lurking00214
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If you're reading this, you're probably either checking if i'm retarded, or you haven't touched a weight in your life before.
Understand one thing, the barrier of confidence to even walk into any gym for the first time can be overwhelming for a lot of people, more than you think, getting worried people might look at you and judge, that feeling of not knowing what you're doing, I hope to help combat this in this thread.
As i've looked through must read/botb and haven't seen a fully comprehensive guide for starting the gym, i'd like to write one. (obviously not for a must read just so people understand)
This is going to be water for ALOT of users but for some this can be helpful.
table of contents for the thread
1.0 | Why even bother start going??
1.1 | What age is best to start lifting?
1.2 | What is your TDEE? And why does it matter??
1.3 | How to count calories and structure meals.
1.4 | Discipline.
1.5 | What split would suit you.
1.6 | Recovery.
1.7 | Summary.
1.0 Why should I bother going to the gym?
A change in routine for a lot of men, young or old, can really benefit them physically and mentally. There are multiple health benefits from being physically active and being healthy, regular exercise has been documented to prevent or manage many indicators such as but not limited to, Strokes, T2 Diabetes (obviously), Depression, Anxiety, A multitude of cancers, High blood pressure and many more. With studies showing it can lower the risk of early death up to 30%
APPEAL. Girls love muscles, LOVE MUSCLES, Foids that love skinny twinks are messed up mentally, Muscles = Appeal. Argue with the wall. You will notice more eye contact if you lose weight / gain weight if you're fat/skinny. You will attract more women, you will stand out more, you will have more confidence in yourself knowing you look better. Showing that you take care of yourself in any way is attractive.
The time will pass anyway, if you don't take action, you never will, you could "start on monday" or you can start now, who cares?? I certainly don't. The time will pass, people have and will start before you, it's not a race to get jacked fast, there is no social stigma that starting the gym is a sign of weakness / embarrassing.
In the UK, from reports on national data, only 17-19% actually go to the gym.
1.1 What age is best to start lifting?
According to this study i found, there is no single "golden age" to start training, but youngcells reading, must consult with parents or legal guardian on if they're okay with it, a friends little cousin was talking to me and a friend about him wanting to go to the gym, he's 14 years old and his parents don't want him to, which is completely fine, i'd say a universal age range for most parents to accept strength training would be around 15/16. Any younger age, in my personal opinion shouldn't be concerned with getting ripped.
1.2 What is your TDEE? And why does it matter??
TDEE, better known as Total Daily Energy Expenditure, essentially meaning, your daily maintenance calorie intake.
Why is this helpful?? Because this will be how you will start to figure out how much your body needs to not only function, but to gain or lose weight.
https://www.calculator.net/tdee-calculator.html
This is a calculator in which you will need to enter your age, height, current weight and how often you exercise.
A Caloric Deficit = Less calories than your maintenance with the objective of Losing weight.
A Caloric Surplus = More calories than your maintenance with the objective of gaining weight.
It is important that many of you who may be "skinny fat" understand that bulking when you have unwanted bodyfat, will do more bad than good, love handles, excess fat on your legs, stomach and back, must be exterminated before going into any surplus
1.3 How to count calories and structure meals.
Counting calories is so important as many of you might hear, real gains are made in the Kitchen and your training is practically useless without the correct nutrition, As of 2016 in the UK and 1994 in the US, it was a legal requirement for packaging to tell you the nutritional values on the food you're eating, Bread, Milk, Soda, Candy etc. It won't be incorrect and commonly shows portion sizes.A food scale for the most part, isn't necessary but will definitely help you pinpoint the intake of each ingredient/food you eat, Sauces, Seasoning and toppings should never be forgotten about and are often calorie dense, so make sure you're tracking this correctly.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and snack, Is beneficial enough for beginners, Physically writing down you're eating and tracking your calories and protein either on your phones notes, computer, notebook etc. Will be the easiest way for you to document and track properly and if you're not tracking properly, you're wasting your time.
Make sure you factor in the following, Calorie intake, Protein, Fats and carbs.
TLDR- If you're fat, 100-200kcal deficit. If you're skinny 100-200kcal Surplus. You're one or the other and you know it.
1.4 Discipline.
As i mentioned previously, the time will pass. You have a responsibility to yourself to make sure you dial in and ensure change, otherwise you will be in the same position you were in when you started.
you don't pick up the fork and eat your meal? I don't care.
you skip a session? I don't care.
you eat donuts and drink soda all day? I don't care.
You will care, you will care when you're looking in the mirror witnessing zero change, sad because you are still weak, still sad because no pretty girls will look at you or notice you, this is up to you and you only.
You are the greatest project you will ever work on.
1.5 What split would suit you?
For beginners, there are multiple splits to suit you and the obstacles you face in your personal life,
PPL - PUSH, PULL, LEGS
PPL, is a universally normal split for people to go, 3 or 6 times a week, depending on how often you would like to train, but don't overdo it .
FBEOD - Full body every other day
3 days a week. typically consist of compound movements, i.e benchpress, squats, deadlifts etc. when you do bench press, you will activate/hit 3 muscle groups, being your triceps, front delts and chest. I will cover muscle groups below.
UL - Upper / Lower
For more advanced lifters but its worth mentioning, Upper session consists of a full Push / Pull session with less volume, often longer lasting workouts, 2-4 days a week.
this is a diagram of all the muscles labelled on your body,
there are 3 heads of your shoulder (delts)
upper chest and mid chest are not labelled but are important
lats are the "wings" on your back
two heads of your tricep (short and long head)
2 heads of the bicep (are hit together so dont worry)
Brachiradialis, part of your forearm ill mention after
Rhomboids, lower back
abs, we all want abs
Sample workouts for PPL
Before listing the workout, I would like to mention i cannot help you with form, youtube is handy for that there's some great videos regarding form.
Push -
Flat chest movement for Mid chest i.e Pec dec, bench press, chest press,
Incline chest movement for Upper chest i.e Incline press of any sort/
Tricep Pushdown for Short head of tricep i.e Cable machine pushdowns with V Bar, cuffed, any way you prefer.
Tricep Extension for Long head of tricep i.e Overhead extensions with a straight bar, JM Press (goated)
Shoulder press for Front Delts i.e any overhead press machine or db's
Lateral raises for Side Delts i.e lateral raises with dbs, cable machine, your choice.
This will target the majority of your upper body, 2 of 3 shoulder heads, triceps and chest.
Pull -
Lat pulldowns, for your Lats i.e Lat pulldown with Mag grip or straight bar, your choice.
Tbar row, for your lats, i.e rhomboids and traps, with a shoulder width grip (goated exercise)
Bicep curl for your Biceps, i.e any curl, would recommend preacher curls
Hammer curl for your Brachioradialis, (optional). just use dumbbels and curl with the dumbbell facing upwards
Legs-
I fucking hate legs so this will be short and undetailed
Leg press
Leg curls
Quad extensions
Hack squats
Calf raises
Hip adductors
"what sets and how much reps?" Bullshit question, everything consists of 2 sets until failure, for everything.
1.6 Recovery.
Recovery cannot be ignored, between sets and between sessions.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9230724/
Study above details how fatigue and muscle recovery especially from intense or new stress from newer lifters can extend recovery times and how much nutrition plays a role in quicker recovery. Nutrients such as protein, amino acids, certain vitamins and minerals play a role in muscle repair.
"A scientific review found that muscle recovery isn’t just about rest — what you eat matters too. Proteins and amino acids help repair muscle damage, some antioxidants may reduce inflammation, and nutrients like vitamin D might play a role in how your body handles stress from exercise. Supplements can help, but food and sleep are still key parts of recovery"
Recovery between sets is also important, you have to make sure you're ready for your next set, 3 minutes is personally what I do, but you'll know if you're not ready and it is important that you don't rush it.
1.7 Summary.
I apologise if this is considered low effort and I have never made a thread this long, i tried covering anything I personally would have found helpful.
Newbie gains refer to the insane muscle mass you put on when you get into the habit of lifting, hence the title your first 6 weeks, you will learn and grow so fast, genuinely quicker than most people on steroids.
It is important you count macros and train hard, the regime i provided for PPL is the best way to learn, 2 sets until failure.
don't ego lift, no one likes them, you cant lift it then dont lift it, an ideal rep range for hypertrophy would be 6-8, if you do more than
6-8 reps, up the weight.
track your lifts, so you aren't guessing eachtime you go, use your phones notes, or a notepad.
if anyone has any more specific / niche questions you can dm me or comment and i will reply.
thank you for reading
it's time to get big.
Understand one thing, the barrier of confidence to even walk into any gym for the first time can be overwhelming for a lot of people, more than you think, getting worried people might look at you and judge, that feeling of not knowing what you're doing, I hope to help combat this in this thread.
As i've looked through must read/botb and haven't seen a fully comprehensive guide for starting the gym, i'd like to write one. (obviously not for a must read just so people understand)
This is going to be water for ALOT of users but for some this can be helpful.
table of contents for the thread
1.0 | Why even bother start going??
1.1 | What age is best to start lifting?
1.2 | What is your TDEE? And why does it matter??
1.3 | How to count calories and structure meals.
1.4 | Discipline.
1.5 | What split would suit you.
1.6 | Recovery.
1.7 | Summary.
1.0 Why should I bother going to the gym?
A change in routine for a lot of men, young or old, can really benefit them physically and mentally. There are multiple health benefits from being physically active and being healthy, regular exercise has been documented to prevent or manage many indicators such as but not limited to, Strokes, T2 Diabetes (obviously), Depression, Anxiety, A multitude of cancers, High blood pressure and many more. With studies showing it can lower the risk of early death up to 30%
APPEAL. Girls love muscles, LOVE MUSCLES, Foids that love skinny twinks are messed up mentally, Muscles = Appeal. Argue with the wall. You will notice more eye contact if you lose weight / gain weight if you're fat/skinny. You will attract more women, you will stand out more, you will have more confidence in yourself knowing you look better. Showing that you take care of yourself in any way is attractive.
The time will pass anyway, if you don't take action, you never will, you could "start on monday" or you can start now, who cares?? I certainly don't. The time will pass, people have and will start before you, it's not a race to get jacked fast, there is no social stigma that starting the gym is a sign of weakness / embarrassing.
In the UK, from reports on national data, only 17-19% actually go to the gym.
1.1 What age is best to start lifting?
According to this study i found, there is no single "golden age" to start training, but youngcells reading, must consult with parents or legal guardian on if they're okay with it, a friends little cousin was talking to me and a friend about him wanting to go to the gym, he's 14 years old and his parents don't want him to, which is completely fine, i'd say a universal age range for most parents to accept strength training would be around 15/16. Any younger age, in my personal opinion shouldn't be concerned with getting ripped.
1.2 What is your TDEE? And why does it matter??
TDEE, better known as Total Daily Energy Expenditure, essentially meaning, your daily maintenance calorie intake.
Why is this helpful?? Because this will be how you will start to figure out how much your body needs to not only function, but to gain or lose weight.
https://www.calculator.net/tdee-calculator.html
This is a calculator in which you will need to enter your age, height, current weight and how often you exercise.
A Caloric Deficit = Less calories than your maintenance with the objective of Losing weight.
A Caloric Surplus = More calories than your maintenance with the objective of gaining weight.
It is important that many of you who may be "skinny fat" understand that bulking when you have unwanted bodyfat, will do more bad than good, love handles, excess fat on your legs, stomach and back, must be exterminated before going into any surplus
1.3 How to count calories and structure meals.
Counting calories is so important as many of you might hear, real gains are made in the Kitchen and your training is practically useless without the correct nutrition, As of 2016 in the UK and 1994 in the US, it was a legal requirement for packaging to tell you the nutritional values on the food you're eating, Bread, Milk, Soda, Candy etc. It won't be incorrect and commonly shows portion sizes.A food scale for the most part, isn't necessary but will definitely help you pinpoint the intake of each ingredient/food you eat, Sauces, Seasoning and toppings should never be forgotten about and are often calorie dense, so make sure you're tracking this correctly.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and snack, Is beneficial enough for beginners, Physically writing down you're eating and tracking your calories and protein either on your phones notes, computer, notebook etc. Will be the easiest way for you to document and track properly and if you're not tracking properly, you're wasting your time.
Make sure you factor in the following, Calorie intake, Protein, Fats and carbs.
TLDR- If you're fat, 100-200kcal deficit. If you're skinny 100-200kcal Surplus. You're one or the other and you know it.
1.4 Discipline.
As i mentioned previously, the time will pass. You have a responsibility to yourself to make sure you dial in and ensure change, otherwise you will be in the same position you were in when you started.
you don't pick up the fork and eat your meal? I don't care.
you skip a session? I don't care.
you eat donuts and drink soda all day? I don't care.
You will care, you will care when you're looking in the mirror witnessing zero change, sad because you are still weak, still sad because no pretty girls will look at you or notice you, this is up to you and you only.
You are the greatest project you will ever work on.
1.5 What split would suit you?
For beginners, there are multiple splits to suit you and the obstacles you face in your personal life,
PPL - PUSH, PULL, LEGS
PPL, is a universally normal split for people to go, 3 or 6 times a week, depending on how often you would like to train, but don't overdo it .
FBEOD - Full body every other day
3 days a week. typically consist of compound movements, i.e benchpress, squats, deadlifts etc. when you do bench press, you will activate/hit 3 muscle groups, being your triceps, front delts and chest. I will cover muscle groups below.
UL - Upper / Lower
For more advanced lifters but its worth mentioning, Upper session consists of a full Push / Pull session with less volume, often longer lasting workouts, 2-4 days a week.
this is a diagram of all the muscles labelled on your body,
there are 3 heads of your shoulder (delts)
upper chest and mid chest are not labelled but are important
lats are the "wings" on your back
two heads of your tricep (short and long head)
2 heads of the bicep (are hit together so dont worry)
Brachiradialis, part of your forearm ill mention after
Rhomboids, lower back
abs, we all want abs
Sample workouts for PPL
Before listing the workout, I would like to mention i cannot help you with form, youtube is handy for that there's some great videos regarding form.
Push -
Flat chest movement for Mid chest i.e Pec dec, bench press, chest press,
Incline chest movement for Upper chest i.e Incline press of any sort/
Tricep Pushdown for Short head of tricep i.e Cable machine pushdowns with V Bar, cuffed, any way you prefer.
Tricep Extension for Long head of tricep i.e Overhead extensions with a straight bar, JM Press (goated)
Shoulder press for Front Delts i.e any overhead press machine or db's
Lateral raises for Side Delts i.e lateral raises with dbs, cable machine, your choice.
This will target the majority of your upper body, 2 of 3 shoulder heads, triceps and chest.
Pull -
Lat pulldowns, for your Lats i.e Lat pulldown with Mag grip or straight bar, your choice.
Tbar row, for your lats, i.e rhomboids and traps, with a shoulder width grip (goated exercise)
Bicep curl for your Biceps, i.e any curl, would recommend preacher curls
Hammer curl for your Brachioradialis, (optional). just use dumbbels and curl with the dumbbell facing upwards
Legs-
I fucking hate legs so this will be short and undetailed
Leg press
Leg curls
Quad extensions
Hack squats
Calf raises
Hip adductors
"what sets and how much reps?" Bullshit question, everything consists of 2 sets until failure, for everything.
1.6 Recovery.
Recovery cannot be ignored, between sets and between sessions.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9230724/
Study above details how fatigue and muscle recovery especially from intense or new stress from newer lifters can extend recovery times and how much nutrition plays a role in quicker recovery. Nutrients such as protein, amino acids, certain vitamins and minerals play a role in muscle repair.
"A scientific review found that muscle recovery isn’t just about rest — what you eat matters too. Proteins and amino acids help repair muscle damage, some antioxidants may reduce inflammation, and nutrients like vitamin D might play a role in how your body handles stress from exercise. Supplements can help, but food and sleep are still key parts of recovery"
Recovery between sets is also important, you have to make sure you're ready for your next set, 3 minutes is personally what I do, but you'll know if you're not ready and it is important that you don't rush it.
1.7 Summary.
I apologise if this is considered low effort and I have never made a thread this long, i tried covering anything I personally would have found helpful.
Newbie gains refer to the insane muscle mass you put on when you get into the habit of lifting, hence the title your first 6 weeks, you will learn and grow so fast, genuinely quicker than most people on steroids.
It is important you count macros and train hard, the regime i provided for PPL is the best way to learn, 2 sets until failure.
don't ego lift, no one likes them, you cant lift it then dont lift it, an ideal rep range for hypertrophy would be 6-8, if you do more than
6-8 reps, up the weight.
track your lifts, so you aren't guessing eachtime you go, use your phones notes, or a notepad.
if anyone has any more specific / niche questions you can dm me or comment and i will reply.
thank you for reading
it's time to get big.
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