Nameless King
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Level 0: Complete Beginner
I understand how easy it can be to get overwhelmed with new information at this phase, so I will keep this simple.
Your main focus at this stage should be working out consistently (at least once per week). Try to make going to the gym a fun activity that you look forward to, don't stress about exercise selection or anything else, just go to the gym and do whatever exercises peak your interest. This is what separates the advanced gym-goers from people who go to the gym for a couple months before losing motivation. Listen to some good music, bring your friends and treat yourself to a nice meal afterwards. It's not supposed to be difficult, you are simply building good habits and associations with the gym.
Level 1: Beginner
Now that you are interested in going to the gym, and can trust yourself to go consistently, its time to take it a bit more seriously. This phase is focused on learning the most basic fundamentals for resistance training, which will lay the foundation for your workouts.
Now you will begin a basic workout routine. At this stage, you should focus on heavy compound movements, as they provide the most bang for your buck in terms of muscle and strength gains. Make sure you are eating lots of protein and getting lots of sleep at home.
If you are doing an exercise which you have never done before, be sure to watch a youtube guide, so that you know the correct form. It is vital that you learn to perform your exercises with good form, because it becomes increasingly difficult to unlearn bad habits as you get stronger.
Your sets should be performed with a greater intensity, and you should aim to improve each workout.
Aim to eat 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight, spread throughout 4 or 5 meals each day.
Stage 3: Beginner-Intermediate
Now you understand the basics of resistance training, but you still have a lot to learn. This phase will be focused on learning intermediate concepts and implementing them in your routine as you continue to progress. The following are a list of frequently asked questions and answers, each with a key concept behind them. At this point, you should have the skills to create your own specific goals, and you will likely naturally progress into an area of specialization (powerlifting, pure bodybuilding, or something else entirely). The tools you have already learned are sufficient for you to see good gains for the rest of your weightlifting journey, but if you truly want to see optimized results, you will need more knowledge.
For the best progress, you should train 6 times each week, including 10 to 20 sets per muscle throughout the week.
- Go to the gym every Monday and Thursday afternoon
- Take my friend to the gym with me
I understand how easy it can be to get overwhelmed with new information at this phase, so I will keep this simple.
Your main focus at this stage should be working out consistently (at least once per week). Try to make going to the gym a fun activity that you look forward to, don't stress about exercise selection or anything else, just go to the gym and do whatever exercises peak your interest. This is what separates the advanced gym-goers from people who go to the gym for a couple months before losing motivation. Listen to some good music, bring your friends and treat yourself to a nice meal afterwards. It's not supposed to be difficult, you are simply building good habits and associations with the gym.
Level 1: Beginner
These goals are heavily variable, based on your genetics and predisposition to resistance training. Some will find that they can bench their bodyweight the first time they walk in a gym, some others may struggle with just the barbell. Make sure your goals are realistic and personalized, as the following are merely examples;
- 0.75x Bodyweight Bench Press
- 1.25x Bodyweight Squat
- 1.5x Bodyweight Deadlift
- 5 Pull Ups
Now that you are interested in going to the gym, and can trust yourself to go consistently, its time to take it a bit more seriously. This phase is focused on learning the most basic fundamentals for resistance training, which will lay the foundation for your workouts.
Now you will begin a basic workout routine. At this stage, you should focus on heavy compound movements, as they provide the most bang for your buck in terms of muscle and strength gains. Make sure you are eating lots of protein and getting lots of sleep at home.
If you are doing an exercise which you have never done before, be sure to watch a youtube guide, so that you know the correct form. It is vital that you learn to perform your exercises with good form, because it becomes increasingly difficult to unlearn bad habits as you get stronger.
Your sets should be performed with a greater intensity, and you should aim to improve each workout.
Aim to eat 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight, spread throughout 4 or 5 meals each day.
Any heavy exercises should be performed with one or two warm-up sets before your 'working sets'. These warm-up sets are not supposed to be difficult, should be performed with a light weight until the movement feels natural and warm.
Working sets are to be performed with full range of motion always. Make sure you touch the bar to your chest on bench press, sink to the very bottom in pull-ups etc. You should take every set either to failure, or within a few reps of failure, but focus on maintaining good form throughout. Each set should be in the 6-12 rep range, as you will find it to be the most time efficient and non-fatiguing.
Most importantly, make sure you are lifting more weight than last time, which could mean doing one or two more repetitions or lifting a slightly heavier weight each workout. This concept is known as progressive overload, and is the key to seeing consistent improvement.
Between working sets, you are to rest for two minutes, the scientific literature seems to point towards this being a good sweet spot for good strength and muscle gain.
Working sets are to be performed with full range of motion always. Make sure you touch the bar to your chest on bench press, sink to the very bottom in pull-ups etc. You should take every set either to failure, or within a few reps of failure, but focus on maintaining good form throughout. Each set should be in the 6-12 rep range, as you will find it to be the most time efficient and non-fatiguing.
Most importantly, make sure you are lifting more weight than last time, which could mean doing one or two more repetitions or lifting a slightly heavier weight each workout. This concept is known as progressive overload, and is the key to seeing consistent improvement.
Between working sets, you are to rest for two minutes, the scientific literature seems to point towards this being a good sweet spot for good strength and muscle gain.
As you go about your life, you use energy which is supplied to you by your food. The amount of energy in each food can be measured as calories. If you eat more calories than you expend, that extra unused energy will be stored in the form of fat. If you do not eat enough calories, your body will tap into your energy reserves, which may be fat or muscle. This concept is known as calories-in calories-out. This is a simplified explanation, as there are other factors which affect weight loss such as insulin resistance, but it will work for most.
Each day, you will have a certain amount of calories that you use. The vast majority of these calories are expended while you are resting, as your body and brain need energy to simply function. You can estimate your caloric expenditure using an online calculator such as this one. And there are various apps and websites you can use to estimate the number of calories in each meal.
In general, if you have a very high bodyfat, you should eat in a deficit of about 500 calories each day this is called cutting. That is to say that you should eat 500 less calories than you use each day. If you have a very low bodyfat, you should eat in a surplus of about 500 this is called bulking.
Men should aim for a bodyfat percentage of about 12%, this will make your physique look the lean and full and is sustainable year-round for most.
Each day, you will have a certain amount of calories that you use. The vast majority of these calories are expended while you are resting, as your body and brain need energy to simply function. You can estimate your caloric expenditure using an online calculator such as this one. And there are various apps and websites you can use to estimate the number of calories in each meal.
In general, if you have a very high bodyfat, you should eat in a deficit of about 500 calories each day this is called cutting. That is to say that you should eat 500 less calories than you use each day. If you have a very low bodyfat, you should eat in a surplus of about 500 this is called bulking.
Men should aim for a bodyfat percentage of about 12%, this will make your physique look the lean and full and is sustainable year-round for most.
Monday:
3 Sets Barbell Squat
3 Sets Dumbbell Incline Press
Tuesday:
3 Sets Machine Assisted Pull Ups
3 Sets Barbell Upright Rows
Thursday:
3 Sets Barbell Romanian Deadlift
3 Sets Barbell Bench Press
Friday:
3 Sets Dumbbell Pullover
3 Sets Hanging Leg Raises
3 Sets Barbell Squat
3 Sets Dumbbell Incline Press
Tuesday:
3 Sets Machine Assisted Pull Ups
3 Sets Barbell Upright Rows
Thursday:
3 Sets Barbell Romanian Deadlift
3 Sets Barbell Bench Press
Friday:
3 Sets Dumbbell Pullover
3 Sets Hanging Leg Raises
Stage 3: Beginner-Intermediate
- 1.25x Bodyweight Bench Press
- 1.5x Bodyweight Squat
- 2x Bodyweight Deadlift
- 14 Pull Ups
Now you understand the basics of resistance training, but you still have a lot to learn. This phase will be focused on learning intermediate concepts and implementing them in your routine as you continue to progress. The following are a list of frequently asked questions and answers, each with a key concept behind them. At this point, you should have the skills to create your own specific goals, and you will likely naturally progress into an area of specialization (powerlifting, pure bodybuilding, or something else entirely). The tools you have already learned are sufficient for you to see good gains for the rest of your weightlifting journey, but if you truly want to see optimized results, you will need more knowledge.
For the best progress, you should train 6 times each week, including 10 to 20 sets per muscle throughout the week.
The concept behind optimal exercise selection is stretch-mediated hypertrophy. In essence, you should select the exercises which allow your muscle to reach the most stretched position possible, and pick exercises which are harder at this stretched position. This is because more strain is placed on the muscle when they are stretched, leading to more muscle growth.
This requires a very basic understanding of torque and lever arms. However, it is quite intuitive. As you can see below, a moment arm is the perpendicular distance between a force and the lever.
I will use the example of a biceps curl in exercise selection. This is the reason why curls are very easy at the bottom (stretched) and top (contracted) parts of the lift, but are very difficult in the middle, when your elbow is at 90 degrees:
This means that the resistance curve, or the force supplied to the weight at each part of the lift, will look something like this:
This is suboptimal, as we want the resistance curve to be higher at the start of the lift as explained previously. Now lets compare to a better biceps exercise, such as this one;
As you can see, his forearm is perpendicular to the force he experiences, making this a better biceps exercise than standing free weight curls.
This logic is applicable to many exercises. Here are a few examples;
Suboptimal:
Better choices which bias the stretched position:
Most compound pushing exercises naturally bias the stretched position. This includes squats, bench press, deadlifts, quad extensions, military press and so on. However, we can still modify them such that the stretched position is even deeper. For example; one may choose to perform Romanian Deadlifts at a deficit, as the bottom of the lift will supply an insane stretch on your hamstrings, which is a huge stimulus for muscle growth.
You can apply this same logic to every exercise. In dumbbell press type exercises, you will want to get the weights as deep as physically possible. This might mean trying to touch the edge of the dumbbell to the outside of your shoulder in a flat press. You may want to prioritize seated hamstring curls over lying hamstring curls for the same reason, cable triceps extension should be performed overhead rather than pressing down etc etc.
This requires a very basic understanding of torque and lever arms. However, it is quite intuitive. As you can see below, a moment arm is the perpendicular distance between a force and the lever.
I will use the example of a biceps curl in exercise selection. This is the reason why curls are very easy at the bottom (stretched) and top (contracted) parts of the lift, but are very difficult in the middle, when your elbow is at 90 degrees:
This means that the resistance curve, or the force supplied to the weight at each part of the lift, will look something like this:
This is suboptimal, as we want the resistance curve to be higher at the start of the lift as explained previously. Now lets compare to a better biceps exercise, such as this one;
As you can see, his forearm is perpendicular to the force he experiences, making this a better biceps exercise than standing free weight curls.
This logic is applicable to many exercises. Here are a few examples;
Suboptimal:
Better choices which bias the stretched position:
Most compound pushing exercises naturally bias the stretched position. This includes squats, bench press, deadlifts, quad extensions, military press and so on. However, we can still modify them such that the stretched position is even deeper. For example; one may choose to perform Romanian Deadlifts at a deficit, as the bottom of the lift will supply an insane stretch on your hamstrings, which is a huge stimulus for muscle growth.
You can apply this same logic to every exercise. In dumbbell press type exercises, you will want to get the weights as deep as physically possible. This might mean trying to touch the edge of the dumbbell to the outside of your shoulder in a flat press. You may want to prioritize seated hamstring curls over lying hamstring curls for the same reason, cable triceps extension should be performed overhead rather than pressing down etc etc.
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