I need some help with gym + diet - just started

sniper007

sniper007

sniper007

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18 Jan 2005
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I'll keep this simple. First of all, I aim to go to the gym twice a week every week. Opinions on whether what I want to achieve is obtainable or not are welcome, but I don't want it to turn into a "why can't you just do 3 days" thread as I have a very busy life style as it is with long working hours and family commitments.

So I want to go to the gym twice a week. In an ideal world I would do Monday then thursday to give me a good spread between each. But I have a "gym buddy" if you like that spots for me and vice versa so I end up going Monday and Wednesdays.

Basically I want to build muscle and weight. I know I'm not allowed to say "bulk up" on here or I'll get shot! But thats basically the aim... Im 6ft 2 but only about 11 stone so I'm fairly lanky/skinny and could do with putting on some weight. I do have some muscle in my arms already visible as I think I have literally little to no fat content in my body so any gain in muscle will instantly show kinda thing.

I know the main challenge is going to be eating the right things but Im a complete noob and have no idea what I should be aiming to eat daily. I'd like some tips on how to start up and where to read. I want to try to keep things as simple as possible. Some questions I have:

1: How many claories should I be getting daily and do you guys count them...how?
2: What kind of foods and how often?
3: Can I drink Alcohol occasionally? < Im prepared to give it up as dont drink a lot at all.
4: How much Protein shake stuff should I drink and when?
5: Does it not cost a lot to get all this extra food?
6: What routines should I aim to do at the gym? (I dont know what the basic exercises actually mean/are. I have a lot to learn!)
7: Should I get gloves for lifting free weights?
8: Should I do just free weights? Been told they are much more stressful than machine as have to stabalise the movement of them in different directions building more muscle.
9: How long should my work out be..I want to make it as short and sharp as possible.
10: Should it be the same each week or split it over 2 weekly period? My friend always goes on about different muscle groups different days.

etc ;) I'm a complete noob and to give an idea on weight, I can only comfortably lift 14kg dumb bells (one in each arm) above up in line with my head from flat bench at the moment and complete a good few reps I mean.

Can I also do cardio occasionally or will that burn off all my weight gain efforts?

Thanks so much for reading.
 
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Ok well i am pretty new to this myself but im gunna go ahead and give you my opinions anyway (might turn into a bit of a monster post)...

DIET

As you said, the key to gaining muscle and weight is by eating food, and LOTS of it! And for you i'd say you should be getting around 3500 - 4000 good quality calories per day spread out between 5-6 meals - Not including junk food and snacks such as crisps. Im judging the amount of calories you should eat while bulking on the description you gave as i would say you were an ectomorph (find it hard to put on weight). Although it isn't a good idea to drink much alcohol it shouldn't really affect your gains if you drink once in a while - And it's not as if your training to become a professional bodybuilder so i wouldn't worry about it.

A good way to keep control of your diet is by signing up for a free account at http://www.fitday.com. Although it is american it is still a good way to keep an eye on how much you are eating and what the food contains.

Although the majority of the calories you eat should be proper foods such as chicken, rice, eggs, red meat and potato which are all high in protein/carbs, you can (and others may not agree with me here) supplement around 1000 of them with a good quality shake if like many people you dont have enough time to eat. All this eating will cost you extra, but really it is the only way to gain muscle.

SUPPLEMENTS

Personally i use these recipes as they are higher quality and cheaper than other gainers you can buy...

High carbs/protein - Pre Workout

Milk - 500ml
Chocolate Whey Powder - 2 scoops
Oat Powder - 100g
Peanut Butter - 2tsp

Which totals at nearly 1000 calories, 81g of protein, 13g of fat and 102g of carbs in one shake!

For the Post Workout shake which should be taken around 10 mins after workout i use:
Milk - 700ml
Chocolate Whey Powder - 3 scoops
Oat Powder - 50g

Which has more protein, but less carbs and fat.

For the Whey and Oat Supplements look here:
Whey
Ultra Fine Scottish Oats

As you can see it is fairly cheap, so order as much as you want! - Remember to order the whey with sweeter and a flavor, and preferably select a tub. You will also have to buy scoops and shakers separately on the website however they are pretty cheap.

WORKOUT

This is where you will have to wait for one of the more experienced members to reply because i have no idea how a two day split would work :(

However you will need to make sure your workout contains compound exercises to build mass all over. A few examples of some compounds are:
-Deadlifts
-Squats
-Bench Press
-Deadlift
These exercises can be difficult to learn at first but once you get the hang of the form there is no better way of building mass all over.

For a good directory of exercises visit:
http://www.exrx.net/ and
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.htm

It is really your choice whether you decide to wear gloves or not when lifting free weights, but you may find it more comfortable to wear some, especially if the bar is cold.

In my opinion free weights are also better, for exactly the reason you said. But weight machines are also good as they allow you to train different muscle groups which would be harder if you were just using free weights.

Make sure you are working out for no longer than 1 hour a day as you dont want to over train your muscles.

It might be a good idea to do some cardio, but if you are going to it would be a good idea to consume more calories. I doubt you will put on much fat anyway being an ecto, but its a good way to keep your body healthy.

Good luck, i hope you achieve your goals! Its a good idea to keep track of your weight and ORM (one rep max), and occasionaly take photos so you can see how you are progressing. So if you ever become unmotivated you can just look at how far you have come and what you have already achieved.

Also it is probably a good time to tell you that im writting this half asleep so if some of this post doesn't make sense i will edit it tomorow. :)
 
Compound compound compound

Bench, chins, dips, squats, deadlifts, shoulder presses.

With your time restrictions thats all you need, and whatever anyone tells you (apart from experts who probably won't) those exercises will do EXACTLY what you want, couple them with high protein food 3- 6 times a day and you're golden.

But dont forget - Missing a train is not an option
Skipping a meal is not an option
taking weeks off is not an option

If you dont hold to that kind of mantra you'll get no-where, just like 98% of other people.
 
Ultra_Extreme said:
Compound compound compound

Bench, chins, dips, squats, deadlifts, shoulder presses.

With your time restrictions thats all you need, and whatever anyone tells you (apart from experts who probably won't) those exercises will do EXACTLY what you want, couple them with high protein food 3- 6 times a day and you're golden.

But dont forget - Missing a train is not an option
Skipping a meal is not an option
taking weeks off is not an option

If you dont hold to that kind of mantra you'll get no-where, just like 98% of other people.
Click to expand...

OK thanks for that. I understand how much I have to keep to it and WILL definitely push to be eating a lot all the time. Do I need to eat that much EVERY day or focus more on the days on and after/before my training sessions?

Also, apologies for being a complete nublet, but can you explain what each excersie is? I take it a bench is a bench press, and involves lying horizontally on a bench and lifting directly up a bar bell (bar bell is the long straight bell right?). Whats the difference between a squat and a dead lift? Whats a dip, chin and shoulder press?

Also, my friend always says that I need to make sure that I do biceps with back and triceps with chest (or might be the other way round! Doh! )

I kind of get little bits of all of this and am still learning, but need to see it confirmed by some of you guys to make sure im not way off.

The main challenge for me personally is eating that much daily. I mean what the **** do I eat and when? Isn't it loads of effort and expense to prepare that much food daily? I'm not sure I'm going ot have the time of day to prepare so many meals if its every day. Thats what worries me. I also get bloated really easily being quite skinny...im sure that will change gradually mind.
 
Nothing wrong with saying bulk up, saying tone up is a different thing tho hehe
 
sniper007 said:
OK thanks for that. I understand how much I have to keep to it and WILL definitely push to be eating a lot all the time. Do I need to eat that much EVERY day or focus more on the days on and after/before my training sessions?
Click to expand...

Eat big everyday. On workout days have an extra post-workout shake but other than that keep everything the same regardless.

sniper007 said:
The main challenge for me personally is eating that much daily. I mean what the **** do I eat and when? Isn't it loads of effort and expense to prepare that much food daily? I'm not sure I'm going ot have the time of day to prepare so many meals if its every day. Thats what worries me. I also get bloated really easily being quite skinny...im sure that will change gradually mind.
Click to expand...

Nobody said it was gonna be easy ;) It is extra effort and it *can* be more expensive but if you want results you need to put in the extra effort.

6 or even 8 small meals is easy to prepare and eat. Breakfast and evening meal are simple so that leaves you with 4-5 meals while you're at work. I have 2 tuppaware boxes, different foods in each so I eat half for each "meal". Rice and chicken or tuna are easy, cheap and nutritious.,
 
As far as diet goes mine works very well. ~3500 a day here.

Meal 1: Protien Smoothie
Meal 2: Tuna Sandwich + Nuts(mixed)
Meal 3: Rice & Chicken
Meal 4: Tuna Sandwich
Meal 5: Protien Smoothie + Banana
Meal 6: Dinner + Banana
Meal 7: Protien Shake

I got to the gym between meal 5 and 6.
 
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