GordyR's Beginners Guide to Bodybuilding

Anders0n said:
Yeah I'll do weights in between cardio days.

Quick Qu: Ealier in the thread you said you eat 2600 calories a day, what else do you do during the day to burn off those calories? If you dont mind me asking. ;)
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No probs. We'll I'm 6'3 and my maintainance calorie intake is around 2900 cals (calculated using online sites) so I'm still in a calorie defecit even when I'm consuming 2600cals. That is a rough guess by the way, sometimes it will be more like 2200-2400 cals.

I do cardio 4-5 times per week, weights 4 times per week and one rest day. So lots of excersice. I've now lost more fat and am around 14-15% BF :)
 
Tony Soprano said:
Chest - 42"
Arms - 14.5"
Legs - 24"
Calves - 15"
Waist - 36"
Weight - 184lbs
Body Fat - Around 16-17%

Target -

Weight - 200lbs
Body Fat - 10-12%
Waist - 35"
Legs - 25-26"
Calves - 16"
Chest - 44"
Arms - 16"
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Update:

Current weight - 198lbs
Body fat - 12-14%
Waist - 36.5 :(
Legs - 25.5"
Calves - 16"
Chest - 44"
Arms - 15.25"

I'm now at the heaviest I've ever been, will begin cutting down to around 192lbs starting next week. I'm happy with the gains I've made but I'm going to have to sort out my waist, hopefully the cutting and cardio will take a few inches of it. I'm now benching 105KG 3X8, don't know my max rep though. I think I have plateaued again with my benchpress, so I'll be incorporating different chest exercises to aid it. Current routine looks like this but doesn't follow the days of the week:
_________________________________
Day 1 -

Flat Bench Press 3x8
Close Grip Bench Press 3x8

Barbell Shrug 5x10
Arnold Dumbbell Press 3x8

Deadlift 3x8

Calf Raises 5x10

Fully body barbell squat 3x8
Barbell Lunge 3x8

Sit-Ups 5x10 with 25kgs on my chest
Chin-Ups 5x10 with 15kgs weight on my back
_________________________________

Day 2 - Rest
_________________________________

Day 3 - CARDIO WORK: JOGGING/CYCLING
_________________________________

Day 4 -
Flat Bench Press 3x8
Close Grip Bench Press 3x8

Barbell Shrug 5x10
Arnold Dumbbell Press 3x8

Deadlift 3x8

Calf Raises 5x10

Fully body barbell squat 3x8
Barbell Lunge 3x8

Sit-Ups 5x10 with 25kgs on my chest
Chin-Ups 5x10 with 15kgs weight on my back
_________________________________

Day 5 - Rest
_________________________________

Day 6 - CARDIO WORK: JOGGING/CYCLING
_________________________________

Day 7 -

Flat Bench Press 3x8
Close Grip Bench Press 3x8

Barbell Shrug 5x10
Arnold Dumbbell Press 3x8

Deadlift 3x8

Calf Raises 5x10

Fully body barbell squat 3x8
Barbell Lunge 3x8

Sit-Ups 5x10 with 25kgs on my chest
Chin-Ups 5x10 with 15kgs weight on my back
_________________________________

It seems to be doing the trick for me, I do occasionally mix it up a little and do weighted dips instead of close grip bench press, or incline bench press as well. And sometimes do a few sets of curls or skullcrushers. :)

Edit:

Forgot to say that I've given over half my clothes to charity because they no longer fit me, I only have 1 pair of jeans left now :eek:, I need to do some clothes shopping soon. lol
 
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Tony Soprano said:
Waist - 36.5 :(
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:D Don't worry about it. Before I started 5x5 I had a 36" waist and weighed 15.4st. 11 weeks later my waist was just over 40.5" and I weighed just over 16.25st :eek:

Tony Soprano said:
I'm now at the heaviest I've ever been, will begin cutting down to around 192lbs starting next week. I'm happy with the gains I've made but I'm going to have to sort out my waist, hopefully the cutting and cardio will take a few inches of it.
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I've been cutting for a month and I'm now down to a 37.5" waist and weigh just over 15.75st and I'm still seeing small weight gains on my compounds.

Edit: Forgot to mention. The only cardio I've been doing is 45 minutes football on a Friday night. All I've done is increased my reps and decreased my recovery time.

Tony Soprano said:
Forgot to say that I've given over half my clothes to charity because they no longer fit me, I only have 1 pair of jeans left now :eek:, I need to do some clothes shopping soon. lol
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I know the feeling. Before I started 5x5 I could easily fit in to all my jeans. After finishing I couldn't fit in to any of them. Not only was my waist bigger but my thighs had grown from 25" to 27". I had to throw 3 pairs away. I've now got a 38" pair and a 40" pair of jeans all because my thighs are too big. Both fall down if I don't wear a belt.
 
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Glad to hear that you've been through the same thing. :D

I literally only have a few shirts now that fit me, 1 pair of jeans, a couple of pairs of tracksuit bottoms, I think I can get away with wearing skin tight t-shirts as long as they are under a shirt or something. lol I no longer wear a belt either. But it's showing me that I have made progress in the last few months, I want to concentrate on my arms and getting rid of a few inches around my waist. :)
 
Hi all, im going to have a go with creatine and see how i get on, but im unsure which type to choose from myprotein. its either

> Creatine Ethyl Ester HCL
> Creatine Monohydrate
> Degussa Creatine (Creatine Monohydrate)

Could someone please advise which is the best to choose? I think CEE is regarded as the best but it doesnt mention anything about actual muscle mass gains compared to the monohydrate, just increased strength gains and no after effects :confused:
 
Just finished reading the sticky, a great read. I've been going to the gym recently, normally 2 times a week. Half the time I am there I do cardio and the rest I do weights. I few months ago I put on some weight due to the anti-depressents I am on. My doctor mentioned that going to the gym more should help with everything, including mood.

My question is, what sort of food should I avoid?
 
triggerthat said:
Just finished reading the sticky, a great read. I've been going to the gym recently, normally 2 times a week. Half the time I am there I do cardio and the rest I do weights. I few months ago I put on some weight due to the anti-depressents I am on. My doctor mentioned that going to the gym more should help with everything, including mood.

My question is, what sort of food should I avoid?
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any kind of junk food really. Fizzy drinks, crisps, chocolate, ready meals, mcdonalds, that kinda stuff
 
triggerthat said:
My question is, what sort of food should I avoid?
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To be honest most foods these days should be avoided LOL!

Basically just keep an eye on your calorie intake, eat plenty of vegetables, fruits, wholegrains and lean meats including seafood. Also drink lots of water.
 
Duradrum said:
It looks real dodgy man :eek:
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That's an understatement :p It's porn I tell's ya!

Some of you might remember a pic of me which I posted at the beggining of the year, I was really skinny (/scrawny).
I tried bulking for a few months around jan - march, but kept going to the gym regularly two/three times a week. But around the start of my exams I also started a full time job (as a commis chef) which gave me hardly any time for the gym, or the energy for it. I would be lucky if I got there once a week.
Anyway I've started going back regularly for the past month, not bulking, though I still do a short full body routine (usually twice a week) and a day of CV work.

For anyone who's interested i've upload a pic, here.

I'm trying to focus on lowering my fat % for a "beach body" look ;)
 
$loth said:
That's an understatement :p It's porn I tell's ya!
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It's not mcjizmo :o :D

I'm a fair bit bigger than that pic now, currently 14st with little body fat. My chest measurement is 49" expanded, down to heavy flat/incline benchpress and lots of weighted chins for lat width.

One side effect though is i've gotten some quite large stretch marks at each side of my pecs but luckily they can only be seen when i lift my arms up and out to the sides.


Did anyone see 'The Man Whose Arms Exploded' on channel 5 on Thursday night with that steroid taking nutter repeatedly stabbing the syringe into his bicep! What an idiot. LINK
 
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God, I'm finding this cutting malarky really tough going. I'm hungry all the damn time now. :( Any tips to stop the hunger attacks?
 
Quick pic i took today of my progress with less than 2 yrs of training:

07-09-06_1513.jpg


I need a suntan :(
 
Linoge said:
Update:

Current weight - 198lbs
Body fat - 12-14%
Waist - 36.5 :(
Legs - 25.5"
Calves - 16"
Chest - 44"
Arms - 15.25"
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I'm now 190lbs, 34.5inch waist, chest is now 45", nothing else has changed, but God am I pleased! I've resisted weighing myself, or taking measurements, but this morning I gave in to temptation and got the scales and measuring tape out. I feel a lot better now. I still feel very hungry though and it has affected my sleep, I'm very comfortable at this weight, my original target was 200lbs, but at 198lbs I felt a bit sluggish. :)
 
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