GordyR's Beginners Guide to Bodybuilding

I must say, almost 3 weeks ago I completely changed my diet.
I used to eat junk food, never had breakfast, would tend to have 2 meals a day combined with snacking on crap, though i would never put weight on

now I have cut out all the crap and processed stuff and now eat loads of pasta, carbs seems to be workin for me, this combined with chicken etc, and eating more small meals throughout the day

im 5ft 10 and ive went from 9st 12 to 10st 5 :D

i used to think that diet wasnt that important when lifting weights, but i must say i feel so much better eating good food all the time, and im finally putting on some beef

Can you guys rate my routine, i made it of exercises i prefer
CHEST/TRICEPS
3x 8 Flat benchpress
3x 8 Incline benchpress
3x 8 Decline benchpress
3x 8 Tricep extensions
Dips
Press ups

BACK/BIS/SHOULDERS
3x 8 curls
3x 8 hammer curls
3x 8 lying row
3x 8 bent over row
3x 8 shrugs
3x 8 military press
Chin ups

LEGS/ABS
3x 8 deadlifts
3x 8 front squats
3x 8 lunges
3x 8 calf raises
Variety of ab exercises

All with about 1-2 min rest between sets, for the first set i aim to struggle on the 8th rep, the other 2 sets i never usually reach 8 again, im going down the low reps at high intensity route
my goals are put on some muscle, and increase my strength
 
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I think Chong will agree with me when I say you might want to think about lowering the number of deadlifts to 6 reps. When you're lifting heavy its easy for your form to slip and for you to injure yourself.
 
Archibald0 said:
I must say, almost 3 weeks ago I completely changed my diet....

im 5ft 10 and ive went from 9st 12 to 10st 5 :D
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Good gains, you seem pleased so well done :) Am I right in thinking you've gained this 7lbs in 3 weeks?
Archibald0 said:
i used to think that diet wasnt that important when lifting weights, but i must say i feel so much better eating good food all the time, and im finally putting on some beef
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It's good when the penny drops isn't it? ;)
Archibald0 said:
Can you guys rate my routine, i made it of exercises i prefer
CHEST/TRICEPS
3x 8 Flat benchpress - Pick either this...
3x 8 Incline benchpress
3x 8 Decline benchpress - or this, don't do both!
3x 8 Tricep extensions - Are these lying? What kind of bar are you using? BE CAREFULL WITH THESE!!
Dips
Press ups

BACK/BIS/SHOULDERS
3x 8 curls - Why would you do biceps first? :confused:
3x 8 hammer curls
3x 8 lying row - What are these?
3x 8 bent over row - Do these 2nd
3x 8 shrugs
3x 8 military press
Chin ups - Do these first!

LEGS/ABS
3x 8 deadlifts
3x 8 front squats
3x 8 lunges
3x 8 calf raises
Variety of ab exercises - Forget abs today, deadlifts and front squats HAMMER THEM!
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Comments in green
Skull said:
I think Chong will agree with me when I say you might want to think about lowering the number of deadlifts to 6 reps. When you're lifting heavy its easy for your form to slip and for you to injure yourself.
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Yeah ideally 6 reps and below is better for deads :) Though for a beginner doing 8 reps I wouldn't usually bother commenting, very little difference really due to the small amount of weight being used. Learning the movement is more important imho.
 
Chong Warrior said:
Good gains, you seem pleased so well done :) Am I right in thinking you've gained this 7lbs in 3 weeks?
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yep, about 2and a half pounds a week, is it a healty rate? bearing in mind i still quite skinny

thanks for the advice chong

CHEST/TRICEPS
3x 8 Flat benchpress Got rid of the decline benchpress
3x 8 Incline benchpress
3x 8 Tricep extensions these are with a tricep bar, i do them standing up
Dips
Press ups its more like press up, not ups, i can barely manage one after my workout
Variety of ab exercises Moved these to this workout day

BACK/BIS/SHOULDERS
Chin ups
3x 8 bent over row
3x 8 lying row this is when you lay face down on a bench and lift up a barbell from the floor, http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/BackGeneral/CamberedBarLyingRow.html
3x 8 military press
3x 8 shrugs
3x 8 curls
3x 8 hammer curls

LEGS/ABS
3x 6 deadlifts changed to 6
3x 8 front squats
3x 8 lunges
3x 8 calf raises

hows that look?
 
Archibald0 said:
yep, about 2and a half pounds a week, is it a healty rate? bearing in mind i still quite skinny
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You're ok for now but calm down on the calories. Bear in mind that you'll be gaining muscle at a rate of about 0.5lbs a week. It could be possible to gain a little more, especially in the beginning though but no more than 1lb I reckon. The rest is fat. Keep adding weight at that rate and you'll have a bit of a tubby belly on you in a few months so be wary, dieting isn't as much fun as bulking ;)


Archibald0 said:
CHEST/TRICEPS
3x 8 Flat benchpress
3x 8 Incline benchpress
3x 8 Tricep extensions Ok so like a standing curl but with tricep bar??
Dips
Press ups Drop these
Variety of ab exercises Better. Just do 3 sets lower abs and 3 sets upper abs at the most, don't go mad.

BACK/BIS/SHOULDERS
Chin ups Do these close grip, palms in grip
3x 8 bent over row
3x 8 lying row Drop these, just an inferior bent over row
3x 8 military press
3x 8 shrugs If you're going to do these, ideally use DB's and have they by your side. Lift straight up and down, none of this rolling shoulders forward and backward rubbish. Anyone tells you different tell them to **** off! :D
3x 8 curls Drop these
3x 8 hammer curls ...or these

LEGS/ABS
3x 6 deadlifts Move these to back day, they hit the back harder than anything else.
3x 8 front squats
3x 8 lunges
need a hammy exercise. Can you do leg curls?
3x 8 calf raises

hows that look?
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Looks better :) more comments in green :eek:
 
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You're ok for now but calm down on the calories. Bear in mind that you'll be gaining muscle at a rate of about 0.5lbs a week. It could be possible to gain a little more, especially in the beginning though but no more than 1lb I reckon. The rest is fat. Keep adding weight at that rate and you'll have a bit of a tubby belly on you in a few months so be wary, dieting isn't as much fun as bulking
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hehe its is a good feeling though when i step on the scales in the morning, will finally be rid of a skinny body soon enough, im aiming to be between 12 and 13st by xmas, and have a nice muscular physique :p
il get there one day

CHEST/TRICEPS
3x 8 Flat benchpress
3x 8 Incline benchpress
3x 8 Tricep extensions http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Triceps/BBTriExt.html these but with a tricep bar
Dips
upper and lower ab exercises

BACK/BIS/SHOULDERS
Close grip chin ups
3x 6 deadlifts
3x 8 bent over row
3x 8 military press
3x 8 shrugs
3x 8 curls should have mentioned i have a combo bar for this, is this one exercise enough for my biceps and forearms? i enjoy doing these and hammer curls


LEGS/ABS
3x 8 front squats
3x 8 lunges
3x 8 calf raises

As for hamstring exercises i dont go to a gym, i have a bench at home, barbell, combo bar and tricep bar, the bench doesnt have a leg attatchment thing whatever they're called
Iv no real idea how to go about working my hams
 
Archibald0 said:
hehe its is a good feeling though when i step on the scales in the morning, will finally be rid of a skinny body soon enough, im aiming to be between 12 and 13st by xmas, and have a nice muscular physique :p
il get there one day
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Funny thing is a lot of the big lads will look at your "skinny body" with a certain degree of envy. Don't be too hasty is trying to get rid of your lean look. Have patience and try and gain some lean muscle mass. Despite what you think it's VERY easy to pile on loads of weight... it's only then you realize how much fun fat isn't ;)


Archibald0 said:
3x 8 Tricep extensions http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Triceps/BBTriExt.html these but with a tricep bar
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They're ok, better than what I originally thought you were doing :)
Archibald0 said:
3x 8 curls should have mentioned i have a combo bar for this, is this one exercise enough for my biceps and forearms? i enjoy doing these and hammer curls
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should have mentioned you're already doing the best bicep builder there is with close grip, palms in chins ;) Heavy deadlifts and shrugs are great for the forearms, trust me they'll push you harder than any amount of hammer curls.
Archibald0 said:
As for hamstring exercises i dont go to a gym, i have a bench at home, barbell, combo bar and tricep bar, the bench doesnt have a leg attatchment thing whatever they're called
Iv no real idea how to go about working my hams
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Look up romanian deadlifts and do those then. These are better for building the hammy's but they're also a lot more difficult and stressful so be carefull. Great exercise though :)
 
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Archibald0 said:
cheers for the quick replies chong, thats helped me loads

you seem like the elder around here when it comes to this, whats your routine out of interest?
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Glad to help.

Oh sweet jeezus I can't believe you used the word 'elder'. Wait 'till MTA see's that! :D

My Routine :)
 
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Chong Warrior said:
Glad to help.

Oh sweet jeezus I can't believe you used the word 'elder'. Wait 'till MTA see's that! :D

My Routine :)
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'Elder' Chong Warrior :D

i see a name change coming on, any passing mods fancy some fun?? ;]
 
Lifting early in the morning... I've been avoiding this because of the need to have plenty of fuel in the body to get the best out of it, but there are things about it that appeal to me. Namely the fact that it leaves my evenings free, gets me out of bed and the free weights area won't be full of teenagers in vests having a social club while doing the occasional curl.

Is there a way of making this work? I guess you'd have to get up super early and get a good meal in an hour before going or something, which is far from ideal.
 
StixxUK said:
Lifting early in the morning... I've been avoiding this because of the need to have plenty of fuel in the body to get the best out of it, but there are things about it that appeal to me. Namely the fact that it leaves my evenings free, gets me out of bed and the free weights area won't be full of teenagers in vests having a social club while doing the occasional curl.

Is there a way of making this work? I guess you'd have to get up super early and get a good meal in an hour before going or something, which is far from ideal.
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Personally I wish I had the motivation to do this, I have huge respect for those that do!

Yes it can work but it depends on a few things mate. What are your goals? What time do you need to set off for work, etc. How long do you train for? What's your diet like? Are you a high-carb, low-fat kind of guy or not really bothered?
 
After a bit of guidance for my deads at the moment. I reckon my form is alright now so I've been gradually upping the weight for the past month or so. I got to 1.5X BW today which was pleased with but still felt I could go for more - the problem was my grip was completely gone.

I tried with alternate grip for the first time and found it a big help, which brings me on to my question - should I up the weight and switch to alternate grip, get some lifting straps, or put the effort in and get my grip up to scratch with some static lifts or something similar?
 
Volcs said:
I tried with alternate grip for the first time and found it a big help, which brings me on to my question - should I up the weight and switch to alternate grip, get some lifting straps, or put the effort in and get my grip up to scratch with some static lifts or something similar?
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which ever you want to do really. all will be as good for you as each other in the long run.
i personally prefer alternate grip, then on the last set or 2 i use straps if needed.
 
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