a 45 second break and do it again and again till 5-10 sets. In that time mr RAAAH lifted 65kg x 8 reps....just an example that lifting heavy weights doesnt mean much.

Im 18 years old and I started weights in October lifting like 10kg on the bench, 8kg on the bicep, etc. Smaller guys lifted more than me but you have to start somewhere ^^

Oh and try lower weight/high reps (make sure the weight actually feels like some force or another) with a 45-1 minute break. This is good for us because we want to lose weight, this encourages calorie burning more so you will see some definition much sooner than doing 10 reps and waiting 5 minutes.

Good luck!!
 
I think you've got it wrong tbh.

Cardio before weights - not something i'd advocate personally unless it was a few hours after.

20 reps for 5 to 10 sets - not the rep scheme i'd be using, volume is far too much IMO.

Weight doesn't matter in respect it doesn't matter what you lift in comparison to other people, all that matters is what you lift. Provided the number goes up it's all good.
 
Right well I gained another 6 pounds during the last week. I think I'll just try and take it one step at a time. My dad with who I go to the gym all the time will be off for around a month so during that month I think I'll just start doing some good old fashioned running in the park. That should help me get my fitness up and hopefully lose some weight. After that I can start doing some weight lifting again with a combination of little cardio.
 
like I lift 30kg on the bench x 20, have a 45 second break and do it again and again till 5-10 sets. In that time mr RAAAH lifted 65kg x 8 reps....just an example that lifting heavy weights doesnt mean much.
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Nothing wrong with doing those type of reps, but it depends on what your goal is.

If you already have decent sized muscles but want to keep them primed and nice and strong, you do high reps.

If you want to get big, you do low reps with as much weight as you can manage. This is what causes the "damage" and triggers hypertrophy.

If you're trying to bulk up, forget about how many reps you can do, ramp the weight up so you can only manage 6 reps of 3 sets or something. You will grow a lot quicker.
 
richie.guy said:
I think you've got it wrong tbh.

Cardio before weights - not something i'd advocate personally unless it was a few hours after.

20 reps for 5 to 10 sets - not the rep scheme i'd be using, volume is far too much IMO.
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Each to their own :P been doing it a while now and its all good ;)

The volume is fine; I will change it in a few weeks anyway, I am burning more calories this way :)
 
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